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Rangers -V- Inverness CT – Report

Caley Thistle fought hard but went down to a 1-0 defeat at Ibrox courtesy of a Steven Davis goal on the stroke of half-time.
The main talking point however will be the after match comments of manager Terry Butcher. Finally someone has actually said what the fans are thinking and his comments have gained widespread support on forums spanning supporters from all over Scottish football.
 
Terry's Interview as heard on BBC Radio Scotland[audio:http://caleythistleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/TB_expresses_opinion.mp3|titles=TB_expresses_opinion]
 
18th January 2011 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow RANGERS 1 - Davis (45) TEAM: McGregor, Whittaker, Webster, Weir, Foster, Davis, McCulloch, Ness (Edu 80), Weiss (Fleck 59), Lafferty, Beattie (Jelavic 59)
SUBS: Alexander, McMillan, Wylde, Kerkar - Booked: Jelavic (65)
INVERNESS CT 0 - TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Innes, Munro, Shinnie, Duff, Ross, Odhiambo, Sanchez (Sutherland 70), Foran, Rooney (Proctor 83)
SUBS: Tuffey, Golabek, McBain, Duncan, Blumenshtein - Booked: Odhiambo (30), Foran (69)
Referee Craig Thomson Attendance 41623  
Rangers moved to within two points of Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic with a narrow win over Inverness.
The visitors came close to an opener when Richie Foran's header was touched onto the bar by keeper Allan McGregor.
Steven Davis lashed home the only goal of the game to give Rangers the lead on the stroke of half-time.
Graeme Shinnie made goal-line clearances to deny Kyle Lafferty and Nikica Jelavic as the Highlanders kept their hosts at bay in the second half.
The Ibrox side still have two games in hand over Celtic while Inverness remain fifth in the table.
The Rangers squad did not feature top scorer Kenny Miller, who is on the verge of a move to Turkish side Bursaspor, and James Beattie and Lafferty led the attack for the home side.
And the strike pair were prominent in the opening minutes of the match.
Beattie's cross was spilled by Inverness goalkeeper Ryan Esson and was scrambled away to safety by the visitors' defence before Lafferty could profit.
Moments later, Davis's cross was dummied by Beattie and Lafferty flicked the ball over.
Inverness began to impose themselves on the game and Adam Rooney's low shot was collected by Allan McGregor before the Highlanders almost took the lead at a corner.
Shinnie's corner was headed goalwards by Foran and McGregor touched the ball onto the crossbar before Steven Whittaker cleared to safety.
Rooney then got in ahead of his marker to meet Eric Odhiambo's cross but could not keep his shot down.
Vladimir Weiss tried to get Rangers going again and forced Esson into a fine save with a shot from distance.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50856000/jpg/_50856879_jelavic.jpg Jelavic was booked on his return from long-term injury From the corner, Weiss's poor delivery was played back into the six-yard box by David Weir but Lafferty could not direct his header on target.
Lafferty had two further efforts, both shots from the edge of the box, but was wide on each occasion as Rangers exerted pressure towards the interval.
And the hosts found the breakthrough right on half-time when Lafferty's initial shot was blocked and the ball fell to Davis on the edge of the box and the midfielder planted a shot into the bottom corner.
However, Inverness were unhappy that a free-kick had not been awarded to them in the run-up to the goal following Andy Webster's challenge on Rooney.
Nikica Jelavic, out since October, made his comeback from an ankle injury as a replacement for Beattie 14 minutes into the second half with John Fleck also came off the bench in place of Weiss as Rangers looked for fresh impetus.
And Jelavic was booked for simulation within minutes of his arrival after going down in the Inverness box.
Shinnie came to Inverness's rescue twice in a matter of seconds, clearing Lafferty's attempt off the line and then blocking Jelavic's effort onto the post.
The Rangers substitutes combined when Fleck found Jelavic with an incisive pass but, though the striker controlled well, he skewed his shot wide.
Lafferty then drew a save from Esson after cutting in from the left to take a shot.
Jelavic scooped a shot over the bar at the end of a breakaway attack as Rangers continued to press for a clinching goal.
Inverness put Rangers under pressure with some late set pieces but could not find the opening for a leveller.
report from BBC Sport
 
By Scotty in Reports 2010-11 ·

Rangers -V- Inverness CT – Preview

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Rangers face a defensive problem for tonight’s game at Ibrox. Majid Bougherra is suspended and both Sasa Papac and Steven Whittaker are rated highly doubtful.
Papac has a groin strain and may not be risked while Whittaker has a toe injury and according to Smith could not even put a boot on yesterday.
It is expected that Ricky Foster will take up one of the full back roles and we could also see Lee McCulloch dropping back or Andy Webster coming in to partner David Weir. Some of the Rangers sites also speculate that Smith may choose this game to drop in one of Rangers’ talented youngsters at full back, perhaps Darren Cole or Gregg Wylde. I guess we will see around 7:30PM when the teamsheets are sent out !
Steven Naismith is also rated doubtful, but if fit he may be preferred to Kenny Miller who like our own Adam Rooney may have other things on his mind. Terry Butcher maintains that Adam is focused on the job in hand but it must be hard for the youngster as he turns over his career options in his head for the next week or two.
For ICT, the most notable absentee will be Jonny Hayes. The midfielder started light training this week after his ankle injury but will not be ready to face Rangers. Morrison, Gillet, and McCann are also out.
Rangers (from): McGregor, Whittaker, Papac, Foster, Weir, Davis, Edu, McCulloch, Ness, Weiss, Wylde, Naismith, Lafferty, Miller, Beattie, Jelavic, Webster, Alexander, Fleck.
Inverness (from): Esson, Tokely, Munro, Cox, Proctor, Shinnie, Duff, Ross, Foran, Rooney, Odhiambo, Sutherland, Golabek, Tuffey, Duncan, Sanchez, Innes, Blumenshtein, Proctor.
Butcher is still raging at the SPL over the timing of this fixture. The SPL powers once again pandered to the Old Firm and gave ICT and its fans just seven days notice of a fixture originally scheduled for 29th January then moved into February due to Rangers CIS Cup semi-final appearance, being altered for a third time, this time to 11 days before its originally scheduled date.
It means the team and its fans will make the long trek down the A9 for the second time in four days ! However Butcher is hoping that the players can channel this sense of anger and injustice into a performance at Ibrox that sees at least one if not all three points head up the A9 at the end of the night.
Caley Thistle are unbeaten in their last three games against the Glasgow giants. A last minute Ian Black penalty gave us victory at Ibrox in March 2009 and earlier this season at Ibrox an 81st minute strike from Eric Odhiambo cancelled out an 11th minute goal from Maurice Edu.
The last game between the sides, at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on 11th December also ended in a 1-1 draw and both goals scored that day are up for goal of the month.
We are probably biased, in fact we know we are, but Hayes goal will surely feature in goal of the Season choices too …. A Rangers attack broke down in our half and Hayes took the ball at the edge of the box, he then made a long run, supported by Duff and when about 35 yards out, dipped insider a defender and struck it sweetly with the outside of his left boot. The ball went like a rocket and swerved high into the top corner of the net giving McGregor no chance. Jonny’s dance after the goal however will definitely not win any awards !!! Miller’s equaliser was – in our opinion – not as good but he also struck his shot well. Steven Davis laid a ball to Miller about 20 yards from goal and he hit it low and hard past the diving Ryan Esson.
Rangers form going into this game is WDWLW which is far better than ICT’s DLLLD but maybe the sense of injustice over the timing, coupled with our amazing away record (19 of our 27 points have been achieved on the road  [last 5 WDDLD]) can carry us through ….
Scotty’s Prediction :
Given the last few scorelines between the teams I am going to go for an optimistic 1-1 draw.
Form says it should be an easy home win but Rangers have troubles at the back and if we can get in about the makeshift defence we can make life difficult for them, maybe rattle them and take something from this game.
By Scotty in Previews 2010-11 ·

Fourteen Folds!

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Caley Jags are unsuccessful in opposing 10-team top flight
The SPL released a statement earlier today that read as follows:
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs today reaffirmed their commitment to the work of the Strategic Review Group to develop a structure for the whole of Scottish football. Broad support was given to progressing a 10-team Premiership and a 12-team Championship at the top of a pyramid for Scottish football as the preferred option.
The SPL clubs have asked the executive team to further develop aspects of these proposals and to update the Strategic Review Group’s report. The SPL will now consult with the Scottish FA and the Scottish Football League and its clubs before a final decision by the SPL clubs.
In response to this statement, Caley Thistle have also released a press statment clarifying their position in all of this ....
Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC chairman George Fraser, who supported a 14-team SPL at today's SPL meeting, admits to being "extremely disappointed" that their preferred option lacked support.
Mr Fraser said:"The question was asked at the meeting for a show of hands in favour of a 14-team division and only Hearts, Kilmarnock and ourselves voted for it. Our club remains convinced it was the best option for supporters and entertaining football and we're extremely disappointed that when it came to the crunch, the necessary support was not there.
"Apparently the majority of clubs felt the 14-team option was not financially viable and we have to accept the democratic decision of the meeting on the day. "Further work is to be done over the next few weeks on the Strategic Review Team's proposals and when their completed business model becomes available, Caley Thistle will carefully study the detail with an open mind."
By Scotty in News 2010-11 ·

Motherwell -V- Inverness CT – Report

Motherwell and ICT fought it out at Fir Park but neither could score and 0-0 was the final score.
The first half belonged to ICT but Motherwell can claim ownership of the second so the outcome was probably what both teams deserved.
 
15th January 2011 Fir Park, Motherwell MOTHERWELL 0 - TEAM: Randolph, Hutchinson, Craigan, Hammell, Hateley, Humphrey, Jennings, Lasley (Meechan 74), Forbes (Casagolda 80), Murphy, Sutton
SUBS: Hollis, Page, Charalambous, Pollock, McHugh - Booked: Craigan (69)
INVERNESS CT 0 - TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Innes, Munro, Shinnie, Duncan (Sanchez 81), Ross, Duff, Sutherland, Foran, Rooney (Odhiambo 89)
SUBS: Tuffey, Proctor, Golabek, McBain, Blumenshtein - Booked: Duncan (70)
Referee Euan Norris Attendance 3728  
Motherwell and Inverness Caledonian Thistle played out a scoreless Scottish Premier League stalemate at Fir Park.
Inverness had the better of the first half, with Adam Rooney and Graeme Shinnie having efforts saved by goalkeeper Darren Randolph.
Motherwell, playing without Sheffield Wednesday-bound Mark Reynolds, came close through Jamie Murphy.
Richie Foran missed a good chance for the visitors before Well's John Sutton had an effort saved by Ryan Esson.
Motherwell remain sixth, three points behind Inverness, and Stuart McCall's wait for a first Scottish Premier League win continues, with his new side having only scored in the Scottish Cup under his tenure so far.
The wet and wintry conditions were not conducive to fluent football and there were few chances created in the opening period.
Referee Euan Norris awarded the visitors a free-kick after Ross Forbes handled on the edge of the box, with the visitors appealing in vain for a penalty.
And, as the first half drew to a close, Inverness began to impose themselves on the match.
Rooney beat the offside trap to latch on to Foran's pass and fired a shot down into the turf, but - as the ball looped up towards goal - Randolph palmed away.
Randolph came to his side's rescue again twice in quick succession, blocking efforts by Rooney and Shinnie after Motherwell had come under pressure at a set play.
Ross Tokely was next to have an effort at the Motherwell goal after picking up a loose ball, but the defender's left-foot volley spun wide.
The first half closed with referee Norris waving away claims of a handball against Foran in the Inverness box.
Having struggled to create openings before the break, Motherwell began the second half on the front foot and Murphy tested Inverness goalkeeper Ryan Esson from distance.
Murphy continued to pose a threat and turned Chris Innes before dragging a shot wide of Esson's goal.
Forbes could not make the crucial connection at the back post after Chris Humphrey's teasing cross had evaded two Motherwell players in the box.
A slip by Shaun Hutchinson allowed Foran a run at goal, but - with only Randolph to beat - the former Motherwell player shot wide.
Foran had another effort saved by Randolph before Sutton almost put the hosts ahead.
Esson got a hand to Sutton's shot and then recovered to claim the ball at the second attempt before it crossed the goal-line.
Motherwell substitute Steven Meechan could not keep his effort down after coming on for Keith Lasley as the match petered out.
By Scotty in Reports 2010-11 ·

Motherwell -V- Inverness CT – Preview

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Challenging times ahead.
Back to SPL duty this weekend as Inverness head south to Motherwell for another away day.  With the year long run coming to end at McDiarmid Park Perth, a fresh challenge awaits Butcher's boys in 2011.
Can Inverness now pick up the pace again and push for a top six place, or has the focus on the away record taken it's toll on the bigger picture and hindered the bid for SPL points.  The defeat at Perth has come hard on the heels of back to back defeats at home and some quarters think that the bubble has burst on our season.  The challenge for Terry and Mo is to get the winning mentality back into the squad and ensure the early season form is not wasted.  Points on the board though should see Inverness well away from the relegation squabbles, but recent form suggests otherwise.
Last weekend saw a break from the cut-throat SPL rigours, and Inverness crept over the finishing line, eventually, thanks to the introduction of spanish star Dani Sanchez who scored one and set up another in the late late show against third division Elgin City.  We created enough chances to win half a dozen cup ties, but the lack of a real cutting edge saw ICT keep the fans on their toes until after ninety minutes had elapsed.  With Adam Rooney being targetted by our komrades in the Soviet Union will Butcher need to look further than the inexperienced Shane Sutherland to ensure the flow of goals remains constant?  Shane has shown up really well in the game time he has had, but unfortunately for him he can not buy a goal at the moment, not for the want of trying.  He is a great prospect, but the burden of carrying our top six hopes on his young shoulders may lead Butcher to dip into the January sales.
No league wins in our last six games is not the form of a team pushing for the top half of the league, but draws with Celtic, Rangers and Hearts in that period since thumping Hibs on the 20th November seemed like good results at the time.  The Hibs game coincided with Adam Rooney's last SPL goals, a hat-trick at that, and to add insult to injury (no pun intended) Hayes has missed the last three  SPL games which has limited the supply to the striker. Captain Richie Foran has been subbed frequently, which brings his fitness into question, as he seems to be a shadow of the fiery talent we saw last season, and Eric Odhiambo, after a great start to the season has disappointed recently.  Let's hope Terry Butcher has all the answers as we need to get back on track asap, and can we look forward to the prospect of a cheeky wee cup run after Elgin, with Morton or Airdrie coming to Inverness in the first week of February?  Some big names have already fallen, Killie and Hearts, and they will be joined by one half of the old firm after the next round of ties.
 
Ginger Jaggy has been checking out this fixture for you


On the road again with Fir park the destination. Caley Thistle have had an awful festive period with back to back home defeats before losing the long unbeaten record at McDiarmid Park. We did manage to stop the rot by beating Elgin City in the cup even though it took two stoppage time goals to get us through. This match could also be made even harder with the news that top goal scorer Adam Rooney could be on his way out of Inverness after a Russian club are reported to have made an offer to the ICT board. This has been rejected so Adam will remain our player for the time being .
A bit on our opponents Back to the action on the pitch and we face a huge game at Motherwell. If Inverness is to realistically stake a claim in the top six of the SPL, then a result at Fir Park will help us from being hunted down by the chasing pack. Motherwell has had an up and down season so far. They started so well, occupying 3rd spot for quite a while under the management duo of Craig Brown and Archie Knox and star striker Nick Blackman. But since their impressive performance and victory in Inverness last November things have not run so smoothly for the Steelmen. First of all Brown and Knox decided to leave to become the replacements to Mark McGhee whose tenure at Aberdeen was terminated after a spell of appalling results including the 9-0 drubbing at Parkhead. To add to Motherwell's woes, on loan striker Nick Blackman's loan deal ended with Blackburn now deciding that he can team back up with Brown at Aberdeen. But even without their top goal scorer, they still have players who can win them games like Jamie Murphy, Chris Humphrey and Ross Forbes. So they will still have the quality to hurt us. Motherwell remain below us in 6th but with all that has gone on in the last couple of months this has to be the best chance for us to extend our lead in the Top Six battle. Terry Butcher will be pitting his tactical wits against new well boss Stuart McCall who was appointed just before the Lanarkshire derby at New Year.
Form Guide and match history These two sides come into this match in indifferent form with both teams failing to secure a victory in the league in there last 5 matches. In that time both records are identical with both teams picking up only 2 points from a possible 15 on offer. Both teams did have a little respite last weekend with both on cup duty getting away from the slog of the league. Both teams made it through to the 5th round with victories over Elgin City and Dundee respectively. We know Inverness scraped through with two stoppage time goals but Motherwell's result was one of the stands out results of the 4th round. Going to Dens Park, lots of people saw a potential cup upset but instead Motherwell made it through comfortably winning 4-0. But that was undone on Wednesday night when Motherwell were easily beaten 2-0 by Dundee United at Tannadice . So the form of these two has not been great but it is definitely Motherwell who has the upper hand on us in terms of head to heads. Out of the 19 matches Motherwell have won 11 including being unbeaten in the last 5 encounters. Caley Thistle have won 6 of the league games against this weekend's opponents with the only positive result in our last 5 being a 2-2 draw at Fir Park in the bottom six match two seasons ago. In fact it was a late equaliser that played a pivotal part in our relegation from the SPL. We did though claim a 2-0 victory in the 4th  round of the cup last season with Dougie Imrie scoring his last Caley Thistle goal and what a belter it was.
GingerJaggies thoughts and predictions Well this game will be difficult and maybe it is even more difficult than it would have been. Our poor form is a matter of concern as it is raising fears that the small squad we have is starting to creak. Add in the issue of Adam Rooney and this may be very difficult indeed. Rooney has been brilliant and I'm sure young Shane Sutherland is chomping at the bit to replace him, but with a lack of 1st team experience we would be short up front. But Rooney hasn't gone yet and hopefully that will stay the same case. But with or without Rooney, we need to start again after that painful defeat in Perth which is not going to be easy against a decent footballing team like Well. Hopefully we will have Jonny Hayes fit and that will give us that spark and creativity that we have lacked in recent matches but I think this game will come to early for Hayes. I believe we can come out of this one unscathed and pick up a decent point.
Prediction 1-1
***Latest squad news***
Inverness are still without Gillet, McCann, Morrison and Hayes, but David Proctor might make the squad.  Lee Cox could also have to miss this one.
Motherwell are unchanged from midweek against United although Steven Saunders is still suffering with a hamstring problem and will not join the squad.
Other news
Celtic beat Hibernian 3-0 at Easter Road in todays early kick off to move eight points clear ahead of the rest of the games.  Goals from Hooper and a Stokes double, one a penalty, sees them moving well clear at the head of the SPL.
Dundee United v Hearts postponed due to waterlogged pitch.
Hearts young whizz kid David Templeton has been named as the Clydesdale Bank Young Player of the Month for December.  Scotland manager Craig Levein has been keeping a close eye on the youngster after a series of enterprising performances by the Hearts forward.
Further afield, Martin O'Neill looks set to replace Avram Grant as manager at West Ham.


By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Inverness CT 2-0 Elgin City – Scottish Cup

CaleyJags crawled into the 5th round draw after a 2-0 win over Elgin City.
The score may look respectable but anyone looking deeper than just the scoreline will see that both goals came in injury time of the second half and that a replay seemed inevitable.
In truth, there was only one team that looked like winning, but Inverness laboured over this 90 minutes and will be glad to see the back of a stubborn Elgin City who deserve all the plaudits after restricting Inverness to mostly half chances, although the longer the game went on, the more likely it looked as though the SPL side would score the winner.  Chances came and went, and when Shane Sutherland saw a certain goal miraculously cleared off the line, it looked like a replay was on the cards, until super sub Dani Sanchez took control.  A stunning volley when he latched onto a ball inside the eighteen yard line and a sublime lay off header for Rooney to tap in means that Butcher has another name to add to the pecking order.  But for Peter Donnelly in the City goal, this tie could have been over early doors, as he made a number of crucial saves and blocks to frustrate Inverness until the late flurry of activity brought the City players to their knees.
Special mention to the Elgin fans who turned up in vast numbers and certainly showed the home fans how to get behind their team.  Maybe they turned up looking for the Caley Animals, but what they found was an increasingly nervous home support who were given little to enthuse over until the introduction of Sanchez. 
At the end of the day, Inverness are into the hat for the next round, and that's what matters on cup days.  One or two cup shocks, Aberdeen scoring six was one of them.  County drawing at Tannadice and St Mirren and Hibs being held on their own patch, so lets be thankful that we passed the banana skin test first time round.
 
8th January 2011 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 2 - Sanchez (90), Rooney (90) TEAM: Tuffey, Tokely, Munro, Innes, Shinnie, Duff, Cox, Ross, Odhiambo (Sutherland 64), Foran (Sanchez 79), Rooney
SUBS: Esson, McBain, Duncan - Booked: None 
ELGIN CITY 0 - TEAM: Donnelly, Dempsie (Niven 58), Inglis, Kaczan, Duff, O'Donoghue, Nicolson, Crooks (Millar 89), Gunn, Cameron, Frizzel
SUBS: Calder, Edwards, MacDonald - Booked: Cameron (46),Duff (61) 
Referee Eddie Smith Attendance 2808  
Davie will be along soon with a full match report........and here it is.
Elgin City. It’s a name that conjures up trepidation for more sides than ICT, but if they ever had an agenda with anyone, it’s with us. Lineups were along familiar lines for both teams, Tuffey being dusted down and brought out like the family silver. It’s Jonny, it must be the cup and it’s the first time we’ve met them in the big leagues, and since IHE and his mates stopped wrecking trains. It's just a pity Wilson's knee couldn't make the party. Watching the first half from the main stand, it was actually more fun watching the assembled hordes from Moray, piper and all and more depressing listening to the quickly grown frustration from the home fans. The first half opened with Inverness passing brightly and playing around Elgin’s half with no real penetration until 10 minutes in, when Foran brought a routine stop from Donnelly, who gathered the ball into his considerable middle. Odhiambo did likewise and a procession of effort but no real danger resulted. The pitch seemed fiery today, with the ball kicking up from the slightest of off touches, and too often people looked foolish (especially Eric Odhiambo who relies so much on a decent first touch) – seemingly it happens when you switch the heating off, the ground dries out and the surface ices. It also probably explained Foran’s falling down impressions – he and a few others were skiting around all day as the surface iced. Concentrating on Inverness, we coped easily enough with Elgin in the first half and Tuffey could have stayed bench-warming as usual. Tokely and Innes coped at the back and Grantie swept up anything that came his way. The midfield tackled well enough but the killer ball that we have missed since Hayes' demise was lacking again, the service to Rooney was sporadic and chances were thereby limited. Elgin defended stoutly enough, a free kick into the box from O’Donoghue being their only limited chance. Majority of possession then, absolute monopoly on chances and containment of any threat. Butcher’s game plan only lacked the cutting edge to score in that first half and that was the cue for some frustration from the home fans. Elgin’s seemed content on enjoying their day out and providing a colourful backdrop to most of the action.
Half Time: Inverness CT 0 Elgin City 0
The second half opened with a touch more purpose and drive from both sides. Elgin may have felt that they absolutely needed to score first; ICT probably felt that they just needed to score. Cameron at least got motivated enough to foul Shinnie on his way past and earn a slightly harsh yellow. Thereafter, the game became a bit Peter Donnelly vs. ICT. He had saves from Odhiambo and Foran and an excellent stop from Rooney followed by another excellent stop in 60 minutes from the shortly to be hooked Eric. It was beginning to look like it might be one of those days, but Shane Sutherland replaced Eric to bring a bit of bustling urgency to proceedings. His strength on the ball was in marked contrast to said Eric, who is all about pace, but with a lack of the guile that would make him a real handful. In 65 minutes, Frizzel had what was Elgin’s golden chance. Crooks cut in past a couple of challenges, bringing a block from Tuffey. Frizzel fired the rebound into the side netting and that had the ICT faithful’s hearts in their mouths – it really was time to do something about the situation, and Butcher responded by taking off a slightly disgruntled looking Foran and replacing him with Sanchez. Another smart save from Sutherland followed, and it quickly became apparent that ICT had found the creativity that they had lacked for the majority of the game. Just when a couple of pints in the Thunderton were being contemplated, Sanchez latched on to a bouncing ball in the area and buried a lovely volley past Donnelly. Thank you and goodnight. A minute later, he headed a Nick Ross cross into the path of Rooney to put the gloss on it. There was barely time left to take the kick off
Full Time: Inverness CT 2 Elgin City 0 A hard fought win this, and perhaps a little too hard for some tastes who felt that we should have converted dominance into goals sooner than we did. However, this weekend’s results have shown that the “smaller” teams have given a real account of themselves in many cases. It was interesting to hear Gordon Strachan say that he never watched smaller teams before they played Celtic, because the same 11 would fire in an adrenaline fuelled performance that bore no resemblance to the rest of their year. Elgin did that, and so did their fans on their big day out. Well done, but ICT go into the hat for the next round.
Who’s next?
By Scotty in Reports 2010-11 ·

Inverness CT -V- Elgin City – Preview

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Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
Scottish Cup 4th round action this weekend at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in Inverness.  Maybe just what the Doc ordered after a barren Christmas schedule saw Butcher's boys lose all three SPL fixtures, one of those ending the undefeated away run at Perth.  The slump in form has come at the right time for former Highland League arch enemies Elgin City, who can now see a chink in the armour of the SPL club and with their own form on the up, then the possibility of another scalp to add to the many in the Moray club's locker is looking more feasible by the minute.
This will be the first ever competitive fixture between these two clubs since they joined the big boys league.  When the dust settles, that will be the full house for Inverness as they will have played every other SFL and SPL club in Scotland, so that's another tick in the box for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Elgin City were formed from two clubs when Elgin Rovers and Vale of Lossie amalgamated on 10th August 1893.  By October they had played their first competitive match when they defeated another local side Rangers Athletic 4-2 in a North of Scotland cup tie at Association Park.  They joined the Highland league two years later and beat Citadel 7-2 in their opening fixture at Milnefield Park Elgin, where one Bob Hamilton scored four goals.  Incidentally, Inverness Thistle were the inaugural Champions ahead of Inverness Caledonian.  By 1898 Elgin had won the North of Scotland Cup by defeating Clachnacuddin 2-1 at Kingsmills Park Inverness, the first team outside of Inverness to do so.  Fast forward to 20th August1921 when they arrived at their present home of Borough Briggs and duly christened the stadium with a 3-0 win over Citadel in a Highland League encounter.  It was not until 1931/32 season before Elgin won the first of their fourteen Championships, beating Keith to the title and replacing Inverness Caledonian as champions.  The best was yet to come for Elgin as from 1959/60 season, they won eight out of the next eleven Championships before the early seventies saw Caley and Thistle return to prominence.  Elgin's last title win was in 1992/93, but they had the title removed from the record books after fixture irregularities, which saw their final game being brought forward to avoid suspensions being their downfall.  Elgin were voted in to the SFL system in 2000 but have struggled to make any impact, remaining in the third division, but this season has seen them climb to fourth in the table as we speak, no doubt the influence of former ICT legend Barry Wilson is starting to pay dividends.
The Black & Whites are steeped in Scottish Cup history, mainly from the sixties and seventies when they were the most successful Highland League club.  Beating SFL clubs became part of the norm and in season 67/68 they reached the quarter-finals before narrowly going down 2-1 at Cappielow to first division Greenock Morton, with Gerry Graham scoring a spectacular goal for City.  During that run they had some memorable games in front of record crowds at Borough Briggs.  Second division Albion Rovers were first up and they went down 3-1, then another non league club Tarff Rovers were beaten 3-2 away from home.  Forfar Athletic went the same way as Albion, another 3-1 at Bourough Briggs in front of a healthy crowd, but the best was saved for Arbroath, as Elgin progressed to the quarter-final after a 2-0 victory over the smokies.  This game brought out a record crowd in Elgin, which still stands today as 12,608 witnessed that scalp.  Arbroath were promoted that season to the top tier.  The season before this saw Ally McLeod reduced to tears after his first division Ayr United were dumped out of the cup 2-0 up North.  The prize for the winner of that tie in 1967 was a lucrative match in Glasgow against Celtic, (whatever happened to them).  Aye, those were the days, large crowds, standing shoulder to shoulder, jam packed into the smoke filled arena and cup shocks galore, (remember Berwick),  I'm young enough to have been part of that record.
Of course there are some records that Elgin are not so pleased with, losing 14-1 to Hearts in the same competition in 1939 would have been a sore one, although beating Brora Rangers 18-1 in the North of Scotland Challenge Cup is hardly recompense for that in 1960.  With goals in abundance it is no surprise that Willie Grant notched a remarkable 348 of them.  The ultimate measure of Willie's goal scoring is that it took him only 255 games to achieve this.
Fourteen Highland League championships, 5 Highland League Cups, 7 Scottish Qualifying Cups and 17 North of Scotland Cup final victories sees Elgin as one of the most successful ever Highland League sides.  Inverness Clachnacuddin and Inverness Caledonian are two of the clubs that can boast of a better record than Elgin in terms of Highland League titles and this weekend Inverness Caledonian Thistle turn back the clock and provide Elgin with a local adversary to rekindle the fire and the passion of bygone days.
The howden end is back to give us this look back to days of yore, where men were men, and paper hadn't been invented....................................read on.
In a seventies revisited nostalgic look back at the good old days, our own Immortal Howden Ender has gone back to his youth, and that's a long time ago, and here are his thoughts and memories ahead of the return of the Caley Animals.
The Highland Football League was formed on 4 August 1893, at the Inverness Workman's Club. The original league consisted of seven teams: Inverness Thistle, Caledonian, Clachnacuddin, Forres Mechanics, Inverness Union, Inverness Citadel and Cameron Highlanders. Ross County were an eighth original member, but resigned membership in November 1893. Elgin sneaked in to the league in 1985 when they became another merger team when Elgin Rovers and Vale of Lossie joined forces. As with recent times they stayed in the wilderness for years until they moved to Borough Briggs in 1921 - and the ground hasn’t changed a lot since and nor has the fashion sense of the local support. Their first home game was against Citadel !!
The 60’s were the heady days for Hellgin Shittee and they even drew a crowd of 11,207 to Borough Briggs for a Scottish Cup game against Cellic in 1961.
My fave memories are of the mid 70’s to 80’s when the rivalry between Hellgin and specifically Caley were at their “best” - Hellgin won the league in the 73/74 season ahead of the Jaggies but would not win another title until 1989/90 whereas the Telford Street Massive took six titles and three runner up spots in between whilst the Jaggies sneaked it in 86/87.
Caley also won 5 Qualifying Cups in that era whilst the Jaggies scored a hat trick. The only Hellgin players who I really had any respect fer was Ian Wilson who went on to prove himself at a level that suggests that he was only extracting the urine at Borough Briggs
But the Caley v Elgin clashes of the 70’s and 80’s bring the glorious memories of meeting up with the lads from the Elgin “Staigo” although it would be mostly their backs and running styles that I could ever remember. The Caley support was usually a mix of the old gangs from the Ferry, Dalneigh, Hilton and the unforgettable Caley Animals - possibly the most feared football outfit of those heady days.
Can ya no remember slipping on the Oxford Bags, the Harrington, the knee length bovver boots and the ritual scarves around the wrists and hanging from the waist bands - I used to favour a Leeds / Caley divide scarf and we all wore the Howden End Animal badges as personally manufactured by Stormin Norman Gordon - and Rodger McDonald once got a job at the Football Times but was thrown out after a day when he was found mass producing calling cards proclaiming “ You have just met the famous Caley Animals”.
Home or Away we used to give Tom Jones and his mate some feckin jip - whether it was smashing the buses down the Carse Road and 100 waiting in ambush in the Merkinch School playground, the famous fight up the Hill when we went in to their end and showed the Jeggies how it should be done - and there was always a bit of fun when we changed ends at Telford street but turned back and kicked them out of the Howden End.
And who can recall scraps bursting out on a Friday or Saturday night at the Caley ballroom, the Keppoch, the Nairn Ballerina, the Two Red Shoes and even the Strath - there was only one or two places that I can ever recall the Staigo and the Caley joining forces to take on a venerable army of tinks - and the second was a surreal Beach barbeque after a Slade concert in Nairn in 1970.
And what about the crowds - 7-8000 at times and the packed 500 football specials - which were unfortunately banned after a bunch of Caley boys who had been reading the “Skinhead” best seller and had donned lead pipes and chains decided to loot Woolies in Elgin and lay waste on the hill down to the Main Stand. And those terraces at the Briggs - desolate now but I can recall they looked massive and no separating fence.
It was so good that most finals were played in either Elgin or Sneck and we could have a go at each other even if we weren’t playing these others. I can only recall being battered once and that was in a Qualifying Cup Tie which went to a game and two replays and we had the smallest and most precarious support at the middle 0-0 game and then rejoiced as wee Donnie Park knocked in a double as we won it at the third attempt.
And despite that, in later years, I have met up with quite a few Staigo boys on tour with the Tartan Army and we had a good old drink drowning our sorrows. In many ways I miss Hellgin City and recall how we were - with the Jaggies - the main sources of winners in the Highlands. And for the kiddies Caley and Thistle were mainly bantering mates - there was a wee bit more dislike between Caley and Clach - Caley enjoyed the trips to Dungwall and Peterhead as they through up a wee bit of challenge - on and off the pitch - but Caley HATED Elgin and Elgin HATED Caley - Oh those were the days !!
I wont be there tomorrow but I will be glued to the internet singing - My old man said be an Elgin fan - I said feck aff bullocks yer a **** - we took the Jail End in half a minute - we took the Briggs with the Staigo init.
THE HOWDEN END IS CALLING YOU - here is hoping for a draw and a midweek replay.
There you have it, a one time Caley Animal looks back with affection at the good olde days, thanks IHE.  I would expect a knock on yer door from the plod soon asking a few questions to tidy up some unfinished business. So, back to the future:- Squads for 2011 cup game   Terry Butcher has no fresh worries since the disappointing festive fixtures, but may be looking to freshen up the starting eleven after some jaded looking performances.  Tuffey might get the nod for the cup games and look for McBain, Golabek and Sutherland to push for a start along with forgotten man, Spaniard Dani Sanchez.  This means that Jonny Hayes is still recovering from his ankle injury, and misses out along with Gillet, Morrison, Proctor and McCann. Jack Ross may go for the experience of former ICT legend Barry Wilson to try and spring a cup shock.  Jamie Duff and Jake Inglis also have something to prove as they make a return to the Tulloch Stadium.  Elgin may pin their hopes on pacey forward Craig Gunn, an ex-County player who also has something to prove. Disclaimer.........any names used in this preview are purely fictional, and spelling errors are deliberate, but if you need help, speak to the Immortal Howden Ender.
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

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