No massacre, but 3 points

It's Valentines day and with Accies and the Caley Jags having an extra two and a half hours to relax before kick-off, we would have to wait and see how the off-field shenanigans would affect the players after Accies were handed a further six point deduction, taking their total points deduction to a massive twenty-one this season. Fortunately for Accies so far, their onfield form has kept them afloat, but that's a crippling sanction for any club, in fact it's a massacre!

Full Time scores for the 3:00 pm fixtures at the top end of the table: QotS 1-2 Alloa & Stenny 2-2 Monty. Those results will put a bit of pressure on the Caley Jags to perform and hopefully extend their lead. Accies will be pleased with results at the bottom end, Cove losing to East Fife and Kelty drawing with Peterhead.

With the game on BBC Alba, it was there for all to see and the end result was three points for the Caley Jags courtesy of a decisive header from top scorer Alfie Bavidge his 18th of the season in all competitions. It may have been the playing surface, but whatever it was, it wasn't the best of games for screening on TV. However, it's an important three points.

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Big shout for a penalty when Zimba went down in the box after five minutes, but to be honest, he never convinced anyone. First big chance of the game came at the back post after a free kick was met by Mitchell Robertson on the corner of the six yard box but he skied it well over the bar. Twenty minutes in and it wasn't much of a spectacle so far, untidy stuff on what looked like a difficult surface. Accies made a hash of scoring after cutting us open down the right, Crookston hitting himself with the ball instead of the back of the net with Munro gathering the loose ball. Plenty possession for the visitors but little in the way of opportunities falling for us. A dangerous chip into the box with half an hour gone was headed behind for a corner to Accies but Munro claimed the corner well. A neat bit of ball juggling by Ben Brannan before he shot goalwards forced young keeper Josh Lane to save the bobbling ball. Accies went close with a Newman header off a corner, the ball hitting the stanchion holding the net back with Munro rooted to the spot. In our next attack we won a corner. It was taken short and laid back to Ben Brannan who fired first time into the box where Alfie Bavidge dived low to head behind Lane from six yards to give us the lead going into the break.

HALF TIME: 0-1

A brisk start to the second half by Accies saw them have two or three swipes at the ball inside the Inverness box but the defence managed to block before scrambling the ball clear. O'Hara then could have done better as he headed wide five minutes after the restart. Inverness were living dangerously in the early minutes of the second half. Nearly an own goal when Robertson's cross spun off the defenders boot and just wide of the far post. From the corner, Calum MacLeod fired a shot over from the edge of the box. Minutes later Bavidge bought himself a yard of space but the keeper was able to smother his shot. Another quick break forward with Liam Sole feeding MacLeod but he dragged his shot wide under pressure from defenders. Accies went up the park and squandered another half chance, but it was the visitors who were now looking more likely to add a second and MacLeod could have done better with a chip after being played in, however he duffed his attempt. Oli Shaw had his head in his hands after he missed a sitter, smashing it off the stanchion again from eight yards after good work down the left flank Inverness were pushing their luck again and unable to get their foot on the ball as Accies sensed they might get something from the game with twenty minutes remaining. It was an untidy affair now with passes going astray and no composure whatsoever. A good interchange ended with MacLeod firing high over from the edge of the box. McKinstry fired over as the clock ticked towards the ninety with the visitors clinging on by their fingernails. At least they had fingernails, the fans had none left. Despite a stirring second half by Accies it was Inverness that stretched their lead at the head of the table.

FULL TIME: 0-1

Scott Kellacher thought it was a good game Not sure what game he was watching but on my telly it was carnage. One man with the one bit of real quality won the points. Alfie Bavidge dived to meet Ben Brannan's ball back into the box following a corner and Bavidge met it with his head to flash the ball into the net from six yards. Great goal but after that there were loads of missed chances from both sides with poor finishing keeping the score at 0-1 to the visitors.

Huisdean on CTO: Poor game with a just about deserved win. Too many players not at their best and seemingly unable to pass to each other especially late in the second half. Still, a vital win and a win next week would put us in a strong position. By the way, the playing surface looked and played, dreadfully at times. These surfaces really need to be banned.

Date:  14/02/2026  Venue: Broadwood Stadium Attendance: 0480 Referee: Cameron Stirling
 
Hamilton Accies: 0

• Manager: Darian MacKinnon

• Lineup:  Lane; Hutton (Gallagher 46), Smutek, Kilday, Hendrie, MacDonald, Newbury,

• Crookston (Black 86), Shaw, McKinstry, O'Hara

• Subs (not used): Eadie, Forrest, Morgan, Shiels, Simpson, Stafford

• Scorers: none

• Booked: none

• Sent Off: none

Inverness CT: 1

• Manager: Scott Kellacher

• Lineup:  Munro; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Robertson, Sole (Longstaff 69), MacLeod,

• Allan (Alonge 86), Stewart Bavidge (Willox 82), Zimba (B Mckay 69)

• Subs (not used): Ross; MacIntyre, Wotherspoon, MacKinnon

• Scorers: Bavidge (37)

• Booked: none

• Sent Off: none

Paul's Birthday Stunner

They came North on a seven game losing streak with their Fifer's. Dick Campbell's side are on a worse run than Ross County after opening the season with a solid set of results. They went South with another defeat to add to that list.

Scott Kellacher boosted his squad with the addition of Ben Brannan on loan from Kilmarnock until the end of the season. Ben is no stranger having already made eleven appearances for the Caley Jags last season scoring once and making dozens of loooooong throws. Welcome back Ben. The Fifers had bolstered their squad with a handful of new signings in the sales as they look to stop the rot. Beware to the wrath of the Campbell guys.

It turned out to be a relatively comfortable afternoon for the Caley Jags who got off to the best possible start through Alfie Stewart in the third minute when he drilled home from the left side of the box. We were then profligate as we seemed to make an easy job more difficult. Stewart was on a shoot on sight mission firing at the target from distance a number of times in the opening quarter. Plenty of possession but opportunities came and went. Zimba declined to score off a Bavidge cut-back and Jordan Alonge looked favourite to score when he burst into the box on the inside right position. His venomous shot blurred just wide. We could easily have been three or four up at the interval. Second half was much the same. Just after the restart, Bavidge picked his spot when he curled a low shot goalwards. Unfortunately that spot was two feet wide of the post. However, the introduction of Longstaff and Allan seemed to make us more incisive. Paul Allan's goal was a belter after some intricate work deep on the left flank before Allan smashed his shot high into the net from around sixteen yards to give the keeper no chance; precision and power. Zimba might have shot a step sooner after Alfie Stewart threaded him through on goal with a perfectly weighted pass. Unfortunately the keeper blocked Zimba's effort before the deflected shot was headed clear from goal by a defender. The deal was sealed after a bit of a stramash inside the box following a corner as Alfie Bavidge attacked the loose ball to nut it swiftly into the net ten minutes from the end. Spoony was close to adding a fourth having done all the hard work as he cut in from the left side. Alas his parting shot was blocked.

FULL TIME: 3-0

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Some good performances today. My pick was Alfie Bavidge who ran the channel well and sent some inviting balls into the box that were not pounced on by his team mates. Got his reward before the end as he head butted the ball into the net. Calum MacLeod and Remi Savage were immense at the back snuffing everything out that East Fife had to offer. Alfie Stewart was the sponsors MotM but I thought he faded after a scintillating start.

Great result for the Caley Jags who top the table on their own tonight. Queen of the South dropped two points at Cove in a 1-1 draw.

 Dick's post match should be interesting...

Here's Dick

Date:  07/02/2026  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2160 Referee: Gary Hanvidge 
 
Inverness CT: 3

• Manager: Scott Kellacher

• Lineup:  Munro; MacLeod, Devine, Savage, Robertson, Sole (Allan 62), Alonge (Longstaff 62),

• Chalmers (Wotherspoon 79), Stewart (Brannan 84), Bavidge, Zimba (B Mckay 79)

• Subs (not used):  Ross; MacIntyre, MacKinnon, Willox

• Scorers: Stewart (3), Allan (69), Bavidge (81)

• Booked: Alonge (36)

• Sent Off: none

East Fife: 0

• Manager: Dick Campbell

• Lineup:  Hemfrey; Halsey (Bah 73), Millar, Wilson, McManus, Peggie (80), Munro, Halliday (Healy 63),

• Latona (Norey 80), Rowe (Slattery 63), Oladipo

• Subs (not used): Rollo; Newton, Linton

• Scorers: none

• Booked: none

• Sent Off: none

Tense Draw at Dumfries

A big game for both teams with only three points separating the sides at kick-off, and at the end it was still three points that separated them. Peter Murphy went with an unchanged side from the one that thrashed East Fife last week with danger coming at us on a few fronts. Kai Kennedy, Jack Stott, Kurtis Guthrie to name a few. Scott Kellacher made more changes again with Chanka Zimba and Alfie Bavidge getting the nod and Alfie Stewart the driving force in midfield.

The points were shared like this. Liam Sole opened the scoring inside ten minutes but Kai Kennedy squared matters ten minutes later. Just after the restart Jordan Alonge headed Inverness in front but Mikey Hewitt levelled with ten minutes left and despite a tense finish, that's how it ended.

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Early pressure from the visitors with Alfie Bavidge driving forward before being taken out by Hewitt who was booked for his trouble. Could easily have seen red for that! Jordan Alonge's free kick hit the wall and his next opportunity was saved by Ross Stewart. We were rewarded for our bright start with Liam Sole's deflected effort from the edge of the box wrongfooting the keeper to put the Caley Jags ahead, flying into the opposite corner. Queens looked to hit back immediately and Kurtis Guthrie went close with a header. Alonge did the same at the other end, glancing just wide. It was now an open game and Queens drew level through Kai Kennedy with twenty minutes gone, shooting home a 'cross' from outside the box, probably unintentional, but the ball was in the back of the net and that's all that mattered. Kennedy was always going to be a handful and he shot over after half an hour. However chances were at a premium in a tight game as the interval beckoned and it remained all square with all to play for.

HALF TIME: 1-1

Brennan Dickenson replaced Reece Lyon as the second forty-five got underway. Five minutes into the second period and Jordan Alonge put the visitors back in front, superbly heading home a cross from Sole after a good break forward on both flanks. Hannah took a sore one and was replaced by Rogerson. With half an hour still to play, it was a precarious lead for the visitors and Ross Munro kept our noses in front saving from Dickenson as the keeper pushed his low deflected effort round the post for a corner with around twenty minutes remaining. We were pegged back a second time when Mikey Hewitt scored into the bottom of the net from inside the six yard box from a good cut back on the left by Dickenson. In a tense ending to the game, the visitors had to settle for a point after leading twice, but this was always going to be a tough one.

FULL TIME: 2-2

Mantis saw it like this:

A point is fine now the dust has settled but a topsy-turvy afternoon with the score changing 4 times along with the news from Ochilview. I said that i’d be happy if we were still top at 5pm.

Both goals in the first half were a bit fluky - Sole’s shot took a deflection and wrong-footed the keeper. We were well on top until Kennedy’s free hit floated past everybody and sneaked in at the far post. He let us know about it. This fired Queens into life and they probably had the best of it till half time.

I thought we were the better side in the second half and Alonge scored with a magnificent header. Bav had a chance to tie it up but tripped over the ball. Guthrie had a fine battle with Remi till he was subbed late on and sub Dickenson was to have his say…

Queens led the booking count by 3-0 but we overtook them with 4 in the last half hour (edit- Kel got carded too). One of them was Adam Mackinnon who was not having a great day and was replaced by Paul Allan. We had a lot of intricate passes around the box as usual without making the breakthrough and Queens defended well. Queens had a flurry of corners but nothing to trouble Munro although he made a magnificent save at one point. We weren’t exactly hanging on but Dickenson got behind us for once and gave Hewitt a tap-in.

A much improved Queens today and great to see a game where the other team was actually trying to win unlike most weeks 🚌

Highlights from Palmerston>>>

Kells bemoaning ignored Penalty shout>>>

Honest appraisal from Peter Murphy>>>

Date:  31/01/2026  Venue: Palmerston Park Attendance: 1938 Referee: Jamie Wilkie 
 
Queen of the South: 2

• Manager: Peter Murphy

• Lineup:  Stewart; Hewitt (MacKenzie 83), Douglas, Hannah (Rogerson 54), Charters,

• Lyon (Dickenson 46), Luissint, Smith, Stott, Kennedy, Guthrie (Allan 83)

• Subs (not used):  Green; Armour, Johnstone, Ross

• Scorers: Kennedy (20), Hewitt (79)

• Booked: Hewitt (6), Kennedy (38), Douglas (52)

• Sent Off: none

Inverness CT: 2

• Manager: Scott Kellacher

• Lineup: Munro; MacLeod, Devine, Savage, MacIntyre, Sole, Alonge, Stewart (Allan 72),

• MacKinnon, Bavidge (Longstaff 68), Zimba

• Subs (not used): Ross; Davidson, Robertson, Chalmers, Wotherspoon, Willox, B Mckay

• Scorers: Sole (9)

• Booked: Stewart (58), MacKinnon (65), Alonge (82), Zimba (83)

• Sent Off: none

Caley Jags have got a semi

This KDM quarter final match was more than just a Challenging knock-out tie. It offered the winners bragging rights and the psychological advantage in the race for promotion to the Championship as League1's top two sides squared off at the Caledonian Stadium. A bitterly cold night probably kept the crowd down to a minimum as a biting wind cut across the stadium. Not a night for brass monkeys to be honest. It has been a hectic January schedule for both sides and The Caley Jags in particular are recently off the back of seven away games on the bounce. With that seven in mind, the hosts made a number of changes, seven in fact. Robertson in for Devine, Chalmers in for Alonge and Allan for Stewart. Wholesale changes up front with Billy Mckay, Spoony, Longstaff, and Willox starting in place of Zimba, Bavidge, Sole, and MacKinnon. For the visitors, a couple of changes with Finlay Gray, Euan Reilly and Kelsey Ewen coming in and Dale Carrick and Nicky Jamieson on the bench and Mikey Anderson dropping out.

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The Warriors came for a battle and got a bloody nose

So, looks like seven changes from the win over Alloa and just the three for the Warriors as the game got underway in Arctic tundra conditions. First moment of danger came from the visitors when Ross Meechan's header went awry off a cross into the box. The early posturing came from the Warriors and Finlay Gray's inviting ball just evaded Matty Aitken. In his first start, Kieron Willox was first to make a keeper work after linking up with Billy Mckay, but it was Jamieson that won this battle as he pulled off a one on one with the loanee from Stoke. At the other end Finlay Gray slalomed past three defenders with Ross Munro denying him with a reflex save. Willox looking interested in the early stages for the Caley Jags with Finlay Gray doing likewise for Stenhousemuir. Midway through the half Oscar MacIntyre was almost on the end of Longstaff's dangerous cross into the box but Jamieson was able to smother the ball. The visitors were totting up their corner corner count some ten minutes before the break, something we would do well to stop conceding as it can often be a cause for concern, Archie Graham heading narrowly wide from one such occasion when he could just as easily have opened the scoring. Half a dozen corners to Stenny, but in time added on, we won our first corner only for David Wotherspoon's header to be blocked and the half ended without a goal. A distinct lack of big chances in a frustrating first '45 with the visitors not afraid to put themselves about. All to play for in the next hour or so.

HALF TIME: 0-0

They reinforced the angry man attitude with Scott McGill getting his birthday card from the referee, booked in the first minute after the break. Calum MacLeod ended a good burst forward with a disappointing effort that missed the target. Surprise surprise, Gregor Buchanan followed McGill into the book. Paul Allan headed a Willox cross over before Willox departed around the hour to be replaced by Alfie Bavidge. A clearance by Finlay Gray kept the scores level as a ball into the six yard box was handily placed for a tap in. The substitutes flowed from the hour with Chanka Zimba and Dale Carrick amongst others entering the field. And it was a substitute Alfie Bavidge that opened the scoring with seventeen minutes remaining after his first effort was deflected behind for a corner. Following the corner Alfie shot high into the net from inside the box to put the hosts ahead after the keeper made a hash of trying to clear Paul Allan's corner kick, the ball bouncing off a ruck of players allowing Alfie to spin and lash the ball high into the net from six yards. Into time added on Zimba held up for Jordan Alonge to get a shot away with keeper Jamieson saving well. With no further scoring Inverness moved into the semi-finals to await the winner of St Johnstone v Ayr United which was postponed tonight. In the only other game that went ahead tonight, Raith Rovers progressed on penalties against Queens Park.

FULL TIME: 1-0

Date:  27/01/2026  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1114 Referee: Peter Stuart 
 
Inverness CT: 1

• Manager: Scott Kellacher

• Lineup:  Munro; MacLeod, Robertson, Savage, MacIntyre, Longstaff (Sole (82), Allan,

• Chalmers, Willox (Bavidge 58), Wotherspoon (Zimba 66), B Mckay (Alonge 82)

• Subs (not used): Ross; Davidson, Devine, MacKinnon, Stewart

• Scorers: Bavidge (73)

• Booked: Sole (90+2)

• Sent Off: none

Stenhousemuir: 0

• Manager: Gary Naysmith

• Lineup:  D Jamieson; Meechan, Graham, Buchanan, Bilham (Simpson 67), Ewen,

• O'Reilly (Carrick 67), Gray, McGill, Whyte, Aitken

• Subs (not used): Lyle; , N Jamieson, Cameron,

• Scorers: none

• Booked: Whyte (36), O'Reilly (41), McGill (46), Buchanan (53), Aitken (82)

• Sent Off: none

Jags Raid the Wasps

The Caley Jags got back to winning ways in midweek in a gruelling tussle at the Bayview Gulags and were looking to consolidate their position at the head of the table today against an Alloa side that had other ideas. They would be hell bent on closing the gap at the top end of the table after their big win over Montrose in midweek. With Stenhousemuir playing in Kelty at 17:30, we will have to wait another couple of hours to see how todays results impact at the head of the table on matchday 22.

The two Alfie's were on from the start with MacLeod replacing Millen and MacIntyre and Alonge retaining their starting position with Chalmers and Robertson on the bench. Kieron Willox was also on the bench after impressing as a substitute in midweek. Alloa looked to be unchanged from midweek with Connor Sammon no doubt waiting to come on for the last half hour. Always a danger we need to put this to bed before the fightback begins.

Bit different this time as we had to come from behind to run out comfortable winners with second half strikes from Chanka Zimba x2 and Jordan Alonge. A result that consolidates our position at the top of the table for now.

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It had been a bright eenuff morning in the Sneck but by kick-off a chill wind was swirling around the stadium as the teams entered the field of play. A couple of minutes in and after Chanka Zimba had been fouled, Alfie Stewart's free kick bounced wide. Stewart fired wide of the target from inside the box and had efforts blocked after ten and fifteen minutes as his shoot on site policy manifested. No surprise that the hosts were dominating the early possession as that has been a familiar story. However the problem of breaching the defence remains an issue so far. First big action for a keeper came after Liam Sole's ball in the box allowed Jordan Alonge to have a pop but Liam MacFarlane was equal to it. Another Sole assist saw Alfie Bavidge fire over before, against the run of play, Stewart scored. Alas it was Lewis Stewart of Alloa who shot home from the right side of the box after some sloppy play at the back. Definitely has a familiar ring to it. Bavidge found the side netting after Zimba had been blocked following good pressure from the Caley Jags, looking to get on level terms before the interval. Alonge was denied again ten minutes before the break after good work by Danny Devine. Alloa ventured forward five minutes before the break with Adamson having an effort blocked and scorer Lewis Stewart going close to a second. Sadly, it's a familiar tale for Inverness as stats don't win matches.

HALF TIME: 0-1

A big second half needed and no changes during the interval as the game got underway, Kurtis Roberts first to have a go, shooting wide. Parity was restored eight minutes after the restart when Zimba headed high into the net assisted by the industrious Alfie Stewart from a corner kick. Zimba would be denied another twice soon after McFarlane saving low down to deny the big striker on the second attempt. Inverness turned this game on it's head with twenty minutes remaining when Jordan Alonge slotted home from Stewart's long diagonal ball towards the back post. Three minutes later Zimba added his second and a third for the Caley Jags from inside the box aided by Stewart's long diagonal again, Alonge's header and Bavidge with the cut-back. With Inverness now in total control, the substitutions flowed from both sides and that broke up the play over the final twenty odd minutes. Spoony went close just after coming on but as it was, we saw out the game untroubled. Good win to keep us on top with Stenhousemuir v Kelty to come at half five.

Maybe stats do win games after all! 😂

FULL TIME: 3-1

Great comeback win after the early set back against the run of play. We kept our heads down and deservedly ran out worthy winners when previously we might have come up against a brick wall and settled for less. Zimba with two goals and Alonge with the other after Lewis Stewart had given Alloa the lead in the 23rd minute.

Our own Stewart, Alfie, was a wee buzzbomb and instrumental in getting us back on track and this time, maybe the stats don't lie as we overwhelmed Alloa.

Robert kept his ear to the ground in Bar94: 👂 Interesting listening to the players in Bar 94 at full time. Alfie Stewart said that Billy Mckay had been vocal at half time about wasteful set plays and that we were sitting deeper to try to combat Alloa having wind advantage. Alfie Bavidge said that, even 1-0 down at the break, they knew we’d win the game and it was a question of how many we’d score. Great to see that confidence surging through the young players.

Date:  24/01/2026  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2259 Referee: Lewis Hogarth 
 
Inverness CT: 3

• Manager: Scott Kellacher

• Lineup:  Munro; MacLeod, Devine, Savage, McIntyre, Sole (Longstaff 78), Alonge (Chalmers 90+1),

• Stewart, Mackinnon (Allan 77), Bavidge (B Mckay 83), Zimba (Wotherspoon 83)

• Subs (not used): Ross; Robertson, Davidson, Willox

• Scorers: Zimba (53, 72), Alonge (69)

• Booked: Devine (56), Bavidge (61)

• Sent Off: none

Alloa Athletic: 1

• Manager: Andy Graham

• Lineup:  McFarlane; Foster, Dewar, Taggart, O'Donnell, Scougall, Adamson (Clarke 78),

• Roberts (Hetherington 65), Stewart, Donnelly (Sammon 65), Gentles (Burnside 78)

• Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Rankin, McKay, Buchanan

• Scorers: Stewart (23),

• Booked: Adamson (63), Dewar (69)

• Sent Off: none

Back Home-Jags v Wasps

With points getting increasingly more difficult to gain as the season progresses, the Caley Jags entertain one of the better qualified squads in League1 as Alloa Athletic come North to the Caledonian SarensPSG Stadium on Saturday for one of the many six-pointers to come before the end of the season. We regained top spot in midweek at East Fife and Alloa strengthened their promotion credentials with a resounding win over Montrose. Top on goal difference with just four points separating us from Alloa in fourth. Inverness won a tight first meeting this season through a deflected Liam Sole strike. The last meeting was a 1-1 draw in November when a Longstaff goal was cancelled out by one from O'Donnell. All to play for with Stenhousemuir at bottom club Kelty and Queen of the South at East Fife. Big weekend coming up.

ℹ️ Matchday Info: Alloa Athletic (H)

🎟️ Tickets available from HERE
🛍️ Club Shop open from 10am - 4pm tomorrow, 10am - KO on Sat
🚗 Car Parking: North & South Open
🍺 Bar 94 open from 1200
🚌 Stagecoach Service Buses will leave the Bus Station for the Stadium at 1245 and 1415.

🚍 return from the Stadium to the Bus Station 10 minutes after the full time whistle and at 1800.

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Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info

Stenhousemuir KDM Trophy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our last squad out in the arduous ordeal at Bayview where the first half passed everyone by before an Alfie Stewart blockbuster and an Alfie Bavaidge sprint & finish put us back on top of the table. It was hard work in testing conditions but we got there in the end.

• Last Six League1:

• D W L L D W

That doesn't tell the whole story of our last six League games. Hidden in amongst those results was a less that average struggle to beat Tranent 1-2 in the Scottish Cup, postponements, a 0-9 KDM Trophy thrashing of a weak Dumbarton side, two League1 defeats on the trot to Stenny & Montrose, a KDM postponement followed by a goalless draw at Cove, a KDM win at Partick on penalties, a Scottish Cup scalping at Spartans on penalties before we eventually lifted the doom and gloom in a gruelling war of attrition at the Gulags of Bayview in League1. Incidentally, the first draw in the last six above was 1-1 at Alloa back in November 25th and the first win was our last home game, a 4-0 win over troubled Accies. After the Accies game it was 7 (SEVEN) games in a row away from home. That's the roller coaster ride we all signed on for back in the day.

Inverness won a tight first meeting this season through a deflected Liam Sole strike: It took a massive stroke of good fortune for substitute Liam Sole to grab the winner with a deflected shot off Charlie Dewar in a match dominated by the hosts, however we allowed Alloa to push for an equaliser late in the game because we had failed to swat the Wasps away when we were totally dominant and Ross Munro had to pull off a good stop to deny Alloa a late leveller. Oscar MacIntyre was a deserved MotM with a great display of wing back wizardry. The latest meeting was that 1-1 draw in November when a Longstaff goal was cancelled out by one from O'Donnell.

Strap yourself in, there's more to come!!!

• 🙂On Saturday, the normal times will apply for both Bar 94 and the matchday bus service, ideal if you are attending hospitality.

• Bar 94 will open at 1200, with last orders at 1430 (the bar must be fully vacated by 1445).

• The bar reopens at full time, when we will be joined by some of the players.

• 🚍Buses will leave the Bus Station for the Stadium at 1245 and 1415.

• 🚍Buses return from the Stadium to the Bus Station 10 minutes after the full time whistle and at 1800.

That is how Alloa laid out their squad for the midweek encounter against Montrose. It ended in a convincing win for the Wasps as they trounced Montrose 4-1 with goals from Josh Gentles, Charlie Dewar x2 and Luke Donnelly before a late consolation by the Gable Endies through Graeme Webster. Alloa were good value for the win although Monty keeper Sharp won't want to see his involvement in the second where he missed a cross into the six yard box. Subs made after the hour: Clarke, Burnside, Sammon, Buchanan, Rankin. Good depth to the Alloa squad. Alloa claim that was Charlie Dewar's first goals for the club in senior football after 33 appearances. I beg to differ. He scored when we beat them 1-0 earlier in the season off an assist from Liam Sole...Well done Charlie.

Last Six League1: W L L D D W

Bookend wins v Peterhead (4-0) and Montrose (4-1), defeats v Queens (0-2) & Accies (1-0), draws v Stenny & Kelty.

A KDM Trophy defeat sandwiched in there 2-3 against Airdrie on 9th Dec.

Here's the FULL TABLE for a change>>>

Montrose v Peterhead - Postponed 🌨️ ☔

Kelty v Stenhousemuir 📺 BBC Alba 17:30

On the Road Again & Back on Top

Another away game as we play catch-up at Bayview. The first half passed everyone by as nothing happened. A much better second forty-five saw Inverness build a head of steam before substitute Alfie Stewart lashed home a swerving shot from outside the box. Alfie Bavidge raced clear in time added on to seal the deal and put the Caley Jags back to winning ways and back on top of the table. Good win in difficult conditions.... but that first half needs wiped from the memory.

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Inverness got the game underway in blue and red on the artificial surface, their first visit in 27 years apparently with Oscar MacIntyre reinstated at left back and Jordan Alonge getting a rare start as well. Michael MacKenna would be a big threat for the hosts. A threatening ball in from MacIntyre on the left brought about a corner, but to no avail as a glanced header soon after bounced wide. Not much goalmouth action in the opening exchanges as defences were mopping up wayward balls forward on the fiery surface. East Fife players look keen to start a scrap in the opening quarter, shoving the visitors around at every opportunity. Untidy game with twenty minutes gone, the hosts in no mood to play attractive football. Too many players in blue not getting on the ball as of yet midway through the half. Zimba, Sole, MacKinnon, Alonge, Longstaff making no headway whatsoever with defences on top. Almost a bit of action as Sole found a yard of space to fire a ball into the box but it just evaded everyone. Ah well, back to sleep then. Twelve minutes before the break Brian Easton was replaced due to an injury with Halsey replacing him. Not sure Easton was injured, he might just have been bored. For a big guy, Zimba was struggling to win high balls forward. Mind you, he wasn't the only one. Liam Sole was unable to beat an egg in this first half as possession was gifted away all too often. Not sure I've witnessed such a poor half of football in my entire life. The BBC stats were not broken this time. It showed no shots on target. Grim stuff. Thankfully the referee called a halt to save our souls.

HALF TIME: 0-0

They tried to play highlights at the interval to no avail, alas there were none to show. Let's hope something happens in the second half or the 118 away fans will probably go home as well. And those watching on EFTV. I want my money back.... Early activity in the Inverness box as the defence cleared the ball in the opening minute. Luis Longstaff took a dig after the referee played advantage but his shot was dragged low and wide from the edge of the box. Not sure what it is, but something must be making all these players play so poorly. Biggest cheer so far was Munro slicing a clearance behind for a corner from which Bah tried a McTominay but fired over the bar. There was a corner onto the head of Zimba who should have hit the target but failed as it bounced wide. Danny Devine came in late at the back post off a Chalmers free kick but he stabbed his effort just over the bar. In fairness at least we are seeing some attempts and MacKinnon fired wide from outside the box. The closest effort so far saw McManus head clear off the line from a Devine header before Sole lashed the rebound well wide. The visitors pressure was mounting and after a period of decent possession it ended with Sole's cross being just too high. It had been coming and it was a belter when it did. After the ball broke to Alfie Stewart, he whacked a beauty of a half volley with the outside of his left foot high past the diving keeper from twenty-five yards. What a strike from the wee man. Kieron Willox almost added a second but his low curler missed the post by a whisker. Another effort from Willox was palmed away by the keeper minutes later followed by a blocked effort. A ball from a corner went vertical and when it dropped to Devine two yards out he missed the target. Should have been number two. Since the visitors upped the tempo with the introduction of Stewart and Willox there was only one side in it. And into time added on the points were safe when substitute Alfie Bavidge raced clear to finish at the second attempt after Hemfrey had blocked his initial effort.

FULL TIME: 0-2

Oh well, they can keep the money after a much better second half where the visitors dominated. That result put the Caley Jags back on top of the table on goal difference after an incredibly dull first half. It also broke our poor run of results with a first win in four League games

 It appears that wind was a major factor in the quality of the game in the first half but after that we had the wind behind us and it was one way traffic.

A couple of home games coming up next:

League1 v Alloa on Saturday 24th January

KDM v Stenhousemuir on Tuesday 27th January

Alloa beat Montrose 4-1 tonight

Two for the price of one!

Here's how Mantis saw the action:

Everyone's dream night out. A cold, windy January night in Methil Docks.
The first half was like Spartans all over again. Devine-Savage-Devine-Chalmers-Devine-Savage, 70% possession etc etc.
We started with a bit more purpose second half and meanwhile the wind seemed to have picked up although we now had it behind us. Kicks from Hemfrey in goals were struggling to reach the halfway line. If anybody scored it was going to be us but although the pressure was building, a goal wasn't a formality.

Kel has taken stick for his use of subs but the changes after an hour transformed the game as the pedestrian Chalmers and the 'tricky but ineffective' Longstaff gave way for Stewart and Willox. We upped the tempo as the Fifers tired.

Alfie Stewart's goal was a sight to behold. The celebrations from the management team were wild and joyful as well as relieved. The pundits always say that a tight game is settled by a quality player showing a bit of quality.
What about Willox? Well if you remember the first time you clapped eyes on Alfie Bavidge, that's what it was like. Electric pace as you would expect from a man from Nairrrrrn and great teamwork with Oscar down the left flank.

It has to be said that EF were woeful and are the worst team I have seen all season (I missed the 9-0 game in person), and resorted to the physical at times. The hardest Munro had to work all night was in dealing with passbacks. I think Dick risked a half fit Brian Easton who will hit 38 about 6 months before Billy, and he had to go off. Munro and Newton were both booked and flirted with second yellows at times.

It's traditional after a result like this for people to get carried away so beware the men from the Recs on Saturday. 👀

Date:  20/01/2026  Venue: Bayview Stadium Attendance: 0601 Referee: Cameron Stirling 
 
East Fife: 0

• Manager: Dick Campbell

• Lineup:  Hemfrey; Bah, Easton, Munro, Newton, Millar, McManus, Rowe (Healy 68),

• Latona (Trouten 68), Culbert (Elharek 84), McKenna

• Subs (not used):  Rollo; Halsey, Linton, Fairley, Nicol,

• Scorers: none

• Booked: Munro (50), Newton (57)

• Sent Off: none

Inverness CT: 2

• Manager: Scott Kellacher

• Lineup:  Munro; Millen, Devine, Savage, MacIntyre, Sole, Alonge, Chalmers (Willox 59),

• Longstaff (Stewart 59), MacKinnon (Allan ), Zimba (Bavidge 88)

• Subs (not used): Ross; Robertson, MacLeod, B Mckay, Wotherspoon

• Scorers: Stewart (70), Bavidge (90+2)

• Booked: none

• Sent Off: none