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Inverness CT -V- Dundee United - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
McGonagall revisited as United head north.
This twice postponed match will surely go ahead this Tuesday evening (19:45) barring a disaster of McGonagall sized proportions.  The weather has wreaked havoc with United's schedule this season, more than most others, and it will be a welcome relief all round to get this fixture out of the way.  A waterlogged pitch a month ago caused a bit of a splash as a late call off meant a wasted trip for many supporters and the United team.
However, blue skies overhead and no snow underfoot should see this fixture completed, fingers crossed, in fact you might need to bring your sun glasses.
Inverness will look to bounce back after a poor showing at Easter Road with the capital side running out deserved winners against a lack lustre Highland squad, full of strangers, if Butcher's comments are anything to go by.  The performance in Edinburgh was in sharp contrast to the  battling display against St Johnstone the week before which gave the support some false hope that we had turned the corner, despite a depleted squad taking to the field.
The Arabs are a bit erratic as well, two defeats and two draws in their last four is not the sign of a team firing on all camels.  They served up a goalless draw in the Tayside derby; the pitch, the pitch, and an even worse draw against bottom club Hamilton where they had to come from behind to take a point.
Hot shot stopper Ryan Esson will hit the ton tonight as he will make his 100th appearance for the Caley Jags since signing in July 2008.  He has made 84 league appearances and 15 cup games since coming to Inverness and the United game will see hime reach his century.  Ryan has been the most consistent performer for Inverness this season and the only surprise is that Craig Levein continues to ignore him for a call up to the national squad.
Davie bumped into McGonagall before the last scheduled game against the Arabs and lo and behold he met up with the master of disaster once more to bring you this preview from beyond the grave.  Think outside the box, (not the penalty one), and you will find a preview in this meeting with Sir William, good luck.
 
Pert Twa
WHAT IS IT NOW? Will you leave that Ouija board alone?
Sorry Sir William, I had something else to say.
Crivvens, can a poet no get any peace, even if he’s deid? It’s bad enough up here wi aw they harps and lyres. So what is it?
Sorry Willie, I mean Sir William, I just thought I’d interrupt the heavenly reverie and all that ‘cause the last game got postponed.
Postponed, how?
A Highland flood of biblical proportions that made the ba stick like nae nails tae a blanket in the penalty box, apparently. Pitch had less bounce than a silicone boob job. Ironic, since we’ve been playing fitba when everyone else has been in the deep freeze and Tannadice looks like the kind of arctic tundra that Bruce Parry would love, meet natives and drink stuff that tastes like brake fluid. Hang on, that could be Dundee...
Aye said McGonagall, I think I remember something about that - a danger to the fine citizenry of Dundee travelling o’er hill and dale to the Sneck. Terrible country - I wrote about Loch Ness once;
“Your scenery is romantic,
Wi rocks and hills gigantic,
It’s enough to make you frantic”¹
He sat back smugly as I choked on my tea. Is that with or without the A9, I enquired splutteringly, but he just looked at me. The A9 makes me frantic anyway.
I thought we were here to talk fitba.
Oh aye right then, what happened at Hamilton? I only saw a wee bit with yon gadgie MacLean on sportscene doing reminiscence therapy wi a pensioner, but it looked worse than the stuff we saw at Easter Road. What’s going on?
Dunno, Davie, it’s a tangerine mystery to perplex the heavens – serial underachievers whose league position is out of kilter with their talent. I’m told. Still, could have been worse if Casaluinovo hidnae fallen over his own feet, what wi Russell missing a sitter or Robertson blootering it fae a yard oot, ach never mind. It’s injuries you know – we miss Garry Kenneth. And Dods and Kovacevic, and Daly. Nae height. Houston says “We have to take one game at a time," and "We have a small squad due to injuries”. If the fixture list gets any worse, we might end up playing two games at a time, all with people under 5'6". Not easy.
Same old story with United then? Mind you, we wernae much better on Saturday in auld reekie Willie – we wouldn’t have scored if we were still playing now. Butcher says we didn’t turn up but something in blue n’ red did. I just don’t know what it was. Butcher claimed that he might have picked up 14 strangers on the A9, so they might have been Angus or Boab or Andy from Dalwhinnie and his mates – they played like them. Hogg certainly showed his lack of acquaintance with his fellow defenders, Cox was underwhelming in midfield and the forwards were no better. I’m sure that was Adam Rooney up front , but maybe not, Dalwhinnie is full of 6’2” ginger topped ghillies and distillery men.
Oh. You’re a bit disgruntled Davie. That bad?
It’s injuries again you know Willie, or rather its one injury. Forget Gillet or Blumenshtein or Royster or anybody else - we miss Jonny Hayes. We’re like a three legged dog trying to pee on a lamp post without him – we just keep falling over.
Shame that, could be messy.
I know, it’s pish.
Sir William refused to rise to the (admittedly malodourous) talismanic bait. I could sense he was distracted now. I searched for facts:
We’ve met the Arabs 19 times so far in the SPL and its remarkably even – 5 v 6 wins, and 8 draws. They have hardly any points from their last three games (D, D, L), we at least have one win to crow about (L,W,D) ominously being against Taysidish opposition. They are on 31 points, we are on 33. We’re both still in the Cup. A quick website trawl reveals no fresh injury news from either team (Monday) amid the general air of gloom. It’s the lack of daylight I tell you. If we could replicate the balmy days of August where we crushed these “fiendishly grinning arabs²” as Willie would put it, all would be riotously well. It seems a long time ago since that 4-0 victory and it can’t come round quickly enough again. McCann’s gone so Russell Duncan, grab some sunshine - this is your hour.
Okay Mr. McGonagall, I’ll go now. It seems a bit inconsiderate all this continually waking the deceased, but a month’s a long time in this life so I promise not to invoke you again until at least the 19th of next month….
He looked disgusted at that and asked if I knew what “rest in peace” actually meant, then he leaned over his chair shouting at someone I couldn’t see “Is MacLean here yet?”
I’d given up the ghost.
¹ Loch Ness. More Poetic Gems, 1962. Sandwiched between “The troubles of Matthew Mahoney” and “The avenging Angel”
² The rebel surprise near Tamai, Poetic Gems, Dundee 1896. Neatly confined between “The Clepington disaster” and “The burning of Exeter Theatre” Utter quality.
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Thanks davie, so that was the verse from the hearse, let's hope it turns into a rave from the grave; for ICT anyway.
Prediction:- With both sides dishing out disgruntlement in copious amounts, it would be prudent to stick your money on a point each.  Of course from an Inverness perspective, the result could hinge on whether we get a glimpse of Jonny Hayes, or possibly no glimpse of Eric Odhiambo, who is having a tough time convincing the fans with some less than accomplished performances.  A dull draw is my best shout.
***Latest Team News*** 
Inverness are set to continue without Jonny Hayes as the wide player is struggling to recover from his ankle/foot injury, although once again Butcher will give Jonny every chance to prove his fitness before kick off.  Proctor and Sanchez will be out for the forseeable future but Kenny Gillet has returned to training.  Left back position is proving difficult to fill at the moment, and Graeme Shinnie is still out with stomach problems.
Dundee United will not have the services of Jon Daly and Gary Kenneth for the next couple of weeks, and Severin, Dods and Kovacevic are still receiving treatment for long term injuries. Peter Houston has bemoaned the amount of draws United have amassed and is looking for a positive result, ahead of a hectic schedule coming up for the tangerines.


Other SPL news
Hamilton's Simon Mensing has revealed he was banned for a month after taking the substance methylhexaneamine after believing it to be ok.   http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hamilton_academical/9407839.stm
Rangers took advantage of Celtic's first defeat in 17 games after thumping St Johnstone 4-0 on Sunday.  Neil Lennon's side were Well beaten, 2-0 at Fir Park.
St Johnstones Michael Duberry could be out for a few weeks after injuring his groin against the Gers.
Ricardo Vaz Te has signed for Hibernian until the end of the season.  The former Bolton forward has impressed Colin Calderwood in trials last week.  He has represented Portugal at u21 level.
Hamilton v Hibs are also playing on Tuesday night, and Wednesday night sees St Johnstone play Aberdeen, so top six places in the balance by the end of this week.
Inverness CT will know which side of the Old Firm will visit the Highlands on Scottish Cup duty after Wednesday nights 5th round replay at Celtic Park.  The first fixture was a thrilling encounter and Celtic seemed to be gaining the upper hand over their Glasgow rivals, but league results last weekend has thrown a massive spanner in the works with the Steelmen denting Lennon's pride and jhoy and Rangers title aspirations back on.
In the smaller leagues, Jimmy Calderwood will be looking for his first win as Ross County manager when they visit Stirling Albion.  Surely this time Jimmy?  Last seasons "team of the first division", ahem, are struggling badly and a defeat tonight could see them slip into the relegation play off position and only two points above the bottom club.
Elsewhere
Alex McLeish has become the first Birmingham manager to lift a major trophy since 1963.  City surprisingly defeated Arsenal 2-1 to win the Carling Cup with the decisive goal coming in the 89th minute, Obafemi Martins seizing on a calamitous error to stroke the ball into an empty net.  So, miracles do happen.


By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Hibernian -V- Inverness CT - Report

Capital Punishment it is for guilty suspects.
Hibs inflicted another away defeat for the Caley Jags as the men from the North lost out in a rather turgid encounter at Green Day Easter Road.
A strike out of the blue from Callum Booth looked to have the Hibees on easy street, and a deflected effort from Lewis Stevenson confirmed their superiority, as Inverness drew a worrying blank.
  Jonny Hayes was absent and former Hibs captain Chris Hogg returned to Easter Road hoping to show that his exclusion from the Hibernian eleven was an error of judgement by his former employers. 
However, there are more pressing (depressing) developments in the capital, like the Leith Biomass proposals, and Bilfinger Siemens pedantic attempts to create a transportation system second to none..............epic fail so far. The proposals by these heavily disguised developers are trying to create an atmosphere that nobody wants, so let's put this result into perspective, meh! 
 
26th February 2011 Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh HIBERNIAN 2 - Booth (58), Stevenson (89) TEAM: Stack, Dickoh, Hanlon, Booth, Towell, Wotherspoon (Thornhill 64), Miller (Stevenson 77), Scott, Palsson, Riordan (Nish 87), Sodje
SUBS: Smith, Stephens, Rankin, Duffy - Booked: none 
INVERNESS CT 0 - TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Munro, Hogg, Duff, Cox, Duncan (MacDonald 69), Odhiambo (Ross 56), Foran, Rooney (Sutherland 87), Doran
SUBS: Tuffey, Golabek, Innes, Morrison - Booked: none 
Referee Craig Thomson Attendance 13841  
A rather dejected Alternative Maryhill provides this report for us, whaurs the valium.
Some games are barely worth wasting words on. We arrived quietly optimistic; we left defeated, having witnessed a match that summed up much of what is bad about the Scottish game: rushed, unimaginative, error-strewn football, illuminated by a single moment of opportunist brilliance that was also, unfortunately, the first nail in Caley Thistle’s coffin.
Approaching the match, there were good reasons to be reasonably hopeful that we would see a good game. Both sides had begun to pick up form after serious slumps over the Christmas and January period; both squads had been bolstered by promising new signings in the January transfer window. It was a bright, dry day, and there was a big crowd and an unusually good atmosphere inside the ground, thanks to Hibs’ ‘green day’ promotion, which saw the club give away a free ticket to every season ticket holder. The East stand was packed, and on the occasions when the singing spread through the support from the hard core in the corner, it was quite an impressive noise. ICT had also taken a decent support to the game – maybe 400 or so – although, understandably given what was served up to us on the pitch, the atmosphere in the away end wasn’t as upbeat as it has been at many previous games this season. It was a pity there were no causes for Invernessian celebration, as the stewards were so relaxed and hands-off that we could have danced on the seats, climbed the floodlight stanchions (assuming there were any) and swung from the rafters without fear of eviction. Well done Hibernian FC; and St Mirren, take note: despite supporters being allowed to stand up throughout the match, the away end failed to descend into the anarchic Lord of the Flies-type scenes that the Paisley stewards were apparently so terrified of.
The two questions that intrigued most ICT supporters before the team lines were announced were, would Jonny Hayes, as rumoured, be fit to start, and would Grant Munro come back into a defence that had kept a clean sheet last week? It transpired that the Hayes news was a red herring: he didn’t even make the bench. Munro, meanwhile, did return, but in the unfamiliar position of left back, despite Stuart Duff having filled in well there last week and Ross Tokely being available to move from the centre into the right back role. Terry Butcher’s decision raises interesting questions: was he sending a message to Munro that he now considers Ross Tokely his first choice centre back? Did he feel that Chris Hogg and Munro might be too similar in style and build, and that Hogg would be better paired with a more imposing player like Tokely? Or was it simply that as a left-footer Munro was, in his opinion, best suited to filling the role in a team with no available left backs? Although the back four had changed for the fifth time in as many games, the team shape remained the 4-4-2 that has been employed since the Morton cup win, with Cox and Duncan in the centre, Doran and Odhiambo on either side of midfield, and Adam Rooney and Richie Foran up front. For Hibs, meanwhile, Colin Calderwood stuck with the side that defeated St Mirren last weekend, which meant a start for Ex-Ross county midfielder Martin Scott, to the ICT supporters’ obvious delight.
The first half in particular was so bereft of incident that it is easier just to give a few general impressions of the teams than to attempt to knit together a sense of a contest unfolding. I certainly don’t recall any passages of fluent football, or periods where either side truly dominated. There were a lot of long balls and when the ball was on the ground, passes most often seemed to be either misplaced or ill-chosen, going to players who were being too well marked to create anything. At the back for ICT, Tokely and Hogg generally looked solid together, and Grant Munro did well at left back despite one or two badly-chosen balls. On the other side, however, Stuart Duff’s performance was notable for some truly horrendous distribution: almost every ball he tried to play seemed to go out of play or go to an opponent. It is possible that Duff’s options were limited by the running of the players ahead of him, though: somehow, none of the four midfielders seemed capable of finding space that would allow them to use the ball with any creativity, and there was very little obvious understanding or effective linkage between them. Lee Cox is full of commitment, but yesterday he rarely seemed to look up before making passes and seemed far too eager to get rid of the ball; Russell Duncan was slightly more composed and imaginative, although there was one truly horrible over-hit ball to the left that brought to an end one of ICT’s few promising attacking moves; Aaron Doran and Eric Odhiambo looked up for the game but again rarely seemed capable of making runs that would open Hibs up, and struggled to beat their opponents on the few occasions that they did find themselves in threatening positions. Adam Rooney and Richie Foran were easily ICT’s most enterprising players throughout the game – I was surprised to read criticism of Rooney somewhere on the forum – but with little effective support from elsewhere on the pitch, their hold-up play and ability to lay the ball off into promising positions ultimately had no end product. Rooney had Caley Thistle’s best two opportunities of the first half: a weak shot into Stack’s arms after he had read and run onto a through ball very well, and a shot from a Foran cross that was blocked by Stack’s legs. There were few other moments to remember for ICT.
As for Hibs, their play was rarely more attractive than their opponents’, but they did look a little stronger in midfield and retained and used the ball slightly better. Liam Miller, having received criticism for recent performances from the Hibernian support and having been left on the bench for a while before returning to the starting line-up last week, worked hard and also looked the most creative midfielder on the pitch. Derek Riordan did not impose himself on the game at any point, but there were little flashes of his quality. At left back, youngster Callum Booth was, as we would find out, dangerous going forward, but also solid defensively, although in all honesty, he will face more testing opponents than an off-form Eric Odhiambo over the course of the season. The player who most caught the eye, however, was the Icelandic January signing Victor Palsson, who was full of running, always looking for the ball and had Hibs’ best opportunities of the half, one of which, a powerful header from a corner, would have opened the scoring but for Russell Duncan’s block on the goal-line. By contrast, the veteran striker Akpo Sodje looked surprisingly tentative despite his build and experience, and got nothing out of Ross Tokely all afternoon.
Half Time 0-0
The second half initially looked more promising for ICT. Aaron Doran seemed to be finding a little more space and linking better with the front two, and Rooney and Cox both had shots within five minutes of the restart, although neither seriously troubled Graham Stack. When Nick Ross made his comeback from injury, replacing Eric Odhiambo after fifty-five minutes, the Inverness supporters were entitled to feel optimistic that they would see a little more composure and creativity going forward. Within two minutes, however, any momentum that ICT had begun to build was destroyed by a moment of carelessness and a subsequent moment of inspiration. Chris Hogg, who otherwise had a solid game against his old team, passed the ball carelessly to his right and straight out of play. When the throw came in, there seemed to be no ICT player picking up Callum Booth, and he had time to take a few steps towards the penalty area from the left hand side before looping the ball over Ryan Esson from twenty yards.
Thereafter, ICT continued working, but the hasty and unwise passing that had characterised much of their play in the first half returned, while Hibs looked increasingly confident and in control. Terry Butcher attempted to pep up Caley Thistle’s attacking play by bringing on on-loan forward Alex McDonald, although the decision to take off Russell Duncan, clearly the more effective of ICT’s two central midfielders, seemed odd and again suggested that the veteran Caley Thistle midfielder is a player about whom his manager has reservations. McDonald took some time to get into the game – he initially seemed outmuscled and outpaced by the more powerful Hibs back line – but there was one promising move in the last ten minutes where he controlled and laid off the ball really sweetly which suggested that he may be capable of adding an extra dimension to the ICT attack, especially with the continued absence of Dani Sanchez. Apart from that, and one or two nice little exchanges of play between Foran and Rooney that ultimately failed to result in clear opportunities, Caley Thistle failed to threaten again, and when Adam Rooney, easily our most potent attacker, was brought off to be replaced by Shane Sutherland with five minutes to go, the writing seemed to be on the wall. Sure enough, two minutes later after a period of Hibs pressure, Lewis Stevenson got the ball on the left hand side, just outside the penalty area, and fired in a low shot that seemed to take a big deflection before ending up behind Ryan Esson. 2-0 Hibernian.
In the closing three or four minutes, there was a little flurry of ICT urgency as they went in search of a pride-restoring goal, and there was one decent shout for a penalty when a cross from the right seemed to be deflected out of play by a Hibs player’s hand, but the referee ignored the claims and awarded a corner. And, given the day our players had had, and with Rooney already off the pitch, what would the chances have been of the ball ending up in Row Z if the penalty had been given? In truth, although they did not look hugely impressive, Hibs just about got what they deserved; and with the optimism from last week’s result somewhat punctured by such a flat performance, Caley Thistle must go back to the training ground and try to rediscover some creativity and inspiration ahead of the visit of an unpredictable Dundee United side on Tuesday night.
Full Time 2-0
By tm4tj in Reports 2010-11 ·

Hibernian -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Resurgent Hibees Host Inverness. Capital punishment awaits Inverness this weekend should we not be at our best.  A Hibs mini revival has seen them win three games on the trot to ease them further away from the relegation tussle, but still eight points adrift of Terry Butcher's depleted squad. It would appear that Calderwood and Adams' influence is gradually taking effect and the Hibees are looking more assured than they were a couple of months ago, when they slumped perilously close to Hamilton, the saviour of all this season.  Hibs had gone seven and a half games without scoring in January before finally opening their 2011 account in the second half against fellow strugglers St Mirren.  This prompted a scoring surge, and Kilmarnock and St Mirren, again, were defeated. Inverness stopped the rot last weekend with a hard fought win over St Johnstone and Butcher is looking for his players to kick on from that.  Grant Munro has served his three match ban and will be back in contention and the injury list will hopefully start to ease off a little, although David Proctor looks likely to be unavailable for over a month after suffering another hamstring injury as he eased himself back into the squad.  Ross Tokely's shin guards are also recovering and are expected to make the game after coming off second best in a crunching tackle from Murray Davidson last weekend. Like St Johnstone last week, Hibernian are showing a bit of initiative and calling this fixture Green Day.  Nothing to do with the Californian trio best known for American Idiot  and Boulevard of Broken Dreams.  This is about getting bums on seats, in a friendly manner, not the Gestapo like stewarding that is sweeping the country and ruining the fans day out.  Good luck with the Green Day, it should ensure a bigger than normal crowd for this fixture.  How big will the crowd be?  I can't say for sure. It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right, I hope you have the time of your life. Alternative Maryhill has been studying this one a bit more in depth and here is what he has unearthed....................... Oh, by the way, if you are of a nervous disposition, exit the site now please..........................and don't speak like this at home children. Maybe I’ve been exiled in Glasgow too long, but although a trip to either side of the old firm is meant to be the big day out for supporters of diddy just-here-to-make-up-the-numbers teams like ICT, I can’t help getting much more excited about away days against either of the Edinburgh teams. A lot of it has to do with setting: while the two Glasgow grounds erupt out of featureless wastelands, mad centres of pilgrimage for glory-hunters from across Scotland, both Edinburgh grounds seem to exist within real communities, tucked away among tenements and pub-lined streets, with families filtering out towards the grounds at five to three. Football as it is supposed to be.
Hearts and Hibs may have their own contrasting religious origins, but the clichés associated with the two these days, whether true or not, transcend the merely sectarian: Hearts are the grand, aspiring establishment club, Hibernian, the bohemian alternative; the club that made a convert of the bookish, indie-loving (former Celtic-supporting) Peter Pan of Scottish football, Pat Nevin. Famous supporters from the arts include the composers of the unofficial Scottish national anthem The Proclaimers; cavorting, jester-suit-wearing progressive rock superstar Fish; and most famous of all, author Irvine Welsh, creator of the bestselling ‘Famous Five’ series. An extract from one of those novels is included below.                                                                                                          ****** It wis a sunny setirday n the Five wur huvin a picnic oan the slopes ay Calton Hill, owerlookin Easter Road, ken? Anne hud laid oot the tartan travellin rug n wis gettin the scran ootay the hamper; Dick n Julian wur lyin oot oan the grass huvin a smoke; George wis oaf in the bushes daein whitever George did in bushes; and naebdy hud seen Timmy fir donkeys. ‘Moan tae f___, Julian,’ moaned Dick, ‘gaun tae stoap hoggin that n pass it ower?’ ‘Hud oan!’ snapped Julian, takin a last draw before tossin the fat roll-up irritably towards Dick. Julian laid back oan the grass again, scowlin at the sky. ‘Whit sortay a f____n name’s Dick anyway?’ eh demanded. ‘S better than f____n Julian,’ Dick said. ‘Julian’s a f____n bufty’s name.’ Julian thoat about chibbin the cheeky c___ with the boatil ay pils eh wis jist finishin, but thoat better ay it. Instead, eh shouted ower tae Anne, whae wis layin oot thae wee pork pies oan the travelling rug. ‘Haw Anne! See us anither ay thae Holstens!’ ‘Ah cannae, Julian,’ said Anne. Yuv awriddy drunk aw ay thum. Wiv goat lashins ay gin n slims though.’ ‘F___ sakes’ muttered Julian. ‘Nivir trust a wummin. Ah telt ye tae bring mair beers!’ eh yelled at Anne. At that point, they wir interrupted by a throaty yell fae the direction ay the bushes. George wis staggerin towards thum, daein hersel up. ‘Some c___’s chorried Timmy!’ she yelled, gesturing doon the hill. Some wee radge in a stripey jumper wis rinnin doon towards Easter Road at pace, carryin a struggling mass ay fur. ‘Moan gang,’ said Julian, springin tae his feet. ‘Let’s get intae that c___.’                                                                                                        ****** Oh, hang on. It turns out I’ve got my wires crossed. Apparently Irvine Welsh is the author of Trainspotting. The Famous Five were, in fact, the greatest front line Hibs ever had: Johnstone, Ormond, Reilly, Smith and Turnbull. So who were Julian, Dick, George, Anne and Timmy the dog, then?... Past fixtures If history is any sort of barometer, then ICT supporters should go into this game confident of a good result. In the five previous seasons the two clubs have spent together in the SPL, Hibs have finished in the top six each time, while Caley Thistle have always finished in the bottom half, yet the Inverness team probably have a better record against Hibernian than any other team they have faced in the SPL, apart from Gretna. Currently, out of seventeen league fixtures between the teams, Caley Thistle have won nine times to Hibs’ five, with three games having been drawn. Break these statistics down into home and away fixtures and they begin to look slightly less promising: Hibs have never beaten ICT at the Tulloch Caledonian stadium, their only away win having come at Pittodrie in season ‘04-’05, but at Easter Road, they have a slender advantage, having won four games to Inverness’s three. All the same, Caley Thistle have not lost at Easter Road since February 2008, and even in the relegation season managed to record two wins and a draw against the Edinburgh team, including a 2-1 win in the east end of Edinburgh. The omens from this season are also good: the two games between the clubs finished in a 1-1 draw and a 4-2 home victory for ICT. Yet there are reasons for caution. After a period where they seemed to be in freefall under new manager Colin Calderwood, Hibs have suddenly hit form and come into this game on a run of three straight victories. Also, while Hibs’ record against ICT is poor, the player who has had most impact in the fixture is not an Inverness player but a Hibernian one: the terror of Edinburgh’s night clubs, Derek Riordan. ‘Deeks’ may look like a bird whose feathers have never grown in, but he is undeniably a talented and dangerous footballer, and has scored six times against Caley Thistle already; impressive statistics, especially considering that he spent two years as a Celtic player over the period that the two clubs have been in direct competition. Team news In recent weeks, Caley Thistle’s squad has been reduced to the bare bones through injury and suspension, which made last week’s win against a St Johnstone team that had been on a good run all the more impressive. Players are now starting to return, and it will be interesting to see how Terry Butcher lines up the team. In defence, David Proctor is out after an injury sustained last week, and there is no news of left backs Graeme Shinnie or Kenny Gillet returning, but Grant Munro is back after suspension, which means that the Inverness manager will have to select four out of Munro, Ross Tokely, Chris Innes, Stuart Duff and Chris Hogg. Hogg has played well since joining the club and will probably be keen to impress against Hibs, and although he and Grant Munro have never played together, I would expect Munro to return, with Tokely at right back, Duff at left back and Chris Innes on the bench. In midfield, the likely availability of Nick Ross leaves Terry Butcher having to choose two of Ross, Russell Duncan and Lee Cox for the central midfield roles. The most intriguing news is the possible return of Jonny Hayes, after aggravating an injury against St Mirren. Will Terry Butcher opt to play with two natural wide men, Hayes and Aaron Doran on opposing wings, or will he leave Hayes on the bench to ease him in gently and opt for Shane Sutherland, Richie Foran or even Eric Odhiambo in one of the wide areas? Adam Rooney is certain to start, but it is hard to predict whether he will be partnered up front with Richie Foran, or played as a lone striker with one of Foran, Sutherland or Odhiambo in a more withdrawn role. We won’t know until three o’ clock tomorrow; but the thought remains that despite a long winless run over the winter months, this is one of the strongest squads ICT have ever had, with genuine options in the midfield and forward areas. Hibernian’s line up has had a settled look in recent matches, although after having been able to field the same team in wins against St Mirren and Kilmarnock, they had to make changes for the return fixture against St Mirren, with Liam Miller and ex-Ross County midfielder Martin Scott coming in for Ian Murray, presumably suspended, and Matt Thornhill. I will be honest: I haven’t had the time to check up on the state of Hibs’ injuries or suspensions, but the fact that they have been able to leave a player of Miller’s undoubted talent on the bench in recent weeks suggests that they too have some strength in depth, and supporters on various websites have praised the signings Colin Calderwood made in the January transfer window, including midfielder Thornhill, defender Richie Towell (on loan from Celtic) and particularly experienced ex-Charlton forward Akpo Sodje, who scored in his second game against Kilmarnock and has caused problems for opponents in all his games so far. Prediction As seems to be the case with every ICT fixture this season, this is a difficult result to predict. Hibs have looked solid at the back in recent games, have dangerous players up front and are on a good run, yet have not really dominated a game for some time; Caley Thistle won for the first time in eleven league fixtures last week, yet since the arrival of Aaron Doran and Chris Hogg and the return to goalscoring form of Adam Rooney and Richie Foran, there had been a discernible improvement in mood and confidence around the team even before that win, and the St Johnstone result can only have increased that. As I seem to do far too often, I am again sitting on the fence: Hibernian 1 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1  
***Latest Team News***
Inverness welcome back Grant Munro after suspension.  Definitely out are Proctor, Shinnie and Sanchez.  Gillet has returned to training but is short of fitness, although he could make the bench.  Jonny Hayes will be given maximum time to be ready for this one along with Nick Ross. Left back is a problem area, although Duff fitted in effortlessly against St Johnstone and may well find himself in the same position this week.
Hibs have Ian Murray suspended, the last of two missed games for him, but this is balanced out by Kevin McBride returning after his sin bin duty.  Danny Galbraith is struggling to make the squad after an ankle knock.  Steven Thicot and Michael Hart both sit this one out with injuries.

Cheers Maryhill.  As Mr Welsh said to me the other day:-  "Aye Maryhill, yir a complex f****r right enough"
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone - Report

Inverness end barren spell
Inverness edged their way past Saints to end their winless run of SPL games.  Goals from Ross Tokely and Russell Duncan saw the home side take all three points in a tense encounter at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.
Despite the injury crisis, Terry Butcher was able to field a team that proved to be difficult for Saint Johnstone to break down and a single goal in each half was enough to see off the lads from Perth.  Jonny Hayes Graeme Shinnie and Nick Ross all missed out again as Butchers patched up side earned a hard fought victory in a game where neither side really took control and the result was on hold until the last few minutes when St Johnstone finally ran out of ideas.
The Perth fans came in their droves, but it was all in vain as they went back down the A9 with nothing to show for their day out, but hopefully they enjoyed some Highland hospitality while they were here.
 
19th February 2011 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium INVERNESS CT 2 - Tokely (28), Duncan (62) TEAM: Esson, Proctor (Innes 51), Tokely, Duff, Cox, Duncan, Foran (MacDonald 83), Rooney (Golabek 90), Sutherland, Doran, Hogg
SUBS: Tuffey, Odhiambo, Polworth - Booked: none 
St JOHNSTONE 0 - TEAM: Enckelman, MacKay, Grainger, Duberry, Anderson, Morris, Davidson, Millar (Novikovas 40), Craig, Parkin (Jackson 58), May (MacDonald 72)
SUBS: Smith, Maybury, Adams, Reynolds - Booked: none 
Referee William Collum Attendance 3942  
[audio:http://caleythistleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ICT_V_StJohnstone_FTReport_190211.mp3|titles=ICT_V_StJohnstone_FTReport_190211]
 
davie was on hand to witness this rare home win and his report is here for your pleasure.
Right, that's the home run jinx beaten just in time for another win against Hibs! Yesterday's line up was visibly dictated by availability, any back four being evidently better than no back four. The day was bright, despite gloomy forecasts and St. Johnstone had brought a sizeable support for their "massive" away day. The auspices were looking up, especially with the realisation that an established thorn in our side by the name of Samuel was missing.
Saints started brightly enough, Morris pulling the strings as usual. The Caley Jags had to overcome some early St Johnstone pressure to make their mark. Saints had started the brightest with midfielder Chris Millar, who was forced off injured towards the end of the opening period, troubling Ryan Esson inside ten minutes. Millar cut in from the flank to fire a right-foot strike just over from 20 yards. At this point, the value of Chris Hogg was increasing by the minute as he blocked, tackled and distributed the ball against all comers. Esson then charged out to save from Davidson and the game was taking on a worrying complexion as ICT struggled to impose a gameplan on the match. In a foray upfield in 28 minutes, we won a corner on the right, which was whipped in by Aaron Doran and met by the considerable and specially toughened forehead of Ross Tokely. It fairly bulleted the ball into the back of the net, and cued great joy in the home support. Their regard for this man really does know no bounds.
At this point, the Saints game plan fell apart and the game decended into an exercise in scrappiness that was hard to watch at times. Inevitable, with so many people playing out of position, but hard to fault.
Half Time: Inverness CT 1 St. Johnstone 0
The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Doran firing over when he was beautifully set up by Tokely who was storming around in inimitable fashion by this time. In 51 minutes, David Proctor left the field in some distress with a knackered hamstring in another injury setback for ICT. Saints at this point had little to offer in terms of creativity and they decided to substitute it with clogging and cynicism. Ably abetted by the referee Mr. Collum, this culminated in Duberry catching Cox by the throat in what was clearly an infringement of the rules. Willie had a wee word, presumably out of the alternative rule book he had been reading. Any doubts about the outcome of the match were rested in peace on 62 minutes, when a cracking interchange of Irish attack resulted in Rooney squaring a peach of a ball across the six yard box. Russell Duncan had time to say "thank you and goodnight" bow and light a cigar before sidefooting the ball past the bilious green Enckleman. Any doubts about the outcome were firmly bedded at this point.
Yet this cued what was Saints best period as they huffed and puffed to secure something from the game, but they left empty handed after prompting the usual goal saving stop from Ryan Esson who seems to have a burning need to pull at least one per game out of the repertoire. Levein, this is getting ridiculous – he would do well against Brazil! Alex MacDonald came on again to display a "rooneyesque" physique and some deft touches. Up to speed, he will be an asset. Pass marks all over the field though.
Full Time 2-0
There was the usual puzzlement with the sponsors MotM which was claimed morally by one Mr. Ross Tokely. He is indeed superman, but everyone played their part.
 
By tm4tj in Reports 2010-11 ·

Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Fair City visitors on Snowman weekend.
A big weekend of sport in the Highlands this Saturday as Inverness host the men from the Fair City in a six pointer which could have a bearing on the outcome of a top six place for both clubs.
The other main attraction will be The Snowman Rally which takes place in the forests North of Inverness.  Sadly, this years event will be without our local former Scottish champion Jimmy Girvan who tragically died last September competing in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally in Perthshire.  RIP Jimmy.
Blue and White wave sweeping North
We can expect a mini invasion this weekend as The Massive Blue and White Away Day is planned by the Super J's fans and that should swell the away end to Elgin City like proportions.  Great idea this by the Perth fans.  They select a game during the season and encourage as many fans as possible to attend the selected fixture, and publicise the event with posters around the town and any other advertising medium in the area.  So make them feel welcome as they come along to create an atmosphere and enjoy their weekend away.  Let's hope the stewards show more understanding than the morons at Paisley who ruined last weekends match day for many by overzealous handling of the fans.  The match day experience is rapidly being ruined by a lack of common sense at some stadiums;  Hibernan, take note.  It's a two way thing of course, and if fans and stewards can sing from the same song book, then the day out will be more enjoyable for everyone.
The Aftermath :-  So, another winless weekend for Butchers boys at Paisley making it eleven SPL games without a win.  That statistic does not make for good reading, but the latest winless game had more to it.  Inverness were struggling to assemble a squad prior to the game and more late withdrawals on top of the suspensions of Munro and Tokely meant a back four with no game time together and youngster Liam Polwarth sitting on the bench.  Not ideal, but the good news is that Adam Rooney has rediscovered his touch and he stroked home a couple of strikers goals and Aaron Doran opened his SPL account.  Jonny Hayes made a surprise start, but lasted only quarter a game before hobbling off injured again.  The downside though, it's another game without three points, Hayes struggling again and the middle of the table is getting congested with a host of teams gathering behind Inverness looking for that top six place, and most of them with games in hand over us.
The visitors are in their second season back in the SPL and are steering a steady course above the relegation place, which Hamilton appear to have control of at this stage of the season.  A win on saturday would see the Super J's leapfrog the Caley Jags and still have two games in hand, so these encounters are becoming increasingly crucial in the sprint for top six.  It was the Perth side that ended our long unbeaten away run with a single goal victory as we first footed McDiarmid Park on the second of January.  Collin Samuel's late strike was the difference between the sides as we surrendered that hard earned record with a rather hungover display.
Inverness, after a healthy start to the season have faltered somewhat and the chasing pack now have us in their sights and are closing us down game by game as the winless streak continues.  The start of this run gave little indication of what was to follow, as excellent draws with Celtic, Rangers and Hearts kept our bandwagon rolling.  However, three consecutive defeats by St Mirren, Killie and St Johnstone dampened the euphoria.  Light relief came in the shape of the Scottish Cup as Elgin City eventually crumbled, but a point from Motherwell and defeat at Ibrox quickly erased the optimism after Elgin and the slump continued.  Even the Accies took a point home and dismal Dons took all three, how embarrassing is that.  Once again the Cup gave us some reprieve and Morton were brushed aside in stylish fashion, but the SPL is a sterner test and without many regulars we came away with our point at Paisley, which was a better result given the circumstances.   Still, theres always Hibs, they are usually good for a few points, but that is next week.
With Motherwell taking all three points at Pittodrie, Inverness will soon find themselves slipping out of the top six for the first time since the second of October, after they beat Aberdeen 2-0 at Pittodrie.  United had another game called off due to a waterlogged pitch which extended our stay in the elite group, but the Motherwell result now puts extra pressure on the outcome of Saturday's game as a Saints win could see us down to eighth.
Anoraks Corner
There is very little to choose between these two sides in the eleven games played.  One of those was a cup clash which had to be played at Dingwall during our enforced nomadic era at Aberdeen in our early SPL days, January 2005.  Despite these trials, we beat the Saints 1-0, captain Stuart Golabeck scoring the winner at a very wet and muddy Victoria Park, and on a Sunday too.  This game marked the playing debut of a certain Mr Brewster; whatever happened to him?  Two of the head to heads have been played this season, a 1-1 draw in Inverness, and of course the away day spoiler at Perth which Saints won 1-0.  The first division has been the battlefield for the remaining eight games, the most memorable for Inverness fans being the 3-1 victory which gained us promotion in May 2004.  In all these first division games, no draws were recorded and it is four wins apiece.   Both sides have scored three goals in a single game once, and the highest aggregate is 3-2 for Saints in Perth.  Eight of these eleven games have been won by a single goal advantage.  St Johnstone have failed to score only twice, one of those being the cup game; three blanks for Inverness.  It may be prudent to put your money on a low scoring game, and with our home form, maybe best to look for an away win.
Squads
Terry Butcher has told his players to ease up a little on the training ground this week to avoid further damage to his depleted squad.  The enigmatic Jonny Hayes will be a major doubt after hirpling off in Paisley.  Hayes has struggled for fitness recently after a serious of heavy knocks have seen the little Irishman sitting out a lot of games during this lean period for the team.  Graeme Shinnie has been receiving hospital treatment for a stomach complaint and he missed last weeks game.  On top of that, is has been revealed that Dani Sanchez could miss the rest of the season after breaking his hand.  Nick Ross has restarted training but is still a doubt, while Gillet, Blumenshtein and Morrison are all well short of match fitness.  Even Roy McBain and Stuart Golabeck are sidelined and can not help out.  With Grant Munro facing the last game of his suspension triple header things are looking bleak for Butcher, but one ray of light is shining through; Ross Tokely will be back to help shore up our virginal and over generous defence.   

Derek McInnes has Hearts winger Arvydas Novikovas on loan to add to his squad, although he has recently lost Scott Dobie on loan to Bradford and Steven Milne to our country cousins in Dingwall.  Eighteen year old Stevie May will be looking for another start after his two goals won the game against Hamilton.  McInnes has described him as an exciting prospect and "he has a freedom and liveliness about him which is refreshing".  Liam Craig scored a stunning cup goal against Partick Thistle with a dipping thirty yard effort and will be another player looking to catch the managers eye.  Former Chelsea defender Michael Duberry is forming a formidable partnership with Steven Anderson and they are difficult to beat in the air.  Collin Samuel is one man who has made all the difference in the two games played this season, scoring both Saints goals.  His pace has troubled the Caley Jags back line and he needs no second invitation to find the net.
tm4tj Prediction
I doubt this game will reach the scoring heights of last weekend, and these are usually pretty dour encounters.  Given the home form and the overall apathetic performances by Inverness of late I can see the visitors sneaking this one by the odd goal, but I will stick my neck out and hope for a draw, albeit only the second one between these two teams.  Mind you, we are still struggling for defenders so maybe there is hope of a goalfest.
***Latest team News***
The magic sponge has been on overtime this week, but Doc Butcher still has plenty of problems ahead of this fixture.  Definitely out are Munro (suspended), Sanchez (broken hand), Hayes (foot), Shinnie (stomach problem),  Ross (foot), McBain (foot).  The strugglers are Gillet, Blumenshtein, Morrison, Golabeck and Sutherland.  That's eleven players out of the squad which leaves us down to the bare bones.  Ross Tokely has served his one match ban and will slot into the back four, but with the current crop of injuries Butcher will not know yet where he will play.  Aaron Doran scored his first SPL goal last week and is raring to go.  Butcher will give his players every chance to be fit for this game before deciding his line up, but options are thin on the ground just now.
Derek McInnes has less anxiety over his squad.  Having played less games due to the weather, his squad are not carrying the same amount of injuries as Butcher's crocks and have a more settled look about them.  The last SPL game for Saint's was a 2-0 defeat of Hamilton and this was the squad then:- 
St Johnstone
01 Enckelman 02 MacKay 06 Duberry 12 Anderson 04 Morris (Taylor 88) 07 Millar 10 Craig 20 Davidson 32 May 08 Novikovas (Maybury 46) 21 Samuel (MacDonald 71) Substitutes
15 Smith, 19 Maybury, 37 Caddis, 11 Taylor, 24 Adams, 09 Parkin, 16 MacDonald Other minor league news
Tangoman is coming :-  The air around Dingwall is about to turn orange with the breaking news that Jimmy Calderwood is ready to be unveiled as the next County manager, until the end of the season.  I hope that's not more than nine games.  He will be the gudgies eighth manager in six years after Willie McStay was relieved of his duties following nine games in charge without a win, taking County to the cusp of the relegation battle and out of the cups.  Previous to that run of managers, Bobby Wilson and Neale Cooper were in the post for a total of fifteen years.  Rumours that a spate of new sunbed parlours were going to open in the quaint market town were thought to be untrue, but sales of orange blossom sun tan enhancer were hitting an all time high, allegedly.


By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

St Mirren -V- Inverness CT - Report

Makeshift defence offers Saints a share of the points.
Inverness led twice in this game but were pegged back by a battling St Mirren and both sides settled for a point each after Ryan Esson produced a dramatic late point blank save to deny the Saints all three points.
Adam Rooney got back on the SPL goal trail with a brace and Aaron Doran scored his first for the club, but goals from Higdon (pen), Thomson and McGregor  meant a deserved draw for the homesters.  Inverness were down to the bare bones for this encounter due to injuries and suspensions and the back four looked like they had just met for the first time on the team bus down to Paisley.  Liam Polwarth was drafted into the squad as Butcher struggled to muster enough fit and able bodies to fill the spaces. 
With Munro and Tokely suspended, the news that Hayes starting was welcomed by the Caley Jags support, but with Ross, Shinnie, Gillet, Sanchez, McBain, Golabeck and Morrison out it meant that Butcher had few options open to him.
 
12th February 2011 St Mirren Park, Paisley ST MIRREN 3 - Higdon (28pen), Thomson (29), McGregor (74) TEAM: Gallacher, McAusland, Mair (Travner 46), Potter, van Zanten,Thomson, Murray (Lynch 83), McGregor, McGowan, Dargo, Higdon
SUBS: Samson, McCluskey, Mooy, Lamont, McLean - Booked: McGowan (43), Dargo (90) 
INVERNESS CT 3 - Rooney (6, 61), Doran (33) TEAM: Esson, Proctor, Innes, Hogg, Duff, Duncan, Doran,Cox, Hayes (Odhiambo 25), Rooney, Foran
SUBS: Tuffey, Sutherland, MacDonald, Polworth - Booked: Doran (59) 
Referee Bobby Madden Attendance 3203  
A full match report for this game will follow once the reporter gets his breath back .........................It was a long breath, but here it is cowboys.
Remember the Alamo? Vaguely…
Greetings, y’all. I’m here to tell you a tale of an epic battle between the knights of the north and the bandits of the deep south. No quarter asked, none given. So abandon your steers, tie up your horses, pull over a tin of pork and beans and a sarsaparilla, and sit back.…
A watery sun was breaking through when the central belt posse stepped off the half noon wagon-train from Glasgow and into the one-horse town of Paisley. Cactus Stan, Top Six Gun Nic, the MacInnes brothers and One-Draw Young had only one place in their sights as they swaggered down the main drag: a shady saloon known as the Alamo.
Inside, several mean-looking hombres were ranged round the bar: Govan Jaggie, Capital Caley, The Immortal Howden Ender, ITN Jnr, mother-and-son team Carol and Cammy, and Red Card Reilly, nursing his very own ring of fire after a midnight munchie box. A few native injuns skulked in the darker corners, but we paid them no mind: we only had eyes for the tray of cow pies and the malt liquors being served by the barkeeps, a striking lady of middle years who had the whip-hand, and an ageing gunslinger with a mighty original nose.
As the ale kept flowing and the old northern songs started up around the barrelhouse piano, the footsoldiers of the northern army arrived in greater and greater numbers: a lean, hawk-eyed enigma known only as McCloud; a man named GMD, a stranger to me; several wild-eyed, well-refreshed young bucks wrapped in flags and walking wavy; and finally, with the moment of battle fast approaching, brooding cynic The Knowledge, hot-blooded bare-knuckle specialist Harry Chibber and a shifty, mescan-looking dude known as San Miguel.
Three o’clock was almost upon us and we had to leave the Alamo and make for the field of battle. We knew that some of us would not last long; we knew that others would end up in the county gaol; but we knew there was no turning back. As the Alamo faded into the dust behind us, however, a curious thing happened: One-Draw Young’s spurs and stetson fell away, and that ponderous ass hole Alternative Maryhill re-emerged.................and here is his tale
There were a couple of surprises in the ICT starting line-up. Graham Shinnie was injured, which meant that David Proctor started the game in the unfamiliar position of left back, with Stuart Duff on the right. And despite being widely rumored to be unavailable through injury, Jonny Hayes began on the right wing. Terry Butcher decided to stick with the formation that had won so stylishly against Morton, which meant that Lee Cox and Russell Duncan anchored the midfield and Adam Rooney and Richie Foran played as a front two.
The attacking nature of this line-up was reflected in the early of action of the match, with ICT going on the offensive from the first whistle. Their first move ended with Jonny Hayes’ opportunist shot from the edge of the penalty area, which Paul Gallacher collected comfortably. Just a minute later, Richie Foran had a chance from inside the box, hitting a shot first time from a dangerous low cross by Aaron Doran, but Gallacher again dealt with it easily. The Inverness team was looking lively and keen to play the ball on the ground, but when the first goal came, in five minutes, it was pure route one. Ryan Esson took a goal kick which was head-flicked on by Foran towards Adam Rooney on the left-hand edge of the penalty area. Rooney turned Darren McGregor beautifully and lifted the ball over the approaching Gallacher. A fine striker’s goal.
Although play moved from end to end, for the next ten minutes or so ICT looked the more dangerous team with Jonny Hayes seeing plenty of the ball. After being caught with a heavy challenge, however, Hayes began limping badly and after another ten minutes or so, when it became clear that he could not run off the injury, he was taken off to be replaced by Eric Odhiambo. By that stage St Mirren had begun to impose themselves a little more and after a couple of tame long-range efforts, they had their first real chance on twenty-three minutes when Steven Thomson’s low shot from the right was parried across the face of his own goal by Ryan Esson and Hugh Murray hit the base of the post with the follow-up. Craig Dargo had been instrumental in starting that move off, and it was also he who created St Mirren’s equalizing goal. Latching on to a ball inside the box from the right, Dargo first took on Chris Hogg and then David Proctor. Hogg managed to avoid lunging in on the ex-ICT man, but Proctor, looking uncomfortable in the left back position, stuck out a foot slightly late. Dargo accepted the invitation, hit the floor and the resulting penalty was put away coolly by Michael Higdon. Uncertain defending again in the left back area led to St Mirren taking the lead just over a minute later. Odhiambo’s defensive header from a high ball into the ICT box was weak and the ball fell to Steven Thomson, unmarked outside the area. He headed the ball to Dargo who shielded it well then fed it back to Thomson, who had space and time to fire a fine shot into the top corner. In the aftermath of that goal, Caley Thistle looked unsteady with Dargo, at this point the best player on the park, firing in another shot that was blocked by Chris Hogg. Terry Butcher opted to switch the full backs and this decision was influential in Caley Thistle’s equalizer in thirty three minutes. Eric Odhiambo and Lee Cox combined well to pressurize the St Mirren defence after a long ball from Stuart Duff, and although the Saints managed to clear the danger temporarily, the ball only came as far as David Proctor, who threw a dangerous looping ball into the box. Adam Rooney seemed to get some sort of touch on it and as the ball bounced beyond Richie Foran, Aaron Doran came steaming in at the back post and fired it into the roof of the net. (This portion of the match report was brought to you by the miracle of BBC highlights: I was in the bog at the time.)
Although both teams continued to try to play football and had about an even share of the possession, the first half saw little else in the way of clear cut chances. In the second half, however, St Mirren took control, with winger Paul McGowan, on loan from Celtic, particularly influential. McGowan’s willingness to take players on led to ICT conceding several free kicks and a succession of dangerous St Mirren balls into the area. The most dangerous moment for ICT came when Darren McGregor got on to Jure Travner’s inswinging corner and headed the ball against Ryan Esson’s crossbar. Richie Foran, attempting to clear, then caused a second round of loosened bowels among the travelling support by heading against the post.
Just after the hour mark, Caley Thistle retook the lead against the run of play with an example of the sort of counter-attacking football that brought us so much success earlier in the season. A high clearance from Russell Duncan, after ICT had broken up another St Mirren attack, fell to the feet of Richie Foran. Foran turned away from his marker and sent a perfectly-weighted diagonal ball into the path of Adam Rooney, who out-paced the St Mirren defenders and slid the ball calmly beyond Gallacher and into the corner of the net. Bedlam in the away end: was this going to be our first league win in eleven?
Sadly not. Twelve minutes later, St Mirren were level again. Paul McGowan once more made the difference, his tricky play in the right back area forcing David Proctor into conceding a corner. From Travner’s dangerous outswinging delivery, Darren McGregor powered an unstoppable header into the corner of Esson’s net. This was disappointing, but certainly no more than St Mirren deserved. As the game moved towards its conclusion, however, St Mirren almost won it from an identical move. Travner’s corner was again met by the head of McGregor, this time only five yards out, but somehow Ryan Esson managed to get his arms up to parry the ball back into play. Esson has been outstanding for ICT all season, but this was surely his finest moment yet.
Full time 3-3
Although St Mirren were the stronger team in the second half, this was probably just about a fair result. The away support was buoyant leaving the ground and on the train back to Glasgow. Despite the early-season dreaming about top-four finishes and European places, ICT supporters are realistic and there was a great deal of appreciation for a battling draw, played in the right manner, with a very depleted squad and against a team that has a decent SPL record against us. If Hayes can recover fully and our defence is restored to full strength, we can be optimistic about picking up plenty more points this season; hopefully starting next week against the Saints of Perth.
Well, I guess that’s all folks: there’s probably plenty more tales to be told, but this hombre fell off his horse pretty soon after returning to Glasgow and what became of the others I cannot say. Rest assured though, that we will all be saddling up again for Easter Road in two weeks time. Yee-hah.…..............................
Superb account of yer day in the tumbleweed town and the ensuing battle Maryhill, and all this while the cattle ranchers from Dingwall were struggling to keep the wolves from the door against the Bino's.  Looks like they need the cavalry to help out after the lynching of marshall McStay.
Next weekend sees the Gunfight at the Tulloch Stadium when Perth come a callin, so don't be shy and mosey on down pilgrims.  The Perth steer drivers are heading North in droves and we need to have a showdown before the hoedown at the Innes corral where we can all wet our whistles, so get off yer horse and drink yer guinness.
 
By tm4tj in Reports 2010-11 ·

Win a Trip to Italy with ICT

Teaser Paragraph:
Win a trip to Italy courtesy of Errea, Caley Thistle and club sponsors the Orion Group.
To celebrate the launch of the new away strip ICT and sponsors Errea and Orion Group have got together to give you a fantastic opportunity to enjoy a long weekend in Parma, from Friday 15th April to Monday 18th and to get first sight of what every other fan is dying to see!
Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC Manager Terry Butcher, launched the competition at Zizzi’s Italian Restaurant in Inverness. Whilst trying his hand at making pizza, he told everyone about the wonderful prize on offer, and how fans can get involved.
Butcher, a huge fan of Italian culture and football, commented after the launch event: “Having international sponsors like Orion Group and Errea allows us to give something back to the fans and organise this very unique competition in Italy. The sponsors have been very supportive of myself and the team and I’m sure whoever wins this trip will have a fantastic time. Knowing how the Italians and Orion operate, the winners will be well looked after – and enjoy the trip of a lifetime!”
Highlights include:
Two return flight tickets and 4* accommodation Tickets to watch a Serie A match – Parma vs Inter Milan Tour of the Errea factory So what are you waiting for? For a chance to win this fantastic competition, all you have to do is answer the question at the link below and fill in your details. Closing date is midday, Monday 21st March, 2011. (hint: if you dont know the answer, just read about Errea on that site !)
ENTER COMPETITION
(will open an external website in a new window)
By Scotty in News 2010-11 ·

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