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Cup Action With both clubs underperforming this season, this is maybe a welcome break from the weekly chores. Neither club are where they would like to be. Both sides are 7th in their respective League Tables. Hibs are marooned in no mans land in the Premiership and Inverness are languishing in the doldrums, perilously close to the relegation play-off slot in the Championship. Hibs played twice this week and took a beating both times from St Mirren followed by Celtic in midweek as the Premiership played catch-up after the Winter break. We faltered badly at home to Queens Park as mass squad changes disrupted the continuity in the side, although playing at home seems to affect us anyway. It could be a long day this Saturday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Remember This May 2015 Then This May 2015 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 33 16 +17 Away 15 5 4 6 16 20 -4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 33 15 7 11 49 36 +13 Despite our demise, we still hold the upper hand over Hibs, especially at home despite losing the last two which were both Scottish Cup ties. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 5 (H) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (H) We have never beaten Hibs in the Scottish Cup, losing the last two at home. The first Cup meeting at Easter Road in 2008 saw us go down 0 - 3 to a Dean Shiels hat-trick. The last four games between these sides have ended in a home win and today was no different. Reputed Caley Thistle target Dean Shiels scored all three goals in a deserved victory for the Hibees and probably killed any chance Caley Thistle have of getting him to come to the Caledonian Stadium as new boss Mixu Paatelainen will likely be less than enthusiastic about letting him go now. Dean Shiels was the hat-trick hero for Hibs as they eased into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at Caley Thistle’s expense. The player – seemingly frozen out under previous manager John Collins – returned to the starting line-up for new manager Mixu Paatelainen and virtually guaranteed his Easter Road future as he handed the gaffer his best possible start. Hibs have won the Scottish Cup three times, the last one being the year after Inverness beat Falkirk 2-1 to lift the trophy in 2015, Hibs first win came in 1887 when they beat Dumbarton 2-1 followed by 1-0 victory over Celtic in 1902. Hibs have been runners-up 10 times with Inverness losing out once. From Wikipedia>>> 1887: The 1887 Scottish Cup Final was the 14th final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 1886–87 Scottish Cup. The match was played at the second Hampden Park in Crosshill (today part of Glasgow) on 12 February 1887 and was watched by a crowd of 15,000 spectators. The final was contested by the 1883 winners Dumbarton and Hibernian who had never won the competition before. 1902: The 1902 Scottish Cup Final was played on 26 April 1902 at Celtic Park in Glasgow and was the deciding match of the 29th season of the Scottish Cup. The match had been scheduled to be played at Ibrox Park on 12 April, but the first Ibrox disaster occurred the week earlier during the annual Scotland v England game. This meant that the final was delayed by two weeks and moved to Celtic Park, although Celtic were one of the finalists. Hibernian won the match 1–0, with a 75th-minute goal from Andy McGeachan. This was Hibernian's last Scottish Cup triumph for 114 years, until they won it again in 2016 by beating Rangers 3–2. Att: 16,000 2015: The 2015 Scottish Cup Final was the 130th final of the Scottish Cup. The match took place at Hampden Park on 30 May 2015 and was contested by Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ten-man Inverness won the final 2–1 thanks to a late James Vincent goal. Marley Watkins scored the first with Peter Grant replying for the Bairns after Carl Tremarco had been sent off. Att: 37,149. 2016: The 2016 Scottish Cup Final was the 131st final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 2015–16 Scottish Cup. The match took place at Hampden Park on 21 May 2016 and was contested by Scottish Championship teams Rangers and Hibernian. It was the first final to be contested by two teams from outside the top tier of the Scottish football league system. Hibernian ended a run of 114 years from last winning the competition, beating Rangers 3–2 with a stoppage time goal from club captain David Gray. Att: 50,701 We are of course beaten finalists from last season losing 3-1 to Celtic. Inverness at the wrong end of the Championship table with Hibs in the middle of nowhere. Remember, nothing is easy, but anything is possible>>> Latest Team News We will need to wait for Duncan Ferguson to announce his plans. We barely know half the squad; not sure if Duncan does either since the transfer window shut. A major worry is on loan striker Alex Samuel who has broken his hand and faces the possibility of being out for a few weeks. Doctors are looking to see if he can get away with a lighter cast, but that's in the balance right now. Luis Longstaff is out after twisting a knee in training. As shown against Queens Park, we struggled badly to break down a team prepared to sit in and wait for their one opportunity. However, with Premiership opposition comes the hope that they will fancy their chances and come North to have a go and that might suit us better. Players at Nick Montgomery's disposal for the midweek defeat to Celtic. David Marshall; Miller, Fish, Triantis, Obita, Newell, Boyle, Moriah-Welsh, Levitt, Youan, Vente Substitutes: Wollacott, Mayenda, Amos, Stevenson, Maolida, Le Fondre, Veiga Vieira Tavares, Molotnikov, Megwa No1 keeper is David Marshall of Scotland penalty save claim. Martin Boyle is the pacey threat up front, but to be honest there will be threats all over the park as you would expect from an established Premiership side.

Spiders close the gap The January transfer window saw seven new players come to the Caledonian Stadium and around ten players try their hand elsewhere. Big outs were Carson, Welsh and Wotherspoon. Cammy Kerr is a known quantity in and Alex Samuel has already notched four goals in two games. The other newbies are promising prospects and only time will tell if they are ready to sample the Championship. Latest signings 'Bim' Pepple and Sean McAllister were on the home bench. Queens had three changes from last week with Sean Welsh suspended Danny Wilson had not materialised for the visitors but they had former Rothes player Callum Happell on the bench with Crole and Scott. Dom Thomas and Ruari Paton were the ones to watch for the visitors. No goals in a turgid first half but plenty of possession without working the keeper too hard. Dom Thomas opened the scoring just after the interval and that's how it ended. We have signed plenty of players, but we don't have a team yet. The only consolation is we actually went up a place in the table as Morton hammered Dunfermline 5-0 at EEP. However, both Dunfermline and Queens Park have games in hand over us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A brisk and blustery afternoon like something from Winnie the Pooh greeted the players as the game got underway with news from Somerset Park that Ayr United opened the scoring against League leaders Dundee United within two minutes. Not much happening early doors in the Highlands as the teams got to grips with conditions and team mates names. Alex Bannon headed wide after fifteen minutes for the Spiders. Chilokoa-Mullen saw a yellow after twenty minutes and Ridgers was brought into action from Ruari Paton's free kick. Alex Samuel shot wide but it was poor value for money so far and Cammy Kerr also dragged his shot wide five minutes later. The attempts were starting to rack up now and Charlie Gilmour was next to miss the target before Max Anderson saw Ferrie save his effort. Shaw was denied on the break and from the recycled ball Samuel shot wide. Plenty of possession from the hosts but no breakthrough at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break but we came out quicker and Billy Mckay was denied by Ferrie before Nathan Shaw had an effort blocked. Alas, it was a false dawn as Dom Thomas opened the scoring for the Spiders five minutes after the interval. Alex Samuel will be disappointed not to have levelled the game five minutes later with a close range header but Ferrie saved to keep the visitors ahead. Sean McAllister came on for his debut as he replaced Anderson ten minutes after the interval. Cammy Kerr cut inside from the right and offloaded but Ferrie kept the ball out and Inverness won a corner. Ujdur headed over as the home side looked to get back into the game, and Ridgers was back in action to save from Ruari Paton with fifteen minutes left. In stoppage time and another effort from Gilmour misses the top corner. Harper fired a free kick over at the death and that was it. Over and out! FULL TIME: 0-1 Same sh!t different day - Reaction on CTO: Went to the game with optimistism, Anticipation and confidence... left with a feeling of De ja vu. That was a tough watch, as has been the case so often. I thought we started poorly but then largely dominated the first half but couldn’t score. We were too tippy tappy yet again in the final third when shots were on. We came out strongly in the second half but conceded against the run of play and never looked like getting back in it after then. For comparison Dodds in the Championship averaged 1.5 points per game, Ferguson is on 1.35. I think I would have been better going shopping .........You've taken that too far Highlights??? We lost didn't we>>> Date: 03/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1962 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Devine, Chilokoa-Mullen (Ujdur 51), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson (McAllister 56), Savage (Longstaff 74), Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Boyes, Doran, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Chilokoa-Mullen (19), Ujdur (88) Sent Off: none Queens Park: 1 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Ferrie; Tizzard, Bannon, Thomson, Robson, Bruce (Carse 60), Turner, McKinstry (Scott 60), McPherson (Longridge 68), Thomas, Paton (Crole 90+6) Subs (not used): Kane; Williamson, Reid, Mauchin, Haspell Scorers: Thomas (50) Booked: Tizzard (53), Scott (71) Sent Off: none a

Six Pointers Already Callum Davidson brings his new charges North for what might be considered a six-pointer already at this stage of the season with both teams desperate for points to clamber away from bottom spot in the table, currently held by Arbroath. January sales have brought new faces in and old faces out. The latest ins being Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel Pepple (easy for you to say) & Sean McAllister and the latest outs being David Carson, Jake Davidson and Robbie Thompson. Queens Park have added Danny Wilson, not the band but the former Liverpool, Hearts and Rangers defender to their squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Sean McAllister In David Carson Out Aribim Pepple In Jake Davidson Out Shake it all About (Robbie Thompson) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 7 Competitive Meetings 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Over the last couple of seasons Queens Park had the beating of us during the Doddsball era. However, we had a tremendous away win at Hampden Park last time out, our first since Queens Park were promoted into the Championship in season 22/23. FULL TIME: 4 - 1 Happy Days! Our biggest win of the season, first goal for Ujdur with Anderson, Spoony and Mckay all hitting the back of the net. All this with Ferguson sent to the stands at half time. Plenty room for him there in an empty National Stadium. Inverness move up to sixth in the table and we play Morton at Cappielow on Tuesday night where a win would see us jump another place to fifth. (never happened meh!) Indifferent results from Inverness over the last five, but the two wins were well deserved away wins at Somerset Park and Starks park, scoring three goals on each occasion. Alex Samuel was the hero last weekend against Raith Rovers with a first half hat-trick. In between those two wins we snatched defeat from the jaws of a draw at home against Dundee United when a late goal ruined our TV night. We also progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after beating Broomhill 4-0. We now face Hibernian at home in the next round. Eat yer heart out Derek! Inverness CT Last Five Championship Games: D L W L W Callum Davidson is the new manager of Queens Park and in his first game in charge he saw his new side beat Raith Rovers 2-1. On BBC Sport, Davidson said: "Really pleased with the character. They reacted really well, the heads could've gone down. We got back into the game with a fantastic goal by Cammy. Delighted for him. Sean (Welsh) was a real calming influence. It's a great start and it's just three points for us. I'll hopefully try and get a couple more players in." He was undone in his next game as another new manager, Scott Brown saw his Ayr United beat Queens Park 2-1 with Sean Welsh being sent off. The other win over the last five was a 2-1 win over Dunfermline on the 5th of January. Queens Park Last Five Championship Games: L L W W L Latest Team News Inverness made a host of defensive signings in the sales bringing in James Carragher, Callum Kerr, Remi Savage and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen. All four have had some game time since joining but the most effective newbie so far has been the loan signing of striker Alex Samuel from the quaint market town of Dingwall. Big outs were Sean Welsh to Queens Park and David Wotherspoon to Dundee United. Zak Delaney is now on the injured list at Arbroath. Add David Carson to the out list: Sold to Livingston and Robbie Thompson on loan to Spartans. Here's one for you, the longest name ever to sign on at the Caledonian Stadium: I give you Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel "Aribim" Pepple. Quite the transfer window that we have been involved in. That's around 50 players that have been in or around our squad this season. I couldn't even hazard a guess at our team selection for tomorrow, apart from maybe Mark Ridgers will take the gloves. Awaiting team news from Dunc. He's still trying to find out all their names. And here it is>>> In amongst all the waffle, it appears that Carragher, Devine, Duffy, Doran and Longstaff have all been struggling with niggles this week. Queens Park have a new manager and a new goal scoring midfield maestro in Sean Welsh, when he is not injured. However, he is suspended after his red card last week against Ayr United . A couple of loan players in, Mackenzie Carse, midfielder (Celtic) and James Crole, forward (Cardiff City). Callum Haspell has joined from Rothes. A big miss will be Barry Hepburn who has returned to Bayern Munich. Ruari Paton is way out on his own as top scorer with 15 goals. Former Liverpool, Hearts and Rangers defender Danny Wilson is a late transfer signing for QP. Spare keeper Callan McKenna is off to AFC Bournemouth. Team v Ayr United last week Ferrie Bannon Thomson Robson Mauchin (McPherson 83) Welsh Turner (Spong 71) Bruce (McKinstry 72) Longridge (Carse 71) Paton Thomas Subs Not Used: McKenna; Jarrett, Reid, Williamson, Tizzard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget about next week

Hat-Trix Alex With a raft of new defenders coming in to the Inverness squad, it was anyones guess which four defenders Big Dunc would select from the eleven he now has at his disposal. He has an easier choice which new striker will be involved and that will be Alex Samuel. Ian Murray has taken Zak Rudden in on loan from Dundee but has lost Jamie Gullan to Dundalk ahead of this one, he of the powerful shot who likes a goal against Inverness. Sam Stanton was missing for Raith. Three debut's were dished out by Dunc. Cammy Kerr, Remi Savage and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen all started as did Alex Samuel with a few big names on the bench. Ewan Murray was the only change for Rovers with Zak Rudden on the bench. All that defenders and we still lose a headed goal from a corner as Jack Hamilton opened the scoring. Alex Samuel levelled five minutes later on the half hour and another five minutes later he put the visitors ahead. Alex completed his hat-trick in nine minutes to put Inverness in the driving seat at the Interval. Lewis Vaughan pulled one back early in the second half but Inverness held on for all three points. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FULL TIME: 2-3 Normal Service Resumed as Alex bags a hat-trick Man of the match Alex Samuel scored a nine minute hat-trick as normal service was resumed at Stark's Park. Will that be another 23 years before Raith beat us again? Mantis was on hand and gave us this round-up: That was sweet. Never in doubt even after going behind. When I saw the orange strips it took me back to November 2001 when we went behind to a Nacho Novo penalty and won 5-1. Sure the last 20 minutes were nervy but that was all in our heads. A lot of that spell was Rovers knocking it about in their own half looking for a gap. The players looked composed and some of the passing was superb. Hamiltons goal was really sloppy on our part with two newbies in the back three so they will need to work on who is picking up at corners. No failures today and we looked physically strong and made Rovers look a shadow of the side which was flying earlier in the season. The double- barrel Jeremiah looked very impressive apart from his blunder which let Vaughan away to score for 3-2, which made the second half a much less comfortable watch. The other three were solid too. Cammy Kerr, Savage and of course Samuel - Machine #2. What a warrior. On another day Billy might have grabbed a fourth but his touch let him down. A bit risky changing defenders late in the game but hey, it made no difference to the result and we got a chance to see Duffy’s haircut. We have lost 10 games and have probably left too much to do for the playoffs but we should be looking up at Dunfermline, Ayr and Airdrie. At least watching ICT isn’t a chore any longer. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after today's games. 1. Dundee Utd 21 13 6 2 43 10 45 2. Raith Rovers 22 13 5 4 40 31 44 3. Partick Thistle 22 10 7 5 43 34 37 4. Morton 21 8 5 8 27 27 29 5. Airdrieonians 21 8 4 9 20 24 28 6. Ayr United 22 7 5 10 29 39 26 7. Dunfermline 20 6 6 8 24 24 24 8. Inverness CT 22 6 6 10 26 27 24 9. Queens Park 21 5 5 11 27 41 20 10. Arbroath 22 5 3 14 23 45 18

They used to be sh!te, but now they're alright Inverness face a treacherous trip to the home of the new, improved version of Raith Rovers. This would have been a game where we might have expected to pick up at least a point over the last twenty odd years. However, they are more resillient of late and testament to that is our two meetings this season when late goals saw Rovers snatch all six points from Inverness who deserved more from both games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All the ins and outs Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup v Hibs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 14 5 3 41 17 +24 Away 18 9 5 4 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 23 10 7 75 39 +36 Raith broke the mold back in September when they won for the first time in 23 years: Record Breakers Never had there been a better time for Raith Rovers to break the Caley Jags hoodoo! Inverness, without a win in their last eight games, and Billy Dodds and the management team under fire. A 23 year run of games without a win for Raith Rovers was brought to an end today when Jamie Gullan smashed home from 15 yards with five minutes left. It was harsh on Inverness who dominated for long spells earlier in the game, but it leaves the management with some tough decisions to make. There will be dancing on the streets of Raith tonight! 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) And in December: Just Like Buses None for 23 years then two in a row as Raith came from behind to win with a time added on penalty converted by Jamie Gullan. Billy Mckay had opened the scoring with a header on the hour but a late surge by Rovers won it. Lewis Vaughan four minutes from the end then the penalty to take the win at the death scored by Jamie Gullan. We should have had a penalty of our own after that, but Mr Williams chose to ignore it. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and that one hurt. Championship Points Dundee Utd - 44 Raith Rovers - 44 Partick Thistle -36 Airdrieonians - 27 Morton - 26 Dunfermline - 23 Ayr United - 23 Inverness CT - 21 Queens Park - 20 Arbroath FC - 18 Latest Team News Inverness Last 5 Championship results: D D L W L Big Dunc has been dabbling in the January sales both in and out over the last couple of weeks. Out: Sean Welsh, David Wotherspoon, Cillian Sheridan, Zak Delaney, Harry Hennem (departed), Lewis Hyde, Keith Bray, Ethan Cairns (loaned out) In: Striker Alex Samuel, the rest are all defenders:- James Carracher, Cammy Kerr, Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen, Remi Savage Raith Rovers have suffered three defeats on the trot: Airdrie & Queens Park in the Championship and a 2-1 defeat to Livingston in the Scottish Cup last weekend. Zak Rudden, Shaun Byrne and Kyle Turner are new additions in the January sales. Rudden was the latest signing and he will be available for tomorrow. Jamie Gullan has left Rovers to sign for Dundalk. Last 5 Championship results: D D W L L Team v Livi in the Cup last week Dabrowski Millen Brown Dick Connolly Mullin Byrne (Gullan 83) Turner (Easton 67) Smith Hamilton Vaughan Subs Not Used: Thomson; Masson, Hannah, McGill, Corr, McNeil, Murray