Same old, same old

Motherwell continue to hold the Indian sign over us after they completed a default 3-0 win over us at Fir Park.  They certainly have the knack of beating us as we have donated twelve points to their cause so far this season and boosted their goal difference by a staggering ten goals; that's the difference between them being second or tenth, such is the fine line between success and failure this season.

Who else but Michael Higdon opened the scoring after half an hour and Nicky Law added a second shortly after the break before Higdon again concluded the scoring.  Inverness matched the Steelmen in the first half but still found themselves a goal down before Well eased away from us to claim second spot and the Inverness bubble is seemingly leaking like a sieve, just like the defence.

An offside goal kept our dismal streak going, that's six games without a win and Billy McKay's drought is getting a tad worrying as it heads towards it's seventh match from open play.  The fans are getting restless and the hitherto Caley Jags rising stars are no longer getting the plaudits from the fans as the tension at the top begins to take it's toll.  Methinks the sooner Richie Foran gets better, the sooner we will get back on track.  He is someone you don't notice until he's not there, then the problems start and our threadbare squad gets exposed.

Capital Caley was on hand to witness the days event after his stroll from Glasgow........................

Off the Rails

The ICT faithful headed to South Lanarkshire for a ‘battle for second’ game against Motherwell looking to get back on track.  Caley Thistle have failed to gain a point against Motherwell this season and for the third game against the Steelmen, ICT were crushed.  156 away fans shared the Phil O’Donnell Stand with the home support.  Two of the Highland Marchers used the day as a training walk and completed a 17 mile walk from the West end of Glasgow to Fir Park.  There was some familiar faces in the Fir Park Social Club beforehand with most Inverness fans being very cautious about the game.  Caley Thistle were in much need of a win after the League Cup defeat to Hearts, SPL defeat to the Midden, Scottish Cup defeat to Kilmarnock, SPL defeat to Celtic and SPL draw against Killie.  The push for second was starting to falter before the match, but a victory would have taken ICT 4 points clear of Motherwell.  Unfortunately it was not to be.

Caley Thistle started the better team and were playing some very attractive football.  The type of football that saw us reach the heights of second in the first place.  However, in recent weeks although some of the midfield play has been great to watch, the final third has been poor.  In the opening 15 minutes of the game, Caley Thistle tested the Motherwell goal a couple of times but Darren Randolph was always comfortable.  After twenty five minutes Aaron Dorans' powerful shot was saved by Randolph and Andy Shinnie netted the rebound.  However, the linesman adjudged Shinnie to be offside.  It was certainly very tight and it did look like he was actually onside from our viewpoint.  Gary Warren was booked minutes later for a foul on Henrik Ojamaa.  A couple of minutes later Tom Hately's shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Ryan Esson to keep the score line even.  However, on the half hour mark, Motherwell took the lead.  Henrik Ojamaa appeared to miss hit the ball and it fell into the feet of Michael HIGDON who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

For all that initial good Caley Thistle play, it felt unfair to be 1-0 down at this point.  However, from the goal Motherwell took control of the game and ICT were never going to get back into it.  Motherwell started marking the Inverness players more tightly and closed them down quicker making it very difficult to carry on with the neat passing play we had previously seen.  Motherwell went close to extending their lead just before half time but Ojamaa's effort went just wide.  Although Motherwell started to play better after their goal, the ICT fans were encouraged by what they had seen for most of the first half and were optimistic that Caley Thistle would get back into the game in the second half. 

Half Time 1-0

Ross Draper was moved to the wide right position just after half time.  It seemed a very bizarre move and one that didn’t work.  The midfield looked lost for spells in the second half and the team were constantly out muscled by the Steelmen.  However, Caley Thistle nearly equalised just after half time when Nick Ross broke away inside the box but his shot soared just high of the goal.  However, Nicky LAW extended Motherwells lead six minutes after half time.   Sloppy defending after Ojamaa's shot helped the ball land to Law who drilled it into the back of the net.  There was a hint of hand ball in the build up play which angered the Caley Thistle faithful.  To make matters worse, a few minutes later there looked to be a hand ball again against a Motherwell player ; this time in the other box but the referee did not award a penalty.  The game was effectively over in the 55^th minute when Stewart Carswell found Michael HIGDON who volleyed the ball past Ryan Esson.  Owain-Tudur Jones was awarded the second and final booking of the match a couple of minutes later for a foul on Kallum Higginbotham.  There was absolutely no way back for Inverness now as Motherwell looked to extend their lead.  With twenty five minutes to go, ICT brought on Philip Roberts and Shane Sutherland for Aaron Doran and Billy McKay.  Shortly afterwards Motherwell made a change with Adam Cummins on for Simon Ramsden.  Motherwell then used the rest of their substitutes before Liam Polworth came on for Ross Draper for ICT.  The Steelmen were looking likely to add to the score line but luckily the score didn’t get any worse. 

Full Time 3-0

Here's the evidence, without the footage from within the social club..................

As the ICT fans left the stadium, many of us really struggled to name a man of the match.  Aaron Doran worked his socks off and Nick Ross was impressive but the second half performance all round was extremely poor.  That’s no victories in six games for Caley Thistle in all competitions.  We need a win against Hearts to help keep our top six hopes alive.  It is very tight, but all is not lost.  If we can get back to winning ways soon, we will secure top six.  it's time to exorcise the ghost of the League Cup Semi Final.  Onwards, to Tynecastle to get our top six campaign back on track.

16th Feb 2013	Scottish Premier League	Fir Park, Motherwell
Motherwell	3 - Higdon 30,56, Law 52
	TEAM: Randolph, Hammell, Law, Hutchinson, Hateley, Humphrey, Ojamaa (McHugh 76), Higdon, Higginbotham (Francis-Angol 75), Ramsden (Cummins 69), Carswell
	SUBS: Hollis, Saunders, Daley, Erwin
	Booked: none
	Sent Off: none
Inverness C.T.	0
	TEAM: Esson, Raven, G. Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, Jones, Doran (Roberts 67), Draper (Polworth 82), McKay (Sutherland 66), A. Shinnie, Ross.
	SUBS: Reguero, Pepper, Devine, Taylor,
	Booked: Warren, Tudur-Jones
	Sent Off: none
Referee	C Murray
Attendance	4179