tm4tj

I wasn't expecting that Inverness defied the odds to surprise even their most ardent of fans with a tremendous 1-3 win at Fir Park. A re-taken Greg Tansey penalty opened the scoring and Miles Storey added a second just before the interval. Iain Vigurs crashed home a superb third ten minutes after the break before Motherwell's Louis Moult poked in a consolation for the Steelmen soon after. To complete Wells misery, Stephen McManus was red carded in stoppage time. Inverness were down to the bare bones and by the time the final whistle went the bones were even barer as Ryan Christie and Miles Storey had to leave the field suffering from injury. Miles Storey managed to make the starting eleven and Gary Warren was on the bench along with Dani Lopez and Nat Wedderburn, but there was no place for utility man Danny Williams anywhere as he was suffering from a groin injury. Lewis Horner filled in for the suspended David Raven at right back. Motherwell managed to get Stephen Pearson fit enough for duty and he started. Theo Robinson and Wes Fletcher began on the bench with Scott MacDonald expected to score the goals and the talented Lionel Ainsworth to be one of the main providers. Inverness were minus a teamful of players and John Hughes had to sit in the stand. It was looking bleak for the Caley Jags, so much so that even the supporters bus was not required as they joined in the general malaise. Johndo will take over from here and give us a full match report when he has recovered from the shock of seeing the team win................................ Well was it worth the 180+ mile car journey in the persisting rain, an even worse return leg added to by a gale force wind, staying in Hamilton overnight, trains cancelled, getting a bus to Motherwell, getting lost, the Himalayan trek to the South Stand, a taxi back home and winning the Stoke v Chelsea first scorer sweep and not being there to pick up the winnings - presumably drunk by my compadres - Ya bet yer feckin bottom dollar it was. I thought that was as good a performance as we have put in this season. I thought that we deserved to win. Not a bad feat away from home with half a feckin squad to pick from and the manager in the stands. The Well crowd were so painful. On looking at the highlights / replays I think that he got every decision spot on. Well may well have had the lions share of the possession and considerably more shots (not on target !!) but we were relatively comfortable - apart from a companion who said that he would settle for 3-3 with 20 minutes to go - (hope he feckin choked on my Arnutovic winnings !! Looked like we went 4-4-1-1 to begin with - four at the back - a diamond in the middle with Tansey at the rear and Vincent up top - Christie roving and Storey running the line. Oh and two Development players on the bench. I thought that we played some lovely stuff in the first 20 minutes. Christie let fly with a curling left footer that went just wide and we were looking in charge. In some ways the early penalty goal changed our outlook. As fer the penalty - it was soft but you simply do not raise yer hand in a crowded goalmouth. Again a yellow is harsh but those are the rules. Tansey made it a replay of last week and the keeper sussed it. And again Thompson got it "spot-on" with the retake decision and TANSEY fired this one down the middle. Both Law and Storey encroached. But poor Well felt hard done by. WELL what they should have done was to concentrate on getting a shot on target plus their final passes were shocking. But they cascaded derision on Craig Thompson instead. We always looked more like scoring in the first half apart from a cracker that hit our crossbar. We may have thought that it was all over when we lost Christie and our shape. Lopez went into the Christie role which is OK'ish when he has Storey beside him. And STOREY neatly got himself in to a scoring position and abetted by a wicked deflection the ball sailed in the net to put us 2-0 up at half time. I had to laff at our substitutes at half time. The sight of Wedderburn and Warren playing passball with MacRae and Sutherland was like watching the Hulk, Spiderman and two of Snowwhite's dwarves. So onto the second and preparing for an onslaught which did come but not before Goal of the Season, probably even more satisfying as it was clearly straight out of the training ground. Superb flighted corner from Tansey and as sweet a strike from VIGURS as you will ever see. After that it was Well, Well, Well but we defended stoutly and always looked a danger on the break. May be harsh but I though that Fon Williams was at fault with the goal. It came at the perfect time for Well but they did not cash in on it. Perhaps they were too intent on chastising and calling Mr. Thompson !! Plus we never looked like scoring after Storey departed - clutching his hamstring again. But we hung on in there and thoroughly deserved the three points. And the 111 Highlanders went home happy - and what a feckin noise at the end with the acoustics of an empty stand FON WILLIAMS Despite the pressure he really did not have that much to do. Thought he misjudged the cross for their goal. Also I hate seeing keepers punch instead of holding. HORNER For a left footer squad player to fit in at right back was no mean feat. Didn't offer much going forward but defended stoutly. MEEKINGS Both central defenders were heroic DEVINE Both central defenders were heroic TREMARCO More of his type of game with little thought of going forward but tackling tigerishly - apart from the cross that ended in their goal. TANSEY More feckin like it - he controlled the game from deep. POLWORTH Shaded (just) MOM fer me. Great shift with doses of skill to put. Did that stare at Lopez after the hospital pass not scare you ?!! VIGURS Too much of a luxury fer us at the moment but a good "shoe-in" and the best possible bench warmer. What a feckin goal !! VINCENT I thought that he put in a great shift and was always on hand to help the attackers. CHRISTIE Usual before the early injury - hopefully a twinge. STOREY I suppose that we had little option but he really looked as if he was struggling and "Draperish" carrying an injury in the second half. Could never fault his effort and movement though. LOPEZ Looked OK with Storey but he is NOT a lone striker and he makes Vigurs look like Mr Dynamic. WARREN Welcome back skipper. Glad we didn't start you and your entry and the way that play was developing excused changing to a 5-4-1 WEDDERBURN Is he losing weight ? Date: 03/10/15 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 5473Referee: Willie Collum Motherwell: 1 Lineup: Ripley, Law, Kennedy, McManus, Chalmers, Ainsworth, Grimshaw, Pearson, Johnson (Robinson 79), McDonald (Fletcher 68), Moult Subs (not used): Samson, Laing, Clarkson, Leitch, Taylor Scorers: Moult (58) Booked: Pearson (12), Kennedy (55), McManus (64) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Horner, Polworth, Christie (Lopez 39), Vigurs (Wedderburn 79), Storey (Warren 71) Subs (not used): Esson, Sutherland, MacRae Scorers: Tansey (pen.11), Storey (45), Vigurs (53) Booked: Vigurs (17, Devine (51) Sent Off: none

From insult to injury Inverness face a tricky away day at Motherwell on Saturday as the Premier League table begins to pan out. With teams beginning to find their feet after settling down into a routine, points are getting harder to come by with any team capable of winning on the day. Motherwell will be a difficult game for us considering our injury crisis and given the runaround they gave us in the opening fixture of the season, it could be a long day at Fir Park. A win for either side could catapult them up to seventh place if other result are favourable. The defeated side will be looking over their shoulder at the relegation battle. It really is that tight. Inverness are now totally reliant on Celtic bound Ryan Christie as the sole threat and creative player as injuries cripple our squad. On top of the injuries, David Raven is suspended and to add insult to injury, John Hughes is also banned for, well, insulting the referee. Most people agree with him on that one though and maybe it's time the SFA looked at the standard of officials in this country rather than hammer those that are willing to speak out about something we all know about, but basically have just got to put up with week in week out. Last week we had to come from behind in a tale of two penalties at home to Dundee. Greg Tansey slotted our spot kick home to earn us a point as we toiled to make headway after David Raven was red carded. It's a difficult time for us just now as our squad has been decimated with injuries in a plague like manner. This is Mark McGhee's fourth game back in command at Fir Park. He started with a defeat at the hands of Celtic before a draw against Aberdeen. Things got progressively better last week when they beat Kilmarnock 1-0 at Rugby Park and they will be looking to continue their revival against us. Brian Rice will be the direct contact this week with Yogi suspended along with David Raven. I am not aware of any comebacks apart from the possibility of Dani Lopez getting nearer recovery. Whoopee I hear you all shout in unison. It would probably be easier to name who is fit, however the ones out are Dean Brill, Ross Draper, Jordan Roberts, Aaron Doran, Tobi Sho-Silva, Andrea Mutombo, Richie Foran and maybe or maybe not Dani Lopez. Two important players facing fitness tests are ooohhh Gary Warren and the swift Miles Storey. Let's hope the last two at least can get on the park or we might be totally fecked. Mark McGhee has returned to Motherwell and will now know that Stephen Pearson is also struggling for fitness, but Keith Lasley and Steve Hammell are out. tm4tj prediction:- I will be backing Mark McGhee to keep his side on track by turning our depleted troops over. Neither side has been prolific at scoring this season and both defences have been pretty frugal. I see nothing in our squad to trouble Motherwell and if Gary Warren does not get on the park then we are in big trouble. Without Storey we will have nothing to offer up front and our only hope is that superBhoy Ryan Christie can carve out some openings for himself. We have only won twice in our last fifteen visits to Motherwell and they have already stuffed us this season. It does sound a bit doom and gloom, but to be honest, it's exactly that.

Tale of two penalties This game was decided by two penalties and a sending off as the sides had to settle for a point apiece in a 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium. Rory Loy slotted Dundee's penalty home to take the lead after David Raven was sent packing, but Greg Tansey returned the favour just after the hour. That ended the scoring but not the chances, with Liam Polworth left pounding the turf after dragging a glorious opportunity wide late in the game. As expected, our injury situation dictated how we approached this game and the addition of Miles Storey to the casualty list saw Iain Vigurs start wide left with the versatile Danny Williams helping out up front. Gary Warren was a welcome addition to the bench, even if he might still be on crutches. Dundee began with the side that ended the Kilmarnock game. That meant there was no starts for Gary Harkins, Kane Hemmings or Darryll Meggatt. They made way for Thomas Konrad, Paul McGowan and Nicky Low. Heavy overnight wind and rain gave way to a pleasant Saturday afternoon and just under 3000 turned up to see if our fortunes could change. As is traditional, we started brightly without threatening and the game soon settled into a midfield tussle with neither keeper being troubled. There were a few half snippets, but everything would fizzle out before the keepers were made to work. We did find the net once our wide players worked out how to get the ball beyond the first defender, but unfortunately Josh Meekings was flagged for offside as he headed smartly into the net. I suppose the best chance of the half fell to Ryan Christie, but he elected to chest down a long cross rather than use his head, in doing so he was closed down before shooting. What were Dundee doing while we plugged away? Well, virtually nothing, that'll be why Hartley had them warming up on the pitch five minutes before the second half started. Half Time 0-0 Well, it seemed to work as Dundee raced to the opposition box right from the restart. Only five minutes into the second period David Raven tackled Greg Stewart as he was about to shoot and referee Brian Colvin who was handily placed had no doubt it was a spot kick and to make things worse, he sent Raven for an early bath for his troubles . Rory Loy converted from twelve yards as Fon-Williams tried to cover the opposite side of the goal frame. Things looked bleak for Inverness and we expected the worst. The sending off left acres of space for Dundee to exploit and we were now under the cosh. Nicky Low had a shot deflected for a corner and from he resultant ball into the box, Healey headed wide from a good position. Despite Dundee's dominance since Raven walked, Inverness drew level after 65 minutes. A decent break forward saw Polworth hitting the turf out wide in the box as he tried to cut back inside. It looked like a penalty, but play raged on and Ryan Christie spotted his chance. He burst onto the loose ball trying to head towards the corner flag, and before you could say for fecks sake ref, Colvin pointed to the spot as Christie was upended. Fair enough, one penalty from two shouts and when the dust settled, Greg Tansey tucked the ball into the bottom corner. That sparked Dundee into more activity around our box but again most moves were breaking down without Fon-Williams being pestered. Ricardo Calder and Kane Hemmings upped the pace when they were introduced and we did well to prevent Dundee from getting ahead. Healey and Hemmings had forced Fon-Williams into making tremendous stops but it was at the other end where the points should have been won. Josh Meekings saw the headlines in the Courier as he burst into the box wide on the right side, but he blazed his shot high and not very handsomely into the North Stand. Well at least that's where I thought it ended up. We received a boost when Gary Warren made a surprise return to action after his leg break and that locked the back door. We ventured forward, and after some neat interplay the ball looked to sit up nicely for Liam Polworth, but the midfielder dragged his shot across the goal from around twelve yards and that endeth the opportunities for the home side. Dundee would still pressure our defence, but with Warren in there we looked impenetrable and held on for a welcome point, much to Dundee's frustration, especially with us being reduced to 10 men for most of the second half. Full Time 1-1 It was a game of two penalties, simple as that. Neither side looked capable of carving out their own chances and it was probably fitting that the outcome was decided on penalties. Dundee will feel disappointed that they could not get the better of the ten men, but in all honesty they were atrocious in the first half and they could not take full advantage of a side reduced in numbers. Sounds familiar. A point each was probably a fair reflection on the overall play and neither side looked as if they were worth more than that. For us, it's a step in the right direction, even with more injuries to contend with and a sending off for Raven, but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for ooooohhh Gary Warren. MotM could be nobody else but Ryan Christie, who at times looked like the only home player tying to achieve something. His work rate was simply tremendous and some of his touches were sublime, fitting that he won the penalty that gave us a point. He was well backed up by Owain Fon-Williams in goal and Josh Meekings at the back. One or two others need to up their work rate though and Iain Vigurs will need to know that his honeymoon period is over and he must knuckle down to some serious hard graft. We have no room for luxury players at the moment. James Vincent's goal in the cup final seems like a lifetime away now as he struggles to create anything. I'll put it down to a shortage of players and some guys having to play unaccustomed roles. Welcome back Gary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm8oRPZjnwo&t=11s Date: 31/10/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2940 Referee: Brian Colvin Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Williams (Warren 79) , Polworth, Christie, Vigurs (Sutherland 66) Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, MacRae Scorers: Tansey (pen.64) Booked: none Sent Off: Raven (50) Dundee: 1 Lineup: Bain, Holt, Konrad, Stewart, Low (Calder 70), Loy (Hemmings 71), Ross, McGowan, McGinn, Healey, Gadzgalov Subs (not used): Mitchell, Irvine, Meggatt, Harkins, Skelly Scorers: Loy (50) Booked: none Sent Off: none

Survival of the fittest It's Halloween weekend and guisers Dundee FC come to the Highlands dressed as footballers in the hope that they can find Inverness Caledonian Thistle ready to dish out more gifts. We will be kitted up like patients at Raigmore. It's been a rough fortnight for Inverness after the euphoria of back to back league wins over Aberdeen and Ross County. Since then, we have lost two home games in a row. We went down insipidly to 10 man St Johnstone and were easily knocked out of the League Cup by derby rivals Ross County. Defeats are hard enough to take on their own, but the manner of these defeats has alarm bells ringing at the Caledonian Stadium. Against the Perth Saints, we were clueless as to how to break them down and the visiting keeper could have stayed in Perth. The County game was similar although we started brightly and finished strong, but the middle section of the game belonged to County and that was when the match was won. Once more, the lack of a cutting edge was evident as we struggled badly to create clear opportunities. Visitors Dundee have not exactly been a pillar of consistency themselves. They suffered a 6-0 thrashing from Celtic and their only win since then was against fellow strugglers Motherwell. That's one win in the last five for Dundee, but its still enough to keep them ahead of Inverness. They sit three points and two places above us in seventh place. We can't really complain about our league position given our lack of goals and reluctance to have a go at teams. I suppose it's a reflection on our lack of depth due to a lengthy injury list, but there comes a point where those given the opportunity have to grab the chance and stake a claim for a regular starting berth, even when the sidelined players return. Liam Polworth has had a few starts now and should be asserting himself in the engine room and Carl Tremarco needs to make the Graeme Shinnie slot his own as our purse strings seem reluctant to open any further. We drew the earlier game at Dens Park, surrendering an early lead to come away with a disappointing draw. Kane Hemmings popped in a last minute equaliser after David Raven had opened the scoring for Inverness earlier in the second half. We were unable to build on that and suffered a not unexpected lapse, a trait that seems to replicate itself this season. There's plenty of speculation surrounding the future of John Hughes. The silence was deafening after the board refused United permission to speak to Yogi, but the speculation is still rife as we appear no closer to getting the gaffer signed up on a new contract, fuelling the fires of discontent amongst the fans. At the last count, Yogi was said to be considering his options of the new contract, but has plenty to think about. He has been quoted on BBC Sport as saying "[It's] right down to trying to recruit players and budgets," he explained. "That's all part and parcel of me staying at this club, 100%. "I'm quite sure there might be one or two players that are out of contract and want to see what the manager does before they commit. "But I'm honest enough to say this; I would never hold a gun to anyone's head at Inverness to say, 'I want to make sure that this is the budget next year'. "I knew when I came up here I was working with the budget I was working with. It's never changed. "It's just before you sign that contract just getting to know exactly what tools you're working with next year. I don't want to sign a contract and something gets taken away. "I have to speak to my wife and family. I've been away for a long, long time and that's a big part of it as well but I love it up here." We have made cuts elsewhere. The nice lady that always appeared to be in control when you entered the club shop has not had her contract renewed, instead the club look as though they are going down the part-time route. Quality or quantity? Just like on the park, you can't replace quality players like Billy 'small k' Mckay, Marley Watkins or Graeme and Andy Shinnie with inferior products and expect the consistency to continue. Well, it's the same in the club shop. We need leaders on and off the park and it's time this whole sorry mess is sorted before it's too late. Inverness have more misery piled on them this week with the news that Miles Storey might not make the squad. He could join the others on the temporary list like Ross Draper, Andrea Mutombo, Tobi Sho-Silva and Dani Lopez. Looking further away, Gary Warren, Aaron Doran, Richie Foran, Dean Brill and Jordan Roberts are long term shirkers. It really is a case of the survival of the fittest. I sometimes wonder if they are still on our books. Meh! Jake McPake has been injured in training and misses out. He is joined on Dundee's short list by Julen Etxabeguren and Kevin Thomson. tm4tj Prediction:- Surely we won't screw it up three home games in a row? Or will we. We are running out of players fast as injuries ravage our squad. Injuries on top of more injuries. It's like a broken record now but we will just have to get on with it. Who knows who will be fit enough to turn out for us, but let's hope they can at least make the opposition work hard for their point. I'll settle for a draw out of this to help us get back on track. The damage done so far will take a while to repair and we will just have to take small steps before we can think about running. 0-0 is my best guesstimate.

Derby joy for County. Iain Vigurs started in the only change from last weekend with Danny Williams starting on the bench. The usual low attendance for a League Cup televised game was evident and the other change was our strip, playing in our away colours. A bright opening for the home side as they tried to banish the blues after a dreary ninety minues against St Johnstone. After ten minutes, Storey broke into the box from a ball slipped through the defence by Polworth, but as the keeper stood tall, Storey shot weakly at him and the chance was gone. Great opportunity to open the scoring and the young striker will be aggrieved that he never did better. Inverness were dominating the possession and Tremarco broke on the left. His cross was back headed by Storey but the defender was right behind him to block it. More persistence saw Inverness gain a free kick on their left side and Tansey's effort was deflected for a corner which came to nothing. Fifteen minutes gone and more had happened in this game so far than the entire ninety minutes last Saturday. Ryan Christie was prominent at the heart of every Caley Jags probing and was always looking to thread someone in. A quick throw out saw Polworth stumble on the ball as it hit his heels and Woods got a shot away, but it was deflected for a corner. Boyce could have done better with a header after 20 minutes, but he angled it just wide as County got to grips with the game, and Fon-Williams had to look sharp to deny the eager County strikers from a dangerous cross as he stooped to gather it. Martin Woods was denied by the bar with a stunning strike from thirty yards which dipped and sliced over Fon-Williams but smashed down off the bar and away to safety. A bolt from the blue and it almost broke the deadlock. The game was racing from end to end and there was plenty of action to keep the fans entertained. Half an hour gone and the game had evened out with both sides giving it a go, Ryan Christie receiving some rough treatment from the County midfielders. Iain Vigurs took some retribution and a deserved booking for a clumsy tackle on Gardyne but the free kick was easily cleared. The game was getting broken up with some petty fouling as the half time whistle approached and the crisp passing from the first quarter had disappeared. We really need to do something about our quality at throw-ins. Another one taking an eternity to see through and once more the ball lost cheaply. It's almost an advantage for the opposition when we gat a throw-in. Carl Tremarco gave away a free kick five minutes before the break and Christie skimmed a header behind for a corner. From the corner, Jackson Irvine stooped to head cleanly into the net as the defence stood watching with nobody on the back post. Criminal! Good goal for County, sloppy from Inverness. You have to say that goal was coming before the break as County were getting on top of the midfield as we ran out of ideas early. Half Time 0-1 Liam Boyce was first to try his luck after the break as he created a yard of space but fired over the bar from a tightish angle. But the warning signs are there and moments later a Gardyne shot is deflected behind Fon-Williams by Danny Devine after the keeper looked to have it covered. Game over, and Dingwall almost sealed it with a flashing header that went just over. Storey burst down the right but his cut back was missed by Vincent and straight to the other end where Fon-Williams fingertipped a shot behind at the expense of a goal kick. Meh. Devine almost gifted a third for County losing the ball in the right back position. When County worked it into the box, Gardyne was thwarted by a diving save from the home keeper. Another let off for a struggling Inverness. Martin Woods caught a booking for clipping Christie as Inverness tried to respond and Devine nodded a Tansey free kick just behind. Jackson Irvine was leading our midfield a merry dance as he strutted his stuff and drove County forward at every opportunity. Horrendous phase of the game for Inverness and Fon-Williams joined in the comedy as he let the ball fall from his grasp as he tried to throw it out then changed his mind. It's difficult to watch now as County look more likely to score a few more goals. Storey shot tamely into the keepers hands as he tried a rare shot, but it was not going to trouble anyone before County continued their dominance. Disaster struck once more as Miles Storey went down clutching his leg after a challenge from Robertson and everyone held their breath, but he was able to continue after some treatment. Tansey was next for the fresh air shot as he acrobatically missed an overhead kick. Oh how the County fans were enjoying this. Substitute Danny Williams fired a low ball into the box and a Ryan Christie flick almost went in, but it hit the base of the post and bounced into the keepers arms. Better from Inverness though. More punishment for Christie in midfield as he was once again targeted. With fifteen minutes left, it looked as though Inverness were out of the competition. Some good work by Williams and Storey on the left saw Inverness win a corner as Christie was manhandled to the ground once more. Nothing came from the corner, but once more we worked hard on the left and when the ball arrived at Tansey's feet some thirty yards out, the folk in row P in the North Stand ducked. No need to though as Greg hit a daisy cutter into the bottom corner. Inverness had woken up and another run forward by Christie saw him upended thirty yards out but nothing given. Plenty to play for as one more goal would set up extra-time. Christie was again clattered by Davies as Inverness searched for a leveller, but Tansey's free kick was too high for Devine who was adjudged to have been fouling anyway. Into the last ten minutes and the hosts had the impetus now, but one more for County would finish it and they knew it as they slowed the pace of the game making time wasting substitutions to eat away some valuable seconds. Tansey went close as he drove towards the box on the right side, however his shot across the keeper went a yard wide. A corner went abegging as well as the game went into 4 minutes of time added on and County used their noodle to waste more time near the corner flag. Woods blasted a free kick well over as time slipped away from Inverness and when Tremarco fell over the ball again the game was up. Full Time 1-2 Too little too late from Inverness and County deserved to go through against our makeshift side. We started well, finished well, but had little to offer in the middle hour of the game. Slack marking allowed Irvine his free header and a bit of misfortune for the second, but we could not complain at being only two down as County dominated the middle section of the game. Great finish from Tansey but overall, we did not do enough to take the game to another half hour. A not unexpected result, but nonetheless still hard to take given our recent troubles and little light at the end of the tunnel. MotM for Inverness was Ryan Christie who took a lot of stick from the robust County markers and was unlucky not to score with a neat flick late on. Where now for Inverness as County go into the hat along with St Johnstone. Well, it's league action on Saturday in what is looking like a must win game for us as our season disintegrates. Date: 27/10/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: ???? Referee: Steven McLean Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Polworth, Christie, Vigurs, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, Williams, Sutherland Scorers: Tansey (78) Booked: Vigurs (31) Raven (74) Sent Off: none Ross County: 2 Lineup: G.Woods, Fraser, Robertson, Davies, Reckord, Dingwall, M.Woods, Irvine, Gardyne, Boyce, Curran. Subs (not used): Severn, Boyd, Graham, Foster, Franks, Murdoch, Schalk Scorers: Irvine (41) Gardyne(48) Booked: Woods (57) Davies (80) Sent Off: none

League Cup derby After their dismal performance in the Premiership at the weekend, Inverness take on Ross County in the League Cup quarter final on Tuesday night and the fans will be hoping for some entertainment in this tie to make up for the non event against St Johnstone. County will go in to this game as favourites given their current status in the league and Inverness' continued struggle against injuries this season. Both sides had poor results on Saturday with Inverness failing to turn up against St Johnstone and losing to a last minute penalty. County had a tougher task at Tynecastle and lost 2-0 to Hearts. There were some similarities in these defeats. Both sides lost against ten men and both sides played poorly. Inverness could not muster one decent attempt but County at least forced the Hearts keeper to work harder. I would like to put the last couple of results down to misfortune, but it's beginning to look a bit deeper than that as we have struggled to create much of note in 180 minutes of football. That's a worry for the fans as we pass the ball around the back line but our inability to open up defences is becoming quite alarming. Miles Storey looked a forlorn figure as he was bereft of supply, and the worrying thing is that won't encourage him to stay here longer than he needs to. We will be better known as Injuries R Us after this season. Our sick list is still the envy of most hospitals and it is crippling our ability to perform at a high level. With enough players out to field another team we will do well to sustain any interest in this competition beyond this round and our league position will remain in doubt until we get sufficient players back on the park. Ross Draper is still doubtful to add to the woes and that was an area of the park that we never got to grip with against St Johnstone. Jim McIntyre will have virtually an unchanged squad to choose from. That means that Scott Fox is still out along with midfielder Rocco Quinn. tm4tj prediction:- I know the Highlands are still ours at the moment after our recent derby win, but that just papered over the cracks. Defeats by Kilmarnock and St Johnstone have shown us up as relegation candidates at the moment and unless we can get more bodies back in action I don't see that changing overnight. Liam Boyce will be the main threat to our defenders and although they lost the last derby, they certainly created enough to suggest that they will not be overawed in this encounter. I can't see past an away win and County into the next round. I'll be pleasantly surprised if we get through, but we have a long way to go to get back to full strength. Worrying times indeed and the need for the club to get a manager tied to a contract is unsettling everybody. I'm afraid it's all doom and gloom for the immediate future, but it's wonderful what a derby win can do for your confidence. Here's hoping.

Ultimate Anti Football Inverness and St Johnstone served up an utter borefest of a game as anti-football took over the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. The Perth side took all three points in a 0-1 win over a punchless Inverness who had not a clue how to break down the 10 men of St Johnstone. Both sides should be ashamed of themselves as misplaced passes, poor tackles and miscontrol was the order of the day. Both keepers could have stayed in the dressing room and the score would have remained the same as a 90th minute Liam Craig penalty won the match for the visitors. It turned out to be a decent day for a game of football after overnight rain, the pitch left moist but it great condition. It should have led to an entertaining afternoon's sport. How wrong can you be. Inverness were still unable to field a full strength squad and it showed. Carl Tremarco played at left back, but there is still no sign of Jordan Roberts, Tobi Sho-Silva, Gary Warren, Aron Doran, Richie Foran, and Andrea Mutombo was also out. Iain Vigurs made the bench and James Vincent got a start along with Liam Polworth. St Johnstone had Liam Craig on the bench, but he would be instrumental in our downfall late in the game. Fon-Williams was fortunate a couple of times as he replicated some of Dean Brills twitchy moment from clearances, having to dive full length to save the first one from rebounding in. That was as close as anyone came to breaking sweat in a dire first half. Our only half chance came when Tremarco was well blocked by O'Halloran as he broke into the left side of the box, just before he was able to offload. What a tedious first forty-five, surely the second half would be better? Half Time. 0-0 Well, we didn't know it at the time, but the second half was equally poor, in fact even worse if anything. Dave Mackay was sent off after catching Tremarco on the halfway line. That would maybe give us the upper hand. No. Despite the numerical advantage, and oceans of possession, we hadn't a clue how to get behind the Perth bus and were unable to make Mannus work for his bonus. Fon-Williams was equally idle as the Saints looked to hold on for a point. Little did they know how inept we were about to become and in Michael O'Halloran, they had the only player on the park worthy of his wages. The boredom was now reaching world championship level and it was about to turn into utter chaos as Devine was adjudged to have impeded substitute Liam Craig after ninety minutes had passed. Craig himself took the kick and our misery was complete. Full Time 0-1 Oh dear, what can you say about that. There was lots of head shaking as disgruntled fans left the stadium, muttering the words, shambles, disgraceful, punchless, wet paper bag, useless, no strikers, headless chickens etc. To be honest, that is probably doing a disservice to headless chickens who I'm sure would have shown more aptitude and attitude than those on the park. I would have liked to tell you more about our efforts during the game, but to be honest, there were none, absolutely zilch, zero, nothing. Worst game of football I have ever witnessed. In truth, St Johnstone were no better and we would maybe have done better if they had eleven players on the park. As soon as Mackay went off, they retreated further into their already defensive shell and the writing was on the wall. Yogi needs to turn this around pretty quick or this week will be a complete disaster for us. League Cup action on Tuesday night and the fans might be voting with their feet after this one. MotM. Well, there were none in blue worthy of a mention. They all underperformed. Best on the park was a lively Michael O'Halloran who led the line well. Take note Yogi, we need someone to do this for us. Full match report to follow..............

The Great Unpredictables Inverness host St Johnstone in a busy week for the Highland club, ahead of their League Cup quarter final against Ross County and the league visit of Dundee, with all three games being played at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. A poor result last week for Inverness who went down 2-0 at Kilmarnock despite showing well in the first half hour, but fading badly as the game progressed. We had been on fine form prior to this game, unbeaten in six including the league cup win at Livingston. However, after passing up two or three great opportunities to take the lead, we fell behind on the stroke of half time and lost an unfortunate second with the aid of a deflection to put the game beyond us and halt our revival. Ross Draper took a knock and James Vincent never started, somewhat blunting our engine room supply despite the return of Ryan Christie. Hopefully, we can put this one down to a bad day at the office, but time will tell. St Johnstone have been unpredictable since the start of the season and they too suffered defeat at the hands of the Harry Wraggs, going down 2-1 in Perth. That was also a disappointing result as far as the Perth men were concerned coming off the back of their 5-1 thrashing of Aberdeen and victory in the Tayside derby against struggling Dundee United. They have also meted out punishment to Hamilton when they stuffed them 4-1. Their other win was against Motherwell. That Jekyll And Hyde performances sees them sit only one point above us in the league, but their surprising goal rushes this season has them outscoring us by two to one, although we are defensively more robust normally. The earlier game this season saw the clubs share the points after Inverness were pegged back in the last few moments of the game. Ryan Christie had drilled home in the ninth minute, but substitute Graham Cummins levelled with a header at the death. That was the first points of the season for both clubs. Back to the future, and we have amassed 13 points with 3 wins and four draws. We are eighth in the table, one place below our opponents. Inverness have doubts over the fitness of Ross Draper, David Raven and James Vincent. Andrea Mutombo is out as are the permanently injured Warren, Doran and Foran along with Jason Roberts and Tobi Sho-Silva. Tommy Wright will be able to call upon Michael O'Halloran who featured last week, but Chris Millar is out for a couple of weeks. tm4tj prediction:- Predictions are frightening this year with all the teams below Celtic capable of beating each other on the day. St Johnstone have surprised a few with a couple of uncharacteristic high scoring games and that is a worry. Although we dug ourselves out of a hole with the Dons win and derby win we put ourselves back in it with a shoddy display at Rugby Park. St Johnstone were no better losing to Partick therefore I will sit on the fence and settle for a draw, a scoring one though.

Disappointment at Rugby Park Inverness went down 2-1 at Rugby Park as Kilmarnock scored in each half to continue their resurgence and halt Inverness in their tracks. Greg Kiltie scored right on half time and Josh Magennis added a second as Inverness wilted, with Killie running out deserved winners in the end. Johndo will have a full report for us in due course...........and here it is Well that was my first venture since the trip to Romania. Have to admit that Kilmarnock ain't Bucharest and the Portmann ain't the Old City but at least I remembered the game this time. Another enjoyable Juanjo Awayday, only spoilt by a tepid performance and a very disappointing scoreline. It wasn't that we actually played that badly but it was a case of looking good but with no end product. That was Killie's first clean sheet of the season and no wonder Jamie McDonald had a wry smile at the final whistle as he applauded the away support who had been goading him most of the afternoon. "You won us the cup" ditty evidently fell on deaf ears. The possession stats were 50/50 and only eight shots with five on target throughout the game pretty much sums it up. But it really could have been so different if we had pressed home our domination of the first 20-25 minutes. There was a lot of possession but of the tippy-tappy, Ray Wilkins variety. Killie threw seven men across the pitch and limited us to chances from crosses or dead ball situations. Perhaps it might have been different if either Devine, Draper or Meekings had placed their headers in the back of the net - but as was the case throughout the game - our final touch or attempted pass was atrocious. I haven't really criticised Yogi too much but I felt that he was at fault this time. Why he allowed Draper to stay on the pitch until half-time baffles me. Sure Draper is determined and did not want to go off but he was a passenger for the last 20 minutes and all that was probably accomplished was to make his injury worst. Yogi should have hooked him and took Vigurs on earlier. And then Mutombo for Williams was a strange decision. I thought Williams was having a good day and his pace was worrying Killie. Mutombo to me is a forward version of Djebi-Zadi. And the introduction of Sutherland was also too late. To me the difference in the sides was Magennis. I have never really been impressed by him but his mere physical presence appeared to upset Devine and Meekings. The second half felt far longer than 45 minutes and we appeared to rely on big punts looking to capitalise on the pace of Storey who had little if any support. So perhaps it was just a bad day at the office. Perhaps the Tannadice farce left its mark. At least ours wasn't the only surprise scoreline. And I ended my time in Kilmarnock visiting a hostelry whose name resembled some of the players on show earlier. Fon Williams 6/10 - Never really had that much to do. Thought that he could have done better with the first goal, sadly in added on time. Raven 4/10 - Thought that he had a shocker - was he fit ? Watching trying to chase a ball down the wing in the second half reminded me of Marius Niculae at Motherwell. Tremarco 4/10 - He was fit so he has no excuse. Sooner we get Williams ensconsed in that position the better. Devine 6/10 - Actually looked the best of the defence which sadly was not too difficult to achieve. Meekings 5/10 - Bad day at the office. I always feel that he is not as good without Warren beside him. Polworth 6/10 - Didn't really do anything particularly wrong but did little to impress either. Draper 4/10 - Well you simply cannot perform with an injury but you can come off when you have one. Tansey 4/10 - Again 2-3 lovely touches but otherwise anonymous. Played far too deep Christie 7/10 - The only one who actually looked like changing the game. Williams 6/10 - Not sure why he was hooked as he was beginning to look like a danger, especially if we had pushed him forward. Storey 7/10 - Full of running and determination but he is simply not a target man or a centre forward. Let him play off somebody and we have a real winner. Vigurs 8/10 - My MOM for his 45 minute contribution. He may look lazy and he may not be all action but he has a head for the game and some of his passing was one touch and inspirational. Motombo 3/10 - Headless chicken impersonation Sutherland 4/10 - No time to make any type of impact Yogi 4/10 - Tactically his poorest selection and poorest tactics - 4-5-1 with what looked like 3 holding midfielders played right into Killie's hands. Date: 17/10/15 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3234 Referee: Stephen Finnie Kilmarnock: 2 Lineup: MacDonald, O'Hara, Balatoni, Findlay, Smith, Slater, McHattie, McKenzie, Kiltie, Higginbotham, Magennis Subs (not used): Ridgers, Hamill, Connolly, Boyd, Obadeyi, Ashcroft, Frizzell Scorers: Kiltie (45), Magennis (66) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven (Sutherland 81), Devine, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper (Vigurs 46), Williams (Mbuyi-Mutombo 53), Polworth, Christie, Tansey, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Miles Storey (69) Sent Off: none