Moving on up

This rearranged fixture took second place Stenhousemuir North to face the Caley Jags, fresh out of the relegation play-off slot after last weeks dramatic win over Dumbarton. Stenhousemuir were looking to keep the pressure on top of the table Arbroath whilst Inverness could climb another place with a win. The Warriors were on a five game winning run that included a win over League leaders Arbroath recently. Luis Longstaff missed out for the hosts with Ben Brannan getting his second start. Nat Wedderburn was in the Warriors squad and Corey O'Donnell was the hot property to keep an eye on with nine League goals to his name was on the bench. Mathew Aitken and Matty Yates were back in the starting XI. It ended in the Caley Jags biggest win of the season with early first half goals from Ben Brannan and Charlie Gilmour followed by two quick second half strikes from Keith Bray and Paul Allan, who also rattled the post with a superb strike in the first half. We tailed away towards the end and McLuckie was unlucky as he hit the bar with a good effort from outside the box and Musa Dibaga saved an injury time penalty from Blair Alston after a dubious trip on a Stenny player bursting into the left side of the box. That win moves us above Montrose and into seventh place. Great win, plenty of goals and climbing the table. What's not to like.

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It had been a decent afternoon in the Highland capital and the weather had stayed fine into the evening, with just a gentle shower or two to moisten the pitch as the teams took to the park under the floodlights. All set for the game until we had a half hour delay to find a replacement referee after the first one broke!

Scott Kellacher was looking for his side to get off to a fast start and he got exactly that in both halfs. With just three minutes on the clock after a 35 minute delay, the impressive Ben Brannan opened the scoring. We moved the ball sharply from the left side across the face of the box where Calum MacLeod laid it off to Brannan who made the run into the box on the right side. He never really broke stride before rifling the ball high into the net from ten yards for his first goal for the Caley Jags. The perfect start for the hosts. Alas, seven minutes later we were level when Euan O'Reilly got on the end of a ball into the box after a fast break forward that caught us on the hop as we pushed forward. It went from bad to worse just four minutes later when Alfie Bavidge had to leave the pitch with what looked like a thigh/hamstring injury. As he limped off he was replaced by Billy Mckay and we all feared the worst in the stands. Fear not said Charlie Gilmour as he put us back in front three minutes later when he fired in following a corner as he drilled in the second ball. It was a really positive display from the hosts as they took the game to their more fancied opponents and Adam MacKinnon was unfortunate not to score as his twenty-five yard drive just cleared the corner of the bar. Both sides were playing some slick football and as the hosts opened up the visitors defence five minutes before the break Paul Allan's curling effort clattered the post halfway up with keeper Jamieson rooted to the spot. Just on the interval, Musa Dibaga had to make a scrambled dive across his goal as O'Reilly shot from the centre of the box following another incisive burst forward from the Warriors. A better connection might have been rewarded with a goal.

HALF TIME: 2-1

We stated the second half even faster than the first and within two minutes Keith Bray had diverted a superb driven cross from MacKinnon into the net from close range with his chest to make it 3-1. Well worked goal and more followed four minutes later when a slick move down the right ended with Paul Allan drilling home ably assisted by three or four willing helpers, Mckay with the killer ball. The wind was well and truly out of the Warriors sails by now as we controlled the next phase of the game with ease. With twenty minutes remaining the unfortunately named Bobby McLuckie was unlucky that Dibaga was in good form to push his drive round the post. He was even unMcLuckier minutes later with a tremendous effort that crashed back off Dibaga's crossbar as the visitors looked for a consolation goal. They almost achieved that with what might go down as a soft penalty award but Dibaga guessed right and smothered Blair Alston's spot-kick to his left and reached forward to grab the loose ball just in time. The stuff legends are made of.

FULL TIME: 4-1

Best performance of the season against a pretty slick Stenhousemuir. Paul Allan was the sponsors MotM. To be honest we were not short of contenders. How about Remi Savage who doubled up as a twinkle toed left winger at times. Danny Devine who was solid at the heart of the defence against the athletic Yates, Aitken and O'Reilly. Big Musa with a couple of crucial saves and the penalty stop. For me, the performance of Ben Brannan was outstanding. He brings a new dimension to our game with his foraging forward, his loooong throws, precise curling crosses and biting tackles. He was my pick. The only downside was the injury to Alfie Bavidge. Let's hope his substitution was more precautionary than serious.

The goals and Musa Dibaga’s penalty save from last night’s 4-1 win against Stenhousemuir

Our goals from Ben Brannan, Charlie Gilmour, Keith Bray and Paul Allan pic.twitter.com/ekSRMQfqTZ

— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) March 12, 2025

With Cove cuffing Kelty Hearts 0-4, the table now looks like this with eight games left.

The Eagle was too incisive for the Warriors in an entertaining contest as the Caley Jags consolidated their new found league position with a confident and sometimes swashbuckling performance. Alfie Bavidge came off wounded, but he was not the first to come off injured. We needed a replacement referee before the game started and a thirty-five minute delay ensued as another one was unearthed.

Seventh in the table now and the prospect of more to come.

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