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Stalemate in the Highlands Inverness were along familiar lines of late with Welsh, Carson and Macgregor on the bench. Morton were without the suspended George Oakley, with long throw specialist Lewis Strapp in there for a reason other than just defending. Steven Boyd started for Morton. Alas there was no goals to cheer in a dismal affair as the last game of the year ended a point apiece. Have a good & safe New Year ********************** A chilly afternoon up North saw Inverness look for an early breakthrough with Max Anderson and David Wotherspoon having early efforts blocked en route to goal. Wotherspoon had another one blocked from close range twenty minutes in, however clear opportunities were at a premium. Five minutes before the break Charlie Gilmour had a pop from distance but Mullen was able to save comfortably. Disaster for Inverness minutes later as chief playmaker Wotherspoon went off injured to be replaced by Luis Longstaff. A poor first forty-five ended goalless. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break and five minutes into the second half Nikola Ujdur put Billy Mckay through but his effort from a tight angle enabled Mullen to deny him. Gilmour shot over as the tempo increased and Robbie Muirhead shot just wide at the other end when he might have done better. Substitute Lewis McGrattan won a corner with a blocked shot but it came to nothing as both sides made more changes. Claims for a late penalty went unanswered as Danny Devine went down in the box. David Carson missed a late chance to win it and that was your lot for 2023. FULL TIME: 0-0 Stalemate in the Highlands in a poor game to end the year with David Wotherspoon possibly having made his last appearance for the Caley Jags coming off injured before the break. Meh! A selection of comments on CTO: Shocking performance. Could have played for weeks and not scored, Some players were awful, Shaw needs to be dropped and Gilmore needs shooting practice. The subs that came on showed how poor our squad is. As Ferguson says we're def.in a relegation battle. Dreadful, dreadful stuff. One of the worst football matches I've ever suffered. We are going to be worryingly looking over our shoulder if this is the level of output until May. Scrappy game in which we tried to walk ball into net.We need to take more chances and shoot for goal. I think we needed more balls in from the wings and great to see Carson come on. Good we kept the back door closed, just a pity we were no sharper up front. Neither side shone today and if we don't up the tempo and get sharper at passing the best we can hope for is to stay in this league. Hopefully we will see positive moves in January tansfer market. Just about the worst game I have ever had the misfortune to attend. Embarrassing lack of quality, no excitement whatsoever, freezing cold, no wonder attendances are falling away. We really are a grim watch these days. Mind-numbing stuff! Sideways passing, then backwards, followed by some more sideways passing. Zero entertainment! Was Derek Adams right? We drew didn't we>>> Date: 30/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2114 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson (Carson 73), Ujdur, Devine, Boyes, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Longstaff 40), B Mckay (Brooks 71) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Macgregor, Thompson, Welsh, Sheridan Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Mullen; French (O'Connor 74), Broadfoot, Baird, Strapp, Blues (Bearne 84), Power (Gillespie 72), Crawford, Wilson, Boyd (McGrattan 61), Muirhead Subs (not used): MacDonald; O'Boy Scorers: none Booked: Muirhead (55) Sent Off: none a

Last Game of 2023 Last game before the bells brings Morton North for the first time this season. We played them recently at Cappielow and went down to a disappointing 2-1 defeat in a game held over from 21st October. Since then Morton have clambered up to fifth in the table while we have slumped to 8th with back to back defeats and a welcome point at Firhill. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 5 4 48 20 +28 Away 20 11 3 6 38 26 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 41 23 8 10 86 46 +40 Sloppy Stuff in Greenock: 1 - 2 Wallace Duffy missed out with a calf injury with Jake Davidson getting a rare start and the paternal David Carson was still on maternity leave. Good to see Roddy Macgregor was on the bench following another lengthy layoff through injury alongside Sean Welsh and Nathan Shaw. Morton had three players that were on our books recently. Defender Kirk Broadfoot, wide player Stephen Boyd and striker George Oakley. And it was that man Oakley that gave Morton the lead after errors in defence. Jack Baird smashed in a second ten minutes from time. Adam Brooks added a late consolation, but it was too little too late in Greenock as the revolution ground to a halt. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Last Time Out We have struggled to make headway recently losing to two of the three sides below us in the league. We steadied the ship somewhat with a good point at Partick in a game Ferguson thought we deserved better from, but we would all have taken a point before hand. Max Anderson's deflected shot found it's way into the net after just 21 seconds, our fastest ever goal but Jack McMillan levelled ten minutes later and that's how it ended at Firhill. Last Five L W L L D Dougie Imrie's side have had a mini revival. Three wins and a draw in the last four since Morton stopped the rot, including the 2-1 win over us in October. and that has seen them jump up to where we were looking to be before we lost to Morton and Arbroath. Last Five L W W W D Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dundee United v Partick on Friday night 1. Raith Rovers 17 12 4 1 33 22 40 2. Dundee Utd 16 10 5 1 34 7 35 3. Partick Thistle 17 8 5 4 34 27 29 4. Dunfermline 16 6 4 6 20 18 22 5. Morton 16 5 3 8 17 24 18 6. Ayr United 16 5 3 8 22 30 18 7. Airdrieonians 17 5 3 9 14 22 18 8. Inverness CT 17 4 5 8 20 21 17 9. Arbroath 16 5 1 10 21 31 16 10. Queens Park 16 3 5 8 19 32 14 The bottom half of the table is getting very congested and the value of a mini-run has been exemplified with Morton climbing up to fifth in the table, a position we were also looking at before disappointing results against Morton and Arbroath recently. Raith Rovers will head the table going into 2024 and a lot of that is down to their never say die attitude with late goals being a major factor in their climb to the top. The January sales are going to be crucial this season with any team capable of winning on the day. As they always say, there are no easy games in the Championship, and so it proves to be the way... Latest Team News Ferguson has Carson back training but big Harry can be added to the Doran, Samuels and MacGregor list of guys still out. Lewis Strapp is back at Morton, he of the long throw and it was a useful weapon against us last time out. George Oakley is thriving again. Last starting XI v Airdrie Mullen French Baird O'Connor Strapp Gillespie (Power 60) Wilson Blues (Boyd 60) Crawford McGrattan (Bearne 69) Muirhead Subs Not used: MacDonald; O'Boy

Merry Xmas Danny Devine was fit enough to start and Jake Davidson again replaced the injured Wallace Duffy at right back. Otherwise no surprises in the Inverness starting XI or bench. As per normal, Brian Graham will present our defence with a robust challenge with Fitzpatrick and McInroy able and willing elfs. 205 visiting fans were on hand to check out this one and at the end of the day Status Quo was maintaned as all five games ended level this weekend. Max Anderson and Jack McMillan were the scorers today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ooooooft, having got the match underway, it was an early start for the visitors who caught Partick cold as Max Anderson's weak effort found the net after an assist from Billy Mckay, long before all the bums had landed in their seats. 22 seconds apparently! The fast start continued in the third minute as Cammy Harper shot over from the left side. Alas, Jack McMillan squared the game after quarter of an hour scoring from close range. Fitzpatrick shot wide after twenty minutes and Ridgers was then brought into action to stop a long range low effort from Ben Stanway. Ten minutes before the break Wotherspoon bounced a shot just wide from the edge of the box as we ventured forth. A free kick in a promising position for the hosts ended when Graham shot over from just outside the box. Charlie Gilmour had the final effort of the half in stoppage time but it was well wide of the target. Partick with the bulk of the play but it remained all square at the interval. A late goal for Arbroath on half time meant that Inverness had gone from 8th to 5th to 9th over the course of the first forty-five. Meh! HALF TIME: 1-1 The hosts set the ball in motion for the second half and they were quick to avoid a repeat of the first minutes of the match as they went straight onto the front foot winning a couple of early corners before Aderson went close to his second of the game as the visitors wenr up the park. Devine did well to deny McMillan his second as he cleared his effort away from goal and Ujdur was booked for fouling Milne moments later. Partick were first with the changes after the hour. Ujdur took a knock but was able to continue and almost got on the end of the ball during a melee following a corner with fifteen minutes remaining. More corners followed but nothing doing before Longstaff saw his shot blocked five minutes before the end. Harper went down in the box but big appeals for a penalty went unanswered. It ended with a point apiece at a difficult venue. FULL TIME: 1-1 A good point at a difficult venue and one which keeps us in eighth place after a late goal for Dunfermline scuppered the Smokies. After the last two defeats, this was a welcome performance and point for the 205 hardy souls who braved the weather to keep away from the Xmas shopping. Have a great Christmas. From BBC Sports Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan: "Inverness are a good team and a point is probably fair. It was such a freak goal to give away but the way we react is key. We get on the front foot and Jack McMillan scores a fantastic goal." Inverness CT manager Duncan Ferguson: "We couldn't have started any better. We created chances and could've had a couple of goals. "Everyone could see our attacking play which is lovely to watch, and on another day we could've had a penalty - we're not getting any 50-50 decisions at all. But we're really happy." Mantis saw it like this: That turned out to be a valuable point thanks to the Pars late equaliser. Both sets of players deserve nothing but praise considering the awful conditions. We totally dominated the opening 15 minutes and had a couple of half chances to double the lead which appeared to deflect off a defender and trundle in. Partick scored with their first attack of the game and it was a case of tragic failure to clear the ball. Never would have happened with Robbie Deas in there. We’re playing with 3 centre backs and nobody seems to know what their job is. We went to pieces after that and Partick murdered us for the rest of the half. Going by previous visits to Firhill we feared the worst for the second half but it never materialised. We really dominated the last half hour and had very few clear cut chances but it was like the Alamo with Partick defending scrambles in their six yard box and we must have had about 8 corners. However we’re still trying to walk it into the net with nobody trying to take a risk. Graham was substituted having had very little influence for once. So was Billy, for Longstaff, and he must have been frustrated trying to pull down long balls from Ridgers all day with big Muirhead breathing down his neck. Two shockers from Grainger the ref. He booked Ujdur for a clash of heads where the Partick player came off worst, and he missed a stonewall penalty when Cammy was hauled down late on. A draw away at Partick is not to be sniffed at against a team that has 29 points and a decent squad with Milne, Graham, Lawless and Alston. Date: 23/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3326 Referee: Graham Grainger Partick Thistle: 1 Manager: Kris Doolan Lineup: Sneddon; McMillan, Muirhead, Neilson, Milne, Stanway (Robinson 62), McInroy (MacKenzie 82), Lawless, Alston (Bannigan 62), Fitzpatrick, Graham (Adeloye 82) Subs (not used): Mitchell; Williams, Williamson, Lyon, Diack, Scorers: McMillan (15) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson, Ujdur, Devine, Boyes, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Sheridan 90), B Mckay (Longstaff 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Bray, Thompson, Welsh, Brooks Scorers: Anderson (22 secs) Booked: Devine (43), Ujdur (57), Gilmour (88) Sent Off: none a

Xmas Fayre A Xmas helping of Big Dunc's Turkey's and Kris Doolan's Roasters is on offer this weekend at a festive Firhill where a good stuffing needs to be avoided at all costs. First sitting is at 3:00pm on Saturday as Ferguson's fragile squad head to Glasgow ahead of the fat man with the beards arrival bearing presents for all. Let's hope he's not in our defence. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Partick Thistle Match/Ticket/Info Supporters bus Last away game of the year Partick 23rd December. Bus leaves stadium 10.00. Picking up Aviemore and Pitlochry. £20 a seat. Book through Facebook or on 07462218617. Bus filling up fast. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Partick Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 26 12 7 7 39 33 +6 Away 24 6 6 12 25 39 -14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 18 13 19 64 72 -8 Honours are pretty even versus Partick Thistle over the years with home advantage being the deciding factor in most games with the odd one going against the grain. Worryingly we have suffered a couple of heavy defeats away to Partick recently and that's something we need to avoid. Last 10 Competitive Meetings Partick Thistle 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) 0 - 0 (A) First meeting this season ended goalless 0 - 0. 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. Best chance of the game fell to the visitors after Ridgers parried a swerving shot from McInroy. It fell to Adeloye but he blazed his hooked effort well over the bar from five yards. Inverness mainly looked comfortable without overly troubling keeper Sneddon and it ended all square in a very wet Highlands. 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. Last Time Out Inverness were back to their worst as they went down 2-1 to Arbroath at the Caledonian Stadium last weekend. All the goals came in the first half. Bird opened the scoring for Arbroath and Billy Mckay levelled just before the break. However the visitors went back up the park to regain the lead through David Gold. Poor day at the office for Inverness who now have just one win in their last five games and have lost the last two to teams below them in the league. Last Five D L W L L Partick Thistle pulled off a good away win at East End Park beating Dunfermline 2-1. Todd scored after 82 minutes but it was too little too late for the Pars who were two down at the interval through Harry Milne (12 mins), and Brian Graham right on the break, Last Five W W W L W Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Queens Park v Dundee United & Raith Rovers v Ayr United playing Friday Night 19:45 1. Raith Rovers 16 12 3 1 29 18 39 2. Dundee Utd 15 10 4 1 34 7 34 3. Partick Thistle 16 8 4 4 33 26 28 4. Dunfermline 15 6 3 6 19 17 21 5. Morton 15 5 2 8 17 24 17 6. Ayr United 15 5 2 8 18 26 17 7. Airdrieonians 16 5 2 9 14 22 17 8. Inverness CT 16 4 4 8 19 20 16 9. Arbroath 15 5 0 10 20 30 15 10. Queens Park 15 3 4 8 19 32 13 Saturday 23rd December Airdrie v Morton Arbroath FC v Dunfermline Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Latest Team News I imagine Dunc was less than impressed with our performance last week and will make some changes for this one. It's not a game we can afford to lose now given the last few results. Wallace Duffy missed out last week as did Roddy MacGregor and Sean Welsh was an unused sub. With the likes of Sheridan past his best it's becoming evident we will need to invest in the January sales. Duffy and Carson miss out again with Danny Devine struggling with a knock. Doran & Samuels are back on the grass Brian Graham is the top scorer in the Championship with nine goals. Anton Dowds has six to his credit. Partick team v Dunfermline last week Sneddon McMillan Muirhead Neilson Milne Stanway McInroy (Williams 75) Lawless (Mackenzie 69) Alston (Bannigan 60) Fitzpatrick Graham (Diack 75) Subs Not Used: Mitchell; Robinson, Williams, Adeloye, McGinlay

Looking Down With both sides losing in midweek, this game took on more significance for Big Dunc's side and Jim McIntyre was also looking to get away from the bottom of the table after he replaced Dick Campbell. David Wotherspoon was fit enough to start and good to see Keith Bray return to the squad alongside Robbie Thompson. Arbroath came North with only four on the bench with Michael McKenna and Ricky Little still out injured and O'Brien suspended. As it turned out we are now looking down the table instead of up after back to back defeats to the two teams who were below us only four days ago as Arbroath won 2-1. That was new manager Jim McIntyre's first win and it moves Arbroath off the bottom of the table. one point behind Inverness. All the goals came in the first half from Jay Bird, Billy Mckay and two minutes later David Gold. Looks like a few will be going cheap in the January sales. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was another miserable day in the Highlands as the teams took to the field with swirling wind and rain plentiful. Nathan Shaw had an early effort saved by Gaston after a give and take with David Wotherspoon and Arbroath came back with David Gold inside the box but he shot over from twelve yards. Leighton McIntosh missed the target following a corner as the visitors pushed forward in the early exchanges. Arbroath took the lead after half an hour when after a throw in, a deflected cross landed nicely for Jay Bird in the box and he rifled a shot behind Ridgers. Wotherspoon almost levelled a minute later but his shot was just wide, followed by Jake Davidson doing likewise. Five minutes before the break Billy Mckay squared the game from a Cammy Harper cross that evaded the defender before Billy volleyed home the bouncing ball from twelve yards. Having done the hard work to get level Arbroath took the lead again when Gold headed in from a corner. Slack defending again costing us at the back. Ridgers made a good stop just on the break as we continued to offer opportunites at the back, the keeper saving a shot from distance by Bird. Defensive lapses our downfall. I'm sure Big Dunc will be having a word in their ear over their half time cuppa. HALF TIME: 1-2 Defender Nikola Ujdur was replaced by Luis Longstaff at the interval as Dunc rang the changes. Ridgers saved a header from Gold on the line at the start of the second half as Arbroath continued to create and an Inverness burst forward was ended when Mckay fouled Gaston, or was it Gaston conning the refereee. Longstaff saw a header blocked after a corner. Spoony shot over from a free kick as we tried to get back on level terms with half an hour remaining. Davidson failed to get the ball under control and shot over as we increased the intensity. Some last ditch defending in the visitors box denied Inverness an equaliser from Davidsons cross. Charlie Gilmour missed a good opportunity when he headed wide and it all became a bit rushed without creating the clear cut opportunity required. Massively disappointing result that has dragged us right down into the mire. FULL TIME: 1-2 For cod's sake! Inverness slumped to an embarrassing defeat as Arbroath stunned Ferguson's flops at the Caledonian Stadium. Arbroath with big players out and only three outfield players on the bench proved too good for an overrated Inverness bunch of haddies who were easily beaten by the Smokies. More match reaction to follow>>> Dunc disappointed>>> But not as disappointed as Deek>>> Date: 16/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1842 Referee: Iain Sneddon Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson (Brooks 90), Ujdur (Longstaff 45), Devine, Boyes, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Sheridan 90), B Mckay (Lodovica 90), Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Thompson, Bray, Welsh Scorers: B Mckay (39) Booked: Ujdur (21) Sent Off: none Arbroath: 2 Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Gaston; Steel, Stewart, Norey, Hamilton, Lyon (Jacobs 61), Gold (Stowe 71), Hylton, Slater, McKintosh, Bird (Dunnwald-Turan 75) Subs (not used): Adams; Scorers: Bird (29), Gold (42) Booked: Gold (17), Bird (35), Stowe (82) Sent Off: none a

Smokies for Xmas After our midweek demise at Cappielow, this game takes on a more meaningful role as we languish just four points off the bottom but have played a game more than Arbroath. A rude awakening brought Big Dunc's revolution to a grinding halt against Morton as we struggled to gain a foothold in a towsy encounter on a midden of a pitch. Dunc acknowleged we underperformed and the fans will be looking for an upturn in fortunes at home to Jim McIntyre's Arbroath after Dick got the seven year itch. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Arbroath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 17 4 3 59 19 +40 Away 24 11 6 7 35 29 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 28 10 10 94 48 +46 First meeting this season was Duncs first game in charge: The fans were looking forward to this one with a mixture of fear, trepidation, apprehension, pessimism, optimism and excitement in equal proportions. Dunc has certainly got the fans talking again and there's a feelgood factor lurking just round the corner. Rome wasn't built in a day, however Ferguson was not the foreman. Time will tell if this will be a successful appointment, but he has the full backing of the fans at the moment. Arbroath were off the back of a four game winning run. We were on downward spiral since the start of the season, the reason why Dunc is here now. As it happened, we escaped with all three points... Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) Dunc's reign of apprehension got off to a promising start at Gayfield as Inverness opened the scoring in the tenth minute through Luis Longstaff who scrambled the ball into the net after a Nikola Ujdur header was not dealt with by keeper Gaston. Longstaff then turned provider as Aaron Doran turned his driven cross into the net after half an hour. Other chances came and went: Nathan Shaw not catching his shot plumb from the edge of the box making it comfortable for Gaston to flop on the ball and save and Billy Mckay not making the most of a great break forward, his low shot a bit of a dolly for the keeper to block. HALF TIME 0-2 Billy Mckay added a third just after the interval lobbing Gaston perfectly with an assist from his own keeper Mark Ridgers. At 3-0 Shaw again might have done better when one on one with Gaston but he chose the wrong option and took himself too wide and the chance was gone. Arbroath came back into it with strikes from Ross Stewart and Michael McKenna to set up a grandstand finish. Stewart's goal was as massive a fluke as you will see. Ujdur attempted to thunder the ball clear on the edge of his own box. Unfortunately Stewart anticipated this and turned his back on the defender expecting him and ball to go flying forward. Alas it looks like it cannoned off his arse and it floated over the despairing flail of Mark Ridgers and into the net. Unbelievable, you couldn't write it, however, I just did. McKenna's goal favoured the hosts as it bobbled off a couple of bodies before he despatched it behind Ridgers off his near post with a tidy finish. With much biting of fingernails, Dunc got off to a winning start after a lengthy period of time added on and that means that we are no longer bottom of the table (just). Phew! FULL TIME: 2-3 Last Time Out Big Duncs Revolution came unstuck at a sticky Cappielow in midweek as we dished out Xmas presents early. Defensive sloppiness gifted George Oakley an opportunity which he gleefully accepted as he lobbed Ridgers with aplomb after twenty minutes. We struggled to string many passes together which saw us struggle to create much. The second half we were non existant for long spells as Morton were in our faces most of the half. No surprise when Jack Baird hammered in from six yards as we made the schoolboy error of chasing the ball leaving him in acres of space at the far post to kill the game. We did get a minor consolation with a close range header through Adam Brooks, but overall we were not really up for the battle as much as Morton were. Last Five: W D L W L Late goal specialists Raith Rovers conjured a 95th-minute winner to move top of the Scottish Championship and leave Arbroath stuck at the bottom. Aiden Connolly had the visitors in front on 19 minutes, pouncing after Sam Stanton's header was blocked. However, Arbroath levelled soon after with a Jermaine Hylton penalty after Liam Dick fouled Leighton McIntosh. Just as the hosts looked set to rise off the bottom with their first point in seven games, Lewis Vaughan struck. The striker sent a stunning finish into the top corner with the last kick of the game to seal a fourth straight league win and put Raith two points above Dundee United having played a game more. (This report from BBC Sport) Last five: L L L L L Big game at Tannadice as Raith Rovers visit Dundee United on Saturday With Arbroath losing to Raith Rovers in midweek, they are still rooted to the foot of the table on 12 points but they have a game in hand over Inverness on 16 points. We blew the chance to open up a more comfortable gap on the teams below and defeat on Saturday would put us right back into the mix for relegation. The other two teams below Inverness also meet each other on Saturday and that's another one to keep an eye on. Any team that can put a three or four game winning streak together will do themselves a masive favour. Latest Team News Dunc should be back in the dugout this weekend after his misdemeanours. Roddy MacGregor made the squad at Cappielow but was an unused sub. Wallace Duffy missed that one with a calf injury. Long term absentees still missing are Nicolson, Samuels and Doran with David Carson still on maternity leave. David Wotherspoon has rolled his ankle and will be assessed nearer kick-off. Big Harry is also a doubt. Jim McIntyre is the new manager at Arbroath after Dick Campbells reign came to an end after seven years. Must have been itchy. Smokies line up v Rovers in midweek Gaston Stewart Steele O'Brien Hamilton McIntosh Gold Jacobs (Norey 68) Slater (Lyon 85) Hylton Bird (Dünnwald-Turan 78) Subs not used: Adams: Stowe.

Sloppy Stuff in Greenock Wallace Duffy missed out with a calf injury with Jake Davidson getting a rare start and the paternal David Carson was still on maternity leave. Good to see Roddy Macgregor was on the bench following another lengthy layoff through injury alongside Sean Welsh and Nathan Shaw. Morton had three players that were on our books recently. Defender Kirk Broadfoot, wide player Stephen Boyd and striker George Oakley. And it was that man Oakley that gave Morton the lead after errors in defence. Jack Baird smashed in a second ten minutes from time. Adam Brooks added a late consolation, but it was too little too late in Greenock as the revolution ground to a halt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An indifferent and untidy start on what looked like a difficult surface saw David Wotherspoon cut in from the left but his parting shot was high and wide. Ridgers was forced into a save direct from a Robbie Muirhead free kick on fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes in and sloppy defending offered George Oakley an opportunity to lob Ridgers and that's exactly what he did. Wotherspoon shot wide after a free kick was half cleared to the edge of the box and he missed the target again as Inverness probed for an opening. A good move forward on the left saw Wotherspoon graze the outside of the post ten minutes before the break. Ridgers produced a great save just before the break to deny Kirk Broadfoot from eight yards at the expense of a corner. At the other end keeper Ryan Mullen made an equally acrobatic save to deny Billy Mckay from the edge of the box just on the stroke of half time. HALF TIME:1-0 Early Inverness pressure after the break ended when Ridgers had to push a low shot from Cameron Blues away and gather it at the second attempt. A curling free kick from out wide from Wothewrspoon was tipped behind for a corner. Morton were up for this and substitute Allan Power volleyed just wide then Muirhead hit the post with fifteen minutes left. Inverness were on the ropes now and a triple substitution followed. Worse followed ten minutes from the end when Jack Baird lashed in a loose ball on the six yard box after a long throw in from Lewis Strapp. Sloppy stuff again with nobody picking up players at the far post. Adam Brooks scored a very late consolation for the visitors but it was too little too late for a dis-spirited Inverness. FULL TIME: 2-1 More match detail to follow>>> We lost didn't we>>> Date: 12/12/2023 Venue: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1315 Referee: Lloyd Wilson Morton: 2 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Mullen; Strapp (O'Connor 83), Baird, Broadfoot, Wilson, Gillespie (Power 57), Blues (McGrattan 57),Crawford (Bearne 83), Muirhead, French, Oakley (Boyd ) Subs (not used): Murdoch; O'Boy Scorers: Oakley (20), Baird (80) Booked: Muirhead (26), Blues (29), Mullen (90+2), O'Connor (90+3), (McGrattan 90+7) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson, Ujdur (Lodovica ), Devine, Boyes, Longstaff (Shaw 76), Gilmour (Welsh 76), Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Brooks ), B Mckay (Sheridan 76) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Thompson, MacGregor Scorers: none Booked: Wotherspoon (22), Shaw (83) Sent Off: none a