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Inverness CT 0-0 Raith Rovers - Report

Hard earned point
 
Despite some glaring opportunities for both sides, the score remained blank at the interval. Ugwu sinned a couple of times and Musonda too, but the biggest sinner of all was our own Roddy MacGregor who failed to get the ball past the bodies lying on the goalline from three yards. What an opportunity, what a miss and goalless at the interval. More chances went abegging after the interval and Sean Welsh hit the post with a header. Saves misses and good fortune ensured this entertaining game ended all square. It was not the win we wanted, but trust me this was a massive upgrade from the drivel served up against Morton. The guys got their pride back and played with the passion and desire required to stay in this league.
Neil McCann was looking for a reaction after the dross on display against Morton, in fact since we returned to action after the glut of postponements. It was going to be difficult with Doran, Harper, Vincent and Storey all out and three youngsters on the bench alongside the departing James Keatings and a recovering Kevin McHattie. Raith had wing wizard Kai Kennedy on from the start but Manny Duku was on the bench with Gozie Ugwu starting. Looks like it could be a long night.
The weather was marginally better than it was for the Morton game, but it was still bitterly cold and damp as a depleted Inverness took to the field.
Raith kicked off towards the Kessock Bridge end and Inverness were soon on the back foot with their makeshift side. Ugwu should have scored early but he fresh aired the ball two yards from goal. Musonda had an equally good opportunity after a corner fell to his feet twelve yards out but he scooped his shot just over the bar.
The first Inverness involvement was almost twenty minutes in when a Todorov header at the back post went over and wide when it looked like he should have done better.
Midway through the half the hosts appeared to have weathered the storm and were looking to create something for themselves. We missed an unbelievable opportunity after Kieran Macdonald slid along the goal line and cleared Dan Mackay's effort off the line as it rolled towards the goal. It fell to Roddy MacGregor who turned and shot from inside the six yard box but again the ball was smothered on the line and eventually cleared. What have we got to do to score. More pressure from the hosts and Todorov had a shot charged down for a corner. Good response by our second string.
A tempting ball from Kai Kennedy found Ugwu in prime position in front of Ridgers but he headed just over when he should have hit the target.
Carson did well at the other end and delivered a good cross into the area but Toddy could not get enough purchase on the ball and Macdonald saved comfortably. 
Raith forced a couple of corners just before the interval as Inverness made it to the whistle on level terms.
Half Time: 0-0
Six minutes into the second half and a Carson clearance inside his own box could have gone anywhere. As it was it slipped past his own post; sigh of relied all round. A free kick invited Robbie Deas to have a go but he was deemed offside. An Allardice free kick had just too much on it as the Caley Jags forwards closed in.
A series of fouls saw Inverness get down the left side and Allardice's driven free kick was was bounced behind off Deas for a goal kick.
Determined play by MacGregor down the right and a whipped cross by Carson left Sean Welsh with a headed opportunity,  but his header bounced down and off the post with the keeper beaten. Moments later Shane Sutherland went through one on one with MacDonald but the experienced keeper stood firm and blocked Shane's shot as he tried to lift it into the net. Good spell by Inverness and unfortunate not to be ahead.
Carson not impressed by Kennedy as he went to ground and handbags were exchanged with around 25 minutes left.
Dylan Tait lifted a cut back from the left just over the bar with Ridgers rooted to the spot and Robbie Deas took a knock that required treatment.
Up the park and a turn and strike from Mackay won us a corner and Todorov almost got on the end of the cross but Benedictus was first to the ball to clear as Toddy fouled him.
With ten minutes left the points were still up for grabs by both sides and Ridgers ably assisted by a couple of defenders smothered the ball close to his near post as Raith homed in on his goal along the bye line.
The visitors were pressing hard for the winner and Duku replace Ugwu with five minutes left. Some great defending by the home defence ended with a tremendous save by Ridgers and a scrambulation in the box before the ball was knocked wide.
Last chance fell to Todorov in injury time but his shot from the right side was not struck cleanly enough and MacDonald gathered at his near post.
Full Time 0-0
Well, McCann asked for a response and despite the scoreline he certainly got one. Considering our available squad it was a good point that could easily have been three. David Carson was given MotM by the BBC pundits and few could argue with that. Great contributions from our entire back line and Ridgers was absolutely solid when called into action and took the pressure off the defence with some confidence boosting catches when under pressure. Should we have scored? Yes, probably three or four, but Raith might feel the same.
Onward to Tuesday night with more confidence after a much needed boost tonight with the team showing that they are up for the battle. Well done to all who responded.
Highlights
Positive Neil

Here's Carson talking just after releasing Kai Kennedy from his back pocket

 
Date: 12/03/2021  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Steven McLean
 
Inverness CT: 0
Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup:  Ridgers; B Mckay, Devine, Deas, Allardice, MacGregor, Carson, Allardice, D Mackay, Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used):  C Mackay; Hyde, Nicolson, Harkness, Duffy, Keatings, McHattie,  Scorers: none Booked:  Welsh (38) Mckay (60), D Mackay (82), Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 0
Manager: John McGlynn Lineup:  J MacDonald; Tumilty, Benedictus, Hendry, K MacDonald, Kennedy, Tait, Musonda, Ugwu (Duku 85), King (Armstrong 66) Gullan (Mathews 66) Subs (not used): Thomson; Davidson, Abraham, Spencer Scorers: none Booked: Tumilty (2), K MacDonald (60), Mathews (70), Hendry (78), Taut (90+2) Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2020-21 ·

Inverness CT -V- Raith Rovers - Preview

Down Down Deeper and Down
 
After the lethargic jaded performance on Tuesday night comes the visit of second place Raith Rovers, the first of a double header against the Kirkaldy side who we play again next Tuesday night at Starks Park. First up we are at the Caledonian Stadium where points are at a premium for both clubs but for different reasons. This game can be seen on BBC Scotland on Friday night with a 7:45 kick-off.
This season has been a disaster on and off the park. The pandemic apart, we are at an all time low being beaten regularly by clubs that have struggled to get points off us over the years through all the divisions. Now we can't beat Alloa home or away, Queen of the South, Morton, Arbroath are all jumping on the bandwagon as we struggle to perform and points are being given away like nobodies business. What's going on? Managerless, aimless, leaderless, goalless, headless, gutless, useless, hapless and hopeless are all being used to describe our demise. At this moment in time I don't fancy our chances in a play-off situation with any club, or Buckie Thistle in the Scottish Cup for that matter. It's time to smell the coffee and get our heads out of our ar5e5 before it's too late. Should the unthinkable happen and we get consumed by relegation then that could trigger the death knoll of our club. Part time football beckons, and with that comes anonymity and even less income. It's a slippery slope that's so easy to slide down but one that's very difficult to climb back up.
 
What can be done to halt the slide? Well, picking up three points would be very welcome but that's not so easy given our fixture schedule and small squad. Another factor in all this has been the stop start season and poor playing conditions. I know I know, it's the same for both sides I hear you say, but conditions like the Morton game levelled out the skill factor in favour of the technically poorer squad whilst ensuring we were brought down to a lower level. Yep, it's clutching at straws, but it's all we have at the moment. We need a leader on the park and direction from the dugout. That's not happening at the moment. Injuries have crippled our season and even Pixie Lott makes us look sh!te.
Unfortunately, the league table does not lie and prior to the Raith game we sit second bottom of the table having all but caught up on our games in hand.
    Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 19 13 3 3 46 21 25 42 2. Raith Rovers 17 8 4 5 32 24 8 28 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Queen of the South 19 8 3 8 30 37 -7 27 5. Dundee 17 6 6 5 31 32 -1 24 6. Morton 19 5 7 7 17 24 -7 22 7. Ayr United 18 5 6 7 22 21 1 21 8. Arbroath 19 5 6 8 17 24 -7 21 9. Inverness CT 18 4 8 6 25 23 2 20 10. Alloa Athletic 19 3 5 11 21 42 -21 14  
Saturday games in the Championship, all 3:00pm kick-off.
Dundee v Arbroath
Dunfermline v Morton
Hearts v Ayr United
Queens v Alloa Athletic
Our record over the years against Raith Rovers is one of total dominance. It's almost 21 years since Raith Rovers last won, a 2-1 win in the Highlands when first half goals by Jay Stein and Ivan Mballa were enough to see off a depleted Caley Jags who replied through Paul Sheerin ten minutes before the end. Since then we have been totally dominant winning eighteen games and drawing just three. Unfortunately our recent demise could result in another team changing the balance of power.
 
Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Rovers going back to Saturday, April 24th, 2004 
2 - 0
(H)
3 - 3
(A)
4 - 1
(H)
2 - 1
(H)
1 - 0
(H)
4 - 3
(H)
4 - 0
(A)
1 - 0
(H)
1 - 0
(A)
1 - 0
(A)  
We played Rovers in a League Cup game at the start of the season and that ended in an entertaining 3-3 draw with Rovers getting the penalty shoot-out bonus point. The second encounter was the first game with fans allowed in. A covid restricted crowd saw Inverness tame the high scoring Rovers and emerge from the game with a deserved 2-0 win with goals from James Keatings and Scott Allardice. We sat 5th in the table after that game, only three points behind Raith in second place. After trouncing Queen of the South the following week at Palmerston we were level with Raith on ten points. There was little evidence of the slump that was about to follow once the postponements set in. We even managed to draw with Dundee, surrendering a lead to a late goal. Then came Alloa. They hold the Indian sign over us recently and if that is our benchmark, then the rot set in after another failure to beat the Wasps. Only one win in ten games since the defeat to Alloa, and that was something of a surprise result at Ayr.
That is simply not the form of a team looking for promotion, but it certainly smacks of relegation. A couple of the players have been speaking in the local press, Allardice and Duffy have used the word embarrassing and I can't disagree with that. They are implying that it's all down to the players to dig their way out of this hole. I can't disagree with that. Allardice added we should forget all talk about promotion, can't disagree with that either, he is spot on. I suppose it's good to know that the players realise we have a problem. Let's see if we get a reaction to our dismal performance against Morton where the most disappointing aspect was our inability to create enough chances coupled with some bog standard Caley Jags shoddy defending. Time to change the record guys. Brad Mckay is another who has stuck his oar in as he said "if anyone thinks Inverness Caledonian Thistle doesn’t care about bouncing back from their poor form and fighting against relegation, they’re wrong." Well, the fans are waiting guys, show us you care and let's get a result please, preferably a positive one!
Championship Managerial Merry go Round: I see that Morton and Ayr United have made their moves to escape relegation. Morton have dumped Antone McElhone from the gaffers seat since they beat us and in comes the experienced Gus McPherson.  Ayr United have signed on former Livingston and Morton manager David Hopkin. Meanwhile, we have under fire Neil McCann still helping out. Arbroath's manager Dick Campbell has been awarded Manager of the Month after a series of great results in February. Three wins and two draws tipped the scales in Dick's favour. Makes our 1-1 draw at Gayfield feel like a result!
***Latest Team News***
Neil McCann will have to decide whether he plays James Keatings or leaves him out against his future employers. Aaron Doran managed some game time against Morton but it was under difficult conditions. Kevin McHattie made the bench with Lewis Toshney on it for the previous game, so hopefully these defenders will be ready for selection soon as we need a steady hand at the back to compliment the brashness of youth. Up front we missed the pace of Miles Storey against Morton.
Raith Rovers have been steadily building their squad and have a few to look out for. We are well aware of the trickery of Kai Kennedy, something we sadly lack since he left us. He will be joined next season by James Keatings who has signed a pre-contract at Stark's Park. Hell mend him! Manny Duku was well policed last time at Inverness but he is a goal threat. Raith will be without the services of defender Fernandy Mendy for three weeks as 'Nando' has been called up to play in the African Nations Cup for Guinea Bissau, which means he misses tonight's game at Inverness.
More Pre-Match info/video will be added when available...
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2020-21 ·

Inverness CT 0-1 Morton - Report

Abysmal, a new low!
 
A stormy evening saw no goals at the break. Todorov came closest when he hit the post just before the interval. Could it get worse? The answer was yes when Aidan Nesbitt drilled a low shot into the net from the edge of the box with Inverness unable to make any headway. With twenty minutes left you could see the game slowly drifting away from the hosts. Sutherland hit the woodwork again and Todorov's follow up 'goal' was ruled out.
Morton came North on the back of a poor run of form to meet a side with similar problems, hence both sides are languishing perilously close to the foot of the league. Something was going to give.
Neil McCann was still looking for his first win in the Caley Jags dugout in this his fourth game in temporary control. He was without Miles Storey and Cameron Harper with Kevin McHattie making the bench alongside Aaron Doran. No sign of Storey or Lewis Toshney.  The visitors were without defender Lewis Strapp, Robbie Muirhead and striker Kalvin Orsi. Anton McElhone shook his squad around but somewhat surprisingly Aidan Nesbitt was in the starting XI.
A bitterly cold night saw the sides emerge to a stiff breeze with Morton shooting towards the Kessock Bridge end. And they were first to probe into the box when Sterling slipped past Brad Mckay but the defence mopped up. Sterling's pace looks like it will cause problems and he forced Mark Ridgers into a comfortable save in the early exchanges. 
A tentative opening quarter to the game saw the keepers underworked at either end of the park. Petty fouls and misplaced passes were the order of the day but Inverness were fortunate when Morton broke on the left but Sterling's header was glanced wide as the rain started to fall.
Poor decision making saw most moves break down in the final third as the hosts probed for an opening with half an hour gone. The weather was not helping but it was easy to see how both sides were struggling in a stop start game.
Ten minutes before the break a long ball forward by Sutherland found Roddy Macgregor chasing into the box and McAdams was brought into action at last as he saved Roddy's low shot from the right side of the box. Poor keeper must have been frozen prior to that.
Four minutes before the break Nikolay Todorov hit the top of the post from close range at the far side of the box after determined play by Keatings created an opening for the big striker who got his shot away at the second attempt. The same player earned a yellow just before the interval when a long ball into the box appeared to be handled by Toddy. As it was the ball bounced over the bar and Toddy was booked.
Half Time: 0-0
The stiff breeze had grown into a blustery swirling mini storm with relentless driving rain as the teams came out for the second half.
Ridgers was early into action as Nesbitt drilled a low shot goalwards after good work by Sterling but the keeper saved comfortably.
Aaron Doran made a welcome return to match action after injury as he replaced Keatings ten minutes into the second half.
The much maligned Aidan Nesbitt opened the scoring with a low shot from a similar position to his effort five minutes earlier, the ball drilled low behind Ridgers and against the run of play the visitors were ahead with the Caley Jags ball watching.
Wallace Duffy forced a corner with a good burst down the right but it came to nothing, as did most of our feeble efforts. In truth we were struggling badly against a mediocre Morton side who almost doubled their advantage from a corner, but the ball was headed just over with Ridgers spectating.
Allardice picked up his sixth booking of the season as we entered the final ten minutes and Deas followed him into the book.
As desperation set in Sutherland rifled a low shot straight at the keeper from twenty yards with the game slipping away from us.
We almost snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat as Sutherland cracked the ball off the bar and when Toddy followed up and headed into the net his 'goal was ruled offside. Meh!
Full Time: 0-1
What a shitfest of a game and result. Absolutely hapless and at the moment we are deserving everything we are getting, and that is zilch. We really look jaded.
Forget looking up the table, we need to concentrate on the bottom. This is pretty much a low  point after 26 years of giving it a go 
 
 
More reaction to follow....

 
 
 
Date: 09/03/2021  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Gavin Ross 
 
Inverness CT: 0
Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup:  Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Devine, Deas, MacGregor, Carson (D Mackay 65), Allardice, Keatings (Doran 53), Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used):  Mackay; Nicolson, McHattie, Fyffe, Welsh Scorers: none Booked:  B Mckay(38), Todorov (45+1), Carson (60) Allardice (81), Deas (83) Sent Off: none Morton: 1
Manager: Anton McElhone (interim) Lineup:  McAdams; Ledger, Fjørtoft,  McLean, McGinty, Jacobs, McGuffie, Colville (Omar 89), Lyon (Blues 84), Nesbitt (Salkeld 89), Sterling Subs (not used): Millar, Oliver, Johnson, Hynes Scorers: Nesbitt (56) Booked: Colville (27) Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2020-21 ·

Inverness CT -V- Morton - Preview

Morton Catch-Up
 
No rest for the wicked and we face Morton at the Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night, the game kicking-off at 7:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV. In this cut-throat league we have got to the stage where a play-off slot is achievable. Unfortunately, that's more likely at the wrong end of the table although both options are still available with only ten games left for us. We could go a long way to relieving some of the pressure on ourselves by beating Morton who have fallen just below us in the table, but we are Caley Jags and we don't take the easy options.
    Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 19 13 3 3 46 21 25 42 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 3 5 32 24 8 27 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Queen of the South 19 8 3 8 30 37 -7 27 5. Dundee 17 6 6 5 31 32 -1 24 6. Arbroath 19 5 6 8 17 24 -7 21 7. Inverness CT 17 4 8 5 25 22 3 20 8. Ayr United 17 5 5 7 22 21 1 20 9. Morton 18 4 7 7 16 24 -8 19 10. Alloa Athletic 19 3 5 11 21 42 -21 14  
OFFICIAL PREVIEW
 
Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Morton back to April 2018
2 - 2
(A)
3 - 2
(H)
1 - 2
(A)
3 - 1
(H)
5 - 0
(H)
2 - 2
(A)
1 - 0
(H)
2 - 1
(A)
1 - 1
(H)
3 - 0
(A) On Saturday we battled from behind to earn a draw at Alloa after Innes Cameron had given the hosts the lead. Nikolay Todorov replied for the Caley Jags before the Interval and that's how it ended. Both keepers made decent saves and that's the reason there was no further scoring. Well that and a couple of shocking misses. Good to see Lewis Toshney involved with the squad, even it was just sitting on the bench. His experience could be useful in the final few games of the season.
Since drawing 2-2 with us in January, Morton have failed to win in five games although a couple of deserved draws with Hearts and Dundee have been undermined by poor results against Arbroath and Raith Rovers. However a 0-2 defeat from Ayr United at the weekend has dumped Morton below Ayr and Inverness although there is only one point in it. 
Both sides are in a rut at the moment. Neither side has an out and out goal scorer, both sides have only four wins and are flirting with the relegation zone and both sides need the points. What could possibly go wrong?
There is one other game tonight in the Championship as Raith Rovers take on Ayr United at Stark's Park which is also a 7:00pm kick-off. Dunfermline v Dundee is postponed due to a covid outbreak at East End Park with players having to self isolate.
***Latest Team News***
Neil McCann: We have a doubt over Cameron Harper who was precautionarily substituted at Alloa. Better news is that Aaron Doran is back training. Todorov and Sutherland are our top scorers this season with five apiece and Raith bound James Keatings has four. Scott Allardice is our most booked player with five yellow's.
Antone McElhone used these players in the home defeat to Ayr United: McAdams, Ledger, McLean, McGinty, Strapp (Muirhead 50′), Jacobs, McGuffie (Johnson 65′), Colville (Sterling 65′), Blues, Nesbitt, Salkeld.
Left back Lewis Strapp is a doubt for Morton after he was injured in the game against Ayr United where Robbie Muirhead replaced him after fifty minutes. A foot injury could see Strapp miss this one.
Kalvin Orsi, Cameron Blues and Craig McGuffie are the Ton's top scorers with three goals each this season.
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2020-21 ·

Alloa Athletic 1-1 Inverness CT - Report

Toddy earns the point
 
Alloa's man of the moment Innes Cameron opened the scoring in the 17th minute driving home from fifteen yards before Nikolay Todorov levelled with an equally tidy finish ten minutes later. Alloa had the better of the chances thereafter but it was level at the break. Inverness ramped up the performance after the interval but were unable to get the winner. James Keatings and Shane Sutherland brought out great saves from Parry but it finished a point apiece. Alan Trouten was sent off in time added on for a possible off the ball incident. Straight red!
Nikolay Todorov started up front with Miles Storey and Roddy MacGregor was deemed fit enough to start. Danny Devine was on the bench with the forever injured Lewis Toshney and Raith Rovers bound James Keatings. Alloa had loanee man of the moment Innes Cameron starting with the ever present Alan Trouten and goal threat Kevin Cawley.
With Neil McCann still in charge, the order of the day for the Caley Jags would have been to retain possession from your own box out, such has been his approach from previous managerial duties. Dundee knew this and Alloa quickly cottoned on to our strategy and took control of the early exchanges after ten minutes into the game.
Lee Connelly was first to threaten but ended up getting booked for diving as Mark Ridgers went to close him down.
David Carson tested Neil Parry with a low controlled shot from the edge of the box but Parry smothered it at the second attempt.
A minute later Innes Cameron benefitted from a superb through ball from Kevin Cawley. He took control outside the box and drove forward like an inside left before hammering a fifteen yard shot behind the exposed Ridgers. Ten minutes later some loose play in midfield offered an opportunity for Steven Heatherington, he played in Alan Trouten but the angle was tight and Ridgers blocked his effort with his feet.
The wasps were swarming all over us at this point as we struggled to make any headway. However, ten minutes after the opener we were level. After Carson was robbed in midfield, the ball came back to Sean Welsh who threaded a low ball forward to Shane Sutherland. He in turn touched it deftly to Nikolay Todorov who stepped onto the pass and drilled it into the bottom corner.
Connelly found himself with the ball at his feet similar to Cameron's opening goal but his shot lacked power and as Ridgers had anticipated his arrival he blocked well. Thirty seconds later a blooper from the keeper saw him pass the ball out to the edge of the box. Now total football is fine, but you need to pass it to your own players. Cameron spotted the error and stepped onto the pass but fortunately for a red faced Mark he drove the ball over the bar from twenty yards with the goals vacant.
We ventured forward before the break but our indecision saw Alloa nick the ball from us on the edge of their box. Robertson wasted no time in launching a long ball forward where Cameron did well to control and shoot under pressure to force Ridgers into an excellent save to keep out his powerful effort.
Half Time: 1-1
Just after the break his touch deserted him six yards out after a Jon Robertson cross found him loose inside the area. Again Ridgers was quick to shut him down.
Miles Storey crossed from the left and Robbie Deas slashed at an attempted volley. The ball landed at Sutherland but his effort was more akin to three points at Murrayfield. Alloa then made their own blooper and offered Sutherland another go, this time Parry pulled off a tremendous one-handed save to deny the striker.
Inverness were having a much more successful second forty-five and it was Sutherland who should have put the visitors ahead. On the hour, he beat the offside trap and ran through on goal, unfortunately he also beat the post as he curled the ball low past Parry as he came out and past the wrong side of the post. Great opportunity missed.
Trouten tried an overhead but it lacked power and Ridgers had it covered and moments later he had to react quicker to push away a Scott Taggart free kick from just under the bar as Alloa came back into the game. Big Andy Graham thought he was Ronaldo at one point, dancing and skipping his way down the wing. Great effort from the big man!
Daniel Mackay's cross from the left ended at the feet of James Keatings and his blistering shot was, well, parried well by Parry I suppose.
As the clock ticked down there was one more mystery to be solved. All will be revealed. An Alloa attack was halted on the left side of our box and Alan Trouten received a straight red card. No, it wasn't for scoring the penalty against us last week but the video shows that he deliberately kicked his marker on the edge of the box to free up space for himself. Old dogs old tricks, but it was well spotted and Trouten was in the bath a couple of minutes earlier than everyone else.
Still time for Ridgers to gather an awkward shot from distance just before the final whistle but that was it, all square.
Full Time: 1-1
So the game ended in controversy but overall it had been an open and entertaining game with a draw just about right. Alloa dominated the first half with Inverness more prominent after the break. Both keepers made some super saves two tidy goals and a red card. Joint Men of the Match, Parry & Ridgers. I imagine there will be a few sniffing around Innes Cameron, big, strong athletic and a goal scorer, what's not to like.
That's what Saturday's are for!
 
Interim Inverness CT manager Neil McCann: "I think maybe a draw was a fair result. I thought we were a bit sloppy and we're better than that. "You have to start putting a run together and showing you're good players. They're a really good group that have had to deal with stuff off the pitch too - that has a negative effect on the group."
Alloa Athletic manager Peter Grant: "We deserved the points. We played really well and created chances- we just didn't have luck in front of goal. "The hardest way to play football is the way we play - especially when you're bottom of the league."
Full Highlights from Alloa TV
 
Neil McCann post match

 
Date: 06/03/2021  Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 0000 Referee: Alan Muir 
 
Alloa Athletic: 1
Manager: Peter Grant Lineup:  Parry; Taggart, Graham, Dick, Hetherington, Grant, Robertson, Connelly (O'Donnell 58) Trouten, Cawley, Cameron, Subs (not used):  Willison; Buchanan, Brown, Jamieson, Malcolm, Murray Scorers: Cameron (17) Booked: Connelly (14) Sent Off: Trouten (90+1) Inverness CT: 1
Manager: Neil McCann (temp) Lineup:  Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Deas, Harper (Devine 50), MacGregor, Carson, Welsh, Sutherland, Storey ( D Mackay), Todorov (Keatings 78)) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Toshney, Vincent, Allardice,  Scorers: Todorov (27) Booked: D Mackay (74), Devine (90+2) Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2020-21 ·

Alloa Athletic -V- Inverness CT - Preview

At the Crossroads
 
With our season gradually disintegrating, we head to Recreation Park Alloa to face The Wasps @ the Indodrill Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday with both sides lingering at the wrong end of the table, games in hand or not. 
Our games in hand are dwindling away and there's little improvement in our league position. Four wins from sixteen games is not the form of a team challenging for a play-off slot to the premiership.
This is now a crucial game in our season which is at the crossroads. Which way do we turn?
Crossroads
 
We have found Alloa difficult to beat recently with no wins in our last four meetings, such is the demise of our club. Financial constraints have seen us unable to attract the quality of player required at this level to sustain a challenge at the top end of the table and we are having to blood youngsters in the Championship. The latest jumping ship is James Keatings who has reportedly signed a pre-contract agreement with Raith Rovers. With little leadership on the park, it's difficult to get any consistency and Premiership football looks unlikely with the prospects of league 1 closer to the mark. It's a tough league to get out of at the right end and there's a fine line between challenging at the top to falling into a relegation battle and that is something we have to get used to pretty quick. We have eleven games left to save our season, which way will we turn?
Last 10 Competitive Meetings
2 - 2
(H)
1 - 2
(A)
0 - 2
(A)
1 - 1
(H)
3 - 2
(A)
2 - 0
(A)
2 - 2
(H)
3 - 0
(H)
2 - 1
(A)
3 - 2
(H)     Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 18 12 3 3 44 20 24 39 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 3 5 32 24 8 27 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Dundee 16 6 6 4 30 30 0 24 5. Queen of the South 18 7 3 8 26 35 -9 24 6. Arbroath 18 5 6 7 15 20 -5 21 7. Inverness CT 16 4 7 5 24 21 3 19 8. Morton 17 4 7 6 16 22 -6 19 9. Ayr United 16 4 5 7 20 21 -1 17 10. Alloa Athletic 18 3 4 11 20 41 -21 13
 
All Championship games this weekend
 
Raith v Dundee - Postponed - Covid
Alloa v Inverness CT
Arbroath v Queen of the South
Hearts v Dundee
Morton v Ayr United
Only eleven games left and we need to start picking up points starting with Alloa away at the weekend, so get behind the guys, for better or for worse.
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OFFICIAL PREVIEW
PPV STREAMING £12 FROM ALLOA TV
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Neil McCann pre-match with Alloa...
 
***Latest Team News***
Anthony McDonald has had an operation on his knee and with only a dozen games left in this season, it is unlikely we will see much, if anything at all from him this campaign. Roddy MacGregor is doubtful after the clattering he took against Hearts from Kingsley. The rest are back in training and will be needed as soon as they are ready for action before our season is beyond repair. It looks as though the best we can do this year is survive and get the youngsters some valuable game time ready for next season. This is not a drill!
Alloa will make it difficult and for the first time ever we will probably be regarded as underdogs in this fixture. Their mix of experience, young loanees and dogged journeymen have been good enough to hold the Indian sign over us recently and I see little evidence that will change this weekend. Loan signing Innes Cameron seems to be prospering with game time and Innes Murray likes a free kick, both scoring against us in the last couple of meetings. 
Here's a wee reminder that not all left feet are just for standing on....

 
 
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2020-21 ·

Dundee 2-1 Inverness CT - Report

Too little too late.
 
Dundee manager Jake McPake looked to have tightened his shoogely peg as first half goals from Max Anderson and Jason Cummings put Dundee in at the break two up. Inverness were out of sorts in a poor first forty-five. Nikolay Todorov pulled a goal back with fifteen minutes left heading home a Cammy Harper cross. Inverness mounted a mini-comeback but fell just short as Dundee held on for all three points.
Neil McCann returned to Dens Park where he had mixed fortunes as a player and manager. Tonight he would be in the away dugout with John Robertson on compassionate leave. His first game in charge was a 1-1 draw with Hearts on Friday night. Four days later and here we are at Dens Park looking to keep in touch with the teams in the top four.
David Carson was on the bench after two MotM performances and Roddy MacGregor was not in the squad, presumably injured. Daniel Mackay and Scott Allardice were in the starting XI. As expected, Dundee were without Charlie Adam due to the results of the positive covid testing at Dens Park.
Here's RiG with his match report 
Grim, grim, grim.

Dundee were well on top at the start and although we pushed them back a bit they quickly re-established their dominance. They knew a high press against our back line would work given McCann's preference to play out from the back and players were often caught in possession.
Meanwhile, our defence looked haphazard any time a cross or long throw came anywhere near it. McDaid turning Duffy inside out for a good chunk of the first half before he eventually realised he could nullify him by sending him towards the bye line was criminal in how long it took to be employed. By that time though the damage was largely done. 
McMullan was ripping Harper apart on the ICT left and he sent in a cross that found Max Anderson as he burst into the penalty area and although Ridgers did well to save his first effort the Dee player made no mistake at the second time of asking and put Dundee 1-0 up.
We rallied a little to push the home side back a bit and had some half chances but Dundee took a deserved two goal lead when a high ball into the box was missed and it landed at the feet of Cummings who spun round and whipped the ball into the net. 

Prior to this Dundee had great chances falling the way of Mullen, Cummings and Anderson who all had goal bound efforts blocked by Deas or Ridgers. It was one way traffic in the first half and ICT could count themselves fortunate not to be further behind.
Half Time: 2-0
Second half was less eventful overall compared to the first. A suspiciously offside looking Storey broke through the Dundee defence but shot straight at Hamilton as the angle narrowed whilst Sow blazed over after good work by Cummings on a Dundee counter attack. 
We did get one goal back when Harper sent over a delicious cross from the left touchline to find Toddy at the back post and he thumped a header past the flailing Hamilton. Great goal from the big striker and one wonders what he needs to do to get a start.

A similar move almost lead to an ill deserved equaliser but this time the header went wide.
 
Grim performance from us. As has been the case at times this season we are poor for about 75% of the game then improve markedly for the final 15 to 20 minutes or look like we might do something. I know we have important creative players like Doran and McDonald out but we should be still be doing better than we are. We created precious little for most of that game it is extremely concerning going into a very tough game on Saturday against Alloa. Go behind in that and I don't fancy our chances of turning it around into a much needed 3 points.
 
Neil McCann post match

 
 
Date: 02/03/2021  Venue: Dens park, Dundee Attendance: 0000 Referee: Steven Kirkland 
 
Dundee FC: 2
Manager: James McPake Lineup:  Hamilton; Fontaine, Elliot, Ashcroft, Marshall, McGowan, McMullan, Mullen (Sow 53), Anderson (Byrne 87), McDaid, Cummings (Aflabi 91) Subs (not used):  Legzdins; Kerr, Fagan-Walcott, Robertson Scorers: Anderson (10), Cummings (45) Booked: McGowan (60) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1
Manager: Neil McCann Lineup:  Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Devine (B Mckay 77), Harper, D Mackay (Todorov 61) Welsh, Allardice (Carson 46), Keatings, Sutherland, Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Fyffe, Vincent Scorers: Todorov (75) Booked: Deas (63), Welsh (65) Sent Off: none a
By tm4tj in Reports 2020-21 ·

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