Our Picks

Inverness CT -V- Dundee - The Matchday Thread
Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen

Crunch game coming up and the Xmas trees are not even up in living rooms across the North. Dundee venture forth to the Highland capital on Saturday as we look to get back on track after a disastrous run of results that has yielded only one win in our last six games. Kick off is at 3:00pm.

Crushing defeats to Dundee United and Arbroath were particular lowlights, but the manner of our performance against League 1 Clyde in the Challenge Cup left a lot to be desired. We looked as uncomfortable as Prince Andrew at an interview but thankfully our penalty kicks were emphatic enough to see us through.

Let's be frank, this was a rank rotten performance with Inverness looking like a second division Welfare team. That's maybe doing Welfare league sides a disservice such was our inability to play football. We struggled badly to create anything worthy of note and Clyde looked more likely to score from open play than us. We had MotM Mark Ridgers to thank for a couple of great saves, one in particular warming the palms of the home fans when McStay let fly from 25 yards. We couldn't muster any decent chances in 93 minutes of football. Thankfully, our penalty kicks were brilliant, absolutely clinical and with Ridgers making two superb saves we go into the semi-finals with Raith Rovers, Patrick Thistle and the Rangers u21 team.

Bully-off against the Bully Wee on Saturday is at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with the visitors in the middle section of League1 and Inverness in the middle of a shocking slump. I don't even think we can blame HMRC. It's a break from League business though as we enter the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup, this year sponsored by Tunnock's Caramel Wafers and if you are quick off the mark you might even get some freebies prior to kick-off.

SMOKED: Arbroath pulled level on points with Inverness as our season disintegrated at Gayfield. A humiliating 3-0 defeat to a well organised part-time outfit will surely have repercussions. Scott Stewart scored in the first half and a second half penalty was converted by Bobby Linn the bin man. The thrashing ended with substitute Omar Kader adding a third with 4 minutes remaining.

Arbroath -V- Inverness CT - The Matchday Thread
Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen

Smokies and the Bandits - Inverness are off to Aberbrothock on Saturday with a trip to the shows on offer near Gayfield, the home of Arbroath FC and the famous smokies. It's a 3:00pm kick-off with only three points separating the two sides.

Dundee United cruised to victory in the Highlands as disparity on the park mirrored that off the park. United were worthy winners as Inverness struggled to find any momentum and it was left to desperation and Mark Ridgers to keep the score down. Shaun Rooney deflected a forced Paul McMullan cross/shot into the net. A reaction save from Siegrist blocked a James Keatings effort before the break but that was as good as it got for the hosts. Nicky Clark stroked in the second as we unravelled and a cheap penalty saw Lawrence Shankland complete the scoring, but not the agony as we failed to trouble the United keeper with a series of fluffed attempts whilst United looked more likely to increase their lead.

Inverness CT -V- Dundee Utd ~ The Matchday Thread

Discuss ICT & other games from this weekend in this thread as they happen

Where's yer money gone........ where's yer money gone, far far away. Middle of the road and this early in the season sees our first six-pointer as table toppers and financial deficit champions Dundee United visit the Caledonian Stadium in the Ladbrokes Championship. That's only £3 million more than ours. It's a top end clash where a home victory would put the cat back amongst the pigeons. Defeat will be not welcomed and a draw will keep the status quo.

Hot Toddy warms the 39. Goals in either half from Aaron Doran and Nikolay Todorov earned a valuable three points for the Caley Jags in a hard fought encounter with a lively Queen of the South at Palmerston. The clincher came in the third minute of time added on when Todorov warmed the cockles of the 39 visitors with a tremendous finish to send them home happy.

Queen of the South -V- Inverness CT ~ The Matchnight Thread
Discuss tonight's ICT & other games in this thread as they happen

Inverness face another daunting long distance trip three days after struggling at Greenock. This time it's off to Dumfries to take on a side on a bit of a resurgence after a poor start to the season. Queen of the South await the arrival of the Caley Jags at Palmerston, the game kicking off at 7:45pm on Tuesday night.

We received a message yesterday asking if we would help organise some bids for a Carl Tremarco shirt and Ball for a couple of young children who are terminally ill. We are happy to feature this on the site. Get bidding !

Greenock Morton -V- Inverness CT - The Matchday Thread
Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen

Morton host Inverness this Saturday as we look to keep in touch at the top end of the table after last week's disappointing home draw against lowly Alloa. The Championship game at Cappielow kicks off at 3:00pm in one of the last few bastions of medieval stadiums left in Scotland. It has a wee Dublin end and a Cowshed and some old floodlights from Love Street. Olde and quaint, but delightful nonetheless.

Inverness blew the chance to go top of the table after Alloa scored in the 89th minute to earn a point with a disciplined defensive performance at the Caledonian Stadium. Take nothing away from Alloa, but we were void of ideas as we struggled to break down the Wasps defence in a frustrating second half. Liam Buchanan opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute and that opened the door for Alloa to flood their defence and employ standard hit on the break tactics that worked well for them as we toiled in a poor first forty-five. The second period saw more frustration for the hosts until we scored from an unlikely source with a stunning goal. A Tremarco corner came back to him at a tight angle. Undaunted, he fired the ball high into the net with his left foot for a spectacular goal with an hour played. We huffed and puffed before Jordan White looked to have won the game with a powered finish in the 85th minute. However, there was a sting in the tail of the wasps after Jamie McCart took the wrong option, eventually putting the ball out for a throw when a pass to Mark Ridgers would have been sufficient. From the resultant long throw Alan Trouten found himself in space to knock the ball home to silence the frustrated home support. James Keatings hit the bar with a superb free kick as the clock ticked down but it was too little too late and we were knocked off our four minute perch. Given that every other result went our way, it was a hugely disappointing outcome. Meh!

Inverness CT -V- Alloa Athletic - The Matchday Thread
Discuss today's ICT match & other games in this thread as they happen

We had the appetiser last week in the Chocolate cup and this week it's the main course as Alloa come North again on Championship duty. The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with Inverness looking to consolidate their position at the top end, tucked neatly in behind Dundee United and Ayr United.

Overall we were comfortable winners, but had we taken a more urgent approach could have scored half a dozen goals. Unfortunately we were somewhat pedantic at times with Doran going round in circles and Storey often taking the wrong option when he should be using his best asset

It's the fourth round, or if you prefer, the quarter finals of the Chocolate Biscuit Cup sponsored by Tunnock's Caramel Wafers. If they like it up here, they will be back the week after to face us in the Championship. Bit of Deja Vu there as we also had a double header with Morton which went 8-1 in our favour.

Ayr Raid: There was plenty at stake for both clubs and it was the visitors that opened the scoring in the first half when James Vincent knocked a short clearance into the net. In the second half, Shaun Rooney did a Forrest Gump before scoring a brilliant second just after the hour. With no further scoring Inverness moved to within two points of both Dundee United and Ayr United. Great end to a difficult week for the club.

Ayr United -V- Inverness CT - The Matchday Thread
Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen

The fans will undoubtedly be hoping for a better showing than the last display their team put on against Patrick Thistle when they were roundly defeated 3-1 at the Caledonian Stadium, some professing that the team didn’t turn up at all. That defeat brought the team and fans firmly back down to earth with a bang and the reality of another hard slog in the Championship hit home.

Inverness shot themselves in the foot by making it easy for Partick to collect all three points in the Highlands. An indifferent and error strewn game by the Caley Jags saw the visitors benefit from our shambolic display and ensure Ian McCall got his first win in his first Championship game after returning to Firhill