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Precious Points Despite some heroics from Montrose keeper Harrison Sharp, especially in the first half, it was the hosts that took all three points thanks to a low strike from Chanka Zimba shortly after the break. Paul Allan, Liam Sole and David Wotherspoon were all denied by the Montrose stopper in the first five minutes with some great saves. Euan Louden might have done better but appeared to scuff his attempt allowing Ross Munro to eventually pull off a brilliant save after Graham Webster scooped the ball to him inside the box. Spoony was foiled again by the keeper before he hit a stunning 25 yard shot that smacked the bar, before Sole had another effort saved and there was still fifteen to go before the break with Zimba denied before the Interval. He wouldn't be denied five minutes after the restart after a bit of pressure around the visitors box ended with Sole keeping the ball alive for MacKinnon, then Robertson to drill a low ball into the box where big Chanka met the ball first time to divert low and hard, wrong-footing Sharp from six yards. Here we go we all surmised. Wrong. We seemed to lose our focus and Montrose were invited to come forward. Fair play to the Gable Endies as they ended the game looking more like the full time team with their endless supply of energy whilst we failed to create much more meaningful contributions with misplaced passes and losing out on so many second balls. We failed to put the game to bed which would have encouraged Montrose to have a go and they did. We were left hanging on precariously for the last quarter of the game. Mitchell Robertson might wonder how he missed the target with a header at the back post. The fans certainly did. We all held our breath when Webster's shot from distance ultimately curled just wide as we waited for the net to bulge behind a diving Munro. A game we should have wrapped up before the interval but ended the game a bit bedraggled after a revitalised Montrose realised they were still in with a shout. At the end of the day, whilst it was not aesthetically pleasing, it was a great three points as we hit the top of the table with Stenhousemuir drawing at Palmerston. FULL TIME: 1-0 Paul Allan was the sponsors MotM, but for me, Calum MacLeod did a great job at right back breaking up numerous attacks, especially in the second half. Lack of clinical finishing at home once more took the gloss off what should have been a routine win. And, we looked like we were playing in slippers, falling around all over the park. Sort it! Cove up North next week. Let's do this! Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 ICTFC 12 13 23 2 Stenny 12 5 22 3 Alloa 12 5 20 4 P'Head 12 1 19 5 E Fife 12 1 19 6 Queen 12 -1 17 7 Accies 12 14 15 8 Monty 12 -12 11 9 Kelty 12 -16 7 10 Cove 12 -10 5 Date: 01/11/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2144 Referee: Sean Murdoch Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Munro; MacLeod, Devine, Robertson, Savage, Sole (Longstaff 66), Allan, Chalmers, MacKinnon (Stewart 66), Wotherspoon (MacIntyre 88), Zimba (Bavidge 73) Subs (not used): Ross; Clark, S Thompson, Alonge Scorers: Zimba (49) Booked: Wotherspoon (33), Devine (40) Sent Off: none Montrose FC 0 Manager: Stewart Petrie Lineup: Sharp; Bertie (Towler 89), Dillon, Williamson (Machado 80), Steeves, Webster, Masson, Gibson (Lyons 72), Freeman, Stevenson (Sandilands 72), Louden (McClenents 80) Subs (not used): Millar; Brown, May, Waddell Scorers: none Booked: Louden (58), Gibson (68) Sent Off: none