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Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC are delighted to announce 2025/26 Season Tickets will be available from Monday 9th June 2025 at 10am from the Club Shop and online from eticketing.co.uk/ictfc The club have worked closely with the ICT Supporters Trust with the regards to Season Ticket pricing and are delighted to announce a reduction in price from last season across Adult/Over 65s categories. Also the extension of the 18-20 category from last season to now include 21 year-olds and students with valid ID. The club wanted to reward fans for their loyalty and vital backing during a challenging season last year, and feel the new season ticket prices reflect that. The new club management were keen to consult and work with the Supporters Trust regarding Season Ticket prices and have brought all season tickets under £300, including for those who did not have a season ticket last season and are looking to rejoin us for the new campaign. The club hopes with the outstanding finish to last year from the team, and the positive changes currently ongoing, that supporters will continue to get right behind Scott Kellacher and his players next season. Full Price Tables for 2025/26 Season Tickets can be found below: Andrew Benjamin, ICTFC Commercial Manager, said: “It was a pleasure working with the Supporters Trust from the very start on this season’s ticket pricing and listening to fan feedback. Everyone at the club knows just how important it is to reward the incredible loyalty our fans continue to show. These renewal prices are a reflection of that appreciation. We also want to warmly welcome back anyone who’s been away from the club for a while, there’s never been a better time to return and be part of something special. The fantastic turnout of 2,400 at our final home game last season showed the strength of our community, and together, we’re excited to keep that energy growing into the new season and beyond. George Moodie, ICT Supporters Trust Chairman, said: “The Supporters Trust were delighted to work closely with the club on this year’s season tickets, I would like to thank the club for their efforts & support . We were involved right from the start, where we were able to provide input to the pricing & bandings. It really highlights the positive collaboration between Supporters and the Football Club just now and highlights what can be achieved through strong open communication.” “It was important to the Supporters Trust that all fans who got behind the team last season were rewarded for their loyal support with a discounted renewal for the new season ahead. I hope that everyone can get behind the club and purchase their season tickets early so we can prepare for what will hopefully be an exciting season ahead.” “Whilst renewing your Season Ticket, why not also join the Supporters Trust as well this season for only £5. Please click the link below to join/renew. https://membermojo.co.uk/ictst“

Inverness, Scottish Cup Winners 2015 How good does that feel! A bit of nostalgia never hurt anyone... What a day that was, one that started for me at five in the morning when the alarm went off in North Kessock and ended in Edinburgh around midnight with a grin etched on the face. Inverness Caledonian Thistle are the 2015 Scottish Cup winners. Many made massive sacrifices for the cause, coming from around the globe. It was well worth it in the end, although in true tradition, we don't do anything the easy way and that was credit to Falkirk who can count themselves a tad unlucky after a courageous second half performance where Inverness weathered the storm to eventually lift the cup after having to play out the final twenty minutes with ten men. 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 mis-controlled 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. The fans were in good spirits in the build up to the game and plenty of shouting juice had passed the lips. Inside the stadium there was a marvellous card display from the Inverness end and it was a pleasure to be part of it. Massive congratulations to all who set that one up, it looked fantastic. Inverness fans were dealt a blow before kick off as semi hero David Raven was out which left us with an unfamiliar back four. Esson in goal but in front of him, only Josh Meekings was in his normal position. Devine replaced the suspended Gary Warren and Carl Tremarco was at left back with departing captain Graeme Shinnie filling in at right back with Raven missing. Danny Williams was on the bench and Aaron Doran started. Falkirk were minus the cup-tied Mark Kerr and John Baird, but Rory Loy started, despite Houston claiming he might not make it. <article image by Trevor Martin @TMPfoto> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright afternoon saw Falkirk get off to the better start, but it was a typical cup final, all a bit cagey in the opening exchanges, nobody wanting to make the first mistake. Whilst always keeping the fans attention, there was little goalmouth action with defences on top as Inverness began to edge their way forward with around twenty minutes gone. Ryan Esson was eventually called into action and comfortably saved a low shot from Will Vaulks from outside the box. Vaulks fired a vicious shot from thirty yards eight minutes later and that one had the Falkirk fans off their seats as the ball ruffled the top corner of the net. Alas for the Bairns, it was the wrong side of the net. Closest call yet though, phew! We were not at our best but at least we were not behind. That close shave seemed to alert Inverness to the dangers and Aaron Doran brought a save from Macdonald as we started to pass the ball better, although the defence were needing more help from the front men who were not holding onto the ball. Shinnie then had our best attempt so far as he fired a shot come cross wide with Watkins lurking, and it was evident the tide was turning. Watkins then had a shot saved as it went straight at the keeper and a corner followed soon after. We were now controlling the pace of the game and the 38th minute saw Inverness go ahead with a wonderful team goal. Falkirk lost possession deep in the Inverness half. We transferred the ball smartly up the right side in a seven man move. The final touches saw Aaron Doran slip a tidy ball through to Marley Watkins and his pace and power saw him drift goalwards to slide the ball past MacDonald for the opening goal. Scenes of Red and Blue in the Inverness end as jubilation broke out in the stands. The dream was now in full swing as the half ended with Inverness on top. Half Time 1-0 I don't know what Houston said at half time, but it transformed the Bairns. They were up for this and we would have to weather the storm as they surged forward looking for a leveller. Vaulks was the main threat and he went close again five minutes after the restart. On the hour mark and Blair Alston lifted a shot just over inside a packed box as Falkirk upped the pace. Inverness were by now finding the Bairns to be more of a handful than they should have been as they won successive corners and Vaulks again shot over. Substitute Botti Bia Bi went very close soon after and manager of the year John Hughes decided to make a change. Little did he know how important that change would be as he introduced James Vincent for young player of the year Ryan Christie. With 75 minutes on the clock, Carl Tremarco was invited to leave the field by Willie Collum after he lost the ball then brought down Alston. No complaints this time though as Collum had little option. Tremarco was distraught and Inverness would have to play out the game with ten men. Vaulks again tested Esson from close range as the Bairns smelled blood and went for the jugular. Inverness were reduced to frantic defending and the fans were watching through their fingers as the final twenty minutes would take a lifetime to pass. Within five minutes of Tremarco leaving, Falkirk were level. A free kick on the left flank saw Alston pick out Peter Grant who wanted it most and he flashed a powerful header high into the net for a not undeserved equaliser. Game on. James Vincent went to right back with Shinnie moving over to the left as Inverness re-jigged after the sending off. There was nothing else for it but to get up the park and have a go or face the prospect of extra time and penalties. That threat disappeared when Watkins pace saw him break forward to surge clear of the defence with Falkirk caught up the other end. He slowed down outside the box and tried to curl a low shot to the left of the keeper. Now then, I've seen better shots but MacDonald fluffed his lines as he dived low to his left. He only succeeded in pushing the ball to the left side of the box and James Vincent who had made a lung bursting run to catch up with Watkins got to the loose ball first and knocked it into the empty net. Absolute pandemonium in the Inverness end once more and there were only five more minutes of normal time to hold on to our advantage. Luke Leahy went close in the ninetieth minute as Falkirk tried to scramble the game towards extra time and five minutes of time added on saw a huge sigh from the Highlanders. Nick Ross replaced Man of the Match Marley Watkins with three minutes remaining but Falkirk could not find that elusive second goal and the end result was just fantastic for Inverness Caledonian Thistle and their fans who were singing and dancing in the Hampden Stands. Full Time 2-1 It was tough and hard to bear for the Falkirk fans who had witnessed their team give their all, but it's all about scoring the most goals and we did just that. More scenes of Red and Blue followed as the Inverness contingent stayed to cheer the victors and witness the Cup presentation. Graeme Shinnie leaves for Aberdeen now, but he might never experience this again, as he kissed the cup and waved it above his head, duly followed by the rest of the squad. What a moment to be a Caley Thistle fan. 21 years in the making but a combined 239 years of magnificent history. Celebratory beers were the order of the day and I met up with some Falkirk fans in the Horseshoe Bar where Gordon Mason presented me with a trophy off his back. He gave me a Falkirk shirt and wished us all well. Great fans and a credit to their club. Painting by local artist Sophie Robb MotM will be going to Marley Watkins who scored the first and made the second with a little help from Jamie Macdonald. In truth, and here is the unsavoury bit, there were not too many contenders for the title, most players having an off day. Danny Devine was better than most and Graeme Shinnie, as always, gave everything. We struggled up front and Eddie Ofere has had better days. In fairness to him, we rarely got the ball forward so it's hardly his fault. Carl Tremarco will be disappointed but he performed well up to that point. It is unfair to pick out anyone though, good or bad so I'll leave it there and say congratulations to everybody from the ball boys to the the fans, what an achievement for our club. Steve Hislop and Bobby Mann were not far off in their predictions and I met Barry Wilson after the game as well, all in all, a great day out and there would be another one on Sunday as the Cup was paraded through Inverness. Match Highlights... Celebrations continue in Inverness... Date: 30/05/15 Venue: Hampden Park Attendance: 37149 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Esson; Shinnie, Meekings, Devine, Tremarco, Christie (Vincent 72), Draper, Tansey, Doran (Williams 78), Watkins (Ross 93), Ofere Subs (not used): Mackay, Horner, Polworth, Kink Scorers: Watkins (38), Vincent (86) Booked: None Sent Off: Tremarco (75) Falkirk: 1 Lineup: MacDonald; Duffie, McCracken, Grant, Leahy, Alston, Vaulks, Taiwo, Sibbald, Smith (Bia Bi 63), Loy (Morgan 95) Subs (not used): Muirhead, Bowman, Dick, Cooper, Blair Scorers: Grant (80) Booked: Taiwo (76) Sent Off: None

Lewis Nicolson Leaves Football The club can announce that defender Lewis Nicolson has taken the decision to step away from football. <article image from ictfc> Lewis, 21 years-old, has suffered two serious knee injuries during his time with the club and has now decided to pursue career opportunities elsewhere. “Over the past two years I have struggled to return from injury, but through this period everyone at the club, the fans and my sponsors have been incredibly supportive. It has been such a difficult decision to step away from football but with the scare of this second injury and after three knee operations, I have decided to prioritise long term health. I look forward to being a fan once again by supporting the players and management going into next season.” All the best for the future Lewis from all at CTO. You have put a lot of time and effort into your football career but your long term health is more important. It's disappointing for you but maybe a new beginning is just round the corner. FULL STATEMENT FROM ICTFC Start video at 4:57 for Lewis' stunning goal Full Name: Lewis Nicolson Born: May 4th, 2004 (Inverness) Height: 178 Position: Left back Signed: June 10th, 2021 First Manager: Billy Dodds Career Stats: 11 appearances, 2 goals Debut (sub): January 29th, 2022 - Kilmarnock 1 - 0 Inverness CT (Championship) Full Debut: July 15th, 2023 - 2 - 1 Bonnyrigg Rose (League Cup - Group E) First Goal: February 19th, 2022 - Inverness CT 1 - 2 Ayr United (Championship) Also Played For: Elgin City Goals Scored Feb 19th, 2022 League (H) vs. Ayr United 1 - 2 (86') Jan 7th, 2023 League (A) vs. Arbroath 4 - 1 (86') The last goal in a 4-1 win at Arbroath was the icing on the cake when substitute Lewis Nicolson nudged a header back across the six yard box and into an unguarded net, cool as you like. Mckay and then Steven Boyd combined to set up the chance which Lewis executed exquisitely, his second goal for the club. Both his goals were scored in the 86th minute. (lucky number for you Lewis?) Hope it all works out for you having committed yourself to the Caley Jags only to have your dreams torn away through injury. All at CTO will give you our best wishes.

Voted by CTO Online Keith Bray PotY Keith has had a great season picking up points for outstanding performances throughout the season, scoring 11 goals including a hat-trick away to Cove Rangers. He picked up two yellow cards in the season, and has been a tremendous all round player for the team on the ground or in the air. Keith also won the Official ICTFC Young Player of the Year Award x2, voted by the players and by the fans. What a season for the young man from the Western Isles! He signed a four year contract with Dunfermline in January and were lucky to keep the young man for the second half of the season to help us remain in this league avoiding the play-offs. Good luck for the next stage of your development, I'm sure with your commitment and focus you will go on to greater things. Player of the Year Winner with 70 points is Keith Bray Second with 64 points Luis Longstaff Third with 57 points Adam MacKinnon Fourth with 52 points Charlie Gilmour Fifth with 47 points Musa Dibaga Sixth with 35 points Remi Savage Monthly Winners July Keith Bray August Adam MacKinnon September Musa Dibaga October Adam MacKinnon November Luis Longstaff December Luis Longstaff January Alfie Bavidge February Luis Longstaff March Keith Bray April/May Joint 1st Bray - Gilmour - B Mckay Well done Keith and all the best for the future with Dunfermline and hopefully at a bigger club in the years beyond. Here's what we will be missing and what the Pars will be gaining... Here is the breakdown of Keith's PotY winning season:- Goals Scored Jul 20th, 2024 League Cup (H) vs. Bonnyrigg Rose 3 - 0 (17') Nov 9th, 2024 League (A) vs. Cove Rangers 2 - 1 (67') Jan 18th, 2025 League (A) vs. Annan Athletic 3 - 0 (49') Jan 21st, 2025 League (A) vs. Queen of the South 2 - 3 (74') Jan 25th, 2025 League (A) vs. Alloa 2 - 1 (21') Mar 1st, 2025 League (H) vs. Montrose 1 - 1 (80') Mar 11th, 2025 League (H) vs. Stenhousemuir 4 - 1 (47') Apr 5th, 2025 League (A) vs. Cove Rangers 3 - 0 (36') Apr 5th, 2025 League (A) vs. Cove Rangers 3 - 0 (13') Apr 5th, 2025 League (A) vs. Cove Rangers 3 - 0 (72') Apr 26th, 2025 League (H) vs. Arbroath 3 - 0 (9') Hat-Tricks Apr 5th, 2025 League (A) vs. Cove Rangers 3 - 0 (3 goals) Thank you again for all your votes throughout the season please continue for the next one Thanks to IBM for compiling the PotY stats throughout the season along with other background chores to help keep CTO up to date.

And that's a wrap The final game of the season was at Links Park, Montrose, with both sides already assured of their League1 status for next season. Scott Kellacher went with the strongest starting XI available with Dibaga, MacKinnon and Strachan missing out and Marcus Gill helping out between the sticks with MacLeod and Nolan outfield. Stewart Petrie had maybe rested a couple of starters with Cammy Gill, Lyons, Dillon and Wighton on the bench but the Gudgie started as did Matheus Machado. Inverness ended the season on a high after dominating Montrose at Links Park. Paul Allan on the break and Billy Mckay after an hour did the damage in a game dominated by the Caley Jags. What an ending to a turbulent season. And that's a wrap ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Action in the Montrose goalmouth in the first minute as Paul Allan brought out a save from Ross Mathews in goal as he kept out Allan's goalbound effort. Billy Mckay missed the target five minutes later after connecting with a cross and Graham Webster was denied by Marcus Gill as the hosts hit back and Aidan Quinn had an early effort blocked. Fifteen minutes in and Allan was one on one with Mathews, alas it was the keeper that prevailed. Keith Bray saw a shot blocked as the visitors kept the pressure on the home defence and a couple of minutes later he was denied by Mathews and had another go blocked as well. Sir Lancelot tried his luck from a tight angle but Gill stood firm. Allan was once more thwarted by Mathews and as the game went to the other end, an Owen Stirton shot was blocked. However, it was the visitors who were looking most likely to open the scoring. News coming in near half time was that Kelty were cruising two up on Alloa, thus ring fencing sixth leaving Montrose and Inverness to battle it out for seventh and eighth. Defences were on top at Links Park though and Pollard and Mckay were next to get shots away at either end of the park without troubling the keepers. Just on the interval Gill saved high from Quinn and Machado fired over, but moments later Paul Allan opened the scoring from close range in time added on. Goal stemmed from Billy Mckay’s ball that found Allan in the box and he knocked it into the net! That ended a frantic first half that the visitors had dominated without threatening to run away with the game. HALF TIME: 0-1 Alloa had pulled a goal back just before half time, so sixth place was back on should they draw level with Kelty. With that in mind the Caley Jags laid siege to the home goal with Alfie Stewart and Keith Bray going close as the corner count mounted. Ben Brannan was next to have a go with Mathews up to the task once more. Montrose subbed the Gudgie off but the shooting practice continued with MacLeod and Bray having a go. Would this profligacy come back to bite us on the rrrs? Not now as Billy Mckay scored his third in three when he shot home from outside the box. Great end to the season for Billy. The procession didn't stop there though as Paul Allan and Callum MacLeod fired goalwards. Everyone and their dog were now having a go with Danny Devine and Robbie Thompson next in line. Marcus Gill saved well from Webster as Montrose tried to grab a consolation. As it was, we ended on a high. Well done Kells and the boys. What a season, for many different reasons. FULL TIME: 0-2 Fabulous end to the season for Inverness and Billy Mckay We fell just short of sixth as Alloa failed to take a point off Kelty. More match reaction to follow. Date: 03/05/2025 Venue: Links Park, Montrose Attendance: 1018 Referee: Colin Whyte Montrose: 0 Manager: Stewart Petrie Lineup: Mathews; Williamson (Brown 75), Quinn (Dillon 57), Watson (Masson 70), Freeman, Bertie, Gardyne (Sandilands 57), Machado, Webster, Pollard (Wighton 75), Stirton, Subs (not used): Gill; Redwood, Martin, Lyons Scorers: none Booked: Machado (41) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Gill; Brannan, Devine (J Walker 81), Savage, Nolan, Bray (Longstaff 64), Gilmour, Allan (Keogh 81), MacLeod, Stewart (R Thompson 74), B Mckay (Cairns 64) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, Gardiner Scorers: Allan (45+2), B Mckay (61) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

And Relax! We have all been on the emotional rollercoaster in a turbulent season that saw us go from potential promotion candidates to administration casualties, relegation favourites, possible liquidation fatalities before we pulled through with Scott Kellacher lifting the spirits sufficiently to enable us to retain our League1 status as Alan Salvage dug deep to stabilise our off-field activities and leave us all with fresh hope and a renewed vigour for next season. Aaaaand breathe! For the first time this season we can relax. Relax in the knowledge that Scot Gardiner is gone, Duncan Ferguson and his Duncball tactic is a fading memory, Bar94 is thriving thanks to the Supporters Trust, the ladies toilets are working again, the feelgood factor is back and Administration is on the verge of departure. Enjoy Montrose away, for the pressure is off and it's time to rejoice in our new found joy. The joy of having a football club to support and one that will rise again from the burning embers of near extinction. Mon the Caley Jags. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Final quarter of the season: W L D L W L D W ? Let's forget the rest of the season: Despite injuries, suspensions and administration taking it's toll on the squad we dug deep with a superb penultimate game win over the Smokies. The last phase shows we only had three wins, but all were emphatic and vital. A 4-1 win in the re-arranged game at home to Stenhousemuir and a brilliant 3-0 win at Cove plus last weeks superb performance against Arbroath. A disappointing home defeat to Annan was followed by another disappointing home draw against Alloa. It got worse the week after as QotS battered us 4-1 and following the win at Cove, Kelty dumped us 0-2 in the Highlands, that was another three points that went abegging. We almost pulled off a good result away to Stenhousemuir after the Kelty game but a 91st minute own goal left us with just a point after Billy Mckay had scored his first goal for three months, but what a strike it was, earlier in the second half. Them's the breaks, as disappointing as they are. With three minutes to go, we were sitting in 7th place in the table until Montrose equalised against Dumbarton and Stenny levelled with us. We did get up to eighth in the table last week though after a swashbuckling performance in a 3-0 win over Arbroath and that is the one that makes the final game against Montrose more relaxed with safety guaranteed. Billy Mckay with another stunning strike along with goals from Keith Bray and a Paul Allan penalty dribbling over the line. Waaahayyyyy! Three games with Montrose this season. Both fixtures in the Highlands ended 1-1 and we pi$$ed off Gardyne the Gudgie with a comeback win in early December. Webster and Lyons had Montrose two up before we mounted a comeback. Longstaff scored after the hour before Montrose were reduced to ten men with Steeves sent off. The comeback was completed when Paul Allan scored twice in the 88th and 94th minute, direct from a corner. Limbs! Latest Caley Jags News: Marcus Gill will fill the breach once again with Musa Dibaga still unavailable. A clean sheet for young Marcus last week and another this week would be nice to round off the season. Inverness look to be coming out of administration soon and 32year old Danny Devine is keen to stay on. Adam MacKinnon is our only player with a contract for next season at the moment although with the feelgood factor surging through the club he feels that many might consider it prudent to return next season. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 35 16 63 2 Cove 35 16 54 3 Queen o Sth 35 5 54 4 Alloa Ath 35 9 51 5 Stenny 35 2 50 6 Kelty 35 -7 41 7 Caley Jags 35 5 40 8 Montrose 35 -7 40 9 Annan Ath 35 -25 36 10 Dumbarton 35 -14 20 Last Six: W W L L D L Despite faltering over their last few games, Montrose have made the 'cut' and will play in League1 next season as well. A 3-1 home win over Annan was followed by an excellent 3-2 win at Ochilview. Two defeats at the start of April, at home to Arbroath (0-1) and at QotS away (2-1) before drawing 2-2 at Dumbarton with a 2-1 defeat at Alloa allowing us to jump above them in the table, albeit on goal difference. Owen Stirton, on loan from Dundee United, is their top scorer with nine goals in just thirteen games. That's a good return from the young striker. Blair Lyons has seven. Callum Sandilands is another hungry young forward. Good experience through the Gable Endies ranks as well. Gardyne the Gudgie is still at Montrose as is Matheus Machado. Wiki said: The first Montrose Football Club was formed on 25 February 1871 after a meeting of local young men seeking to organise the practice of the 'national game of football' on the Links of Montrose. The variety of football played at the time did not resemble the modern game (nothings changed) and was more akin to rugby. Friendly matches amongst club members and townsfolk, Montrose Academical, Arbroath and Aberdeen University were played over the next few years before the club was dissolved. On 8 September 1877, a new football club was formed at a meeting at Montrose Academy. During the new club's annual meeting on 13 October 1879 at the Town's Buildings, the committee unanimously resolved to change the rules of the club to those of General Association, with an association rules match amongst club members played later that week on 18 October 1879. The club played their first external association rules match against Arbroath Wanderers on 8 November 1879. Given the fact that the Montrose side were unfamiliar with new rules of the game, the team unsurprisingly lost 4–0. They are the 18th oldest association football team in Scotland still in existence. It's rumoured that they still don't know the rules

Never in doubt! Caley Jags secured League1 status after thrashing Arbroath 3-0 whilst Dumbarton dump Annan 3-1. This result was never in doubt after goals from Keith Bray with a header, a Paul Allan penalty...just, and a superb strike from Billy McKay just after the break coupled with Annan's defeat ensured that we'll be back next season, bigger, better and with less points deducted in League1. What a transformation after the shambles of a club we were left with during the reign of incompetence and administration before that was replaced with Scott Kellacher and the stability from Alan Savage, or as he will forever be known as Alan Salvage. Statue on order for Scott Kellacher and Alan Salvage! FULL TIME: 3-0 When it really mattered, Inverness took the bull by the horns from the off to record an emphatic win over Championship bound Arbroath, who made another eight changes this week after last weeks below the belt tactic against Annan. This week it was the full nine yards but they were quickly undressed by an eager to please home side who took the lead when Keith Bray headed in a deep angled cross from the industrious Ben Brannan. The keeper did get a hand to the powerful header but could only palm it up into the net. What a start for the Caley Jags! Ten minutes later a spritely looking Billy Mckay almost added a second when his effort from inside the box was pulled just wide of goal. After twenty minutes and with Inverness looking sharp, Paul Allan slipped Billy into the left side of the box where he was unceremoniously upended by the keeper as he rounded him. Paul Allan took the spot kick and we held our breath for a couple of seconds as the ball spun away from Aidan McAdams and trickled into the net just out of his grasp. No more than we deserved at this point, although the keeper might wonder why he got his hands on both efforts but failed to keep the ball out on each occasion. I'll call it Karma! Another chance fell to Mckay when he went into the left side but this time McAdams made a fine save to deny a third goal as the striker shot across him. Alfie Stewart had a shot saved soon after as our domination continued and just on the break he fired a powerful effort over the bar. HALF TIME: 2-0 Not everyone was back in their seats at the start of the second half in time to see Billy Mckay score the best goal of the game when he received the ball left of centre inside the box. It all stemmed from a long throw in by Ben Brannan. Three or four headers later Charlie Gilmour put his head on the chopping block to nod the ball towards Billy who took one touch before curling a beauty round the defenders and into the net with power. Tremendous goal from Lazarus Mckay who came good at the right time. Game over and to be honest that killed the game as a spectacle as the last forty minutes were played out at walking pace as both sides were content with their lot. It was maybe dedicated to the Duncball era as the ball seldom went forward and any chance of another goal seemed unlikely. Maybe that's why we had a couple of youngsters entering the field of play to break the now tedious patterns of play. Who cared, we only had to wait for the fire alarm delayed ending to the Dumbarton v Annan game. When it arrived it was joy all round with the Sons winning 3-1 to end Annan's hopes of avoiding the play off and confirmed our status as a League1 team for next season (-5 points) FULL TIME 3-0 Trevor Matin's photo catches the moment we knew it was all over as the final whistle went at the Rock. What an achievement after all the adversity throughout the season. Look at the joy on these young faces. Well done to everyone who made this possible. Scott Kellacher has been a breath of fresh air this season and although it was not all plain sailing, we came good when it mattered. Loan players have come in to help out and have been brilliant. Take a bow Bavidge, Stewart and Brannan. Our own youngsters have played their part as well and Billy Mckay started scoring again when it mattered most. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 35 16 63 2 Cove Rangers 35 16 54 3 Queen of Sth 35 5 54 4 Alloa Athletic 35 9 51 5 Stenny 35 2 50 6 Kelty Hearts 35 -7 41 7 Inverness CT 35 5 40 8 Montrose 35 -7 40 9 Annan Athletic 35 -25 36 10 Dumbarton 35 -14 20 Date: 26/04/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2329 Referee: Gary Hanvidge Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Gill; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Nolan 75), Bray (Keogh (92)), Gilmour, MacLeod, Allan (Gardiner (92)), Stewart (Longstaff 81), B Mckay (Cairns 92) Subs (not used): Rebilas; J Walker, Ewan, R Thompson Scorers: Bray (6), Allan (24 pen), B Mckay (47) Booked: Strachan (37) Sent Off: none Arbroath FC: 0 Manager: Colin Hamilton/David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Penman (Reilly 56), Muirhead, O'Brien, Wilkie, Flynn, Stanton, Stewart, Taylor, Dow (Murray 76), Winter Subs (not used): McConnell; Gallagher, Gold, King, Spalding, Steele Scorers: none Booked: Dow (73) Sent Off: none a

Massive Game We have talked about big games before, but this one is absolutely huge in the thirty year history of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Only two games left of the regular season and we still need to ensure we avoid the dreaded relegation play-offs. We face Arbroath at home on Saturday and then make the trip to Montrose the week after and these two games could determine our fate. Musa Dibaga is out for the last couple of games as is Alfie Bavidge. Luis Longstaff returned after injury last week and played half a game. Prior to the game, and three years on from his passing, a few of us will be raising a glass to remember Big Stew in the Innes Bar from 1:00pm. Pop in to say hello and share some stories with us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info Hospitality Available Bring a friend for £5 ICTFC PotY VOTING Wayne Addicoat RIP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sad news released by the club today to announce that former player Wayne Addicoat has passed away at just 45 years of age RIP Wayne His passing will be acknowledged with a minutes applause ahead of kick off against Arbroath. Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC are saddened to hear of the recent passing of former player Wayne Addicoat at 45 years-old. Wayne played for the club from July 1996 until May 1999, making 54 appearances and scoring 4 goals. The club send its condolences to Wayne’s family at this sad time and we will be holding a minute’s applause before this Saturday’s match against Arbroath. Four meetings already this season and we have yet to win one. Closest we came was in the League cup game that ended goalless with Arbroath winning the bonus point after the penalty shoot-out. 2025 Apr 26th League (League 1) ? - ? H - Feb 8th League (League 1) 0 - 3 A 1,500 2024 Dec 14th League (League 1) 0 - 2 H 1,531 Oct 5th League (League 1) 0 - 1 A 1,381 Jul 23rd League Cup (Group D) p 0 - 0 H 754 Final quarter of the season: W L D L W L D ? ? Forget the rest of the season; it's what happens over the next two games that will define our season. As well as we have done to give ourselves the chance to stay in this division, we have faltered over the last few games with injuries, suspensions and administration taking it's toll on the squad. Only the two wins in this last phase, but both were emphatic. A 4-1 win in the re-arranged game at home to Stenhousemuir and a brilliant 3-0 win at Cove. A disappointing home defeat to Annan was followed by another disappointing home draw against Alloa. It got worse the week after as QotS battered us 4-1 and following the win at Cove, Kelty dumped us 0-2 in the Highlands, another three points lost. We almost pulled off a good result away to Stenhousemuir last Saturday but a 91st minute own goal left us with just a point after Billy Mckay had scored his first goal for three months earlier in the second half. Thems the breaks, as disappointing as they are. With three minutes to go, we were sitting in 7th place in the table until Montrose equalised against Dumbarton and Stenny levelled with us. Looks like we will be without big Musa again so I for one won't be holding my breath. I believe we are hopeful of acquiring Marcus Gill again. I also doubt very much that Arbroath will be sending up a second string starting XI this weekend like they did last week at Annan. They would have been as well not turning up instead of the embarrassing 5-1 defeat they were dished out by a team with a goal difference of minus 23, the worst in League1. Scott Kellacher does not want to make anything of this, however, I'm happy to do it for him. Meh! Kelty are at Cove, Montrose are at Alloa and Annan are at Dumbarton. All tricky away ties at this stage of the season. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Smokies 34 19 63 2 Cove 34 16 53 3 Queen Sth 34 3 51 4 Stenny 34 4 50 5 Alloa Ath 34 8 48 6 Montrose 34 -6 40 7 Kelty 34 -7 40 8 Caley Jags 34 2 37 9 Annan Ath 34 -23 36 10 Sons 34 -16 17 Last Six: D D W W W L The two draws were both 1-1 against Dumbarton (h) and Kelty (a). Three wins on the bounce v Cove (1-0), Montrose (0-1) and the title winning defeat of Stenhousemuir (4-0). Last week was the embarrassing loss to Annan at Galabank where they made seven changes to their line up and were thrashed 5-1 by Annan. It goes against the grain to be honest especially as they can still influence relegation places by their bringing the game into disrepute tactic. It's certainly not in the spirit of things and unless they field half a team this week then it smacks of dishonesty. When you leave players out with the quality of Fraser Taylor, Scott Stewart, Sam Stanton, Ryan Dow, Tam O'Brien, Aidan McAdams...... yer havin a laff guys. Remembering Stewart Anderson who sadly is no longer with us having departed three years ago on 13th April 2022 aged just 52. A few friends of 'Big Stew' will be remembering the Big Man and having a peedie dram in his absence before the Smokies game. Join us if you like as we reminisce about better times ahead of kick-off and fondly get the craic with Big Stew in the Innes Bar from 1:00pm onward. Many a pre-match aperitif was had with Stewart before heading to the game with ample shouting juice absorbed into the body and boarding the taxi at four minutes to three (and still making kick-off). As you can see, this painting was done by Stewart's brother, Blair. What a fantastic instantly recognisable image that captures the energy and passion, and epitomises this Gentle Giant of a character. Cheers Stewart, missed by many Slàinte Mhath Here's the new barman sampling some of the wares in what could be described as a 'lock in' back in the day. Never one to shirk a challenge Stewart could easily demolish a peedie dram or equally a 31/2 pint tumbler of the black stuff in one go. A gentleman and a scholar who will be forever in our thoughts. I'm not sure what he would have thought about the current situation the club finds itself in, but I bet he would have had a few choice words for those that have contributed to our demise.

Late drama scuppers us With both sides still having plenty to play for, points were the priority today as the season inched towards a climax. Inverness would have to do it without their talismanic keeper Musa Dibaga with a young Bhoy in goal, Marcus Gill. The last time the sides met, Inverness produced their finest ninety minutes of the season to roast the Warriors 4-1 in the Highlands only half a dozen games ago. However, we have now reached the business end of the season where experience could be crucial to the outcome. The hosts went heavy with their early season attack force and had Yates and Aitken up front with O'Donnell and Alston on the bench. Scott Kellacher was limited in choices and had Gill in goal. There was a welcome return to the bench for Luis Longstaff although it remains to be seen how fit he is after missing the last eight games with a hamstring injury. It was goalless at the break with Inverness dominating proceedings but Gill being more involved than Jamieson. News filtered through that Annan were ahead 2-1 against Arbroath reserves which has closed the gap to just one point at the break. He hadn't scored for yonks, but Billy Mckay broke the deadlock with a tremendous strike and threatened on another two or three occasions thereafter. Extra late drama as Stenhousemuir equalised in a scramble with either a Gilmour own goal or a Fisher bundle over the line. Meh! The result was a blow for ICT who are going to be without first-choice goalkeeper Musa Dibaga for the rest of the season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus Gill got his hands on the ball early as he had to stop a Kyle Banner header in the second minute. Charlie Gilmour took an early knock but continued after treatment fifteen minutes in. However, it was a cagey start from both although the visitors were having the better of the possession and forced a handful of corners without reward. The home keeper cleared a goalbound header from the line after twenty minutes and Adam MacKinnon fired just wide midway through the half before Matty Yates brought Gill back into action when the keeper held his shot comfortably from outside the box. Despite dominating possession, the home keeper had seen little action fifteen minutes before the break with little more of note before the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 Luis Longstaff replaced Adam MacKinnon after the interval for his first bit of action since March 1st but it was Kelsey Ewen that had the first effort on target with Gill able to save. Early second half pressure from the Warriors gained them a couple of corners as they looked to put the young Bhoy under pressure. Gilmour was in the wars once more and again received treatment but was able to continue. Well I never! 'He scores when we want' Billy Mckay opened the scoring with a superb strike following an assist from Alfie Stewart as he fired high into the net from the right side, his first goal for three months. Five minutes later Mckay had another effort brilliantly saved in the bottom corner by Jamieson. Mathew Aitken responded bringing out another save from Gill as he parried away the shot superbly and Ross Meechan headed wide as Stenhousemuir's play off position came under threat. Mckay saw Jamieson save again from the reborn striker with twenty minutes left. Meechan was again denied by Gill, saving in the bottom corner as the Warriors upped the pace. Danny Devine headed over from a set piece as we entered the final ten with the game on a knife edge. Stenny threw their whole squad at us in a final fling to try and salvage a point, and it worked. Charlie Gilmour got the obligatory yellow card before a dramatic own goal levelled the game after 90+ minutes with Fisher claiming it although it might go down as an own goal by Gilmour. And that's how it feckin ended. From 8th to 7th and back to 8th as late drama scuppered us. FULL TIME: 1-1 That was Billy's first goal since January 18th at Annan. With Arbroath fielding a weakened side today against Annan and being humped 5-1, we are now only one point above the play off place although we do have a superior goal difference with Arbroath up here next week and a final game against Montrose incoming. Embarrassing stuff from the Champions. I wonder if there will be a stewards enquiry. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 34 19 63 2 Cove Rangers 34 16 53 3 Queen of Sth 34 3 51 4 Stenny 34 4 50 5 Alloa Athletic 34 8 48 6 Montrose 34 -6 40 7 Kelty Hearts 34 -7 40 8 Inverness CT 34 2 37 9 Annan Ath 34 -23 36 10 Dumbarton 34 -16 17 The Goals>>> Date: 19/04/2025 Venue: Ochilview Park - Attendance: 0764 Referee: Grant Irvine Stenhousemuir: 1 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Fisher, Banner (McLuckie 77), Wedderburn (O'Reilly 77), Anderson, Jacobs (Alston 87), Ewen, Aitken (McGill 62), Yates (O'Donnell 87) Subs (not used): Morrison; Bilham, Tomlinson Scorers: Gilmour (90+1 og) Booked: Aitken (62) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Marcus Gill; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Strachan, Bray, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Longstaff 46), Stewart (Nolan 85), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; J Walker, Ewan, Gardiner, MacLeod, Thompson Scorers: Mckay (56) Booked: Gilmour (90+1) Sent Off: none a

The Final Countdown As Europe once said, it's the Final Countdown: 3...2...1. We are now into the final three games of our Annus Administratus and it all starts with a tricky fixture at Stenhousemuir, who will be in the promotion play-offs. Another emergency loan goalkeeper will be with Inverness for Saturdays game at Stenhousemuir with Musa Dibaga out with a hamstring injury. Marcus Gill, a youngster from Celtic's B team squad will be in goal with big Musa out injured. Marcus, 17 years-old, has played for Celtic B in the Lowland League and has also featured in the UEFA Youth League this season. Marcus has also represented Ireland at Under 19's level. What a game to be without two of the three players of the year in Dibaga, and Bavidge. We also have Danny Devine with Gregor Buchanan of Stenhousemuir also in the Team of the Year. (see full team at bottom of preview). We will be keeping a watchful eye on Annan Athletic's game at Galabank against promoted Arbroath... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Info Admin: join the debate on CTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2025 Apr 19th League (League 1) - A - Mar 11th League (League 1) 4 - 1 H 1,482 2024 Dec 21st League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 719 Sep 28th League (League 1) 0 - 0 H 1,601 Only this seasons games are relevant to current form as the previous eight games were prior to 1999 apart from a League Cup game in 2012: A dramatic penalty shootout was concluded when Ryan Esson saved Darren Smith's penalty to win the tie for Inverness 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw where Billy Mckay headed in the opener before Brown Ferguson equalised from the spot before the break. Richie Foran miss 0-1 Brown Ferguson score Graeme Shinnie score 1-2 Andy Rodgers score Gavin Morrison score 2-2 Bryan Hodge miss Aaron Doran score 3-3 John Gemmell score Andrew Shinnie score 4-4 Ross McMillan score Ross Draper score 5-5 Stewart Kean score Philip Roberts score 6-5 Darren Smith miss ICT WIN. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W L D L W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game the next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and was re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan came North on Saturday in a six-pointer and it was a disappointing defeat after Annan parked the bus after scoring in the third minute. Next up was a 1-1 draw with Alloa despite hitting the woodwork twice and missing a penalty. Another bad day at the office last weekend at a wet and windswept Palmerston after Queen of the South blitzed us with three second half goals to run away with a 4-1 win in Dumfries. Meh! We bounced back with a rout of our own as a Keith Bray hat-trick sunk Cove Rangers 3-0 at Balmoral Park. What a result that was! Despite what could have been a joyous occasion in front of our home fans after that great result at Cove, we once again failed to produce at the Caledonian Stadium going down 2-0 to Kelty in a six-pointer of a game. It's one step forward and two steps back as we crawl towards relative safety. Latest Team News: Musa Dibaga is out with a hamstring injury. Marcus Gill, a youngster from Celtic's B team squad will be in goal with big Musa out and depending on the result of his scan, it could be for the remaining games. No other new injuries at present. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 33 23 63 2 Cove 33 16 52 3 Stenny 33 4 49 4 Queen Sth 33 1 48 5 Alloa Ath 33 8 47 6 Kelty 33 -5 40 7 Montrose 33 -6 39 8 Caley Jags 33 2 36 9 Annan Ath 33 -27 33 10 Sons 33 -16 16 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Last Six: L D D L L L Six games ago we beat Stenny in a re-arranged fixture at the Caledonian Stadium in our finest home game of the season, a crushing 4-1 win. Two 0-0 draws followed against Kelty and Cove then a slump in the last three at home v Montrose (2-3), home v Alloa (1-4) and last weeks title winning defeat at Arbroath (4-0). There are goal scorers in the side though with Corey O'Donnell on 9 and Blair Alston on 8. Yates and Aitken were prominent before injury and big Nat Wedderburn is still there. 𝘼𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨… Musa Dibaga – Inverness Scott Taggart – Alloa Ath Gregor Buchanan – Stenny Thomas O’Brien – Arbroath Danny Devine – Inverness Ross Cunningham – Kelty Fraser Taylor – Arbroath Fraser Fyvie – Cove Scott Stewart – Arbroath Mitchel Megginson – Cove Alfie Bavidge – Inverness

The Caley Thistle Way Scott Kellacher was buoyed by the feelgood factor this week and was looking to keep the Caley Jags ahead of Annan. For the visitors, with Charlie Mulgrew gone, it was Tam O'Ware that was tasked with getting the wee Hearts back on track or at least halting their freefall on a bright Saturday afternoon in the Highlands. The game got underway with Inverness shooting towards the North Stand in the first half for a change. It was a largely uneventful opening forty-five and if anything, Kelty created the better of the meagre opportunities with Dibaga making two decent stops. Meanwhile Inverness were mainly restricted to blocked shots and missed headers as we approached the break. We all held our breath before the interval when Dibaga went to collect the ball and crumpled to the turf. He resumed after treatment much to our relief. Gilmour hit the base of the post just on the break as a grateful Adams grabbed the ball after it bounced off the post and then hit him on the arse before he grabbed it. Alas Dibaga was unable to continue in the second period with young Szymon Rebilas taking the gloves. We still failed to trouble Adams after play resumed and it was no surprise when we went behind with Kelty looking much faster when they broke forward compared to our pedestrian approach. McCarvel raced through to slot home ten minutes from the end before Cole tied up the points with our defence in disarray. A thoroughly disappointing afternoon with little entertainment value. Let's hope Calum Jones puts on a better show in Bar94. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FULL TIME 0-2 After last weeks win at Cove, this was a massive disappointment. The only thing in our favour was that Annan lost as well and they remain three points behind us. It's the Caley Thistle Way; one step forward and two steps backward. Another difficult game next week away to Stenhousemuir. Scott Kellacher lamented: “We didn’t start well, and we didn’t work anywhere near hard enough like we did when we won at Cove last weekend. “This is really frustrating – there are no excuses for that. “We might not play well, or some things don’t come off in play, but we need to work much harder. Speaking about Dibaga’s injury, boss Kellacher added afterwards: “Musa has pulled his hamstring – there is no way he could have carried on. “We had to put young Szymon in goals and it was a big ask for the kid. “We will see what the physio says about Musa.” Smokies up as Champions Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 33 23 63 2 Cove 33 16 52 3 Stenny 33 4 49 4 Queen of Sth 33 1 48 5 Alloa Athletic 33 8 47 6 Kelty Hearts 33 -5 40 7 Montrose 33 -6 39 8 Inverness CT 33 2 36 9 Annan Ath 33 -27 33 10 Dumbarton 33 -16 16 Apr 19th 3:00:PM Stenhousemuir (A) League Annan Home Arbroath Apr 26th 3:00:PM Arbroath (H) League Annan Away Sons May 3rd 3:00:PM Montrose (A) League Annan - Home - Cove Highlights from Kelty Hearts TV Caley100 said on CTO: We did not deserve anything from that performance... nothing! Terrible passing, no clue, no passion, no pace...nothing. Very sad to have seen this from us. Howdenender on CTO: Well, in a season full of poor performances, that just about takes top spot! Against a team who conceded 6 goals to bottom side Dumbarton last week we put them under no pressure, played at a pedestrian pace and got what we deserved. We are a full time outfit in a league full of part time dross, you only need to look at how Arbroath have run away with it to see that, and Kelty Hearts are a truly dreadful team, but we seem incapable of putting any distance between us and relegation play off place. Alan on CTO: I can't really add to the previous comments as they have described exactly how the team performed today. No idea how to break down a packed defence or how to defend a quick counter attack Date: 12/04/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1812 Referee: Daniel Graves Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga (Rebilas 46)); Brannan, Devine, Savage, Strachan, Stewart (Gardiner 83), Gilmour, Allan (R Thompson 71), MacKinnon (MacLeod 60), B Mckay, Bray Subs (not used): Walker, Nolan, Ewan Scorers: none Booked: Gilmour (54), Savage (87) Sent Off: none Kelty Hearts: 2 Manager: Thomas O'Ware Lineup: Adams: Paterson, O'Ware, Flatman, Owens (McClure 61), Allan (78), MacIntyre, Mercer (Lyon 78) McCarvel, Moore (61), Johnston (Fellows 90) Subs (not used): Adamson; Brown, Hobbs Scorers: McCarvel (79), Cole (87) Booked: Owens (20), Mercer (54), Johnston (82) Sent Off: none a

Kelty Hearts Six Pointer Alert With Kelty Hearts seemingly in free-fall, they have parted company with their manager Charlie Mulgrew after a disastrous run of one win in eleven games since he took charge in January. That run has yielded just six points from a possible thirty-three which has scuppered their play-off hopes unless they drop further into the relegation zone, then anything is possible. However, not all the news coming out of the Caledonian Stadium this week is about events on the park. It has been a massive step in the right direction as the news broke that Alan Savage has been accepted as the preferred bidder by the Administrators (BDO) " A BDO spokesperson said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone and would like to place on record our thanks to Alan, the loan creditors, shareholders and everyone at the club for their cooperation and for working so hard to get us to this point.“Our focus now is on progressing the CVA to ensure a successful exit from administration and secure the future of the Club. Together with Alan, we will look to firm up timescales in this regard as soon as possible.” Happy Days, and the feel good factor has returned to the Caledonian Stadium ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Gig/Info Calum Jones Gig/Bar94 Alan Salvage Preferred Bidder ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2025 Apr 12th League (League 1) - H - Feb 22nd League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 641 2024 Nov 2nd League (League 1) 1 - 1 H 1,502 Aug 24th League (League 1) 0 - 0 A 692 2022 Jul 9th League Cup (Group Stage Group G) 1 - 0 A 601 Only the four competitive meetings between the two clubs and you can't get a fag paper between the two sides. The last encounter saw Alfie Bavidge bagging the winner in the second half. Kelty Hearts Broken The two previous encounters this season had ended all square but this Training Ground Derby at New Central Park went the way of the visitors thanks to a strike from Alfie Bavidge. Scott Kellacher had a full squad to pick from with James Nolan dropping down to join new signing Ben Brannan on the bench and Billy Mckay was up front with Alfie Bavidge. Charlie Mulgrew had a defender trialist on from the start who turned out to be Kirk Broadfoot but top Scorer Ross Cunningham missed out. After a goalless first half the Caley Jags upped the pace and Alfie Bavidge opened the scoring with twenty minutes remaining. A late scare as Kelty bounced a header off the crossbar following a corner but the visitors held on for the win in what turned out to be a great day for the Caley Jags with all others round about them losing. Happy days! INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W L D L W Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game the next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and was re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan came North on Saturday in a six-pointer and it was a disappointing defeat after Annan parked the bus after scoring in the third minute. Next up was a 1-1 draw with Alloa despite hitting the woodwork twice and missing a penalty. Another bad day at the office last weekend at a wet and windswept Palmerston after Queen of the South blitzed us with three second half goals to run away with a 4-1 win in Dumfries. Meh! We bounced back with a rout of our own as a Keith Bray hat-trick sunk Cove Rangers 3-0 at Balmoral Park. What a result that was! With Bavidge and Longstaff out for the remainder of the season, how timely & satisfying was it to see Keith Bray bang it a hat-trick at Cove last Saturday. A great all round team performance with Alfie Stewart providing all three assists. Latest Team News: Remi Savage returned to the defence last week after suspension and Calum MacLeod came on as a sub after missing the game at Palmerston. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 32 19 60 2 Cove R 32 14 49 3 Stenny 32 8 49 4 Queen o Sth 32 0 45 5 Alloa Athletic 32 7 44 6 Montrose 32 -5 39 7 Kelty Hearts 32 -7 37 8 Inverness CT 32 4 36 9 Annan Ath 32 -26 33 10 Dumbarton 32 -14 16 Following Tuesday's announcement regarding the resignation of Charlie Mulgrew, it has been confirmed that Thomas O'Ware will take charge of the team for the remainder of the season. Tam will be assisted by the coaching team of David McGurn, Jamie McDonald and Dean Robertson. Last Six: D L D D L L Kelty's last six is the worst run in League1 right now. The draws were against Montrose, Stenhousemuir and Arbroath with a heavy defeat at home to Cove (0-4), an away loss at Annan (2-1) and the crushing 6-0 defeat at home against already relegated Dumbarton. Ross Cunningham is joint top scorer with Mitch Megginson of Cove. However, he is suspended for this one. Scott Williamson has seven. Here's the players warming up ahead of this crucial clash at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday. With big Mulgrew offski, Tam has stepped in to fill the gap after Charlie only won six points from thirty-three leaving Kelty dangling just above the relegation zone. With Lord Salvage looking to invest in the club, it's happy days down at the dump after a season of hurt. So much so, that there is a sing-song at the stadium after the Kelty game starting at 18:00. What's not to like!

Bray Nets Treble Mitch Megginson was suspended for this one with Declan Glass making the bench along with Gillingham & Coulson. For Inverness, Remi Savage returned to the heart of the defence after suspension with Mathew Strachan at left back and James Nolan on the bench along with Calum MacLeod. The visitors flew out of the blocks with three or four early efforts. Adam Emslie was flagged offside when he 'netted' after ten minutes before Keith Bray rose highest to head in the opener three minutes later following a corner from Alfie Stewart. Ten minutes before the interval and Bray doubled our lead with another super strike on the break forward with Alfie. Twenty minutes from the end Alfie got his own hat-trick with assist No3 for Bray to bag his hat-trick of goals, shooting home from inside the box. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hat-Trick Hero (it's definitely three fingers) The Icing is on the Cake As in recent weeks weeks we dominated the early exchanges with Keith Bray heading just wide off a corner after Billy Mckay had a shot deflected past the post, and another blocked, before Adam Mackinnon fired wide as we kept on the front foot. Alfie Stewart headed wide from a tight angle before Adam Emslie was adjudged to be offside as he tucked the ball into the net when Myles Gaffney played him in. Deservedly, our positive start paid off when we won a corner. Alfie Stewart swung it in to the near post where Bray leapt highest to glance the ball across goal and into the net for the first of his and Alfie's threesome. Connor Scully was close to connecting to a Fraser Fyvie cross as Cove looked to hit back immediately. However, it was the visitors that stretched their advantage on the counter when Ben Brannan, and Stewart combined neatly with Bray for the recent birthday boy to clip in his second of the afternoon ten minutes before the interval. HALF TIME: 0-2 Inverness' game management was important and we took the sting out of the home attacks time and time again with resolute defending in the third quarter of the game and denied Cove any real opportunities to get back into the game. Blair Yule had an effort blocked before Bray put the icing on the top of the birthday cake when, after good play down the right, wee Alfie stabbed a ball into his path inside the box for Keith to squeeze the ball through the keeper from twelve yards and complete his hat-trick. Stewart and Paul Allan had shots saved as we consolidated our advantage in the last twenty minutes with Cove not threatening Dibaga and the sea breeze was well and truly out of the Cove sails. FULL TIME: 0-3 WHAT A RESULT! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Give this lad the freedom of the City. He does like a goal against Cove, but three is simply fantastic in a match we really needed all three points. With all results favourable this gives us a three point cushion over Annan and closes the gap to one point on Kelty above us and sets up a six-pointer against them next week. What a pity, arguably our best result of the season has been upstaged by Dumbarton pumping Kelty Hearts 6-0 in at New Central Park Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 32 19 60 2 Cove R 32 14 49 3 Stenny 32 8 49 4 Queen o Sth 32 0 45 5 Alloa Athletic 32 7 44 6 Montrose 32 -5 39 7 Kelty Hearts 32 -7 37 8 Inverness CT 32 4 36 9 Annan Ath 32 -26 33 10 Dumbarton 32 -14 16 It's a thumbs up from Scott Leaked footage has emerged this week of Keith Bray developing his new tricks ahead of the visit to Cove. He was asked by one punter to see if he could pull the rabbit out of the hat at Cove. He went one better and pulled the rabbit out of the hat whilst juggling three balls and felt this might be an omen of things to come. It really was the icing on the cake for Keith. As Clare Grogan said; Happy Birthday! Date: 05/04/2025 Venue: Balmoral Park, Cove Attendance: 0454 Referee: Peter Stuart Cove Rangers: 0 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Suman; Lobban, Doyle, Darge, Harrington, Yule, Scully (Coulson 71), Marshall (Glass 70), Fyvie, Emslie, Gafney Subs (not used): Demus; Murray, Gillingham, McGrath, Parker Scorers: none Booked: Doyle (71), Fyvie (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Strachan, Bray (R Thompson 91), Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (MacLeod 85), Stewart (Nolan 91), B Mckay (Gardiner 81) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, J Walker Scorers: Bray (13, 36, 72) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Doonhamers hammer Jags It was back to the scene of one of the more entertaining games of the season as we faced Queen of the South at Palmerston with just six games left of the Admin season. Both sides were desperate for the points for different reasons, Queens looking to get involved in the promotion play-offs and the Caley Jags looking to avoid the relegation play-offs at the other end. A few players missing since we last locked horns in Dumfries, notably Luis Longstaff and Alfie Bavidge for us although Calum MacLeod returned to a depleted bench and the Doonhamers were minus a few defenders in an unchanged side from the one that drew at Dumbarton. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Things took a more positive turn off the park yesterday with Alan Savage making a bid for the club, could we add to that with three points at a difficult venue on a windy afternoon? The short answer was no as the Doonhamers hammered us doon 4-1! We opened the scoring through Alfie Stewart but Jack Hannah headed in an equaliser five minutes later. Jordan Allan slotted in Queens second after the interval and ten minutes later Admin Brooks added a third before completing the rout with a minute remaining to end our miserable afternoon. It's a long way home with no points in the bag. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a miserable afternoon down South as the game kicked off and after the posturing was over, Ben Brannan put the first effort of the afternoon wide in the tenth minute. Alfie Stewart went even closer from distance. It had been a good opening twenty minutes from the visitors and after Keith Bray had a header saved Alfie Stewart scored into the bottom corner from inside the box. Perfect start from the Caley Jags but we were quickly pulled level when Jack Hannah headed high into the net from a Kai Kennedy ball into the box. That was Hannah's first goal for QotS. Bray had one chalked off for offside as Inverness responded to that setback but it was the hosts who were starting to look more threatening as half-time approached and Harry Cochrane went close after he latched onto a cross from the left but shot inches wide. HALF TIME: 1-1 Shortly after the break Connal Ewan blocked a shot from Kennedy as the hosts went on the front foot. Cochrane went close again and a minute later Jordan Allan put Queens in front, slotting into the bottom corner after an assist from Admin Brooks. Alfie Stewart tried his luck from outside the box but his namesake in goal saved easily. Musa Dibaga saved from Taylor Charters after a quick counter attack with Kennedy providing the opportunity. With around twenty minutes left Admin Brooks stuck the knife in lashing home from a tight angle into the top corner. Game over, but not the scoring. Kennedy was chief tormentor winning a free kick from which Luissint went close to a fourth but for Dibaga keeping the ball out. It was a bit of backs to the wall in the final moments but Admin Brooks finished his vendetta against us with a fourth in the last minute, smashing in a powerful strike to end our day of pain in the rain. FULL TIME: 4-1 CaleyCiuinn on CTO: Drove down to this game today fairly optimistic we might get something, even with a depleted squad. Rubbish weather, rubbish performance, rubbish result. Right back in the relegation playoff fight. Now for a rubbish drive home HaughAye: 1st half was acceptable. 2nd half...what a shocker. Like watching a Ferguson team. I remember 1 effort on goal and lots of wayward passes, no pressing and shocking defending. As for the guy with the whistle, I'll not give him the title of referee, 2 blatant penalties for ICT not given, Keith Bray pushed to the ground from 2 handed pushes between the shoulders at least 5-6 times one of which lead to a QoS goal nothing given. MoM--Fans. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 31 18 57 2 Cove 31 17 49 3 Stenny 31 11 49 4 Queen o Sth 31 -2 42 5 Alloa Ath 31 4 41 6 Montrose 31 -4 39 7 Kelty Hearts 31 -1 37 8 Inverness CT 31 1 33 9 Annan Ath 31 -24 33 10 Dumbarton 31 -20 13 Scott Kellacher talking to Paul Chalk of the P&J “Listen, for the first half an hour, I thought we were really good. We controlled the game, got our goal and then we seemed to think the job was done. It was far from done. ‘It was a really poor goal to lose’ “They wanted to get back in the game and their first goal came from us not stopping a cross into the box. “If we stop a cross into the box, we don’t then have to defend it. There was a mix-up between Musa (Dibaga) and James (Nolan) in the box and they scored – it was a really poor goal to lose. “After that, Queens did what we were telling our boys to do – go and get the second goal. “In the second half, Queens were hungrier and they won more second balls. We can’t lose the kind of goals we lost today – it’s criminal. “We’ve been far better than that. We’ve taken the plaudits, but let’s not get away from it – we’re in a dog-fight. We must get the sleeves rolled up and try and win as many of these last five games. Pregnant footballer Jack Hannah wheels away in delight after scoring his first goal for Queen of the South. Jack, who identifies as a footballer, scored the equaliser five minutes after Alfie Stewart had opened the scoring for the visitors. Queens eventually routed the Caley Jags 4-1 with further goals from Jordan Allan and a brace from Admin Books. He really has it in for us and was a pain in the rain. Match Highlights from Queen of the SouthTV Date: 29/03/2025 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 1006 Referee: Duncan Williams Queen of the South: 4 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; MacIntyre, Lyon, Hannah, Charters, Kennedy (O'Donnell 88), Cochrane, Luisint, Smith (Walker 93), Allan (Bryden 92), Brooks Subs (not used): Johnson; Douglas, Harkness, Thomson Scorers: Hannah (29), Allan (57), Brooks (68, 89) Booked: Lyon (63) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Ewan, Nolan (Strachan 59), Bray, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 74), MacKinnon (Gardiner 75), Stewart, B Mckay (R Thompson 74) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Scorers: Stewart (24) Booked: Brannan (72) Sent Off: none a

  Latest Updates on Admin March 28th   In a fast moving Administration news couple of weeks, the Joint Administrators issued a worrying statement on the 17th of March stating there were no offers on the table. That prompted former vice chairman Allan Mackenzie to hold a powwow on Wednesday 19th March where interested parties, or maybe more correctly, parties with an interest gathered round the peace pipe in an effort to come up with a way forward that will assist in the sale of the club. Subsequently, with the path for a sale cleaned up, Alan Savage has now put in a bid of £800K. We now await BDO to play their hand. That's much more promising news for the Caley Jags fans as the team do their best on the park.   STATEMENT BY JOINT ADMINISTRATORS OF INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC March 17th 2025 Despite a strong level of interest from several parties, the Joint Administrators (JAs) of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (ICT) are disappointed to confirm that no offers were received for the club by the deadline of 5pm on Thursday 6 March 2025. Feedback from interested parties highlighted three concerns. Firstly, as any transaction would include the use of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to compromise ICT’s debt, interested parties expressed concern re the current level of loans (circa £3.5 million) from former directors of ICT (the Loan Creditors). A CVA requires 75% or more of creditors voting in favour. Interested Parties indicated agreeing any sale and purchase agreement was problematic as a number of loan creditors were at a value where they could veto a CVA proposal. Secondly, the nature of the club’s disparate shareholdings is impacting the ability of a potential acquiror to have adequate control. And finally, the uncertainties stemming from the ownership of land surrounding the stadium. While the JAs are continuing to work towards a resolution, which would include a transaction and CVA to allow the club to exit the Administration free from historical debts and retain its status in the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), a sale transaction does not appear to be achievable in the absence of new parties coming forward and the future of the club is now at significant risk. The JAs are continuing to work to seek resolution to these issues. Prior to the JAs’ appointment in the summer of 2024, the Loan Creditors had agreed to write off their loans. The JAs have written to the relevant former directors requesting that they now fulfil their agreement. Some have agreed, others are pending. The JAs remain hopeful that this issue can be resolved shortly. To address the concern about the nature of the disparate shareholding, the JAs have also written to a number of material shareholders setting out the position and requesting that their shares are returned to the club, or the potential acquiror, at no cost. Further letters will be issued next week. A number have agreed to this request and the JAs hope that this issue can also be resolved. The JAs have also approached Alan Savage, former club Chair, to ascertain if he could be prepared to support the club on an ongoing basis. Mr Savage has provided support to ICT in administration and has ensured funding is in place for the club to complete the 24/25 season. His commitment since the summer of 2024 until the end of the season will be circa £1million. Mr Savage has indicated he would be prepared to provide the following level of support to enable the survival of the club: Provide 25% of the acquisition price of the club, and 25% of the funding requirements for the next two seasons after 24/25. This funding would be based on prepared budgets, with cost controls in place. Any deal Mr Savage would support will also require the resolution of the issues outlined. If an acceptable offer is put forward, the JAs hope to present a CVA to the creditors for their consideration with a meeting of creditors to take place by the end of April. A BDO spokesperson said: “We appreciate that this latest update will be disappointing for players, fans and the wider community. “Given what has been achieved both on and off the pitch throughout the Administration period, we would very much like to see a sale of the club to ensure that its future is secured and we would encourage all parties to cooperate in this endeavour. “We are grateful for Alan Savage’s ongoing financial support and would urge any interested parties to come forward with a view to acquire the club. The JAs would welcome the opportunity to discuss and provide a guide in respect of an acceptable price.”   ICT FC Press Statement - Wednesday, 19th March, 2025 Issued by Allan Mackenzie (former vice Chairman and adviser) following a meeting held earlier today with key Shareholders. Meeting attendees – Allan Mackenzie (Chairman), David Cameron, Ross Morrison, Allan Munro, David Sutherland, Graham Rae, Roddy Ross, Alan Savage, Graeme Bennett and George Moodie (representing the Supporters Trust). Craig Maclean (Minutes). (Apologies were intimated from Dougie McGilvray (Weldex) and Richard Smith (ICT Trust). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Allan Mackenzie statement: Following the Statement issued on Monday 17th March, 2025, by BDO, the Joint Administrators (JAs) of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC, (ICT), I offered to convene a meeting of the key shareholders of ICT to try to explore the possibility of finding a fast and meaningful way forward, to addressing the key 3 issues identified by BDO as currently inhibiting their drive to procure a sale of the club to a new Buyer. I was delighted by the attendance at the meeting and thank all attendees for coming with a positive intent to look for solutions, geared to an aim of wanting to do their very best for the club to ensure its survival. The 3 key uses from the BDO statement have been identified as  Loans  Shares and  Land. (surrounding the Stadium). I am pleased to report, that after long, commercially focused and collaborative debate, all parties agreed to sensible proposals to address all 3 matters, subject, of course, to getting appropriate assurances from BDO on each matter. For my part, I undertook to engage with BDO, as a matter of urgency, to ask that they capitalise on this tremendous goodwill and to assiduously advance the Administration with a view to securing a successful CVA, securing a buyer and exiting the process by the end of the current season. BDO should now have a very much better “sales pitch” for the people who have expressed interest in buying the club and, needless to say, the parties today and the staff at the Club will use best endeavours to assist them in that enterprise. Much needs to be done in a very short space of time, but I am now very much more optimistic that this exercise, which has been necessary, albeit painful for all, can advance to an early conclusion. We owe it to the loyal and dedicated staff at the club and to Scott Kellacher and the team, (all of whom have done their best from their perspective) to demonstrate the same commitment and focus. Inevitably in a commercial deal, such as this, there will follow a period of “purdah” whilst detailed negotiations take place. Please do not treat this as stasis. Rest assured everyone is working diligently to secure the positive outcome mentioned above and as soon as is possible, a further update(s) will be issued publicly. Meantime, thank you all for your patience and commitment to the ICT cause. See you on Saturday! Allan Mackenzie Inverness. 19.III.25 Mr Mackenzie's efforts were very much appreciated and subsequently Alan Savage has made his opening bid to buy the Club. Alan released this statement on 28th March 2025.   Alan Savage bids £800K   Everyone who has an interest in Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club knows the predicament the Club is in. With the clock ticking I thought it was the right time to bring my personal offer to the table to buy the Club out of administration. It is as follows: I am setting up a company, let’s call it FC Inverness as a special purpose vehicle to buy the Club out of Administration for £800,000 and this offer is open until close of business 11th April 2025. My offer to James Stephen, BDO’s Administrator is conditional on:   100% of the shares are transferred to FC Inverness.   All long-term loans are written off.   All the trade creditors sitting in Administration accept that their debts are settled.   The company PropCo gives a written undertaking to sell the peripheral lease (excluding the triangle) to Inverness Caledonian Thistle for the price agreed at the meeting on Wednesday 19th March with an assurance that the purchase can be completed by 18th April. Under my control the immediate drivers will be to keep the Club’s football licences, stay in Division 1 and prepare for next season. The team around me will remain the same Kell, Billy, Charlie, Grassa and Andrew. The medium-term goal is to be playing mid table Championship within the next couple of years. Obviously as I have said before, the Club will need help and I am hoping that being out of Administration and debt free will encourage local Businesses and Governmental bodies to step up to the financial plate. For the record: If my action prompts the acceleration of a better offer from another Buyer I will immediately step aside. My offer last August was to fund this club for 3 months until a buyer was found, this was extended to the end of the season and that still stands. But without ownership and full control I can only pay up to June’s wages if my offer is not accepted. Over to BDO. End of statement.            

Inching towards safety Despite dominating the opening exchanges and Alfie Stewart arrowing in a sublime strike, the Caley Jags failed to capitalise on their early dominance and had to settle for a point in the end when Scott Taggart nicked a header/cross into the bottom corner early in the second half to earn the visitors their share of the spoils. It was a disappointing and frustrating result given the same happened a week ago against Annan. Stewart hit the woodwork just before Alloa equalised. Billy Mckay had a penalty saved on the hour as was his follow up, and from that point on it looked like it would be another fruitless day. Keith Bray cracked the bar when a goal looked simpler. It almost got worse late in the game when Sammon leapt to gain a free kick on the edge of the box. Worse was to follow as it was Savage and the referee that he conned and Remi was sent off for a second 'bookable' offence. As it was, they ended up lashing a shot against the bar following the free kick with Rice blocking the rebound and eventually they were deemed offside. That would have taken the biscuit but it ended thereafter a point apiece. A better result for a poor Alloa side and a point further away from Annan for the Caley Jags. A word for Rice, good display by the promising young keeper who produced a really good save in the first half from a powerful Scott Taggert strike. However, another frustrating game and more winnable points dropped. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Big Musa away this weekend, young Celtic B keeper Aidan Rice was between the sticks on an emergency loan after Musa Dibaga’s Gambian call-up. Longstaff, Bavidge and MacLeod all missed out again. Alloa suffered an early setback having to replace Calum Waters in the third minute. Maybe that unsettled them as we dominated the opening exchanges and got a well worked opening goal after we moved the ball smartly down the right wing before Billy Mckay chipped the ball to the left side of the box where Alfie Stewart took a touch before drilling a shot across the keeper into the bottom corner. That ball was in as soon as it left his left peg without touching a blade of grass until after it hit the back of the net. Boom! We were in total control of proceedings for around half an hour with numerous efforts blocked or off target before Aidan Rice earned his corn saving a thunderous strike from Scott Taggart's twenty-five yard effort, diving high to his left to keep the ball out in what was the visitors first serious foray forward. From this point until the interval we seemed to lose our way slightly and it was now the visitors that were winning the midfield battle, getting second balls and picking up loose passes as we regressed. Luke Rankin had an effort saved by Rice five minutes before the interval, but this one was more straightforward than his previous save. Remi Savage picked up a booking as we had pushed forward to the left of Alloa's goals. For some reason he ended up with a yellow card for possibly a shove on the bye line as he tried to keep the ball in play. Nothing in it really but it would come back to bite him on the arse later. HALF TIME: 1-0 We started the second half on the front foot and Stewart hit the keepers right post from a position similar to his opening goal at the other end of the park. Here we go we all thought and rubbed our hands in anticipation, or was it getting colder. Two minutes later Alloa levelled the game after a ball cleared from our box to the left side was crossed back in by Kurtis Roberts for Scott Taggart to get the merest of glances on the ball, and like Stewart's goal, whether it was an attempt at goal or an attempt to head the ball into the box, it was in as soon as it spun off his head with the keeper stranded at the other side of his goal. We upped the pressure on the visitors goal but too many blocked attempts and misses followed before we were awarded a penalty when Ben Brannan was upended in the box as he honed in on goal. Billy Mckay took responsibility of taking the spot kick and unfortunately Billy can't buy a goal just now. Morrison did well to deny Billy, not once, but twice as he blocked the rebound attempt as well. His third penalty save of the season. Twenty minutes later we should have been ahead but after great work Keith Bray took the more difficult option of smacking the ball off the crossbar when he should have been bulging the net. The introduction of Conor Sammon was instrumental in the red card for Savage. Sammon was fishtailing his way across the front of the box before when he went over an outstretched leg. Referee desperate Dan saw it as a second booking and sent Savage off. We weathered the free kick but five minutes later Alloa thought they had stolen the points after they crashed a shot of our bar before Rice blocked on the line, the loose ball being poked into the net. That would have been hard to take but fortunately the far side lineman flagged for offside we think. A bit of a frantic ending to a game we should have cantered through, but given the circumstances, we are a point better off than we were last week and with Annan losing, a point further away from them with a vastly superior goal difference. FULL TIME: 1-1 FT: Cove 0-0 Stenny in late game. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 30 17 54 2 Cove 30 18 49 3 Stenny 30 12 49 4 Alloa Ath 30 5 41 5 Queen of Sth 30 -5 39 6 Kelty Hearts 30 0 37 7 Montrose 30 -5 36 8 Inverness CT 30 4 33 9 Annan Ath 30 -25 30 10 Dumbarton 30 -21 10 Share of the points between the Caley Jags and the Wasps under the Kessock Bridge. Five points dropped in the last two games which could have secured our safety. It's going to the wire... The lack of firepower through injuries to Longstaff and Bavidge is hurting us just now with Longstaff unlikely to feature again this season and young Alfie's season in the balance with a second scan required to assess the extent of his injury. It's going to be a bumpy ride over the next six games with two difficult away games coming up next at Palmerston and Cove. Red carded Remi Savage will miss the game against Queen of the South. It doesn't rain but it pours. FULL HIGHLIGHTS Date: 22/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1655 Referee: Dan McFarlane Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Rice; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan (Ewan 87), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon, Stewart, B Mckay (R Thompson 91) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, J Walker, S Thompson, Cairns Scorers: Stewart (8) Booked: Savage (41, 86) Sent Off: Savage (86) Alloa Athletic: 1 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Taggart, McKay (Dewar 46), Devine, Waters (MacKenzie 3), Roberts, Scougall (Sammon 83), O'Donnell, Donnelly (Cawley 82), Honeyman (Buchanan 63), Rankin Subs (not used): Ogayi; Mullen, Neill, Thomson Scorers: Taggart (52) Booked: Roberts (36), MacKenzie (54), Dewar (90+4) Sent Off: none a

Another week of turmoil In a week where we started with hope and optimism we suffered defeat at home to Annan Athletic and then the Administration movement went from static to plumbing the depths before a powwow brought it back to status quo. We needed to fill the gap left by Musa Dibaga's sojourn to Gambia for World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Ivory Coast and have done that with an emergency loan in Celtic's youth keeper, 18 year old Aidan Rice. We hope it will end on a lighter note with the game against Alloa to look forward to this Saturday, (without Longstaff and Bavidge). The joys of Admin in League1. We will stick to the on field events on here and will provide links below to certain Admin Statements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/£5offer/Info Aidan Rice GK Administrators Statement March17th Allan Mackenzie Pow Wow March19th CTO Topic on Admin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you haven't got any friends, borrow some! Venue: H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 9 10 2 37 22 +15 Away 24 12 6 6 49 25 +24 Neutral 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 Total 46 21 17 8 90 51 +39 Twenty-one home games versus Alloa since 1994 when they came North and played out a 2-2 draw at Telford Street in front of 1,150 fans. None other than Hugh Dallas was the referee Caledonian Thistle (as we were called back in the day) were in the lead for a long time in this game, had territorial advantage for most of it but in the end were fortunate to earn a draw. They had chances in the early minutes through McCraw and Lisle but Jim Butter saved well. In 18 minutes Charlie Christie collected a Martin Lisle pass and weaved past McCormack before scoring with a blistering 20 yard drive. In 67 minutes Barrie Moffat equalised after a McAvoy cross and in 78 minutes Neil Bennett put Alloa in front. Caley Thistle fought back with efforts from McKenzie and MacMillan but it took until the 86th minute before they equalised. Keith McCulloch handled in the box and Mike Andrew scored from the resultant penalty. Report by Ian Broadfoot Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Alloa 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) We are unbeaten against Alloa this season and could have won all three given that we were 2-0 up in the first encounter during the Duncball era. Having gone two ahead through goals from Devine and MacLeod we were pulled level just six minutes later when Sammon and Donnelly quickly restored parity. Danny Devine lashed in the opening goal from twenty-two yards in the seventh minute to give the visitors the perfect start. After the interval MacLeod gave us some short lived breathing space following a swift break forward as he drilled the ball across the keeper into the bottom corner, however Conor Sammon quickly pulled a goal back with a great header three minutes later into the top corner finishing a well built move from back to front. Moments later it was all square when Donnelly looped a ball behind Dibaga after a long throw from Taggart and a touch from Sammon. Having been well in control we were now under the cosh but despite some hairy moments towards the end it finished all square. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and was re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan up North on Saturday in a six-pointer and it was a disappointing defeat after Annan parked the bus after scoring in the third minute. Scott Kellacher will still be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the last three. Kellacher said in midweek to the press: “Alfie won’t be involved this weekend. The scan came back a wee bit unclear so he is waiting to do another scan. “He has to rest for probably the next 10 days to see if it settles down, and then they will try to get another image of it. Then we’ll know where we go from there. “We also have two or three wee niggles, but hopefully we’ll be clear after tomorrow.” Hopefully MacLeod will return after injury as we were a bit thin on the bench last week against Annan. This will be a tough game with Alloa still on course for a play-off place at the top end and Inverness still trying to avoid a play-off place at the bottom end. Our task will be made more difficult because of injuries to Longstaff and goal machine Alfie Bavidge. However, we showed that we can cope without these players in the entertaining win over Stenhousemuir, but the flip side was our inability to break down Annan last week where a bit of composure might have gone a long way to keeping Annan at arms length. I've been well impressed with Ben Brannan in his couple of games with us. He will be an important player with his driving runs forward and long throws and he's not scared to have a pop. Our defence will need to keep a 'Luke' out for Alloa's main scorers as they are amongst the higher scoring sides in the table with 43 goals. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 29 17 53 2 Cove R 29 18 48 3 Stenny 29 12 48 4 Alloa Ath 29 5 40 5 Queen of Sth 29 -5 38 6 Kelty Hearts 29 0 36 7 Montrose 29 -7 33 8 Inverness CT 29 4 32 9 Annan Ath 29 -23 30 10 Dumbarton 29 -21 09 Last Six: D W W W L L Alloa started their last six with a 2-2 draw at Montrose. Wins at Kelty (0-2), home to Annan (4-3) and Cove (2-1) before losing their last two (2-3) at home to leaders Arbroath and a 3-2 defeat at Palmerston last week. Despite the recent defeats they remain in the fourth play-off position eight points above Inverness. Luke Rankin tops their scoring charts with 8 goals followed by Luke Donnelly on 7 and Connor Sammon with 5. Starting XI v QotS last week This will be the 47th meeting between Caley Jags and the Wasps, also known as Alloha Athletic, One game was played at a neutral venue and that was the 1999 Challenge Cup Final played at the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie with an Attendance of 4,043. Alloa came out on top after an entertaining encounter, winning 5-4 on penalties after a 4-4 draw. Bummer for Paul Sheerin who scored a hat-trick including two penalties but failed to score his spot kick in the shoot out. Meh! Bitter disappointment for Caley Thistle as they lost their first ever senior cup final on penalties. They came from behind three times in normal play then again in extra time to take the game to a penalty decider. Alloa took the lead in 20 minutes when Gary Clark hit a low ball past Les Fridge from 15 yards. Barry Wilson equalised in 29 minutes with a neat chip over the keeper. A defensive error let in Mark Wilson to score Alloa's second in 33 minutes but Paul Sheerin equalised from the penalty spot just after half time. This lasted 2 minutes before Martin Cameron made it 3-2 with a 15 yard angled volley. Another penalty goal by Sheerin made it 3-3 in 56 minutes. 14 minutes into extra time Alloa again took the lead when Martin Cameron beat the defence and ran on to score. Paul Sheerin completed his hat trick 8 minutes from time with a 16 yard shot. It was 4-4 on penalties after the regulation 5 attempts each. Alloa keeper Mark Cairns was the hero when he scored to make it 5-4 then saved Mike Teasdale's penalty. The Cup was on its way to Alloa after an exciting match. Alloa Penalties (Irvine, Boyle, Cameron, Little, Cairns) Beaton miss. Inverness Pens (McCulloch, Tokely, Byers, Wilson) Sheerin, Teasdale saved. Match report written by Ian Broadfoot

Time wasters wasting our time Was this going to be the game that breaks the Donkey's back? A home win would put Inverness in the driving seat whilst a win for Annan would revive their ailing hopes of avoiding the relegation play-off slot. Inverness were without Luis Longstaff, Alfie Bavidge and Calum Macleod, not forgetting long term casualties in Lewis Nicolson and Jake Davidson. Annan had their own injury issues with Tommy Goss. Undaunted they opened the scoring in the third minute, a deflected effort from Paul Smith. Virtually their only attempt over the ninety minutes. We, on the other hand were usurped by their tedious time wasting eleven behind the ball tactics and couldn't hit a coo on the arse with a big stick. Sean Murdoch, the referee, using the term loosely, was so far out of his depth it was unreal. A couple of penalty claims ignored and allowing the time wasting was his speciality. Paul Allan hit the post at the end of the first half and Jamie Smith made a handful of saves. Not a great day at the office as the temperature dropped before the end and the Donkey's took all three points. Meh! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful morning in the Sneck with the sun still shining by kick-off and kids for a £ raising the pitch of the North Stand an octave or two. It should have made for a great afternoons entertainment. Alas it went awry after only three minutes and went from bad to worse given our inability to break down the worst defence in League1. After only three minutes a corner into the box was punched clear by Dibaga. It was scooped into the air but not dealt with well by the defence and Paul Smith was teed up to rifle the ball low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with a snapshot and possibly a slight deflection. Still, we all thought we have about ninety minutes to get something from this game. Wrong! We have no seen a brand of football quite like this since Hamilton used to bore us out of points a few years ago. Time wasting of the highest quality aided by the goalkeeper, the post, bad luck and diabolical finishing were our downfall on a day when much more was expected of us. Alfie Stewart met a ball in a similar position at the opposite end of the park but Jamie Smith got down well to save low to his left. Another effort on the six yard line was scrambled clear on the line as bodies got in the way of Stewart's volley. Remi Savage appeared to be flattened in the box and just on half time Paul Allan beat the keeper but hit the post from eight yards after good work down the left by Nolan and MacKinnon. HALF TIME: 0-1 Annan had done nothing but time waste since the third minute, ably assisted by an incompetent referee and a powder puff strikeforce. The second half was no different. Nolan curled an effort from twenty-five yards but Smith was equal to it to tip the ball over the bar in spectacular fashion for a corner. A minute later we 'scored' but it was chalked off for an alleged foul in the box. What an opportunity we spurned with twenty minutes left. Keith Bray beat the keeper to a great ball through the middle. Smith blocked with his hand and the ball landed nicely for Billy Mckay who skipped round the stranded keeper on the edge of the box and shot from sixteen yards. Unfortunately he picked out the only defender who was standing on the line and the chance was gone. A striker low on scoring confidence and it showed. Allan picked out a driving run from Keith Bray five minutes from the end but his header was sent wide as he lunged at the curling cross. Another goalden opportunity wasted. Annan could have added a second from their second attack of game in the 93rd minute but after a quick sucker punch break forward the shot from Josh Todd curled a couple of yards wide. Peter Watson was apparently the Annan bruiser trialist and he put himself about to good effect as we were bullied off the ball in a frustrating encounter. Annan did what they had to do because they couldn't match us in terms of quality and for reasons already stated they took the points and we had egg on our faces. Ragin'. Absolutely... FULL TIME: 0-1 After the euphoria of the Stenhousemuir game on Tuesday night this was a bitter disappointment although given the players available it was maybe not a surprise. Annan's anti football tactics didn't help and a useless referee into the bargain all made for a frustrating but predictable afternoons non entertainment despite a decent crowd. By the end of the game, the weather matched the football and it was bl00dy freezing. Ragin' aye. Reality check from Robert on CTO: A disappointing afternoon. The early goal gave Annan something to defend, and a mixture of the woodwork, great saves and poor finishing cost us. I’d like to see the penalty incident again when Savage looked to be clearly fouled, along with the alleged foul that caused our “goal” to be disallowed. I’ve said before that we’d have bad days and setbacks, but we picked a bad day for this one. However, back on 26 October when we had -3 points and were 15 points adrift of 9th, we’d all have grabbed being 8th in mid March and in control of our own destiny. We need to put this behind us, regroup and focus on getting a win next week. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 29 17 53 2 Cove Rangers 29 18 48 3 Stenhousemuir 29 12 48 4 Alloa Athletic 29 5 40 5 Queen of Sth 29 -5 38 6 Kelty Hearts 29 0 36 7 Montrose 29 -7 33 8 Inverness CT 29 4 32 9 Annan Athletic 29 -23 30 10 Dumbarton 29 -21 09 Listen Oor Wullie Date: 15/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1703 Referee: Sean Murdoch Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan (R Thompson 83), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Stewart (Cairns 73), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Gardiner, Ewan, S Thompson, Walker, Keogh, Scorers: none Booked: Gilmour (90+5) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 1 Manager: Wullie Gibson Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Hooper, Trialist (Bisland 78), McGowan (Bell 79), Todd, A Smith, Kilsby, P Smith, Brown (Ross 62), Maxwell, Subs (not used): G Fleming; R Muir, Strachan Scorers: P Smith (3) Booked: McGowan (58), Todd (63), Gibson (90+5) Sent Off: none a

Six Pointer It's the proverbial six-pointer on Saturday with Annan Athletic the visitors for a 3:00pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium. We climbed out of the relegation zone last week picking up six points in our last two games and that has lifted us up to seventh place in the table with the prospect of more should results go our way. The dramatic win at Dumbarton last Saturday was followed by a swashbuckling 4-1 win over high flying Stenhousemuir in midweek. Luis Longstaff and Alfie Bavidge both have hamstring injuries, the extent of which are being checked out. Congratulations are due to our keeper Musa Dibaga who has been called up by his country, Gambia, for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Ivory Coast. Brilliant recognition for a man on form; a timely penalty save to add to his CV on Tuesday night against Stenhousemuir. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info Musa Dibaga Called Up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kids go for £1! Under 12s go for £1 this Saturday! Available from the Club Shop only. Open tomorrow 10am - 4pm and Sat 10am - KO. Offer available until 1pm on Matchday Max 2 tickets per adult & children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. 2025 Mar 15th League (League 1) - H - Jan 18th League (League1) 3 - 0 A 438 2024 Oct 19th League (League 1) 1 - 0 H 1,501 Aug 10th League (League 1) 0 - 1 A 386 Jul 13th League Cup (Group D) 0 - 1 A 427 2009 Aug 1st League Cup (Rd 1) 4 - 0 H 1,095 1998 Jan 24th Scottish Cup (Rd 3) 8 - 1 H 1,836 Only the six games between these two sides with four of them coming this season already. It started in January 1998 when we thrashed Annan 8-1 in a Scottish Cup tie. They must have annoyed us after they opened the scoring in the eighth minute. That's Ian Broadfoot's report below. Scorers Barry Wilson (14) Iain Stewart (17) Brian Thomson (20) Barry Robson (38) Brian Thomson (55) Stanley Leslie (o.g.) (74) Barry Wilson (84) Duncan Shearer (86) Montgomerie (8) The home side demolished a determined Annan side after an early fright. A loose ball found Norman Montgomery clear inside the Inverness half and he lobbed the ball over Jim Calder. Caley Thistle stormed upfield and scored 3 goals in a 6 minute spell. In 16 minutes Barry Wilson was set up by Iain Stewart just inside the area and he drove the ball low past Robert McColm. Three minutes later Brian Thomson slipped it to Stewart on the 18 yard line and he sent a low ball past the keeper. On the 20 minute mark Thomson was fouled just outside the box. He took the kick himself and sent it into the top corner. A fourth goal came in the 38th minute. Thomson and Stewart set up Barry Robson down the right and he headed straight for goal. Under strong pressure Robson hit it home. In 55 minutes Mark McCulloch cleared upfield from the half-way line and found Stewart who ran through the defence and slipped it to the side of the keeper as he unselfishly sent it across to Thomson who only had to tap it in. After 74 minutes it was 6-1. A Vetle Andersen cross from the left went in off the head of defender Stanley Leslie . 10 minutes later Wilson got the seventh with a low drive from 15 yards and with 4 minutes left substitute Duncan Shearer rose above the Annan defence on the penalty spot and headed in an Andersen cross to complete the 8-1 record score. Annan's bad tempered tackling was finally punished in 86 minutes when Stanley Leslie was sent off Caley Thistle now play Dundee United at Tannadice on February 14th. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W ? Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan up North on Saturday in a six-pointer... Scott Kellacher may still be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the last two and Alfie Bavidge might be joining him on the sidelines similarly. Calum MacLeod was also reported as having a slight thigh injury after a good performance against Stenhousemuir. Annan won the first two encounters this season, both at Galabank. The first was a League Cup game and the second a League1 game. Both went the way of the hosts by a single goal. We reversed that at the Caledonian Stadium by the same scoreline before a crucial 3-0 win at Galabank in the middle of January with goals from Alfie Bavidge, Keith Bray and Billy Mckay, his 114th and last strike for the club. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Cove 28 18 47 3 Stenny 28 12 47 4 Alloa Ath 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 28 0 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Inverness CT 28 5 32 8 Montrose 28 -7 32 9 Annan Ath 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 Last Six: W W L L L L <<<Annan's squad for last Saturday in the 0-2 defeat to Stenhousemuir. They began February well with good wins over Kelty (1-3) and Dumbarton (2-1). That was as good as it got with four straight defeats. Cove Rangers (3-1), Alloa Athletic (3-4), Arbroath (3-0) and last week (0-2) at home to the Warriors. After a promising start to the campaign Annan have dropped down to the relegation play off position. Having a poor defensive record has not helped their cause, shipping 54 league goals and only scoring 29 gives a goal difference of -24, and that's the worst in League1. They have had their fair share of injuries to contend with throughout the season, but then again we know a thing or two about that over the last few seasons. The matchday buses will get you to the game and back on time. Buses leave the Bus Station at 1300 and 1415, returning from the Stadium 10 minutes after the full time whistle and then at 1800. Concession passes are valid on all journeys, with the fare for non concessions being £2.40. Bar 94 will be open from 1200 before the game and until 1800 after the game

Moving on up This rearranged fixture took second place Stenhousemuir North to face the Caley Jags, fresh out of the relegation play-off slot after last weeks dramatic win over Dumbarton. Stenhousemuir were looking to keep the pressure on top of the table Arbroath whilst Inverness could climb another place with a win. The Warriors were on a five game winning run that included a win over League leaders Arbroath recently. Luis Longstaff missed out for the hosts with Ben Brannan getting his second start. Nat Wedderburn was in the Warriors squad and Corey O'Donnell was the hot property to keep an eye on with nine League goals to his name was on the bench. Mathew Aitken and Matty Yates were back in the starting XI. It ended in the Caley Jags biggest win of the season with early first half goals from Ben Brannan and Charlie Gilmour followed by two quick second half strikes from Keith Bray and Paul Allan, who also rattled the post with a superb strike in the first half. We tailed away towards the end and McLuckie was unlucky as he hit the bar with a good effort from outside the box and Musa Dibaga saved an injury time penalty from Blair Alston after a dubious trip on a Stenny player bursting into the left side of the box. That win moves us above Montrose and into seventh place. Great win, plenty of goals and climbing the table. What's not to like. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been a decent afternoon in the Highland capital and the weather had stayed fine into the evening, with just a gentle shower or two to moisten the pitch as the teams took to the park under the floodlights. All set for the game until we had a half hour delay to find a replacement referee after the first one broke! Scott Kellacher was looking for his side to get off to a fast start and he got exactly that in both halfs. With just three minutes on the clock after a 35 minute delay, the impressive Ben Brannan opened the scoring. We moved the ball sharply from the left side across the face of the box where Calum MacLeod laid it off to Brannan who made the run into the box on the right side. He never really broke stride before rifling the ball high into the net from ten yards for his first goal for the Caley Jags. The perfect start for the hosts. Alas, seven minutes later we were level when Euan O'Reilly got on the end of a ball into the box after a fast break forward that caught us on the hop as we pushed forward. It went from bad to worse just four minutes later when Alfie Bavidge had to leave the pitch with what looked like a thigh/hamstring injury. As he limped off he was replaced by Billy Mckay and we all feared the worst in the stands. Fear not said Charlie Gilmour as he put us back in front three minutes later when he fired in following a corner as he drilled in the second ball. It was a really positive display from the hosts as they took the game to their more fancied opponents and Adam MacKinnon was unfortunate not to score as his twenty-five yard drive just cleared the corner of the bar. Both sides were playing some slick football and as the hosts opened up the visitors defence five minutes before the break Paul Allan's curling effort clattered the post halfway up with keeper Jamieson rooted to the spot. Just on the interval, Musa Dibaga had to make a scrambled dive across his goal as O'Reilly shot from the centre of the box following another incisive burst forward from the Warriors. A better connection might have been rewarded with a goal. HALF TIME: 2-1 We stated the second half even faster than the first and within two minutes Keith Bray had diverted a superb driven cross from MacKinnon into the net from close range with his chest to make it 3-1. Well worked goal and more followed four minutes later when a slick move down the right ended with Paul Allan drilling home ably assisted by three or four willing helpers, Mckay with the killer ball. The wind was well and truly out of the Warriors sails by now as we controlled the next phase of the game with ease. With twenty minutes remaining the unfortunately named Bobby McLuckie was unlucky that Dibaga was in good form to push his drive round the post. He was even unMcLuckier minutes later with a tremendous effort that crashed back off Dibaga's crossbar as the visitors looked for a consolation goal. They almost achieved that with what might go down as a soft penalty award but Dibaga guessed right and smothered Blair Alston's spot-kick to his left and reached forward to grab the loose ball just in time. The stuff legends are made of. FULL TIME: 4-1 Best performance of the season against a pretty slick Stenhousemuir. Paul Allan was the sponsors MotM. To be honest we were not short of contenders. How about Remi Savage who doubled up as a twinkle toed left winger at times. Danny Devine who was solid at the heart of the defence against the athletic Yates, Aitken and O'Reilly. Big Musa with a couple of crucial saves and the penalty stop. For me, the performance of Ben Brannan was outstanding. He brings a new dimension to our game with his foraging forward, his loooong throws, precise curling crosses and biting tackles. He was my pick. The only downside was the injury to Alfie Bavidge. Let's hope his substitution was more precautionary than serious. With Cove cuffing Kelty Hearts 0-4, the table now looks like this with eight games left. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Cove Rangers 28 18 47 3 Stenhousemuir 28 12 47 4 Alloa Athletic 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 28 0 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Inverness CT 28 5 32 8 Montrose 28 -7 32 9 Annan Athletic 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 The Eagle was too incisive for the Warriors in an entertaining contest as the Caley Jags consolidated their new found league position with a confident and sometimes swashbuckling performance. Alfie Bavidge came off wounded, but he was not the first to come off injured. We needed a replacement referee before the game started and a thirty-five minute delay ensued as another one was unearthed. Seventh in the table now and the prospect of more to come. Date: 11/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: **** Referee: Tommi Kerr Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Bray, Gilmour, Allan (Stewart 69), MacLeod, MacKinnon (R Thompson 84), Bavidge (B Mckay 13) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, Strachan, Walker, Keogh, Cairns Scorers: Brannan (3), Gilmour (17), Bray (47), Allan (51) Booked: Allan (60) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 1 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Fisher, Bilham, O'Reilly (Alston 72), Anderson (Wedderburn 71), McGill (Jacobs 77), McLuckie, Aitken (O'Donnell 61), Yates Subs (not used): Morrison; Banner, Ewen, Tomlinson, Taylor Scorers: O'Reilly (10) Booked: Anderson (71) Sent Off: none a

Warriors head North Second top Stenhousemuir come North to face the Caley Jags in this re-arranged fixture on Tuesday night, 11th of March. Kick off is 7:45pm and you can get to the Stadium on the Footie Bus at 17:45 or 19:00 from the bus station in the centre of the City. Bar94 will open from 17:30. We are now into phase 4 of the League season and the only team we play twice in the run-in is Stenhousemuir. The only team we don't meet again is Dumbarton. After beating Dumbarton on Saturday and Stenhousemuir beating Annan, we have now crawled out of the relegation play-off zone for the first time since we entered administration. Great achievement by Scott Kellacher and his mostly young side and this has not gone unnoticed by the fans. Kellacher has gone on record as stating that the home games will be crucial over the next few weeks with five out of the nine games remaining played at the Caledonian Stadium starting with this one on Tuesday night. Of these five sides only Arbroath play on grass. That will be his focus as the season reaches boiling point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 10 7 2 1 22 8 +14 Only the ten competitive matches against Stenhousemuir and this is the third one this season. We first crossed swords with the Warriors in a Scottish Cup tie in 1996 when we recorded a narrow one goal win, going on to play Rangers in the next round. A tremendous victory for the Inverness side and a place in the last 8 of the cup. We 'scored' in 2 minutes through Thomson but Christie was offside. After that their defence had to withstand tremendous pressure. Mathieson was a real handful and he came close on 3 occasions - chances also fell to Brannigan, Sprott, Roseburgh, Aitken & Bannon. Caley Thistles only other first half chance was a shot from Thomson in 15 minutes but it went past. In the second half Caley Thistle took control and in 53 minutes Thomson was unlucky when his 25 yard shot was tipped over. In 60 minutes Stewart beat the offside trap but keeper McKenzie came off his line well. 2 minutes later a great shot from 18 yards by Christie was held by McKenzie. On 75 minutes Teasdale set off on a run down the right wing and sent a low cross to Brian Thomson just outside the penalty area - his shot into the corner was unstoppable. With a minute to go Stenhousemuir had the ball in the net but it was chalked off. Caley Thistle held out for a famous victory and the prospect of Rangers at home in the next round. ***We did of course play Rangers at Tannadice going down 3-0 in the Quarter Finals. Starting XI McKenzie Sprott Bannon Armstrong Brannigan Roseburgh Aitken Fisher Mathieson Hutchison Little Jim Calder Mike Noble Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur John Scott Graeme Bennett Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Alan Hercher Iain Stewart 75mins Brian Thomson Subs Haddow Hunter Scott Dave McGinlay Davie Ross Colin Mitchell 2024 Dec 21st League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 719 Sep 28th League (League 1) 0 - 0 H 1,601 2012 Sep 25th League Cup (Rd 3) p 1 - 1 A 705 1999 Jul 31st League Cup (Round 1) 3 - 1 A 534 1998 Apr 11th League 2 - 1 H 1,414 Feb 28th League 3 - 0 A 463 1997 Nov 8th League 4 - 1 H 1,669 Aug 30th League 2 - 3 A 400 Aug 2nd League Cup (Rd 1) 5 - 1 H 1,735 1996 Feb 17th Scottish Cup (Rd 4) 1 - 0 A 2,300 INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / ? Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games and that takes us back home to face Stenhousemuir on Tuesday night in the first of our final nine fixtures with another two home games to follow. Scott Kellacher will be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the game at Dumbarton. Ben Brannan came into the starting XI and did well, helping set up the late winner with his ball into Charlie Gilmour. Brannan went to right back which allowed Keith Bray to take up Longstaff's role. Kellacher has said we have one or two other niggles. Hardly surprising given the state of the surface at Dumbarton after heavy rain during the Arbroath fixture and only a couple of days to get the body back to manageable levels. Tuesday night fixtures: Cove v Kelty & ICT v Stenny Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Stenny 27 15 47 3 Cove 27 14 44 4 Alloa Ath 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 27 4 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Montrose 28 -7 32 8 Inverness CT 27 2 29 9 Annan Ath 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 Warriors Last Six: L W W W W W The best run in the League at the moment, winning their last five on the bounce. They started with a crushing 4-0 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. They bounced back winning the next five starting with a 3-0 win at Montrose. Next was a 2-1 home win over Queen of the South then a 2-0 home win in the top of the table clash against Arbroath. A 3-1 win at Dumbarton and a 2-0 win at Annan sets them up nicely for their third away fixture on the trot at the Caledonian Stadium. Corey O'Donnell is top scorer with nine League goals. Blair Alston has seven. It's been a good season so far for Stenhousemuir and in the first game at the Caledonian Stadium back in September it was a no scoring draw. We nicked the return fixture in December with a 1-0 win thanks to a late Charlie Gilmour strike when he nicked the goal off Paul Allan. Some unusual 'facts' on wikipedia: In 1890, the Warriors moved to Ochilview Park following spells at Tryst Park and Goschen Park. In the early 20th century the club had a brief spell of success, winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup twice in 1901 and 1902. In 1902–03, the club reached the Scottish Cup semi-final, losing 1–4 at home to Rangers. The 1921–22 season saw Stenhousemuir compete for the first time in senior Scottish League Football. In 1925–26, Stenhousemuir goalkeeper Joe Shortt was offered a £50 bribe to throw a match against Broxburn United, but he rejected the offer and the Warriors won the match 6–2. A bookmaker from the Bainsford district of Falkirk, was subsequently jailed for attempted match fixing. In 1928, the wooden grandstand at Ochilview Park burnt down in a fire , which led to a new stand being built in its place, although staircases reputedly had to be added later due to planning errors (was Scot Gardiner in charge). The 1936–37 season saw the club register a record victory – a 9–2 home win against Dundee United. More than a decade later in 1949–50, a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against East Fife drew a record crowd of 12,525 – the highest ever at Ochilview Park. On 7 November 1951, the first floodlit game between two Scottish senior teams occurred at Ochilview Park, a friendly match between Stenhousemuir and Hibernian. The floodlights had been paid for three years earlier by Tommy Douglas, a butcher in King Street, Stenhousemuir.

Sons on the Rocks The Admin Derby saw plenty of changes from both clubs previous starting XI. Scott Kellacher was without Luis Longstaff with Ben Brannan taking his place. James Nolan came back into the starting XI with Alfie Stewart dropping to the bench. Michael Ruth who fired in a thunderba***rd of a free kick in midweek was on the home bench after taking a knock against Arbroath. Orsi, Wallace, Niang and Young all joined him on the bench. After a battling performance from the hosts including McGuffie rattling the crossbar, Inverness clambered out of the relegation zone with a last gasp goal from our saviour, Alfie Bavidge who scored his sixth goal since coming here in January nine games ago. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness forced a corner in the opening minute after which there followed a scramble in the box when Sliwinski had blocked the ball before Adam MacKinnon shot over. With the visitors on the front foot James Nolan had an effort saved as we dominated the early exchanges. Carlo Pignatiello had a shot blocked as Dumbarton made their way forward. He then clipped a ball in but Finlay Gray glanced his header wide. Sliwinski then kept out a low shot from MacKinnon with his feet. Dumbarton were slowly clawing their way back into this game and Craig McGuffie shot over from a free kick. Ten minutes before the break Alfie Bavidge shot from a tight angle, winning a corner and Ben Brannan had an effort blocked as the corner count mounted, but still nothing to show for it. In the final minute of the first half, another corner as we ended the half as we started it but the opening goal has eluded both sides. HALF TIME: 0-0 McGuffie bounced a twenty-five yard shot just wide as the Sons came out of the blocks fast on the restart. Minutes later he bounced a shot off the crossbar and over for a goal kick. Deserved better and a big warning for the visitors. Billy Mckay was denied by Sliwinski from inside the box and minutes later saw another effort blocked. Dibaga saved from Mark Durnan as the hosts reminded us they are still in this game, and as we entered the final ten minutes Dibaga saved a close range volley from substitute Michael Ruth and Aron Lynas headed over. Billy Mckay fired a volley just wide as time was running out to find a winner. However, up popped Alfie Bavidge to seal the deal with a 93rd minute winner. It started deep on the right with Danny Devine and Ben Brannan playing a neat one-two before a great ball into the box from Brannan found Charlie Gilmour who did well to control it and lay it back to Alfie some twelve yards out and he drilled it low into the bottom corner. Sensational ending to the game in the dying embers to leave Dumbarton floundering on the Rock. FULL TIME: 0-1 What a finish to the game with Alfie scoring his sixth goal since coming in on loan. With Annan losing to Stenhousemuir we are no longer in the bottom two and the chance to go even higher should we beat the Warriors on Tues night. It might be a dream just now, but it could be reality. Big shout out to Musa Dibaga for another solid display between the sticks. Mantis on CTO: We murdered them in the first half but a very open second half with probably the better chances falling to them and Musa saving us a few times. That winner was the highlight of the season for me but then I missed the Montrose game… LisleRightPeg: It’s great to win games when the team hasn’t played well. Yet again Big Musa came up with crucial saves to keep us in it. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Stenny 27 15 47 3 Cove 27 14 44 4 Alloa Ath 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 27 4 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Montrose 28 -7 32 8 Inverness CT 27 2 29 9 Annan Ath 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 Date: 08/03/2025 Venue: Dumbarton Football Stadium Attendance: 0757 Referee: Steven Kirkland Dumbarton FC: 0 Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup: Sliwinski; Lynas, Durnan, Miller, Pignatiello, Webster, Shiels, Blair (Niang 75), Gray, Mumbongo (Ruth 71), McGuffie (Hilton 81) Subs (not used): Kelly; Young, Orsi, Wilson, Wallace, Clark Scorers: none Booked: Shiels (19), Lynas (51), Miller (89) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan (Stewart 70), Brannan, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 88), MacKinnon, B Mckay (R Thompson 92), Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Walker, Ewan, Strachan, Keogh, Cairns Scorers: Bavidge (90+3) Booked: Brannan (25), Bavidge (90+3 for celebrating) Sent Off: none a

Still in the Zone An Inverness win could lift them out of the relegation zone for the first time since administration hit providing we did our bit. Scott Kellacher had emphasised how important our home form was going to be ahead of this vital clash and he went with an unchanged side. Michael Gardyne & Matheus Machado were not listed for the visitors and defender Aulay Martin was recalled from his loan at Junior side Montrose Roselea and went straight into the starting XI. We almost achieved our goal but our own performance left us chasing the game after a poor first half. Callum Sandilands opened the scoring for the visitors in an uninspiring opening forty-five but Keith Bray saved the day with a superb diving header ten minutes from the end. All square and a point closer to Annan who lost 3-0 at Arbroath. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An overcast but frost free morning gave way to glimpses of sunshine as kick-off approached. By 3:00 it was an almost pleasant afternoon with a breeze as the game got underway. First attempt of the afternoon saw a Billy Mckay shot blocked and then Charlie Gilmour fired over after a free kick. Not much to talk about ten minutes in but hot prospect Owen Stirton had a shot blocked after twenty minutes with neither side able to make much progress in the final third. With half an hour gone both keepers could have gone for a coffee such was the dearth of activity around the penalty boxes. Graig Wighton and Billy Mckay exchanged misses and with that comment came the kiss of death as young Callum Sandilands, on loan from Hearts, opened the scoring for the visitors, chipping home from inside the box. Not the scoreline Scott Kellacher was hoping for and it went from bad to worse when Luis Longstaff went off injured to be replaced by James Nolan. This fired Inverness into action and Mckay had another effort blocked, this time by Gill before Alfie Bavidge hit the bar from outside the box. Just before the break Musa Dibaga saved from Sandilands at the expense of a corner and at the other end Keith Bray fired wide. HALF TIME: 0-1 With our most creative player subbed off, this was now going to be a massive test of the character of Kellacher's side. Montrose had Graham Webster on from the start of the second half. Gilmour headed on a corner but Mckay knocked it wide five minutes into the second half and Danny Devine lofted a shot over as the hosts looked to get back on level terms. A Paul Allan header off James Nolan's cross was held by Cammy Gill and the pressure was mounting on the visitors defence with Adam MacKinnon having an attempt blocked and Gilmour heading wide. Mckay was denied again by Gill. Charlie Gilmour must have a head like a threepenny bit as he headed wide again and Ben Brannan made his debut replacing MacKinnon. With ten minutes of normal time left up popped Keith Bray with a diving header ably assisted by Remi Savage's ball and Danny Devine's first time cross. No more than we deserved for our second half dominance but a lack of efforts on target meant it ended all square in the Highlands. FULL TIME: 1-1 Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fifth goal of the season earned us a point after we came out of our shell in the second half to keep the pressure on those above us. Fair play to Kellacher for turning it around again in the second half, just need to sort out our first half listlessness. More match reaction to follow... Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 26 15 46 2 Stenhousemuir 26 13 44 3 Cove Rangers 26 12 41 4 Alloa Athletic 27 7 40 5 Queen of Sth 27 -4 35 6 Kelty Hearts 26 4 34 7 Montrose 27 -7 31 8 Annan Athletic 27 -22 27 9 Inverness CT 26 1 26 10 Dumbarton 26 -19 08 Date: 01/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1653 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Stewart (Cairns 86), Longstaff (Nolan 39), Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Brannan 70), B Mckay, Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, Keogh, Strachan, MacLeod, R Thompson Scorers: Bray (80) Booked: Gilmour (41) Sent Off: none Montrose FC: 1 Manager: Stewart Petrie Lineup: Gill; Freeman, Quinn, Waddell (Dillon 66), Steeves, Martin (Webster 46), Masson, Sandilands, Wighton (Brown 66), Stirton, Lyons (Watson 77) Subs (not used): Mathews; Bertie, McKenzie, Redwood Scorers: Sandilands (34) Booked: Steeves (89) Sent Off: none a

Kelty Hearts Broken The two previous encounters this season had ended all square but this Training Ground Derby at New Central Park went the way of the visitors thanks to a strike from Alfie Bavidge. Scott Kellacher had a full squad to pick from with James Nolan dropping down to join new signing Ben Brannan on the bench and Billy Mckay was up front with Alfie Bavidge. Charlie Mulgrew had a defender trialist on from the start who turned out to be Kirk Broadfoot but top Scorer Ross Cunningham missed out. After a goalless first half the Caley Jags upped the pace and Alfie Bavidge opened the scoring with twenty minutes remaining. A late scare as Kelty bounced a header off the crossbar following a corner but the visitors held on for the win in what turned out to be a great day for the Caley Jags with all others round about them losing. Happy days! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In less than ideal conditions and after a cagey opening it took ten minutes before Paul Allan had the first attempt in earnest when Luis Longstaff's ball in was met by the midfielder, his effort saved by Adams in goal. Kelty were perhaps shading the early exchanges and from hereon they dominated the first forty-five although the visitors had a couple of great opportunities to open the scoring. Lewis Moore saw Dibaga save his effort from outside the box and midway through the half he shot wide from inside the box. The Inverness defence were working hard to contain the eager Maroons, blocking a couple of efforts from outside the box and it remained goalless at the break. The second half saw the Caley Jags up their work rate and they took control of proceedings from the whistle. Adam MacKinnon had a long range shot saved and Alfie Bavidge missed the target as we rolled our sleeves up. Connor Allan went close with a shot from inside the box on the hour and Blaine McClure fired a free kick wide. However, it was the visitors who were now in pulling the strings. Billy Mckay and Charlie Gilmour went close as the pressure mounted on the hosts defence and they combined to set up Bavidge for a great team goal to open the scoring from close range, Alfie's fifth goal in seven appearances. A late surge from the hosts as they tried to salvage something from the game saw Scott Mercer head onto the bar following a corner with ten minutes remaining. Despite this late flurry and seven minutes of time added on, Inverness kept the Hearts out and closed the gap on Annan to just two points with a game in hand. 5th goal in 7 for Alfie, that's some return since he came in on loan. Mantis summed up on CTO: We were very poor first half although as Kell says we had the best two chances. Defensively, Devine and Savage were in total control and Kelty, minus Cunningham, never really looked like breaking us down. Will be interesting to see Kelty’s penalty claim on the highlights. Second half we started at a decent tempo with Bray and Longstaff causing a lot of problems down the right, and you could feel the pressure building. We spurned a few chances before finally scoring. We might have tied the game up as we then had to endure a nervy few minutes at the end, during which Devine and Savage were both booked. Meanwhile the Annan game, which was a few minutes ahead of us, ticked on past the 97 minute mark. Thought Billy was more effective in his deeper role than in recent weeks and very happy that nobody snapped up Charlie in the transfer window. He even avoided a booking this week… Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 25 13 41 2 Stenny 25 11 41 3 Arbroath 24 11 40 4 Alloa Ath 26 6 37 5 Queen of Sth 26 -3 35 6 Kelty Hearts 24 4 31 7 Montrose 26 -7 30 8 Annan Ath 26 -19 27 9 Inverness CT 25 1 25 10 Dumbarton 25 -17 08 Goals Scored by Alfie Bavidge Jan 4th, 2025 League (H) vs. Dumbarton 2 - 0 (15') Jan 18th, 2025 League (A) vs. Annan Athletic 3 - 0 (40') Jan 21st, 2025 League (A) vs. Queen of the South 2 - 3 (10') Feb 1st, 2025 League (H) vs. Queen of the South 1 - 0 (36') Feb 22nd, 2025 League (A) vs. Kelty Hearts 1 - 0 (73') Date: 22/02/2025 Venue: New Central Park, Kelty Attendance: 0641 Referee: Alastair Grieve Kelty Hearts: 0 Manager: Charlie Mulgrew Lineup: Adams; Mercer, Flatman, Trialist, Paterson, McClure, Lyon (McCarvel 61), C Allan, McIntyre (Thomas 81), Moore, McLeish (Johnston 75) Subs (not used): Adamson; Fellows, O'Ware, Bryce, Watson, Brown Scorers: none Booked: McClure (64), Mercer (78) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Stewart, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, Mackinnon, Bavidge, B Mckay (Cairns 90+4) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Walker, Ewan, Keogh, Nolan, MacLeod, R Thompson, Brannan Scorers: Bavidge (73) Booked: Devine (87), Savage (90+1) Sent Off: none a

The Training Ground Derby Returns Had our previous incumbents got their way, this would have been known as the Training Ground Derby at New Central Park, Kelty. As it turned out, we were having none of that nonsense and went down the administration route and it's simply another away day for the Caley Jags. Our last visit incorporated the Immortal Howden Ender Memorial trip in memory of the much missed Johndo, and it ended on the park goalless. Kelty are having a decent season and we are trying to come to terms with our points deduction with our young side doing their utmost to keep us in this League. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/ Info Supporters Bus Ben Brannan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue: Just the 3 fixtures Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Away 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 The only win was a League Cup tie in 2022 when a last minute George Oakley goal was enough for a hard fought win: By George! We are off and running: The first ever fixture between the sides ended with a 1-0 win for the visitors. It took a late strike from George Oakley to separate the sides as the Inverness pressure eventually paid off. Billy Mckay hit the post with a header in the second half and keeper Darren Jamieson pulled off a string of saves to deny the eager Inverness side. Agyeman came close in the first half when Delaney cleared away from goal but that was as close as it got for the hosts with Ridgers making some routine stops. 2024 Nov 2nd League (League 1) 1 - 1 H 1,502 Aug 24th League (League 1) 0 - 0 A 692 2022 Jul 9th League Cup (Group Stage Group G) 1 - 0 A 601 INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. Last weeks game v Stenhousemuir was postponed and it's off to Kelty this weekend. No news is good news so we will assume that there are no fresh injury worries. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 23 13 40 2 Cove 24 12 38 3 Stenny 24 9 38 4 Alloa Ath 25 5 34 5 Queen of Sth 25 -6 32 6 Kelty Hearts 23 5 31 7 Montrose 25 -4 30 8 Annan Ath 25 -18 27 9 Inverness CT 24 0 22 10 Dumbarton 24 -16 08 Last Six: W L D D L L An early Xmas present for the Maroons as they beat Queen of the South with Cunningham scoring twice. However, their next game they drew a blank going down 2-0 at Dumbarton. Two draws followed at Montrose and Stenhousemuir with no goals in either game. Into February and defeats to both the Athletics has seen Kelty slip up somewhat as they now sit nine points off the top of the table. Only one win in six for Kelty. Ross Cunningham is top scorer in League1 with 11 goals. Scott Williamson has 7 goals but he has returned to Queens Park. Scott Allan is still at Kelty. January Sales In: Charlie Mulgrew, head coach; James Lyon, midfielder; Jamie Watson, defender. Loan in: Blaine McClure, midfielder (Rangers); Liam McLeish, forward (Queen's Park). Out: Michael Tidser, midfielder/manager. Loan ended: Samuel Cleall-Harding, defender (Dundee United); Scott Williamson, forward (Queen's Park).