tm4tj

Inverness looking to end Motherwell hoodoo Off to Fir Park on Saturday for a crunch game at the sharp end of the table as Inverness take on Motherwell, a team that has put nine goals past us this season already. The groans were audible on Wednesday night as Kilmarnock stole a point in the final minute of a game dominated by Inverness, but a game where we were unable to turn our dominance into goals and three points. Terry was not best pleased after the game when once more we failed to hold onto a lead and lost a goal late in the game. Billy McKay seems to be suffering since that miss in the league cup semi-final and the goals have dried up. It's not been a great month for Inverness since the turn of the year, apart from a spanking win over the Dons. Only four points from our last four games have seen the hunting pack close in ready to pounce. Should we lose out to Motherwell, then they will take over in second place with St Johnstone leading the rest. Motherwell have also only one win in four. Like us, Motherwell missed a raft of chances against Kilmarnock and McCall, like Butcher was bemused by the lack of strike rate which cost them the game. Motherwell are being linked with James McFadden again as the former Well maestro is training at Fir Park. Unfortunately, money seems to be a major problem. At 29, McFadden still has plenty to offer the game in Scotland, an international legend for that superb goal against France and his close control is a joy to behold. Watch this space. ***Latest Team News*** Inverness will be without Richie Foran once more, and he has been sorely missed as we toil away without an aerial outlet up front. Simon King and Chris Hogg are still out. Ryan Esson looks set to remain in goal. Motherwell have Keith Lasley and Fraser Kerr suspended after the pair were sent packing last weekend against Kilmarnock. Steven Saunders played a full 90 minutes in midweek for the u20's as he continues his rehab after injury. tm4tj Prediction:- We have struggled to get the goals our outfield play has warranted and somebody will get a doing one day. Why not Motherwell, we are due to give them the runaround after the thrashings we got in the first two games where Well scored at will as they tore us apart. However, we are still playing neat football although it is tougher without Richie Foran. Maybe it's time for Shane Sutherland to step forward and stake a claim for a starting spot. 2-2 is my bet. Get your Gaelic phrase book out. You can see a re-run as live after five o'clock on Saturday.

Confidence Boost Required An early chance to exact some revenge on Kilmarnock arises this Wednesday night as the Ayrshire men travel North to take on Inverness at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium for a 19:45 kick off. It won't get us back into the Scottish Cup, but it will get our SPL form back on track if we can manage to secure all three points and make second place our own again, and will do our confidence no harm whatsoever. Another slip up and the teams below us are ready to pounce, queuing up to drag us back into the chasing pack with only five points separating second from ninth, that being Ross County. No wins in the last four, but that does not mean we have played poorly. Despite going down to Celtic at the weekend, we were always in the game at 2-1 down before being hit on the break as we pushed for an equaliser, so let's not push the panic button yet. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pI9aUuGns10" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Killie did us a favour by beating Motherwell on Saturday and that kept the status quo at the head of the table and with Dundee losing to Ross County, then relegation looks to be a mere formality. Hibs and St Johnstone played on Monday night and it was the men from Perth who moved closer to the top of the table with an emphatic win over a dismal Leith side. Current form shows that neither club have been setting the heather on fire in the SPL with only one win each over the last five games. In fact the trends are similar with both losing two and drawing two as well, Killie having the most recent victory with that 2-0 win over Motherwell last weekend. Inverness have to go back to the 19th of January for their last success when a superb second half display blew the Dons away 3-0. Inverness are still the highest scoring home side in the league with 27 goals, but conceding 20. Killie have scored 17 times on the road whilst losing 16. Inverness have 5 home wins and Killie have won 3 times away from Rugby Park. When the sides met earlier this season, it was a point apiece at Inverness, with Andy Shinnie and Manuel Pascali scoring and in the reverse game at Rugby Park, Inverness snatched all three points in a 1-2 win where Shinnie and Liam Kelly scored before a Billy McKay penalty settled the game. ***Latest Team News*** Inverness' Captain, Richie Foran will miss another game after his knee injury at Kilmarnock in the cup. He joins Chris Hogg and Simon King on the sidelines. Ryan Esson looks set to continue in goal where his experience could prove vital, and Nick Ross builds up his strength after his return from injury with another ninety minutes under his belt against Celtic. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q4M6BbVi2m4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Kilmarnock will be without Cillian Sheridan, out for six weeks after pulling his hamstring in the same cup game. Rory McKeown sits this one out as well. Kyle Letheren will replace Cammy Bell who has a hip injury. After losing half a dozen players during the transfer window, Kenny Shiels will be looking for his youngsters to step up to the plate like Ross Barbour did last week, and he impressed the management team sufficiently to warrant more starts. William Gros and Mark O'Hara will feature as well after first team players Michael Nelson, Liam Kelly, Lee Johnson, Gary Harkins and Rory Boulding all departed in January leaving Killie a bit thin on the ground. tm4tj Prediction:- These are usually free flowing games against Kilmarnock and this one should be no different. Inverness have something to prove to their own support that their bubble has not yet burst and we have the bottle for the battle. I can see us recording a confidence boosting 2-0 win with Billy McKay getting back amongst the goals. And now for something completely different. The rearranged Highland Derby has been scheduled for Saturday 2nd of March with a 3:00pm kick off. Ross County's home match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle had been called off due to a waterlogged pitch on January 2nd but the game will now go ahead two months late.... .....weather permitting of course.

The Bhoys are back in town Who would have thought it. A top of the table clash in Inverness this weekend and the season is almost two thirds complete, but mind and set your alarm clock as it's a high noon shoot-out. The Bhoys are back in town to face their nearest SPL challengers, despite what Paw Broon thinks. In contrast, there is a relegation battle at Dundee involving our close neighbours from over the bridge. We've had better weeks. Dumped out of both cups and beaten by St Mirren, it doesn't get much worse than that. But, if you look closer, there were extenuating circumstances that lent their hands to bursting our gossamer thin bubble. Three away games in eight days, all in the central belt. Hearts having the twelfth man at Easter Road. An inexplicable miss by he scores when he wants, our own Nessi Messi. A penalty shoot-out. Injuries to key players for the first time this season, cruelly exposing our dearth of quality further down the ranks. New players drafted in and a second blank scoreline of the season. On top of that, we had Ross Draper suspended for the cup game at Killie, and Andy Shinnie and Richie Foran crocked in the first half making it an uphill battle all the way. It's not been our best week, three defeats in a row, but it's not all doom and gloom. We are still second in the SPL and we have not become a poor team overnight. We could have beaten Hearts and St Mirren, and we had early chances at Kilmarnock, but the ball did not run for us and Cammy Bell did his usual 'thou shalt not pass' against us. An unfortunate tangle and ricochet led to Killie's opener and the second was a tricky back-heel deflection from a speculative low shot from distance which found the net. We, on the other hand, could not buy a goal. Unusual for us this season, but without our inspirational midfielder and battling captain, we looked blunt and that is what Butcher will have to work on this week. Celtic cuffed us in the first meeting this season in Inverness, where the 2-4 scoreline flattered us somewhat, Ross Draper scoring two late goals. We turned the tables on them in Glasgow, carving out a battling 0-1 victory with McKay choosing to score that day after Phillip Roberts teed him up nicely, leaving two defenders skiting across the grass on their arse. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PBkkjpm5mfk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> So, the stage is set for the third encounter of the close kind, just three days before Celtic travel to the more exotic climes of Turin to take on Juventus in the Champions League. With that in mind, and the league title destined for Parkhead it would seem, it would be but a foolish person to expect Celtic to field their strongest eleven in an almost meaningless SPL match for them in a climatically hostile environment. It may be for the best, as Celtic appear to be stretching their legs now and sprinting away towards their expected title, and the leak in our bubble is worsening with every game, the hunting pack ready to swallow us up in the quest for second best. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V557rvB8F3w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Celtic managed to hold onto goalden bhoy Gary Hooper as Norwich City lined up some big bids in the transfer window. Obviously the lure of playing in Inverness and Dingwall swayed the hitman to remain in Scotland rather than try his luck at Old Trafford or The Emirates Stadium. I can see why. Midfielder Ibrahim Rabiu went to Kilmarnock and striker, (I use the word loosely), Mo Bangura has moved to Elfsborg. In come midfielder Tom Rogic and defender Rami Gershon, where better than Inverness to give them a taste of Scottish fitba'. Inverness were able to see out the window with only Gavin Morrison moving to Elgin City on loan till the summer and Shinnie and McKay staying put for now, with Jason Oswell leaving the building early. We also added a trio of defenders, Charlie Taylor, Danny Devine and Jordan Gibbons, how ironic that our attacking options are the ones that are now on the injured list after the last game. Doh. Billy McKay made his full Northern Ireland international debut on Wednesday night playing against Malta as a second half substitute. He appeared just after the hour but the game ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw, and that adds up to no wins in twelve for them. Nearly forgot, it's the passing of a momentous anniversary in the history of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the one which spawned the famous Supercaleygoballistic etc etc etc headline, and led to the sacking of John Barnes..................ah well, you can't have everything in your favour. Brings a tear to a glass eye........ <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/53agIC4Kkck?feature=player_profilepage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> ***Latest Team News*** Terry Butcher feared the worse when Foran and Shinnie went off at Kilmarnock, and rightly so. These two are an integral part of the Caley Thistle machine. However, initial fears have been allayed and Butcher has indicated that they might yet play a part at the weekend, although it might be more prudent to rest them for following games. Hogg and King are still out. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q-CwV3Fifw4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Neil Lennon will rest his Champions League squad for the visit to Inverness ahead of the Juventus game. James Forrest could get the chance to get back in favour if fit and the likes of Tony Watt and Anthony Stokes will get a rare start. Forster will return in goal but Samaras and Isaguirre miss out. Ambrose has missed the last month competing in the African Cup of Nations, where Nigeria will be in Sunday's final. tm4tj Prediction:- It all depends on which team Neil Lennon puts out on Saturday and whether Shinnie and Foran pass fitness tests. At best we are looking at a draw although the underdogs tag could see us performing better than recent games. I hope we can make a point, but I won't be holding my breath. 1-1 at a push, if not it could be another blank weekend while we regroup. :ictscarf: