Dundee Utd 1-1 Inverness CT - Report
Eric Odhiambo scored for the Caley Jags in 16 minutes but Dundee United defender Lee Wilkie scored a deflected shot in 79 minutes to grab a share of the points.
Russell Duncan was red carded in 71 minutes after "taking one for the team". Sandaza broke away and the ref adjudged Duncan to have denied a goalscoring opportunity and a straight red was shown. The Caley Jags then had to hold out under some intense pressure from United but it remained 1-1 and Terry Butcher remains undefeated as Caley Thistle manager...
14th February 2009 - 3.00pm Tannadice Park, Dundee DUNDEE UTD
1 Wilkie (79)
Team: Zaluska, Kovacevic (Swanson 51), Wilkie⚽, Kenneth, Dixon, Cannis, Baubin, Gomis, Conway,
Sandaza (Feeney 78), Daly (Shala)
Subs - McGovern, Dillon, Grainger, Robertson
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC
1 Odhiambo (16)
Team: Esson, Tokely, Mihadjuks, Munro, Djebi-Zadi, Proctor, Black, Duncan, Foran(Wood 84),
Imrie (McBain 73), Odhiambo (Rooney 68)
Subs - Fraser, Hastings, Byrne, Kerr
Referee Craig Thomson Attendance 5926 Man of the Match (BBC) Dougie Imrie
Overview from Site:
An excellent point that i would have taken before the game. This game was massively important in keeping the unbeaten run going, and keeping everyone focussed on survival. The players seem to have responded to this and from what i have heard played well and manager to hold on for a point when it looked very likely United (who are without a doubt the 3rd best team in Scotland) would go on to win it.
Looking at the after-match footage the players and big Tel looked delighted with a point, was there a big support??
I hope the woodwork fans climb out for the Hibs game, time to hype this one up hugely to tempt them off their armchairs.
Delighted with Eric Odhiambo, good to see him get a goal especially against Utd.
One final word: Russell Duncan is an absolute hero who is working his socks off and playing with his heart on his sleeve. In my opinion one of the best players we have at the club who should get more praise. He reads the game and intercepts excellently. Right now, he has really started showing how much he wants us to stay up, along with Dougie. Anyone who thinks we should punt a long-serving player such as Duncan is off their heads.
Caley Stan added:
Very good game. We had loads of fighting spirit and looked dangerous on the break but played very little football.
United pumped ball after ball into our box but we kept dealing with them. In the 10 minutes leading up to the sending off we were threatening to score a second goal and if Imrie had used the ball more intelligently then we would've had one long before that. It's difficult to criticise Dougie though. His passion is incredible and he has made himself the focal point of this team. If him and Eric can build a better understanding then we could see the return of great counter-attacking away days.
Russell Duncan was my man of the match. In the first half he was winning everything and playing the simple pass afterwards. He is hugely important in away games and did what he had to do after Lionel's mistake.
We've got loads of hope and belief under the new regime - the next step is to convert that into home wins.
Final word from Alternative Maryhill, our resident Caley Jags analyst.
Guess it's a sign of how much Butcher has improved our confidence that I came away yesterday feeling a bit disappointed about us only getting a point. Fair result, but after an hour or so I was daring to hope. Another really spirited performance, though. Duncan, as many have already mentioned, had an excellent first half in particular. Black stood out in the second and covered Duncan's absence really well when Duncan was sent off. I like the look of Imrie and Odhiambo up front - load of pace and effort and a little skill too, although as someone said earlier, they still need to build a better understanding. The defence fought for everything and apart from the goal coped reasonably well with a fair bit of pressure. Actually felt Munro was more commanding than Mihadjuks today, but there's no doubt they're the best CB partnership we've had in a couple of seasons. Esson makes a big difference too - he may have fumbled for the goal but he got everything else. I suspect opponents feel far more intimidated playing against him than they do against Fraser. Zadi made a few more good interceptions and strong clearing headers, and although there was also a fair bit of wild slashing at the ball as the second half went on, I think that overall this back four clears its lines far more effectively than the previous line-up where was Hastings at LB and Rosscoe seemed to push forward more. As for the wider players, Foran won a lot in the air, used the ball well and tracked back well, without really imposing himself as a creative force, while Proctor was probably our quietest player without doing anything wrong.
Although I'd like to see a little more creativity from the midfield, I think Butcher's strategy of retaining a successful line-up is the right one. Two changes will be enforced on him next week - I'm sure he'll take the opportunity to give Kerr his chance, and while I'd like to see Vigurs get the other place, I wouldn't be surprised if Butcher opted for the experience of McBain. A few winnable games coming up, and if we keep up yesterday's attitude and get a little more sharpness into the team going forward, we'll start picking up points.
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