WARRIORS KDM TROPHY 1/4 FINAL

Not just a KDM Quarter Final, but maybe an opportunity for either club to lay down a marker and give us an indication as to where the League1 title might be heading. I'm sure a resurgent Queen of the South will also have something to say about that, but in the meantime we need to deal with this KDM Challenge. It's obviously a big challenge with these two sides level at the top of League1 and Stenhousemuir could not be in better form having recently knocked Morton out of the Scottish Cup in emphatic 4-0 fashion and consolidating their presence at the top end of the table with three League wins in January, scoring nine whilst conceding zero. In fact, the only team to score against the Warriors was Stirling Albion (they did the same against us) in the previous round of the KDM Trophy which ended 1-2 for Stenhousemuir. St Johnstone or Ayr United is the prize for winning this one.

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Match/Ticket/Info

Latest Loans Out

Alloa Reaction & Highlights

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That was our squad that prevailed over Alloa Athletic at the weekend, coming from behind to record a comfortable 3-1 win with goals from Chanka Zimba x2 and a first League goal for Jordan Alonge with a composed finish. That's 15 goals in all competitions for Big Chanka.

I would imagine that we will be rotating the squad despite this being a quarter final with the winners having to play either St Johnstone or Ayr United in the semi-final. However, it is an opportunity to get one over your closest rivals for promotion and I'm sure that won't be lost on the respective managers.

Our last KDM game saw us end Partick Thistle's run in the competition with a 3-3 draw before we emerged victorious from the penalty spot. In the previous round we had that mismatched 0-9 win against a Dumbarton XI at the Rock. Did that win give us a false sense of invincibility as we went off the boil soon after that crushing win. Back on track now over the last couple of games with much needed League1 wins.

TICKET INFO

• £15 – Adults

• £10 – Concession (Senior over 65 and up to 21)

• £5  – Under 12

• 🎟️ available eticketing.co.uk/ictfc

• 🎟️ available in the Main Stand only with Section Lower F available for Stenhousemuir supporters.

• 🎟️Also available in-store from the Club Shop and over the phone during opening hours (Mon-Fri, 9.30am – 4pm)

• Bar 94 will open at 1730, with last orders at 1915 (the bar must be fully vacated by 1930).

• 🍹 The bar reopens at full time, when the presentation will be made to the Man of the Match.

• 🚍 will leave the Bus Station at 1900, returning from the Stadium 10 minutes after the full time whistle (or 10 minutes after the penalty shoot out if one is required).

• 🚍 fare is £2.70 single (contactless payments or cash accepted), and Over 60 / Disabled and Under 22 Concession passes are valid, giving free travel on the service to passholders.

The warriors were on the council telly at the weekend as they beat Kelty Hearts 2-0, their third win on the bounce in January on League duty, all without conceding a goal whilst bagging nine. Dale Carrick is a man that needs kept quiet. The former Hearts and Binos player has pace, power and an eye for goal. Also in great scoring form just now is Ross Taylor who scored both goals against Annan and Olly Whyte who scored both against Stirling Albion. Matty Aitken has bagged himself four goals in January so far. There's a reason that the men from Ochilview are hovering at the top of the table. They are a decent side. The 4-0 thrashing of Morton in the Scottish Cup should be a warning we will do well to heed.

Whyte scored the winner when the sides met at Ochilview in December and back in August an Aitken penalty and a late Ross Taylor strike saw them get the better of the Caley Jags after Paul Allan had given us the lead with a penalty. If memory serves me right, that was another game where stats don't win matches.

In the knock out rounds of the KDM Trophy Stenhousemuir have beaten Annan Athletic 2-0 and Stirling Albion 1-2 last time out. Obviously the priority for both teams this season is to get into the Championship which could see both sides change from their League1 starting XI. That said, a place in the semi-final at stake and getting one over the opposition could see both squads take to the park with strong first choices.

• 🎟️ available eticketing.co.uk/ictfc

• 🎟️ available in the Main Stand only 

• Section Lower F for Away supporters

Having just arrived in Glasgow after a pretty miserable journey down, I do hope they have a miserable journey up the A9 after some of them have been working. I hope we show them no mercy and send them home for another miserable journey. We should have no sympathy for part time teams who sit in and then beat us.

Is this a poem entitled miserable?

Games at St Johnstone & Arbroath postponed tonight because of the weather.

First Half:

So, looks like seven changes from the win over Alloa and just the three for the Warriors as the game got underway in Arctic tundra conditions. First moment of danger came from the visitors when Ross Meechan's header went awry off a cross into the box. The early posturing came from the Warriors and Finlay Gray's inviting ball just evaded Matty Aitken. In his first start, Kieron Willox was first to make a keeper work after linking up with Billy Mckay, but it was Jamieson that won this battle as he pulled off a one on one with the loanee from Stoke. At the other end Finlay Gray slalomed past three defenders with Ross Munro denying him with a reflex save. Willox looking interested in the early stages for the Caley Jags with Finlay Gray doing likewise for Stenhousemuir. Midway through the half Oscar MacIntyre was on the end of Longstaff's dangerous cross into the box but Jamieson was able to smother his effort. The visitors were totting up their corner corner count some ten minutes before the break, something we would do well to stop conceding as it can often be a cause for concern, Archie Graham heading narrowly wide from one such occasion when he could just as easily have opened the scoring. Half a dozen corners to Stenny, but in time added on, we won our first corner only for David Wotherspoon's header to be blocked and the half ended without a goal.

HALF TIME: 0-0

Alfie Bavidge !! get in there!

Yas! Hopefully this spurs us on for the league.

Yay. Well done boys.

Excellent 👏 a nice Semi to look forward to. Would prefer Ayr but happy with either away day.

SECOND HALF:

They reinforced the angry man attitude when Scott McGill got his birthday card from the referee, booked in the first minute after the break. Calum MacLeod ended a good burst forward with a disappointing effort that missed the target. Surprise surprise, Gregor Buchanan followed McGill into the book. Paul Allan headed a Willox cross over before Willox departed around the hour to be replaced by Alfie Bavidge. A goalline clearance by Finlay Gray kept the scores level. The substitutes flowed from the hour with Chanka Zimba and Dale Carrick amongst others entering the field. And it was substitute Alfie Bavidge that opened the scoring with seventeen minutes remaining after his first effort was deflected behind for a corner. Following the corner Alfie shot high into the net from inside the box to put the hosts ahead after the keeper made a hash of trying to clear Paul Allan's corner kick, the ball bouncing off a ruck of players allowing Alfie to spin and lash the ball high into the net from six yards. Into time added on Zimba held up for Jordan Alonge to get a shot away with keeper Jamieson saving well. With no further scoring Inverness move into the semi-finals to await the winner of St Johnstone v Ayr United which was postponed tonight.

Nothing wrong with a semi ICT P

Delighted, yes, and well done but more important than progressing in the challenge cup is that to have lost tonight could have been devastating for morale in the league in terms of “we never beat stennie”… now our boys know they can…. Onwards and upwards we (hopefully) continue to go

1 hour ago, tm4tj said:

First Half:

Willox looking interested in the early stages

Love that phrase "looking interested" in commentaries.

As if nobody else gives a toss! 😂

Peterhead on the 24th will now be postponed.

Not a great game and we were lucky our poor defensive play, especially in the first half, didn't lead to us conceding.

Far too slow in getting the ball forward, for which Chalmers must take much of the blame as he constantly receives the ball facing his own goal so the ball goes backwards instead of forwards.

Substitutions did change the game and once we scored, we didn't look like conceding. Stenhousemuir were lucky to finish with 11 men as they were very physical and pit in some nasty tackles. Some were punished by the ref, who was poor, but many were not.

Anyway, we won't onwards and upwards.

Overall a well deserved win in difficult conditions against a Stenny team who I thought were a disgrace at times with their play acting and what looked like a desire to inflict injury on some of our players.

I wish we were more direct at times as playing out from the back could have cost us dear.

We’d a strong penalty claim turned down but I thought our second half performance merited the win.

It could prove pivotal in the title race as well as earning us a few more pounds in the semi and the chance of making the final.

Looks like we deserved the win, but have their keeper to thank for the goal!

ℹ️ Our KDM Evolution Trophy Semi Final will take place on Tuesday 24 February with a 7.45pm kick-off, Live on BBC ALBA.

We will face the winner of the Quarter Final tie between St Johnstone and Ayr United 

If they ever get their QF played!

It's been moved to a neutral venue next Tuesday so hopefully it will get done, but if not expect another postponement.

There must be a **** load of rain down that end of the country because Dundee Utd have been postponed twice in the space of a few days too 🙄.

I take it grounds don't have undersoil heating anymore because surely if they did then that would be on as well as the covers 🤔.

There has been from Perth to Aberdeen, it's been pissing down since new year and the ground is saturated! Covers and undersoil heating will not help. More to come, check the forecast.