Fair City visitors on Snowman weekend.
A big weekend of sport in the Highlands this Saturday as Inverness host the men from the Fair City in a six pointer which could have a bearing on the outcome of a top six place for both clubs.
The other main attraction will be The Snowman Rally which takes place in the forests North of Inverness. Sadly, this years event will be without our local former Scottish champion Jimmy Girvan who tragically died last September competing in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally in Perthshire. RIP Jimmy.
Blue and White wave sweeping North
We can expect a mini invasion this weekend as The Massive Blue and White Away Day is planned by the Super J's fans and that should swell the away end to Elgin City like proportions. Great idea this by the Perth fans. They select a game during the season and encourage as many fans as possible to attend the selected fixture, and publicise the event with posters around the town and any other advertising medium in the area. So make them feel welcome as they come along to create an atmosphere and enjoy their weekend away. Let's hope the stewards show more understanding than the morons at Paisley who ruined last weekends match day for many by overzealous handling of the fans. The match day experience is rapidly being ruined by a lack of common sense at some stadiums; Hibernan, take note. It's a two way thing of course, and if fans and stewards can sing from the same song book, then the day out will be more enjoyable for everyone.
The Aftermath :- So, another winless weekend for Butchers boys at Paisley making it eleven SPL games without a win. That statistic does not make for good reading, but the latest winless game had more to it. Inverness were struggling to assemble a squad prior to the game and more late withdrawals on top of the suspensions of Munro and Tokely meant a back four with no game time together and youngster Liam Polwarth sitting on the bench. Not ideal, but the good news is that Adam Rooney has rediscovered his touch and he stroked home a couple of strikers goals and Aaron Doran opened his SPL account. Jonny Hayes made a surprise start, but lasted only quarter a game before hobbling off injured again. The downside though, it's another game without three points, Hayes struggling again and the middle of the table is getting congested with a host of teams gathering behind Inverness looking for that top six place, and most of them with games in hand over us.
The visitors are in their second season back in the SPL and are steering a steady course above the relegation place, which Hamilton appear to have control of at this stage of the season. A win on saturday would see the Super J's leapfrog the Caley Jags and still have two games in hand, so these encounters are becoming increasingly crucial in the sprint for top six. It was the Perth side that ended our long unbeaten away run with a single goal victory as we first footed McDiarmid Park on the second of January. Collin Samuel's late strike was the difference between the sides as we surrendered that hard earned record with a rather hungover display.
Inverness, after a healthy start to the season have faltered somewhat and the chasing pack now have us in their sights and are closing us down game by game as the winless streak continues. The start of this run gave little indication of what was to follow, as excellent draws with Celtic, Rangers and Hearts kept our bandwagon rolling. However, three consecutive defeats by St Mirren, Killie and St Johnstone dampened the euphoria. Light relief came in the shape of the Scottish Cup as Elgin City eventually crumbled, but a point from Motherwell and defeat at Ibrox quickly erased the optimism after Elgin and the slump continued. Even the Accies took a point home and dismal Dons took all three, how embarrassing is that. Once again the Cup gave us some reprieve and Morton were brushed aside in stylish fashion, but the SPL is a sterner test and without many regulars we came away with our point at Paisley, which was a better result given the circumstances. Still, theres always Hibs, they are usually good for a few points, but that is next week.
With Motherwell taking all three points at Pittodrie, Inverness will soon find themselves slipping out of the top six for the first time since the second of October, after they beat Aberdeen 2-0 at Pittodrie. United had another game called off due to a waterlogged pitch which extended our stay in the elite group, but the Motherwell result now puts extra pressure on the outcome of Saturday's game as a Saints win could see us down to eighth.
Anoraks Corner
There is very little to choose between these two sides in the eleven games played. One of those was a cup clash which had to be played at Dingwall during our enforced nomadic era at Aberdeen in our early SPL days, January 2005. Despite these trials, we beat the Saints 1-0, captain Stuart Golabeck scoring the winner at a very wet and muddy Victoria Park, and on a Sunday too. This game marked the playing debut of a certain Mr Brewster; whatever happened to him? Two of the head to heads have been played this season, a 1-1 draw in Inverness, and of course the away day spoiler at Perth which Saints won 1-0. The first division has been the battlefield for the remaining eight games, the most memorable for Inverness fans being the 3-1 victory which gained us promotion in May 2004. In all these first division games, no draws were recorded and it is four wins apiece. Both sides have scored three goals in a single game once, and the highest aggregate is 3-2 for Saints in Perth. Eight of these eleven games have been won by a single goal advantage. St Johnstone have failed to score only twice, one of those being the cup game; three blanks for Inverness. It may be prudent to put your money on a low scoring game, and with our home form, maybe best to look for an away win.
Squads
Terry Butcher has told his players to ease up a little on the training ground this week to avoid further damage to his depleted squad. The enigmatic Jonny Hayes will be a major doubt after hirpling off in Paisley. Hayes has struggled for fitness recently after a serious of heavy knocks have seen the little Irishman sitting out a lot of games during this lean period for the team. Graeme Shinnie has been receiving hospital treatment for a stomach complaint and he missed last weeks game. On top of that, is has been revealed that Dani Sanchez could miss the rest of the season after breaking his hand. Nick Ross has restarted training but is still a doubt, while Gillet, Blumenshtein and Morrison are all well short of match fitness. Even Roy McBain and Stuart Golabeck are sidelined and can not help out. With Grant Munro facing the last game of his suspension triple header things are looking bleak for Butcher, but one ray of light is shining through; Ross Tokely will be back to help shore up our virginal and over generous defence.
Derek McInnes has Hearts winger Arvydas Novikovas on loan to add to his squad, although he has recently lost Scott Dobie on loan to Bradford and Steven Milne to our country cousins in Dingwall. Eighteen year old Stevie May will be looking for another start after his two goals won the game against Hamilton. McInnes has described him as an exciting prospect and "he has a freedom and liveliness about him which is refreshing". Liam Craig scored a stunning cup goal against Partick Thistle with a dipping thirty yard effort and will be another player looking to catch the managers eye. Former Chelsea defender Michael Duberry is forming a formidable partnership with Steven Anderson and they are difficult to beat in the air. Collin Samuel is one man who has made all the difference in the two games played this season, scoring both Saints goals. His pace has troubled the Caley Jags back line and he needs no second invitation to find the net.
tm4tj Prediction
I doubt this game will reach the scoring heights of last weekend, and these are usually pretty dour encounters. Given the home form and the overall apathetic performances by Inverness of late I can see the visitors sneaking this one by the odd goal, but I will stick my neck out and hope for a draw, albeit only the second one between these two teams. Mind you, we are still struggling for defenders so maybe there is hope of a goalfest.
***Latest team News***
The magic sponge has been on overtime this week, but Doc Butcher still has plenty of problems ahead of this fixture. Definitely out are Munro (suspended), Sanchez (broken hand), Hayes (foot), Shinnie (stomach problem), Ross (foot), McBain (foot). The strugglers are Gillet, Blumenshtein, Morrison, Golabeck and Sutherland. That's eleven players out of the squad which leaves us down to the bare bones. Ross Tokely has served his one match ban and will slot into the back four, but with the current crop of injuries Butcher will not know yet where he will play. Aaron Doran scored his first SPL goal last week and is raring to go. Butcher will give his players every chance to be fit for this game before deciding his line up, but options are thin on the ground just now.
Derek McInnes has less anxiety over his squad. Having played less games due to the weather, his squad are not carrying the same amount of injuries as Butcher's crocks and have a more settled look about them. The last SPL game for Saint's was a 2-0 defeat of Hamilton and this was the squad then:-
St Johnstone
01 Enckelman
02 MacKay
06 Duberry
12 Anderson
04 Morris (Taylor 88)
07 Millar
10 Craig
20 Davidson
32 May
08 Novikovas (Maybury 46)
21 Samuel (MacDonald 71)
Substitutes
15 Smith,
19 Maybury,
37 Caddis,
11 Taylor,
24 Adams,
09 Parkin,
16 MacDonald
Other minor league news
Tangoman is coming :- The air around Dingwall is about to turn orange with the breaking news that Jimmy Calderwood is ready to be unveiled as the next County manager, until the end of the season. I hope that's not more than nine games. He will be the gudgies eighth manager in six years after Willie McStay was relieved of his duties following nine games in charge without a win, taking County to the cusp of the relegation battle and out of the cups. Previous to that run of managers, Bobby Wilson and Neale Cooper were in the post for a total of fifteen years. Rumours that a spate of new sunbed parlours were going to open in the quaint market town were thought to be untrue, but sales of orange blossom sun tan enhancer were hitting an all time high, allegedly.
Inverness end barren spell Inverness edged their way past Saints to end their winless run of SPL games. Goals from Ross Tokely and Russell Duncan saw the home side take all three points in a tense encounter at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Despite the injury crisis, Terry Butcher was able to field a team that proved to be difficult for Saint Johnstone to break down and a single goal in each half was enough to see off the lads from Perth. Jonny Hayes Graeme Shinnie and Nick Ross all missed out again as Butchers patched up side earned a hard fought victory in a game where neither side really took control and the result was on hold until the last few minutes when St Johnstone finally ran out of ideas. The Perth fans came in their droves, but it was all in vain as they went back down the A9 with nothing to show for their day out, but hopefully they enjoyed some Highland hospitality while they were here. 19th February 2011 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium INVERNESS CT 2 - Tokely (28), Duncan (62) TEAM: Esson, Proctor (Innes 51), Tokely, Duff, Cox, Duncan, Foran (MacDonald 83), Rooney (Golabek 90), Sutherland, Doran, Hogg SUBS: Tuffey, Odhiambo, Polworth - Booked: none St JOHNSTONE 0 - TEAM: Enckelman, MacKay, Grainger, Duberry, Anderson, Morris, Davidson, Millar (Novikovas 40), Craig, Parkin (Jackson 58), May (MacDonald 72) SUBS: Smith, Maybury, Adams, Reynolds - Booked: none Referee William Collum Attendance 3942 [audio:http://caleythistleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ICT_V_StJohnstone_FTReport_190211.mp3|titles=ICT_V_StJohnstone_FTReport_190211] davie was on hand to witness this rare home win and his report is here for your pleasure. Right, that's the home run jinx beaten just in time for another win against Hibs! Yesterday's line up was visibly dictated by availability, any back four being evidently better than no back four. The day was bright, despite gloomy forecasts and St. Johnstone had brought a sizeable support for their "massive" away day. The auspices were looking up, especially with the realisation that an established thorn in our side by the name of Samuel was missing. Saints started brightly enough, Morris pulling the strings as usual. The Caley Jags had to overcome some early St Johnstone pressure to make their mark. Saints had started the brightest with midfielder Chris Millar, who was forced off injured towards the end of the opening period, troubling Ryan Esson inside ten minutes. Millar cut in from the flank to fire a right-foot strike just over from 20 yards. At this point, the value of Chris Hogg was increasing by the minute as he blocked, tackled and distributed the ball against all comers. Esson then charged out to save from Davidson and the game was taking on a worrying complexion as ICT struggled to impose a gameplan on the match. In a foray upfield in 28 minutes, we won a corner on the right, which was whipped in by Aaron Doran and met by the considerable and specially toughened forehead of Ross Tokely. It fairly bulleted the ball into the back of the net, and cued great joy in the home support. Their regard for this man really does know no bounds. At this point, the Saints game plan fell apart and the game decended into an exercise in scrappiness that was hard to watch at times. Inevitable, with so many people playing out of position, but hard to fault. Half Time: Inverness CT 1 St. Johnstone 0 The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Doran firing over when he was beautifully set up by Tokely who was storming around in inimitable fashion by this time. In 51 minutes, David Proctor left the field in some distress with a knackered hamstring in another injury setback for ICT. Saints at this point had little to offer in terms of creativity and they decided to substitute it with clogging and cynicism. Ably abetted by the referee Mr. Collum, this culminated in Duberry catching Cox by the throat in what was clearly an infringement of the rules. Willie had a wee word, presumably out of the alternative rule book he had been reading. Any doubts about the outcome of the match were rested in peace on 62 minutes, when a cracking interchange of Irish attack resulted in Rooney squaring a peach of a ball across the six yard box. Russell Duncan had time to say "thank you and goodnight" bow and light a cigar before sidefooting the ball past the bilious green Enckleman. Any doubts about the outcome were firmly bedded at this point. Yet this cued what was Saints best period as they huffed and puffed to secure something from the game, but they left empty handed after prompting the usual goal saving stop from Ryan Esson who seems to have a burning need to pull at least one per game out of the repertoire. Levein, this is getting ridiculous – he would do well against Brazil! Alex MacDonald came on again to display a "rooneyesque" physique and some deft touches. Up to speed, he will be an asset. Pass marks all over the field though. Full Time 2-0 There was the usual puzzlement with the sponsors MotM which was claimed morally by one Mr. Ross Tokely. He is indeed superman, but everyone played their part.
