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Inverness CT -V- Partick Thistle - Preview

Battle of the Jags
 
After three away day wins on the trot in the Championship, it's the battle of the Jags this Friday night at the Caledonian Stadium, or as it's now known as, The Vaccination Derby. Kick-off is at 7:45 and this game will be shown live on the BBC Scotland channel. Partick are steaming ahead at the top of the table after a crushing 5-1 defeat of Morton last weekend and we have managed to get back on track after losing 4-1 to Partick on the 19th of August, the start of a three game losing sequence. Since then Partick have gone to the top of the table and we have won our last three, all away from home and will be looking to close the gap at the top. Should make for good viewing and will give us an idea how we are coping with our extensive injury problems.
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MATCH/TICKET INFO
Venue H2H v Partick Thistle Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 6 7 37 33 +4 Away 23 6 6 11 24 34 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 46 16 12 18 61 67 -6  
Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick Thistle
1 - 4
(A)
1 - 0
(H)
2 - 1
(A)
0 - 1
(A)
3 - 3
(H)
0 - 0
(A)
3 - 1
(H)
1 - 3
(A)
1 - 3
(H)
2 - 1
(A) Home advantage is normally a good indicator in these fixtures although our biggest defeat was a 0 - 4 encounter back in 2014:
CTO report: OUCH!  Inverness fans took a sore one as they watched their team being dismantled by an energetic Partick Thistle in the battle of the Jags. It was a day to forget for the Caley Jags side as their unbeaten home run was ended in spectacular style by a team that have sussed us out big time. While we tapped the ball around the back quarter in tentative style, Partick's cut and thrust won the day and they deservedly crushed us 4-0. Much of this was down to our own error ridden display, but take nothing away from Partick, they took full advantage of the situation and trounced us with their high intensity pressing game. Partick just seem to have our number this season and I can't say I am looking forward to the Cup game in February. We need to try and find a way to combat the apparent high intensity, pressing game that they employ against us otherwise we will be getting thrashed again in a couple of months. Two first half goals from Ryan Stevenson were added to after the break by Gary Fraser and Conrad Balatoni. Inverness had a couple of strikes ruled out for interference by Billy McKay from a Raven shot and a couple of interlopers who took to the field to relieve the boredom. (naughty boys, don't do this at home children).
Biggest Victories Apr 30th, 2016 League (A) 4 - 1 Jan 10th, 2009 Scottish Cup (Rd 4) (H) 3 - 0 Apr 27th, 2002 League (H) 3 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Dec 13th, 2014 League (H) 0 - 4
There was a couple of eye brow raising results this midweek in the Championship
 Cove R 3-1 Dundee
Queens 1-2 Morton
Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Partick Thistle 8 5 2 1 21 11 17 2. Queens Park 9 5 1 3 14 13 16 3. Ayr United 8 4 2 2 14 11 14 4. Inverness CT 8 4 2 2 12 9 14 5. Dundee 9 4 1 4 16 14 13 6. Cove Rangers 9 3 2 4 14 14 11 7. Morton 9 3 2 4 9 13 11 8. Raith Rovers 8 3 0 5 8 11 9 9. Hamilton Ac. 8 1 4 3 7 12 7 10. Arbroath 8 1 2 5 5 12 5 FRIDAY 7TH OCTOBER
    Inverness CT v Partick Thistle 
SATURDAY 8TH OCTOBER
Arbroath v Dundee
   Ayr Utd v Queen's
 Morton v Accies
   Raith v Cove
 
LAST TIME OUT
Partick romped to the top of the table on their own with an emphatic 5-1 thrashing of Morton at Firhill and they even had the luxury of a missed penalty on the hour from Kevin Holt. Morton took an early lead through Robbie Muirhead in the 17th minute and this must have annoyed the Jags. They responded with strikes from Brian Graham and Holt before the break. Aaron Muirhed Scott Tiffoney and Anton Dowds completed the rout after the interval to boost Partick's goal difference to a massive +10 this early in the season. Last time we met we were disappointing and were brushed aside by a confident Partick side 4-1 at Firhill. Meh!
Inverness are on a triple roll with the last game being a carbon copy of the previous two on the road at Starks Park and Dens Park. Instrumental in those victories has been re-incarnated left sided midfielder Cammy Harper who is revelling in his new roll with Zak Delaney covering the left back berth at the moment. Two sublime left peg strikes at Dens Park and and a deft glanced header at Somerset Park last weekend are becoming the trademark of Cammy as he relishes his elevated status.
LATEST TEAM NEWS
Still out will be Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh, Sean Welsh and probably  Austin Samuels although Welsh and Samuels should be back sooner rather that later................ hopefully.
 
Eric's quickie on Partick Thistle:  As alluded to by tm4tj (aka the Boss) I did rather present an epic tome of "War and Peace" proportions to the reader(s) last week regarding squad changes at Ayr United.
This week it's only a one liner. There are no apparent changes to the Partick Thistle squad since the last fixture away to Partick on the 26th of August...... Hooray!
However, Partick are the form team just now with a good blend of experience and quality. Brian Graham has always troubled us with his sheer hammer thrower bulk. Scott Tiffony is a bag of tricks and Anton Dowds will score coming off the bench. Steven Lawless and Stuart Bannigan amongst others provide experience in abundance. They are certainly heading in the right direction at the moment and will be a stern test for the Caley Jags.
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2022-23 ·

Ayr United 0-1 Inverness CT - Report

Ayr Pressure not enough
Ayr started the day three points ahead of Inverness. They would end the day level. Plenty of pressure from the hosts in a dominant first half but the nearest they came to a goal was a Mark Mckenzie header that came off the bar and the same player missed from six yards after being set up by Dipo Akinyemi. Inverness would be relieved to get to the interval on level terms. Cammy Harper glanced in a header just after the break to open the scoring. That's how it ended after a difficult ninety minutes but it's three wins on the bounce on the road.
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Ayr were one of the early leaders ahead of the visit from the Caley Jags. They strengthened their push for promotion by adding the man with the sweet left foot to their squad ahead of this encounter, Logan Chalmers, and he started on the bench today.  Inverness were still without a handful of players although Max Ram played for an hour last week against Brechin City and he and Roddy MacGregor were on the bench after a few weeks out with injury.
Ayr got the game underway and forced two early corners before Andy Murdoch shot wide in the third minute. Inverness responded with Steven Boyd winning a corner from a deflected shot and Ayr cleared the ball effectively.
In the twelfth minute, a Mark McKenzie header hit the bar and out for a goal kick after Josh Mullin had crossed into the box. Big let off for the visitors.
Quarter of an hour gone and the two Mackay's combined before Daniel brings out an excellent save from Albinson at his near post and Murdoch's looped header cleared Mark Ridgers' crossbar as Ayr went forward again.
Billy Mckay sliced wide after Dan Mackay's shot from the left side was blocked and fell for Billy on the volley.
More Ayr pressure saw a Mullin effort blocked and Musonda headed over the subsequent corner midway through the half. Ayr were racking up the corners in the first half with half an hour played, one every three minutes and counting with Sean McGinty next to head wide.
Ten minutes before the break a rare foray forward saw George Oakley and Billy Mckay interact but the latters cut back was cleared by the defence and five minutes before the interval McKenzie should have done better but he shot wide from six yards after good work by Akinyemi. We went in level at the interval but Ayr were knocking on the door with some intent.
 
HALF TIME: 0-0
Having been on the back foot for most of the first forty-five, Inverness stunned Ayr by opening the scoring through Cammy Harper with a glancing header into the bottom corner two minutes after the break from a Boyd cross. Photo from caleyjags.com shows Harper wheeling away after scoring the only goal of the game.
What a start to the second half from the visitors and Oakley had a header saved by Albinson ten minutes later when he met David Carson's cross at the back post. Could easily have been two up.
Substitute Jayden Mitchell-Lawson went close two minutes after coming on, shooting just wide from eighteen yards and Brad Young forced Ridgers into making a save from his header. 
Dodds replaced Dan Mackay with Aaron Doran with some twenty minutes left but it was Ayr substitute Logan Chalmers that shot over soon after with Jordan Houston following suit.
A Dempsey corner looked to be cleared away from the line as Ayr pushed for an equaliser with three minutes remaining and the same player shot over in the dying ember, but that was it as Inverness held out for their third win on the bounce away from home. Another tremendous result on the road for Dodds' men, now level on 14 points with Ayr and third equal in the table.
FULL TIME: 0-1
Ayr will feel aggrieved that they never took anything from that game having created a raft of chances but Harper took his chance well and Oakley could have added a second. Great clearance off the line near the end and a muted penalty appeal from Ayr and I doubt Billy Dodds will be complaining about the result. Good to see Roddy MacGregor getting a few minutes on the park. Onwards and upwards we go.
 
 

 
 
 
 
Date: 01/10/2022  Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr Attendance: 1866 Referee: Colin Steven 
 
Ayr United: 0
Manager: Lee Bullen Lineup:  Albinson; Houston, Musonda, McGinty, Reading, Ashford (Chalmers 61), Murdoch, Dempsey, Mullin (Lawson 61), Akinyemi, McKenzie (Young 61) Subs (not used):  McAdams; O'Connor, Smith, McAllister, Kirk, Bangala Scorers: none Booked: Akinyemi (58) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1
Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup:  Ridgers; Devine, Carson, Deas, Delaney, D Mackay (Doran 69), Allardice, Harper, Boyd (MacGregor 85), Oakley (Shaw ), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Ram, Hyde Scorers: Harper (47) Booked: Carson (65) Sent Off: none a

By tm4tj in Reports 2022-23 ·

Ayr United -V- Inverness CT - Preview

On the road again
 
As Canned Heat once said, we're on the road again. It's our third Championship away day on the trot as we head for Somerset Park to take on one of the early pacesetters in Ayr United. Our last two league games went well, but a drab Challenge Cup tortuous affair against Brechin City has taken the gloss of those league performances. Kick-off is at 3:00pm across the Championship this weekend and victory for Inverness on Saturday would put us level with the Honest Men on fourteen points. On the other hand, defeat would leave us trailing the leaders by six points.
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MATCH/TICKET INFO
SUPPORTERS BUS 07462 218717 £20
 
 
Venue H2H v Ayr United Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 10 10 2 36 22 +14 Away 23 10 6 7 44 30 +14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 45 20 16 9 80 52 +28 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United
2 - 2
(A)
1 - 2
(H)
2 - 2
(A)
1 - 0
(H)
2 - 2
(H)
2 - 0
(A)
1 - 1
(H)
0 - 1
(A)
2 - 0
(H)
2 - 0
(A) Fairly even last season but our overall Head2Head v Ayr shows that we hold the Indian sign over them, although it's much closer at Somerset Park.
Biggest Victories (click on scores to see reports) Apr 24th, 2010 League (A) 7 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Nov 28th, 2001 League Cup (Quarter Final) (A) 1 - 5  
Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Partick Thistle 7 4 2 1 16 10 14 2. Ayr United 7 4 2 1 14 10 14 3. Queens Park 7 4 1 2 12 11 13 4. Inverness CT 7 3 2 2 11 9 11 5. Dundee 7 3 1 3 13 11 10 6. Raith Rovers 7 3 0 4 8 10 9 7. Morton 7 2 2 3 6 7 8 8. Hamilton Ac. 7 1 4 2 7 10 7 9. Cove Rangers 7 1 2 4 9 13 5 10. Arbroath 7 1 2 4 5 10 5 SATURDAY 1ST OCTOBER
Ayr United v Inverness   
     Cove v Arbroath
Accies v Dundee
Partick v Morton 
Queens v Rovers  
Last Time Out
Last league game for Inverness was a satisfying 2-3 win at Dens Park after coming from behind. Cammy Harper was the hero with a couple of sublime left foot strikes from distance and Billy Mckay from the spot just before the interval. Coming off the back of a 0-2 win at Starks Park, eyebrows were raised slightly, but a thoroughly deflating Challenge Cup draw with Brechin City has brought us back down to earth with a bang. Still, we did go through on penalties so that was a bonus.
Ayr United's last league game saw them lose 3-2 to Raith Rovers, going down to a late goal after Brad Young and Andy Murdoch had tied the score at two apiece. That was a disappointing result for Lee Bullen's men after they had just beaten Morton, Dundee and Cove Rangers in the previous three games. Last week Morton gained some revenge by knocking Ayr out of the Challenge cup after a 1-1 draw and a penalty shoot-out.
Latest Team News
We still have a handful of players out injured, mainly Sutherland, Walsh, Welsh, MacGregor, Samuels............ Max Ram returned against Brechin City and played for an hour, coming through unscathed but is not 100% fit. Four or five were also rested last week and I would expect to see Billy Mckay, Mark Ridgers and David Carson back in the starting XI.
Straight from the horses mouth, here's Billy 🦓
 
 
Eric has written a book about Ayr (also available in hardback 😂)
Useless facts; of the Championship teams, Ayr United have the largest squad at 28, the lowest average age of 22.7 years and the highest percentage of foreign players 39.3% (11 players).
With manager Lee Bullen arriving halfway through last season there were, at my count, 33 players that went through the books as he sought to avoid the relegation zone. Who knew 
The last tranche of players to leave Somerset Park were.
Mateusz Miller a young keeper has joined East Kilbride reserves.
From the backs gone are Jack Baird off to Morton, Aaron Muirhead on a free to Partick, James Maxwell loan period from Rangers concluded and Blaine Rowe another loan player returned to parent club Coventry City.
Midfield player Alex Kenyon is now with Chester FC and Kerr McInroy back to Celtic after loan.
Front man Tomi Adeloye departed to Swindon Town and left winger Ryan Gondoh is now at Sevenoaks FC.
Drafted into the Ayr squad at the start of this season:
A pair of centre backs, Frankie Musonda who was at Raith Rovers the last couple of seasons and Alex Kirk on loan from Arsenal U21, he was also in youth and U18 squads.
In the middle of the park there are a number of additions.
David Bangala defensive midfield arrives from Latvian side FK Pohronie, spent formative years with French sides.
Central midfielder Ben Dempsey has made his move to Ayr after a short loan there last season.
Carter Jenkins has been promoted to the first team squad from the U18 set up, another defensive midfielder.
Josh Mullin is on loan from Livingston and was at Hamilton last season.
Attacking midfield player Jayden Mitchell-Lawson signed from Swindon Town was a product of the Derby youth system.
On the right-wing Dario Viviani is another player stepping up from Ayr U18s.
Dipo Akinyemi is a centre forward brought in from Welling United, he is a man of many clubs in the National League South, 6th tier of English football.
Having come through the Aston Villa youth teams Brad Young is a centre forward on loan for the season.
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2022-23 ·

Inverness CT 3(4pens)-3(3pens) Brechin City - Ch/Cup

Brechin pay the Penalty
 
Prior to today, Brechin had only won twice at Inverness in ten encounters. This was a close one that went to penalties to decide who went into the hat for the fourth round draw. Inverness got off to the perfect start through George Oakley in the fifth minute to open the scoring. However, Kevin McHattie levelled the score with a great strike into the top corner after half an hour. Ten minutes before the break Oakley caught the side netting after being fed through by Duffy. A couple of minutes later Nathan Shaw put the hosts back in front. Half Time 2-1. Oakley scored from the spot just after the break, but it was far from job done. Two late strikes from Grady McGrath and Euan Spark took the game to penalties where Inverness just got over the line 4-3.
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The first meeting between the sides since 2018 had a low key approach to it. Inverness had Max Ram back in for a start after an early season injury in the League Cup against Kelty Hearts saw him miss the next two months. Billy & Bazza made a number of changes to the side that beat Dundee a week earlier. Cammy Mackay came in for Mark Ridgers with Nathan Shaw, Lewis Hyde and Dan's younger brother Calum all starting. Keith Bray and Mathew Strachan were part of a strong bench for the hosts (Ridgers; Carson, Deas, Allardice, D Mackay, B Mckay, Boyd, Strachan, Bray). Andy Kirk's Brechin had former Inverness players Kevin McHattie and Anthony McDonald in their squad and will be in confident mood after scoring ten goals in their last two games, both away from home. Good to see both these players back performing well on the park after careers disrupted by serious injuries. Aaron Arnott makes his debut for City after coming in on loan from Raith Rovers and Michael McArthur comes back into the starting XI after missing out last week. McHattie started with McDonald on the bench.
An early tap in from George Oakley after a great save by keeper Wilson from a Max Ram header set Inverness up nicely but former Inverness defender Kevin McHattie levelled the scores after half an hour with a great curling strike into the top corner from twenty yards. Ten minutes before the break Nathan Shaw put Inverness ahead after Oakley pressurised defender Nathan Cooney into making a costly error before passing to Shaw to score his second goal for the club and that's how it stood at the interval.
HALF TIME: 2-1
  Oakley converted from the spot 3 minutes after the interval when Duffy was fouled in the box by Cooney. Shaw did well on a couple of occasions after the break but it was Brechin that pulled a goal back through Grady McGrath when he slotted in after Scott set him up with twenty minutes remaining. With ten minutes left they were level after Euan Spark knocked home following a corner. Inverness searched for a winner but time ran out and it went to penalties. Cammy Mackay made a crucial brilliant save from Ryan McInnes in the shoot out then Robbie Deas blasted home his spot kick, and that was the difference.         FULL TIME 3-3   Penalties: Brechin City: Bain❌, McGrath✔️, Loudon✔️, Inglis✔️, McInnes❌ - 3   Inverness CT: B Mckay✔️, Oakley❌, Boyd✔️, Allardice✔️, Deas✔️ - 4   The opening goal was Oakley's 20th goal for the Caley Jags. Incidentally, his first goal was also against Brechin City in a 3-0 league cup win in July 2017 in the 57th minute. Credit to Brechin for making a come back when heads could have dropped just after the interval when Oakley scored his second goal.
By all accounts a miserable performance by a side without a number of first picks starting. The only consolation is that we are in the next round, but performances like that won't see us go far in this competition. School report:  Must try harder 
 
It's no pretty, but we're in the next round
From CTO: Awful performance.   At 3-1 I thought like most that it was game over despite our midfield setup being so poor. But to concede 2 goals and almost another was criminal, I can't even think apart from Oakley any player that deserved a pass mark! Lethargic, Clueless wrong tactics and player choice made it difficult viewing for the fans....
Well that was painful. 3-1 up and we throw that away. The whole attitude was wrong today. They thought they just had to turn up. No drive,energy,tempo or hunger to win. Passing woeful. This was a great chance for the fringe players to show what they could do and they blew it...
Here's Bazza
 
Date: 24/09/2022  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 832 Referee: Barry Cook 
 
Inverness CT: 3 (4 pens)
Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup:  C Mackay; Duffy, Devine (Allardice 45), Ram (D Mackay 62), Delaney, Shaw, Hyde, Harper (Deas 45), Doran (B Mckay 83) Callum Mackay (Boyd 62), Oakley Subs (not used):  Ridgers; Carson, Strachan, Bray Scorers: Oakley (6, 47pen), Shaw (38) Booked: none Sent Off: none Brechin City: 3 (3 pens)
Manager: Andy Kirk Lineup:  Wilson; McHattie, Cooney, Northcott, Spark (90+1), Scott (Inglis 90+2), McArthur (Loudon 25), MacLeod, Cruickshank, Arnott (Bain 67), McGrath Subs (not used): Easton; Thomson, McDonald, Naglik Scorers: McHattie (28), McGrath (72), Spark (78) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2022-23 ·

Inverness -V- Brechin City - Ch/Cup

If you like a challenge
 
We host Brechin City this Saturday in the Challenge Cup, or SPFL Trust Trophy if you prefer, but remember to set your alarm clock early as it's a 2:00pm kick-off. This is Brechin's third game in this competition having ousted Hibernian colts and Stirling Albion in previous rounds. Both games went to penalties with City prevailing. Inverness are thrice winners of the Challenge Cup if you include the joint affair with Raith Rovers.
MATCH/TICKET INFO
Over the years we hold a massive advantage over the Hedgers and they now find themselves plying their trade in the Highland League after dropping out of League Two in May 2021 after losing out in the play-off to Kelty Hearts. However, wins breed confidence and they have started this season with a flourish, winning all seven of their Highland League games scoring 17 goals, conceding only twice. Our last fixture against Brechin was a Championship game back in 2018 when Inverness ran out 4 - 0 winners over a side heading for relegation having picked up only four points during the 2017/2018 season with four draws. George Oakley was one of our scorers in that game.
Out of the SPFL:  On 23 May 2021, Brechin lost 3–1 on aggregate to Lowland League side Kelty Hearts in the relegation playoffs, dropping down to the Highland League, the club's first spell out of the national leagues in 67 years. In June 2021, after the departure of player/manager Michael Paton, the club appointed Andy Kirk to the role of club manager. In the club's first season in the Highland League, they secured a respectable third-place finish. (Wikipedia)
Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 10 7 1 2 25 5 +20 Away 8 5 2 1 17 9 +8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 18 12 3 3 42 14 +28  
Last Time Out
We had a tremendous result at Dens Park against the background of some powderpuff performances over the previous few weeks. An encouraging 2-0 win at Starks Park in the game before ignited a wee spark of optimism and a hard fought 3-2 win at Dundee followed, despite going behind early doors. Cammy Harper was the hero with two sublime strikes from distance to add to Billy Mckay's penalty just before the break. Chances at both ends in an open game where we eventually got on top and deservingly took all three points.
Our goals at Dundee. BOOM!

Brechin's tremendous start to the season continued with high fives all round. Their last two fixtures saw them trounce Strathspey Thistle 0-5 in the Highland League followed by a 1-5 defeat of Jeanfield Swifts in the Scottish Cup at the Riverside Stadium. Note that former Inverness player Anthony McDonald was instrumental in this game and scored City's third goal. And full back Kevin McHattie is also back playing after his injury problems.
Here's Brechin putting five past Swifts in a second half blitz...
Lenny Wilson: Kevin McHattie, Nathan Cooney⚽, Marc Scott, Grady McGrath⚽, Michael Cruickshank, Fraser MacLeod, Anthony McDonald⚽, Ewan Loudon, Jordan Northcott⚽, Euan Spark⚽
Latest Team News
Usual suspects out for Inverness but maybe an opportunity to give some fringe players some game time and rest some weary legs for the bigger picture. Cammy Mackay may be in line for the keepers gloves. Max Ram is possibly the only recovering player that may get a run out with younger fringe players also getting involved.
Eric's Brechin catch-up
" Manager Andy Kirk has made a number of additions over the summer mostly from the junior ranks or lower league sides, he has however secured a loan deal for a promising youngster Aaron Arnott from Raith Rovers. Arnott only transferred on 7th September and has yet to make an appearance for the Glebe Park side"
One or two recognisable names around Glebe Park. Euan Spark formerly with Dundee United and Dunfermline, Anthony McDonald and Kevin McHattie both  ex ICT. They also have had Rogue defender *Iain Davidson* of Raith Rovers red card fame. *update* Fortunately for the ref and our players, Davidson may have left Brechin recently. Anyway, they have a good blend of youth experience and confidence which may well be enough to see them back in league 2 at the end of the season.
They will have to do it without star midfielder Seth Patrick. The Zimbabwean has returned home for personal reasons after some great performances for City. (maybe he fell out with Davidson)  
It's only the main stand that will be open for this game and tickets are available now online from ictfc.tickethour.co.uk, the Club Shop (Monday-Friday)10am-4pm and you can buy them over the phone on 01463 222880 Ticket Prices:- Adults: £10. Concessions (Over 65s & Students): £8 Under 12s: Free*Disabled Carers: Free
 
 
 
 
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2022-23 ·

Dundee 2-3 Inverness CT - Report

Harper stuns Dundee
 
The first meeting of the sides this season ended in victory for the visitors. Dundee took an early lead through Sweeney but Cammy Harper levelled almost immediately with a curling shot from outside the box. Austin Samuels day was over five minutes before the interval. Just on the break Billy Mckay scored from the spot to put the visitors ahead after Harper had been fouled. Paul McMullan made it all square ten minutes after the interval although that goal has now been attributed to Joe Grayson. However, man of the match Harper restored the visitors advantage from twenty-five yards with seven minutes left. That ended the scoring and sealed the points before Sweeney was sent off for a second bookable offence as the game slipped away from Dundee.
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Inverness were without Sutherland, Walsh, Duffy, Welsh, and MacGregor but Austin Samuels was deemed fit enough to start with Aaron Doran making the bench.
New Dens manager Gary Bowyer had Zach Robinson as the main attacking threat with thorn in our side Paul McMullan one of the providers. Zak Rudden was on the bench.
A minutes silence was held prior to kick-off as a mark of respect for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
 
An early corner for the hosts saw Billy Mckay brilliantly clear the ball off his line whilst lying on the deck with a double block. The corner had been headed towards goal in a crowded box by Ashcroft and flicked on by Robinson two yards out. Mckay kept the header out and as he went to ground Robinson reacted quick to hook a left footed shot goalwards. Miraculously Mckay was in the right place at the post to keep the ball out. Incredibly one Dundee player claimed the ball was over the line. That's remarkable eyesight from thirty yards away in a crowded box.
The opening goal would come from another corner in another crowded box minutes later. Grayson's corner may well have come off an Inverness player before entering the net. Difficult to spot with around fourteen players inside the six-yard box. Sweeny given the credit at the moment.
Inverness responded three minutes later after a clearance from a corner was miscued. The ball was then laid back to Cammy Harper by Robbie Deas to the edge of the D where Harper curled a precision strike into the keepers top right corner via Sharp's fingertips. What a strike!
Yet another corner for Dundee caused problems in the Inverness box as the rugby style scrum rush saw Ashcroft's header tipped over the bar by Mark Ridgers.
Austin Samuels was replaced by Aaron Doran five minutes before the interval and Sweeney got his first card for crudely upending Mckay who was skipping past him on the right wing after sucking the defender in. 
Harper created and won a penalty after bursting into the Dundee box only for keeper Sharp to rashly bring him down. Mckay was faultless from the spot as Sharp went the wrong way and that was half time.
HALF TIME: 1-2
We almost went two ahead just after the break after Harper caused problems with a drive into the box, When the ball came back in a massive scrambulation ensued with Doran amazingly unable to turn the ball into the net as bodies threw themselves between him and the goal line three yards away before Sharp grabbed the loose ball.
Dan Mackay was getting forward well and he fired a shot just over the bar from the left angle of the box after cutting inside. Billy Mckay would go even closer from a tighter angle on the left as he hooked a volley just over from ten yards.
Dundee levelled the game when McMullan shot for goal after a corner was retrieved and it appears that Joe Grayson was the last to stab the ball into the net.
McMullan saw an effort saved comfortably by Ridgers as Dundee looked to get back in front. We had our own melee in our box as Dundee went on the front foot, a couple of blocks and timely interventions keeping them at bay.
Inverness went back in front again and it was that man Harper once more with another tremendous strike from twenty-two yards. Doran held the ball well down the left side. When he played the ball inside up stepped Harper to drill a low shot across the keeper from the edge of the D into Sharps bottom left corner. Exquisite!

The game was now slipping away from Dundee and when Sweeney clumsily brought down Delaney on a seventy-yard run it was game over for Dundee and Sweeney who was given a second yellow and a red card for an early bath.
FULL TIME: 2-3
A fabulous result for Inverness after a couple of lacklustre performances with Cammy Harper outstanding. Two tremendous goals and an assist for the penalty. Much more belief and much more passion on display. Defending from front to back with strikers willing to put their bodies on the line for the cause
CTO Mantis:  Dundee dominated but tbh Ridgers never had a lot to do. Deas and Devine won nearly everything they could throw at us from their many free kicks and corners. McMullan was probably their best player. Looked a bit ominous when they were able to throw on players like McGinn, Rudden and McGowan but after the red card we just took the p1ss. Delaney looks like being a player 
 
 
 
MotM Cammy Harper
 
 
 
Date: 17/09/2022  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 4396 Referee: Peter Stuart
 
Dundee FC: 2
Manager: Gary Bowyer Lineup:  Sharp; French, Sweeney, McGhee, Marshall, Ashcroft, Mulligan (McGinn 70), Robinson (Rudden 70), McMullan, Williamson (McGowan 56), Grayson Subs (not used):  Legzdins; Kerr, Sheridan, Strachan, Cameron, Anderson Scorers: Sweeney (12), McMullan Grayson(55) Booked: Grayson (16), Sweeney (42), Williamson (57), Sweeney (89) Sent Off: Sweeney (89) Inverness CT: 3
Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup:  Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Deas, Delaney, D Mackay (Hyde 86),  Allardice, Harper, Samuels (Doran 40), Boyd, B Mckay (Oakley 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ram, Shaw, C Mackay Scorers: Harper (15, 83), B Mckay (45+2 pen) Booked: Deas or Devine (5), Ridgers (56) Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2022-23 ·

Dundee -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Dundee Test
 
We head down the road to the City of Discovery this Saturday to discover that Dens Park is now the Kilmac Stadium. What next? The game is scheduled for a 3:00pm kick-off with away fans being housed in the Bob Shankly Stand in what will be a tough encounter for the recovering Caley Jags after a shaky couple of weeks where optimism was replaced by pessimism. However a welcome three points at Raith Rovers has lifted spirits and hopefully we are  getting back on track.
MATCH/TICKET/SUPPORTERS BUS INFO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 16 7 8 1 27 15 +12 Away 19 6 8 5 25 23 +2 Neutral 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 Total 37 13 16 8 54 42 +12 Surprisingly, the stats show that we have had the better of Dundee both home and away. The most recent scores are fairly even with Dundee just edging it. The two neutral venue wins both went the way of Dundee in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 2003 and the Final of the Challenge Cup (Alba Cup) at McDiarmid Park Perth in 2009, where the Dark Blues edged out Inverness 3-2.
FROM HEROES TO ZERO'S:
Report by Hislopsoffsideagain

Heroes at half-time: Zero's at the final whistle. Two up and coasting at the break, Inverness Caledonian Thistle suffered an extraordinary second half collapse and threw away their chance at a second Challenge Cup title, crashing 3-2 to Dundee.

ICT had raced into a deserved half time lead thanks to goals from Adam Rooney and Nauris Bulvitis, and probably should have been further ahead. However, the scores were level within seven second half minutes after a Bulvitis own goal and a Gary Harkins strike, and Craig Forsyth popped up late on to score the winner. In front of 8,000 fans, this author predicted that both sides would be nervous and the match would be cagey from the off. Dundee followed that script; Inverness had other ideas.

Terry Butcher had made only one change from the side which beat Airdrie United last week, with Jonny Hayes replacing Dougie Imrie. It quickly looked like a masterstroke, as the opening period might better have been known as The Jonathan Hayes Show. ICT came flying out of the traps, and dominated the early stages as their opponents looked nervous and worried. Hayes was at the centre of everything good, tormenting his full-back. He created the first chance of the match for Richie Foran, latching onto Grant Munro’s long diagonal pass and firing the ball across the face of the box. Foran, however, could only knock the ball into the side netting with the goal gaping. That spurned opportunity only served to spur Caley Thistle on. Danni Sanchez was to come even closer, smacking an Adam Rooney cutback against the crossbar. Like with Foran, he probably should have scored, but it was clear a goal was coming, and there was no surprise that Hayes was the creator; cutting in off the right flank, his inswinger cross was met by Adam Rooney’s forehead and the ball flew into the net. It was no less than ICT deserved for a blistering start. Dundee threatened on occasion, with a fabulous Munro block deflecting Sean Higgins’ header wide, but Inverness showed no interest in sitting on their lead. Bulvitis looked to have doubled the advantage when he flicked a loose ball home after Rab Douglas had dropped a corner, only for the referee to rule the Dundee keeper had been fouled. But the Latvian had the ball in the net again soon after, and this time it stood. Dundee made a hash of another set piece, and Grant Munro flicked the ball back into the danger zone for his centre-half partner to knock past Douglas from point-blank range. Dundee looked stunned, Caley were ecstatic. The hitherto quiet Harkins had a half-chance to get one back, but shot wide after Esson had flapped at a cross. As the first forty-five drew to a close, Inverness might have been even further clear. Sanchez wriggled free in midfield and played in Rooney, but his fierce shot was brilliantly blocked by Douglas’ right hand, the veteran using all his experience and size to deny the Highlanders a third goal. That save would turn out to be critical. But when the half time whistle blew, Inverness fans celebrated as if the game was won. Sadly, it turned out that most of the players were thinking along the same lines.

Half Time: Dundee 0-2 Inverness CT

It was no surprise that Dundee manager Jocky Scott fired a rocket up his underperforming side, but Terry Butcher’s words appeared to have the same effect as a heavy dose of rohypnol. Dundee made no changes at the break, but within seven minutes they were back level, and without having to break sweat. First Richie Hart got the ball on the right and, with Golabek standing off him, he whipped in a dangerous cross which Bulvitis, under pressure from Higgins, headed into his own net. Cue the familiar scenes of confusion and arguing amongst the defenders. But the warnings were not heeded, as Forsyth wandered down the right, and his shot was palmed by Esson straight to the feet of Harkins, with the former Partick man making no mistake from six yards. Inverness looked shell-shocked, and Butcher’s decision to replace Sanchez with the more defensive Lee Cox stank of shutting the door after the horse had bolted. Dundee continued to look more threatening, with Leigh Griffiths the next to pass up a chance; the forward took advantage of Ross Tokely’s failure to intercept a through ball, but Esson managed to get a hand on the ball as he attempted to round the keeper. But with little attacking threat from ICT, there was little surprise that the winner came for Dundee. With seven minutes left, Harkins turned creator – from the Dundee right flank again – and cut the ball back for Forsyth to smash into the top corner. There was no sign of a comeback, even when Butcher turned to his bench in the dying seconds to send on Eric Odhiambo and Dougie Imrie. The latter had time to make an impact of sorts; an appalling lunge from behind on Pat Clarke saw him sent off only four minutes after his arrival. Caley’s hopes of a dramatic equalizer went down the tunnel with him.

Full Time: Dundee 3-2 Inverness CT

As the Dark Blues celebrated, we were left in bewilderment as we navigated the wet A9 back North; how on earth did we manage to blow that?

The patented Hislopsoffsideagain Man Of The Match Award There were eleven candidates for this at half-time; there were considerably fewer at the end. Adam Rooney probably shades it after an energetic effort with a deserved goal, while Russell Duncan also put in a phenomenal shift and, as stated above, Jonny Hayes was greased lightning early on but faded as the match progressed.
Last 10 Competitive Meetings
1 - 1
(H)
1 - 2
(A)
2 - 2
(H)
2 - 0
(A)
1 - 0
(H)
0 - 0
(A)
0 - 1
(A)
0 - 1
(H)
2 - 2
(A)
2 - 0
(A) Biggest Victories May 14th, 2016 League (H) 4 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Aug 17th, 1994 League Cup (Rd 2) (A) 0 - 3 Highest Attendance Apr 20th, 2003 Scottish Cup (Semi-Final) (N) 14,429 Highest Home Attendance May 1st, 2010 League (H) 6,031 SATURDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER
Dundee v Inverness 
Hamilton v Queen's Pk
Morton v Arbroath 
Partick v Cove      
Rovers v Ayr Utd  
Last Time Out
Dundee saw off Queens Park 3-0. Two first half goals from Zach Robinson and a third from Zak Rudden did the damage and that puts the Dark Blues in third place on eight points, two more than Inverness. 
Inverness went to Starks Park after a mini slump and came away with all three points as we subdued then went on to get the better of Raith Rovers. Scott Allardice opened the scoring from the spot on the hour before Billy Mckay sealed the points at the death with a goal that put him second on his own in our all time scoring chart. That result moved us up to fifth in the table.
Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Ayr United 6 4 2 0 12 7 14 2. Partick Thistle 6 4 1 1 14 8 13 3. Dundee 6 3 1 2 11 8 10 4. Queens Park 6 3 1 2 10 11 10 5. Inverness CT 6 2 2 2 8 7 8 6. Morton 6 2 2 2 5 5 8 7. Hamilton Ac. 6 1 4 1 7 8 7 8. Raith Rovers 6 2 0 4 5 8 6 9. Cove Rangers 6 1 1 4 7 11 4 10. Arbroath 6 0 2 4 3 9 2 Latest Team News
Long Term casualties are still much the same with Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh recuperating. Doran, Samuels and Ram have had a weeks training. Still a reluctance to reveal all which makes me wonder if Sean Welsh might be nearing a return. Who knows, it's all guesswork at the moment, but the extra week off will be beneficial to all those recovering. Here's what Billy had to say about it.
 
Eric's Dundee FC update
Departed from Dundee from last season: Centre backs Zeno Ibsen-Rossi end of loan from Bournemouth and Liam Fontaine transferred to FC Edinburgh. Christie Elliot right back has retired, and fellow right back Vontae Daley-Campbell's loan from Leicester U21 expired. One-time Rangers, Blackpool and Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam is posted as being without a club and may have retired at 36 years of age. Declan McDaid midfielder transferred to Bohemians and forward Danny Mullen is now at Partick Thistle.
New era at Dens Park
After the departure of manager Mark McGhee in his short and unsuccessful period in charge the Board at Dundee appointed Gary Bowyer as his replacement.
Gary Bowyer was a central defender in England with Hereford United, Nottingham Forest and Rotherham before he was forced to retire aged 25 due to injury.
Bowyer then turned to coaching and management spending the majority of that apprenticeship at Blackburn Rovers from 2004 being U18 manager, reserve team manager then progressing to the Senior team between 2012 and 2018. More recently he was manager of Salford FC for 61 games.
A couple of centre backs have been brought in: Joe Grayson on loan from Barrow once a Blackburn U21 player and Tyler French signed from Wrexham. On Loan from Rangers FC is midfielder Ben Williamson who was on loan last season at Raith Rovers. Up front Zak Rudden has made his loan spell from Partick Thistle a permanent move and centre forward Zach Robinson has made a move up north on loan from AFC Wimbledon and he looks to be a big threat having scored twice against Queens Park a couple of weeks ago.
 
Second in line to the throne now.....

 
By tm4tj in Previews 2022-23 ·

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