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St Johnstone -v- ICT - Report

Saints Stalemate
 
Not too much to say about this game. Jonny Hayes came close early on when he hit the post with Mannus beaten and Foran had a header saved. Sandaza came to life in the second half but Inverness held out for a deserved share of the points. With Dundee United losing at Aberdeen, St Johnstone take the lead in the race for Europa football but Inverness remain in tenth spot with Dunfermline now unlikely to overhaul them after another home loss, this time against Hearts.
Full report to follow from Alternative Maryhill.
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Marking Time
You’d think that by now, given his insistence on meeting for a liquid breakfast at some unearthly hour of the morning of every away day, Capital Caley would know what time off-licences open in Glasgow. But no. He was, by his own admission, so busy getting random customers’ phone numbers at the Park Bar the night before, that he forgot to buy his carry-out then, and as our train left before eleven the next morning, Red Card, Govan Jaggie, Martinskye and yours truly were greeted with the unusual spectacle of him trying to nurse a coffee all the way to Perth. Once in the fair city, we met up with the early stages of the stag do of CTO original and legend Bronson and headed to the 208 – still the best pre-football venue in Perth – for a couple of hours, before a last drink in a very busy Muirton Suite. Then it was upstairs and into the ground. Expectations were, it’s fair to say, pretty low.
Unsurprisingly, the travelling support was modest in size, but it gave the Caley Thistle players great backing, especially considering the disappointment of the last two results. I couldn’t make Aberdeen, but apparently the ICT supporters there were excellent, and although numbers were limited, and, to be honest, there wasn’t that much to get excited about, they continued that at Perth, singing from start to finish: several St Johnstone supporters made a point of commenting on this on forums after the game.
Eyebrows were raised among the supporters and, by all accounts, among the BBC’s radio commentators, when it became clear that Terry Butcher had opted to stick with the back four he christened ‘the defence from hell’ after last week’s performance against Hibs. If his intention was to allow the players to redeem themselves for last week’s mistakes, then it largely worked, albeit against a pretty unimaginative St Johnstone attack. It was perhaps less surprising that Gregory Tade found himself on the bench after a wasteful performance up front against Hibs, but it was still a risk to drop the team’s top scorer and go with a lone striker (Billy McKay) with only a single goal to his name. As ICT failed to score, it could be argued that this was a gamble that didn’t pay off, but it did allow Butcher to play a central three of Jones, Tansey and Foran, who collectively turned in the team’s most commanding midfield performance since the departures of Davis and Cox.
Presumably intent on atoning for Sunday’s collapse against Hibs and home defeat to St Johnstone the previous midweek, the Caley Thistle players took the game to the Saints from the first whistle. Inside the first two minutes Caley were awarded a free kick for a foul on Richie Foran then forced a corner when Hayes’ free kick was cleared by David McCracken. Shortly afterwards, Hayes came close to repeating his fluke goal of last weekend from the opposite wing, when his looping cross from the right landed on top of Alan Mannus’ net with the Saints keeper flailing. On ten minutes ICT came closer to scoring than they would at any other point in the game, when Hayes picked up the ball on the right just inside the St Johnstone half and ran at Liam Craig and Alan Maybury before cutting inside them and firing a low shot across Mannus and off the base of his far post from the edge of the box. At this stage, with Caley Thistle so dominant and the St Johnstone players appearing unable to cope with Jonny Hayes, it seemed only a matter of time before the Inverness team opened the scoring.
This, however, was not to be. Although Caley Thistle remained the better team throughout the first half and had further chances, with Mannus having to fist clear a 20-yard bending shot from Foran, then Meekings firing the ball narrowly wide from the resulting corner, the game slipped into a pattern of speculative balls and midfield skirmishes that produced little in the way of flowing football or clear goal-scoring opportunities. St Johnstone’s best chances were a Dave MacKay free kick that flew wide and a weak close range flick from Francisco Sandaza that Jonny Tuffey took comfortably. Some credit for limiting Saints to so few chances must be given to ICT’s defenders. Their commitment, however, came at a price: Roman Golobart was the first to be cautioned, in the fifteenth minute, for a foul on Cillian Sheridan, Kenny Gillet followed him into the book just ten minutes later, and by the end of the game all four of the Caley Thistle defenders had been yellow-carded, along with Greg Tansey, mostly for challenges involving either Sheridan or Sandaza. ICT’s disciplinary record this season must be as bad as it has ever been. On one hand, this could suggest that the players are fighting for every ball; on the other, it could suggest that they have struggled to impose themselves and take control of games too often.
Half Time 0-0
While some of the referee’s cautions appeared unnecessarily harsh, when it came to the biggest decision of the game, early in the second half, Kevin Clancy came down on the side of the Inverness player. St Johnstone had started the second half with far more attacking intent, and when Sandaza latched onto a long ball that caught out the ICT defence and cut in on Tuffey’s goal from the right, he looked certain to score. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, however, Roman Golobart appeared from nowhere, like Han Solo at the end of Star Wars, and nicked the ball off the toes of Vader Sandaza, shouldering the Perth striker to the ground in the process. It could have been construed as a foul – and judging by the scale of Steve Lomas’s tantrum on the touchline, he clearly felt a penalty should have been awarded – but ultimately it was shoulder-to-shoulder, and it’s hardly Golobart’s fault that he’s built like a brick shithouse and Sandaza goes over more easily than a scarecrow in a hurricane. The Caley Thistle players had their own appeal for a penalty later in the game, when Foran fell in the box under pressure from Jody Morris, but it appeared that Morris reached the ball first and Foran fell over the St Johnstone player.
St Johnstone continued to dominate for the rest of the second half, and Jonny Tuffey had to be sharp to produce reaction saves from Sandaza and Sheridan shots and to beat away a free kick from Liam Craig, but in truth, the ICT support had nothing to concern them as much as the penalty-that-wasn’t. The Inverness players’ performance throughout the second half was uninspired, if solid, but towards the end of the game they had a couple of opportunities to take all three points. Gregory Tade replaced McKay on 84 minutes, and his characteristic determination to chase every ball unsettled the St Johnstone defence and allowed the game’s momentum to swing briefly back in Caley Thistle’s favour. A corner from Tansey was met by substitute Steve Williams, showing as he did against Rangers that he is a dangerous presence from set-pieces, and when Williams’ header was headed clear, it fell to Josh Meekings, in space inside the box. It looked a great opportunity, but Meekings rushed the shot, launching it first time high over the bar. And that, apart from a Shinnie shot comfortably saved by Mannus, was that. Nil-nil; another point further ahead of Dunfermline; and another performance that satisfied in some respects while continuing to raise questions in others.
Full Time 0-0
To be honest, it feels a little like we’re just marking time until the end of the season now, and that what the ICT support is really interested in is finding out how Terry Butcher intends to plan and build for next season over the summer. There is no doubt that this has been an anticlimactic season after the seventh place finish in our first season back in the SPL; there is no doubt that some of the players brought in haven’t delivered and that the quality of performance has been patchy at best; and yet the team appears to have been unusually unfortunate with injuries, there have been some genuinely promising aspects (the form of Andrew Shinnie before his injury springs to mind) and there have been signs that some of this season’s signings (Tansey, Jones, Tade) could develop into very effective SPL players in a settled team with a little more creativity. In the meantime, let’s hope that the players use the remaining five games to show the manager that they’re worth considering for next season’s team: there are still fifteen points and places to play for, even though the top six has eluded us once more.
7th April 2012 Scottish Premier League Tulloch Caledonian Stadium St Johnstone 0 - /media/images/club_badges/stjohnstone.png TEAM: Mannus, Anderson, Maybury, MacKay, McCracken, Wright, Craig, Morris, Millar, Croft (Moon 36), Sheridan (Haber 73), Sandaza SUBS: Enckelman, Adams, Oyenuga, Kane, Keatings Booked: Maybury (71), Morris (88) Sent Off: none Inverness C.T. 0 - /media/images/club_badges/inverness.png TEAM: Tuffey, Tokely (Williams 78), Golobart, G.Shinnie, Meekings, Gillet, Tudur-Jones, Tansey, Hayes (Ross 84), Foran, McKay (Tade 84) SUBS: Mathison, Proctor, Morrison, Doran Booked: Golobart (15), Gillet (27), Tansey (44), Tokely (57), G.Shinnie (72) Sent Off: none Referee Kevin Clancy Attendance 3326  
By Scotty in Reports 2011-12 ·

St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
It's a Fair City right eenuff.

It's back to the now Fair City of Perth this Saturday for our last game before the split. Let's hope this weekend is more productive than the last one when we crumbled badly against Hibernian, losing 2-3 in Inverness. That was on the back of a 0-1 defeat at the hands of St Johnstone last midweek and the long knives are out as the home fans get a reality check. The fable about Perth being a town has now been laid to rest, what will the fans find to squabble about next?

Two winnable games and two poor performances have seen questions raised over the management teams ability to change things around and lift spirits. In all honesty, it's not just the last couple of games that has miffed most fans. We seem to be playing as poorly as we have done in the SPL and the system being deployed has not worked often enough. Does that make us a bad team? The harsh reality at the moment is yes, it does. Are we getting the best out of the players at our disposal? For most it would appear to be no. That is where our leaders come in and we need to see a bit more swashbuckle, a bit of panache, a bit of swagger even, but confidence would seem to be thin on the ground at the moment.

Butcher has bemoaned the fact that injuries have curtailed our performances this season. That is correct, but most clubs go through this at some stage. Has he lost sight of the fact that it was him that removed half of our players before the season started, and we have never replaced them with adequate performers. The long ball tactic will go down in folklore up here, but it must be frustrating for 5ft 7in Billy McKay to watch numerous balls floating high over his head onto giant defenders nappers. I doubt we have used our players to the best of their somewhat limited ability, but surely Terry and Mo have a plan 'B' when things go awry and surely we need to get substitutions on the park earlier for them to make a contribution, especially when we are chasing the game and not just playing out time.

It's not all doom and gloom although it sometimes feels like it. Jonny Hayes made his comeback from injury and showed us what we have been missing and was our most productive and creative player against Hibs. In spells, we did play some decent stuff, but errors crept into our game after we went ahead and some individual lapses made it easier for Hibs to take advantage of the situation. We were given and scored our first penalty since November 2010 (yay). Greg Tansey stepped up and buried it brilliantly. Why can't he be so effective with the numerous free kicks he wastes. He has not been the only wasteful one though and Tade and McKay need to up their strike rate after more guilt edged chances went astray.

So Terry, charisma and spin alone are not going to keep us in this league, Dunfermline will manage that for us, but it would be nice to see a change of pattern, a change in the way we go about our business. Maybe the shackles that the SPL puts on teams holds them back, the fear of losing being greater than the joy of winning. Whatever it is, I hope we can be set free and lets get back to entertaining the fans and making it worth the money to come along.

Alternative Maryhill has found the time to scribe the preview for this one, let's hope a change of author will get us back on track.




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Two football clubs, both alike in dignity
In fair Scotia where we lay our scene...


If Caley Thistle supporters were pushed to identify the Scottish club most like ICT, I’d hazard a guess that the majority would opt for St Johnstone. The clubs are from similarly-sized cities, both are run to small, tight budgets, both have spent the last decade either in the SPL or in the First Division, each has yet to win a major trophy, each has found it difficult to expand its fan base beyond a core of around three thousand, both are (happily) remote from the central belt and the fans of both have been accused, by unimaginative supporters from the central belt, of loving animals just a little too much (meh). Last season’s SPL seemed to underline the similarity in size and potential of the two teams, with ICT finishing in seventh place and St Johnstone in eighth. Yet fast forward a year and St Johnstone are assured of a top six finish and contemplating the possibility of European football, while ICT are in tenth, with many supporters fearing for the club’s prospects next season. So why the dramatic change?

The last fixture between the teams, just ten days ago, did not reveal an obvious gulf in quality: the difference in what was apparently a dreadful game was made by a penalty for St Johnstone. Looking at the St Johnstone team that started the game, however, what struck me immediately was how familiar most of the names were: this sort of continuity is something of a rarity in SPL teams these days. Moreover, almost every member of that St Johnstone team, even the more recent arrivals, had significant SPL experience as well as, in some cases, experience at a higher level: in defence, Dave Mackay, Frazer Wright, David McCracken, Alan Maybury have all played many times in the top Scottish division; Jody Morris, Chris Millar and Liam Craig provide similar SPL experience and continuity in midfield (and on Wednesday were supported by Lee Croft who, although a recent addition to the SPL, has several years’ experience with English Premiership and Championship clubs); while strike partners Sandaza and Sheridan, revelatory this season, had both shown plenty of promise, if not consistency, with established SPL teams in the past. All this without mentioning the SPL experience on the bench, in the shape of David Robertson and Steven Anderson, and also held by the temporarily unavailable Calum Davidson and Murray Davidson.

By contrast, six of the starting eleven for Inverness (Piermayr, Golobart, Tansey, Jones, Tade, Mackay) had never played in the SPL, or with each other, until this season; and three more (Tuffey, Shinnie, Sutherland) would be classed by most as having had limited SPL experience. Only Tokely and Foran can compare favourably with the large majority of the St Johnstone team in terms of the number of SPL games played. When the two teams are considered in terms of their experience in this league, their experience of playing together, and the levels they have played at, is it any wonder that St Johnstone sit eighteen points and five places better off than ICT at the time of writing?

Pointing this out is not intended as criticism. Terry Butcher felt he had to rebuild last summer, and opted to go, for the most part, with young players from the English reserve and lower league football, having previously had success with this policy in the shape of Jonny Hayes and Lee Cox. Yet most would agree that, even bearing in mind the injuries ICT have endured this year, the season has been disappointing and that further work will have to be done on the squad over the summer. The model of the current St Johnstone squad would suggest that, if possible, it would be a shrewd move to seek out experienced Scottish players to bolster ICT’s squad and ensure SPL survival, allowing the younger players to develop under less pressure.

Anyway, enough of worrying about the future for now. Before that, Terry Butcher’s players have an opportunity on Saturday to make amends for the defensive errors and goalmouth profligacy that led to them throwing away a game they dominated against Hibs last Sunday, as well as to prove to St Johnstone and their own supporters that the gap between the teams is not in fact a fair reflection of any gap in quality. Individual errors apart, the performance against Hibs did contain some glimmers of hope: the return of Jonny Hayes from injury provided a greater attacking threat and more of an outlet for balls from the back, and consequently, in the first half at least, there was far less of the long-ball stuff that we had seen the team revert to in recent weeks; Roman Golobart again showed that he is a defender prepared to carry the ball forward and look for the opportunity to start attacking moves, rather than merely clearing his lines; and Greg Tansey had a more effective first half than I have seen him have for a long time although, by the second half, his game seemed to have deteriorated along with that of the rest of the team. Bearing in mind that the last game against St Johnstone was a close-run thing, and that ICT were still without Jonny Hayes when it was played, all hope for Saturday is not lost: if we can cut out individual errors at the back; if McKay and Tade can show more composure in front of goal; if we show patience with the passing game and our players are prepared to take their players on; then we have a chance. But we seem to have been saying ‘if’ an awful lot this season...

Whatever happens, the CaleyAway crowd will be there as usual: small but vocal, pessimistic but defiant, pished but standing, and hating everything in a high-visibility jacket. See you in the Muirton. Or the Tulloch. Or the 208. Or all three.

Alternative Maryhill's Prediction:- St Johnstone 1 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1

***Latest Team News***
Inverness have no fresh injury worries on top of the long term missing Chris Hogg and Andrew Shinnie. Jonny Tuffey will still deputise for Ryan Esson and Aaron Doran will look to get involved as he will need match fitness after his lengthy lay off. If you have not already done so, take at look at this http://chrishoggthef...blogspot.co.uk/ This will tell you all you need to know about the man and his battle to get back to fitness, but it is also an intriguing insight into how the mind works when faced with adversity. Good luck with the rehab Chris.

St Johnstone are without the suspended Fraser Wright. Marcus Haber may miss out, and the Davidson's, Calum and Murray are pushing for fitness. Should they be fit, then Maybury and Millar could make way to accommodate them. Derek Riordan could make his SPL comeback should Steve Lomas require an extra striker of proven quality, but he may have to start on the bench.
By tm4tj in Previews 2011-12 ·

ICT -V- Hibernian - Report

The broken record goes on.
 
It's like a broken record and as Led Zeppelin will tell you, the song remains the same. This nightmare season continues as Inverness stuttered to another home lapse by losing to probably the poorest Hibs side on record. Despite dominating the first half the homesters could not for the life of them penetrate the Capital clubs rearguard and despite going ahead on the hour mark through our first penalty of the season we managed to capitulate rather easily and eventually lost 2-3.
Greg Tansey converted the spot kick, but Paul Hanlon equalised soon after. Garry O'Connor put Hibs ahead in the 75th minute before a Jonny Hayes cross fizzed behind Stack in the Hibs goal. That should have seen Inverness close shop, but no, we managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of a draw when who else but bad boy Leigh Griffiths drove a ball across Tuffey to snatch the points with five minutes of the ninety left.
If the home fans were left numb after the midweek defeat to St Johnstone, then they were completely flabbergasted by this reverse as we passed up chance after chance to kill off a disjointed Hibs side and still ended up losing the game. Terry Butcher will no doubt trot out the well used "11 strangers" and "injury list" excuses that has been done to death this year, but it is wearing thin on even the most ardent of happy clappers. He might as well publicly blame individuals for everything that has gone wrong this year, but hold on, he is. Is he God? Who is Terry accountable to, because he is the man that picks the team, he is the man that decides the tactics, he is the man that got rid of half a team and he is the man that replaced them with what? There have been extenuating circumstances this season, but surely the buck has to stop somewhere. So come on Terry, hold your hands up and say sorry, I have got it wrong. That might be a start. It's maybe not the match report you were all wanting to hear, and it's definitely not the match report I would have liked to type, but let's stop pussy footing around and get down to business. Somethings wrong and it needs fixed!
I've said too much already, but ajsict92 might be more gentle when he completes the full report.
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Reaching Breaking Point!
The sob story of the ICT's 2011-12 season carried on today as for the third time this season they surrendered a lead and wound up losing a game 3-2 courtesy of a late goal. Terry Butcher promised changes to the starting eleven and he saw it through as Jonny Hayes, Kenny Gillet and Josh Meekings were all recalled for ICT with Thomas Piermayr, Shane Sutherland and Owain Tudur-Jones being dropped to the bench. ICT were adopting a 4-4-2 formation with Graeme Shinnie pushing up to left wing and Gregory Tade partnering Billy McKay up front with Butcher looking for a positive reaction from his players following his sides dire performance against St Johnstone in mid-week.
Must admit it was a slight suprise to see both Hayes and Gillet return to the starting line up today after so many games out, though Hayes' performance was probably one of very few positives to take from this game. Unfortunately for Gillet he looked rather rusty and could be considered to be at fault for Garry O'Connors goal after faling to track the run of Doherty.
ICT started this game looking very hungry indeed, exchanging some lovely passing moves from midfield and constantly looking to get the ball onto Hayes, who looked like he had barely missed any time on the pitch at all and it was he that carved out ICT's first real opportunity of the game when his dinked cross drifted over everyone but saw Gregory Tade attempt an acrobatic, overhead kick. Unfortunately for him he couldn't quite connect with it, but he was not far away and had he done so it would have been something very special. Hayes was then the main provider of ICT's next major moment in the game. A low ball across goal which eluded everyone but fell for Graeme Shinnie who unfortunately couldn't get it out of his feet quickly enough and his shot in the end was rather tame and easy for Stack to deal with.
The few times Hibs were on the ball they always attempted to look for Griffiths and O'Connor but their efforts were foiled by what seemed to be a fairly solid Caley Jags defence. However Richie Foran had one serious lapse of concentration when playing a pass across his own penalty area as he left Jonny Tuffey facing an ambush of Hibs players to try and close him down but fortunately Tuffey was able to clear up quickly enough and spare his captain's blushes.
As the first half went on ICT continued to look a threat and yet again with Hayes on the ball found themselves passing up a golden opportunity to break the deadlock. Hayes played an inch perfect through ball to Billy McKay who found himself one on one with the goalkeeper but with defenders closing in and the angle tightening McKay saw his low shot rebound off the base of the post and cleared away. This did nothing to disrupt ICT's persistent search for the opening goal and not long before half time. Greg Tansey played a delightful cross field pass for Hayes who beat his man, cut inside and shot high and hard, forcing Stack to parry it over for a corner which came to nothing.
The referee sounded for half time with many ICT fans wondering how Graham Stack hadn't picked the ball out of his net yet.
Half time: ICT 0-0 Hibernian
The 2nd half picked up very much were it left off. Inverness pressing and Hibs having to cope with what was thrown at them. Gregory Tade managed to pass up another opportunity. A lovely passing move between Tansey and Foran finished with Foran teeing up Tade for another shot at goal, however his shot rebounded off Stack but Tade's embarassment was spared by the linesman who flagged for offside. The passing up of opportunities continued when ICT won a corner. Hayes powered it into the box and via a slight ricochet Ross Tokely attempted a lovely volley but unfortunately he shot just over. A good attempt, but not necessarily an easy one.
It was from another corner that ICT managed to grab the lead and for any ICT fan in the world it was probably in the most unbelievable way possible. The ball was launched into the box, McKay attempted to control it only to be bundled over by McPake. Someone's prayers must have been answered because for the first time since November 2010, Caley Thistle were awarded a penalty, much to the delight of the home fans, which turned to ecstasy when Tansey dispatched it into the top corner of the net.
Almost immediately after ICT went in front they had a chance to double their goal tally. Billy McKay's deflected pass fell into the path of Tade who burst into the area and found himself with only Stack to beat but he held onto it for too long before striking it straight at the Hibs keeper who must have thought some greater power was watching over him today. He may have been right as within a matter of moments Hibs were level. A corner swung in from Griffiths saw Paul Hanlon lose his marker and catch a wonderful header that powered past Tuffey and gave the away support something to applaud.
Pat Fenlon introduced substitute Tom Soares into the game who brought about a more direct style to the away side. Hibs attempted to get him more inolved in the game and it was his pass that found Doherty whose low ball across goal was curled in by an unmarked Garry O'Connor to leave Hibs fans joyous and many ICT fans wondering what they were watching.
ICT found themselves up against it as they went in drastic search of an equaliser and it eventually paid off. Jonny Hayes had been essential to ICT's game throughout the afternoon and with seven minutes remaining he managed to draw ICT back on level terms in a rather unorthodox fashion. Hibs were caught short on a quick free kick which saw Hayes show Soares a clean pair of heels before firing a deep cross into the box. So deep that it flew over Stack's head and into the top corner of the net to give the home support some much needed relief. May not have been intentional but was duly accepted none the less.
The relief only lasted for 2 minutes (yes thats right, 2 minutes) before Hibs regained the lead. The ball broke for Leigh Griffiths who beat Josh Meekings for pace and despite the angle being against him he managed to drive a low shot into Tuffey's bottom left hand corner. I'm sure Tuffey will be very dissapointed to have been beaten like this.
It was all proving too much for many supporters who began to leave in their numbers as the boys went in desprate search of another equaliser with Owain-Tudur Jones and Shane Sutherland being brought on to support the attack but it was all too little, too late, and Hibs left TCS picking up a vital 3 points to aid their fight for survival.
Full time: ICT 2-3 Hibernian
To summarise.......well I really wish I could. I knew we could play better than what was seen against St Johnstone and at times today there was a great improvement to both the style and quality of play. As usual though we failed to take the chances that come our way as we could easily have been 3-0 up at half time before even getting a penalty. What was also clearly evident today was a lack of composure after conceding goals. Passes began to go astray and space began to open up for Hibs to exploit and while Griffiths and O'Connor may well have their badboy reputations, it cannot be denied that they are quality players and when given the chance could hurt us and this was a threat that was not suitably dealt with by the defence. This ICT side has lacked bottle this season, that has been clear as for the 3rd time at home we take a lead, lose it and then go on to lose 3-2 in a very cruel fashion. If I would give this young side any advice it would be to toughen up and start focusing on the nitty gritty side of the game. This is a point of the season were grinding out results is important. The last thing we need is to get dragged even closer into the relegation dogfight.
ajsict92's MotM - Jonny Hayes - Slotted straight back into the team after a month out and was the main driving force behind our play today, supplied chances, took on opponents, was one of the very few players that seemed to genuinely fight for the team. No doubt he will have a long list of suitors come the summer.
1st April 2012 Scottish Premier League Tulloch Caledonian Stadium Inverness C.T. 2 - Tansey (pen.60), Hayes (83) TEAM: Tuffey, Tokely, Golobart, G.Shinnie, Gillet (Ross 82), Meekings, Hayes,, Tansey (Tudur-Jones 90), Foran, Tade (Sutherland 90), McKay
SUBS: Mathison, Proctor, Piermayr, Winnall Booked: Golobart (81) Sent Off: none Hibernian 3 - Hanlon (64), O'Connor (75), Griffiths (85) TEAM: Stack, McPake, Doherty, Kujabi, Hanlon, Towell (Soares 62), Sproule, Stevenson, Osbourne (Doyle 87), O'Connor, Griffiths (O'Donovan 90) SUBS: Brown, O'Hanlon, Francomb, Claros, Booked: Griffiths (85), Sproule (88) Sent Off: none Referee Bobby Madden Attendance 3274  
By Scotty in Reports 2011-12 ·

Inverness CT -V- Hibernian - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
April Fools prepare for basement battle

Hibernian find themselves at the wrong end of the SPL just three points above bottom club Dunfermline and eight points adrift of Inverness, and it's maybe appropriate that they are playing each other on April Fools day.

These two clubs have struggled all season to steer a course clear of relegation and as we approach the business end of the season they are still battling to stay ahead of the Pars, although Inverness would appear to have the best chance of avoiding the drop out of these three clubs.

Inverness' roller coaster season has seen plenty of contrasting fortunes. Lot's of dips, a few highs but there does not seem to be any middle ground and consistency is a word not used in these parts anymore, unless we talk about Ross County. Hibs have fared even worse so far and they parted company with Colin Calderwood some sixteen games ago, with Pat Fenlon taking over the reigns in November. Sadly for them, he has only succeeded in having a worse record than the previous encumbent, gaining only nine points from those games. Hibs goal difference is shockingly bad at minus 29, and for a club like Hibs to produce that statistic then something is drastically wrong down Leith direction.

Disappointment all round for both clubs on their last outing. Inverness slumped badly at home losing to high flying St Johnstone to a dubious Sandaza penalty, but it was the lack of creativity and slackness on the ball that left the home fans numb and CTO forum user Libero summed it up in one word perfectly, and that word of the week was disheartened. Hibs did not best please Mr Fenlon either as they went down 2-0 to the Arabs at Easter Road. He reckons they are suffering from a lack of confidence; sounds familiar.

So, we have two sides playing rubbish with no self-belief, frightened to try attacking football for fear of relegation, shipping goals, and disgruntled fans all around us, aye, that's the SPL for you. Stll, we are a strange bunch us football fans and we thrive on these happenings, therefore we will be back in the ground on Sunday for 3:00pm to witness the next installment of life in the lower half of the SPL ................ bring it on!

ajsict92 is enjoying it so much, he has started writing about it and theres no stopping him now as he has another preview ready for your pleasure, read on........................

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Two of a kind...

When I look at ICT and Hibs, I immediately think two things. One is that both sides are in a false position in the table given the squads they have on paper, and two is that both sides seasons have suffered as a direct consequence of failing to put together any real run of form throughout the entire season. Both teams have very different reasons for what has caused this but I must admit it is a very frustrating sight watching a team fail to reach its potential.

Anyone who was forced to sit through the dross that was served up to us on Wednesday would have left the game scratching their heads wondering where all the fighting spirit against Aberdeen had gone. Indeed that was the reaction of Terry Butcher who, not for the first time, described it as "11 strangers" that played against St Johnstone and insisted that changes would be made for this weekend. With reports saying that he will have Gillet, Hayes and Doran back at his disposal it really isn't any wonder. Safe to say that ICT's form throughout this season could have been very different had it not been for the amount of injuries picked up all at once and paticularly to such key players like Doran, Hayes and I suppose you could add Andrew Shinnie to that list when you look at what a key player he was this season. You look at those three players and you could safely say that they would be our main creative influence on the pitch and I think the lack of quality we've seen in games like the St Johnstone match is a direct result of not having these players available. Hopefully having two out of those three back could bring about a bit of form and fortune between now and the end of the season.

Another home game with Hibs brings about the welcoming of another new Hibs manager to TCS, Pat Fenlon who was appointed in November (the clubs 3rd manager in as many seasons). He boasted a wonderful record in Ireland winning two titles, a league cup and an FA cup with Bohemians and was seen as the man to turn around the rotten form Hibs were suffering under Colin Calderwood but his presence has brought about little change with Hibs only picking up three wins since his appointment and Hibs being deprived of a goal since late February. They also had a very busy time in the market with eight new faces being brought in as Fenlon looked to establish his mark on the side. The impatience of the Hibernian board seems to have been the main factor behind the teams rise and very mighty fall. I remember hearing many Hibs fans feeling that the sacking of John Hughes at the start of last season was a harsh decision and it's safe to say that given the dramatic decline of the team in terms of form and the subsequent appointment of 2 different managers since Hughes's dismissal you could say that perhaps they were right.

It was only the 2nd fixture of the season way back in August when Hibs picked up their first ever win at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium when Garry O'Connor's last minute strike proved to be the difference. It was a game in which ICT dominated and on another day probably would've coasted home. Open goals were missed, posts were struck and blatant penalty shouts were denied. Who thought this would end up being the story of the season. Terry Butcher took the boys down to Easter Road just after Christmas. A 1-1 draw was the result between the teams, Pat Fenlon picking up his first point as Hibs boss in that game. Garry O'Connor was again the thorn in our side but no one will ever forget the wonderful solo goal from our own Jonny Hayes that night. Picked it up before the half-way line and took off, skipping his way through multiple attempts to close him down before unleashing a low, crisp drive into the bottom corner to send the ICT loyals behind the goal delirious. Indeed the real shining moment in what was otherwise a very average game.

ajsict92's prediction :- It is essential that ICT bounce back from the dismal display during the week and I see this as an opportunity to right the wrongs from the previous performance and I'm sure Terry Butcher will be trying to scream (literally) that message across to his players. The potential return of our best wingers Hayes and Doran would be a very welcome one having been deprived of having both fit for a large chunk of the season. They may well be a bit rusty but if we can get them involved in the game they could make a real difference in our quest for a result. Hibs may have had a torrid season but it can't be denied they have some very talented players. Garry O'Connor has a dozen goals to his name this season which is not a bad return. They also have the crafty, quick influence of Leigh Griffiths though I better not say too much about him, he might batter me if I do. For me I can see us grabbing a 2-0 win from this one. As Terry says the team have mostly bounced back from bad performances this season and will be looking for more of the same. From a Hibs perspective morale is low, they are on a serious goal drought and they really dont enjoy coming up here but I wouldn't write them off completely.

Where's Lukey??? :- For all those that aren't at the match and are watching it on the box courtesy of ESPN be sure to look out for the blonde bombshell that is Luke Mackay. Luke is a regular poster on the forum under the quickly thought out name "lukemackay" and has been lucky enough to have been spotted by the cameras in every televised match ICT have featured in this season. To make this easy for you look out for a lad that looks like Robert Eagle, wears dark trackies and will no doubt be wearing his ICT colours and will be situated up in the Section E area throughout the match. He'll no doubt be hiding at the back and going mental if a goal goes in, you can't miss him. (hmmnnnn, will he be wearing his beard on Sunday?)

***Latest Team News***

Terry Butcher has stated that he will make changes to freshen up the side, and that's not difficult to understand after the midweek slump. Still out though are Chris Hogg, Andrew Shinnie and Ryan Esson. The long awaited return of Aaron Doran is fast approaching and Jonny Hayes and Kenny Gillet look set to be included in the squad. So, if all of these guys are fit and raring to go then there will definitely be alterations to the starting eleven with Josh Meekings also available after his red card at Aberdeen.

Pat Fenlon is struggling to turn Hibs fortunes around and he might have to do so without captain Ian Murray who is hampered by a hip injury. He could have better luck with Jake McPake and Danny Galbraith who have shaken off knocks, but ex-County midfielder Martin Scott will not take part after being told he is surplus to requirements and is available for loan.
By tm4tj in Previews 2011-12 ·

Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone - Report

St Johnstone too slick for bumbling Inverness
 
Inverness turned in another woeful home display as a slicker St Johnstone went back down the A9 with all three points. Fransisco Sandaza smartly converted a penalty before half time after Tade and McKay had missed golden opportunities to put the home side ahead. Unfortunately our performance only got worse in the second half as we struggled to put more than two passes together and Saints could have finished the game off in the second half on the break but chances went abegging. Gnakpa smacked the bar late on but it was a familiar tale of too little too late.
The scene was set for an entertaining evening, both sides having excellent wins at the weekend and even the weather was on it's best behaviour. St Johnstone's miserly away defence are one of the reasons for their lofty position and it was going to take more than Inverness' schoolboy attempts to make them break sweat. What was about to unfold was as predictable as Neil Lennon complaining about referees .............. ajsict92 will tell us how he saw it, but there's not a lot of happy bunnies out there tonight.
Same old Story...
This was real huff and puff stuff tonight. Having already observed the first half performance I had a funny feeling that at half time Sandaza's penalty was probably going to be the only goal of the game. Against Kilmarnock two and a bit weeks ago there was a lot more enthusiasm about the team and chances were being created at a premium coupled with the usual lack of conversion rate rising during the game but tonight there was a real lack of passion in this ICT side and as a result they lacked any real desire to push on and grab a result.
ICT definitely started the brighter of the two sides. Billy McKay was all over the shop, chasing after lost causes and tracking down any chances he got to get the ball to his feet and it was his hard work that helped carve out ICT's first chance of the game, the ball broke to him and he raced into the penalty area, attempting to go round Mannus who managed to divert it into the path of Gregory Tade who had an open goal at his mercy but somehow managed to scuff it wide. I remember a Raith fan commented on CTO when we signed him in the summer saying he would miss as many as he scored but that one tonight was by far the worst. We continued to press though and again missed a great opportunity when Bill McKay cut inside and shot low and hard, it seemed to go under Mannus but the ball was slowed down enough for him to get back and clutch it in his grasp. That really was as good as it got.
While ICT seemed to have more of the ball, St Johnstone seemed to be more composed when they had it and also seemed to have better control of the play and with former Premier League players like Lee Croft and Jody Morris at the teams disposal it was no suprise to see them spraying the ball about the park, creating some nice little passing triangles but the lack of production in the final third suggested that St Johnstone perhaps were not hitting top form either tonight. However like our last outing it seems to be common courtesy for us to gift the visiting side a goal, 2 weeks ago it was an OG and this time it was a penalty and to be honest at the time I didn't have many qualms about it. Tade had a stinker of a game tonight and the fact he conceded the penalty just summed it up, and for me he did seem to push Liam Craig over and Sandaza dispatched the penalty very sweetly, firing it into the corner, shading the post as it went in. The first half simply saw itself out to a minor chorus of boos as the players and officials left the pitch.
Half time - ICT 0 - 1 St Johnstone
Whatever the half time team talk was it did little to unhinge the players from the mediocrity they were producing in the first half and the game just seemed to turn into a frustrating sequence of misplaced passes, high balls to Billy McKay and St Johnstone hitting us on the break on a few occasions. It really didnt get much better than that. Our lack of quality on the width became very telling in the second half. Shinnie and Piermayr were pushing forward alot but really struggled to find Tade and Sutherland (two players who are actually strikers to trade) as they were continually drifting inwards and watching passes to them head towards nothing more than empty spaces. St Johnstone always proved a threat on the break as well and there were one or two occasions where ICT were almost caught short with Sandaza firing just wide and Ross Tokely making a couple of excellent last ditch tackles to prevent more opportunites developing for the away side.
As the game wore on the players did seem to get more of a grip of the ball. Nick Ross was brought on for a less than effective Tade and Richie Foran was shifted up front along side Billy McKay and the two of them conjured up a decent chance when Foran brought the ball down for McKay who struck first time on his left foot only to find it drift just wide of the post. ICT continued to press and Billy McKay was again the one involved in the action he was found just outside the area, turned his man smartly and attempted to find Foran at the back post but his ball across goal was cleared. Foran himself came close when his header flew just over the bar for a good position six yards out.
In the latter stages of the game Sandaza broke clear of the defence again and went down close to the penalty area rather softly under close watch from Golobart and Willie Collum saw it this way and awarded ICT a free kick. As the game drew towards the 90th minute Ross Tokely was placed in the makeshift centre forward role and Claude Gnakpa was then summoned from the bench to replace Sutherland, and with injury time beckoning managed to swing in a beautiful cross which forced Mannus to punch clear with the aerial threat of Foran looming. Gnakpa himself then produced arguably the best moment of the game when he caught a lovely strike on the half volley only to find it rattle the crossbar junction and all but end our chances of taking anything from this game.
Full Time:- ICT 0-1 St Johnstone
To Summarise :- I mentioned in the preview that I thought it was essential to build on the win against Aberdeen and try to finish this season as strong as possible and this is why. Most of our wins this season have all been followed up by defeat (excluding 3 straight wins in January). I don't know if it's complacency setting in or if tonight it was down to not recovering quick enough from Aberdeen but there is no real excuse for it, this was a very poor, dejected performance against a St Johnstone side who have had a terrific season but really were not firing on all cylinders for this game. I can only hope that Terry Butcher can pick the team up from this game with another home game looming so soon after.
ajsict92's MOTM - Billy McKay
Was at the centre of everything tonight. Ran himself into the ground, chased down the ball if he had even the slightest chance of winning it, carved out chances for teammates and was unlucky not to score himself. In a game that cried out for more effort his high work rate really showed. Certainly the only player who could have been described as a threat throughout the game.
28th March 2012 Scottish Premier League Tulloch Caledonian Stadium Inverness C.T. 0 - /media/images/club_badges/inverness.png TEAM: Tuffey, Tokely, Golobart, G.Shinnie, Piermayr, Tudur-Jones, Tansey, Foran, Tade (Ross 74), Sutherland (Gnakpa 83), McKay SUBS:Mathison, Proctor, Williams, Morrison, Winnall Booked: Tudur-Jones (48), Tokely (81) Sent Off: none St Johnstone 1 - Sandaza (pen.41) /media/images/club_badges/stjohnstone.png TEAM: Mannus, MacKay, Wright, Maybury, McCracken, Morris (Anderson 88), Millar, Croft, Craig, Sheridan (Robertson 84), Sandaza SUBS:Enckelman, Gray, Oyenuga, Compton, Keatings Booked: Millar (37), Sandaza (47) Sent Off: none Referee Willie Collum Attendance 3035  
By Scotty in Reports 2011-12 ·

Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Lomas Fancies Chinese Takeaway

Shaanxi Chan-Ba: No it's not a spicey Oriental lamb shank, it's where Steve Lomas might get his next Chinese takeaway from in the shape of one of the top SPL scorers of all time, Derek Riordan. The former Hibs and Celtic striker is at a loose end after leaving his club in November, only four months into a two year deal. Lomas would see him as an ideal replacement for Cillian Sheridan and Fran Sandaza should the Perth Club be unable to tempt them to stay at McDiarmid Park beyond the seasons end, and he could sign for them before the weekend to bolster their push for European football next season.

But, we are not here to discuss Deek. It's the rearranged SPL game against St Johnstone on Wednesday evening, and if you still have your ticket for a fiver, then it's a cheap night out for you. The original game was scheduled to see Saints as our first footers on the 2nd of January but very heavy early morning blizzards and sleet put paid to that and the game was called off a couple of hours before kick off. The already saturated pitch had worsened and became waterlogged ending any possibility of football being played, much to the chagrin of all concerned.

The Perth Saints have sustained their early season surge and sit comfortably inside the top-six, 15 points ahead of injury stifled Inverness, a position even their own fans thought would be difficult to achieve this season. But achieve it they have and they have the opportunity to push for European football come the end of this season with Tayside neighbours Dundee United in fourth place in the league on the same points total prior to this game. So, while St Johnstone have their sights set on a Europa place, we look to jump two places with a home win. That would see us leapfrog Aberdeen and St Mirren into eighth place, commendable given our problems this season.

St Johnstone's season has been built around a fantastic away record that boasts only two defeats, both by the same scoreline, 3-2 at Easter Road and Fir Park. That has seen them tally 27 out of their total of 46 points so far this term, scoring 21 times on the road, but more significantly, only conceding a miserly 10 goals away from Perth.

Our own season has been hindered by numerous injuries and we have been unable to mount any serious assault on the top half of the table, instead concentrating on keeping a team or two below us. Still without Chris Hogg and Andrew Shinnie we are starting to see one or two return, with Golobart and Tudur-Jones getting more match sharpness at Pittodrie last weekend. Unfortunately, some fresh injuries to other key players are still disrupting our continuity, Hayes, Doran and Gillet sitting out the last couple of games, with Doran's continuing injury nightmare completely ruining his season so far. Ryan Esson was the latest casualty, pulling up in the pre-match warm up at Aberdeen with Jonny Tuffey ably deputising.

Remember folks, ticket prices have been halved for tonights game and season ticket holders can bring a friend for a fiver, as long as tickets are bought before reaching the turnstiles.

I could ramble on, but I'll let someone else take up the story as ajsict92 has been doing the homework for this preview and will tell us how we are going to tackle the Super J's, read on...................................

Long time coming...

I managed to win myself a lengthy lie in bed when this fixture was first cancelled way back at the start of the new year but i think given our result against Aberdeen at the weekend then it is probably a good time to challenge ourselves against a team like St Johnstone and look to inflict only their third away defeat on them this season.

Building on the weekends performance will be difficult but I think it is important that we do so. All of the boys ran themselves into the ground for that result, showing alot of passion and commitment. Passion and commitment which transmitted to the stands as the team received a standing ovation and chorus of chants at full time. As Big Tel mentioned at the weekend the last time we played three games in the course of a week we won all three and we definitely need that kind of display again. As has been typical of our season though it was a result gained in a lot of adversity with the loss of Ryan Esson through injury and Josh Meekings being sent off. However both Jonny Tuffey and Thomas Piermayr gave very credible displays, couple that with the potential return of the likes of Gillet and Hayes then Tel will have a decision to make on what changes will be necessary to the squad when he chooses his starting eleven.

Not a great deal to go on between the two sides as there has only been one fixture previous to this one in which the Saints ran out 2-0 winners. The Saints were on top form at that point and had Spanish hitman Fran Sandaza scoring freely for them. A quality player on top form and given the fact he has clocked up 16 goals this season I would imagine it will be a case of when he departs as opposed to if. The previous encounter between the two sides also proved to be Derek McInnes' final game in charge of the club before he departed for Bristol City. I'm sure when he left many Saints fans would have been concerned about the clubs future, especially given the strides they had made under him. Steve Lomas however seems to be proving a more than capable replacement and given he is also a young manager plying his trade, Geoff Brown may well have difficulty holding on to him when bigger clubs come calling.

Given the rare but nonetheless beautiful weather we've been having and the Easter hols looming, I'm very much looking forward to this match. With both teams having taken maximum points at the weekend and against tricky opposition they will both be feeling confident going into this one and with the quality of players at each others disposal im hoping to see a reasonably open game of football with two teams going at it. Both still have alot to play for. Saints will be pushing for that one European spot left with Top-Six already secured and looking to do the double over ourselves while we have our own agenda of trying to go two places better than our current position of 10th which we have occupied comfortably for a considerable amount of time now but have always aimed to move up and away from.

ajsict92's prediction:- It will be a tense game, despite the disparity in league positions, but I dont think there is a great difference in quality between the sides, especially if we have Jonny Hayes back at our disposal. It will be absolutely essential that we keep the likes of Sandaza and Sheridan quiet or even Marcus Haber who despite not having as prolific a record, has some real pace about him. It will be a big challenge for young lads like Golobart and Graeme Shinnie but with an experienced head like Big Toker's bossing them there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to do so. Boys like Tade and McKay will be looking to replicate their good performances from Saturday and impress in front of the home crowd and if Butcher keeps Tudur-Jones and Foran anchoring the midfield they could well have a big influence in play as well. Both teams will be well up for it but I think with the home crowd on our side and a confident team on the pitch I can see us grabbing a 2-1 win.

***Latest Team News***

Inverness' injury fortunes are still going in and out like a fiddlers elbow. Out are Hogg, Andrew Shinnie and Doran with Ryan Esson (groin) joining the definites and Josh Meekings for his red card will be suspended. The maybe's are Hayes and Gillet (hamstrings) and Owain Tudur-Jones who might need time to re-adjust to full time football again after a classy showing at Pittodrie. The ins will be Jonny Tuffey and his new deputy, u19 keeper Scott Mathieson, Thomas Piermayr who has had to bide his time for the right back position unless Butcher decides to move Ross Tokely back out wide and play Steve Williams alongside the already returned Roman Golobart, with u21 left back Graeme Shinnie wide left if Gillet does not return. Tansey, Foran and Sutherland, Ross or Hayes will make up the midfield with Tade and the industrious Billy McKay looking for the goals. Hayes, Gillet and Doran are more likely to target the Hibs game this weekend for a return to action, but Butcher will keep his options open until the last minute.

St Johnstone's Murray Davidson will miss this game after injuring his knee against Hearts, but it's not as serious as first feared and he could be back in a couple of weeks. Callum Davidson (hamstring) should be fit enough to be included in the squad and Steve Lomas has no fresh injury worries ahead of this testing encounter, quoting "We'll have to be at our best to get anything from Inverness."

Other ICT news:- Papers saying today that Owain Tudur-Jones is keen to extend his stay with Inverness and repay the faith shown in him since he returned from long term injury. Have to say I think his injury was one of many serious aspects that hindered our season but anyone who has seen him play since he returned can see that if we can get this guy playing regularly and 100% fit he could be different class for us. Hopefully Tel will give him some more game time to impress as the season draws to a close

Other SPL news:- Surprise surprise, Neil Lennon has been asked to explain his alleged misconduct in the wake of last weekends fiery Old Firm game where after the dust settled, Rangers emerged with a 3-2 victory and ten men on the park, with Mr Lennon's side being reduced to nine players. Well well, how does this not surprise me. The greetin faced wee toerag has been pushing his luck with officials for as long as Rangers have been cheating the tax man and he still expects to get away with it. Time he learned some manners and the beaks should grow a pair and tell him. Apparently he reckons he was "prevented from doing his job", I could answer that but my lawyer is too expensive.

They think its all over....well mathematically it's not quite.........ajsict92 adds, I must admit that I have laughed at Rangers a lot in the last month for most of the same reasons that the rest of the nation have, but on Sunday a part of me wanted to see the Gers frustrate Celtic's attempts to wrap up the league nice and early. For a side in turmoil Rangers, who had nothing to play for gave a quality and spirited performance against their fierce rivals led by a very in form Sone Aluko. Celtic's performance was that of a side who thought they'd already won the game before it began (similar to the CIS Cup FInal) and probably gave them the wake up call that maybe they are not so invincible yet in their quest for total domination. A modern day Old Firm wouldn't be complete without Neil Lennon throwing a twizz worthy of him being sent off and giving an angry interview at full time. This no doubt will be followed by the usual slap on the wrists and small fine from the SPL but he knows only too well his side will never get a better opportunity to win the league at Ibrox.
By tm4tj in Previews 2011-12 ·

Aberdeen -V- ICT - Report

Ten man Inverness hold out for all three points
After Josh Meekings received his second yellow card it was all hands to the pumps for Inverness as Aberdeen surged forward in the second half. However Inverness held out for all three points after Gregory Tade scored the only goal of the game early in the first half to ease the Highlanders relegation squeaks. He also squandered a great opportunity to seal an easy victory after scuffing a shot past Brown's post in the second half, but as time would tell, the Dons misfiring strikers were unable to trouble Jonathon Tuffey and we held out comfortably........................
Terry Butcher had to reshuffle the pack just before kick off as regular goal minder Ryan Esson tweaked his groin and will be a doubt for this Wednesday against St Johnstone. His place was taken by Jonny Tuffey who proved to be an adequate replacement for Esson as he kept a clean sheet whilst keeping Aberdeen at bay during the second half siege, especially after Josh Meekings walked for his second bookable offence. Nothing sinister, just a tad clumsy from young Josh.
Esson's absence catapulted young keeper Scott Mathieson out of the stands and onto the bench. Ross Tokely partnered birthday boy Roman Golobart in the heart of the defence and Graeme Shinnie fitted in at left back in place of the injured Kenny Gillet. Owain Tudur-Jones made his long overdue start with Tansey, Foran and Sutherland in the engine room and Tade and McKay were the front runners.
Coastal fog kept the sun away, but it never stopped Inverness from making a bright start to the game and as our Marchers will tell you, our bright start got even brighter after 10 minutes.
The marchers will provide the full match report when they regroup, and sober up after a hectic week..................and here is Gringo Junior with a double header for you.
"A Meaningless Encounter" - This was how this match was described by some in the media in the build up to this fixture, but both Aberdeen's Craig Brown and our very own Terry Butcher were quick to dismiss that notion. It's not too difficult to see their own reasons as to why.
Jim Jefferies has been appointed as the new manager at Dunfermline following the sacking of Jim McIntyre, in an effort by their board to instill a little end of season spark to their campaign. With Hibernian just five points behind Inverness at the start of play, Terry Butchers men would be looking to increase the gap between themselves and the bottom pairing.
With Aberdeen 9-points away from 6th-placed Hearts with 3 games to go before the split, Craig Browns men would be looking to hold on to the very slim hope of gaining that final top six spot with a victory over ICT, or at least look at being 'best of the rest' come the end of the season.
A good number of fans travelled along the A96 to Aberdeen for what Jeff Stelling called 'a Highland Derby'. The Sky Sports presenter, who is usually so knowledgeable when it comes to his football trivia, should perhaps save that terminology for our near neighbour's arrival into the top flight next season. A 1-0 win for them away to Partick Thistle means they need just 6 points from their remaining 7 fixtures to secure the First Division title!
Onto the match itself and what a day for football it was. The weather over the week had seen temperatures in the area reach the high teens, but the hint of mist and a slight breeze off the North Sea made the playing conditions almost perfect. The pitch didn't look too bad either!
Ryan Esson, who has been fantastic all season for Inverness, was injured in the warm-up and replaced by International goalkeeper, Jonny Tuffey. Johnny Hayes and Kenny Gillet didn't make the trip to Aberdeen due to Injury, and Owain Tudor Jones was to make his first start since recovering from his own injury nightmares.
Aberdeen made just one change to the side that lost to Motherwell last week, as Rory Fallon was dropped to the bench in place of Mitch Megginson.
The away support were in full song from kick-off, and it wasn't long before they had something to really shout about. Despite a fantastic save by Jonny Tuffey in the Inverness goal following a cross-come-shot by McArdle in the first minute of the game, it was Inverness that broke the deadlock after some fine play between Gregory Tade and Billy McKay. The tall Frenchman neatly flicked on a clearance to the feet of McKay who did well to nip past his marker, round Jason Brown and slot the ball square to Tade. Tade simply bundled the ball, and himself, into the Aberdeen net to put Inverness 1-0 up after less than 10-minutes!
Aberdeen didn't seem to get into the game and more chances were forthcoming for Inverness. Tade, who was winning most of the headers against his marker, was able to create a few snippets with his delecate flick-ons, and Billy McKay was having one of his best performances for the club since signing on from Northampton Town. Greame Shinnie was fantastic at left-back, and even had the confidence on one or two occasions to take on the Aberdeen midfield.
ICT Captain Richie Foran commanded the midfield well and even got in on the action in front of goal. With only one goal to his name this campaign, he could have doubled his tally, and the score, when he found himself inside the box and should have done better with an effort that was well cleared by Kari Arnason on the goal-line. A cleaner strike either side of the Aberdeen defender and it would have been 2-0.
Penalty decisions have eluded Inverness for in excess of 12 months and they were again to miss out in the first half after Sutherland was tripped in the box following a through-ball from Foran. With referee Finnie waving away the players' claims and a weak Scott Vernon effort the only noticable points of the first half, the Caley Jags ended the half the better team.
Halt Time:- Aberdeen 0-1 Inverness CT
As much as Inverness were the more dominant of the sides in the first half, they were a far cry from watching Brazil. They would certainly need another goal to provide a little comfort and settle any nerves. Unsurprisingly there was to be no substitutions for Inverness CT at half time, although Arnason was replaced by Pawlett in an effort to tighten up the Aberdeen midfield.
Aberdeen came out of the blocks in the second half and reduced Inverness to just the rare break, consisting mostly of the famous Caley Thistle long-ball punt up the park, with Tade and McKay trying to latch onto the end of it. A bombardment of balls into the box saw Golobart and Tokely worked fully for the first time in the match. Golobart in particular, who celebrated his 20th birthday mid-week, was solid in clearing the Inverness lines, much to the joy of the travelling supporters who would chant his name with every touch!
Graeme Shinnie, who had also performed well in the first half, was lucky to get away with not conceding a free kick on the edge of the box as he appeared to push the ball away with his hands after slipping over under pressure. But Aberdeen were not to be denied a little fortune when Josh Meekings saw red for two second half yellows, both of which were received following clumsy late challenges. The second being on Scott Vernon as he skipped the ball past Meekings, and his trailing leg was caught by the Inverness number 26. There was certainly no complaint from Meekings as he turned immediately towards the tunnel, head bowed.
With Inverness now reduced to 10 men, Aberdeen had half and hour to make their extra man count. Piermayr replaced McKay for Inverness as Terry Butcher tried to tighten the back line and keep the Dons at bay, shortly after Craig Brown had put on an extra forward, Chalali in place of midfielder Clarke.
Although Aberdeen were pressing and Caley Thislte were down to 10-men, it was Gregory Tade who came closest to changing the score-line after he latched onto a long ball from Golobart. Cutting inside and with his eyes on goal, he scuffed his effort straight at Jason Brown and Tade's frustration was clear to see. The travelling fans were in full voice despite the Aberdeen pressure and after Tade went off for treatment, he returned to the park with a change of shirt, without name or number printed, to chants of 'The Man With No Name'.
Chalali and Vernon were beginning to link up well for Aberdeen, yet they continued to misfire as shot after shot failed to trouble Jonny Tuffey. Chalali was, however, to have Aberdeen's best chance for an equaliser by creating space just inside the Inverness box and driving a shot hard towards goal. Jonny Tuffey was equal to the challenge and got a strong fist to the shot to see the ball out of danger.
As the game drew to a close, the Inverness fans were still in full song and encouraging their side to push out after every clearence. It was a credit to the stewards to allow the travelling fans to stand and chant for more or less the entire fixture. With Fallon replacing Megginson for the final 10 minutes, Steve Williams replaced Owain Tudur-Jones for the away side to keep the back line solid. Aberdeen became desperate, with even goalkeeper Jason Brown taking throw-ins whenever the ball went out in the Aberdeen half, and a dive from Chalali on the corner of the box saw him yellow carded as Inverness held out for a hard fought victory.
Full Time:- Aberdeen 0-1 Inverness CT
Delight surrounded the travelling supporters as cries of 'Inverness, Inverness' echoed around the stadium. With each player that approached to show their appreciation, their name was chanted, and not a single soul left their seat until the last player had ventured down the tunnel. A truly fantastic result, and with the Pars and Hibs both dropping points, this 'meaningless encounter' clearly meant something to the Inverness faithful.
Next up for Inverness is their re-arranged fixture with St Johnstone which was initially meant to be played at the turn of the year. The 3-points gained from this win sees Inverness close to within 2 points of the Dons and 6 points of Kilmarnock who take up 7th. I wonder if the media again will see Wednesday as another meaningless affair, considering the Saints have already consolidated their place in the top-six?
Great report from Rob and as a bonus, here is the Highland March Training Report:
I had the pleasure of walking to this game from Elgin as part of my training for the forthcoming Highland March, which sets off in 6 weeks time. CapitalCaley (Mark MacRae), who took part in last year's venture, joined me on the jaunt to Aberdeen which would see us cover a distance of nearly 70 miles.
Initially planning to follow Cycle Route 1 all the way (90+ miles), we had to take into consideration the fact we were doing this without a support vehicle. The plan was to camp each night so as to keep costs down, and the added weight certainly slowed us down.
We set off from Elgin railway station at 0645 on Wednesday morning and headed along the A96 for 2 miles before turning off on the back roads to Garmouth. Our back packs were pretty heavy and with the sun beaming down on us for the entire day, it was tough going. Despite this, we managed to reach Cullen well in advance of our intended arrival time. Cullen was our planned over-night stop, but with more hours of daylight ahead, we continued on for a further 10-miles and bunked down at Cornhill. A special mention here to the 'Peggy Duffs' bar (Gordon Arms) in Cornhill. The landlady and her customers were more than accommodating and extremely friendly!
After waking to noisy crows on Thursday, the pace was extremely slow as the aches, pains and blisters of Wednesday didn't want to let off. The planned end of stage was Turriff, yet with this being just 13 miles away, we had again revised our intentions and looked to make Oldmeldrum instead. Unfortunately, for myself at least, my legs couldn't seem to carry me much further and we wisely called it a day after our lunch stop in Turriff. We did, however, make the most of our afternoon by skipping the next few miles and getting much needed rest, sorted out the feet, grabbed a beer and enjoying the shade. It was again a good decision to ditch the tents and take the opportunity for a comfy room and a shower, yet the price tag per single room left a little to be desired! Sceptical here that 'the last two rooms' were in fact the last ones, as we didn't see anyone else around the establishment for the entire time we were there. Oh well!
We knew we could make Dyce, or even Aberdeen, by the end of Friday, but our concern at this time was for the busy main road linking Turriff with Aberdeen. In typical Highland March style, we simply went for it and made our way along the grass verges. At Tarves we were able to once more link up with the cycle route and we followed this all the way into Dyce, making sure we sampled a pub lunch (and a cold pint) upon reaching Newmachar.
In typical 'Bear Grylls' style, we headed to the Britannia Hotel on the A96 at Bucksburn for a cheap nights kip and must again praise the bar staff who were doing well to keep the beer flowing in the busy village bar.
Our final jaunt was a 6 miles trip to Pittodrie via the railway station (so we could dump Capital's baggage), and it was great to see some friendly faces disembark on the train from Inverness as we arrived at the station.
Pre-match drinks at the Caledonian were very welcome, and I must admit it was great to get a seat on the Travel Club bus home.
This was only a training walk for the pair of us, but thanks to social networking, we were able to keep people up to date, receive words of encouragement, and ultimately place our bets for the 10p Bowling antics of which we take part
Thank you to those that wished us well for this tough training session. It's certainly kicked me into touch before the main event on May 5th. I just hope we avoid Kilmarnock and St Mirren!!!
24th March 2012 Scottish Premier League Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Aberdeen 0 - /media/images/club_badges/aberdeen.png TEAM: Brown, McArdle, Reynolds, Considine, Robertson, Clark (Chalali -58), Arnason (Pawlet -46), Jack, Rae, Vernon, Megginson (Fallon -68) ; SUBS: Langfield, Mawene, Mackie, Magennis; Booked: Mcardle, Chalali, Rae Sent Off: none Inverness C.T. 1 - Tade (10') /media/images/club_badges/inverness.png TEAM: Tuffey, Meekings, Tokely, Golobart, Shinnie, Tudur-Jones (Williams -83), Tansey (Proctor -68), Foran, Sutherland, Tade, McKay (Piermayr -60)- SUBS:Mathieson, Ross, Morrison, Winnall Booked: Shinnie, Meekings Sent Off: Meekings Referee S Finnie Attendance 8939  
By Scotty in Reports 2011-12 ·

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