1000 ICT Goals

Caley Thistle are on the verge of scoring their 1000^th competitive goal since entering the senior leagues in 1994.

There have been many important goals over the years and each one, whether a classic strike from 30 yards or a tap-in from a few inches is savoured with equal relish.

Pictured here (courtesy of Gordon Gillespie at NorthSport) is Alan Hercher being congratulated by Mark McAllister after scoring the first ever league goal for Caledonian Thistle

First ever goal: (also first ever league cup goal & first ever away goal). Caley Thistle's first ever competitive goal was scored in their first ever competitive match. The match - a first round Coca Cola (League) cup tie - took place at Firs Park in Falkirk against East Stirlingshire on Tuesday 9^th August 1994. Caley Thistle won the tie 2-0 thanks to goals from Wilson Robertson in 36 minutes and on the stroke of half-time from Alan Hercher. Of the Caley Thistle side that took to the pitch that day, a couple are still involved with the club behind the scenes - Danny McDonald, and Graeme Bennett.

First ever League goal: (also first ever home goal). Caley Thistle fans didn't have long to wait to see the first goal scored at Telford Street. It came in Caley Thistle's league debut against Arbroath on Saturday August 13^th 1994 and what a cracking match that was. 1700 fans crowded into Telford Street Park to watch this game and it only took 13 minutes for the Caley Jags to make their mark. Alan Hercher headed in a Graeme Bennett corner and the first league goal was recorded. Not content with this however, Herchie banged in another two - in 31 and 33 minutes - to register the first Caley Thistle hat-trick. Second half goals from Paul McKenzie and Wilson Robertson ended a fine league debut with the score reading 5-2 for Caledonian Thistle.

First ever Challenge Cup goal: In 1994/95, the Challenge Cup was sponsored by B&Q and in the shadow of the Inverness branch of the store, Caley Thistle faced Dundee in a cup game for the second time in just over a month. The Caley Jags had been thrashed 3-0 at Dens Park in the League Cup second round but this game on the 28^th September 1994 was a different story. Caley Thistle scored in only 2 minutes through Danny McDonald but Morton Wieghorst scored for the visitors in 69 minutes. The game was level at full-time and also at the end of extra-time so it went to penalties which Dundee won 4-3 in the end. Future Caley Thistle stalwart Mike Teasdale played for Dundee in this game.

First ever Scottish Cup goal: Queen of the South were a tough opponent for Caley Thistle over many years both at home and away but it was the then 2^nd Division side who came out on top in this game on the 17^th December 1994. The Doonhamers scored twice in the second half from free kicks and Mark McAllister's 90^th minute goal for Caley Thistle was merely a consolation.

Last ever goal at Telford Street Park: A crowd of over 2000 piled into Telford Street for the last ever league game in the ground on the 5^th October 1996. The new Caledonian Stadium at the Longman was due to open in November and this was a poignant moment for many fans. In the end it was an easy game for the home side with Brian Thomson scoring in the first half and Ian Stewart scoring the last goal in this ground on the 55 minute mark.

First ever goal at Caledonian Stadium: The new Caledonian Stadium hosted its first league game on the 9^th November 1996 in front of 3734 fans. Albion Rovers were the opponents and the game perhaps didn't live up to the occasion but fans did see a couple of goals. Dave McKenzie actually scored the first goal at the stadium in the 70^th minute, but as we are concentrating on ICT goals then the honour of the first (ICT) goal at the Caledonian stadium went to Ian Stewart in the 74^th minute.

First ever Division 2 goal: Having achieved promotion at the end of the 96/97 season, Caley Thistle faced a tough home opener against Livingston in the second division on Wednesday 6^th August 1997. ICT managed to keep Livi at bay during the first half, but Tom Graham headed home through a ruck of players in the 47^th minute. Luckily for ICT, Brian Thomson was on hand in the 89^th minute to score the club's first ever Division 2 goal and grab a share of the points.

First ever Division 1 goal: Caley Thistle's first taste of life in division one was a 4-0 thrashing at East End Park on 7^th August 1999. The next game was a little closer with Caley Thistle being on the end of a 3-2 defeat by Falkirk at the Caledonian Stadium on 14^th August. With no goals scored against the Pars, it was Paul Sheerin who had the honour of scoring the first goal in Division 1 for ICT when he struck after 7 minutes of the Falkirk match.

First ever SPL goal: Caley Thistle were soundly beaten 3-0 in their first SPL match by Livingston but had recovered enough by the second game on 15^th August 2004 to record their first SPL win. Because of SPL stadium rules, this home win actually took place at Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen where ICT had been forced to organize a groundshare. The goal came in 12 minutes and it was club captain Stuart Golabek who was the ‘local' hero against Dunfermline. Juanjo got the other goal in this 2-0 victory.

First ever SPL goal in Inverness: Barry Wilson has scored a fair few memorable goals in his time and has the honour of being the player to score the last goal in Scotland of the last millennium and the first to score in this one. He was also the first player to score an SPL goal at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on 29^th January 2005. A gargantuan effort went into upgrading the stadium to SPL standards in only 47 days over December/January and after the stadium was passed by the relevant bodies, the first real home game scheduled was against Dunfermline. This was quite fitting because John Robertson had left ICT for Hearts and former Dunfermline striker Craig Brewster was now at the helm. In the end, Caley Thistle again won out over the Pars by a score of 2-0 and it was Barry Wilson scoring the first one in 35 minutes. Brewster got the other in 74 minutes.

So who will get goal number 1000 ?

Will it be record goalscorer Dennis Wyness ? or perhaps our Romanian star Marius Niculae ? Can Barry Wilson score another milestone goal ? or will it be a workmanlike effort from Graham Bayne ? Or perhaps the midfield might weigh in with this important goal ..... we are looking forward to it, and the countdown begins .......