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We face Hamilton Accies on Saturday in the Championship, fresh from our mauling of Morton last weekend, but can we sustain that level of intensity as we enter the heavy winter schedule? The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with live streaming available from ICTV at £15 if you are unable to get to the stadium. We are due Accies a doing after our lousy performance down there on 2nd October against ten men for over an hour. Let's hope we can continue to build on our performance from last weekend. If not, Raith, Arbroath, Killie and Partick are waiting in the wings...

Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener as his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom!

Back to the Championship: As if we have not played Morton often enough over the last few weeks we have to play them again on Saturday, the fourth meeting already this season. However, this is infinitely more important than the last couple of 1-1 draws. It's back to the Championship on Saturday and a chance to atone for dropping out of the Scottish Cup to Morton after a penalty shoot-out defeat. 

Cup of woe: Morton took a first half lead just before the break when Robbie Muirhead shot home from outside the box into the bottom corner. Parity was restored a minute into the second half when a Doran free kick ended in the net, possibly aided by the head of Danny Devine or a Morton body. No further scoring sent the game to a penalty shoot-out. Plenty of good penalties on show and with Devine failing to score, Oliver put away the decisive ninth penalty to win the tie. That's our third penalty shoot-out failure this season; meh!

Cup Replay: It's a Scottish Cup replay at Cappielow on Tuesday night as Inverness take on Morton to see who travels to Motherwell in the next round. The first game ended at 1-1 in the Highlands with strikes from Billy Mckay and Gavin Reilly taking the game to a replay, probably something neither club will relish. League form indicates that Inverness should be favourites to go into the next round, but on the evidence of the original tie, Morton were the ones forcing the pace of the game and deserved a second bite at the cherry.

Table Toppers: League leaders Kilmarnock looked determined to spoil the game as a spectacle and it was a first half of few chances. Mckay having a shot blocked for a corner by Hemming and Ridgers denying McKenzie. However, chances were at a premium and the half ended goalless. The goal that settled the game was a stunning strike from captain Sean Welsh and no more than Inverness deserved with Killie void of attacking intent. This result put Inverness back on top of the table for now.

The hectic week continues with the visit of Championship leaders Kilmarnock on Friday night for a 7:45 kick off. With only two points separating the top five, there's little room to slip a fag paper between the lot of them. We managed to surreptitiously extricate ourselves from the Challenge Cup on Tuesday night to alleviate the fixture schedule thanks to a couple of weak penalties. Not too weak to bring us to the attention of everyone, but just enough to get dumped out of the event. Next up for the same treatment is a trip to Cappielow in the Scottish Cup next midweek, another waste of our time. So, let's concentrate 100% on the Championship from now until the end of the season.

The Caley Jags and Raith had made ten changes between them for this Challenge Cup encounter and that was maybe evident by a lack of quality in the final third with neither side over exerting the opposition keepers in a goalless first half. The second half came and went with Jamieson and Connolly passing up on the best chances and it went to a penalty shoot out. Raith held their bottle better and when Shane Sutherland saw his penalty saved it was Raith that progressed to play Killie who edged out Hamilton 3-2.

It's off to Cappielow in midweek for a cup replay on Tuesday 7th December after these two sides served up a 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium. Billy Mckay opened the scoring in the twelfth minute after what appeared to be a gift from keeper Hamilton, and as is our current trend we failed to capitalise on our good fortune and fell away in the second half which allowed Morton to snatch a deserved late equaliser after we returned the compliment and Gavin Reilly took the game to a replay. To be brutally honest, simply not good enough, too many players not producing the goods.

Its a break from the rigours of the Championship this weekend as Morton head North looking to progress in the Scottish Cup. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm and for those unable to get to the Caledonian Stadium, ICTV will be streaming the match for a tenner. Not a big change for either side though as these two Championship sides clash in the 3rd round. They have met in the Scottish Cup twice before with Inverness dishing out heavy defeats of 4-0 and 5-1. In other knockout competitions there has been two meetings with the Caley Jags winning them both.

The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross and almost completed his hat-trick but for the woodwork. However, Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. Fortunately Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who lost to Arbroath on Saturday. 

On the Telly: Not sure if it's a good thing that we are on the telly on Friday night for all to see given our recent tepid performances, but we travel to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South at Palmerston for a 19:45 kick-off. Unfortunately any confidence we built up over the first nine games has dissipated in the Autumn mist and our form is now on a par with Queens who are second bottom of the table. Only Ayr united are worse over the last five games, and we failed to beat them as well.

Under Par: Inverness opened the scoring after probing well for over twenty minutes. Michael Gardyne drifted inside and the Pars defence opened up allowing him to get a shot away. It came back off the woodwork and Billy Mckay reacted first to knock the ball into the net. However, Dunfermline got their first win of the season as Inverness fired blanks thereafter, and goals from Lewis McCann assisted by a Danny Devine deflection and a great solo effort from Dom Thomas won the points for the Pars.

Another bad day at the office continued with Inverness slipping to third following wins for Killie Raith and Partick.

Yogi returns to Inverness: Inverness will host Dunfermline on Saturday, complete with new manager John Hughes, after Yogi was appointed as the man tasked with saving the Pars from relegation after a dismal first quarter of the season has them toiling at the foot of the table with no wins from thirteen games. The cinch Championship game kicks-off at 3:00pm with Inverness looking to get back to winning ways and the Pars hoping for the 'new manager bounce'.

At a windy Somerset Park, Inverness took the lead early on when Sean Welsh met a Tom Walsh cross at the back post unchallenged to head into the net. The lead only lasted a couple of minutes as Joe Chalmers scored after a corner with a couple of defenders being grappled to the ground as Chalmers slotted home. Gardyne was causing all sorts of problems and his next angled cross into the box was missed by Mckay but it bounced through and into the goal to give the visitors the advantage at the break. Reading levelled with a low shot eight minutes into the second half, Ridgers not covering his near post sufficiently. No more scoring partly due to Aidan McAdams in the home goal and another great opportunity to get back on top went abegging with Partick winning 1-0 at Rugby Park.

Crackers or Damp Squibs: Another away day for the Caley Jags as we head to Somerset Park Ayr to take on mid table Ayr United in a cinch Championship match. Kick off is at 3:00pm on Saturday with live streaming available from Ayr TV if you can't attend the game. First encounter this season saw Tom Walsh win the game in unorthodox fashion as he bundled the ball into the net from six yards. Inverness will be looking to get back to winning ways and Ayr will be hoping to steer clear of the relegation zone. Can we expect fireworks for Guy Fawkes? Or will we be left smouldering... 

Caley Jags pay the penalty: Partick Thistle survived to earn a point after the woodwork saved them twice and keeper Jamie Sneddon denied Sean Welsh from the spot after guessing the right way. Inverness were well on top but it's only a point which means Killie pull further away at the top. Performance of the day was from Arbroath who came from two down to beat Dunfermline Athletic 4-2.

Not always a happy hunting ground for the Caley Jags, we travel to Glasgow to take on the often high scoring Partick Thistle at Firhill. We did get the better of them last time we met, but only after a tortuous first half when we could have been three down. We turned that game around after the interval and ran out 3-1 winners in a dominant second half. Saturday's game is a 3:00pm kick off.

Punchless and Pointless: Inverness toiled to make any headway in a dour first half, the poor fare on display being matched only by the miserable weather. We improved in the final ten minutes before the interval but clear chances were at a premium. After the break and some initial half chances for the hosts, McKenna scored with a cross/shot free kick that caught out the keeper, possibly wind assisted. Inverness still struggled to create clear openings, an all too familiar habit of late. They could have doubled their lead soon after but Ridgers was in the right place to put Little's header over the bar. Thereafter we ruined what little chances we had by a lack of quality around the box and stout defending by Arbroath. Well done to them, they did what they had to do, we need to take a long hard look at how we are going about our business.

A busy night of Championship Football has Arbroath heading North to the Caledonian Stadium for a 7:45 kick-off on Tuesday night. The Smokies sit seven points behind the league leaders in fifth place despite being the second highest scorers in the Championship, but four draws and two defeats have held them back slightly. The first game this season at Gayfield ended in a scarcely deserved away win thanks to a neat dinked finish from Shane Sutherland as he bore down on Gaston in the Arbroath goal. 

Plenty of endeavour in the first half at Starks Park but little quality in the final third resulted in a game void of goalmouth action over the first forty-five minutes for both sides. Biggest talking point was the sending off just before the break of Ross Mathews for what looked like a rash studs up challenge. Contentious maybe, but straight red dished out. After the break more space saw more chances created but it was Raith that broke forward and scored through Aidan Connolly. Inverness struggled to get back on level terms but eventually did ten minutes from the end when Sean Welsh drilled home from the edge of the box and that ended the scoring. Raith's quest for a win over Inverness goes into a 22nd year. Killie were the only winners in the Championship and closed the gap to three points but Inverness remain top.

It's a biggy this weekend as we travel to Kirkaldy to take on second place Raith Rovers at Starks Park on Saturday. Standard 3:00pm kick-off in this one which could be a massive indicator as to the outcome of this campaign. John McGlynn has slowly assembled a squad very capable of challenging for the Championship title and I expect Raith to be in the mix come the end of the season.

Inverness extended their lead at the top of the Championship as the Pars got a late leveller against Killie. The hosts opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Billy Mckay with the credit for the assist going to Mark Ridgers from his quick goal kick. Inverness stepped up a gear after the interval and Michael Gardyne scored the second early in the second half as he crashed a loose ball in the box high into the net. That was enough to see off Morton who battled hard throughout but fell short. It could have been a different story had the visitors made more of their own opportunities. Five points clear after the first quarter: Who knew?

After the international break it's back to the Championship on Saturday as Morton come to the Caledonian Stadium looking to lift themselves up the table and clear of the bottom places. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm with Inverness hoping to put the defeat to Hamilton behind them.

He scores when he wants: Elgin City raced into an early two goal lead through a Tom Grivosti header and a great finish from Brian Cameron as City hit on the counter when Connor O'Keefe did well down the right before Cameron hammered a tremendous shot high into the net from just inside the box. Just when it looked like Elgin were cruising, Billy Mckay took matters into his own hands when he fired home from sixteen yards and then grabbed a second two minutes later as pressure mounted on the home goal.

Half Time: 2-2

After an even opening to the second half, Billy Mckay got his hat-trick before a great through ball from McAlear put Lewis Jamieson through to dink his shot behind McHale for the fourth Inverness goal as Elgin heads went down. With the wind now out of the Elgin sails, Inverness saw out the game comfortably to progress into the next round to face Raith Rovers.