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Cove Rangers -V- Inverness CT - League1

Cove Test
 
It's a difficult fixture on Saturday as Inverness head East to Altens to face table toppers Cove Rangers at the Balmoral Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off in what will be a serious test of our resolve to remain in League1. A few weeks ago we were rubbing shoulders with Cove. Now we are polar opposites with the Caley Jags at the South end of the table. Scott Kellacher will be looking to get his first win in charge and remains positive after taking a point from Kelty Hearts last weekend. Three weeks after this game, we will be back at Cove for a 3rd round fixture in the Scottish Cup.
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Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus/Info
Expressions of Interest
 
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Our Season so Far on the park
INVERNESS CT:  D L D D W D D D L  / W L  Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes.
Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released and fifteen points being wiped off our total. First game after Admin was at Dumbarton with Scott Kellacher as head coach and Billy Mckay his assistant on and off the park. Alas it ended in a 3-1 defeat after a promising first hour. Kelty Hearts came North next and went away with a point in a 1-1 draw.
Cove Rangers: L L D L W W D L W  / W W W  After a disappointing League Cup campaign that included a 5-0 drubbing at home by Spartans, Cove got off to a poor start in the League before getting their first win five games into the season when they beat Montrose 1-0 followed by a 3-1 win at Kelty before drawing with the Caley Jags in Inverness. Unfortunately for us they have since gone four games on the trot taking full points. Three of the last four games ended 2-0 to Cove and last week they pumped Dumbarton 3-0 at the Rock. This has shot them to the top of the table with Alloa Athletic on 20 points.
The first encounter this term ended all square in the Highlands: Drab Draw: Inverness hosted Cove Rangers and were without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and former Cove players Luis Longstaff and Charlie Gilmour had returned to the squad with Gilmour and Longstaff starting. Cove had won their last two outings and put three past Kelty Hearts last weekend with Mitch Megginson always a threat up front. Adam Emslie tapped in at the back post to open the scoring after twenty minutes. Substitute James Nolan levelled five minutes after the restart following a corner. A replacement official was required to complete the game and despite fifteen minutes added on, there was no further scoring. FULL TIME: 1-1 The only positive to take from today was Caley Jags fan Jamie MacKinnon stepping in to save the game being abandoned and running the line after the referee went off having made too many wrong decisions... Or maybe he was injured. Apparently the tannoy announcement was so successful the club will do the same at next weeks game with Stenhousemuir and will ask the fans if there is a manager in the stands willing to step in and do Dunc's job. There you go Jamie. This week running the line, next week running the club. The world is your lobster.
LATEST TEAM NEWS
INVERNESS Hope to have Charlie Gilmour back and Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson will be in the squad again.
 
 
COVE RANGERS had this squad at Dumbarton and came away with an excellent 0-3 win courtesy of three second half goals. An og by Durnan started the Dumbarton rot swiftly followed by Megginson firing into the top corner. (Screamer alert!) Adam Emslie rounded it all off in the last minute slotting into the bottom corner after being set up by Megginson.
Four wins on the bounce have rocketed Cove to the top of the table after a slow start to the season that included the hammering from Spartans and being dumped out of the Challenge Cup by East Kilbride
 
 
 
 
 

Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 12 6 20 2 Alloa Athletic 12 6 20 3 Arbroath 12 0 18 4 Stenny 12 1 17 5 Queen of Sth 12 -2 17 6 Kelty Hearts 12 6 16 7 Montrose 12 2 16 8 Annan Ath 12 -13 13 9 Dumbarton 12 -4 12 10 Inverness CT 12 -2 -2  
 
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2024-25 ·

Inverness CT 1-1 Kelty Hearts - League 1

Kells Home Draw
 
Kelty came North on the back of two defeats on the trot looking to get back on track. Inverness were looking to get out of the minus points total and back into the land of the living with Scott Kellacher and his positive vibes at the helm in his first home game in charge. Danny Devine returned after suspension for the hosts with Tam O'Ware doing likewise for the visitors. Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns made long awaited returns to the bench but Charlie Gilmour is still missing. Pre-match entertainment was in full swing in Bar94 with raffles, auctions, merriment and Dog Falls refreshments lubricating the vocal cords as the Supporters Trust heralded the new partnership with the Dog Falls Brewing Co. An early Luis Longstaff strike was cancelled out by a Ross Cunningham 25 yard free kick after fifteen minutes and that endeth the scoring. Danny Devine hit a post from close range and Keith Bray saw his effort brilliantly saved by Adams just before the break. No further scoring after the interval and it ended all square in the Highland Capital.
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A chilly morning gave way to glimpses of sunshine as the day headed towards kick-off on a reasonable afternoon for a kick about with a stiff breeze the only downside, but it dropped before a ball was kicked as we started in a hurry with Luis Longstaff drilling home from a tight angle in the fourth minute following a corner. We let Kelty back into the game after quarter of an hour when Danny Devine gifted the ball to the eager Kelty forwards who drove towards our box only for Connell Ewan to abruptly stop Luke McCarvel in his tracks and earn a caution for his last ditch tackle. Ross Cunningham stepped up and curled a beauty into the top corner from outside the box. In as soon as it left his foot. Doh! Kelty were in control of proceedings in the middle of the half but Inverness ended the half knocking on the door. Clear chances had been hard to come by and a Billy Mckay snap shot on the turn was easily dealt with by Adams in the visitors goal. Ten minutes before the break and Devine was unfortunate to see his hooked shot bounce off the keepers post and back into Adams' arms as he watched helplessly. Keith Bray was then denied by a tremendous save from the keeper who should buy a few lottery tickets tonight. Great save though. Half time followed soon after with Inverness dominant again.
HALF TIME: 1-1
Paul Allan had a go but his shot was weak and swallowed up by Adams and Adam MacKinnon leaned back and shot over after a promising move cut open the Kelty defence. Musa Dibaga was forced to dive late to keep out a low curling effort from Mercer as bodies crossed the keepers path to make his task more difficult. Bray did have the ball in the net fifteen minutes from the end but it was ruled out for an infringement on the keeper as we pushed the visitors onto the back foot. Billy Mckay spurned a great headed chance from a super ball into the front post from the industrious Jake Davidson with fifteen minutes remaining. Good to see Ethan Cairns get on the park, albeit only for a few minutes as time ran away from us.
FULL TIME: 1-1
Points dropped after a blistering start and then the dreaded defensive error to create the opportunity for the equaliser. Cairns got a few minutes under his belt and Lewis Nicolson took his place on the bench. Charlie Gilmour was missed for a bit of steel in the middle but otherwise a game we could easily have taken all three points although Kelty might disagree, despite Adams and his post dealing with more challenging efforts than Dibaga had to.
I thought Davidson was a driving force on the right side. Our biggest downfall was the lack of shots offloaded from good positions, especially in the second half where we tended to end up playing wide instead of having a pop.
Paul Allan was named Bar94 MotM after a busy performance.
 
 
More reaction to follow>>>
Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Only 14 points behind now 😂 1. Cove Rangers 12 6 2 4 21 15 20 2. Alloa Athletic 12 5 5 2 16 10 20 3. Arbroath 12 5 3 4 14 14 18 4. Stenhousemuir 12 5 2 5 15 14 17 5. Q.O.S. 12 5 2 5 10 12 17 6. Kelty Hearts 12 4 4 4 19 13 16 7. Montrose 12 4 4 4 11 9 16 8. Annan Athletic 12 4 1 7 8 21 13 9. Dumbarton 12 2 6 4 17 21 12 10. Inverness CT 12 2 7 3 9 11 -2  
 
 
Week 12 results
Results from the weekend that have put Cove Rangers at the top of the table with Alloa Athletic on 20 points.
Unfortunately for us, Cove Rangers have hit a bit of form  since they rubbed shoulders with us at the lower end of the table a few weeks ago.
Since drawing with us back in the last week of September, Cove were beaten 2-4 by Arbroath, but since then have three 2-0 wins in a row and last week they pumped Dumbarton 3-0 at the Rock. 15 points that has rocketed them to top spot.
We play Cove away next week with the teams at Polar ends of the table right now.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date:  02/11/2024  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1502 Referee: Ryan Lee
 
Inverness CT: 1
Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup:  Dibaga; Ewan (R Thompson 36), Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Davidson,  Allan, MacKinnon, Bray (Cairns 87), B Mckay Subs (not used):  Rebilas; Strachan, Nicolson, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: Longstaff (4) Booked: Ewan (13), Devine (49) Sent Off: none Kelty Hearts: 1
Manager: Michael Tidser (player manager) Lineup:  Adams; Mercer (Thomas 75), O'Ware, Harding, Paterson, McCarvel (Flatman 75), Allan, Moore (Williamson 46), Tidser (Trialist 90+2), Johnston, Cunningham (Owens 87) Subs (not used): Adamson; Bryce, Cole, Hobbs Scorers: Cunningham (14) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2024-25 ·

Inverness CT -V- Kelty Hearts - Preview - League1

The Training Ground Derby
 
After our ill fated attempt to train in Fife, we host the Training Ground Derby on Saturday 2nd November against Kelty Hearts with Scott Kellacher being handed the reins to start his home reign in the rain no doubt. It's his first home game in charge after defeat at Dumbarton. Most will agree that we looked good for an hour but the second Sons goal took the wind out of our sails. However, with little time for Kell's to prep the team in what was a difficult week for the club off the park, then given time we should be seeing an improvement in the product on the park. We will need to be patient, but time is not on our side now and the deduction of fifteen points was a blow. Remember Dundee? Anything is possible, but it's a big ask.
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Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info
Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd Draw
Cap'n Danny Devine
Caley @ Home with Billy & Kells
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Thanks to Dog Falls Brewing Company for stocking Bar 94 with a wonderful selection of refreshments. Check out their Online Shop to see what is on offer.
Dog Falls is an award-winning nano brewery in the heart of the Highlands, cranking out fresh, bold & distinctive beers according to one simple observation: Flavour Reigns Supreme!
We brew beer that brings people together, beer that captures a moment, and beer that transcends the ordinary.
See the Supporters Trust poster at the bottom of the Preview for more information on the Fundraiser this Saturday at the Kelty Hearts home game in Bar94 in association with Dog Falls Brewing Co. Come along early and get some shouting juice down you ahead of kick-off at 3:00pm. 
 
Our Season so Far on the park
INVERNESS CT:  D L D D W D D D L  / W L  Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes.
Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released and fifteen points being wiped off our total. First game after Admin was at Dumbarton with Scott Kellacher as head coach and Billy Mckay his assistant on and off the park. Alas it ended in a 3-1 defeat after a promising first hour. Kelty Hearts come North next...
KELTY HEARTS: D W W D D L L W W  / L L  After a great start to the season, Kelty suffered their first defeats in successive weeks losing 3-1 at home to Cove Rangers followed by defeat at Alloa (1-0). Two big wins on the trot, 3-0 over Annan and a crushing 5-1 thrashing of Queen of the South at Palmerston. But this League is nothing if not competitive and they have lost their first two fixtures of the second phase, losing 2-0 at home to Montrose and 2-1 at Stenny.
Our first meeting this season was the Johndo Memorial Away day. A great day in memory of the Immortal Howden Ender. Unfortunately the football on display was near the end of the Duncball regime and it ended goalless. 
Mar00ned: Table toppers Kelty Hearts welcomed the Caley Jags to New Central Park, and this was not just for a training session. Musa Dibaga retained the gloves with Jack Newman possibly requiring surgery on his knee and Luis Longstaff is out for a month with a thigh injury. New signing Paul Allan was on the bench. Some 0-0 draws are not as dull as the scoreline might suggest. Well, unfortunately this was not the case here as both sides were reluctant to take the game to their opponents which resulted in a game as dull as dishwater. The visitors did look marginally more industrious, but it would be stretching the imagination somewhat to suggest that we should have won. Billy Mckay shot over from the edge of the box in our best/only moment of the first half. Musa made a couple of routine saves and one from a fierce shot but he was not overly exerted. Adams in the Kelty goal had even less to deal with although part of that was down to our inability to get shots on target. In truth, neither side deserved to win, and in the same vein, neither side deserved to lose, so stalemate it was and a point apiece.
 
The table doesn't look great to be honest ahead of this weekends fixtures>>>

Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 11 3 17 2 Stenhousemuir 11 2 17 3 Alloa Athletic 11 1 17 4 Montrose 11 3 16 5 Kelty Hearts 11 6 15 6 Arbroath 11 -1 15 7 Queen of Sth 11 -3 14 8 Annan Athletic 11 -8 13 9 Dumbarton 11 -1 12 10 Inverness CT 11 -2 -3 Ahoy there Captain Dan...
 
Latest Team News
Danny Devine should return after suspension and I wonder if Charlie Gilmour has hopefully been repaired after breaking his hand??? Other than that we should be along similar lines to last week with Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson still missing and Charlie Reilly out for around another month.
 
 
Kelty had this team out away to Stenhousemuir last week which ended in a 2-1 defeat. Kelty are top equal scorers in League1 with 18 goals. They have conceded 12 times. Top scorer in League1 is Ross Cunningham with 7 goals. Scott Williamson has 4.
Captain Tam O'Ware was red carded at Montrose and was suspended last week. Manager Michael Tidser was not best pleased after Tam dived in to get a second yellow, "he knows better than that and he knows my thoughts on it".
 
 
 

 

The Supporters Trust is holding a Fundraiser on Saturday before and after the Kelty game in Bar 94, with all proceeds going to assist in covering the club's running costs. We are also encouraging all fans to come to the game and do their bit to help the management team and players start to recover the points deduction.
Full details of events on the day are in this announcement on our website:
https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/post/ictst-back-the-team-and-fundraising-statement
Highlights include an auction for Mark Ridgers' signed cup final gloves, that he has kindly donated to assist the club.
A raffle will take place, along with a free prize draws.
Saturday marks the official launch of our partnership with Dog Falls, the Inverness-based brewery, who are also supporting the raffle. We are very grateful to Dog Falls. Their products were very well received at the soft launch two weeks ago, so come along and try them yourselves on Saturday!
The bar opens at 12:00, so please come down early.
After the match, the bar will again be open and, as well as the Player of the Match presentation, the full first team will be joining us, so please join us then too.
By tm4tj in Previews 2024-25 ·

Dumbarton 3-1 Inverness CT - League 1

Handicap Hurdles
 
And they're off. With a fifteen point deduction because of Administration, we started our League1 campaign again at Dumbarton under the guidance of Scott Kellacher and Billy Mckay for the first time. Danny Devine and Charlie Gilmour were missing which would make Scott Kellacher's team selection more difficult. The Son's were along similar lines to last weeks excellent win at Arbroath. It would be an uphill battle after James Hilton fired the Sons ahead but Jake Davidson headed us level after half an hour and that's how it was at the break. Ryan Blair restored the Sons lead and Hilton added a third to push the Sons 15 points ahead of Inverness.
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Not much to shout about in the opening exchanges until James Hilton smacked in the opening goal from the edge of the box to put the hosts ahead quarter of an hour into the game. Inverness responded with player coach Billy Mckay firing over the bar. On the half hour and it was all square. Jake Davidson scored following a corner with a close range header, Paul Allan with the assist. The visitors upped the pressure on the home goal and Billy Mckay headed over before Adam MacKinnon's header was saved by Brett Long in the home goal. MacKinnon fired wide moments later. Mathew Shiels brought Musa Dibaga into action as the keeper saved comfortably. Five minutes before the break a neat move from a corner ended with the Sons defence having to block from Robbie Thompson as he offloaded. Hilton missed the target with a header just before the break as the ball bounced wide. All to play for in the second period.
HALF TIME: 1-1No changes at the interval. Brett Long saved from Mckay's low shot five minutes after the restart and the defenders mopped up the loose ball. Dibaga again denied Hilton just before the hour. Ryan Blair edged the hosts ahead after a corner was recycled. Blair finished with a curling shot behind the keeper. Hilton had been causing problems and he notched his second of the game and Dumbarton's third after driving forward and shooting into the bottom corner. A late flurry of activity saw Remi Savage head over from a corner and Sons sub Mumbongo shooting wide on the run. The last action had Long saving from Nolan as time ran away.
FULL TIME: 3-1

Scott Kellacher's first game in charge ended in defeat at the Rock. Not the start we had hoped for but it was a big ask with Devine and Gilmour missing.
Great Summary on CTO by Mantis: Massive disappointment in the end. So much positivity in the bar and in the stand, and the team were excellent first half. Hilton’s goal was pretty much Dumbarton’s only attacking effort of the half, completely against the run of play, but what a worldie giving Musa no chance, although he was allowed too much room to turn. 
The Sons started the second half much better and I always felt that if they scored first, they would win. One or two experienced pros such as Wallace and Carlo. They stuck to the basics, defended well without trying to be fancy, and hit us on the break. A couple of unforced errors cost us. ICT heads dropped at 2-1 and we never looked like coming back. 
Fantastic support today and great applause for the team at the end. Rather weird coming to a team with such a poor support when you are used to Championship crowds like Partick and the Pars. Hardly heard a sound when they scored. Big uphill task now.
Annan beat QotS 1-0 in the late game on BBC Alba

Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 11 3 17 2 Stenhousemuir 11 2 17 3 Alloa Athletic 11 1 17 4 Montrose 11 3 16 5 Kelty Hearts 11 6 15 6 Arbroath 11 -1 15 7 Queen of Sth 11 -3 14 8 Annan Athletic 11 -8 13 9 Dumbarton 11 -1 12 10 Inverness CT 11 -2 -3  
 
 
 
Date:  26/10/2024  Venue: Marbill Coaches Stadium, Dumbarton Attendance: 0872 Referee: Graham Grainger
 
Dumbarton: 3
Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup:  Long; Miller, Durnan, Brown, Blair, Pignatiello (Orsi 81), Wilson (McGuffie 81), Niang, Hilton (Wallace 77), Ruth (Mumbongo 81), Shiels (Gray 55) Subs (not used):  O'Neil; Young, Lynas, Clark Scorers: Hilton (14, 72), Blair (63) Booked: Wilson (80) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1
Manager: Scott Kellacher (Head Coach) Lineup:  Dibaga; Davidson, Ewan, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, R Thompson (MacLeod 76), Allan, MacKinnon (Strachan ), Bray (C Mackay 77), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; S Thompson,  Scorers: Davidson (28) Booked: Nolan (21), Savage (56) Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2024-25 ·

Dumbarton -V- Inverness CT - League1 - Preview

Life in Administration
 
Starts on Saturday at Dumbarton Stadium in the Scottish League 1 with Inverness now deducted fifteen points which puts us twelve points below our hosts this weekend. Unfortunately, five players have been released along with the management team of Duncan Ferguson, Gary Bollan and Stuart Garden. So far, we have retained the bulk of our squad including our senior players with Scott Kellacher taking on the head coaching role assisted by none other than Billy Mckay. They will also be given further assistance from Charlie Christie and the rest of the youth squad trainers. So, it's almost as you were without our management team and a 15 point deduction. The downside so far is the dismissal of four contracted players and loan keeper Jack Newman. More details later in the preview. Good luck to those released through no fault of their own.
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Administration Info on ICTFC
Match/Ticket/Travel/Info
5 Players let go (1 loan)
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Our Season so Far on the park
INVERNESS CT:  D L D D W D D D L  / W  Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes.
Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended in like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released. First game after Admin is at Dumbarton this week...
Dumbarton:  D D D D D D L L L  / W  Dumbarton started the season with six draws on the trot followed by three defeats. It was only last week that they recorded their first league win of the season in their tenth League fixture with an excellent 1-3 away win at Gayfield. Arbroath had opened the scoring through Tam O'Brien after ten minutes but Carlo Pignatiello replied ten minutes later. A Dylan Smith og and a last minute goal from Finlay Gray ended the scoring as the Sons celebrated their first win in style..... just in time for our visit, meh!
Our first game of the League1 campaign was against Dumbarton at the Caledonian Stadium on the back of disappointing League Cup group stages for both sides. It was also the game where Johndo was remembered in the sixth minute. I wonder what Johndo would make of all this. As already said on CTO, plenty of scope for his CTO Xmas pantomime with villains in abundance and a hero in Alan Salvage.
Game of two halves: 1-1 A rousing round of applause rang out from the crowd on the sixth minute in appreciation of the dedication of John Mackenzie, AKA the Immortal Howden Ender who sadly passed away last week. A fitting tribute as cheering and clapping broke out around the ground and one in which he would have loved to have led the way. Rest in Peace my well travelled friend. You would have enjoyed the first half. The second I'm sure you would have had some choice words for in your after match summary. It was the proverbial game of two halves. Inverness were miles ahead in the first half and rubbish after the break. Plenty of possession and slick movement with new signings Flynn Duffy and Adam Mackinnon prominent in attacking moves. Charlie Gilmour brought out a tremendous reflex save from keeper Long, however most of the good work petered out when we got into the final third but we took the lead on the stroke of half time when Danny Devine sneaked in behind the defence to nod in unchallenged at the back post from a corner. Hey ho we all thought, lifes not so bad after all. Wrong!!! We allowed Dumbarton to dominate the next half hour and they deservedly levelled through Carlo Pignatiello as we seemed to go back into our shell. Niang was booked a second time for persistent fouling and reluctantly left the field when he was red carded. Billy Mckay had cracked one off the bar and Charlie Gilmour and Remi Savage were denied by the keeper but it was a bit of an anti climax after a promising first half. Jack Newman also had to make a good save five minutes from the end to keep the score level when he denied Mumbongo.
Here's the fixtures for this weekend and this is how the table looks after we were deducted 15 points. Meh!

Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 10 2 17 2 Montrose 10 5 16 3 Kelty Hearts 10 7 15 4 Cove Rangers 10 1 14 5 Stenhousemuir 10 1 14 6 Queen of Sth 10 -2 14 7 Arbroath 10 -2 12 8 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 9 Dumbarton 10 -3 9 10 Inverness CT 10 0 -3  
Latest Team News
With administration comes redundancies. First to go was Duncan Ferguson and his coaching staff of Gary Bollan and Stuart Garden. Four players were released although the bulk of the experienced players were retained. No surprise that Cameron Ferguson was released. Bit part striker Adam Brooks was also released along with the promising left back Flynn Duffy who has been recovering from a punctured lung after looking lively in the five games he did play. Wallace Duffy was the most experienced player to be released after coming back into the squad since being ignored at the end of last season, in total making 113 appearances and scoring five goals. Big comedown for Wallace having been our MotM in the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic in 2023. I'm sure we all appreciated the efforts of those released although like every team, we have our boo boys who picked on the unfortunate. In this instance young Cameron was the brunt of most ill feeling which probably stunted his development whilst here although one wonders would he have been here had his father not been the manager.
Some may say that the release of the management team is a step in the right direction as many questioned our style of play since Ferguson arrived. It looked like a case of keep the ball at all costs and don't be rushing up the park. We were set up to hold what we had with little directness. That led to too many draws and late defeats as we regressed. That aside, he can't be faulted for his gesture of not drawing a wage and I wish him and his team good fortune for the future.
Duncan Ferguson gone. 
Gary Bollan gone Stuart Garden gone Players out
Cameron Ferguson (12 appearances, not ready at this level) Adam Brooks (7 goals in 41 appearances) Flynn Duffy (recovered from a punctured lung) Wallace Duffy (113 apps, 5 goals) Jack Newman (loan ended back to Dundee United...maybe) On the plus side, Scott Kellacher has been promoted to Head Coach with Billy Mckay as his assistant player coach. Charlie Christie appears to be assisting as well, possibly overseeing/helping with the coaching along with the rest of the clubs youth coaches. Good luck Scott and Billy, all the best and all at CTO will get behind you and the boys as we attempt to play.... Against All Odds as Charles Bannerman once said. (No truth in the rumour that his next book will be entitled Against All Frauds)
Given the circumstances, I imagine we will be along similar lines to last time out without Wallace Duffy in the starting XI. It will be interesting to see how we set our stall out under Scott and Billy. Good luck guys.
Dumbarton's last Starting XI in the win at Arbroath.
Carlo Pignatiello scored in the first fixture at the Caledonian Stadium and he scored last week in the 3-1 win over Arbroath.
Pignatiello, Ruth and Durnan have all scored three League goals.
Dumbarton have the leakiest defence conceding 17 goals whereas we have only conceded 7 times. The Sons are third top scorers with 14 goals, twice as many as our shot shy players. 
 
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2024-25 ·

Administration Cull has started with the Manager

The First Cut is the Deepest
 
BREAKING NEWS:  Duncan Ferguson, Gary Bollan and Stuart Garden are the first heads to roll at cash strapped Caley Jags as the Administrators wield the big axe.
Official Statement: Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC can confirm that Manager Duncan Ferguson, Assistant Manager Gary Bollan and Goalkeeping Coach Stuart Garden have left the club with immediate effect following the ongoing review of the financial position with the Joint Administrators. 
The club would like to place on record our thanks to Duncan, Gary and Stuart for their efforts while at Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC and wish them the very best in the future.
Scott Kellacher, first team coach, is stepping up to take over as first team head coach with immediate effect.  A full update on first team coaching staff going forward will be made in due course. Rumours abound that Billy Mckay may well be used as player coach to back up Kellacher.
***Update 24/10/2024***
 
Duncan Ferguson gone. 
(Scott Kellacher is new head coach, with Billy Mckay as player coach)
Gary Bollan gone
Stuart Garden gone
Players out
Cameron Ferguson (12 appearances, enough said) Adam Brooks (7 goals in 41 appearances) Flynn Duffy (injured at present) Wallace Duffy (113 apps, 5 goals) Jack Newman (loan ended back to Dundee United) Good summary on CTO from CB:
All behind the scenes jobs retained for the moment, with possible reductions in hours. AS, who was at the top table with the admin and was confirmed as on his way on to the board, committed to ongoing funding, and this is probably why redundancies are relatively light. There have been three bids since the Admin came in… AS isn’t one of them. They expect the process to take weeks rather than months. The Admin confirmed that they would be looking at past financial  practices and - when prompted - agreed that if there had been criminality, it would be looked into. Debt situation not yet clear and admin wouldn’t discuss any individual creditor when RM’s name was raised. Proposal to convert “Kingsmills Suite” into a restaurant franchise.
 
Link to CTO topic regarding cuts will be updated as and when we receive the information.
By tm4tj in News 2024-25 ·

Inverness CT 1-0 Annan Athletic - League 1

There's Life Jim but not as we know it
 
With Administration pending at the start of next week, this game might be the last time we will see the famous Inverness Caledonian Thistle in it's present form. Administration does not come alone. Redundancies and heartbreak goes hand in hand with it and that is the price paid for years of neglect. We had already lost twice to Annan this season, once in the League Cup and once on League business when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference at Galabank but he was missing out this time. Paul McGowan and Wullie Gibson added their experience to the Annan starting XI. Danny Devine returned to the team but Charlie Gilmour, Adam Brooks and Charlie Reilly were missing. After a slow start, Danny Devine headed Inverness in front in the twenty-first minute. That's how it was at the interval with chances difficult to come by. The second half was similar with Devine coming closest to adding a second but his header was just the wrong side of the post and it ended 1-0 with the creditors closing in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A bright and breezy afternoon greeted the players on a somewhat sombre afternoon for the Caley Jags with the stench of administration lingering around the stadium. Annan looked spritely in the opening few minutes firing wide on a couple of occasions before Inverness ventured forward. Duncan Ferguson was yellow carded after discussing a penalty claim with the referee when Billy Mckay appeared to be barged off the ball inside the penalty area. After a couple of poor balls into the box Paul Allan provided Danny Devine with the perfect opportunity and Danny duly headed the Caley Jags in front after twenty minutes to lift the mood. Keith Bray was put through on goal on the right side of the box but keeper Smith spread himself to block well.
HALF TIME: 1-0
The second period was less than entertaining with a bit too much faffing around outside the box and down the wings with directness the last thing on the minds of the players. Bray had a volley comfortably saved and Devine went very close following a free kick angled into the box by Paul Allan, Danny's header just bouncing past the wrong side of the keepers left hand post with Smith beaten. We did have a few attempts from around the edge of the box but they all went well wide of the target. Meanwhile Annan never troubled Musa Dibaga and two poor teams played out the final forty-five without adding to the scoreline. 
FULL TIME 1-0
I suppose the result was more important than the performance, which was just as well as both sides were honking. However we have bigger fish to fry on Monday as the grim reaper comes calling with bad news. We may have seen the last of some of these players as the high earners might be culled as our cloth gets cut by the Administrators. Billy Mckay did get a rousing round of applause when he was substituted five minutes before the end and the rest were warmly applauded as they left the field at the end of play.

 
 
Match reaction from CTO
Good summary from Robert: I thought we deserved the win, but once again we made hard work of it in the second half. We dominated the first half and should have had more than one goal. One definite penalty was not given, possibly two (I wasn’t sure if the other incident was in or just outside the box). Devine took his goal well and led the back line with, as others have said, MacKinnon also having a good game. Allan also looked good to me. We allowed ourselves to get hemmed in after the break but Annan were fortunately toothless. With the 15 point penalty, next week’s game at Dumbarton becomes a real six pointer as we try to get ourselves back into the pack. Well done to all who played a part today. It must be tough with all the uncertainties at present.
Robbo 1985: Danny Devine was awarded the sponsors man of the match and credit to him for popping up with another crucial goal and putting on another very good defensive display. For me though, Adam MacKinnon stood head and shoulders above every other player on the park today.  Broke up play, drove us forward, distributed the ball well, had some shots on goal and worked his absolute socks off.  A fantastic individual performance but well done to all the players and staff today for digging in to get the result.
Alan: A deserved victory over a poor Annan side who didn't manage one shot on target during the 90 minutes. it wasn't the most exciting game but I'll take 1-0 wins in every every match between now and the end of the season.
 
 
A wins a win
 
Alloa top the table after a 78th minute winner at Stenhousemuir. Other winners today were Inverness, Dumbarton, Cove & Montrose.

Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 10 2 17 2 Montrose 10 5 16 3 Kelty Hearts 10 7 15 4 Cove Rangers 10 1 14 5 Stenhousemuir 10 1 14 6 Queen of Sth 10 -2 14 7 Inverness CT 10 0 12 8 Arbroath 10 -2 12 9 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 10 Dumbarton 10 -3 9  
Danny Devine got his MotM award after the game in Bar94.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date:  19/10/2024  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1501 Referee: Peter Stuart
 
Inverness CT: 1
Manager: Duncan Ferguson  Lineup:  Dibaga; Duffy (Macleod 46), Devine, Savage, Nolan (Ewan 92), Longstaff (Thompson 84), Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray, B Mckay (Ferguson 84) Subs (not used):  Newman; Strachan, C Mackay Scorers: Devine (21) Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (20), MacLeod 75) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 0
Manager: Wullie Gibson (player manager) Lineup:  J Smith; Gibson, Todd, Dixon (Ross 81), Breen, Kilsby, (Quitongo 31), Zaid (Quigg 81),  A Smith, McGowan, K Fleming, Stevenson,  Subs (not used): Aitchison; Muir, Barnes Maxwell, Lennon Scorers: none Booked: Dixon (42), Stevenson (46), Quitongo (74) Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2024-25 ·

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