Scotty

Point apiece about right Inverness and Dundee United shared the points as two early goals were all to show despite plenty of endeavour from both sides. United hit the woodwork twice while Inverness passed up a goalden opportunity to win it with a late penalty, but Nick Ross shot tamely at Cierzniak in the United goal. Billy McKay opened the scoring in the fifth minute but Keith Watson rose unchallenged to power home the equaliser after ten minutes and that was the end of the scoring, but not the entertainment. The previously reliable Dean Brill provided the comedy with a series of blunders that could have been more damaging but he just about got away with it, however the watching TV audience will not forget his show in a hurry. John Hughes was the warm up act, cracking his forehead open as McKay scored the opener, much to the muted delight of the Inverness bench. AJS will have a full match report for us............................... Point gained but Yogi still yearns for home win John Hughes search for a first home win as Caley Thistle boss continues as both ICT and Dundee United had to settle for a point and stretch their winless runs to 5 games a piece. Hughes has had plenty to contend with in recent games following a host of injuries and also the loss of Ross Draper to suspension and with a United coming into town looking to put to bed their own poor form it was always going to be a hotly contested game. Following the poor performance against County Yogi shuffled the pack. David Raven was restored to the starting 11 with Graeme Shinnie reverting to holding midfield following the loss of Draper, Danny Williams moved from the middle to left wing, his natural position. United had the luxury of calling upon new signing Farid El Alagui who joined on loan from Brentford during the week. The Moroccan striker arrives at Tannidice bragging an impressive 28 goals in 44 games during his season long stint with Falkirk but struggled to find regular form and games following a move to Brentford, he was looking to make an immediate impact. The match itself got off to a fast start with ICT racing into the lead within the first 5 minutes. Billy McKay won a corner out on the left which was swung in by Williams. It was well won in the air by Warren and fell to McKay who reacted before Cierzniak could to rifle it into the bottom corner from just a few yards out. It was the perfect start for the home side who were looking to put to bed a run of form that had seen 3 consecutive defeats at TCS. Almost immediately following Aaron Doran found time and space to set himself for a shot from distance but unfortunately from himself he dragged it well wide of the mark. United sniffed out their first chance of the game when Graeme Shinnie was judged to have fouled Chris Erskine on the edge of the box. The angle was tight but Stuart Armstrong struck a powerful, low drive that Brill could only parry and following a brief scramble the ball was thumped out for a corner by Liam Polworth. The first one was cleared by Shinnie but the 2nd proved fatal as United snatched a quick leveller through Keith Watson. Gary Mackay-Steven drifted it in and Watson lost Tremarco to power his header into the net beyond a despairing Brill, Watson, a full back has 4 goals to his name this season, two of which have been scored at the same end at TCS. It was anyone's game now with both sides looking to get the next goal. Both sides were doing their bit to get their wide players on the ball as much as possible, Mackay-Steven was digging out some nice crosses for the away side while likewise Williams and Doran were for the hosts but struggling to find anyone in space. The hosts almost found another opening. Graeme Shinnie seized upon a poor clearance from Cierzniak and following an exchange of play with Ross he found Billy McKay on the wing, his knock down almost fell perfectly for Shinnie on the edge of the area but Gavin Gunning was alert to the danger and hoofed the ball clear. United then passed up a golden chance to turn the game on its head through Brian Graham. A corner from Mackay-Steven forced Brill to punch it clear, but it only fell as far as Rankin who's fizzing shot was heading to the bottom corner only to be diverted away by Gary Warren, his clearance fell to Graham and with Brill already committing himself to Rankin's shot he had an empty net at his pleasure but somehow managed to only steer his shot onto the post, following a brief scramble the ball was cleared and the big man's chance was gone. Gary Mackay-Steven was next to test the home goal, Stuart Armstrong's neat reverse ball found the diminutive, little winger with a shot at goal on his stronger left foot but with the angle tight it was well gathered by Brill. Billy McKay almost doubled his tally for the match only to be thwarted by a terrific save from Cierzniak. Aaron Doran was fed the ball by Raven and he picked out a delightful cross to the back post which was met well by McKay who rose well and thought he was surely finding the corner only for United's Polish stopper to pull out a wonderful fingertip save. Nick Ross also came close when Ravens low ball in found him at the edge of the area, he managed to turn his man but on his weaker left foot he struck it straight at Cierzniak who gathered it with little fuss. Not before too long the first half was brought to an end in what was a well contested encounter between both sides. Half Time - 1-1 In the early stages of the 2nd half it was ICT who began the game stronger, much as they did in the first half. Billy McKay had another header that he would perhaps feel he could have got a goal from. The opportunity came in rather unorthodox circumstances. David Raven won a 50-50 challenge with Robertson and despite being on his backside managed to feed a cheeky flick on to Aaron Doran who's teasing cross was met by the head of MacKay once again but his swerving header was held by Cierzniak. The game was then brought to a halt after Brian Graham suffered what appeared to be a rather serious injury. Having gone up for a header with Josh Meeking's the Tangerines big number nine appeared to land awkwardly and seemed to be in a great deal on pain. Following a lengthy spell on of treatment and the need for a stretcher his afternoon was brought to an unfortunate and premature end. Replacing him was Farid El Alagui who was brought on to make his debut for the away side. With play resumed ICT had another chance to regain the lead and what a golden opportunity it was. Danny Williams in swinging corner was met at the back post by Gary Warren. He scored a bullet header in the cup tie between the two sides back in October but this time he saw his header fall wide of the post despite being only a couple of yards out. The man knows himself...he should have scored. Dean Brill almost gifted United the lead in what would have been rather humiliating circumstances to say the least. Many who are fans of football bloopers on Youtube will remember Peter Enckelman's missed touch in the Birmingham derby several years ago. Poor Deano was very close to replicating it when he misjudged the bounce on Shinnie's back pass but much to the relief of himself, his team and his supporters pride he managed to dash back and force it clear before it could cross the line. ICT then spurned chance of the game just after the hour mark. A lovely exchange of passing between Shinnie and Ross saw the latter produce a lovely through ball back to Shinnie who had a sight of goal only to be tripped by John Souttar and earn the home side a penalty. Nick Ross stepped up having converted his last 2 penalties but today was not to be his day. He struck it powerfully enough but did not get enough direction on it and after Cierzniak got a firm punch to it the ball was cleared and the chance was gone. The away side were beginning to see more of the ball and grow in confidence with John Rankin flashing a 30 yard drive just wide of Brills goal. Chris Erskine came even closer for the visitors when Mackay-Stevens low ball gave him a great opportunity to find the net but United's day was to be foiled by the woodwork as his curling, side foot effort came back off the post before Warren hooked it clear. With ICT having had a penalty, United felt they should have had spot kick themselves when Mackay-Steven was locked in a chase for the ball with Warren. Warren appeared to be pulling at GMS's shirt but the wee man did his best to stay on his feet and get a shot away and in fairness to him did not complain at the decision to award a corner instead. El Alagui came close from the corner with a header but with a lack of purchase his effort was gratefully cradled by Brill. With the game entering the final stages both sides made changes. United bringing on teenage sensation Ryan Gauld while ICT also threw on fellow youngster Ryan Christie who will be surely looking to make similar headlines now he has made the first team picture. Ben Greenhalgh was also brought on for Danny Williams as the home side looked to make a move to win the game and with a lengthy amount of stoppage time added on it was understandable. Following a lot of pressing the ball eventually fell back to Tremarco who did well to pick out Doran with a chip cross, Doran turned to shoot on his left foot but could only find the side netting. Ben Greenhalgh also turned out to be an unintentional match winner when his deep cross appeared to be hitting the back of the net and forced Cierzniak to parry it out and from the resulting corner he gathered well among a see of blue and orange. Ryan Christie was nearly a super sub once again when Tremarco skipped past a challenge and found him with a nice cross but Christie's header floated over and with that the game was brought to an end. Full Time 1-1 To summarize :- it was an entertaining game, lots of corners, lost of scrambles and lots of chances. Both teams would have liked to win given recent form but in the end I think neither it became more about not losing, though a missed penalty is always rather gutting and given the ease of some chances served up both sides will feel they could have won. Given that our team was decrepit without the likes of Foran, Watkins, Draper and Vincent I'd say we coped very well. In particular it was very pleasing to see Polworth and Christie blooded into the first team, both look promising prospects and their progress will be monitored with great interest. Yogi tactically got it right, restoring Raven was the right move and shifting Williams back to his natural position saw a much improved performance from the Lancashire lad compared to recent weeks, though Greenhalgh showed some neat touches when coming on. Plenty positives to take and the rot has been stopped - onwards and upwards from here. AJS MotM - David Raven - shored up the right back position, put in some cracking tackles and was unlucky not be providing some goals for his team mates. Its essential that he stays in the starting 11 from now on. Date: 12.01.2014 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2980 Referee: John Beaton Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Doran, Shinnie, Polworth, Williams (Greenhalgh 87), Ross (Christie 81), McKay Subs (not used): Esson, Devine, Gorman, Pepper, Evans Scorers: McKay (5) Booked: McKay (86) Sent Off: none Dundee Utd: 1 Lineup: Cierzniak, Watson, Souttar, Gunning, Robertson, Rankin, Paton, Erskine, Armstrong (Gauld 84), Mackay-Steven, Graham (El Alagui 51) Subs (not used): McCallum, Dillon, Butcher, Gomis, Dow Scorers: Watson (10) Booked: none Sent Off: none

Jags draw a blank The Thistles failed to find the net, but for Partick especially it wasn't for the want of trying, a couple of glaring misses enabling Inverness to take a point and that moves them back above Aberdeen and Dundee United, although Motherwell took the biggest leap into second place. Today's report is made in school, The Mantis & Alternative Maryhill show that great minds do think alike.......... The Mantis thought we were very poor today, thought Partick were more up for it and worked very hard. The lad Doolan missed a sitter of a header before half time although it would have been harsh on us. Second half they must have missed at least 3 more sitters and we were lucky to get a point. Archibald seems to encourage them to shoot on sight with the result that they kept having to fetch new balls every time somebody blootered it out of the park. We only showed quality in flashes, you could see the difference in the sides there, but it only lasted about 2 mins at a time. First look at Williams and not very impressed, centre mid along with Draper who wasn't at his best either today but probably because he was doing two jobs. Seen Marley a few times now and though he's got the skill and pace, not sure he's got the temperament or the heart. Not sure about Tremarco either, fairly solid but doesn't have any idea what to do with the ball. Would like to see Dave the Rave back with Shinzaa, Josh and Warren who as usual were superb. Doran not bad but lacks that extra spark. Wee Billy battled away as always for little reward, too many long punts for him to fish out of the sky. Keep it on the deck and we're a good side. Felt sorry for Nicky Ross who was hooked for Greenhalgh, who in turn looked like he could have changed the game if he'd got half an hour. Alternative Maryhill agreed we didn't get started at all yesterday, which was particularly frustrating as Partick looked like they might have wilted if we'd put any sustained pressure on them - they didn't have a great deal of presence and conceded possession in midfield relatively easily. The problem was, so did we, and in the end Partick created the far better chances and were unlucky not to win. There's no question that we missed Foran's influence, and the decision to play Williams in his place was somewhat surprising - he's eased off the ball far too easily, isn't strong enough in the tackle and seemed to be chasing the game most of yesterday. I'd hope to see Ross in there for the Celtic game, but the fact that Ross has been the first player substituted in each of the last two games (wrongly, in my opinion, in each case) makes me wonder how important to the team Hughes believes he is. Greenhalgh did pretty well when he came on and has maybe staked a claim for a place, but I'd like to have seen him replacing either Williams, with Ross dropping back, or Doran, whose performance levels are currently way below the level they were at in the early games of the season. There's perhaps an argument for resting him for a couple of games and making him fight for his place ahead of the semi-final. I think that Doran at the top of his form is unquestionably part of our strongest team, but at the moment he's a long way short of that form. The defence was pretty sound throughout, with with Meekings and Brill the stand-outs, but they were culpable in the hugely ineffective long ball strategy that we employed for most of the game - my one gripe with both Brill and Gary Warren is that they don't seem to look for a good out-ball properly but instead just hammer it up towards McKay or Doran. If we do that against Celtic then we'll just be inviting pressure onto us and we'll take a hammering. I am, I must confess, a bit worried about the Celtic game now - if we struggled to create anything against a hard working but limited Partick side, then I can't see how we can hope to take anything against a side that is, it is now becoming clear, streets ahead of the rest of the league. Hopefully Hughes can look at yesterday's performance and set us up in a way that actually plays to our strengths on Sunday. And he has some sympathy for the new gaffer here.........There was a noticeable lack of creativity or meaningful possession in the middle of the park yesterday and it meant that we built very few decent moves and more often than not the midfield was bypassed altogether. Williams offered neither strength nor creativity in that position, which meant that Draper, as Mantis pointed , was doing two jobs. I'd hope that Ross, while lacking Foran's dig, would at least give us some vision in there. I'm not sure if Devine would do that. Of course, Ross might just find himself completely outmuscled and outpassed by the Celtic midfield; there are no easy solutions for Hughes here. Date: 26.12.2013 Venue: Firhill Park, Glasgow Attendance: 2887 Referee: Willie Collum Partick: 0 Lineup: Fox, McMillan (O'Donnell 46), Piccolo, Balatoni, Sinclair, Craigen, Bannigan, Lawless (Baird 79), Higginbotham (Forbes 66), Elliot, Doolan Subs (not used): Gallacher, Muirhead, Kerr, Wilson Scorers: none Booked: Elliot (40) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Brill, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper, Williams, Watkins, Doran, Ross (Greenhalgh 72), McKay Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Devine, Polworth, Pepper, Agdestein Scorers: none Booked: Williams (70), Watkins (90) Sent Off: none

Shambolic 45 Unbreached in the last five games, the Inverness defence dished out more presents than Santa Clause at his Eastgate Grotto in a festive handout. Forget your gold, frankincense and myrrh, Inverness CT were handing out gifts hand over fist and the eleven wise men from the East took full advantage. Inverness were taught a harsh lesson in the first half as Aberdeen tore us apart at every opportunity in a somewhat uncharacteristic opening half where every time the Dons attacked they looked like causing problems. Two goals from former Inverness winger Barry Robson and one apiece from Peter Pawlett and Niall McGinn saw them apparently coasting into second place in the SPFL. A second half revival saw Billy McKay notch a predatory brace and a superb header from Graeme Shinnie all but snatch Inverness an unlikely point, however the Dons saw out the game courtesy of some well worked time wasting routines and take all three points East. A chilly winters day saw a crowd of around 4800 assemble to watch this late kick off in John Hughes first home game in charge of the Caley Jags. How he must have wished the half time whistle had sounded half an hour earlier. It was also Scotty's first game this season, all the way from Canada, maybe there's a lesson to be learnt there! A late change saw Danny Williams start in place of the sprightly Marley Watkins who had suffered a dead leg in training and his pace was badly missed in that first half. A bright start by the home side gave little indication of what was to come. Richie Foran dived to head a low effort just wide from a Tremarco free kick and Ross grazed the outside of a post after McKay set him up on the edge of the box. The Inverness pressure continued and Langfield did a bit of scrambling back to atone for his own poor clearance, Doran arrowing a thirty yard curling shot on target, but Langfield gathering well. It all changed just after twenty minutes into the game. A long high ball was missed by the heads of Vernon and Meekings. Unfortunately the ball hit the flailing arm of Josh and no doubt about it, a penalty borne out of nothing really. Barry Robson cracked the ball home, hit hard and low just out of the reach of a diving Brill to his right side. It got worse ten minutes later when Robson doubled his tally with a header would you believe it. A cross to the far post by Pawlett found Robson sandwiched between Tremarco and Warren, he was off balance and facing the opposite direction, but the ball still found the top corner. Not sure Robson knew much about it, but he enjoyed it anyway. And it got even worse. Pawlett fed Vernon who in turn picked out Pawlett as he sprinted into the box after a weak Nick Ross challenge on the half way line. Pawlett took it first time and he swept the ball home from twelve yards. Hint of offside by Vernon, but the final execution was clinical. The home defence was now in tatters, Gary Warren having a nightmare along with the rest of the side and huge gaps were allowing the Dons a safe passage into our penalty box. Niall McGinn took full advantage of more poor marking to run unchallenged for forty-five yards before drilling the ball home from the edge of the box. Lethal from Aberdeen; shambolic from Inverness, many punters tempted to go at half time. Half Time 0-4 Harsh words must have been spoken at the interval and a quick response was required. It came via Duracell Bunny, Billy McKay. He was prepared to roll up his sleeves and he gave the home side some belief when he latched onto a loose ball at the far post to prod home his first of the night. Nick Ross spurned a tremendous opportunity after McKay set him up with a header back across the box, but Nick, not noted for his striking ability lashed a volley straight at Langfield who gratefully parried the ball to safety. McKay would not be denied his second though as he showed tenacity to crash in an angled drive after rounding Langfield. Doran and Ross had combined with Billy who was running himself ragged; great goal, and game on. Could we do it? Draper headed one off the post and Raven cracked the same post with the rebound. Tremarco's corners were worrying the Dons defence. Gary Warren got one thing right tonight. He flighted a long ball into the box and Graeme Shinnie met it on the run from fifteen yards to send an unstoppable header into the top corner, Langfield rooted to the spot. Pick that one out. Ya beauty! Aberdeen meanwhile were reduced to sitting in and hitting on the break and Hayes could have done better with a late strike, but he rolled it gently into Brill's hands. We almost got the leveller our second half blitz deserved, but a melee in the Dons box from another corner just would not go over the line and Aberdeen survived to take all three points East. Full Time 3-4 The proverbial game of two halves. Battered in the first, we got off the canvas to narrowly lose on points, had it actually been a boxing match the ref would have called a halt after 45 minutes. Richie Foran looks as though he has damaged his shoulder and could miss the busy festive programme and David Raven came back into his most productive position at right back just after the break, Shinnie moving flanks, but further ahead of Tremarco after the re-shuffle, which seemed to suit our pursuit of goals in the second half. It was a damaging first half, one of the poorest I have witnessed, but we did show great character to have a go in the second half and but for that it could have been a miserable Xmas for the home fans. tm4tj MotM:- Has to be Mr perpetual motion, Billy McKay. He ran his little cotton socks off in the second half, where does he get the energy from? Sadly, Gary Warren and Josh Meekings were bossed in that first half by Scott Vernon and that was one of the reasons we were taken apart. But, we can rebuild as we showed in a spirited second half. This result has cost us a place or two in the league, but we still have that game in hand, and after the half time pep talk, all is not lost yet. Jury is still out on John Hughes and let's not go down the route of knee jerk reactions. He must have said something right at half time. Date: 21.12.2013 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 4810 Referee: Steven McLean Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Brill, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Williams, Draper, Foran (Raven 45), Doran, Ross (Agdestein 76), McKay Subs (not used): Esson, Devine, Greenhalgh, Polworth, Pepper Scorers: Mckay (47, 57), Shinnie (90) Booked: Draper (14), Williams (90) Sent Off: none Aberdeen: 4 Lineup: Langfield, Shaughnessy, Reynolds (Hayes 64), Jack, Hector, Anderson, McGinn, Flood, Vernon (Magennis 90+6), Robson, Pawlett Subs (not used): Weaver, Zola, Smith, Wylde, Low Scorers: Robson (pen22, 32), Pawlett (37), McGinn (44) Booked: Hayes (90) Sent Off: none

McKay Blows Hearts Away Billy McKay scored two second half goals at a windswept Tynecastle to secure John Hughes first three points as Inverness manager in his second game in charge. Our fifth clean sheet in a row ensured that Hearts would not take all three points and McKay made sure they took none with two clinical finishes. AJS has this report for us................. Wild Bill breaks young hearts We braved the winds and battled the rain...and that was just to get up the stairs but it was all very much worth it as ICT took a much needed 3 points and a 5th straight clean sheet against basement boys Hearts. At times the weather disrupted the play, other times the ref was a tad picky but at other times ICT produced the fluent, flowing attacking football that has been served up over the course of what has been so far a fine season. It was also nice to see John Hughes take to the dugout for the first time yesterday. A great start for him and hopefully the beginning of a prosperous time as ICT manager. The game itself took a long time to get going. As said high winds and gusting rains played a large part in disrupting anything that both sides offered. Set pieces were overdone as well as passes and touches were a tad heavier on a slippery pitch. With the crowd on their side Hearts probably saw more of the ball in a cagey first half but Gary Locke's youthful eleven were struggling to carve out any real openings and against the run of play ICT carved out the first real opportunity. Marley Watkins found himself heading towards the box and did well to cut inside Kevin McHattie and tee up Nick Ross whos first touch was unfortunately too heavy and the chance was gone. Watkins was on the ball again and tried to cut inside Danny Wilson, Watkins fell to the floor rather theatrically and referee Brian Colvin judged there to be no foul. Watkins either fell or dived. It was worth noting that he didn't argue. Billy McKay then missed a good chance to put the away side in the lead. Doran laid the ball back for Carl Tremarco who hit a lovely first time cross into the penalty area. McKay had a free header but struggled to get a good connection and saw his effort go well wide of the mark. Hearts were playing some neat football but were finding chances hard to come by. Gary Oliver was one who saw plenty of the ball and he was unlucky to see his crisp drive fizz just over the bar. The home side were then awarded a free kick in a dangerous area when Callum Paterson was judged to be fouled by Tremarco. Kevin McHattie stepped up but was wasteful as his drive hit the wall. With the half drawing to a close ICT were beginning to take more of the ascendancy. Graeme Shinnie was unlucky to see his crisp drive blocked by McGowan. Aaron Doran then tried a speculative effort from around 30 yards, with the ball dipping into the corner Jamie MacDonald was forced to make a fingertip save and from the corner Shinnie came close again with a strike from the edge of the area but it was deflected away and with that the first half drew to a close. HT 0-0 The 2nd half saw ICT come out with a bit more urgency to their play. Foran and Draper were breaking up anything through the middle while Watkins and Doran were seeing plenty out wide with Tremarco and Shinnie overlapping. Hearts nearly caught Brill by surprise. Callum Tapping found himself at the edge of the area and with the goal in sight but his shot fell way wide of the mark. Ross Draper was next to have a go at the Hearts goal. Billy McKay's cut back eventually fell to the big man as he was charging towards the box but his effort flew high over the bar. A well worked set piece saw Josh Meekings then come close to his first league goal. Doran hit his corner across the surface, Foran dummied it and Meekings struck a curling effort from the edge of the area, unfortunately it curled wide. Given the sight of goal he had it should probably have been on target. Jamie Walker was taken off injured and replaced by David Smith. He offered a decent option down the right and his cross was spilled by Dean Brill, hearts were in mouths but fortunately he was quick to salvage it. Just before the hour mark ICT finally made the breakthrough. Marley Watkins stole the ball from Scott Robinson in midfield and he laid it out to Aaron Doran. Doran did just enough to feed it back to Watkins who laid out wide to McKay. The wee man did brilliantly to cut inside and beat his man before curling an absolute pearler beyond MacDonald and into the bottom corner of the net. The advantage was almost doubled with an even better shot from Billy. Watkins manged to push to the byline before delivering a wonderful ball into the area. Billy connected with it on the first time volley but he was terribly unlucky to see his effort cannon off the post and out of danger. Nick Ross then teed up the wee man who smacked an effort across goal. It went wide by a fair distance but with the angle being tight it wasnt a bad effort by any means. Hearts were struggling to make things happen, and with no real Plan B to call upon ICT were beginning to sense another goal was not far off. Marley Watkins was unlucky not to score and for his overall performance he probably deserved one. Doran flighted in a free kick and Watkins managed to stretch a leg to connect with it at the back post. Unfortunately for him it fell just wide of the mark. He was even more unlucky not to be awarded a spot kick after being wrestled to the ground by McHattie. With the game entering the final stages it was put to bed by another cracking strike from ICT's classy number seven, the finish itself was good but it was a goal built from the back which was even more impressive. Smith's cross was intercepted by Meekings. The ball fell to Draper who fed the ball to Watkins. More and more gaps were opening as Hearts went in search of a way back into the game. Watkins raced into the Hearts half before threading it through to McKay. On his left foot and with a defender closing in the wee man struck it first time. It was a venomous shot from Billy and it crashed past MacDonald and into the rood of the net to send the big travelling support into raptures and help send the 3 points up the A9. Toby Agdestein and Danny Williams were brought on for Marley Watkins and Aaron Doran in the remaining minutes of the match but with the remaining minutes played out, the referee brought the match to a close. FT 0-2 To summarize :- First half was a bit of a write off but the second half saw us play more like the side we've been throughout the season. Plenty openings carved out, 2 great goals and 3 valuable points taken back up the road as we go into the festive period. Hearts may be basement boys but there are no easy games in this league and I'm glad we treated Hearts with the respect they deserved and took the 3 points simply by having that cutting edge. Billy's goals were arguably 2 of his best so far. Great skill and composure for both. I think there will be major interest come January but with him being under contract and in the form of his life its vital we hang onto him. MotM - Watkins and Ross were dangerous every time they were on the ball while Foran and Draper were hard as nails in the midfield but for the sheer class shown in both goals it has to go to Billy McKay. Date: 14.12.2013 Venue: Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 11950 Referee: Brian Colvin Hearts: 0 Lineup: MacDonald, Hamill, McGowan, Wilson, McHattie, Robinson, Tapping, Nicholson (B.King 66), Walker (Smith 46), Paterson, Oliver (Carrick 70) Subs (not used): Hamilton, Mckay, A.King, Mcghee Scorers: none Booked: Tapping (33) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Brill, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, McKay, Draper, Foran, Doran (Agdestein 86), Ross, Watkins (Williams 90), Tremarco Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Devine, Greenhalgh, Polworth Scorers: McKay (59, 83) Booked: Tremarco (42), Foran (44), Draper (53), Watkins (89) Sent Off: none