Skip to content

Articles

Our website articles
Show all categories

Inverness CT -V- Aberdeen – Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Battle of the Crocks.
Aberdeen are the visitors this weekend in the SPL clash at Inverness.  With no points from three home fixtures so far, Inverness manager Terry Butcher will be hoping to end that sequence at the expense of arch rivals Aberdeen.  Dons boss Mark McGhee does not have his own troubles to seek as his side have slumped after the opening two fixtures with only one draw in the next four games.  Both managers have an extensive injury list to deal with and points will be hard to come by on Saturday.  With Inverness having only a solitary win over the Dons in the SPL a tough encounter is expected to bring out a decent crowd for the point starved home fans.  The only time Inverness have beaten Aberdeen, they were relegated at the end of the season, let's not go down that route this weekend.  The injury list just grows and grows, with Proctor sidelined for a possible three weeks.  Aberdeen are also missing a number of players, as Chris will reveal.
ictchris has opened his account for the season with this preview ahead of the weekend's entertainment, read on.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Aberdeen 02/10/2010 Caley Thistle look to build on last week’s victory at St Mirren Park on Saturday as Aberdeen visit the Caledonian Stadium. Both sides have had an inconsistent start to the season, with Caley Thistle showing great away form to bag seven points in three matches on the road, while Aberdeen got off to a roaring start only to slip back down the table in subsequent games. Both sides have reasons to be both cheerful and fearful heading into the clash of the SPLs two northernmost clubs.
Current Form If Aberdeen’s start to the new season was good enough to hark Don memories back to the glory era of the early 1980s, their performances since have brought their fans straight back to the reality of supporting Aberdeen for most of the last fifteen years. Mark McGhee was under pressure to deliver better results this term after a mediocre showing in 09/10 and back-to-back wins at the start of a season, for the first time since 1998, saw some tip Aberdeen to challenge for a European spot. In the impressive 4-0 home win against Hamilton, new Aberdeen signing and captain Paul Hartley netted a hat-trick from the spot – the first top flight penalty hat-trick since league reconstruction in 1975. A powerful home showing was followed up by a battling away victory with ex Inverness loanee Darren Mackie burying a late chance to give McGhee’s men a win at McDiarmid Park.
With hindsight, perhaps a blow to AFC’s start to the campaign came in their routine 3-0 league cup win over lowly Alloa Athletic when influential young midfielder Fraser Fyvie suffered a season-ending knee injury. Post-match the debate raged as to the degree to which the 17 year old Fyvie’s woes could be attributed to the pitch but what is certain is that since that game Aberdeen’s form has suffered. They lost their unbeaten league record at home to surprise fast starters Kilmarnock, who stole all three points with a late Jamie Hamill goal. Worse was to follow as, despite being supported by a healthy contingent from the Granite city, Aberdeen were soundly defeated in the ‘New Firm’ derby by cup holders Dundee United, who were 3-0 up within ten minutes. The match also saw McGhee sent to the stand with the former Aberdeen, Celtic and Newcastle striker looking ridiculous sitting next to an elderly fan after being sent to the stand for kicking the ball away petulantly.
Following that loss Aberdeen secured a point at Fir Park, no mean feat considering Craig Brown’s Indian summer in Lanarkshire, and came from behind to defeat Raith Rovers, revenge of a sort for the Fife sides victory at Pittodrie in last season’s Scottish Cup.
In their last fixture, Aberdeen faced up to their hated rivals Rangers and, revelling in the charged atmosphere of a fixture widely considered the most volatile in Scotland outside the Old Firm derby, raced to a two goal lead. However, Rangers salvaged their 100% record by surging back to take a 3-2 victory. One significant impact from this game saw Chris Maguire red-carded late on, leading to him missing Saturday’s match – a relief for many Inverness fans who have seen the Highlanders defence struggle against pace this season.
Inverness has been a happy hunting ground for SPL visitors in recent fixtures, with all three SPL matches this season ending in away wins. Celtic, Hamilton Accies and finally Hearts have all secured three points. While Celtic on the first day of the season was always a tall order for Terry Butchers champions, the losses to Accies, (who bagged a stunning early goal and then outhustled ICT), and Hearts, (who utilised pace in wide areas and aerial power up front to deservedly take three points), are more worrying to ICT fans. Away wins and good form from forward players Jonny Hayes, Adam Rooney and Eric Odhiambo give the home support reasons to be optimistic.
Players To Watch Aberdeen made a number of signings in the close season and probably the new boy who has made most impact in the North East is Scott Vernon, who was recruited from Colchester. The Manchester born striker has bagged five goals so far this season, including three in his last three SPL appearances. Vernon, who started his career at Oldham before stints at Blackpool, Northampton, Gillingham and Southend, has starred for McGhee, not only bagging several great goals but impressing with his work-rate and hard play.
Zander Diamond has perhaps not progressed as well as he was expected to when he first broke into the first team at Pittodrie but the powerful centre-half has developed into a first choice player at the heart of the Dons defence. Diamond is capable of solid performances that hark back to the days of McLeish and Miller (not that anyone at Pittodrie is prone to harking back to the 80's) but is also still prone to lapses in concentration and showed lingering immaturity in his reaction to a penalty decision last weekend, for which he was lucky to stay on the pitch. Diamond will hope to keep his temper in check and avoid adding to his career five red cards.
Inverness thought they were going to be relying on Adam Rooney for goals this season but the last couple of SPL matches have seen Englishman Eric Odhiambo draw level in the goalscoring charts with Caley’s talismanic Irishman. Odhiambo has been a revelation all season with his intelligent, skilful play in the ‘hole’ position. After suffering from injury for much of his first season and a half at Caledonian Stadium Odhiambo is showing the benefits of a full pre-season and took both his strikes in Paisley expertly. With a front four of Odhiambo, Rooney, Johnny Hayes and Richie Foran, Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas will be confident they can cause problems to any SPL defence.
Further back on the pitch, however, Inverness have suffered from injury and loss of form this season – poor defensive displays from experienced players have cost points and matches. However, the assured debut from Graeme Shinnie was another bright spot for Inverness in Paisley and the home fans will look forward to seeing the young Invernessian make his home SPL debut, as he surely will.
***Crocks Corner***Latest***
Inverness will be without Proctor, McCann, Gillet, Innes and Cox, although Sanchez and Blumenshtein are almost there and may make the bench, with McCann possibly making the squad and Golabeck back after missing last weeks game for personal reasons.  On the plus side, Lee Coxs' injury could see him return sooner than the original estimate of 5/6 weeks.  This became apparent after the bruising eased and a more definitive assessment was carried out.
Aberdeen are without Chris Maguire through suspension and promising youngster Fraser Fyvie who's season has ended through injury.  Velicka, Aluko, Pawlett and penalty king Hartley are all being repaired, but will sit this one out.  Vujadinovic has been sewn back together, eight stitches in a head wound could see him make the squad though.
Prediction
Both sides supporters will come into Saturday’s match believing that they have causes for optimism – Aberdeen have shown in patches, good form, have looked dangerous in front of goal and, of course, have an almost unblemished record against Inverness. Caley fans will look at the flinty away results in Paisley, Dundee and Edinburgh and consider that it’s only a matter of time before these performances are repeated on the banks of the Moray Firth. Aside from the three points, the most positive aspect of Saturday’s victory over St Mirren was surely the assured defensive showing, with the Inverness rearguard only breached by a wonder-goal that few defences in Scotland would have prevented. If Caley Thistle can continue that form then a home win is a possibility but the more likely outcome is that a cagey affair sees Aberdeen head down the A96 with a point, perhaps equalising after Caley take an early lead.
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

FlyBe Community Sponsorship

Teaser Paragraph:
FLYBE KICKS OFF FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME WITH INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE
Leading regional airline’s new agreement with Caley Thistle reinforces commitment to grass roots’  football
Flybe, Europe’s leading regional airline and the UK’s Number One Domestic carrier, will again be championing grass roots’ football at Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C with its ‘In the Community’ programme that includes being the main sponsor of the third Flybe Football Festival where local primary school teams play for the Flybe 2011 Community Cup. 
The new deal was kicked off by popular Caley Thistle defenders, Chris Innes and David Proctor with excited young players at Crown School, Inverness. The programme incorporates Flybe’s involvement in a number of other key projects namely two Flybe Fun Day Festivals held during the 2010/11 season at Inverness’ Caledonian Stadium: a competition giving secondary schools across Inverness the opportunity to win a six week coaching course with a Flybe Community Football coach for their school’s football team culminating in a match between the winning school and the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Under -17 side and support for local football school holiday programmes.
Ian Taylor, Flybe’s General Manager Market Development says: “Flybe has been the main Club Sponsor at Inverness Caledonian Thistle for the past three years and so we are delighted to be able to now continue our relationship with the Club following its return to the Premier league. Our In the Community programme offers local youngsters the superb opportunity to participate in a tournament at a Scottish Premier League venue and is just one of the ways in which we can show our support for the local communities that in turn so loyally support Flybe.”
The Chairman of the Club, George Fraser, added: “Our relationship with Flybe is one that we are very keen to continue and both of us see this Community Sponsorship initiative as a great opportunity to expand our reach and support into the very areas where Flybe operates.” 
By Scotty in News 2010-11 ·

St Mirren -V- Inverness CT – Report

Inverness bounced back after the midweek thrashing at Parkhead to beat rivals St Mirren 2-1 at St Mirren Park.  Eric Odhiambo scored a brace either side of half time to give Butcher's boys a cushion before Paul McGowan fired home a superb volley to put the result on a knife edge, but it was too little too late this time for the Buddies as Inverness held on to their advantage to take all three points in a hard fought tussle.
 
25th September 2010 St Mirren Park, Paisley ST MIRREN 1 - McGowan (77) TEAM: Gallacher, van Zanten, Mair, Potter, McGregor, Travner, Murray, Lynch (McCluskey 53), Hegarty (McQuade 27), Wardlaw, McGowan
SUBS: Samson, McAusland, Love, McLennan, Mclean Booked: Gallacher (12)
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 2 - Odhiambo (45,50) TEAM: Esson, Proctor (Ross 16), Tokely, Munro, Shinnie, Duff, Duncan, Hayes (Blumenshtein 88), Odhiambo (Morrison 82), Foran, Rooney
SUBS: Tuffey, McBain, Sutherland Booked: Foran (76), Ross (82)
Referee Steven Finnie Attendance 3954 The pen of Alternative Maryhill is wearing out fast, another gem coming up.......
St Mirren V Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Scottish Premier League, 25th September 2010 Caley Thistle’s excellent record in away league matches was extended yesterday at sunny St Mirren Park with a battling win that banished memories of Wednesday’s rain-soaked dismantling by Celtic in the CIS Cup. Ignore all the torn-faced bleating from some St Mirren supporters on other forums, claiming that ICT were poor and St Mirren authors of their own downfall; this was a spirited and occasionally classy performance from an Inverness side stripped to the bones by injury. Since the demise of Love Street, a trip to Paisley is not what it once was, but around 300 ICT supporters still made the journey. Some went to traditional drinking haunt the Alamo, and made the journey to the ground from Paisley town centre on foot; others took advantage of being able to stay in the relative civilisation of Glasgow until twenty-five to three then hop on a train to Paisley St James and still arrive comfortably in time for kick off. Inside the ground, the vocal support from the Inverness supporters was excellent, putting the little St Mirren singing section to shame, and in contrast to Easter Road a fortnight ago, there was no attempt from the stewards to force anyone to sit down; in fact, most looked like they were happy to see supporters enjoying themselves. Remarkably, despite this licentiousness, nobody was killed or even injured. Another enjoyable aspect of the afternoon was the obvious effort St Mirren manager Danny Lennon had put into dressing for the occasion, proving that the Lennon revolution is a sartorial as well as a sporting one. A dapper spectacle in shiny waistcoat, shirt sleeves and trews, he would not have looked out of place in a grand country house or even in the Crucible Theatre. Terry Butcher take note: there is only so long a middle-aged man can get away with wearing a baseball cap. And so to football matters. As widely expected, Terry Butcher restored the players he had rested for the Celtic game to the starting line-up, fielding what was arguably his strongest available team. Nick Ross would have been entitled to feel a little disappointed to lose his place to Richie Foran after a series of promising performances, but the Inverness manager obviously felt he needed Foran’s strength and ability to win and hold up the ball in the wide left area where he performed so well last season. Graham Shinnie retained his place, moving to a more conventional left back role than he had occupied on Wednesday, with Stuart Golabek dropping out. Stuart Duff and Russell Duncan paired up in central midfield, with Eric Odhiambo returning to the deeper-lying striker role, supporting Adam Rooney. Danny Lennon made only one change to the St Mirren team that had lost 2-1 in Perth the previous week, with Paul McGowan, who had missed the St Johnstone game after a red card against Kilmarnock, returning up front and Steven Robb dropping out of the squad. Much debate has been generated by Danny Lennon’s overhaul of Gus MacPherson’s team and the number of players he has signed from his previous club, Cowdenbeath, but the reality is that yesterday’s St Mirren starting line-up contained only two former Cowdenbeath players, Gareth Wardlaw and Darren McGregor, and plenty of SPL experience, albeit mostly defensive, in Hugh Murray, John Potter, Lee Mair and David van Zanten. With two teams that looked quite evenly matched in terms of experience and recent results, it is perhaps unsurprising that the game started quite tentatively, with the sides apparently feeling each other out. Caley Thistle were first to exert any meaningful pressure, forcing a series of corners after about ten minutes, one the result of a last-ditch tackle on Adam Rooney from McGregor, when Rooney looked in a good position to score. On sixteen minutes, Nick Ross replaced David Proctor, who picked up an injury near the St Mirren bye-line and was unable to continue. With Stuart Duff moving to right back, Ross slotted into an unfamiliar central midfield role alongside Duncan, and proceeded to have such an impressive game that Terry Butcher might well be tempted to continue playing him there even after the current injury difficulties have eased. Four minutes after coming on, Ross hit the outside of the post with a low, angled drive from outside the area which Paul Gallacher could not reach. For the remainder of the game, he combined a willingness to run at players with the ball, which has already become familiar to ICT supporters, with a previously little-seen ability to track back, tackle and emerge with the ball still at his feet. As the first half wore on, St Mirren began to take more control of possession, although the Inverness players rarely looked troubled by the St Mirren attackers, with Grant Munro particularly impressive in his calm marshalling of Gareth Wardlaw. One of the few genuinely threatening moments came in twenty six minutes, when David van Zanten shot through a ruck of players from Paul McGowan’s cut-back. Despite presumably seeing the ball late, Ryan Esson saved superbly low to his left hand side. Esson also held comfortably from a dipping lob from substitute Paul McQuade twenty-five yards a few minutes later. If St Mirren were growing in confidence and daring to hope of an end to their run of league defeats, however, these hopes suffered a setback just before the interval, when Eric Odhiambo, unmarked, turned on a low diagonal free kick from Foran, exchanged a one-two with Nick Ross on the edge of the area and, running beyond the flat-footed St Mirren backline, fired the ball low past Paul Gallacher and into the bottom right-hand corner. A slick goal, exemplifying the ability to change pace and cut through defences that the ICT attackers have periodically shown in away games in the past twelve months. Half time: St Mirren 0 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 The Inverness players started the second forty-five like a team determined to kill the game off as quickly as possible. When not in possession, they harried and closed down the St Mirren players, and it was this sort of pressure, from Jonny Hayes on Paul McQuade, that brought the second goal. McQuade ceded possession to Hayes and could simply not keep up with the Irish winger as he raced diagonally across the field and sent a pass straight to the feet of Odhiambo, sprinting clear ahead of him. If replays showed that Eric got lucky with his first touch and finish for his goal against Hearts last week, here there was no mistaking the clinical control of the first touch that took him past the Saints central defender and the delicacy of his chip over Gallacher that sent the ball in the net. A second goal for ICT, from another move that showed an understanding between the team’s attacking players that could make all the difference this season. For the next twenty minutes or so, the Inverness team seemed well in control. Jonny Hayes’ header back across goal, after fine work on the left wing from Richie Foran, came off the base of the post with Gallacher beaten, and Gallacher then had to block with his legs when Rooney raced clear. Esson was called into serious action just once in this period, to make a fine block from another van Zanten shot from the right hand side of the penalty area. The final fifteen minutes were far less comfortable for Caley Thistle, however, after a fine strike from Paul McGowan halved the Inverness side’s advantage. The ICT defenders could not properly clear a St Mirren free kick from the right hand side, and after a brief game of headers between the teams, the ball dropped to McGowan, who sent a looping volley high into the corner from twenty yards. With their hope renewed, the St Mirren players controlled possession for much of the remainder of the game, but with the ICT players working hard to close their opponents down and Munro and Tokely standing firm at the heart of the defence, there were few other clear cut chances for the Paisley side, although in injury time Paul McGowan did bring a low near-post save out of Esson with an angled shot after a header across goal. When the final whistle sounded, Ross Tokely and Ryan Esson were first over to the away support with clenched fists, epitomising the spirit that is always so evident in the team, in away games at least, under Terry Butcher. Danny Lennon disappeared disconsolately up the tunnel, presumably to polish the cutlery and ponder his next move. And the Inverness faithful moved off happily, to make the platform of Paisley St James, and then the rafters of Glasgow Central, ring with songs of celebration.
Full time: St Mirren 1 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2
By Scotty in Reports 2010-11 ·

St Mirren -V- Inverness CT – Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Back to the bread & butter this weekend with another trip to the Central belt.  After the one set whitewash from Celtic in the CIS Cup, Inverness fans will be hoping for better things in Paisley in what could be a six pointer.  ICT looked as bedraggled as an apathetic Andy Murray as their body language gave it away at Parkhead.  Some of this down to injuries, the rest was down to manager Terry Butcher's generosity to give some players a break.
The ICT expansive injury list
Lee Cox has become the latest victim on the treatment table after a serious looking studs up challenge from the Korean Ki Sung-Yeung, in the Parkhead debacle.  Early signs are that Butcher will be without the tenacious midfielder for a possible six weeks, (ligament damage).  This was the last thing that Butcher needed coming back to the SPL fixtures and possibly vindicates his decision to rest some players at Parkhead.  Let's start from the back, both full backs Kevin McCann and Kenny Gillet are injured along with ex-Buddy Chris Innes.  The afore mentioned Cox is definitely out, as is Gil Blumenshtein, although he is back in light training.  Danni Sanchez has missed the last two games after starring as a substitute against Hibernian.  Add to that list, players like Jonny Hayes, Richie Foran and Stuart Golabek who are just returning to fitness after missing pre-season, then you can see why Mr Butcher was over cautious in midweek.
So, who will play for ICT?  Ryan Esson will be back at his No1 position with Proctor, Tokely, Munro, and A N Other at left back.  Holding midfield will have a more settled look with Russell Duncan surely partnering Stuart Duff in the absence of Coxy.  The forward midfielders will have a more familiar look about it with Hayes, Odhiambo and Ross providing for Adam Rooney.  Foran is working back to full fitness but it would be harsh to remove Nick Ross after the youngster has shown a much improved workrate over the last few weeks.  Left back:  Now that has been a problem position for some time.  We have had Hastings, Djebi Zadi, Golabek, Tokely, Shinnie, McBain, Gillet and Tom Dick & Harry playing there, but nobody has been able to lay claim to the jesey until Kenny Gillet came along.  Now that he is also injured we have a dilemma.  Maybe it's time to bite the bullet and give Roy McBain a run.  The injuries this season has highlighted the reasons for strength in depth, something fairly new to Inverness who are now working on the bare minimum.
Old Buddies
St Mirren are in the same mini league as Inverness and this game will no doubt be a keenly contested match.  One player that both sets of fans look forward to seeing is Ross Tokely.  Ross and St Mirren go back a long way and even in our last SPL season he was getting some stick from the Buddies after scoring the decisive goal in a 1-2 victory for Inverness.  Alas it was all in vain as Saints unexpectedly beat Falkirk away from home in the next game and we ultimately crashed into the first division when Falkirk came calling in Inverness.  One bright light at Paisley came from an unlikely source.  On a day resembling a Christmas card scene in February 2004, Darran Thomson scored the winner in a Scottish Cup tie.  Who would have thought that.
Davie's views are similar...........
The thought of another trip to Glasvegas on a bus is enough to make my legs and bladder stop working, especially after the comprehensive hallumphing dished out to us on Wednesday at "paradise", when our reserves were outclassed by about twenty million or so quid as well as six goals.
And yet, what was obvious was that this was the big game all week. Last week's report said it: crucial game, six pointer, must win, pick your own euphemism. At 4.45 on Saturday we have got be coming off the park at Paisley 3 points to the good, or the storm clouds will slowly start to gather. It's getting to that stage already. Paisley's new ground, already referred to universally as the "methadome" is a quaint affair seemingly made of Meccano (or Lego) and it's not been the best of homes for St. Mirren since they sold Love Street. It's a good place to start winning.
St. Mirren as we know and rejoice at, are in the second bottom slot in the SPL, although we'll gloss over the fact that they are on the same points as us. They seemed destined for a long hard season this year, having sacked their manager (Gus MacPherson) and losing the quality out of their squad (Dorman, Ross, Mehmet etc.) Replacing the above with an en masse injection from Cowdenbeath seemed less than wise, and grumblings from New St. Mirren Park are evident even at this early stage in the season. Why else would you ban the newspapers? If they are poor for morale, I'd ban their access to Pie & Bovril as quick as you can Saints, or you'll be jumping off bridges. The record this year is remarkably similar to ours: D,L,W,L,L with the last loss at St. Johnstone being a particular sickener. They also have injury problems, which will prevent the reappearance of one Craig Dargo, and a calf tear will sideline Steven Thomson for up to six weeks. These two injury blows are offset by the news that Paul McQuade is ready to get back into contention, along with Paul McGowan after his ban. 
Likewise at Inverness, it would probably be easier to list who is fit for ICT rather than who aint. Lee Cox followed a host of others into unavailability after being launched skywards with an almost broken ankle on Wednesday night, ligament damage apparently.  So, forget Gillet, Blumenstein, Innes, Sanchez and McCann as well and you can see the extent of our woes, reflected in the L, W, L, D, L so far. Butcher must be buying up every piece of cotton wool he can find. Formations for this one are likely to be dictated by who's fit (Tuffey for left back?!), but we will see the return of Esson, Rooney, Odhiambo and Foran after Wednesday and that quartet would make a difference to any side. This one will be tighter.
Honours are pretty even over the piece, with 5 wins for ICT, 4 for St. Mirren and 3 draws. The word "draw" seems to feature heavily in my mind right now, but you never know. The match referee is Stephen Finnie.
tm4tj prediction
I will be sitting on the fence for this one as well and a draw after the humiliation of Parkhead will be no mean feat given the restricted squad at our disposal.  With our defence at sixes and sevens, (and that's not just the goals against column), we could be in for a torrid afternoon, but I am looking for the midfield to share the burden and take the weight off the back four and hopefully minimise the opportunities for the Saints to run at us.  So, my mind is set on a scoring draw.
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Celtic 6-0 Inverness CT – League Cup

Lambs to the slaughter
Greek Tragedy for Inverness Caley Thistle as Georgios Samaras netted a hat-trick as Terry Butchers boys were butchered.  ICT were forced into a number of changes with a mounting injury list and ended up on the wrong side of a 6-0 drubbing from a rampant Celtic.
 
22nd September 2010 Celtic Park, Glasgow CELTIC 6 - Samaras (17,37,57), Hooper (21), Stokes (pen74,81) TEAM: Forster, Wilson, Majstorovic, Loovens, Izaguirre (Mulgrew 11), Juarez, Ki, Ledley (Crosas 66), Samaras (Maloney 75), Hooper, Stokes
SUBS: Cervi, Rogne Booked: Wilson (35), Sung-Yong (52)
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 0 -  TEAM: Tuffey, Proctor, Tokely, Munro, Golabek, Shinnie, Duncan, Cox, Hayes, Nick Ross, Sutherland
SUBS: Esson, Duff, Foran, Rooney, McBain Booked: Foran (47), McBain (63), Tuffey (74)
Referee Dougie McDonald Attendance 17,429 Alternative Maryhill  has now recovered sufficiently from the drubbing to put this report together.
For Terry Butcher, pragmatism took priority over any romantic notions of Hampden in the spring. For the supporters who travelled to this game, the consequences of that decision were painful to witness. Statistics will show that this result merely equalled Caley Thistle’s heaviest-ever defeat, but the reality was that this was probably the most one-sided game the team has ever been involved in. The Inverness manager chose to rest first team regulars Ryan Esson, Adam Rooney and Eric Odhiambo and leave recent signing Stuart Duff and injury recoveree Richie Foran on the bench. With Innes, Gillet and McCann all unfit, the team lined up with a central defence of Grant Munro, Ross Tokely and Stuart Golabek, with Graham Shinnie and David Proctor playing as wing backs. Last season’s regular central midfield pairing of Russell Duncan and Lee Cox was restored and Shane Sutherland played as a lone striker ahead of Nick Ross and Jonny Hayes. Celtic were set up to attack, with a front three of Anthony Stokes, Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras playing in front of of a midfield of Juarez, Ledley and Ki. In the early stages the Inverness side was competitive, with Nick Ross running onto a good Sutherland pass in the left-hand side of the penalty area, only to see his shot forced behind for a corner by Ki. Ross continued to look tricky and tenacious going forward, but it was not long before Celtic began to dominate. From early on it was obvious that the Celtic players had been told to try to exploit the lack of pace in the Inverness defence, with Juarez running onto the first of numerous balls chipped beyond the Caley Thistle backline and sending a cross behind. After nine minutes, Jonny Tuffey had to make a fine diving save to his left to keep out a Ki free kick, but he had no chance eight minutes later when Georgios Samaras, six yards out, deflected a Ledley shot into his top right hand corner. Almost from the restart, Samaras again got beyond the ICT defence, but saw his shot rebound from the bar. In twenty-one minutes, however, Celtic went further ahead when Gary Hooper pounced on Stuart Golabek’s failure to clear a dangerous Samaras ball into the box and slid the ball beyond Tuffey. With the score at 2-0, Caley Thistle put together their most dangerous move of the first half when Nick Ross and Shane Sutherland combined to set up Jonny Hayes, whose shot from 18 yards was saved by the legs of Forster. Tuffey also saved well with his legs from Mark Wilson’s shot as Celtic continued to catch out the high Inverness defensive line with dinked passes, and one such ball in the thirty-seventh minute found Samaras, who seemed to have limitless time to send a languid chip over Tuffey with most of the ICT defence appealing for offside. David Proctor, bicycling through the air in a vain attempt at a last-ditch clearance, succeeded only in helping the ball into the net.
Half time: Celtic 3 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0
For the second half Terry Butcher attempted to be more positive, replacing Stuart Golabek with Richie Foran. Foran’s ability to hold the ball up and make a nuisance of himself in the box did make some difference, and shortly after the break there was a scare in front of the Celtic goal when a clearance by Forster cannoned off Foran. Another thing that might have made a difference, had the referee acted properly, was Ki Sung-Yeung’s straight-leg, studs-up tackle on Lee Cox after losing control of the ball in the fiftieth minute. This was a reckless and unnecessary challenge that left Cox needing treatment for several minutes and lucky not to be more seriously injured, yet Dougie McDonald saw fit to issue only a yellow card. Any hope ICT had of making a game of it in the second half was extinguished, however, in the fifty-seventh minute, when Georgios Samaras cut inside from the left and pressurised David Proctor into a weak clearance which Samaras pounced upon and steered into the bottom right hand corner of the net. With the fourth Celtic goal, a lot of life went out of the game. The Inverness players never looked like they had given up, but it became increasingly difficult for them to get any of the ball, while Celtic slowed the pace down and played a relaxed game of possession. Richie Foran did have the ball in the net on sixty-five minutes after a neat chip over Forster, but the flag was already up for offside. Celtic’s fifth, on seventy-four minutes, came from a punted Celtic ball from their own penalty area which Grant Munro couldn’t quite reach. His backwards header fell into the path of Anthony Stokes, who ran into the penalty area and was taken down by Tuffey’s legs. The Caley Thistle goalkeeper escaped a red card but could not prevent the goal, diving to his left as Stokes stroked the ball into the opposite corner. Stokes finished the scoring seven minutes later with a powerful swerving shot from twenty yards. Apart from a David Proctor run that brought a corner in the dying minutes, ICT had little more threatening possession.
Full Time 6-0 (Oh Bhoy)
On the football front it was a miserable night for the few hundred travelling supporters, but as has become the case in the last few seasons, there were plenty who stood and sang and shouted encouragement throughout, and most applauded the team’s efforts at the end despite the scale of the defeat. Out of fairness, I should also mention the hard core of Celtic supporters in the corner of the north stand who kept up a steady stream of songs and chants throughout the ninety minutes. Whatever other prejudices they may harbour, no-one can accuse them of discrimination against anyone on the grounds of sexual preference, as evidenced by their rousing chorus of eighties gay dancefloor anthem ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’. We hoped they might follow this with their own versions of ‘Smalltown Boy’, ‘Master and Servant’ and ‘Heavenly Action’ but regrettably, they coyly reverted to ‘It’s a Grand Old Team...’ One cup over for another year, then, and if the team goes to Paisley and wins on Saturday, then Terry Butcher’s approach to this match will be entirely vindicated. It must be hoped, however, that the players can put the defeat out of their minds and do not allow their confidence to be affected by it; and it must be hoped that when the Scottish Cup comes round in January, the team is in a strong enough position that the manager does not feel it necessary to sacrifice that competition too.
Cheers Maryhill, have a lie down now.
 
 
By Scotty in Reports 2010-11 ·

Celtic -V- Inverness CT – CIS Cup Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Back to the field of dreams.
CIS Cup business on Wednesday evening as Inverness head to the east end of Glasgow to take on table toppers Celtic.  Neil Lennon's side are neck and neck with Rangers in the league while Inverness are struggling to find any consistency, and a spate of injuries to key players is stretching Terry Butcher's squad to the limits. Hopes of a cup shock will always be on the cards, although this seems a distant thought after Inverness crashed 1-3 at home to Hearts, and leaves Inverness pointless at home this season.
Settle down, get the kettle filled up, put the kids to bed, and close the curtains, Alternative Maryhill has produced another explicit full length feature before the teams do battle......... read on.
Celtic v Inverness Caledonian Thistle, CIS Insurance Cup, Wednesday September 22nd:
Match Preview On Wednesday evening, Caley Thistle go to Celtic Park on CIS Cup duty, a little over ten and a half years since the club’s first and most famous match against the Glasgow side. It is a symptom of ICT’s success in the decade that followed that famous Scottish Cup victory, that a trip to face Celtic is now regarded among supporters as a far more routine event than it was in February 2000; yet after a season out of the top flight, and with a floodlit midweek cup tie in the east end of Glasgow having its own special resonances for Invernessians, it is hard not to feel an extra frisson of excitement as the game approaches.
Previous fixtures
Despite Inverness Caledonian Thistle perhaps being fixed permanently in some people’s minds as ‘conquerors of Celtic’ after the headlines of February 2000, the reality is that of all ICT’s league opponents, no club has taken a higher proportion of the available points than Celtic. Of the sixteen SPL matches between the sides, Celtic have won twelve and Caley Thistle only one, with three having been drawn. Cup ties are, however, a different matter: the teams have met on cup business four times and the honours are currently even. In addition to the famous 3-1 victory achieved by Steve Paterson’s team, John Robertson led Caley Thistle to what was arguably as great an upset when the first division side beat Martin O’Neill’s eventual UEFA Cup finalists in the quarter final of the 2003 Scottish Cup. The 1-0 victory in Inverness, courtesy of Dennis Wyness’s goal, was carved out against a team that had just beaten Liverpool in Europe, and while some pointed to a post-European hangover and the resting of several regulars as reasons for Celtic’s defeat, it should be remembered that Celtic’s starting line-up was still composed almost entirely of full internationalists, including Henrik Larsson and current Celtic manager Neil Lennon. The game which finally brought Celtic’s only Scottish Cup victory against ICT to date also looked for a long time as if it would finish in Caley Thistle’s favour. Graeme Bayne put the home side ahead after eighteen minutes, and thought he had added a second late in the first half, until realising it had been ruled out as offside. Celtic threatened sporadically, but IC T held on until the eighty-ninth minute, when Steven Pressley scored the equaliser with a header. Within two minutes the game had been turned on its head when Kenny Miller scored a late winner.
There has been only one match between the clubs in the CIS Insurance Cup competition, and the omens for Caley Thistle from this game are not particularly good. The sides met at Celtic Park on Wednesday 23rd October 2002, with Celtic running out 4-2 winners. Understandably, this game has been overshadowed by the two Scottish Cup wins for Inverness that came on either side of it: Celtic supporters, far happier with the club under Martin O’Neill than they had been with John Barnes’ stewardship, probably felt content that the ghost of the earlier Cup defeat had been laid to some extent, albeit in a lesser competition, while few Inverness supporters realistically expected history to repeat itself. Yet almost three thousand of the faithful still travelled from Inverness and witnessed a typically bold performance from Steve Paterson’s team. Celtic took the lead through Shaun Maloney in just four minutes, but if the Celtic supporters expected Caley Thistle to roll over after that, they were mistaken. Paul Ritchie equalised on the ten-minute mark and ICT continued to try to attack and play football throughout the game. John Hartson and Alan Thompson scored again for Celtic before half time, and Hartson scored again on the hour to make it 4-1, but in 71 minutes Dennis Wyness pulled one back, and my memory of that final 20 minutes is of one of the most exciting, spirited and frustrating performances I have witnessed from an ICT side, with Liam Keogh denied a decent penalty claim and a Bobby Mann header cleared off the line in the final minute. Even Shaun Maloney, who won the man-of-the-match award, admitted that the Celtic players felt they were lucky to have hung on for the victory by the final whistle. It is unlikely, unfortunately, that as many Caley Thistle supporters will make the journey to Glasgow this Wednesday, but those who do attend will be hoping that they see similar spirit and endeavour, and just a little more of the good fortune that could take the team through.
Current Form
Five games into the SPL season, ICT supporters’ emotions and expectations for the season are likely to be as mixed as the performances of the team. Despite what was ultimately a well-deserved win for Celtic in the opening game of the season, the first quarter of that match provided hope that Terry Butcher’s first division champions could create chances and cause problems for sides in the SPL. The superb counter-attacking performance that brought a 4-0 victory away to Dundee United seemed to justify that optimism, yet that game was followed by a flat performance in a 1-0 home defeat to Hamilton. A point away to Hibernian in a 1-1 draw was a respectable result, yet neither team really seemed capable of taking hold of the game, while in Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Hearts, some encouraging signs, in the performances of young midfielder Nick Ross and recent signing Stuart Duff, were negated by the inability of the Caley Thistle defence to cope with the pace of Hearts’ attackers. There is no doubt that the team’s current defensive frailties are to some extent exacerbated by the injuries to full backs Kevin McCann and Kenny Gillet, who started the season promisingly; the return from injury of Richie Foran should add more strength and variety to the team in an attacking sense; and hopes remain high that Rooney, Hayes and Odhiambo can succeed at SPL level. Yet ICT supporters will undoubtedly feel more relaxed when the team has managed to string together two or three good results for the first time this season. There would be no better place to start than Celtic Park.
Celtic’s start to the season was dominated by the team’s European exits, first from Champions’ League qualifying at the hands of SC Braga, then from the Europa League after a 4-0 humiliation in Utrecht. Questions were asked about whether Neil Lennon’s lack of managerial experience was showing through on the big occasions and about whether the players recruited to replace those remaining from Tony Mowbray’s short-lived reign were of sufficient quality. Yet in the league, Celtic have made a near-perfect start, with away wins at Inverness, Motherwell and Kilmarnock and two impressive home victories, 4-0 against St Mirren and 3-0 against Hearts. Neil Lennon’s new-look team might have failed in Europe, but plenty of his players are beginning to catch the eye domestically: of the new signings, central defender Danijel Majstorovich looks to be exactly the sort of big, ugly player that the foundations of Martin O’Neill’s Celtic teams were built on, while Baram Kayal and Efrain Juarez have added class in midfield; up front, youth team graduate James Forrest, the rejuvenated Shaun Maloney and previously-overlooked Paddy McCourt provide more creativity than has been seen in many recent Celtic teams. Yet after last season’s defeat to Ross County and this season’s early European defeats, still the question remains: can Neil Lennon’s Celtic win in cup competitions?
Team News
Speaking to the Sunday Herald, Neil Lennon promised that he would be ‘putting a strong team out’ for this fixture. However, with the strength in depth Celtic enjoy, it is difficult to predict how many changes Lennon will make from the team that lined up against Kilmarnock on Sunday. The same defence has started Celtic’s last three league games, conceding only one goal, but there has been more rotation in the attacking areas, with Shaun Maloney, Daryl Murphy, Paddy McCourt, Anthony Stokes, James Forrest and Georgios Samaras all featuring at points. Summer signing Gary Hooper, so prolific for Scunthorpe last season, may also come into contention after missing the start of the season through injury, having come through a closed-doors game last week. ICT supporters will hope that McCourt, and Scott Brown, both taken off injured against Kilmarnock, will miss out, but at the time of writing there has been no news on that front from Celtic.
***Latest Celtic  News***As Alternative Maryhill had both fingers crossed, Scott Brown, Paddy McCourt and James Forrest will miss out, with Joos Hoiveld being left to the last minute to see if he can shake off a training knock.
After an almost injury-free year in the first division, ICT’s players have been making up for non-lost time at the start of this season. Still definitely ruled out for Wednesday’s game are Gil Blumenshtein and left back Kenny Gillet, whose absence was sorely felt against Hearts. Danni Sanchez, who made such a promising late appearance against Hibernian, also missed the Hearts games through a knee injury, although pre-match reports that he hoped to be fit for that game suggest that the injury is not too serious and that he could still be in contention for an appearance against Celtic. On-loan right back Kevin McCann was also reported to be close to fitness for the Hearts game, despite ultimately missing out; given the ongoing absence of Gillet and the fragility of the defence against Hearts, McCann’s return against Celtic would be very welcome. Undoubtedly the most welcome news for Inverness supporters, however, was the return of club captain Richie Foran as a substitute against Hearts. Assuming he came through the game without a bad reaction, he must be in contention to start against Celtic. Yet with a game against St Mirren that must be considered the priority coming up on Saturday, Terry Butcher faces a difficult decision in choosing his team to face Celtic: does he field what he considers to be his strongest line-up, which would almost certainly include Foran, or does he shuffle the pack and give players who have so far been on the fringes of the first team their chances? All will be revealed on Wednesday.
***From the Inverness Camp***Danni Sanchez is still struggling and there is a possibility of Shane Sutherland and Graeme Shinnie making the starting eleven.
Prediction
Celtic will almost certainly be set up to attack from the off on Wednesday evening, and this could well suit Inverness players such as Jonny Hayes and Eric Odhiambo, whose effectiveness on the counter-attack was amply displayed against Dundee United. I can certainly see ICT scoring on Wednesday evening; reluctantly, however, with the Inverness defence still not at full strength, I predict Celtic will score more and reverse the scoreline that first put us on the footballing map. I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
Celtic 3 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1
If you have read this far, you will probably need a lie down..........thanks Alternative Maryhill.
**TICKET UPDATE**
Tickets are still available for our 3rd round CIS Cup game against Celtic this Wednesday at Park Head. Tickets can be purchased in person from the stadium, by telephone by calling 01463 227451 or via the internet by visiting www.ictfc.co.uk. Tickets will be on sale in Inverness until 12pm on Wednesday so hurry and get your ticket TODAY!!
Tickets purchased over the phone or via the internet from Monday (20.09.10) will be taken to Celtic Park and will be available for collection from the ICT minibus in the main car park.  In addition to this, the ICTFC Supporters Trust will take a supply of tickets to the game for purchase from the minibus.  However, we do heavily recommend tickets are bought in advance from the Club to avoid disappointment.
Prices are as follows: Adult - £15 Season ticket holder - £10 Concession - £5 (over 65 or under 16)
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Inverness CT -V- Hearts – Report

Hearts came up trumps...
...at Inverness after coming from behind to take all three points in the early kick off.  Eric Odhiambo had given the hosts an advantage, but a Chris Innes own goal seconds before half time changed the complexion of the match.  Hearts took full advantage of sloppy defending in the second period to wrap up the three points with goals from Ryan Stevenson and Calum Elliot to leave Inverness without a home point.
  17th September 2010 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium Inverness   Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 - Odhiambo (37) TEAM: Esson, Proctor, Innes, (Golabek 72), Munro, Tokely, Duff, Cox, Hayes, Odhiambo, (Foran 73) Rooney, Ross (Sutherland 80)
SUBS: Tuffey, McBain, Duncan, Morrison Booked:- Duff(30), Hayes(44)
  Heart of Midlothian 3 - Innes (og 45) Stevenson (55) Elliot (69) TEAM: Kello, Barr, Bouzid, Thomson, Jonsson, Palazuelos, (Mrowiec 67), Suso  (Obua 78), Black, (Kyle 36), Templeton, Stevenson, Elliot
SUBS: Ballogh, McGowan, Novikovas, Glen Booked:- Palazuelos(10), Templeton(81)
  Referee Iain Brines   Attendance 4,515 Davie got the short straw for this one, here is his report
For the first 36 minutes of this match, ICT positively welcomed back Ian Black to TCS and everything was rosey. Yet in that pivotal minute, he was forced off by injury and replaced by Kevin Kyle and our day became as dreich as the weather in Inverness.
The sides lined up at mid-day for ESPN along lines that were predicted all week, the biggest cheer being reserved for one R. Foran, occupier of the bench. Chris Innes fitted into central defence, sporting a new natty skinhead and a sense of purpose in the early exchanges. Hearts first corner in 3 minutes was cleared by him, closely followed by Cox’s first foul on Ian Black in 4. The inevitable first yellow for a foul on Hayes after a typical tilt down his wing was for Palazuelos in 7. He wouldn’t be the last for the book in a nip and tuck first twenty that saw chances for both sides, most notably an Innes header that Kello had to look sharp with. The first of a succession of Hearts penalty claims started from Suso (is that really his name?) around then but the game changed. Stuart Duff breenged into Black, earning yellow in the process and the wee man hobbled off into renewed exile to be replaced by that man Kyle, 36 minutes.
Kyle is an enigma. He is roughly the size of a small bungalow and just about as mobile. And yet, he’s as difficult to hit a ball around as one, attracting cross balls like a magnet and causing mayhem. It's like watching a fault line shift. Before the mayhem could start though, the third sweet passing move through the Hearts defence resulted in a finish for Eric Odihambo. Cue much happiness. In truth, the second move in the series could have been a finish for Rooney so 1-0 for ICT looked a good bet for a half time score, Nick Ross controlling most things with incisive pass and go movements to feed Rooney. In 43 minutes, just as half time looked distinctly welcome Jonny Hayes tackled Templeton in a manner that absolutely proved why he’s a forward. The yellow was bad enough, but the resultant free had a veritable herd of wildebeest charging at Ryan Esson, orchestrated by Kyle. In the end, it was Innes that got a hoof to it. 1-1. My notes said “Kevin f’n Kyle” It was about to get worse.
Half Time 1-1 Half time was enlivened by a wee laddie’s kick about and a cracking announcement that the trains back to auld reekie were alcohol free. You could have heard the groan in Dingwall.
The second half took about a minute to reveal a game more open than Paris Hilton, and it was obvious that defence was not the keyword of the day. Kyle was winning everything in the air by this time and was countered by a couple of good Eric chances and a hairs breadth escape from the second OG of the game for Bouzid. Something had to give, and it did in 55 minutes when Stevenson scored from a knock down header. I’m not telling you who by. Our fragile defence was beginning to look tattered and it was no real surprise that another goal arrived in 69 minutes from Elliot, courtesy of Suso. In between there were chances for Rooney and Ross, along with a glaring miss for a penalty from referee Brines. Roscoe will be glad. Foran appeared for some game time shortly thereafter, and ran manfully but in truth the game was gone by that time. Golly replaced Innes after an injury (hamstring, apparently) and Shane Sutherland came on for Ross. He thought he’d scored but Foran was offside giving him the pass that skelped off him and into the net.
Full Time 1-3
It’s hard to be too disappointed or frustrated about the result. It showed the differences between contenders for a top four place and survival. Inverness suffered again due to the fact that our central defence has never recovered from the loss of Darren Dods, whilst Hearts proved they can import unpronounceable prospects to cover their deficiencies. We need a good commanding centre back and soon. There was enough today to suggest that the goals will come, and they need to next Saturday. This early, a result in Paisley looks crucial and a win at the methadome will go a long way to establishing a status quo with St. Mirren bottom of the heap.
Just don’t talk to me about Kevin f’n Kyle.
 
By tm4tj in Reports 2010-11 ·

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. : Terms of Use : Guidelines : Privacy Policy

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications
Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.