Bring your own curry oot

 

Cove Rangers are the visitors on Saturday for a League 1 encounter at the Caledonian Stadium with a kick-off time of 3:00pm. Unfortunately curry is off the menu due to lack of interest, let's hope that malaise does not transmit onto the field of play. Inverness will be without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour are back in the squad after injury and Ferguson is still looking for a striker on loan. It's just the ninth meeting between the clubs with Inverness in the driving seat with six wins, one defeat and one draw. The last four games all went the way of the Caley Jags when Cove popped up into the Championship in season 2022/2023. The pick of that games was a 6-1 win for Inverness at home with Billy Mckay notching a hat trick. More of this would be dandy: Happy New Year: Inverness began 2023 with a crushing win against Cove. Two from Billy Mckay and one from Danny Devine countered the opening goal from Jack Sanders. Two quickfire own goals within five minutes of the restart put the hosts 5-1 ahead. Mckay notched his hat-trick from close range as we ran away with the game. Big win to start the year, just what we needed.

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Match/Ticket Info

Challenge Cup Fixture Date

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Season so Far

INVERNESS CT:  D L D D W D  Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium a fortnight ago. Last weekend we beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers last weekend.

COVE RANGERS: L L D L W W  Cove got off to a poor start in the league with defeats at home by Annan (3-1) and Queen of the South away (2-1). A 1-1 draw at home to Dumbarton was followed by another loss away to Stenhousemuir (3-2). However, they are on the up now after winning their last two games oner Montrose (1-0) and a good win at Kelty by 3-1.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Table ahead of Saturday's game with Cove
1.	Alloa Athletic	6	2	4	0	7	5	10
2.	Q.O.S.	6	3	1	2	6	4	10
3.	Kelty Hearts	6	2	3	1	9	6	9
4.	Montrose	6	2	3	1	6	3	9
5.	Stenhousemuir	6	3	0	3	10	10	9
6.	Inverness CT	6	1	4	1	5	5	7
7.	Cove Rangers	6	2	1	3	9	10	7
8.	Annan Athletic	6	2	1	3	6	10	7
9.	Dumbarton	6	0	6	0	10	10	6
10.	Arbroath	6	0	3	3	4	9	3

Fixtures for Saturday 21st September 2024

•   Inverness CT v Cove Rangers
• Alloa v Kelty
•    Arbroath v Annan Ath
•    Dumbarton v Montrose FC
• Stenhousemuir FC v Queen of the Sth 

 

LATEST TEAM NEWS

INVERNESS will be without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour coming back will be a boost to the squad after injury and Ferguson is still looking for a striker on loan. Dunc likes the grass, doesn't he...

Cove Rangers

<<< Cove's starting XI last weekend in that excellent 3-1 win at New Central Park, Kelty. Megginson had given Cove a half time lead but Cunningham squared the game just after an hour. Yule blasted in five minutes before the end and Marshall added the third in stoppage time to complete the job. Mitch Megginson and Blair Yule are always a danger and Captain Fraser Fyvie has been around with Connor Scully part of the fixtures and fittings. Midfielder Findlay Marshall is top scorer with three goals. Megginson and Adam Emslie have scored two apiece. Marshall and winger Emslie joined this season from Aberdeen and are great acquisitions for manager Paul Hartley.

Here's the strike from Blair Yule at Kelty. Boom!

We failed to score at Kelty and are once again one of the lowest scoring teams in the league with the best defensive record. Nothing changes really. Cove are one of the high scorers but have one of the worst defensive records thus far. However, we need to be aware of the threat from Megginson and Yule.

 

 

I vowed at the start of the season to get behind the young players from our youth academy and support them. However the young lads aren’t getting an opportunity  and I can no longer stomach the tactics and style of play offered up from Big Dunc. League 1 was an ideal opportunity to introduce our promising players into the first team environment and develop them into better players and build a team that could push on in a season or 2. I’m grateful we have a team to support but until Mr Ferguson walks away or is giving his marching orders Im out. 

1 hour ago, Alan said:

Week after week the same walking pace football with no penetration. Is this how Ferguson wants the team to play? He complains we don't score enough goals but if we play this backwards and sideways  stuff what does he expect.

Yep. Would I travel 5 hours on a Saturday to watch this dross? Nope. Not a great crowd today. I guess a lot of fans feel the same.

 

Same old shyte I'm afraid.   Missed chances,  And lo and behold he's disappointed!

Well I'm not surprised,  and to be honest it will not change even if we sign a striker it will be a lonely job for the guy.

Taking Duffy off today and putting Savage where he belongs was a help as Cove didn't threaten too much after that and resorted to foul after foul which the new Ref bottled it a few times, One 1 occasion Billy had to remind him that the player had fouled him 5 times on the trot.

Anyway,  get along next week for an exciting 0 0 draw folks.

 

13 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

 

Good assessment. That referee substitution really made the difference. Well done for stating that Dunc. Others would have come up with some ludicrous excuse.

That ref was a shocker   Up with John Mckendrick. Poor billy got flattened in wwf style in a move Hulk Hogan would have been proud of 

Weird that Ferguson seems to realise that we've got next to no attacking threat and haven't for the best part of a year and has, erm, done nothing about it. 

11 minutes ago, RiG said:

Weird that Ferguson seems to realise that we've got next to no attacking threat and haven't for the best part of a year and has, erm, done nothing about it. 

That’s not true - he signed his son!

32 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

That’s not true - he signed his son!

🤣😅😂🤣   wait a minute...    He almost got on today for the last 25 seconds.

1 hour ago, caley100 said:

Same old shyte I'm afraid.   Missed chances,  And lo and behold he's disappointed!

Well I'm not surprised,  and to be honest it will not change even if we sign a striker it will be a lonely job for the guy.

Taking Duffy off today and putting Savage where he belongs was a help as Cove didn't threaten too much after that and resorted to foul after foul which the new Ref bottled it a few times, One 1 occasion Billy had to remind him that the player had fouled him 5 times on the trot.

Anyway,  get along next week for an exciting 0 0 draw folks.

 

Totally agree!  I really wonder what he does with them in training full time.  The referee was shocking today with Cove kicking lumps out of our team all over the park and getting away with it but we can't use that as an excuse.

1 hour ago, RiG said:

Weird that Ferguson seems to realise that we've got next to no attacking threat and haven't for the best part of a year and has, erm, done nothing about it. 

I’m sure he signed some defenders 🤡

1 hour ago, jagster said:

I’m sure he signed some defenders 🤡

Who? 

Reading all of the above makes me glad I decided to stay away again. I won't be back until Ferguson goes because he isn't showing any sign of changing the style of play.

It's clear little will change until Ferguson is gone. Well stay in League 1 but that's it.

Brooks had four great chances to score.  He was really poor yesterday. If we do get a reputable striker in this week who can take pressure off Billy I can see change coming. Given our financial position that may not happen and whilst he has not so far achieved much Cameron up front from the start might be worth trialling with Brooks on the bench. To me Brooks failing to score from four good chances created for him was the primary reason we failed yesterday.

1 hour ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

Brooks had four great chances to score.  He was really poor yesterday. If we do get a reputable striker in this week who can take pressure off Billy I can see change coming. Given our financial position that may not happen and whilst he has not so far achieved much Cameron up front from the start might be worth trialling with Brooks on the bench. To me Brooks failing to score from four good chances created for him was the primary reason we failed yesterday.

The majority of Brooks experience comes from in the Lowland League. He wasn’t good enough for the Championship, very like most of our squad. I just can’t get my head round why everyone thinks we should now be winning this league just because we have players who train every day. 

The difference in these leagues will be a recognised goal scorer, something I doubt we can really afford just now.

Im surprised that’s the fans now staying away when we actually need the funds in the club to keep us going. Says a lot about our support though I suppose.

Edited September 22, 20241 yr by ICTPaisley

A poor performance and a worryingly small crowd, very similar to the number at the Dumbarton game when the boycott was still on.

MacLeod and Nolan the picks me. Nolan must start next week.

The game was there for the taking but we lost possession tamely in the lead up to their goal. We were well on top in the second half and I do feel the stoppage for the referee’s injury effectively killed the game as it petered out.

Well done to the fan who stepped in to run the line. 

Drab Draw

 

Inverness hosted Cove Rangers and were without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and former Cove players Luis Longstaff and Charlie Gilmour had returned to the squad with Gilmour and Longstaff starting. Cove had won their last two outings and put three past Kelty Hearts last weekend with Mitch Megginson always a threat up front. Adam Emslie tapped in at the back post to open the scoring after twenty minutes. Substitute James Nolan levelled five minutes after the restart following a corner. A replacement official was required to complete the game and even with fifteen minutes added on, there was no further scoring. 

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An overcast but calm afternoon greeted the players and a freshly painted bar area greeted the fans at the stadium. After a slow start, Adam Brooks was first to have a go, in fact a double go as his first effort was saved at the expense of a corner, the second  fired over the bar. Cove opened the scoring after twenty-minutes following a quick break forward involving Marshall, Adam Emslie the scorer after Megginson dummied and he had the simple task of tapping in at the far post. Brooks missed a great opportunity to level matters but headed over from close range at the near post. Scully shot over from the edge of the box five minutes before the break. It had been a poor first half for the hosts who trailed at the interval with Brooks the biggest sinner in front of goal.

HALF TIME: 0-1

James Nolan came on at the restart and five minutes later he was scoring his first goal for the club after his initial shot was saved but his follow-up found the net. Keeper Suman was replaced by Demus when he went off injured minutes later. Duncan Ferguson appeared to pick up another yellow card after an angry exchange when Gilmour was booked. An injury to the referee prompted a tannoy call for a replacement from the crowd as the game was halted. One of the assistants took control of the game and a substitute linesman was sourced from the stand and duly appeared to run the line as assistant Will Pare took centre stage. On resumption, Emslie was denied a second goal by Dibaga. Megginson was blocked brilliantly by Calum MacLeod as he looked favourite to add a second for Cove as the game approached the ninety-minute mark. However, there was plenty time added on for the replacement of the referee and Jake Davidson fired wide deep into added time. 15 minutes of additional time came and went before Will Pare brought the game to a halt and the points were shared with opportunities at a premium.

 

FULL TIME: 1-1

The only positive to take from today was Caley Jags fan Jamie Mackinnon stepping in to save the game being abandoned and running the line after the referee went off having made too many wrong decisions... Or maybe he was injured. 

Apparently the tannoy announcement was so successful the club will do the same at next weeks game with Stenhousemuir and will ask the fans if there is a manager in the stands willing to step in and do Dunc's job. There you go Jamie. This week running the line, next week running the club. The world is your lobster.

<<<Jamie can be seen here jogging past Remi Savage after assuring him that the offside law has been cancelled.

Well done you.

<<image from Caley Jags.Com >>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pos	Team	Pld	Gd	Pts
1	Alloa Athletic	7	3	13
2	Montrose	7	4	12
3	Queen of the South	7	2	11
4	Stenhousemuir	7	0	10
5	Kelty Hearts	7	2	9
6	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	7	0	8
7	Cove Rangers	7	-1	8
8	Annan Athletic	7	-6	7
9	Dumbarton	7	-1	6
10	Arbroath	7	-3	6

 

 

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Date:  21/09/2024  Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1505 Referee: Stewart Luke
 
Inverness CT: 1

• Manager: Duncan Ferguson 
• Lineup:  Dibaga; W Duffy (Nolan 46), Devine, Savage, Davidson, Longstaff, Gilmour,
• MacLeod (Allan 90), MacKinnon, B Mckay (Thompson 90), Brooks (Bray (82)
• Subs (not used):  Newman; Strachan, Ferguson, Ewan, C Mackay
• Scorers: Nolan (51)
• Booked: Gilmour (60)
• Sent Off: none

Cove Rangers: 1

• Manager: Paul Hartley
• Lineup:  Suman (Demus 55); Doyle, Gillingham, Darge, Parker, Harrington (McAllister 61),
• Scully, Yule, Megginson (Gaffney 90+6), Marshall, Emslie
• Subs (not used): Demus; Murray, McGrath
• Scorers: Emslie (21)
• Booked: Doyle (39), Darge (42), Yule (43), Marshall (85)
• Sent Off: none

18 hours ago, caley100 said:

Same old shyte I'm afraid.   Missed chances,  And lo and behold he's disappointed!

Well I'm not surprised,  and to be honest it will not change even if we sign a striker it will be a lonely job for the guy.

Taking Duffy off today and putting Savage where he belongs was a help as Cove didn't threaten too much after that and resorted to foul after foul which the new Ref bottled it a few times, One 1 occasion Billy had to remind him that the player had fouled him 5 times on the trot.

Anyway,  get along next week for an exciting 0 0 draw folks.

 

I’m not so sure things would be the same. If there a striker we can get that can actually put the ball in the net consistently (say 3 out of 5 matches), that would have a huge impact and improvement both in our league position and generally as a club. 
I’m not a fan of DF and I believe he’s the wrong fit (for a number of well trodden reasons), for our club. 
That said, it’s clear to most of us if we can get someone to put the ball in the net, then the team looks a better proposition all round. I like the defence of Dibaga, Savage and Devine. The midfield is begining to hold its own in games (A lot down to B McKay’s effort). So if we can get in a striker and the team avoids injury then let’s do it as we’re needing one badly. 
Won’t turn DF into ‘pep’ or change my mind about him, but maybe allow us all to look a bit more forward to the future matches! 
 

Just my tuppence worth! 

Edited September 22, 20241 yr by big cherly

Was there booing at half time yesterday?? I went down to get a pie from the kiosk just before the whistle. Some folks were saying there was. Wouldn’t be surprised! Early in the season yet, but 5 draws in 7 games kind of shows where we are at. 

23 hours ago, Fraz said:

Referee went off injured and they had to get a fan to run the line (he is a qualified ref). 

When this happens at a match, do the officials take steps to verify that the guy volunteering from the crowd is indeed qualified? And does he get paid the same fee as the other linesmen?

1 hour ago, CaleyCiuin said:

Was there booing at half time yesterday?? I went down to get a pie from the kiosk just before the whistle. Some folks were saying there was. Wouldn’t be surprised! Early in the season yet, but 5 draws in 7 games kind of shows where we are at. 

There was some. 

43 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

When this happens at a match, do the officials take steps to verify that the guy volunteering from the crowd is indeed qualified? And does he get paid the same fee as the other linesmen?

I think there was a delay whilst they verified but no idea re pay. He had his kit ìn car as was refereed a game in morning