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Season Opener Starts at Kelty The League campaign kicks off this Saturday and it's the first training ground derby of the season on day one as we visit New Central Park, Kelty. Neither side qualified for the knockout stages of the League Cup with both being thrashed in their final Group fixture. Inverness start the season on minus 5 points as part of the Administration process from last season. We will be looking to start clawing that deficit back as soon as possible, starting on Saturday. With the League Cup Group stages being completed, Alloa have been the surprise package and boosted there ranking with the bookies as serious challengers for League1 promotion. They won their Group C winning all four games and eliminating Dundee in the process. Cove will also fancy their chances of going up. With three new teams in the league this season, it's fresh pastures again with East Fife, Peterhead and Hamilton entering the mix. Hallelujaha! There is a God after all and he is working for the SFA. The Caley Jags red card appeal has been upheld at the Fast Track Tribunal meaning Remi Savage will be available for selection this weekend. The bigger issue is how did he miss the referee and he will require extra training for that... To top that off and out trump Kelty, strikers Alfie Bavidge and Chanka Zimba have been brought into our squad along with defender Mitchell Robertson. Beat that! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alfie Bavidge Chanka Zimba Mitchell Robertson Match/Ticket/Bus/Info Book Tickets HERE Under 12's free with paying adult ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matchday One Inverness sent this error strewn squad out last week in the ill fated game at Starks Park where we were not at our best as we gifted goals, penalties, own goals and sending offs as if they were going out of fashion. Two down in seven minutes and three down at the interval, it didn't get any better after the break although Wotherspoon did flick one in from a Strachan cross. That seemed to annoy Raith and they promptly got their three goal advantage back before Remi Savage's own goal and subsequent red card after the final whistle. (Appeal upheld since weekend). Not a great day at the office and Scott Kellacher was well aware of our shortcomings. We were without Ross Millen, Calum MacLeod and Paul Allan with MacKinnon still out longer term. Oscar MacIntyre made his debut having just signed from Hibs. That said, it was a poor performance from us while Raith showed why they are in the Championship with a clinical display. With these players out, we were left with a mainly inexperienced bench. Liam Sole is one player who could be a match winner and entertainer with his bag full of tricks. He should be a handful for the best defenders in League1 and I'm predicting he will lift the gloom pretty soon. Wow! It's already lifting with Savage free for selection this weekend. Happy days. SCOTT KELLACHER: No Listen! Waiting to hear...Must be at Belladrum Or was he just busy signing strikers...... Boom! Not one, but two strikers landing at the Caledonian Stadium the day before we meet Kelty. Also brought in defender Mitchell Robertson on loan from Celtic u19's. Take That ye Maroons. Well at least I thought that was what he said 😂. Alfie Bavidge is back on a year long loan and Chanka Zimba signs on a one year deal. Excited much! Kelty were trounced 6-0 by Livingston in their final Group H game last Saturday whilst we were getting gubbed 5-1 at Stark's Park by Raith Rovers. This was Kelty's team at Almondvale , the Home of the Set Fare Arena. The match stats were heavily in favour of promoted Livi with 22 attempts for the Premiership side and just the one for Kelty. They've had better days though. Their best result was holding Kilmarnock to a no scoring draw in Kelty and went on to win the bonus point in the penalty shoot-out. They started with a dominant 4-0 win at Brora but were derailed at home with East Fife winning 1-0 in their following game. Next up was the draw with Killie before the rout at Livingston. Johnston, Cole (x2) and Ferguson were the scorers at Brora. Not much to go on this early in the season so it will be a 'suck it and see' day on Saturday. From last season, Kelty have lost a few including Scot Allan (retired), Cunningham, Lyon and Broadfoot. In have come Alex Ferguson, midfielder (St Johnstone); Craig Clay, midfielder (Dunfermline Athletic); Innes Murray, midfielder (Arbroath); Jack Brydon, defender (Queen of the South); James Graham, forward (Stirling Albion); Aaron Arnott, midfielder (Bonnyrigg Rose); Kai Kirkpatrick, midfielder (Albion Rovers). Latest News from the Kelty Camp: Scotland u19 international defender Jack Wyllie has joined the club on a season long loan deal from Rangers.

Over & Out New Signing Oscar McIntyre went straight into the starting XI with Ross Millen, Calum MacLeod and Paul Allan missing from the midweek massacre at East Kilbride. David Wotherspoon also started but Billy Mckay was on the bench. Both sides failed to qualify for the knockout stages despite Rovers trouncing the Caley Jags 5-1 at Stark's Park. Three goals in the first half from Dylan Easton (x2 one pen) and Jack Hamilton killed the contest with Wotherspoon getting a consolation before Easton completed his hat-trick once more from the spot and our misery was complete when Remi Savage knocked in an own goal off his back in stoppage time. Meh! Raith Rovers, with nothing to play for were quick out of the blocks and were two ahead inside seven minutes. Dylan Easton with a quickfire brace, opening the scoring in the fourth minute with a half volley from the edge of the box and three minutes later converting a penalty after Longstaff upended Paul McMullan in the box. Liam Sole did put the ball in the net but was flagged offside after seventeen minutes. Oscar MacIntyre, not known for his goalscoring endeavours, went close from a tight angle but narrowly missed the target. The visitors were seeing plenty of the ball with half an hour gone, but it was the hosts who held a two goal advantage. They increased that ten minutes before the interval when Jack Hamilton scored a third shortly after Scott Brown went close. A Wotherspoon corner was whipped in and clipped a post, but that was as close as we came before Hamilton then fired a free kick wide with five minutes of the half remaining. HALF TIME: 3-0 (ouch!) No changes at the interval but Wotherspoon pulled a goal back on the hour off a Mathew Strachan cross from the left but five minutes later Easton completed his hat-trick from the spot again after handball by Savage. His day would get worse in stoppage time when the ball bounced off him into the net after Munro had parried an effort, although Raith are claiming it for Josh Mullin . Plenty of substitutions around the hour took the edge off the game with Raith in cruise control despite Wotherspoon's morsel of consolation on a day when both clubs left the competition. A couple of late bookings for the Thompson Twins. It must run in the family... It would appear Remi Savage was at the end of the game for kicking the ball aggressively in the direction of the referee. However, similar to the ninety minutes, he missed. Not much he could have done about the penalty to be honest, but this will possibly mean he will miss the start of the league campaign against Kelty if it's seen as violent conduct. Otherwise it will mean he misses next League Cup game. FULL TIME: 5-1 (sore one) Caley 100 on CTO: A big feckin OUCH! Thought Tuesday was going to be sign of things to come! Obviously not. Striker required! Apply ICT, Stadium road Inverness. Robert: This may turn out to be a timely reality check and ensure we are focussed on hitting the ground running next Saturday at Kelty. Better to lose today, when our chances of qualifying were slim, than in a league game. But I agree, we do need to get a striker in or that could be our Achilles heel again. No Listen! To be honest with you, we were sh!te... Date: 26/07/2025 Venue: Stark's Park Attendance: 1032 Referee: Ross Hardie Raith Rovers: 5 (five)Manager: Barry Robson Lineup: Rae; Rowe (Mullin 59), Hanlon, Fordyce, Doherty, Brown, Byrne (Mathews 65 ), Stevenson, McMullan Chin 59), Hamilton (Vaughan 59), Easton (Montagu 69) Subs (not used): Glavin; Gibson, Hannah, Raeside Scorers: Easton (4, 7pen, 64pen), Hamilton (36), Savage (90+2 og) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Munro; MacIntyre, Devine, Savage, Strachan, Sole (R Thompson 67), Chalmers (S Thompson 80), Stewart (Gardiner 80), Longstaff (Kerr 67), Wotherspoon (Mckay 67), Alonge Subs (not used): Ross; Nixon, Walker, Keogh, Scorers: Wotherspoon (58) Booked: Devine (67), S Thompson (86), R Thompson (89) Sent Off: Savage (after final whistle)

Losers Go Home Time Not quite a winner takes all encounter as a draw would maybe suffice for us, but it's certainly a loser exits the League Cup competition kind of day. We had a smashing win at East Kilbride after a first half that gave little clue about what was to happen after the break. Five goals in a 14 minute spell ensured the points went North and the tie was over just after the hour. Raith lost 3-1 to St Johnstone which leaves them three points behind Inverness in the proverbial six-pointer with every goal having a two goal swing. We currently enjoy the advantage in Group F. At present four second placed teams are better off than us and four teams are on the same six points than us. Therefore it would appear that only a win will suffice for either team with Raith Rovers unlikely to progress either way. Looking ahead to the Raith Rovers game, Scott Kellacher said “We’re looking forward to it, we know it is going to be a real hard game. I was delighted with the performance against East Kilbride on Tuesday but we won’t get carried away and we’ll keep our feet on the ground.” “We know it’ll be a hard game against Raith Rovers, they have some great quality players that can hurt you at any time, so we need to be at our best. It’ll be the fourth team from the Championship we’ve played in the last month, which is good preparations for us going forward, we’ve learnt a lot from the games.” “I think we’re going in the right direction; we’re building a good squad but it is important we go down there and believe in ourselves, are ruthless in front of goal like we were on Tuesday and look to get a clean sheet too. Overall, we just need to go there and work hard.” Here's the format for this season's League Cup The group stage will involve all 38 teams not involved in European competition, plus the winners of the Highland League and Lowland League. There will be eight groups of five teams playing each other once in a round-robin format, to take place across five July dates (16, 20, 23, 27 and 30) and will use the traditional three points for a win and one point for a draw model. Straight to penalties for the bonus point, Eight group winners and the three best runners-up progress to the second round, when they are joined by the five clubs competing in Europe, and revert to a traditional knockout format. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Raith Rovers v ICTFCPremier Sports Cup Group Stage Saturday 26th July - 3pm kick-off - Stark’s Park Ticket InfoAdult: £15 - Over 65: £10 - Under 16: £6 Disabled tickets are priced at the relevant age category but are entitled to a free carer. This can be purchased online or from the Ticket Office, however proof of entitlement needs to be shown at the turnstile on the way in. Tickets available via FANBASE LINK ICT Supporters Travel ClubThe Travel Club are running a bus to this Saturday’s match against Raith Rovers which leaves the Stadium at 10am Both picking up in Aviemore. £20 a seat. Book through the Travel Club’s Facebook or on 07462218717. Table after Tuesday nights games Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 St. J 3 5 9 2 ICTFC 3 5 6 3 E K 4 -1 6 4 Raith 3 0 3 5 Elgin 3 -9 😂 Here's our team lines from midweek where we thrashed East Kilbride 6-2 at the K-Park Stadium. A relatively tight first 45 ended at 1-1 with an opening goal for EK knocked in by Mr Trialist and Billy Mckay replying with a fine header off a superb cross from Alfie Stewart. No hint about what was about to happen. Within three minutes of the restart Paul Allan scored through the keeper from an impossible angle. That started the deluge. Luis Longstaff whipped one in before Calum MacLeod drill one behind the keeper from a tight angle again. Longstaff lobbed his second over the keeper and in off the post before Alfie Stewart rifled a free kick into the bottom corner to end the spree on 64 minutes. Robertson got a late consolation for EK after lots of substitutions disrupted the flow. Overall, a stunning performance from the Caley Jags whilst keeper Morrison might not want to watch the replays. Scott Kellacher is still on the look out to increase his squad with back-up for Billy Mckay one of his priorities and more cover in defence. Inverness fans will be situated in the North Stand, and these tickets will go on sale once the priority window has closed. RaithTV will provide live video coverage of this match to international subscribers. Cash and card are accepted at the Ticket Office and kiosks. If you are unable to purchase online, please call the Raith on 01592 263514 or visit us during our office hours. Looking suspiciously like Barry Robson's Raith Rovers have nicked one of our olde strips, this was their squad for Tuesday nights defeat in Perth where St Johnstone ran out 3-1 winners. Gullan and McPake had St Johnstone in control by five minutes after the break. Substitute Jack Hamilton halved the deficit before the hour but a late strike by Kirk secured the win with ten minutes remaining. The stats will show that Rovers got more shots away but it's goals that count and they went home pointless. Raith started the campaign well with a healthy 5-1 win at Elgin. Easton (x2), Rowe, Vaughan and Mullin were the scorers. They were caught late in the fixture with East Kilbride, going down 4-2 in the space of six minutes after conceding three goals from the 88th minute for a surprise defeat with Rowe and Vaughan getting the goals. In midweek their consolation was netted by Jack Hamilton. According to Barry Robson, Raith were hard done by and should have had a couple of penalties. They were the better team for large parts of the game and his keeper never had a save to make. Always did have a big chip on his shoulder 😭 Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC are delighted to announce the permanent transfer of defender Oscar MacIntyre from Hibernian FC, on an initial 1-year deal subject to SFA clearance. Oscar, 20 years-old, is predominately a left back but can also play right back. He signed for the Hibernian Academy in 2019 from fellow Edinburgh side The Spartans. He signed his first professional contract with the Hibees in 2021 and he made his first team debut in May 2022. While at Hibs, Oscar had two loan spells with League One side Queen of the South both last season and previously for the first half of season 2023-24. He spent the second half of 2023-24 on loan at Annan Athletic.

It's Raining Goals Liam Sole started this one after a dazzling half hour display against St Johnstone and he made an immediate impact. He was booked in the 5th minute for alleged simulation. Billy Mckay turned on an Alfie Stewart ball but just missed the target early on. A trialist opened the scoring for the hosts after 17 minutes under a challenge from Danny Devine. Liam Sole blazed wide after a good run and Alfie Stewart was denied by Morrison before at the other end John Robertson clipped the post with an effort from distance that looped over the keeper before hitting woodwork. Inverness would not be denied though as Longstaff, Allan and Stewart combined brilliantly for Billy Mckay to nod in at the back post from Alfie's superb cross. Sole was then denied from a tight angle by keeper Morrison and with five minutes to the break dangerman Robertson went close at the opposite end. Almost another for Inverness but Alfie Stewart's shot bounced just wide after he was played through on goal but it was all square at the break in a game played at breakneck speed end to end. HALF TIME: 1-1 No changes at the break, but a blistering start for the Caley Jags saw us take a one... two... three... four... five goal advantage. Firstly Paul Allan (48) squeezed his shot in from an impossible angle followed by Luis Longstaff (51) with a superb strike. A low Calum MacLeod shot ended up in the back of the net (54) before Longstaff (57) ended the ten minute scoring spree with a brilliant lob. Or so we thought.....Alfie Stewart added a sixth with a tremendous free kick into the corner from the right side of the box just after the hour. David Wotherspoon hit the post after coming on as a substitute for Liam Sole with Mathew Strachan's follow up saved by the keeper. A spate of substitutions followed with the tie secured and with a couple of minutes remaining John Robertson scored the second of the night for the hosts with a free kick. Still time for an effort or two at either end before the whistle as Inverness recorded an impressive away win to move into second in the Group F table FULL TIME: 2-6 Raining Goals at the K Stadium On CTO: ictchris summed up: Overall, a fantastic performance - the start of the second half we literally looked like we'd score every time we had the ball, and pretty much did just that. I lost count of our goals, not sure I've ever done that at a game before. I thought Longstaff was outstanding in that spell - scored twice, set up one and (I think) won the free kick for the sixth. Alfie Stewart also had a great game, he was all over the place, looking dangerous and using the ball well every time he had it. Paul Allan covered so much ground and was available all the time as well. Liam Sole had a good start - his booking by the ref, former Ross County player Jamie McCunnie for diving was ridiculous. Superb result for the Caley Jags away from home. With St Johnstone beating Raith Rovers 3-1, that puts us in with a chance of progressing into the next stages of the League Cup. We are away to Raith on Saturday in the proverbial winner takes all encounter. In saying that, a draw would be sufficient for us which might mean a more cautious approach to the tie. Bring it on! Table after last nights games Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 St. J 3 5 9 2 ICTFC 3 5 6 3 E K 4 -1 6 4 Raith 3 0 3 5 Elgin 3 -9 0 The Goals No Listen! Date: 22/07/2025 Venue: K-Park Stadium, East Kilbride Attendance: **** Referee: Jamie McCunnie East Kilbride: 2 Manager: Mick Kennedy Lineup: Morrison; MacKenzie, 22, Ferguson, Mimnaugh (55), Spence (Lyon 56), Leitch (Cleland 56), Flanagan, Healy, Foster, Robertson Subs (not used): Owens; Main, Scorers: Devine (17 og) Booked: Lyon (67) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 6 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Munro; MacLeod (R Thompson 80), Devine, Savage, Strachan, Sole (Wotherspoon 61), Allan (Alonge 61), Chalmers (Nixon 76), Stewart, Longstaff, Mckay (Keogh 75) Subs (not used): Ross; Kerr, S Thompson, Gardiner Scorers: Mckay (25), Allan (48), (51, 57), MacLeod (54), Stewart (62) Booked: Sole (5), Wotherspoon (80) Sent Off: none

South West to East Kilbride Coming down from the North, It's a first for the Caley Jags as they visit the K-Park Training Academy which has a capacity of 700 (400seated), situated in the St Leonards area of East Kilbride at Calderglen Country Park, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 0QZ. It's a 3G synthetic surface so that might affect team selection. Inverness went down narrowly to a last minute goal at the weekend against St Johnstone having beaten Elgin City in our opening encounter. East Kilbride have been the shock troops in Group F so far. They led St Johnstone for fifty minutes before going down 3-1 in their first fixture. Their second game saw an astonishing comeback from the 88th minute when they had just gone 2-1 down to Raith Rovers. However, in a remarkable turnaround, they scored three goals over the next six minutes to take all three points in a 2-4 win at Starks Park. To prove it was no fluke, they then thumped Elgin City 1-4 on Saturday as they played their penultimate Group F fixture. No Listen! Here's Scott Kellacher ahead of match “We know we’re in for a real hard game, East Kilbride have made a great start and they’re desperate this season to go and win their league to get up. There’s a lot going on at their club and they are going in the right direction because their performances have been good.” “They have some cracking players there; Mick Kennedy and Simon Ferry are doing a great job. We’ve watched them a few times, the way they play the game is exciting so hopefully we’re in for a real good game tomorrow night.” We’ll assess Ross Millen today, it’ll most likely be 50/50 for the game but if he’s feeling it we won’t be taking any chances with him. We can’t afford to have players out long term, so we have to look after them in the short term.” East Kilbride v ICTFC ⚽ Premier Sports Cup Group Stage Tuesday 22nd July, 7.45pm kick-off Ross Commercial Finance Stadium Calderglen Country Park East Kilbride G75 0QZ Ticket Info 🎫 There will only be 290 tickets available for ICT fansTickets available from the following link via Fanbase for ICTFC supporters Travel Club Info 🚍 The ICT Supporters Travel Club are running a bus to Tuesday’s match against East Kilbride, leaving the Caledonian Stadium at 2pm. Both picking up in Aviemore. £20 a seat. Book through the Travel Club’s Facebook or 07462 218717 EK's team -V- Elgin City last Saturday where they ran away with the game. Skipper Jack Leitch opened the scoring in the third minute and he added a second after 21 minutes before Elgin pulled one back from the spot on half time. Nathan Flannagan scored soon after the interval before John Robertson ended the scoring with nearly half an hour to go. A great start to life in with the big boys and I'm sure they will be knocking on the promotion door come the end of the season. Former St Johnstone player John Robertson is the leading scorer in the League Cup this season with five goals from three games. Jack Leitch scored twice at Elgin. EK have scored nine goals in their three games. Here's how they did it at Elgin! Here's how we went down to St Johnstone. Caley Jags starting XI and Subs in the defeat to St Johnstone. Ross Millen and Adam MacKinnon were missing through injury and that was likely our strongest available squad. Substitutes Liam Sole and Jordan Alonge put in a strong case for a start against East Kilbride with a powerful display and added some much needed pace and power to our attack. Liam Sole looks like he will scare the sh!t out of defenders this season. Already got his own song (Gold) after a couple of substitute appearances with his twinkle toes and attacking prowess. Not seen anything like him for years, certainly not in a Caley Jags top. Sensational! Good confident display between the sticks by Ross Munro. Our Achilles heel on Saturday through no fault of his own was probably Calum MacLeod having to fill in at right back. A fish out of water but he stuck manfully to the task. He is much more suited to being a powerful midfielder. Chin up, this could be your season. Alfie Stewart and Paul Allan did a power of work and the defence were strong until the 90th minute when Ikpeazu did what he does best. What a beast he is. If anything, Wotherspoon and Longstaff were posted missing in the first half which meant we surrendered possession too easily. I doubt we will underestimate EK and I'm sure Kellacher will be well aware of the dangers and implications of this tie.