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The Curse Strikes Inverness and Arbroath met at the Caledonian Stadium as the Christmas shopping got into full swing. With the frost lifting, it was a chilled afternoon for this fixture with Inverness missing four longer term casualties in Jake Davidson, and Lewis Nicolson along with loan players Connall Ewan and striker Charlie Reilly . Ethan Cairns was also missing. Corey Patterson came in as an emergency loan due to an injury to Szymon Rebilas. Arbroath, like Inverness, were one of the form teams in League1 prior to kick off and talk of the Manager of the Month curse was rife. As it happened, the Curse saw Robbie Thompson sent off before the interval and second half goals from Dylan Smith & Gavin Reilly won the points for the Smokies. In truth it wasn't a great performance today, but we can't complain after the recent run we had been on. It was a result that puts Arbroath top of the table, not a bad week for them, and their assistant gaffer who had a Golden baby boy introduced to the world. Congratulations David Gold and fiance Claire. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A quick start from the hosts offered them what looked like a decent chance when a ball from the left was met by a couple of attackers near the edge of the six yard box, alas we seemed to try and walk the ball into the net rather than attempt a first time strike and the fleeting moment passed us by. The fleet footed Luis Longstaff tried to replicate his goal against Montrose from the previous week as he cut in from the left across the face of the box. It was perfect up until his parting shot which he dragged wide on this occasion in the tenth minute. After the initial surge, the game lapsed into mediocrity, littered with fouls and errors from both sides with Arbroath not in any hurry to venture forward. Robbie Thompson was booked for a soft infringement on Ryan Dow. That would come back to bite him on the arse before the interval. On the half hour and following a corner, Adam MacKinnon saw his fierce volley deflected just wide. Five minutes later, the already booked Robbie Thompson was sent off after he tripped Fraser Taylor who had picked up the ball about 30 yards from his own goal and was preparing to surge forward, albeit some 70 yards from Dibaga in the Inverness goal. A needless foul with plenty of bodies between Taylor and Dibaga and a simple clip on the heels was enough for the incompetent Colin Steven to produce a second yellow followed quickly by a red. Thompson slowly took the walk of shame and hopefully he will etch this in his brain for future reference. The sending off was all the impetus that Arbroath needed for the start of the second half and they showed that intent on the interval when after a wee flurry of attacks since the red card, Dow shot over into the North stand. HALF TIME: 0-0 The writing was on the wall from kick-off in the second forty-five and it was no surprise when Ross County loanee Dylan Smith headed high into the net in the fifty-second minute. We had been under the cosh in the opening gambits of the second half failing to clear our lines once too often. That stopped us feeling sorry for ourselves and we tried to make a game of it thereafter, but it was difficult to see where a goal was coming from apart from at the other end when Arbroath looked more direct going forward. Fraser Taylor should have put the game beyond us when Arbroath cut us open but his shot from the centre of the box was blocked by Dibaga who spread himself well on the hour. James Nolan fired a rebound just over after a shot had been blocked in the box and he met it around twenty yards out on the right side of centre. He also shot high and wide into the North Stand when on a promising burst forward and Charlie Gilmour fired a vicious shot over as we realised we were still within range of the Smokies. Our best chance of the game ended without making Smokies keeper McAdams work. A long diagonal ball from Nolan on the right side was well controlled by MacKinnon about eight yards from goal, but instead of bursting the net he stretched out a gangly leg early and his shot sailed harmlessly over the bar. Dow might have done better in the dying embers but he Dibaga denied him. However, we were caught up the park when Nolan fluffed his pass back to his keeper allowing Gavin Reilly to drive forward before calmly clipping the ball past Dibaga and watch it roll slowly into the empty net from twenty yards in stoppage time. Game Over! That was a stand emptying moment if ever I saw one. FULL TIME: 0-2 Our big highlight apart from MacKinnon's miss with fifteen to go was an Arbroath player having to pay to get back into the ground after Luis Longstaff left him for dead around the halfway line. Made me laugh anyway. A disappointing result and an untidy game to boot. We spurned what looked like a great opportunity in the first couple of minutes where nobody was willing to put their laces through the ball and the chance petered out. Some second half wasted opportunities but that would have papered over the cracks where we looked like we didn't believe in ourselves. Arbroath were equally poor but once we were reduced to ten the writing was on the wall. Only a matter of time. The second goal was immaterial as we never looked like scoring and it came as a result of an error from a pass back that gifted Reilly the ball to allow him to run on unchallenged in stoppage time. Dibaga made a couple of good stops when Arbroath should have put the game beyond us, unlike McAdams who could have sat in the stand. Dust ourselves down and we go again next week at Stenhousemuir. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 16 4 28 2 Stenny 17 8 27 3 Alloa Ath 17 6 25 4 Kelty Hearts 16 8 23 5 Montrose 17 2 23 6 Cove 17 1 22 7 Queens 16 -3 21 8 Annan Ath 17 -12 18 9 Inverness CT 16 -1 7 10 Dumbarton 17 -13 1 Date: 14/12/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1531 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Bray 68), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson , MacKinnon (Gardiner 82), B Mckay Subs (not used): Corey Patterson; S Thompson, L Walker, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: none Booked: R Thompson (18+35), Longstaff (93) Sent Off: R Thompson (35) Arbroath: 2 Manager: Colin Hamilton & David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Smith, Watson, O'Brien, Wilkie, Murray (Spalding 58), Flynn, Taylor (Reilly 76), Stewart, Gallagher (Slater 76), Dow Subs (not used): McConnell; Coulson, Bisland, Sinclair, Callaghan Scorers: Smith (52), Reilly (90+3) Booked: Murray (13) Sent Off: none a

Smokies pre-Xmas fare Arbroath are next up for Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday as long as we can beat the frost. It's a 3:00pm kick-off as Scott Kellacher looks for his fourth win on the bounce in League1. Arbroath have edged their way up to third in the table, just two points off the pace with a game in hand over the top two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info ***Supporters Trust AGM*** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ahead of kick-off and in Bar94, the Supporters Trust will hold their AGM Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Ltd Notice of Annual General Meeting On Saturday 14th December 2024 at midday At Bar 94 – Inverness Caledonian Stadium The Annual General Meeting of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Limited will take place at Bar 94 in Inverness at the Inverness Caledonian Stadium at 12.00pm on Saturday 14th December 2024 Please note – if you are unable to attend and you would like to nominate a proxy on your behalf - please forward the details to [email protected] Also note :- The formal AGM meeting is expected to finish at 12.30 Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 18 5 4 62 22 +40 Away 26 11 7 8 36 31 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 53 29 12 12 98 53 +45 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 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) 1 - 1 (H) We have played Arbroath twice this season. The first encounter was a no scoring draw in the league cup group stage where Arbroath won the bonus point after a penalty shoot-out. The League game played at Gayfield ended in a 1-0 win for the hosts when Gavin Reilly scored the only goal. Namesake Charlie Reilly who has on the treatment table since he joined us on loan from Dundee after debuting for the Caley Jags in that game. Another Blank: 1-0 Massive financial hurdles were put to one side as we went down to the Greenversity Stadium, or Gayfield as we all know it, for this Scottish League 1 fixture against Arbroath. With both sides getting off to a cautious start in the league this fixture between last seasons relegated pair might give an indication if either of them are capable of challenging for a play-off place at the top end of the table or will it be a few seasons in the doldrums, or administration or worse. Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns were missing. Charlie Reilly came in on loan from Dundee this week met his new team mates today for the first time and Started up front with Billy Mckay. Arbroath were without Scott Stewart and Tam O'Brien with co-manager David Gold and Ross County's young on loan defender Dylan Smith in their starting XI. The other co-manager Colin Hamilton, Ali Spalding and Calum Gallagher were all on the injured list. After a goalless first half where Inverness were looking the more likely, Reilly opened the scoring. Unfortunately it was Gavin Reilly for Arbroath. Another Saturday, another game slips away. INVERNESS CT: Our Season so far... D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W That is how our season has gone so far. Scott Kellacher has won his last three League games since he started five league games ago with a 3-1 defeat at Dumbarton and he will be looking for a fourth on the trot against Arbroath. That run in November where we picked up seven points from a possible nine earned him the League1 manager of the month trophy. Let's not get too carried away with that, as cast your mind back to last November when none other than Duncan Ferguson won the same November accolade. Nonetheless, congratulations to Scott for picking up this award and let's hope the curse of the MotM does not strike on Saturday. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 16 9 27 2 Wasps 16 7 25 3 Smokies 15 2 25 4 Jambos 15 8 22 5 Toonsers 16 1 21 6 Gable E's 16 1 20 7 Queen's 15 -4 18 8 B&G's 16 -16 15 9 Caley Jags 15 1 07 10 Sons 16 -9 01 LATEST TEAM NEWS Read Scott Kellacher's thoughts HERE. Remi Savage returned last week and Keith Bray made the bench. However, Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson are all longer term casualties. No new team news available at present. Arbroath fielded this team last week in a 2-1 win over Queen of the South thanks to a late strike from Calum Gallagher. Douglas had put Queen of the South ahead with the proverbial screamer twenty minutes from the end. A couple minutes and a couple of inspired subs later and one of them Innes Murray fired in his own screamer. Two minutes later the two subs combined for Murray to cross for Gallagher to secure all three points. Arbroath were one of the bookies favourites before the season started and after a slow start they are now knocking on the door at the top end. L W W D W W Last six League1 results Highlights in this sequence were wins over Annan, Stenhousemuir, Cove & Queen of the South. A draw with Montrose and a disappointing 1-3 defeat at home to Dumbarton.

It's behind you... Inverness were without Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan, and Lewis Nicolson. Remi Savage started after being injured last week and Keith Bray made the bench. Former Inverness players Michael Gardyne and Matheus Machado started for Montrose. With points at a premium, and despite the Caley Jags creating plenty with Cammy Gill the busier keeper, it was Montrose that went in at the break two goals up. Graeme Webster headed in Michael Gardyne's free kick to open the scoring before Blair Lyons added a second ten minutes before the break. The second half started in the same vein with Inverness pushing to get a goal back but squandering opportunities that came their way. We bucked the trend after the hour when Luis Longstaff drilled in from outside the box. Montrose were reduced to ten men when Steeve's was red carded and a late Paul Allan double saved the day in true pantomime fashion as he scored direct from a corner to take all three points back up the A9. Oh no he didn't.......Oh yes he did ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remi Savage took his place in defence but Keith Bray only made it onto the bench. Academy player Ben Gardiner was called into the squad for the first time. James Nolan shot wide early on and Adam MacKinnon brought out a save from Cammy Gill. That would be the order of the day as chances came and went. However, not so for Montrose who took the lead just before the half hour through Webster who headed in a Gardyne free kick. They doubled the lead ten minutes before the break when Lyons fired high into the net from the centre of the box. That apart, the half consisted of missed chances and saves by Cammy Gill who denied Billy Mckay and Adam MacKinnon amongst others. Half Time: 2-0 The second half was similar to the first with Inverness probing, missing and Gill saving. However he could do nothing to stop Longstaff drilling into the bottom corner after the hour. Game on, and moreso ten minutes later when Steeves received a straight red card. Billy Mckay and Adam Mackinnon were notably denied by keeper Gill and it was all hands to the pumps for for Montrose now but they were powerless to stop Paul Allan slotting in an equaliser in the 88th minute. No more than Inverness deserved for their attacking endeavour. However, we weren't finished and absolute limbs in the 94th minute when Paul Allan's shot come cross from a corner ended up in the net for the visitors to snatch a deserved win and three valuable points. Full Time 2-3 (phew) A dramatic ending to the game with Paul Allan snatching the win and up until that moment probably the MotM award from Cammy Gill who broke Inverness hearts on at least a dozen occasions throughout the game. When Paul's dipping corner ended up in the net, the MotM award was diverted to the Inverness match winner with Gill holding his head in disbelief. What a comeback. I doubt this would have happened under Duncan Ferguson's tenure. With his negative approach we would have been more likely to take on another couple of defenders and retain possession. Not for Scott Kellacher who continued to drive his team forward and deservedly got all three points at the death. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 16 9 27 2 Alloa Ath 16 7 25 3 Arbroath 15 2 25 4 Kelty Hearts 15 8 22 5 Cove 16 1 21 6 Montrose 16 1 20 7 Queen of Sth 15 -4 18 8 Annan Ath 16 -16 15 9 Inverness CT 15 1 7 10 Dumbarton 16 -9 1 A chuffed Scott Kellacher Is he having a laugh... Date: 07/2/2024 Venue: Links Park, Montrose Attendance: 0502 Referee: Lloyd Wilson Montrose: 2 Manager: Stuart Petrie Lineup: Gill; Dillon, Quinn, Mckenzie (Steeves 49), Bertie, Masson (Maciver-Redwood 70), Gardyne, Webster (Shrive 76), Machado, Hester (Brown 60), Lyons (Hannah 76) Subs (not used): Mathews; Balfour, Watson Scorers: Webster (27), Lyons (38) Booked: Lyons (32), Masson (40), Brown (88) Sent Off: Steeves (74) Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Cairns 76), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson (Bray 72), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; S Thompson, C Mackay, L Walker, MacLeod, Gardiner Scorers: Longstaff (64), Allan (88, 90+4) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Links Park Test It's another away game for the Caley Jags as they head to Links Park, Montrose for another tough fixture on the road in our quest to get closer to the teams above us. We tumbled out of the Cup last weekend at Cove whilst Montrose earned a trip to Hampden, the prize for beating Peterhead 2-3 at Balmoor Stadium. Scott Kellacher has mounting injury concerns with Defender Remi Savage the latest to be added to the list that already has the names of Jake Davidson, Keith Bray, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 3 Competitive Meetings are the only relevant ones May (play offs & League1 fixture) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) This seasons fixture at the Caledonian Stadium ended all square. New Start Same Problems: The first game after the olde CEO was prized from his oligarchy bubble saw a decent crowd turn out in appreciation of the efforts of Alan Savage to right the wrongs. It won't happen overnight, but the first steps have been taken to put some life back into the ailing Caley Jags. On the park, Musa Dibaga replaced the injured Jack Newman in goal with emergency loan keeper from Clach Martin MacKinnon on the bench. Keith Bray kept his place with Adam Brooks on the bench. Montrose were the visitors and they are a more settled side although Michael Gardyne was suspended with former Inverness youth player Matheus Machado starting. Both teams were looking for their first win of the League campaign. Kane Hester scored after twenty minutes but on the interval Montrose were reduced to ten men when Sean Dillon was sent off. After the break it was one way traffic against the ten men and no surprise when Adam MacKinnon equalised. However the winning goal eluded us and it was a point apiece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was an overcast, breezy and somewhat chilly afternoon with an Autumnal feel about it as the teams emerged from the tunnel, Inverness in their new strip, the visitors in white tops with black shorts. Prior to kick off Captain Billy Mckay was presented with a wee memento on reaching 300 appearances for the Caley Jags, not to mention his 112 goals for the club. The first action saw Keith Bray's shot deflected at the expense of a corner when he spun on the edge of the box and tried to get his shot away in the seventh minute. Twenty minutes in and what a finish for the opening goal. Former Elgin player Kane Hester opened the scoring with a tremendous strike into the top corner from a tight angle after his mis-control seemed to deceive Danny Devine to give the visitors the early advantage. Machado was booked a minute later. Billy Mckay came close to levelling the scores after half an hour when Cammy Gill turned his shot across the keeper onto the post with his fingertips. It was a half littered with fouls and Luis Longstaff shot over ten minutes before the break. Sean Dillon headed over at the other end before he received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Billy Mckay. How dare he on his 300th appearance! That was on the interval to leave the visitors to face the second half a man short but a goal to the good. HALF TIME: 0-1 Mathew Strachan replaced Flynn Duffy at the start of the second half and Gill denied Longstaff shortly after. The other Duffy was hooked for Callum MacLeod ten minutes into the half and Mckay was again foiled by Gill as he shot from inside the box. It was turning into a procession towards Cammy Gill and Longstaff and Gilmour had a go before Adam Mackinnon equalised just after the hour, drilling home from outside the box. He almost scored a second moments later. Mckay would not find that elusive strike as Gill saved again and Gilmour was blocked before Davidson should have done better at the back post. MacKinnon had another couple of attempts ten minutes from the end and Mckay was denied for the 300th time by the keeper in the top corner. We plugged away until the end but try as we did, the winning goal eluded us and it ended all square. FULL TIME: 1-1 Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 15 5 24 2 Kelty Hearts 14 10 22 3 Alloa Ath 15 5 22 4 Arbroath 14 1 22 5 Montrose 15 2 20 6 Cove 15 1 20 7 Queen of Sth 14 -3 18 8 Annan Ath 15 -16 14 9 Inverness CT 14 0 4 10 Dumbarton 15 -5 1 Montrose squad last time out at Peterhead. I see that Michael Gardyne is still there along with Kane Hester and Matheus Machado. Plenty experience between the sticks in Cammy Gill and Sean Dillon in defence. Montrose last six League games: W L L D L W Highlights: Wins at Kelty (2-0) & at home to Annan (2-1) Lowlights: Defeat at home Cove (0-2), QotS away (1-0), Stenny away (1-0) Meh result: Arbroath at home (1-1) Last Week: 2-3 win at Peterhead in the Scottish Cup Latest Team News from Inverness CT INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W That is how our season has gone so far. Scott Kellacher won his last two League games and will be desperate for a third. Remi Savage and Keith Bray might make the squad this weekend but it's touch and go. Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson are all longer term casualties.

Cup of no Cheer Jake Davidson, Keith Bray, Charlie Reilly and Lewis Nicolson were all missing for the The Caley Jags on Scottish Cup 3rd Round action at Balmoral Stadium, Cove. Fyvie was out for Cove. No scoring in the first half, not for the want of trying, but two very late goals, one from the spot after a dubious handball attributed to Danny Devine put Cove into the draw for the 4th Round. Substitutes Glass with the penalty and McGrath with a strike into the bottom corner sent the Caley Jags tumbling out of the cup after it was looking good for soooo long. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A mild St Andrew's day at Balmoral greeted the sides and a moment of respect before kick-off for a stalwart, Cove's former coach, physio, kit man and long time friend and supporter Mike Pirie who recently passed away. There was an early touch of the ball in the third minute for Musa Dibaga who had to save a curling shot from Findlay Marshall when he let fly from outside the box. It was all a bit frantic in the opening exchanges with opportunities hard to come by on the artificial surface, the same could not be said for free kicks that were dished out at the drop of a hat. Danny Devine had our first serious attempt after quarter of an hour when his shot from outside the area was saved by Balint Demus in the home goal. The keeper did well again ten minutes later to deny an Adam MacKinnon header from eight yards out, the keeper pushing the ball away after MacKinnon met a great cross from the right. Robbie Thompson was next to have a go but his left footed shot on the run from the edge of the box was too close to the keeper who gathered easily. Dibaga saved a weak effort from Megginson, but it was Demus that had been the busier keeper and he was made to work harder five minutes before the break when MacKinnon let fly from eighteen yards and he pulled off another great save to deny the lively Inverness forward. HALF TIME: 0-0 Cove started the half on the front foot and Reuben McAllister saw Dibaga gather his flick towards goal from Adam Emslie's inviting cross. Musa denied McAllister from a free kick, saving low to his right then smothering the cross back into the box as Cove began to push forward more although the game was littered with either petty fouls or poor refereeing. Probably a bit of both. Billy Mckay had an opportunity from a long ball into the box from the left side but he hit his first time effort into the ground and that made it easier for Demus to make the save. Savage was replaced by Calum Mackay for the final twenty minutes and that started the rot. Out of the blue, up step Mr Hanvidge to award a penalty when the linesman with a clear view signalled for a corner after Devine charged down an attempted cross from a couple of yards from his body. Incredible refereeing not lost on the entire Caley Jags staff and players. Substitute Declan Glass remained calm to slot the ball into the keepers right, unfortunately the keeper had dived to his left. That seemed to take the wind out of our sails and despite six minutes of added time it was Cove that broke forward to end the tie in the 96th minute. As we pushed for an equaliser, a ball out of defence from Glass found Grady McGrath sprinting forward unchallenged to dink the ball behind the exposed keeper. Game over and out of the cup for Inverness. Thank you Gary Hanvidge for ruining our weekend. Good luck to Cove in the next round. FULL TIME: 2-0 A disappointing result given a possible pot of money if afforded a favourable draw. Bring on the "the league is more important anyway" brigade, which, whilst true, doesn't disguise the fact that this was a winnable tie that we lost. Meh! Another downside of this game was an injury to Remi Savage late in the game before the two goals were scored. Nobody happy with the penalty and a sucker punch when chasing the game thereafter. Here's a leaked image of the Caley Jags being knocked out of the Cup down by the sea. Was it a penalty? Very harsh if true at all. It matters not a jot now so let's concentrate on the League games. Only one aim now and that is to claw back the deficit on Annan and co. Danny Devine may have been red carded in the tunnel after the game ended as he questioned the referee over the penalty awarded which basically changed the outcome of this game. Either that or he was asking him if he was qualified to do the job! That may mean he misses the next Scottish Cup tie, depends on what the ref's report said. Date: 30/11/2024 Venue: Balmoral Stadium, Cove Attendance: 0539 Referee: Gary Hanvidge Cove Rangers: 2 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Demus; Doyle, Gillingham, Harrington, Scully, Emslie, Yule, Megginson (McGrath 91),McAllister, Darge, Marshall (Glass 72), Subs (not used): Suman; Murray, Lobban, Gaffney Scorers: Glass (89 pen), McGrath (96) Booked: Yule (30), Marshall (68) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage (C Mackay 82), Strachan (Cairns 91), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson (MacLeod 71), Mackinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; L Walker, S Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Longstaff (32), Devine (68), B Mckay (88) Sent Off: none a