Scotty

I have to say I am somewhat rusty at all of this !!! I dont think I have done a match preview or report for several years ! TM4TJ continues to do a stellar job motivating the volunteer reporters to create our previews, match reports and other content so when he ups sticks and heads offline for a month its a bit of a culture shock to find yourself in at the deep end again. But here goes ... Coming into this match we dont have our problems to seek ! No wins in 10 games since October 26th and only one win in the last 14 games. November and December saw us grab just two points against Hamilton and Kilmarnock and we rounded out the year with three straight losses to Rangers, Motherwell, and then the mob from over the bridge on Hogmanay. Here's hoping 2017 brings something better. Elgin on the other hand are faring a bit better. They sit 3rd in Scottish League2 after 20 games and former Caley Thistle youngster Shane Sutherland tops the league scoring charts with 15 for the season so far. They have played 3 games already in 2017 with a 2-2 draw against Forfar and 3 goal outings in the 3-0 win over Montrose and 3-2 game versus Annan. The only meeting between the sides - other than friendlies over the years - was a 4th round Scottish Cup tie at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium back in January 2011. Despite controlling things from start to finish, Caley Thistle made very heavy weather of most scoring attempts with the goals not coming until injury time in the second half when Dani Sanchez (92) and Adam Rooney (94) netted for the home side. Only Ryan Esson remains as part of the current ICT playing squad from that day although Richie Foran is now manager and Shane Sutherland who came on in the second half for Eric Odhiambo is of course now playing for the Elgin side ! There's a few survivors from the Elgin side from that day too, such as Jamie Duff and Brian Cameron. Since the Hogmanay defeat, Richie Foran has made 2 new signings and also extended the contracts of David Raven and Larnell Cole (loan). Henri Anier is only 26 - but for some reason I thought he was older when reading his career bio - and has previously featured for Motherwell, Dundee Utd and Hibs in the Scottish league as well as clubs in Estonia, Norway, Germany and most recently Kalmar in Sweden. He has 34 caps for Estonia. At the other end of the spectrum, Dean Ebbe has signed from Bluebell United, an amateur club in the Leinster Senior League in Ireland. Personally I see parallels with Dougie Imrie here who had impressed in the juniors at Lanark and worked his way to ICT via Clyde. Imrie was pretty decent for us and still plys his trade in the premiership with Hamilton so it can be done, lets just hope Richie picked a good 'un. Richie was quoted this week as saying Dean is ready to play but Henri may not be risked as his last game was in October. I think we may see Ebbe on from the start with Anier replacing him in the second half. With the winter break for the premiership, there is little team news available as yet, but it is expected that Raven, Horner and MacNaughton are all still out. We will update this list as and when more info is available. Travelling to the game ? Additional train services will be in operation for this match. The outbound train will depart from Inverness at 13:35, arriving in Elgin at 14:20. The return train will depart Elgin at 17:27, arriving back in Inverness at 18:14. No alcohol will be permitted on these trains or on the 18:57 Elgin - Inverness service. In the event of a draw, postponement or abandonment of the original fixture the match will be replayed/take place on the evening of Tuesday 24th January.

Not a Happy New Year Just when you think things can't get much worse, we fail to win at Dingwall for the first time in six games and extend our winless run to ten games, the worst in our history. It's not looking good for Richie Foran as another defeat anchors us at the bottom of the pile and makes us favourites for the drop at this stage of the season. Liam Boyce scored a double and Martin Woods added a third with Carl Tremarco and sub Alex Fisher scoring for Inverness in an all too familiar tale of too little too late. Inverness benched Liam Polworth and started with Aaron Doran, the only change from the defeats against Motherwell and Rangers. County, as expected had Kenny van der Weg back after suspension and gave Ryan Dow a start ahead of Paul Quinn and Craig Curran. A healthy away support gave Inverness all the backing they needed from the start, but it's a pity the team failed to return the favour. It took County only two minutes to breech the suspect visitors fragile defence. Liam Boyce, who scored a hat-trick in the first meeting knocked home from close range, the ball adjudged to have crossed the line by Bobby Madden. Not the start the away fans were hoping for and we were left chasing the game inside 120 seconds. County were buoyed by this explosive start and Alex Schalk hit the side netting soon after. Inverness could only muster a shot from Larnell Cole that cleared the Jail End on it's way out of the stadium. To their credit, Inverness gradually worked their way into the game and began to control most of the play without any real cutting edge, the final ball eluding them as has been the case all season. Schalk went close with a header as County broke the monopoly, but it was Inverness that deservedly pulled themselves level when Carl Tremarco headed home his sixth goal of the season after Warren had made a nuisance of himself in the County box just before the half hour. No more than we deserved at this stage of the game but County re-asserted themselves soon after, Fon Williams being equal to a Martin Woods effort. They took the lead again on thirty-five minutes and it was that man Boyce once more. Fon Williams did well to turn away another strike from Woods, but as Inverness could not clear the ball, Boyce struck the ball well enough and it ended up in the back of the net, Fon Williams looking sheepish again as the ball missed his hands on the way into the net. Boyce was once more a handful for the visiting defence and could have had another hat-trick inside the first half but he missed the target this time and at the other end Cole went closer than his previous attempt but Fox was alert enough to deny him. Half Time 2-1 Iain Vigurs was spotted on the park early in the second half when a minor dust-up was intervened by the ref who lectured the players for offending. King and Fisher were introduced to try and lift Inverness but it was County that stretched their lead when Woods added a third after Schalk fed him through. Billy King was lurking with intent though and it was from one of his shots that Alex Fisher benefited from to score our second goal. A slick forward move saw King turn and strike from twenty yards, Fox blocked but Fisher reacted first to dink the ball behind the keeper. With ten minutes remaining, Inverness piled forward but an equaliser eluded them, Aaron Doran coming closest with a low drive that Fox pushed away. Full Time 3-2 I'm sure the County fans would have enjoyed their Hogmanay celebrations better than the Inverness contingent. Never would they have been expecting to be gifted goals so easily. Owain Fon Williams was suspect again, deceived once more. The annoying thing was that the second goal came after two superb saves, then the innocuous shot/cross from Boyce went straight through him. Shocker from the artist. I doubt he will be painting that scene any time soon. Once again ( how often have we said that), we were cut open too easy, offered too little in attack, squandered what little opportunities came our way, gifted needless goals, were error strewn across the back and lacked the ability and tactical nous to alter the outcome. There's no doubt that County overall deserved to win this encounter, with a little help from ourselves.We did have better spells, but these were unsustainable due to our own frailties. A lot of tough talking to be done during the winter break. I'm sure we won't all like the result, but if it changes our fortunes, so be it. If not then it's Championship for us and a bleak future, that's the reality of the situation we find ourselves in. Ten games without a win does not make for good reading, it's not all down to misfortune. tm4tj MotM:- Tommy Tremarco continues to give. Another goal, his sixth of the season and willingness to get forward when required makes him my MotM. To be honest it was not a difficult choice as others around him disappointed. Owain Fon Williams may still be struggling with spasms, something must be affecting the way he has performed recently is beyond sloppy. Iain Vigurs was again poor, but he was not alone. Billy King showed signs of improvement when he came on, as did Alex Fisher. Other than that, the rest need to take a long hard look at themselves. The young team tried their best to lift spirits on the field but were let down badly. Some investment is needed if we are to get out of this, but the stats tell us otherwise. Anyway, Happy New Year. Enjoy the break. Highlights from SPFL Website Date: 31/12/16 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 5111 Referee: Bobby Madden Ross County: 3 Lineup: Fox, Fraser, Davies, McEveley, van der Weg, Woods (Franks 71), Chow, Routis, Dow (Dingwall 91), Boyce, Schalk (Curran 62) Subs (not used): McCarey, Quinn, McLaughlin, Tumilty Scorers: Boyce (2, 28), Woods (61) Booked: McEveley (76) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, McKay, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Cole (King 56), Vigurs (Boden 73), Doran, Doumbouya (Fisher 56) Subs (not used): Esson, Polworth, Mulraney, Sutherland Scorers: Tremarco (28), Fisher (81) Booked: Warren (46), McKay (92) Sent Off: none a

Absolutely Brutal Inverness slumped to another defeat, this time at the hands of relegation rivals Motherwell. That's nine games without a win and this result leaves us as firm favourites for the drop. If this was a boxing match, the referee would probably have taken both boxers aside and reminded them they would have to show some intent or risk losing their purse. However, Clay delivered a sucker punch with a bit of a freak blow as Fon Williams did not cover himself in glory, the wind aided strike catching him unawares. Another body blow from Scott McDonald ended the contest. Despite a late flurry of activity, probably borne out of embarrassment we only had a scrambled effort from want away midfielder Greg Tansey to show for it. We had plenty of possession in the second forty-five, but similar to most games this season we were unable to capitalise on it. Ross Draper had what looked like a decent claim for a penalty turned down and Aaron Doran struck the crossbar, but as is the norm these days, nothing went for us and in the end the three points left Inverness destined for North Lanarkshire. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Old Caley Girl will have a full report for us when she thaws out and her anger subsides....................... and here it is. Not sure where to start here to be honest. However, the hard luck excuses this season are wearing a bit thin. The Caley Thistle line up was unchanged from the last game at Ibrox. As mentioned in the match preview McHugh returned to the Motherwell line up following a lengthy spell out with concussion. A decent crowd, for a cold post-Christmas midweek match were in good spirits led by a noisy young team in the north stand. However, this optimistic mood was to be misplaced. Motherwell had the first chance of the game with a free kick from Hammell taking a deflection forcing Owain Fon Williams to make a save. However, this led to Caley Thistle having chances of our own with Polworth and Cole coming close. It was end to end chances with Tansey forcing a great save from Samson from a 25 yd free kick. There was bit of drama when Cole had a hefty challenge on Lucas earning a yellow card. Arguably he was perhaps lucky it wasn’t a different colour. This flashpoint kicked off Scott McDonald into a rage and it seemed like everyone on both sides piled in. Tansey tested Samson again on the stroke of halftime but without result. Half Time 0-0 ICT started the 2nd half with a great chance with Doumbouya crossing the ball right across the goalmouth but Cole could not connect. However, in 50 minutes the game changed completely with a Clay shot from the edge of the box catching the wind and finding itself right in the top corner of the net. Not much Owain Fon Williams could do about it as just a freak shot. This did however, change the game with ICT panicking and reverting to the “hoof and hope” tactic. We did have chances to pull the game back with Vigurs and Doran forcing good saves and a possible call for a penalty when Draper was pushed over in front of goal. Draper also had another claim turned down a few moments later but it would have been soft. We continued to press for the equaliser but to no avail and indeed there was the worry that we would be caught on the counter which indeed proved to be the case when Moult stormed down the right passing to McDonald who shot past a static OFW who seemed unwilling to move off his line. Motherwell 2-0 up and the home fans left in droves. Tansey did bundle the ball over the line in the dying minutes but too little too late for the home team. Full Time 1-2 Worrying times. Motherwell looked a poor side but we just couldn’t get our act together. Bottom of the table with just one win in 13. Only 2 home wins this season with only one clean sheet. Apparently we also have the lowest points total at this stage, in any division, in our history as a club. The stats also show that most clubs bottom at the turn of the year go on to be relegated. Richie Foran also a bit fortunate in the lack of criticism coming his way, at the moment, in my opinion. County up next and it really really is a must win but I’m personally not full of confidence. We do have the personnel to sort this and it really is time for some leadership on the field from the experienced players and a bit of backbone to show what they really are capable of. Bad luck maybe but let’s make our own luck. An ugly 1-0 on Saturday will do fine. OCG MotM – To be fair to the match sponsor there really wasn’t a lot of choice. However, the choice of Iain Vigurs drew audible gasps then boos in the north stand. Personally I wish he would roll up his sleeves and stop being a passenger for most of the game. I’m going with Tremarco for the simple reason that I can’t remember him doing much wrong. Date: 28/12/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3097 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth (Mulraney 70), Draper, Vigurs, Tansey, McKay, Doumbouya (Fisher 58), Cole (Doran 55) Subs (not used): Esson, Boden, King, Sutherland Scorers: Tansey (90) Booked: Cole (35), McKay (39), Fisher (77), Vigurs (88) Sent Off: none Motherwell: 2 Lineup: Samson, Tait, Hammell (McMillan 62), Heneghan, McManus, McHugh, Cadden (Ainsworth 25), Lucas, Clay, McDonald, Moult Subs (not used): Brill, Bowman, Ferguson, Campbell, Mackin Scorers: Clay (50), McDonald (87) Booked: Moult (58) Sent Off: none a

Inverness were dealt a blow when an own goal from Brad Mckay was enough to give Rangers all three points despite the hosts being played off the park by a lively Inverness. Martyn Waghorn cut along the byeline and prodded the ball into the box, unfortunately it cannoned off Mckay for the only goal of the game. The goal came seconds after Lonsana Doumbouya spurned a great chance to score at the other end, Foderingham stopping the ball on the line as the big striker looked to be impeded before poking the ball goalwards. Larnell Cole almost benefited from slack play across the Rangers back line but Foderingham saved well again. Greg Tansey saw another effort saved by the keeper and Carl Tremarco almost got on the end of a deep cross that was just missed by Doumbouya as the visitors dominated in everything but the scoreline.. The best chance before the break fell to Liam Polworth after another cock-up in the home defence, alas he side footed the ball just the wrong side of the post. It was more of the same after the break but Rangers did break forward occasionally only for players to squander the chances. Owain Fon Williams was a virtual spectator as Inverness searched for the goal their slick play deserved, but he was eventually called into action to deny Jason Holt an undeserved second for the hosts. The last major action saw Foderingham deny sub Alex Fisher who spun and fired a superb volley towards the top of the goal, unfortunately the keeper was alert enough to tip it over for a corner. Full Time 1-0 So, bottom of the table as expected, but that was as good a performance as we have had all season and deserving of so much more. I'm not sure the goal will stick with Waghorn as it was going across the face of the goal before striking Mckay, but we will have to wait and see on that one. As I said, great performance, but wrong result. Motherwell next, a win would be nice. Alternative Maryhill was slightly more restrained in his summary. Really frustrating to come away without anything there. We looked stronger at the back than we have in ages - Meekings was superb and Mckay again showed that he has been an excellent signing - and we pressed the ball really well further up the park; Tansey and Doumbouya deserve particular praise in this regard. Cole also had probably his best game for us to date - nominally starting on the left of a three behind Doumbouya, he actually played a bit of a free role and looked far more willing take players on than he has in previous games. The drawback of the line-up and tactics we adopted was that we were very short of pace up front, and, especially with Doumbouya dropping back to support so much, we lacked anyone overlapping or taking the ball on. The chances we created - and there were more than there have have been for a while - were mostly created through sheer hard graft, forcing Rangers back by degrees. The fact that we weren't able to take any of them points to a fundamental weakness in the current squad that will probably see us struggling all season, even if we can turn in performances as impressive as this on a consistent basis. Then again, six points against Motherwell and County and we could be back in the top six for the start of 2017. Funny league this year. Merry Christmas btw, CTO folks. Richie Foran was quoted on BBC Sport as saying "I think the fact Rangers struggled is all down to us. I thought we controlled the game and absolutely dominated the first half. We cut them open on numerous occasions and were solid at the back. I can't ask for much more than that We were just lacking that wee bit of magic. Unfortunately we were up against a goalkeeper in unbelievable form. It's soul-destroying how we don't come away with more than a point today." Date: 24/12/16 Venue: Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow Attendance: 48,528 Referee: Don Robertson Rangers: 1 Lineup: Foderingham; Hodson, Kiernan, Hill, Wallace; Tavernier (Windass 58), Halliday, Holt; Waghorn (Forrester 70), Garner, McKay (Miller 58) Subs (not used): Gilks, Wilson, Dodoo, O’Halloran Scorers: Waghorn (13) Booked: Tavernier (42) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, McKay, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Tansey, Polworth, Draper, Cole (Boden 83), Vigurs (Doran 72), Doumbouya (Fisher 78) Subs (not used): Esson, Mulraney, King, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Cole (36), Vigurs (45), Meekings (84) Sent Off: none a

Injuries ruin our chances. Inverness came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock in a game marred by more injuries to our already creaking squad. Souleymane Coulibaly scored a superb individual goal, his eleventh of the season, but captain Gary Warren cancelled that out as he headed home with six minutes remaining. That result keeps us second bottom with Ross County the only bottom team to pick up three points, and that was enough for them to replace Killie in the top six. Gary Warren returned to the starting XI with injury ravaged Owain Fon Williams and Lewis Horner taking their places in defence. In an attempt to bolster the midfield, Brad Mckay played in front of the back four, and Foran started with Lonsana Doumbouya the lone target man. Larnell Cole kept his place after his fine performance last week. Wide players Jake Mulraney, Aaron Doran and Billy King all started on the bench alongside Liam Polworth who has returned sooner than anticipated from injury. Killie had injury worries of their own and youngster Ian Wilson was given a start at the back with Scott Boyd missing out. It was a pretty dour first half with the home side occasionally threatening. In one such attack Josh Meekings made a tremendous clearance off the line after Nathan Tyson had clipped the ball over Owain Fon Williams. He did enough to hook the ball away from the goal line and Brad Mckay completed the clearance to avert a certain goal. Nick Walsh was called into question when the ball came off an Inverness arm in a goalmouth scramble but that would have been harsh had he penalised it. He was asked again and this time it could easily have been given as a cross was blocked by an elbow on the edge of the box. We struggled to make much headway in the first half, not helped by injuries to Doumbouya, Horner and Mckay. Fisher replacing the big striker after twenty-one minutes. Polworth replaced the nose bloodied Brad Mckay at the break. Lewis Horner struggled on until the hour before leaving the field, replaced by Billy King. Gary Warren had our only effort of note in the first forty-five but his header went wide. He would do better late in the game. Half Time 0-0 Billy King entered the fray and flashed a shot wide soon after and it looked as though the pace of the game had changed as we ventured forward. However, clean sheets are difficult to come by and Kilmarnock took the lead through a piece of individual magic. Coulibaly scored his wonder goal in the second half, although there was an element of good fortune about it. When he gathered a long ball on the corner of our eighteen yard box, their seemed little danger. The ball bounced up and he controlled it with his arm. Undaunted and unpunished, he twisted and turned substitute Liam Polworth onto the ground before firing a high shot into the keepers near post as defenders closed on him. Chances were at a premium, but Inverness found a way back into the game through captain Gary Warren. Greg Tansey fired a free kick into the box and the Killie rearguard parted to allow Warren every opportunity to head the ball down into the corner past a diving Jamie MacDonald. Just what we needed to get us off the foot of the table again and the game ended with no further scoring. Full Time 1-1 A draw was just about deserved as both sides had their moments on the ascendancy, but Killie will feel they might have nicked it with the one cleared off the line and a couple of penalty claims that were turned down. We came out stronger in the second half and did well to get back on level terms, so we won't complain about a share of the points. Rig saw it like this Really poor game overall. We lacked any attacking intent in the first half and seemed to have no plan for most of the game other than lump balls towards Doumbouya and Fisher. It was desperate stuff. Second half was a bit better but still we lacked an real incisive play in the final third. We seem to absolutely refuse to try and use our wingers and try and cross the ball into the box for the striker to attack. Looked like there was a hint of a handball when Coulibaly took the ball down when he scored the opener. Still, poor defending from Polworth to let him cut back inside and Fon Williams beaten again at his near post. Atrocious marking for our equaliser. Warren seemed to get in between two Kille players and still had a free header to plant the ball past MacDonald. Injuries really disrupted us today. Doumbouya, Horner and Mckay all taken off. Our reorganisation was a bit odd. Polworth at right back was strange. Far rather have Meekings there, drop Draper into defence and stick Polworth into midfield. He (Polworth) seemed to be one of the very few ICT players willing to carry the ball forward instead of battering it towards Fisher. Massively underwhelming first half performance, slightly improved second half but there's a lot of work to be done specifically in terms of our attacking play. We remain one dimensional, predictable and largely toothless. Think we deserved a draw but there's a lot of concerns there for me from an ICT point of view Immortal Howden Ender picked out different highlights in his summary. That was the best away day in years. The game was frenetic. It was highly entertaining and surprisingly competitive. I witnessed levels of skill and endeavour that I had never seen in certain individuals before. But then, unfortunately, the Hang The Man competition ended and we had to go to the game. How the feck did Mary Hill get Bahram Fetai !! The game itself was wholly forgettable. Up until the Coulibally goal BOTH teams served up dire stuff. The game only really heated up after they scored. We did show a lot of guts to recover but they went defensive and paid the price. Speaking to Killie fans afterwards they said that they had been doing the same all season. The goal was terrific and I had to celebrate with a piked, double somersault over the seats in front of me - ably abetted (feckin pushed) by King Beastie. And RedCard organised and won the goalscorer award and Warren could have had time to do a turn in the Hang the Man competition whilst he strolled in for the equaliser. The "spirit" certainly was there. Agree with what SuperFan posted earlier. Strange substitution but injuries are taking their toll. Strange to see the Walrus parading around with a huge ice pack on feckin freezing day and blood oozing from the two others. Tremarco was my clear MOM although Meekings was close. And we have no "teeth" up front. Date: 17/12/16 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3294 Referee: Nick Walsh Kilmarnock: 1 Lineup: MacDonald, Hendrie, Boyle, Wilson, Taylor, McKenzie, Smith, Dicker, Jones, Tyson, Coulibaly Subs (not used): Mackay, Bojaj, Frizzell, Smith, Hawkshaw, Cameron, Adams Scorers: Coulibaly (73) Booked: Taylor (63), Smith (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Vigurs, Tansey, Horner (King 52), Mckay (Polworth 46), Doumbouya (Fisher 20), Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Doran, Mulraney, Boden Scorers: Warren (84) Booked: Draper (16), Polworth (90) Sent Off: none a