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Lets Work Together It'a double header against United this week in the play-off semi-finals, a place in the Premiership still up for grabs after we disposed of Ayr United at the weekend on a 4-2 aggregate score. Its certainly worth the effort to get behind the lads and give them as much backing as possible as we look to take an advantage down to Tannadice for what will be a difficult game considering the gruelling schedule of the play-offs. So, come on now people, lets work together, every boy, girl, woman and man! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TICKET PRICES FOR Dundee United ARE AS FOLLOWS: Adult: £15 Concession: £8 Tickets can be bought online HERE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Whilst the Arabs have been sitting back relaxing for a couple of weeks, we have been kind of busy. A 3-1 win at Ayr with Charlie Trafford and Jordan White (2) doing the damage to set us up nicely for the return leg four days later. Ayr sniffed an opportunity after scoring a goal in the first leg through Michael Rose to offer them a glimmer of hope, and that hope became reality after Luke McCowan scored early in the first half at the Caledonian Stadium. The home fans were treated to some entertaining football, unfortunately most of that came from the Honest Men. However, we did eradicate the squeaky bums when Coll Donaldson claimed the goal to ease the tension and see us safely through to meet his chums, Dundee United. And breathe. It had been a tremendous season for Ayr, but it was all over for them at the final whistle as their vocal fans were mutually applauded at the end by manager and players alike. They will know that the likes of Michael Rose and top scorer Lawrence Shankland will be moving on, such is the price to pay for relative success in a league where survival is a threat for all but the most affluent of clubs. Shankland has around thirty clubs tracking him. He is a wonderful striker and how I wish we were one of the clubs after him, but I'm afraid he will be looking for a much bigger wage than we could offer so that'll be a no. For Inverness, playing our 50th game of the season, the torture goes on and after a season of draws (15 now), we are still in with a chance of promotion albeit having to do this by the long route. Never before has a team that finished third or fourth been able to get through the punishing schedule designed to assist the top flight teams and run the legs off the rest. I imagine we will line up something like this. We have a couple of worries ahead of this game with Tom Walsh going off before the hour against Ayr feeling his thigh. He looked slightly off the pace on Saturday and might need to rest up. Anthony McDonald replaced him and did very well when he came on, snapping at the heels and making darting runs, something we missed in the first hour. Captain Carl Tremarco was not involved at all as he recovers from a calf injury and rest is the only cure. Other than that no further injuries that Robbo is willing to mention ahead of this encounter. Key players in this tie will be mainly in defence. Mark Ridgers, Coll Donaldson and Jamie McCart will be crucial to our success as a United side brimming with quality players look to avoid the Dundee derby next season. Aaron Doran and Jordan White will be our main goal threat and if ever we needed Liam Polworth to produce his best, then Tuesday night would be a great time for it. Some good news, James Keatings has signed a two year deal with the Caley Jags. He has played for both Hearts and Hibs and was at Celtic in his early days. His most productive days were at the two Edinbutgh clubs and Hamilton Accies where he scored a total of 41 times. Read more on this at ICTFC. Pavol Safranko and Paul McMullan will be on our radar. But incisive midfielders like Peter Pawlett and Nicky Clark are dangerous on the break. We all know that McMullan is prone to fall inside the area, and maybe get away with handing the ball sometimes, but what we also know is that hidden behind his scheming exterior is a quality player with an eye for goal, definitely one to watch. Are you listening ref! The Arabs have had the luxury of a ten day break since losing to Morton on the 4th of May and even then they afforded some of their players the day off as there was nothing at stake for them. Robbie Neilson was happy enough with that given he has no injuries or red cards to deal with ahead of the play-off. That's the luxury that Robbo is not too happy about, but we knew the rules so let's get on with it. Lastly, The Arabs have a secret weapon in their ranks. The lovely Lorraine Kelly has thrown her hat , scarf and knickers into the ring and is firmly behind the Tangerines in their bid to get back into the Premiership. Or is she? Lorraine had been a lifelong fan of United but since we knocked them out of the Scottish Cup she has changed her allegiance to Inverness. Good on you girl, I'll buy you a breakfast for that. An interesting game in Paisley tonight and I'm sure Robertson and Neilson will be keeping an eye on the outcome as one of these teams will be in the play-off final. At the moment St Mirren are favourites to enter the play-offs being four points behind Hamilton with only two games to go. Cue music from the Great Escape! *** UPDATE ST Mirren 2-0 Hamilton. *** Hello George! Another striker made the Championship headlines this season and it's congratulations to the evergreen Stephen Dobbie who scored a hat-trick at the weekend for his 43rd goal of the campaign. That is a seasons best for a Queen of the South player, Nicky Clark and Jimmy Rutherford jointly having the previous best at 41. As big Bob Hite one said to Johndo: Together we stand, divided we fall. So, Lets work together, every boy, girl, woman and man

One down, two to go. Inverness booked their place in the next stage of the play-offs after a rather uncomfortable 1-1 draw with Ayr United. As expected Ayr came out of the blocks flying and deservedly took the lead through Luke McCowan in the 19th minute. It took until the 79th minute before we eased the pain on the supporters when Coll Donaldson claimed he got a touch on Liam Polworth's inviting free kick into the danger area. It mattered not who scored it, but it was a crucial goal that scuppered Ayr's hopes of taking the tie into extra time. Inverness will now play Dundee United on Tuesday night, the return at Tannadice on the Friday night. St Mirren are in pole position to be the Premiership fall guys unless Accies blow a four point lead going into the final two games, Dundee already relegated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TICKET PRICES FOR Dundee United ARE AS FOLLOWS: Adult: £15 Concession: £8 Tickets can be bought online HERE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A noisy crowd in the away end met the teams as they came out on a sunny afternoon at the Caledonian Stadium. Carl Tremarco was still injured and Kevin McHattie started again in a familiar looking side for this crucial second leg tie. Ian McCall had Luke McCowan on from the start and Robbie Crawford was deemed fit enough to take his place in the side. Michael Moffat was on the bench for the Honest Men and top scorer Lawrence Shankland would be the man to keep an eye on. Around 2500 watched this one and Ayr started brightly without causing too much concern. However, it was Jordan White who had the first couple of attempts. The first was blocked by Ross Doohan in the visitors goal after White was fed through on the right side, Doohan blocking as White tried to dink the ball behind him. The second effort was a shot on the turn from the edge of the box which the keeper gathered with ease. From that save, Ayr took the lead when a crossfield pass from Shankland found Declan McDaid scampering down the right flank. His cross took a slight deflection off Jamie McCart's leg but it still found McCowan sprinting across the box to fire high into the net from six yards. Ayr were looking slick at this point and their passing game was outdoing the stifled approach from Inverness who looked a little edgy in the opening half. White saw an effort saved and Robbie Crawford could have done better than shoot wide at the other end. As Inverness upped the pace heading to wards the break Aaron Doran shot wide and they ended the half on top, but a goal behind on the day. Half Time 0-1 Inverness were dealt a blow ten minutes into the second half as Tom Walsh left the field feeling his hamstring to be replaced by Anthony McDonald. McDaid shot wide as Ayr looked to level the aggregate score and Mark Ridgers had to look smart to deny a header from Skankland. McDaid and Crawford were next to go wide as Inverness restricted the visitors to trying speculative efforts, but it was an uneasy spell for the hosts. We began to get to grips with the game and Jamie McCart headed wide and a couple of minutes later we were level. Aaron Doran was fouled some thirty yards from goal wide on the left. Liam Polworth curled an inviting ball into the mix and White and Coll Donaldson were left unmarked as they both rose for the ball. There was little doubt where the ball ended up, but Donaldson claimed he touched it with his hair and the relief in the stands was instant as Coll took the plaudits from the North Stand, his first goal this season. Ayr almost went in front again just two minutes later as Andy Murdoch unleashed a thumping shot from outside the box but Ridgers was equal to it. Time was now running out for United to take the game to extra time and their frustration showed as they picked up a couple of late bookings as Inverness looked more assured towards the end of a game they had struggled to control for long spells. Not a classic by any manner or means, but that vital 3-1 win at Somerset Park set Inverness up and enabled them to take it easier than they might have done had the match been all square. Great contributions from MotM Coll Donaldson with his partner Jamie McCart also playing well as we defended in depth at times. Aaron Doran was the pick of the forwards as he twisted and turned his way down the wing and Jordan White showed his worth once more, using his power and height to good effect. All in, not a great spectacle, and Ian McCall seems a bit miffed that his side were the best team over the two legs. I've got news for you Ian, Inverness play Dundee United on Tuesday night and Ayr United's wonderful season has ended. So Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night and Tannadice on Friday night. A schedule John Robertson has voiced his concerns over preferring the option of Wednesday and Sunday. The winners will play St Mirren or Hamilton who meet on Monday night and that could decide who is in the play-off final. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's the managers speaking to BBC Sport Inverness manager John Robertson: "It's a strange situation defending a two-goal lead at home - it's awkward. The players weren't sure whether to go for it or to sit back and we were a bit safe. I thought we looked very nervous in the first 15-20 minutes. Ayr got a beautifully-worked goal and that woke us up a bit. These matches are done over 180 minutes and we've come through it." Ayr manager Ian McCall: "I'm very disappointed. I'm very proud of the players and what they've put in over two years and a lot of them will be leaving us for bigger clubs. I thought we were the better team in both games in terms of playing football and passing the ball but ultimately theses games are about getting through. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not the best performance ever, but this was all about getting through to the next round of the play-off and so far it's mission accomplished with more difficult games to come. Good backing for the Ayr players must have given them a lift when they came on to the park and the moved the ball around better with Inverness looking edgy trying to protect that two goal cushion. Anyway, job done so far. Here's the goals from yesterdays game. No doubt about the Ayr scorer, but difficult to see who got the final touch although Donaldson is claiming the Inverness goal. Here's Johnny................... Date: 11/05/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2323 Referee: Steven McLean Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay (Rooney 63), Donaldson, McCart, McHattie, Walsh (McDonalld 54), Trafford, Polworth, Chalmers, Doran, White. Subs (not used): C Mackay, Harper, MacGregor, McCauley, Austin. Scorers: Donaldson (79 maybe) Booked: McHattie (89) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 1 Lineup: Doohan; Smith, Muirhead, Rose, Harvie, Crawford, Murdoch, Kerr (Cadden 83), McDaid (Miller 77), Shankland, McCowan (Moffat 65) Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Forrest, Ecrepont, Docherty. Scorers: McCowan (19) Booked: Muirhead (29), Smith (45+1), Harvie (83), Shankland (87) Sent Off: none a

Opportunity Knocks Inverness have a great opportunity of progressing to the next stage of the play-offs after gaining a 3-1 advantage from the first leg at Somerset Park thanks to goals from Charlie Trafford and a Jordan White brace. Whoever gets through, they will face Dundee United at their own ground on the 14th May, then again at Tannadice on the 17th May. It's a tough schedule and not for the weak. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just day until we face Ayr United in the Premiership Play-Off Quarter-Final Second-Leg Who's coming along to get behind the Caley Jags in tomorrow's big game? Tickets available online Adult £12/ Concession £6/ Under 12s FREE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Given this week of comebacks of biblical proportions, think Liverpool Tottenham, it's not inconceivable that this tie has a bit to run yet. The first goal will be seen as vital by both clubs. An Inverness goal would virtually kill the tie, a goal for the visitors could well put a spanner in the works. Remember that away goals do not count in the event of the games finishing level over the two legs. The team that scores the most goals over the two legs go through to the next round. If the scores are level over the two legs then there will be extra-time and then penalties if required. What that means is if Ayr were to win 2-0, not absurd by any manner or means given our poor home results, we would be going into extra-time and the possibility of penalties. Bricking it yet? It was a somewhat controversial victory at Ayr with Ian McCall claiming our second goal was offside and the third should not have been a penalty. He always was a greetin faced wee nyaff with a chip on his shoulder if you ask me. It was a hard fought win on Tuesday night. Charlie Trafford broke the deadlock in the first half and Jordan White clipped in the second. Michael Rose pulled one back but White converted a penalty to restore our two goal cushion and that's how it ended. Those goals were White's 15th & 16th of the season. Not a bad return from the big fellow after a slow start. Here's the match video of the goals so you can judge for yourself if McCall was justified in his rant. Inverness have no further injury worries after the first leg. Coll Donaldson came through unscathed after being subbed against Dunfermline the week before. Carl Tremarco missed the game at Ayr with a calf injury with Kevin McHattie stepping up to the plate with ease. The injured Sean Welsh has signed a two year extension to his contract. Good news for Inverness fans and let's hope Sean makes a full and quick recovery from his current broken foot. Team News from Ayr:- Steven Bell, Jamie Adams, Craig Moore and Andy Geggan are out with injuries. Robbie Crawford was replaced at half time in the first leg and will be a doubt One man to be wary of is Lawrence Shankland who collected a new award this week. He picked up the inaugural Ladbrokes Championship Tartan Ball for finishing as top scorer in the league with 24 goals. Amongst that was a four goal haul at Tannadice when Ayr thumped the Arabs 5-0. Here's all his league goals for the season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you like a wee flutter, new partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.

So far so good The Caley Jags take a two goal advantage back to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday after beating Ayr United 3-1 at Somerset Park in the first leg of the play-off. An entertaining game saw Charlie Trafford open the scoring in the first half with a powerful header. Jordan White doubled the advantage in the second half, Ayr claiming for offside. Coventry City signing Michael Rose headed Ayr back into the game but a Jordan White penalty ended the scoring in favour of the Caley Jags. A place in the Premiership is the prize for the team that can battle their way through the play-offs and that journey started last night at Somerset Park, Ayr. Whoever manages to get into the play-off final will be facing either St Mirren or Hamilton Accies who face each other this weekend. John Robertson was still without captain Carl Tremarco with Kevin McHattie replacing him. Other than that it was a fairly strong starting XI with Coll Donaldson fit enough to resume at centre back. Ian McCall had Liam Smith on from the start with Michael Moffat and Lawrence Shankland up front keeping young star Luke McCowan on the bench. A crowd of nearly 2200 were on hand to watch the first leg with just over 200 away fans making the long trek, and on a school night too. Here's the main talking points from the game. The visitors opened the scoring just after the half hour when Tom Walsh won a corner on the right. Charlie Trafford was first to the ball from the boot of Joe Chalmers and he wanted it most. His powerful header went high into the net with Doohan stranded. Ayr and Ian McCall were left raging when Jordan White doubled our advantage after the linesman failed to give offside against the big striker when Aaron Doran poked a ball through to him on the edge of the box. Jordan carried on and deftly chipped it over the onrushing keeper, a superb finish for a big lad, the defence not happy at the decision. Ayr won a free kick some twenty-five yards out. The ball was rolled to Lawrence Shankland who put his laces through the ball but Mark Ridgers pulled off a tremendous save at the expense of a corner. From the resultant corner, Michael Rose got the run on the defence as Coll Donaldson ball watched. We all then ball watched as it powered into the net to give the Honest men some hope. Another debatable decision would go against United as Mark Kerr was adjudged to have bundled over Jamie McCart as he went for a header in the box. Difficult to spot, but the referee was on hand and White made no mistake from the spot, emphatically firing the ball high to the keepers left. Doohan had already made his mind up that the ball was going to his right. Big stramash near the end which resulted in Jordan White being booked with Shankland and his Ayr cohorts doing their best to get him red carded. Luke McCowan had the final chance to salvage something for Ayr, but Inverness held out and take the the advantage back up the A9 with Trafford, White and Ridgers getting the plaudits. More to come............... Action from the game courtesy of AyrUnitedFCTV............. Here's Johnny............... Two goal hero Jordan White talking on BBC Sport Managers reaction talking on BBC Sport Ayr United manager Ian McCall: "He is a yard offside and it is nowhere near a penalty kick. "We always knew the physicality from Inverness would be a problem, albeit they have a lot of good footballers. Inverness boss John Robertson: "We have said to the players it is a really good away performance. "But the job is not finished. This is a team that knocked five by Dundee United earlier this season. We will prepare for another battle on Saturday." Date: 07/05/2019 Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr Attendance: 2171 Referee: Alan Muir Ayr United: 1 Lineup: Doohan; Smith, Muirhead, Rose, Harvey, Docherty, Crawford (Kerr 45), Murdoch, McDaid (Forrest 80), Moffat (McCowan 62), Shankland Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Ecrepont, Cadden, Miller. Scorers: Rose (65) Booked: Crawford (42), Kerr (75) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, McHattie, Walsh (Rooney 79), Trafford, Chalmers, Polworth (McDonald 88), Doran (McCauley 78), White Subs (not used): C Mackay, Harper, MacGregor, Austin. Scorers: Trafford (33), White (51, 76 pen) Booked: Trafford (68), White (90+1) Sent Off: none a

Play Off 1st Leg at Ayr. Having qualified for the Premiership Play-Offs, we have the daunting task of playing Ayr United once more. By virtue of finishing third in the table, we get the benefit of a home tie in the second leg. Some say that's not maybe for the best given our random home form, and even moreso as Ayr have proved to be better away from Somerset park as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ICT Supporters Travel Club ? ? ? PLAYOFF BUS TO AYR ON TUES 7TH MAY LEAVES ...CALEY CLUB 1.45 & STADIUM 2Pm BOOK ON FACEBOOK OR PHONE/TEXT 07462 218717 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matchday 36 ended with a wee present from Dunfermline. They gifted us a goal to help us into third place and Alloa Athletic did the rest by drawing with Ayr. Nathan Austin was the beneficiary of a defensive mistake that saw a suicidal head high pass back bouncing off keeper Cammy Gill into the path of Austin who accepted the gift and stroked the ball into the empty net. One sour note was that Coll Donaldson came off at half time feeling his thigh and Jamie McCart replaced him for the second half. Whilst we were beating Dunfermline, Ayr United were being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Championship team of the season Alloa Athletic. Connor Shields opened the scoring for the Wasps but top striker Lawrence Shankland levelled four minutes later and that's how it ended, leaving Inverness third with United dropping down to fourth. So it all boils down to this, the play-offs, where it's all designed to favour the teams in the order they finished in the league. That means home advantage in the return leg, and the 3rd & 4th placed teams having the most to do. Another thing to remember is that away goals do not count in the event of the games finishing level over the two legs. The team that scores the most goals over the two legs goes through to the next round. If the scores are level over the two legs then there will be extra-time and then penalties if required. In the four meetings between the clubs this season, there has been one draw and three wins for Inverness. The first game in the Highlands saw newly promoted Ayr come away with a deserved 0-0 draw. The next game at Ayr was postponed in December due to high winds before we played them again in the North, running out winners thanks to a Jordan White goal. Down to Somerset Park at the end of January where we won an extraordinary game 3-2, having led 3-0 after 18 minutes. A Nathan Austin brace and a Liam Polworth goal had us cruising, but goals from Declan McDaid and Lawrence Shankland made it a tense finish. The final game was played only four weeks ago and a Brad Mckay goal was enough to win the points. So, Inverness getting the better of these games, but to be honest, very little between the sides. There's not much more to be said regarding the onfield news. Carl Tremarco missed the Dunfermline game with a calf injury. Coll Donaldson strained his hammy and was replaced, hopefully just precautionary but Sean Welsh is out long term. Mark Ridgers returned at the weekend and came through the game without concern. Kevin McHattie will replace Tremarco should he not make it. Ayr had Lawrence Shankland in their team against Alloa, and that is a worry for any defence. Manager Ian McCall has some concerns over a few players. Steven Bell and Craig Moore are out for the season. Defender Liam Smith has tweaked his hamstring and midfielders Jamie Adams and Andy Geggan are in the doubtful category. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ticket prices for the games home and away against Ayr have been set at £12, the minimum price dictated by the SPFL rules. Further Information can be found on the OFFICIAL SITE. Here's another tidy offer. Hospitality is £35 plus VAT at the Caledonian Stadium. Unfortunately, there is no season ticket discount rate as the SPFL have confirmed we have to charge for every ticket. Boooo @ spfl Email [email protected] to book your place or call the club on 01463 222880 With a new season looming, the club have opened the early bird offers for Season tickets. If purchased within the window allocated, season tickets will be frozen at last years prices and any tickets bought now will be honoured for the Premiership should we be successful in the Play-Off finals. At present, the window is 6th May to 26th May. See OFFICIAL SITE for detailed information regarding season tickets. It's been a challenging season for all at Inverness this year and it's pastures new for some, notably Liam Polworth heading to Motherwell after eight seasons with us. Others are sure to follow as money talks and Roy comes calling with cheque book in hand. Mark Ridgers is one that will be staying for another couple of seasons and local lad Mark has had a tremendous season after winning over the fans with some breathtaking saves to become one of the top keepers in the Championship. PLAYER of the YEAR awards were handed out after the Dunfermline game. Various trophy's dished out and you can see the full array of photo's taken by CaleyJags.com. on the Official Site. Here's the gist of it below, but head over to ICTFC for full details. Aaron Doran was voted the Fans PotY. Tom Walsh was voted the fans Young PotY Sean Welsh & Joe Chalmers were voted Players PotY Jamie McCart was voted Players Young PotY Roddy MacGregor was voted u18 PotY Coll Donaldson was voted Caley Jags Away PotY Joe Chalmers was voted Press PotY Coll Donaldson can be seen receiving his trophy from CTO and Caley Jags Away member Adamskibeats. Coll is also the front runner in the CTO polls. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you like a wee flutter, our new partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.