Massive three points Dom Thomas missed out again for Queens Park who had former Inverness Captain Sean Welsh and Cillian Sheridan starting with Will Tizzard back in defence. James Carragher and Remi Savage were missing from the heart of the visitors defence who had Luis Longstaff and Aaron Doran getting a rare start. Just under 1500 fans rattled around inside the national stadium for the proverbial six-pointer at the bottom of the table with Inverness looking to get out of the play-off place and Queens one point ahead at the start of the game. In a tense first half Cammy Harper scored a stunning free kick after Cillian Sheridan had handled 25 yards out. Boom! That's how it ended despite QP upping their game in the second period as Inverness kept them at bay. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hampden Park was rocking as the game got underway and there was an early corner for the Spiders after Luis Longstaff blocked an effort from Jack Thomson in the second minute. Billy Mckay was fouled on the edge of the box but the free kick was wasted by Cammy Kerr who fired well over the bar. Sean Welsh had an effort blocked from the right side of the box after twenty minutes. With little happening in the opening exchanges, the visitors opened the scoring out of the blue through Cammy Harper direct from a free kick. Top corner from Harper from around twenty-five yards. What a strike to grace Hampden Park. Mckay shot over after being fed towards goal ten minutes before the break. Alex Samuel was denied by Ferrie five minutes before the interval as the keeper saved in the bottom corner to deny the striker from distance. On the stroke of half time Ruari Paton shot over and it remained 1-0 to the Caley Jags. HALF TIME: 0-1 Queens made two changes at the break with Robson and McKinstry replacing Tizzard and Carse. Ridgers saved a thumping low effort from Cillian Sheridan after the restart and Welsh headed wide followed by Jack Turner being denied by Ridgers as Queens Park showed their intent after a poor first forty-five. Sub McKinstry was next to try as he shot wide, but the pressure was mounting on the visitors goal. Ferguson made his first change of the afternoon, replacing Longstaff with Samson Lawal. The wee midfilder saw no takers for a cut back after Mckay sent him into the box. Ridgers saved from Paton as Queens looked to get back on level terms. Mckay saw Ferrie stop him and Paton was denied another twice by Ridgers as the clock ticked down. Inverness held on to take a valuable three points home in the relegation battle. Check pulse..... And breathe... FULL TIME: 0-1 What a strike from Cammy Harper to lift us above Queens Park. Immortal Howden Ender summed up like this: Well I wouldn't exactly say that it was comfortable but we looked in control for the most and survived some hairy moments. Ridgers wasn't really tested but that is due to the back four being simply immense. Devine was absolutely outstanding and Boyes, Duffy and Harper were close behind. What a free kick from Harper which turned out to be the winner. Kerr played in a strange position in a cross between a full back and wing back. Anderson outshone Longstaff although committment was never in doubt. Billy would have had a comfortable brace in days of yore. Samuel is a McGinn version of a centre forward and sure knows how to win a foul. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts We have scraped ourselves into eighth. Still work to do yet though. 1. Dundee Utd 33 20 8 5 68 22 68 2. Raith Rovers 33 18 8 7 52 42 62 3. Partick Thistle 33 13 12 8 58 50 51 4. Airdrieonians 33 15 6 12 44 38 51 5. Dunfermline 33 11 9 13 39 44 42 6. Ayr United 33 12 6 15 50 57 42 7. Morton 33 11 8 14 40 42 41 8. Inverness CT 33 9 11 13 37 37 38 9. Queens Park 33 9 9 15 43 56 36 10. Arbroath 33 6 5 22 34 77 23 Date: 13/04/2024 Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Attendance: 1463 Referee: Alan Muir Queens Park: 0 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Ferrie; Thomson, Wilson, Tizzard (Robson 45), Longridge, Turner (Mauchin 74), Welsh, Carse (McKinstry 45), Scott (Williamson 84), Paton, Sheridan (McLeish 74) Subs (not used): Wills; Bruce, Fox, Bannon Scorers: none Booked: Welsh (86) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine, Boyes, Harper, Longstaff (Lawal 55), Kerr, Anderson, Doran (MacGregor 77), Alex Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 80) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ujdur, Austin Samuels, Brooks Scorers: Harper (25) Booked: Doran (76), MacGregor (85) Sent Off: none a

We're off to Hampden~den~en~n It's a trip to a less than full Hampden Park for us in the next stage of the relegation battle after we dodged a bullet last week against Arbroath. Goal difference wise we are the best placed of the bottom four clubs. Our defence is also better than the other bottom four, in fact we are second equal defensively in the Championship, however what has let us down is scoring goals and in that department we are second worst in the league, only two goals better off than relegation certainties Arbroath. We did put four goals past Queens Park last time we were there. Unfortunately that was followed by three defeats and two draws in our next five games and we lost at Inverness when the Queens visited back at the beginning of February. The only certainty here is that the Hampden Park crowd record of 149,415 from 1937 won't be broken. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v QP Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 14 4 5 5 16 17 -1 Away 9 6 0 3 19 13 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 23 10 5 8 35 30 +5 Only the last eight games since Queens Park came up into the Championship and QP are streets ahead of us since then. The 3 - 0 win was a League Cup encounter 14 years ago courtesy of these guys with goals from Lee Cox (20), Eric Odhiambo (55), Ross Tokely (58) Ryan Esson; Ross Tokely, Grant Munro, Stuart Golabek, Kevin McCann, Russell Duncan, Lee Cox, Nick Ross, Gil Blumenshtein, Adam Rooney, Dani Sanchez. Subs: Jonny Tuffey; Chris Innes, Roy McBain, Eric Odhiambo, Shane Sutherland Full report on that one came from hislopsoffsideagain (click on the 3-0 scoreline above) Last 8 Competitive Meetings since QP came up. 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (H) Hampden Success: 4 - 1 Danny Devine had recovered from the knock that saw him limp off against Raith Rovers on the hour last week. Sean Welsh and Luis Longstaff were on the bench. Grant Savoury, Charlie Fox and Craig Napier missed out for the Spiders. Jack Turner put Queens Park ahead early in the first half before Max Anderson levelled the match ten minutes later. Jack Thomson hit the bar, Mckay deemed offside when putting a loose ball into the net after Wotherspoon's header was saved and that prompted some words of comfort for the referee for which Big Dunc eventually ended up in the stands at the break. After the interval Inverness eased themselves up into sixth place in the league with goals from Nikola Ujdur, his first for the club, David Wotherspoon and a Billy Mckay penalty. (For Full report click on 4-1 scoreline above) Last Time Out Inverness made hard work of taking the points from all but relegated Arbroath. We dominated the first half and but for some brilliant saves from Max Boruc we could have gone in three or four goals to the good at the break. As it was Wallace Duffy scored on half time and that should have given us something to build on against a poor Arbroath who were simply going through the motions. As per usual, we failed to take full advantage of the numerous opportunities and paid the price when Leighton McIntosh hammered home a wind assisted shot from the edge of the box. We huffed and puffed somewhat thereafter before the energetic MotM Alex Samuel turned and thrashed in the winner from fifteen yards for a belter of a goal. It was a crucial strike that has all but relegated Arbroath and it keeps our hopes alive of avoiding the play-offs. Last Five: D L D L W Queens Park had a day to forget last weekend at Hampden as Champions in waiting Dundee United put five past them. It didn't look likely after the first half when they trailed by a single goal from Fotheringham on the stroke of half-time. However four goals in a fifteen minute spell from Moult, Graham, Fotheringham again, and Sibbald put Queen's back in trouble and United on track for the Premiership. Last Five: D D W L L Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Morton v Dundee United on Friday night. 1. Dundee Utd 32 19 8 5 64 21 65 2. Raith Rovers 32 18 7 7 52 42 61 3. Partick Thistle 32 13 11 8 58 50 50 4. Airdrieonians 32 14 6 12 42 37 48 5. Dunfermline 32 11 9 12 38 42 42 6. Morton 32 11 8 13 39 38 41 7. Ayr United 32 11 6 15 45 57 39 8. Queens Park 32 9 9 14 43 55 36 9. Inverness CT 32 8 11 13 36 37 35 10. Arbroath 32 6 5 21 34 72 23 FRIDAY 12TH APRIL Morton v Dundee Utd SATURDAY 13TH APRIL Airdrieonians v Dunfermline Ayr Utd v Arbroath Queens Park v Inverness CT Raith Rovers v Partick Thistle Latest Team News Duncan Ferguson has much the same squad to select from as last week. Luis Longstaff came off the bench on Saturday after being out for a couple of months with a knee injury and will be back in the squad again for Saturday. Carragher, although he did play, and Ujdur had a bit of a bug last weekend. However Carragher is now a doubt after feeling his hamstring. Other than that not much has changed apart from Remi Savage, who has not recovered after he got a boot in the face from Cammy Kerr. Apparently Kerr's boot is OK but Savage is suffering from minor concussion and will miss the next couple of games. Maybe that was Kerr ensuring he gets a game this weekend. Here's our underfire Gaffer looking like Sherlock Holmes with his pipe>>> Callum Davidson will be smarting after the drubbing they took last week. That's seven goals in their last two games with none scored. Word of warning though, they still have Ruari Paton who has sixteen goals this season. They also have our often broken ex-captain Sean Welsh and Cillian Sheridan who surprisingly has bagged a couple of goals since leaving us. He looked like an unfit Sunday League pub player when at the Caledonian Stadium. Dom Thomas, who scored the winner last time Queens came North, has scored eight, but he was missing last week. He does enjoy a goal against us. Could Davidson be keeping him under wraps for the six-pointer against us this weekend? Last weeks QP flops: Ferrie Thomson Wilson Bannon Longridge Turner (Sheridan 53) Welsh (Tizzard 85) McKinstry (Carse 53) Scott (Bruce 52) Paton McLeish (Mauchin 62) Subs Not Used: Wills: Fox, Robson, Williamson Latest from Queens Park: Ben McPherson, Patrick Jarrett and Grant Savoury continue to be injury absentees with Dom Thomas’ fitness being monitored closely in training this week after missing the last two games.

Smokies Kippered On a blustery day more akin to AA Milne and Winnie the Pooh, Arbroath and Inverness battled it out to see who would get the final nails hammered into their coffins. Arbroath were in the last chance snug in the last chance saloon, whilst Inverness have one foot in the grave. I don't believe it! Arbroath tried everything, they even took their own wind with them. However, they had Murray, Bird and Slater on from the start but O'Brien missed out. Zak Delaney also started for the Red Lichties. A bright opening spell saw Alex Samuel denied twice inside five minutes. Once by a combination of Max Boruc and his crossbar, the second by Boruc on his own as Samuel got his shot away from inside the box. Wallace Duffy got the goal we deserved on the interval as he drove across the keeper from the right side of the box to put us in ahead at the break. Leighton McIntosh restored parity on the hour as he drilled home from eighteen yards, but Alex Samuel won the points with a late strike to all but relegate ten man Arbroath who had Ricky Little sent off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arbroath were on the back foot from the off as Inverness had the wind at their backs and Austin Samuel was unlucky not to open the scoring in the fourth minute as he turned and shot from the edge of the box. However Max Boruc brilliantly tipped his shot onto the bar. A minute later he got on the end of a ball in the box and forced another save from Boruc as we looked like turning the Smokies over. Max Anderson was also thwarted by Boruc when through on goal when Anderson should have been bulging the net. Despite our superiority, we struggled thereafter to create that premium opening until the stroke of half time when Wallace Duffy drilled in from the right side of the box. Unfortunately we lost Remi Savage to injury just before the goal and he was replaced by Danny Devine after an accidental kick in the face from Kerr. Half Time: 1-0 Just after the break Billy Mckay saw an effort saved from fifteen yards. However, we made heavy weather of a Smokies foray forward and Leighton McIntosh levelled the game fifteen minutes into the second half with a great strike from the edge of the box. Devine headed badly wide when his threepenny bit head nodded astray as we looked to get our noses back in front and Samuel was denied by Boruc as he ran through on goal, the keeper doing well to deny the striker for the third time. Boruc punced away a Cammy Harper free kick Arbroath were reduced to ten men when persistent fouler Ricky Little was dismissed. Alex Samuel got the goal his tenacious display deserved as he won a ball into the box he had no right to win. He then turned and lashed it home from fifteen yards on the left side of the box, I think he enjoyed that one. Great finish from the wee battler. FULL TIME: 2-1 Alex Samuel scored his fifth goal for the Caley Jags and his first since his hat-trick against Raith Rovers at the end of January. He was the difference between the sides today as Arbroath struggled to cope with his aggressive style which eventually led to his winning goal. Good to see the much maligned Wallace Duffy scoring as well, his second in a couple of weeks having also netted at Tannadice. Sadly for Arbroath they will now be relegated at the end of the season unless they perform a miracle. More match reaction to follow>>> Date: 06/04/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2223 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carragher, Boyes, Savage (Savage 44), Duffy, Kerr, Anderson, Lawal (Longstaff 73), Harper, Samuel, B Mckay (Doran 88) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ujdur, MacGregor, Brooks, Pepple Scorers: Duffy (45+1), Samuel (80) Booked: none Sent Off: none Arbroath: 1 Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Boruc; Walker (Lyon 64), Slater, Little, Murray (Dow 73), Gold (McKenna 34), Mackinnon, Delaney, Bird (Stowe 73), Stewart, McIntosh Subs (not used): Gaston; Steele, Teale, Jacobs, Robinson Scorers: McIntosh (61) Booked: Little (31), Little (76) Stowe (85) Sent Off: Little (76) a

It's Now or Never That's what Elvis used to say. We are in deep trouble up to our necks with no signs that we can turn this around. Defeat to Arbroath could be the final nail in our coffin with only fifteen points available to us ahead of this game. The play-offs are looking more likely by the minute, but it's not beyond the realms of possibilty that automatic relegation is still an option should Arbroath beat us on Saturday. With the long suffering fans rapidly losing faith in Big Dunc, it's crunch time as Arbroath head North to the venue they won at the last time they were here. Sadly they come to the Caledonian Stadium off the back of a 2-1 midweek defeat to Airdrie, and we could all but relegate them on Saturday with a win. However, that's nothing to gloat about as we could be next... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Bring a friend for £5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue - H2H v Arbroath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 17 4 4 60 21 +39 Away 25 11 7 7 36 30 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 28 11 11 96 51 +45 Big advantage to us at home over the years, but there's a different feel about our squad this season. Many feel it's the worst squad we have ever had. There's no hiding place now, it's time to stand up and be counted. We lost our last home game against Arbroath, and that gives many of us the fear given our struggles to score goals and turn things around. The 3-2 win at Gayfield was Ferguson's first game in charge. To be honest, it's been downhill shortly after the new manager bounce wore off. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) Should we need one, here's a reminder of our last home game against Arbroath: 1 - 2 Looking Down: With both sides losing in midweek, this game took on more significance for Big Dunc's side and Jim McIntyre was also looking to get away from the bottom of the table after he replaced Dick Campbell. David Wotherspoon was fit enough to start and good to see Keith Bray return to the squad alongside Robbie Thompson. Arbroath came North with only four on the bench with Michael McKenna and Ricky Little still out injured and O'Brien suspended. As it turned out we are now looking down the table instead of up after back to back defeats to the two teams who were below us only four days ago as Arbroath won 2-1. That was new manager Jim McIntyre's first win and it moves Arbroath off the bottom of the table. one point behind Inverness. All the goals came in the first half from Jay Bird, Billy Mckay and two minutes later David Gold. Looks like a few will be going cheap in the January sales. Last Time Out After an encouraging point at Tannadice we were looking for more of the same at Firhill. Alas we went down to the only goal of the game from Robinson to leave us staring into the Abyss. We gave as good as we got at Firhill but that age olde problem of not scoring goals was evident once more. To add insult to injury Cammy Kerr was red-carded after an hour although we will be appealing this decision as his first booking for simulation seemed unwarranted, therefore his red card could be rescinded. Last Five: W D L D L Arbroath have lost twice over the last week. Defeat by Partick Thistle last weekend was quickly followed by a 2-1 loss at home to Airdrieonians on Tuesday night. Jay Bird hit a late consolation for the Smokies and Leighton McIntosh saw his penalty saved just before the interval. However two second half strikes from Fordyce and McGill were enough to give Airdrie all three points in a game they pretty much dominated, and that's five defeats on the bounce for Arbroath. Last Five: L L L L L Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee Utd 31 18 8 5 59 21 62 Heading to the Premiership 2. Raith Rovers 30 17 7 6 49 38 58 3. Partick Thistle 31 13 10 8 57 49 49 4. Airdrieonians 30 12 6 12 36 35 42 5. Dunfermline 31 11 8 12 37 41 41 6. Morton 30 11 7 12 37 34 40 7. Ayr United 30 11 5 14 43 54 38 8. Queens Park 31 9 9 13 43 50 36 Below here you are in the play-off and also Fecked 9. Inverness CT 31 7 11 13 34 36 32 Below here you are definitely Fecked 10. Arbroath 31 6 5 20 33 70 23 Saturday 6th April Airdrie v Morton Dunfermline v Partick Thistle Inverness CT v Arbroath FC Queen's Park v Dundee Utd Raith Rovers v Ayr United Latest Team News Cammy Kerr has had his first yellow card rescinded which in turn makes his second yellow (still stands) and the subsequent red card that followed null and void. The correct decision and Cammy will be available for selection this weekend. However, it does not get us back the points that we may have got as a result of his sending off. In saying that, we performed better with ten men. Big Dunc said: So, this weekend we need to treat it like an away game. With that in mind the team will leave the Caledonian Stadium at 09:00 on Saturday morning and go for a three hour run in a D&E bus, returning at 12:00 to prepare for the game where we will start with just ten men. Ferguson said in his press conference that "this could be key to our survival and we will give it a go, won't we. We were excellent, we're no in trouble yet but it's getting close, isn't it". Carragher and Ujdur have picked up a sickness bug and will need to be assessed. Other than that no major changes expected. Here's what he actually said>>> Looks like the Smokies time in the Championship is up even if they avoid defeat on Saturday. They have had some great results in their five season stint in the Championship and have proven to be difficult to beat at times, especially at home. However, all good things come to an end. Five defeats in a row since they beat Raith Rovers 3-2 on the 1st of March has them 9 points adrift at the foot of the table and heading into League 1. With a massive minus goal difference of -37 that's worth another point and I can't see even the Caley Jags throwing that away over five games........ fingers crossed Arbroath team on Tuesday night v Airdrie Boruc Walker Teale Little Lyon Gold Mackinnon (Slater 66) Stewart McKenna (Bird 67) Dow (Stowe 77) McIntosh (Robinson 77) Subs Not Used: Gaston; Steele, Jacobs, Murray, Dünnwald-Turan It's not that I don't have any friends. It's just that nobody wants to come and watch this dross

Big Trouble Down the Dump Billy Mckay was back in the starting XI along with Samson Lawal with Pepple dropping to the bench and Shaw out for the season. Both teams had seven on the bench with Roddy MacGregor getting a rare seat. Scott Robinson scored the only goal of the game just before the break. Inverness were reduced to ten men after Cammy Kerr was sent off just after an hour. Despite creating more opportunities, the win just evaded us. Meh! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Partick got the game underway at Firhill and Alex Samuel was first to have a go in the fourth minute but his effort was blocked. Cammy Kerr was also blocked ten minutes later and Cammy Harper shot over as the visitors saw the better of the opening exchanges. Billy Mckay shot wide before Mark Ridgers was brought into action to deny a Brian Graham glanced header. Samuel had another attempt blocked before Wallace Duffy hit the bar with a header following a corner kick. Mckay saw his shot from the edge of the box saved by Mitchell and at the other end Scott Robinson clipped the post from close range before Brian Graham shot over five minutes before the interval. The pressure was building on the visitors and after 41 minutes Robinson opened the scoring from the centre of the box after the first effort from Ben Stanway rebounded back to him. Disappointing end to the half with Kerr booked for alleged simulation which upset Ferguson and some promising openings went begging. HALF TIME: 1-0 After the break Mckay was blocked in the box after good work by Max Anderson and Kerr was unable to get his shot away from the rebound as Inverness looked to get back on level terms. Fitzpatrick responded at the other end but shot just wide and minutes later his shot from a tight angle was saved by Ridger's. On the hour, Kerr shot wide from the right side. That would be just about his last contribution to the cause as he was sent off after 66 minutes for fouling Aidan Fitzpatrick. Samson Lawal had an effort held by keeper Mitchell as we looked to get back on level terms. Samuel was denied by Mitchell with fifteen minutes left and Lawal had another effort saved by Mitchell. After 97 minutes, the game ended in defeat for Inverness. FULL TIME: 1-0 Good effort from the ten men but effort doesn't translate into points. With Queens Park losing to Morton, no ground has been lost to them, but there are only five games left to save our season. Dunfermline also beat Arbroath so no change in the bottom three. Some visiting fans expressed their frustration at our plight after the final whistle when Ferguson came over to them. It didn't end well after an angry exchange. It didn't end well for Gary Bollan either as he was red-carded after the whistle. Here's what the managers said on BBC Sport: Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan: "This stage of the season it's about results, not performance. You want performance and results but I think what we've done is we've played a lot better and lost. I would give credit to Inverness because they played some good stuff. It's a massive three points." Caley Jags manager Duncan Ferguson: "I'm not sure if it's inside the box or it's not inside the box, but it's absolutely a free-kick. It's an easy decision and then they counter attack and that's it, they score from there. It should have been a penalty if it was inside the box or it's a free-kick on the edge of the box and then [the referee] compounds the problem by then saying to Cammy Kerr that he's simulated the first yellow card. It's a clear free-kick." Here's Dunc>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after yesterday: Smokies in action in midweek 1. Dundee Utd 31 18 8 5 59 21 62 2. Raith Rovers 30 17 7 6 49 38 58 3. Partick Thistle 31 13 10 8 57 49 49 4. Dunfermline 31 11 8 12 37 41 41 5. Morton 30 11 7 12 37 34 40 6. Airdrieonians 29 11 6 12 34 34 39 7. Ayr United 30 11 5 14 43 54 38 8. Queens Park 31 9 9 13 43 50 36 9. Inverness CT 31 7 11 13 34 36 32 10. Arbroath 30 6 5 19 32 68 23 Big week ahead for the Caley Jags... Tuesday 2nd April Arbroath FC v Airdrieonians Saturday 6th April Airdrieonians v Greenock Morton Dunfermline v Partick Thistle Inverness v Arbroath FC Queens Park v Dundee Utd Raith Rovers v Ayr United Date: 30/03/2024 Venue: Firhill, Glasgow Attendance: 3371 Referee: John Beaton Partick Thistle: 1 Manager: Kris Doolan Lineup: Mitchell; McMillan, Muirhead, McBeth, Milne, Neilson, Stanway (Alston 75), Lawless, Robonson (Mackenzie 90+3), Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 80), Graham Subs (not used): Stewart; Loney, Horn, Campbell Scorers: Robinson (41) Booked: McBeth (79) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carragher (Brooks 90), Savage, Boyes (MacGregor 90+1), Duffy (Doran 58), Kerr, Anderson, Lawal, Harper, B Mckay (Pepple 78), Alex Samuel, Subs (not used): C Mackay; Devine, Ujdur Scorers: none Booked: Kerr (45+2), Kerr (66) Sent Off: Kerr (66) a

  Firhill for Chills   Another chilling prospect coming up this Saturday as we travel to the West End of Glasgow to tackle third place Partick Thistle with only six games left to salvage our miserable season. We escaped from Tannadice with a hard earned point last weekend, mainly thanks to a tremendous display from keeper Mark Ridgers. An acceptable result under normal circumstances, but given our precarious situation we could have done with all three. However it was not to be and we face the prospect of a pointless weekend unless we can show the same commitment as last week. Anything less and it looks like the play-offs for us with only Arbroath below us at present. We are now at the must not lose stage of the season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info Scott Young SLO Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Partick Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 12 8 7 42 36 +6 Away 25 6 7 12 26 40 -14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 52 18 15 19 68 76 -8 Honours are fairly even over the years and over the last ten meetings Partick just have the edge although uncharacteristically we did suffer a couple of heavy defeats at Firhill in recent seasons. Historically, home advantage seems to be crucial to the outcome of these encounters. Oh dear! Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick 3 - 3 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) Just before Xmas we were held to a  1 - 1  draw after Max Anderson's 21 second opening goal. Danny Devine was fit enough to start and Jake Davidson again replaced the injured Wallace Duffy at right back. Otherwise no surprises in the Inverness starting XI or bench. As per normal, Brian Graham will present our defence with a robust challenge with Fitzpatrick and McInroy able and willing elfs. 205 visiting fans were on hand to check out this one and at the end of the day Status Quo was maintaned as all five games ended level this weekend. Max Anderson and Jack McMillan were the scorers today. Ooooooft; having got the match underway, it was an early start for the visitors who caught Partick cold as Max Anderson's weak effort deflected off a defender and found the net after an assist from Billy Mckay, long before all the bums had landed in their seats. 21 seconds apparently! The fast start continued in the third minute as Cammy Harper shot over from the left side. Alas, Jack McMillan squared the game after quarter of an hour scoring from close range. Fitzpatrick shot wide after twenty minutes and Ridgers was then brought into action to stop a long range low effort from Ben Stanway. Ten minutes before the break Wotherspoon bounced a shot just wide from the edge of the box as we ventured forth. A free kick in a promising position for the hosts ended when Graham shot over from just outside the box. Charlie Gilmour had the final effort of the half in stoppage time but it was well wide of the target. Partick with the bulk of the play but it remained all square at the interval. A late goal for Arbroath on half time meant that Inverness had gone from 8th to 5th to 9th over the course of the first forty-five. Meh! The hosts set the ball in motion for the second half and they were quick to avoid a repeat of the first minutes of the match as they went straight onto the front foot winning a couple of early corners before Anderson went close to his second of the game as the visitors went up the park. Devine did well to deny McMillan his second as he cleared his effort away from goal and Ujdur was booked for fouling Milne moments later. Partick were first with the changes after the hour. Ujdur took a knock but was able to continue and almost got on the end of the ball during a melee following a corner with fifteen minutes remaining. More corners followed but nothing doing before Longstaff saw his shot blocked five minutes before the end. Harper went down in the box but big appeals for a penalty went unanswered. It ended with a point apiece at a difficult venue. FULL TIME: 1-1 A good point at a difficult venue and one which kept us in eighth place after a late goal for Dunfermline scuppered the Smokies. After the last two defeats, this was a welcome performance and point for the 205 hardy souls who braved the weather to keep away from the Xmas shopping. Last Time Out We came away from Tannadice with a point thanks to a backs to the wall performance over Dundee United. An early goal from an unusual but very welcome source put us ahead, only his fourth ever goal for the Caley Jags and his first since 26th November 2022. Wallace Duffy scored after a dozen minutes before a sensational lob from the halfway line saw Louis Moult equalise after the break. A bit of dubiety over the goal as we felt Cammy Kerr had been fouled by Moult when he took the ball from the Caley Jags player. Nothing dubious about the strike as it flew over Ridgers before bouncing into the net off the underside of the bar. Carragher and Gary Bollan were booked for protesting and they seem to have a valid point. Mak Ridgers was otherwise the star of the show and Carragher could have nicked all three points at the death when his powerful shot was cleared off the line by Docherty. Good point under normal circumstances, unfortunately circumstances are not normal at the moment as the league table will show. Last Five: D W D L D  Cheers Mark>>> Partick Thistle beat Arbroath 1-0 at Gayfield to stop them encroaching on us although they still have a game in hand. A 15th minute strike from Aidan Fitzpatrick was enough to keep the Smokies at bay although the game was not as close the scoreline might suggest. Partick had the ball in the net another couple of times but they were chalked off. That result pretty much ensures that Partick will at least be in the play-offs. (at the top end of the table) Last Five: D D L W W  Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Friday night game at Ayr 1. Dundee Utd 30 17 8 5 57 21 59 2. Raith Rovers 29 17 7 5 49 36 58 3. Partick Thistle 30 12 10 8 56 49 46 4. Airdrieonians 28 11 6 11 33 32 39 5. Dunfermline 30 10 8 12 34 39 38 6. Morton 29 10 7 12 35 34 37 7. Queens Park 30 9 9 12 43 48 36 8. Ayr United 29 10 5 14 41 53 35 9. Inverness CT 30 7 11 12 34 35 32 10. Arbroath 29 6 5 18 30 65 23     FRIDAY 29th March  Ayr Utd. v Airdrie    SATURDAY 30th March  Arbroath v Dunfermline Morton v Queen's    Dundee Utd. v Raith Rovers        Partick Thistle v Inverness CT         Latest Team News Inverness still have major injury concerns. We seem to have been saying that for three or four seasons now. Nathan Shaw was a gamble that backfired last week and it has been confirmed that he will now miss the rest of the season. Morgan Boyes came through unscathed on his return and Nikola Ujdur was an unused sub last week. MacGregor is also reportedly fit, but he and Austin Samuels appear to bo off the radar. Here's Dunc with the latest smokescreen>>>   Alex Samuel ahead of the game at Firhill>>>   Partick Thistle still have the man we love to hate, Brian Graham. Enough said, the big lad does like a goal or two against us. Partick are the second top scorers in the division with 56 goals, but they have conceded an abnormally large amount of goals in 49, the second most goals against with only Arbroath losing more. Partick team at Gayfield: Mitchell   McMillan   Muirhead   McBeth   Milne   Lawless   Neilson   Robinson   McInroy (Stanway 77)  Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 90+3)   Graham   Subs Not Used: Stewart; Alston, Diack, MacKenzie, Campbell, Horn    

Good Point for the 252 Hopes amongst the Caley Jags support were at rock bottom ahead of this one with the threat of relegation looming large. With all hands to the pumps, Shaw, Boyes and Ujdur were brought back into the squad whilst not really 100% fit. Shaw started as did Pepple and Boyes with Billy Mckay, Lawal and Danny Devine dropping to the bench. Cammy Harper was given the Captain's armband today. It's a daunting task going to the lions den to face title favourites but underdog is our preferred tag. Anyway, 252 of them turned up at Tannadice in eternal hope and Duffy heightened the intensity only for Louis Moult to level things up. That's how it ended, a result we would have bitten your hand off before kick off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness got the game underway on a decent afternoon for a game in the City of Discovery. Alex Greive and Nathan Shaw exchanged efforts at either end of the ground, both going wide. Inverness took an early lead through Wallace Duffy after a cross into the box from Aribim Pepple was parried by the keeper out to Duffy who stroked a left footer into the empty net. Kevin Holt headed wide as United responded and Mark Ridgers pulled off a big save when he denied Ross Docherty and when the ball came back into the box Glenn Middleton headed wide. Ross Graham replaced the injured Holt after twenty-three minutes. The gamble to play Shaw failed and he was replaced by Samson Lawal before half an hour had been played. Ridgers pulled off another crucial save low down to keep our noses in front after Tony Watt ran through towards goal. The pressure on the visitors goal was mounting though and substitute Graham shot over from a Middleton cross two minutes later. Kai Fotheringham headed over after a corner ten minutes before the break. We forced a couple of corners five minutes before the interval. Just on half time Alex Samuel glanced a Cammy Kerr free kick wide and at the other end Ross Docherty saw his deflected shot held by Ridgers. Half Time: 0-1 No changes at the interval for the visitors but striker Louis Moult replaced Liam Grimshaw for the hosts. Cammy Harper had no takers for his whipped cross and Fotheringham shot over as United burst forward and when Max Anderson countered Pepple saw an effort blocked as he went forward. Substitute Moult bounced a shot over Ridgers from just inside the Inverness half. Great vision from the United striker but Inverness will be disappointed with that one. Declan Gallagher hit the post with a half volley and Graham was denied in the follow-up by Ridgers as United threatened to take control of the game. With twenty minutes to go Ridgers saved a Docherty header as the hosts pushed for an advantage. Billy Mckay replaced Pepple for the final twenty minutes. Into the final ten minutes and Tony Watt shot over the bar. It was backs to the wall stuff for the majority of this game and the plan to take something from Tannadice hung by a thread going into the last few minutes. Our MotM saved from Chris Mochrie as the clock ticked down. A late flurry for Inverness almost gave us the win when James Carragher's shot was cleared away from the line by Docherty and Lawal's powerful drive was tipped behind for a corner, alas it ended all square with Inverness seeing out the game in United's half. Full Time: 1-1 Hard earned point for the Caey Jags with Mark Ridgers a busy man this afternoon. Gary Bollan was booked alongside James Carragher at United's goal as they firmly believed that Cammy Kerr was fouled in the build up to the strike. The video is not conclusive, but my best guess is that Kerr was fouled and Moult turned round and thumped the ball away fully expecting a free kick to be given. However, instead of a free kick, he got a goal. Sickener to be honest. The managers spoke to BBC Sport after todays draw: Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "The goal we concede is a disaster from our point of view. It was a wonder goal to equalise. [Inverness goalkeeper] Mark Ridgers is everyone's man of the match today, which speaks volumes. It's not good enough from our perspective, it feels a bit like a defeat. It might be a valuable point on the board but we should be getting three points." Inverness CT manager Duncan Ferguson: "We were absolutely outstanding. It took a wonder goal to beat our goalkeeper. We did very well and managed the game well. We could feel the stadium was edgy. On another day, we might have nicked it. Nobody gave us a chance here, bar us. I was well pleased with a point. It doesn't matter who wins round about us, it's about us." Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after todays games 1. Dundee Utd 30 17 8 5 57 21 59 2. Raith Rovers 29 17 7 5 49 36 58 3. Partick Thistle 30 12 10 8 56 49 46 4. Airdrieonians 28 11 6 11 33 32 39 5. Dunfermline 30 10 8 12 34 39 38 6. Morton 29 10 7 12 35 34 37 7. Queens Park 30 9 9 12 43 48 36 8. Ayr United 29 10 5 14 41 53 35 9. Inverness CT 30 7 11 12 34 35 32 10. Arbroath 29 6 5 18 30 65 23 Just the goals for now>>> We got a point didn't we>>> Full Highlights>>> Date: 23/03/2024 Venue: Tannadice Park, Dundee Attendance: 7567 Referee: Chris Graham Dundee United: 1 Manager: Jim Goodwin Lineup: Walton; Thomson, Gallagher, Holt (Graham 22), Grimshaw (Moult 45), Fotheringham (Cudjoe 58), Sibbald, Middleton, Docherty, Greive (Mochrie 75), Watt Subs (not used): Newman; Macleod, Glass, Meekison, Tillson Scorers: Moult (55) Booked: Middleton (44) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carragher, Duffy, Boyes, Savage, Shaw (Lawal 29), Kerr, Anderson, Harper, Pepple (B Mckay 71), Alex Samuel (Brooks 77) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ujdur, Devine, Austin Samuels, Doran Scorers: Duffy (12) Booked: Pepple (25), Boyes??? 56) Carragher (56), Kerr (78), Gary Bollan assistant manager (56) Sent Off: none a

  Beyond the pale...   With most fans patience having been tested to the limit, we head into the first of two difficult away games starting at Tannadice on Saturday to be followed the week after by a visit to Firhill. Zero points from these two fixtures is a distinct possibility given our current predicament and the repercussions of that are horrendous. The only thing in our favour is that both are away fixtures as our home form has been abysmal. Clutching at straws, all three previous games this season have been close encounters. And now for the wake up call. ONLY FIVE GAMES LEFT TO SAVE OUR SEASON AFTER THESE TWO AWAY GAMES. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Arabs Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 35 10 10 15 35 45 -10 Away 29 7 11 11 37 43 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 64 17 21 26 72 88 -16 United have always held the Indian sign over us. More recently, it's ten games since we beat them. That was a televised Scottish Cup game in 2019 when Joe Chalmers curled in a beauty to give us an early lead before Nicky Clark levelled from the spot. However, Aaron Doran scored a deserved winner after 92 minutes to send us off to Hampden for a semi-final date with the Jambos. (That ended in a 3-0 defeat for the Caley Jags) Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee United 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 0 - 3 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) Last time out We slumped badly once again at home. In fact our last two matches were home games against the only two teams we have beaten in the Championship this season. Airdrie was played out as a scoreless draw. Against Ayr we looked well off the pace and were fortunate to go in level at the break when we were gifted an unlikely penalty on the stroke of half time. That squared the game after Stanger had given Ayr the lead with only five minutes gone. Ayr took all three points when Bryden scored on the hour with the home defence floundering. We didn't lack effort, but we were sadly lacking in quality and managerial direction at a stage in the season when we need it most. Last Five: D D W D L  United faltered badly a week after thrashing Arbroath 4-0. On the telly last Friday they went down 3-1 to a resurgent Dunfermline who were all over them like a rash at East End Park. All United had to show for their effort was a late consolation goal, and that was an og from Benedictus. Oh well, that shows that they can be got at although you have to attack in the first place to make something happen. You have to be in it to win it as they say. Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin said this on BBC Sport after last weeks defeat: "We didn't start the game well enough, it's as simple as that. The first 45 minutes is one of our worst performances, there's no doubt about it. We didn't offer anything going forward. "We didn't carry a threat at all in the final third and we weren't at the races in the first half. Dunfermline looked as if they were a little bit more energetic than us, picking up a lot of second balls. I can have no arguments about the result." Last Five: L D W W L  Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Airdrie in Challenge Cup final on Sunday - that makes Raith Rovers idle as well. 1. Dundee Utd 29 17 7 5 56 20 58 2. Raith Rovers 29 17 7 5 49 36 58 3. Partick Thistle 29 11 10 8 55 49 43 4. Airdrieonians 28 11 6 11 33 32 39 5. Morton 28 10 7 11 35 33 37 6. Dunfermline 29 9 8 12 33 39 35 7. Ayr United 28 10 5 13 40 51 35 8. Queens Park 29 8 9 12 41 47 33 9. Inverness CT 29 7 10 12 33 34 31 10. Arbroath 28 6 5 17 30 64 23 Championship games on Saturday 23rd March    Arbroath v Partick Thistle Ayr United v Queen's Park Dundee Utd v Inverness CT     G Morton v Dunfermline   Latest Team News Inverness' injury problems are no better. Still a whole team of players missing or carrying knocks. Here's Dunc ahead of the Arab's game. Nathan Shaw will reluctantly be thrust back into the squad as will Nikola Ujdur and Morgan Boyes.     Dundee United have the biggest squad of luxury players available in the Championship yet they are still struggling to break free at the head of the table. Maybe Jim Goodwin should try another job. United team beaten last week at EEP Walton   Thomson   Gallagher   Holt   McMann   Tillson (Middleton 45)   Sibbald   Docherty (Mochrie 64)   Greive   Moult (Fotheringham 64)  Watt   Subs Not Used: Newman; Cudjoe, Meekison, Grimshaw, Graham, McLelland        

  Ayr we go again   Unfortunately it's another home game this Saturday as fellow languishers Ayr United make the long trek North to face home strugglers Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ayr are one of only two teams we have beaten at home in the Championship this season. However, in the presence of one of our highest profile managers ever, it would be rude not to think about the possibility of a seven goal barrage. Terry Butcher is in the area doing a gig with Richard Gough and will pop along to the stadium for a look at the current side. It has to be said that they are not a patch on what Tel Boy built before being lured to Leith for a custard cream, a team we beat 2-0 in our next match. However, that is history and the mess we find ourselves in now is a sad indictment of the times we live in now under the present regime. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Battery Farm - Rejected ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 11 11 3 42 27 +15 Away 27 13 6 8 50 33 +17 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 52 24 17 11 92 60 +32 We have always had the edge over Ayr United and the H2H shows that. Even recent form has us on top, and that is not always the same for all of our recent opponents. Only three defeats at home. Our prime objective this weekend is a win and would be a bonus but avoiding defeat is an absolute priority. Maybe even scoring a goal might ease the pain... Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 3 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) Inverness ease away from the bottom:  3 - 1  Inverness added Sean Welsh to the ever expanding longer term injury list suffering from a recurring back injury, but Luis Longstaff was fit enough to make the bench. Ayr United had Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Anton Dowds as a triple threat up front. Despite this, Inverness cruised home without having to get out of second gear. Three goals inside the last ten minutes of the first half ended the game as a contest. Two from David Wotherspoon and a penalty from Billy Mckay. Ayr got a consolation penalty in a poor second half, but it was an important three points for the Caley Jags and Big Dunc. As comfortable as it was it was still a poor second half where we should have gone on to put Ayr to the sword. As it was, the result was huge in the context of our season and we can overlook the turgid performance in the light of three excellent points and a step up the table to eighth place with games in hand over some teams. FULL TIME: 3-1. Interesting to note that we only had five of the team that started against Ayr back on November 11th available for selection last week with Carson & Wotherspoon away and the rest injured. Still here: Mark Ridgers, Cameron Harper, Danny Devine, Max Anderson, Billy Mckay (subs C Mackay, Wallace Duffy) Gone/Unavailable: Morgan Boyes, Nikola Ujdur, David Wotherspoon, David Carson, Charlie Gilmour, Nathan Shaw (subs Delaney, Thompson, Hyde, Sheridan, Longstaff, Lodovica, Brooks) Last Time Out Inverness failed again at home last Saturday against one of the two teams they had already beaten at home this season. The other being this weeks opponent Ayr United. The Airdrie game ended scoreless, and that was no surprise to those at the stadium. Plenty of effort, plenty of passes, however our Achiles Heel of creating and scoring chances has haunted us for most of the season. Last Five: D D D W D  Ayr United were idle last weekend. Their last game was a 2-0 defeat at East End Park on 2ndMarch. Two goals just before the interval by Chris Hamilton and a first for loan signing Chris Kane was the difference between the sides.Scott Brown's best result was a stunning 4-3 win over Partick Thistle (McAllister, Willoughbyx2 and McHugh were the scorers in a see-saw game). However, Ayr have shipped a massive fifty goals in the League and that's something that we need to capitalise on. They have also scored thirty-eight times, so it's important to keep our fourth clean sheet in a row to give us a platform to build on. Last Five: L W L W L  Table ahead of Friday nights big game Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dunfermline v Dundee United Friday night @ 7:45 1. Dundee Utd 28 17 7 4 55 17 58 2. Raith Rovers 28 17 6 5 49 36 57 3. Partick Thistle 28 10 10 8 53 48 40 4. Morton 27 10 7 10 34 31 37 5. Airdrieonians 27 10 6 11 28 30 36 6. Queens Park 28 8 8 12 41 47 32 7. Dunfermline 28 8 8 12 30 38 32 8. Ayr United 27 9 5 13 38 50 32 9. Inverness CT 28 7 10 11 32 32 31 10. Arbroath 27 6 5 16 28 59 23 SATURDAY 16TH MARCH    Airdrie v Arbroath Inverness CT v Ayr United      Partick v Morton Queen's v Rovers  Latest Team News Inverness: Still have massive injury worries ahead of this one with most on the bench still nursing knocks. Long term: Gilmour, Longstaff, Chilokoa-Mullen, Big Harry & Lewis Nicolson. Out: McAllister (4-6 weeks), Macgregor, Shaw, Ujdur (2 weeks). Struggling: Carragher, Boyes... Have I missed any   Ayr United: One glaring alteration at Ayr United since they were last here is their manager. Former Hibs and Celtic midfielder Scott Brown is now in charge after Lee Bullen was relieved of his duties on the 15th of January a few days after we had beaten the honest men 3-1 at Somerset Park. He was replaced by Brown some ten days later. Brown has 3 wins to his credit since then from seven games ( QP, Airdrie, Partick), losing to Dundee United, Rangers (cup), Raith Rovers and last time out at Dunfermline. Ayr's January sales deals. In: Nathan McGinley, defender (Motherwell) Loan in: Jack Sanders, defender (Kilmarnock); Josh Clarke, goalkeeper (Celtic); Harry McHugh, midfielder (Wigan Athletic); Kurt Willoughby, forward (Oldham Athletic). Logan Chalmers was a big threat last time we met and with players like Murphy and McGeady on their books plenty of experience at a higher level. On loan forward Kurt Willoughby looks handy. Ayr team @ EEP   Clarke   McAllister (Tomlinson 90+1)  Sanders   McGinty   Musonda   Bryden (Chalmers 45)  Dempsey (Smith 76)   McHugh   Murphy (Syla 76)   Dowds   McKenzie (Willoughby 56)   Subs Not Used: Albinson; McGeady, Stanger, McGinley   Good to see that bullying in the workplace is alive and kicking in the Highland Council.  

Stale Mates These two sides looked as though they could play for the whole of March without scoring. In terms of opportunities, the hosts probably shaded it, but when we did miss the first defender, crosses invariably went behind the incoming strikers. On the one occasion we got on the end of the ball Billy Mckay's flicked header was cleared away from goal by Kanayo Megwa. Harper brought about the only save of note in the first half from either keeper when Josh Rae kept his shot out from a tight angle and the follow up from Duffy was blocked as he shot. Rae went off injured as he rushed out to save at the feet of Pepple as he sped into the box, the keeper coming off worst to be replaced by Hutton for the final twenty minutes. Danny Devine headed over a couple of times as he does regularly and we did exert a bit of pressure on the visitors box over the final fifteen minutes, but the clear cut opportunities were difficult to come by and there was always the danger of being caught on the break by the diminutive but lively McStravick and the awkward gangly Todorov. As it was, the game ended all square to retain the status quo at the bottom end of the table. It's very tight down there. FULL TIME: 0-0 Not the worst 0-0 draw ever, but scoring opportunities were at a premium. Neither keeper was overly troubled and this game had scoreless written all over it given the evidence of the first twenty minutes. Decent debut from Samson Lawal but our MotM by a country mile was Cammy Kerr who was involved in everything. Max Anderson put in a good shift as well but we need more directness from the wide areas with Harper turning back practically every time he was given the ball wide left. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee Utd 28 17 7 4 55 17 58 2. Raith Rovers 27 16 6 5 48 36 54 3. Partick Thistle 27 10 10 7 53 47 40 4. Morton 27 10 7 10 34 31 37 5. Airdrieonians 27 10 6 11 28 30 36 6. Queens Park 28 8 8 12 41 47 32 7. Dunfermline 28 8 8 12 30 38 32 8. Ayr United 27 9 5 13 38 50 32 9. Inverness CT 28 7 10 11 32 32 31 10. Arbroath 27 6 5 16 28 59 23 Date: 09/03/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2035 Referee: Calum Scott Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carragher, Devine, Savage, Duffy, Kerr, Lawal, Anderson, Harper, Alex Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 68) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ujdur, Boyes, Austin Samuels, Brooks, Doran Scorers: none Booked: Kerr (90) Sent Off: none Airdrieonians: 0 Manager: Rhys McCabe Lineup: Rae (Hutton 73), Megwa, Watson, Fordyce, Hancock, McCabe, Telfer, Frizzell (Lyall 73), McStravick, McGill (Gallagher 32), Todorov Subs (not used): Donnell, Dunlop, G Gallagher, McMaster, O'Connor, Taylor-Sinclair Scorers: none Booked: Todorov (29) McCabe (86) McStravick (86) Telfer (90+4) Sent Off: none a

Diamondonians Promoted Airdrie are sitting in fifth place in the table, just below the play-off places with former Caley Jag Nikolay Todorov getting amongst the goals and he will provide a big test for our central defence. We have found Airdrie a difficult proposition at times this season but we did win the last home encounter against them. Our off-field problems are out in the open now after a meeting with fans on Wednesday evening. See the responses below from the CTO forum page 16 onwards. Suffice to say it is worth a lot of money and it does have a massive part to play in the future of our club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Battery Farm - CTO Topic Chairmans Response after meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 9 5 0 4 14 12 +2 Away 8 2 2 4 9 17 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 17 7 2 8 23 29 -6 Only this season's games are relevant as prior to the 2-3 defeat in the League Cup group stages, our previous game against Airdrie was in 2002 when a Martin Bavidge strike was the only goal of the game. Not only that, it keeps our record thrashing of 0 - 6 out of sight as though it never happened. (just for the record, Owen Coyle scored a hat-trick, Neil McFarlane planted a header behind Nicky Walker, Lee Gardiner drove in from the edge of the box and Paul Armstrong ended the rout five minutes before the end. Gubbed!) This season's Competitive Meetings 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) Not much success for us this season against the Diamonds although we did win the last home game against them thanks to a superb finish from the long gone Spoony: FULL TIME: 1 - 0. The fabulous execution of his goal was a great introduction for David Wotherspoon but for me the Man of the Match and new version of Bobby Mann was Nikola Ujdur. The Aussie defender is solid, strolled through the game unflustered and can pick a pass. Good graft in midfield but Sheridan and Big Harry need some work done. Shaw picked up a booking at the end when Big Dunc sent him back onto the pitch to get treatment. Last Time Out Inverness extended their unbeaten run to four games (3xD & 1xW) with an excellent result at Cappielow that ended Morton's 14 game Championship undefeated run. Clinical strikes from Billy Mckay, his 110th goal for the club, and a first from Sean McAllister (video below) ensured we grabbed all three points in a crucial game at the bottom end of the table given Arbroath's unexpected win over Raith Rovers the night before. Last Five: L D D D W Airdrieonians played twice this week. A 1-1 draw last Saturday at home to Queens Park was followed in midweek by a stunning 2-0 win at East End Park. Mason Hancock scored the leveler against QP with two former Dunfermline players Nikolay Todorov and Gabby McGill (video below) sinking their old team. Manager Rhys McCabe said on BBC Sport: "We knew coming here it was about playing the percentages really well, doing the basics really well. We never really felt in danger towards the latter stages of the game." Last Five: L L W D W Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Only four games this weekend as Morton are on Scottish Cup duty 1. Dundee Utd 27 16 7 4 51 17 55 2. Raith Rovers 26 15 6 5 46 36 51 3. Partick Thistle 26 10 9 7 51 45 39 4. Morton 27 10 7 10 34 31 37 5. Airdrieonians 26 10 5 11 28 30 35 6. Dunfermline 27 8 8 11 30 36 32 7. Ayr United 27 9 5 13 38 50 32 8. Queens Park 27 8 7 12 39 45 31 9. Inverness CT 27 7 9 11 32 32 30 10. Arbroath 26 6 5 15 28 55 23 SATURDAY 9TH MARCH Dundee Utd v Arbroath fc Inverness CT v Airdrieonians Queen's Park v Partick Thistle Raith Rovers v Dunfermline Latest Team News Inverness beat the injury woes last weekend to take all three points at Morton. New loan signing Samson Lawal from Livingston remained on the bench. We have a number of long term casualties in Charlie Gilmour, Luis Longstaff, Chilokoa-Mullen, Harry Lodovica and Lewis Nicolson. Roddy MacGregor, Nathan Shaw and Morgan Boyes were shorter term injuries. Austin Samuels has yet to be unleashed after his return to the bench and the similarly named Alex Samuel has been through the wars but has continued to feature despite a broken hand and numerous stitches about his body. He's a warrior. A number of players have also been carrying injuries so we will have to wait and see what Big Dunc is saying. Dunc's Update: Sean McAllister out for at least a couple of weeks (thigh). Boyes and Ujdur might make the bench. Dunc's loon (Cameron) might be a signing option. And surprise surprise, even our trialists are picking up knocks aren't they! Airdrie had a good week picking up four points. Calum Gallagher and Nikolay Todorov are their top scorers this season so far with seven goals each. Despite that, they are the lowest scoring side in the Championship with only 28 goals, four less than Inverness. Defences are similar with Airdrie two goals better off although they have played one game less than us. Airdrie team v Pars: Rae Megwa Watson Fordyce Hancock McCabe Telfer Frizzell McStravick (McMaster 72) McGill (Donnell 66) Todorov (Gallagher 72) Subs Not Used: Hutton; Lyall, Dunlop, O'Connor, Taylor-Sinclair

The Chairman of the club Ross Morrison and the Board of Directors would like to invite Caley Thistle fans, shareholders and sponsors to an open meeting regarding the club’s Battery Farm application on this coming Wednesday 6th March 2024 at 7pm in the Highlander Lounge at the Caledonian Stadium. This Open Meeting will be a great opportunity for all fans to voice their concerns and hear straight from the horses mouth what is happening and why??? Be there to keep up to date with the process and why it means so much for our club. Plenty of discussion on CTO regarding this. You can read through the topic HERE LINK to ICTFC STATEMENT The meeting will be lead by Ross with the club’s full board and CEO also in attendance. The meeting will consist of a full presentation from the Chairman giving the latest on the club’s Battery Farm application with an open question and answer session following the presentation for those in attendance.

Billy Answers His Critics On the injury front we go from bad to worse. This time our midfield engine room has been disrupted with Charlie Gilmour out for the season and Nathan Shaw out with a hamstring injury to add to those already on the treatment table. Samson Lawal, on loan from Livi, comes into the squad. Both sides had sparse benches. Morton had doubts ahead of this clash over main striker George Oakley, midfielder Iain Wilson and keeper Ryan Mullen. As it happened, all three missed out as did. Jai Quitongo. With Robbie Muirhead on the park, they would still pose a formidable threat up front and long throw expert Lewis Strapp will provide plenty of ammunition for him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What a start for Inverness and Billy Mckay, who answered his abusers from last week by opening the scoring in the second minute, firing into the top corner after an assist from Cammy Harper. Robbie Muirhead looked to respond but Mark Ridgers was equal to his effort in the fifth minute. Ten minutes before the interval Sean McAllister curled in a low free kick from the edge of the box to double our advantage and open his scoring account at Inverness. Plenty of bookings but no further scoring saw Inverness pick up a vital three points in the relegation battle although we still remain in ninth spot but only two points from Dunfermline in fifth. FULL TIME: 0-2 What a crucial result that is after Arbroath won last night. Only two points separate 5th and 9th. Two excellent goals from Inverness in the first half paved the way for victory to end Morton's tremendous unbeaten run of fourteen Championship games. The hosts had a flurry of activity around our box towards the end of the game with Robbie Muirhead heading just wide and from a corner the ball was headed off a congested line aswel. They also had a goal disallowed in the 90th minute after a scramble in our box. However, Inverness held out for their second consecutive clean sheet to make it four games without defeat to remain seven points above Arbroath. We won didn't we>>> Here's wee Dougie>>> Date: 02/03/2024 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 1933 Referee: Graham Grainger Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: MacDonald; French, Baird, O'Connor, Strapp, Crawford, McGrattan (Broadfoot 54), Power (Gillespie 86), Blues, Garrity (Bearne 76), Muirhead Subs (not used): Murdoch; Waters Scorers: none Booked: French (45+1) Power (60), O'Connor (76), Muirhead (88) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Carragher, Devine, Savage, McAllister (Brooks 84), Kerr, Anderson, Harper, Alex Samuel (Doran 79), B Mckay (Pepple 69) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels, Lawal Scorers: B Mckay (2), McAllister (34) Booked: Carragher (45), Duffy (45+1), Kerr (48), Savage (88) Sent Off: none a

A visit to the form team Morton host Inverness on Saturday at 3:00pm. They are unbeaten over ninety minutes in their last 17 outings, including a 5-0 pumping of the Pars, a 3-2 win at Tannadice and they also knocked Motherwell out of the Scottish Cup. It wasn't that long ago Morton were below us in the table and now they are in contention for a play-off place at the top end of the table. Us, on the other hand, have slumped to ninth in the table with the distinct possibility of making a play-off place as well. Unfortunately, that's at the relegation end of the table. Arbroath beating Raith Rovers last night shows that anything is possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus Info Samson Lawal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 12 6 4 48 20 +28 Away 20 11 3 6 38 26 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 42 23 9 10 86 46 +40 We hold a fair advantage over Morton but most of that will be historical. More recently the pendulum has swung towards the Greenock club although we did take a point from the last encounter with them played at the Caledonian Stadium 0 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) Our last meeting at Cappielow ended in a 1 - 2 victory for the hosts. Sloppy Stuff in Greenock: Wallace Duffy missed out with a calf injury with Jake Davidson getting a rare start and the paternal David Carson was still on maternity leave. Good to see Roddy Macgregor was on the bench following another lengthy layoff through injury alongside Sean Welsh and Nathan Shaw. Morton had three players that were on our books recently. Defender Kirk Broadfoot, wide player Stephen Boyd and striker George Oakley. And it was that man Oakley that gave Morton the lead after errors in defence. Jack Baird smashed in a second ten minutes from time. Adam Brooks added a late consolation, but it was too little too late in Greenock as the revolution ground to a halt. Last Week Inverness have failed to beat two of their relegation candidates over the last week. A 1-1 draw at Arbroath, thanks to a late Cammy Harper strike, was followed by a goalless draw at home to Dunfermline in a rather turgid encounter as injuries curtailed the quality of both sides. Last Five: W L D D D Morton have no such issues after 17 unbeaten games. This week saw them gain four points with a win against Airdrie and a draw at Stark's Park against promotion chasing Raith Rovers, where Morton were unlucky not to come away with all three points having created the better chances. Last Five: L L D W .D It's not difficult to spot that none of the Inverness players feature in the top scorers list. However Robbie Muirhead and George Oakley of Morton are included. Ferguson has massive injury problems ahead of this game. The latest disaster has Charlie Gilmour out for the rest of the season. Just what we need with only ten games left to save our season. Nathan Shaw will miss a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. Max Anderson should return after suspension. Portugese and Czech players on trial this week, we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, the Caley Jags are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Samson Lawal on loan from Livingston until the end of the season. Lawal, 19 years-old, joined Livingston on a 3-year deal in August 2023 from Nigerian side Katsina United. We've got injuries, haven't we>>> Unbeaten in 17 games, Morton are on a high just now and are looking to get into second place soon. Morton team at Raith Rovers in midweek MacDonald French Baird O'Connor Strapp Power Blues Crawford Wilson (Gillespie 38) Quitongo (Garrity 82) Muirhead Subs Not Used: Murdoch; Bearne, McGrattan, Broadfoot, Waters

Devine intervention after Billy's penalty shocker A hugely depleted Inverness squad were cobbled together to face Dunfermline Athletic in a crucial wrong end of the table clash tonight. We had the possibility of jumping up to fifth had results all gone our way tonight as long as we did our job on the park. A long shot given our home form this season, but nonetheless still a possibility. That never aged well. The table is crying out for a team to go on a good run and challenge those that have had it too easy so far this season. Chris Kane missed out for the visitors which was a bonus for us. Alex Samuel, Billy Mckay and Wallace Duffy all started for Inverness which left us with no midfielders or defenders on the bench. A calm but chilly night greeted the teams at the Caledonian Stadium. It was all downhill after that. From the moment Billy Mckay saw his bland penalty dollied into Mehmet's arms in the first half, this game had 0-0 written all over it. And so it came to pass. It might have been an away win had we not conjured up two incredible goalmouth clearances in the first half. One a brave headed clearance from possibly McAllister that required some smelling salts to get him back on his feet and the second a sublime sliding clearance almost on the line by Danny. A sort of Devine intervention of the highest order after Jakubiak had rounded Ridgers to slot the ball into the seemingly empty net. Enter Danny with impeccable timing to thwart the burly striker. The second half deteriorated into an error ridden farce with neither side capable of stringing two passes together and a no scoring draw was more than the football on display merited. There was a couple of minutes when the ball never touched the ground as it was continuously kicked and headed vertically. Both sets of fans wondering if there were any footballers on the park or was this a new anti sport designed to close football stadiums for good. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Apart from the penalty save, both keepers could have sat in the Innes Bar and had a pint, such was the lack of penalty box entertainment. Wallace Duffy took a nasty injury to his arm but he remained on the park after treatment. However he might be missing next weekend after this. Also struggling at the end was Nathan Shaw who might have a hamstring problem. Unsavoury abuse being thrown around at the stadium towards one of our players' son. Not acceptable in the least. Highlights might be a tad misleading... Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts We've had better seasons... 1. Dundee Utd 25 15 6 4 49 16 51 2. Raith Rovers 25 15 6 4 44 33 51 3. Partick Thistle 25 10 8 7 50 44 38 4. Morton 25 10 7 8 34 28 37 5. Ayr United 26 9 5 12 38 48 32 6. Airdrieonians 24 9 4 11 25 29 31 7. Queens Park 26 8 6 12 38 44 30 8. Dunfermline 25 7 8 10 28 34 29 9. Inverness CT 26 6 9 11 30 32 27 10. Arbroath 25 5 5 15 25 53 20 Date: 27/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1958 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Duffy, Carragher, Devine, Savage, Shaw (Doran 78) McAllister, Harper, Alex Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 90) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Carragher (60), Devine (88) Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 0 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Mehmet; Edwards, Hamilton, Fagan-Walcott, Todd (Moffat 74), Otoo, McCann (Holmes 28), Summers (O'Halloran 45), Welch-Hayes, Allan (Chalmers 45), Jakubiak, Subs (not used): Little; Sutherland, Fenton, Benjamin Scorers: none Booked: Allan (30), Henderson (66) Sent Off: none a

  Every Point is a Prisoner   Apart from the top three teams, every point gained is crucial in the Championship, especially at the end of the table we find ourselves rooted to. Like us, Dunfermline hit a sticky patch but look to be over the worst and came away from Firhill with all three points on Friday night after nine winless games. We salvaged a draw in stoppage time at Arbroath. No rest for the wicked though, so it's back to action against our fellow strugglers on Tuesday night at 7:45pm. Ferguson has wholesale injuries to contend with for this one. It might be quicker to say who is fit. What could possibly go wrong! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Pars Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 9 5 31 22 +9 Away 25 9 11 5 30 27 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 51 19 21 11 64 53 +11 Overall, we have had the beating of Dunfermline over the years since we first crossed swords with them back in August 1999 where our first taste of Championship (Division 1) football ended in a 4-0 defeat at East End Park in front of 4865 fans. You can read the report on that game HERE. Five out of the last ten meetings have ended in draws with two wins apiece. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Pars 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A)  Our last home win over Dunfermline:  2 - 0 Looking promising...Inverness took a massive step towards a play off place by defeating Dunfermline Athletic for the first time this season. An encouraging but goalless first half where Reece McAlear had hit the post was replaced by a two goal second half with chances at both ends. The deadlock was broken by a man who only scores screamers. Reece McAlear lashed the ball across the keeper and into the top right corner of the goal from a difficult position wide on the inside right area. What a strike that was but it only woke the Pars up from their lethargy and they had three or four great opportunities before substitute Austin Samuels sealed the points after he sprinted on to a through ball from Aaron Doran to slot neatly behind Mehmet in goal. Comfortable thereafter for the remainder of the game and an excellent three points to strengthen our hold on third place with Raith, Arbroath and Partick all dropping points.  Last Time Out A week after we let slip a two goal advantage over Partick Thistle, we salvaged a point at Gayfield with a 94th minute goal from Cammy Harper after loanee Adam Mackinnon had put Arbroath ahead ten minutes from the end. To be honest, we spurned far too many good opportunities, enough to win three games, but credit to the players for snatching a point at the death. Always a difficult venue, made moreso by a lengthy injury list that saw us without around ten players (Longstaff, Mullen, Ujdur, Boyes, Duffy, MacGregor, Lodovica, Nicolson) and a suspended Max Anderson who will miss the Dunfermline game as well. That left us with a sparse bench of only four outfield players, and not all of them were fully fit. Last five Championship games:  L W L D D  Dunfermline threw a relegation spanner in the works last Friday a week after they also drew with Arbroath to complete this wee quadrangle of fixtures. However, they landed us all in the kacke by defrauding Partick 3-1 at Firhill where shockingly poor refereeing decisions affected the result in Dunfermline's favour. Brian Graham should have had a hat-trick but officially is only credited with scoring once. Goals from Walcott, Todd and Benjamin turned this game on it's head, much to the chagrin of bottom clubs Arbroath and Inverness. Last five Championship games: D L L D W  Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Full fixture list on Tuesday night 1. Dundee Utd 24 15 6 3 49 14 51 2. Raith Rovers 24 15 5 4 44 33 50 3. Partick Thistle 24 10 8 6 47 40 38 4. Morton 24 10 6 8 34 28 36 5. Ayr United 25 8 5 12 34 45 29 6. Dunfermline 24 7 7 10 28 34 28 7. Airdrieonians 23 8 4 11 23 29 28 8. Queens Park 25 7 6 12 32 44 27 9. Inverness CT 25 6 8 11 30 32 26 10. Arbroath 24 5 5 14 25 47 20 Tuesday night 27th Feb all at 7:45pm Ayr United v Partick Thistle Dundee United v Airdrieonians Inverness CT v Dunfermline Queen's Park v Arbroath Rovers v Morton Latest Team News Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen is out for the season with a stress fracture in his back. We already have long term issues with Longstaff, Lodovica and Nicolson. Added to that list is Ujdur, Boyes, MacGregor, Duffy and now Charlie Gilmour who limped off injured to be substituted after an hour and is out with a knee injury. Alex Samuel managed to play the full game with his hand strapped and also picked up stitches after the tackle from Adam Mackinnon. Nathan Shaw was also a doubt on Saturday but played all 95 minutes as well. The good news is that Max Anderson is not injured. The bad news is that Max Anderson is suspended. Of our injured squad, Wallace Duffy and Alex Samuel look the most likely to make an appearance. Expect a another sparse bench tonight. We're injured, aren't we>>>   The addition of Chris Kane to the Pars squad was a great bit of business for them in the January sales. Here's all of their new additions, all loans: Chris Kane, forward (St Johnstone); Xavier Benjamin, defender (Cardiff City); Malachi Fagan-Walcott, defender (Cardiff City); Brad Holmes, forward (Blackpool). Pars team at Partick on Friday night Mehmet   Benjamin (Welch-Hayes 80)   Hamilton   Fagan-Walcott   Todd (Moffat 67)   Otoo   Allan   Edwards   Holmes (Jakubiak 61)   Kane   McCann   Subs Not Used: Little; Chalmers, Sutherland, Summers,     

Harper saves the day After last night's result at Firhill, this game took on an even more significant role with far reaching consequences for teams caught up in the collateral damage. To add insult to injury at Firhill, Partick can feel particularly aggrieved after an astonishing display of incompetence by the match officials who should be asked to resign with immediate effect. Brian Graham had two perfectly legitimate goals chalked off by shockingly poor refereeing decisions. I couldn't care less about Graham or Partick, but those decisions could be crucial come the end of the season and neither Arbroath or ourselves will be happy about the end result borne out of sheer incompetence, 3-1 for Dunfermline. Gayfield is a difficult enough place to go to with a full squad, therefore Duncan Ferguson had his work cut out today with a number of players unavailable including the suspended Max Anderson and a depleted bench of four outfield players. However Alex Samuel returned to the starting XI with Billy Mckay dropping to the bench. Arbroath were without Tam O'Brien but top strikers Michael McKenna and Leighton McIntosh were on the bench with new loan signing Charlie Reilly and defender Ricky Little. Plenty of half chances but not enough on target to overly trouble the keepers at the interval with Boruc the busier goalie. Inside the last ten minutes and MacKinnon scored from close range after a corner. It looked like time was running out but Cammy Harper drilled in an equaliser for a deserved share of the points. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A six pointer if ever there was one kicked off on a bright afternoon and Kyle Robinson saw an effort blocked in the opening minutes. Inverness responded and Kerr, Shaw and Gilmour all had shots blocked around the hosts box. Cammy Kerr brought Boruc into action direct from a free kick with twenty minutes gone. Cammy Harper was denied by Boruc at the expense of a corner. Kerr was again denied by Boruc, his low shot was well saved by the keeper after good work by McAllister. The chances were racking up for the visitors and Bim Pepple went very close. The shooting practise continued with Harper firing just over the bar from outside the box fifteen minutes from the break. David Gold shot wide for the Smokies as half time approached and the hosts upped the pressure on Mark Ridgers' box with Innes Murray firing a free kick wide. HALF TIME:0-0 No changes at the interval but Ricky Little replaced Hamilton ten minutes into the half after a clash with Alex Samuel who was booked. Aaron Doran then replaced the injured Gilmour and Billy Mckay replaced Pepple. Arbroath also brought on the big guns with Bird and McKenna joining the play. Substitute Charlie Reilly shot wide and Alex Samuel did the same at the other end. A penalty appeal for Inverness was ignored. Possession was swinging towards the hosts as we entered the final fifteen and yellow cards looked like they were going out of fashion. Arbroath opened the scoring following a corner when Adam MacKinnon, on loan from Ross County, scored from close range. Ridgers saved from Reilly and Alex Samuel had one attempt close and another saved by Boruc as we tried to salvage a point. In a frenetic finish, Nathan Shaw had a shot blocked and Kerr fired wide before Cammy Harper shot home to earn a point, but not before McKenna shot over right at the death. Phew, and breathe! FULL TIME 1-1 We left it a tad late but eventually got the point we deserved with Harper's strike into the bottom corner from outside the box. Boom! More detail and reaction to follow. Highlights from Arbroath FC TV We drew didn't we>>> Date: 24/02/2024 Venue: Gayfield, Arbroath Attendance: 1539 Referee: Kevin Clancy Arbroath FC: 1 Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Boruc; Walker,Teale, Hamilton (Little 54), Stewart, Gold (McKenna 66), MacKinnon, Murray (Reilly 58), Dow, Slater, Robinson (Bird 66) Subs (not used): Gaston; Stowe, McIntosh Scorers: MacKinnon (82) Booked: Slater (37), Little 77), McKenna (80) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Carragher, Devine, Savage, Shaw, Gilmour (Doran 58)), McAllister, Harper, Pepple (B Mckay 63), Alex Samuel Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Austin Samuels Scorers: Harper (90+4) Booked: Alex Samuel (49), Kerr (76), Devine (83) Sent Off: none a

  Back to the start   We head to Arbroath on Saturday, the scene of Big Dunc's first game in charge of the Caley Jags, where we earned our first win of the season in our seventh Championship game and his tenure at the Caley Jags began with only one point on the board prior to this game. We now sit on twenty-five points, but still perilously close to the relegation zone, unable to put a consistent run together to climb the table like others have done (Morton the prime example). Max Anderson is suspened and something like five definite outs and another five struggling with knocks.  Nothing new there then!  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel info  Max Anderson  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Arbroath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 17 4 4 60 21 +39 Away 24 11 6 7 35 29 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 49 28 10 11 95 50 +45 We have always generally had the edge over Arbroath but have found them to be more resilient of late, losing at home last time we met. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) Looking Down:  1 - 2  For cod's sake! Inverness slumped to an embarrassing defeat as Arbroath stunned Ferguson's flops at the Caledonian Stadium. Arbroath with big players out and only three outfield players on the bench proved too good for an overrated Inverness bunch of haddies who were easily beaten by the Smokies. With both sides losing in midweek, this game took on more significance for Big Dunc's side and Jim McIntyre was also looking to get away from the bottom of the table after he replaced Dick Campbell. David Wotherspoon was fit enough to start and good to see Keith Bray return to the squad alongside Robbie Thompson. Arbroath came North with only four on the bench with Michael McKenna and Ricky Little still out injured and O'Brien suspended. As it turned out we are now looking down the table instead of up after back to back defeats to the two teams who were below us only four days ago as Arbroath won 2-1. That was new manager Jim McIntyre's first win and it moves Arbroath off the bottom of the table. one point behind Inverness. All the goals came in the first half from Jay Bird, Billy Mckay and two minutes later David Gold. Looks like a few will be going cheap in the January sales.   Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Partick Thistle v Dunfermline: Friday Night TV game (mon the Harry Wraggs) 1. Dundee Utd 23 14 6 3 46 13 48 2. Raith Rovers 23 14 5 4 42 32 47 3. Partick Thistle 23 10 8 5 46 37 38 4. Morton 23 9 6 8 32 27 33 5. Ayr United 24 8 5 11 33 43 29 6. Airdrieonians 22 8 4 10 22 27 28 7. Queens Park 24 7 6 11 31 41 27 8. Inverness CT 24 6 7 11 29 31 25 9. Dunfermline 23 6 7 10 25 33 25 10. Arbroath 23 5 4 14 24 46 19 SATURDAY 24TH FEBRUARY   Arbroath v Inverness CT Ayr United v Raith Rovers Dundee Utd v Queen's Park  Morton v Airdrie    Latest Team News We threw away a two goal lead last week against Partick Thistle and ended up hanging on by a thread as Partick pushed for a late winner. Highly entertaining stuff, but disappointing to only take a point after going two ahead through Kerr and Savage. Pegged back by Fitzpatrick and a Graham penalty, Shaw then restored our lead only for Graham to volley in the equaliser with five minutes left. Frantic ending to the game, but we kept our point. Both sides feel they should have won and defences are being questioned about giving away cheap goals. At least we scored a couple in the Home end, so that's a small crumb of comfort. However, every point is a prisoner now with only twelve games left to preserve our status and we can not afford to give away preventable goals. Inverness failed to get Max Anderson's red card rescinded and he misses the next two games. His direct replacement Roddy MacGregor has a foot injury. We have five definite crocks and five doubtful crocks, so it's back to making your own selection for this game. Here's Dunc to explain all... It's someting like this plus the usual mirrors, smoke screens and cloak & daggers. OUT INJURED: (Longstaff, MacGregor, Lodovica, Nicolson, Mullen, Duffy, Anderson suspended) Maybe Out: (Alex Samuel, Austin Samuels, Boyes, Shaw) We've got injuries, haven't we>>>     Jim McIntyre's Arbroath had a battling 1-1 draw at East End Park last week after going behind in the 18th minute through Walcott. An early second half header from Tam O'Brien levelled the game and that's how it ended. Arbroath have secured the services of Charlie Reilly on loan from Dundee for the rest of the season. The wide midfielder is available for selection tomorrow. Leighton McIntosh took a knock last week and is a doubt. Line-up v Pars last week Boruc   Gold   O'Brien   Teale   Hamilton (Walker 90+4)   Stewart   Dow   Norey (Murray 45)   Slater   Stowe (Mackinnon 45, Bird 90+7)   McIntosh (Robinson 45) Subs Not Used:  Gaston; Lyon, Dunnwald-Turan  

KerrPlonkers Inverness boss Duncan Ferguson was without Luis Longstaff, Wallace Duffy and striker Alex Samuel through injury although Austin Samuels was on the bench alongside Nikola Ujdur, Danny Devine, Aaron Doran and Roddy MacGregor amongst others. On paper it was a team bereft of attacking options. (what's new I hear you say). McMillan and Diack missed out for Partick Thistle but plenty of other threats on the park including Graham, Lawless, McInroy and Fitzpatrick. Cammy Kerr opened the scoring half an hour in to open his own account at Inverness, a welcome goal for the home fans, albeit at the South Stand end of the stadium. Be patient I hear you say and we were rewarded with a North Stand goal from Remi Savage ten minutes after the interval. Another ten minutes later and Fitzpatrick shot in from twelve yards to throw Partick a lifeline. Brian Graham converted a penalty but Nathan Shaw restored our advantage two minutes later. Unfortunately, the man we love to hate, Brian Graham, slammed in a volley after some head tennis to end the scoring and Max Anderson saw red in time added on. Meh, some game but a disappointing outcome despite the goals at the home end. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The visitors set the ball rolling and the hosts looked spritely in the opening exchanges with Billy Mckay having an effort blocked. However Partick looked dangerous going forward and Brian Graham had a couple of efforts after quarter of an hour, Ridgers doing well to deny Brian Graham's first effort, the second one was headed off target by the big striker. The corner count and possession had all but levelled off after twenty-five minites with clear opportunities difficult to come by. Having just said that, Cammy Kerr opened the scoring just before the half hour with a strike from distance into the bottom corner. Five minutes later Nathan Shaw fed Mckay on the edge of the box but the striker shot over. Charlie Gilmour was next to have a go but he missed the target as well. As half time approached Jamie Sneddon saved well from on-loan Everton youngster Sean McAllister as he shot goalwards after good play by Mckay. HALF TIME: 1-0 After the break Partick went on to the front foot and Kerr McInroy went close from outside the box after a Partick corner. Doran and Devine replaced McAllister and Mullen and three minutes later a Doran corner was headed in by Savage to double our lead. Aidan Fitzpatrick pulled one back for Partick, shooting home from twelve yards. Another twelve yard effort drew Partick level. This time from the spot after Nathan Shaw had fouled Robinson in the box. Brian Graham made no mistake. Shaw made amends two minutes later shooting home from inside the box. Alas, the scourge of Inverness, Graham, levelled again four minutes from the end as he volleyed into the top corner. FULL TIME: 3-3 BishBashBosh said on CTO: Highlight of first half was a pass back to Ridgers, I think he hit his clearance into their player and ball spun into air on our bye line. Ridgers is now facing the north stand and attempts a hoof of the ball over the stand. Total fresh air kick resulting in him then heading the ball out for a corner. You couldn’t make it up. Anderson red card was straight out of the ref pocket, no second to think. Anderson first touch for a pro footballer was so poor today, the ball rising into the air as he tried to control it many times. That was what happened for the sending off as he raised his boot into the players head to get the ball. The Partick guy went down clutching his head. Once the red was shown he miraculously recovered and didn’t require hospital treatment. Robert on CTO: We started on the front foot, with none of the back and fro passing that’s dominated our recent performances. Kerr’s goal was a cracker, calmly taken after a great pass by McAllister, and we deservedly led at the break although we had some nervous moments. Partick came out flying in the second half and our second was against the run of play, and we were then let down by poor defending for their first and getting caught napping at a free kick and conceding the penalty. I thought we were done for then, but credit to the players for lifting themselves and taking the lead again, and we should have gone 4-2 up but Pepple went alone when he should have played Harper in. We then conceded, meaning its twelve points we’ve lost late in games. Satan won the quote of the day: I am glad we've strengthened at the back Highlights from ICT>>> We scored goals didn't we>>> Date: 17/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2215 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Carragher, Chilokoa-Mullen (Devine 51), Savage, Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, McAllister (Doran 51, Ujdur 90+3), B Mckay (Pepple 68) Subs (not used): C Mackay; MacGregor, Samuels, Brooks Scorers: Kerr (27), Savage (54), Shaw (79) Booked: Shaw (45) Sent Off: Anderson (90+2) Partick Thistle: 3 Manager: Kris Doolan Lineup: Sneddon; Williams (Adeloye 84), Muirhead, Neilson, Milne (O'Reilly 88), Lawless, McInroy (Robinson 68), Bannigan, McBeth, FitzPatrick, Graham Subs (not used): Stewart; Mitchell, Ngwenya, Alston, Stanway, MacKenzie Scorers: Fitzpatrick (64), Graham (77 pen, 86) Booked: Fitzpatrick (65), McBeth (88) Sent Off: none a

Jags on Jags Third place Partick Thistle come calling at the Caledonian Stadium this Saturday for a game scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm. The sides can't be separated so far this season with both fixtures ending all square. Partick will be looking to hang on to the coat tails of the top two who face each other on Friday night whilst we are in desperate need of points to avoid being sucked into the hub of the relegation play-offs. Both sides exited the Scottish Cup last weekend against Premiership opposition, but it's back to the grind on Saturday with a tough encounter expected. Off the field, the Battery Farm project is still a cause for concern with the local council doing a U-turn. You couldn't make this up, what an omnishambles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ H2H v Partick Thistle Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 26 12 7 7 39 33 +6 Away 25 6 7 12 26 40 -14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 51 18 14 19 65 73 -8 Home team is normally the best indicator in these fixtures. We suffered a couple of heavy away defeats a year or two ago but other than that most of these fixtures have been close affairs and usually favour the home side. Both games this season ended all square, although it's fair to say that Inverness shaded the play but our lack of penetration in the final third is a continuing problem. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick Thistle 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) FULL TIME: 0 - 0. Thistle be the day: This will be the day that Duncan Ferguson made his bow to the Caley Jags fans. The weather might have dampened the atmosherics, but inside the stadium it was a warm welcome for Big Dunc. He was without the long term absentees (MacGregor & Nicolson) plus more recent victims in Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy. After the first win last week, it was an unchanged starting XI that took to the sodden turf. Partick had our olde foe Brian Graham up front. Enough said. Neither side can complain about a point apiece but Partick will now know that they can not expect to pick up easy points against us. In fact had Gilmour placed his shot within the bounds of the posts then we could have taken all three points. Meh! Another step in the right direction for Inverness who matched high scoring Partick Thistle all over the park. Best for Inverness were the tricky Longstaff, the unflustered Ujdur and the driving force of Gilmour, with Ridgers doing his bit at the end. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Big game on Friday night: Raith v Dundee United 1. Dundee Utd 22 14 6 2 45 11 48 2. Raith Rovers 22 13 5 4 40 31 44 3. Partick Thistle 22 10 7 5 43 34 37 4. Morton 22 9 5 8 32 27 32 5. Airdrieonians 21 8 4 9 20 24 28 6. Queens Park 23 7 5 11 31 41 26 7. Ayr United 23 7 5 11 30 41 26 8. Inverness CT 23 6 6 11 26 28 24 9. Dunfermline 22 6 6 10 24 32 24 10. Arbroath 22 5 3 14 23 45 18 FRIDAY 16TH FEBRUARY Raith Rovers v Dundee Utd SATURDAY 17TH FEBRUARY Airdrieonians v Ayr United Dunfermline v Arbroath Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Queen's Pk v Morton Last Time Out Both sides fell at the 5th round stage of the Scottish Cup. We went down 3-1 to a seasoned Premiership side in Hibs. Defensive blunders, a deflected goal and a bit of extra quality saw Hibs through to face Rangers in the next round. The goal of the game came from Aaron Doran in stoppage time. A mere consolation, but a cracker nonetheless. <<click watch on X to start video>> No disgrace really, but the disappointing aspect of this defeat, as is the case most weeks, is our inability to break down a defence and get a shot on target. However, with Alex Samuel injured, we lost our only form of aggression up front, and with it, any hope of causing an upset. Partick had cheered us all up when they knocked County out of the Cup in the previous round, however, surprisingly they found Livingston to be much more resilient and went down 2-3 after extra time. McInroy and Fitzpatrick had put the Harry Wragg's two ahead on the hour before Livi produced a match winning comeback to win in extra time thanks to Kris Doolan's untimely substitutions. Latest Team News Inverness will be without Luis Longstaff for a couple of months with a knee injury. Alex Samuel missed out last week with a fractured hand and misses out again. Morgan Boyes fell out with a post against Hibs and will be out. The post escaped without injury and will be back in action on Saturday.Danny Devine and Nikola Ujdur have had limited training this week. Here's Bim>>> Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan lamented making the two substitutions in the five minute spell between Partick going 2-0 ahead and Joel Nouble starting the Livi comeback in the 66th minute. My Bad he said Speaking on BBC Sport: "I'm gutted. We put so much into it, but to be 2-0 up and lose is tough. We pushed them the full way. I take responsibility, I made two subs quickly, took off two key players. Maybe they should have stayed on the pitch. "We caused them problems, but we just couldn't deal with their physicality at the end of the game. It's heartbreaking when it comes down the last 20 seconds and you lose a goal, but there are positives to take." Team v Livi in Cup: Sneddon McMillan Williams 71) Muirhead (McKenzie 100) Neilson Milne Bannigan Stanway Lawless (Diack 64) McInroy (Alston 87) Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 87) Graham (Adeloye 64) Subs not used: Mitchell; Stewart; Lyon

Second half collapse Premiership Hibernian were between Inverness and a place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. The last time these sides lifted the Scottish Cup was in 2015 & 2016. We dipped our toes in the final last season losing out to Celtic and Hibs lost out to St Johnstone two years earlier. Neither side are taking their respective League tables by storm, so the break for a Scottish Cup encounter might do both sides some good. We had never beaten Hibs in four Cup encounters, including a replay. Alex Samuel was a major doubt with a fractured hand and was missing along with Danny Devine and Luis Longstaff who twisted his knee in training. Here's what happened this time... Having matched Hibs for almost an hour a massive deflection enabled Maolida to open the scoring. Slack defensive play set Martin Boyle on his way to double Hibs advantage before a late goal set up by Boyle saw Youan tap in. Game over but Aaron Doran notched an injury time consolation for Inverness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A North East wind chilled the stadium as kick-off approached but the home support were out in force with a large away crowd also in attendance. A fairly even first half where chances were at a premium with Hibs creating the better opportunites but neither keeper overly troubled. After the interval Hibs eased ahead when a shot from Maolida took a massive deflection to end up high in the net. Tough luck for the hosts but they were the architects of their own downfall at the first and second goals when we failed to clear our lines before Maolida's deflected shot and Boyle scored a second after an attempted clearance by Boyes. Boyle set up Youan for a tap in third. Credit to Aaron Doran for pulling one back with a superb volley but the game was long gone by then. Cammy Kerr hit the top of the crossbar with a looped header at 1-0 but in truth we saw too little action in the opposition box and paid the consequences of that. FULL TIME: 1-3 From BBC Sport: Inverness CT manager Duncan Ferguson: "We obviously knew it was going to be a tough game. "There wasn't much in it at half time and then we gave away a couple of poor goals. I was happy with the performance, but it was a mountain to climb after those two goals." Hibs head coach Nick Montgomery: "It was a comfortable victory in the end. Not an easy place to come, always a difficult cup tie and playing against an underdog. "But I thought the boys executed the game very well and I thought we more than deserved to get through. We created a lot of opportunities at the end, we probably could have had a couple more and I think they had one shot on target and it was a fantastic finish by the boy." We lost didn't we Robert on CTO: No complaints from me about the result. Ridgers kept us in it in the first half, although I thought we competed well and deserved the 0-0 score line. The shot for the first goal took a wicked deflection or otherwise Ridgers would have had a comfortable save. McAllister lost possession in the build up after doing the hard work in winning the ball. Boyes was at fault for the second whilst we seemed to switch off a bit expecting a flag for the third but the player who picked the ball up was onside. Doran’s goal was a cracker, but far too little far too late. I’m not sure about the defensive substitutions as the defence was coping well on the whole. I can only guess that Chilokoa-Mullen and Savage are not fully match fit yet as both have been subbed in all three matches they’ve started for us. Hibs fans at the Caledonian Stadium>>> Date: 10/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3837 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Cilokopa-Mullen (Ujdur 70), Carragher (MacGregor 90+1), Savage (Boyes 70), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, McAllister (Doran 70), B Mckay (Pepple 63) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels Scorers: Doran (90+5) Booked: Carragher (28) Sent Off: none Hibernian: 3 Manager: Nick Montgomery Lineup: Marshall; Miller (Cadden 83), Fish, Triantis, Obita, Newell, Amos (Levitt 45), Boyle, Moiah-Welsh (Marcondes 74), Mayenda (Youan 45), Maolida (Le Fondre 62) Subs (not used): Wollacot; Hanlon, Stevenson, Vente Scorers: Maolida (55), Boyle (79), Youan (89) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Spiders close the gap The January transfer window saw seven new players come to the Caledonian Stadium and around ten players try their hand elsewhere. Big outs were Carson, Welsh and Wotherspoon. Cammy Kerr is a known quantity in and Alex Samuel has already notched four goals in two games. The other newbies are promising prospects and only time will tell if they are ready to sample the Championship. Latest signings 'Bim' Pepple and Sean McAllister were on the home bench. Queens had three changes from last week with Sean Welsh suspended Danny Wilson had not materialised for the visitors but they had former Rothes player Callum Happell on the bench with Crole and Scott. Dom Thomas and Ruari Paton were the ones to watch for the visitors. No goals in a turgid first half but plenty of possession without working the keeper too hard. Dom Thomas opened the scoring just after the interval and that's how it ended. We have signed plenty of players, but we don't have a team yet. The only consolation is we actually went up a place in the table as Morton hammered Dunfermline 5-0 at EEP. However, both Dunfermline and Queens Park have games in hand over us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A brisk and blustery afternoon like something from Winnie the Pooh greeted the players as the game got underway with news from Somerset Park that Ayr United opened the scoring against League leaders Dundee United within two minutes. Not much happening early doors in the Highlands as the teams got to grips with conditions and team mates names. Alex Bannon headed wide after fifteen minutes for the Spiders. Chilokoa-Mullen saw a yellow after twenty minutes and Ridgers was brought into action from Ruari Paton's free kick. Alex Samuel shot wide but it was poor value for money so far and Cammy Kerr also dragged his shot wide five minutes later. The attempts were starting to rack up now and Charlie Gilmour was next to miss the target before Max Anderson saw Ferrie save his effort. Shaw was denied on the break and from the recycled ball Samuel shot wide. Plenty of possession from the hosts but no breakthrough at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break but we came out quicker and Billy Mckay was denied by Ferrie before Nathan Shaw had an effort blocked. Alas, it was a false dawn as Dom Thomas opened the scoring for the Spiders five minutes after the interval. Alex Samuel will be disappointed not to have levelled the game five minutes later with a close range header but Ferrie saved to keep the visitors ahead. Sean McAllister came on for his debut as he replaced Anderson ten minutes after the interval. Cammy Kerr cut inside from the right and offloaded but Ferrie kept the ball out and Inverness won a corner. Ujdur headed over as the home side looked to get back into the game, and Ridgers was back in action to save from Ruari Paton with fifteen minutes left. In stoppage time and another effort from Gilmour misses the top corner. Harper fired a free kick over at the death and that was it. Over and out! FULL TIME: 0-1 Same sh!t different day - Reaction on CTO: Went to the game with optimistism, Anticipation and confidence... left with a feeling of De ja vu. That was a tough watch, as has been the case so often. I thought we started poorly but then largely dominated the first half but couldn’t score. We were too tippy tappy yet again in the final third when shots were on. We came out strongly in the second half but conceded against the run of play and never looked like getting back in it after then. For comparison Dodds in the Championship averaged 1.5 points per game, Ferguson is on 1.35. I think I would have been better going shopping .........You've taken that too far Highlights??? We lost didn't we>>> Date: 03/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1962 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Devine, Chilokoa-Mullen (Ujdur 51), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson (McAllister 56), Savage (Longstaff 74), Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Boyes, Doran, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Chilokoa-Mullen (19), Ujdur (88) Sent Off: none Queens Park: 1 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Ferrie; Tizzard, Bannon, Thomson, Robson, Bruce (Carse 60), Turner, McKinstry (Scott 60), McPherson (Longridge 68), Thomas, Paton (Crole 90+6) Subs (not used): Kane; Williamson, Reid, Mauchin, Haspell Scorers: Thomas (50) Booked: Tizzard (53), Scott (71) Sent Off: none a

Six Pointers Already Callum Davidson brings his new charges North for what might be considered a six-pointer already at this stage of the season with both teams desperate for points to clamber away from bottom spot in the table, currently held by Arbroath. January sales have brought new faces in and old faces out. The latest ins being Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel Pepple (easy for you to say) & Sean McAllister and the latest outs being David Carson, Jake Davidson and Robbie Thompson. Queens Park have added Danny Wilson, not the band but the former Liverpool, Hearts and Rangers defender to their squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Sean McAllister In David Carson Out Aribim Pepple In Jake Davidson Out Shake it all About (Robbie Thompson) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 7 Competitive Meetings 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Over the last couple of seasons Queens Park had the beating of us during the Doddsball era. However, we had a tremendous away win at Hampden Park last time out, our first since Queens Park were promoted into the Championship in season 22/23. FULL TIME: 4 - 1 Happy Days! Our biggest win of the season, first goal for Ujdur with Anderson, Spoony and Mckay all hitting the back of the net. All this with Ferguson sent to the stands at half time. Plenty room for him there in an empty National Stadium. Inverness move up to sixth in the table and we play Morton at Cappielow on Tuesday night where a win would see us jump another place to fifth. (never happened meh!) Indifferent results from Inverness over the last five, but the two wins were well deserved away wins at Somerset Park and Starks park, scoring three goals on each occasion. Alex Samuel was the hero last weekend against Raith Rovers with a first half hat-trick. In between those two wins we snatched defeat from the jaws of a draw at home against Dundee United when a late goal ruined our TV night. We also progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after beating Broomhill 4-0. We now face Hibernian at home in the next round. Eat yer heart out Derek! Inverness CT Last Five Championship Games: D L W L W Callum Davidson is the new manager of Queens Park and in his first game in charge he saw his new side beat Raith Rovers 2-1. On BBC Sport, Davidson said: "Really pleased with the character. They reacted really well, the heads could've gone down. We got back into the game with a fantastic goal by Cammy. Delighted for him. Sean (Welsh) was a real calming influence. It's a great start and it's just three points for us. I'll hopefully try and get a couple more players in." He was undone in his next game as another new manager, Scott Brown saw his Ayr United beat Queens Park 2-1 with Sean Welsh being sent off. The other win over the last five was a 2-1 win over Dunfermline on the 5th of January. Queens Park Last Five Championship Games: L L W W L Latest Team News Inverness made a host of defensive signings in the sales bringing in James Carragher, Callum Kerr, Remi Savage and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen. All four have had some game time since joining but the most effective newbie so far has been the loan signing of striker Alex Samuel from the quaint market town of Dingwall. Big outs were Sean Welsh to Queens Park and David Wotherspoon to Dundee United. Zak Delaney is now on the injured list at Arbroath. Add David Carson to the out list: Sold to Livingston and Robbie Thompson on loan to Spartans. Here's one for you, the longest name ever to sign on at the Caledonian Stadium: I give you Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel "Aribim" Pepple. Quite the transfer window that we have been involved in. That's around 50 players that have been in or around our squad this season. I couldn't even hazard a guess at our team selection for tomorrow, apart from maybe Mark Ridgers will take the gloves. Awaiting team news from Dunc. He's still trying to find out all their names. And here it is>>> In amongst all the waffle, it appears that Carragher, Devine, Duffy, Doran and Longstaff have all been struggling with niggles this week. Queens Park have a new manager and a new goal scoring midfield maestro in Sean Welsh, when he is not injured. However, he is suspended after his red card last week against Ayr United . A couple of loan players in, Mackenzie Carse, midfielder (Celtic) and James Crole, forward (Cardiff City). Callum Haspell has joined from Rothes. A big miss will be Barry Hepburn who has returned to Bayern Munich. Ruari Paton is way out on his own as top scorer with 15 goals. Former Liverpool, Hearts and Rangers defender Danny Wilson is a late transfer signing for QP. Spare keeper Callan McKenna is off to AFC Bournemouth. Team v Ayr United last week Ferrie Bannon Thomson Robson Mauchin (McPherson 83) Welsh Turner (Spong 71) Bruce (McKinstry 72) Longridge (Carse 71) Paton Thomas Subs Not Used: McKenna; Jarrett, Reid, Williamson, Tizzard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget about next week

Hat-Trix Alex With a raft of new defenders coming in to the Inverness squad, it was anyones guess which four defenders Big Dunc would select from the eleven he now has at his disposal. He has an easier choice which new striker will be involved and that will be Alex Samuel. Ian Murray has taken Zak Rudden in on loan from Dundee but has lost Jamie Gullan to Dundalk ahead of this one, he of the powerful shot who likes a goal against Inverness. Sam Stanton was missing for Raith. Three debut's were dished out by Dunc. Cammy Kerr, Remi Savage and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen all started as did Alex Samuel with a few big names on the bench. Ewan Murray was the only change for Rovers with Zak Rudden on the bench. All that defenders and we still lose a headed goal from a corner as Jack Hamilton opened the scoring. Alex Samuel levelled five minutes later on the half hour and another five minutes later he put the visitors ahead. Alex completed his hat-trick in nine minutes to put Inverness in the driving seat at the Interval. Lewis Vaughan pulled one back early in the second half but Inverness held on for all three points. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FULL TIME: 2-3 Normal Service Resumed as Alex bags a hat-trick Man of the match Alex Samuel scored a nine minute hat-trick as normal service was resumed at Stark's Park. Will that be another 23 years before Raith beat us again? Mantis was on hand and gave us this round-up: That was sweet. Never in doubt even after going behind. When I saw the orange strips it took me back to November 2001 when we went behind to a Nacho Novo penalty and won 5-1. Sure the last 20 minutes were nervy but that was all in our heads. A lot of that spell was Rovers knocking it about in their own half looking for a gap. The players looked composed and some of the passing was superb. Hamiltons goal was really sloppy on our part with two newbies in the back three so they will need to work on who is picking up at corners. No failures today and we looked physically strong and made Rovers look a shadow of the side which was flying earlier in the season. The double- barrel Jeremiah looked very impressive apart from his blunder which let Vaughan away to score for 3-2, which made the second half a much less comfortable watch. The other three were solid too. Cammy Kerr, Savage and of course Samuel - Machine #2. What a warrior. On another day Billy might have grabbed a fourth but his touch let him down. A bit risky changing defenders late in the game but hey, it made no difference to the result and we got a chance to see Duffy’s haircut. We have lost 10 games and have probably left too much to do for the playoffs but we should be looking up at Dunfermline, Ayr and Airdrie. At least watching ICT isn’t a chore any longer. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after today's games. 1. Dundee Utd 21 13 6 2 43 10 45 2. Raith Rovers 22 13 5 4 40 31 44 3. Partick Thistle 22 10 7 5 43 34 37 4. Morton 21 8 5 8 27 27 29 5. Airdrieonians 21 8 4 9 20 24 28 6. Ayr United 22 7 5 10 29 39 26 7. Dunfermline 20 6 6 8 24 24 24 8. Inverness CT 22 6 6 10 26 27 24 9. Queens Park 21 5 5 11 27 41 20 10. Arbroath 22 5 3 14 23 45 18

They used to be sh!te, but now they're alright Inverness face a treacherous trip to the home of the new, improved version of Raith Rovers. This would have been a game where we might have expected to pick up at least a point over the last twenty odd years. However, they are more resillient of late and testament to that is our two meetings this season when late goals saw Rovers snatch all six points from Inverness who deserved more from both games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All the ins and outs Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup v Hibs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 14 5 3 41 17 +24 Away 18 9 5 4 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 23 10 7 75 39 +36 Raith broke the mold back in September when they won for the first time in 23 years: Record Breakers Never had there been a better time for Raith Rovers to break the Caley Jags hoodoo! Inverness, without a win in their last eight games, and Billy Dodds and the management team under fire. A 23 year run of games without a win for Raith Rovers was brought to an end today when Jamie Gullan smashed home from 15 yards with five minutes left. It was harsh on Inverness who dominated for long spells earlier in the game, but it leaves the management with some tough decisions to make. There will be dancing on the streets of Raith tonight! 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) And in December: Just Like Buses None for 23 years then two in a row as Raith came from behind to win with a time added on penalty converted by Jamie Gullan. Billy Mckay had opened the scoring with a header on the hour but a late surge by Rovers won it. Lewis Vaughan four minutes from the end then the penalty to take the win at the death scored by Jamie Gullan. We should have had a penalty of our own after that, but Mr Williams chose to ignore it. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and that one hurt. Championship Points Dundee Utd - 44 Raith Rovers - 44 Partick Thistle -36 Airdrieonians - 27 Morton - 26 Dunfermline - 23 Ayr United - 23 Inverness CT - 21 Queens Park - 20 Arbroath FC - 18 Latest Team News Inverness Last 5 Championship results: D D L W L Big Dunc has been dabbling in the January sales both in and out over the last couple of weeks. Out: Sean Welsh, David Wotherspoon, Cillian Sheridan, Zak Delaney, Harry Hennem (departed), Lewis Hyde, Keith Bray, Ethan Cairns (loaned out) In: Striker Alex Samuel, the rest are all defenders:- James Carracher, Cammy Kerr, Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen, Remi Savage Raith Rovers have suffered three defeats on the trot: Airdrie & Queens Park in the Championship and a 2-1 defeat to Livingston in the Scottish Cup last weekend. Zak Rudden, Shaun Byrne and Kyle Turner are new additions in the January sales. Rudden was the latest signing and he will be available for tomorrow. Jamie Gullan has left Rovers to sign for Dundalk. Last 5 Championship results: D D W L L Team v Livi in the Cup last week Dabrowski Millen Brown Dick Connolly Mullin Byrne (Gullan 83) Turner (Easton 67) Smith Hamilton Vaughan Subs Not Used: Thomson; Masson, Hannah, McGill, Corr, McNeil, Murray