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Willie's Yellow Fever Inverness took all three points North despite the best efforts of the incompetent Willie Collum who ruined the game as a spectacle with a treble hat-trick of bookings culminating in the sending off of Ryan Christie. What on earth was Collum thinking about? Was he trying to get into the Guiness book of records as yellow lit up St Mirren Park. 26, 27, 28 - 36, 41, 42 - 44, 47 and 49. No, that's not the lottery numbers, it's the times within a 23 minute period that the clown in charge flashed his cards and stifled the willingness of players from both sides to get too enthusiastic about the game, resulting in a dour stop start affair with a Greg Tansey penalty just before half time sealing the win. If the SPFL want to encourage fans to go and watch live football, then they need to have a word with these egomaniacs and get them to understand that without spectators, we won't be needing referees. Bring back the men from Luxembourg, our lot could certainly learn something from them. RossP will have a full report when he returns...................erm, assuming he is returning from somewhere. Honesty is the best policy This match report will be slightly different to my usual pieces of writing, in that I’ll be reviewing a match that I didn’t actually manage to attend! Having made plans to travel to the game once I’d picked up wedding rings from Glasgow in the morning, the missus and I were gutted to be told that (despite assurances) the rings had not arrived – which then led to us cancelling the car journey down on the morning of the game. I remember once reading about a journalist getting sacked after fabricating a glowing review of a Meatloaf gig that unbeknownst to him was actually cancelled… so rather than going down that route I’ve pieced together my account of the dedicated MFR2 radio coverage I listened to, the match highlights I’ve watched and the reviews from the various message boards which cover the match. Team lineups Inverness sprung a surprise by replacing Aaron Doran with Danny Williams on the left wing, a move that has led to fans suggesting a link to Doran’s frustration shown when substituted against Ross County. Hopefully this is not the case as with suspensions and injuries likely arriving very soon we need every player pulling in the same direction. The rest of the team were as predicted, playing in the familiar 4-2-3-1 formation. St Mirren kept a winning team together, with the only change being Drury replacing the injured Wylde in the midfield. On the pitch The first half was interrupted with Willie Collum wearing his pencil down from persistent bookings – 7 in total for 45 minutes! Reports from fans range between a shambolic performance from the man in the middle, giving cautions for very little, to some saying that it was our own players naivety and persistent fouling leading to Collum’s firm approach to the match. In amongst the card issuing, the game was reduced to St Mirren shooting waywardly from distance and a more direct approach from Inverness than usual leading to several chances in the penalty area. First a Billy Mckay goal was chalked off as offside following a cross from Shinnie in 20 minutes. Looking at the replays it seems a very marginal decision where perhaps only his body leaning forward took him into an offside position. Mckay was thwarted again soon after, with his touch altering the direction of a Ryan Christie shot into the keeper’s body. We soon took the lead though after Marc McAusland wanted Gary Warren’s shirt before the full time whistle. An easy decision for the referee to award a penalty, as the top was nearly over his head by the time the ball arrived in the box. Greg Tansey stepped up and powered an unstoppable shot wide to the keeper’s left. One final important piece of action was where Ryan Christie picked up his first booking for persistent fouling, a decision that most fans online have agreed with. Half Time 0–1 St Mirren were straight on the front foot from kick off, carving out an opportunity for Drury at the corner of the penalty area where he drove the ball into the side netting. Collum was also quick to get involved again with his notebook as he issued his 8th card of the day, this time to St Mirren’s Marwood before then changing the nature of the game by giving Ryan Christie his marching orders. Looking at the challenge several times online I actually agree with Collum’s assessment of the incident, where the cliché of Christie’s ‘youthful exuberance’ led him to make a rash challenge on John McGinn from a near seated position after winning the ball initially from Kenny McLean. Despite going for the ball, the challenge looked dangerous and would have resulted in potential injury for McGinn had his leg been planted. St Mirren immediately looked to get on the front foot with the ineffective Reilly being replaced by former Hibee Ross Caldwell, followed by Brown coming on for Man City loanee Drury. In response Inverness adopted a 4-4-1 formation with the two banks of four moving extremely well as a unit, restricting St Mirren to long passes to the strikers or shots from distance. Dean Brill saved a deflected drive from McGinn very well and Carl Tremarco managed to block a shot directed at goal by St Mirren right back Jason Naismith. Looking at the replay it appears the home players and fans who claimed for handball may have had a point, with Tremarco appearing to stop the shot with his legs but his arms then definitely stop the ball’s momentum once it was on the ground. One final chance came the Buddies way with an additional time goal mouth scramble, which Inverness cleared by the unusual method of Shinnie battering the ball off David Raven’s face. Full Time 0-1 RossP review: I’m delighted with the 3 points against a team coming into form, at their own ground. These points are especially welcomed when we have games versus Dundee United and Celtic coming up. It’s disappointing to lose Christie and Draper to suspension, but hopefully the likes of Polworth, Ross and Doran bust a gut to compete for their positions whilst they are missing. Glowing praise has been heaped on the organisation shown by the defence after the red card, by home and away fans and rightly so. We should count ourselves lucky to have such a talented backline and it can only be a matter of time before Josh Meekings and Graeme Shinnie move on. Billy Mckay showed some good touches to bring others into play and was unlucky not to get himself back on the scoresheet. His challenger for the lone striker role didn’t impress as we had hoped, with a lack of confidence noted when one on one with the less mobile Jim Goodwin and then a poor unorthodox finish when he should have used his weaker foot to get his debut goal. Date: 18/10/2014 Venue: St Mirren Park Attendance: 3109 Referee: Willie Collum St Mirren: 0 Lineup: Kello, Naismith, Kelly, McAusland, Goodwin, McGinn, McLean, Drury (Brown 65), Marwood, Reilly (Caldwell 56), Ball Subs:- Ridgers, Caldwell, Tesselaar, Brown, Baird, Williams, Mallan Scorers: - Booked: Naismith, Reilly, McAusland, Marwood Sent Off: None Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Brill, Raven, Meekings, Warren, Shinnie, Draper, Tansey, Watkins (Vincent 66), Williams (Tremarco 69), Christie, McKay (Sekajja 78) Subs:- Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Vincent, Doran, Ross, Sekajja Scorers: (Tansey, 43 Penalty) Booked: Watkins, Draper, Meekings, Christie Sent Off: Christie (second yellow)

Roast County for Lunch? First Highland derby of the season comes along this Sunday at 12:45, an opportune time for our dear neighbours and good friends over the bridge coming on the back of their first League win of the season and another defeat for us at the hands of Aberdeen. Early kick off so you'll have to wait for your choice of dinner, come three o'clock, let's hope it's Roast County. It could have been oh so different last weekend had we not been so generous in front of our own box as we gifted Aberdeen possession which enabled them to capitalise fully and score on two occasions. Gary Warren had also smacked the post with a close range header moments after gifting Adam Rooney the Dons first goal. However, it's not a good idea to give teams like Aberdeen any help and we paid the price for it. Meanwhile, at the other end of the league, a goal in time added on secured County's first three pointer, and they can no longer be labelled Loss County. Darren Maatsen added to Michael Gardyne's scrambled opener as County beat newly promoted Dundee, a result which unfortunately for them still shows that they occupy bottom spot, with St Mirren salvaging a surprise point at Pittodrie in midweek. It's all change at Dingwall since we last played them and the Caley Jags fans favourite pass-time, Adams baiting, is no longer available. Yes, Derek and his dad have left the building. Jim McIntyre is now the man in charge, along with Billy Dodds as his number two. County fans could have been forgiven for thinking they had signed Michael McIntyre and Ken Dodd as results remained the same after their dismal comedy start to the campaign. But despite their lack of points, County have allegedly been creating plenty, just not making the most of their opportunities, (sounds familiar). Let's hope that continues, but derby's are funny old games. Adams' departure was somewhat acrimonious with County maintaining they want to try a different direction. Downwards seems to be their chosen path with the bold Derek having a few swipes at the Dingwall establishment. Wee man big chip syndrome springs to mind. The arrival of McIntyre on the 9th September saw him quick to add to the cosmopolitan squad left by Adams and he signed former Celtic youngster, defender Lewis Toshney who made his debut in the win over Dundee. Both Hibs and Hearts had turned down the chance to sign Toshney who has been plagued with injuries in his career so far, but he comes North on a 4 month contract. Michael Gardyne has also returned North on loan. Enough nonsense from me though and read Ginger Jaggy's preview ahead of the big game, but here are some flashbacks to whet your appetite from the http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCguu8aUIctvMnNurpNHXW4w YouTube site. Ginger Jaggy has been busy and instead of twiddling his thumbs, he has written this Preview for you, read on............... Derby Day The first highland derby is upon us with the caravans coming across the Kessock Bridge for the Sunday lunchtime kick off. This is the first time in a while that the Caley Jags fans will have someone else to taunt other than Derek the seethe Adams who was given his marching orders a few weeks back. Jim McIntyre is now charged with trying to keep the Staggies in the big time after a dreadful start to this season. On the other side of the coin Caley Thistle continue to go from strength to strength although we suffered a slight hiccup at the hands of an inconsistent Aberdeen side. To our neighbours, and it has been a pretty rough start to the new season with them and St Mirren slightly adrift at the bottom of the table after only winning one game so far. Derek Adams has already paid the price for a second successive season of major overhauls to the playing squad with the team very slow to gel. Adams has now been relieved of his duty by his father who has also ended up on the County scrapheap. Now it is Jim McIntyre at the helm, and a small glimmer of hope has arisen with a last minute winner to beat Dundee last weekend. They still have problems at the back with the worst defensive record in the league; six goals worse than any other side. But the first win of the season may give them the confidence to put a run together to get them back up the table, just not this weekend. For John Hughes, life isn’t to bad with the Caley Jags again showing Scotland that we are no pushovers. And even though a couple of defeats on the road have happened since the first international break we hope to go into the second one with a good win over our rivals. A win in the derby will propel us back up to the top of the table after Dundee Utd failed to win at Kilmarnock. By the time the game kicks off we could be as low as sixth with the top six looking very congested as six points covers the Arabs at the top to the Dons making up the top six. Only Dundee has come away from the Highland capital with anything. The others including Celtic sent back down the A9 without a point. Home comforts have been the main reason why we sit so high but as we know anything can happen in a derby. Last season we lost 2-1 to County in the New Year derby at home when all the stats would suggest a home win. Last time out mistakes cost us against Aberdeen so cut them out and continue to play this possession football then we will win more than we will lose. Ginger Jaggy Prediction:- I feel it will be a good win for us although after last week’s last minute winner, County will be buoyed coming into this one. Defensively they are very suspect and I feel we will be too much for them although it would be very nice for Billy to get a goal or two to re-kindle his scoring touch. Many people would not be surprised if County return across the bridge with a second win in a row but I can only see one winner and it is the team wearing red and blue. Crocks Corner:- Inverness have no fresh worries with Richie Foran taking his time to recover the only major absentee. County, on the other hand have Uros Celcer and Steven Saunders out and defenders Scott Boyd and Darren Barr looking to recover in time for the local derby.