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Blue Brazil no match for the Black & Golds. Inverness played a midweek Betfred League Cup tie at Central Park and after falling behind to a superb strike from Jordyn Sheerin they went in at the break 3-1 ahead. Tom Walsh scored a brilliant double and Aaron Doran stabbed home a third right on half time. After the break it was goals galore with George Oakley, Aaron Doran and Jordyn Sheerin rounding off the scoring. John Robertson shuffled the pack a little with George Oakley and Charlie Trafford dropping to the bench. In came Tom Walsh who was scoring for fun in pre-season and Jordan White with new signing Sean Welsh on the bench alongside Zak Elbouzedi, Riccardo Calder and Jamie McCart. Cowdenbeath were relishing this challenge just three days after beating Raith Rovers with striker Jordyn Sheerin the dangerman leading the line and former County midfielder Martin Scott in the ranks. Inverness kicked off in their snazzy new away strip and Nathan Austin was first to threaten in the third minute from a Brad McKay pass but David McGurn in the Cowdenbeath goal blocked his effort. First stab for the hosts saw David Cox snatch at a long range shot but it went well over and soon after Jordan White saw a header tipped over by McGurn. Captain Carl made a hash of a pass in defence and the hosts should have taken the lead but Cox thumped the ball over the bar from almost underneath it after Sheerin teed him up. What a let off. Inverness never heeded that warning and a few minutes later Sheerin blasted a ball into the top corner from around 20 yards to open the scoring in the 24th minute. Welcome to Central Park! Inverness looked for an early reply but Liam Polworth's shot was straight at the keeper and after half an hour the visitors were making heavy weather of it until Tom Walsh latched onto a White knock down on the edge of the box and smashed the ball home. Great goal in his first start for the club after 34 minutes. Tom Walsh turned this game on it's head with a second goal in the 41st minute after he dribbled his way into the box to slot home a superb solo effort off the post. Just on the break Aaron Doran stole in to meet a header from White and scored a third Inverness goal with the defenders claiming for hand ball. What an incredible end to a half that looked flat for the visitors for half an hour. Half Time 1-3 Cowdenbeath tried to get back into the game and Robbie Buchanan had a shot deflected over before Tremarco stopped Sheerin from racing through on goal, but at the other end a big shout for a penalty as Doran is brought down by Mullen. Just before the hour Doran went through on goal but his shot was half stopped by McGurn before being hooked off the line by Miller and moments later Doran put Austin through but he fluffed his lines and that was enough for Robbo as Austin was replaced by George Oakley with about 25 minutes left. Walsh came close to his third goal but his shot went just wide of the mark. Moments later Oakley scored the fourth after he lashed home a loose ball from keeper McGurn who had stopped a White effort. The Caley Jags went nap when Doran scored his second goal of the night as he diverted a Charlie Trafford shot into the net four minutes after the Canadian came on as a sub. Raining goals now and Sheerin grabbed his second in the 81st minute after being sent clear. It could have been more but Tremarco made a frantic headed clearance on the line to deny Buchanan. Full Time 2-5 After a shaky start Inverness came good and Tom Walsh scored a couple of crackers to get us on our way. He seems to be a baller with an eye for goal. Bit of a goalfest in the end but after going ahead Inverness were always on top. Good entertainment for the 373 fans and Mantis. Rig was a touch subdued but nonetheless overall happy enough to witness the win after a sluggish start. 'A strangely unconvincing 5 - 2 win. We were slow out the blocks and took a long time to settle. The surface was poor which could be an excuse for some of the misplaced passes but some of the players still look like they need to blow the cobwebs away as there was some sloppy passages of play and a few defensive errors that fortunately weren't punished. 'The scoreline looks good but it wasn't a great performance by any means. That said, Walsh looked impressive particularly when he appeared through the middle but too often he was stuck wide right. Austin had a very quiet game, very little came off for him so it wasn't much of a shock when he was subbed. Donaldson and Tremarco looked solid enough at the back but Mckay struggled under pressure and Rooney regressed as the game went on. See all seven goals here............... If you are wondering what Tom Walsh looks like, here he is talking at a pre-season interview, right in front of the talented Sophie Robb's massive artwork......... More Updates to follow Date: 17/07/2018 Venue: Central Park, Cowdenbeath Attendance: 374 Referee: John McKendrick Cowdenbeath: 2 Lineup: McGurn, Mullen, Talbot, Pyper, Marsh, Malcolm (Scullion 86), Cox, Buchanan, Sheerin, Scott (Miller 56), Smith (Muirhead 74). Subs (not used): Goodfellow, Fotheringham, Swann. Scorers: Sheerin (24, 81) Booked: Marsh (85) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 5 Lineup: Ridgers, Rooney, Tremarco, Chalmers, Donaldson, Polworth, Austin (Oakley 67), Doran, Walsh, White (Trafford 74), McKay. Subs (not used): Hoban, McCart, Welsh, Calder, Elbouzedi. Scorers: Walsh (34, 41) Doran (45, 80) Oakley (73) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Blue Brazil for Inverness. Second game of the new season takes Inverness back to an olde haunt, Central Park, Cowdenbeath, in the second game of the Betfred League Cup where we will take on the Blue Brazil, fresh from their world cup exploits. The first games at the weekend saw Cowdenbeath get a fantastic result with a 2-0 win over Raith Rovers. The game was played at Bayview and thanks to a second half brace from striker Jordyn Sheerin they ran out well deserved winners over the League 1 side. Inverness matched their score to record a workmanlike 2-0 win over Highland League side Cove Rangers and Nathan Austin scored twice in that one with a couple of tap-ins. Interestingly, both Jordyn Sheerin and Aaron Doran made the SPFL team of the week for their performances at the weekend. Cowdenbeath were the side that kept Cove Rangers out of the SPFL Leagues after an ill tempered affair in the play-offs. Their League Cup meeting could be an interesting one Our fixture list for the group stages show that we have progressively tougher opposition and with Cowdenbeath rattling Raith's cage then this could prove to be a tough night for our side. Shaun Rooney was the only new starter for Inverness against Cove and we could be along the same lines tonight. Jordan White, Tom Walsh and Zak Elbouzedi all started on the bench last time out and will be pushing for a slot. Daniel Mackay missed that one through injury. New signing, midfielder Sean Welsh the former Partick Thistle player could be included in the squad. ADMISSION: ADULTS - £10, CONCESSIONS -£5. Looky Looky, watch Nathan Austin's tap-in to end all tap-ins.

The Day Football Came Home Inverness eased themselves to a 2-0 win over Cove Rangers in the opening game of the season without over exerting themselves on the very day when football came home. Holidays, cobwebs and rustiness were common words thrown around the stands. It was a sometimes laboured performance from the Championship side and the holiday blues were still evident, with a bit to go before match sharpness kicks in. Nonetheless, two tap-ins from Nathan Austin were enough to see off Cove who for the greater part looked every bit as threatening as did their hosts. A defensive error allowed Austin to benefit from an Oakley cross and some tidy work outside the box saw Shaun Rooney feed a great ball to Polworth who teed up Austin to tap into the empty net. Some great saves by visiting keeper McKenzie kept the score down along with slackness up front by the hosts, but at the same time Mark Ridgers had to earn his crust to keep a sometimes lively Cove side at bay. A win for Inverness and all credit to Cove for plugging away and with a bit of fortune could have bagged a goal. Inverness could have been made to suffer for squandering a hatful of opportunities but we'll put that down to the pre-season feel about this game. Inverness CT 2-0 Cove Rangers Cove: McKenzie, C. Milne, H. Milne, Strachan, Yule, Kelly, Park, Smith, McManus, Brown, Scully. Subs: McCafferty, Masson, Grey, Emmett.

Betfred kicks off the new season. The new season begins this weekend with the group stages of the Scottish League Cup and it's Cove Rangers that are the visitors to the Caledonian Stadium. The Moscow State Circus are using the home car park as their base so parking at the stadium will be at a premium and the club have issued this statement: We would like to make supporters aware of the following information ahead of this Saturday’s Betfred Cup match against Cove Rangers. We’re looking forward to getting the season underway and would like to inform fans about free shuttle buses that will be running from the Caley Club and Railway Terrace to the stadium for the match. This is due to the fact there will be limited parking spaces available at the stadium, as one of the car parks is currently being used by the circus until Tuesday 17th July. Additional car parking has been kindly made available within the Scottish Provincial Press (SPP) Car Park. Please respect SPP’s property if using this facility. The Shuttle Buses will operate on a loop system taking fans to the stadium from the Caley Club and Railway Terrace from 1:00pm onwards on Saturday, and will be in operation post-match as well. The post-match time may change if the match finishes as a draw and goes to penalties so as to ensure supporters are able to see the conclusion of the match. Supporters should also be aware that Saturday’s match is the first with our new ticketing system so we ask everyone to bear with us and remain patient when entering the ground. Thanks for your excellent support and we hope to see as many as you as possible this Saturday for the start of the new season. If you do have to take your car with you on Saturday, please leave yourself more time than usual as there are likely to be delays. Check out the new online match programme shown below at Inverness CT v CoveRangers An excellent addition to the portfolio. It's another new look Caley Jags with Iain Vigurs off over the bridge. That should mean a better disciplanary record for the club and maybe more penalties converted. His undoubted quality will be missed though. Carl Tremarco will be the man to lead us on the pitch as he takes over the captains armband from Vigurs with Aaron Doran as vice captain. Pre-season friendlies bunched together had Inverness playing two sides on the same days but it meant everybody got a game to bring on the match sharpness. Anyones guess as to who will be performing but one or two have shown up well in pre-season. Tom Walsh banged in four against Buckie Thistle. Nathan Austin and Daniel Mackay have also been amongst the goals. Lot of new names to get our heads round this season and I'm sure they will all get a warm welcome from the home fans. Over to you Robbo, the posturing is over, time to see some action. The big spending Highland League side will provide Inverness with tough opposition. They defeated Falkirk in a pre-season friendly last week and narrowly lost to Montrose in their previous game. Cove secured the return of Blair Yule from Arbroath on a 3 year deal and seasoned striker Mitch Megginson. Both these players were much sought after at a higher level, Yule was a Caley Jags target before he went to Arbroath. Midfielder Ryan Strachan is back to full fitness and is looking forward to this one having missed all the games since April being out with ankle ligament damage. Cove will be without captain Eric Watson, Mitch Megginson, Scott Ross and Alan Redford.

Pipped at the Post Inverness just failed to get into the play-offs despite beating Morton 3-0 at Cappielow. A brace by top scorer George Oakley and another by Nathan Austin won the points but as expected, Dunfermline thumped Dumbarton to take the final spot. Prior to kick-off we needed a massive helping hand from Dumbarton who we required to beat Dunfermline. That seemed unlikely, but we had to go about our business in the hope that miracles do happen. For Morton, Darren Hynes won his first start with midfielder Ben Eardley getting a place on the bench. John Baird was unavailable due to parent club ruling. Gary Harkins captained the side today with Thomas O'Ware out. Scott Tiffoney and Jack Iredale also miss out. Inverness were without the injured Gary Warren with Iain Vigurs taking the captains armband. Aaron Doran missed out altogether and Nathan Austin started. Before kick off, the news that Dumbarton were fielding a less than first XI meant that our task was doomed before we started. The game kicked off at Cappielow and more ominous news coming from East End Park via twitter: 11sec Pars have kicked off towards the away stand and Clark has the first shot of the match but it's wide left of goal........... It got worse when the Sons were reduced to ten men and Dunfermline opened the scoring. However, undaunted we went about our business and Oakley scored twice in the first half................. Just over 1500 were at Cappielow to enjoy the game. The away fans would enjoy it better. No doubt the home fans were a bit subdued with news that Chairman of 17 years, Douglas Rae OBE will be standing down after this game. His son Crawford will take over. Inverness were first up to try their hand with a Joe Chalmers free kick quickly followed by a Liam Polworth shot from distance, both attempts missing the target. The visitors were enjoying the lions share of play and after eighteen minutes Iain Vigurs hit the bar from close range. Nathan Austin and Carl Tremarco were next to have a go without scoring but in the twentieth minute George Oakley did just that. He opened the scoring after a Polworth corner found him unmarked and George knocked in his eleventh goal of the season. Five minutes later and he could have added a second when he met a Chalmers cross but he headed over. A warning from Morton a couple of minutes later as Gary Fraser is set up on the edge of the box by Oliver but his shot goes just wide. However, Inverness' overall dominance would pay off and Oakley bagged another eight minutes before the break after being played in on the right and he squeezed his shot behind Brennan in goal from a tight angle. Inverness cruising, but unfortunately so were Dunfermline. A couple of minutes before the break and Vigurs hit the bar a second time direct from a free kick. There was still time for Mark Ridgers to get some action, saving a Fraser shot and at the other end Oakley shot over looking for his hat-trick. Half Time 0-2.............. At East End Park it was 3-0 for Dunfermline Ridgers kept his goal intact with a stunning save to deny Gary Harkins from a free kick, managing to get the ball onto the woodwork. The game had opened out now as Morton looked to salvage some pride but it was Inverness that stretched their lead when Nathan Austin scored after gathering his own attempt and knocked home the rebound. Polworth had done the spadework with a lovely chip over the defence to allow Austin the opportunity. Oakley fired over just after the hour as the visitors went looking for more and Tremarco went close with a header that went just wide. Young Player of the Year Coll Donaldson went off injured with fifteen to go with Riccardo Calder replacing him. A late flurry of activity as Morton looked for a consolation but it was at the other end that a goal almost materialised when Polworth shot across the keeper was saved with five minutes left. Substitute Zak Elbouzedi should have added a fourth in the final minutes but he shot wide after being set through by Bell. Full Time 0-3..........Dream Over............Dunfermline win 4-0. So that was it. A tremendous 12 game unbeaten run to end the season which just fails to gain us a play-off place with Dunfermline pipping us. How important was that 95th minute goal by Nicky Clark last week. Absolute sickener if you ask me. We were men on a mission and almost pulled off the impossible. Well done to the squad and management for keeping the season going to the final game (for us). Player of the Year Iain Vigurs was a standout George Oakley said it all in this tweet: Great result today winning 3-0 and happy to score 2, so unlucky not to make the play offs! But the lads have been excellent 12 games unbeaten and the fans have been superb all year stuck behind us till the end. Happy to be top goal scorer this year! Next years the one! Caley Stan summed up the feelings of the fans: Robbo and the players deserved a show of appreciation for the effort and that's what we gave them. No celebrations, just a big loud display of support. I know Morton weren't really playing, but we were just brimming with confidence throughout the team, pounding them for the first half hour and playing some great football at times. Seedorf, Chalmers, Oakley, Trafford and McKay are all players i've had my doubts about at times this season, but they all had excellent games which tells us how well the team is working as a unit. This run might not have seen us into the play-offs, but it allows us to go into next season with a positive feeling, something that seemed unimaginable just 5 weeks ago. Video footage will be added if/when it becomes available. As they say on Looney Tunes, that's all folks! Date: 28/04/2018 Venue: Cappielow, Greenock Attendance: 1539 Referee: John Beaton Morton: 0 Lineup: Brennan; Doyle, Hynes, Lamie, Russell, Fraser (Ross 69), Murdoch (Langan 69), Harkins, Thomson, McHugh (Eardley 81), Oliver. Subs (not used): Purdue, Gaston Scorers: none Booked: Harkins (7), Murdoch (29) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; Seedorf, Mckay, Donaldson (Calder 74), Tremarco, Polworth, Trafford (Elbouzedi 83), Vigurs, Chalmers, Austin (Bell 62), Oakley Subs (not used): Esson; Mackay, Brown, Mulraney. Scorers: Oakley (20, 37) Austin (55) Booked: Trafford Sent Off: none a

Who Knew? Who knew back in August that we would still be in with a chance to make the play-offs? We had lost our opening fixture to DundeeUnited and were hammered 5-1 by Dunfermline. Despite drawing with Morton, we were bottom of the League with just one point. In September, it would get worse before it would get better. Heavy defeats by St Mirren and Livingston and even Dumbarton got in on the act before another draw against Queen of the South. We really were struggling with only Brechin keeping us off the bottom of the table. Look at us now. An IrnBru Cup win and ten Championship games unbeaten will ensure that we make Dunfermline play out their final game with something to achieve whilst we try to get three points at Greenock. Who Knew? A battling midweek win at Livingston has set up matchday 36 as judgement day. A thumping Liam Polworth strike just after half time was the difference between the sides at the Tony Macaroni Arena which takes us to the final games before the play-offs. We are now assured of at least fifth place in the Championship but to get one place higher is out of our own hands after that cruel draw with Dunfermline. The manager and team should be congratulated on getting oh so close to the top four after our disastrous start to the campaign. Everyone took a while to gel, but the likes of Mark Ridgers who found it difficult at first was maybe trying to hard to impress coming back to his home town team. He is now having a great season and the confidence gained is running through the team. Coll Donaldson is another who has had a tremendous season. We went on a record breaking run of clean sheets once Coll broke into the side and it's no surprise that he won the Young Player of the Year award at Inverness. What a success he has been. Jake Mulraney will be departing for Tynecastle after the end of the season and we wish him well. Jake has so much more to give and may flourish in a team like Hearts. We have already recruited two players. Shaun Rooney, a right back from Queen of the South and Angus Beith, a young midfielder from Hearts. I'm sure there will be many more coming and going over the next couple of months as budgets are set and reset. Some will please the fans, others will take a while to get over. Iain Vigurs will come back into contention after serving a two match ban. Gary Warren was injured a couple of games ago and misses out. Nathan Austin was rested after he took a knock against the Pars but should be fit. The prolific John Baird will miss out for Morton due to parent club ruling. tm4tj prediction:- I'm taking us to keep our great end of season run going, but unfortunately I can't see anything other than a big win for Dunfermline over Dumbarton to keep us out of the play-off slot. More details on the OFFICIAL SITE ps: Mon Dumbarton

All down to the final game Despite beating Livingston 0-1, Inverness have left themselves too much to do on the final day of the season and will be in the Championship for another year........ unless miracles do happen and Dumbarton beat Dunfermline. Robbo made one change from the side that agonisingly drew with Dunfermline at the weekend. Nathan Austin made his way to the bench with Connor Bell starting. Iain Vigurs sat out the second of his two game suspension, no doubt pleased that he has scooped the CTO Player of the year award as well as Players Player and Fans Player award. Having secured second place in the Championship, David Hopkin rested one or two players with play-off games getting close. Neil Alexander, Craig Halkett, Nicky Cadden and Scott Pittman were all on the bench. Plenty of posturing in the opening few minutes and a couple of free kicks for the visitors but nothing doing. Early opportunity for the Caley Jags but Maley parried Polworth's free kick and grabbed the loose ball from Tremarco. Frizzell forced Ridgers to save with his feet as Livi ventured forth and Robinson went close shortly after. From a corner, Tremarco cleared a goalbound effort and at the other end a Polworth effort was deflected just over. Livi were racking up the corner count and Buchanan went close with a powerful header just over as the hosts set the pace. Near the interval Mullin picked up the ball in the box and snapped a volley just wide, however we made it to the oranges without conceding, but playing second fiddle for most of the half. As it stands at the break, the play-offs are beyond Inverness. It looks as though Robbo will need to introduce a bit of width for the second half as the narrow approach was just not working. Half Time 0-0 There must have been something good in the oranges. Less than one minute after the break a Tremarco cross came loose off Oakley and Polly drilled the ball low and hard into the net to open the scoring from twenty five yards. Superb strike from Polly. His next effort a couple of minutes later was less flattering. New balls please. Jordan Thompson tried to replicate Liam Polworth's strike but missed the target. McMillan did likewise soon after. Livi made their first change with Cadden replacing Mullin. Inverness reacted by bringing on Hearts target Jake Mulraney with Aaron Doran going off on the hour mark. Polworth broke forward and his cut back found Chalmers but his low shot was gathered by Maley in the Livi goal. Polly becoming more prominent and he combined with Bell but his close range effort went over. Livi made a double change with McMillan and Frizzell being replaced by Halkett and Miller as they tried to get back on level terms, but it was Oakley that went close for the visitors, his shot deflected behind for a corner with around twenty minutes left. Ridgers did well to deny Ryan Hardie and from the corner, Declan Gallagher almost netted an equaliser. Polworth blazed a thirty yard free kick wide and at the opposite end Craig Halkett fluffed his lines and shot wide. Livi were cranking up the pressure in the final ten minutes looking to preserve their eight game unbeaten home run, De Vita looking the likeliest to make the breakthrough. A Cadden corner was headed wide by Halkett as the clock ticked slowly towards the end, and we all know what happened at the weekend. Oakley broke the home possession but his powerful shot was palmed away by Maley, and with five minutes left Zak Elbouzedi came on for Connor Bell. Coll Donaldson took a knock in the last couple of minutes but Inverness held on to take the points and extend the season to the final game against Morton. Full Time 0-1 So, it all boils down to the last scheduled day of the season after we beat Livingston to set up the play off qualifier against Morton. Unfortunately, after their late equaliser against us last weekend, Dunfermline can get the job done by taking a point from the visit of Dumbarton as we would need to score something like eight or nine goals to replace them in the play-offs. Great result for Inverness who have given everything over the last hectic month and what a strike from Polworth to win the points. Catch the action here.................... Date: 24/04/2018 Venue: Tony Macaroni Arena, Livingston Attendance: 740 Referee: Colin Steven Livingston: 0 Lineup: Maley; Longridge, Buchanan, Gallagher, McMillan (Miller 71), Frizzell (Halkett 71), Mullin (Cadden 58), De-Vita, Thompson, Robinson, Hardie Subs (not used): Alexander; Jacobs, Pittman, Byrne. Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Seedorf, Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Polworth, Trafford, Chalmers, Doran (Mulraney 60), Bell (Elbouzedi 86), Oakley Subs (not used): Esson; Calder, Austin, Mackay, Brown Scorers: Polworth (46) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

You can't beat a bit of Bully With the dream all but over for another season, Inverness travel to second place Livingston on Tuesday night. It's a bit like Bullseye now. Let's see what you could have won - promotion to the Premiership, super smashing great, as Jim Bowen would say. After the dramatic injury time goal for Dunfermline, it's all academic now. We need Dumbarton to beat Dunfermline at East End Park, or a draw at East End Park while we score a minimum of eight goals in two games without reply. Fat chance to be honest. First things first, we have to beat Championship runners up Livingston on Tuesday night. The big game against Dunfermline was going to plan right up until the 95th minute. A soft free kick awarded to the Pars and the rest is history as Nicky Clark stooped to head home a Jo Cardle free kick. Cruel stuff after we had come from behind to get our noses in front and at one point looked like running up a cricket score. Andy Ryan put Dunfermline ahead but Joe Chalmers levelled from a free kick. Nathan Austin scored a tremendous second for Inverness and we roasted the Pars for the next half hour. They weathered the storm and struck the fatal blow deep into time added on. A sickener for Inverness, jubilation for the Pars. Meh! Livingston had a much less frenetic time of it as three second half goals saw them beat hopeless, hapless and winless Brechin City. Goals from Pittman, Longridge and Hardie were enough to take the points and ensure they enter the play-offs at the semi-final stage. Brechin are doomed and will be going down after a poor season where they were simply out of their depth. Despite the gloom, we are on a fantastic run just now. Unbeaten in out last ten games which has taken us to the brink of the play-offs. Unfortunately that is now out of our own hands. We have two draws and a defeat against Livi this season. The Lions are second top scorers in the league with 56 goals and are three better off than us in goals against. Iain Vigurs captured the players player of the year and the supporters player of the year awards, although nobody can quite work out who voted and where they voted. Whatever, he is suspended for this game. Gary Warren missed out against the Pars and he will miss this one as well. Nathan Austin came off as well and could be a doubt. Livingston have nothing to prove after a great season and could save some players with a view to the play-off games coming up. tm4tj prediction:- The Dunfermline game was the proverbial must win game and we almost did it. I hope the heads have not gone down as it has been a wonderful late push for promotion which looks like just falling short. Whichever way this one swings, it's been a hectic last few weeks which gave the fans something to cling on to. That has all but gone, but these guys are still playing with belief and confidence. It would not surprise me if we turned over Livingston. Now that would be interesting.

Last Gasp Agony Inverness now require a miracle of biblical proportions to make the play-off after a 95th minute goal snatched our destiny from our own hands in a pulsating match against the Pars. It was always going to be a big ask to win our remaining eight games, but we looked to be getting down to the last two until the stoppage time equaliser ruined the day. Nicky Clark did the dastardly deed with almost the last touch of the ball heading home a set piece to spoil our weekend. The Pars had gone ahead after some slack play at the back, Andy Ryan scoring. However, Joe Chalmers found the bottom corner of the goal with a super free kick and when Nathan Austin surged forward to thunder the ball into the net it was looking good until the last few seconds when a draw was snatched from the jaws of victory. Influential playmaker and the voters & players player of the year Iain Vigurs was suspended and in came Charlie Trafford to the midfield. Gary Warren missed out through injury and Collin Seedorf slotted in at right back with Brad Mckay moving alongside Coll Donaldson at the heart of the defence. Carl Tremarco replaces Riccardo Calder in a straight swap at left back. Dunfermline had on form Fraser Aird keeping Jo Cardle on the bench and former Inverness Cup hero James Vincent starting. Nat Wedderburn was also on the bench. A big travelling support boosted the crowd to near three and a half thousand on a bright Saturday afternoon, no chance of this game being called off. The Pars showed they were going to be difficult to beat in the early exchanges as they moved the ball around swiftly but it was Aaron Doran that got the first shot away, saved comfortably by Lee Robinson in the Pars goal. George Oakley tried his luck with a header that missed the target. Dunfermline made the breakthrough after some slack defending on the right side of our defence. Andy Ryan benefitting and beating Ridgers to open the scoring. Kallum Hegginbotham felt the need to hammer the ball into the North Stand in a peculiar sort of celebration and was promptly booked. Brad Mckay had a shot saved by Robinson as we looked to get back on level terms and we did just that a couple of minutes later when Joe Chalmers curled a free kick round the bottom of the wall into the vacant space beside the near post. Great strike and another that was in as soon as it left his laces. Dunfermline are a class act though and continued to play football as did Inverness and the game was moving swiftly from end to end in a great advert for the Championship. Fraser Aird brought out a fine save from Mark Ridgers with both sides probing for an opening and near the interval Nathan Austin broke down the left, cutting into the box but shot from a tight angle when a ball across the box might have been more beneficial. Half Time 1-1 The hosts exploded out of the blocks at the start of the second half and Liam Polworth and George Oakley both went close. We would do even better a minute later. Nathan Austin tussled for a ball around the half way line. He held the troublesome defender at bay for thirty yards and as he entered the box he landed a thumper of a shot which blurred behind the keeper for an absolutely superb goal. Inverness were in total control at this point and looked most likely to extend their lead with Seedorf and Donaldson going close to doing just that. A bit of a delay as a clash of heads saw Oakley being bandaged like Butcher and a Pars player also receiving attention. That would prove costly later. Substitute Jo Cardle went close for the visitors around twenty minutes from the end as Dunfermline got their second wind. Another substitute, Daniel Mackay could have sealed it for Inverness after great work by Aaron Doran down the left. He cut into the box and rolled the ball across to the other side where young Dan had made great strides to get into the box. Unfortunately his first time strike whistled just past the outside of the post. We would pay for that miss deep into injury time when Dunfermline won a simple free kick some forty yards from goal. Cardle swung a dangerous ball into the box and Nicky Clark silenced the home fans and sent the away fans delirious with a header that found it's way into the net for that all important leveller. Full Time 2-2 There was barely time to kick off and that was that. The dream almost done and dusted unless Dumbarton could do us a massive favour by beating the Pars next Saturday. It could all be irrelevant should we fail to win our last two games anyway, starting with Livingston on Tuesday night and ending at Greenock on Saturday. It had been a pulsating game with plenty of slick football from both sides. Inverness probably should have seen this one out having got their noses in front, but credit to the Pars for hanging in there. I suppose nobody could really complain about the final result but it was a hard one to take. Difficult to pick a clear MotM, but Nathan Austin got my vote for that goal alone. What a strike, showing pace, power, skill and determination. He was ably assisted by Liam Polworth, the tireless George Oakley and Aaron Doran who had the beating of the defence and was a threat whenever he went forward. Young Player of the Year Coll Donaldson put in another good shift at the heart of the defence and he would have been my pick for Player of the Year. It's not over until the fat lady sings, but she's on the final verse now. All we can do is beat Livingston and see what happens next Saturday. Unfortunately I fear the worst, but it has been a great comeback to the season after a horrendous start. Brad Mckay agrees with that, and here is his tweet: Agony that, boys have been unbelievable in the last 2 months. Unbeaten in 10 games, bad start to the season cost us dearly in the end. We keep going last two games and see what’s what. Coll Donaldson was just as gutted............ Such a disappointing end to a fantastic run! Means a lot for the team mates to vote me in as this though. Small consolation on a day like today but already looking forward to what we can achieve next year. Match highlights from Caley Jags TV Here's the goal that ruined our weekend................................ Alan Johnston talks after the game Cup Final hero from 2015 James Vincent has his say................ Date: 21/04/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3316 Referee: Stephen Finnie Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Seedorf, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Doran (Calder 90), Polworth, Trafford, Chalmers, Austin (D Mackay 60), Oakley Subs (not used): Esson; Mulraney, Bell, Elbouzedi Brown. Scorers: Chalmers (16), Austin (48) Booked: B Mckay (32), Trafford (90), Polworth (90+2) Sent Off: none Dunfermline: 2 Lineup: Robinson; Williamson, Martin, M'Voto, Ashcroft, Higginbotham (McManus 66), Clark, Ryan, Aird (Cardle 60), Vincent, Craigan (Morris 90). Subs (not used): Gill; Wedderburn, Armstrong, Talbot, Scorers: Ryan (13), Clark (90+5) Booked: Higginbotham (13), Williamson (45) Sent Off: none a