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Leanne Dempster own goals.

Having grass and white lines on it can sometimes prove challenging enough.

Do people really beleive the atmosphere in the North Stand is any better than the Main Stand. I sit in the Main Stand and there is barely any noise comes from the North Stand. Not that the Main Stand is any better mind you. There is a lot wrong with the club at the moment but sometimes it seems people are looking for ways to make things even more negative. The club must of thought they would save money on stewarding and catering and so on. If I was told the Main Stand was to be shut as a one off and had to move to the North Stand I would do it. I would do it because I'd still want to watch and support the team. I just find it strange there has been so much made of the decision.

The defence keeps making schoolboy errors which is costing us dear. If that doesn’t get sorted out asap then the season is a goner.

I didn’t think I was that positive as the first half was woeful. However, until Duffy’s gift, I thought we were going to kick on and win it, whilst our attitude and effort in the second half was chalk and cheese from the first half. At least we managed to equalise after that howler and well done to young Cairns for being in the right place at the right time. I thought Shaw made a difference when he came on today as he was happy to run at defenders. Allardice is getting back up to speed and I’d start Harper at left back ahead of Delaney next week. After a good start with us, Delaney seems to have faded recently and has had a torrid time in the last two league games. An update on the injury position would be helpful. Sean Welsh was missing, which is a concern. Lewis Nicolson has not been in the squad for the last two games so is presumably injured at present. He should get a run in the team in my opinion. Ben Woods has vanished after being used as a sub just after he signed. Then we have MacGregor, Samuels, Sutherland, Walsh and Deas: an indication of how they are progressing and likely timescales for returning would be helpful.

A game of two halves. First half we continued with the way we played against Queens Park in the cup and looked toothless and clueless. Delaney gifted Morton the early lead with a wayward pass across the back and was very lucky not to concede a penalty a few minutes later: all that within the opening 10 minutes. Doran had our best chance but repeated what happened on Tuesday and could not control the ball when clean through on the ‘keeper. The attitude and approach was totally different in the second half. Harper moved to left back with Hyde alongside Allardice in the middle, Delaney being hooked. Shaw replaced Doran with Mackay moving into the number 10 role. We were positive, moved the ball fast, took on defenders and looked dangerous. Mckay tapped in after sustained pressure. At that point we should have kicked on and won comfortably but Duffy got caught out at a long ball and gifted Morton the lead. That’s four goals we have gifted in five days! Late sub Cairns then got a poacher’s goal to tie things up after good pressure. A draw was a probably fair result but we’d have won it but for our slackness: that needs sorted. However Morton created more chances than us and Ridgers was called into action more than their ‘keeper. After the woeful first half I didn’t see us even getting a point but we should have got three. Ridgers, Devine, Duffy and Delaney have all contributed to the goals we conceded in the last two games. We need to cut out basic errors. On a positive, after a first half when it looked like the players were not playing for each other and the team, the second half attitude and endeavour was good to see. We are still in the play off hunt but need to start winning soon, and we’ve a double header with Hamilton and need to aim for six points.

Cairns bought them back lol

Time to put Morton in their place and win the three points. It may not be pretty, it is unlikely to be easy, but we need the win. A great performance would be a nice bonus too.

ICTFC Scottish Cup hall of fame James Vincent Jamie MacDonald Euan Henderson

Mid Table Ton of Trouble It's the struggle for mid table supremacy once more as Morton head North where they will fancy their chances against a team they have already beaten home and away this season. Saturday at 3:00pm is the scheduled start for this one with George Oakley likely to be in the Morton line-up having scored on his debut last week. We are gradually getting players back but it's not an instant fix with Allardice and Harper getting back up to speed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup Update ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Queens Park being dumped out of the Scottish Cup, we now face Livingston away next Saturday 11th February Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 4 4 46 18 +28 Away 18 10 3 5 35 23 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 38 22 7 9 81 41 +40 One to forget: 0 - 4 Morton Madness: An injury hit Inverness side went to Cappielow with expectations low and they didn't disappoint. Muirhead opened the scoring against the run of play in the fifth minute after Ridgers allowed a shot to go through him. A second soon followed after a soft penalty award when Ambrose went to ground in the box. Gillespie scored from the rebounded penalty. Worse was to follow when David Carson inexplicably headed a corner behind Ridgers under no pressure. Blues added a fourth with twenty minutes left despite Inverness dominating the ball. Defeat by a weakened team against the form team on a run is bearable, what is more difficult to grasp is the substitution of your keeper at half-time and the silence that followed it. More to come over the next week or two methinks. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) Until fairly recently, we had only ever lost once at home to Morton. How times change, and not for the better. The 4-0 thrashing at Cappielow was one of the low points of this season so far and a sign that all was not right behind closed doors. Add that to the 1-0 loss at the Caledonian Stadium and it's easy to believe that the downward spiral is incoming. Thankfully, we have perked up a bit since 2023 arrived but we are far from the finished article yet. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Queens Park 22 12 4 6 44 30 40 2. Ayr United 22 11 6 5 46 29 39 3. Dundee 21 11 5 5 36 25 38 4. Partick Thistle 22 10 3 9 42 37 33 5. Inverness CT 22 8 7 7 32 30 31 6. Morton 21 8 6 7 29 24 30 7. Raith Rovers 23 8 6 9 30 31 30 8. Cove Rangers 22 5 7 10 30 47 22 9. Arbroath 23 4 9 10 22 37 21 10. Hamilton Ac. 22 4 5 13 18 39 17 FRIDAY 3RD FEBRUARY Queens Pk v Ayr United SATURDAY 4TH FEBRUARY Accies v Dundee Arbroath v Raith Rvrs Caley Jags v Morton Partick Thistle v Cove Rangers Last Time Out Inverness were sort of knocked out of the Scottish Cup by an eager Queens Park on Tuesday night. However they may have been too eager and fielded an ineligible player in the shape of Euan Henderson. If the SFA are consistent, then Inverness will progress to face Livingston in a couple of weeks. That aside, we were poor against Queens who deservedly won the game on the park 2-0 with second half strikes from Thomas and Williamson. Our last League game was a 2-2 draw with a similarly resurgent Raith Rovers. We came from behind twice to earn our point through Jay Henderson and Billy Mckay. Vaughan and Connolly had given Raith the lead twice. We are unbeaten in the league since the turn of the year with two wins and two draws. Morton have slipped below Inverness in the table thanks to two draws and three defeats on the bounce (four if you include the Cup), the last one coming last Saturday at home to Arbroath but they have a game in hand. George Oakley took only four minutes to open his Morton account but the Smokies hit back with second half goals from Hamilton and long range effort from McKenna to deservedly take the points against a disappointing Greenock side. Morton have won both League matches against the Caley Jags this season. A 0 - 1 win in the Highlands was followed by an embarrassing 0 - 4 thrashing at Cappielow where the Ridgers Rift started as he was subbed at the interval with Inverness 3-0 down to a rampant Morton. Morton's current winless run goes back seven games to November 26th when they beat Queen of the South 4-1 in the Scottish Cup. Latest Team News Scott Allardice and Cammy Harper did get some game time over the last couple of weeks but it's fair to say that both are still feeling their way back to match sharpness. Eric's Morton catch-up. 1st. February 2023 a statement from Greenock Morton FC states that Central defender Alan Lithgow has left the club by mutual consent. Since signing at the start of season 2021/22 the 34-year-old has made a total of 49 appearances for the club. He has since joined East Kilbride. Also having left the club are defender Darren Hynes transferred to Clyde FC and joining Airdrieonians was midfield player Lewis Macgregor. Kyle Jacobs, midfielder (Edinburgh, loan to permanent). Loan ended: Jaze Kabia, midfielder (Livingston). Joining Morton is one time product of the Celtic FC youth programme, midfielder Calvin Miller who had been without a club since leaving Chesterfield FC back in October 2022. On loan from Glentoran is Ally Roy a centre forward. Another centre forward and familiar name in Inverness is George Oakley who transferred on a free during the January transfer window and has already opened his Morton account after 4 minutes in the job.

2 points lost or 1 point gained. I’m of a different opinion to Robert. First half we were insipid uninspiring and way off the pace Morton should have had a couple but thankfully only went in at 1 down. Second half started off with us driving at them with pace and positivity which resulted in Billy’s goal. We then slowed it down again and Morton created a few chances Duffy then made a mistake which led to them scoring. Ethan Cairns take a bow first touch and an equaliser. Maybe an inspired substitute? We only seemed to come to life when losing. If we have ambitions for promotion we should be beating teams like Morton at home I will also be listening to what Dodds has to say after claiming these games are must wins

Should've taken the game away from them in the second half. Played much better with the changes made at halftime. Apart from the shaky first 20 minutes morton looked pretty toothless and only escaped with a point thanks to the generosity shown by our defenders. As the shine truly has come off Imrie I'm sure he'll be happier with the point than Dodds. Stolen point?

Not as broken as my football club

I genuinely admire your positivity, Robert...but no way was that a fair result. We stole a point today!

I'm sure we'll find out in the next of the club's regular communications

I will be happy if we keep the ball on the grass for once rather than resorting to hoofball.

From Livy's website - Prices for our Scottish Cup fifth round tie with Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday 11th February 2023 have now been confirmed. These have been set at a discounted rate as agreed by both clubs. Adult: £15 Concession: £10 Under 16: £5

Interesting move for Matheus Machado. After joining Rothes from Elgin in the summer, he has now joined play off chasing Montrose in League 1. A bit of a step up for him. Lewis Jamieson is back at St Mirren after his loan spell at Airdrie.

I really hope that the training this week has involved keeping the ball, more than a couple of passes and passing it to a team mate, having more shots on goal wouldn't go amiss either. Most teams that we have played this season seem to have a better passing game than us, and when we do manage to string a few passes together, it usually ends up in a chance of a goal, or even on the rare occasion a goal. So let's hope for a better performance from the team, and three very precious points.

Add the referee who missed Meekings’ hand ball in the semi too. Regarding Tuesday’s attendance, I think the main factor in the low crowd was the £20 admission fee. £10 would probably have generated the same revenue with a much noisier crowd and overcome the need for the North Stand closure. Maybe our good fortune in getting through to the next round is the bit of luck we need to kick start our season. We will know soon enough. Morton tomorrow, a double header against Hamilton then Dundee away this month will make or break our season. Ideally we win our home games and, at worst, avoid defeats in the away games.

As I said the NS closure was final nail that made us decide to give it a miss. Think DD post above explains why folk like sitting in their own seat with same folk around them. I haven't mentioned atmosphere at all. Think someone already mentioned how club could have opened it without extra turnstiles/catering etc.

I can't decide if this is good news or bad. If we get more injuries and lose, obvs not great...it's match one would call a 'free hit' and since we weren't due to play next week, a competitive game might be good [not sure if playing on their 3G pitch is great for tender limbs?].....of course if we win tomorrow, beat Livi next week with Samuels scoring on a surprise return, and win the following match against the Accies everything will feel great! Surely that wont happen? and yes I am certifiable!

add Mark Viduka

Deserve has nothing to do with it. I'd imagine QP fans are rightly seething at this incompetence from their club.

Proper decision... not that we deserved it!

If anyone seriously thinks opening the North stand would have boosted the attendance, they are kidding themselves. I think there were certainly more than the 800 plus crowd announced but probably no more than a 1000/1200. The sad fact of life is that the people of Inverness just have no connection to the club and only attend for "big" games. We have our core of around 2000 fans but rarely does that increase. Even Dunfermline and Falkirk in the league below us will get better crowds than us. How we solve the conundrum of getting more people to attend, I don't know but it does strike me that a lot of posters on here and Pie and Bovril find it easier to give reasons not to attend than actually go to games. Oh, and for the record, I was one of the fans in the main stand on Tuesday shouting for Dodds to go so not a happy clapper.

yes

We beat Livi this season, we also beat them in the Scottish Cup 2 years ago.

The suggestion from the supporters trust just before Christmas in a meeting with the club was that as part of the West Stand improvements was that the area near the half way line was made into a proper raised and covered area for people in wheelchairs. This way they would actually have a decent view and be properly covered. The club apparently accused them of trying to hijack the improvements and that it will be looked at in a 'future phase'. There have been no improvements made to the stadium in all the years I've been going to games and personally it's not a case of this group v that group but little will be done when the club doesn't communicate, doesn't follow through on this things it says it will do and stonewalls folk at every opportunity.

Maybe get them all a bus shelter to huddle under....the same as fans in wheelchairs are made to do

We actually went one round further this year: fourth rather than third. May 2015 seems a lifetime ago, as does knocking County out a couple of seasons back. That was as bad a performance as I can remember in a long time. Other than after we weathered the early storm and Henderson hit the post, we were second best all over the park. Doran had a great chance but got his feet in a tangle, although I’m certain he was offside when played through. Other than that, we did nothing. Queens Park passed better, moved better, won all the second balls, created the better chances and could have won more comfortably. They knew how to play us and we had no answer. They pressed us so we couldn’t play out from the back, and when we went long as a result they invariably regained possession. Boateng mopped everything up in midfield and Mckay had no hope against their tall defenders. We needed a Plan B to keep the ball from goal kicks and throw ins but we failed to have one. As for the goals, I’m a fan of Devine but his wayward pass loosely towards Duffy created the first gift, whilst goodness knows how neither him nor Ridgers took control as they jointly gifted the second. We had some hopes that our fortunes had changed in recent weeks, but tonight was very, very poor. We need a reaction on Saturday or our season is well and truly over. 869 of us gave up our time on a miserable Tuesday and got absolutely no reward. We can’t even blame the weather or the officials. Not good at all.

Aaron Doran replaced Cameron Harper at the interval and seven minutes later he passed up a good opportunity as he lost his footing when fed through on goal by Billy Mckay. The two Henderson's had efforts shortly after with Ridgers blocking Euan's with his legs when through on goal before Jay shot over. He would shoot over again after 65 minutes. The dangerous Euan Henderson was replaced with twenty minutes remaining. Thomas saw Ridgers save his effort and Danny Devine headed wide after a corner. Thomas would not be denied though and he curled Queens Park in front with an excellent strike from outside the box. Minutes later, Scott Williamson was next to be denied after hitting the post as Queens looked to kill the tie off. Billy Mckay latched onto the ball in the box but Callum Ferrie was equal to it. Mckay then scooped a ball from Welsh into the box over the bar as the game slipped away from Inverness. With five minutes remaining it certainly did just that as Williamson swept home number two. A poor night for the hosts who never really got to grips with the pace of the game. FULL TIME: 0-2

Half Time: 0-0 Queens Park started the liveliest and Stephen Eze fired over after fifteen minutes with Sean Welsh replicating a minute later at the other end. Jay Henderson struck the post from just outside the box as Inverness got up to speed and Cammy Harper tested Ferrie in the visitors goal. New signing Euan Henderson broke clear and brought Mark Ridgers into action and the keeper did well to keep the scores level. Queens shoot on site policy meant Ridgers was the busier keeper and he would deny Henderson again as half time approached followed by a save from Tommy Robson and then Dom Thomas as Queens pressed for the opening goal. Louis Longridge was next up to have a go and Ridgers was there once more to ensure it stayed level at the break with Queens having the better of the first 45.