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Inverness CT -V- Hearts - Report

Hearts come back off the ropes to snatch a point.
 
Inverness let the Jambo's off the hook by failing to finish them off when they were almost down and out midway through the second half.
 Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald provided the comedy show straight from the Festival as he allowed Nick Ross to hassle the ball away from him for Tade to open the scoring; sheer comedy genius.
Unfortunately for the homesters they could not shake off Hearts and the arrival of Templeton and Taouil gave the visitors the impetus to change the pattern and recover a point as Elliott knocked in the equaliser, via the post.
Overall a draw was probably fair enough although Inverness would rue a string of missed opportunities to take all three points when Hearts were on the back foot, but the substitutions sparked Hearts into life and the late goal was always a likelihood.
The visitors had a healthy crowd following them and the rain had given way to a balmy Indian summer afternoon, giving the game a pre-season feel about it and the players obviously felt the same as they settled into a rather turgid first half.  There was no indication that the second half was about to become infinitely more entertaining with a couple of comedy acts on display. MacDonald and Golobart were high on the list, but they were only on the fringe as the wee lad that ran away with the orb in the middle of the second half stole the show, and the ball.  It took a fair bit of persuasion to get the ball back into play and all was well again.
 The pre-season theme was evident prior to kick off as the Immortal Howden Ender led a few visitors astray and sotonict is testament to this.  Hopefully he will recover in time to relate his thoughts of the day after his sojourn North.
And a borrowed iPhone is all he needs to get his report to press...........................
10th Sep 2011 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium I.C.T. 1 - Tade (50) TEAM: Esson, Piermayr, Tokely, G.Shinnie, Golobart, Ross, Morrison, A.Shinnie (Chippendale 82) , Davis (Tansey 65), Foran (Sutherland 85), Tade SUBS: Tuffey, Gillet, McKay Booked: Foran (33) Sent Off: none HEARTS 1 - Elliot (81) TEAM: MacDonald, Hamill, Grainger, Webster, Zaliukas (Taouil 66), Black, Obua (Jonsson 78), Stevenson, Mrowiec, Elliott, Novikovas (Templeton 46) SUBS: Hamilton, Sutton, Smith, Robinson Booked: Webster (33), Black (37) Sent Off: none Referee Willie Collum Attendance 4106 Inverness were unlucky not to come away with a second consecutive home win against their capital city opponents
In what was an at times, scrappy affair, Inverness more than matched the visitors who hadn't won away from home so far this season.
Terry Butcher named one of his deadline day signings in the team lines and he looked to have slotted in straight away.  I'm sure there will be more to come from Dave Davis.
The Shinnie brothers were working tirelessly all over the park, infact it was Graeme who stopped an Andy Webster shot on the goal line after he had broken free from a corner.
Ian Black was his usual 'competitive' self and picked up a yellow card in the latter half of the first period.  Invermess I believe could have done well to pick up on the former ICT players ability to see the red mist, but as the game wore on he looked to play more football, instead of bullying, so maybe he's learning!
Both sides cancelled each other out and the first half finished goalless, and bereft of entertainment.
The highlanders came out with a bit more of a buzz in the second half and got a fortuitous lead when under slight pressure from Nick Ross, the Hearts keeper slipped up allowing the ball to rebound back to Gregory Tade who went for placement rather than power and slotted it into the far side of the goal.
Andrew Shinnie was unfortunate to flash a ball just wide as Inverness pressed forward, the wrong foot sending the cross agonisingly wide, and Tade might have had a hat-trick on another day, but McDonald made amends for his blooper on a couple of occasions.
The whole game had taken on a better pace now and there was alot more flowing football and neat through balls being played.  Hearts striker Arvydas Novikovas looking a more constant threat, however the defence of Golobart, Tokely, Shinnie and Piermayr were not letting any serious chances get through.
As the game slowly drew to a close, it looked inevitable that Hearts would grab an equaliser (both sides only had three attempts on target each), and the Hearts manager will be purring contently after both his substitutes worked in their favour.
It was then no surprise after 81 minutes when Stephen Elliott rose highest and he glanced the ball first off his head then agonisingly off the inside of the upright, and the game was level.
As the game panned out both teams looked happy enough with the draw and the crowd of 4,106 went home in a more optimistic mood after the second half showing.
One small mention to finish off, Aidan Chippendale looked an exciting prospect after coming on with only 10 minutes remaining.  His first piece of the action was to sprint from box to box like Usain Bolt;  he could cause some SPL defences problems with his turn of pace.
Cheers for the report soton, hope yer heids OK and you enjoyed yer day out.
tm4tj man of the match was relatively easy to select.  Andrew's brother Graeme, (see what I did there), has not looked back since his return from illness.  Once again Graeme Shinnie was immense and Kenny Gillet will need to bide his time if he wants to play at left back for Inverness.
Overall it was the game of two halfs and both sides will be pleased with their point.  Inverness looked to have the game firmly in their grasp until Hearts eventually woke up and believed they could get something from it.  Decent debut's for the new loanee's and our back four did well, despite Roman doing some more Flamenco faux pas, but he cannae help it.
Dundee United at Tannadice next up for Inverness and I believe McGonagall will be chatting to wee Davie.
No match highlights found.
By tm4tj in Reports 2011-12 ·

Inverness CT -V- Hearts - Preview

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Maroon Platoon heading North. 
Back to league business this weekend after the break for international matches saw Scotland's fast fading hopes of reaching the group stages of the European Championships hanging by a very thin thread.
In keeping with the international games, Heart of Lithuania visit Inverness on Saturday for a more sedate affair, yes folks, it's back to the bread and butter of the SPL.
Last time out Inverness kick started their season with a gutsy 2-1 defeat of Kilmarnock whilst Hearts were strolling to a comfortable Edinburgh derby win over Hibernian, a result that lifted Inverness into tenth place in the league and dropped Hibernian to the foot of the table.  Hearts meanwhile, enjoy a more familiar position in fourth spot.
Inverness boss Terry Butcher does not have his troubles to seek as a plethora of early season injuries has seen another two new faces added to the squad after an unbelievable sequence of events saw his squad devastated with one long term absentee after another.  With both wide midfielders Hayes and Doran suffering the same fate with shoulder injuries, Butcher has acquired the services of Wolverhampton's David Davis and Aidan Chippendale from Huddersfield Town, both on loans until January at least.  Both of these twenty year old's offer a bit of pace going forward and are eager to grab some first team action in the SPL.
Historically, Heart's hold the upper hand in this fixture winning four times out of nine in Inverness with the hosts only victory coming in september 2008 when Craig Brewster crashed home a superb late winner as Inverness won 2-1.  Dennis Wyness had earlier equalised after an Ian Black own goal had given Heart's the lead that day, but substitute player manager Brewster slammed home the winner in injury time as his volley exploded behind Banks in the Hearts goal.  Alan Morgan had provided the inch perfect cross for Brewster to acrobatically score the winner for bottom side Inverness,  that was our first points that season.
New Hearts boss Paulo Sergio reckons that Inverness are a physical side and don't play football the way he would like his own side to play.  That's rich with players like Ian Black in your squad who are not adverse to kicking anything that moves.  Strangely that endeared him to many of our fans, but the boot is on the other foot now and we know better than most how tenacious the wee fellow can be.  He is back after serving a two week ban for his red card at Motherwell, forcing him out of the Aberdeen and Kilmarnock games.  But Sergio reckons he is not an agressive player.........aye right Paulo.
Recent form and league positions would suggest that Hearts will be the favourites for this game, and history backs that up.  Inverness have only one win at home this season while Hearts are without a victory on their travels, but have two draws  and one defeat.  Both sides have scored six goals so far, but it's the defensive record of the Inverness back four that gives cause for concern, whereas Hearts have a steadier rearguard with Andy Webster settling back in nicely, and that makes it difficult for teams to get the better of Hearts as a unit.
Ones to watch:-
Inverness will have two new players on display in the shape of David Davis and Aiden Chippendale.  They are keen to have a go in the SPL and that could be enough to keep the locals happy.  Both are wide midfielders and have pace to trouble most defences so it will be interesting to see how they perform.
Gregory Tade has made his mark with the Inverness fans with his energy and endeavour being shown in abundance.  Last time out he added a magnificent headed goal to boost his confidence as an SPL player and the fans will be looking for more from the big striker.  He showed plenty of passion for the game after scoring as he pumped his chest and gestured into the stand for everyone to get behind the team.  More of the same today will be welcome.
Hearts have an abundance of talented players to choose from and one man who can certainly turn a game is Arvydas Novikovas.  The twenty year old Lithuanian international was on loan at Perth last season and has plenty to prove to new boss Paulo Sergio.  He can be a match winner and has plenty of technical ability allied with trickery and pace, definitely one to keep an eye on.
David Templeton is another tricky customer, and he's Scottish.  The youngster has been in tremendous form since joining Hearts from Stenhousemuir in January 2007 for £30,000.  He scored his first Hearts goal against Hamilton in 2010 and had been called into the Scotland u21 set up.  Glaswegian David, signed a three year deal at Tynecastle in March 2010.  Always a danger breaking forward at pace, he is another our back line will need to keep a close watch on.
Latest Team News
Inverness have their two deadline day loan signings fit and raring to go.  Davis and Chippendale could well be thrust straight into the action to replace the shoulder twins, Hayes and Doran as Butcher reshuffles the pack once more.  Greg Tansey and Billy McKay look likliest to be the first ones off the treatment table and could feature this weekend.  Less fortunate are  Cox, Proctor, Tudur-Jones, Gillet and Meekings.
Hearts are still without Kevin Kyle, Gary Glen and Calum Elliot with Marian Kello a doubt.  Good news for us about Kyle's absence as he has been a thorn in our side on numerous occasions and Calum Elliot also reserves his best for games against us.
tm4tj Prediction:- A fixture that we tend to struggle in and with only the one win in nine attempts not the sort of statistic that lends itself to a confidence booster for the home fans.  However, the seeds were sewn against Kilmarnock, and Hearts have struggled away from Tynecastle which might just work in our favour.  Our ever changing squads due to the horrendous injury problems so early in the season does not help the teams preparations, but the injection of new faces could be the spur needed to surprise the boys in maroon.  I will sit on the fence here and settle for a share of the points in a low scoring draw.  1-1 for me.
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2011-12 ·

ICT Legend - Gringo Jnr. !!!

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Article written by Dave Wilson (Gringo)
Many stories have been written over the years about the exploits of the travelling Gringo’s and their quest to support their favourite team. The journeys to and from the Highlands have clocked up thousands of miles and I dread to think what the final total is likely to be. Maybe that’s a challenge for me for when I get bored after retirement! (editors note: and an opportunity for us to post some embarrassing photos !).
Its probably well known how I became involved with my support of ICT (in all its guises) but maybe not as well known how Jnr became bitten by the bug. In fact Jnr wasn’t the first of the Gringo offspring to venture into the ranks of the Caley support, his elder brother, affectionately known in some quarters as Techno Gringo (because of his expertise at computers, taking things apart and putting them back together again whether they were broken or not!) was the first. Even though Techno still ‘follows’ ICT he didn’t become as heavily involved as Jnr.
In his school days Jnr was a typical lad who liked to follow successful teams. In Scotland young lads followed the likes of the Old Firm but down here in England it was your Liverpool’s, Man U’s and Arsenal’s with the occasional Barcelona, Ajax (remember them when they were a force?) and Real Madrid thrown in for good measure. Jnr was, in fact, a Man Utd fan and was probably the only Man U ‘fan’ at his school that actually went to Old Trafford. Albeit in the ‘away’ end with his Uncle but at least he went. He also did the tour of the stadium when Mrs Gringo took him and his pal. He cost me a fortune in Man U shirts and, when the trend came of putting players names on the back, I was kind of hoping he’d choose a short name (I was skint at the time and the costs of having shirts done was a rip off (still is) ) but, oh no, no such luck for me as he plumed for a goalkeeper shirt and wanted Schmeichel on the back of it. Ruddy kids.
So why turn down the glamour of a club like United and follow Caley? I can honestly say I have no real idea as to why he what did he did and can also honestly say that there was no peer pressure from me (or his mother) to join the ranks.
[caption id="attachment_4631" align="alignright" width="90" caption="click to enlarge"][/caption]I think he was about 14 years old, probably younger, when the bombshell went off. My reaction to his choice was one of mixed emotions and I had to take a reality check to see if I wasn’t still pished from the night before. He’d been asked by his Uncle if he’d like to go and watch Man Utd play at Coventry (0). Coventry City (0) played at Highfield Road at the time which is about three miles away from where he lived. We were all sat at home when the question was asked and his response was “No thanks, I want to go to Alloa with my dad to watch Caley”. To this day I still can’t believe he did that and also remember he never paused before answering the question – he just came out with the answer. So why turn down the chance to see superstars? As I said, you’d best ask him because I certainly haven’t got a clue.
So he’s hooked now isn’t he? The team won 4-1 and all he wanted now was a replica shirt…and a scarf….a hat…pencil case….shorts…socks…..in fact almost everything in the friggin shop and his bedroom started to become a kind of shrine to his hero’s. There was no going back now and my wallet became emptier every time we went to a match, especially the home games. In fact it might have been frigging cheaper to go to Old Trafford!
[caption id="attachment_4632" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="click to enlarge"][/caption]There have been many highlights supporting the team he loves and none more so than going to Parkhead to witness the infamous 3-1 game. That only came about after we managed to obtain permission off his headmaster at school to get the day off. His ‘forfeit’ for this was he had to write a report on the match for the class. I’d wager that the head’ was expecting Caley to get a right old stuffing and he wanted to see Jnr’s reaction to the disappointment by means of an essay. It took weeks for the grin to disappear from Jnr’s face and he took great pleasure in wearing his Caley shirt in the presence of the Celtic one’s…he still does.
[caption id="attachment_4633" align="alignright" width="150" caption="click to enlarge"][/caption]From the highs to the lows he’s stuck with the team. The SFL Championship decider at Livingston was another famous event. Going 4-0 down in about 20 minutes saw the pain etched of the faces of both him and me and many others that day. Little did we know at the time that our mug shot would be plastered all over the papers during the following days. The caption read “THIS CALEY BE HAPPENING…..sheer disbelief is written across the faces of the travelling fans”. It was then revealed to the press as to where these travelling fans actually came from….Coventry. And the story was told again…
He was very keen to become further involved with the club and very much wanted to play for then. To this end, at an end of season party at the Muirtown, (remember that?) he was seen chatting to Pele, Charlie and Barry Wilson and, unbeknown to me, he’d blagged himself a trial.
This took place quite a while later and it was perhaps unfortunate that Pele and Duncan Shearer were not present at the time. However, Charlie Christie was in charge of the training session that day and he worked him hard in that session. Disappointingly for Jnr he never set the pitch alight that day but he remembers that day very well which was highlighted by the fact he curled one in to the top corner of Les Fridges goal. The celebration of the goal had many of the players applauding and, in particular, had Davide Xausa in stitches. The goal was recorded by me on VHS Tape but I have, unfortunately, not been able to locate it in time for this article. I’ve not given up though.
[caption id="attachment_4639" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="click to enlarge"][/caption]And so, at the tender age of 27 it looks like he is going to fulfil a childhood dream and actually play on the same pitch as his hero’s of yesteryear. He will be turning out for the Caley Legends and will be in the same side as Charlie Christie, Barry Wilson, John Robertson, Jim Calder and Alan Hercher. It is very apt that he should be in the Legends side as he too is a Caley legend. Maybe this event will even surpass the highs of his Highland Marches which have become a phenomenon over the past few years and, perhaps, even his wedding at the stadium in September 2008.
I’d have loved to have been there to witness his hat-trick and the goal celebrations that would inevitably follow, but, I will have to be content on knowing he will be enjoying the experience, even if he’s only on the pitch for five minutes, and the chances are he’ll be winding me for years to come with his jibes of “I’ve played for Caley…at Caley stadium” in much the same way as he wound me up when he moved to Inverness with his jibes of “Hi Dad….I’ve got a season ticket”.
Enjoy the evening Jnr (you little git)
By Scotty in News 2011-12 ·

Against All Odds - Online for All

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Caley Thistle book republished on CTO with new extra chapter
The story of the formation of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club has now been republished free on this site - with a further chapter added to reflect the past history of both Inverness Thistle and Caledonian FCs from the clubs' origins in the 1880s.
Charles Bannerman's "Against All Odds" was originally published by the club in 1997 but the book sold out several years ago. Now Caleythistleonline  ('CTO') has stepped in with an offer to host an online version with an extra introductory chapter about Inverness's days in Highland League football..
The extra chapter reveals that controversy goes as far back as the 1880s and takes the story through both world wars to the likes of King Willie's days at Kingsmills Park, the great Caley teams of the 1980s, the Howden End and the Half Time Harriers.
"I've regretted quite a lot over the years that I didn't say more about Caley Thistle's Highland League pre history and of course the book has been out of print for quite a while now," said the author. "Then during the summer yet another request for the book on Caleythistleonline kicked off a series of events. The upshot is that CTO, through its co-publishers Scott MacKenzie and Don Johnstone, is now carrying an electronic version of the original book plus the extra chapter which I've just written, with free access. Scott made the very valid point that new fans and those too young to remember the tumultuous days of Caley Thistle's formation will always be appearing and wanting to know where the club came from. Now they can do so with an added bonus."
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Click Here to go to download area"][/caption]Regular CTO contributor Neil MacKenzie stepped in with an offer to scan the entire original and that has now been placed online along with the additional chapter. "Against All Odds" can be accessed, free to CTO members and non members, on this site.
Caleythistleonline was founded by Scott in 1994, has over 2200 active members and receives over 4 million page views a year. Don came on board in 2003 as a co-publisher, both to help with the day to day running of the site, and also to help drive it forward and take it to the next level.
"Caleythistleonline is a highly popular website which is an established focal point for ICT fans across the world and I'm very happy that the book, now extended, has become available once again thanks to Scotty and Don," said Charles. "I've been a regular follower of the site for ten years now so am especially pleased to be associated with it in this way."
As detailed in the original book, the creation of a merged football club in Inverness playing at the Caledonian Stadium was the product of a fraught three years between 1993 and 1996 which saw controversy, high drama and brinkmanship at venues as diverse as football grounds, meeting rooms, solicitors' and Local Enterprise Company offices and even the appeal court ... and it has now emerged that there is even controversy over which is the oldest club in Inverness.
"Whilst researching the new chapter over the summer, I discovered claims from both Thistle and Caley that they were the oldest clubs in the town from back in the 1880s," said Charles. "So the disagreements of the merger period were nothing new and there was one occasion when both clubs seem to believe they won the North Cup! But I'd better not say any more and leave people to read this all for themselves on Caleythistleonline."
 
By Scotty in News 2011-12 ·

Inverness CT -V- Kilmarnock - Report

Inverness edge out Killie in entertaining tussle. 
 
Inverness eased their frustration with a 2-1 victory over a sprightly Kilmarnock.  The visitors were on the back foot from the offset but Inverness could not consolidate their early superiority and settled for a draw at half time. 
Goals from Tade and Shiels ensured there was plenty of talking points at the break as Killie started to assert themselves.
The game proceeded in  the same fashion after half time, Killie dominating play for the first ten minutes then Karma; the game went into a lull and either team could have clinched the winner.
As it was, young Graeme Shinnie produced the goods and scored a deserved winner for the Caley Jags with the clock running down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, that's the monkey off the back. 
Just when you thought it would never happen, along comes a win, let's hope they are like buses. 
A warm glow came over me at ten to five yesterday, no, I never wet myself, not this time,  just the satisfaction of a deserved late winner was all it took.  Take a bow Graeme Shinnie.  After last season's illness problems he looks to have made the left back berth his own, with the added bonus of a cracking goal to boot; it's enough to make grown men weep.  That he was outshone by one other player was a mere detail, this young lad is going places.  He has been immense since returning to the squad and already there are cries of Kenny who.
Inverness were down to the bare bones for yesterday's visit of Kilmarnock.  With an extensive injury list it was more like an episode of Casualty as Butcher tried to assemble a squad for the game.
 Esson assumed control of the keepers jersey with Ross Tokely shuffled across to right back.  Hogg and Golly were the centre backs with Graeme Shinnie at left back.  Austrian Thomas Piermayr was pushed further forward in the absence of Jonny Hayes with Gavin Morrison accompanying Doran and Foran in the supply division, with the as yet non scoring Gregory Tade doing the chasing up front.  How would we fare against one of last seasons entertainers?
 The Innes bar refurb was adjourned and the stage was set for the game, even the weather was kind to us, were the God's in our favour?  Surely not, that would be a first.
  Not sure what happened, but the taxi had us in the stadium ten minutes before kick off ; what was that all about, still, we settled down for the game and it took a bit of getting used to.  Killie kicked towards the North Stand in the first half which did seem rather bizarre, but it had a strange effect on the side.  We actually played football for half an hour.  We stroked the ball around like nobody's business, Brazil eat yer heart out. 
 
27th Aug 2011 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium I.C.T. 2 - Tade (26), G.Shinnie (89) TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Hogg, Golobart, G.Shinnie, Ross, Piermayr, Morrison, Foran (A.Shinnie 81), Doran (McKay 89), Tade (Sutherland 71) SUBS: Tuffey, Laing Booked: Piermayr (40), Tade (56), G.Shinnie (77) Sent Off: none KILMARNOCK 1 - Shiels (35) TEAM: Bell, Fowler (Fisher 80), Kroca, McKeown, Ada, Kelly, Buijs, Dayton, Shiels, Pascali, Hutchinson (Galan 64) SUBS: Jaakkola, Hay, Harkins, Racchi, Pursehouse Booked: Fowler (79), Kelly (87) Sent Off: none Referee Bobby Madden Attendance 3348  Inverness started the game in sprightly fashion, passing the ball on the deck and taking the game to the visitors.  Killie were on the back foot for the first half hour as Butcher appeared to have got his half time pep talk in early.
Nick Ross firing over the bar in the third minute showed our intentions as a shoot on site policy overtook the walk the ball into the net strategy that has been our ilk of late.  Piermayr trying the same a few minutes later as we continued to outplay a bemused Kilmarnock, and the home fans.  Who were these guys?  Confidence was oozing from the same players who slumped to defeat at Ayr only three days earlier.
Shinnie, Piermayr and Tade contiued the trend as Killie were pushed into their own box and Bell looked lively to deny Tade, but not for long.
With twenty six minutes on the clock, Inverness got the breakthrough their intricate play richly deserved.  Not often you can use that term when describing our endeavours of late.
 The grafting Richie Foran broke free on the right and he delivered an inch perfect cross for Gregory Tade to power home his first goal for Inverness. 
We talked about lack of passion in recent weeks.  Well, that theory just went out the window as Tade celebrated in front of the North Stand............whatever was he thinking!  Great goal and great celebration Gregory.  He pumped his chest and stared long and hard into the faithful, scared the sh!t out of me.  Maybe that was borne out of sheer relief or maybe he had been reading some of the posts regarding his style of play.  Whatever, the lad was playing great and rummeling up the Killie back line at every opportunty. 
Unfortunately, it appeared that the Inverness players could not believe they were giving Killie the runaround.  The goal sparked a mini revival from Kilmarnock as they suddenly started to believe in themselves.  It must have been a tortuous half hour for the visiting fans, but their day was about to get brighter.  Mr Madden intervened and all of a sudden Kilmarnock were benefitting from decisions that were previously going our way.
Whilst Inverness were enjoying the lions share of the game, Kilmarnock are nobodies kicking boys and were always dangerous on the occasions that they ventured forward. 
They changed the pattern of play after thirty five minutes when Dean Shiels curled in a beauty from the left side of the field, the ball evading the outstretched Esson as it bent round him into the bottom corner.  Fabulous goal, albeit against the run of play at that moment, but things were about to change.
Esson was becoming less of a spectator as Killie found a new self belief and they suddenly realised it was not Brazil they were playing.  He was eventually called in to action as he turned away a Hutchinson shot at the expense of a corner just before half time.  For Inverness, it was a good time to take a break as Killie were now on the ascendancy.
Half Time:- 1-1
The second half started like the first half finished; Killie searching for an opening and Inverness defending in depth, Esson saving a Dayton shot in the first minute of the half.  Dayton was about to endear himself to the home fans with a serious of attempts to change the rules of the game, he was in truth becoming a bit of a thorn in the Inverness ranks.
Inverness though, were not idle and Tade almost scored another as a header flashed agonisingly wide, and Doran shot from distance.  It was Killie though that looked the likeliest to go on and win the game at this point as Pascali headed over.
Tade entered Mr Madden's book rather harshly as he protested his innocence, but the lad was doing some shift.  Ben Hutchinson then cracked one off the post and shortly after headed over when well positioned, that was to be his last involvement as he was replaced by Jorge Galan with half an hour to play.
In seventy minutes Foran should have done better as his header went wide with the goal at his mercy and the game entered another phase.  The balance of play had levelled off and Inverness had weathered the Killie storm, not quite Hurricane Irene, but still plenty of puff from the visitors.
Shinnie and Fowler were noted by the whistler as play became a bit towsey, and Chris Hogg almost undid his good work as he erred to let Killie in.  No damage done though. 
Play was becoming a bit stretched and chances were going abegging as the ref noted  Kelly's name for ending Doran's day.  Another injury woe for Butcher to deal with as he left the park nursing a serious looking shoulder problem.
There was, however, still time for the game to be won or lost.  Inverness were having a late surge and Graeme Shinnie burst into the left corner of the box from where he rifled a low shot across Bell and into the bottom corner; Ya beauty.  Cue much jubilation in the North Stand and disgruntlement in the visitors ranks.  This goal had brotherly love written all over it as Andrew had kindly provided the opening for Graeme.
Not much time left for Killie to stage a comeback and there endeth the scoring in an entertaining encounter.
Full Time:- 2-1
So, what did we make of that................This was a game of five halfs, with Inverness winning three of them! 
Well, last week at Pittodrie young Spaniard Roman Golobart was crucified for his Spanish dancing.  He must have been taking lessons as this week his potential was there for all to see, he even had time to woosh a couple of Killie players as he displayed an arrogance and panache that will glue him to the Caley Jags support, well done Golly and man of the match award fully justified.  Graeme Shinnie was another who showed us why we are asking Kenny who?  He was solid at the back and the goal just topped off another fantastic display from the youngster.  Full of energy and always willing to support the attack.  Tokely was back to his best at right back, mind you, he has been the one constant this season. 
Now, I can't finish off without another plaudit for Gregory Tade.  He has had his knockers, ooerr missus, but today was Tade day.  Not a common thing for us to be scoring headed goals but he certainly buried that one.  His passion shone through as he celebrated his goal as if he had just won the world cup, I'm up for more of this.
No failures for Inverness although the disappointing thing for the fans was another couple of injuries picked up as if they are going out of fashion.  Doran may have a dislocated shoulder and Foran was in trouble as he left the action.  On the plus side, Billy McKay managed a few minutes at the end to make his competitive debut, so that's a bit of a boost.
International break next weekend will give some a chance to repair themselves but one or two look to be longer term casualties, here's hoping they are quick healers. It's the Jambo's up here in a fortnight and another showing like yesterday might just be enough to appease the fans and get our season into second gear.
A few rights were sorted post match in the Innes and all in all, a good day out; cheers. 
Sorry, no match footage found.
  
By tm4tj in Reports 2011-12 ·

Inverness CT -V- Kilmarnock - Preview

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Ayrshire double header part two. 
Yes folks, after the humiliation of midweek at Somerset Park it's part two of the Ayrshire themed week as Kilmarnock head north to face a bedraggled Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Inverness slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Ayr Ayr super Ayr on wednesday evening and confidence is at an all time low.  To add insult to injury, (no pun intended), Jonny Hayes joins the list of casualties after damaging his shoulder against Ayr.
Where do Terry & Mo turn now?  A season which started full of promise with a new look squad and murmurs of playing the ball on the deck has suddenly become a mini crisis as one solitary point from five SPL games, with the added termination of our League Cup employment, makes for grim reading.  Our injury list is as long as it's ever been and the news that Tom Aldred has returned to Watford has rocked the already disgruntled fans.  We have not quite reached the stage where the shoes come off, but another two or three games without a win will certainly have the tongues wagging.
It's easy to say that the release of our backbone from last season has been the difference between success and failure and that the gelling operation has taken longer than expected, but the buck stops at one place, the manager.  Butcher has remained upbeat despite the setbacks in the league games, but he found it more difficult to accept the manner in which the club slipped out of the cup on Wednesday.  Once again a lack lustre first half was followed by a much livlier second forty-five, but once again we failed to make the most of our opportunities.  Maybe the return from injury of Billy Mackay will inject some much needed opportunism in front of goals, who knows, we have yet to see what he is capable of, but the longer this goes on, the more weight will be on his young shoulders.
Match Stats : This league fixture in Inverness has been pretty even, with four wins apiece and two games drawn.  Forty goals have been scored in ten fixtures, that's a healthy four goals per game.  A couple of high scoring encounters when Killie won 3-4 in 2006 and a 3-3 draw the previous season.  The biggest winning margin was a 3-0 victory for Inverness in April 2008.  The best away victory came last December when Killie won 1-3, with goals from Bryson, Kelly and Hamill.  Richie Foran scored the Inverness goal that day. 
Inverness did triumph in a Scottish Cup game on a snowy saturday in Feb 2009, goals from Pavels Mihadjuks and one Adam Rooney making sure that Inverness reached the quarter finals.  Where are they now?  Maybe we should go back to using the yellow ball.  Just to compound Killies day, Kevin Kyle was red carded in this game for elbowing David Proctor.  This was Butcher's first win in charge of the Caley Jags, coming after a no scoring draw with Celtic.  However, the revival did not last for ever and Inverness were out of the cup in the next round and relegated at the end of the season, Falkirk having a big say in both events and red cards for Lionel Djebi Zadi and Ross Tokely.  Indeed, where are they now, only Esson, Tokely and Foran remain at Inverness.
Current Form
Inverness sit bottom of the league for a reason. The worst defensive record in the league and one point from the first five games.  Three of those goals against have come at home.  A poor start to the season for Butcher's men, but not an uncommon occurance for the Jags, seen as slow starters by many.  A break for cup duty in midweek should have lifted the spirits, but it was more doom and gloom for the supporters as Ayr looked more like the SPL side as they defeated Inverness 1-0.  I have to say that our form so far this season has been disappointing to put it mildly.
Kilmarnock have only played four league games and they sit in sixth place with six points.  They crushed Hibernian 4-1 a couple of weeks ago  and have drawn with Hearts, Motherwell and Dundee United.  Killie have only scored one away goal so far this season.  On the other hand, they have only lost one goal as well.  They remain unbeaten after four games.
Team News
Inverness have plenty of problems ahead of this game as the injury list has increased steadily with Jonny Hayes damaging shoulder ligaments.  He is added to a list that includes Cox, Tudur-Jones, Gillet, Proctor, Mackay, and Meekings.  With no recognised out and out strikers available, Butcher has had to use Foran, Tade and Sutherland as front men, a ploy that has not set the heather on fire so far.  The defence has been changed on a weekly basis due to injuries and suspensions and with young Spaniard Roman Golobart being thrown in at the deep end it was the final straw for Tom (The Tank) Aldred who returned to his parent club Watford.  That was a bemusing move by the management as Tom looked to be a steady if unspectacular centre back in pre-season, but was left out as soon as the new kid on the block arrived; how odd.  The midfield will be without the enigmatic Irishman Jonny Hayes.  His pace and trickery will be sorely missed but this will open doors for Tade, Morrison and Sutherland to make an impact.  Andrew Shinnie also had a run out at Ayr as a second half substitute and he is another who could find a starting place.  Tuffey played well in goals, however I would expect last seasons player of the year Ryan Esson to return to action for the SPL match.
Kilmarnock gaffer Kenny Shiels has lost the services of central defender Ryan o'Leary for the season after he damaged cruciate ligaments in last weeks 0-0 draw with Hearts.  Paul Heffernan is also out with a calf strain and David Silva is a longer term absentee.  Tim Clancy is on his way to Motherwell and that combined with the injury to O'Leary means Shiels is on the lookout for another stopper.  This move for Clancy will free up some money for Killie to fill the gap left by O'Leary, and Shiels is looking further afield in his search for a replacement.  Former Motherwell defender Paul Quinn is a name being touted around as a possible target.  He is plying his trade at Cardiff City just now in the Championship League.
tm4tj Prediction : This is traditionally a high scoring game.  However, only one of these sides seems capable of doing that at this moment, although the Inverness defence is conducive to high scoring encounters.  This augers well for Kilmarnock and although my heart says one thing, my head tells me a different story and only one outcome.  A win for the visitors; at best a point for the homesters.
Butcher was scathing in his assessment of his squad at Ayr in midweek and he told BBC Sport :-  "I feel badly let down and I think the club feels badly let down as well - the players know, as I've told them in no uncertain terms, that they have to pull their fingers out and get going again," he said.
"We have enough in the squad to have done a lot better and that's the most disappointing thing; players are playing well below their level at the moment and, as a team, we're playing well below our level as well.
"I don't like teams to be hungrier than mine, but Ayr certainly were and full credit to them - I wish them good luck in the next round."
Will this get the desired reaction from the team or will it have an adverse effect, we will find out this Saturday.
***Latest Team News:- Billy Mackay should make the bench and that will give the fans a boost as goals are at a premium just now.  Greg Tansey is reported to be struggling with a knee knock and could miss out adding to the Highlanders injury problems.  The news on Jonny Hayes is not good either, up to eight weeks is the prognosis for the wee man.  Get well soon.
Other News:-  All three Scottish clubs crashed out of European action this week, nothing new there then.
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2011-12 ·

Ayr United -V- Inverness CT - Report

Revenge is sweet for Ayr.
 
Inverness were sent tumbling out of the Scottish Communities Cup at Somerset Park under Ayr's new floodlights.
There would be no repeat of the thrashing dished out last time and Ayr would go on to make the headlines; deservedly so. 
A low strike by Eddie Malone on the hour was enough for the Honest Men to get the better of the SPL side who are suffering from a confidence crisis at the moment.
Ayr had dominated the first half but Inverness came out of the blocks flying at the start of the second half, however our failings in front of goal are there for all to see and it is Ayr who progress to the next round of the competition at the expense of the SPL's bottom club.
A small but perfectly formed band of Inverness fans witnessed another setback for this season, it's maybe just as well there were only a handful there.   Harry's bar was much quieter this time around as the teams took to the field about to test out Ayr's new floodlights.
It was the Honest Men who started the game brightly and Jonny Tuffey was in action in the first few minutes to deal with a couple of corners and a strike on target.  Michael McGowan curled an effort round Tuffey's post in the fifth minute as Ayr pushed the SPL strugglers onto the back foot. 
 Martyn Campbell left the field in the ninth minute after sustaining an injury to be replaced by Armstrong, but the flow of the tie continued as Inverness struggled to cope. 
 Shane Sutherland tried his luck from 18 yards and at the other end Moffat sent an angled shot high over the bar as the game opened out a bit more.
 In the 22nd minute Inverness suffered another blow when Jonny Hayes went off with a shoulder injury and his replacement was Nick Ross.  Not the news that Inverness fans wanted to hear with our already extensive injury list leaving us a bit threadbare.
The McGowan show was about to start as he sent an effort just wide with the aid of a deflection off Thomas Piermayr.  On the half hour he curled a free kick just wide from 25 yards and moments later Aaron Doran went even closer for the Caley Jags as he shaved the bar with his free kick.  McGowan though was proving to be a difficult customer to deal with and he got on the end of a Geggan feed but Tuffey was able to beat away the shot.  That man McGowan again turned his marker for the umpteenth time but once more Tuffey matched the shot and kept the scoreline blank.
24/08/11 Somerset Park, Ayr Ayr Utd 1 - Malone (60) TEAM: Cuthbert, J.Robertson, Malone, Smith, Campbell (Armstrong 10), McKernan, McGowan, Geggan, Wardlaw, Roberts (Tiffoney 65), Moffat (R.Robertson 85) SUBS: McWilliams, Burke Booked: Wardlaw (53) Sent Off: none I.C.T. 0 - TEAM: Tuffey, Piermayr, Tokely, Sutherland (A.Shinnie 65), Hogg, Doran, Hayes (Ross 22), Morrison (Tade 77), Foran, G.Shinnie, Golobart SUBS: Esson, Laing Booked: Golobart (40), Tade (90) Sent Off: none Referee Brian Winter Attendance 987 Inverness' frustration was beginning to show and Golobart was yellow carded for upending Wardlaw, but with half time approaching Eddie Malone made a timely intervention as Nick Ross was about to open the scoring.
Billy Reid would have been the happier man at the break and Inverness will once more have their ears bent by Terry Butcher after a poor first half, but Ayr were certainly the better in the opening period.
Half Time: 0-0
Right eenuff mun, the Caley Jags came out of the blocks flying at the start of the second half.
 In the 47th minute the woodwork denied Inverness as a Tokely shot came back off the post and a grateful Kevin Cuthbert gathered the ball.
 Gareth Wardlaw earned a booking for simulation as he dropped in the Inverness box.  However, a few minutes later Ayr took the lead when Malone hit a low drive into the net after a McGowan corner fell to him.
This spurred the Inverness side into more frenzied action but without an out and out striker the goals never materialised.  Andrew Shinnie replaced Sutherland as Butcher tried to freshen up his attack and Tiffoney came on for Roberts as Inverness turned the screw, Shinnie having a volley on target immediately. 
 A great chance for Ayr to seal it as Geggan heads a McGowan cross just wide in 74 minutes from around eight yards, but the score remained at 1-0 with the game still in the balance.
With just over ten minutes to go Gregory Tade entered the fray at the expense of Gavin Morrison, this was the last throw of the dice for Butcher.
 The visitors were now camping in the Ayr half and Foran saw a header well saved by Cuthbert as the seasiders held on grimly. 
 Unbelievably the Gods are still against us as a last gasp 'goal' from Ross Tokely was adjudged to be offside, much to the relief of a tiring Ayr United but there was still time for that man McGowan to bring out another stop from Jonny Tuffey.
A couple of minutes of time added on was not enough for Inverness to force the tie into extra time and Ayr deserved their moment of glory as Inverness slumped to yet another frustrating defeat. 
Full Time: 1-0
 
 
No complaints from me about the result, we knew it was going to be tough and so it proved, but our inability to take advantage of the chances that do come our way is rather worrying.  Well done to Ayr who took a terrible beating in 2010 but turned it round this time and humbled the SPL club.
The panic buttons have not been pressed yet, but there are signs that this is going to be a long season as the treatment table get bigger every week. These are tough times for Butcher and Malpas as the side seem incapable of securing a win and confidence is draining away before our very own eyes. Kilmarnock are up this weekend and unless the signing fairy visits Inverness soon, then we might have to be content with another week at the foot of the table.
By tm4tj in Reports 2011-12 ·

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