Leaderboard

Devil's advacate here but if all the youth loanees aren't good enough to get significant game time out on loan at part time clubs in much lower tiers then perhaps Dunc was right that they aren't good enough for Championship level. We should be looking for our youngsters to kick on and show they are ready to step up and play higher levels which currently doesn't seem the case. Worrying times if we don't have funds for experience as I don't fancy a team built on our youngsters.

Just got home and realised that instead of travelling to Montrose and enduring that p1sh, I could’ve stayed at home and watched the Eurovision semi-final!

That was awful!! No urgency, passion or desire.

Second Half Samuel got the first proper effort of the second half away as he shot from the edge of the box , but Cammy Gill was equal to it as he saved low down to his right. Montrose responded and Danny Devine did well to block a fierce shot on the edge of the Inveness box from Shrive. The pace of the game had thankfully picked up since the interval and Billy Mckay was close to linking inside the home area. However it was Montrose that went close again through Lyons. On the hour Duffy replaced Savage and Callaghan came on for Shrive. Ridgers easily gathered a flicked header as Montrose threatened from a free kick. Lawal found himself with the ball at his feet 10 yards from goal but he hastily stabbed his shot goalwards and Gill gathered comfortably. Ridgers did likewise as Webster tried a first time volley with twenty minutes left. Another free header from a free kick bounced past Ridgers' post as Inverness struggled to make any headway. With fifteen minutes left Carragher and McAllister entered the game. Inverness were reduced to hoofing the ball anywhere out of defence as Montrose looked to up the pressure. Another really poor gutless performance from Ferguson's side who will have to do much better if they are to stay up. Utter drivel springs to mind. FULL TIME: 0-0 All to play for next week

As I saw it in the first half. Montrose now know they have nothing to fear. Grim Stuff Inverness had a couple of fresh injury concerns ahead of this first Leg play off encounter at Links Park, and with the effect an artificial surface can have on recovering players James Carragher and Sean McAllister were benched with Samson Lawal getting a rare start. Alex Samuel had recovered from his face knock and will be our main target up front. Montrose had top scorers Kane Hester, Blair Lyons and Graham Webster on from the start with chief assister Michael Gardyne probing and providing the ammunition. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright start for Montrose as they ventured into the Inverness box a couple of times in the opening few minutes without troubling Mark Ridgers in goal. The visitors looked edgy on the unfamiliar surface and found it difficult to get forward, but that's nothing new for us to be honest. In the ninth minute Ridgers pulled off a brilliant save low down to his left to deny Graham Webster after determined work by Blair Lyons down the left. Webster got plenty power on his shot but Ridgers did enough to put the ball behind for a corner. Bit of pinball in the box after the corner but Ridgers eventually mopped up the loose ball. Fifteen minutes in and it's the hosts that are making all the early running with Inverness opting to pass sideways and backwards. Half an hour gone and the current Championship side have failed to muster a decent attempt on goal. Shockingly poor display from us, a spinning turn and drag from Samson Lawal our only highlight. Ridgers was called into action again as he denied a deflected shot from Kane Hester and then we had to look sharp to block another effort from him before scrambling the ball out for a corner. Meanwhile we continued to play possession football which has never won anything and troubled no defence ever. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz. Rudely awoken from my slumber by an effort from Alex Samuel slipping by the post five minutes before the break as we eventually tried something. Oooft, almost on the interval and Lawal smashed a tremendous strike from over twenty-five yards but it smacked the junction of the bar and out to safety. Bit of a stramash in the home box as Pixie Lot followed a seagull heading towards the Inverness box. When Pixie caught up Montrose were awarded a free kick in their own box. We woke up briefly as half time approached but up until then it was shockingly poor. HALF TIME: 0-0

We are a disgrace to the jersey so far. Absolutely honking.

So either the club is being sleekit with it's media (quite possible) or we're so tinpot that they don't actually know the regulations (also quite possible). Nobody expected the season tickets to include play off games whatever the situation, they just don't like being fed a BS line about it being out of the club's hands. They also forgot to add in the 16 to 20 discount tickets for the North Stand initially on the announcement and had to change that.

Links Park is a football stadium in Montrose, Scotland. It has been the home ground of Montrose F.C. since 1887. Links Park was opened in 1887 on land rented from the 'Auld Kirk'. To help finance the new ground, Montrose F.C. rented the pitch out for circuses and livestock grazing. ------------------- We've tried everything else at our place maybe this is worth a go?

Oh and Big Dunc - nul points!

Usual stuff. No urgency at all.

Thought big Dunc said the players were up for it? This is a worry.

I’m just going by the BBC text, but Montrose have had three attempts saved in the opening 10 minutes.

Apparently from sources at Montrose we have sold around 160 inverness tickets.

We are unbeaten in relegation playoffs, right? 🙂

If we were the lower league team in a cup tie we would be looking at a possible upset and Montrose will be no different. Never underestimate motivation in a football match. Remember Bonnyrigg back in the summer, and Stirling Albion and Brechin in recent seasons. Unfortunately won't make this one as I have a long standing arrangement I can't get out of. So no return to Links Park since we won there on the way to the league trophy under Pele in 1997. Goals from Trigger and Stewartie made sure we went home happy and the seethe from the Mo fans was formidable 😂

It would be nice to get a report on how our young players out on loan developed at there respective clubs. I know Bray + Thompson struggled to get much game time at Elgin and Spartans at times. Cairns netted a few at BOD. I heard Walker was impressive at Forres. Not sure about Mackay and Strachan at Nairn. Are all of these boys out of contract?? Bar Harper there are no local players involved under Ferguson which is a disgrace. *Edit Nixon was also at Forres

Well, plenty of clowns that's true.

I think you’ll find there’s been a bit of a circus on oor pitch for quite some time now…

Given our poor home form, I see tomorrow’s game as one we need to win, and preferably win well. We’ve finished the season quite well with 10 points out of 15 and a couple of decent performances against Raith and Morton, so hopefully confidence is high. We need to be on the front foot and go for it. I just hope there is no complacency, as this Montrose team is no push over.

We will absolutely batter these part timers and show them why the seaside leagues is no place for a club like ours.

As I said, I've got my ticket. The point is the club shouldn't be telling people that it's spfl rules if it isn't. It's as if they're suggesting "nothing we can do about it". It's misleading.

What's the issue here. As a season ticket holder, I'm happy to pay for the play off games. I certainly had no expectation that it would be included in my season ticket. I guess the club have got it wrong in terms of what they stated but given we need as much revenue as we can, so you need to pay. As an aside, interesting to note from the Courier article how the Championship have been stitched up by the Premier league.

Yes and this has occurred in an era of 5 consecutive managers who had been forwards themselves!

Can't wait to possibly play Hamilton in the play offs, such an odious club and not one that brings a lot of positive memories with that one top of the **** list

Without going over the same old points I've made before some of which are already above. Ponder this, in many sections of the media Dougie and hid Morton are lauded for an amazing season and yet only 3 points above us which turns out to be 5th and best if the rest. Similar the job of Brown at Ayr and Davidson at QP is again praised yet both within 2 points. Has Dunc been as poor as some fans suggest or is it an exceptionally tight season? Point being we have been poor but it's at creating and scoring, our defence was 2nd best overall and we have positive goal difference. Still enough room for optimism for play offs and to build on. Recruitment last summer was poor and Dodds tenure this season set us on a negative path. Whether he knew the cost cutting was coming and chucked it, who knows but Jan saw an axe yielded and influx of loans with blame allowed to be directed at Dunc when it's the board driving that philosophy. Perhaps the fact he isn't phased by this criticism and negativity suggests he's gotba 'thick skin' so is the right character to take the inevitable backlash when this summer more players are cut and deals struck to minimise player costs at the expense of known quality.

Davide Xausa just got elected to the board of directors of “Canada Soccer”. With the 2026 World Cup prep happening and a new national team manager to find after John Herdman took the Toronto FC job at the end of last season he may be a busy man.

Well done Alex very well deserved not only for your contribution every game but for the shocking treatment you receive from the opposition. You deserve a medal for rising above it and never complaining .I really hope you can stay with us for next season . PotY next hopefully.

That's certainly one in a long line of poor decisions from our current CEO (and by letting him make them the board). I think appointing Foran as manager (and in our typical way letting him linger way too long after it clearly wasn't working out) was a huge error. Appointing Yvonne Crook as CEO (yes remember her) was a huge error as she knew absolutely nothing about football or running a football club. We of course followed up with Scot 'Bluenose' Gardiner, while having at least a football background he left a trail of clubs where if we'd spent 5 mins speaking to his previous clubs and their supporters you'd get a clear picture of narcissistic incompetence. Admittedly he has achieved a lot since arriving - alienating fans, betraying local businesses, disrespecting and ignoring the Trust, half empty concerts, failed fan forums, failed 'raise the roof' campain, overt obsessive pro-Rangers stance, BS re the Freeport benefits and a continuous slide downwards on the pitch. To name a few. I do appreciate the board and others who have contributed financially however these appointments are their doing and they have to take responsibility for that. On the park we've had Robbo who stepped back as manager and we kept paying him for years to do God knows what, thereafter Billy likes Fitba who while seemed a nice guy wasn't up to the task and his recruitment was pretty atrocious. Now we have Big Dunc on an alleged £4k a week with whom I've seen nothing to give me much confidence he can recruit or manage the team at anything more than a bog standard level. I could prattle on but you get the gist. Every time me make a big decision especially around recruitment, it's a poor one and we let people linger around far too long.

The final slide down the slipway started with us reaching the cup final, it kept Dodds in the job. Without that reprieve we may very well have had a new manager in place before the season started and hopefully have avoided the disastrous start to the season.

Oh well, at least we didn’t lose.

We’ve been honking, lucky to be level after some flakey defending early on. A great save by Ridgers too. Odd flashes of skill from Lawal the only bright spot.

Half time 0-0. 6 attempts by Montrose, 4 on target. Just 2 by us, including Lawal hitting the bar The comments from those watching are very concerning: glad I didn’t buy the live stream as I’d have missed half the first half. Hopefully they waken up after the break, as a draw here will be a bad result and a defeat even worse.