Can Cans Can

The Caley Jags had made it to the Semi-Final after putting six goals past Lossiemouth & Strathspey Thistle to face Forres Mechanics at Mosset Park after they had defeated Rothes 3-0 in the quarter final. Not such a strong line-up tonight for the Caley Jags which will make for a much more even game but another opportunity to see Chanka Zimba and what can Jordan Alonge do against his former club.

Forres got themselves into the final after a 2-1 win. See report below.

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There was an early goal and it came for the hosts after some poor defending with Lewis MacKenzie ending up scoring from a very tight angle in the fourth minute. The Caley Jags equalised just before half time when on the counter following a free kick in the Inverness half, Archie Kerr's cross was not cleared properly by the defence and Chanka Zimba was able to get the tap in. Almost another for the Mechanics as on the interval, MacKenzie went on a solo run into the visitors box but his shot was just wide of the mark.

HALF TIME: 1-1 

Soon after the restart and with the Caley Jags showing a bit more urgency, Jordan Alonge rattled the bar but Adam MacKinnon couldn't get the rebound on target. Unfortunately we never seemed up for this one and on the hour an inviting cross in by Cohen Ramsay found the head of Calum Frame who flicked it into the far side of the net. That was the end of the scoring and the end of our involvement in the NoS Cup for this season.

Good luck to Forres in the final.

FULL TIME: 2-1

• ICTFC HT Sub: Jake Rodgers on, Sam Reid of

• ICTFC Subs: Archie Beaton and Kenzie Harkness on, Chanka Zimba and James Clark off

  On CTO Robert summed up: The early goal gave Forres confidence and they deserved their win.

  We lacked fluency and either tried long balls which were ineffective or passed sideways or backwards so we didn’t really cause them problems. Our goal came from one of the few fast breaks we made. It all got a bit frantic as we chased a late goal but we never really looked like getting one. I can’t fault the effort and the fact that one of our coaches got booked highlights that we were taking it seriously.

  It is good to see the younger players and Kerr was the stand out. As well as pace he has a long throw. Reid grew into the game but was subbed at half time. Clark is always composed and, with experience, could become a really good player.

Date:  02/09/2025  Venue: Mosset Park, Forres Attendance: **** Referee: ******** 
 
Forres Mechanics: 2

• Manager: Steven MacDonald

• Lineup:  McCarthy; Connolly, MacDonald, Ramsay, McRitchie, Grant, Sutherland,

• McLauchlan (Taylor 88), MacKenzie (Newlands 90+3), Jamieson, Frame (Hayllar 90+9)

• Subs (not used):  Miele (GK), McPherson

• Scorers: MacKenzie (4), Frame (61)

• Booked: none

• Sent Off: none

Inverness CT: 1

• Manager: Scott Kellacher

• Lineup:  Ross; Clark (Harkness 74), Robertson, J Walker, Strachan, S Thompson, S Reid (Rodgers 46),

• MacKinnon, Kerr, Alonge, Zimba (Beaton 74)

• Subs (not used): Rebilas; , Leo Walker, Thomson, Leighton

• Scorers: Zimba (43)

• Booked: none

• Sent Off: none