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Hampden Success Danny Devine had recovered from the knock that saw him limp off against Raith Rovers on the hour last week. Sean Welsh and Luis Longstaff were on the bench. Grant Savoury, Charlie Fox and Craig Napier missed out for the Spiders. Jack Turner put Queens Park ahead early in the first half before Max Anderson levelled the match ten minutes later. Jack Thomson hit the bar, Mckay deemed offside when putting a loose ball into the net after Wotherspoon's header was saved and that prompted some words of comfort for the referee for which Big Dunc eventually ended up in the stands at the break. After the interval Inverness eased themselves up into sixth place in the league with goals from Nikola Ujdur, his first for the club, David Wotherspoon and a Billy Mckay penalty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the eerie atmosphere of a sparse Hampden crowd, Billy Mckay had an early effort deflected behind for a corner which came to nothing. However it didn't take long for the Spiders to get their noses in front when Dom Thomas' delivery into the box was turned in by Jack the Turner. The visitors hit back on twenty-one minutes when Max Anderson met Nathan Shaw's cross to fire the ball behind Calum Ferrie. On the half hour another ball in from Shaw saw Ferrie save from Mckay. A minute later Mckay turned provider but defender Nikola Ujdur's effort was also stopped by Ferrie in the home goal. Ujdur and Mckay almost linked up again but Mckay was just short of getting on the end of his shot. Touch wood, but it was Inverness that looked most likely to get the next goal with Mckay adjudged offside after Wotherspoon's header was saved then Shaw and Anderson made Ferrie work for his money. Touch wood was appropriate as Jack Thomson struck the bar before Ridgers then saved from Stuart McKinstry as the Spiders came back to life just before the break. Duncan Ferguson also spaked into life just on the interval and was sent to the stand by referee Craig Napier for a second yellow. Settle down Dunc! HALF TIME 1-1 Tit for tat opening to the second half with Paton blocked at one end and Ferrie saving from Wotherspoon at the other end after a counter attack with Cammie Harper. Anderson saw an effort put behind for a corner, and from that corner Nikola Ujdur headed Harpers ball into the box behind Ferrie to put Inverness ahead. Better was to come after seventy-five minutes when November's Player of the Month David Wotherspoon scored his fifth goal for Inverness to put us 3-1 ahead on the day. Spoony then earned us a spot kick when he was taken down by substitute Cameron Bruce, and who else but Billy Mckay scored from the spot with a low shot into the bottom corner. The play was broken up after this by a spate of substitutions and that was our first win over Queens Park in six games. FULL TIME: 1-4 Happy Days! Our biggest win of the season, first goals for Anderson and Ujdur, with Spoony and Mckay also hitting the back of the net. All this with Ferguson sent to the stands at half time. Plenty room for him there in an empty National Stadium. Inverness move up to sixth in the table and we play Morton at Cappielow on Tuesday night where a win would see us jump another place to fifth. More match reaction to follow>>> Highlights from QP>>> The Goals >>> Here's Naughty Boy Dunc>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Morton v Inverness on Tuesday night - Arbroath v Raith Rovers Wednesday night 1. Dundee Utd 14 10 4 0 34 6 34 2. Raith Rovers 14 10 3 1 26 17 33 3. Partick Thistle 15 7 4 4 31 25 25 4. Dunfermline 14 6 3 5 18 15 21 5. Airdrieonians 15 5 2 8 14 21 17 6. Inverness CT 14 4 4 6 17 16 16 7. Ayr United 14 4 2 8 17 26 14 8. Queens Park 14 3 4 7 19 31 13 9. Arbroath 13 4 0 9 17 27 12 10. Morton 13 3 2 8 14 23 11 Date: 09/12/2023 Venue: Hampden Park Attendance: 1203 Referee: Craig Napier Queens Park: 1 Manager: Robin Veldman Lineup: Ferrie; McPherson, Bannon, Reid, Robson (Bruce 70), Thomson (Longridge 60), Spong (Tizzard 70), Turner, McKinstry (Hepburn 61), Thomas, Paton Subs (not used): Kane; Healy, Jarrett, Mauchin, McCormick Scorers: Turner (10) Booked: Turner (17), Bannon (66) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy (Davidson 84), Ujdur , Devine, Boyes, Shaw (Longstaff 81), Gilmour (Welsh 90+1), Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Lodovica 83), B Mackay (Brooks 83) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Sheridan, Thompson Scorers: Anderson (21), Ujdur (59), Wotherspoon (75), B Mckay (80 pen) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Nemesis Time On Saturday at 3:00pm it's nemesis time as we face Queens Park at Hampden Park. The Spiders have had the beating of us since getting back into the Championship in season 2022/2023. We did, ahem, put them out of the Scottish Cup last season by default on our way to the final, however we have always struggled against teams who are willing to hit fast on the break and Queens have been guilty of that. We, on the other hand, are somewhat ponderous and shot-shy, and that's something that needs addressed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket info Supporters bus Buses for rest of 2023: 9th Dec Queens Park leaving stadium 10.30 - 12th Dec Morton leaving stadium 2pm - 23rd Dec Partick leaving stadium at 10.00 - picking up Aviemore and Pitlochry. £20 a seat. Buses filling up fast so book early through Facebook or on 07462218717 to avoid disappointment. BACK THE TEAM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 13 4 5 4 16 16 0 Away 8 5 0 3 15 12 +3 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 21 9 5 7 31 28 +3 Queens have our card marked since they popped back up into the championship in 2022 to draw 1-1 at the Caledonian Stadium. That was as good as it got against the Spiders since then as we failed to record a win on the park in all six meetings since then. However, off the park we seem to be a bit smarter than the average Spider. Last 6 Competitive Meetings - Previous meetings were up until 2010 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) It was an opening day defeat at the Caledonian Stadium this season: 1 - 2 Here's the CTO report:- In a brisk opening to the game Wallace Duffy headed over from a corner in the second minute and at the other end Mark Ridgers was brought into action to deny Jack Thomson. Nathan Shaw also had an effort saved by Callan McKenna in the top corner. A good move forward ended with Charlie Fox blocking Charlie Gilmour after seventeen minutes and Billy Mckay went close but he dragged his effort wide of the mark. Queens were enjoying the majority of the possession and on the half hour they opened the scoring when Barry Hepburn fed Dom Thomas who scored into the top of the net. Inverness responded and Shaw saw McKenna save his free kick. Ridgers then saved from Jack Spong as Queens dominance continued. However we were still able to carve out chances and McKenna did well to deny Mckay just on the interval from a Jake Davidson cross. HALF TIME: 0-1 Austin Samuels shot high and wide at the start of the second half but it was Queens who added a second three minutes into the half through Tommy Robson, shooting into the bottom corner to leave us chasing the game. Thomas had an effort saved minutes later as Queens dominated play. Ridgers then saved from Louis Longridge at the expense of a corner kick as Queens Park threatened to run away with the game. Robson was then denied by the overworked Ridgers as QP looked to kill the game off. Substitute Keith Bray was denied by McKenna as we probed for a way back into the game. Samuels blazed another shot high and wide and that brought about the introduction of Harry Lodovica. With time slipping away Davidson scored with a close range header from a Cammy Harper cross. Alas it was too little too late for Inverness who went down to an opening day defeat. FULL TIME: 1-2 Last Time Out Ferguson tasted defeat at the eighth time of asking after we let a one goal lead slip away in time added on as Jamie Gullan smashed home a penalty for Raith Rovers. Billy Mckay had given Inverness the lead after the break when he stole in between two defenders to nod an inviting Wotherspoon cross down into the net, but Lewis Vaughan netted five minutes before the end to kick start the late surge. Disappointing to throw away this lead and Big Dunc must shoulder some of the blame for this as we sat back and invited Rovers to come at us. Learning curve for everyone. Last Five in the Championship: W D W D L Queens Park's last Championship game was on 11th of November. They too went down to a late show from Raith Rovers, they too lost a late lead, in the 89th minute, and they too went down to a time added on penalty scored by Ross Milllen, with only ten men. Extraordinary stuff from Rovers to be honest. They should buy a lottery ticket right away. Turner and Paton were the goalscorers for the Spiders in this one. No wins in their last nine games going back to a 1-0 win over Arbroath back on the19th of August. Incidentally that was the second win over Arbroath in a week, a 2-1 win the previous weekend. However, their last game was a 3-0 away defeat in the Scottish Cup to high flying Partick Thistle on 25th November. Last Five in the Championship: D D D D L Big game at the top end of the table on Friday night as Raith Rovers take on Partick Thistle. ***It ended 4-3 to Rovers to put them on top of the table for now. Congratulations to Novembers Championship Manager and Player of the Month. Big Dunc & Spoony Latest Team News Usual suspects missing in the longer term but the news that Roddy MacGregor is back training on the park is a bonus. Danny Devine limped off last week against Raith Rovers and David Carson is still out on parental leave. Shaw, Ujdur and Boyes are all nursing their own fitness and aches and strains. Ajax have appointed Queen's Park director of football Marijn Beuker to the same role at the Eredivisie club. The Dutchman joined Queen's Park in 2021, having previously been head of football development and strategy with AZ Alkmaar for eight years. Top scorer this season is Ruari Paton who is way out on his own with 11 goals. Nearest to him is Jack Turner with four. Team in 3-0 cup defeat to Partick Thistle. Ferrie McPherson Bannon Fox Robson (Bruce 69) Thomson Spong (Hepburn 68) Turner Thomas Paton McKinstry (Longridge 55) Subs Not Used: Kane; Healy, Tizzard, Reid, Jarrett, Mauchin

Just Like Buses None for 23 years then two in a row as Raith came from behind to win with a time added on penalty converted by Jamie Gullan. Billy Mckay had opened the scoring with a header on the hour but a late surge by Rovers won it. Lewis Vaughan four minutes from the end then the penalty to take the win at the death scored by Jamie Gullan. We should have had a penalty of our own after that, but Mr Williams chose to ignore it. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and that one hurt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Second top with only one defeat, Raith had been flying high before this one. Big Dunc has turned the fortunes around of a once jaded looking Caley Jags, unbeaten in seven. Something was going to give and it did, Dunc's streak came to an end. Ferguson was without the usual long term injured and David Carson was expecting . Harper and Boyes were struggling through the week but made the starting XI. Raith Rovers defender Ross Millen missed this one through suspension and Liam Dick had been missing lately through injury but was fit enough to start this one. The games at Ayr, Dunfermline and Morton were all frozen off. Only Inverness and Maryhill escaped the big freeze ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Temperatures were hovering around freezing as the game kicked off in bright sunshine. The visitors were first to settle and enjoyed the early pressure with Inverness comfortably mopping up most attacks. However we failed to find an outlet with a lot of misplaced passes from defence and the midfield were struggling to get to grips with the game. Closest to a goal in the first half was when the ball bounced off a surprised Ridgers' shins onto the post and he cleared it at the second fumble. In truth we were equally as poor as we were the week before against Cowdenbeath. Slow out of the blocks, sluggish all over the park and misplacing passes like nobody's business. Little surprise it was goalless at the break. HALF TIME: 0-0 The second half was played at a better pace and we were more in Raith's face. Raith managed a shot and couple of headers from Hamilton as they still looked the most likely to score, but neither keeper was overly troubled. On the hour we broke well down the left before we found ourselves outside the box on the right side. Wotherspoon lifted a cross into the box and Billy Mckay did well to make it his ball and headed low into the bottom corner of the net. With twenty minutes left Longstaff should have done better after a sweeping move down the left saw Shaw find him at the far side of the box. It all happened in slow motion thereafter and Longstaff's weak shot was easily saved by Dobrowski. Longstaff then turned provider but Anderson's effort from the cut back cannoned back off the crossbar. That would have given us a decent cushion. Alas it all went pear shaped in the final ten minutes. We began to look nervy in defence and sat deeper and deeper. Ujdur and Wotherspoon missed the target when we did go forward but we paid the penalty with five minutes left when Vaughan turned in the box to drill home through a ruck of players. Worse was to come deep into stoppage time when Longstaff brought down Sam Stanton. Game over as Gullan smashed the ball high into the net to win the game. Longstaff again was involved in the final effort of the game after Sheridan was getting the shirt pulled off his back, but the ball fell just behind him and a decent opportunity just became another clearance and that was it. FULL TIME: 1-2 That was a sore one after putting in a much better second half performance. Maybe Dunc will sort out why we are so ponderous at times compared to other sides, even Cowdenbeath broke quicker than we did. Poor first half again followed by a great header from Billy and one off the bar from Anderson. Then we regressed. Danny Devine going off injured didn't help and taking Mckay and Wotherspoon off doesn't seem like such a good idea now. Hey ho! We could have broken up play in time added on by using our last two substitutes. Instead we gifted a penalty and lost the game. Meh! Best for Inverness were Mckay, Wotherspoon and Ujdur and maybe Longstaff if he had a bit more belief in himself. The rest need to go back to basic passing. Our throw ins are as bad as ever and whilst I'm at it, we have no outlet when defending a corner. Stick someone on the halfway line Dunc. Closest to a goal in the first half was when the ball bounced off a surprised Ridgers' shins onto the post and he cleared it at the second fumble. Plenty of talk after the game about this scramled effort early in the game. I thought at the time it was fortunate but the whole ball did not cross the line. What is it with us and the woodwork just now? Video shows the ball never crossed the line. Close though! How about this tug on Sheridan after Raith's penalty. Shouldn't have been too difficult for Mr Williams to see from only twenty yards away. Consistently poor refereeing throughout this game. Where do we find these guys? Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee Utd 13 9 4 0 33 6 31 2. Raith Rovers 13 9 3 1 22 14 30 3. Partick Thistle 14 7 4 3 28 21 25 4. Dunfermline 13 5 3 5 16 14 18 5. Airdrieonians 14 5 2 7 13 19 17 6. Ayr United 13 4 2 7 17 25 14 7. Inverness CT 13 3 4 6 13 15 13 8. Queens Park 13 3 4 6 18 27 13 9. Arbroath 12 4 0 8 16 25 12 10. Morton 12 2 2 8 12 22 8 Robert was philosophical on CTO: That’s a sore one to take but in reality we were outplayed until we took the lead against the run of play. If Raith had had their shooting boots on, they’d have been out of sight by half time. We were much better in the second half, but the goal was a surprise when it came. We then had our best spell and created several chances, coming very close when Anderson (by then playing in a more advanced role) cannoned one off the post. Then the late equaliser meant we looked like getting a point (which we’d all have taken at half time) but the stoppage time penalty was a sickener. Losing Devine meant a change of shape to 4 at the back, but I felt we played better with two wide players than we had with Duffy and Harper being wing backs. I’m not blaming the changes as Mckay and Wotherspoon had worked their socks off, and it seems to be the norm that they give us 100% for 70 minutes before being taken off. It is maybe the reality check we need, as our results have been better than our performances. If we had to lose our unbeaten run, I’d rather it was today than in any of the next three against the teams below us, Queens Park, Morton and Arbroath. Date: 02/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2143 Referee: Duncan Williams Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers, Duffy, Ujdur, Devine (Longstaff 63), Boyes, Gilmour, Anderson, Wotherspoon (Welsh 80), Harper, Shaw, B Mckay (Sheridan 79) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Davidson, Delaney, Thompson, Lodovica, Brooks, Scorers: Vaughan (86), Gullan (90+4 pen) Booked: Devine (34), Gilmour (83) Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 2 Manager: Ian Murray Lineup: Dabrowski; Dick, Corr (McGill 84), O'Reilly, Connolly (Smith 73), Mullin, Easton, Stanton, Byrne, Vaughan (Hannah 90+2), Hamilton (Gullan 73) Subs (not used): Thomson; Masson Scorers: B Mckay (61) Booked: Corr (75), Gullan (90+4) Sent Off: none a

Rovers Return Ian Murray brings the new improved version of Raith Rovers North on Saturday; only one defeat in the Championship this season. They take on Big Dunc's marauders, unbeaten in seven games since he took over from Billy Dodds' plodders. The transformation has been stark in just two months. (apart from all conquering Nairn County in the NoS Cup). Rovers got the monkey off their back on 16th September when they ended an almost twenty-three year wait to taste victory against the Caley Jags over 90 minutes. Meh! Anyway, big Dunc has previous against Raith Rovers, let's hope it's a more amicable outcome this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup v Broomhill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Raith Rovers Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 14 5 2 40 15 +25 Away 18 9 5 4 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 23 10 6 74 37 +37 Only six defeats against Raith after they had dominated the opening few fixtures against us. Only two defeats in the Highlands. For +40, against -15. What could possibly go wrong? Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Raith Rovers 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) That great run had to come to an end some time. 0 - 1 Record Breakers: Never had there been a better time for Raith Rovers to break the Caley Jags hoodoo! Inverness, without a win in their last eight games, and Billy Dodds and the management team under fire. A 23 year run of games without a win for Raith Rovers was brought to an end today when Jamie Gullan smashed home from 15 yards with five minutes left. It was harsh on Inverness who dominated for long spells earlier in the game, but it leaves the management with some tough decisions to make. There will be dancing on the streets of Raith tonight! Pars beat Arbroath 3-0 since this table - Ayr United v Arbroath OFF Frozen pitch That means the Pars are 4th on 18 pts. - Morton v Dundee Utd OFF Frozen Pitch Last Time Out We struggled to perform to a high standard in our cup tie with Cowdenbeath using a 50/50 squad. After eighty minutes, the earlier introduction of Wotherspoon and Mckay proved crucial as they scored two excellent strikes to see us into the next round where we will face Broomhill at home in January. Raith did win the first meeting between the clubs this season, but it was closer than many thought it might have been, even with a side down on their luck. Jamie Gullan it was that rammed in the only goal of the game. Last five Championship results D W D W D Raith Rovers had a tremendous result in the cup at East End Park as they brushed aside the Pars 3-0. Jack Hamilton opened the scoring early in the first half and Sam Stanton and Lewis Vaughan ensured there would be no comeback from Dunfermline this time, not even thewoodwork could help them. Last five Championship results D W W D W Latest Team News Longer term players still missing and we can add David Carson who is pregnant , Cammy Harper and Morgan Boyes who have injuries to shake off. Roddy MacGregor is back in training, so that's a bonus. Samuels and Doran nowhere near fitness. Jake Davidson got a few minutes last week. Ian Murray is building a good squad at Stark's Park. Lewis Vaughan is top scorer with six goals followed by Callum Smith and Dylan Easton on five apiece. Ross Millen will miss this one through suspension and Liam Dick has been missing through injury. Team v Dunfermline in Scottish Cup win Dabrowski Millen Brown O'Reilly Connolly Mullin Easton Stanton Smith (McGill 86) Vaughan Hamilton (Gullan 78) Subs not used: Thomson; Hannah, Corr.