Inverness pay the penalties

The tax man may well be looking to recover £1.4 million pounds in fines from Rangers, but it was Inverness that were left to pay the penalties on the park as refereeing in the SPL reached a new level of incompetence.

The sheriff was knocking on the door at Ibrox last week but it was a cowboy that went by the name of Norris that decided the outcome of this tense shootout. 

Two second half penalties were the deciding factor in this one as current SPL champions Rangers benefited from two crucial decisions by the referee that kept Inverness rooted to the foot of the table, with manager Terry Butcher calling in to the ref's locker room for a wee chat after the game.

Jelavic buried the first penalty after Ross Tokely was deemed to be the perpetrator of a heinous crime; he tackled Steven Naismith in the box and the ref pointed to the spot, much to the bewilderment of three quarters of the stadium.  To add insult to injury, Ross Tokely was sent packing for making the tackle.  A second penalty followed soon after and Esson made a fabulous one handed save but Edu reacted sharpest to slide the rebound home to secure all three points for the Gers.

This was a disappointing way to let the points slip away as Rangers, for all their possession, found the Inverness back line much more robust than the previous weeks sloppy performers.  With the game finely poised and Inverness beginning to venture up the park the hammer blows were delivered on the hour mark and eight minutes later.

Up to that point, neither keeper had been called upon to make any telling contributions as defences were on top, and Rangers squandered any half chances that came their way.  The linesman chalked off a goal early on for the visitors as Jelavic knocked home an Edu touch, a bit like Tade last week, had he not interfered the goal would have stood, but the flag brought the away fans celebrations to an abrupt halt.

13th Aug 2011	Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
I.C.T.	0 -
	TEAM: Esson, Piermayr, Tokely, Hogg, G.Shinnie, Tudur-Jones (Ross 65), Hayes, Tansey, Doran (Sutherland 73), Foran, Tade (Aldred 60)
	SUBS: Tuffey, A.Shinnie, Morrison, Laing
	Booked: Piermayr (5), Foran (59), Tansey (81)
	Sent Off: Tokely (59)
RANGERS	2 - Jelavic (pen 60), Edu (68)
	TEAM: McGregor, Goian, Broadfoot, Bartley (Perry 33), Wallace, Edu, Ness, Davis, Ortiz (Wylde 74), Naismith, Jelavic
	SUBS: Alexander, Fleck, Healy, Hutton, Hemmings
	Booked: Bartley (26), Edu (44)
	Sent Off: Edu (75)
Referee	Euan Norris
Attendance	6623

 The rain earlier in the week had relented and gave way to a wonderful sunny afternoon with a slight breeze to keep the fans cool as the game kicked off early. 

Rangers enjoyed the bulk of the pressure with Inverness sticking to a game plan, and everything was going to plan.  The fact that neither keeper was involved in the game was down to both defences restricting the attackers to half chances and long range efforts.

Aaron Doran rushed a first time effort after a quick break forward by the home side but his limp effort was easily gathered by McGregor in the Rangers goal. 

Tade almost poached a goal after a short back pass by Bartley but McGregor reacted quickly to smother the attempt.

The closest Inverness came to breaking the deadlock was when Foran slid towards a ball fizzed across the Rangers box by Doran, but he was just short of connecting with the ball.

 Rangers tried in vain to convince the referee they were due a penalty as arms seemed to get in the way of the ball, but the ref ignored their pleas for now.

 The game had been scrappy at best, but it was poised on a knife edge as half time came and went with the home fans happier with the score so far.

Half Time 0-0

The second half continued along the same lines, Rangers being handed the ball, Inverness taking it back off them, and so it continued right up until the hour mark when Mr Norris decided enough was enough and took the law into his own hands.  Naismith scampered into the box as the villain Rossco approached him.  He slid into the challenge and that was enough for the ref as he pointed to the spot, and promptly dispatched the aforementioned villain.  Jelavic made no mistake from the resultant penalty as he whistled the ball past Esson, 1-0 to the visitors and worse was to follow. 

In sixty eight minutes Aldred came in behind Goian as he made his way towards the byeline, but still within the confines of the penalty box.  His dying swan act caught the eye of the official and once again he pointed to the spot.  Esson did hand off the initial attempt brilliantly and could feel aggrieved that his defenders were second to the rebound as Edu knocked the ball home.

The game looked beyond Inverness although they never gave up as the ref then evened the numbers on the park by having Edu withdrawn for a second booking as he hit Nick Ross late.

The introduction of Shane Sutherland almost produced a goal but he was snuffed out in the box as he pulled the trigger.  He looked to be a more potent attacking option than the preferred Tade who had earlier been replaced by Aldred as Butcher shuffled the pack in light of Tokely's dismissal.

Naismith could have totally cheesed everybody off had he poked home a third, but he dragged his shot across the goal from the same spot Tokely had interupted his previous run; maybe he should have let him try his luck.

That was about it as Rangers held off a spirited Inverness challenge, but the story of the day was the penalty kicks that decided the outcome.

Full Time 0-2

Best for Inverness were along the back line with Ross Tokely dominant until his early bath.  Graeme Shinnie was superb and Chriss Hogg was back to his best.  Owain Tudur-Jones was posted missing along with Greg Tansey today, surprising really as they were on a big stage and given the glimpses so far this season they certainly underachieved today. 

Penalties apart, the other disappointing aspect of the game is our continuing lack of ability at throw-ins ......................... sort it.

Basement battle already next week as Inverness head to Aberdeen in what will now be seen as a crucial game by both sides this early in the season.