DEE DAY.
There's no going back now, Dee Day is upon us and it's virtually win or bust as Dundee visit the Caledonian Stadium at 7:00pm on Tuesday evening for a crunch game. With Dunfermline picking up more crucial points since their thrashing at Raith they now have two very winnable games coming up over Arbroath and Alloa whilst we face Dundee, arguably the best squad of individuals in the Championship, followed by the best team in promoted Hearts away, then a tough final game against relegation threatened Ayr United. Of course, three wins for Inverness will suffice for a play off place, but that's a monumental task given our opponents.
We missed out on a second Premiership scalp in the Scottish Cup at the start of the weekend going down to a very late goal from Marcus Fraser that took the gloss of a superb team performance as we went toe to toe with St Mitten in a highly entertaining tussle. Nikolay Todorov scored his eleventh of the season but Kristian Dennis levelled immediately to keep the game on a knife edge right up until the 90th minute when Fraser tapped in the winner. Ach well, it was a fun distraction while it lasted but the main course will be served when Dundee visit.
Toddy: 6th goal in last five games
Whilst we were on Cup duty, Dunfermline leapfrogged us into fourth place with a 3-1 win over Queen of the South. They are now in prime position for the play offs but it is still in our own hands at the moment, although looking more likely that we will need to win all of our remaining games to do this.
That leaves the table looking like this ahead of Tuesday night's games: Inverness CT v Dundee, Morton v Hearts
| SPFL Championship League Table |
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts | ||
| 1. | Hearts | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 56 | 24 | 32 | 50 |
| 2. | Raith Rovers | 25 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 44 | 30 | 14 | 43 |
| 3. | Dundee | 24 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 44 | 38 | 6 | 38 |
| 4. | Dunfermline | 25 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 36 |
| 5. | Inverness CT | 24 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 33 | 25 | 8 | 34 |
| 6. | Queen of the South | 25 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 38 | 49 | -11 | 31 |
| 7. | Arbroath | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 25 | 30 | -5 | 29 |
| 8. | Ayr United | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 29 | 35 | -6 | 27 |
| 9. | Morton | 24 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 32 | -11 | 26 |
| 10. | Alloa Athletic | 25 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 28 | 59 | -31 | 18 |
| Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee ------ Dundee last six League games -> DDWWWL |
 1 - 2 (A) |
 2 - 2 (H) |
 2 - 0 (A) |
1 - 0 (H) |
0 - 0 (A) |
0 - 1 (A) |
0 - 1 (H) |
2 - 2 (A) |
2 - 0 (A) |
2 - 2 (H) |
Of the two games played this season, the first ended in a 2-2 draw in the Highlands in front of a covid restricted crowd of 300 on 12th December. Dee grabbed a late point after a pulsating game at the Caledonian Stadium ended all square. Liam Fontaine opened the scoring just before the interval reacting quickest to a rebound from the crossbar. Robbie Deas deservedly equalised with twenty minutes left and James Keatings put the hosts ahead three minutes later only for Jordan McGhee to peg us back again eight minutes from the end. The return fixture at Dens Park resulted in a 2-1 victory for the hosts. It was too little too late and Dundee manager Jake McPake looked to have tightened his shoogely peg as first half goals from Max Anderson and Jason Cummings put Dundee in at the break two up. Inverness were out of sorts in a poor first forty-five. Nikolay Todorov pulled a goal back with fifteen minutes left heading home a Cammy Harper cross. Inverness mounted a mini-comeback but fell just short as Dundee held on for all three points.
We have a decent record in the Highlands against Dundee, the only loss being a Scottish Cup replay in 2018 after a 2-2 draw at Dens Park. However, this is a different beast now and it's points that make prizes. With Dunfermline gathering points, it's still all in the balance.
| Venue (All competitions) | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Agst | + / - |
| Home | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 26 | 14 | +12 |
| Away | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 23 | +2 |
| Neutral | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| Total | 36 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 53 | 41 | +12 |
***Latest Team News***
James Keatings and birthday boy Wallace Duffy missed the visit to Paisley. I wonder if we have seen the last of the departing Keatings or is his injury prone career going to travel with him.
Under fire McPake seems to have managed to resurrect his managerial career and has turned a mediocre season into a possible promotion one. Dundee have probably the best squad of individuals and McPake is slowly getting the best out of them at the right time. Cummings, Sow, McMullan, Adams, are all quality players who can hurt you. McMullan in particular has been a thorn in our side over the last couple of seasons, and all can score goals. Defender Jordon Forstor has left the club.
Left back Jordan Marshall will miss out through injury and this game could also come too soon for Paul McGowan and Max Anderson. Cammy Kerr will likely continue to cover at left back.
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