Leaderboard

Smokies Kippered On a blustery day more akin to AA Milne and Winnie the Pooh, Arbroath and Inverness battled it out to see who would get the final nails hammered into their coffins. Arbroath were in the last chance snug in the last chance saloon, whilst Inverness have one foot in the grave. I don't believe it! Arbroath tried everything, they even took their own wind with them. However, they had Murray, Bird and Slater on from the start but O'Brien missed out. Zak Delaney also started for the Red Lichties. A bright opening spell saw Alex Samuel denied twice inside five minutes. Once by a combination of Max Boruc and his crossbar, the second by Boruc on his own as Samuel got his shot away from inside the box. Wallace Duffy got the goal we deserved on the interval as he drove across the keeper from the right side of the box to put us in ahead at the break. Leighton McIntosh restored parity on the hour as he drilled home from eighteen yards, but Alex Samuel won the points with a late strike to all but relegate ten man Arbroath who had Ricky Little sent off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arbroath were on the back foot from the off as Inverness had the wind at their backs and Austin Samuel was unlucky not to open the scoring in the fourth minute as he turned and shot from the edge of the box. However Max Boruc brilliantly tipped his shot onto the bar. A minute later he got on the end of a ball in the box and forced another save from Boruc as we looked like turning the Smokies over. Max Anderson was also thwarted by Boruc when through on goal when Anderson should have been bulging the net. Despite our superiority, we struggled thereafter to create that premium opening until the stroke of half time when Wallace Duffy drilled in from the right side of the box. Unfortunately we lost Remi Savage to injury just before the goal and he was replaced by Danny Devine after an accidental kick in the face from Kerr. Half Time: 1-0 Just after the break Billy Mckay saw an effort saved from fifteen yards. However, we made heavy weather of a Smokies foray forward and Leighton McIntosh levelled the game fifteen minutes into the second half with a great strike from the edge of the box. Devine headed badly wide when his threepenny bit head nodded astray as we looked to get our noses back in front and Samuel was denied by Boruc as he ran through on goal, the keeper doing well to deny the striker for the third time. Boruc punced away a Cammy Harper free kick Arbroath were reduced to ten men when persistent fouler Ricky Little was dismissed. Alex Samuel got the goal his tenacious display deserved as he won a ball into the box he had no right to win. He then turned and lashed it home from fifteen yards on the left side of the box, I think he enjoyed that one. Great finish from the wee battler. FULL TIME: 2-1 Alex Samuel scored his fifth goal for the Caley Jags and his first since his hat-trick against Raith Rovers at the end of January. He was the difference between the sides today as Arbroath struggled to cope with his aggressive style which eventually led to his winning goal. Good to see the much maligned Wallace Duffy scoring as well, his second in a couple of weeks having also netted at Tannadice. Sadly for Arbroath they will now be relegated at the end of the season unless they perform a miracle. More match reaction to follow>>> Date: 06/04/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2223 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carragher, Boyes, Savage (Savage 44), Duffy, Kerr, Anderson, Lawal (Longstaff 73), Harper, Samuel, B Mckay (Doran 88) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ujdur, MacGregor, Brooks, Pepple Scorers: Duffy (45+1), Samuel (80) Booked: none Sent Off: none Arbroath: 1 Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Boruc; Walker (Lyon 64), Slater, Little, Murray (Dow 73), Gold (McKenna 34), Mackinnon, Delaney, Bird (Stowe 73), Stewart, McIntosh Subs (not used): Gaston; Steele, Teale, Jacobs, Robinson Scorers: McIntosh (61) Booked: Little (31), Little (76) Stowe (85) Sent Off: Little (76) a

Massive three points Dom Thomas missed out again for Queens Park who had former Inverness Captain Sean Welsh and Cillian Sheridan starting with Will Tizzard back in defence. James Carragher and Remi Savage were missing from the heart of the visitors defence who had Luis Longstaff and Aaron Doran getting a rare start. Just under 1500 fans rattled around inside the national stadium for the proverbial six-pointer at the bottom of the table with Inverness looking to get out of the play-off place and Queens one point ahead at the start of the game. In a tense first half Cammy Harper scored a stunning free kick after Cillian Sheridan had handled 25 yards out. Boom! That's how it ended despite QP upping their game in the second period as Inverness kept them at bay. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hampden Park was rocking as the game got underway and there was an early corner for the Spiders after Luis Longstaff blocked an effort from Jack Thomson in the second minute. Billy Mckay was fouled on the edge of the box but the free kick was wasted by Cammy Kerr who fired well over the bar. Sean Welsh had an effort blocked from the right side of the box after twenty minutes. With little happening in the opening exchanges, the visitors opened the scoring out of the blue through Cammy Harper direct from a free kick. Top corner from Harper from around twenty-five yards. What a strike to grace Hampden Park. Mckay shot over after being fed towards goal ten minutes before the break. Alex Samuel was denied by Ferrie five minutes before the interval as the keeper saved in the bottom corner to deny the striker from distance. On the stroke of half time Ruari Paton shot over and it remained 1-0 to the Caley Jags. HALF TIME: 0-1 Queens made two changes at the break with Robson and McKinstry replacing Tizzard and Carse. Ridgers saved a thumping low effort from Cillian Sheridan after the restart and Welsh headed wide followed by Jack Turner being denied by Ridgers as Queens Park showed their intent after a poor first forty-five. Sub McKinstry was next to try as he shot wide, but the pressure was mounting on the visitors goal. Ferguson made his first change of the afternoon, replacing Longstaff with Samson Lawal. The wee midfilder saw no takers for a cut back after Mckay sent him into the box. Ridgers saved from Paton as Queens looked to get back on level terms. Mckay saw Ferrie stop him and Paton was denied another twice by Ridgers as the clock ticked down. Inverness held on to take a valuable three points home in the relegation battle. Check pulse..... And breathe... FULL TIME: 0-1 What a strike from Cammy Harper to lift us above Queens Park. Immortal Howden Ender summed up like this: Well I wouldn't exactly say that it was comfortable but we looked in control for the most and survived some hairy moments. Ridgers wasn't really tested but that is due to the back four being simply immense. Devine was absolutely outstanding and Boyes, Duffy and Harper were close behind. What a free kick from Harper which turned out to be the winner. Kerr played in a strange position in a cross between a full back and wing back. Anderson outshone Longstaff although committment was never in doubt. Billy would have had a comfortable brace in days of yore. Samuel is a McGinn version of a centre forward and sure knows how to win a foul. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts We have scraped ourselves into eighth. Still work to do yet though. 1. Dundee Utd 33 20 8 5 68 22 68 2. Raith Rovers 33 18 8 7 52 42 62 3. Partick Thistle 33 13 12 8 58 50 51 4. Airdrieonians 33 15 6 12 44 38 51 5. Dunfermline 33 11 9 13 39 44 42 6. Ayr United 33 12 6 15 50 57 42 7. Morton 33 11 8 14 40 42 41 8. Inverness CT 33 9 11 13 37 37 38 9. Queens Park 33 9 9 15 43 56 36 10. Arbroath 33 6 5 22 34 77 23 Date: 13/04/2024 Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Attendance: 1463 Referee: Alan Muir Queens Park: 0 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Ferrie; Thomson, Wilson, Tizzard (Robson 45), Longridge, Turner (Mauchin 74), Welsh, Carse (McKinstry 45), Scott (Williamson 84), Paton, Sheridan (McLeish 74) Subs (not used): Wills; Bruce, Fox, Bannon Scorers: none Booked: Welsh (86) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine, Boyes, Harper, Longstaff (Lawal 55), Kerr, Anderson, Doran (MacGregor 77), Alex Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 80) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Ujdur, Austin Samuels, Brooks Scorers: Harper (25) Booked: Doran (76), MacGregor (85) Sent Off: none a