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Jags on Jags Third place Partick Thistle come calling at the Caledonian Stadium this Saturday for a game scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm. The sides can't be separated so far this season with both fixtures ending all square. Partick will be looking to hang on to the coat tails of the top two who face each other on Friday night whilst we are in desperate need of points to avoid being sucked into the hub of the relegation play-offs. Both sides exited the Scottish Cup last weekend against Premiership opposition, but it's back to the grind on Saturday with a tough encounter expected. Off the field, the Battery Farm project is still a cause for concern with the local council doing a U-turn. You couldn't make this up, what an omnishambles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ H2H v Partick Thistle Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 26 12 7 7 39 33 +6 Away 25 6 7 12 26 40 -14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 51 18 14 19 65 73 -8 Home team is normally the best indicator in these fixtures. We suffered a couple of heavy away defeats a year or two ago but other than that most of these fixtures have been close affairs and usually favour the home side. Both games this season ended all square, although it's fair to say that Inverness shaded the play but our lack of penetration in the final third is a continuing problem. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick Thistle 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) FULL TIME: 0 - 0. Thistle be the day: This will be the day that Duncan Ferguson made his bow to the Caley Jags fans. The weather might have dampened the atmosherics, but inside the stadium it was a warm welcome for Big Dunc. He was without the long term absentees (MacGregor & Nicolson) plus more recent victims in Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy. After the first win last week, it was an unchanged starting XI that took to the sodden turf. Partick had our olde foe Brian Graham up front. Enough said. Neither side can complain about a point apiece but Partick will now know that they can not expect to pick up easy points against us. In fact had Gilmour placed his shot within the bounds of the posts then we could have taken all three points. Meh! Another step in the right direction for Inverness who matched high scoring Partick Thistle all over the park. Best for Inverness were the tricky Longstaff, the unflustered Ujdur and the driving force of Gilmour, with Ridgers doing his bit at the end. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Big game on Friday night: Raith v Dundee United 1. Dundee Utd 22 14 6 2 45 11 48 2. Raith Rovers 22 13 5 4 40 31 44 3. Partick Thistle 22 10 7 5 43 34 37 4. Morton 22 9 5 8 32 27 32 5. Airdrieonians 21 8 4 9 20 24 28 6. Queens Park 23 7 5 11 31 41 26 7. Ayr United 23 7 5 11 30 41 26 8. Inverness CT 23 6 6 11 26 28 24 9. Dunfermline 22 6 6 10 24 32 24 10. Arbroath 22 5 3 14 23 45 18 FRIDAY 16TH FEBRUARY Raith Rovers v Dundee Utd SATURDAY 17TH FEBRUARY Airdrieonians v Ayr United Dunfermline v Arbroath Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Queen's Pk v Morton Last Time Out Both sides fell at the 5th round stage of the Scottish Cup. We went down 3-1 to a seasoned Premiership side in Hibs. Defensive blunders, a deflected goal and a bit of extra quality saw Hibs through to face Rangers in the next round. The goal of the game came from Aaron Doran in stoppage time. A mere consolation, but a cracker nonetheless. <<click watch on X to start video>> No disgrace really, but the disappointing aspect of this defeat, as is the case most weeks, is our inability to break down a defence and get a shot on target. However, with Alex Samuel injured, we lost our only form of aggression up front, and with it, any hope of causing an upset. Partick had cheered us all up when they knocked County out of the Cup in the previous round, however, surprisingly they found Livingston to be much more resilient and went down 2-3 after extra time. McInroy and Fitzpatrick had put the Harry Wragg's two ahead on the hour before Livi produced a match winning comeback to win in extra time thanks to Kris Doolan's untimely substitutions. Latest Team News Inverness will be without Luis Longstaff for a couple of months with a knee injury. Alex Samuel missed out last week with a fractured hand and misses out again. Morgan Boyes fell out with a post against Hibs and will be out. The post escaped without injury and will be back in action on Saturday.Danny Devine and Nikola Ujdur have had limited training this week. Here's Bim>>> Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan lamented making the two substitutions in the five minute spell between Partick going 2-0 ahead and Joel Nouble starting the Livi comeback in the 66th minute. My Bad he said Speaking on BBC Sport: "I'm gutted. We put so much into it, but to be 2-0 up and lose is tough. We pushed them the full way. I take responsibility, I made two subs quickly, took off two key players. Maybe they should have stayed on the pitch. "We caused them problems, but we just couldn't deal with their physicality at the end of the game. It's heartbreaking when it comes down the last 20 seconds and you lose a goal, but there are positives to take." Team v Livi in Cup: Sneddon McMillan Williams 71) Muirhead (McKenzie 100) Neilson Milne Bannigan Stanway Lawless (Diack 64) McInroy (Alston 87) Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 87) Graham (Adeloye 64) Subs not used: Mitchell; Stewart; Lyon

Second half collapse Premiership Hibernian were between Inverness and a place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. The last time these sides lifted the Scottish Cup was in 2015 & 2016. We dipped our toes in the final last season losing out to Celtic and Hibs lost out to St Johnstone two years earlier. Neither side are taking their respective League tables by storm, so the break for a Scottish Cup encounter might do both sides some good. We had never beaten Hibs in four Cup encounters, including a replay. Alex Samuel was a major doubt with a fractured hand and was missing along with Danny Devine and Luis Longstaff who twisted his knee in training. Here's what happened this time... Having matched Hibs for almost an hour a massive deflection enabled Maolida to open the scoring. Slack defensive play set Martin Boyle on his way to double Hibs advantage before a late goal set up by Boyle saw Youan tap in. Game over but Aaron Doran notched an injury time consolation for Inverness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A North East wind chilled the stadium as kick-off approached but the home support were out in force with a large away crowd also in attendance. A fairly even first half where chances were at a premium with Hibs creating the better opportunites but neither keeper overly troubled. After the interval Hibs eased ahead when a shot from Maolida took a massive deflection to end up high in the net. Tough luck for the hosts but they were the architects of their own downfall at the first and second goals when we failed to clear our lines before Maolida's deflected shot and Boyle scored a second after an attempted clearance by Boyes. Boyle set up Youan for a tap in third. Credit to Aaron Doran for pulling one back with a superb volley but the game was long gone by then. Cammy Kerr hit the top of the crossbar with a looped header at 1-0 but in truth we saw too little action in the opposition box and paid the consequences of that. FULL TIME: 1-3 From BBC Sport: Inverness CT manager Duncan Ferguson: "We obviously knew it was going to be a tough game. "There wasn't much in it at half time and then we gave away a couple of poor goals. I was happy with the performance, but it was a mountain to climb after those two goals." Hibs head coach Nick Montgomery: "It was a comfortable victory in the end. Not an easy place to come, always a difficult cup tie and playing against an underdog. "But I thought the boys executed the game very well and I thought we more than deserved to get through. We created a lot of opportunities at the end, we probably could have had a couple more and I think they had one shot on target and it was a fantastic finish by the boy." We lost didn't we Robert on CTO: No complaints from me about the result. Ridgers kept us in it in the first half, although I thought we competed well and deserved the 0-0 score line. The shot for the first goal took a wicked deflection or otherwise Ridgers would have had a comfortable save. McAllister lost possession in the build up after doing the hard work in winning the ball. Boyes was at fault for the second whilst we seemed to switch off a bit expecting a flag for the third but the player who picked the ball up was onside. Doran’s goal was a cracker, but far too little far too late. I’m not sure about the defensive substitutions as the defence was coping well on the whole. I can only guess that Chilokoa-Mullen and Savage are not fully match fit yet as both have been subbed in all three matches they’ve started for us. Hibs fans at the Caledonian Stadium>>> Date: 10/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3837 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Cilokopa-Mullen (Ujdur 70), Carragher (MacGregor 90+1), Savage (Boyes 70), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, McAllister (Doran 70), B Mckay (Pepple 63) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels Scorers: Doran (90+5) Booked: Carragher (28) Sent Off: none Hibernian: 3 Manager: Nick Montgomery Lineup: Marshall; Miller (Cadden 83), Fish, Triantis, Obita, Newell, Amos (Levitt 45), Boyle, Moiah-Welsh (Marcondes 74), Mayenda (Youan 45), Maolida (Le Fondre 62) Subs (not used): Wollacot; Hanlon, Stevenson, Vente Scorers: Maolida (55), Boyle (79), Youan (89) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Cup Action With both clubs underperforming this season, this is maybe a welcome break from the weekly chores. Neither club are where they would like to be. Both sides are 7th in their respective League Tables. Hibs are marooned in no mans land in the Premiership and Inverness are languishing in the doldrums, perilously close to the relegation play-off slot in the Championship. Hibs played twice this week and took a beating both times from St Mirren followed by Celtic in midweek as the Premiership played catch-up after the Winter break. We faltered badly at home to Queens Park as mass squad changes disrupted the continuity in the side, although playing at home seems to affect us anyway. It could be a long day this Saturday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Remember This May 2015 Then This May 2015 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 33 16 +17 Away 15 5 4 6 16 20 -4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 33 15 7 11 49 36 +13 Despite our demise, we still hold the upper hand over Hibs, especially at home despite losing the last two which were both Scottish Cup ties. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 5 (H) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (H) We have never beaten Hibs in the Scottish Cup, losing the last two at home. The first Cup meeting at Easter Road in 2008 saw us go down 0 - 3 to a Dean Shiels hat-trick. The last four games between these sides have ended in a home win and today was no different. Reputed Caley Thistle target Dean Shiels scored all three goals in a deserved victory for the Hibees and probably killed any chance Caley Thistle have of getting him to come to the Caledonian Stadium as new boss Mixu Paatelainen will likely be less than enthusiastic about letting him go now. Dean Shiels was the hat-trick hero for Hibs as they eased into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at Caley Thistle’s expense. The player – seemingly frozen out under previous manager John Collins – returned to the starting line-up for new manager Mixu Paatelainen and virtually guaranteed his Easter Road future as he handed the gaffer his best possible start. Hibs have won the Scottish Cup three times, the last one being the year after Inverness beat Falkirk 2-1 to lift the trophy in 2015, Hibs first win came in 1887 when they beat Dumbarton 2-1 followed by 1-0 victory over Celtic in 1902. Hibs have been runners-up 10 times with Inverness losing out once. From Wikipedia>>> 1887: The 1887 Scottish Cup Final was the 14th final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 1886–87 Scottish Cup. The match was played at the second Hampden Park in Crosshill (today part of Glasgow) on 12 February 1887 and was watched by a crowd of 15,000 spectators. The final was contested by the 1883 winners Dumbarton and Hibernian who had never won the competition before. 1902: The 1902 Scottish Cup Final was played on 26 April 1902 at Celtic Park in Glasgow and was the deciding match of the 29th season of the Scottish Cup. The match had been scheduled to be played at Ibrox Park on 12 April, but the first Ibrox disaster occurred the week earlier during the annual Scotland v England game. This meant that the final was delayed by two weeks and moved to Celtic Park, although Celtic were one of the finalists. Hibernian won the match 1–0, with a 75th-minute goal from Andy McGeachan. This was Hibernian's last Scottish Cup triumph for 114 years, until they won it again in 2016 by beating Rangers 3–2. Att: 16,000 2015: The 2015 Scottish Cup Final was the 130th final of the Scottish Cup. The match took place at Hampden Park on 30 May 2015 and was contested by Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ten-man Inverness won the final 2–1 thanks to a late James Vincent goal. Marley Watkins scored the first with Peter Grant replying for the Bairns after Carl Tremarco had been sent off. Att: 37,149. 2016: The 2016 Scottish Cup Final was the 131st final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 2015–16 Scottish Cup. The match took place at Hampden Park on 21 May 2016 and was contested by Scottish Championship teams Rangers and Hibernian. It was the first final to be contested by two teams from outside the top tier of the Scottish football league system. Hibernian ended a run of 114 years from last winning the competition, beating Rangers 3–2 with a stoppage time goal from club captain David Gray. Att: 50,701 We are of course beaten finalists from last season losing 3-1 to Celtic. Inverness at the wrong end of the Championship table with Hibs in the middle of nowhere. Remember, nothing is easy, but anything is possible>>> Latest Team News We will need to wait for Duncan Ferguson to announce his plans. We barely know half the squad; not sure if Duncan does either since the transfer window shut. A major worry is on loan striker Alex Samuel who has broken his hand and faces the possibility of being out for a few weeks. Doctors are looking to see if he can get away with a lighter cast, but that's in the balance right now. Luis Longstaff is out after twisting a knee in training. As shown against Queens Park, we struggled badly to break down a team prepared to sit in and wait for their one opportunity. However, with Premiership opposition comes the hope that they will fancy their chances and come North to have a go and that might suit us better. Players at Nick Montgomery's disposal for the midweek defeat to Celtic. David Marshall; Miller, Fish, Triantis, Obita, Newell, Boyle, Moriah-Welsh, Levitt, Youan, Vente Substitutes: Wollacott, Mayenda, Amos, Stevenson, Maolida, Le Fondre, Veiga Vieira Tavares, Molotnikov, Megwa No1 keeper is David Marshall of Scotland penalty save claim. Martin Boyle is the pacey threat up front, but to be honest there will be threats all over the park as you would expect from an established Premiership side.

Spiders close the gap The January transfer window saw seven new players come to the Caledonian Stadium and around ten players try their hand elsewhere. Big outs were Carson, Welsh and Wotherspoon. Cammy Kerr is a known quantity in and Alex Samuel has already notched four goals in two games. The other newbies are promising prospects and only time will tell if they are ready to sample the Championship. Latest signings 'Bim' Pepple and Sean McAllister were on the home bench. Queens had three changes from last week with Sean Welsh suspended Danny Wilson had not materialised for the visitors but they had former Rothes player Callum Happell on the bench with Crole and Scott. Dom Thomas and Ruari Paton were the ones to watch for the visitors. No goals in a turgid first half but plenty of possession without working the keeper too hard. Dom Thomas opened the scoring just after the interval and that's how it ended. We have signed plenty of players, but we don't have a team yet. The only consolation is we actually went up a place in the table as Morton hammered Dunfermline 5-0 at EEP. However, both Dunfermline and Queens Park have games in hand over us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A brisk and blustery afternoon like something from Winnie the Pooh greeted the players as the game got underway with news from Somerset Park that Ayr United opened the scoring against League leaders Dundee United within two minutes. Not much happening early doors in the Highlands as the teams got to grips with conditions and team mates names. Alex Bannon headed wide after fifteen minutes for the Spiders. Chilokoa-Mullen saw a yellow after twenty minutes and Ridgers was brought into action from Ruari Paton's free kick. Alex Samuel shot wide but it was poor value for money so far and Cammy Kerr also dragged his shot wide five minutes later. The attempts were starting to rack up now and Charlie Gilmour was next to miss the target before Max Anderson saw Ferrie save his effort. Shaw was denied on the break and from the recycled ball Samuel shot wide. Plenty of possession from the hosts but no breakthrough at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break but we came out quicker and Billy Mckay was denied by Ferrie before Nathan Shaw had an effort blocked. Alas, it was a false dawn as Dom Thomas opened the scoring for the Spiders five minutes after the interval. Alex Samuel will be disappointed not to have levelled the game five minutes later with a close range header but Ferrie saved to keep the visitors ahead. Sean McAllister came on for his debut as he replaced Anderson ten minutes after the interval. Cammy Kerr cut inside from the right and offloaded but Ferrie kept the ball out and Inverness won a corner. Ujdur headed over as the home side looked to get back into the game, and Ridgers was back in action to save from Ruari Paton with fifteen minutes left. In stoppage time and another effort from Gilmour misses the top corner. Harper fired a free kick over at the death and that was it. Over and out! FULL TIME: 0-1 Same sh!t different day - Reaction on CTO: Went to the game with optimistism, Anticipation and confidence... left with a feeling of De ja vu. That was a tough watch, as has been the case so often. I thought we started poorly but then largely dominated the first half but couldn’t score. We were too tippy tappy yet again in the final third when shots were on. We came out strongly in the second half but conceded against the run of play and never looked like getting back in it after then. For comparison Dodds in the Championship averaged 1.5 points per game, Ferguson is on 1.35. I think I would have been better going shopping .........You've taken that too far Highlights??? We lost didn't we>>> Date: 03/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1962 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Devine, Chilokoa-Mullen (Ujdur 51), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson (McAllister 56), Savage (Longstaff 74), Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Boyes, Doran, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Chilokoa-Mullen (19), Ujdur (88) Sent Off: none Queens Park: 1 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Ferrie; Tizzard, Bannon, Thomson, Robson, Bruce (Carse 60), Turner, McKinstry (Scott 60), McPherson (Longridge 68), Thomas, Paton (Crole 90+6) Subs (not used): Kane; Williamson, Reid, Mauchin, Haspell Scorers: Thomas (50) Booked: Tizzard (53), Scott (71) Sent Off: none a