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CIS joy in Shadowland SPL entry put paid to league derbies so this CIS cup clash was a bonus. The match was played amidst heavy rain and Caley Thistle were on top throughout. In the end the teams were only separated by a superb goal from ‘Man of the Match’ Ross Tokely. Roy McBain and Richie Hart were rested for ICT and their places were taken by Russell Duncan and Steve Hislop. Juanjo played pending an appeal against Sunday’s red card. In six minutes a Graham Bayne shot was held by Stuart Garden then a Barry Wilson effort cannoned off Hislop and ran past. Liam Keogh hit high from 25 yards in 10 minutes then County’s John Rankin did the same from a free kick at the other end. A Juanjo free kick curled wide in 12 minutes then Garden took a Wilson low shot at the post in 18 minutes. Sean Kilgannon had a chance for County in 22 minutes but he was off-balance and shot wide. Two minutes later a Wilson curling free kick from wide right reached Bayne but he headed wide. Mark Brown punched out in 27 minutes to set up Mark McCulloch but the ex-Caley Thistle captain drove wide. County’s best chance came in 37 minutes when a defensive slip let in Alex Burke but he hit past. In the run up to the break ICT had chance after chance – Wilson hit over, Keogh blasted high, Juanjo struck wide from an angle, Bayne headed off-target then Grant Munro shot over from the rebound. Half Time: 0-0 The pattern continued after the restart with Hislop chipping just over, Juanjo doing the same then Wilson and Bayne both hitting high. A poor pass back led to a sliced clearance from Garden and the concession of a corner on the right. Wilson’s kick was headed goalwards by Ross Tokely at the near post and it was 1-0. There was little else on target at either end with the closest effort coming four minutes from time. Wilson sent over a low cross from the right and Hislop’s low header was cleared at the back post. County had few chances but Sean Higgins did hit wide close to the whistle. Full Time: 0-1 A good night’s work and the hope of a home third round tie at Caledonian Stadium. Same old County, always in our shadow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ross County: 0 Team: Garden; Robertson, McCulloch, MacKay, Canning, Lauchlan, Rankin, Cowie, McSwegan (McGarry 59), Kilgannon (Higgins 74), Burke (Winters 59) Subs not used: McCunnie, McCafferty Booked: McCulloch, Rankin. Inverness CT: 1 (Tokely 65) Team: Brown; Tokely, Munro, McCaffrey, Golabek, Wilson, Keogh, Duncan, Juanjo (McBain 85), Hislop, Bayne Subs not used: Fraser; Dods, Hart, Prunty Booked: None

Neil Lennon - Shameless Cheat This was the big one - at ‘home’ to the champions in the SPL and live on Setanta TV. It turned out to be a day of drama and excitement but it ended in disappointment for the vast Caley Thistle support. John Robertson made one change to the line-up with Barry Wilson starting and Steve Hislop reverting to the bench. Chris Sutton was missing from the Celtic line-up through injury but new signing Senegalese striker Henri Camara made his first start. Celtic came out on top thanks to a wonder strike from Stan Petrov and a double from John Hartson but the defining moment of the afternoon was the 17th minute red card for ICT’s Juanjo. The home side started confidently and Juanjo hit over in the first minute. Mark Brown saved from Alan Thompson and Petrov then pressure on the Celtic goal ended with headed clearances by Bobo Balde and Petrov. Camara hit past the post then Celtic ‘keeper David Marshall had to come out of his area to head away from Juanjo in 16 minutes. The Spaniard’s game came to an end a minute later when he clashed with Neil Lennon. TV evidence confirmed that Lennon hit out at Juanjo after an accidental collision then Juanjo pushed Lennon’s chest. The Celt went down clutching his nose and fourth official Alan Freeland brought the incident to the attention of the referee – both he and his assistants saw nothing but a red card was produced for the Spaniard and Lennon received no punishment. Shameless cheating from Lennon. [note: the red card was later rescinded] Despite protests the decision stood and it was an uphill struggle for Caley Thistle after that. The team responded well and put up a great show but Celtic took advantage of the extra man in 25 minutes when Hartson headed in a Didier Agathe cross to make it 1-0. Mark Brown was in fine form and he saved from Thompson in 29 minutes and Camara three minutes later. At the other end Marshall saved from Barry Wilson in 40 minutes but it fell for Liam Keogh – he shot over from 18 yards. A Roy McBain corner in 42 minutes led to some confusion then a penalty award for hand-ball by Balde. It seemed a soft award but Wilson stepped up, sent Marshall the wrong way and it was 1-1. Stan Varga headed over at the other end and it remained 1-1 at the break. Half Time: 1-1 The second half was virtually all Celtic. Hartson headed wide in 52 minutes then a minute later Brown brilliantly tipped over an 18 yard shot from Hartson. The second soft penalty of the match came in 67 minutes when Grant Munro’s arm made contact with the ball but Brown dived to his right to deny Petrov. In the aftermath Ross Wallace crossed from the left and Petrov was there to score with a marvellous angled strike from the edge of the box. Hartson sealed it in 76 minutes when Brown parried a Joos Valgaeren shot and he was there to score from the rebound. A Richie Hart curling free kick in 83 minutes was missed by everyone and three minutes from time Thompson hit the bar with a 25 yard free kick. After three minutes of added time an Ian Black corner led to an old-fashioned stramash in the Celtic box, two shots blocked then a third saved by Marshall. Full Time: 1-3 Celtic deserved their victory but with ten men it was a hard task for Caley Thistle. The teams have now met four times in competitive games and it is two games each. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness CT: 1 Team: Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, Munro, Golabek, Wilson (Prunty 70), Hart, Keogh, McBain (Black 81), Juanjo, Bayne (Hislop 65). Subs Not Used: Dods, Duncan, Proctor, Fraser. Booked: McBain, Hart, Hislop. - Sent Off: Juanjo (18). Goal: Wilson 44 pen. Celtic: 3 Team: Marshall, Agathe, Varga, Balde (Laursen 84), Valgaeren, Petrov (Lambert 80), Lennon, Thompson, Wallace (Pearson 80), Hartson, Camara. Subs Not Used: Douglas, McGeady, Cuthbert, McManus. Goals: Hartson 25, Petrov 68, Hartson 76. Att: 8,736 Ref: D McDonald ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Golly opens our SPL account in Pars win Another historic day for the club – the first ‘home’ match at Pittodrie, the first SPL goal (from Stuart Golabek) and, most important of all, the first SPL win. The players were stung by the negative press coverage of last week’s defeat and they reacted in style to earn a well-deserved victory against the Pars. John Robertson made changes with Barry Wilson and Russell Duncan dropping to the bench and Richie Hart and Juanjo starting. In the event Barry Wilson came on in the 23rd minute to replace the injured Steve Hislop. Dunfermline had travelled to Iceland in midweek on UEFA Cup business but fatigue was never an excuse – Caley Thistle could, of course, have been the Icelandic travellers if last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final had gone the other way. Early shots from Juanjo put pressure on the Pars then Golabek scored a captain’s goal in the 12th minute. His fourth goal for the club came after a run from nearly the halfway line and an angled 20 yard shot – Derek Stillie could only push it onto the far post and watch it bounce into the net. Minutes later a Roy McBain curling ball gave Graham Bayne a chance but it came to nothing. Dunfermline began to press and Noel Hunt hit over Mark Brown and the bar. Brown made a number of good stops before the break but in the second half ICT ran the show. Half Time: 1-0 The all-important second goal came from Juanjo in 70 minutes. Barry Wilson ran down the right then cut the ball back into the box – it went beyond Juanjo but the Spaniard stretched to hit it past two defenders and Stillie from just outside the six-yard area. Full Time: 2-0 The long trip back from the far east was a happy one for the ICT fans. Inverness CT: 2 Team: Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, McBain, Golabek, Keogh, Hart, Munro, Juanjo (Prunty 88), Bayne, Hislop (Wilson 23). Subs Not Used: Fraser, Dods, Duncan, Proctor, Black. Goals: Golabek (12), Juanjo (70). Dunfermline: 0 Team: Stillie, Shields, Scott Wilson, Skerla, Byrne (Darren Young 45), Dempsey, Nicholson, Mason, Scott Thomson, Hunt (Donnelly 71), Brewster (Mehmet 75). Subs Not Used: Langfield, Lyle, Labonte, McKeown. Booked: Scott Wilson. Att: 1,972 Ref: T Brown