Play-Off Final 1st Leg

 

Having scraped into the play-off final, we find our route to Championship survival blocked by a two leg play-off encounter against a team we often struggled against, Hamilton Accies, one of lifes great relegation dodgers. They did eventually make the drop into League 1 a season ago but will fancy their chances against a struggling Caley Jags. They seemed to hold the Indian sign over us in season 2022/2023 with four wins out of five encounters, albeit one was a Challenge Cup game at NDP when we fielded a team of youths and Mark Ridgers during one of our worst peroids for injuries. We did win at NDP towards the end of that season with Billy Mckay scoring three minutes from the end. Overall, the stats are even, Accies one game to the good out of 31 meetings.

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Match/Ticket Info

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Accies Access: Admission: Adults £20, -18 & +65 £10. Accies season ticket holders 1/2 price on production of their cards at the gate. Cash only at turnstiles. Card payments at shop

Venue

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	17	5	4	8	25	23	+2
Away	14	7	2	5	20	18	+2
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	31	12	6	13	45	41	+4

He Scores When He Wants:  2 - 1 A long trip on a Tuesday night to face your bogey team is not ideal, especially when it gets to the business end of the season. That's what faced the Caley Jags as we looked to win our sixth game on the bounce against struggling Hamilton Accies who have already beaten us four times this season. Inverness could go third, but Accies would be hoping to put some distance between themselves and bottom side Cove Rangers. As it turned out it remained goalless at the interval with Deas seeing a header saved by Fulton just before the break. Connor Smith scored direct from a free kick after the interval but Nathan Shaw equalised three minutes later. Billy Mckay won all three points with a poachers goal in off the post with three minutes left and that's how it ended. Phew!

Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Accies

2 - 1 (A)

1 - 2 (A)

0 - 3 (H)

0 - 2 (A)

0 - 1 (H)

4 - 0 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

1 - 2 (H)

1 - 2 (A)

2 - 1 (H)

How did we get into this mess

Our demise has been well documented this season in the Championship where we got off to a poor start before relieving Billy Dodds of his duties after winning 1 point in our first six games. In comes our saviour, Big Dunc. However all is not well and we just kept our heads above water thanks to Arbroath being rubbish. Onto the play offs and an insipid performance at Links Park left us all wondering if our time has come to drop into oblivion. Our performance certainly would not look out of place in the lower leagues. We clung on for a 0-0 draw away from home and scraped a 1-0 win at Inverness with Billy Mckay saving our blushes. Everything about the club has negative undertones at the moment.

Well travelled and long suffering Caley Jags fan Gringo said:  That was my first game of the season and my first chance to see with my own eyes how gash ICT have become. That was one awful unentertaining game and by far the worst I've seen from the team I support. No passion, no urgency, no desire, no creativity...nothing. Square balls across the back line time after time. Can't keep possession. Can't shoot. Two game against a part time outfit and we can only bag one goal. There needs to be drastic improvement against Hamilton and I fully believe Dunc is incapable of doing that with this bunch of players. Hamilton will be a tough hurdle to overcome and I fear the worse. 

John Rankin's Hamilton Accies on the other hand are rightly in a positive mood after an excellent season in League 1 finishing second to all conquering Falkirk and conceding the same amount goals as the Champions. Hamilton's stats for their League campaign with (ict in brackets). Won 22 (10) Drawn 8 (12) Lost 6 (14) Goals for 73 (41), Goals against 28 (40) 

Top Scorers

1. Kevin O'Hara 16
2. Euan Henderson 10
3. Ahkeem Rose 7
4. Lewis Smith 5 (Lewis also tops the assist chart with 11)
5. Kyle MacDonald 5
6. Reghan Tumilty 5

ICT loan player Jake Davidson has also bagged a couple of goals for Accies but will be ineligible to play.

Hamilton did face Championship opposition in the Challenge Cup, losing 4-1 to Raith Rovers. That game was nicely poised at 0-1 until Lee Kilday was red carded after 54 minutes. Raith capitalised and scored a further three goals with Zanatta netting for Accies. Let's not forget, Accies also have an artificial surface which is something Ferguson bleated about after the Montrose game at Links Park.

Accies team v Alloa: Lyness; Longridge, Kilday (Owens 68 ), Barjonas (Rose 68 ), Henderson (Hastie 78 ), Martin (Murray 84), O’Hara, L. Smith, McGowan, Tumilty, Williamson (Davidson 45).

Subs Not Used: J. Smith; Redfern, Winter, Hendrie.

 

Inverness latest Team News

Here's Dunc's briefing: Sean McAllister out with recurring injury. Sounds as though the rest will be as you were and Charlie Gilmour is hopefully fit to play some part. Don't look for any drastic changes.

 

 

The team have an opportunity to turn this around now and I am sure we all hope they take it. Because let’s face it the tie was almost already gone; who amongst us wasn’t watching that and  at some point thinking it was done. Anyway it is not done and it most certainly is game on. I would agree with starting lawal and pepple as regardless of anything else they will unsettle the Hamilton back line; who coped fairly easily with the starting line up last night. They also want to be testing the Hamilton goalkeeper whom wasn’t really tested. Ridgers was caught out unfortunately but I am sure he knows it himself; he is still an excellent goalkeeper and will be keen to show it again. Fortune favours the brave and so we would do well to be brave in team selection and with application on the pitch. There is now an opportunity to for everyone to redeem this tie and to produce a winning formula. Seize the opportunity and squeeze the Hamilton team until they they accept their renewed membership of league 1 🤹🏻🏌️‍♂️😃

The day after and reflecting, I thought we relied too much on Billy and Alex Samuel this season,both workhorses who give everything, but the end result is not there. I have no idea why Lawal was not on from the start, unless Dunc was keeping some players back for Saturday, thinking we would have walked it last night. Longstaff and Gilmour didn't have a good game, nor did Anderson.On Saturday there is no room for passengers and I would go 3-5-2, start with Kepple,Lawal,Roddy and drop Billy to the bench to come on in last 1/4 if need be.

We have no choice but to be hopeful and positive and in my humble opinion we have to go all out and attack and not relyon defending the whole game and trying to sneak a goal. We need as many goals as we can get to be sure,which means high tempo,swift passing and accuracy.

Having also reflected I'm now a little less pessimistic than I was when Hamilton scored their second goal.

I agree with those who would have Pepple and Lawal on from the start. Pepple always looks dangerous on the attack - dunno why he's only ever a last 15 minutes sub.

5 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Good point. I would always played Roddy when McAllister wasn't available. I would however play him as a number 10 but where would that leave McKay I would also go for the set up prescribed by Chris. I think that we will turn it around as Hamilton looked whacked at the end. Not getting the equaliser sets the dilemma and I unfortunately suspect that Dunc will go on the defensive to start for fear of conceding. It is a HUGE game but being adventurous now has it's dangers and should have been the plot weeks ago - as should the recent chopping and changing. We could have five different starters at the weekend!!!

I hope you are right IHE 

Make no mistake,  Hamilton are there for the taking but only if Ferguson picks the correct team. As people have already said, People and Lawal have to start and Longstaff needs to be dropped as he is offering nothing.  Not convinced that Macgregor is the saviour some posters think (they're going on past reputation imo) but if things not going to plan,  he needs to ge brought on earlier than he has been. 

If Austin Samuel's is fit, I would be tempted to throw him on later in the game as he has real pace which we lack. We also need to go at Hamilton from the off and put them under pressure as I think they will struggle.  Their pitch certainly helped them last night as it was awful.

2 hours ago, Huisdean said:

We also need to go at Hamilton from the off

I think that this is the key.  We need to take control from the start, grab it by the scruff, and take charge.

That's what we need to do.

But from what I have seen, I have grave doubts about our ability to do so.

I’ve had to create a new account due to forgetting my password. Formerly BobbyDazzler. Going by what I seen on Wednesday we have nothing to fear. I think it was a case of we were extremely bad in the first rather than Hamilton being good. The second half proves what we are capable of with the right players on the pitch with a positive approach and playing on the front foot. 

On the plane home from hols on Monday thought “I will head to Hamilton on Wednesday”. Got a text when home from my daughter saying she had booked myself and the grandsons on the supporters bus and got the match tickets for……………….SJ v County. 
SJ were hardly a threat to county all evening. With 10 mins remaining county started running down the clock. Cowie had taken Dhanda and Simon Murray off. They got corners where all the big guys stayed back, they only had 1 man in the box and took the corners short to shield the ball looking for another corner. On 90 min county were safe for another year. Then SJ got a throw in level with county box. Ball to player, back to thrower, huge hoof into box and score 1-1.
County now have to beat a resurgent, free scoring Aberdeen on Sunday or hope SJ don’t get anything better than a draw against motherwell.

Moral of the story is we need to come out flying  on Saturday. If we get 1st goal we need to keep pushing for the second, then the 3rd etc. come off the pitch after giving it everything.

county were seconds from safety. Then bang. Would hate to see that happen to us.

As someone once said “ footballs a funny old game, Saint”

18 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

I think that this is the key.  We need to take control from the start, grab it by the scruff, and take charge.

That's what we need to do.

But from what I have seen, I have grave doubts about our ability to do so.

Agree

16 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

Agree

There was no real desire from the team in first half ,it looked as though they couldn’t care less if we lost or won Hamilton on the other hand were going hell for leather to try and grab the game by the scruff of the neck and succeed in doing so we only started to threaten Hamilton when the subs were brought on if the same attitude exsisting Saturday we will definitely be relegated and how Ferguson thinks one goal will suffice is beyond me