🏆 KDM TROPHY FINAL 🏆

It's been a long slog but we have battled our way through to the final of the KDM Trophy where we will face Raith Rovers at the neutral venue of Firhill in Glasgow. It's been quite a journey since we played our first Challenge Cup game at Elgin back on the 12th of August last year. Eight months and another ten games later we will face-off against Championship side Raith Rovers in the final. It's been some trek and we are unbeaten up to the final having won all ten matches so far scoring a total of 41 goals and conceding 8, eliminating two Championship sides in Partick Thistle and Ayr United, won a penalty shoot-out, had one game postponed, scored a club record nine goals in a mismatch against Dumbarton, beaten League1 rivals Stenhousemuir and had Alfie Bavidge knocking in four in one game. Who ever said it was a Mickey Mouse Cup? It certainly caught the eye more once the knock-out stages started with the introduction of the Championship sides and we are now on our way to our sixth final. We lost our first in a dramatic penalty kick defeat to Alloa Athletic back in season 99/2000. In 03/04 we beat Airdrie 2-0 and in 09/10 we let a two goal lead slip against Dundee to lose out in an entertaining five goal final. We returned to the final in 17/18 to defeat Dumbarton 1-0 with a late Carl Tremarco goal when extra time looked likely and the 19/20 final was shelved due to the covid crisis when we were due to play Sunday's opponents Raith Rovers. The trophy was shared then, so this weekend we can play for the right to get our hands on the trophy legitimately.

This will be our opponents Raith Rovers fifth appearance in the final having won it three times. They have reached the final in four of the last six seasons it has been contested, the tournament being cancelled in season 2020/21. Their last two KDM fixtures to get to the final saw them eliminate Championship sides Queens Park and Airdrie in penalty kick shoot-outs.

💰There's £150,000 up for grabs if you win and a not too shabby £100,000 for the runners-up. Either way, that's a lot of dosh 💰

Chanka Zimba is suspended, but it transpires that his suspension is for League games only, therefore he will be eligible to play on Sunday but will miss the League game at Stenhousemuir. However, he was on International duty for Zambia against Argentina on April 1st. Lionel Messi shared the same pitch with Chanka for half an hour in Buenos Aires. Trust me, it was a real thing, not AI and not an April Fool. Well done to Chanka for getting recognition after a good season at the Caley Jags. A great achievement to go from an early bath at Recreation Park Alloa to the Estadio Alberto J Armando in Buenos Aires, a stadium capable of 50,000 plus crowds. Memories made for life!

Back home, Liam Sole is free from suspension and will be available should he now be injury free. Danny Devine missed out last week through injury and another two or three were possibly carrying knocks.

We will also need to keep an eye on the game at Ochilview with Stenhousemuir hosting Hamilton Accies as the run in for the League1 title gets serious. Well, Stenny won 3-0 to go top of the table for now.

Weather watch: It looks like Dave is coming over the weekend with strong winds and heavy rain forecast. Make sure you take a kite with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Match/Ticket/Info

📣Matchday Important message📣

Barry Wilson Interview

Carl Tremarco Interview

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thistle go to the Wyre

Ticket Prices @ Firhill

• £20 – Adults

• £12 – Concessions (65+ and students)

• £6 – Juveniles (ages 12–16)

• Under 12s – Free if accompanied by a paying adult.

• Anyone under the age of 12 must enter with an adult.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle supporters will have access to tickets in the Jackie Husband Stand Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Club Singing Section

Supporters wishing to purchase tickets in the ICTFC Singing Section should select Section 2 of the Jackie Husband Stand.

Last time out, and on the telly, we had a massively disappointing home draw with QotS where we looked jaded and devoid of ideas.

• KDM Trophy

  12/08/25 4-1 Elgin City(H)

  26/08/25/ 4-1 Aberdeen(H)
  05/09/25 2-1 Binos(H)
  23/09/25 6-0 Dundee(H)
  11/10/25 4-1 Forfar Ath(A)
  11/11/25 6-0 Dundee Utd(H)
  16/12/25 9-0 Dumbarton(A)
  06/01/26 P-P Partick Th(A)
  13/01/26 3-3 Partick Th(A)
  2701/26 1-0 Sten'muir(H)
  24/02/26 2-1 Ayr United(A)
  05/04/26 - Raith Rovers(N)

We will need all hands to the pumps if we are to lift the trophy. Chanka Zimba appears to be free to play on Sunday but will miss the crunch title match at Stenhousemuir. Hopefully Liam Sole and Danny Devine will be fit and maybe we can have our best right back this season in Calum MacLeod starting. It's no use sitting in for ninety minutes against Raith Rovers and then wondering what if! We need to be clinical and pacey, not sloppy and pedestrian. In our favour, we are at our best when we are underdogs!!!

Raith Rovers last squad out in a comfortable 3-0 win over Ayr United who have since sacked Scott Brown. Surely it's not that embarrassing losing to Rovers A brace from Innes Cameron and one from Richard Chin sealed Broon's fate. Rovers have had a disappointing season by their own standards and sit just outside the top four. Dougie Imrie is now the boss having taken over from Barry Robson in November.

Raith's KDM:

• Rovers 5-2 Accies

• Rovers 1-0 QotSth

• Q Park 1-1 Rovers (1-3 pens)

• Airdrie 1-1 Rovers (3-5 pens)

• Jai Rowe scored 3 v Accies

• Easton has two KDM goals

Championship stats >

• Raith have 34 for & 34 against

• ⚽ Dylan Easton has 8 goals

• ⚽ Jack Hamilton has 6 goals

Rovers have claimed the trophy three times in four attempts. In season 2013/14 they beat Rangers by a solitary goal in the Ramsden Cup. Former Caley Jag John Baird scored the winner at Easter Road in front of almost 20,000. Having shared the Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Trophy in 2019/20 with the Caley Jags; one for you and one for me, they then won it two seasons later when they beat Queen of the South 3-1 at the Excelsior Stadium with two headed goals from Matej Poplatnik and a strike from Ethan Ross. It was then known as the SPFL Trust Trophy. In Season 2022/23 they lost out in the final 1-0 to Hamilton Accies when it was still the SPFL Trust Trophy, with Reghan Tumilty the scorer. That brings us up to date where they play the Caley Jags at Firhill on Sunday 5th April.

The Final Countdown has started>>>

Inverness CT 58pts	THE RUN IN	Stenhousemuir 60pts
ICTFC NO ⛔ GAME	4th April @ 15:00	3 STENNY - Accies 0
🏆 KDM FINAL - ICTFC 🏆	5th April @16:10	🏆📺 Raith Rovers 🏆
STENNY v ICTFC - 📺	11th April @17:30	STENNY v ICTFC - 📺
Peterhead v ICTFC - 📺	14th April @19:45	STENNY - No ⛔ Game
ICTFC v Kelty Hearts	18th April @15:00	Cove v STENNY
East Fife v ICTFC	25th April @15:00	STENNY v Alloa
ICTFC v Accies	2nd May @15:00	Montrose v STENNY

5 hours ago, caley100 said:

As Billy the Fish and i wandered along the canal heading for refreshments yesterday i happened to notice a cormorant flying along the canal towards the city! not very often will you see one of these birds in Maryhill!

At first glance I thought you were reciting poetry.

Not often we get a glimpse of such high brow culture on here

Yeah, Well, It was a distraction from talking football!

Which brings me to an obvious observation, The ICT team has lost it's Mojo big time, To me the players were going through the motions and did not look confident in what they were supposed to be doing.

We struggled to get up to any from of speed and urgency, Looked nervous and only after we scored did they lift their game. Second half started like the first half, nervous and under the RR press we started to make mistakes!

4 1 was a bit of a humping but could have been avoided, long balls into the channels might have been better to try getting round their defence.

Anyway Kell has a hellofajob to get into the minds of the team before Saturday because they will need to play out of their skins to get a result, I really hope they do!

And... I'm not that convinced with Munro in the goals.

If any is ready to laugh about it yet.

1 minute ago, Yngwie said:

If any is ready to laugh about it yet.

This description also made me laugh.....not quite sure what match they were watching!

22 hours ago, caley100 said:

As Billy Fish and i wandered along the canal heading for refreshments yesterday i happened to notice a cormorant flying along the canal towards the city! not very often will you see one of these birds in Maryhill!

I saw it too on my way to the pub. Looked like it was swimming back to see the game though.

When I eventually found the game on the iPlayer (having watched the West Ham match which was on at the same time) it was nearly 9pm. I dutifully sat through it all the way. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said so my key thoughts were:

1. We gave them far too much respect and space to play from the back and in midfield, especially in the first half. There seemed little energy or appetite to press, even with the squad rotations to keep things "fresh".
   

2. Bavidge could count himself unlucky not to start after recent performances.
   

3. Bearing in mind what the ref had already given, their fourth goal could have been given as a foul our way instead when Easton took the ball (from behind).
   

4. The players might feel sufficiently embarrased that, rather than losing confidence, it gives them a real kick up the backside before Stenny on Saturday.

Anything else would be picking on individual players and that is not really constructive, especially when pretty much everyone was, well, let's say below par.

@The Hammer That is exactly what I am hoping for. The fans paid for tickets with their hard earned cash so I hope the players are indeed embarrassed and looking to repay us like you say, though in different words to how I put it lol.

It's the same with Liverpool tomorrow against PSG though that's going off topic slightly 😛.

Oh and seeing as you mentioned WHU, I hope you are over that loss now because Leeds really should have wrapped that up way before penalties 🙄.

All is forgiven though as they are on their way to Wembley to play a Chelsea team off form 😁.

Joking aside though lol, I only saw a little bit of that as I was flicking between that game and Edinburgh against Leinster until the shootout.

12 hours ago, CaleyTennis85 said:

Oh and seeing as you mentioned WHU, I hope you are over that loss now

@CaleyTennis85 at 55 years old defeats are like water off a ducks back to me!

WHU have suffered one relegation in every decade of my lifetime (1970s through 2010s), so we're due one either this season or in the next three years.

6 hours ago, The Hammer said:

@CaleyTennis85 at 55 years old defeats are like water off a ducks back to me!

WHU have suffered one relegation in every decade of my lifetime (1970s through 2010s), so we're due one either this season or in the next three years.

Look on the bright side. During your lifetime you have also enjoyed more promotions than Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea put together!

11 hours ago, The Hammer said:

@CaleyTennis85 at 55 years old defeats are like water off a ducks back to me!

WHU have suffered one relegation in every decade of my lifetime (1970s through 2010s), so we're due one either this season or in the next three years.

You won't go down. It's certainly Burnley and Wolves plus I reckon either Spurs or Forest.