Scotty

Four Seasons In One Day It might have been four seasons in one day, but what a season it's been for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Inverness consolidated their third place with an ultimately convincing win over Dundee United who now have a fight on their hands to overtake St Johnstone for fourth position with only one game remaining. It was a carnival atmosphere at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium with beach balls and sombrero's in abundance as the teams took to the field in bright, blustery and changeable conditions that would end in a wintery downpour, but by the end the fans were not to be disappointed as they waited to applaud their Euro heroes for the seasons efforts. Yogi gave starts to Aaron Doran, James Vincent, Ryan Christie and Danny Devine who is building valueable game time ahead of the Scottish Cup final in a fortnight. United were as expected with like him or loathe him big Turk Nadir Ciftci the main threat. There's no denying the lads talented, but he would have better days. The game was a slow burner with both sides starting tentatively. Inverness seemed happy enough to afford the visitors the majority of early possession but there was no threat to either keeper in the early exchanges. Despite plenty of effort from both sides the only offerings in the first half hour were a couple of headers from Eddie Ofere and long range shots from Aaron Doran and John Rankin. That would change with a flurry of action before the break. Graeme Shinnie might have done better after getting clear on the left side, but as he opened his body and shot, he only succeeded in dragging his effort wide of the near post. Warren then picked up a booking just outside the box but shifty Ciftci fired well over the bar from an inviting position. Doran missed an excellent chance when through on goal and Ciftci did the same at the other end. United began to press for a goal before the break but Ryan Esson continued his superb form to deny the Arabs with outstanding saves from Charlie Telfer and Rankin, who should have done better when clean through after the Caley Jags defence parted like the Aegean Sea, but Esson stood tall and the former Caley Thistle man struck his shot straight at the chest of Esson. Half Time 0-0 Esson continued to thwart United just after the interval saving brilliantly from Ciftci when the striker looked favourite to score. A couple of corners later and Fojut directed a low header wide of the upright and Warren did likewise at the other end of the park. Josh Meekings then found himself wide open after a deep cross from Christie but he could not control his shot from wide of the six yard box. He would do better soon after that. Tansey swung a deep ball to Warren following a corner and he headed it back into the six yard box. After a bit of a stramash with Doran involved, Meekings stabbed the ball into the net with his studs for the opening goal. Cierznaks had fumbled the ball to Meekings who reacted quickest to knock the ball forward, but Muirhead on the line clawed it away with his hand. However the goal was given and a booking duly dished out. Meekings claiming for hand ball on the goal line. How could you Josh. Telfer came close to an equaliser after a surging burst forward from the halfway line when he unleashed a terrific shot from twenty six yards that narrowly missed the postage stamp corner. Good effort and a warning to Inverness that there was still work to be done. Watkins desire to get a goal saw him shoot past from a tight angle after out muscling the defender down the left flank. A better option would have been to cut the ball back to Vincent who had made a late run into the box that went unnoticed. United never learnt from the previous deep corner and Tansey again found Warren lurking there. His knock down was almost smuggled into the net at the near post after another stramash but Meekings was denied this time. It was not to be Ciftci's day as the Inverness defence left him unattended when United forced their way down the left. When the cross came in Ciftci was given the freedom of the box, and he picked his place to put the ball. Unfortunately for him, that place was a dozen rows behind Esson in the away end. Nick Ross had an earlier effort saved as he shot tamely goalward, but he would make amends in the eightieth minute. Again it was another stramash, but we don't care. Shinnie's cross went deep, Watkins, Vincent and Doran got involved and when the ball was laid back to Ross, he drilled it low into the centre of the goal. That was the straw that broke the camels back as the Arab's heads went down. The voices could now be heard in full swing as the beach balls were getting the better of the stewards who spent the afternoon stabbing as many balls as they could, booooo, but much to the amusement of the North Stand. Three minutes later and Gary Warren powered in a header from a corner to cap off a convincing and memorable win for Inverness over a team that would normally have given us a hard time of it. Warren took out the keeper and two defenders as he scored and that resulted in Cierzniak being removed for repair. The game ended as the heavens opened and the temperature plumetted, but it was party time on and off the pitch and what a way to round off your home campaign. Full Time 3-0 Tremendous win for Inverness ahead of the cup final, but for United they will have to regroup as fourth place is now out of their hands, but it's a must win derby for them next week while we travel to Parkhead to Celtic's Champions party. Inverness were best served by all who played today. If I had to be ruthless and choose somebody then Ryan Esson was again fantastic with three outstanding saves before we scored. His kicking was also assured and we are in good hands for the final. The team came out for their encore with Graeme Shinnie winning the fans and players player of the year. What an occasion and send off for Graeme who has been consistently tremendous all season. Date: 16/05/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3508 Referee: Craig Thomson Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Esson, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Draper, Christie (Ross 66), Doran (Kink 84), Vincent, Ofere (Watkins 59) Subs (not used): Mackay, Tremarco, Williams, Polworth Scorers: Meekings (55), Ross (80), Warren (83) Booked: Warren (36), Devine (77) Sent Off: none Dundee Utd: 0 Lineup: Cierzniak (Szromnik 86), Dillon, Dixon, Souttar, Fojut, Ciftci, Rankin, Muirhead, Erskine (Johnson 66), Butcher (Connolly 66), Telfer Subs (not used): Smith, Spittal, Anier, Cotte Scorers: none Booked: Dixon (55), Erskine (55) Sent Off: none

They Think It's All Over....... ......... It Is Now. Inverness secured third place in the league with a hard fought win over a sprightly Dundee at DenPark. Edward Ofere continued his scoring with an exquisite early first half header from a pin point Greg Tansey cross for the only goal in an entertaining encounter. That's six goals in eleven games for the big striker. (Billy who, I hear you say) Inverness went into this game in fine fettle after beating Dundee United in midweek and knew that a victory would clinch third place and with it a European adventure. They would not be disappointed but Dundee were in no mood to hand it to them on a plate. David Raven remained on the bench after returning from suspension and Ryan Christie started. Danny Devine grabbed some more match time as well as Inverness played towards Tannadice in the first half. Paul McGowan and Greg Stewart returned for Dundee and Kyle Letheren replaced the injured Scott Bain in goal. A bright day with little wind greeted the players and the fans came prepared with passports in their pockets. After a few minutes of posturing Inverness took the lead. Greg Tansey swung in an inviting cross with Eddie Ofere's name on it and the big Nigerian powered a low header into the bottom right side of the goal for a superb opener. A few minutes later and Marley Watkins fired over, but Dundee were starting to pick up the pace and were beginning to find space in the middle of the park. Ryan Esson was called into his first bit of serious action as he plucked a shot out of the air, McGinn's effort straight down his throat, easy for the keeper. With 25 minutes gone Esson saved well as Dundee started to pin Inverness back, Greg Stewart flashing a shot goalwards from a tight angle. Moments later Ryan Christie almost added a second goal but his low shot from thirty yards brushed off the foot of the post with the keeper beaten. Danny Devine made an incredibly spectacular overhead clearance from a dipping Stewart header that had Esson beaten. Great stuff from the big defender, fantastic agility, something that Nadia Comaneci would have been proud of. Dundee were the side looking more likely to score the next goal at this point and Esson stopped a couple of headed attempts from McPake and Tankulic, but on the stroke of half time Christie forced Letheren to save but the advantage remained with Inverness at the break. Half Time 0-1 Dundee began the second half where they left off and created a couple of early threats from Jim McAlister, one where he shot weekly at Esson from inside the box after breaking through, but Inverness looked to be closing down sharper and forced a seies of corners to no avail. Just after the hour and James Vincent replaced Watkins as Yogi looked to get a hold on the midfield battle. Danny Devine was carded for what looked to be a nothing challenge, unless the ref had been totting up minor stoppages from the resolute defender and Aaron Dorran replaced midweek hero Danny Williams as Inverness started to assert their dominance once more. Just when it looked as though the visitors had weathered the storm, up popped Jake McPake in the box. He looked to have scored, but Ryan Esson matched Danny Devine's performance as he threw himself across goal to his left and somehow clawed the ball away for a corner. Unbelievable save from Ryan and an important one at that stage of the game. The chants from the visiting fans were getting louder as news came through that the Tayside derby had ended all square and it looked unlikely that Dundee would be able to score the goals required to keep the passports in the pocket. Dundee were now leaving gaps at the back in search of a leveller and Inverness had a couple of chances to exploit that, but we ended up taking the ball for a walk as the clock ticked oh so slowly towards the final countdown for Europe. The final whistle brought about great scenes of joy in the away end and Yogi and the players responded as they left the park. They returned to take the well earned plaudits and the visiting fans went home fair chuffed right eenuff. Full Time 0-1 A few contenders for MotM but it would be cruel to single out anyone after this emotionally draining encounter. However, I do have a cruel streak and three players shone brightest for me. Ross Draper was immense in midfield breaking up play on numerous occasions and feeding forward. Danny Devine looked so solid at the back winning almost everything that came his way and his goal line clearance was just phenomenal. But I have to award the MotM to Ryan Esson who was simply superb. That save late in the game will have Gordon Banks turning in his grave. So, it's congratulations all round from CTO to Yogi and the boys for giving us a wonderful season, and it's not over yet. Subs (not used): Brodie, Clarkson, Colquhoun, Irvine, Ferry Scorers: none Booked: Thomson (61) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Esson, Shinnie, Meekings, Devine, Warren, Tansey (Tremarco 80), Draper, Williams (Doran 75), Christie, Watkins (Vincent 64), Ofere Subs (not used): MacKay, Raven, Ross, Kink Scorers: Ofere (8) Booked: Williams (38), Devine (72) Sent Off: none