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Inverness CT 2-0 Hibernian - SPL

Caley Thistle take all three points against Hibs at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in this boxing day encounter. Craig Dargo scored both goals and is now ICT top scorer for the season so far after a slow start.
Caley Thistle’s fine form against the top teams continued with this well deserved 2-0 win over Hibs. This was the club’s 500th senior game since amalgamation and they celebrated in style.
 
 Monday 26th December 2005  Tulloch Caledonian Stadium  INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC  2 (Dargo 8, 11) Team; Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Wilson (Hart 76), Duncan, Black, McBain, Dargo (McAllister 70), Brewster (Bayne 58)
Subs – Golabek, McCaffrey, Fox & Fraser
 HIBERNIAN FC  0 Team: Malkowski, Beuzelin, Scott Brown (Konte 74), Caldwell, Fletcher (O’Connor 54), Glass, Riordan, Smith, Sproule, Thomson (Stewart 58), Whittaker
Subs – Hogg, McCluskey, McDonald & Simon Brown
 Referee  A Freeland  Attendance  7017  Man of the Match  Craig Dargo (ICT)  
Craig Dargo scored both goals although Barry Wilson had a strong claim on the first. With twenty minutes left, Dargo departed the scene with concussion and, at the end, he remembered very little of the game.
The home side totally dominated the first half and played some fine football. The second half was more of a battle and the crime count continued to rise – in the end there were a total of nine bookings with Hibs by far the greater sinners. Grant Munro made his 150th appearance in an unchanged team.
The opening goal came in eight minutes when Ian Black fed an excellent pass to Barry Wilson on the right and, with Ross Tokely causing a diversion on the overlap, Wilson cut inside. He sent a low angled ball goalwards from long range and Hibs’ keeper Malkowski dived in an effort to save - a touch from Dargo left him helpless. The goal was credited by the press corps to Wilson until Dargo’s vital contribution came to light.
Three minutes later a poor goal kick from Malkowski was collected by Dargo 40 yards out and he raced in on goal. Malkowski narrowed the angle but Dargo neatly side-stepped him and hit into the net for 2-0.
In 18 minutes Craig Brewster sent Dargo off goalwards and Derek Riordan earned the first yellow card by bringing him down. Just after the half hour mark Brewster once more provided Dargo with a fine pass and he headed towards Malkowski – the keeper came out to face the striker and this time he hit the ball early but just wide.
There was very little to report at the other end and in first half added time it could have been 3-0. Dargo was on another strong run when Stephen Glass brought him down – he was lucky to escape with a yellow card. Brewster took the free kick from wide right and it was deflected for a corner.
Half Time: 2-0
Hibs were expected to come out fighting after the break and they did spend more time in the ICT half – all to no avail. Mark Brown made a rare save in 55 minutes when he dived low to stop a Scott Brown effort. On 63 minutes Guillaume Beuzelin went down in the box alongside Darren Dods and was promptly booked for diving.
Rory McAllister was presented with a chance seconds after coming on in the 70th minute – Wilson sent him on track for goal but he hit early and over. Hibs were reduced to shooting from long range and typically substitute Michael Stewart hit well over from 25 yards in 76 minutes.
They should have pulled one back in 79 minutes when Riordan for once got the better of Ross Tokely down the left – Riordan’s low ball into the centre reached Garry O’Connor but from a few yards out he stretched and hit wide. Stewart limped off in 85 minutes leaving Hibs to complete the game a man down. Mark Brown rose high to collect a Riordan free kick a minute later then the same player hit a fine shot from the left – it cleared the bar with perhaps a little help from Brown. A goal kick was given and play headed back towards Malkowski. Graham Bayne touched on a Richie Hart cross but it was deflected for a corner.
Into added time and McAllister came up against Steven Whittaker as last man – Bayne was clear on his left but the pass came a fraction late and Bayne was offside.
Full Time: 2-0
The whistle went and ICT ended the day still in sixth place but a mere four points behind fifth placed Rangers.
Guest
By Guest in Reports 2005-06 ·

Inverness CT 1-1 Celtic - SPL

Official report from the League match against Celtic at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. An almost capacity crowd watches Caley Thistle score in less than a minute but John Hartson grabs a point for Celtic in this entertaining match
 
 Sunday 18th December 2005  Tulloch Caledonian Stadium  INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC  1 (Dargo 31 secs) Team: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Wilson (Hart 90), Duncan, Black, McBain, Dargo (Wyness 88), Brewster
Subs – Golabek, McCaffrey, Fox, McAllister & Fraser
 CELTIC FC  1 (Hartson 21 min) Team: Boruc, Telfer, Wallace, Balde, McManus, Petrov, Lennon, Nakamura, McGeady (Sutton 71),
Hartson, Maloney
Subs – Lawson, Thompson, Virgo, Pearson, Wei & Marshall
 Referee  S Dougal  Attendance  7382  Man of the Match  Ian Black (ICT)  
Gordon Strachan called this a ‘cracking game of football’ and he was absolutely right. A packed stadium watched an enthralling encounter which could have gone either way.
Both ‘keepers had great saves, ICT missed a penalty and there were golden chances at both ends. The cold snap necessitated use of the undersoil heating but it did its job well and the pitch was perfect.
The week’s press had been dominated by Roy Keane’s arrival at Celtic but he was not eligible for this game. For Caley Thistle David Proctor was ruled unfit and his place was taken by Roy McBain on his return from injury. Darren Dods came back from suspension to make his 50th appearance – at the expense of Stuart McCaffrey who returned to the bench.
Club captain Stuart Golabek was on the bench following a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury. There was dramatic start when Craig Dargo created a new club record with a goal in only 31 seconds. Barry Wilson forced a throw on the right and Ross Tokely found Craig Brewster at the near post – he headed on and Dargo flicked the ball home from six yards. The home stands erupted and another upset was on the cards.
Play raged from end to end and the next chance fell to Celtic in 15 minutes. Shaun Maloney centred the ball from the right and Mark Brown made a magnificent save from a John Hartson 10 yard-shot.
Maloney should have scored three minutes later when Hartson set him up a few yards out – Hartson could have shot himself from the right but he thought his strike partner was better placed. In the end Maloney did not fully connect and Brown blocked it. The Celtic pressure paid off in 21 minutes when Hartson was given too much room in the box and he volleyed home from 12 yards to equalise.
On the half hour mark Brewster sent Dargo through into the box and he was brought down by Stephen McManus – a clear penalty and the referee agreed. Dargo took it himself but there was no real power in the shot and Artur Borac dived to his left and pushed it away.
It was 1-1 at half time but could easily have been 2-2.
The pace never slackened in the second half and Ross Tokely took the ball off the feet of Aiden McGeady in the box with seconds on the clock.
Caley Thistle immediately moved play to the Celtic end and Boruc had to be quick out of his box to clear ahead of Dargo. In 54 minutes Boruc did well to beat away an angled shot from Brewster. Three minutes later McGeady was well placed in the box and all waited for an offside flag. The flag never came but McGeady hit wide.
Play was still end to end and in 76 minutes McManus brought down Brewster 25 yards out. Brewster took the kick himself and Boruc dived to his left to push it away – a great shot and a great save.
Five minutes from time a Wilson cross from the right reached Russell Duncan at the back of the box - he chose to hit it first time but it cleared the bar. With time running out Brown made two vital saves – he beat down a shot from Maloney then he punched away a 25 yard drive from Stilian Petrov.
As the clock moved past the 90 minute mark Hartson went down in the box but a free kick was given to the home side. Maloney then did the same and he was booked for his trouble. Boruc held a Duncan lob two minutes over time and the whistle went.
Full Time: 1-1
Brewster was delighted with his team’s performance and he particularly saluted the work rate of Barry Wilson. A fine eight days for ICT – a point earned from each of the top two teams. Next it is third placed Hibs on Boxing Day. Caley Thistle remain sixth and sit a point above Aberdeen.
Guest
By Guest in Reports 2005-06 ·

Hearts 0-0 Inverness CT- SPL

Caley Thistle battled hard and took a share of the points in this tussle at Tynecastle. Stuart McCaffrey came back into the side to replace the suspended Darren Dods and Barry Wilson marked his 250th appearance by being given the captains armband for the day.
Caley Thistle ended Hearts 100% home record and, with a rub of the green, could easily have taken all three points.
 
 Saturday 10th December 2005  Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh  HEARTS FC (Graham Rix)  0 Team: Gordon, Neilson, Fyssas, Pressley, Webster, Cesnauskis, Simmons (67 Camazzola), Hartley, Skacel, Pospisil (84 Mikoliunas), Elliot (72 Jankauskas)
Subs - MacDonald, MacFarlane, Berra, Wallace
 INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC  0 Team: Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, Munro, Hastings, Wilson, Black, Duncan, Proctor (38 Hart), Brewster, Dargo
Subs - Fraser, McBain, Bayne, Juanjo, Morgan, Fox
 Referee  C Murray  Attendance  16373  Man of the Match  Info Not Provided  
With Darren Dods suspended Stuart McCaffrey came back into the side after an extended period on the sidelines due to injury. Dennis Wyness was ineligible because of the terms of the loan agreement with Hearts and Barry Wilson captained the side on his 250th appearance.
The vocal home support, the healthy Caley Thistle contingent and some great football added up to an entertaining afternoon for all. The visitors had a goal disallowed, a penalty denied and the best chances of the game.
Hearts pushed forward from the start but achieved little. In four minutes Mark Brown easily saved a Stephen Simmons header then Michal Pospisil headed over. At the other end Ian Black sent an angled volley past Craig Gordon’s right-hand post.
Both defences held firm under pressure then in 36 minutes Craig Dargo set up a glorious chance for his manager. He cut the ball back from the byeline on the right but Craig Brewster hit first time over the bar from eight yards.
Apart from a wide Rudi Skacel shot Hearts rarely troubled the Inverness goal in the first half. Robbie Neilson left significant marks on the game twice. In the first half he stopped a David Proctor shot on the line then, in the second half, he blocked a Barry Wilson ball en-route to Dargo with his arm – the referee deemed the offence to be accidental but you would be hard pushed to find an Inverness supporter who agreed.
The closest Hearts came to a goal was in 54 minutes when Deividas Cesnauskis (surprisingly named ‘Man of the Match’) was sent through by Pospisil but Mark Brown parried his shot. Gordon turned a long-range effort from Black round the post in 67 minutes then six minutes later Brewster let fly from an acute angle on the left and forced an excellent save from Gordon.
A minute later the away fans were incensed when a McCaffrey pass found Ross Tokely and he ran through before netting clinically. The goal was disallowed however as Dargo was in an offside position - despite the striker taking no part in the move.
In the closing minutes Pospisil and Edgaras Jankauskas hit over for Hearts then Brewster hit wide for ICT with three minutes left. There was still time for Dargo to hit over before the final whistle.
Full Time 0-0
Another fine performance on the road and sixth place maintained.
Guest
By Guest in Reports 2005-06 ·

Motherwell 0-2 Inverness CT - SPL

Craig Dargo scores a second half double to grab all three points for the Caley Jags in this match at Fir Park, Motherwell. The result takes Caley Thistle into the top 6 of the SPL.
 
 Saturday 3rd December 2005  Fir Park, Motherwell  MOTHERWELL FC  0 Team: G Smith, Corrigan, Craigan (Kinniburgh 70), McLean, Hammell, McCormack, Kerr, Fagan (McBride 74), Foran, S McDonald, Hamilton (Clarkson 33)
Subs – D Smith, Quinn, Coakley & Meldrum
 INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC  2 (Dargo 63, 88) Team: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Wilson (Fox 89), Duncan, Black, Morgan (Hart 61), Brewster, Dargo Subs – McCaffrey, Bayne, Wyness, McAllister & Frase  Referee  S Conroy  Attendance  4103  Man of the Match  Info Not Provided  
A smash and grab raid at Motherwell took the three points and hoisted Caley Thistle up into the magic top six. Motherwell should have turned at half time in the lead but they squandered several chances and were denied by their former ‘keeper Mark Brown.
Craig Brewster brought himself back into the starting eleven in place of Graham Bayne and Alan Morgan came in for David Proctor.
The Steelmen started well and in less than a minute Alan McCormack sliced wide from just inside the box. Four minutes later Shaun Fagan hit wide from 12 yards with only Brown to beat. Brian Kerr hit past the post in 12 minutes then in 22 minutes Brown tipped over an 18 yard drive from Fagan. David Clarkson was the next sinner as he hit wide from 12 yards. A minute before the whistle McCormack shot straight at Brown then Darren Dods cleared off the line from Scott McDonald.
Caley Thistle created very little in the first half and Motherwell ‘keeper Graeme Smith had an easy time – Barry Wilson shot wide, Dods struck the side netting and Ian Black hit off target.
Half Time: 0-0
Into the second half and Motherwell were unlucky when a Brian Mclean goal-bound shot was deflected onto the post by Ross Tokely. The home side were stunned in 63 minutes when Caley Thistle took the lead. Brewster sent a ball through for Craig Dargo who stayed onside and hit it through Smith’s legs. Smith saved well from Black in 74 minutes then Clarkson nearly equalised with a header that came off the post.
The game was over in 88 minutes when Dargo scored his second – Richie Hart sent a square pass from the right and Dargo hit the ball between Smith and the post.
Full Time: 0-2
A fine afternoon’s work and revenge for September’s 2-1 home defeat.
Guest
By Guest in Reports 2005-06 ·

Green Light for Tulloch Investment

Teaser Paragraph:
Caley Thistle shareholders voted unanimously at Monday night's AGM to accept a £400,000 investment from local building firm Tulloch. This cash injection enables Tulloch to raise its stake in the SPL club from 29.9 per cent to 42.42 per cent without having to offer to buy out all other shareholders.
The board's recommendation to accept the Tulloch offer was backed by 100 per cent of shareholders who held a total of 581,250 shares. There was one spoiled paper.The meeting was the swansong for Ken Mackie, who steps down after three years as chairman but who remains on the board. The new chairman David Sutherland, who is also Tulloch chairman, paid glowing tribute and said:"Ken has been a tremendously safe pair of hands in corporate terms and we're immensely grateful for his contribution.
"We accept his decision to demit office because of business and personal commitments but we're delighted we'll still have the benefit of his advice as a director."
Ken Mackie said:"This club has come a long way and I've been thrilled to be at the helm as we won the First Division, battled to for the right to take our place in the SPL, agreed a groundshare with Aberdeen and then in January we were able to return to Inverness where season ticket sales have more than doubled to 2400.
"Bringing top flight football to the Highlands for the first time is a tremendous achievement. We stayed up when many had written us off and it is encouraging that the team is still showing such great character and energy this season."
Mr Mackie said the Tulloch proposal was similar to Dermot Desmond underwiting the new Celtic share offer but the board is willing to sell share bundles large and small to any existing shareholder.
Mr Mackie pointed out that Caley Thistle's football wages bill was 48 per cent of turnover, the smallest in the SPL with Aberdeen on 62 per cent, Rangers 53 per cent, Celtic 59 per cent and Dunfermline 86 per cent.
The AGM heard that £150,000 of the new investment will pay for the undersoil heating while the rest is earmarked for 'stadium improvements' to meet UEFA rules and 'team enhancement'.
But it was stressed that manager Craig Brewster will make the decisions on who needs to be brought in during the transfer window, and who should be offered new deals.
The AGM heard that the club showed a loss of £102,414 on the year's workings to May 31 -- but this would have been a healthy profit but for the costs of the Pittodrie groundshare. Turnover doubled from £1,327,762 in 2004, when a £240,000 loss was reported, to £2,741,738.
Wages and salaries rose from £916, 753 to £1,191, 570.
David Sutherland flagged up that the board wanted a fresh drive for commercial growth in 2006 to keep pace with opportunity and to reach out to more smaller businesses in the area where there was untapped potential.
Mr Sutherland welcomed the new Supporters Trust and pledge ongoing dialogue with it.
Guest
By Guest in News 2005-06 ·

Inverness CT 1-1 Dundee Utd - SPL

Official report from the league match at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium against Dundee Utd. Ross Tokely doesn't score many goals... but the equaliser in this 1-1 draw was an absolute cracker !!!
 
 Saturday 25th November 2005  Tulloch Caledonian Stadium  INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC  1 (Tokely 19) Team: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Proctor (Morgan 35), Black, Duncan, Wilson (Hart 87), Dargo (Juanjo 83), Bayne
Subs – Wyness, Fox, Brewster & Fraser
 DUNDEE UTD FC  1 (Miller 6 pen) Team: Stillie, Wilson, McCracken, Archibald, Duff, Samuel, Kerr, Fernandez, Robson, Miller, McIntyre Subs – McInnes, Dodds, Kenneth, Robertson, Cameron, Goodwillie & Samson  Referee  C Murray  Attendance  3239  Man of the Match  Ross Tokely (ICT)  
It was another one of these days when nothing went quite right – except for Ross Tokely’s spectacular equaliser. The defender’s first SPL goal from open play brought Caley Thistle right back into the game after they had conceded an early penalty goal.
The winter arrived with a vengeance earlier in the week but by match day the snow had cleared and all that was left was a bitterly cold wind. The proceedings were delayed for a minute’s silence to acknowledge the death of the genius that was George Best. Those of us lucky enough to have seen him in action will long remember his skill and be saddened by both his early retiral from the game and his passing.
It was on with the football but there was little to excite in the early stages. The game came alive in the seventh minute when Mark Wilson chipped the ball from the left into the box for Lee Miller. Miller found space ahead of Grant Munro and the Caley Thistle defender brought him down before he could shoot from a good position. Miller dusted himself down and made no mistake from the penalty spot.
In 14 minutes a Russell Duncan ball from 25 yards spun over the bar then a Barry Wilson cross caused some chaos in the United box before it was cleared. Tokely’s moment of genius came in 20 minutes when a Wilson corner from the right was headed into the box by Ian Black – Tokely chested it down then sent an overhead kick past Derek Stillie before the ‘keeper even saw it coming.
Alan Morgan came on for the injured David Proctor in 35 minutes. In the closing stages of the first half there were a few chances but nothing to really trouble either ‘keeper. Black hit well over in 36 minutes, a Craig Dargo 22 yard shot on the turn was straight at Stillie then Morgan hit low towards goal from the left but it skidded wide. At the other end a Barry Robson free kick in 38 minutes reached the lively Collin Samuel then Mark Wilson but the danger was eventually cleared. Seconds before the whistle for half time Stillie did well to hold an angled 25 yard shot from Dargo.
Half Time: 1-1
The second half was not much better than the first with few chances. Stillie held a Graham Bayne flick in 59 minutes then Brown made the save of the day in 66 minutes when he pushed a net-bound Miller header onto the bar. Something special was needed to add sparkle to the proceedings and the home fans chanted Juanjo’s name. He duly came off the bench with seven minutes left but had little time to produce any magic.
Barry Wilson was brought down by his former Livingston team-mate David Fernandez just outside the box on the left with five minutes to go and Stillie made a spectacular diving save from Wilson’s curling free kick. The good ICT spell continued when Black made an amazing run into and around the box searching for a space to shoot – he finally crossed and Bayne sent a glancing header past the post. Two minutes over time a cross from Richie Hart on the left was missed by Stillie and amidst the resulting chaos Bayne headed just wide – the assistant referee’s flag was up in any case.
Full Time: 1-1
The draw kept ICT in eighth place but Dunfermline’s 1-0 win over Celtic was the result of the day and closed the gap at the foot of the table.
Guest
By Guest in Reports 2005-06 ·

It's Snow Joke - ICT Want You....

Teaser Paragraph:
ICT have a great record when it comes to not having had matches postponed at the stadium. However, with bad weather approaching, Director of Football, Graeme Bennett is adding another plan to those already in place to ensure ICT do everything possible so that winter games can go ahead as planned.
"Inverness Caley Thistle Director of Football, Graeme Bennett, today issued an appeal to Caley Thistle fans who would be willing to put their names onto a list of volunteers who could be called upon at short notice to help clear pitch and stadium in the event of bad weather.Although there are bad weather reports for Scotland this weekend, the overall forecast for the Inverness area is not too bad and the Bank of Scotland Premierleague fixture against Dundee United FC on Saturday 26 November is expected to go ahead as normal.
However, Graeme said 'We are looking to the future and having had tremendous help in the past from volunteers, as part of the ongoing review of our emergency planning, we felt it would be best practice to keep a list of able bodied volunteers who would be willing to help clear snow or water of the pitch, sand the public areas etc. This is just a precaution and we know that there will be many fans who will help want to help out.'
The list of volunteers will be held for the remainder of the season and fans would be contacted in advance of any potential problems to see as to their availability. They would then be called upon as required.
Any supporters who would be interested are asked to contact stadium reception by telephone on 01463 222880 or by email on [email protected], leaving their contact details."
Guest
By Guest in News 2005-06 ·

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