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Tears of Pride Celtic were big favourites to lift the Cup and with it complete the Treble. Inverness have been here before and have put Celtic out of the Cup on three previous occasions. However, it's a big ask and the bookies agree with Celtic's favourites tag. Scotland's number one side against this seasons eighteenth best side. It was pretty much a clean bill of health for Billy Dodds after a month of relative inactivity for his squad with just long term casualties Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh missing. Celtic were without Aaron Mooy and Cameron Carter-Vickers but such is their wealth of talent it would matter not a jot. At the end of the day Celtic would win the treble and lift the Scottish Cup. Inverness stuck to their game plan and battled hard, but it was one scalp too many. However there was only tears of pride at the end. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the pre-match entertainment enjoyed by the fans the game kicked off in bright sunshine. Celtic got the game underway in 21° Celsius. Could anyone outdo Man City who had earlier scored in 12 seconds in the FA Cup Final. The answer was an emphatic NO. A tentative opening from both sides as Inverness tried to play their way into the game with Celtic trying to force the pace. Fifteen minutes gone and the pattern remains the same with Celtic forcing the pace but over eager with their final ball. O'Riley bounced a volley wide in the first half chance of the game with almost nineteen minutes gone. A defensive misplaced pass offered Celtic an opportunity but Jota ran out of space as the defence recovered to shut him down. Ten minutes before the break Ridgers made his first save as he dropped on a low strike from 15 yards. A minute later Celtic went in front when Kyogo smashed in from eight yards. He almost added a second five minutes before the break but he chipped wide of Ridgers right hand post as Celtic turned the screw. Half Time: 1-0 Inverness were looking to get forward more at the start of the second half but Celtic were still dominating possession although Nathan Shaw was a half yard away from getting on the end of a low ball into the Celtic box. However Celtic were starting to flow better and the danger signs were there for Inverness. In the 65th minute Celtic doubled their advantage. They rode a couple of rash challenges before Abada stroked the ball into the net. VAR took a look and after some deliberation the goal was given, by mm looking at VAR. It was tight, but 2-0 it was. Ridgers made amends for a botched clearance when he clutched a shot out of the top corner from O'Riley. Cue plenty of substitutions with the game seemingly safe. Inverness got a lifeline with five minutes to go and it was a replica goal from Dan Mackay from a Wallace Duffy cross (think semi-final v Falkirk). Absolutely tremendous bulleted header again from Dan. Ridgers saved with his legs as Celtic looked to finish the tie off through Haksabanovic. They did moments later when Jota scored from close range after good work by Abada. Game over, maybe Ange's last one in charge but Celtic march on and we head back to the Championship with our heads held high. Full Time: 3-1 Best for Inverness on a difficult day was Wallace Duffy. What an invitingly sumptuous cross for Dan Mackay to power in a diving header. Cammy Harper on the other flank was equally impressive against Celtic's wide players and in midfield David Carson and Sean Welsh battled hard to stem the possession that Celtic were always going to dominate. We struggled up front working off scraps but substitute Dan Mackay scored that brilliant late power header to give us hope, albeit only fleeting. In general our defence stood firm for large parts of the game, seemingly working to a plan. Much better than many Premiership teams fared this season. Nobody hid in this game but we were restricted to what we could do by a quality treble winning side. Blood, sweat and tears of pride. As the season draws to a close we will not see so many of these guys here next season, but it has been an abstract pleasure reporting on our once again rollercoaster of a season. See you all back refreshed for 23/24. Duplication Dan, what a cross, what a goal! Stunning! Here's Dodds What they said on BBC Sport Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "I'm very proud. It's been an extraordinary season by the boys. We caught people by surprise last year. It's always hard defending things. The challenge was, 'can we be better this year and we push on?' "We've won the trophy that eluded us last year, so it feels great, it's the last day of the season. It's an occasion and it was nice to finish it off that way." Inverness Caley Thistle manager Billy Dodds: "I was always going to have a go but we lost goals at bad times. I'm so proud of the boys. They gave me everything. "Talks are ongoing (on a new contract) and we hope to get things tied up, so we'll see what happens over the next few days. I love working with these players and you can see the team spirit we have." Date: 03/06/2023 Venue: Hampden Park Attendance: 47247 Referee: John Beaton Celtic: 3 Manager: Ange Postecoglou Lineup: Hart; Johnston, Iwata, Starfelt, Taylor, McGregor, Hatate (Haksabanovic 76), O'Riley (Turnbull 76), Jota (Forrest 90+2), Maeda (Abada 45), Kyoga (Oh 59) Subs (not used): Siegrist, Bernabei, Ralston, Welsh Scorers: Furuhashi (38), Abada (65), Jota (90+1) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine (Delaney 75), Deas, Harper, Henderson (D Mackay 68), Carson, Welsh, Allardice (MacGregor 81), Shaw (Doran 81), B Mckay (Samuels 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Woods, Boyd Scorers: D Mackay (84) Booked: Carson (43), Duffy (70) Sent Off: none a

Scottish Cup Warm-Up This hastily arranged kick-about ahead of the Scottish Cup Final on June 3rd was an effort to keep the season jaded legs turning before we head to Hampden Park on June 3rd to take on another Irish outfit, Glasgow Celtic. The Swifts were also needing a run out as they may yet have a relegation battle to play out, depending on the outcome of the Warrenpoint appeal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ahead of the meeting, here's the tidy playing field @ Stangmore Park Inverness would start with a strong selection. Robbie Deas was on the bench along with Dan Mackay, Aaron Doran, Nathan Shaw and Roddy MacGregor. Zak Delaney will fill Robbie Deas left centre back position. Mark Ridgers started in goal and Wallace Duffy and David Carson were on at the same time with Austin Samuels also starting. It turned out to be a worthwhile exercise at Stangmore Park with all the players getting a run out after the interval. Inverness were quick out of the blocks and were two up after 16 minutes through Cammy Harper and Wallace Duffy. Ridgers saved from Ethan McGhee as Swifts looked to hit back and Billy Mckay had an effort blocked on the half hour. 2-0 at the interval and that was the cue to get some subs on. Steven Scott pulled one back ten minutes after the break but Austin Samuels restored our two goal lead two minutes later. Play was broken thereafter with all the players getting some game time and it ended 3-1 to the visitors. Full Time 1-3 A good workout for all involved in the build up to the Scottish Cup Final and great to see Roddy MacGregor getting some twenty minutes on the park. Austin Samuels got back on the scoresheet after his lengthy lay off with Harper and Duffy scoring in the first half.

Cup Final Warm-Up The Caley Jags have made a hastily arranged Cup Final warm-up ahead of the Celtic meeting as we have time to kill before the Scottish Cup Final. It's off to County Tyrone in Northern Ireland to face Dungannon Swifts. Who I hear you ask? Well, they are a Northern Irish, semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the Irish League First Division in 1997. Dungannon earned promotion from Irish League First Division to the Premier Division in the 2002–03 season. They are currently trying to avoid relegation. The Swifts hail from Dungannon, County Tyrone and plays their home matches at Stangmore Park. Club colours are royal blue with white trim (home strip) and yellow with a red trim (away strip). RELEGATION GROUP (bottom half of table) Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Glenavon 38 14 10 14 58 61 -3 52 2 Carrick Rangers 38 12 4 22 45 74 -29 40 3 Ballymena Utd 38 11 6 21 37 55 -18 39 4 Newry City 38 9 3 26 37 71 -34 30 5 Dungannon 38 9 3 26 28 84 -56 30 6 Portadown 38 6 5 27 29 88 -59 23 Our own Immortal Howden Ender will take up the story with this preview for you. Well would you feckin "Adam and Eve" it - Inverness Caley Jags are back in Europe - albeit in a highly unlikely and unexpected friendly in Northern Ireland. On Saturday 20th May, two weeks prior to the biggest game in the clubs history, we run out onto Stangmore Park in County Tyrone, approximately 40 miles west of Belfast, to gain much needed game playing time but probably not in front of a potential 3K capacity crowd. So WHY Dungannon Swifts do you ask? Probable reasons are that there were no other takers and that Dungannon are in a similar conundrum as ourselves. They are also running very late in their season with nobody to play!! They have just managed to attract Ballymacash Rangers but were defeated 3-2 although their goals by Cahal McGinty (where do I know that name from?) and Sam Anderson were extolled. We must be a bigger outfit as we have to pay £5 a head entrance fee whereas they only charged £3 for Ballymacash. If you think that the SFL are inept - then just look at the situation with the NIFL and Warrenpoint Town. Due to the legal processes Swifts had been lying idle since beating Newry City in their final game of the season on April 29th, following on from beating Portadown 3-2 in a massive relegation game the previous week. Those wins should have set up the Swifts to take on Warrenpoint Town in a two legged Premiership Promotion / Relegation tie in early May. But the NIFL refused to grant a license for Warrenpoint to play in the Premiership in the 2023/24 season. But - of course - there is a lengthy appeals procedure and - you got it - Warrenpoint appealed!! Warrenpoint admitted to an unpaid tax bill and repaid it. But the NIFL proceeded. There was even a suggestion that Annagh United should replace Warrenpoint but that was also appealed against. Anyway to cut a long story short the proposed new dates for the Swifts and Town to go into battle are Tuesday May 30th and Saturday June 3rd (why does that date mean something?). BUT that is only a possibility and it may go on for longer!! And what about the history of Dungannon Swifts - well they have been in Europe twice. In the UEFA Cup in 2007/8 they went out to the famed Sudova Marijampole of Lithuania. They fared the same in the Intertoto Cup (remember that one!!) when they were beaten by the equally renowned Knattspyrnudeild Keflavik of Iceland. Anyway the Swifts are managed by an old foe of ours - Dean Sheils of the Hibees, Sevco, Pars and Killie fame. Many will remember that he joined in some friendly banter with our own support. They do have two Jocks in their squad - a front man called Joe Moore and Darren Cole. Darren however was on loan from Glentoran and may now be on his hols. I am reliably informed that men to look out for are the defender Mayoma Aminashasun and another front man - Marc Welsh. Here's a Caley Jag mug on the road to Hampden But this "find" only highlights how difficult it can be to arrange games at this time of the season. As the Swifts chairman - Keith Boyd - stated "We have players on holiday and others are going in the next few weeks". It is all very well getting together on a regular basis, maintaining and improving fitness levels, trying out new tactics, systems and ploys but having a competitive opposition is a major requirement. This may well be our last chance before the Cup Final!! So surely our starting X1 at Dungannon will be the starting X1 for the Cup Final? Or will Dodds try to fool the watching Celtic scouts? Will the second half be a substitute galore affair? Will both sides be instructed to 'go easy on each other'? And what about the expense? Presumably the Costa del Tyronne journey will replace any Costa del Sol planning? Will we have another one or two "proper" run outs next week? Surely we could attract and rustle up a Highland League Select or even a local Junior Select? Only time will tell. My good self, like many others, would probably have been travelling with more notice. A weekend in Northern Ireland is a tasty dish. But there are some going and may I take the opportunity of suggesting a visit to Feenys or McAleers. Have a swift "doddsie" for me please, cheers.

Ayr never read the script The final game of the regular season would decide who went into the play-offs and who ended their league campaign now. It couldn't be tighter across the Championship on Winner Takes All Weekend. David Carson was a surprise omission from the starting XI after his Cup suspension with Wallace Duffy retaining his place at right back. Billy Mckay was hoping to be a record breaker as he searched for his 101st goal for the Caley Jags. Only a win would be good enough for Inverness who could finish third or sixth, depending on results elsewhere. A win would end speculation and put Inverness in the play-offs. As it turned out we ended the season in sixth place and Ayr, Queen's Park and Partick Thistle will battle it out in the play-offs for a Premiership place alongside Champions Dundee. Ayr United never read the script properly and deservedly took the plaudits in a 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium. A first half goal from Josh Mullin who looked close to being offside and Nathan Shaw in a crowded box with ten minutes left looked to be enough for the Honest Men. However Mark McKenzie ensured it would be Ayr's night with an 88th minute strike to shatter our hopes after such a strong finish to the season. Alas we fell at the last hurdle and now have a month to wait for a Scottish Cup Final appearance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On a perfect evening for a game of football, Inverness failed to turn up for the first forty-five which Ayr totally dominated. Ayr had numerous efforts that went close from distance or Ridgers was able to fend away and they should have scored but for a timely if unintended block inside the six yard box. They did open the scoring though when Josh Mullin was given the benefit of a marginal decision to run through on Ridgers and tuck the ball away. No more than Ayr deserved to be honest as we were not at the races in the first half. With Carson and Samuels on in the second half, we were instantly more aggressive and had a number of efforts. Samuels had a half blocked shot cleared off the line by Musonda. He was also close to connecting with a low ball into the box. Carson did connect with one but volleyed it a couple of yards wide. Shaw slotted in after good pressure in a crowded box as we saw a glimmer of hope. Delaney headed over from ten yards following a corner as we pushed for a winner. Alas it came at the other end when O'Connor teed up Mark McKenzie to slot home from twelve yards as Ridgers moved to cover the other side of his goal line. Samuels had the ball in the net after Albinson pushed away a shot, but he was adjudged offside by a less than impressive standside linesman. Game over, too little too late and another season in the Championship incoming. Meh! FULL TIME 1-2 Inverness paid the price for a jaded looking first half as Ayr went about their business with intent. The benching of Carson was not the most popular decision Dodds has ever made and he should carry the can for that. We could not muster anything of note in a shocker of a first half and Ayr could have been three up at the interval. Nathan Shaw offered us some hope but it was too little too late and we suffered a late sucker punch as Ayr celebrated. Looks like our heavy schedule eventually took it's toll or did we really look like a team that wanted to go up a league? Much better second half with Carson and Samuels getting stuck in, but half of the team in that first half could have sat in the stands and watched. Maybe they did as Ayr were all over us like a rash in the first forty-five. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts After the dust settled, Dundee go up & Cove go down and we slip to sixth. Meh! 1. Dundee 36 17 12 7 66 40 63 2. Ayr United 36 16 10 10 61 43 58 3. Queens Park 36 17 7 12 63 52 58 4. Partick Thistle 36 16 9 11 65 45 57 5. Morton 36 15 12 9 53 43 57 6. Inverness CT 36 15 10 11 52 47 55 7. Raith Rovers 36 11 10 15 46 49 43 8. Arbroath 36 6 16 14 29 47 34 9. Hamilton Ac. 36 7 10 19 31 63 31 10. Cove Rangers 36 7 10 19 38 75 31 RiG summed up pretty accurately: Ayr fully deserved that win last night. All over us from the get go and looked better all over the pitch for most of the game. We did get on top for a period in the second half but even then they still looked a threat on the break. Thought at the time the opener may have been offside but the videos above clearly show he was on. Bizarre from Dodds to watch us shell long balls forward to Mckay (but most of the time it was no one) and think this was okay. So many players fell flat at a time when we needed them. Worst was Allardice who had an absolute nuke of a performance. Taking on Woods instead of Doran was laughable. Just more bizarre Dodds moments that sum up our season. As I've said before results recently have been good but performances have been poor for a good number of weeks. We were able to shitfest our way past jobbers like Cove but when a decent team like Ayr comes along we're found wanting. The league next season could be the most difficult in a while and it's hard not to feel we've missed our best chances to get out of here now. Lee Bullen, Ayr United manager on BBC Sport: "I think both teams played a massive part in that game, [it was] an emotional rollercoaster. I do feel for [Inverness manager] Billy [Dodds], yes obviously we are absolutely delighted to get there. "But his team in that second half, I thought we controlled the first half, but his team in that second half deserve a lot credit." Date: 05/05/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3435 Referee: Don Robertson Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy (Carson 45), Devine (Delaney 73), Deas, Harper, Henderson, Welsh (Woods 79), Allardice (Hyde 73), Shaw, D Mackay (Samuels 45), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; MacGregor, Boyd, Doran Scorers: Shaw (81) Booked: Henderson (17) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 2 Manager: Lee Bullen Lineup: Albinson; Hewit, Musonda, McGinty, Reading (O'Connor 86), Mullin (McKenzie 76), Dempsey, Murdoch (Brydon 86), Ashford (McAlear 64), Maguire (Mitchell-Lawson 76), Akinyemi Subs (not used): McAdams; Smith, Jenkins Scorers: Mullin (35), McKenzie (88) Booked: Albinson (90+4) Sent Off: none a

Semi-Final Joy It was an early start for most Inverness fans on the Saturday morning as they headed to the National Stadium to get behind the Caley Jags. The first train out of Inverness saw some weary eyes on the 05:30 to Queen Street. Wiser ones went down the night before to savour the occasion. Falkirk fans? Well they were subject to a gruelling half hour journey before the scheduled kick-off time of 12:15pm. Alfredo's was a popular choice for pre-match aperitif's before heading in the direction of the National Stadium. Hampden Park was less than a quarter full as these two teams met once again in the Scottish Cup. The winner will go on to the final where either Rangers or Celtic will be the prize for getting there. Inverness were in their first choice home strip and the Bairns were in their dark blue on a brisk but dryish Saturday lunchtime. With a VAR assisted penalty, Billy Mckay opened the scoring early in the first half. Dan Mackay headed in the second from an inviting Jay Henderson Cross. Falkirk had their moments, Callumn Morrison hitting the post after some defensive indecision on the edge of the box. However, we did our own post hitting and Billy Mckay wrapped up the victory in the second half with a well taken finish, his 100th goal for the Caley Jags. That ensured our progress into the final. Nathan Shaw was unfortunate twice off the post and Falkirk were denied a consolation by some dogged defending. All in, comfortable in the end and Hampden calling once more. Key moments: 6th minute: Jay Henderson's cross from the right deflects off the hand of defender Leon McCann. VAR went into action and after a quick check Nick Walsh pointed to the spot. Billy Mckay stepped forward to send a clinical penalty high to the keepers left. 1-0 10th minute: A lofted ball over the head of Devine makes him chase back towards Ridgers. Burrell in hot pursuit forces Devine and Ridgers to hesitate and the keepers clumsy clearance falls to Callumn Morrison. He rolls the ball goalward from outside the angle of the box but it bounces away from goal off the base off the post before Duffy and Deas block and the finger wagging begins in the Inverness defence. 24th minute: Maksym Kucheryavyi heads into Mark Ridgers midrift from the centre of the box. 34th minute: Jay Henderson curls a sumptuous cross into the box and Daniel Mackay heads downwards emphatically into the bottom corner. Spectacular cross and finish. 2-0 57th minute: All over bar the shouting. A long diagonal ball to the far post from Dan Mackay picks out a supercool Billy Mckay who calmly guides the ball behind Kinnear for another superb goal. That's 100 now for Billy Mckay. 63rd minute: Nathan Shaw smacks the post with a deflected shot that has the keeper beaten. Unfortunately it bounces clear. 65th minute: Comedy defending as Inverness try to help Falkirk to a consolation goal. Robbie Deas was short with a pass back as he tried to knee the ball back to his keeper. Gary Oliver picked up the loose ball but his cut back was blocked. It came back to him on the byeline but his second effort was headed clear by Danny Devine who was already lying full length on the deck, his head on the byeline to knock the ball away. 68th minute: Nathan Shaw weaved his way into the box and opened up his body to curl a low shot goalwards. It beat the keeper but bounced off the same post before agonisingly rolling along the line and clear of goal. 77th minute: Last throw of the dice from the Bairns saw Ridgers make a comfortable save from Ola Lawal to keep a clean sheet and the wind was now well and truly out of the Bairns sails. 93rd minute: Nick Walsh closes the game with a few peeps of his whistle. Game over at 3-0, Final v Celtic to come on June 3rd after they beat Rangers 1-0 on the Sunday. Highlights can be seen on BBC Sport Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "You can't give Inverness a goal start. They are the type of team that lap that up. But you can't legislate for such a soft goal as well. I'm not the first to be in this situation [with VAR]. "We had opportunities. I'm proud of the way the players played. But we didn't have the quality Inverness did." Inverness CT striker Billy Mckay: "We're delighted, it couldn't have gone much better. Roll on June. I thought we were ruthless. It's a weird feeling because we could've been out. Now we're in the final. "I knew [the third goal] was my 100th [for the club]. I wanted to stay on for my hat-trick. All round it's a pleasing day." Whist we were at Hampden, some important Championship games were played out. So, it's all to play for in the final league games of the season next Friday night. Friday night: Dundee 0-0 Cove Saturday 3:00pm: Ayr Utd 1-0 Raith Morton 2-1 Queen's Partick 2-0 Arbroath Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Couldn't be tighter at both ends of the table 1. Dundee 35 16 12 7 61 37 60 2. Queens Park 35 17 7 11 60 47 58 3. Partick Thistle 35 16 8 11 63 43 56 4. Ayr United 35 15 10 10 59 42 55 5. Inverness CT 35 15 10 10 51 45 55 6. Morton 35 14 12 9 51 42 54 7. Raith Rovers 35 11 9 15 44 47 42 8. Arbroath 35 6 15 14 29 47 33 9. Cove Rangers 35 7 10 18 37 73 31 10. Hamilton Ac. 35 7 9 19 31 63 30 Friday night 7:45pm Arbroath v Accies Cove Ran v Morton Inverness CT v Ayr United Queen's v Dundee Rovers v Partick Date: 29/04/2023 Venue: Hampden Park Attendance: 12877 Referee: Nick Walsh Falkirk FC: 0 Manager: John McGlynn Lineup: Kinnear; Williamson (Yeats 67), Donaldson, Mckay, McCann, Henderson (Lawal 77), McGinn, Kucheryavyi, C Morrison (Wright 61), Burrell (Oliver 61), Kennedy (Nesbitt 61) Subs (not used): P Morrison; Rowe, Allan, McGuffie Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy (Delaney 79), Devine, Deas, Harper, Henderson (Boyd 84), Welsh, Allardice, Shaw (Hyde 85), D Mackay (Doran 73), B Mckay (Samuels 78) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ram, MacGregor Scorers: Mckay (7 pen, 57), D Mackay (37) Booked: Deas (45+1) Sent Off: none a

2015 Revisited The last time we played Falkirk at Hampden in front of 37,000 fans, it was a history making event. I don't really need to tell you how that worked out, but for those that were on another planet, we won the Scottish Cup by beating Falkirk 2-1. Since then both clubs have underachieved and hit the skids. Falkirk are now trying to get themselves out of league 1 and we are desperately trying to keep ourselves in the Premiership play-off slot after a horrendous season littered with injuries to the whole squad. A third round struggle past Stirling Albion before we went through to the 5th round by default against Queens Park, but since then have comfortably disposed of Premiership opposition in Livingston and Kilmarnock. Falkirk got here by putting six past Wick Academy before a narrow 2-1 win at Alloa. They then dumped media darlings Darvel 5-1 and in the quarter final put out Ayr United. On paper we will be the bookies favourites. That's not something we are normally comfortable with and I fully expect Falkirk will also fancy their chances in this one, and rightly so. Be warned! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ticket & Bus info from ICTFC Supporters Club Buses Full ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 8 5 14 35 42 -7 Away 23 7 6 10 29 33 -4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 15 11 24 64 75 -11 Falkirk are one of the few clubs out with the Premiership that have had the better of us over the years in head 2 head encounters. In the early years since we crossed swords in 1999 we always found Falkirk to be a difficult side to beat. Only 15 wins from 50 encounters is not one of our better stats. We have fared better in recent years with the Cup Final in 2015 being the pinnacle. The 0-2 home defeat shown below in the stats was the first meeting after the Cup Final win. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 2 (H) Click the link below for our full report from the Scottish Cup Final, brings a tear to a glass eye..... We went in at the break a goal to the good after getting to grips with the game halfway through the first period, Marley Watkins finishing with aplomb after a seven man move. Carl Tremarco was sent packing after 75 minutes after he miscontrolled a ball and then scythed down Blair Alston as he sped goalwards. Schoolboy error from Carl that was punished five minutes later when Peter Grant headed powerfully home from the vacant left back position. However, an unlikely hero came forward and James Vincent applied the finishing touch after Jamie MacDonald spilled a Watkins shot. The rest is history. 2015 Scottish Cup Final May 30th Scottish Cup (Final) 2 - 1 N 37,149 Anyway, back to the future and another tough game is expected against a Falkirk side who will finish second in League 1 and will be looking for promotion through the play-offs. Three former Inverness players in their ranks at the moment. Defenders Coll Donaldson and Brad Mckay along with winger Kai Kennedy who will be a handful. Mckay and Kennedy scored in a 4-1 win over Alloa at the weekend. Kennedy has scored five goals in his last four games. However, League form goes out the window in cup games, especially at Hampden where the vastness of the arena with less than full stands can turn it into a training like atmosphere. The daunting task of beating one of the Old Firm at a packed Hampden does not appeal to many, but it has been done before although the bookies won't be expecting that to happen whoever teachers the final. LAST WEEK Dundee broke our run of six straight wins with a draw at the Caledonian Stadium last Saturday. They opened the scoring through Lyall Cameron before Austin Samuels levelled with fifteen minutes left. A hard earned point in a game where Dundee looked like running away with the points for over an hour. Our late comeback meant that ultimately it was a deserved point but Dundee might disagree with that. Falkirk warmed up by trouncing Alloa Athletic 4-1 at Recreation Park. Brad Mckay, Kai Kennedy and a brace from Liam Henderson did the damage. Kennedy on a good spree just now with some spectacular dead ball strikes this month. Coll Donaldson did his bit. He was booked on half time. The third goal enabled them to rest some legs ahead of this one, unlike us who had to battle hard for the full ninety plus minutes. FanZone The word on the street is that the pre-match watering hole will be Alfredo's. It's known as Alfie's Sports Bar on West Nile Street. Alfie’s is located at 146 West Nile Street, G1 2RQ. This is a few minutes north of Glasgow Queen’s Street and the Bus Station. Apparently it opens around 8:00am. It would be rude not to.... Google Link to Alfies Sports Bar There's also a post match Bar for celebrating or drowning your sorrows. Koelschip Yard 686-688 Pollokshaws Rd, Glasgow G41 2QB Listen to the latest Podcast from The Wyness Shuffle Join Moff, Riley, AY and Wyness Shuffle debutants Sandy Sutherland and Calum MacDonald as they begin the countdown to the big one by looking back at our recent excellent run, hearing from a few familiar voices, and speculating on who will be running out at Hampden next Saturday. Let’s Shuffle to HAMPDEN CALLING That should keep you busy for a while on the train down to Glasgow Latest Team News David Carson is suspended for this one and Lewis Nicolson is cup-tied to add to Sutherland and Walsh who will no doubt be watching from the stands. Our missing souls of Roddy MacGregor and Max Ram might be added to the squad as Billy hints at in his media preview. Sean Welsh missed last week against Dundee with a knock but will return this week. Wallace Duffy made a welcome return last week with the impending suspension of Carson for this game. Falkirk manager John McGlynn had this starting XI against Alloa: Kinnear Williamson Donaldson McKay McCann Henderson McGinn Kucheriavyi Morrison Burrell Kennedy Subs: P Morrison; Rowe, Allan, Nesbitt, McGuffie, Yeats, Wright Oliver, Lawal Callumn Morrison is top scorer this season with 13 goals. Kai Kennedy and striker Rumarn Burrell both have 9 goals.

As you Were Dundee came North looking to all but wrap up the title. Inverness were on a six game winning streak and looking to force their way into the play-offs with this late run. There was a blow for Inverness with influential captain Sean Welsh missing, although defender Wallace Duffy was the mystery returnee this week. Jay Henderson returned after suspension with Austin Samuels, Dan Mackay and Aaron Doran on the bench with Duffy. Dundee had their big guns out for this one with perennial pest Paul McMullan on the bench. Strike pairing of Jakubiak and Robinson would be a handful. A magnificently observed minutes applause for Tommy Cumming set the scene on a dry but breezy afternoon. As it panned out it ended all square. Dundee were quick out of the blocks and pestered Mark Ridgers early on without creating the clear cut chance to open the scoring. Level at the break, the Dark Blues continued in the same vein after the break and made the breakthrough on the hour when Lyall Cameron scored. However we have been resilient of late and substitute Austin Samuels earned us a point with fifteen minutes remaining as we came back at Dundee to quieten their raucous support who firmly believe Billy is a short rotund person born out of wedlock! Morton and Cove were the only winners today, so as you were at the top of the table as we hang on to third place. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dundee started briskly and forged an opportunity in the opening minute when Luke Hannant's cross was not dealt with convincingly and the ricocheted shot from Luke McGowan had to be caught at the second attempt by Mark Ridgers. Alex Jakubiak should have done better when Zach Robinson sent an inviting low cross into the box but Jakubiak almost fresh aired and the ball trundled well wide. Dundee were in the ascendency with Inverness mostly firefighting and reacting to the waves of attacks. Despite their dominance, Ridgers was rarely troubled. In a rare foray forward Robbie Deas tried to improvise a shot from eight yards out but Legzdins pounced to catch the ball and the defenders head at the same time. Just before the interval Robinson headed a couple of yards wide from a good position. HALF TIME 0-0 The second half started similar to the first, Dundee using pace and passing, Inverness using last ditch tackles and blocks to keep the eager visitors at bay. On the hour we lost possession twenty-five yards into the Dundee half. They transferred it swiftly forward through Robinson and Jakubiak. When the latter's shot was blocked the ball fell behind Lyall Cameron who had the presence of mind to step over it before backheeling into the net. Dodds made some game saving substitutions thereafter which paid off as all three were involved in the eqalising goal. It all began in our own penalty box from Ridgers. The main ingredients were Dan Mackay who turned well before driving thirty yards forward then delivering a dangerous ball into the box. Wallace Duffy who had already been involved two or three times in the move seemed to flick it towards the back post where Austin Samuels had arrived to tuck it behind Legzdins with his second touch. A superb team goal which was in stark contrast to the shelled balls Billy Mckay had been expected to deal with over the first hour. Ridgers made a save low down from a miscued clearance and Samuels turned and shot but it was straight at Legzdins and both sides had to settle for a point apiece. Temwork works>>> FULL TIME 1-1 From BBC Sport: Inverness CT manager Billy Dodds: "Dundee edged the first-half without glorious chances. They looked the hungrier, we looked a bit jaded. "We go a goal down and then there's another fightback and we finish quite strongly for a team that are quite tired. We finish with a flourish. My subs made an impact and that's what I want. " Dundee manager Gary Bowyer: "We dominated the first half, but we needed to be better with our final pass and the decision making. We didn't work the goalie enough. "The second-half the game became a bit scrappy but we scored a good goal. We had the domino effect of mistakes for their equaliser. It's something for us to keep working on and improving." Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after todays games 1. Dundee 34 16 11 7 61 37 59 2. Queens Park 34 17 7 10 59 45 58 3. Inverness CT 35 15 10 10 51 45 55 4. Partick Thistle 34 15 8 11 61 43 53 5. Ayr United 34 14 10 10 58 42 52 6. Morton 34 13 12 9 49 41 51 7. Raith Rovers 34 11 9 14 44 46 42 8. Arbroath 34 6 15 13 29 45 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 35 7 9 19 31 63 30 10. Cove Rangers 34 7 9 18 37 73 30 Date: 22/04/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3822 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine (D Mackay 68), Deas, Delaney, Boyd (Samuels 62), Allardice, Harper, Henderson (Doran 76), Shaw, B Mckay (Duffy 62) Subs (not used): C Mackay, L Nicolson, Hyde, Woods, Scorers: Samuels (75) Booked: Delaney (56), Duffy (88) Sent Off: none Dundee FC: 1 Manager: Gary Bowyer Lineup: Legzdins; Mulligan, Sweeney, Ashcroft, Marshall (Clampin 81), McCowan (McMullan 68), Maguire, Cameron (Williamson 85), Hannant (Reedy 81), Jakubiak (Thomas 81), Robinson Subs (not used): Lawlor; Fisher, Byrne, Kerr Scorers: Cameron (60) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Crunch Time Big game in the Highlands on Saturday as Champions in waiting Dundee head North to the Caledonian Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off, and a big following is expected as the Dark Blues look to get the automatic promotion slot ahead of the imploding Queens Park and the unlikely trio of Ayr United, Morton and Inverness who are making a late bid for the top four. There will be a minutes applause ahead of kick-off in memory of former groundsman Tommy Cumming who passed away on 20th April. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tommy Cumming RIP Match/Ticket info Your Cub Needs You Scottish Cup Tickets/Travel AGM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 7 8 2 27 16 +11 Away 21 7 9 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 Total 40 14 17 9 58 46 +12 Overall we still hold the advantage over Dundee in the forty games played. All square in the meetings so far this season, but Dundee won on their last visit to the Caledonian Stadium Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (A) McMullan strikes: 0 - 1 Dec3rd: Dundee came North as one of the form teams in the championship over the last half dozen games. Naughty boy Paul McGowan was not in the squad. Inverness were still without 75% of their first picks but Daniel Mackay made his comeback last week and Ryan Barrett made his debut against Stirling in the Cup. Paul McMullan opened the scoring midway through the first half after cutting in from the left before curling past Cammy Mackay. Almost a second as the ball deflected onto the bar before Mackay picked up the rebound after the half hour. George Oakley missed what appeared to be a sitter from eight yards as half time approached as Aaron Doran swung in an inviting cross. With no further scoring in the second half, Dundee took the three points and Inverness remain in sixth place, but starting to slip off the pace. Last Time Out The games have been coming thick and fast for the Caley Jags in April. However we have stood firm and handled the pressure well so far. It began well with a 2-1 win at Morton on 1st April. Raith Rovers were despatched 2-0 a week later. A midweek win saw Arbroath go down by the same score before we came from behind to beat a determined Cove Rangers 2-1 at Balmoral Stadium. Then our nemesis, Hamilton Accies. We had to come from behind again with goals from Nathan Shaw and an 88th minute strike from Billy Mckay to earn the points. Billy is now on 98 goals chasing the all time record of 101 by Dennis Wyness. W W W W W W Dundee had to come from 3-1 down at home to Morton to snatch a 94th minute equaliser. Kwame Thomas was the man responsible for rescuing a point when defeat was staring them in the face with twenty minutes left. Luke Hannant levelled the game in the first half but Morton established a two goal lead before Thomas saved the day with two late strikes. D W W D W D Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of crunch game tonight - Ayr United v Queens Park 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Inverness CT 34 15 9 10 50 44 54 4. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 5. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 34 7 8 19 29 61 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 Friday 21st April Ayr Utd v Queens Saturday 22nd April Arbroath v Cove Ran Accies v Partick Inverness CT v Dundee FC Morton v Raith Rvr Latest Team News Jay Henderson will return after suspension. He certainly carries a threat and has linked up well with Nathan Shaw recently. Duffy, MacGregor and Ram all missed out at Hamilton. Hopefully no new injuries but it's been a tough schedule in recent weeks and there will be some weary legs around the Caledonian Stadium. Pretty much confirmed that Sutherland and Walsh will probably see no action this season. Dundee starting XI v Morton last week Legzdins Mulligan Sweeney Ashcroft Marshall McCowan Maguire Cameron Hannant Jakubiak Robinson Full bench as well: Kerr, Byrne, Thomas, McMullan, Lawlor, Williamson, Fisher, Clampin, Reedy Here's hoping they can keep McMullan on the bench. He has been a thorn in our side in recent years and scored a good goal in the win at the Caledonian Stadium back in December.

KITMAN, GROUNDSMAN, CHARACTER, LEGEND, HUSBAND, GRANDA & FRIEND TO MANY It is with great sadness that the passing of former Inverness Caledonian Thistle groundsman Tommy Cumming has been announced by the club. RIP Tommy Tommy was married to Margaret and had two sons, Thomas and Gary. He also leaves 8 grandchildren, Thomas, Adam, Maisie, Mhairi, Caitlin, Lewis, Melanie and Seb. In tribute to Tommy’s truly outstanding service to the club, there will be a minute’s applause at Saturday’s game at Caledonian Stadium against Dundee. Players will also wear black arm bands. Read full tribute here>>> Funeral Arrangements can be seen on W T Fraser facebook page Funeral service Wednesday 3rd May at 11.00am in the Funeral Home of William T Fraser and Son, Culduthel Road, Inverness. Family flowers only please. Donations in memory of Tommy in aid of the Highland Hospice are welcome at the service or can be made via the link below. For those unable to attend, the service will stream live at www.williamtfraserandson.co.uk/live-stream

He Scores When He Wants A long trip on a Tuesday night to face your bogey team is not ideal, especially when it gets to the business end of the season. That's what faced the Caley Jags as we looked to win our sixth game on the bounce against struggling Hamilton Accies who have already beaten us four times this season. Inverness could go third, but Accies would be hoping to put some distance between themselves and bottom side Cove Rangers. As it turned out it remained goalless at the interval with Deas seeing a header saved by Fulton just before the break. Connor Smith scored direct from a free kick after the interval but Nathan Shaw equalised three minutes later. Billy Mckay won all three points with a poachers goal in off the post with three minutes left and that's how it ended. Phew! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful evening greeted the sides at the ZLX Stadium for the third last game of the regular season. Billy Dodds had three changes from the side that won at Cove. Deas, Doran and Boyd started with Harper, Samuels and Dan Mackay dropping onto the bench. Fergus Owens missed out for Accies with De Bolle and Winter dropping to the bench. Mimnaugh and JP Tiehi started. Steven Boyd and Billy Mckay combined well early on with Mckay forcing Ryan Fulton into a save as he palmed his shot away. Zak Delaney fired over the bar from the left side as the visitors probed for an opening when Sean Welsh played him in. Billy Mckay was prominent around the hosts box and he intercepted a pass from Ryan McGowan. He managed to get a shot away from a tight angle after rounding the keeper but he could only find the side netting. Accies responded and Connor Smith tried to find the top corner but his curling effort was just a coat of paint too wide. Just before the break Robbie Deas was unfortunate with a header as Fulton saved low down to deny the Caley Jags defender after a Nathan Shaw corner, and Ridgers saved in the last action of the first forty-five. HALF TIME: 0-0 Aaron Doran brought Fulton into action five minutes after the restart as he met Delaney's cross in the box, the keeper saving well in the bottom corner. Ridgers saved with his legs from Seal as the action went to both ends and Doran shot wide. Boyd followed suit as well, missing the target and did similar again with twenty minutes left. Accies opened the scoring through Connor Smith from a dubious free kick. Nothing wrong with his execution though from 25 yards which was clinical into the top corner. Their success only lasted three minutes when Nathan Shaw scored from close range. Substitute Dario Zanatta went close as we entered the final fifteen minutes. It got even better for the visitors in the 88th minute when Billy Mckay scored a typical 'he scores when he wants' goal. In off the post. That's how it all ended as the late run goes on. FULL TIME: 1-1 What a result for Inverness after going a goal behind with twenty minutes left. Nathan Shaw's contribution has been invaluable of late and Billy Mckay should be knighted and given the freedom of the Highlands. That's his 98th goal for Inverness CT. Up to third in the table for now after six wins on the bounce. Great night for the 165 Caley Jags fans. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Gosh, the table looks better now 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Inverness CT 34 15 9 10 50 44 54 4. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 5. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 34 7 8 19 29 61 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 Pic from Johndo of the goal celebration>>> Date: 18/04/2023 Venue: New Douglas Park Attendance: 1316 Referee: Graham Grainger Hamilton Accies: 1 Manager: John Rankin Lineup: Fulton; Sparrow, McGowan, O'Reilly, Tumilty (Winter 69), Martin, Lawson, Mimnaugh (De Bolle 62) C Smith, Tiehi (Zanatta 68), Ashley-Seal Subs (not used): J Smith; McGinn, Spence, Easton, Stephenson, L Smith Scorers: C Smith (72) Booked: Martin (45), O'Reilly (59) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Deas, Delaney, Boyd (Samuels 73), Welsh (Woods 89), Allardice, Shaw, Doran (D Mackay 73), B Mckay (Harper 90) Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Hyde Scorers: Shaw (75), B Mckay (88) Booked: Devine (24) Sent Off: none a

Crucial Three Points Whilst we have not had our own troubles to seek on the injury front, Cove Rangers were facing a similar crisis to what we went through as the relegation battle continues. With Accies losing to Queens Park last night, Cove had the opportunity to get off the bottom of the table should they win today. We were looking for a win to keep in the hunt for a play-off place and keep the pressure on those above us. Inverness were without the suspended Jay Henderson with Danny Devine starting in place of Robbie Deas who was on the bench for a rest. Neither side had a full bench and Iain Vigurs started for Cove. After a goalless first forty-five of anti football Inverness came from behind in the second period through a Billy Mckay penalty and Cammy Harper who drilled home the winner with twenty minutes left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first chance fell to Scott Ross but he headed wide from an Iain Vigurs corner. A minute later Billy Mckay was flagged offside as he netted after meeting Nathan Shaw's pass in the box. Cammy Harper saw Kyle Gourlay tip a free kick onto the top of the bar and behind for a corner. However it was mostly grim stuff with so much at stake for both clubs and it was no surprise it remained goalless at the interval. HT: 0-0 Iain Vigurs opened the scoring in the 56th minute with a trademark free kick but Billy Mckay levelled from the spot after Doran was tripped by Morgyn Neill. Cammy Harper then put the Caley Jags in front with twenty minutes left, shooting home from the edge of the box. Ridgers denied Ross as he headed goalwards from a corner but Inverness held on to record their fifth win in a row. Booooom! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FULL TIME: 1-2 A tough Saturday afternoon across the Championship, but at the end of the day Inverness were the only winners as others faltered. It's still in our own hands over the final three games. Billy Mckay is now just five goals short of our all time record set by Dennis Wyness (102) Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 4. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 5. Inverness CT 33 14 9 10 48 43 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 33 7 8 18 28 59 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 *COVE RANGERS 1-2 INVERNESS CT* DUNDEE 3-3 MORTON PARTICK 1-1 AYR Utd ROVERS 1-1 ARBROATH Date: 15/04/2023 Venue: Balmoral Stadium Attendance: 959 Referee: Gavin Duncan Cove Rangers: 1 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Gourlay; Scully (Glass 90), Reynolds, Ross, Neill, O'Halloran, Longstaff (Dunne 76), Vigurs, Longridge, McIntosh, Megginson (Weston 76) Subs (not used): Demus; Naismith Scorers: Vigurs (56) Booked: Neill (16) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine (Deas 75), Delaney, Harper, D Mackay (Doran 59), Welsh, Allardice, Shaw, Samuels (Boyd 70), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Hyde, Woods Scorers: B Mckay (67 pen), Harper (71) Booked: Devine (55) Sent Off: none a

Four in a row Two of the Championship form teams clashed at the Caledonian Stadium with both clubs on good runs, Arbroath unbeaten in seven games and Inverness just the one defeat over the last seven. Both clubs needing the win for different reasons, and both clubs capable of taking the points. After a dismal first half goals from Nathan Shaw and a Scott Allardice penalty settled the points in our favour. The downside was a red card for Jay Henderson A beautiful afternoon gave way to an overcast but calm evening ahead of kick-off. One minute into the game and keeper Derek Gaston was called into action to punch away a shot and Sean Welsh shot wide from a free kick just after as the Caley Jags showed their intent in the opening minutes. Lewis Banks brought Mark Ridgers into the game as he saved his low angled shot after seven minutes. João Baldé had an effort saved by Ridgers midway through the half then picked up a booking minutes later. There was a distinct lack of goalmouth action in the first quarter of the game. Strange given what's at stake for both clubs. Just on the interval Tam O'Brien headed wide from a corner and that brought a poor first half to an end. HALF TIME 0-0 Ten minutes after the break they did it again. Nathan Shaw scored after the Caley Jags broke forward from their own box. Three or four passes later and the final ball through from Jay Henderson saw Shaw scoring at the near post to give the hosts the advantage, his eighth of the season. Billy Mckay headed a Shaw cross over on the hour. Sean Welsh fired one over the bar from twenty-five yards and in the 77th minute Henderson won a spot kick after being brought down in the box. Scott Allardice crashed home from twelve yards to double our advantage. Henderson's joy was short-lived as he was sent off for a clumsy challenge on McKenna a couple of minutes later. Ridgers saved from Bobby Linn but Arbroath were unable to penetrate the home defence and it ended 2-0 to the Caley Jags. FULL TIME 2-0 The win puts Inverness within two points of fourth place Ayr United. A rubbish first half followed by a two goal second half to take the points. That will do at this stage of the season, grinding out results for another four games... Cove up next on Saturday, bring it on Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Updated table after tonight's results 1. Dundee 32 16 9 7 57 33 57 2. Queens Park 32 16 6 10 58 45 54 3. Partick Thistle 32 15 6 11 58 40 51 4. Ayr United 32 14 8 10 57 41 50 5. Inverness CT 32 13 9 10 46 42 48 6. Morton 32 12 11 9 45 38 47 7. Raith Rovers 32 11 8 13 43 44 41 8. Arbroath 32 6 14 12 28 43 32 9. Hamilton Ac. 32 7 8 17 28 58 29 10. Cove Rangers 32 6 9 17 35 71 27 Other games tonight Dundee 3-1 Rovers Morton 2-0 Accies Inverness CT 2-0 Arbroath FC Date: 11/04/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2038 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Deas, Delaney, Harper, Henderson, Welsh, Allardice, Shaw (Boyd 82), Samuels (D Mackay 74), B Mckay (Woods 66) Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Devine, Hyde, Doran Scorers: Shaw (53), Allardice (78 pen) Booked: Shaw (32) Sent Off: Henderson (79) Arbroath : 0 Manager: Dick Campbell Lineup: Gaston; Banks, Little, O'Brien, Hetherington, Baldé (Tait 45), Gold (Olusanya 65), Stewart (Linn 65), McKenna, Dow (El-Mhanni 65), Hilson (Komolafe 82) Subs (not used): Gill; Jacobs, Allan, Adarkwa Scorers: none Booked: Baldé (21) Sent Off: none a

  Five to go   Down to the last five league games starting with the visit of Arbroath on Tuesday night for a 7:45pm kick-off. That's two of the current form teams clashing, somethings going to give. After successive victories over Partick, Morton and Raith Rovers, we have brought our own fate back into our own hands with a late run. It's still a big ask, but win our remaining games and we will be in the play-offs. Who saw that coming a month ago? Mind you, we still have to play Hamilton, and that gives me the fear. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup Tickets AGM 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 16 4 3 57 19 +38 Away 22 10 6 6 30 23 +7 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 45 26 10 9 87 42 +45 We hold the overall advantage over the Smokies but four of the last five games ended all square after ninety minutes. They are now fighting to avoid relegation and will be a tough nut to crack as Dundee found out at the weekend in a scoreless draw at Gayfield. We surprised our own fans with a 4-1 win out of the blue at Arbroath in January. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) From CTO 4 - 1 win January 2023: Smokies Smoked: Both clubs had big wins in the first games of 2023 and it was Inverness that continued in style with a 4-1 win at Gayfield. Billy Mckay, who scored a hat-trick last week, opened the scoring at the back post in the ninth minute but Ben El-Mhanni levelled fifteen minutes later when he slotted into the bottom corner. Jay Henderson put us ahead just before the break as he lifted a shot high into the net from inside the box. Twenty minutes into the second half Dan Mackay shot into the bottom corner to double our advantage. Substitute Lewis Nicolson concluded the scoring in the 86th minute with a header from sub Steven Boyd's cross. Great win on the road for the Caley Jags that moves us into sixth place in the table, eleven points behind table toppers Queens Park. Great start to 2023 for the Caley Jags with two big wins on the bounce. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Three fixtures on Tuesday night 1. Dundee 31 15 9 7 54 32 54 2. Queens Park 32 16 6 10 58 45 54 3. Partick Thistle 32 15 6 11 58 40 51 4. Ayr United 32 14 8 10 57 41 50 5. Inverness CT 31 12 9 10 44 42 45 6. Morton 31 11 11 9 43 38 44 7. Raith Rovers 31 11 8 12 42 41 41 8. Arbroath 31 6 14 11 28 41 32 9. Hamilton Ac. 31 7 8 16 28 56 29 10. Cove Rangers 32 6 9 17 35 71 27 Tuesday 11th April Dundee v Rovers  Inverness CT v Arbroath FC Morton v Accies Last Time Out We won our third game on the bounce with a comfortable 2-0 win over Raith Rovers. Jay Henderson played after being injured at Cappielow the previous week and opened the scoring before Nathan Shaw crashed in a second ten minutes later. With Raith Rovers looking like their season was already over, the Caley Jags did just enough without over exerting themselves and keeping themselves fresh for the coming busy April schedule culminating in the Scottish Cup tie against Falkirk at Hampden on the 29th. W L W W W  Arbroath, unbeaten in their last seven league games, have eased themselves clear of Hamilton and Cove at the bottom of the table after two wins and a draw in the last three. However, it's still tight at the bottom and they will be in no mood to gift three points to us. A win over Queens Park  was followed by another over Ayr United before the goalless draw against Dundee on Saturday. D D W W D  Latest Team News Billy Dodds has no apparent fresh injuries after the weekend and Jay Henderson played and scored which was a bonus. Danny Devine stayed on the bench which will benefit him in the coming weeks. No sign of Roddy MacGregor, Max Ram, Wallace Duffy or the two season long crocks in Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh. There's little time to rest players with this month's heavy schedule so don't look for too many changes.   Arbroath Starting XI v Dundee: Gaston; Banks, Little, O'Brien, Hetherington, Baldé, Gold, Stewart, McKenna, Dow, Hilson Arbroath assistant manager Ian Campbell said on BBC Sport: "I think everyone saw an Arbroath team really fighting for each other, well organised and professional. "The plaudits come to Arbroath today, we were tremendous. I'm so happy we done today what we've been doing since Christmas, we went about our business exceptionally (against Dundee)  

Up to 5th Jay Henderson was deemed fit enough to start but Danny Devine only made the bench. Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor missed out again. That made it the same starting XI that won at Cappielow. Raith had a sparse bench with only three outfield players, but their starting XI still carried plenty of threats, making four changes from the side that lost to Hamilton in midweek. With Partick thrashing Queens Park last night this was a must win for both sides. In the end it was first half goals from Henderson and Shaw that gave Inverness all three points. The ball was in the net early doors but Aaron Doran was flagged offside. First real action saw Aidan Connolly shoot from distance with Mark Ridgers making the save. The hosts went ahead after twelve minutes when Cammy Harper fed Jay Henderson in on the right and he buried his shot from fifteen yards across MacDonald. With twenty minutes gone Nathan Shaw scored a peach into the top corner to double our advantage after persistent work by Billy Mckay. Great left footed strike by Shaw. McBride and Lewis Vaughan had efforts that missed the target as Rovers looked to get back into the game and five minutes before the break Aaron Doran shot from inside the box but MacDonald saved low to his right. HALF TIME 2-0 Chances were at a premium in the second half and Billy Mckay shot over before being substituted for Austin Samuels with twenty minutes left. Mark Ridgers saved well from Vaughan. Inverness did what they had to do to see out the game and a series of substitutions littered the closing stages as Inverness kept a lacklustre Raith Rovers at bay. A lack of bookings maybe gave the game away that they have already downed tools. They now look destined for another season in the Championship while we hang on in the belief that we can still make the play-offs. FULL TIME 2-0 We did enough to justify the three points without over exerting ourselves. Good contributions from Carson, Ridgers, Henderson and Shaw who scored a belter. We are still getting the results required and are still hanging on by a thread to our promotion hopes, albeit a long shot. Rovers wait for a win enters a 24th season. The goals>>> Date: 08/04/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2198 Referee: Craig Napier Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Deas, Delaney, Harper, Henderson (Boyd 77), Welsh, Allardice, Shaw (Hyde 82), Doran (Woods 77), B Mckay (Samuels 69) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Devine, Nicolson, D Mackay Scorers: Henderson (12), Shaw (21) Booked: none Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 0 Manager: Ian Murray Lineup: MacDonald; Millen (Young 52), Brown, Nolan, Ngwenya, Connolly, Easton (Ross 81), Stanton, McBride, Vaughan, Akio (Goncalves 81) Subs (not used): Thomson; Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a

  A must win game   Raith Rovers head North this Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium looking for their first win over the Caley Jags since October 28th, 2000. Yes, it really is that long since they beat us over ninety minutes. Once upon a time, Raith were one of the benchmarks for a rising Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Since we started beating them there has been no going back. However, there are no easy points at this stage of the season and this amazing run will come to an end one year, Let's hope it's not this Saturday. If this is not seen as a must win game, then it's certainly in the category of must not lose, and that applies to both teams. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info AGM Hampden Calling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 13 5 2 38 15 +23 Away 17 9 5 3 34 21 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 37 22 10 5 72 36 +36 It's unbelievable to think that Raith's last win over Inverness over 90 minutes was almost 22 years ago. Mind you, Raith had a pretty handy team back then and they had won four of the previous five encounters since we met them in the big boys leagues, with the other one drawn. Since then, we have literally swamped Rovers with 22 wins, 10 draws and zero defeats. Getting back up to date over the last ten, it's 4 wins, 6 draws and zero defeats. Starting to level out a bit, but still no wins for Raith. Here's who played for them last time they won: Peter Hetherston was player manager back then. Van de Kamp; McCulloch, Dennis, Hamilton, Browne, Black, Hetherston, Ellis, Mballa, Clark, Stein Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) Last Raith win: Oct 28th 2001 - 1 - 2. Injury-hit Caley Thistle lost this game because of a poor first half display. Despite this they nearly took the lead in 13 minutes when a David Bagan shot was blocked by Greig McCulloch and spun over the bar. Raith scored first in 16 minutes when Jim Calder failed to hold a Shaun Dennis cross and Jay Stein hit home the loose ball from six yards. In 21 minutes a poor headed clearance by Stuart McCaffrey was picked up by Andrew Clark and he set up Ivan Mballa and the Frenchman slammed the ball into the net from 12 yards. ICT had a penalty claim turned down in 38 minutes when Charlie Christie was brought down by Paul Browne. After the break the home side improved but Guido Van de Kamp denied them on several occasions. Paul Sheerin pulled one back in 79 minutes when he netted from close range after a good cut back by Roy McBain. Four minutes later Sheerin watched in frustration as Van de Kamp saved his low shot. As time ran out he came close twice more but Raith held on to win. Report by Ian Broadfoot Last Time Out Inverness pulled off a good win at Cappielow last weekend beating Morton 2-1 with super strikes from Scott Allardice and a late one from David Carson, only his second goal for the club. Pretty much a replica of his other goal against Dunfermline Athletic. Another few replicas would not go amiss.    Raith Rovers failed to capitalise on their game in hand by going down at home to Hamilton Accies by 2-1 on Tuesday night. That result keeps them one point behind Inverness in the race to get into the play-offs. Time Accies did us a favour instead of beating us all the time! Encounters this season have been tight affairs. A Scott Allardice penalty and a late Billy Mckay strike were the difference between the sides at Kirkaldy back in September. There followed two draws since then home and away. The 1 - 1 draw at Inverness saw a tremendous header from Robbie Deas cancel out a Sam Stanton strike. That was the game where Deas broke his leg late in the game. Remarkable that he has made such progress since then.  2 - 2 in the last one at Stark's Park with Billy Mckay once again saving the day with another late goal to frustrate Rovers once more. Rovers had led twice through Lewis Vaughan and Aidan Connolly but Jay Henderson then Mckay squared matters. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Partick v Queens Park tonight at 7:45 BBC Scotland TV 1. Queens Park 31 16 6 9 58 41 54 2. Dundee 30 15 8 7 54 32 53 3. Ayr United 31 14 7 10 56 40 49 4. Partick Thistle 31 14 6 11 54 40 48 5. Morton 30 11 10 9 42 37 43 6. Inverness CT 30 11 9 10 42 42 42 7. Raith Rovers 30 11 8 11 42 39 41 8. Arbroath 30 6 13 11 28 41 31 9. Hamilton Ac. 30 7 7 16 27 55 28 10. Cove Rangers 31 6 8 17 34 70 26 Friday 7th April Partick Thistle v Queen's Park Saturday 8th April Arbroath v Dundee Ayr Utd v Morton Accies v Cove  Inverness CT v Raith Rovers Latest Team News Danny Devine, Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor all missed out at Cappielow last week leaving us with a sparse bench. Jay Henderson came off injured after ten minutes but will be assessed closer to kick-off to see if he is fit enough. Here's Dodds to spill the beans...   Raith Rovers top scorer is Aidan Connolly with twelve goals followed by Dylan Easton seven goals and Lewis Vaughan with five. Connolly is the big danger here, not just his goals but he is also credited with seven assists, much greater than any of his team mates.          

Vital three points at Morton Danny Devine was missing again along with Roddy MacGregor and Walllace Duffy for this vital clash at Cappielow which could define our season. That left us with a sparse bench. For Morton, Brian Schwake was given the gloves despite his blunder against Arbroath and condemnation from his gaffer. George Oakley started up front against his old club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It goes from bad to worse. Ten minutes gone and our most productive player recently Jay Henderson limped off with an ankle injury to be replaced by Austin Samuels. George Oakley and Nathan Shaw exchanged efforts once the game resumed and Mark Ridgers did well to parry a shot from Calum Waters as the hosts looked to take charge of proceedings. Cammy Harper had a pop from a tight angle saved and Robbie Muirhead brought Ridgers into action again as he saved low down. Sean Welsh was sending probing balls into the box almost picking out Aaron Doran and then providing an opportunity for Robbie Deas which the keeper held onto. Best chance of the first half fell to Ali Crawford who failed to convert when it looked easier to score. HALF TIME 0-0 Welsh shot over after the restart, however, in the fifty-fourth minute Scott Allardice opened the scoring with a tremendous half-volley, drilling a precision shot low into the bottom corner from outside the box. Aaron Doran appeared to be fouled in the box by Schwake two minutes later, but nothing given by David Dickenson. He's not the real deal methinks. Harper then saw Schwake save his free kick from distance before Oakley's effort was matched by Ridgers at the other end. Ridgers was involved minutes later again, but this time it was giving away a disputed penalty after bringing down Muirhead. Grant Gillespie scored from the spot to level the game with over twenty minutes remaining. Robbie Muirhead shot over as Morton tried to get their noses in front. He had a shot blocked by Zak Delaney after this and with five minutes left he hit the bar with a long range free kick from around 38 yards. Some strike and a let off for the Caley Jags. After that break, David Carson popped up with the winner in the 88th minute to take a valuable three points North. Nathan Shaw did well to win the ball in his own half before sending a long diagonal ball forward that was helped onto Carson by Boyd for the wee man to finish well from inside the box after a great run forward. That win moves us to within a point of fifth placed Morton. FULL TIME 1-2 Top performers were Allardice, Deas, Shaw and Carson with everyone giving their all for the cause. Bit of a cufuffle off the pitch with cards being shown to management teams for some verbal spats. All in, a good day for the Caley Jags Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after todays games 1. Queens Park 31 16 6 9 58 41 54 2. Dundee 30 15 8 7 54 32 53 3. Ayr United 31 14 7 10 56 40 49 4. Partick Thistle 31 14 6 11 54 40 48 5. Morton 30 11 10 9 42 37 43 6. Inverness CT 30 11 9 10 42 42 42 7. Raith Rovers 29 11 8 10 41 37 41 8. Arbroath 30 6 13 11 28 41 31 9. Cove Rangers 31 6 8 17 34 70 26 10. Hamilton Ac. 29 6 7 16 25 54 25 Date: 01/04/2023 Venue: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1958 Referee: David Dickinson Morton: 1 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Schwake; O'Connor, Baird, Gillespie (McGrattan 77), Waters, Blues (Miller 45), Grimshaw, R Crawford, Muirhead, Oakley, A Crawford (Quitongo 58) Subs (not used): Green; Pignatiello, Roy, Ambrose, Garrity, King Scorers: Gillespie (69 pen) Booked: Gillespie (52), O'Connor (63), R Crawford (72) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Deas, Delaney, Harper, Henderson (Samuels 11), Welsh, Allardice, Doran (Boyd 74), Shaw, B Mckay (D Mackay 77) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Wood Scorers: Allardice (54), Carson (88) Booked: Carson (76), D Mackay (79), Samuels (90) Sent Off: none a

  The Quest for Points Goes On   With only seven games left to salvage something from an error strewn season, we go searching for that elusive three points from Morton, something we have yet to achieve this season. Two wins and a draw so far against Dougie Imrie's team. The 4-0 loss at Cappielow at the end of October prompted the start of 'Ridgersgate'. How ridiculous does that look now given Mark's stunning performance last Friday in the ten man win over Partick Thistle. Not one of Billy Dodds' better decisions made in the heat of battle as Morton cuffed us and resigned Mark to the naughty step at half time and over the next seven games until Partick put five past Cammy on Xmas Eve. That period saw us win two points from a possible fifteen. It's just as well they don't do that to managers as Doddsy would have been sitting in the stand for months. However, all has hopefully been forgiven and Mark produced the performance of the season on telly to remove any lingering doubts about his ability.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info Semi-Final Tickets On Sale Now ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 5 4 48 20 +28 Away 18 10 3 5 35 23 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 22 8 9 83 43 +40 Overall we hold a massive advantage home and away over Morton, but recent games show that the trend is changing as we only have one win in the last five encounters. It took a late strike from Ethan Cairns to salvage a point last time in a 2 - 2 at the Caledonian Stadium. Calvin Miller had put Morton ahead early in the first half before Billy Mckay levelled around the hour. Robbie Muirhead looked to have given Morton all three points ten minutes before the end before substitute Cairns scored his first goal for the Caley Jags to share the spoils. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A)   Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Arbroath v Ayr United Friday Night 1. Queens Park 30 16 6 8 58 39 54 2. Dundee 29 14 8 7 47 32 50 3. Ayr United 30 14 7 9 56 38 49 4. Partick Thistle 30 13 6 11 49 40 45 5. Morton 29 11 10 8 41 35 43 6. Inverness CT 29 10 9 10 40 41 39 7. Raith Rovers 28 10 8 10 39 37 38 8. Arbroath 29 5 13 11 26 41 28 9. Cove Rangers 30 6 8 16 34 65 26 10. Hamilton Ac. 28 6 7 15 25 47 25 FRIDAY 31ST MARCH 7:45 Arbroath v Ayr United SATURDAY 1ST APRIL 3:00 Cove Rangers v Partick Thistle Dundee v Accies       Morton v Inverness  Raith Rovers v Queen's Park Last Time Out A rousing backs to the wall performance from the Caley Jags earned a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle. After Jay Henderson nicked the ball off of a Partick player, he danced down the wing before delivering a terrific pin point ball into the box for Nathan Shaw to slide in and convert. Sean Welsh was wrongly sent off with forty minutes remaining and Partick besieged the Inverness penalty box. However, Mark Ridgers was in tremendous form to deny the eager Partick attack time after time and 1-0 it was for the hosts. Ridgers had pulled off a worldy save in the first half to deny a stunned Brian Graham and was unbeatable on the day. That ensured Inverness' last five results look like this L D W L W    Morton dropped points at Gayfield after George Oakley scored his sixth goal in eight games for the Cappielow side. However keeper Brian Schwake blundered to allow Sean Ardakwa to tap in. That fumble was not lost on Morton manager Dougie Imrie who told BBC Sport: "I think for large parts of that game we were by far the better team. I'm lost for words. I thought my players were superb to a man. The amount of chances we created - I don't know how we didn't win that. "He's [Schwake] a young goalkeeper in the game trying to make a name for himself. He has to be switched on and his concentration levels have to be high. That's not the first time this season he's cost us points."  (Naughty step for you m'lad) Morton Last Five W D L D D  This season Morton hold the Indian Sign over us. A 0 - 1 at the Caledonian Stadium followed by the 0 - 4 game at Cappielow before the 2 - 2 draw back in Inverness at the beginning of February. Time to sort it out guys. Latest Team News Just when we thought things were getting better we lost Danny Devine to injury in the warm up last Friday. The previous game Roddy MacGregor was injured in his second appearance since returning from months out. Potentially, Sean Welsh could also have missed out but we appealed that, and given the secret society within the refereeing circles then I wasn't holding my breath. However, miracles do happen, the spell has been broken and he is now free to play at Morton. Unless of course he is injured. Zak Delaney filled in for Devine last week and did well after an early booking. We also found out that Ben Woods is a real thing after he came on as a substitute in the second half. Thankfully Robbie Deas has not shown any adverse reaction on his return to action and likewise Scott Allardice.  So, it sounds like MacGregor and Ram plus the long term Walsh and Sutherland will be unavailable. Danny Devine? Your guess is as good as mine. Morton starting XI v Arbroath: Judging by wee Dougies reaction to the Gayfield fumble then Schwake could be on the naughty step for Morton. Jai Quitongo has been out recently but could be near to a return to the squad. 1Schwake   23Grimshaw 5Baird 4O'Connor 6Waters   14Crawford 8Blues   9Muirhead 30Crawford 21Gillespie   22Oakley George Oakley seems to have had a new lease of life since joining Morton. I wonder what, or who was holding him back at Inverness? Six goals in eight games since leaving Inverness. Hmmnnn? On a sad note, Ian Manning the former club physio has passed away. RIP Ian. Condolences to family and friends.    

Backs to the wall win for ten man Caley Jags Lewis Hyde was a late replacement for Inverness with Danny Devine pulling up in the warm up which prompted a reshuffle of the pack with Delaney covering for Devine and Harper dropping back into defence with Hyde going into midfield. Roddy MacGregor and Wallace Duffy missed out for Inverness but Sean Welsh returned to the midfield. Attacking options of Dan Mackay, Aaron Doran and Austin Samuels were on the bench for the Caley Jags. Partick Thistle had sent a strong squad North with the dangerous Scott Tiffoney and Brian Graham the big threats up front. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a flat calm afternoon, the heavens opened an hour before kick-off and patches of surface water greeted the teams as they took to the field under the floodlights. Inverness got the game underway and the first real action came when a long ball forward from Nathan Shaw after six minutes saw Billy Mckay control then offload a shot from the edge of the box which keeper David Mitchell beat away from goal. Good effort, good save. Mckay looked dangerous on a few early occasions and his persistence up front won him a corner after twelve minutes. From the corner the ball fell to Robbie Deas but his volley was gathered under the bar by Mitchell. Mark Ridgers produced a superb save to deny Brian Graham as Partick cut us open through the middle. The big striker was favourite to score as he opened up his body but Ridgers dived full length to his left to get his fingertips to the netbound ball and tip it round the post. Sensational save! There followed a midfield battle until three minutes before the interval when Ridgers blocked a near post effort from Scott Tiffoney and then David Carson made a crucial clearance moments later. Here's the reason it was goalless at the interval>>>> HALF TIME 0-0 No changes at the break with Inverness now playing towards the North Stand. In the fiftieth minute Inverness broke down some Partick possession in midfield. Jay Henderson skipped forward and his low cross into the box was converted by Nathan Shaw sliding in ahead of the defender. Either way it was 1-0 to the hosts. Mckay combined with Welsh in the box but he never connected properly with the ball and Mitchell's save was made easier. Moments later Welsh was sensationally sent off as Tiffoney took off down the left and Welsh tripped him late. Grant Irvine saw it as a red and Welsh was off. Ridgers saved a ten yard scuffed shot from Graham on the line as Partick went for broke against the ten men. Could be a long night now for the fans and the defence with over half an hour to go. Partick were piling the pressure on the hosts and Ridgers denied a Graham shot at the expense of a corner with fifteen minutes remaining. Despite Partick pressing hard, the Inverness defence held out for the three points, putting bodies on the line when it mattered and MotM Mark Ridgers kept his sheets clean. FULL TIME 1-0 Mark Ridgers was MotM with a confident display including one absolutely superb save from Brian Graham in the first half, and when the backs were against the wall he commanded his area taking the pressure off his overworked defenders. Welsh red card looked to be harsh, not heard the last of that yet. Tremendous workrate by everyone who blocked Partick time after time in a desperate second half. Get in Nathan Shaw>>> Match Reaction Inverness manager Billy Dodds tells BBC Scotland: "We knew we had to win tonight or the playoff dreams were probably over. "We say the word proud a lot in the dressing rooms but I am tonight as we had to win it the hard way. "We started well, then they took control as we just started launching it straight away, I'd have liked us to pass it a bit more. "We had to hang on. "I don't have to [see the red card challenge again], it’s cynical, it’s a trip. "I want to move on from it as we’ve had a lot of hard luck, and I know everyone had but we probably have more than most, and I'd rather move on as if I say something I'll get into trouble. "We’ll be appealing it." Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Updated table after tonight's games 1. Queens Park 30 16 6 8 58 39 54 2. Dundee 29 14 8 7 47 32 50 3. Ayr United 30 14 7 9 56 38 49 4. Partick Thistle 30 13 6 11 49 40 45 5. Morton 29 11 10 8 41 35 43 6. Inverness CT 29 10 9 10 40 41 39 7. Raith Rovers 28 10 8 10 39 37 38 8. Arbroath 29 5 13 11 26 41 28 9. Cove Rangers 30 6 8 16 34 65 26 10. Hamilton Ac. 28 6 7 15 25 47 25 Ayr 3-0 Cove Queens 0-1 Arbroath Caley Jags 1-0 Partick Jags Date: 24/03/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2075 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Hyde (Boyd 90+3), Deas, Delaney, Henderson (Doran 85), Welsh, Allardice, Harper, Shaw (Woods 69), B Mckay (D Mackay 70) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Samuels Scorers: Shaw (50) Booked: Delaney (14), Hyde (65), Woods (81), Hyde (84) Sent Off: Welsh (55) Partick Thistle: 0 Manager: Kris Doolan Lineup: Mitchell; McMillan, Holt, Brownlie, Milne (Hodson 60), Tiffoney, Turner (Mullen 79) Bannigan (Fitzpatrick 79), Docherty, Lawless (Dowds 56), Graham. Subs (not used): Sneddon; Smith, Muirhead, Owens, MacKenzie Scorers: Shaw (50) Booked: Milne (25) Sent Off: none a

Yay, It's a home game It's five games since we last played at home in the Championship and that one never went well, a 0-3 loss to Hamilton Accies. In fact our League form has been abysmal over the last 19 games as we have only managed a mere sixteen points from a possible fifty seven. That's a poor return in any language. 28%. These statistics have not gone unnoticed by the long suffering Caley Jags fans who have seen their club plunge deeper into trouble on and off the field. I'm sure Billy Dodds will be grateful for the second chance in the Scottish Cup, but is that simply papering over the cracks? Friday nights visitors at 7:45pm have already pumped us 4-1 and 5-1 this season although we did win the home game 1-0. However, that was not good enough for the Partick board and Ian McCall was relieved of his duties in February as Partick fell off the pace slightly and Kris Doolan has replaced him to good effect. Looks like the jobs for boys pact at Inverness is alive and kicking though and despite protestations from many quarters, Billy Dodds is still hanging on by a thread as we look set for another season in the Championship with a Premiership play-off place looking highly unlikely if not virtually impossible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket info The Wyness Shuffle Live on BBC Scotland ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Partick Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 11 6 7 38 33 +5 Away 24 6 6 12 25 39 -14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 17 12 19 63 72 -9 Overall Partick have stormed ahead of us thanks to the heavy defeats this season. Home results show that we are still ahead of Partick, but those massive defeats this season will have dented our confidence somewhat. This season's aggregate is 9-3 for Partick Thistle. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick Thistle 1 - 5 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) He scores when he wants: 1 - 0 October 7th 2022: A first half where defences were on top offered little opportunity for either side to create the clear cut chance required until the half hour when Robbie Deas pounced on a loose clearance within the box. His header was bundled away from goal a yard from the line by two defenders with Mitchell floundering. A couple of minutes later and Mitchell was called into action to scramble the ball away low down at his post from a Duffy header. Billy Mckay clipped one over the bar after a tremendous turn and run by Daniel Mackay. Kyle Turner was red carded for what appeared to be a slightly high tackle on Roddy MacGregor and Inverness ended the half knocking on the Partick door. Cammy Harper brought out a super save from Mitchell with 65 minutes gone, diving high to his top left corner. Ten minutes later Billy Mckay opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season, drilling home from twelve yards after good work by MotM Dan Mackay. Kevin Holt came close to an unlikely equaliser with a low shot across the face of the goal ten minutes from the end, but Partick rarely threatened. Oakley had an effort kept out on the line acrobatically by Holt as Inverness looked to close out the game. However, Inverness saw out the game to go joint top of the table after their fourth win in a row. That'll do nicely. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dundee beat Ayr United 3-1 on Tuesday night to keep their auto promotion hopes alive 1. Queens Park 29 16 6 7 58 38 54 2. Dundee 29 14 8 7 47 32 50 3. Ayr United 29 13 7 9 53 38 46 4. Partick Thistle 29 13 6 10 49 39 45 5. Morton 29 11 10 8 41 35 43 6. Raith Rovers 28 10 8 10 39 37 38 7. Inverness CT 28 9 9 10 39 41 36 8. Cove Rangers 29 6 8 15 34 62 26 9. Arbroath 28 4 13 11 25 41 25 10. Hamilton Ac. 28 6 7 15 25 47 25 FRIDAY 24TH MARCH 7:45pm Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Ayr United v Cove Rangers Queen's v Arbroath Last Time Out We are all but out of contention after losing 2-1 to Championship leaders Queens Park. Despite taking a half time lead thanks to a good strike by Dan Mackay, we were unable to sustain any consistency in the second half and two unchallenged headers from Grant Savoury and the giant Stephen Eze saw Queens Park take all three points. Sandwiched between the 2-1 win at Ayr (Welsh & Henderson scoring) and defeat to Queens Park there was a rousing 2-1 win on the telly over Kilmarnock with Billy Mckay (pen) and Sean Welsh with the goals. If only we could replicate that level of performance in the League games. Partick have drawn their last two outings without scoring against Dundee and Morton. They did put three past Raith Rovers the same day we won at Ayr. Partick Thistle are top of the Current Form table over the last six games (12 points), we are second bottom with 5 points Latest Team News Roddy MacGregor limped off last week in his second appearance after months out. Sean Welsh missed the game at Ochilview so not sure what's happening there, but he's unfortunately made of rice paper which has been a problem for him whilst here. When fit he makes our midfield tick and can be a match winner as shown recently. A couple of new issues according to Bazza, presumably MacGregor (ankle), maybe Welsh and by the sounds of it, maybe more??? Where's Tom Walsh when you need him??? Here's Bazza Firhill Facts Kris Doolan was in charge of the u18's and had been in interim charge of first team matters for almost three weeks prior to being rubber stamped on 3rd March, overseeing away victories over Ayr United and Dundee as well as a draw at Arbroath. Since then a 3-0 home win over Raith Rovers has been followed by goalless draws with Dundee and Morton, but more importantly he has dragged Partick back into play-off contention whilst we slip further away. Partick Starting XI v Morton: Mitchell; McMillan, McAvoy, Muirhead, Milne, Docherty, Bannigan, Lawless, Turner, Tiffoney, Graham. The obvious and perennial threats to us are striker Brian Graham and chief provider Scott Tiffoney. Lawless, Turner and Dowds will also need well policed.

All but ended Sean Welsh was the mystery injured player this week with Dan Mackay starting. Inverness' play-off hopes all but ended at Ochilview after we surrendered a half time advantage once more at the same venue. Both sides had gone close early on before Daniel Mackay drilled home a tremendous low strike from around twenty-five yards after the ball broke back to him off Billy Mckay on the edge of the box. Twenty minutes after the interval the Spiders pressure saw them level when Grant Savoury headed home unchallenged. They went in front some five minutes later when Stephen Eze headed into the top corner, once more unchallenged. Substitute Roddy MacGregor limped off to be replaced by the even lesser spotted Ben Woods. Both sides created opportunities as the game entered the final phase and Duffy and Samuels went close to an equaliser deep into time added on but it was Queens that took a massive step towards the Premiership as we took a massive step back into the Championship pack. Good luck to them. If it's any consolation, Falkirk, our semi-final opponents lost 1-0 at Queen of the South today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More match reaction to follow>>> From BBC Sport Queen's Park manager Owen Coyle: "We didn't perform to the level we're capable of first half, but second half we certainly stepped it up. "It's a young group and a lot of them haven't been round about where we are, so there was an edginess to them but at half-time I asked them to relax and get back to what we're known for." Inverness CT manager Billy Dodds: "We didn't set about the second half the way we should. If we had just kept it simple and neat and tidy, I think we would've got them. "We were denied a penalty when Billy Mckay felt he got a shove in the back. But we handed Queen's Park the game." Massively disappointing result for the Caley Jags after the euphoria of the Scottish Cup exploits. Queens can rest easy knowing we have been unable to beat them in five attempts this season, a fact that has not gone unnoticed amongst the Caley Jags fanbase. Anyway, our secretary is better than theirs...... Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table not looking good for the Caley Jags 1. Queens Park 29 16 6 7 58 38 54 2. Dundee 28 13 8 7 44 31 47 3. Ayr United 28 13 7 8 52 35 46 4. Partick Thistle 29 13 6 10 49 39 45 5. Morton 29 11 10 8 41 35 43 6. Raith Rovers 28 10 8 10 39 37 38 7. Inverness CT 28 9 9 10 39 41 36 8. Cove Rangers 29 6 8 15 34 62 26 9. Arbroath 28 4 13 11 25 41 25 10. Hamilton Ac. 28 6 7 15 25 47 25 Our remaining Championship fixtures. I'm afraid it will take a miracle to make the play-offs. 24th Mar 19:45 - PARTICK THISTLE (H) 01st April 15:00 - MORTON (A) 08th April 15:00 - RAITH ROVERS (H) 11th April 19:45 - ARBROATH (H) 15th April 15:00 - COVE RANGERS (A) 18th April 19:45 - HAMILTON (A) 22nd April15:00 - DUNDEE (H) 05th May 19:45 - AYR UNITED (H) Date: 18/03/2023 Venue: Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir Attendance: 627 Referee: Alan Muir Queens Park: 2 Manager: Owen Coyle Lineup: Ferrie: Oakley (Jarrett 56), Eze, Fox, Robson, Thomas, Davidson, Savoury, Boateng (Longridge (44)), Henderson (Healy 76), Shields Subs (not used): Heraghty; Bruce, McPake, Williamson, Bannon, Biggar, Scorers: Savoury (64), Eze (69) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine, Deas, Harper, D Mackay (MacGregor 61, Woods 74), Carson, Allardice (Samuels 71), Henderson, Shaw, B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Hyde, Doran, Boyd, Scorers: D Mackay (27) Booked: Devine (8), Shaw (65) Sent Off: none a

Scottish Cup Semi Final - Fixture Details and Ticket Prices confirmed Our Scottish Cup Semi Final against Falkirk will take place on Saturday 29th April at Hampden Park with a 12.15pm kick-off. Full Info https://ictfc.com/scottish-cup-semi-final-fixture-details-and-ticket-prices-confirmed Inverness Caledonian Thistle Support · South Stand Lower Section I Adults £38 Over 65 / Under-16 £18 · North Stand Section D Adults £38 Over 65 / Under-16 £18 · East Stand Section F Adults £28 Over 65 / Under-16 £13 · North Stand Wheelchair Users Adults £20 Over 65 / Under-16 £10 · South Stand Wheelchair Users Adults £15 Over 65 / Under-16 £8 ICT Season Ticket holders will have priority once the on-sale date is confirmed and general sale dates will be announced at the same time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rangers v Celtic -----------Sunday @ 13:30

Well hello again. We will play the Bairns at Hampden after they beat Ayr United 2-1 to book their spot in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. The other semi will pair Rangers against Celtic in an olde firm clash. Scottish Cup Semi Final games to take place weekend of 29th & 30th April 2023. Last time we met at Hampden Graeme Shinnie lifted the Cup for the Caley Jags after a nailbiting 2-1 win for 10 man Inverness. Marley Watkins had opened the scoring in the 38th minute. Carl Tremarco was sent off in the 75th minute before Peter Grant headed home an equaliser from a Tremarco shaped space in the Inverness defence five minutes later. Jamie MacDonald assisted James Vincent with the winner four minutes from time and the rest is history. It's the Caley Jags way, nothing is straightforward. This season we have already been knocked out by Queens Park! 37,149 watched that final and I doubt anyone thought either of these clubs would have another crack at winning the Cup eight years later. In case you forgot, here's how it all happened>>>

Welsh Likes a Belter Inverness had their strongest squad of the season for tonight's quarter final against Kilmarnock. Samuels, MacGregor, Woods and Dan Mackay were all on the bench as Dodds went with an unchanged starting XI. Killie had a strong XI with Liam Polworth starting with Armstrong, Donnelly, McKenzie, Vassell and Doidge as attacking threats. As it happened, it was Inverness that eventually dominated proceedings and are in the Semi-Final after goals from Billy Mckay and Sean Welsh ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness got the game underway but two minutes in and from an Armstrong corner the ball ended up in the net behind Ridgers, Vassell credited with the goal after a near post flick on. Disastrous start for the hosts. Billy Mckay forced Walker into a great save from a close range header as Inverness responded in the tenth minute. Sean Welsh skimmed the top of the bar with a header from a superb ball into the box from Jay Henderson. Inverness got the break they deserved though when a Wallace Duffy cross from the right was handled by Joe Wright as he attempted to intercept the ball. Billy Mckay hit the spot kick down the middle as Walker dived to his left, the ball going in off his feet and it was game on. Henderson was played through on goal but his shot was blocked by the now overworked Sam Walker. Carson was harshly booked for bringing Armstrong down as Killie sprung out of defence. Doidge made a hash of a half chance when he found the ball at his feet in the six yard box, but he ran it out of play. Robbie Deas headed over from a corner as Inverness continued to press. Liam Polworth came off second best in a challenge from Deas just before the interval and his day was over. HALF TIME 1-1 Three minutes into the second half Henderson did well to control the ball and get his shot away but it cannoned back off the post. Moments later, with heavy snow falling; he did it again. Sean Welsh picked the ball up thirty yards from goal. He stepped forward and rifled a low shot into the bottom corner from over twenty-five yards. What a strike. We could have gone further ahead, twice. Once when Shaw made space for himself to get a great delivery in but Welsh was just short of connecting with it in the six yard box. Secondly, Mckay did well to wriggle his way into the box but he was halted a couple of times before the defence cleared. Ridgers then flapped at a ball into the box and had to snatch at he ball as it bounced towards the line. A timely snatch if ever I saw one. Austin Samuels almost grabbed a third with two minutes left when running through on goal but his low shot was saved by Walker. Aaron Doran came on as four minutes of added time was shown by the officials. Inverness saw out the game on top and a thoroughly deserved trip to Hampden is now a reality. FULL TIME 2-1 What a performance from the Caley Jags. Heroes to a man and well deserving of their trip to Hampden again. For me, Scott Allardice was tremendous with Jay Henderson having a field day in the first half and unlucky not to score at the start of the second. Sean Welsh does likes a strike against Killie from around twenty-seven yards. On another day we might have scored four or five, but for now, two will do. Big shout out for the young team, great noise all night. Come again please. More match reaction to follow... Inverness CT manager Billy Dodds on BBC Scotland: "I was quite calm. I trusted my players. I thought we were the better team. Kilmarnock put us under pressure with long balls in the second half. "But I just stood back and enjoyed watching my players tonight. I would like a shot in the Premiership. "A lot of my players could do it. I think that's the case. If you do it [beat a top-flight side] once, people say it's a one off. But if you do it two or three times, it's self explanatory. "I want them to enjoy it and realise what they've done. But we still have an opportunity in the league as well. We want to have a wee go of getting to the play-offs, it'll be difficult but we're capable." After full time Derek McInnes was still in his dressing room and BBC gave up on his interview He eventually said: "I'm really disappointed. I expected more from the team. We got off to a good start. "I thought from there on in, we stopped playing. We got too complacent and made too many errors." Highlights from The Scottish Cup Date: 10/03/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2902 Referee: David Dickinson Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Devine, Deas, Henderson (MacGregor 85), Welsh, Allardice, Harper, Shaw (Doran 90), B Mckay (Samuels 82) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Hyde, Woods, Boyd, D Mackay Scorers: Mckay (24, pen), Welsh (50) Booked: Carson (33), Duffy (69) Sent Off: none Kilmarnock: 1 Manager: Derek McInnes Lineup: Walker; Mayo, Taylor, Wright (Dorsett 76), Chambers (Robinson 77), Armstrong, Donnelly, Polworth (Power 45+2), McKenzie (Murray 76), Vassell, Doidge (Jones 45) Subs (not used): Hemming; Alebiosu, McInroy, Alston. Scorers: Vassell (3) Booked: Vassell (36), Donnelly (75) Sent Off: none a

Killie Cup Action It's Scottish Cup quarter final action this weekend when Scotland's second oldest club Kilmarnock come North on Friday night @ 7:45 looking for a place in the semi-finals of the second oldest Cup competition in the world. However, it's the oldest trophy as it's still the original trophy that is up for grabs. At 2ft high the silver trophy was not cheap back in the day, costing £56/13 shillings and was commissioned to Glasgow silversmith George Edwards & Sons. The first ever event started in 1873 and the final in 1874 saw Queens Park beat Clydesdale 2-0 in front of 2,500 fans at the original Hampden Park. Incidentally Kilmarnock played in the first ever Scottish Cup tie, losing 2-0 to Renton in 1873. Standing in their way this season are our very own Caley Jags, Scottish Cup winners in 2015. Kilmarnock have won the Cup three times (1920/29/97). The last time they lifted the Cup in 1997, like us, they also defeated Falkirk in the final. The result was 1-0 at Ibrox in front of 45,000 fans with Paul Wright scoring the only goal. See more at The Scottish Cup. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Live on BBC Scotland The Covers Are On ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Killie Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 12 9 4 46 33 +13 Away 26 8 6 12 36 45 -9 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 51 20 15 16 82 78 +4 Overall, we still hold the edge over Kilmarnock and have met them five times in the Scottish Cup which includes a replay in 2001. This is the first 6th round tie between the cubs with Killie having won two of the previous three 5th round ties. I don't think Killie ever got over being dumped out of the Scottish Cup on the 9th of February 1985 by Highland League Inverness Thistle. Dave Milroy, Gordon Hay and Brian Black were the scorers that ensured the playing surface would be covered with big Kilmarnock bunnets and scarves. What a sight that was. That win earned Thistle an away tie at Parkhead in the last sixteen. 2001 Mar 6th Scottish Cup (Round 4 Replay) 1 - 2 A 6,528 Feb 17th Scottish Cup (Round 4) 1 - 1 H 5,294 2009 Feb 7th Scottish Cup (Rd 5) 2 - 0 H 2,578 2010 Feb 6th Scottish Cup (Rd 5) 0 - 3 A 4,473 2013 Feb 2nd Scottish Cup (Rd 5) 0 - 2 A 3,172 Here's Killie with a late equaliser in 2001 We have the upper hand most recently, although these were all very tight fixtures. Last 4 Competitive Meetings from season 21/22 in the Championship. 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) On December 3rd last season, Sean Welsh did this in a 1 - 0 win over Killie..... BOOM! Last Time Out Inverness got a welcome three points at Somerset Park despite going behind early on after top Scorer Dipo Akinyemi scored his sixteenth of the season. Sean Welsh levelled soon after then Ayr were reduced to ten men when Daire O'Connor was sent off fifteen minutes before the break. Inverness took their time but eventually got the reward their chances deserved when Jay Henderson popped up at the back post to bury a Nathan Shaw cross. Deserved three points for the Caley Jags after a lean spell and sets us up nicely for a crack at Killie in the Cup. Our own recent form over last five is also disappointing but hopefully on the up: D L L D W Killie went down at Ibrox last weekend as Rangers scored three first half goals. It was a poor defensive performance by the Rugby Park club in the first forty-five and they had the disappointment of a VAR penalty award on the break. In their favour, after a much improved performance, they did win the second half 1-0 when Jeriel Dorsett scored with a header and they also had a penalty claim turned down. Killie find themselves second bottom of the Premiership after a poor run of form and unless much changes they will be vying with Ross County for a relegation play-off spot with Dundee United occupying the automatic relegation slot. Last five results heading downwards: W L L D L The only win in that run was over bottom club Dundee United on 1st February. Latest Team News Our fortunes are slowly turning on the injury front with Deas, Harper, Devine, Delaney and Samuels all returning, but there were still five players missing at Ayr: Sutherland, Walsh, MacGregor, Ram and Woods. Billy Mckay returned after suspension last week and is chasing the goal scoring record of Dennis Wyness. On the playing surface the covers are on as another big freeze hits the North, -10 around the area already this week. Billy looking forward to this one>>> Kilmarnock have found the going tough in the Premiership this season but they are not without some very good players. One of our own Liam Polworth is still at Killie and featured in their last game at Ibrox. Daniel Armstrong is a danger with his attacking flair and he is top scorer with nine goals this season plus five assists. Jordan Jones has returned to Rugby Park and is another tricky customer. Rory McKenzie is a pocket dynamo with his all action style. In defence Ash Taylor is still there and has contributed at the other end with four goals, a danger at set pieces. By all accounts, Killie will be bringing a decent away support to this one.

Red Oh Daire Three points would have been a welcome diversion from off-field issues for the Caley Jags. Inverness missed Cammy Harper from last week and Austin Samuels dropped to the bench as Billy Mckay returned from suspension. Frankie Musonda was on the Ayr bench and 15 goal striker Dipo Akinyemi led their attack with Josh Mullin and Ben Dempsey backing him up. At the end of the day it was Inverness that picked up a valuable win. First Half Billy Mckay was keen to get going again after his suspension and he hit one from distance in the opening moments but it went over the bar and he followed that with another that went wide after seven minutes. Ten minutes in and Sam Ashford replaced the injured Josh Mullin and two minutes later Dipo Akinyemi scored his sixteenth of the season to put United ahead. The lead lasted just seven minutes when Sean Welsh scored after a Jay Henderson cross fell to him in the box to level the game. Charlie Albiston was quick off his line to deny the eager Mckay as he honed in on goal and five minutes later he was close to getting on the end of a Shaw cut back after Albiston made a mess of a clearance. Before the half hour Daire O'Connor was sent off for a challenge on Wallace Duffy. Duffy then shot over before Mckay had an effort deflected over the bar and Duffy headed the resultant corner over as well. Just on the break the keeper saved well from a Duffy shot into the top corner, just after Paddy Reading had gone close at the other end. Half Time: 1-1 Ayr began the second half on the front foot with McKenzie and Akinyemi shooting wide before Billy Mckay was blocked in the box at the other end and Scott Allardice fired one over. Ashford shot over on the hour after some good possession from the hosts and Duffy shot wide after finding himself in an advanced position again. More profligacy from the visitors as Henderson missed the top corner after a burst into the box. Welsh was blocked then had another effort deflected behind for a corner with twenty minutes left. The chances eventually paid off when Henderson connected with a Nathan Shaw cross at the back post to fire home. Mckay then shot wide after being played through ten minutes from the end. Inverness saw out the game to put themselves on the outer fringes of a play-off spot. Full Time 1-2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness got a vital three points on the road against 10 man Ayr United to move up a place in the table as Partick beat Raith Rovers 3-0. Wallace Duffy was the pick of the bunch today finding time to get forward and help out in attack, ably assisted by David Carson and Jay Henderson. RIG on CTO: At times we played some nice football. Most of the threat seemed to come down the right especially after Henderson and Shaw rotated and, with the extra man, Duffy and Delaney started pushing further up the pitch to offer support. Ayr tended not to double up on the wide men so it meant that Henderson or Shaw had to beat just one man and they had a chance to get a cross in. Henderson in particular was tormenting the Ayr defence and he had the best chance for us before we scored when he wriggled through a ruck of players at the edge of the box and lashed an effort over the bar. Some solid performances from us to win that one today with Duffy, Carson and Henderson probably the pick of the bunch. Duffy was helped out by Mullin going off injured and also the fact that Ayr played a lot of the game a man down. Carson took a bit of time to adapt to the 10 position but he carried the ball forward well and could have had a goal himself had he been more selfish and taking a shot instead of passing to a team mate. Date: 04/03/2023 Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr Attendance: 1820 Referee: Scott Lambie Ayr United: 1 Manager: Lee Bullen Lineup: Albinson; McAllister (Musonda 72), Kirk, McGinty, Reading (McGuire 84), O'Connor, Mullin, McAlear, Dempsey, Akinyemi, McKenzie (Hewitt 84) Subs (not used): McAdams; Bilham, Ashford, Smith, Bryden, Houston Scorers: Akinyemi (12) Booked: McAllister (35), McGuire (89) Sent Off: O'Connor (29) Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Bily Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine, Deas, Delaney, Carson, Welsh, Allardice (Doran 63), Henderson, Shaw (Boyd 90), B Mackay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Thompson, Cairns, Hyde, Harper, D Mackay, Samuels Scorers: Welsh (19), Henderson (74) Booked: Deas (49), Welsh (77) Sent Off: none a