Play Off Final 1st Leg

 

It's the second time we have faced St Johnstone in a crucial promotion encounter at the Caledonian Stadium. This game kicks off on Friday night on 20th May at 7:45pm. The last crucial one was back in 2004. It was Saturday 15th of May when Inverness beat St Johnstone 3-1 to top the League on the final day of the season. It took a bit more wrangling to finally clinch promotion after a legal battle, but we got there. 

We are an appealing side: Inverness have lodged an appeal to overturn the red card awarded to Danny Devine by the incompetent Willie Collum for not fouling Jack Hamilton. Danny was sent off after 66 minutes as he challenged for a high ball with Arbroath's Hamilton. TV evidence showed little happened but it was of course the Wilie Collum show. Red card for Devine. We will know on Wednesday if the appeal has been successful. He also gave Wallace Duffy a second yellow. Unfortunately, due to some archaic rule, that means we can't appeal against that one despite it looking like the second tackle appeared to be a clean one. Cheers Willie.

***Latest News*** Devine Intervention by Willie Collum: We will have to do it without Danny Devine as the equally incompetent SFA have upheld his decision to issue a red card. Absolutely total incompetency shown here by the self preservation society.

Helicopter Saturday

CTO Report from 15th May 2004 - 3-1: A triumphant end to a fantastic day, season and decade. The sun shone, the ground was packed, there was tension in the air and the First Division trophy was waiting in a helicopter at Braemar. It just remained for the team to make one last major effort and they did just that. Clyde were leading Brechin 1-0 before the Inverness match even started but this changed nothing as it had always been clear that a win was essential. David Bingham headed a Liam Keogh corner past in the second minute then Craig Nelson tipped over a Stuart Golabek shot from 18 yards. A Bobby Mann header from Keogh's corner scraped past the post. In 14 minutes Barry Wilson raced to stop the ball crossing the bye line but Paul Ritchie touched his cross past. The home pressure finally paid off on the half-hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Stuart McCaffrey's free kick reached David Bingham and his overhead kick fooled Nelson; the keeper backtracked but could only help the ball into the net. This was what most of the crowd wanted and they went wild. It was back to earth just before half-time when Keigan Parker raced through and hammered an equaliser past Mark Brown from long range. Seconds later Wilson scored with a low shot but the offside flag was up. Steve Hislop came on for Keogh in the second half. Saints began to play some good football, particularly through Parker and Simon Donnelly, but ICT always looked more like scoring. In 56 minutes Bingham's through ball set Wilson heading for goal and, as he waited for the moment to shoot, Nelson brought him down. The penalty was a certainty and the pressure was all on Barry Wilson. A trademark short run and it was 2-1. A male streaker joined in the celebrations and was promptly evicted. As the excitement reached fever pitch all that was needed was a third goal to calm the nerves. Roy McBain tried to provide it in 64 minutes with a neat lob over Nelson but it cleared the bar. Bingham headed a Wilson corner goalwards in 71 minutes but Mark Reilly hit it off the line then Stuart McCaffrey headed wide. A third goal came in 76 minutes and fittingly it was from Paul Ritchie who was playing his last game for the club. Wilson took a corner from the left and Ritchie stooped low to head home his 63rd goal in three years. The title was a certainty and the final period was all about waiting for the whistle. Wilson shot wide in 86 minutes then the ball spent vital minutes deep in the Saints half and around the corner flag. The final whistle went, the crowd invaded the pitch, the cup arrived by helicopter, Bobby Mann stepped up to receive the trophy from Lord Macfarlane and the whole of Inverness went ballistic. Now for the SPL........maybe. (Crowd: 6092)

Venue H2H (all comps)

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	18	10	3	5	21	15	+6
Away	16	3	4	9	10	20	-10
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	34	13	7	14	31	35	-4

As the stats show, the home sides have had the better of these encounters over the years. However, it's over five years since we last played the Perth side and on that occasion we lost 3-0 at home as relegation loomed large.

CTO SUMMARY APRIL 8TH 2017: On the brink:  Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 0 - 3 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. 😠

Here's how we got here

 

 

Latest Team News

Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor are all out through injury, although rumours of a face mask for Roddy are circulating. If he get's one, let's make it a Lionel Messi mask. Time will tell. Wallace Duffy misses this one after his two yellow cards. Danny Devine ????? Wait for the Wednesday reveal  or 

There will be a lot of tired bodies both physically and mentally after that emotionally draining shoot-out win at Gayfield. Our bench was thin prior to that game, it will have less bums on it now. Duffy will miss this game but might return for the second leg at Perth if its only a one match suspension. Scott Allardice has been on the bench in the previous play-off games, however after his long lay off, i wonder if we are still protecting him, or best scenario, keeping him fresh for these final two games. What a bonus that would be. To be honest, should we be competitive after all this, it really would be a Roy of the Rovers finale to a rollercoaster of a season.

St Johnstone limbered up for this game by resting more than half of their regulars in an abject 4-0 defeat at Easter Road. I wouldn't read too much into that result as they were obviously preparing themselves for the play-off finals which are infinitely more important than a dead end of season game against Hibs that would have gained them nothing. So, no fresh injury worries for Callum Davidson to worry about, and know doubt a full bench to fall back on.

We will be able to renew acquaintances with a couple of former players in defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney who had cult status at the Caledonian Stadium with his marauding Ross Tokely style runs down the right flank. In Zander Clark they have an imposing presence and top quality keeper. Scoring goals has been their downfall this season, but let's not forget they have been playing in a League a notch or two above where we are at just now. They also have the experienced Nadir Ciftci  in the squad who has a trick or two up his sleeve. Michael O'Halloran and Liam Craig will also add more experience and quality to the side, so plenty of options for the Super J's.

Having watched our performances in the Play-Off semi's, I doubt Callum Davidson will have lost much sleep. However, we are at our best when the odds are stacked against us. 

 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, CaleyCanary said:

Totally agree with the dangerous aspect of the flares but the effects of the smoke are the same from both - hard to see how nominating a certain area can help with this as you're at the mercy of the prevailing wind. Just can't see the fascination with them, many hundreds of twirly scarfs are more my thing.

I've not got all the answers but I do think there is a conversation to be had. 

Flares burn hot enough to melt steel and have an exposed flame, they are intentionally difficult to put out as designed for marine use. 

Smoke bombs do burn a bit but internally at much lower temperature. They are very different. 

Edited May 29, 20224 yr by Fraz

You get cold-burning smoke grenades which are much safer.  I was at a wedding recently where the photographer's assistant was hand holding one.

22 hours ago, CaleyCanary said:

Totally agree with the dangerous aspect of the flares but the effects of the smoke are the same from both - hard to see how nominating a certain area can help with this as you're at the mercy of the prevailing wind. Just can't see the fascination with them, many hundreds of twirly scarfs are more my thing.

Cant speak as someone with Asthma or any other respiratory condition but from personal experience, the "official" smoke used at Toronto FC nowadays is absolutely not as acrid as the smoke from flares or smoke bombs when it was unsanctioned and it also seems to dissipate faster in the air. I am assuming there were specific conditions or H&S considerations for the official smoke.  Having said that, it does still hit the lungs if you are in amongst it so for an asthmatic it may not matter whether the smoke is sanctioned or unsanctioned.   

 

22 hours ago, Fraz said:

Flares burn hot enough to melt steel and have an exposed flame, they are intentionally difficult to put out as designed for marine use. Smoke bombs do burn a bit but internally at much lower temperature. They are very different. 

Those flares are brutal. Marine or road flares burn at an insane temperature and as you said, they are designed to still burn in water or on a rainy road so the only real way to put them out is to dump then in a bucket of sand. Most people who smuggle them in don't bring a bucket of sand so throw them to the touchline when they get too hot. I have experienced one flying over my head at an early TFC game and I was lucky .. these things drip like candle wax and if it gets on your skin you are pretty much guaranteed 3rd degree burns. I did not get any on me, but a woman closer to the pitch did and she got burned on the leg. It was a big story over here when combined with the $40K cost to replace a section of the pitch and directly led to more stringent security at TFC games (and an alcohol ban in our section for several years!)

   

 

 

On 5/29/2022 at 4:35 PM, old caley girl said:

I've not got all the answers but I do think there is a conversation to be had. 

Yep OCG there is indeed - I just hanker back to the golden years of the 60s when a few loo rolls bought from the corner shop on the way to the ground were more than sufficient to show your delight when the goals went in. Only problem was you're team had to play in white if you wanted yer loo roll to be the same as the team colours! 

13 minutes ago, CaleyCanary said:

Yep OCG there is indeed - I just hanker back to the golden years of the 60s when a few loo rolls bought from the corner shop on the way to the ground were more than sufficient to show your delight when the goals went in. Only problem was you're team had to play in white if you wanted yer loo roll to be the same as the team colours! 

Although you had to make sure that they were the luxury paper ones rather than the slippery shiny and completely non absorbent ones beloved of school janitors and the custodians of many other public buildings in the 60s and 70s.

They were just about as useless for throwing as they were for their primary function.

34 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

Although you had to make sure that they were the luxury paper ones rather than the slippery shiny and completely non absorbent ones beloved of school janitors and the custodians of many other public buildings in the 60s and 70s.

They were just about as useless for throwing as they were for their primary function.

There was a dull side and a shiny side you must have been using the wrong side 😳

All of this reminds me of TFC early years

L-R : The burned pitch I mentioned earlier. Unofficial Flares. 3 pics of corner kick madness in the first season (not allowed to do that anymore)

                    

28 minutes ago, Scotty said:

All of this reminds me of TFC early years

L-R : The burned pitch I mentioned earlier. Unofficial Flares. 3 pics of corner kick madness in the first season (not allowed to do that anymore)

                    

Out of interest Scotty how did it improve and did some rules change? 

3 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

Although you had to make sure that they were the luxury paper ones rather than the slippery shiny and completely non absorbent ones beloved of school janitors and the custodians of many other public buildings in the 60s and 70s.

They were just about as useless for throwing as they were for their primary function.

I say, talking about throwing toilet roll onto the pitch last millennium, but I get my topics locked down for mentioning possibility of previous players returning. 

Old Boys club here, not a level playing field!👎

3 hours ago, old caley girl said:

Out of interest Scotty how did it improve and did some rules change? 

The 'leadership' of each supporters group at TFC have regular meetings (all groups at once) with the club to talk about things that are planned, or things that have arisen that need discussing. On the club side they get the "south end" filled for every game with flag waving supporters, banners, noise and smoke, all of which the players like and which is great for the marketing folks to use when advertising the club. They also get to tell us what "suggestions" or edicts have come down from MLS to the clubs. It was MLS who banned the streamers at corners for example, not the club. It was also the league who keep changing the bag policy which is now see-through bags only, no backpacks and a few other restrictions. They will also discuss any incidents that might occur which need resolved and where possible give the supporters group the ability to self-police to an extent. 

On the supporters side the club have done many things. Over and above making the sections all standing, where flags, banners and drums are encouraged, that have also assisted with the technical aspects of hanging TIFOs (which the supporters groups make), they have trained people up on the safe use of the smoke, they have allowed supporters groups to somewhat manage their own sections right down to season ticket level. For example, in an effort to stop touts getting tickets, all season ticket sales in the 'supporters section' are passed through the supporters groups to verify membership in the group before being processed by the club. This year, as they seek to get fans back in the ground post-pandemic, they have also created a supporters pub in a section of the stadium. Again, this requires membership of one of the supporters groups and the beers are $6 instead of $14 which is standard stadium price! 

Its not perfect and there are moments - on both sides - but for the most part it does work well. 

 

13 hours ago, No Shin Guards said:

I say, talking about throwing toilet roll onto the pitch last millennium, but I get my topics locked down for mentioning possibility of previous players returning. 

Old Boys club here, not a level playing field!👎

I say.....For the record, you have been closing all your own topics yourself apart from one that was dealt with as there was already a topic dealing with it. Why close your topics which are sometimes relevant once you can see through the smoke screens. That defeats the purpose of having topics to debate and takes away from the purpose of the site. 

If we closed all topics that were past their sell by dates then there would be nothing left to read. 

2 hours ago, tm4tj said:

I say.....For the record, you have been closing all your own topics yourself apart from one that was dealt with as there was already a topic dealing with it. Why close your topics which are sometimes relevant once you can see through the smoke screens. That defeats the purpose of having topics to debate and takes away from the purpose of the site. 

If we closed all topics that were past their sell by dates then there would be nothing left to read. 

This poster has made a number of interesting observations well worth discussing.

However, I am pretty sure that they would be met with a much more positive response if they were not phrased in a manner that wasn't remotely amusing in the first place and has now become utterly tedious.

It's a pity because, as I say, the contents of the posts are often interesting and worthy of debate.

Edited June 1, 20224 yr by Kingsmills

Well I quite like No Shin Guards............a breath of fresh air. That dont mean I agree with much of the content. It would be a sad old world if we all agreed with each other. Eh what?

@No Shin Guards - if you have an issue with how the site is managed, lets discuss this in another thread or via message system. As noted, by a couple of our mods, you are closing your own topics according to the site logs so no-one is shutting you down. However, your methodology and phraseology are familiar to me so lets not pretend here! As mentioned, you do bring some interesting points to the discussions, so lets focus on that, and not the misguided attempt to manufacture censorship that is not in existence.   

On 5/31/2022 at 5:07 PM, CaleyCanary said:

Yep OCG there is indeed - I just hanker back to the golden years of the 60s when a few loo rolls bought from the corner shop on the way to the ground were more than sufficient to show your delight when the goals went in. Only problem was you're team had to play in white if you wanted yer loo roll to be the same as the team colours! 

Pink strip now 😎

I say, I feel a bromance in the air with Naelifts ❤

Scotty, put me on the naughty step. Sorry 😞,  was having a bad day as a Gruffalo ate one of my favourite Haggis.

I will make it up to Kingsmills by giving him a lift to the Brora game in my 1985 Yugo. I will also give him a piggy back to the Clach game (if he loses some weight)

Eh what? 🧐 

Edited June 9, 20223 yr by No Shin Guards
I say, Typo!!