tm4tj

There is light at the end of the tunnel after all Inverness had to come from behind in a tough encounter at Caledonian Stadium to edge out St Mirren. McAusland opened the scoring against the run of play but Man of the Match Andrew Shinnie restored parity after half an hour then had a big hand in the winner as Gregory Tade knocked in a rebound with twelve minutes remaining, but in a pulsating game, sighs all round as the Buddies had a goal chalked off in injury time for offsides, and there endeth the action as Inverness claimed a well deserved second win of the season. A dreich day after the Indian summer conditions earlier in the week kept some fans in the pre-match boozer a bit longer than usual, and they missed the first opportunity of the game as Foran missed a sitter inside the first minute. Andrew Shinnie had dispossessed Mair and teed up Foran, only for the captain to put the ball wide. A big let-off for the Saints and agony for the home fans. The wintery conditions made the ball extremely difficult to control and perfect for sliding tackles and with ten minutes gone the impressive Davis tested former County keeper Craig Samson in the Saints goal with a long range effort which he saved well considering the damp atmosphere. Foran saw a netbound header deflected agonisingly the wrong side of the post as Inverness kept the pressure on the visitors. Inverness were taking the game to their more fancied opponents and forced a series of corners which the Saints defence dealt with. Strong running by Davis and Tade was causing the visitors some anxious moments but Saints scored in their first foray upfield. Gary Teale swung a corner into the box and a moment of slackness by the home defence saw Marc McAusland head home virtually unchallenged. Frustration for the home fans as Inverness had started very brightly and all the good early work was undone by a moment of indecision at the back. Big Steven Thompson was putting himself about and his robust style was causing the home defence some problems in the air as Saints eventually started playing but Inverness were level within ten minutes, but not before Tade missed the first of a number of one-on-ones, pushing the ball just wide of the post and into the side netting. An excellent goal from neat build up play when Davis crossed for Foran to head into the path of Andrew Shinnie, and he directed a low shot past the helpless Samson from twelve yards. No more than Butcher's boys had deserved. Esson was called into action near the break as he blocked an effort by Paul McGowan, but Inverness trooped of at half time deservedly back on level terms. Half Time 1-1 The second half was a continuation of the first one, and Andrew Shinnie was unlucky not to score his second of the game as he surged forward and unleashed a powerful 25 yarder which bounced off the post with Samson well beaten. Danny Lennon obviously did not like what he was witnessing and made a double substitution with midfielders Thomson and Teale leaving the action, but Inverness still dominated and Tade still missed one-on-ones, but he was definitely proving a handful for the overworked Paisley defence. He pulled yet another one across the face of the goal and left us all wondering if that was going to be the story of the match, but he had the last laugh as he bundled in the ball after Andrew Shinnie had struck the post once more. Not sure if he hit the ball, or the ball hit him, whatever, it ended up in the net and Inverness were in front for the first time with twelve minutes remaining. Saints realised the game was slipping away from them and came to life in the last ten minutes as they tried to salvage an unlikely point from a game that Inverness should have won at a canter, but too many good opportunities went astray with the industrious Tade the main culprit, but you can't deny his energy and passion for the game. As Saints pushed for an equaliser an unlikely hero in the shape of David Proctor stood firm and between himself and the rock that is Ross Tokely they mopped up the visitors last remaining hopes of taking a point down the A9, ably assisted by Richie Foran who defended when he was needed. Saints did put the ball in the net, but their celebrations were brought to an abrupt halt when they eventually spotted the linesman waving his wee flag, what a shame.........not. Full Time 2-1 One or two players had something to prove to the home fans today and I think they aquitted themselves rather well. David Proctor has had his knockers (ooerr missus) but he came onto a solid game today and made some vital clearances as Saints tried to snatch a point. Gregory Tade is maybe not the most gifted player to have played for Inverness, but his work rate is tremendous and he deserved his goal, although he could also have had a handful of goals, still, he is getting into these positions and hopefully that will come. Ross Tokely did what he does best, cleared his lines and was crucial alongside Proctor at the end, oh how the Saints fans love him. To be honest there were no failures, maybe Nick Ross was having a quiet game today as he seemed to slip under the radar, but one lad who came good today was Andrew Shinnie, my MotM and also the sponsors MotM, thoroughly deserved and he was unlucky not to score a hat-trick. This was an important win today as it puts us back in touch with the pack and yes, there does appear to a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's your lucky day folks, two for the price of one, Hislopsoffsideagain has also handed in a report for this game and he saw the action like this:- 01/10/11 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium I.C.T. 2 - A.Shinnie (31), Tade (78) TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Proctor, G.Shinnie, Piermayr, Tansey, A.Shinnie, Ross, Davis, Foran (Sutherland 90), Tade (Chippendale 87) SUBS: Tuffey, Golobart, Gillet, Morrison, McKay Booked: Ross (57) Sent Off: none St. Mirren 1 - McAusland (23) TEAM: Samson, van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Tesselaar, Goodwin, Thomson (Barron 59), Teale (Mclean 58), Thompson (Carey 72), McGowan, Hasselbaink SUBS: Smith, Haddad, Mckee, McShane Booked: Carey (85) Sent Off: none Referee George Salmond Attendance 3249 Gregory Tade's late winner might have been fortuitous, but Caley Thistle were good value for their 2-1 win over St. Mirren, our second win of the season and a result which, whilst leaving us still at the foot of the table, brings us to within a point of the team above and only four off sixth place. Andrew Shinnie's first goal for the club had cancelled out Marc McAusland's opener, and Tade's 78th minute effort proved decisive. Terry Butcher made only one change to the side that lost at Celtic Park, with Andrew Shinnie brought in for Aiden Chippendale, while Gavin Morrison returned to the bench after a hip injury. Shinnie slotted in behind central striker Richie Foran, with Gregory Tade starting the game on the flank. The weather might have been wet, but there was nothing damp about the home side's start – within two minutes Andrew Shinnie had robbed the dawdling Lee Mair and squared for Foran to tap into an empty net...only for his captain to scuff his right-footed shot past the post. The phrase “my granny could have scored that” was not, in this case, an exaggeration. The Buddies were not sparked into action by the let-off, and Caley continued to dominate the early exchanges. David Davis sent in a fizzing effort that was straight at the goalkeeper, then Foran saw a header deflected narrowly wide by defender Jeroen Tesselaar. But a failure to take chances has been a recurring theme so far this season, and the profligacy was punished when Gary Teale's corner was headed home by an unmarked Marc McAusland to give St. Mirren the lead against the run of play. Tade should have equalized soon afterwards, outpacing and outmuscling McAusland to find himself with only keeper Craig Samson to beat, but hit the side netting; however, the equalizer arrived soon after when Davis' deep cross was headed back across goal by Foran and Andrew Shinnie smashed a volley into the back of the net from twelve yards. Caley deserved nothing less, though they survived a scare soon after when Paul McGowan's long range effort brought Ryan Esson just into action, and then just before the break Stephen Thompson was denied by a Ross Tokely block. But as the second period wore on there was an increasing feeling that luck might not be on Caley's side. Andrew Shinnie's deflected effort shortly after the restart hit the inside of the post, then twice Tade was sent clean through, only for the Frenchman to display his lack of confidence by spurning both opportunities. St. Mirren had plenty of possession but little to show for it bar a Gary Teale effort that flew wide. It was, however, to be Tade's day after all. The energetic Andrew Shinnie was once more involved, with his shot again beating Samson and again hitting the base of the post, but Tade was rewarded for following up the shot as the ball rebounded off his shin and into the net for the winner. McGowan thought he had nicked a last-gasp equalizer, but his effort was chalked off for offside. They say it's better to be lucky than good, but while Tade was lucky, Inverness were good enough. Cheers hissy, great minds think alike. And, these reports are like buses, none for ages then three come along at once, here's granty24's take on the proceedings. An Andy Shinnie inspired Inverness managed to come from behind to snatch victory against an uninspiring St. Mirren in this afternoon's SPL encounter. The home side hoping to cut the deficit between themselves in bottom spot, and Dunfermline in eleventh, to just a single point following the Pars humbling at the hands of Aberdeen in the first ever Friday night SPL fixture the night before. The Buddies made just one change from the side that defeated Kilmarnock 3-0 seven days previously, with the workhorse Nigel Hasselbaink drafted in to replace youngster Kenny McLean in the role just behind forwards Steven Thompson and Paul McGowan. Inverness also made just the one change with Shinnie coming in to replace Aidan Chippendale who couldn't consolidate his place after making his first start at Parkhead last week. Caley Thistle looked impressive in the opening stages, with A. Shinnie pulling the strings and forcing an early chance with just 36 seconds on the clock, capitalising on a heavy touch from stalwart Lee Mair, before sliding in a perfectly weighted pass into the path of the unchallenged Richie Foran who somehow skewed the ball past Craig Samson's goal from little over six yards out. On-loan midfielder David Davis then warmed the gloves of Samson for the first time, but his 25 yard strike was straight down the throat of the keeper who gathered with ease. Foran had the chance to atone for his earlier miss, getting on the end of Graeme Shinnie's cross only to see his headed effort creep agonizingly wide of the right hand post after taking a deflection off Jeroen Tesselaar which caught Samson flat footed. However, St. Mirren grabbed the lead against the run of play mid-way through the first half after Thomas Piermayr conceded a corner, robbing Hasselbaink of the chance to get a clear shot at goal by knocking the ball out of play. Ex-Scotland international, Gary Teale, whipped in the resulting corner which was met by Marc McAusland, who had evaded the attention of Gregory Tade, to nod home, despite the last ditch effort to clear off the line from G. Shinnie. Things didn't seem to be going the way of the home side when Tade passed up an opportunity to redeem himself for his poor marking for the Saints' goal: the former Raith Rovers front man was released by Foran's through ball but despite having the pace to beat Mair, his finish left a lot to be desired, his weak effort striking the side netting from the edge of the 6 yard box. Two minutes later, Inverness were level after some tremendous work from Davis. He first intercepted Paul McGowan's wayward pass, before outpacing McAusland and delivering an inch perfect cross to Foran who's knock-down was promptly rifled home by the impressive Andy Shinnie. Saints thought they had pinched the lead again right from the kick off; some cute skill from McGowan took him past Ross Tokely before unleashing a 20 yard strike, but Ryan Esson in the Inverness goal was equal to the challenge, parrying clear low to his right before Piermayr cleared to safety as the opening 45 came to a close. The second period begun much as the first had, with A. Shinnie probing the Buddies defence, collecting the ball midway inside his own half from his brother Graeme's throw and setting off on an audacious fifty yard burst down the pitch, but all to no avail for the ex-Rangers playmaker as his deflected thunderbolt cannoned off Samson's right hand post. The finishing of the tenacious Gregory Tade provided food for thought for the ICT manager, Butcher, as he passed up another wonderful opportunity to give his team the lead when A. Shinnie put him through 1-on-1 with Samson, but his delayed thought process allowed the 'keeper to fly out of his goal, narrowing the angle and making it difficult for the Frenchman to find the net. Minutes later, Tade was at it again, not giving the Saints defence a moments peace but again couldn't provide that killer finish. Graeme Shinnie slipped the ball through to the forward, who was left with perhaps the simplest of all of his chances thus far, but this time his scuffed effort swayed well wide of Samson's post. By the sheer law of percentages, Inverness deserved the second goal, and the three points. That goal came with just 12 minutes remaining of the ninety, a dainty chip through to the onrushing A. Shinnie by Greg Tansey was brilliantly controlled by the ICT number 10, but his rasping shot rattled the foot of the post only for the ball to hit the static Gregory Tade and trundle in off his knee for the winner. Tade would later describe the goal as the “worst of his career” but “he would take 20 more of them”. Danny Lennon was quoted in a post-match interview as saying his team “didn't deserve anything from the match” but they nearly broke highland hearts in the 92nd minute, a neat turn and pass from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's nephew Nigel was converted by Paul McGowan, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside as the home side clinched their second win of the season and closed the gap on themselves and Dunfermline, Hibs and Aberdeen to a single point. No highlights found

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? It has been a long slow start to the season for Inverness with only one win in nine SPL starts. It's well documented how injuries and squad changes have seen us struggle to keep in touch at the tail end of the league, but we need to put all that behind us as we look forward to a less harrowing run of games, and hopefully some players starting to come off the lengthy injury list. Paisley's finest are in town on Saturday, but don't be fooled by this wolf in sheeps clothing. This is not the Saints of olde. A resurgent Saint Mirren have made steady progress this season as Danny Lennon's side sit comfortably in the top half of the league with 12 points and a goal difference of zero. Compare that to our own stats of 5 points and a minus 10 goal difference and it's obvious to note that this is not going to be an easy ride. We came a cropper on many an occasion when Saints were not at their best, so this game is exceptionally tough given the comparative form of both sides. The Buddies have taken great strides this season with some shrewd additions to the squad, notably Steven Thompson, Gary Teale and Nigel Hasselbaink, with Paul McGowan growing in confidence with every game. Into the last eight of the League Cup at the expense of the other Saints and a crushing 3-0 win over Kilmarnock sees St Mirren come into this game on a high. While Saints were doing this, we sat out the League Cup round after our defeat at Ayr and defeats by Dundee United and Celtic have left us staring up the table; not a position we really want to find ourselves in. Let's concentrate on our own issues for a moment. Yes, that injury list is still a problem, but one or two are nearing the end of the recovery road. David Proctor could be fit after taking a nasty head knock against Celtic. Gavin Morrison and Josh Meekings are almost ready and more importantly Lee Cox is close to a return and he is urgently required in an area where we have been a bit lightweight recently. With Russell Duncan being released at the end of last season, we have struggled in the engine room and with injuries to key players adding to the problem, players like Cox coming back will be seen as a bonus by Butcher. The other midfield concern has undoubtedly been the shoulder twins, our creative wide boys of Hayes and Doran, both out at the same time with similar injuries. This led Butcher into the loan market to sign David Davis and Aidan Chippendale to bolster our seriously weakened squad. These things all take time to come to fruition, so the sooner we get these key players back the better we will be for it. Young Nick Ross has had more pressure heaped on him earlier than he would have liked and fringe players find themselves being brought forward into the action. None of this has helped the fluidity of the team and results have suffered as a consequence. Gregory Tade looks like his endeavour is winning over the fans and if he can add regular goals to his industry then we will soon be asking Adam who? Richie Foran has been struggling of late, possibly carrying an injury which appears to be subdueing the fiery Irishman, but there is no doubting his commitment. Billy McKay is one guy who could help out in attack, providing he is fit enough for a full shift. The one shining light throughout all this turmoil has been the return of Graeme Shinnie. Sidelined last season by an illness, he has taken the left back berth over from the injured Kenny Gillet and has not looked back. He has shown us that there is light at the end of the tunnel, although it might take a wee bit longer to get through it. We played reasonably well at Celtic, although the result was no surprise, but the pleasing thing for the fans was the desire to take on the Glasgow giants, and we matched them bar losing two quickfire strikes in the first half. This was in stark contrast to the troops who trudged off the park at Tannadice after surrendering rather meekly to an average Dundee United. The Paisley side will have an unchanged squad for this game, which means long term casualty Darren McGregor is still out. Aaron Mooy and Hugh Murray are almost there, but this game will be too soon for them. One to remember It may be too much to hope for, but cast your mind back to the time St Mirren were crowned first division champions and arrived in Inverness to party, and show us why they were the champions. 5th May 2000 it was and the home side clapped them onto the park; the stage was set for the champs to show off their wares. By five o'clock they were on the end of a hammering as Inverness thumped them 5-0. The Caley Jags were three up before half time as goals from Davide Xausa, Mark McCulloch and Barry Wilson had them on easy street. Martin Bavidge and McCulloch again completed the rout and the Saints champagne party went a bit flat. That was in 2000, and Inverness had finished sixth after a poor start to the season. Sounds familiar. The league table has a disturbing look about it as news that Aberdeen are inflicting a heavy defeat on the Pars in the Friday evening game filters through. It's 3-0 at half time which if it stays like that will mean Inverness are in danger of becoming detached at the bottom, so this put's more pressure on the home side to take all three points. Midweek win for Hibs also moved them further away from our points total. Not even a win against the Saints will move us up a position as we are now four points behind the nearest teams. The only good to come out of this is the fact that Dunfermline are starting to struggle and may soon find themselves in the relegation tussle. tm4tj Prediction:- This game now has a more crucial look about it given results this week. Inverness are on the slide, and St Mirren are on the up. No more are the Saints our whipping boys, at one time we owned them, but the times they are a changing. However, glimpses of light were on display at Parkhead, and if we can get fully fit players on the park then maybe, just maybe we can start our season tomorrow. Narrow win for Inverness to lift the gloom is my bet, but it will be tight. And, just in case you forget, Scotland v England at the world cup in the morning, so set your alarm for 08:30 and that should warm you up nicely for the footie in the afternoon...............Mon the Jocks. Oh dear, Aberdeen 4-0 Dunfermline was the full time result. Onwards and upwards folks. Mon the Caley Jags

Celtic the victors on day of mass protests Plenty of plaudits for the players today. A good battling performance but ultimately the three points stayed in Glasgow. After a bright start to the game by Butchers casualties, Celtic settled into the game and eventually cruised to victory against the struggling basement side. First half goals from Joe Ledley and James Forrest set the Hoops on the road to victory despite Majstorovic being hassled by Tade from the off; he really is a disaster waiting to happen, Majstorovic that is. David Proctor was added to the injury list after a first half clash left him requiring stitches in a head gash and Roman Golobart deputised. Bit of a stalemate in the second half only disturbed by the fans vocal protests from the stands and a diving header from Richie Foran which Forster saved brilliantly, but the game just evaded the visitors as Celtic held out for a 2-0 win. Full report to come from Alternative Maryhill. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celtic v Inverness Caledonian Thistle, 24th September 2011 Normally this would be a fixture that would be expected to generate a bit of anticipation among Inverness supporters, particularly given that only twelve league games ago Caley Thistle were dismantling Celtic’s title hopes while Neil Lennon converted his water bottle on the touchline in impotent fury. Yet twelve games is a long time in football, and this is an ICT side almost unrecognisable from that which defeated Celtic in May: injury-stricken, filled with untested players, lacking a goalscorer and coming into the game bottom of the SPL and off the back of a very poor second half performance against Dundee United. Even with Celtic looking inept against Rangers last weekend and uninspired against Ross County in midweek, very few among the ICT following were expecting anything more than defeat yesterday, and this perhaps explains why it was a pretty small contingent of CaleyAway footsoldiers that assembled in the London Road Tavern and in Celtic Park itself. By the end of the game, however, despite the anticipated defeat coming to pass, there seemed to be a little more optimism among the Caley Thistle fans, having witnessed a very positive performance from their team. 24/09/11 Celtic Park, Glasgow Celtic 2 - Ledley (28), Forrest (33) TEAM: Forster, El Kaddouri, Majstorovic, Loovens, Matthews, Ledley, Ki (Samaras 75), Kayal, Stokes (McCourt 75), Forrest, Hooper (Bangura 52) SUBS: Zaluska, Wilson, Rogne, Wanyama Booked: none Sent Off: none I.C.T. 0 - TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Proctor (Golobart 27), G.Shinnie, Piermayr (A.Shinnie 64), Tansey, Ross, Chippendale (Sutherland 56), Davis, Foran, Tade SUBS: Tuffey, Gillet, Meekings, McKay Booked: Foran (25) Sent Off: none Referee William Collum Attendance 47382 The changes made by the two managers had not been difficult to predict beforehand. Terry Butcher left Andrew Shinnie and Roman Golobart on the bench, bringing David Proctor into central defence and giving Aidan Chippendale his first start. For Celtic, the much-criticised Georgios Samaras was dropped in favour of Anthony Stokes; the injured Scott Brown and suspended Charlie Mulgrew gave way to James Forrest and Joe Ledley; and the Wilsons, Kelvin and Mark, were replaced by Daniel Majstorovic and Adam Matthews. After their poor second half performance in the old firm derby, it might have been expected that Celtic would impose themselves on Caley Thistle from the first whistle, but in fact it was the Inverness team that took the game to Celtic. In the first five minutes, Gregory Tade’s persistence and hard running twice took him through on Fraser Forster; on the first occasion he was penalised for an alleged foul on Glenn Loovens, but on the second he managed to get away a shot which was well saved by the Celtic keeper. A couple of minutes later, Richie Foran made a promising run up the right and delivered the ball into the centre, but Nick Ross was just unable to get on the end of it. ICT kept up the pressure with Aidan Chippendale putting the ball back in from the opposite wing, but this time Glenn Loovens was able to make a clearance. Although Celtic had plenty of possession in this opening period, they had very little penetration, and their first clear chance was a 20-yard shot from Gary Hooper on fourteen minutes which went wide of Ryan Esson’s right hand post. Meanwhile, their central defence looked decidedly uncertain, especially when put under pressure by Tade; Daniel Majstorovic’s failure to clear a through ball on twelve minutes would be the first of several similar errors which caused consternation in the Celtic support. Nevertheless, Celtic gradually began to put more pressure on the ICT goal. A deflected cross produced a corner, and although the ball flew harmlessly over both defenders and attackers, David Proctor received a head knock while jumping for it, and had to be taken off bleeding heavily. Caley Thistle tried to respond with Chippendale and Tade combining well on the left, but possession fell again to Celtic and after a swift counter-attacking move that anticipated the build-up to their second goal, James Forrest got in a shot that Ross Tokely did well to block. With Celtic increasingly dominating the game, Terry Butcher decided to bring on Roman Golobart, presumably having been told that David Proctor would not be fit to resume. So ICT were restored to eleven men, having played for more than five minutes with only ten; but within two minutes of being restored to full strength, they were a goal behind, when Joe Ledley fired in a twenty-yard shot low to Esson’s right after striding onto a crossfield pass from Beram Kayal. Perhaps sensing a new vulnerability about ICT, Celtic went for the quick kill and just three minutes later Tokely had to make another block to prevent a Gary Hooper shot going in. Caley Thistle rallied and quickly forced a corner, but when Chippendale’s ball in was cleared, Celtic swept to the other end, Ki sliding a diagonal pass into Forrest who burst past Piermayr and fired the ball into the net from just inside the box. Celtic 2 – Caley Thistle 0. While at this point ICT supporters might have been forgiven for expecting a collapse of Aberdonian proportions, the rest of the first half was in fact dominated by a Caley Thistle team determined not to lie down to Celtic. The Inverness team managed to win four corners in but unfortunately never really looked capable of threatening in the air from any of them: this was one area in which Majstorovic and Loovens looked very comfortable. For all Tade’s terrific workrate and pressurising, Greg Tansey looked the most likely ICT player to score, breaking late from midfield, and he sent in two shots just either side of the forty-minute mark which also, unfortunately, went just either side of the goal. The second half was comparatively uneventful. Celtic seemed content to try to retain possession and play at a slow pace, and while it might not have been particularly exciting for their supporters, ultimately the tactic worked, with ICT’s front men having run themselves almost to a standstill by around the eightieth minute. On the subject of the Celtic supporters, incidentally, it would be churlish not to mention the backing they gave their team in the second half: at one stage, the entire home support was on its feet doing the huddle; at another, the two ends of the ground were involved in some call-and-response chanting. It was genuinely impressive, and actually enjoyable to see football supporters having real fun at a game despite the fairly dull football on offer. Mind you, the ground was only ¾ full... Perhaps surprisingly, the Celtic players didn’t seem particularly lifted by the noise from the terraces. Probably their best chance came five minutes into the half, when a dangerous ball into the penalty area was scooped well over the bar by Stokes. Subsequently, much of Celtic’s probing play was well broken up by Nick Ross and David Davis, two of ICT’s more impressive performers, who both played quite deep and shielded the defence well. Equally, however, ICT were unable to build any real momentum. The replacement of Aidan Chippendale with Shane Sutherland after only fifty-five minutes might have contributed to this. Chippendale looked a little fragile at times, but there were a few pleasing flashes of creativity: neat threaded passes and intelligent overlapping runs. Sutherland, when he came on, wasn’t really able to get into the game, apart from one potentially dangerous run cutting in from the left that ultimately came to nothing. The fact that Sutherland was again brought on to play in a position that is not his preferred one was a reminder of how limited the manager’s options currently are, but if Chippendale was too tired to have carried on it would have been interesting, perhaps, to see Tade moved wide for the last half hour and Billy McKay given a chance up front; certainly, the terrific ball fired across the area by Tade after again winning possession from Majstorovic halfway through the second half suggested that he could be effective in that role. As the game entered its final stages Caley Thistle carved out one fine chance that might have made the last ten minutes interesting, when Graeme Shinnie, again mostly excellent for ICT, slung in a cross from the left which Richie Foran met with a diving header. From where we were sitting in the stand, it looked like it had been an excellent stop from Fraser Forster to keep the ball out of the net. That, however, was very much that. Foran looked exhausted, and although Gregory Tade never stopped running until the ninety minutes was up, he too was unable to make a difference. So another defeat, but it was a far closer game than many had feared it would be, and the travelling supporters showed their appreciation of the players’ efforts by staying to applaud them, a gesture that was reciprocated by most of the team. No real change, then: as so often this season, we are left reflecting on a decent showing that ultimately wasn’t rewarded. Yesterday’s performance was undoubtedly much more spirited and inventive than last week’s second half against Dundee United, and players like Davis, Chippendale and Tansey showed enough to suggest that they are up to SPL standard; yet the suspicion remains that without a player who can score regularly, surviving in the league this season will be a struggle. Next week’s home game against St Mirren is starting to assume real importance, and unfortunately a team that hadn’t scored in their three previous league fixtures emphatically found their shooting boots yesterday, putting three past Kilmarnock. Still, Killie themselves came up to Inverness in fine league form, and look what happened there. So, keep the faith, but keep your fingers crossed too. Short highlights found on YouTube

It might get worse before it gets better. Inverness have got probably the worst fixture on the back of a poor opening sequence to the season. One win in eight SPL games does not fill the fans with much confidence going into this game at Parkhead, and things could get worse before they get better. However, cast your mind back to last season when Inverness went to Glasgow late November. Celtic had hammered hapless Aberdeen 9-0 a couple of weeks earlier. It was not looking good for the Jags as Celtic stormed 2-0 ahead after 65 minutes; but Inverness were made of sterner stuff then. We were trying to preserve a long unbeaten away record, stretching back a year, and Foran and Munro managed to turn this game around as Inverness left the east end of Glasgow with a well deserved point and record still intact. Only five of that team look likely to start this weekend. This season, we seem incapable of turning anything around. Confidence is low and morale seems to be stretched, even the gaffer is losing patience with some of the displays on view and bickering with the fans will not help. We have been hit with an incredible run of injuries, and the list just seems to grow and grow. That in itself is not an excuse as every team has to deal with this, but injuries in key areas has left us threadbare given the self inflicted wholesale changes at the end of last season. News that Foran and Morrison are struggling just adds to the woe. Butcher also bemoans the fact that he is unable to field the same teams in consecutive games. It would appear that he has made more changes than Facebook and neither are popular with the masses. Another defeat will see us slightly adrift at the foot of the table, albeit a long way to go, but the goal difference is usually a bit of a give away and a great indicator as to how your team are doing. Well, at the moment we deserve to be where we are and unless something changes this weekend, then I see no reason to believe we will be in a healthier position after ten to five on Saturday. It's all doom and gloom. Out of the Communities Cup at Ayr and losing our unbeaten run at home against a poor Hibs side. Ayr have also been trounced by Partick and Morton, and therein lies part of our problem, the inability to convert the chances we are creating. Worse was to follow as Aberdeen scored their first goals for this season against us and Robbo's East Fife even showed us how to do it as they dumped the Dons out of the same cup on Tuesday night. Motherwell, Dunfermline and Dundee United have all scored three goals against us and that is the other part of the problem. Ryan Esson, last seasons CTO player of the year, will be disappointed at this, but the fault lies further upfield as our back line seems to be shipping goals like nobodies business. Roman Golobart played his part in United's killer second goal from which we never recovered, and Butcher let him know this. He never re-appeared after half time. It's not the first time the young Spaniard has been chastised, although this one was the straw that broke the donkey's back. But he is not the only one guilty of erring in the final third. Our midfield are giving the back four little help and outlets are at a premium. Lack of a battling midfielder and a playmaker makes life difficult for us and we will have to weather the storm. Changes and injuries are taking their toll and at the moment it looks like an uphill battle, Celtic possibly adding to our misery, however, we are at our most dangerous when written off. Do so at your peril Mr Lennon. Celtic meanwhile, limbered up for the big game by dumping our feeder club out of the Communities Cup at a sodden Victoria Park, Dingwall. Sloppy defending was the main difference as Celtic eased into the next round. So it would appear that County face the same issues as us, leaky defence and no recognised striker. Ayr maybe made our result look slightly better as they held Hearts after ninety minutes. Rangers provided the comedy in midweek by losing a very late goal against Falkirk in a 3-2 defeat. Anyway, I digress, back to our own issues................................... Alternative Maryhill has drawn the short straw and will tell us what to expect from this encounter............. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Got my match ticket through the post this morning. The top right hand corner bears the legend 'For It's A Grand Old Team To See'. Oh cringe. Try telling that to the Celtic supporters who sat through the tame capitulation at Ibrox last Sunday, or the one-nil home defeat to St Johnstone, or the aggregate 3-1 defeat to FC Sion, or even the stultifying cup win against Ross County in midweek. This is a Celtic team that has frequently been poor and often no better than workmanlike even in victory this season, and there are unhappy rumblings in the global huddle. On the relatively moderate and sensible Kerrydale St forum, the 'We Are All Neil Lennon' thread has dissolved into a gloomy quarrel about whether or not Lennon is up to the task of managing the club, while on the rather less moderate and sensible MonTheHoops site, one of the faithful began a thread on the County game by asking 'Would it be worth taking the loss to ensure fanny face Lennon gets the bullet?' A grand old team indeed. Yet as the cliché has it, a wounded animal is often the most dangerous, and if Celtic are desperate to make amends to their supporters for the old firm defeat, then they probably won't have a better chance than against an Inverness Caledonian Thistle team which doesn't have its troubles to seek either. Five points from eight matches isn't the worse start to a season the club has ever made, but with a defence regularly leaking sloppy goals, no natural goalscorers in the side, no emergence of a settled team and an apparent inability to maintain a high level of performance for ninety minutes, the supporters are understandably concerned. Terry Butcher can rightly claim to have been unlucky with injuries, and the loss of Jonny Hayes and Lee Cox in particular deprives the team of creativity, tenacity and SPL experience, but this alone doesn't account for the paucity of the second half performance against Dundee United last week. In contrast with the hooped masses, the ICT support remains almost unanimously supportive of Terry Butcher, but it must be hoped that there is no discontent or serious loss of confidence in the dressing room: over much of the past two and half seasons, the hallmark of Butcher's Caley Thistle has been its great team spirit, and this has been responsible in the past for claiming points from more talented old firm sides. Hope from History? On the last occasion I wrote a Celtic-ICT preview, I pointed out that despite the fame Caley Thistle had earned for two shock Scottish Cup victories over Celtic, the Inverness team’s league record against the Parkhead club was very poor, ICT having won only one fixture to Celtic’s twelve, with three games finishing in draws. Ten months on, the ratio looks slightly kinder to ICT: Celtic still have twelve wins, but ICT can now boast two, and the number of draws has increased to four. If the recent additions to the Caley Thistle team are searching for a boost to their confidence and a source of inspiration after their difficult start to the season, they could do worse than looking back at the performances of last season’s side against Celtic. November’s fixture at Celtic Park was played against a backdrop of upheaval in Scottish football that often seemed to be approaching farce. Scottish referees were on strike in protest at questions over their integrity, mostly from Celtic, and it was only the night before the game that it was finally confirmed that officials from Luxembourg had agreed to take charge. What is less well-remembered is that ICT went into the match on such a fine run of form that even the Herald predicted they would take a point from Celtic Park. When Celtic went 2-0 ahead twenty minutes into the second half, few really believed that this would still transpire, but they had underestimated ICT’s determination, as goals from Richie Foran and Grant Munro drew Inverness level. In the match report I remarked, ‘This was a performance that epitomised what Caley Thistle have become under Terry Butcher: confident, composed, classy and unable to accept that they are ever beaten.’ Five months later, this was a description that many would have struggled to recognise. Having accumulated six wins and two draws from the nine league fixtures prior to their two-all draw at Celtic Park, ICT followed that game with a run which saw only three wins gained from twenty league games. When an in-form Celtic visited the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Wednesday May 4th for a rearranged match, it was widely felt that they would run out comfortable winners and take another step towards securing the SPL title that they were favourites to win. Instead, a Grant Munro-inspired ICT put Celtic to the sword and destroyed their title hopes; by halfway through the second half, when goals from Munro and Shane Sutherland had put ICT 3-1 up, the Inverness players were cutting through Celtic at will, and the scoreline could easily have been 5-1 rather than the 3-2 it ultimately finished as after Kris Commons’ injury-time penalty. Despite Celtic's recent uninspiring performances, a repeat of that tomorrow would probably be a greater surprise than it was last season; and yet stranger things have happened. Team News The ICT squad for tomorrow's game remains heavily depleted by injuries. Chris Hogg, Owain Tudur Jones, Aaron Doran and Jonny Hayes are definitely out; Lee Cox and Josh Meekings, although reportedly training again, are unlikely to feature; and it is being suggested that Gavin Morrison and Richie Foran are also doubtful. Foran perhaps hasn't been at his best this season, and last week came off early in the second half, presumably due to injury, but his absence would still mean a significant loss in terms of experience and potential creativity. Probably the most intriguing question will be over who is selected to play alongside Ross Tokely in central defence: will Terry Butcher give another chance to loanee Roman Golobart, replaced at half time last week by David Proctor after his fault for the second Utd goal, or will Proctor start in what many see as the utility player's weakest position? Greg Tansey, Nick Ross and David Davis are likely starters in midfield, but the other positions are less easy to predict, depending on injuries and the formation Terry Butcher chooses to play. Gregory Tade probably worked hard enough last week to retain his place up front, although many ICT supporters would like to see Billy McKay given his chance; despite again failing to convince last week, Andrew Shinnie is a contender to play in an advanced role either just behind or wide of Tade, particularly if Foran doesn't make it; and the other wide position could see Aidan Chippendale given his first start or last week's best player, Graeme Shinnie, pushed further forward with Kenny Gillet coming into the left back position. Whatever team lines up, what is certain is that it will contain several players who still have something to prove to the ICT supporters. Let's hope they begin tomorrow. For Celtic, Neil Lennon is almost certain to make changes from the team that lost to Rangers last weekend. If Georgios Samaras is started again, there will be properly mutinous feelings among the Celtic supporters, and Lennon is likely to go instead with the team's most consistently productive strike force of Stokes and Hooper, or else play Stokes out wide and give new signing Mohamed Bangura his chance alongside Hooper. Central defence is an area of genuine concern: both Glenn Loovens and summer signing Kelvin Wilson came in for strong criticism after the Rangers game and Daniel Majstorovic is widely perceived to be a bombscare, an impression his performances against ICT last season strongly contributed to; yet with Charlie Mulgrew, another possible contender for a centre half role, suspended, it is likely that Lennon will perm two players from those three unless he chooses to move Mark Wilson inside or bring in Thomas Rogne, who has not played all season. Despite an injury to Scott Brown, the Celtic manager has options in midfield and in the wide areas. Beram Kayal is an almost certain starter in the centre, and Joe Ledley seems likely to line up alongside him. Ki Sung-Yeung began the season well but made no impact against Rangers last week and may be dropped. Many Celtic supporters are arguing for the return of Kris Commons, omitted from the starting line-up since the defeat to St Johnstone, but with Commons publicly contradicting his manager on Twitter over the state of his fitness, Lennon may choose to leave him out of the squad. James Forrest, who turned in a sparkling performance in the 4-0 over Motherwell, must be a strong contender for one of the wide berths while on the other, if Commons is again omitted, Lennon might be tempted to bring in Paddy McCourt, who was by some distance Celtic's most effective player against ICT last season. Prediction Confidence cannot be particularly high at Celtic Park right now, and even on Wednesday, when the team had something to prove against Ross County, they looked lacking in imagination. If ICT set out aggressively against Celtic and manage to take something early, then another famous victory could ensue. Yet for all the criticism they have received recently, players like Kayal, Hooper and Ledley have proven in the past that they are fine players by SPL standards, while tomorrow's ICT team will almost certainly feature some players who simply have not yet shown that they are up to the required standard. With their home support expectant and the greater resources and quality at their disposal, I anticipate a comfortable win for Celtic. Celtic 4 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Other SPL news The Communities Cup saw a few upsets during the week. Top slayers were Falkirk, East Fife and Ayr United, who dumped Rangers, Aberdeen and Hearts respectively out of the competition. Well done to those teams for upsetting the SPL fall guys. Good wins for Hibs, St Mirren, Dundee United and Kilmarnock, and of course Celtic who sorted County in a dirge of a game at Dingwall. Ex-Ict manager John Robertson is the man in charge at East Fife and he must be well chuffed with his second SPL scalp, having already seen off Dunfermline. ICT's conquerors Ayr United did well to put Hearts out after extra time and penalties, good luck to them also. That leaves the draw for the quarters looking like this:- St Mirren v Ayr United Dundee United v Falkirk Hibernian v Celtic Kilmarnock v East Fife These ties to be played on 25th & 26th October.