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Craig Dargo opened the scoring in 20 minutes and Roy McBain and Barry Wilson both scored before half time as Caley Thistle strolled to a comfortable 3-0 victory. Club Historian Ian Broadfoot provides the official report from the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. ICT 3-0 HIBERNIAN |
| 21st January 2007 | Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Inverness |
| INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC | 3 (Dargo 20, McBain 30, Wilson 42) |
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Team: Fraser, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Wilson (Paatelainen 80), Duncan (Black 77), McBain, Rankin, Dargo (Bayne 70), Wyness
Subs: McCaffrey, Soane, McAllister & Smith |
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| HIBERNIAN | 0 |
Team: McNeil, Whittaker, Jones , Hogg, Stewart, Murphy, Brown, Thomson (Fletcher 46), Beuzelin (Stevenson 46), Benjelloun, Campbell (Sproule 46)
Subs: McCann, Glass, Martis & (Simon) Brown |
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| Referee | William Collum |
| Attendance | 4577 |
| Man of the Match | Craig Dargo (ICT) |
A first half three-goal blitz gave Caley Thistle a well deserved win against a Hibs side that surprisingly created very little. The Hibs/Aberdeen cup tie on Thursday led to this game being postponed by 24 hours as John Collins brought his side to Inverness for the first time. He was without the injured Chris Killen and Merouane Zemmama but, despite a doubt, Michael Stewart played.
With Mark Brown having left for Celtic, the ICT goalkeeping position was wide open for the patient Mike Fraser to step in after 165 bench slots, two starts and three substitute appearances. He handled everything confidently but was never seriously troubled. New signing Markus Paatelainen from Cowdenbeath was on the bench and came on for the last ten minutes.
The first 45 minutes were some of the best ever seen at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium as the home side swept forward and Hibs did not know what had hit them.
In six minutes John Rankin robbed Steven Whittaker on the left, sent the ball across goal and Barry Wilson shot from an angle – Andrew McNeil got a touch and just managed to claw it back before it trickled over the line. McNeil spilled a Wilson shot two minutes later but Craig Dargo’s follow up touch went past.
The lively Abdessalam Benjelloun (Benji) was through on the right in 11 minutes but Darren Dods blocked for a corner. Rankin shot over in 18 minutes then two minutes later the deserved opening arrived.
The creator was Dennis Wyness who intercepted on the right then found Craig Dargo 15 yards out – he hit it first time into the net with the outside of his right foot as McNeil scrambled back in vain.
On the half hour mark it was 2-0 when Ross Tokely intercepted down the right wing, slipped it to Roy McBain in the centre and he sent it neatly past the helpless McNeil for his second goal of the season.
The closest Hibs came in the first half was when Scott Brown netted in 34 minutes but the whistle for offside had long gone. With three minutes of the first half remaining Barry Wilson brought the home crowd to its feet when he sent a tremendous 25 yard angled shot past McNeil from the right to make it 3-0.
Half Time: 3-0
It was all change after the break as Hibs threw on three substitutes in an attempt to retrieve something from the game. They pushed hard for 20 minutes but the home defence held firm. In 62 minutes there was a moment of alarm as a Steven Fletcher free kick seemed on target but Fraser saw it safely past the post.
At the other end a Wyness shot was charged down by Chris Hogg in 64 minutes then a Ross Tokely effort was deflected for a corner. The only black spot of the afternoon came in 70 minutes when Craig Dargo dislocated his shoulder after a simple challenge and he was replaced by Graham Bayne.
With four minutes left Mike Fraser punched clear a David Murphy shot then an Ian Black 25 yard drive went wide at the other end. The last action was a long range attempt by Graham Bayne but it was wide of the mark.
Full Time: 3-0
A fine victory for Charlie Christie ’s men, eighth place retained and the top six within sight.
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