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Inverness CT -V- Dundee Utd S/C - Report

Comedy on the Sabbath



Goals from Ciftci (twice), Gunning, Mackay-Steven and Armstrong, aided by poor defending and red cards for Tansey and Watkins made it a Black Sabbath for Inverness who have conceded 10 goals in their last two games.

Inverness were totally embarrassed by Dundee United on and off the park as tangerine dominated both aspects of this game. Some folk wondered why other fans would not make an appearance as the game was being played on the Lord's day. It would appear that they were the lucky ones as comedy defending handed United an unassailable lead before half-time which Inverness never recovered from and then it all went tits up with red cards and more goals.

A massive vocal away support mustered in the South stand and could not have dreamt of the gifts that Inverness were about to shower upon them. Little indication of what was about to happen in a frantic opening quarter as a typical cup tie evolved with neither club getting to grips with the sandy playing surface.

That would change after 16 minutes when Ciftci nodded a ball round Brill and slotted it into the empty net to open the scoring. Rankin had floated a hopeful ball forward after Raven lost out in midfield. Meekings tried to make up the ground and Brill came to the edge of his area, but Ciftci nipped in ahead of both to nick the opener. Sloppy defending part one, but worse would follow.

Inverness replied with a Tansey free kick flighted into the box. Warren directed it to the far post but McKay headed over from two yards when he looked certain to score.

The comeback was short lived as Inverness served up comedy part two. Meekings tried to usher or pass back to Brill who once more came to the edge of his box. Instead of placing the ball away to safety, he blasted it against Meekings and Ciftci pounced as it rolled towards the vacant goal where he made sure by tapping in the second. Turkish delight, Inverness sh**e.

Graeme Shinnie was one of the few home players who looked interested and he warmed the palms of Cierzniak with a fierce drive, but he was a one man band today as others around him made error after error.

It was game over after 36 minutes when the overworked Shinnie was adjudged to have taken Gavin Gunning down from behind inside the area and he blasted his spot kick high down the centre of the goal to put United three up before the interval.

Our day got even worse when Greg Tansey was sent packing by Willie Collum who had strangely chosen to ignore a similar clatter on Billy McKay.

Half Time 0-3

A comeback of Ayr United proportions was killed of swiftly after the break when David Raven was, not for the first time caught out of position after a free kick in United territory was wasted. Gary Mackay-Steven wasted no time in sprinting half the length of the pitch before firing across Brill and into the far corner to completely cheese of the home support, the huge United support reduced to laughing and doing the Conga. Fair play to them.

Armstrong added a fifth with a powerful header as Inverness caved in and double figures looked a distinct possibility at this juncture.

But, we were not finished yet and Marley Watkins was sent off for another alleged studs up challenge that the bold Collum saw fit to flash red, despite appearing to get the ball.

That was the straw that broke the camels back for many Inverness fans and the Highland clearance began, the away end swathed in tangerine and loads of decibels.

I can't really comment on the last twenty minutes as I departed the scene hastily trying to hide my embarrassment, declining the kind offer from the steward to return to my seat instead of standing by the touchline. "No way lassie, I'm no staying to watch any more of that rubbish".

I'm told it finished 5-0 to United, I'll take that, but I had better things to do and watched the end of the half marathon at the Bught Park. Well done Shaz for getting the job done.
Full Time 0-5

Inverness' MotM was Graeme Shinnie, stinging the paws of Cierzniak  twice but he was on his own. Dean Brill had a nightmare and looked edgy from the start, poor kicking and indecision which put us on the back foot from the off. Raven posted missing too often as was Vincent. Meekings and Warren played as though they didn't know each other. McKay and Doran had no service to work on and two red cards were not what we required.

Yogi. We have a cup final to play next week. I'm not sure the gung-ho 4-4-2 is working too well, can you please fix it before our season is in tatters.
 
Inverness CT 0-5 Dundee United

Inverness CT: Brill, Raven, Shinnie, Vincent, Warren, Meekings, Mckay (Christie 87), Foran (Polworth 60), Doran (Williams 60), Watkins, Tansey. Subs not used: Esson (GK), Ross, Devine, Tremarco.

Dundee United: Cierzniak, Dillon, Gunning, Paton, Rankin (Gomis 60), Armstrong, Mackay-Steven, Watson, Dow (El Alagui 54), Ciftci (Graham 60), Robertson. Subs not used: McCallum (GK), Butcher, Wilson, Souttar.

Referee: William Collum.

Attendance: 3,164.
 
By tm4tj in Reports 2013-14 ·

Inverness CT -V- Dundee United - S/C

Teaser Paragraph:
Quarter Final       It's Scottish Cup action this Sunday as Inverness entertain Dundee United in the quarter finals with a 12:30 kick off time.   The last time they squared up in a cup competition, it was quite a frenzied encounter with United reduced to 10 men and Ross Draper producing a last gasp winner in extra time. That was the League Cup where Inverness went on to beat Hearts in a thrilling semi-final and next week we have the showdown with Aberdeen to look forward to.   However, this is the Scottish FA Cup and Inverness struggled to reach this round after two tough games against Stranraer whilst Dundee United comfortably knocked out St Mirren by 2-1. Inverness needed a replay to dispose of a stubborn Stranraer and despite scoring early through Ross in the replay, it took a late goal from Aaron Doran to eventually put away the League One side.   United have gone from strength to strength in the league and have surged ahead of Inverness into fourth place.  They are the form team at the moment and have won their last three games, scoring freely three times in each game. They are the second highest scorers in the SPFL with 49 goals and have a positive goal difference of + 17. United come into this game on the back of a 3-1 hammering of Terry Butcher's Hibernian, scoring three and still managing to miss two penalties.   Inverness would like to forget their last game, a 5-0 whitewash at the hands of a rampant Celtic, who in all honesty could have doubled their tally. In fairness, Inverness also had two or three really good chances to score but slackness and poor finishing saw us draw a blank as Celtic went on the rampage, Leigh Griffiths scoring a hat-trick. Dean Brill will want to forget the fourth goal as he let a long range effort from Commons dribble through his body and trickle into the net; taxi for Brill.    That was a hugely disappointing result after the euphoria of the Highland derby and an excellent away win at Perth. Losing at Parkhead is not the end of the world, but the magnitude of the gap between the teams on the park was embarrassing. I hope we can use the excuse that we had one eye on our forthcoming cup games, an excuse that Celtic certainly can't use.   Dundee United's Andrew Robertson described making his Scotland debut as "a massive and proud moment". The 19-year-old Dundee United defender earned his first cap in midweek when he played the last twenty minutes for Scotland in their friendly win over Poland. On the same night, our own Billy McKay got the short straw when he was substituted after coming on as a sub due to Northern Ireland being reduced to ten men. Billy being removed as they re-jigged their defence in their 0-0 draw in Cyprus. Both players will have differing but key roles to play on Sunday.   One key aspect of the game could be the pitch. The weather has turned somewhat damp ov er the last few days and this will not be helping Tommy's efforts to get the park repaired after the mudbath it was when we played Stranraer in the replay a couple of weeks ago. The areas outside of the penalty boxes had been heavily sanded in an attempt to get the pitch playable for that game, but constant rain turned it into a quagmire with the game in doubt right up until near kick-off time. It still looks threadbare and recent adverse weather is not helping, let's hope it eases before Sunday with a TV audience waiting to see the only all SPFL clash of the quarters.   Inverness will be without Ross Draper who is suspended on the totting up procedure. He misses this game and our midweek game against Hibernian, but he will be available for the cup final next week. Maybe Hughes was writing off the Celtic game and wanted his team to get through the ninety minutes without any issues. Well, we achieved that and Aaron Doran was rested last week with a thigh injury, being replaced by Nick Ross. Marley Watkins started on the bench and he might be the preferred option this week, but Yogi is wary of his squad needing recharged prior to cup final day and with our heavy schedule in full swing, he might juggle his options a little.   United have Curtis Good, Ryan Gauld and John Souttar missing this one.   Other ties taking place over the weekend seem a little lop sided:-   Raith Rovers 1 - 3 St Johnstone Aberdeen 1 - 0 Dumbarton The Rangers v Albion Rovers (sun)   Kirkaldy versus Perth seemed like the likliest game to produce an upset, the other two would appear to favour the big teams, although Albion Rovers may find it tough at Ibrox.
By tm4tj in Previews 2013-14 ·

Celtic -V- Inverness CT - Report

Teaser Paragraph:
Inverness Roasted


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

By Scotty in Reports 2013-14 ·

Celtic -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Dress rehearsal at Parkhead



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.
By tm4tj in Previews 2013-14 ·

Ross County -V- Inverness CT - Report

Inverness Delight
 
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
 
 
This post has been promoted to an article
 
 
By Scotty in Reports 2013-14 ·

Ross County -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Out of the Shadows


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:
By tm4tj in Previews 2013-14 ·

St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT - Report

Gary is the head man
 
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
 
 
By Scotty in Reports 2013-14 ·

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