Scotty

Cole Goal Earns Point Larnell Cole scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Hamilton as Accies once more surrendered the lead in an entertaining encounter in the Highlands. This point was enough to lift us off the foot of the table for now as Partick Thistle take over at the bottom. Injuries and suspension robbed Inverness of their standard back line but Brad Mckay and Lewis Horner stepped in to a makeshift back four with Gary Warren suspended and David Raven injured. Mckay was not 100% fit, but that did not deter him from taking to the field to bolster our fragile defence. Fon Williams also took to the field nursing back pain and that was evident as Accies opened the scoring. Accies were coming North with high hopes of a result given their decent record in Inverness in recent times, having won on their last two visits. When Jake Mulraney gave away a free kick wide of our eighteen yard box, there seemed little imminent danger as Ali Crawford sized up his options. I'm not totally convinced his choice was a shot, or was it a low ball to the keepers near post but the end product was a goal as the ball deceived Fon Williams to bounce just inside his near post when a cross looked on the cards. It had been a bright opening quarter as we buzzed around the Accies half with Larnell Cole and Jake Mulraney scampering forward at pace. Lonsana Doumbouya was getting well involved and causing havoc in the Accies rearguard and things looked promising up till this point. Fon Williams stuck up an apologetic glove to the unimpressed fans behind the goal as Accies celebrated this early Xmas gift. Still, plenty of time to get back into the game and we surged forward at will, but as per norm, found Accies a tough nut to crack. A deep cross from Lewis Horner caused problems in the visitors goalmouth and when Doumbouya nodded goalwards, it was knocked clear by the hand of defender Dan Seaborne. Penalty was the obvious choice, but we are talking about Scottish referee's here and play continued without anything given. Rather odd considering Mr Aitken had a good view of the incident. Doumbouya was giving the defenders more hassle and he headed a through ball down towards Iain Vigurs. The ball broke kindly to Mulraney but a despairing lunge by a defender blocked what would have been a certain goal. Greg Tansey twisted and turned his way into the box on the end of a ball forward, but as defenders fell around him, he took one turn too many and the chance was lost as former County keepr Gary Woods narrowed the angle to make a tremendous block and deny the twinkle toed midfielder. I felt he could easily have scored with one touch less as he looked for the immaculate finish. We cut open Accies again as Ross Draper was brilliantly set up by Doumbouya and a busier than usual Iain Vigurs, but he lashed his effort from the edge of the box just over the bar when it looked easier to score. Plenty to enthuse over in a busy first half, but no goals for us as the visitors went in at the break a goal to the good despite Inverness dominating the game. Half Time 0-1 Just after the interval D'Acol brought out a smart save by Fon Williams, low to his left and Doumbouya headed just wide at the other end. We started to up the pace even more after the break and six minutes in we were rewarded with a spanking goal from Larnell Cole, his first for us. Mulraney and Vigurs combined well as they entered the box before Cole stepped in to lash the ball high into the net from seventeen yards, ably assisted by the underside of the bar. Fabulous goal and great reward for the young loan star. That goal opened the game out once more and Accies tried to get their noses in front again. It took a flying save from Fon Williams to prevent them from doing so as a tackle come shot was heading for the top corner before the keepers timely intervention. It was end to end stuff now as the action picked up and Tansey was foiled again, this time it looked as though his goalbound shot struck the back of his own players legs and the ball was hacked clear by a relieved defence. Ali Crawford saw an effort similar to Draper's one curl just over as both teams looked for a winner, but try as they might it never came. Fon Williams made a meal of a long range free kick, pushing the ball out when it looked easier to gather it, but hey ho, he kept the ball out this time. and as the Hamilton corner count increased the game ended with no further scoring. Full Time 1-1 Both sides will feel they could have won this game and fair play to Hamilton for coming out of their shell and having a go to make it an enjoyable spectacle for the fans. Good to see that Fon Williams has a sense of humour after his suspect positioning for the Accies goal. Another free kick in a similar location saw a stinging comment from one fan who shouted, "mind your near post this time". Despite the occasion, he found time to give the thumbs up to quell any fears we all had. Happy days. To be fair to the keeper, he had been struggling all week to make the game and it was touch and go whether we would actually have a keeper at all with Esson also unable to kick properly. Ross Draper courted a red card after his booking earlier in the game. We all held our breath as he made a couple of robust challenges. Careful Ross, Careful. tm4tj MotM is going to Larnell Cole, not just for his tremendous goal but his work rate was good and he got involved in plenty of attacks. This was a vast improvement from the grim performance at Perth and with news that Liam Polworth, Alex Fisher and Scott Boden are nearing full fitness then things will hopefully pick up. Gary Warren should be back from suspension so we might have a full bench next week. Anyway, good to come back and get a point, a point that lifts us off the bottom. Date: 10/12/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2473 Referee: Greg Aitken Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Meekings, Draper, Vigurs, Mulraney, Tansey, Horner (King 86), Mckay, Doumbouya, Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Doran, Sutherland, Gilchrist, Robertson, Maclennan. Scorers: Cole (51) Booked: Draper (35), McKay (85), King (89) Sent Off: none Hamilton Acc: 1 Lineup: Woods, Seaborne, Gillespie, Imrie, Docherty, D'Acol (Redmond 67), Crawford, Longridge (Bingham 67), Mackinnon, McMann, Sarris. Subs (not used): Thomson, Brophy, Donati, Cunningham, Hughes Scorers: Crawford (16) Booked: Imrie (57), Gillespie (73), McMann (75) Sent Off: none a