Scotty

Inverness edge out Stranraer Inverness crept into the quarter finals with a low key performance that saw League One side Stranraer take all the plaudits, but not the scalp they wanted. An early ricochet off Nick Ross gave Inverness the lead but they could not build on it and it took a very late strike from substitute Aaron Doran before The Blues became stuck in the mud of Inverness. Not the swashbuckling performance the fans were hoping for, but constant rain all day almost scuppered the game completely before a second pitch inspection convinced referee Alan Muir it should go ahead. The heavy pitch looked like it would cause all sorts of problems on a miserable evening as the rain continued to fall on the already saturated playing surface, which had large areas of quagmire in the central sections near the penalty boxes, especially the North Stand side. Tommy's pride and joy looked more like Fir Park on a bad day than it's normally pristine self. The game was barely three minutes old when a somewhat fortuitous goal got Inverness off to the perfect start as Stranraer tried to clear their lines. Scott Robertson, in attempting to clear a through ball, smacked it off the shins of the fleet footed Nick Ross and the ball spun behind him and goalkeeper David Mitchell. Harsh on Stranraer and a break for Inverness. The early form continued for the home side as they ploughed their way forward and Shinnie made Mitchell work to deny the wing back. It was looking like the early goal would ignite some flame in the damp Inverness camp, but as the half wore on, Stranraer began to make some headway in the ankle deep mud and made the home side look cumbersome at best. Sean Winter forced his way into the box but sent his shot straight at Dean Brill when he could have done better. Nick Ross made one tremendous run down the left flank and then cut across the face of the box, but his parting shot was weak and simply gathered by Mitchell. Another Ross burst saw him feed McKay, but once again the Blues keeper was equal to the task and kept Stranraer within earshot at the break as Inverness toiled somewhat in the heavy conditions. Half Time 1-0 Chances were at a premium in the second half as Inverness continued to huff and puff, but Stranraer would not go away and it was the visitors who were playing the slicker football when they got possession. McKay had the ball in the net just past the hour mark but he was ruled offside and the home crowd groaned. It took a good diving save by Brill to prevent Steven Bell from levelling the tie as he tried a speculative thirty yard effort which almost caught Brill out, but he dived full length to tip the ball away as his feet seemed to spin in the soggy goalmouth. The home fans were dreading extra-time but substitute Aaron Doran put us out of our misery as he hit a late winner after a great run by Shinnie. Doran sent a low drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to send the fans home with a smile on their faces, but it could all have turned sour had Stranraer caught us out on a miserable night for football. Full Time 2-0 Inverness were best served by Nick Ross, especially in the first 45, and Graeme Shinnie who created the burst forward late in the game for the clincher. Greg Tansey showed plenty of graft in the middle and is the one player able to take on the long range shooting job, something often lacking in some of the other players. Stranraer should be well chuffed by their teams performances over the two games and they should go on to complete a fine season. Keeper Mitchell was solid and big striker Martin Grehan led the line well, backed up by a pair of flying wingers in Stirling and Winter who troubled Raven and Co on more than just a few occasions. Inverness CT manager John Hughes: "A lot of the credit has to go to Stranraer. I said to the boys at half-time we've got to get closer to them, to match up, get on the front foot and go press them. "For us on a sticky pitch it was all about getting through, we're thankful that is the case. We left it late, we always seem to make it difficult for ourselves up here. We were in total control in terms of getting on the ball and creating chances, but I've seen us play better." Stranraer manager Stephen Aitken: "We played well. I thought we competed well, again, over two games. Maybe the wee bit of quality they had over the two legs done us in. But I can't fault my players. "The conditions weren't ideal but I thought the two teams especially tried to make it a cup tie. We fought very hard against a very good side. You don't get to a League Cup final if you're a poor side." That now leaves the draw looking like this Aberdeen v Dumbarton Raith Rovers v St Johnstone Rangers v Albion Rovers Inverness v Dundee United Date: 18.02.2014 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1458 Referee: Alan Muir Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Ross (Watkins 80), Draper (Doran 67), Tansey, Foran, Vincent, McKay Subs (not used): Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Pepper, Polworth Scorers: Ross (3), Doran (90) Booked: Draper (35), Watkins (90+1) Sent Off: none Stranraer: 0 Lineup: Mitchell, Robertson, Docherty, Rumsby, McKeown, Bell, Winter (McKenna 67), Gallacher, Grehan, Longworth (Forde 75), Stirling Subs (not used): Fahey, McGregor, Kinnaird, Scorers: none Booked: Docherty (69), Bell (90+1) Sent Off: none This post has been promoted to an article

Wood you believe it! Inverness pummelled the Hearts goal but the woodwork came to the Jambos rescue on a number of occasions to keep the score blank. When the woodwork was beaten, Jamie MacDonald was once again in fine form to deny the reluctant strikers of the home side with a series of excellent saves, and some great goal line clearances ensured the Edinburgh side went home with a valuable point. Inverness started the game with Foran on the bench and what looked like their strongest eleven on the park with Vincent and Watkins on from the start, along with Greg Tansey. The pattern of the game was set early on after Ryan Stevenson fired a warning shot across the Inverness bows. After that, it was constant pressure from Inverness who looked eager to score. Maybe too eager as a little composure might have seen some goals scored, but it all became a bit too frantic as chance after chance went abegging, the home side electing to take an extra touch or try to tee up someone else rather than take the bull by the horns. Inverness' wide players were having a field day with Watkins and Doran able to beat their man at will, but the final ball all too often going astray. When we did get a shot away, the woodwork was in brilliant form, denying Watkins, McKay, Raven and Tansey in a first half totally dominated by Inverness. Danny Wilson blocked a McKay effort and Jordan McGhee cleared a Watkins shot off the line, but the ball would just not fall kindly for Inverness as MacDonald staged a one man blockade to deny Inverness as he made a TV save to deny a Tansey header. Half Time 0-0 The process continued after the break, but Hearts realised it might just be their day and tried to smuggle the points out of Inverness. The ever popular Jamie Hamill tried a long range shot which went just wide but the domination continued and MacDonald denied Tansey with a superb save low down to his right. A few more scrambles in the Hearts box kept the fans interested but the extra touch thwarted the Inverness forwards as they seemingly tried to walk the ball into the net. With Hearts still in the game. they realised they might just get all three points and pushed forward late in the game, Hammil and McCallum having the best opportunities, but after dominating for so long, Inverness were not going to concede now and the game ended scoreless. Full Time 0-0 Shooting practice might just be on Yogi's agenda this week after our forwards failed to make the most of our superiority, but credit also has to go to a battling Hearts side desperately looking to avoid the drop. Marley Watkins was probably our most likely match winner but like the rest, he failed to hit the net. Good to see Foran back, and he added some urgency when he came on, but in the end we had to settle for a share of the points. At least we kept eleven men on the park this time...............meh Date: 15.02.2014 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3392 Referee: Craig Thomson Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Watkins, Ross, Draper, Tansey, Doran, Vincent (Foran 74), McKay Subs (not used): Esson, Ross, Devine, Tremarco, Williams, Polworth Scorers: none Booked: Tansey Sent Off: none Hearts: 0 Lineup: MacDonald, McGowan, McKay, Wilson, McGhee, Hamill, Robinson, Carrick (King 74), Stevenson, Nicholson, McCallum Subs (not used): Ridgers, Holt, Oliver, Beith Scorers: none Booked: McCallum, Robinson Sent Off: none