tm4tj

Scottish Cup 4th round action this weekend. The only all SPL clash in the cup sees two of the relegation favourites battle it out in Inverness as basement club Dunfermline visit the Highlands, Parfect..........weather permitting. Last weeks first-footers failed to show up at the Stadium as the heavy rain and sleet made the pitch unplayable and the game was postponed by the referee after an eleven fifteen inspection. Unfortunately many fans from both sides had already undertaken the arduous journey and the decision although unpopular was the correct one under the circumstances as blizzards and gales wreaked havoc across Scotland for the next few days. So, all that means is that Saturday's visitors will be our first-footers this year. A tin of shortbread and a lump of coal will surely be offered as a friendly gesture; can we return the compliment by dumping the Pars out of the competition at the first time of asking? It's a strange competition the Scottish Cup. League form goes out the window when the cup comes along. Some big names have been known to fall to lesser known opponents and Inverness Caledonian Thistle are well documented in that category, creating their own place in the history books. Some less well known Scottish Cup exploits go back to before the merger, when Inverness Caledonian triumphed against League opponents on no less that 19 occasions. Beating Airdrie in 1990 was a notable achievement, but embarking on a cup run in '92 by beating league sides Stenhousemuir 4-1 and Clyde 3-1 before losing out to St Johnstone 3-0 at the 'Fancy Dan' all seater stadium in Perth after a replay goes down as a real feel good factor moment. However, probably the greatest Cup upset of them all came at Kingsmills on February 9th 1985, the home of Inverness Thistle. The Jags were third bottom of the Highland League at the time and had struggled to beat Spartans in the previous round. Kilmarnock were the visitors, themselves struggling in the Second Division. But goals from Dave Milroy, Gordon Hay and Brian Fraser sent Thistle through in front of 2,500 fans at Kingsmills Park. The Polis were required to intervene as Killie fans sought the head of manager Eddie Morrison. How dare these teuchters beat an established team from the Central Belt. Thistle were amply rewarded with a trip to play Celtic in the next round. Although they lost 6-0, the sum of £7,626 was well received for their endeavours at Parkhead. But what of Dunfermline? They suffered their worst ever Cup defeat at the hands of Hibernian in October 1889, losing 11-1 in a replay, the first game had ended 4-4 at East End Park. (That defeat is not their all time record loss, 17-2 to Clackmannan in a Midland League clash in 1891). However, fast forward some seventy-odd years and the Jock Stein era took the Pars to a new level. In 1961 they won the Cup for the first time, beating Celtic 2-0 after a replay. And so began a golden era for the Pars, regularly featuring in European matches. They narrowly missed out in the Cup Final in 1965, losing 3-2 to Celtic, who had by now secured Jock Stein as their new manager, and finished third in the league behind Kilmarnock and Hearts. A certain Alex Ferguson being a prominent player between '64-'67. In 1968, George Farm emulated the success of Stein and the Pars beat Hearts 3-1 to lift the Scottish Cup for the second time, and then went on to the semi-final of the European Cup Winners Cup before losing 2-1 to eventual winners Slovan Bratislava. It took Dunfermline a further 36 years to reach another Scottish Cup Final, this time losing 3- 1 to Celtic with Jimmy Calderwood in charge, who immediately resigned to join Aberdeen. Stats count for nothing in the Cup, one off games where the winner takes all. On the face of it, Inverness would appear to be on the up and the Pars are sliding slowly towards the first division, but as I said, the Cup spurs players on to greater things. I don't expect anything other than a tough encounter where in this Cup game the winner will take more than just entry into the next round as their prize. It will be a massive confidence boost over one of the candidates for the drop, so everything to play for in this one. The teams have only met once before in the Scottish Cup, well twice if you count the replay, and that was in 2004 when Inverness went out at the semi-final stage to the Pars. A certain Mr Brewster taking the game to a replay at Pittodrie with a headed goal in the second half after Paul Ritchie had opened the scoring for the Caley Jags. Barry Nicholson scored an Archie Gemmill of a goal as he danced through the Inverness defence to score the decisive goal that would take the Pars into the final for the first time in 35 years. Brings a tear to your eyes....... ***Latest Team News*** Inverness have secured the services of Roman Golobart until the end of the season. However that has been countered by the news that David Davis will return to Wolverhampton Wanderers after a productive spell in Inverness where he had become a fans favourite with his robust and creative midfield performances in his fourteen games. He could feature tomorrow if selected, but that would be his last game for ICT. Chippendale, and Proctor have resumed full training and Jones is slightly behind in terms of recovery. Andrew Shinnie and Ross Tokely needed that extra week to recover from knocks and captain Richie Foran will be eligible to play in the Cup game. He misses the Motherwell fixture next week. Hogg the Blogg is out for the season, see The Fightback at http://chrishoggthef...k.blogspot.com/ Dunfermline goalkeeper Paul Gallacher is out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury sustained during the 4-0 defeat to Hearts a couple of weeks ago. Chris Smith will continue to deputise. Austin McCann, Nick Phinn and Steven Bell are still sidelined, but Kevin Rutkiewicz and striker Steven McDougall have returned to training and could be included in the squad for the cup-tie. McIntyre's injury list is looking healthier, but he is on the look out to strengthen his squad in the January sales. Jason Thomson has left the building and returned to Hearts . Euan Norris is the man in the middle for this game. tm4tj Prediction:- Cup games are special days and anything goes. Inverness are still getting back to full strength and the loss of Davis is a blow should he not get a start, however I do expect Inverness to have just enough to see off the Pars, but it will be tough. Inverness to be in the hat come Saturday evening for the fifth round draw.

Hair of the dog? ***Game Postponed - Waterlogged Pitch*** Hangover cure on the 2nd of January at 2:00pm is the fixture in Inverness as the home side seek to extend their unbeaten run to three games against the surprise packet of the season, St Johnstone. The lads from Perth come first footing at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and will be looking to continue their good form into the new year. Inverness remained unbeaten for the second game after a deserved point at Easter Road in midweek, achieved without the services of top scorer Andrew Shinnie and defensive stalwart Ross Tokely. Both players were sidelined with calf injuries since the narrow defeat at Ibrox and not risked since then with the hectic festive fixtures coming . While Inverness were drawing in Edinburgh, the Perth Saints were beating Kilmarnock 2-0 and securing back-to-back wins and consecutive clean sheets. That's why they sit in fourth place in the league 13 points above Inverness. It has been a tremendous season for St Johnstone so far, with Steve Lomas continuing the good work started by Derek McInnes who departed for warmer climes in October. Inverness' home form has been a bit erratic with 3 wins, 2 draws and 5 defeats, conceding 16 goals in the process with zero clean sheets. Much of these stats have come in our darker days from this season and Butcher will be glad to see the back of 2011 which has seen the club suffer a spate of long term injuries. This, coupled with some major decisions going gainst us in some crucial games have meant it has been difficult to gather some momentum and get some consistency in our performances, and the result of this leaves us entrenched in the lower quarter of the league with a goal difference of -12. Not the worst in the division, but not one to be proud of. St Johnstone have the best defensive record in the SPL away from home, only Rangers equalling their miserly loss of five goals. That has given them a platform to build on and their away record is a dream for the Perth men, 5 wins, 4 draws and a solitary defeat to Hibernian at Easter Road. Their last two matches saw them score 5 goals without reply with Sandaza notching 3 of them. Saints won the first encounter this season 2-0, beating a below par Inverness during our poor early season form, Sandaza on the scoresheet in that game as well with Mackay getting the second goal. That result left us rooted to the bottom of the table on eight points and Saints in fifth with eighteen. Head to Head at Inverness:- Including Scottish Cup and First Division games we have a healthy 5 to 1 advantage over the Super J's with only one draw. In terms of SPL games it's one win and one draw. Highest score was the 3-1 win that clinched promotion in 2004, a game which incidentally saw one of the best goals ever at the stadium. It was Keigan Parker who scored it with a stunning 35 yarder on the run into the top corner; some strike. That was however overshadowed by the result and susequent promotion to the SPL, after some off field antics by the Harry Wragg's was put to bed. ***Latest Team News*** Inverness captain Richie Foran is suspended for this game and top scorer Andrew Shinnie remains a major doubt with a calf injury. Ross Tokely could recover in time and will be thrust straight back into central defence as we are a bit threadbare in that department. Aaron Doran returned to action at Hibs following a serious shoulder injury and will be loking for more game time. St Johnstone midfielder Chris Millar is struggling with a hamstring problem and Frazer Wright and Cillian Sheridan remain out, (must be that jumper) but midfielder David Robertson could be added to the squad after his concussion. tm4tj Prediction:- We appear to be over the worst of our troubles and with the squad list getting healthier I expect us to be able to handle the Perth men on our own patch. They have been excellent on the road but I am going for a narrow win, maybe without that elusive clean sheet, but a win all the same and three points to get the new year off to a flyer. Happy New Year from all at the editorial team.

It beats Xmas shopping (hopefully) Aberdeen call early on Xmas Eve for a 12:30 kick off at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium for a Xmas cracker as the festive events get under way. The SPL are offering all clubs an early Christmas present in the shape of standing areas at all grounds. I thought we already had that; especially when the Old Firm are in town as the entire away support stand for the full ninety minutes in the South Stand with police and stewards looking on admiringly. Merry Xmas! Terry Butcher was left bemused once more as his Inverness side gave Champions Rangers a doing at Ibrox and still came away pointless after an enthralling encounter ended 2-1 for the Glasgow giants. "We don't get penalties" was the cry after referee Bobby Madden waived away two big shouts for spot-kicks in favour of the visitors. That's twenty games without a penalty he mused. Despite going down at Ibrox, Butcher can be proud of the whole teams efforts as they took the game to Rangers after going behind only to be denied inside the last ten minutes by a Lafferty sucker punch. But that was not before McKay missed an open goal and struck one straight at McGregor, Foran had a header agonisingly chalked off for offside and Jonny Hayes burst through the Rangers defence only for his stabbed effort to be miraculously cleared off the line by Lee Wallace with no margin for error. It was a great attempt by the Inverness lads to change the rules as they had Rangers on the ropes for long spells, and this with eight players out of the squad and playing first choice left back in the right back position, a role Gillet performed rather well as did Graeme Shinnie his deputy at left back. Young Spaniard Roman Golobart showed his talents at Ibrox as he contained the threat of Jelavic for most of the game; ole! But plaudits are no consolation when it's points that we need, so it's onwards we have to look for the next game. This was a much improved performance from the United game where our Jekyll & Hyde characters overshadowed our Superman traits, and more performances like this will surely be enough to maintain our SPL status long enough to see the advent of the standing section. Craig Brown has managed to get a mini-revival going at Pittodrie as the Dons have taken seven points from a possible nine in their last three games to ease them away from the foot of the table. A hard fought draw with St Mirren was followed by a comfortable away win at Perth and last weeks 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Hibernian. These points are borne out of desperation and the need to get off the foot of the table, but it shows how quickly your fortunes can change with a couple of back-to-back wins, something we should have completed with the United game, unfortunately we blew that chance to edge further away from the bottom and are paying the price for it. Aberdeen's win over Hibs was not without controversy, the sending off of young star Peter Pawlett for a tackle that was not a tackle if you know what I mean. He slid in to block a clearance by Lewis Stevenson and as the Hibs player rode the tackle, the linesman flagged for the referee to red-card Pawlett, a decision the Dons will contest. Pawlett was the centre of attention in this game as it was he who gained the penalty that led to Scott Vernon scoring the winner, going down rather easily under a challenge from Ivan Sproule. Scott Vernon has scored three of Aberdeen's goals in the revival and will be a threat to our under fire defence which as reported last week will be without the unfortunate Chris Hogg for the season. What we did see at Ibrox though, was the quality of Roman Golobart alongside Ross Tokely, a pairing that will need to gel quickly as they would appear to be our last realistic options for centre back. It has been well documented that we have not kept a clean sheet all season and the statistic of 38 goals lost in 19 games is exactly 2 goals per game. That was not for the want of trying at Ibrox though as Ryan Esson pulled off a magnificent diving save (think Gordon Banks) to deny Whittaker in the first half. Our defence on the day also played well to a man and hopefully a clean sheet would be a welcome early Xmas present for Butcher and the fans. Dunfermline are now the team with the worst goal difference stat at minus 20, compared to Hibs and ourselves at minus 13. Anoraks Corner:- Since Inverness joined Scotland's elite in the SPL in season 2004/2005 the sides have met twenty times on league business, and twice on cup duty, the Dons winning both cup games. It took Inverness fifteen competitive games to get the better of Aberdeen and they did it in style with two collectors items in that game, an Andy Barrowman goal and a Roy McBain goal in a 2-0 win at Pittodrie in August 2008. A new era perhaps for football in Inverness? Not so as Barrowman flopped and Inverness were relegated at the end of the season. The omens are heavily in favour of Aberdeen for this Tulloch Caledonian Stadium fixture as they have a total of 7 wins against a solitary win for Inverness with 2 games drawn. We have scored three goals against Aberdeen in Inverness, unfortunately they scored four with a last gasp Maguire winner, and a Russell Duncan red-card at half-time was followed by one for Grant Munro after the full time whistle. Russell Duncan only ever scored spectacular goals for ICT and this one was no different as he lashed a low drive beyond Soutar from 25 yards, his celebration being deemed worthy of a yellow card by the ref. His second on the half time whistle was for taking his anger out on the ball and thumping it high into the main stand; bye bye Russell. Roy McBain had shown his prowess in this game as well by scoring ICT's third goal. Dave Bus had scored the opener for Inverness as he diverted a header past his own keeper; taxi for Bus. Other scorers for Aberdeen that day were the diver Sone Aluko who started the ball rolling, Nicholson with the second, Lee Miller the third and that Maguire sickener in the 93rd minute. Our only home victory came in the first encounter last season when Hayes and Rooney scored in each half for a comfortable 2-0 win that saw Aberdeen's Michael Paton red carded for a foul on Hayes. That was Inverness' first home points of the season and saw us climb to fifth in the table, two above Aberdeen after seven games played. Aberdeen have scored twice as many goals as the home side, only nine for Inverness and eighteen for the Dons. tm4tj Prediction:- The stats weigh heavily on the side of the visitors, but the reality might be closer to the truth. Inverness' defensive fragility combined with Aberdeen's shot shy away day form tells me that a low scoring game is on the cards, although Scott Vernon has eight goals to his credit this term. Jonny Hayes is getting back to full fitness and Andrew Shinnie is showing his talents in front of goal and if Inverness can steady the ship at the back then we might sneak a narrow win, but can we keep a clean sheet? If we can stop Aberdeen scoring then I can see a home win coming, if not then we are looking at a draw. ***Latest Team News*** Inverness have David Davis back after suspension, but David Proctor and Josh Meekings are still unavailable to add to the longer term crocks of Jones, Doran and Chippendale. Meekings is closest to a return and Piermayr was on the bench at Ibrox and will be in the squad. Chris Hogg can be found at his Fightback blogg as he continues to pour his heart out after his serious injury and will be out for some considerable time. At the time of publishing, there is some dubiety over the eligibility of Richie Foran who has exceeded the bookings threshold, but he may still be included as he is not on the SFA discipline list of banned players yet.........confused.com? Aberdeen's *Peter Pawlett won't have to worry about beating the beaks regarding his red card as he was given a two game suspension for simulation to earn the penalty which won the game. Is it something they teach them at Pittodrie as Aluko suffered the same fate a couple of weeks ago. Fraser Fyvie is back into contention after his suspension. Rory Fallon might not make this one as he is suffering from a groin problem, and Yoann Folly and Mo Chalali are out injured *Pawlett did beat the red card for the sending off as it was reduced to a yellow, but the simulation has cost him a two game ban starting tomorrow. Some you win, some you lose Pete! Other SPL News Hearts have managed to pay the taxman a six figure sum which will keep the winding up order away for a while, let's hope they pay the players what they are due before Xmas. Ryan Stevenson has told Hearts he won't be back unless they pay him what he is due. Eggert Jonsson will join Wolves for a fee believed to be in the region of £200k. Andrew Driver is also creating interest after his Hearts career has come to a standoff. It's all happening down Gorgie Road. Rangers will no doubt show an interest in Kris Boyd as he has now left Turkish club Eskisehirspor, (not easy to say if you have been drinking). A proven scorer in the SPL, this could be a good move for player and club. Celtic will have to make do without Englands record goal scorer Daniel Majstorovic after he suffered a fractured cheek bone against St Johnstone. He is expected to be out for around six weeks. Stand up for the Caley Jags:- Standing at SPL games..........what next. Plans are in place for SPL clubs to allocate safe standing areas within the stadiums. Well at least the scope for continued discussion has been approved, but it's not as straightforward as it appears. Terracing here we come? http://ictfc.com/new...-standing-areas Promotion Watch:- Falkirk narrowed the gap slightly on runaway leaders Ross County after thrashing QotS 5-1, as County battled for a 1-1 draw with the other contenders Dundee. County however, have a game in hand over both clubs and lead Falkirk by six points, but the sting in the tail could come this weekend as County head to Falkirk for what will be a testing time, whilst Dundee take on lowly Morton. The race for promotion hots up as the mercury plummets.