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Surprise Surprise, sending off seals Inverness' fate. Another controversial refereeing decision against one of the Old Firm scuppered Inverness' hopes of competing in this tense encounter at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. O'Reilly, really, that's his name, singled out Greg Tansey for the red card after an aerial challenge on the Greek tragedy that was Georgios Samaras and that was the end of the home sides resistance to the multi million pound players from the central belt. An Anthony Stokes double sealed the points in a game that hinged on the referees inadequacies. The game had been even before the sending off, but down to 10 men it was always going to be an uphill struggle against the now confident Glasgow giants. O'Reilly defied belief when he booked Foran later in the game after Englands record goal scorer Daniel Majstorovic shoved him away, Foran being deemed the guilty party and Danny Bhoy escaping with a short lecture; unbelievable. A match report will be published from the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium later .... after our reporter has put his pitchfork and torch away and Stevie O'Reilly is safely on the A9 south. Ginger Jaggy will tell us how it all unravelled after O'Reilly spoiled an otherwise interesting day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Greek Tragedy Once again Scottish football will wake up to another controversial moment involving one of the Old Firm, and for the third time this season Caley Thistle have had a man wrongly sent off which has cost us points. It is no surprise that we are bottom of the table with so many crucial decisions going against us so far. The decision yesterday was scandalous if not bordering on the absurd. Television replays have clearly shown that no elbow was used and that Samaras was far too tall for Tansey to elbow anyway. For 37 minutes we had a real contest but the rash decision by Referee Steven O'Reilly practically killed the game after that. 19/11/11 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium I.C.T. 0 - TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Hogg, Gillet, Meekings, Hayes, Tansey, A.Shinnie, Davis, Foran (Proctor 78), Tade (Sutherland 78) SUBS: Tuffey, G.Shinnie, Morrison, Ross, Chippendale Booked: Hogg (24), Foran (52), A.Shinnie (90) Sent Off: Tansey (37) CELTIC 2 - Stokes (61, 72) TEAM: Forster, Majstorovic, El Kaddouri (McCourt 69), Ledley, Kayal, Matthews, Wanyama, Samaras (Ki 54), Hooper, Stokes, Forrest (Commons 82) SUBS: Zaluska, Twardzik, Fraser, McGeouch Booked: Kayal (28), Majstorovic (59), El Kaddouri (66) Sent Off: none Referee Stevie O'Reilly Attendance 6435 The first half was even with Inverness looking on a par if not slightly better than the giants from the east end of Glasgow. It was a game of very few chances with the match being contested for supremacy in the middle of the park. Celtic's Anthony Stokes had the first chance but his quick feet was not matched by a finish which was straight at Ryan Esson. Jonny Hayes was a headache for Celtic's back four all day and because of the sending off, it will never be known whether he would help Inverness to a victory as the support just wasn't there with 10 men. David Davies continued his impressive string of performances marshalling the middle of the park really well with strength and power which didn't allow Celtic's midfield to command the game. It was Hayes with a burst of pace that saw him easily beat El Kaddouri and put a dangerous cross in, which came to nothing, but the warning was there for Celtic. Anthony Stokes again was involved as he had a close range shot deflected wide by the big legs of Ross Tokely but again the Hoops were struggling to find space to fashion any clear cut chances. It was neat attacking play which allowed Hayes to put in a great shot which Forster brilliantly put behind when he must have been unsighted. The game plan was working brilliantly which was frustrating Celtic, but enter the fray Georgios Samaras to change the game. The 37th minute will not be remembered for a brilliant piece of footballing skill by the big Geek but a moment which is plaguing the game at the moment. The pantomime saw Samaras and O'Reilly as the chief villains as they conspired to turn the game against us in the cruelest manner. Samaras jumped for a long ball and had been challenged by the smaller Greg Tansey. The Greek striker won the ball but then fell into a crumpled heap leading to the entrance of O'Reilly to brandish the red card. The footage clearly shows that Tansey's elbow was nowhere near Samaras and also showed that O'Reilly was in no position to judge the challenge. As it wasTansey had to go and with it also went any chance that Caley Thistle realistically had of matching Celtic. For Samaras it was his only meaningful contribution in the game and what a moment it was! Half Time 0-0 The second half saw a battling performance by the depleted home side but they unfortunately had to succumb to the misfortune that was forced upon them. Celtic played on the front foot as expected with the extra man on the park. Caley Thistles players valiantly battled and held Celtic out until the hour mark when the brave resistance was put down. Celtic's front two Hooper and Stokes combined brilliantly with Stokes given a tap in to give Celtic the lead to the home fans disgust. Celtic continued to press with Esson saving from Hooper at his near post. But out of nowhere it was almost all square when a brilliant long pass forward troubled the Celtic centre pairing of Majstorovic and Wanyama. Tade broke through the middle and only had to control the ball but miscontrolled at the crucial point and the ball ran away to safety. If he had controlled he would have been through on goal definitely. Jonny Hayes continued to torment the Celtic defence but most times was crowded out as CaleyThistle struggled to press with 10 men. Celtic continued to create with Ki going close but that ended up as a slight reprieve as Celtic finally killed us off and again it had a hint of irony. Celtic pressed forward and it looked like Caley Thistle had cleared the ball but some how the ball found its way to Anthony Stokes who expertly finished past Esson. But again through television the striker was shown as being offside, another mistake by the official, surely not. Celtic failed to score anymore goals but should have when Kris Commons blazed over in the box. But for all the pain a wounded Caley Thistle endured they continued to battle showing lots of spirit. The score could have been reduced when Andrew Shinnie who also played out of his skin took down the ball brilliantly when going through on goal but just couldn't get a second touch to nip it past the big presence that was Forster in goal. The game ended with a chorus of boos as O'Reilly and Samaras left the arena. Full Time 0-2 It was an infuriating game which only showed that for all the financial muscle Celtic behold, they for long periods looked very clueless against a determined Caley Thistle side. Had it not been for the sending off then who knows what would have happened? But that is now in the past and we should look forward to the optimism of the future after such a great battling performance. And if Tansey doesn't win any appeal the club may make then it wouldn't surprise anyone at all after what happened on Saturday. No highlights found

Irish Karaoke Heads North Celtic and their singers will be out in force in Inverness this Saturday, just after noon, for the early kick-off against a rejuvenated Inverness, fresh from their fireworks at Kilmarnock. The Glasgow club have recovered some form after a shaky period which has seen champions Rangers open up a twelve point gap at the top of the table. Europa league victory over Rennes and an SPL win in the crunch game for second place over Motherwell has boosted their confidence, and their fans expectations are recovering somewhat. Neil Lennon, he of the Juanjo incident, is not out of the woods yet and defeat in the Highlands would not best please the Celtic board. Once again the international break disrupted the flow of the SPL games as Scotland went to Cyprus for a break, and won 1-2 with a brilliant finish from Kenny Miller the pick of the goals as the Cypriots rattled the woodwork around McGregor. Celtic's Daniel Majstorovic got himself into the record books in the England v Sweden international match. His header was the 2000th goal scored by England. Congratulations Daniel, it took England 43 years to beat Sweden, you must be so proud. Not to be outdone on the international front, Terry Butcher has become the first Englishman to be inducted into the Scottish Football Museum's Hall of Fame. A great accolade for Singapore born Butcher who has spent something like half of the last twenty-five years plying his trade north of the border. Terry played at Rangers for four and a half seasons and has manager of Motherwell and Scotland assistant manger to add to his CV. But, we are here to look forward to this weekends game, weather permitting, at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, scene of some dramatic encounters between these two sides. Who can forget the second Scottish Cup win for Inverness when a Dennis Wyness goal put Celtic out of the competition, or Michael Fraser's outstanding save as we came from two goals down to win 3-2, with ten men, and of course the game that decided last seasons destination for the SPL trophy as an inspired Inverness took the wind out of Celtic's sails with another sensational 3-2 win. There are however, some games we would rather not be reminded of, such as the cup game in 2007 when after leading the Hoops for 71 minutes, eventually losing 1-2 as Pressley and Miller scored 89th and 90th minute goals to ruin Graeme Bayne's 18th minute strike. Annoyingly, Celtic duplicated the scoreline in 2010 as Ledley scored a brace after Rooney had netted a penalty before half-time. Aye, there has been some wonderful games between these two sides, let's hope it's football that makes the headlines this weekend and not the karaoke, or is it more like the X-Factor. Remember this is a 12:30 kick off for this televised game GingerJaggy is looking ahead to this game and has put together this preview for you.............. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The last international break is over; it is time for the major push before the festive period. Caley Thistle still sit bottom of the table but things are now looking like they are coming together for Terry Butcher's new lads. After the debacle at St Johnstone when it looked like 11 men had been picked up off the street prior to kick-off, Inverness has slowly but surely started to hopefully turn the corner. It has been frustrating so far this season with Caley Thistle not picking up the points that some of their performances have merited. This is reflected by the brilliant performance against Motherwell with no reward, Rugby Park though, we hope, was the day when CaleyThistle made the breakthrough. That 6-3 result has given everyone a huge lift as Celtic lies in wait to become Inverness's next victim, fingers crossed. The history of this fixture will have been regurgitated so many times because of our ability to shock the club from the east end of Glasgow. Everyone will always remember the 8th of February 2000, and Dennis Wyness against Martin O Neil's European finalists. For all of Craig Brewster's failings in his second spell he still gave us one of the best comebacks in our history. Celtic were 2-0 up before the half hour mark and looked like there was very little hope of securing any points. But a John Rankin penalty, a David Proctor header and a neat finish from Don Cowie turned the tie on its head. We even managed to hold on to the lead with 10 men for about 20 minutes. They were three great results and this hoodoo we seem to have over the Parkhead club has continued under Terry Butcher's leadership. Celtic at home in his first match always looked hard but a battling performance meant we came away with a point. That was a taster of things to come with Butcher master minding a 2-0 deficit into a point at Parkhead last season. But this was eclipsed by a performance that can only be described as heroic. The game had no meaning for an Inverness team that were safe from relegation and looking pretty comfortable to finish top of the bottom six. Add in the news that two of the club legends were being released, suddenly Caley did have something to play for; pride to wear the badge. It ended 3-2 but in truth the score line flattered Celtic who could have been on the end of an absolute tanking. This season has seen the teams play only once. That was in Glasgow with the home side ending up 2-0 winners but the result wasn't as comfortable as it suggests as Caley Thistle put in a real good shift and were unlucky not to at least have our name on the score sheet. The form of the Hoops this season should be an encouragement for the homesters. Celtic has conceded a lot more goals than they are used to and have dropped points in unexpected games this season. Hibs and St Johnstone have already been and taken points off them at Parkhead with the latter actually winning the game. They have also been beaten at Hearts and had to come back from 3-0 down at Kilmarnock to rescue a point. Obviously our form hasn't been too consistent so far this season but our home form has been pretty decent. We should have picked up a few more points from some of our home performances this season, but things are hopefully looking up. The 6-3 a couple of weeks ago was just what the doctor ordered and after a slow start it looks like we have got ourselves a gem in attacking midfielder Andrew Shinnie. He has now scored 5 in the league with his last four coming in the last 2 matches. Inverness always gives the Old Firm a tough game in the highlands and I don't see any different here as all the pressure will be on Celtic who vitally need the win to try and reduce Rangers lead down from 12points. The pressure certainly isn't on us, even if we are still languishing at the bottom of the table after this match the gap between us and 4th place is only 7 points. We won't get relegated losing this game and so here is hoping we can excel again and get off the bottom of the table. This game won't be easy; it is one of the Old Firm after all. But what the last game has shown all the supporters is that we are a better side than what the league table currently suggests. We have had some really good performances this season and not reaped the reward that some of them have deserved. Celtic haven't been at their best so far this season and so should give us optimism to write another chapter in this remarkable story of being Celtic's bogey team. Latest Team News Inverness' hall of fame & Doctor of Sport, Terry Butcher, will still be without long term absentees Aaron Doran and Owain Tudur-Jones. Doran has begun some light work, but neither will figure until after the new year. Lee Cox and Nick Ross played in a bounce game against Aberdeen this week and could come into contention, as will Chris Hogg and Thomas Piermayr, both ready after suspension. Forgotten man Billy McKay (who?) did not feature. Butcher's problems are now metamorphing from who to play to who to leave out, but after the scintilating performance at Rugby Park he should be cautious to tinker with the team selection too much. Celtic's under fire manager Neil Lennon has Kris Commons and Gary Hooper itching for a start. One man not on the team sheet will be Mohamed Bangura who may require an operation to repair a knee problem. Ki Sung-Yueng and Cha Du-Ri both hobbled back from international duty and are struggling for this clash. Charlie Mulgrew and Glenn Loovens are still missing, but Joe Ledley returns after a calf injury. On the brighter side, England's landmark 2000th goal scorer Daniel Majstorovic is fresh though, and that should be a bonus for Gregory Tade. Karaoke or X-Factor, let's look forward to an entertaining days sport and the possibility of moving off the foot of the table could be enough for Inverness to remain undefeated on the day, X factor for me. Scoring draw on the coupon. SPL News The SPL will require a new sponsor in 2013 as the Clydesdale Bank will end it's handouts at the end of next season. The bank has been dishing out the money since 2007. Neil Doncaster believes that all the controversy surrounding the game north of the border is positive publicity..........Aye right, does he also believe in Santa? Billy Brown has thrown his name into the mix for the vacancy at Easter Road. He was the current number two to the deposed Colin Calderwood and feels the time is right to step up to the managers position. Brown has served a long apprenticeship following Jim Jeffries around for some 23 years. He will be in charge for this weekend's game against Kilmarnock. Pat Fenlon and Michael O'Neill are thought to be among the top candidates out of ninety plus applicants. Hearts have a novel way of keeping the wage bills down. For the second month running the players have not received their wages on time, allegedly due to the club trying to pay off a £1,000,000 tax bill. On top of this, Paulo Sergio has received a five match ban and even worse, rumours abound that Vladimir Romanov is about to sell Hearts............trouble ahead methinks. Dunfermline are jumping on the cost cutting bandwagon and expect to save £20,000 per season by closing their North Stand. Rangers date with the tax man has been put back to the middle of January as her majesty's revenue and customs man tries to recover a staggering total of £49,000,000. Administration beckons if the Ibrox club lose this one in the courts. Robbie Neilson & Stephen Hughes have joined Dundee United and Motherwell respectively. Both former Hearts players, Neilson has signed on at Tannadice until the end of the season and midfielder Hughes signs on at Motherwell until the new year. Sone Aluko has gone on trial at Ibrox. The former Aberdeen player is without a club at present and is training with Rangers this week. Aluko had scored 13 goals in four seasons at Pittodrie. Minor League news Meanwhile, back in Scotland during the international break, a Grant Munro inspired Ross County continued their march towards the SPL with a fine 3-1 victory over nearest challengers Falkirk, which sees them open up a six point gap at this stage of the season; better get those extra seats installed pronto gudgies. Whatever next.

Keeping it in the Family It should be no surprise really, but Andrew Shinnie has continued the family ownership of the CTO Player of the Month awards as he scooped the title with some sparkling displays in October, and with his Hat-Trick at Killie he looks as though he will be a strong candidate for November as well. Hislopsoffsideagain has compiled the stats once again and here is his findings.................. The Shinnie brothers appear to have a monopoly on CTO's Player of the Month awards just now! Andrew Shinnie's hat-trick performance at Rugby Park was no one-off - he was voted man of the match twice in October and comfortably gained more votes during the month than any of his team-mates over the four matches. David Davis and Gregory Tade picked up the second and third most votes respectively. Andrew's brother Graeme may have had a quiet month, but he continues to lead the Player of the Year standings with Tade second and Ryan Esson, last year's winner, in third. OCTOBER VOTING Player Votes Andrew Shinnie 61 David Davis 42 Gregory Tade 39 Ryan Esson 37 Ross Tokely 37 Josh Meekings 20 Thomas Piermayr 20 Richie Foran 10 Chris Hogg 10 David Proctor 10 Graeme Shinnie 10 Greg Tansey 10 Nick Ross 5 Shane Sutherland 4 Aiden Chippendale 2 Kenny Gillet 1 OVERALL STANDINGS (to end Oct) Player Points Graeme Shinnie 32 Gregory Tade 20 Ryan Esson 16 Greg Tansey 15 Andrew Shinnie 10 Ross Tokely 10 Richie Foran 8 David Davis 5 Gavin Morrison 3 Thomas Piermayr 3 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 Chris Hogg 2 Aaron Doran 1 Roman Golabart 1 Nick Ross 1 Jonny Tuffey 1 Previous Player of the Month awards Month Player July 2011 Greg Tansey August 2011 Graeme Shinnie September 2011 Graeme Shinnie

For Fawkes Sake!!! Fireworks at Rugby Park as Inverness sent statisticians scurrying for the record books. Inverness came from a goal down to completely overwhelm Kilmarnock as they ran riot in the second half. Andrew Shinnie once again showed his class with a superb Hat-Trick adding to a Hayes strike and a brace from the bustling Gregory Tade. Dean Shiels had opened the scoring in the 12th minute before Shinnie curled in his first after 39 minutes. Shinnie Tade and Hayes capitalised big style as the Kilmarnock defence were culpable and a late couple for Killie could not take the gloss off of a fantastic team display by the Caley Jags. Capital Caley has the easy task to report this one, always easier after a win............... Remember remember the 5th of November. The day the new look Caley Thistle came together. The day we scored 6 at Rugby Park. Nobody could have predicted this explosion of goals. The team celebrated like they had just won the league. The support went ballistic. You could feel the emotions in the players as they approached the support at the end of the game. They needed a victory. They needed a morale boost and they got one in the best way possible. Trying to digest this score line seems unbelievable. Take a moment and out loud say 'three six'. It really brightens up the day! However, a fairer score line would have been 3-10. The small band of Caley Thistle supporters at the game will never forget this one. I feel immensely privileged to have been part of it. 5/11/11 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Kilmarnock 3 - Shiels (12, pen73), Heffernan (90) TEAM: Jaakkola, Fowler (Silva 59), McKeown (Hay 79), Pursehouse, Sissoko, Kelly (Dayton 59), Buijs, Harkins, Shiels, Pascali, Heffernan SUBS: Letheren, Kroca, Fisher, Racchi Booked: Shiels (26), Sissoko (27) Sent Off: none I.C.T. 6 - A.Shinnie (39, 60, 66), Hayes (53), Tade (62, 83) TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Proctor, Gillet, Meekings (Golobart 84), Hayes (Chippendale 82), Tansey, Shinnie, Davis (Morrison 69), Foran, Tade SUBS: Tuffey, G.Shinnie, McKay Booked: Davis (26), Tade (27) Sent Off: none Referee Bobby Madden Attendance 5626 Inverness started the game strongly with a 4-3-3 formation and Anssi Jaakkola did well to save a David Davis shot. Killie took the lead against the run of play in the 12th minute when Shiels slotted the ball past Esson. It was a fine goal set up by a Paul Heffernan back heel. Shortly after, Jonny Hayes found the ball in the box in front of an open goal and hit the cross bar. In fairness to him, it looked difficult to keep down. We've missed him and having him back will help us to try and push up the league. There was a bit of a lull for a big part of the first half, where we were certainly the better team but were struggling to create anything. After a quick phone call to Terry from IHE, we found ourselves level on the 39th minute. Andrew Shinnie managed to slot the ball into the corner of the net from a very tight angle. Minutes before half time Jaakkola pulled off two impressive point blank saves from Hayes. The support were fairly happy with the good performance and 1-1 at half time. It was Killie pie time for me. Half Time 1-1 As the team came out for the second half, there was a feeling of confidence within the support. However, little did we know what would happen next. Eight minutes after the restart and Hayes collected the ball from 30 yards out and slotted into the bottom corner. Then, within 6 minutes, Kilmarnock's defence were destroyed. On the 60th minute, Shinnie got his second by picking up a loose pass and firing it into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. We went 4-1 up barely 2 minutes later. Gregory Tade collected a pass from the half way line and with Killies defence all over the place, he out run them, rounded the keeper and tapped the ball into the net. One minute later, Tade found himself one on one with the keeper again, but his shot went just wide. Three minutes later and Shinnie got his hat trick. David Davis attacked the Killie defence, passing the ball to Shinne who passed it in with little effort. On the 68th minute, it was time for a nostalgia trip with a re-enactment of the famous 'Jimmy says aye to a Killie pie' conga. The stewards weren't happy with that one! Gavin Morrison came on for Davis in the 69th minute. Davis, who had been booked was starting to throw in a few reckless challenges and it was no surprise he came off, despite playing well. Kilmarnock pulled one back with a Dean Shiels penalty on 73 minutes. An unnecessary Kenny Gillet challenge resulted in the penalty. ICT continued to dominate however and scored goal number 6 on the 83rd minute as Tade fired in from within the box. Tokely turned to the support and gave a wee shrug of the shoulders. Even the players were stunned by their own performance! Aiden Chippendale then came on for Hayes and Roman Golobart on for Josh Meekings with 6 minutes left. Killie pulled another one back on 90 minutes as Paul Heffernan shot from the edge of the box past Esson. A few minutes before full time, many of the ICT support walked down to the front of the stand to applaud the players. A rendition of 'stand up for the Caley Jags' was sung for the team. Full Time 3-6 I was disappointed when the final whistle went. I never wanted the game to end, as we had more goals in us I'm sure. On our return back to Glasgow, we banged into some County fans who had been watching their team win again. If we have turned the corner now, I am confident that there will be 2 teams from the Highlands in the SPL next season. I'll take more of the same each week. We do need to cut out the silly defending such as the Gillet foul, unless of course we carry on scoring six goals per game! Celtic at home is our next fixture. There is bound to be optimism within the team and the support. If we perform like we did against Kilmarnock then we could win considering Celtics shaky form. Take a bow Caley Jags........................Bring on the Celtic!

Killie Pie Time Inverness make the long haul to Kilmarnock next and must be wondering what they have to do to win all three points. It's back to the scene of the famous Killie Pie song, this time on SPL business, and in desperate need of three points to start the climb off the foot of the table. Last week saw a decent performance ruined by Motherwell's smash and grab effort as they came from behind to steal the points in one of the greatest robbery's since Ronnie Biggs was around. This week it gets no easier with a trip to Rugby Park, (*what a strange name for a soccer stadium). Always a good day out, and bolstered by the Central Belt crew, we used to enjoy a modecum of success in Ayrshire, but more recently we have found the going tougher against opponents who are noted for open football at times and can play with the best of them on their day. An often high scoring affair, I see no reason for this one to be any different as we continue to bleed goals and Kilmarnock are steering a steady course towards the top half of the table. *Apparently Kilmarnock first used the present site in 1899 and it was further developed in 1994-95 to the present day all seater stadium we now see. This is Killie's fourth location. The Grange, Holm Quarry and Ward's Park all housed the football club until they moved in 1877 to nearby South Hamilton Street, then the present site. Cricket and Rugby were played at the Hamilton Street location and when the club went to the present day site, the name of Rugby Park went with it. The new ground originally had a running track around it. During the second world war the ground was used as an ammunition dump and the park was restructured with the aid of Italian prisoners of war when hostilities ended. The rest is history as they say and the place is now more famous for it's pies than Rugby. Capital Caley is one of our Central Belt crew and he has opted to give us the information which we hope will lead to the downfall of Killie...................... Read on ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nostalgia never grows old Caley Thistles first ever trip to Rugby Park was a memorable one. Not for the performance, nor even the score line, not because it was a Scottish Cup replay against an SPL team, but for the weather wreaking havoc. ICT were just getting into their stride when barely half an hour in, the referee noticed an abominable snowman on the sideline. It had managed to freeze the pitch over within a matter of minutes. Turns out it was just Bobby Williamson who had over indulged in ice cream and was suffering from brain freeze. The ICT faithful travelled down again one week later and were treated to an excellent performance by the team but just losing out 2-1. Ally McCoist was a second half substitute for Kilmarnock on that evening not long before he retired from football. He may have to go into temporary retirement again if HMRC have anything to say about it. The first fixture at Caledonian Stadium was heartbreaking. A last minute wonder goal by Barry Robson looked to have given ICT passage to the next round, before Garry Hay equalised for Killie with the last kick of the ball. Kilmarnock of course, claimed to have won the game as they believed a first half shot had crossed the line into the goal behind Jim Calder. TV evidence showed that the ball was at least 2 yards in front of the line. Bobby Mann also confirmed this before drifting back to the previous years Cup exploits and reminding everyone that it was his goal. In reality though, the ball was so far over the line that a goal was awarded in Dingwall. This is where I would love to make a joke about County not being used to that sort of event happening at Victoria Park. Considering their current form though, I'll let them off. However, the high flying gudgies (sitting 13th in Scotland) are getting excited at the moment. Almost as excited as the time the Mallard handed out a free sheep with each pint. Lady luck was on our side that day against Killie, in contrast to the current season. Terry Butcher feels ICT are being harshly punished by referees. In some cases he is absolutely right. There have been major turning incidents like the Ross Tokely Challenge against Rangers and the penalties against Hibs. However, many of the performances have been poor. One of these weeks, we will get the luck. We will get the victory that will kick start our season. If not, then Harrys Bar may beckon once more. The last time these two sides clashed at Rugby Park in Kenny Shiels first game in charge at home, a 1-1 draw officially consigned Caley Thistle to the bottom half of the SPL. The prospect of finishing seventh was disappointing considering our early season form. If only our worries were the same, seven months later. At this stage in the season, most Caley Thistle fans would probably settle for eleventh. There has been hope on the horizon though. Caley Thistle were the victors against Killie at the Caledonian Stadium back on the 27th August with a well deserved 2-1 win and our first victory of the season. Needless to say, the ICT faithful were happy as Larry that day with the hope of a new winning streak. Since that game, there have been more woeful performances than victories and we are still sitting at the foot of the table. The inconsistencies in the performances have frustrated the Caley Thistle support. However, displaying an improved performance against Motherwell last weekend and the return of key players from injury could be the mark of a fresh start for the current campaign. The Motherwell game was one of the few this season that we should have won. With Rangers worrying about points deductions, champions elect Motherwell may start to run away with the title now, especially with Celtic starting to join the relegation battle. Many ICT fans believed the 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock at the end of August was going to be the turnaround in the season after our traditional slow start. It wasn't to be, but could our return fixture at Rugby Park be the true beginning of a revival? Ask me that at 1645 on Saturday and I can give you my opinion. Not even Mystic Meg can predict the standard of a Caley Thistle performance these days. No matter what the score is on Saturday, Kilmarnock is one of my favourite away days. Especially the moments where Govan Jaggie annoys the locals by hijacking the jukebox at the Hunting Lodge and we're treated to some fine music that would make Love2Love feel like a morgue. Fanny by Gaslight bar in Kilmarnock, where a sign saying 'no drugs on premises' is another delight. You would expect to meet Marvin in there, if he wasn't banged up – but it is right beside the train station so it would be rude not to enter! I look forward to my quick dive into Fannies before heading onto the train. It will taste even better if we have won the game. With players starting to return from injury and an excellent performance against the new favourites for the SPL title, we may get something from this game. As I write this, there is also hope that Chris Hoggs red card will be over turned. We certainly need him. We have a reasonable record at Rugby Park and took 4 points from there last season. Kilmarnock have been inconsistent as well this year. They have a League Cup Semi Final against bitter rivals, Super Ayr to look forward to. I doubt this will affect their performance on Saturday and some of the players may even be playing for a place. I predict a scrappy game but a deserved point, with plenty to be happy about come the end of the match. A score draw, 1-1 is my NPL prediction. I may even put a 10p bowling bet on. Now let's all say aye to a Killie pie! Latest Team News Inverness will be without central defender Chris Hogg. His appeal was dismissed, surprise surprise, by the beaks and he misses this weekends game with Killie. Just when we get some players back from injury, we get hit with another body-blow. Hogg made his return against Motherwell last week and was controversially red-carded by Crawford Allan who adjudged Hogg to be denying Jamie Murphy a goal scoring opportunity, albeit still with some 25 yards to go. Thomas Piermayr is also suspended. Josh Meekings looks to have recovered from a stomach strain and he will be needed with Hogg absent. This could also give Roman Golobart the opportunity to impress Butcher. Jonny Hayes came through his return cameo unscathed and Lee Cox was rested for another week but has suffered a dead leg in training. Nick Ross has a groin injury to overcome but David Proctor should be back after a head knock. The long term casualties are still out, Doran and Tudur-Jones and this will leave boss Butcher with the problem of who to leave out, rather than who to put in. The players that started last week minus Hogg could be set to figure at Rugby Park. Kilmarnock boss Kenny Shiels won't need to make many changes as his side are relatively injury free. Cammy Bell is still having problems with his elbow and Ryan O'Leary is out long term. So a fairly settled Kilmarnock side should line up against an anything but settled Inverness. Heffernan has taken over the mantle from last seasons star man Alexei Eremenko and Gary Harkins has been a useful addition to the squad. So, considering the continuity of the Killie squad compared to our own changelings, then a difficult task at hand and as Capital Caley has hinted, if we can escape with a point, that can be seen as a positive result for us. Other SPL news Steve Lomas has become the new manager at St Johnstone after the departure of Derek McInnes to Bristol City. 37 year old Lomas is a former Northern Ireland midfielder and joins from being in charge of the West Ham second string. His arrival coincides with the announcement that Chairman Geoff brown will step down after 25 years at the helm, handing the vacancy over to his son Steve. Hearts have paid an overdue Tax bill of half a million pounds and this has sparked a wage reduction excercise which could see the top earners being moved on. Oh dear, it had to come to an end sometime as Mr Romanov looks set to turn his interests to basketball. Slam dunc comrade Vladimir. Celtic put their SPL troubles behind them to see off Rennes in the Europa league game at Parkhead on Thursday night. Goals from Stokes (2) and Hooper clinched a 3-1 win for Scotland's last European hopes. Incidentally, Ex-ICT hitman Adam Rooney played for just over an hour for Birmingham City against Brugge in the same competition. Birmingham's game ended 2-2 after they came from 0-2 down to snatch a draw.