Inverness CT -V- Dundee United - S/C
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Celtic -V- Inverness CT - Report
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John Hughes was forced to leave Aaron Doran out with a thigh problem and he chose Nick Ross ahead of Marley Watkins to start against champions elect Celtic.
Hughes was looking for his side to make an impact at Parkhead and it looked as though his team heeded the pep talk as they broke forward in the first couple of minutes, but it only took Celtic around ten minutes to put us back in our box as Leigh Griffiths scored the opener from close range to dent our aspirations.
Celtic then started to dominate and a further ten minutes elapsed before Griffiths turned provider with a corner to the near post which was flicked home by Charlie Mulgrew as the Inverness defence froze.
A good break down the left saw the ball centred and Foran slid onto it on the edge of the box, but he could only direct the ball just over the bar, Inverness' best chance of the game so far.
The play had levelled out now but Inverness started the game too late and at 2-0 down were chasing the game.
Just over the half hour and Celtic looked to kill the game as Stokes, Griffiths and Mulgrew all had shots blocked, however at this stage it looked as though Celtic would go on to record a comfortable victory.
Izaguirre earned a free kick just before half time but the hard pressed visitors defence managed to get the ball clear.
Nick Ross made his way to the home bye line but was crowded out before getting his cross away and the first half drew to a close with Celtic deservedly 2-0 ahead, the score probably flattering Inverness on this occasion, our defence cut open all too often.
Half Time 2-0
Second half started the way the first had finished and Griffiths flashed a shot into the side net. This stirred Inverness and a good move was ended with Foran lying flat of his face in the Celtic box, but nothing doing with the referee in prime position to judge.
Number three should have come from Griffiths' boot but he chipped a shot just wide from the centre of the box as the Inverness defence was peeled open once more.
Inverness were struggling to get a foothold in this game, not helped by poor balls into the area, most balls floundering on the first defender. However, Billy McKay did get a shot away but it never troubled Fraser Forster.
A period of possession for Inverness followed, but once more the final ball was poor, Meekings floating a long ball well beyond everybody.
Stokes was next along for shooting practice and he fired a low shot just wide, a corner given.
Another good spell of retention saw Ross Draper curl a 25 yard effort just wide but it was game over a minute later when Griffiths latched onto a ball on the left side and thrashed a twenty yard shot behind a startled Dean Brill. Tremendous goal for Griffiths who is on fire.
The visitors plugged away though and McKay slipped at the vital moment right in front of goal, chance gone. Foran had the next great opportunity moments later, but Forster blocked Forans attempt from close range as Richie delayed his parting shot, should really have scored.
Free kick for a foul on Draper twenty five yards out came to nothing, and Celtic broke forward. It would have been four, but Stokes tried to tee up Griffiths, three times in the same move, but it ended without a hat-trick as Griffiths fired high over; Stokes substituted for Commons just after this.
Daniel Devine came on for Warren, obviously with one eye on the League Cup Final, and Watkins replaced Draper for the final twenty two minutes.
Forrest hit the woodwork, his cross bouncing off the top of the bar as Celtic searched for a fourth goal. Brill kept the fourth goal out saving well as Forrest burst onto a ball into the box and Griffiths nearly got his third, lashing a shot behind.
It wasn't all one way traffic, but Celtic were far more incisive in the final quarter and threatened a cricket score at times.
Brill finally cracked as Commons turned and hit a speculative shot from two kilometres range, the ball trickling through him and over the line.
He made up for that seconds later by preventing a fifth with a fantastic double save to deny a rampant Celtic.
The end can not come soon enough for Inverness now and Hughes gives Ryan Christie the last fifteen minutes on the park, replacing Billy McKay.
Commons lifted a chance over the bar as the game continued in one direction now but Griffiths notched his hat-trick soon after tucking the ball into the corner, Inverness looking rather bedraggled by now.
Tansey fired over from the edge of the box but it didn't matter, and Devine put a free header well over. Nothing was going right for Inverness after their midweek exertions.
Full Time 5-0
Least said about this the better. Inverness were trounced. On another day we might have scored two or three, but if you don't take your chances against quality teams then you can expect to be punished, and punished we certainly were.
tm4tj MotM: Leigh Griffiths tore the Inverness back line a new one today and he could have score six, such was Celtic's overall dominance. We have bigger fish to fry, this was just a wee rehearsal for the League Cup Final in two weeks.
Date: 01.03.2014 Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Attendance: 46552
Referee: Brian Colvin
Celtic: 5
Lineup: Forster, Matthews (Fisher 80), Ambrose, Van Dijk, Izaguirre, Forrest, Brown (Johansen 86), Biton, Mulgrew, Stokes (Commons 65), Griffiths Subs (not used): Zaluska, Samaras, Boerrigter, Kayal Scorers: Griffiths (12, 57, 85), Mulgrew (22), Commons (78) Booked: none
Sent Off: none
Inverness CT: 0
Lineup: Brill, Raven, Shinnie, Warren (Devine 67), Meekings, Draper (Watkins 67), Vincent, Tansey, Ross, Foran, Mckay (Christie 81)
Subs (not used): Esson, Tremarco, Polworth, Pepper Scorers: none Booked: none
Sent Off: none
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Celtic -V- Inverness CT - Preview
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After the euphoria of an away derby trouncing, the reality will hit hard as Inverness visit their League Cup Final venue of Parkhead to take on Celtic, who suffered their first SPFL defeat in midweek to Aberdeen.
Inverness are on a high just now, days after a crushing derby victory in Dingwall and heading towards the League Cup final. A run of three wins, all clean sheets and recent victories over Aberdeen and bogey side St Johnstone. This has put us within touching distance of Motherwell and clear on our own in fourth place looking good for a top six finish with the possibility of a Scottish Cup run to back up the League Cup one and it's not been a bad season so far, has it.
Celtic lost their aura in midweek as they slumped to defeat at Pittodrie and lost their first goal in 13 SPFL games as Jonny Hayes smashed a superb goal behind Fraser Forster and Adam Rooney added a second with the head. Incidentally, Aberdeen were the last team to put a goal past Forster way back on 23rd November. I suppose it's not been a bad season for Celtic either.
Of course, we did score twice against Celtic this season as well, but we relinquished our lead to end up with a 2-2 draw in August. A repeat of that would be pleasing. The return fixture in Inverness saw Celtic win narrowly by 1-0, an early Commons goal doing the damage.
Virgil van Dijk's red card has been rescinded and he will be free to play against Inverness. Stefan Johansen has recovered from an ankle injury, but Mikael Lustig, Beram Kayal and Steven Mouyokolo will miss the visit of Inverness who have no fresh injury worries.
John Hughes has choices if he wishes to tinker with his line up, but he is torn between giving it a go, or trying to find his best team/formation for the League Cup final in a couple of weeks. Billy McKay is celebrating another international call up, great recognition for the form he has been in this season.
tm4tj prediction:- It's difficult to see Celtic slipping up twice in the same week in domestic football, but if anyone can do it, then we can. Our midfield is as good as any in the league and in striker Billy McKay we have a player who can upset the best of them. Kris Commons does likewise for Celtic but if our defence stays focussed, then a share of the points is on the cards.
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Ross County -V- Inverness CT - Report
Caley Thistle won this game at a canter long before the final whistle sounded after running rings round the County team who capitulated in the second half after being unable to breach the Inverness back line. David Raven scored his first goal after pick pocketing the defender on the goal line and Billy McKay rattled home a second before the interval to give the visitors a fully deserved lead, which flattered the home side somewhat. Substitute Marley Watkins steered home a third goal in the second half and it was no more than Inverness deserved.
Slew and Arquin proved to be a handful for Warren and Meekings, but they were well marshalled long before the end and Brill was rarely troubled, but he did make an important acrobatic save early in the second half from a Songo'o header to enable Inverness to build on their lead and control the rest of the game.
This win puts Inverness back into fourth position and only three points behind Motherwell with a game in hand; good times!
Inverness light up the Global Energy Stadium
Inverness literally lit up the Global Energy Stadium with a powerful display that left Ross County in the Shadows. Yes, it would appear that the Highlands are ours!
There were a few firsts tonight. An unprecedented first ever ICT goal for David Raven. It will never win goal of the month, but what an occasion to score your first team goal, right in front of the Inverness fans in a high tempo derby. John Hughes doing what Terry Butcher never did for Inverness, he worked out how to beat Ross County on their own patch, and boy did he do it in style, our first win here since 2003. The Jailend emptied quicker than Grant Michaels' bottle of Glenmorangie after Marley Watkins stroked home the third goal and was completely vacant by the 95th minute: Jeepers!
Hughes made a subtle change to the side that beat St Johnstone at the weekend bringing back James Vincent and placing Marley Watkins on the bench alongside Nick Ross and Carl Tremarco.
Derek Adams started Alex Cooper ahead of the benched Graham Carey and would be looking to Slew and Arquin to use their height and power to unsettle the robust Inverness back line.
After the last game at Dingwall ended in darkness, this one started brightly for Inverness who took the game to their fancied opponents, playing some neat football on the lush surface.
Only eight minutes on the clock and Inverness took the lead from an unusual source. David Raven had not scored since he joined Inverness some 60 odd games ago, but tonight was his night. The move started in the Inverness six yard box, but six passes later it was in the back of the Dingwall net. Shinnie cleared his line to Doran who moved it on to Draper who in turn swept it forward to McKay. He turned his man then laid it into the path of Vincent who freed Doran who had sprinted forward and he proceeded to skin the defender on the left touch line. He drove into the corner of the box then hit a low ball across the six-yard line. Oikonomou should have put his foot through the ball, but he stopped it and Raven slid in to bundle the ball over the line for a vital first goal in this derby. Great build up play but horror defending from the nervy County back line.
Inverness were on top and looked the slicker of the two sides and James Vincent should have done better than miss the target after great work by captain Richie Foran down the right, should have at least made the keeper work.
County were clutching at straws and their only creation of note came from numerous free kicks around the visitors box and from one flurry they shouted for a handball, but Inverness swept forward briskly as Foran fed Shinnie who drove through the County defence and fizzed a cross come shot across Brown's box, but there were no takers.
With just over half an hour gone, the troublesome Doran fired a wicked shot just wide as Inverness kept the pressure on the wobbly home defence.
The decisive goal was coming though and a great one it was as well. County half cleared their lines, and Graeme Shinnie took full advantage of hesitation on the left midfield to drive towards the box. His cut back across the box was met perfectly by McKay on the run to hit a low left foot shot beyond Brown from twelve yards for a deserved second goal for Inverness, just five minutes before the break.
Half Time 0-2
Inverness had worked themselves into a commanding position, but they had Brill to thank for preserving their two goal lead. A long ball from Brittain saw Cooper free on the left and his ball into the box was caught by Tidser on the penalty spot but Brill threw himself high to his right to palm the ball away for a corner.
Filip Kiss went close with a long range strike which missed Brill's left upright by a yard but that was as close as County came to getting a foothold in this match.
Billy McKay became the surprise provider after dispossessing substitute Graham Carey. He sent a tremendous forty yard ball into the path of Doran who was stopped in his tracks as he was about to pull the trigger by Cikos, an important block and well timed challenge.
Slew suddenly found time to turn and shoot in the visitors box, the defenders standing off him fearful of giving away a penalty, but his drive was straight at a confident Brill.
Doran looked to have won a penalty cutting in from the left, but the ref adjudged the ball to have crossed the bye line, despite seemingly awarding a penalty at first. He used to be indecisive, but now he's not so sure.
In seventy eight minutes it was all over for County. Marley Watkins was on the park for less than two minutes when he raced onto a Doran pass and calmly slotted the ball low past an exposed Mark Brown from twelve yards.
Contest over and the showboating began as Inverness played keep ball with the County players chasing shadows, the Jailend now empty as referee Calum Murray put County out of their misery after ninety five minutes.
Full Time 0-3
Make no bones about it, this was a committed display from Inverness who took the game to County from the off and thoroughly deserved this win. John Hughes appeared to have got it spot on and his counterpart will need to lick his wounds and get his team sorted quickly before Partick come calling on Saturday.
tm4tj MotM:- Richie Foran was missing during our lean spell and it's great to have him back leading the charge and defending when required. He was the driving force behind everything that Inverness did and is my MotM. To be honest, there were no failures in an ICT shirt, but Doran, Shinnie, McKay............ach to hell with it, they were all superb.
Celtic at Parkhead next, tough game as they will be smarting from the defeat at Aberdeen. Let's just see how it goes.
Date: 25.02.2014 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 4805
Referee: Calum Murray
Ross County: 0
Lineup: Brown, Cikos, Brittain (De Leeuw 66), Kiss, Tidser, Cooper, McLean, Slew, Ikonomou (Carey 54), Arquin, Songo'o
Subs (not used): McCarthy, Gordon, Boyd, Quinn, Glen Scorers: none Booked: none
Sent Off: none
Inverness CT: 3
Lineup: Brill, Raven, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Foran (Ross 86), Doran (Tremarco 85), Vincent, Tansey, Mckay (Watkins 76)
Subs (not used): Esson, Devine, Polworth, Pepper Scorers: Raven (8), Mckay (40), Watkins (78) Booked: Shinnie (42)
Sent Off: none
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Ross County -V- Inverness CT - Preview
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The last time they tried to play this game, the plug was pulled at the Global Energy Stadium and the players were left in the shadows!
That was the 25th October when floodlight failure caused by a network problem outside the stadium left everybody in the dark and the game to be abandoned at half time with the score at 0-0.
This time round Ross County will be able to field a stronger side since the January sales have seen them bring in almost a whole new team. Gone are the Grant Munro's, Sproule's and Kovasevics' and in have come Kiss, Skew, Songo, Arquin, Tidser, Micic and Ikonomu, all well kent names in Dingwall.
Inverness whilst not engaging in the transfer market satisfied themselves by hanging on to all their squad, and the continuity this brings will stabilise their drive for a top-six finish once more.
Inverness beat St Johnstone at the weekend while Ross County were easing themselves away from the play off position by beating fellow strugglers St Mirren 2-1 at Dingwall, Arquin and De Leeuw the scorers.
Derek Adams still provides a decent floor show during the games and he and Danny Lennon were having powder puffs at ten paces on the touchline last Saturday. Nothing new there then!
Sixteen points separate the sides just now and that sees County in ninth place and vieing with Killie, Partick and St Mirren for the play off spot with Hearts seemingly all but down and out. However, there are plenty points still to play for and a run similar to what they achieved last season could see them push towards the top-six, but that's a bit off at the moment. It's six games since Inverness won in Dingwall, a 1-0 League Cup win in August 2004
Of more concern to us is the fact that Billy McKay has not been tucking them away with the regularity he showed in the early part of the season. His link play and hold up is still fantastic for a diminutive striker, it's just the goals that have gone through a barren spell, only two in 2014.
Richie Foran is making good progress since returning from injury and we have the luxury of depth in midfield, with Vincent and Ross waiting in the wings and Tremarco and Devine at the rear. The only weak link if you like is that we don't have another proven scorer, but Greg Tansey could do some damage from midfield, never shy at trying his luck from distance.
Anyway, enough nonsense from me, Ginger Jaggy has this more detailed preview for you..............
Derby by Night
Tonight we make the short trip back over the Black Isle to Dingwall for the rearranged fixture after the embarrassing blackout last time out. For us this is the first of our rearranged matches as we look at a very congested calendar from now until the split. Our close neighbours will be looking to take advantage of our pile up as well as hoping some minds are not on their game as they look towards the biggest day in the clubs history. Dingwall has always been a tricky venue but after winning in Perth for the first time in three seasons then confidence is high to win our first league game on enemy territory since a first division match back in 2003.
With places up for grabs, Yogi Hughes will have many auditions to choose his starting X1 from if he hasn’t got a good idea already for the cup final in just three weeks. But if he still has doubts then what better a venue than the passion and fight that a derby usually brings. Yogi has already one derby under his belt and it was a very disappointing but Saturday’s win may put the wind back in the Inverness sails after a stop start beginning to Yogi’s tenure. Changes may be needed with the fixture pile up but it is likely that it will be as you were from the weekend. There may have been not many goals scored compared to our blistering early season form but a 1-0 win here would be a great result on a pitch that goes against strengths. With the wide areas of the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium our wingers can find space to stretch defences but in Dingwall as we have seen before our wingers can become ineffective by the tight nature of the pitch. Some have suggested a more direct approach and with the return of Richie Foran it may not be a bad idea to add some physical muscle upfront when the centre areas are likely to be congested. Whoever plays and whatever formation is deployed the lads know they have a wonderful chance to narrow the gap even more to 2nd place with Aberdeen facing Celtic and Motherwell facing a tricky trip to Perth.
As for our neighbours they will be hoping to make it three wins in a row over us after winning in the New Year derby and more painfully rubbing our noses in it last May. They will also be on a high after beating fellow struggler's St Mirren on Saturday. We need to start picking up points for a chance of European qualification, then points are needed at the other end of the spectrum for County. After a brilliant first season in which the master seethe led his team to the top six in their first season in the top flight, this season has been a more realistic one with lots of foreign imports failing to gel leaving County battling to avoid the play offs. Their win at the weekend does move them up to 9th but with it being so tight between four sides they are only one point above the play-off position. There squad does look to have improved since we last faced them with several impressive loan signings helping them to improve their form. Freddie Arquin and Jordan Slew have made them more dangerous in attack and with Cardiff loaner Filip Kiss and ex Morton Midfielder Michael Tidser joining they have more creativity and goals from midfield now than they did before the window opened.
It will be another tight game with lot of effort and determination but it will probably lack any real quality even though some games have been crackers in the past. I think it will be very important to be strong in the middle and having the captain supremo back will help vastly for this type of game. It is unlikely to be a sell out but there will be a decent crowd which will hopefully see a resolution this time. For me I'm going to say we will nick it, you can never tell in derby matches and form goes out of the window but if we show we want it more then I think we have enough quality to make the biggest contribution to the match and win 1-0.
Aside from the football, it looks like Derek the seethe Adams was back to his horribly aggressive self after not taking too kindly to a couple of challenges from Saints skipper Jim Goodwin. Looking at it, yes an elbow was involved but it didn’t look deliberate so for me another typical Adams throwing his toys out of the pram. Calm down Derek it is only a CONTACT SPORT after all. Hopefully the fans tonight will wind him up even more and that he will have something more to moan about when we return to Inverness with the vital three points.
Both sides have full squads to choose from, so it's game on..................... :ictscarf:
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St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT - Report
Gary Warren nodded home his third goal of the season, and it proved to be the winner at the end of the first half to give Inverness all three points against a side that have held the Indian sign over Inverness recently. Nigel Hasselbaink ensured we would take the points North with an astonishing miss in the second half after Brill had saved a Wotherspoon effort.
Richie Foran continued his recovery on the park and Doran and Watkins started this game with Vincent and Ross on the bench. Inverness had not scored in Perth in their last four visits and generally tend to find goals hard to come by against St Johnstone.
Inverness started the game on the front foot and Warren almost opened the scoring after he stole in behind the Perth defence to send a diving header narrowly past the post from a long Tansey through ball with Mannus struggling to cope.
Billy McKay was his usual darting self and his twists and turns almost reaped rewards but there was always another defender to beat and Billy was often crowded out. Billy was first to test the keeper as he typically got ahead of the defenders to turn and fire a shot on target after great build up play from Draper and Watkins, Mannus blocking the shot. When the ball eventually broke to Tansey he fired a low daisy cutter just past Manus' right hand post from thirty yards, the keeper struggling to make up ground as the ball fizzed wide.
Inverness were in command, but they had Dean Brill to thank for keeping them level as he pulled off a superb diving save from Nigel Hasselbaink as the wee Nigel tried to curl an effort in from eighteen yards. The wee man could hardly believe his eyes as Brill saved the day for the visitors, turning the ball round the post for a corner.
St Johnstone were beginning to get into the game now Nigel was once more denied as he cut into the box, Brill blocking his angled drive well.
Raven joined the attack and had a volley charged down inside the box as the game opened out. Doran and Watkins combined to set McKay through on goal but Mannus stood tall to block Billy's attempt on the six yard line.
However, with three minutes of the half left, Inverness took the lead. St Johnstone were somewhat calamitous in their attempts to clear their lines and when Mackay sliced a Foran knock down across the face of the goal, Gary Warren rose to nod the ball home with Mannus stranded.
Half Time 0-1
Chris Iwelumo entered the fray at half time and he was on hand to witness the aforementioned miss, one of Iwelumo proportion. Wotherspoon hit an angled drive across Brill and as he pushed it away, the ball flashed onto Nigel's head, but he missed the gaping goal to his disbelief once more.
Nigel's day was complete when he fired high over from a good position inside the visitors box and Inverness held firm for their first win in Perth at the fifth attempt.
Full Time 0-1
Great to end our dismal run of games in the Fair City and the result was merited. This puts St Johnstone nine points behind us and with Aberdeen and Motherwell losing this weekend there is still the faint hope of getting into the Euro positions by the end of the season.
Inverness were best served by Graeme Shinnie, Greg Tansey and goal scorer and stopper Gary Warren. Dean Brill pulled off some great saves when called upon and the one to deny Hasselbaink was unbelievable.
Ross County game coming up in midweek and this promises to be a cracker with County now looking much stronger than they were at the start of the season, and Inverness starting to regroup and consolidate in the top-six.
Date: 22.02.2014 Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth Attendance: 2415
Referee: Euan Norris
St Johnstone: 0
Lineup: Mannus, Mackay, Anderson, Wright (Scobbie 37), Easton, Wotherspoon, Millar (Croft 71), Hasselbaink, Cregg (Iwelumo 46), McDonald, May
Subs (not used): Banks, Dunne, Miller, O'Halloran
Scorers: none
Booked: Hasselbaink (31), Millar (32), Wotherspoon (33)
Sent Off: none
Inverness CT: 1
Lineup: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Doran, Draper, Tansey, Watkins (Ross 74), Foran, McKay (Vincent 78)
Subs (not used): Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Polworth, Pepper
Scorers: Warren (42)
Booked: Watkins (32), Draper (67)
Sent Off: none
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Inverness CT -V- Stranraer - S/C 5th Round
Inverness crept into the quarter finals with a low key performance that saw League One side Stranraer take all the plaudits, but not the scalp they wanted. An early ricochet off Nick Ross gave Inverness the lead but they could not build on it and it took a very late strike from substitute Aaron Doran before The Blues became stuck in the mud of Inverness.
Not the swashbuckling performance the fans were hoping for, but constant rain all day almost scuppered the game completely before a second pitch inspection convinced referee Alan Muir it should go ahead.
The heavy pitch looked like it would cause all sorts of problems on a miserable evening as the rain continued to fall on the already saturated playing surface, which had large areas of quagmire in the central sections near the penalty boxes, especially the North Stand side. Tommy's pride and joy looked more like Fir Park on a bad day than it's normally pristine self.
The game was barely three minutes old when a somewhat fortuitous goal got Inverness off to the perfect start as Stranraer tried to clear their lines. Scott Robertson, in attempting to clear a through ball, smacked it off the shins of the fleet footed Nick Ross and the ball spun behind him and goalkeeper David Mitchell. Harsh on Stranraer and a break for Inverness.
The early form continued for the home side as they ploughed their way forward and Shinnie made Mitchell work to deny the wing back. It was looking like the early goal would ignite some flame in the damp Inverness camp, but as the half wore on, Stranraer began to make some headway in the ankle deep mud and made the home side look cumbersome at best.
Sean Winter forced his way into the box but sent his shot straight at Dean Brill when he could have done better.
Nick Ross made one tremendous run down the left flank and then cut across the face of the box, but his parting shot was weak and simply gathered by Mitchell.
Another Ross burst saw him feed McKay, but once again the Blues keeper was equal to the task and kept Stranraer within earshot at the break as Inverness toiled somewhat in the heavy conditions.
Half Time 1-0
Chances were at a premium in the second half as Inverness continued to huff and puff, but Stranraer would not go away and it was the visitors who were playing the slicker football when they got possession.
McKay had the ball in the net just past the hour mark but he was ruled offside and the home crowd groaned.
It took a good diving save by Brill to prevent Steven Bell from levelling the tie as he tried a speculative thirty yard effort which almost caught Brill out, but he dived full length to tip the ball away as his feet seemed to spin in the soggy goalmouth.
The home fans were dreading extra-time but substitute Aaron Doran put us out of our misery as he hit a late winner after a great run by Shinnie. Doran sent a low drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to send the fans home with a smile on their faces, but it could all have turned sour had Stranraer caught us out on a miserable night for football.
Full Time 2-0
Inverness were best served by Nick Ross, especially in the first 45, and Graeme Shinnie who created the burst forward late in the game for the clincher. Greg Tansey showed plenty of graft in the middle and is the one player able to take on the long range shooting job, something often lacking in some of the other players.
Stranraer should be well chuffed by their teams performances over the two games and they should go on to complete a fine season. Keeper Mitchell was solid and big striker Martin Grehan led the line well, backed up by a pair of flying wingers in Stirling and Winter who troubled Raven and Co on more than just a few occasions.
Inverness CT manager John Hughes: "A lot of the credit has to go to Stranraer. I said to the boys at half-time we've got to get closer to them, to match up, get on the front foot and go press them. "For us on a sticky pitch it was all about getting through, we're thankful that is the case. We left it late, we always seem to make it difficult for ourselves up here. We were in total control in terms of getting on the ball and creating chances, but I've seen us play better."
Stranraer manager Stephen Aitken: "We played well. I thought we competed well, again, over two games. Maybe the wee bit of quality they had over the two legs done us in. But I can't fault my players. "The conditions weren't ideal but I thought the two teams especially tried to make it a cup tie. We fought very hard against a very good side. You don't get to a League Cup final if you're a poor side."
That now leaves the draw looking like this
Aberdeen v Dumbarton
Raith Rovers v St Johnstone
Rangers v Albion Rovers
Inverness v Dundee United
Date: 18.02.2014 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1458
Referee: Alan Muir
Inverness CT: 2
Lineup: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Ross (Watkins 80), Draper (Doran 67), Tansey, Foran, Vincent, McKay
Subs (not used): Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Pepper, Polworth Scorers: Ross (3), Doran (90) Booked: Draper (35), Watkins (90+1)
Sent Off: none
Stranraer: 0
Lineup: Mitchell, Robertson, Docherty, Rumsby, McKeown, Bell, Winter (McKenna 67), Gallacher, Grehan, Longworth (Forde 75), Stirling
Subs (not used): Fahey, McGregor, Kinnaird,
Scorers: none Booked: Docherty (69), Bell (90+1)
Sent Off: none
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