Rock Tour

A difficult season so far and it could continue for a while yet as Inverness struggle to come to terms with life in the Championship. We face another daunting task this weekend with a journey into the unknown. A visit to Dumbarton to face a side we have had no league business with although we did enjoy some success in a couple of League Cup games.

Immortal Howden Ender has been doing his homework and has penned this Preview for you ahead of the game on Saturday, which will kick off at 15:00.

ARE YOU GOING to the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium ?!!

That is a bit of a mouthful and a come down from Boghead, or even the Bet Butler Stadium. And since the demise of Boghead and the new stadium build in 2000 it has also been dubbed the Strathclyde Homes Stadium, the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium, the Dumbarton Football Stadium (twice), the Bet Butler Stadium and this season The YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium. Who said sponsorship deals were taking over football. At least my “home” club adds a sense of humour.

The yokels refer to it as the Rock and the fans are known as the Sons. “Sons of the Rock” sounds more like a Biker Gang or a New Age Religious Sect. Still it is a club steeped in history, having been formed in 1872.  The stay at Boghead lasted 121 years and is an unequalled record for a club staying at the same ground. And they too have won the Scottish Cup – in 1883 !! It is a picturesque if not barren stadium. The present capacity is 2020. Away fans are situated in sections 1 and 2, at one end of the new stand. Around 500 fans can be accommodated in this area.

Castle Rock dominates the Dumbarton skyline, and with the ground sitting just beneath, it is fairly easy to find your bearings. Follow the A814 into Dumbarton and just after you go under a railway bridge, you will see a sign pointing left for Dumbarton Castle. Turn left here (Victoria Street) and the ground is down the bottom of this road on the right. There is a fair sized car park at the ground. BUT it might be more difficult to get to this weekend as engineering works have closed down the Glasgow Line and there are major roadworks approaching the Erskine Bridge.

There is a bar located at the ground but this is for home fans only. Popular with away supporters is the nearby Rock Bowling Club. This is situated a little further down the road from the ground, opposite the entrance to the castle. A bit further away is the Stags Head, which is situated opposite the entrance to East Dumbarton station. It is a good sized bar, with TV's and a pool table.

ICT and Dumbarton have NEVER played each other in a league match before – so you could say it is another historic moment for ICT. But some of you may have been to Boghead. ICT played Clydebank there in December 1997. At that time Clydebank were ground sharing. 326 hardy souls watched a 1-1 draw. The referee was carried off on the half hour and Daisy Ross notched a late, late equaliser.

We have played and beaten Dumbarton, in Sneck, in League Cup encounters. In the 2-0 win in 2003 the scorers were Wyness and Ritchie. The scorers in the 3-1 2007 win were Wyness, Bayne and McAllister.

You may also have watched Kilnockie FC play at Boghead. The 2002 blockbuster film “A Shot at Glory” was filmed at Boghead, starring Robert Duvall as the manager and Ally McCoist playing an ex-Celtic legend !!

 Anyway back to the here and now. The Sons had a worse League Cup than us but have fared better in the league. They only have 6 points out of 6 and two above us. However they have only been beaten twice, a 4-0 home thumping by Dunfermline skewing their statistics. Defensively they look solid. Apart from the Pars debacle they have had one clean sheet and conceded only 1 goal in the other four ties. Their last game was a 2-1 win against Brechin but that was aided by a Brechin sending off in the 71st minute and two goals in the last ten minutes. Sons fans are excited about midfielder Dimitri Froxylias and they may well opt for the journeyman plodder Christian Nade up front against our suspect central defence. Lets hope Greg Morrison, on loan from Tinkerville does not do any damage.

As for ourselves Robbo is threatening to ring the changes. To be honest I doubt if anyone will call the starting X1 and sadly I don’t think that Robbo has a Scooby either. Chopping and changing should not be happening seven games in to the season. I would go with:

OFW or Esson

Raven?  Warren Tremarco  Calder

Mulraney Trafford Vigurs Bell

Polworth

Baird.

Latest team news from Inverness is that David Raven could miss out with a virus. Owain Fon Williams played in a bounce game against Brora in midweek and survived with a clean sheet to boot in a 2-0 win. Usual long term casualties in Aaron Doran and El Bouzedi. Riccardo Calder missed out last week as did Big Susan.  Robbo will be looking for more effort from fringe players after slamming them openly for not producing enough when given the chance. Mulraney and Oakley to name a couple were targeted by the fuming gaffer. Over to you guys.

Another detailed Preview can be read here on the official website for ICTFC.