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If at first you don't succeed It's the second time of trying to get this match played (postponed from Boxing Day) and that will be the same for another handful of games as a combination of snow, ice, Scottish Cup and covid19 have decimated our campaign. We will be playing catch-up for the foreseeable future with postponed Championship games against Arbroath, Queen of the South, Raith Rovers and Alloa to come, not to mention cup games against Buckie Thistle and possibly Ross County. Our last game was a 1-1 draw with Dunfermline on 29th December. Almost one month ago. Morton drew at Ayr that day and the same 1-1 scoreline at Alloa four days later. They have drawn with the Pars since then and went down 2-1 at Dumfries last Saturday. Not the most profitable period for Morton, but at least they have been active. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live Streaming from Ton TV £14 Kick Off 6:30 - Cappielow Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Latest Team News Kai Kennedy is now at Raith Rovers and he will be a big miss. Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie are not ready for action after long term injuries. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of new niggly injuries that may require rest with a busy schedule coming up. I wonder if Wallace Duffy, Aaron Doran and David Carson might have benefitted from the enforced lay off and will be looking to get involved with the squad Morton Morton team v QotS: McAdams, Ledger, Fjortoft, McGinty, Strapp (Oliver 78′), McAlister, Lyon, Salkeld, Colville, Nesbitt, Orsi Given the amount of Previews wasted recently, that's all your getting. Meh! After losing to Raith Rovers on Saturday, the Jambos gained ample revenge by pumping Raith 4-0 at Stark's Park tonight. Hendry of Rovers was sent off before the break.

And Rooney

Kai Kennedy

Rescheduled Alloa game 7:00pm Tuesday night Weather & Covid permitting... The original preview has been resurrected and irrelevant parts have been greyed out. The section regarding manager John Roberton has been left in as it has been revealed today that he has been granted compassionate leave due to a family bereavement. The club are looking to appoint an interim manager whilst Robbo is away. All at CTO send sincere condolences to John and family and hope everyone gets the support they need. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. It's one month since the original fixture was called off. Since then we have played four times, drawing with Morton and Arbroath, disappointingly losing at home to Queen of the South but bouncing back at the weekend to defeat Ayr United 2-0 at Somerset Park. Daniel Mackay and Shane Sutherland with the goals in each half. Importantly David Carson played from the start and put in a MotM performance. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Fast forward one month for the Wasps and they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at Ayr followed by an excellent 2-1 home win over Queen of the South. A home draw with Arbroath led to Saturdays narrow loss at East End Park where word on the street has it that they deserved something from that game. Alloa now find themselves five points adrift at the foot of the table. No room for complacency at Inverness though as we are one of the teams 5 points above Alloa. ***Latest Team News*** David Carson has returned to action and played a big part in the win at Ayr. Danny Devine has been out recently but he also played at Ayr. We are still without Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie on long term sickness benefits and they have been joined by Aaron Doran and loan signing Anthony McDonald. James Vincent was missing at Ayr as well. All three picked up injuries in training with Doran and McDonald possibly out for longer term. Peter Grant had this team out against Dunfermline with dangerman Kevin Cawley on target. Team: Parry; Robertson (Thomson 91), Graham, Taggart, Dick, Hetherington Williamson (Brown 90), Scougall, Trouten, Cawley, Cameron Subs: Buchanan, Jamieson, Connelly, Murray, Wright So there you have it, we are up to date now. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 Club Statement re- John Robertson & Scott Kellacher Alloa Kick-off 7:00pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend ------------------ League table as at 20th January. Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware! View full article

Am no wasting another preview yet, see how the covid and weather pans out for the weekend. Meh!

Keep up Jack, thats old news now. Not trying to postpone because of Robbo, but they listened to what he said. Inverness/Robbo have said they have misinterpreted what was said. Needs to be taken in the context it was written. Who buys the Sun anyway.

This just shows that we often forget that there are greater struggles in life than playing games of football. Football is a sideshow, a break from the daily grind, a release. At its best it can be a tremendous pick me up and confidence booster, at its worst it will drag you down. To hear that such a positive guy like Robbo is suffering along with everyone else just brings it all home. I think it's time to cut a bit of slack to everybody during these unprecedented times and listen to what they have to say. The ear can be a great comfort to someone finding the daily grind overpowering during lockdown, or just life in general. Robbo, you are a great fit for this club despite the current plight, I am sure your ebullient character will help you see it out.

Drew home and away with Rangers.

I thought it has been very quiet from both camps this week. Lack of official info all round.

Season hanging by a thread. GAME POSTPONED Should Nicola Sturgeon not shut down all sport in the aftermath of the ill advised and infamous Dubai debacle, then Raith Rovers should host Inverness on Saturday 16th January 2021 @15:00. As it stands, all football below Championship level in Scotland has been put on hold and all Scottish Cup games postponed until after the weekend of January 30/31st. If the Cup games do return to action, an eagerly awaited potential Highland derby could materialise should we first see off Buckie Thistle in a twice postponed tie. Anyway, frozen out in more ways than one at the moment. It barely seems justified or acceptable that I should be writing about a bunch of guys kicking a bag of wind around a frozen park in the middle of winter, but I suppose we need something to take our minds off the ongoing battle against coronavirus that has brought this and other countries to it's knees. We are not alone in this struggle, it's threatening the very existence of mankind so let's all try and do our bit to get back to some form of normality and do as we are asked. In the darkest days on this planet, world wars saw millions of people asked to got out and save our country by fighting the enemy, lying in muddy trenches, frozen, soaking and terrified, going to foreign lands, being apart from our families and the ones we love. Today, we are being asked to stay inside our own houses and wash our hands with soap and water. It's a small sacrifice, but one that is just as important as the previous battles that have killed millions around the world. I hope we can all help and ease the burdens on our Doctors, nurses, NHS, essential retailers and workers who are keeping the country going. So, over to you and let's beat the enemy you can't see. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live Streaming from Raith TV Official Preview (when available) ICTFC Tribute to Ian Broadfoot Donation in memory of Ian Broadfoot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our last game was on 29th December when we drew 1-1 with Dunfermline in the Highlands. A stunning second half goal from Miles Storey cancelled out a first half strike from Kyle Turner. That endeth the scoring in a game both managers felt they deserved to win. Our previous game was on 19th December when we slumped 2-1 at Alloa having taken an early lead through the much maligned Brad Mckay. However a thumping free kick from Innes Murray and a gaffe from Mark Ridgers gifted the points to the Wasps as we simply crumbled. So, only one game in a month after the cup ties against Buckie Thistle were postponed firstly for a frozen pitch then the covid19 shutdown. Rovers see-saw season continues. High scoring yet also producing some stunning reverses. On boxing day they went to Alloa and came away with a 5-2 victory at what has been a difficult place for Inverness to pick up points. That game ended with a flurry of goals (Duku (17), Armstrong (33), Lokotsch (84), Ross (90, 90+3). Buchanan scored a brace for Alloa (75 & 89 pen). They followed that up with a surprising 2-0 home defeat by Queen of the South. The only certainty in the Championship is that there are no certainties, think Dundee 3-1 Hearts. We have played Raith twice already this season. A topsy turvy League Cup encounter at Stark's Park ended 3-3 with Raith taking the 'bonus' win after a penalty shoot-out. Back in November, we entertained Raith at the Caledonian Stadium in front of a covid restricted '300' fans. It was an excellent performance and James Keatings and Scott Allardice were the men that did the damage in what turned out to be a comfortable 2-0 win. Our record against Rovers has been tremendous over the years. Our last defeat was over twenty years ago when an understrength side went down 2-1 at the Caledonian Stadium. Fittingly, Ian Broadfoot was our reporter at the game on 28th October 2000. Here is his report: Injury-hit Caley Thistle lost this game because of a poor first half display. Despite this they nearly took the lead in 13 minutes when a David Bagan shot was blocked by Greig McCulloch and spun over the bar. Raith scored first in 16 minutes when Jim Calder failed to hold a Shaun Dennis cross and Jay Stein hit home the loose ball from six yards. In 21 minutes a poor headed clearance by Stuart McCaffrey was picked up by Andrew Clark and he set up Ivan Mballa and the Frenchman slammed the ball into the net from 12 yards. ICT had a penalty claim turned down in 38 minutes when Charlie Christie was brought down by Paul Browne. After the break the home side improved but Guido Van de Kamp denied them on several occasions. Paul Sheerin pulled one back in 79 minutes when he netted from close range after a good cut back by Roy McBain. Four minutes later Sheerin watched in frustration as Van de Kamp saved his low shot. As time ran out he came close twice more but Raith held on to win. Match report written by Ian Broadfoot Inverness would finish fourth that season with Raith ending up seventh. Last ten meetings between the clubs 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) 4 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) This time round, it will no doubt become known as the Kai Kennedy derby. The loan arrangers at Rangers have loaned the Ranger out to Raith Rovers after his loan spell at the Caledonian Stadium ended in January. He will be a huge miss to us with Aaron Doran having received a bang on the head and an enforced lay off because of it. Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie are out for around another month, but David Carson could be ready for a place on the bench. ***Latest Team News*** Wallace Duffy is set to return to action and Daniel Mackay and Nikolay Todorov are in pole position for a first XI start. Brad Mckay is available for selection as his suspension was only covering Scottish Cup games. Danny Devine took a knock at the end of the Dunfermline game but should be good to go for this one. Assistant manager Paul Smith is still in charge and Manny Duku is still banging in the goals, and along with Kai Kennedy and Ethan Ross they will be a handful for our defence. At the back, Mendy, Benedictus and Musonda are immovable objects so expect a tough day for our front men. Maybe Todorov will get the nod to combat the height of the Rovers defence. ***Even Later News*** Inverness Caledonian Thistle have a new Board More to follow......

I believe they did alright out of it financially with Spurs fans buying up loads of tickets for the game and lots of donations too. FULL TIME: Marine 0-5 Spurs. ATTENDANCE: 30,697 (virtual tickets). Absolutely fantastic support. Thank you, football world and @SpursOfficial. We will never forget it. #COYM

We can put this to one side for now as covid restrictions have stopped all Scottish Cup games from midnight tonight until February at the earliest. Buckie & County can wait, the virus won't. Championship games to continue, but this will be reviewed daily.

I see that with Jullien testing positive, Celtic now have to play Hibs with 13 players self isolating. https://t.co/y9q2Ifg78A?amp=1

I'm sure this story will grow arms and legs pretty quickly. From BBC Sport Scottish football below Championship level has been suspended for three weeks due to the rising number of coronavirus cases. The impacted leagues are: SPFL League One, SPFL League Two, Scottish Women's Football Premier Leagues 1 & 2, Highland League, Lowland League, East, West & South of Scotland Leagues, Scottish Junior FA Leagues and the North Caledonian League. The second tier Championship will continue provided it starts weekly PCR testing for players and staff. Regular testing has been in place for Scottish Premiership clubs since the season started in August. Scottish Cup matches will also be suspended, with any ties scheduled to be played prior to 1 February to be rescheduled. (from midnight tonight, at the moment, Camelon v Brora is on tonight) The temporary pause will be reviewed on a rolling basis by the Scottish FA Board in partnership with Scottish Government. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55616399

Big Incentive. Hello Yogi, the guid laddies are coming.....maybe. Away to County if we beat Buckie.... Tie to be played weekend of January 30th. Have some!

Next round draw at 11:00 today.

Look who it is......... Goal! Kelty Hearts 1, Stranraer 0. Nathan Austin (Kelty Hearts) left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by James Stevenson. Kallum Higginbotham makes it 2-0.

Game off Following a pitch inspection this morning at Victoria Park, today’s Scottish Cup Second Round tie against Buckie Thistle has been postponed. The match will now be played on Tuesday 12 January 2021, Victoria Park, 8.00pm kick-off https://t.co/olVYSJrlYx https://t.co/1xVXWNuLkQ

Queens Park v Queen of the South on BBC Scotland now. Kick-Off at 7:45pm. I never spotted this before but: A reminder that should tonight’s game finish a draw, it will go to extra-time and penalties if needed. There are no replays in this years cup.