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Stenhousemuir -V-Inverness CT - League Cup -

Teaser Paragraph:
Midweek League Cup action

It's the League Cup third round this week as Inverness travel to Stenhousemuir to take on cup holders Killies conquerors. Tuesday night at 19:45 is the kick off time.

They may be one of the more unfashionable sides left in the competition, but they were magnificent in the last round as they pulled off the shock of the round disposing of the holders Kilmarnock 2-1 at Rugby Park, Killie only notching a ninetieth minute consolation to make the scoreline look more competitive. Ferguson and Gemmell had given Stenny a half-time lead which they fully deserved before seeing out a late Kilmarnock flurry to enter the third round draw.

So, what do we know of Stenhousemuir?

It nestles in the Forth valley a few miles from Falkirk and the town takes it's name from the Stone House, a Roman building that resembled a large oven, hence it's more common name in later years of King Arthurs oven. However, the town is probably more famous for McCowans toffee bars. Aye, that's the one with the image of the heilan coo on the wrapper, complete in it's full regalia of long hair and massive horns. The town are host to the Warriors who ply their trade at Ochilview Park, aptly named after the splendid views towards the Ochil Hills twelve miles away, Ben Cleuch reaching 2363 feet skywards.

Back to football and Stenhousemuir have made a solid start to the season with nine points from six games, sitting in fifth spot at the moment with a goal difference of zero. The one black mark on the record shows that Forfar won convincingly 4-0 at Ochilview. They warmed up for this match with an amazing 4-4 draw at Albion Rovers. Stewart Kean notched a hat-trick in that game with Andy Rodgers scoring a spectacular 25 yarder in a see-saw tussle where comebacks were the order of the day. Kean, the former Ayr, St Mirren, Queen of the South and Morton player will certainly be worth keeping an eye on for this game.

We did our own comeback version at Easter Road on Saturday, giving Hibs a two goal start then pegging them back in an exciting game in the capital. Pepper and Foran scoring for Inverness after Doyle and Wotherspoon had put Hibs ahead. That's Richie Forans' third goal in as many games and he seems to be playing like a man possessed just now, long may that continue.

Most of our games against the Warriors have come in Division 2 and Inverness hold the upper hand. At Ochilview, The Muir have one win in four games against us. Oddly enough, the last time we met at Ochilview was in a League Cup match in July 1999 when we came through with a 1-3 scoreline. For those of a nostalgic persuasion, here are the teams from that day, and incidentally, McLeans first goal was timed at 1min 34 secs.

STENHOUSEMUIR 1 (Mooney 83)
Hamilton, Lawrence, Gibson, Armstrong (Banks 70), Graham, Davidson, Lorimer, Fisher, Watters (Mooney 70),
Cummings (McKinnon 52), Wood

INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 3 (McLean 2 & 12, Wilson 68)
Fridge, Tokely, Golabek, Teasdale, Mann, McCulloch, Wilson, Stewart (Glancy 63), McLean,
Sheerin (Robson 78), Hastings (Christie 74)
REFEREE – G Simpson
ATTENDANCE – 534

Gringo can go back further than most and pre-merger he recalls a 1-4 victory for Inverness Caledonian in a Scottish Cup game many moons ago, January 1992. Hercher, Urquhart, Christie and Polwarth knocked home second half goals to send Caley on their way to that memorable games against St Johnstone, culminating in a replay at Perth, happy days. In fact Caley have played Stenhousemuir four times in the Scottish Cup and you have to go back to 1903 to find a win for The Warriors that was 2-1, but since then Caley have knocked home eleven goals for and five against in three wins.

But it's back to the future for us and Old Caley Girl has written this preview for us as she makes her debut with the pen. She is a woman of few words..........I can't find them yet, so you will just have to put up with my drivel. Hopefully she will tell us what happened with a report.

***Latest Team News***

Inverness have Hogg, Ross, Sutherland and King out injured while Jones sits out another game through suspension. Andre Blackman took a sore one at Easter Road and will be a doubt, but Graeme Shinnie will drop back to cover. Gavin Morrison could be the man to cover the gap left by Jones the red. Conor Pepper did well on from the start and Phillip Roberts looks like he will be an assett with a late cameo in Edinburgh.

Stenhousemuir striker John Gemmell, is back after suspension. Manager Martyn Corrigan will hand late fitness tests to defender Scott Buist and midfielder Brown Ferguson.

Looks like you will have to take yer brolly, it's been teeming down all night and today, let's hope the game is OK, best to check with the clubs prior to heading to the match.

tm4tj prediction:- I will put my head on the chopping block here. Not having seen Stenhousemuir play this season but having read about their fantastic result at Killie, I believe this will be a tight game given the prevailing conditions. We should have enough to squeeze through, but it might require a bit of extra effort. Narrow away win, possibility of extra-time so take a flask, welly boots and a packed lunch with you, it could be a long night.

Come on the Caley Jags
By tm4tj in Previews 2012-13 ·

Hibernian -V- Inverness CT - Report

Capital Comeback Kings strike again
 
Inverness staged another dramatic comeback in the capital to spoil Hibernians' plan to top the table. Hibs had come flying out of the blocks and raced into a two goal lead with just over half an hour gone.
Eoin Doyle got the break of the ball to stroke Hibs ahead after 23 minutes and Wotherspoon lashed a ferocious volley past a stunned Ryan Esson with 31 minutes on the clock to put a rampant Easter Road side on easy street.
A dash of Pepper saw young Conor throw Inverness a lifeline before the break and Richie Foran sealed the comeback with an equaliser with ten minutes remaining.
A bright day in the Capital for this clash saw Inverness boss Terry Butcher hand Conor Pepper a start with Welshman Owain Tudur-Jones sitting this one out after his red card against the Dons. Josh Meekings continued in defence with David Raven as Simon King missed out with an operation pending on his ankle.
For the homesters, Leigh Griffiths failed to recover in time and youngster Ross Caldwell filled his place.
Hibs started the game in brisk fashion tearing forward at every opportunity, and there were plenty of them as the fragile Inverness defence continually gifted them the ball at will. Josh Meeking inexplicably lifted his leg like a dog taking a piddle as a Wotherspoon cross rolled across a stunned Esson's goal and missed the post by inches. Almost a calamitous moment for Josh, but he would play a more important role later in the game.
The Hibs wingers were flooding forward making incisive breaks and constantly getting behind the inverness back four, and from one of these attacks Caldwell should have made Esson work but he thumped the ball into the side net from the angle of the six yard box.
Hanlon shot over as the game opened out and Doran forced Williams into a full length diving save as he turned and shot smartly after a Foran lay off along the edge of the box.
But the Hibs goal was coming and as Pepper gave the ball away cheaply near the Hibees box, Doyle was released on the left side at the halfway line. He showed good pace to leave Warren trailing in his wake and as he entered the box he shot low across Esson who spilled the ball and unfortunately as Warren slid in the ball ricocheted of Doyle and into the net despite the best efforts of Blackman to keep the ball out on the line.
Probably no more than Hibs deserved at that moment and their tails were up. Paul Cairney crashed a twenty yarder off of Esson's left hand post with the keeper beaten and Hibs made a hash of capitalising on the rebound with Caldwell miscueing his attempt.
Inverness were stung into action and Warren headed wide but it was Hibs who increased their lead with as good a strike as you will see all season. Once more Inverness were the architect of their own downfall conceding the ball cheaply in the middle of the park. When the ball arrived at Wotherspoon some 27 yards out, it sat up nicely and he thrashed home an unstoppable volley into the rigging high behind a motionless Ryan Esson. That one even brought about a begrudged ripple of polite applause from some Inverness fans, great goal.
Half an hour gone and we looked down and out at this point but we are Inverness and we don't do walking away.........
We needed a goal and we needed it soon. With six minutes left of the half we got ourselves back into the mix. Ross Draper lofted a ball forward and captain marvel Richie Foran timed his jump to perfection to nod the ball towards Alan Maybury. Unfortunately for him, Conor Pepper was lurking with intent and the younster outmuscled his more experienced opponent and dashed towards the box. He still had plenty to do but he hit a low twenty yarder across Williams and in off the far post from the inside right position. Superb strike to match Wotherspoon's wonder goal and the lift Inverness needed.
We almost went in level at the break when after a spell of sustained pressure, a Doran chip was headed goalwards by Shinnie, but Williams made a tremendous one handed save, clawing the ball away from the target.
Half Time 2-1
Hibs flew out of the blocks once more and Caldwell shot over from 12 yards after Andre Blackman had been dispossessed out on the flank. Caldwell will feel he should have done better.
Our injury list grew even longer as Blackman limped out of the action to be replaced by Gavin Morrison just before the hour.
Ryan Esson became a hero as Hibs tried to assert themselves once more. McPake found space in the box and he swivelled and volleyed a fierce shot from seven yards, but Esson produced a wonder save to deny the Hibs captain, as his colleagues held their heads in disbelief.
That save proved crucial to the outcome of this match. We were now enjoying much more of the play and Hibs were reduced to playing on the break, but they were still dangerous when they pushed forward. Hanlon, Doyle and Claros all tested Esson but he was equal to them and Inverness stunned the Edinburgh side with a brilliant equaliser with ten minutes left.
Foran tried his luck from Wotherspoon range but his effort was straight down Williams' throat. The Inverness pressure was beginning to get to the Hibs defence and we enjoyed the better of the second half. Could another capital comeback be on the cards?
The answer would soon be revealed. Josh Meekings suddenly turned into Johan Cruyff. He left two defenders facing the wrong way after picking up Billy McKay's lay off inside the Hibs box. His cross come shot was fired goalwards by Warren who had pushed forward. Williams once more clawed the ball out brilliantly only for Richie Foran to react quickest and rifle the loose ball into the roof of the net from three yards.
This was no more than Inverness deserved and the introduction of young Phillip Roberts was another reason to be cheerful as he looks like an exciting prospect, drifting past players with ease and good in the air to boot.
Hibs tried to salvage the game and a flurry of corners ensued but the by now confident Inverness defence held firm and saw out the remaining minutes relatively unperturbed.
Full Time 2-2
 
tm4tj Man of the Match:- A few contenders for this accolade. Connor Pepper showed power beyond his years and scored a great goal. Gary Warren is proving to be one of our best signings along with Ross Draper, but my choice was captain marvel Richie Foran, who led by example today and scored his third goal in as many games.
tm4tj Moan of the Match:- The form of Aaron Doran and Andrew Shinnie is a tad worrying. Two of our most talented players have been bit part bystanders recently and with our limited resources we need these guys to give us a little more on matchdays.
22nd Sep 2012 Scottish Premier League Easter Road, Edinburgh Hibernian 2 - Doyle (23), Wotherspoon (31) TEAM: Williams, Clancy, McPake, Hanlon, Maybury, Wotherspoon, Deegan, Claros, Cairney, Doyle, Caldwell. SUBS: Antell, McGivern, Stevenson, Sproule, Stanton, Handling, Kuqi Booked: McPake (43), Cairney (53), Williams (82) Sent Off: none Inverness C.T. 2 - Pepper (39), Foran (81) TEAM: Esson; Raven, Meekings, Warren, Blackman (Morrison 59), Doran, Pepper (Roberts 70), Draper, G. Shinnie, A. Shinnie (McKay 70), Foran. SUBS: Reguero, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Cooper Booked: none Sent Off: none Referee Euan Norris Attendance 9,908
By Scotty in Reports 2012-13 ·

Hibernian -V- Inverness CT - Preview

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Inverness are less appealing.

Terry Butcher will be without the services of Owain Tudur-Jones for yet another stint after it was revealed that the club will not be appealing against his sending off last weekend. At £1000 a shot, it was felt that the club would be wasting their money trying to overturn the decision given the way the tribunal works, adding more fuel to the feud between Butcher and the beaks. Jones will miss the games at Easter Road and the league cup tie at Stenhousemuir.

Inverness will take on a much improved Hibernian side this weekend still looking for that elusive first win of the season after we were held to our fourth draw of the campaign against Aberdeen, that leaves us languishing in eleventh spot in the SPL.
Hibs fans must also be thinking they are in a false position as they find themselves in the runners up berth, one point behind pace setters Motherwell. Who would have thought that after last years calamitous showing from the Leith side? Such is their change in fortunes that Hibs have already equalled last seasons haul of home wins after beating Kilmarnock 2-1 last Saturday.

A couple of cruel twists saw Inverness finish their last game with ten men for the third time this season, and the second time for Jones the Red. Another twist was more painful as young striker Shane Sutherland was stretchered off having twisted his knee near the end, and depending on the results of a scan could be facing a few weeks of gardening leave. With Chris Hogg and Nick Ross already sidelined, then we are fast catching up on last seasons unwanted statistic of having a horrendous injury list.

A couple of cheerier points to take from the Dons game. On loan Celtic player, 21 year old Andre Blackman looks to have made himself a shoe-in for the left back slot with an excellent debut for the Caley Jags. He looks to have plenty of pace and judging by his ferocious 25 yard shot that went just wide he is well capable of getting forward and having a go. With Shane, Nick and the red-carded Jones out for a few weeks it will give Graeme Shinnie the opportunity to prove his versatility further up the field on the left side and will fill the void seamlessly. As a whole, the defence settled down after a ropey start and looked more comfortable, with Warren commanding his box until a late lapse when we were caught napping at a quick free kick that ultimately cost us the goal.

The return of Hayes last weekend proved to be a bit of a smoke screen and he was outshone by Ryan Fraser. He looks to be a real handful and will torment many a defence with his pace and trickery, as Blackman kept little Jonny quiet for long periods of the game. The downside of Fraser's game is that he appears to go down as easily as Monica Lewinsky, culminating in a few warnings for Inverness players and the sending off for Jones the Red.

But it's a trip to the capital on Saturday and this fixture last season saw a fabulous solo goal from Jonny Hayes level the scores after Gary O'Connor had opened the scoring with a superb free kick early in the game. In the ten SPL encounters at Easter Road, Hibs hold the advantage by winning five of the fixtures with Inverness victorious in three and just two drawn games. There has always been goals in this one, but never more than a two goal winning margin, apart from a Scottish Cup game in January 2008 when Hibs ran out 3-0 winners.

Current form shows that Hibs are the favourites for this one. Wth six games played they sit on eleven points, one behind leaders Motherwell. The three home games have seen them remain unbeaten at Easter Road, two wins and a draw in the Edinburgh derby. Inverness have fared less well on their travels, two draws and a 4-2 drubbing at Motherwell, and reduced to ten men in two of those games, which incidentally resulted in the draws.........hmmmnnn.

***Latest Team News***
Inverness have Jones (suspended), Hogg (knee), Ross (shoulder), King (ankle) and Sutherland (knee) out. The scan on Shane's knee was promising and he may only be out for a few weeks with bruising to the tibia. On the other hand, or ankle, Simon King requires an operation to his uninjured ankle to clear out some shrapnel, leaving him unavailable for a couple of months. And Congratulations are in order to Chris hogg and his wife Lisa on the birth of their wee boy, Brody. That should keep him busy for a few months.

Hibernian have concerns over the SPL's August player of the month Leigh Griffiths (Hiya pal) who has an ankle injury and new signing Tom Taiwo could make his debut for the hosts. Garry O'Connor, bad boy and one of Hibs nuisance scorers against Inverness in the past has signed a two-year deal with Russian side FC Tom Tomsk in the summer and won't be bothering us on Saturday.

tm4tj Prediction:- I am tempted to go with the form guide which would suggest that Hibs will continue their great start to the season. However, we are at our best with our backs to the wall. Both sides are missing quality players from last season but goals are something not difficult to come by in this fixture. Inverness are scoring enough, but conceding plenty as well. Injuries will force Butcher's hand as our thin squad is stretched this week once more, but I'm hopeful we can take at least a point away from Edinburgh and kick start our season. I'll go for a scoring draw, possibly 2-2, fingers crossed.

Result of the week in Scottish Football:- No gold for The Rangers as they were dumped out of the Ramsdens Cup by the Queens from the South. How gay is that!

"With branches nationwide we are here to help with all your financial needs" is Ramsden's advertising boast. I'm afraid Green's blues will need more than Ramsden's help on this evidence. The Rangers pawned squad of second hand players were knocked out on penalties after drawing 2-2 with their second division opponents. There appeared to be a distinct disparity in quality between the sides, however The Rangers did manage to take the game to extra time and penalties before bowing out of the competition. So, no cup shock here for the third division minnows as Queens marched into the semi's and The Rangers go back to mounting a challenge for Scotlands bottom league. Move along folks, nothing to see here.
By tm4tj in Previews 2012-13 ·

Inverness CT -V- Aberdeen - Report

Stalemate.
Aaron Doran welcomed his mate Jonny Hayes back to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium with an early robust tackle which might just have turned their relationship stale.
Jonny may have been back in Inverness, but it was Aaron Doran that made the headlines with an incredible miss that should have put the game beyond the Dons. I believe he claims he was fouled, and for his sake I hope so, otherwise it was a faux pas of gargantuan proportions.
One on one with Langfield, he appeared to be caught in two minds what to do and in the end did nothing, much to the disdain of the home support, claiming he was fouled as he tried to shoot............I will need to check the video tape for that one.
Substitute Shane Sutherland was brought down and captain superb Richie Foran sent Langfield the wrong way from the spot. However, Aberdeen sneaked a point as their young substitute Cammy Smith was left unattended to head home the equaliser from a Hayes cross late in the game, something the Dons scarcely deserved, although neither side troubled the opposition keeper throughout the ninety minutes.
A couple of red cards, Owain Tudur-Jones once more sent packing; studs up challenge offering the referee the opportunity to send him off, and that he did, and Russell Anderson being deemed responsible for Shane Sutherland tumbling in the box for the penalty with Foran possibly fortunate to stay on the park after ploughing through a tackle and creating a new furrow in the park.
ajsict will have a full report for you when he settles down after that turgid encounter.............
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Old habits die hard
A lacking combination of clinical finishing and concentration late on saw Caley Thistle drop yet another 2 points in a game they probably should have won. Many fans would have been sceptical having watched ICT ship 8 goals in 2 games but with only one win to their name this season the Dons were no great shakes so both teams would have seen it as an opportunity to grasp. It was also a game in which Jonny Hayes returned to TCS as an opposing player for the first time and he was greeted with a mixed reception from the home fans.
Terry Butcher handed deadline day signing Andre Blackman his first start at left back since joining from Celtic with Graeme Shinnie reverting to left wing and after a credible display against Motherwell, Richie Foran retained his role as the lone striker. There was also a place in the squad for former Arsenal youngster George Brislen-Hall.
Paw Broon recieved a lot of praise for the caliber of player he signed in the summer and he had his two new starlets Hayes and Niall McGinn at his disposal along with promising youngsters Cammy Smith and Ryan Fraser, both of whom left a lasting impression.
In a game that was full of action the first half certainly was not. Both teams made the pitch look very congested, cancelling each other out and keeping the creative influence of both sides closely marked.
ICT had the better of the first half with Aaron Doran shooting over and one or two promising attacks charged down by the Dons. Graeme Shinnie had the best opportunity. Esson's high ball was beautifully touched down by Shinnie but on his weaker right foot his shot was tame and easily gathered by Langfield.
It certainly wasn't difficult for ICT to retain the ball but with the door to the goal being closed off the frustrations began to grow and Aberdeen began to create openings for themselves. Jonny Hayes looked to catch the ICT defence on the counter attack before he was taken out by Aaron Doran who received a booking for his troubles.
As half time drew near ICT's defence was called into action with Ryan Jack having a shot blocked by Gary Warren and then Ryan Fraser showing good composure to set up Stephen Hughes who was thwarted in his attempts to score by Ross Draper who put in a superb challenge to keep the scores level.
Half time ICT 0-0 Aberdeen
The 2nd half began with a bit more urgency. From a corner Andrew Considine was left unmarked and his strike seemed a certain goal but for Owain Tudur-Jones who cleared the effort off the line and after a quick frenzy saw the ball gathered by Esson.
ICT were next to try and break the deadlock. Andre Blackman nearly capped off an impressive debut with a goal, a neat change of play between Draper and OTJ set up the young full back who showed good composure to beat his man and get a powerful drive away from about 25 yards but the shot was just wide.
The game then exploded into life just short of the hour mark when Tudur-Jones was shown his 2nd red card of the season (and of his career) when he lunged in on the menacing Ryan Fraser and the referee showed little hesitation in sending the big Welshman for an early bath. On initial viewing it seemed harsh with the challenge being nothing more than late and a little aggressive.
Sky Sports reported it as being foul and abusive language that saw him go but I cant help but dismiss that as an error from them as he said next to nothing to the ref after the incident.
Butcher was forced into a tactical re shuffle with Foran dropping back into midfield and Shane Sutherland being brought on to occupy the lone striker role. Ironically this seemed to galvanize ICT and after Aaron Doran was flagged offside after scoring ICT created another opening. Warren won the ball and fed it to Graeme Shinnie who threaded a beautiful through ball to Shane Sutherland who was hacked down while bearing down on goal by Russell Anderson. The Dons stalwart was then shown the first red card of his long Aberdeen career for a professional foul and ICT were awarded a penalty as a result. Richie Foran showed no hesitation as he tucked it into the bottom corner sending Langfield the wrong way.
With the game returned to a level playing field both teams squandered further chances. Stephen Hughes and Jonny Hayes coming close for the Dons and Shane Sutherland firing over from the edge of the area.
Aaron Doran had a frustrating afternoon and it was summed up when he wasted the best chance of the day to increase the home sides advantage. From a corner Draper won posession, fed the ball brilliantly to Foran and his unselfish lay off to Doran left the Irish winger with a golden opportunity to seal all three points for ICT but his first touch was poor and following a challenge from Mark Reynolds the chance was gone.
With time running out Aberdeen sent on Niall McGinn and promising teenager Cammy Smith in search on an equalizer and it came with 6 minutes remaining. After giving away a cheap free kick the ICT defence was caught napping as it was taken quickly. Jonny Hayes did what he was renowned for during his time in the Highland capital. His improvisation with the free kick saw him set up youngster Smith who nodded the ball home at the back post to send the large travelling away support into raptures. A local boy scores his first goal for the club in front of his own support to rescue a point for his team? Its the stuff of dreams but my idea of a nightmare as we surrendered yet another lead to a late goal.
With time running down neither team managed find a winning goal but there was time for Shane Sutherland to pick up what looked like a serious injury as he was stretchered off and required a large amount of medical attention. With that the game was drawn to a close.
Full Time 1-1
To summarise:- It was certainly a step in the right direction after the last two games but our old problems continue to haunt us. Poor finishing and conceding late goals, needs sorting out pronto. Having only lost two games out of six sounds great but pairing it with the fact we havent won dents its credibility. Tudur-Jones will be a loss for the next three games. I doubt the club will appeal the decision and Foran will revert back to midfield. As good as he is there I thought Foran looked excellent as a lone striker, his work rate is a real quality and his physical presence makes him a menace for defenders. Defensively I thought we looked better but we lack communication at times and set pieces were conceded as a result of this. Hibs away will be a difficult task as they are on a great run of form and with Leigh Griffiths going great guns at present we will have to be at our best to keep him and the rest quiet.
ajsict92's motm - Andre Blackman, this was a difficult call. Foran worked his socks off and Draper and Warren both put in solid performances but given the fact he was put straight in the starting 11 and was up against a quality winger like Hayes I thought he stuck to his task well and showed real potential as a youngster.
Inverness CT: Esson, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, Graeme Shinnie, Tudur Jones, Draper, Doran (McKay 87), Andrew Shinnie (Sutherland 63 (Pepper 90)), Foran. Subs not used: Reguero (GK), Oswell, Morrison, Brislen-Hall.
Aberdeen: Langfield, Jack (Smith 74), Anderson, Rae, Considine, Vernon (McGinn 74), Hayes, Hughes, Fraser (Fraser 81), Magennis, Reynolds. Subs not used: Jason Brown (GK), Robertson, Clark, Jordon Brown.
Referee: George Salmond
Attendance: 4,499.
By tm4tj in Reports 2012-13 ·

Inverness CT -V- Aberdeen - Preview

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Hayes Back at Inverness

Jonny Hayes will be returning to Inverness on saturday, unfortunately only briefly as he will be playing for Aberdeen in this weekend's SPL fixture at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

This will be Hayes' first visit to Inverness since joining the Dons at the end of last season and he will be relishing the prospect of lining up against his old team mates. I'm not sure our own fans are quite as enthusiastic about his return, but we have to get on with life after Hayes.

The jury are still out on the Inverness back four after a second consecutive four goal bashing, Motherwell equalling Celtic's tally against us. It was a better performance than the scoreline suggests, but gifting goals has become an unwanted trait as this seasons newcomers look to settle down and give the free scoring forwards something to build on.

Aaron Doran gave himself a massive confidence boost in midweek scoring twice for the Irish u21's in a stunning 4-2 victory in Italy. If he can transfer this form into the SPL games, then we may see the best of the young man from Charleville this season after last years injury disrupted campaign. Connor Pepper, Phillip Roberts, and Graeme Shinnie were also called up for international squads in midweek.

On a lighter note, there has been talk on the Caley Thistle Online forum regarding the suitability of Terry Butcher to continue as the gaffer, a rather subtly entitled thread named Is butcher the man for the job (no comment, but we are not often seen in the same room). Well talk of this has now been overtaken by discussions about food and dairy products................Aye, it's been a slow news week right eenuff. Heres some quips to whet your appetite, all kicked off by Tichy_Blacks_Back who reckoned Terry was now doing the hospitality lunches as well, whereas LukeMackay reckoned he should be making piri piri chicken in Nando's which would help attract new players; that's why Hayes went to Aberdeen said RIG. There were of course some incredible revelations as Caley100 told us he ate a really hot pizza, and lost his sense of taste for a week whilst CaleyD prefers his mince and tatties from the Innes Bar, nom nom. Batchelors mushroom soup got a mention along with a bridge and a castle, as did Frankie and Benny's, KFC, TGI Friday, MacDonalds and Zizi's. Having raved about a Hungry Horse in Perth, ajsict is setting up tweet'n'eat parties after reading all this, while on another topic milk and dairy products came under scrutiny after a Staggy had the temerity to suggest that milk has been excluded from the players menu as it's too expensive. Spokesman Immortal Howden Ender was quick to dismiss this as a marketing ploy from a milk farm in Ross-Shire to re-assure the shocked Inverness fans. Apparently County fans were milking this on twitter said Capital Caley who also wanted to change their name to Ross Cownty, but Tichy_Blacks_Back preferred their udder name. A steering group was mooted by bughtmaster and that was the best idea herd yet as the comments flowed, but the normally optimistic Top Six Next Year urged caution as this could possibly turn sour. It's the Milky Way said tm4tj and the conversation moved to cows and goats, I kid you not, even strawberry milk shakes.....................who said supporting ICT was boring.


Gringo has once again put pen to paper and after checking his old geography jotters here are his thoughts ahead of the game against the Dons






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Geography lesson for the SPL (Derby in Scotland?)


I suppose every team has to have a local derby at some stage of the season and it appeared that our encounters with Aberdeen would be dubbed as such. Quite how a distance of 104 miles between the two clubs can be given such a title is beyond the realms of my intelligence! This season though we do have a real derby in prospect with ‘those up the road’ so the Dons game should become a normal game, I mean, Aberdeen isn’t even in the Highlands for goodness sake. (Is it?)

This fixture has been subject, in the past, to re-arranged dates for the benefits of TV. Those end-to-end thrilling encounters must have had folk blocking the phone lines to Sky or ESPN to buy a subscription ......... I don’t think. For this fixture though we have a traditional Saturday date at 3:00pm which should attract a massive all-singing-all-dancing crowd (oh, hang on a minute…dancing? that’s not allowed)

Over the years Aberdeen were fast becoming a bit of a bogey team for us as we never seemed to grab a win, home or away, in any competition. Our first encounter was a 3-0 home defeat in the League Cup back in 1998. In the SPL it took us fifteen attempts to record our first win and results have been mixed after that.

Players from both clubs have made the journey to and from each other in search of success and/or first team football. Recently we lost Jonny Hayes to the Dons and we'll welcome him back to the TCS on Saturday...provided he has a poor game and leaves our benevolent defence alone that is.

The Dons have players that can hurt us so, hopefully, Mr Butcher, along with Mr Malpas has been showing his defenders all of his International defending skills . There is no doubt that our style of football has changed drastically from that of last season. We have created more chances in front of goal during these first few SPL games but we still seem unable to find the net consistently.

The result in Motherwell, whilst disappointing, wasn't as one sided as it sounded. Aberdeen have players that can hurt us and will do so if we are not on top of the defensive side of our game. The match isn't likely to be an end-to-end encounter and there will be goals, not many mind, but there will be goals. We have failed to keep a clean sheet in the SPL this season. To quote the Dons fans article in The Scotsman “There is a feeling that the team will finally click and, when they do, the opposition will be handed a heavy defeat. It’s hoped that this will happen sooner rather than later and it may be Inverness that suffer”. Well, having conceded eight goals in the last two SPL games it isn't difficult to see where he's coming from.

Current form ICT:- As mentioned above, conceding eight goals in the last two SPL games doesn't make winning games very easy and when we have no prolific striker this just compounds the issue. In all fairness though, generally speaking, we haven't been playing too badly. Silly schoolboy errors at the back have cost us dearly. We sit joint top of the goalscoring chart and top by some margin of the goals against table. However, it's results that count on the day and with that in mind we are currently in relegation mode.

Current form Aberdeen:- They only have one SPL win this season, which is one more than us. Despite the signing of ICT favourite Johnny Hayes, they too have failed to set the world alight. Their main worry is a lack of SPL goals and have only two to their name so far. At home they appear to be 0-0 specialists and the away form is only slightly better. They seem to be a better unit than last term though, proving difficult to break down which could be a worry for ICT.

This fixture has been kinder to Aberdeen over the last six games, the Dons winning four against the two for Inverness. The highest scoring game was a seven goal thriller in 2008 when we had everything, two red cards, a late winner and a rare Roy McBain goal, a collectors item. Chris Maguire scored the winner in the fourth minute of injury time, something the Dons were getting adept at. The previous season Steve Lovell scored a late late leveller after Graham Bayne had opened the scoring, that was the last time these two clubs played out a draw at Inverness, eight games ago. 5,744 witnessed that game, I wonder how many still have the passion left for the game as the decline of Scottish football continues.

Gringo's Prediction:– Another tough one to call. Dons can't score, we can't defend (or score enough). Does it have the makings of a 0-0 draw? No, I don't think so. Our defence concerns me and if they haven't been working on it in training then we could well be in for it. We aren't the tallest defence in the league so if Mr Hayes is allowed to get in his crosses (and shots) then we will be up against it. So, the key for me is, keep Hayes quiet and we may just do it...if not it could be any score. I think we can sneak this one with a nervy, nail biting, 2-1 victory.

***Latest Team News***
Inverness' Nick Ross is sporting a large scar after the operation to repair his damaged shoulder and will be in for a lengthy lay off. Good luck to him on his recovery. Chris Hogg is still out but is training now. Simon King remains an injury doubt for Caley Thistle ahead of Saturday’s home encounter against Aberdeen. Jason Oswell has recovered from his Achilles problem. Josh Meeking looks set to continue in defence should Simon King not recover from his ankle injury.

Aberdeen boss Craig Brown has released Michael Paton despite some Dons fans having reservations over this, given that they have drawn blanks in their last three games. Broonie reckons that Paton was not going to be first choice as striker and this move will be in his best interests and will also realise the potential developement of other youngsters at the club like Cammy Smith, Ryan Fraser and Jordan Brown. Aberdeen have added an old new face to their backroom team in the shape of Jocky Scott. He joins other pensioners Brown and Knox as first team coach, mainly to develop the younger talents. The International break may have been enough time for Niall McGinn and Rory Fallon to recover from knocks, but Gary Naysmith and Rob Milsom are definitely out.

Come on Caley Jags fans, let's get behind the team, remember, for better or for worse, that's what you signed on for. It's maybe not quite the US Open final but it's up to us to generate our own atmoshere and lift the gloom. Well done Andy.
By tm4tj in Previews 2012-13 ·

Motherwell -V- Inverness CT - Report

Steelmen show their mettle
Inverness were caned today by a rampant Motherwell side who put four past Ryan Esson as Inverness shot themselves in the foot after getting back within touching distance of The Steelmen. Two early goals from Hateley and Higdon set the pace for Motherwell but a Richie Foran header threw Inverness a lifeline before the break. Unfortunately Raven handed the initiative back to Well with a short pass back and Higdon scored his second and went on to complete his hat-trick before the end. It was not to be our day as Darren Randolph made a few miraculous saves and thwarted Andy Shinnie with a penalty save late in the day to compound Inverness' misery.
ictchris was on hand to witness the show, but he has taken a few positives from the game, despite the scoreline.
Strangely Enjoyable
I quite enjoyed that match in a bizarre way. We lined up with Foran up front for McKay and Meekings slotting into the back four in place of King, who dropped out in the warm up and that saw David Raven maintain his place at right back.
Straight from kick off we won the ball and pushed forward with some decent play and for the next five minutes most of the play was ours. Ross Draper hit a low shot which was deflected off Page and turned just wide by the diving Randolph, and it looked like it might be an enjoyable game. Well started to push back into the game and forced a succession of corners which we looked a bit shaky at, Hateley has a great delivery from dead balls and Higdon is always a handful. Following two or three corners, Hateley whipped one in and Ryan couldn't keep it out at his near post. He'll be absolutely gutted about it, there really isn't an excuse for not getting that ball. Almost straight from the kick off Well were two up as Humphrey, who was lively all day, tore down the left and evaded two lunging, desperate tackles from Graeme Shinnie and Draper, centred for Higdon who took advantage of the space in the area to knock it home.
It was absolutely gutting at this point, we looked on the end of a real hammering. However, we started to push back into it and had the ball in the net when Richie nodded the ball to the back-post for Sutherland to knock in, although this was then ruled out for an infringement on Foran's part. Being at the other end of the ground I didn't really have a great view but there didn't look to be that much in it. Foran then chased back, won the ball out wide and tore in on goal but his effort was blocked. We had pushed right back into the game and deserved the goal that came just afterwards. A corner was knocked clear to Owain Tudur-Jones, who lobbed it to the back post where Foran headed in. We probably looked more likely to score at this point and Foran was played in by a long pass from Meekings for a great opportunity. His shot was blocked and he couldn't direct his header from the rebound goalward.
Half -Time 2-1
In the second half the game was more end to end with both sides having chances. There were a couple of massive Well shouts for a penalty, one when Meekings (I think) made a tackle in the area (looked decent from our end) and again when a shot hit what the fans and players claimed was a hand. We also had a shout for a penalty when Richie was brought down while bearing in on goal but Mr O'Reilly had no time for it.
Things were nicely poised when David Raven, who had actually been pretty solid today compared to other poor displays, made an absolute howler. We'd had the ball in midfield and Raven received it and tried to roll the ball back to Esson but his short pass was eaten up by Higdon, who knoced it home. It was an absolute sickener, we had fought so hard to get back and to lose a goal like that is hard to take. We continued pushing forward, Shane came close with a header from a Foran cross that his marker did well to put behind for a corner. Subsittute Ojamaa helped finish us off though, tearing away on a breakaway, beating his man and squaring for Higdon to crack one home for his hat-trick.
We could've cut the deficit almost straight away when Foran was clearly brought down in the box by Page and the ref gave a penalty. Andy Shinnie's spot kick was well saved by Darren Randolph, who had earlier made a stunning diving stop from a Gary Warren acrobatic overhead kick. I left with a couple of minutes to go as our train was at 17:11, not sure much of note happened in injury time.
Full Time 4-1
Overall I feel strangely positive after a 4-1 defeat, which isn't like me. We really did well going forward, although, as Alternative Maryhill noted we took the wrong option around the opposition goal a few times. Richie Foran was absolutely brilliant today, on another day he could have scored a hat-trick, he worked hard, won everything in the air, played good passes and crosses, fought and harried. An absolutely towering display and we need to keep him up there if we are going to get anything out of this season. The obvious downside is our defending. We looked nervous defending corners and Chris Humphrey was a livewire and had the better of Graeme Shinnie a lot of the game. We just seem to make basic errors too often - a short passback, not dealing properly with a run from wide, letting a corner sneak in. I fear we'll end up repeating the mistakes of last season, chopping and changing at the back. Raven I feel sorry for, he hasn't done that well but was playing OK today until their third goal. Graeme Shinnie was caught a few times by Humphrey and looked uncomfortable against him the whole game. Shinnie is the sort of the full back who dominates his opponent by pushing onto them rather than by dealing with them and that style isn't suited to a guy like Humphrey who is pacey and got time today. In midfield, I think Ross Draper is a great player and had another influential game. Owain Tudur-Jones, cross for the goal aside, was ineffective He looks like he can play but he never actually raises his game and takes control for 90 minutes. The fact he was subbed in a straight swap (for Gavin Morrison who was better) says it all. I thougth Shane and Doran did OK, took a few too many wrong options but were available and looked fluid, espeically Doran who popped up all over. Andy Shinnie had some good touches but had a quieter game than previously.
We need to sort out our defence and it's a big job but watching that today it isn't hopeless.
 
 
Motherwell:- Randolph, Law (Murphy 64), Hateley, Humphrey (Carswell 85), Higdon, Lasley, McHugh (Ojamaa 73), Kerr, Page, Francis-Angol, Cummins. Subs not used: Hollis (GK), Daley, Carswell, Hetherington, Murray.
Inverness CT:- Esson, G Shinnie, Tudur Jones (Morrison 64), Warren, Draper, Foran, Andrew Shinnie (Pepper 81), Meekings, Raven, Doran, Sutherland (McKay 81). Subs not used: Regeuro (GK), Roberts, Laing, Polworth
Referee: Steve O'Reilly.
Attendance: 4,031.
By tm4tj in Reports 2012-13 ·

Arbroath -V- Inverness CT - League Cup

Teaser Paragraph:
Shinnie Smokes the Red Lichties

Inverness booked their place in the third round of the League Cup at the expense of second division Arbroath. Two Andrew Shinnie strikes was enough for the SPL side to ease them into the next stage of the competition wih a competent performance against Paul Sheerin's side.

Inverness put out out a near full strength side to ensure they progressed in the competition unlike one or two other SPL sides who were dumped out by lower league teams, notably Ross County going down 4-1 at home to Raith Rovers. They joined Dundee, Kilmarnock and Hibs in the trash can. Josh Meekings started ahead of David Raven and Tudur-Jones returned from suspension to replace the injured Nick Ross

It only took Inverness seven minutes to take the lead, Andrew Shinnie converting a Shane Sutherland cross to settle the visitors. This was just the start Inverness were looking for after the disastrous drubbing at the hands of Celtic last weekend.

Former County keeper Tony Bullock kept the score down with a series of excellent stops from the eager Inverness forwards as he foiled attempts from Shinnie, Sutherland, McKay and Doran, and just before half time another fantastic save from Shinnie prevented the visitors from going into the break two up. Sutherland shoots over as the first half came to a close with Inverness making all the pressing. Shanes effort bringing out the quote of the night from RossP.....Sutherland donates a ball to Montrose with a wild high volley. LoLs

Half Time 0-1 as the crowd swapped ends.

Graeme Shinnie skimmed the top of the bar as the second half gets under way and Owain Tudur-Jones tries to get in on the act but shoots wide, as does Doran a few minutes later.

Arbroath's top striker Darren Gribben could have squared the match as he broke forward but fired harmlessly over from the angle of the box.

1-0 is a precarious lead, but Inverness were still forcing the pace of the game and it was no surprise when Shinnie netted his second after another assist from Sutherland who had dispossessed Paul Sheerin before feeding the midfielder who lashed a shot off the underside of the bar and into the net.

Shinnie was unlucky not to score a hat-trick but was denied again by Bullock and Sutherland could not get the ball out from under his feet for what would have been a tap-in.

Arbroath kept plugging away and Esson saved a free kick from Doris with five minutes remaing, but the SPL side had done their homework and saw out the remainder of the game without conceding.

All said and done, this was a professional job carried out by Inverness after the disappointment against Celtic and they showed great character to bounce back and see off the potential banana skin at Gayfield.

The stats showed Inverness had 17 shots, 10 of those on target making Bullock work hard for his money, and a corner count of 8-0 to Inverness, so the stats back up the display that was a pretty convincing win for the visitors.

Arbroath:- Bullock, Baxter (Malcolm 64), Travis (Banjo 72), Keddie,Hamilton, Kerr, Currie, Sheerin, Doris, Holmes (Sibanda 30), Gribben. Subs not used: Morrison (GK), Mair.

Inverness CT:- Esson, Graeme Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, King (Raven 58), Tudur Jones, Draper, Andrew Shinnie, McKay (Pepper 81), Doran, Sutherland. Subs not used: Reguero, Morrison, Polworth.

Attendance: 672.

Referee: Stephen Finnie.
By tm4tj in Reports 2012-13 ·

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