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Smokies Smoke Sloppy Jags After a minutes applause for three former Arbroath players in left back Tommy Hughes, striker Billy Pirie and keeper Gordon Marshall, the game got under way on a bright afternoon at the Greenversity Stadium at Gayfield. An even opening saw Alfie Bavidge pass up an early opportunity from a long ball forward from Remi Savage and another saved by McAdams. Moments later Scott Stewart was denied by the legs of Inverness keeper Musa Dibaga as he bore down on goal from the right side of the box after fifteen minutes, the ball spinning wide for a corner. An inviting free kick from Fraser Taylor curled nicely onto the boot of Aaron Steele six yards out as he opened the scoring on his return to Arbroath. He got on the end of the free kick to guide the ball behind Dibaga in the twenty-fifth minute. Arbroath had been looking for the chance to win a penalty kick and the ref duly obliged a few minutes before the interval when the lead was doubled from the spot. Andy Winters scored his second goal since coming in from Livingston, the ball going in off the post. Remi Savage was deemed the culprit in a handball incident wide left inside the box when he really could not do anything about it. Harsh decision to award the penalty. That spurred the Lichties on just before the break and Savage was booked moments later thwarting another surge down the Arbroath right. From another curling Taylor free kick Dibaga pulled off a tremendous diving save to his right to tip the ball behind for a corner from Stewart's header, possibly shaving the post on the way out. On the stroke of half time Taylor almost got on the scoresheet but he was denied as Dibaga spread himself well on the goalline to block the ball away to safety. Into the second half with Billy Mckay replacing Alfie Stewart and it would be an uphill task thereafter. Mckay did bounce a trundler off the post on the hour but he would be subbed himself before the end. The rout was complete after seventy minutes when Fraser Taylor slipped substitute Ryan Dow through and he slipped the ball past Dibaga to end the scoring. Game over! FULL TIME: 3-0 We've had better days to be honest. We were smoked by the smokies today with Arbroath making the most of their opportunities whilst we mainly failed to make the keeper work too hard to earn his corn. By the end of the game the Eagle had been subdued... Mantis on CTO: That’s the first time this season I’ve seen us comprehensively hammered. Arbroath are the best side I’ve seen, quite physical in defence and midfield and quick on the break. They’ve added the boy Penman on loan from St. Mirren and Sam Stanton from Raith. Mind you, we were the better side for the first 25 till they scored from a set piece. Highlights from Arbroath FC TV (minus our better opportunities) Cove play Montrose this Tuesday night. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenhousemuir 24 9 38 2 Arbroath 22 10 37 3 Cove Rangers 22 10 34 4 Queen of Sth 24 -3 32 5 Kelty Hearts 22 7 31 6 Alloa Athletic 24 3 31 7 Annan Athletic 24 -16 27 8 Montrose 23 -5 26 9 Inverness CT 24 0 22 10 Dumbarton 23 -15 08 Great overview from Naelifts on CTO: Only my second game this season. Always a pleasure going to Gayfield. They seem to have done quite a lot of work around the ground. The weather was merciful as we know what it can be like there. A sound start, moving the ball well for the first quarter. 3 extravagant 70 yard crossfield passes all hit Longstaff and on the third occasion he bore down on goal only to be foiled by a good block. Prior to that Bavidge's first touch was sublime before he poked the ball just wide of the advancing keeper. Arbroath took the lead against the run of play and a quick second in effect put the game to bed. Two good saves kept us in touch in theory before half time. Arbroath were tenacious in midfield and fast to break and after half time we weren't at the races. You could argue that Billy unluckily hitting the post could have breathed new life into the team but, in reality, we were outplayed by a superior team. For the home side their Luca Modric ( 5' 5"?) like number 14 buzzed around the park linking play and he impressed. 248 Caley souls was a great turn out. For me, Arbroath go up and we must buckle down and try to maintain Div 1 status. Any talk of play offs is fanciful. Date: 08/02/2025 Venue: Gayfield Attendance: 1500 Referee: Graham Grainger Arbroath FC: 3 Manager: Colin Hamilton & David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Steele, Watson, O'Brien (Dow 21), Penman, Spalding (Gold 86), Stanton, Wilkie, Stewart (Murray 86), Taylor (McKechnie 81), Winter (King 80) Subs (not used): McConnell; Scorers: Steele (26), Winter (42 pen), Dow (70) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan (R Thompson 81), Mackinnon (Macleod 58), Stewart (B Mckay 46, Cairns 83) Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; J Walker, Strachan, Ewan, Keogh Scorers: none Booked: Savage (42), Gilmour (46) Sent Off: none a

Stand to Attention We will play Arbroath on Saturday at Gayfield in a Stadium with recent damage to their stand. Well I never! Saturday is the 8th of February and it's 25 years to the day since the last time this happened. SuperCaleygobalisticArbroathareatrocious won't have the same impact or quite the same ring to it, but a repeat of that famous scoreline will do nicely. Of course this game was dependent on work to rectify the storm damage being done and or the insurers coughing up the money. I wonder if they already gave them an advance given the number of new faces joining in the January transfer window? A couple of recent defeats have knocked Arbroath off their perch at the top of the table. It's a League nobody is prepared to take the bull by the horns as the lead changes hands every couple of weeks. Some good news this week, it has been revealed that the Supporters Trust will have a seat on the Board of the club once they come out of Administration. George Moodie, Chairman of the Trust, was talking at the Football Memories group at at the stadium and said "We have been promised a seat around the boardroom table once the club gets out of administration". Unfortunately some sad news last week with the passing of former Highland League striker Billy Pirie at the age of 75. Billy played for a number of Scottish sides; Huntly, Arbroath (39 in 85 apps), Aberdeen (11 in 45 apps) and Dundee where he scored 93 in 112 appearances for the Dark Blues. They don't make them like that anymore. RIP Billy. Further sad news announced today is that former Arbroath keeper Gordon Marshall has passed away. Gordon played between 1972 & 1978 making 148 appearances for the Lichties. He had previously played for Hearts, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Hibernian, Celtic and Aberdeen as well as being capped for England at Under 23 level. RIP Gordon. Attention Attention: Please note that due to damage caused to Arbroath’s stand last Friday, seating in the Coelbrew stand is unavailable to away fans at the moment. Repairs are underway and hopefully will be done before the game. Arbroath FC are doing their utmost to remedy this but the reality is that it may not be repaired in time for Saturday ***UPDATE: Repairs to the roof above the away seating in the Coelbrew Stand at Gayfield Park have now been completed and tickets are now available for that stand. Game On! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus/Info Arbroath Stand Keith Bray Calum Mackay Billy Pirie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 28 18 5 5 62 24 +38 Away 26 11 7 8 36 31 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 54 29 12 13 98 55 +43 Records will show that over the years we still have the edge over Arbroath. However, recent events, even before administration, reveal that Arbroath are narrowing the gap, especially at Gayfield. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart his first. Up next a revenge mission at home to QotS. *There were plenty of positives to be taken from the defeat against Queen of the South in last midweek. Alfie Bavidge is on form with three from three and Keith Bray added his third League goal of the season. Luis Longstaff was a big miss at Palmerston having been injured at Annan last Saturday and missed out again at Alloa. The good news for us was that Longstaff returned for the the home win against QotS and Alfie Bavidge notched his fourth goal in five appearances. Sadly it has been confirmed that we will be losing Keith Bray at the end of the season although his new club, Dunfermline, have loaned him back to us for the remainder of the season. Par for the course I suppose. Calum Mackay has left Inverness after mutual agreement between player and club. Scot Kellacher speaking to the media on the squad going forward after the transfer window: “I’m really confident in the squad, the squad we have now has got us to where we have got to. We have given ourselves a fighting chance, it has been a big ask in terms of the task we have been set. The boys have done great, every single one of them even the boys that haven’t played too many games. They’ve been on the training ground, pushing the other boys to their limits.” “We’re happy with the squad. Whether we can get another one in, we’ve got until the end of February [until the loan window shuts]. Hopefully nobody gets injured, we’ve got the squad we’ve got and that is more than enough for me.” Cove v Kelty is a casualty of Scottish Cup duty for the Balmoral Stadium side. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 23 8 35 2 Cove 22 10 34 3 Arbroath 21 7 34 4 Queen of Sth 23 -2 32 5 Kelty Hearts 22 7 31 6 Alloa Athletic 23 3 30 7 Montrose 22 -5 25 8 Annan Ath 23 -17 24 9 Caley Jags 23 3 22 10 Dumbarton 22 -14 08 Arbroath went down 2-1 at Cove after taking an early lead through Andy Winter. However, two late goals for the hosts saw them snatch all three points with Megginson and Harrington the scorers. This was their Starting XI at Cove. Arbroath's Last six League games: W L W W L L Working back from the defeat at Cove, they lost 3-1 at Alloa but scored seven without reply in big wins over Montrose and Annan. A 3-2 defeat at Kelty brings them back to our last encounter in the Highlands which Arbroath won 2-0 with goals from Smith and Reilly in a game that Inverness had Robbie Thompson red carded before half time when the score was 0-0. During that period Arbroath have had a couple of games postponed. The January sales have been good for Arbroath: Aaron Steele has returned from Stenhousemuir. Big coup getting Sam Stanton in on loan from Raith Rovers. The vastly experienced Billy King (once at ICTFC) has signed on at Gayfield. Andy Winter came in on loan from Livingston and scored at Cove. Kieran MacKechnie signs on from QotS and Keeper Jack McConnell extends his loan stay for the remainder of the season as has Robbie Hemphrey. Callum Penman has also been brought in on loan from St Mirren. A few outs: Ross County's highly rated young defender Dylan Smith has returned North. Craig Slater to Forfar, Gordon Walker (without club) and Brynn Sinclair (off down under). Liam Callaghan, Quinn Coulson and Layton Bisland (loaned out).

Revenge is Sweet Inverness gained revenge for a 3-2 defeat eleven days ago at Palmerston when Alfie Bavidge struck his fourth goal in five games with a neat finish from the left side of the penalty box after being fed through by Paul Allan following good work by the returning Luis Longstaff. It was a tight game against a robust Doonhamers side with on form Adam Brooks looking lively for Queens early on before the game settled down. Good pace and power from Bavidge to get on the end of the ball and slip it past keeper Ross Stewart. A slow burner of a second half with chances at a premium. There was a flurry of activity around Stewart before and after Brydon was sent off for persistent fouling and a second yellow card. Stewart made a couple of super saves late in the game as the hosts threatened to increase their advantage and he was in the right place to deny a slick flick from Longstaff when he met a cross from the right. An ultimately deserved win over a Queens side who adopted a 'they shall not pass at any cost' attitude throughout the game and no surprise they ended up with ten men. Unfortunately for us Annan pulled off a great win at Kelty but Montrose are now a target for the bottom three to aim at. Special mention for Michael Hewitt who managed to get play stopped for a head injury when we had possession but made a miraculous recovery to play a blinder for the remainder of the game.............. starting seconds later. The result was greater than the performance and we dug deep to get this win against an over enthusiastic Queens side who were prepared to use underhand tactics to try and derail our admin train. Great finish from Alfie Bavidge which won the points. Luis Longstaff was a popular choice for MotM after returning from injury. Chances were at a premium throughout the game. Dibaga blocked an early effort from Jordan Allan after twenty minutes before Bavidge struck. In the second half Alfie Stewart had an effort from twenty-five yards clawed away from the top corner and Longstaff was unlucky as he flicked towards goal from a front post ball in by Alfie B. Late in the game keeper Stewart kept out a prod forward from Paul Allan with an outstretched arm after good work down the left flank involving Billy Mckay sending Longstaff down the wing to cross to Allan. Like us eleven days ago, it's a long way home when there's no points in the bag... Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 23 8 35 2 Cove 22 10 34 3 Arbroath 21 7 34 4 Queen of Sth 23 -2 32 5 Kelty Hearts 22 7 31 6 Alloa Athletic 23 3 30 7 Montrose 22 -5 25 8 Annan Ath 23 -17 24 9 Caley Jags 23 3 22 10 Dumbarton 22 -14 08 Date: 01/02/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1726 Referee: Alastair Grieve Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Cairns (83)), Stewart (Mckay (73)), Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Ewan, Keogh, MacLeod, R Thompson, Scorers: Bavidge (36) Booked: MacKinnon (27), Gilmour (31), Bray (87) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 0 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; Douglas, MacIntyre, Hannah (J Brydon (56), Hewitt, Allan (Charters 37), Cochrane, Lyon, Walker (Smith 55), Dickenson, Brooks (F Bryden 70) Subs (not used): Johnson; McLinden, O'Donnell, Scorers: none Booked: Cochrane (20), Dickenson (27), Allen (28), Brydon (72, 81) Sent Off: Brydon (81) a

The Queens Head North It's an early chance for revenge after we were beaten in Dumfries nine days ago as Queen of the South visit the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon, having won 3-2 at Palmerston. They have climbed to third in the table with former Caley Jag Adam Brooks scoring for fun in recent games. Luis Longstaff has trained this week and if he shows no reaction he will be included in the squad. Queens could top the table on Saturday night should they win and other results go their way. Our target is a win over Queens with Annan failing to win and that would put the Caley Jags up to eighth. Plenty of incentives for both teams to do well and that should make for another entertaining encounter. Remember to try the new improved bus service for home games. For 3 pm kick offs, buses leave the Bus Station at 1 pm and 2.15 pm. Buses return from the Stadium 10 minutes after the full time whistle and again at 6 pm. Stagecoach operates these journeys as normal bus services, open to all passengers, and at no cost to either the club or the Supporters Trust. Passengers holding Under 22 or Senior Citizen and Disabled Concessionary Cards will travel free on the service. For other passengers the fare is £2.40 for a single journey. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hospitality/Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar Bus to game Sponsorship ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue for H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 13 3 6 39 26 +13 Away 21 8 7 6 36 25 +11 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 43 21 10 12 75 51 +24 Over the years we generally held the upper hand over the Doonhamers with home advantage showing a greater chance of taking all three points. Administration has it's knock on effect though and this will be a tougher ask than previous years. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 3 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) It's one win each so far this season. A 1-0 win back at the end of August with Billy Mckay notching a first half winner during the Ferguson era. The next game was re-scheduled, hence the two in nine days with Adam Brooks grabbing a brace. Alfie Bavidge and Keith Bray had pulled us level but substitute Jordan Allan nicked the winner ten minutes from the end. A long journey home with no points after putting so much into the game. Maybe we can repay them this weekend. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart his first. Up next a revenge mission at home to QotS. *There were plenty of positives to be taken from the defeat against Queen of the South in last midweek. Alfie Bavidge is on form with three from three and Keith Bray added his third League goal of the season. Luis Longstaff was a big miss at Palmerston having been injured at Annan last Saturday and missed out again at Alloa. Scott Kellacher on Luis Longstaff: “He’s back in contention, he’s trained a fair bit so we’ll see how he gets on. He got through training today [Thursday] so we’ll see how he is tomorrow [Friday] and take it from there. He’s been back training a couple of days so that has been ideal to get him back involved with the squad.” Full Preview from Scott Kellacher Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 22 5 32 3 Queen of Sth 22 -1 32 4 Cove 21 9 31 5 Kelty Hearts 21 9 31 6 Alloa Athletic 22 3 29 7 Montrose 21 -2 25 8 Annan Ath 22 -19 21 9 Inverness CT 22 2 19 10 Dumbarton 21 -14 07 L D W D W W Queens recent run of form has lifted them up to third in the table. A loss at Kelty was followed by a home draw against Annan Athletic then a win over Cove Rangers before drawing with Alloa Athletic. There was the Cup defeat against St Mirren where they gave the Premiership side as good as they got but just fell short and they picked themselves up to beat the Caley Jags in Dumfries in a five goal thriller. They then scored three again against Dumbarton. Adam Brooks has scored four in his last two games, five in the last six League matches and six League goals for the season. Meh! This was their starting XI against the Sons. With Harry Cochrane and Kyle Doherty out there were starts for Josh Walker and Lewis O'Donnell. Taylor Charters, a 23 year old midfielder, has joined on loan from Carlisle United this week for the remainder of the season and goalkeeper Murray Johnson has returned on loan from Hibs. Forward Leighton McIntosh has now left Queens.

Wasps Stung by Caley Jags With storm Eowyn having passed over yesterday it was game on at the Indodrill Stadium within Recreation Park. The Caley Jags last visit here saw them relinquish a two goal lead within six minutes all too easily after Conor Sammon entered the fray. With the only League1 fixture failing to weather the storm being the Arbroath v Kelty game, this was an opportunity for Alloa to get up to second spot and for Inverness to keep abreast of the relegation zone with Dumbarton at Queen of the South. Charlie Dewar started his first game with Josh Gentles on the bench for the hosts. Luis Longstaff failed to make the starting XI or the bench with Alfie Stewart starting again for an unchanged visitors. Inverness took a first half lead through a Keith Bray header but immediately after the break Cameron O'Donnell equalised however Alfie Stewart got his first goal for Inverness with ten minutes remaining. We saw out the game thereafter and took a big step towards safety. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alloa were keen to take the initiative and Dibaga had to save from Conor Sammon in the first couple of minutes followed by Luke Rankin having his effort blocked. James Nolan and Stefan Scougall exchanged misses at opposite ends of the park after ten minutes as the game settled down. Almost midway through the half and a Sammon header brought Dibaga back into action, but it was at the other end that the first goal came. Keath Bray won a corner when his effort had been blocked and when Alfie Stewart swung the ball in Bray headed home to open the scoring. That's three in three for Bray, becoming a habit now! Adam MacKinnon fired goalwards after twenty-five but Morrison saved. Danny Devine picked up a booking and from the free kick Cameron O'Donnell went close but missed the target. Three minutes before the interval Alfie Bavidge almost got his four in four but his first time shot from outside the box hit the post. HALF TIME: 0-1 Here we go again as we lose a goal within a minute, Cameron O'Donnell scoring from close range to draw Alloa level. A bit of a lull in the game and possession had levelled out with a spate of corners for the Caley Jags producing nothing but a couple of bookings for Mckay, Bray and Nolan. Devine had a header pushed away from goal from an Allan free kick and with ten minutes left Alfie Stewart opened his account at the Caley Jags, slotting in after a great assist from Paul Allan. Kane Thomson had an effort saved by Dibaga in the bottom corner as the game approached the ninety minutes. Despite five minutes of time added on, the visitors saw out the game relatively unscathed and took a massive step towards safety. FULL TIME: 1-2 This was a huge win for the Caley Jags with Dumbarton losing and Annan Athletic drawing today after equalising in the last minute. Meh! Only two points behind Annan now and twelve points ahead of Dumbarton although they have a game in hand over us. We showed great resilience to weather the storm and push on for the win. Pleasing and deserved result after the disappointment in midweek at Dumfries. Biggest surprise was no goals for Alfie Bavidge today. Send him back Mantis on CTO: Never a dirty game but Alloa led us on bookings 4-1 before we came back to 4-4 but they snatched it with a last minute card Should have been out of sight at half time. Bavidge was probably poorer than usual but was unlucky when his drive came off the inside of the post. Paid for it within a minute of the restart and Alloa had a good spell for 15 minutes when we could have conceded. Any worries about tiredness after all the long away trips soon evaporated as we took control and forced corner after corner. Billy had a good chance but his legs gave up on him, then Stewart grabbed the winner, in a game where he started to show a bit of overdue class. What a player Keith Bray is. What a support we have right now Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 22 5 32 3 Queens 22 -1 32 4 Cove 21 9 31 5 Kelty 21 9 31 6 Alloa 22 3 29 7 Montrose 21 -2 25 8 Annan 22 -19 21 9 Caley Jags 22 2 19 10 Sons 21 -14 07 Date: 25/01/2025 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 0741 Referee: Steven Kirkland Alloa Athletic: 1 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Thomson, Dewar, Neill, Taggart, O'Donnell (Buchanan 86), Virtanen, Scougall, Sammon (McDonnell 86), Rankin (Gentles 67), Donnelly Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Honeyman, Mullen, Roberts, Cawley Scorers: O'Donnell (46) Booked: Virtanen (7), Thomson (48), O'Donnell (57), Scougall (70), Neill (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Stewart, Gilmour, Allan MacKinnon, Bavidge, B Mckay (Cairns 83) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Ewan, C Mackay, R Thompson, MacLeod, Scorers: Bray (21), Stewart (79) Booked: Devine (33), B Mckay (73), Bray (75), Nolan (77) Sent Off: none a

After the Wind It's our third away game on the trot as we head for Alloa on Saturday should Storm Eowyn relent sufficiently to allow Alloa to host our League1 encounter at Recreation Park. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick off and is the shortest trip of the trio of away days which has given us one win at Annan and a defeat at Queen of the South so far. Nine points in the last six games for Inverness whilst Alloa have gathered seven points from their last six games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. Oh well, on to Alloa on Saturday... Plenty of positives to be taken from the defeat against Queen of the South in midweek. Alfie Bavidge is on form with three from three and Keith Bray added his third League goal of the season. Luis Longstaff was a big miss at Palmerston having been injured at Annan last Saturday. We threw away a two goal lead on our last visit to Recreation Park after Conor Sammon came on and changed the game. Danny Devine and Calum MacLeod had put us in the driving seat but goals from Sammon and Luke Donnelly earned the Wasps a point. In November a Charlie Gilmour goal was the difference between the sides at the Caledonian Stadium as the Caley Jags took the points in a 1-0 win. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 21 9 32 3 Kelty Hearts 21 9 31 4 Alloa Ath 21 4 29 5 Queens 21 -3 29 6 Cove 20 5 28 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 21 -19 20 9 Inverness CT 21 1 16 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Inverness CT Latest Team News Scott Kellacher talking at press/media conference: On Luis Longstaff“ He got a real bad dead leg. He’s going to be 50-50 for the match this weekend. He was a real big loss for us the other night because he’s a big player for us.” If he's giving nothing else away then that may be our major doubt, therefore expect us to be along similar lines to midweek against Queens. In fairness, we don't have much options available anyway. Alloa Athletic: W L L L W D A 2-0 win at Kelty was followed by three defeats on the trot to Montrose, Cove and Stenhousemuir (1-2, 2-0, 1-3). Highlight for Alloa would be their next game, a 3-1 win at Arbroath. They then drew 1-1 at home to Queen of the South last Saturday. Seven points from their last six League games. Luke Donnelly is top scorer with six goals backed up by the vastly experienced Conor Sammon (5) and Luke Rankin (5) Here's how Alloa lined up in the draw with Queen of the South last week. They have since added a couple of loan signings: Josh Gentles a striker from Rangers and Charlie Dewar a defender from Dundee United.