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Inverness CT 1-2 Kilmarnock - SPL

End of season fare
 
A frustrating afternoon all round and some strange decisions. The game was dominated by a soft penalty award for each side. With the rest of the SPL battling for top spot, UEFA places or against relegation there was little to play for here - the only issue was to see who would finish seventh. 
Killie captain Gary Locke chipped over the bar in eight minutes then a low off-target Stuart Golabek shot was deflected for a corner at the other end. Alan Combe pushed away a Craig Brewster volley in 14 minutes then a 19th minute header from Bryan Prunty hit the net but he was offside. 
A minute later the visitors took an unexpected lead when Gary Wales sent James Fowler away down the right and his cross was knocked in at the back post by Gary McDonald. In 27 minutes a Barry Wilson corner from the left curled into the area and a penalty was awarded - apparently Darren Dods's shirt was being pulled. Ross Tokely hit the spot kick low past Combe for 1-1. 
With five minutes of the first half left Brewster drew two defenders and left space for a Golabek shot from 20 yards but it sailed over. 
Half Time: 1-1
Mark Brown's first real save of the match came in 63 minutes when he held an angled shot from Wales. Seconds later Colin Nish closed in on a through ball and Brown raced to clear. Brown's busy spell continued as he caught a 20 yard Peter Leven shot through a ruck of players. 
The second bizarre penalty award of the day came in 72 minutes following a free kick from Wales. Another crowded goalmouth, the usual chaos and a penalty awarded for an apparent push by a Caley Thistle player. Leven made no mistake and it was 2-1 to Kilmarnock. 
Brown prevented what seemed a certain Killie goal in 74 minutes when Wales put Fowler through but the keeper blocked his shot. In 79 minutes Brewster turned neatly in the box and shot from an angle. It looked as if it would creep in but the post came to Combe's rescue. In the ensuing confusion Graham Bayne and Bryan Prunty both hit the bar and a relieved Killie defence cleared. 
Teenager Rory McAllister came on for the last five minutes in his first appearance after good performances with the reserve side. The youngster was quickly into the thick of the action but nothing quite came off. With a minute left McAllister just managed to keep his feet and pass to Wilson who set up Black but the Man of the Match only managed to hit it well over from long range. Freddy Dindeleux then failed to clear a Dods lob into the box from long range but McAllister could not reach the loose ball. 
Full Time: 1-2
The three added minutes produced nothing of note and Killie took the points.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Inverness CT: 1 (Tokely 28 pen)
Team: Brown; Tokely, Dods, Hastings, Golabek, Proctor (Bayne 62), Black, McBain, Wilson,
Brewster, Prunty (McAllister 85).
Subs Not Used: Fraser; Duncan, Fox, Fetai - Booked: Tokely (60), McBain (70).
 
Kilmarnock: 2 (McDonald 21, Leven 72 pen)
Team: Combe; Fowler, Lilley, Dindeleux, Hay, Invincibile (Greer 60), Locke, McDonald,
Leven (Johnston 86), Dargo (Nish 54), Wales.
Subs Not Used: Smith; Murray, Dodds, Naismith - Booked: Locke, Hay.
Attendance: 3,108 - Referee: Eddie Smith
By tm4tj in Reports 2004-05 ·

Dunfermline 0-0 Inverness CT - SPL

Below Par
 
Just under six months ago Caley Thistle came here with Donald Park in temporary charge and faced a Dunfermline side which featured Craig Brewster. The visitors had just climbed to ninth and would continue to climb to SPL safety with more than a little help from their player/manager who remains the Pars second top goalscorer despite having left for the north in late November. 
Brewster returned to East End Park for the first time to play against his old team with Dunfermline joint bottom of the league, on a downward spiral and fighting for their SPL lives. 
Caley Thistle made just one change from last week , Stuart Golabek came back from suspension and Richard Hastings reverted to the bench. The home side dominated the first half but failed to find a way past the strong Caley Thistle defence. 
Simon Donnelly was through in the seventh minute but shot straight at Mark Brown then the same player shot over in 15 minutes. Brown tipped over Noel Hunt's deflected cross three minutes later then Andrius Skerla headed wide from the resultant corner. Brown saved Campbell's curling free kick in 23 minutes then Darren Young hit wide. 
Hunt found the net in 27 minutes but he was offside. There was little action at the other end until close to half time when a strong Barry Wilson run ended with Derek Stillie tipping his shot over the bar.
Half Time 0-0 
Just after the break a Derek Young header was deflected past the post but nerves began to tell and Dunfermline faded. 
Caley Thistle came more into it and in 59 minutes Darren Dods latched onto Wilson's free kick but headed wide. Derek Young shot over in 64 minutes and Scott Wilson did the same in the 77th minute, but these were rare second half chances from the home side. 
ICT substitute Bajram Fetai tried to take advantage of Wilson's deep cross in 70 minutes but missed the ball at the back post. 
As time ran out Andy Tod shot over Brown's bar and Brewster did the same at the other end. 
Full Time: 0-0
Honours even but Dunfermline remain firmly in the relegation dog-fight. The head-to-head match next week against Livingston will go a long way to deciding who goes down.
 
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Dunfermline: 0
Team: Stillie; Skerla, Wilson, Thomson, Campbell, Donnelly (Tod 79), Dar Young, Mason,
Der Young, Hunt (Mehmet 59), Hristov (Christiansen 59)
Subs not used: Langfield; Makel, Labonte, Ross - Booked: Hristov (58)
 
Inverness CT: 0
Team: Brown; Tokely, Dods, Munro, Golabek, Wilson, Hart (Fetai 66), Black, McBain,
Brewster, Prunty (Bayne 73)
Subs not used: Fraser; Hastings, Proctor, Duncan, Fox - Booked: None
Attendance: 4481 - Referee: Calum Murray
By tm4tj in Reports 2004-05 ·

Inverness CT 3-2 Dundee - SPL

Almost Mission Accomplished
 
So near yet so far - so near to the top six yet it is hard to credit how far the team has come this season. Caley Thistle needed to win well and hope that Kilmarnock would beat Motherwell. A four-goal difference had to be overcome but in the event, Motherwell scraped a last minute equaliser against Killie and it was all academic. The three points gained here were however enough to mathematically secure SPL football for next season. 
Richard Hastings came in for the suspended Stuart Golabek, Darren Dods took over the captaincy, Craig Brewster came back into the starting eleven and teenager Rory McAllister was rewarded for excellent reserve performances by gaining a bench place. 
Caley Thistle started briskly but Dundee could have taken the lead in six minutes when a Callum McDonald stab came off the post and into the arms of a relieved Mark Brown. It was all one-way traffic in the other direction from then apart from a 10-minute spell near the end. After ten minutes a Brewster flick set up Barry Wilson but he shot over. 
The opening goal came in 17 minutes and it was a three-man effort. Brewster set Ross Tokely on a run down the right, he rounded a defender and found Roy McBain in the box and from 10 yards the midfielder lofted it into the net. A minute later a Brewster turn and shot came off the post. 
It continued in the same vein until the 37th minute when Neil Barrett brought Wilson down and a penalty was awarded. Wilson's spot-kick was pushed away by Derek Soutar then he parried Wilson's follow-up shot. Bryan Prunty saved Wilson's blushes when he headed home the loose ball for 2-0. Seconds before the break Richie Hart's 100th appearance ended prematurely when he suffered a dead-leg and was replaced by David Proctor. 
Half Time: 2-0
Another penalty was awarded early in the second half when Prunty was brought down but Soutar guessed correctly and pushed away Wilson's kick. A rare Dundee effort came in 53 minutes when Brown touched over an Iain Anderson shot from all of 35 yards. 
Brewster hit just wide in 61 minutes but he had more luck three minutes later when he headed in a Wilson free kick to make it 3-0. Then came a Dundee revival. Bobby Mann hit a 25 yard free kick just wide in 70 minutes, much to the relief of the home fans who had watched him score many goals for ICT from set pieces. 
In 74 minutes a free kick from Dundee's Anderson beat Brown but hit the post but Tam McManus was well-placed to touch it in for 3-1. It was 3-2 with 10 minutes left when a low cross from Anderson was neatly flicked in by John Sutton via the post. The attacks on Soutar's goal then resumed but nothing came off; McBain hit over, Russell Duncan did the same, Soutar held two shots from Graham Bayne and the whistle went for full time. 
Full Time: 3-2
The pressure is now off and the five remaining games will give the management team the chance to plan for next season.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Inverness CT: 3 (McBain 17, Prunty 38, Brewster 65)
Team: Brown; Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Black (Duncan 66), Wilson,
Hart (Proctor 45),McBain, Prunty, Brewster (Bayne 73). 
Subs Not Used: Fraser; Fox, Fetai, McAllister - Booked: Munro (70), Dods (88), Duncan (89)
 
Dundee: 2 (McManus 74, Sutton 80.)
Team: Soutar; Kitamirike, Mann, Sancho, McDonald, Fotheringham (Robertson 63),
Barrett (Sutton 76), Caballero, Robb, Lovell (Anderson 36), McManus. 
Subs Not Used: Dubourdeau; Larsen, Conway - Booked: Barrett. 
Attendance: 4,786 - Referee: Dougie McDonald
By tm4tj in Reports 2004-05 ·

David Sutherland Interview

Teaser Paragraph:
Charles Bannerman interviews Caley Thistle's principal shareholder and former chairman David Sutherland who gives his views on the past present and future of Caley Thistle.
The Tullochs Chief and the Thistle Park Freebies!
DAVID SUTHERLAND interviewed by CHARLES BANNERMAN
Caley Thistle's principal shareholder, David Sutherland, says he believes that a stay in Aberdeen of any longer than five months might have spelled financial disaster for the club and that the move back to Inverness in January didn't come a moment too soon.
Poor attendances at all but the most glamorous games combined with the cost of renting Pittodrie would very probably, he claims, have had the club seeking further injections of cash before long.
"I would say that if we had continued to play in Aberdeen we would not have survived and we would have been back to the shareholder base," he said. "There was some very intense lobbying on our part to get back to Inverness and when we did get permission that was a pretty defining moment."
That the club is back in Inverness, that Tullochs co-ordinated the upgrading of the Caledonian Stadium to SPL criteria in just 47 days and that for the first five real "home" games almost 30,000 fans have turned out are all now part of history.
David Sutherland, who returned recently as a director of the club, has also applauded this week's latest development - the placing of an advert for a Chief Executive. It's a move which he believes is essential to the future stability and smooth operation of Caley Thistle.
"We need a Chief Executive to run the day-to-day side of the club apart from Graeme Bennett on the football side. The time has come for someone to be responsible for the day-to-day running rather than have non-executive directors in there in certain parts of the equaltion during the run-up to matchdays." And the Tullochs chairman, who has revealed that "failure wasn't an option" with the stadium project, has highlighted team work on and off the park as the main reason behind Caley Thistle's current Premier League success which has confounded the sceptics and critics who had them relegated on the first day of the season.
"Craig Brewster has brought a new dimension on the field and Malky Thomson is a young man with great tactical skill," he said. "The contribution of the players goes without saying - especially the longer serving ones. And when I stood down as Chairman and passed the reins to Ken Mackie I handed over to a safe pair of hands and that safety and conservatism were the order of the day. I also picked Graham Bennett and paid Clach £10,000 to get him. He has been a very efficient bridge between the boardroom and the team and manager and Caley Thistle owe a lot to him."
Danny MacDonald and his staff are also singled out for their work in the community, culminating in the recently launched "Team ICT" initiative. Mr Sutherland claims that many of the origins of the current crest of a wave are in "The Road To Premier League Football", a document he drew up along with Graeme Bennett in 1999. "Everybody scoffed when we produced that but the Bank of Scotland now use it as a case study. It concentrates on balancing the books and managing the cost of playing football." Increased revenues since returning home in January should certainly assist that balancing act.
David Sutherland, 25 years now on the Tullochs board, initially as Finance Director then Chief Executive but Chairman for the last 10, is Inverness born and bred. He is proud to be a former pupil of Hilton Primary School and Inverness Royal Academy where he played only to what he admits was a modest level. He describes his approach to football as "cosmopolitan". So, while he is an ICT fan through and through these days, much of his youthful affiliations were to Inverness Thistle and Celtic. However his pursuit of variety also found him on the terraces at Caley and Clach and his footballing tastes remain wide.
"I learned early in the process that if you waited until half-time you got into Thistle Park for nothing," he remembered. "I could never afford to go to the stand but I enjoyed standing on the ash terracing at Kingmills Park." But the free football he contrived to watch as a schoolboy in the 1960s has certainly been repaid many times over through Tullochs' support of Caley Thistle. £500,000 in 2002 gave the company a 29.9% stake in the club. In response to the recent change from public to private limited company status, he has pledged up to £150,000 more - probably of his own money - with one further significant guarantee. "Our stake will not rise above 49%," he revealed. "It is our distinct intention NOT to end up in a situation where we have control."
Tullochs also contributed £600,000 of the £1.5 million cost of the stadium upgrade to SPL standards and currently carry the £500,000 payable by the club. The Chairman agrees that his company has inevitably gained a lot of goodwill from its involvement with the club in general and that project in particular. But he insists that there is no hidden agenda for Tullochs who have already written off the £500,000 they paid for their initial 29.9% stake. Gain has never been a motivating factor, he says."We've given a feelgood factor to the Inverness area but I didn't look for a return in the business sense. We are Inverness's largest Highland owned private company and I feel that putting something back into the community is a good thing. But the club has generated so much income to the city. There will be a spin-off from that and hopefully we will get our share." But as far as Inverness Caledonian thistle FC is concerned, there seems little doubt that David Sutherland will be intensively involved in the planning and execution of what now appears to be the certainty of SPL football next season.
Guest
By Guest in News 2005-06 ·

Inverness CT 1-0 Motherwell - SPL

200 up for Roy
 
This was billed as a top six showdown and it was Caley Thistle who took the points. The victory was a narrow one but the margin could easily have been greater. 
For Motherwell it was a disaster; defeat, a red card and two key players injured. Heavy rain left the pitch soggy but referee Brian Cassidy, on his first and last SPL appearance in the middle before retirement, deemed it playable. 
Craig Brewster rotated the squad and brought in Bryan Prunty instead of himself. Roy McBain made his 200th appearance. For Gordon Marshall it was a night to forget although it did start well when he turned a curling Barry Wilson shot for a corner in 13 minutes. Four minutes later he spilled a seemingly easy ball and it was booted clear by a defender. 
In 22 minutes Stuart Golabek slid a measured pass to Prunty down the left and Marshall came well out of his goal to block the strikers path. Prunty rolled the ball past the keeper to Graham Bayne six yards out and he touched it home for his seventh and easiest goal of the season. Two minutes later Prunty was through on Marshall and he chipped it past the keeper with the intention of racing on and netting. The goal was virtually certain but Marshall chose to take Prunty out of play just outside the box. The inevitable red card was brandished and Terry Butcher was forced to sacrifice Shaun Fagan for reserve keeper Barry-John Corr. 
Injuries to Scott McDonald and Kevin McBride meant that Butcher had used all three substitutes by the 37th minute. The ten men dug in and Caley Thistle failed to add to their tally. 
Half Time: 1-0
Just after the break a poor clearance fell to Wilson but his angled shot sailed wide. The pattern of ICT pressure continued for most of the match and Motherwell never threatened until the closing stages. 
In 71 minutes Bayne hit low and wide then six minutes later another chance fell to Wilson. He sent in a shot from just outside the area and the home crowd rose to salute goal number two; in the end it grazed the post and went harmlessly wide. 
In the last ten minutes Motherwell could easily have equalised. In 84 minutes Mark Brown had to be alert when an awkward ball came into his area bound for David Clarkson. Brown caught it well then, in the final minute, a free kick from Steve Hammell dipped wickedly and Brown tipped it over. The final action saw a Jim Paterson shot blocked by the home defence. 
Full Time: 1-0
The top six places will be decided on Saturday. ICT have to win against Dundee, Kilmarnock have to beat Motherwell and a four goal gap has to be bridged. A tall order but for the Inverness camp it is fantastic just to be in the race.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Inverness CT: 1 (Bayne 20)
Team: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Golabek, Hart, Black, McBain (Duncan 62),
Wilson (Proctor 87), Bayne (Fatai 78), Prunty.
Subs Not Used: Fraser, McCaffrey, Hastings, Fox - Booked: Black (86)
 
Motherwell: 0 
Team: Marshall, Paul Quinn, Craigan, Partridge, Hammell, McBride (Kerr 36), Leitch,
Fagan (Corr 24), Paterson, Scott McDonald (Clarkson 16), Hamilton.
Subs Not Used: Britton, Foran, Kinniburgh, Fitzpatrick 
Booked: Partridge (70), Hamilton (84), Craigan (86) - Sent Off: Marshall (23).
Attendance: 3,746 - Referee: Brian Cassidy
By tm4tj in Reports 2004-05 ·

Kilmarnock 0-1 Inverness CT - SPL

Rugby Park firsts
 
This first-ever win against Kilmarnock pushed ICT up to a new high of seventh in the SPL. After the disappointment of last week against Aberdeen this was a victory to relish. 
With Juanjo out injured for the rest of the season some reorganisation was required. Ian Black replaced Russell Duncan in midfield and Graham Bayne partnered Craig Brewster in the striking role. 
Ross Tokely overtook Charlie Christie's record with his 315th appearance. 
In the end just one goal separated the sides but chances were missed at both ends. Alan Combe tipped over a Brewster shot in only two minutes and seven minutes later Mark Brown pushed a Peter Leven curling free kick onto the bar. 
In 13 minutes Combe stopped a Stuart Golabek shot and watched as Graham Bayne's follow-up hit the post. Just after the half-hour mark ICT scored what proved to be the only goal of the match. Freddy Dindeleux hesitated, Brewster stepped in and found Barry Wilson in the clear. He rounded Combe and slotted home his tenth goal of the season from an acute angle. Kilmarnock fought back immediately but Brown saved from Gary Wales and Steven Naismith's angled drive from long range went just wide. 
Killie pushed hard through to the break but could not find a way through the ICT defence. 
Half Time: 0-1
The pattern continued into the second half and Brown did well to block a Gary McDonald effort in 50 minutes. Wales should have done better in 57 minutes when he failed to connect properly with a Naismith cross despite being well placed close to goal. Bayne had a chance to double the lead in 78 minutes after being sent through by Brewster but his shot had no power and Combe collected easily. 
Despite a late surge from Kilmarnock the ICT defence held firm and it ended 1-0. 
Full Time: 0-1
Caley Thistle continue to look upwards in the league with seven games left as the spectre of relegation continues to recede. There is now a 14 point gap over basement club Dundee United and an outside chance of a top six finish. 
Motherwell are six points ahead with two games left before the split and have a six-goal advantage. All this adds some spice to Tuesday's visit of the Steelmen to Inverness.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Kilmarnock: 0
Team: Combe; Fowler, Hay, Lilley, Dindeleux, McDonald, Murray, Leven,
Naismith (Johnston 65), Boyd, Wales (Nish 62)
Subs not used: Smith, Dodds, Greer, Johnstone McGregor - Booked: Lilley
 
Inverness CT: 1 (Wilson 32)
Team: Brown; Tokely, Dods, Munro, Golabek, Wilson (Duncan 79), Hart (Fetai 75),
Black (Proctor), McBain, Bayne, Brewster
Subs not used: Fraser; McCaffrey, Hastings, Prunty - Booked: Brewster (60), Black (70)
Attendance: 4862 - Referee: Ian Fyfe
 
By tm4tj in Reports 2004-05 ·

Manager of The Month

Teaser Paragraph:
Craig Brewster has been named Bank of Scotland SPL Manager of the Month for March. Impressive wins against Hibs and Hearts and a draw against Rangers during the month saw Caley Thistle achieve 7 points more than many expected in this tough month.
Craig Brewster has been awarded the Bank of Scotland Premierleague Manager of the Month Award for March.Brewster joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle as a player-manager last November and during his short tenure he has introduced a style of football that has seen them slowly climb the Bank of Scotland Premierleague table. In March, his side convincingly defeated both Hearts and Hibs and secured a valuable draw at Ibrox. The club is now 11 points ahead of bottom placed Dundee United and have a realistic opportunity of top six football after the split.
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By Guest in News 2005-06 ·

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