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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.

Goalden Oldies Inverness scraped their way into the hat for the fourth round draw with a less than impressive display against fifth tier Cowdenbeath. It was only after the introduction of olde heads Wotherspoon, Mckay and Carson that we took control of the game in the final ten minutes. Spoony and Mckay got the late strikes to win this tie over a hard working Cowdenbeath who can be well pleased with their performance as they shut Inverness down all over the park for eighty minutes. In truth, the mascots looked more impressive in the warm up than the Caley Jags strikers as they scored goals like a boss. Robert on CTO: That was a hard watch. Cowdenbeath more than matched us until the triple change. Ferguson will have learn’t a lot about some players. Two great goals put an artificial gloss on a poor performance. I’ll cut Welsh some slack as he is still building up fitness after so little game time, and he made one magnificent cross field pass to Shaw. Delaney and Sheridan were the worst of the bunch, with most players guilty of slack passing and poor control in general. It could have been different if our two early chances had gone in, one cleared off the line and one resulting in a good save. However, we didn’t kick on at all, reverting to square and backwards passing with little movement or threat. When we got scoring chances, we tended to pass rather than shoot when a shooting opportunity was on. After the break, Brooks had a tame effort and Sheridan should have had two easy goals but messed up the opportunities. Thank goodness we stepped up several gears when Mckay and Wotherspoon came on. We need to get Wotherspoon tied up for longer. Of the starting eleven, I’m struggling as to who get pass marks. Maybe Shaw and Ujdur but that would be about it. Brooks and Longstaff worked very hard but without damaging Cowdenbeath. FULL TIME: 2-0 More detail to follow>>> Cup ties are all about getting into the next round and that's what Inverness did....just. Unlike Dundee United and Arbroath, who have parted company with Dick & Dom. Not an impressive performance by any means, but Big Dunc will have learnt that some of these players need to move on in January. We had made half a dozen changes to the normal Championship team lines but I'm struggling to find many positives from that. No surprise that we looked much better when Mckay, Wotherspoon and Carson entered the game. A couple of flashes of brilliance and it was game over. Well done to Cowdenbeath who got their game plan right and snapped at our heels all afternoon making life difficult for us as we tried to break them down but failed badly. Sheridan looks off the pace but still had a couple of opportunities to score, something he would have done with his eyes shut a number of years ago. Brooks runs around like a headless chicken without threatening. Misplaced passes all over the park today, but one man not guilty of that was the impeccable Nikola Ujdur who was my MotM. His nearest rivals only played for the final ten minutes, Mckay and Wotherspoon and after that the mascots Ava and Rio were head and shoulders above the rest of the squad. Dunc's happy enough, that's good enough for me Date: 25/11/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1037 Referee: Graham Grainger Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: C Mackay; Duffy (Carson 70), Ujdur, Devine, Delaney, Longstaff (Lodovica 90+1), Welsh (Davidson 89), Gilmour, Brooks (Wotherspoon 71), Shaw, Sheridan (Mckay 70) Subs (not used): Ridgers; Harper, Hyde, Thompson Scorers: Wotherspoon (80), B Mckay (84) Booked: none Sent Off: none Cowdenbeath: 0 Manager: Calum Elliot Lineup: Hepburn; MacPherson, McNab, Jordan, Tait, McLaughlin (Chalmers 77), Docherty, McDonald (MacDonald (77)), Butterworth, Jack (Berry 54), MacPherson (Cunningham 77) Subs (not used): Blair; Walker Scorers: none Booked: Docherty (34), Tait (90) Sent Off: none a

Brazil Come North A wee break from the rigours of Championship football this weekend as Brazil head North to take on Caley Thistle in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup. No no no, not that ones, but it's the Blue Brazil who will be at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off. Unfortunately, Cowdenbeath slipped out of the big boys Leagues in 2022 after a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Bonnyrigg Rose and find themselves plying their trade in the fifth tier of Scottish Football, the Lowland Football League. Our last regular games with Cowdenbeath ended in 1997 when they beat Inverness 2-1 at Central Park. The biggest home attendance at Central Park was 25,586 vs Rangers on 21 September 1949. (must have been waiting for the stock car racing to start) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Cowdenbeath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 7 4 1 2 11 10 +1 Away 8 4 2 2 17 12 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 15 8 3 4 28 22 +6 We have only played Cowdenbeath three times since our early days in 1997. The last three games have all been in League Cup encounters. Worryingly, the last one was a no scoring draw over 90 minutes. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Cowdenbeath 0 - 0 (H) 5 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) 1 - 3 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 0 (A) In our final league encounter with the Blue Brazil we were beaten 1 - 2 in Fife: An enthusiastic Cowdenbeath side deservedly ended the champions long unbeaten run. The home side dominated the first half as the visitors experimented with their formation. In 13 minutes Craig Sinclair headed home after a Willie Stewart corner and 4 minutes later a static defence allowed Martin Scott to hit high into the roof of the net from close range. It could have been three just before half-time but Jim Calder made a good diving save from a Nolan shot. The second half started the same way but the visitors gradually came back. They dominated the last half hour but only managed one goal. In 69 minutes a long Iain MacArthur throw was back-headed by Mike Teasdale and Paul Cherry headed home. In 84 minutes Iain Stewart tried to chip Godfrey but failed and in the dying seconds a Paul Cherry header was cleared off the line. Godfrey Munro Ritchie Meldrum Humphreys Winter Scott Sinclair Nolan Coulston Stewart Manson - Charlie Christie Millar - Davie Ross Hamilton - Barry Wilson Jim Calder Mike Noble Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur Paul Cherry Ross Tokely Mike Teasdale Marco De Barros Iain Stewart Brian Thomson Wayne Addicoat Last Time Out We rode our luck in Fife last weekend but managed to escape with a point from East End Park. Incredibly the Pars hit the woodwork seven times before they equalised on the eighth strike in the last three minutes, the ball connoning off the post into the net from Lewis McCann. Danny Devine scored like an opportunist striker at the end of the first half as MotM woodwork kept the ball out of the net with seven incredible blocks and an assist. Cowdenbeath's last game saw them scud Lanark United 6-0 in the South Challenge Cup. Scorers in a decent performance were Matty McDonald (34), Josh Jack (37), Mikey Cunningham (38 pen), MacPherson (45) HT: 4-0 Jack (50), Berry (67) Cowdenbeath FC 6 Lanark United 0 Date: 18th November 2023 Kick off: 3:00pm Competition: South Challenge Cup Referee: Venue: Central Park Attendance: We are, of course, beaten finalists from last season. Record scorer Billy Mckay is our all time top scorer in the Scottish Cup. He bagged five in last season's event, including two at Livingston and two against Falkirk in the semi final bringing his total up to 12, one ahead of Sir Dennis Wyness. Iain Stewart, our master lobster comes third with six lobs. Cowdenbeath got into the next round of the Scottish Cup after defeating Kilwinning Rangers 1-0 at Buffs Park. Super sub Mikey Cunningham came off the bench to score a late goal which saw Cowdenbeath through to the third round of the Scottish Cup, which is why they are here on Saturday. COWDENBEATH: Hepburn; Butterworth, Walker, Jordan, McNab, Chalmers, Jack (Cunningham 64), MacDonald, MacPherson, McLaughlin, Docherty (Berry 88). Subs not used – Blair, Garcia, D Duncan and Smith. ATTENDANCE: 527 Latest Team News Sean Welsh got a bit of the action at East End Park after another extensive injury lay-off. Luis Longstaff was another still looking to get up to speed after a couple of weeks out and Nikola Ujdur was subbed off in the second half. One or two still carrying niggles and this might be the right time to rest some with bigger fish to fry, but first and foremost we need to get ourselves into the hat for the 4th round draw. Max Anderson is cup-tied. 4 or 5 changes according to Dunc>>> Cowdenbeath will be looking forward to this and I would expect a similar set up to their game against Lanark.

Wood you believe it? Big Dunc was looking to remain unbeaten in six, but Inverness were without half a dozen long term injured players including more recent casualties, Jake Davidson, Austin Samuels and Aaron Doran. Captain Sean Welsh was on the bench after a recent back injury. Dunfermline have their own long term absentees but had Deniz Mehmet back between the sticks after his head knock last week and Machael O'Halloran was fit enough to make the bench, with Alex Jakubiak and Craig Wighton as strong back-ups. Best early moments saw Dunfermline hit the post four times inside a couple of minutes but fortune favoured the visitors. Make that six hits on the Inverness woodwork, but Danny Devine showed them all how to hit the net two minutes before the break as tempers flared at the end of the half. More woodwork in the second half and Dunfermline salvaged a point with three minutes left through McCann...... in off the post! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Floodlights on from the start as the visitors set the ball rolling at 15:00 on a rather grey day. First corner of the game to the Pars but it came to nothing as did the Caley Jags' first corner minutes later. Lewis McCann had the first serious attempt but his header was poor and it bounced into the ground without troubling Ridgers. Nathan Shaw was blocked at one and immediately Danny Devine thwarted Matty Todd at the other end as he tried to break through on goal. Owen Moffat dipped a shot over after twenty minutes with Ridgers watching closely. The Pars hit both posts when McCann turned and shot and the ball bounced perilously close to the line before being cleared after hitting the other post. Moments later Hosler slid in and hit the post once more and the rebound came off Devine to hit the post again. After an Inverness corner, Billy Mckay had a low effort blocked in a crowded box. Ridgers saved from Ritchie-Hosler, then on the half hour Cammy Harper missed what is generally described as an open goal at the back post after a Mckay sclaff found it's way to him but he sliced wide. Wood you believe it! Incredibly the Pars hit the woodwork another twice after Morgan Boyes played a loose pass back. McCann hit the inside of the post then Moffat's effort came off the bar from the rebound. From another home corner a Boyes header went agonisingly close to opening the scoring. Danny Devine showed his strikers how to do it a couple of minutes before half time as he drilled into the net. Amazingly, the visitors made it to the interval without conceding, the posts, however, were battered and bruised as were Gilmour, Harper, Chalmers and Hamilton after a clash with yellow cards dished out in a frantic ending to the half. HALF TIME: 0-1 If anything the rain was heavier as the second half kicked off with no alterations to either side and Inverness making some early headway to no avail. Harper fired a cross into the box which David Wotherspoon almost connected properly with but it went wide. Touch wood, but it was a much more positive start to the second half for the visitors. Harper did well to clear away a dangerous McCann cross with substitute Jakubiak lurking with intent. Inverness survived another cafuffle in the box involving Jakubiak again and minutes later he was looking for a penalty under a Devine intervention. A seventh strike off the woodwork saved the visitors again from a thunderous Otoo effort from distance. Lewis McCann levelled the game with three minutes left. Unfortunately the post helped the Pars this time as McCann's effort went in via the post. FULL TIME: 1-1 An incredible game with Woodwork named as MotM with seven tremendous saves and one assist at the end as the Pars got the reward their endeavour deserved. Great finish from Danny Devine for the opening goal, scoring like a Pro. Nobody could grudge Dunfermline their leveller although it came at a time when we looked most comfortable and likely to see out the game for all three points. It's a funny olde game as they used to say. Date: 18/11/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 5034 Referee: Euan Anderson Dunfermline: 1 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Mehmet; Fisher, Hamilton, Otoo, Ritchie-Hosler (O'Halloran 70), Allan, Todd (Jakubiak 60), Chalmers, Edwards, McCann, Moffat (Wighton 70) Subs (not used): Sharp; Little; Fenton, Comrie Scorers: McCann (88) Booked: Chalmers (45), Hamilton (45+3) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Ujdur (Duffy 65), Devine, Boyes, Harper, Gilmour, Anderson, Wotherspoon (Welsh 84), Shaw, B Mckay (Longstaff 65) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Lodovica, Thompson, Brooks, Sheridan Scorers: Devine (43) Booked: Gilmour (45+2), Harper (45+3), Duffy (74) Sent Off: none a

Talkin bout a revolution A trip to Dunfermline beckons this Saturday as Dunc's revolution picks up pace. Unbeaten since his arrival, the Caley Jags take on 5th place Dunfermline Athletic in another tough encounter. A win for Inverness would see Dunc's men climb above the Pars but it's big ask. This will be your only Championship fix this weekend, so the opportunity is there for one of these sides to make up some ground on those above them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Info Supporters Bus Full Cowdenbeath Cup Tie Battery Farm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 9 5 31 22 +9 Away 24 9 10 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 50 19 20 11 63 52 +11 Our home and away encounters with the Pars show similar statistics with only five defeats at East End Park. Last season Dunfermline were heading back into the Championship after a season in League 1 where they bounced back up as Champions. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dunfermline 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) More points thrown away: Full report (Jan 2022) 1 - 1 Inverness wasted an opportunity to put pressure on the top of the table after squandering a first half lead through Shane Sutherland. Steven Lawless levelled from the spot in the second half with ten minutes remaining after David Carson was adjudged to have blocked a cross with a flailing arm. Another drab performance after a first half full of promise. No surprise really given recent performances, but frustrating nonetheless. A very disappointing second half from Inverness after a first half that was full of promise. Maybe Danny Devine going off injured just before the interval decided our tactic for the second half, or maybe Dunfermline just realised they could get something from the game. That point lifts them off the foot of the table for now, our point puts us in second position when we really should have been knocking on Arbroaths door at the top. Whatever the reason, the fans are getting somewhat disgruntled as we are without a win in five games now. It does seem like a long time ago that we absolutely thrashed Morton 6-1 on 11th December. Only four points from our last five games, or four points from a possible fifteen. That's not the form of a team going for promotion. Sort it! Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dunfermline v Inverness CT is the only Championship fixture tomorrow 1. Dundee Utd 13 9 4 0 33 6 31 2. Raith Rovers 12 8 3 1 20 13 27 3. Partick Thistle 13 6 4 3 26 20 22 4. Airdrieonians 13 5 2 6 12 17 17 5. Dunfermline 11 4 2 5 12 13 14 6. Ayr United 13 4 2 7 17 25 14 7. Queens Park 13 3 4 6 18 27 13 8. Inverness CT 11 3 3 5 11 12 12 9. Arbroath 11 4 0 7 16 22 12 10. Morton 12 2 2 8 12 22 8 Last Time Out Inverness romped home agsinst Ayr United after scoring three first half goals in a ten minute spell before the break. David Wotherspoon scored twice and Billy Mckay crashed in a penalty in a dominant first half. The second half was an anti-climax with Ayr scoring a penalty of their own through Jamie Murphy. The points were more important than the performance and it pulled Inverness clear of the bottom team Morton. Last Five Games: W D W D W In the first meeting between the clubs this season it ended all square in the Highlands in September. Nathan Shaw's early goal cancelled out ten minutes before the end by a Chris Hamilton header. FULL TIME: 1-1 The two new loan payers aquitted themselves well without setting the pulses racing. The defence did appear to be more rigid although we were found wanting at the equaliser. Nathan Shaw was the most likely to cause problems and so it proved. Poor decision by Ridgers to decide to flap at thin air for the goal but made amends to earn our point with a tremendous save later. Pars were much more direct than us and you couldn't grudge them their point. However that point still leaves us floundering at the foot of the table with one point from a possible twelve. Dunfermline's last game saw them go down narrowly to a late goal from Chris Mochrie as Dundee United continued unbeaten at the top of the table. United lead in the first half through Fotheringham before Owen Moffat levelled the game ten minutes after the interval. Mochrie hit the winner with just five minutes left on the clock. Last Five Games: L L L W L Latest Team News Half a dozen still missing with Boyes picking up an injury but Dunc is hopeful he will make the squad. So not much change from last week in terms of squad numbers and big Dunc still grappling with the players names Dunfermline manager James McPake had keeper Mehmet and striker Michael O'Halloran taken off injured last Friday against United. Alex Jakubiak replaced Craig Wighton after the hour and he looked threatening. Joe Chalmers is still at East End Park. Pars team in 1-2 loss to the Arabs Mehmet (Sharp 45) Fisher Hamilton Otoo Comrie (Hosler 75) Allan Chalmers Edwards O'Halloran (McCann 22) Moffat (Todd 55) Wighton (Jakubiak 60) Subs Not Used: Fenton, Little And finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution, oh, no

Dunc on the Up Inverness added Sean Welsh to the ever expanding longer term injury list suffering from a recurring back injury, but Luis Longstaff was fit enough to make the bench. Ayr United had Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Anton Dowds as a triple threat up front. Despite this, Inverness cruised home without having to get out of second gear. Three goals inside the last ten minutes of the first half ended the game as a contest. Two from David Wotherspoon and a penalty from Billy Mckay. Ayr got a consolation penalty in a poor second half, but it was an important three points for the Caley Jags and Big Dunc ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright and calm afternoon saw the teams take to the pitch with a growing army of disciples watching from the stands. As kick-off approached, a shrill whistle from the referee saw the crowd fall impeccably silent to commemorate those that made the ultimate sacrifice during the conflicts...... lest we forget. An early injury to birthday boy Cammy Harper was a worry for Duncan Ferguson but that wasn't enough to keep Cammy from his own party. In truth we gave a mediocre Ayr United too much respect. That was until David Wotherspoon tapped in from one yard after we opened the Ayr defence inside their own box. He added a second with the aid of a deflection as we looked to kill the game and the icing was on the cake when Billy Mckay buried a penalty after Reading tripped Charlie Gilmour in the box in the final act of the first half. HALF TIME: 3-0 The second half was the epitome of an anti-climax. After the opening ten minutes of the second period when we toyed with Ayr and looked likely to run up a Rugby score, neither keeper was over exerted and the game deteriorated as a spectacle. With Ayr looking unlikely to breach our defence they were awarded a stonewall penalty when Rose was brought down by Ridgers as he raced onto a ball into the box. Murphy drilled home the resultant spot kick. In fairness to both sides, the damage was done in the last few minutes of the first half which took any urgency out of the game, especially for Inverness. FULL TIME: 3-1 As comfortable as it was it was still a poor second half where we should have gone on to put Ayr to the sword. As it was, the result was huge in the context of our season and we can overlook the turgid performance in the light of three excellent points and a step up the table to eighth place with games in hand over some teams. More Match Reaction to Follow>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Big Dunc is on the march 1. Dundee Utd 13 9 4 0 33 6 31 2. Raith Rovers 12 8 3 1 20 13 27 3. Partick Thistle 13 6 4 3 26 20 22 4. Airdrieonians 13 5 2 6 12 17 17 5. Dunfermline 11 4 2 5 12 13 14 6. Ayr United 13 4 2 7 17 25 14 7. Queens Park 13 3 4 6 18 27 13 8. Inverness CT 11 3 3 5 11 12 12 9. Arbroath 11 4 0 7 16 22 12 10. Morton 12 2 2 8 12 22 8 Robert on CTO: The first half hour was pretty even but we had an explosive 15 minutes before half time which settled the game. Wotherspoon is proving a real asset and I hope we extend his contract beyond January. Mckay did brilliantly to start the build up to the first goal. Wotherspoon squeezed his second in from a very tight angle and Mckay buried the penalty. None of us saw that all coming after 30 minutes. We were pinned back for most of the second half and Ayr’s penalty made it slightly nervy but we saw it out. My only complaint is that we invited Ayr on to us too much in the second half. However, Ridgers did not have much to do. We lost Anderson at half time, presumably to injury, but hopefully a precautionary change. The picks for me were Wotherspoon, Mckay and Boyes. Credit also to Harper who nullified Chalmers to the point we didn’t see Chalmers after the break. 11 points out of 15 and up to 8th. If we can win at Dunfermline in our first game in hand next week we will be 5th. Well done guys! Date: 11/11/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2259 Referee: Iain Snedden Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Ujdur, Boyes, Devine, Harper Carson (Duffy 57), Gilmour, Anderson (Longstaff 45), Wotherspoon (Brooks 89), Shaw, Mckay (Sheridan 78) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Thompson, Delaney, Lodovica Scorers: Wotherspoon (32, 43), B Mckay (45+2 pen) Booked: Anderson (27), Brooks(90+2) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 1 Manager: Lee Bullen Lineup: Mutch; McAllister, Stanger (F Ecremont 12), McGinty, Reading, Chalmers (Rose 45), Syla, Senga (Amartey 69), Murphy, McKenzie (McGeady 79), Dowds (Young 69) Subs (not used): O Ecremont; Smith, Bryden, Scorers: Murphy (61 pen) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Ayr Do for Dunc Ayr United are next up for big Dunc as his salvage operation gathers pace after a great away point at Tannadice last week. We're not quite at the Big Dunc's revolution stage, more of an evolution but we are heading in the right direction after a poor start to the season. Ayr come up North on Saturday for a 3:00pm start sitting in fifth place on goal difference with 14 points looking to get back into the top four. We could strike a crucial blow to their aspirations should we come out on top as we are five points behind them with two games in hand. It's a six pointer this early in the season! Big talking point this week in the Highlands is the departure of Sporting Director John Robertson as he leaves to "pursue other opportunities". All the best to Robbo in his new venture and one can't help but imagine that might free up some wages for a player or two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match Ticket Info & Lest we Forget John Robertson Leaving ICTFC Cowdenbeath Cup Date Confirmed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue for H2H v Ayr Utd Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 11 3 39 26 +13 Away 26 12 6 8 47 32 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 22 17 11 86 58 +28 Only eleven defeats overall versus Ayr United but they held the upper hand over the last two encounters both home and away. We have had some tremendous games against the Honest Men over the years with five, six and even seven goal games an occasional feature of these clashes in bygone days. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr Utd 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (H) Ayr took the points in the first encounter this season at Somerset Park 0 - 1>>> Pointless: Notable absentees for Ayr were last seasons Championship top scorer Dipo Akinyemi who has gone to York City and long time servant Michael Moffat who spent eleven years over two spells at Somerset Park scoring 77 goals in 263 appearances. Dodds was without Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson with knee injuries. Sean Welsh has a groin injury and also missed out again as did Austin Samuels and Max Ram. Adam Brooks returned to the bench and Danny Devine replaced the missing Wallace Duffy. New sensation Keith Bray started with Inverness down to only six on the bench. Injuries starting early this season already it would seem with six missing.. Ayr got off to the perfect start after just eight minutes when Francis Amartey, Dempsey and Sam Ashford combined for Amartey to slot home the opening goal. Mark Ridgers saved on his line from Nick McAllister as Ayr looked to double their lead. Keith Bray was blocked going into the box and from the follow up Albinson saved from David Carson at the expense of a corner. Plenty of half chances for both sides to score in the first half with Devine going close for the visitors but Albinson tipped over. Longstaff also went close on the break but his shot bounced just wide. Billy Dodds fell foul of the referee on the interval and had to watch the remainder of the game from the stands. (See how he likes it!) HALF TIME: 1-0 Longstaff saw his header saved ten minutes after the interval as Inverness looked to get back into the game. A spate of substitutions on the hour for Ayr and Harry Lodovica replaced Bray for the visitors before a Jake Davidson cross found Nathan Shaw, but his effort came back off the post. With twenty minutes remaining Shaw was blocked in the box as we chased for a leveller. Substitute Aiden McGeady shot wide approaching the final ten minutes and Cammy Harper failed to hit the target at the other end. Aaron Doran fired a free kick wide from a tight angle and McGeady missed again as time was running away from us. Ridgers tipped over from Pendelbury in the 90th minute and the as so often, the game slipped away from us to leave us bottom of the table with Arbroath. FULL TIME: 1-0 Another defeat leaves Inverness pointless at the foot of the table with Arbroath as Ayr got their first win of the campaign thanks to an early goal from Francis Amartey. Not for the want of trying, but Inverness could not find an equaliser and that will pile more misery on under fire boss Billy Dodds. Our injury situation seems never-ending and we could only muster six on the bench. Dodds watched from the stand in the second half and will now know why we are concerned... The natives are no happy on CTO with many asking for a total clearout from top to bottom, questioning the length of contract offered to Billy Dodds. The buck stops at the very top and that is a massive concern for all. Top scorer Billy Mckay was a forlorn figure and was not best pleased at being subbed. Something is wrong that's not right. Sort it now before we leave this league at the wrong end of the table. Thankfully things have changed somewhat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Time Out Big Dunc fashioned us into a squad prepared to dig deep at Tannadice and it paid off as we came away with a credible draw against the League Leaders. A wonderful team goal manufactured from inside our own box all the way down the left wing before Harper crossed for Shaw to drill home from fifteen yards. Total football, great goal! The Arabs levelled five minutes later when Holt thundered in a bullet header to share the spoils. Some outstanding performers on the day with Ridgers making crucial saves, defenders putting their bodies on the line, midfielders helping out at the front and the back whilst remaining creative, and strikers.... erm still missing plenty, but also tracking back to help out. Last Five Results: L W D W D Ayr United are without a win in their last three games and were pegged back by Queens Park last Saturday in a 2-2 draw. Two first half strikes from Anton Dowds had Ayr cruising, but Bannon scored after the break and five minutes into time added on Paton claimed a point for the Spiders in a dramatic finale with his sixth cincher goal of the season. Last Five Results: W W L D D <<< There's your top scorers in the Championship ahead of Friday nights encounter between Dunfermline Athletic and Dundee United. Brian Graham has almost scored as many goals as the Caley Jags have in the Championship (8). That's something that Ferguson needs to address if we are to climb the table into a challenging position (at the top end). Nathan Shaw is our top scorer this season with three Championship goals to his name. Despite netting his 102nd goal with a penalty in the 3-2 loss to Airdrie in the League Cup group stages, Billy has only netted once in the Championship since then at Arbroath some five games ago. He has three goals in total, two in the League Cup group stages. That's not a great return from your top striker. Latest Team News We are still without any of our half dozen longer term injured players. Sean Welsh missed out again last week and will join the long term club. Luis Longstaff and Jake Davidson were also injured at Tannadice. Wallace Duffy returned from the bench to replace an injured David Carson who is a doubt this week. Danny Devine and Morgan Boyes started at Tannadice after being out for a couple of games. According to our stats, Mark Ridgers should make his 250th appearance for his home town team. Another clean sheet would be fitting and most welcome. Ayr did settled down after an inconsistent start and still have Logan Chalmers. We know what he is capable of. Anton Dowds netted twice last week and he is their top scorer with 5 strikes. Former Motherwell player Jamie Murphy and ex-ICT loanee Chalmers have four goals apiece. Ayr team v Queens Pk: Dowds Mutch Ahui McGinty Stanger Reading Chalmers (Senga 75) Young Syla (Smith 45) Murphy (McGeady 79) Rose (Bryden 64) Dowds (Amartey 75) Subs not used: O & F Ecremont, McKenzie, McAllister Apparently their bench was full of Ecremont. Well, that's what I thought he said Lest We Forget: With this game being played on Remembrance Day, the club will be offering Free Entry to UK Forces personnel, past and present. One Adult & One Child per application. (home or away support) FORCES GO FREE