As Canned Heat once said to me, we are 'on the road again'. It's the second of three away games in a row as we head to Palmerston three days after beating Annan Athletic at Galabank. After this and weather permitting, we are off to Alloa this Saturday. That's a tough schedule for Scott Kellacher and his young side, but they have shown that they are well capable of competing at this level despite administration and all the hurdles that come with it. This is a great opportunity to further narrow the gap on Annan to one point. However, this is a massive challenge for our youngsters and on the back of a second long trek in three days.
We generally have the upper hand over the Doonhamers although many of these encounters are fairly tight affairs. We lost our last game at Palmerston which was in the Championship in 2022 by 2-1. Absolutely Buffered! After a sloppy opening from the visitors who appeared bus-lagged, Queens opened the scoring through Josh Todd who took advantage of a poor defensive clearance to finish tidily. Logan Chalmers did likewise after Queens gave away the ball in midfield, his finish was stunning. Queens went back in front before the break, goal was scored by buffering. A great finish by East I am told. Half Time 2-1 and there was no further scoring after the break. Our aim was to get enough points to clinch third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. We failed to achieve that, on to the next game.
Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and Billy Mckay from the spot. On to Palmerston on Tuesday night (21st January).
Here's the table ahead of our game on Tuesday night, the only League1 game before Saturday.
Pos
Team
Pld
Gd
Pts
1
Arbroath
20
8
34
2
Stenny
21
9
32
3
Kelty
21
9
31
4
Alloa Ath
21
4
29
5
Cove
20
5
28
6
Queens
20
-4
26
7
Montrose
20
-2
24
8
Annan Ath
21
-19
20
9
Caley Jags
20
2
16
10
Dumbarton
20
-12
07
Inverness CT Latest Team News
Concerns over Luis Longstaff who came off injured at Annan. Luis is proving to be a valuable player this season with his trickery out wide and has been an important player in recent weeks. Other than that we are not aware of any other new injuries other than the longer term ones.
Scott Kellacher talking to the media: On Charlie Reilly’s status “That deal has finished; the loan has expired and unfortunately, he is not under 20 so that rules out bringing him back. It was a shame because he’s a very good footballer, we’d have loved to have him back but if we are to take any players now they must be under 20.” On the other hand we have Alfie Bavidge “Alfie has been a breath of fresh air since coming in. He wants to score goals, wants to be in the right place, he anticipates things and he could’ve had a few more on Saturday if it wasn’t for their keeper pulling off some great saves.”
Hot off the Press: “We’ve got a few struggling; we’ve got a few injury doubts. They’ll be assessed today [Monday], and we’ll see where they’re at after that. We’ve got a few but we’ll try and get through it, manage them and see how they are.” Longstaff will no doubt be the major concern.
Queen of the South
Queens were knocked out of the Scottish Cup 3-1 by St Mirren on Saturday at Palmerston with this squad on the left. Brennan Dickenson scored a superb volley after the interval to pull it back to 2-1 before St Mirren bagged a late third.
Queens last six League1 games:
L WL DWD
Defeat at Arbroath was followed by a win over Stenhousemuir but again a loss at Kelty followed. A home draw against Annan Athletic then a win over Cove Rangers before drawing with Alloa Athletic. Last Saturday was the Cup defeat against St Mirren where they gave the Premiership side as good as they got but just fell short.
On the Road Again
As Canned Heat once said to me, we are 'on the road again'. It's the second of three away games in a row as we head to Palmerston three days after beating Annan Athletic at Galabank. After this and weather permitting, we are off to Alloa this Saturday. That's a tough schedule for Scott Kellacher and his young side, but they have shown that they are well capable of competing at this level despite administration and all the hurdles that come with it. This is a great opportunity to further narrow the gap on Annan to one point. However, this is a massive challenge for our youngsters and on the back of a second long trek in three days.
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Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus
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We generally have the upper hand over the Doonhamers although many of these encounters are fairly tight affairs. We lost our last game at Palmerston which was in the Championship in 2022 by 2-1. Absolutely Buffered! After a sloppy opening from the visitors who appeared bus-lagged, Queens opened the scoring through Josh Todd who took advantage of a poor defensive clearance to finish tidily. Logan Chalmers did likewise after Queens gave away the ball in midfield, his finish was stunning. Queens went back in front before the break, goal was scored by buffering. A great finish by East I am told. Half Time 2-1 and there was no further scoring after the break. Our aim was to get enough points to clinch third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. We failed to achieve that, on to the next game.
1 - 0
(H)
1 - 2
(A)
2 - 2
(H)
2 - 1
(A)
2 - 1
(H)
1 - 1
(A)
0 - 1
(H)
3 - 0
(A)
3 - 1
(H)
2 - 0
(A)
INVERNESS CT The Season So Far
D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L
W W
Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and Billy Mckay from the spot. On to Palmerston on Tuesday night (21st January).
Here's the table ahead of our game on Tuesday night, the only League1 game before Saturday.
Inverness CT Latest Team News
Concerns over Luis Longstaff who came off injured at Annan. Luis is proving to be a valuable player this season with his trickery out wide and has been an important player in recent weeks. Other than that we are not aware of any other new injuries other than the longer term ones.
Scott Kellacher talking to the media: On Charlie Reilly’s status “That deal has finished; the loan has expired and unfortunately, he is not under 20 so that rules out bringing him back. It was a shame because he’s a very good footballer, we’d have loved to have him back but if we are to take any players now they must be under 20.” On the other hand we have Alfie Bavidge “Alfie has been a breath of fresh air since coming in. He wants to score goals, wants to be in the right place, he anticipates things and he could’ve had a few more on Saturday if it wasn’t for their keeper pulling off some great saves.”
Hot off the Press: “We’ve got a few struggling; we’ve got a few injury doubts. They’ll be assessed today [Monday], and we’ll see where they’re at after that. We’ve got a few but we’ll try and get through it, manage them and see how they are.” Longstaff will no doubt be the major concern.
Queen of the South
Queens last six League1 games:
L W L D W D
Defeat at Arbroath was followed by a win over Stenhousemuir but again a loss at Kelty followed. A home draw against Annan Athletic then a win over Cove Rangers before drawing with Alloa Athletic. Last Saturday was the Cup defeat against St Mirren where they gave the Premiership side as good as they got but just fell short.