Caley Thistle go top... 

...after Adam Rooney scored his 20th of the season at Firhill today to take all three points back up the A9.

Further up the A9, County and Dundee fought out a draw at Victoria Park that means Terry's lads finally hit the top with only 7 games to go.

Dare we believe it can happen ???

Yesterday we made the long journey to take on Partick Thistle in Glasgow at Firhill. The weekend’s First Division schedule was significant with the top 6 teams in action against each other. Dunfermline made the trip to Dumfries to play Queen of the South while even more significant was the game in Dingwall where Dundee took on Ross County. For us, all that mattered was Terry’s boys and how we would fare against the last team to beat us in the league.

Yesterday we made the long journey to take on Partick Thistle in Glasgow at Firhill. The weekend’s First Division schedule was significant with the top 6 teams in action against each other. Dunfermline made the trip to Dumfries to play Queen of the South while even more significant was the game in Dingwall where Dundee took on Ross County. For us, all that mattered was Terry’s boys and how we would fare against the last team to beat us in the league.

The signs were good in the first half playing towards a noisy away support which amounted to about three to four hundred. Caley Thistle were in control in the first half and if it hadn’t been for the excellence of Partick keeper Jonny Tuffey, Caley Thistle would have been out of sight before half time. In fact if it was a boxing match then the referee would have stopped it. Richie Foran was first to see Tuffey’s brilliance as his shot was well parried by the Northern Irish goalkeeper. Then Adam Rooney was sent through but as his lack of pace told, he was forced wider and could only strike into the midriff of Tuffey. A Ross Tokely strike went over the bar after Partick failed to clear a corner as the pressure continued to build. And on the half hour mark Tuffey was the hero again making a good stop from Foran, before the Caley Thistle number 9 hit a fantastic placement shot which Tuffey at full stretch pushed round the post. Foran was in disbelief and so was the travelling support that was suddenly getting the feeling it may not be our day. But in the 33rd minute a pinpoint cross from the excellent Foran found the head of Rooney close in and this time Tuffey had no response as Caley Thistle made the breakthrough. It was met with jubilation from the travelling support and chants of “We are top of the league and you’re no” which was blasted out of Firhill. Caley continued to press but as the second goal was not forthcoming, the travelling support hoped that it would not be a repeat of November’s game.

HT 0-1 Rooney

The second half was a much tighter affair with Partick coming at us strongly after the break. Liam Buchanan should have scored from close in but his shot was wayward and past the post. That was as good as it got for Partick, but it didn’t stop the travelling fans from being nervous. And it wasn’t a forgone conclusion, although a period of Partick pressure ended as Caley Thistle had two opportunities to score on the break but again was kept out by a magnificent Tuffey. First right in front of goal to deny Johnny Hayes and then spectacularly from Lee Cox who hit a sumptuous drive that Tuffey managed to tip behind, it was save of the day. Partick continued to press and cause us problems. If Tuffey was man of the Match overall then our man of match had to be Foran who was such a dangerous attacking threat in the first half, to being a defensive hero in the second, heading and clearing many balls from our area. Ross Tokely was also immense in the second as we managed to shut out Partick. Ryan Esson largely had nothing to do with the excellent performance of our rearguard. Dundee were 1-0 up in Dingwall for most of the second half which subdued the crowd slightly, but news of an equaliser was received like we had been promoted there and then. The crowd went wild and the chants of “we are top of the league and we are going up” echoed around the stadium.

FT 1-0

The final whistle was met with jubilation as some of the players acknowledged the crowd; manager Terry Butcher pumped both fists at us in response. It had been a great performance and great result, despite it being a tad tense at the end with the waves of Partick crosses but nothing was going to deny us. Also with the score in Dingwall remaining 1-1 it means we hit the top of the league at the most crucial time of the season. Is it time to believe that the impossible could be possible?

So, back to Inverness for another derby day, this one will surely eclipse all other derby’s to date as the stakes get higher with every game played. That is now fourteen games unbeaten in the league since we lost 2-1 at Firhill at the end of November. We have clawed back the massive lead that Dundee had, and sitting top of the league is no more than our present form deserves. Long may the run continue.