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    Hamilton v Inverness CT Preview

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    Hamilton Accies v Inverness Caledonian Thistle

    Yes, at last, the proverbial six pointer has arrived. ICT have now reached the bottom of the SPL and points are at a premium as we make our first trip to New Douglas Park, Hamilton, in what many see as the battle of the two most likely candidates to be plying their trade in the First Division next season.

    Hamilton have recently shown a steely determination in their play and good wins against Motherwell and Aberdeen offset by defeat to fellow strugglers St Mirren have seen them climb off the foot of the table to leave a winless in six SPL games Inverness, in pole position for the drop.

    Both sides have recognized the importance of this fixture and have taken steps to ensure a large crowd will be in attendance, with Accies bringing admission prices down to £10 for all tickets, excellent news for both sets of fans and should be widely applauded. The Inverness fans will also receive a credit crunch reprieve as free travel on the supporter’s buses is being laid on for any supporter going down from the Highland Capital for this game.  Thanks to both clubs for trying to make this a day to remember. The offer of hospitality at Chambers Bar has not gone unnoticed, and will, I am sure, help add to the atmosphere and will be taken up by hordes of hungry Highlanders as they make their way to New Douglas Park for this now crucial game.

    TheMann4TheJob Gives us the lowdown ahead of this weeks game. 

    Inverness Caledonian ThistleHamilton AcciesHAMILTON v INVERNESS CT

    New Douglas Park, Hamilton

    Saturday 14th January, 3:00pm

    JANUARY SALES

    Both teams have been busy in the January sales so far. Accies have brought in two Old Firm fringe players on loan till May, the greens forward Paul McGowan and from the blue half, Jordan McMillan. Both featured last weekend at Dingwall, as Hamilton eased past our feeder club neighbours in the cup.

    Inverness has finally woken up to recognise their plight and have signed Filipe Morais and Thierry Gatheussi from Hibernian till the end of the season. Latvian defender Pavels Mihadjuks from FC Ventspils and former Don Richie Byrne have been added to the squad to bolster the leaking defence. Morais and Mihadjuks started in the cup game against Partick Thistle and Gatheussi came on as a second half sub. All three played their part with Filipe Morais in particular catching the eye by scoring two goals on his ICT debut. More importantly, his overall quality and energy were a breath of fresh air to a side lacking in confidence. The adding of these players to the ICT squad will ease the departures of Ian Black and any impending Don Cowie transfer, although both are still at ICT at present. 

    PLAYER WATCH

    For Accies

    James McCarthy has been the subject of some transfer speculation with Middlesbrough rumoured to be interested in signing the eighteen year old star. He was named the Clydesdale Bank Premier League Young Player of the Month for December after his two goals clinched a win over Motherwell and he played a starring role in a fine two nil victory over in form Aberdeen. McCarthy is certainly one to watch as the Republic of Ireland u21 International has been getting rave reviews this season.

    Tomas Cerny will be worth watching as well, even if it is only to ensure he does not repeat last week’s ball handling outside of the penalty box at Dingwall. The referee and assistants were not able to spot him gathering the ball, clearly a yard outside of his penalty area, TV footage however shows otherwise. Tomas originally joined Accies until the end of December 2007 in a loan deal from from Czech club SK Sigma Olomouc, but then extended his stay at the club until the end of the season. The player has been in the Czech Republic u21 squad. Tomas took over from Bryn Halliwell as the Accies No 1 for the final 11 games of the season, a time when Accies were unbeaten and secured promotion. Let’s see how well he can cope if ICT can put him under any sort of pressure.

    For Caley Thistle

    Filipe Morais. The little Potuguese midfielder became an instant hero last week after scoring two goals in the Scottish Cup defeat of Partick Thistle. He added some much needed pace as an attacking midfielder and his overall contribution during the game was immense. He was not afraid to take on the defenders and despite not having practiced with his new team mates, he linked well with them and was able to back up the strikers with some great runs into the oppositions box. His lack of match fitness was starting to show near the end, but he still gave his all and will be an even greater threat when his match sharpness is finely tuned. Filipe is a former u21 Portuguese international and he turned professional after signing for Chelsea in 2003. He was loaned to MK Dons before joining Millwall in the 2006-2007 season on a free transfer. He was also loaned to St Johnstone before signing for Hibs in July 2007. Filipe made thirty appearances for Hibs, only scoring once for the first team. He was handed a surprise start by Craig Brewster last week, but the gamble paid off as he was voted MoM and gave the home support only the second home win this season. Look forward to more ball juggling displays by the pacey midfielder as he has surely warranted a starting berth in this weekend’s head to head with Accies.

    Roy McBain. He is sometimes given the nickname of the invisible man, by some sections of the home support. This is due to his ability to disappear during some games. A rejuvenated Roy has defied his critics and has certainly been noticeable in the last few games, putting in some very youthful performances. Not noted for his goal scoring, Roy started the season off in magnificent form, scoring the second goal at Pittodrie after an eighty five yard diagonal run to get on the end of an Imrie pass and he then thumped the ball home from eighteen yards. Roy is a versatile player, and has recently been employed in the right midfield slot by Brewster, despite many fans preference for Roy to play left of centre. Nonetheless, Roy is enjoying an Indian summer in terms of his career and long may that continue.

    Who is likely to do battle on Saturday for ICT is now anyone's guess. The likelihood of Ian Black playing seems to be less and less now that Morais has made such a striking debut. Imrie will be another player who may have to miss out as Iain Vigurs is also showing good skills in the left midfield and backed that up with a great goal in the cup. One thing that has probably been established, and that is Lionel Djebi-Zadi will not start, although new signing Richie Byrne may well be pushing for a start depending on match sharpness. Fraser made a good comeback and is pressing Esson for the keeper's slot. Barrowman again failed to hit the target and either Rooney or Wood might be a better option.

    All in all, this should be a great away day for the fans, let's hope the team has as much fun as the fans likely will, and bring the three points back up the A9. 

    A GAME TO REMEMBER

    No no, not Accies 0-1 victory this season, we would rather forget that one, but............

    Back in the good old days, Pele was boss, Mann was in defence and Denzil was banging them in, when you could stand on the terracing, ICT were in the first division and Hamilton were in the second, we had a seven goal cup tie at Inverness. On the 22 February 2003, Martin Bonnar gave Accies a surprise lead in the second minute. But legend Dennis Wyness scored six minutes later to restore parity before the now Scotland international Barry Robson put the home side ahead. Potter in the Hamilton goal then denied Wyness and Robson before half time. In the second half Inverness moved through the gears and ran out 6-1 winners as Wyness, Robson, Ritchie and McCaffrey settled the tie. A young Grant Munro was a late substitute and came on to make a goal line clearance to deny Accies a consolation. (whatever happened to him).

    Squads that day were

    Inverness CT: Brown, Mann, McCaffray, Golabek, Tokely, Duncan, McBain, Christie, Robson, Wyness, Ritchie.

    Subs: Munro, Stewart, Bagan, Keogh, Fraser.

    Hamilton: Potter, Arbuckle, McDonald, Kerr, Sweeney, Alisdair Graham, Bonnar, Walker, Armstrong, McPhee, Callaghan.

    Subs: Sherry, Alistair S Graham, Russell, Dobbins, McFarlane.

    Referee: John Rowbotham.
     
    Some memorable names in those line ups, wonder where are they all now? 

    MY PREDICTION

    Difficult to predict now that the January transfer window has started, but with the introduction of the new boys last week, fresh optimism is growing across the ICT support and I am going for an away win to avenge the first encounter this season when only a Jamie Duff blooper was the difference between the two sides as he presented Offiong with a scoring opportunity and he ran through to score the only goal in a turgid struggle.

    A win for Inverness will certainly make Brewster feel more confident going into the last quarter of the season and put the onus back on Billy Reids team to up the ante.




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