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Sucker Punched Fifth versus seventh at the start of play today on Matchday 3 with the Warriors above unbeaten Inverness. Both sides had won last weekend and in the KDM Evolution Cup in midweek which hopefully tees this up to be an entertaining game in the Highlands on a warm Saturday afternoon. Liam Sole came off injured last weekend and was on the bench today with Bavidge, Zimba and Robbie Thompson. In a first half dominated by the hosts our profligacy kept the visitors in the game. All we had to show for it was a Paul Allan penalty. In stepped Gavin Duncan, allegedly a referee, to then award a penalty to Muir in their only attack of the first half for Matty Aitken to net from the spot. We could have been four up before this setback. We were pretty ineffective for most of the second half with the visitors playing more of the same rubbish. However, with ten minutes left Ross Taylor knocked in the winner after a break forward to ruin our afternoon in the Sun. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~By the time kick-off approached, it was a roasty-toasty afternoon with ample singing juice lubrication applied in Bar94 ahead of the game during the Meet & Greet with Allan Savage and 10CC. Inverness got the game underway shooting towards the South Stand and an early opportunity presented itself to Billy Mckay in the first minute, but his shot as he entered the box on the inside left position was weak and easily gathered by the keeper. Oscar McIntyre was prominent in most of the early moves but nobody in the box was able to turn his inviting crosses into the net. Longstaff might have done better twisting and turning his way into the box but was eventually blocked. McIntyre drove one from outside the box as the one way traffic continued and Alfie Stewart was denied by the feet of Darren Jamieson before he spilled an effort from Joe Chalmers, grabbing the ball quickly as it spun behind him. The pressure eventually paid off when Jamieson unceremoniously upended Mckay as he raced round the keeper. Paul Allan made no mistake from the spot, lashing the ball high into the net. Another low ball into the box caused havoc before being eventually cleared. Mckay then shot wide...Here we go we all thought. One up going on four. However, Gavin Duncan offered Stenny a lifeline with a soft free kick in midfield and compounded our frustration by eventually booking McIntyre. When the ball was launched forward, he then gave a foul for Devine's hands on attempt to get above the attacker. That foul was adjudged to be inside the box and despite protestations from the defence, a penalty was given which Matty Aitken dispatched easily. That seemed to take the wind out of our sails as half time approached. HALF TIME 1-1 We were a bit flat at the start of the second half before Paul Allan went off after a knock to be replaced by Alfie Bavidge who got his first shot away soon after with Jamieson saving at his near post. Something odd then happened. Something that I never expected. Ross Munro had to block a breakaway as Olly Whyte burst into the box. I never knew they were allowed to cross the half way line? Substitute Jordan Alonge was inches too high as he headed goalwards off a corner a minute after entering the field of play. Alas our early slackness in front of goal came back to haunt us as Ross Taylor beat Munro at his near post with ten minutes left after wandering into the box from the right and catching the keeper out by shooting early. Liam Sole and Alfie Bavidge were both denied by the keeper as we peppered their goal but it just never happened. Lordy Lordy that was as frustrating as it gets with Stenhousemuir sticking to their game plan and Inverness wasteful. 19 shots to 4, but it's goals that count. With seven saves, Darren Jamieson was the Warriors hero. We also had 9 corners which we wasted. That's a disturbing statistic that we need to address. FULL TIME: 1-2 Huge disappointment for the home fans who to a man/woman/person or anything that identifies as anything would have backed the hosts to take all three points. However, maybe a timely reminder that no League has ever been won after just three games. Despite the Caley Jags bombarding the Warriors all afternoon, it was the men from the Ochils that went home with the points as they refused to wilt in the Highland heat. Robert on CTO: That should have been a comfortable win but we paid the penalty for not being out of site in the first half. Some of our play and movement was top drawer in the first half but we are still too reluctant to shoot and chances go a begging as a result. The free kick in the lead up to the penalty was a shocking decision as MacIntyre won the ball cleanly (but he deserved his booking for walking away with the ball) and I thought the penalty was debatable: one I need to see again. We didn’t play nearly as well after the break but were well on top and should have been able to put the game to bed. Instead we got caught on the counter attack. A bad day at the office but we knew there would be bad days. The key thing is to learn from it and regroup for the Montrose game. No Listen! Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Accies 3 4 6 2 Queens 3 3 6 3 Alloa 2 2 6 4 Muir 3 1 6 5 Kelty 2 -2 3 6 PeterH 3 -3 3 7 E Fife 3 -3 3 8 ICTFC 3 4 1 9 Monty 3 -3 1 10 Cove 3 -3 1 Date: 16/08/2025 Venue: Caledonian SarensPSG Stadium Attendance: 1927 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 1Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Munro; MacLeod, Devine, Savage, McIntyre, Longstaff (Sole 75), Allan (Bavidge 59), Chalmers, Stewart, Wotherspoon (Alonge ), B Mckay (Zimba 79) Subs (not used): Ross; Clark, Strachan, Robertson, R Thompson Scorers: Mackay (22 pen) Booked: McIntyre (34), Devine (56) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 2Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: D Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Graham, Bilham (46), O'Reilly, Robson, Whyte, Anderson (McGill 50), McGill, Aitken (Taylor 70), Carrick (N Jamieson 84) Subs (not used): Gromov; Simpson Scorers: Aitken (35 pen), Booked: Meechan (41), O'Reilly (61), McGill (80) Sent Off: none