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Time wasters wasting our time Was this going to be the game that breaks the Donkey's back? A home win would put Inverness in the driving seat whilst a win for Annan would revive their ailing hopes of avoiding the relegation play-off slot. Inverness were without Luis Longstaff, Alfie Bavidge and Calum Macleod, not forgetting long term casualties in Lewis Nicolson and Jake Davidson. Annan had their own injury issues with Tommy Goss. Undaunted they opened the scoring in the third minute, a deflected effort from Paul Smith. Virtually their only attempt over the ninety minutes. We, on the other hand were usurped by their tedious time wasting eleven behind the ball tactics and couldn't hit a coo on the arse with a big stick. Sean Murdoch, the referee, using the term loosely, was so far out of his depth it was unreal. A couple of penalty claims ignored and allowing the time wasting was his speciality. Paul Allan hit the post at the end of the first half and Jamie Smith made a handful of saves. Not a great day at the office as the temperature dropped before the end and the Donkey's took all three points. Meh! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful morning in the Sneck with the sun still shining by kick-off and kids for a £ raising the pitch of the North Stand an octave or two. It should have made for a great afternoons entertainment. Alas it went awry after only three minutes and went from bad to worse given our inability to break down the worst defence in League1. After only three minutes a corner into the box was punched clear by Dibaga. It was scooped into the air but not dealt with well by the defence and Paul Smith was teed up to rifle the ball low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with a snapshot and possibly a slight deflection. Still, we all thought we have about ninety minutes to get something from this game. Wrong! We have no seen a brand of football quite like this since Hamilton used to bore us out of points a few years ago. Time wasting of the highest quality aided by the goalkeeper, the post, bad luck and diabolical finishing were our downfall on a day when much more was expected of us. Alfie Stewart met a ball in a similar position at the opposite end of the park but Jamie Smith got down well to save low to his left. Another effort on the six yard line was scrambled clear on the line as bodies got in the way of Stewart's volley. Remi Savage appeared to be flattened in the box and just on half time Paul Allan beat the keeper but hit the post from eight yards after good work down the left by Nolan and MacKinnon. HALF TIME: 0-1 Annan had done nothing but time waste since the third minute, ably assisted by an incompetent referee and a powder puff strikeforce. The second half was no different. Nolan curled an effort from twenty-five yards but Smith was equal to it to tip the ball over the bar in spectacular fashion for a corner. A minute later we 'scored' but it was chalked off for an alleged foul in the box. What an opportunity we spurned with twenty minutes left. Keith Bray beat the keeper to a great ball through the middle. Smith blocked with his hand and the ball landed nicely for Billy Mckay who skipped round the stranded keeper on the edge of the box and shot from sixteen yards. Unfortunately he picked out the only defender who was standing on the line and the chance was gone. A striker low on scoring confidence and it showed. Allan picked out a driving run from Keith Bray five minutes from the end but his header was sent wide as he lunged at the curling cross. Another goalden opportunity wasted. Annan could have added a second from their second attack of game in the 93rd minute but after a quick sucker punch break forward the shot from Josh Todd curled a couple of yards wide. Peter Watson was apparently the Annan bruiser trialist and he put himself about to good effect as we were bullied off the ball in a frustrating encounter. Annan did what they had to do because they couldn't match us in terms of quality and for reasons already stated they took the points and we had egg on our faces. Ragin'. Absolutely... FULL TIME: 0-1 After the euphoria of the Stenhousemuir game on Tuesday night this was a bitter disappointment although given the players available it was maybe not a surprise. Annan's anti football tactics didn't help and a useless referee into the bargain all made for a frustrating but predictable afternoons non entertainment despite a decent crowd. By the end of the game, the weather matched the football and it was bl00dy freezing. Ragin' aye. Reality check from Robert on CTO: A disappointing afternoon. The early goal gave Annan something to defend, and a mixture of the woodwork, great saves and poor finishing cost us. I’d like to see the penalty incident again when Savage looked to be clearly fouled, along with the alleged foul that caused our “goal” to be disallowed. I’ve said before that we’d have bad days and setbacks, but we picked a bad day for this one. However, back on 26 October when we had -3 points and were 15 points adrift of 9th, we’d all have grabbed being 8th in mid March and in control of our own destiny. We need to put this behind us, regroup and focus on getting a win next week. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 29 17 53 2 Cove Rangers 29 18 48 3 Stenhousemuir 29 12 48 4 Alloa Athletic 29 5 40 5 Queen of Sth 29 -5 38 6 Kelty Hearts 29 0 36 7 Montrose 29 -7 33 8 Inverness CT 29 4 32 9 Annan Athletic 29 -23 30 10 Dumbarton 29 -21 09 Listen Oor Wullie Date: 15/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1703 Referee: Sean Murdoch Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan (R Thompson 83), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Stewart (Cairns 73), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Gardiner, Ewan, S Thompson, Walker, Keogh, Scorers: none Booked: Gilmour (90+5) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 1 Manager: Wullie Gibson Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Hooper, Trialist (Bisland 78), McGowan (Bell 79), Todd, A Smith, Kilsby, P Smith, Brown (Ross 62), Maxwell, Subs (not used): G Fleming; R Muir, Strachan Scorers: P Smith (3) Booked: McGowan (58), Todd (63), Gibson (90+5) Sent Off: none a

Six Pointer It's the proverbial six-pointer on Saturday with Annan Athletic the visitors for a 3:00pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium. We climbed out of the relegation zone last week picking up six points in our last two games and that has lifted us up to seventh place in the table with the prospect of more should results go our way. The dramatic win at Dumbarton last Saturday was followed by a swashbuckling 4-1 win over high flying Stenhousemuir in midweek. Luis Longstaff and Alfie Bavidge both have hamstring injuries, the extent of which are being checked out. Congratulations are due to our keeper Musa Dibaga who has been called up by his country, Gambia, for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Ivory Coast. Brilliant recognition for a man on form; a timely penalty save to add to his CV on Tuesday night against Stenhousemuir. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info Musa Dibaga Called Up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kids go for £1! Under 12s go for £1 this Saturday! Available from the Club Shop only. Open tomorrow 10am - 4pm and Sat 10am - KO. Offer available until 1pm on Matchday Max 2 tickets per adult & children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. 2025 Mar 15th League (League 1) - H - Jan 18th League (League1) 3 - 0 A 438 2024 Oct 19th League (League 1) 1 - 0 H 1,501 Aug 10th League (League 1) 0 - 1 A 386 Jul 13th League Cup (Group D) 0 - 1 A 427 2009 Aug 1st League Cup (Rd 1) 4 - 0 H 1,095 1998 Jan 24th Scottish Cup (Rd 3) 8 - 1 H 1,836 Only the six games between these two sides with four of them coming this season already. It started in January 1998 when we thrashed Annan 8-1 in a Scottish Cup tie. They must have annoyed us after they opened the scoring in the eighth minute. That's Ian Broadfoot's report below. Scorers Barry Wilson (14) Iain Stewart (17) Brian Thomson (20) Barry Robson (38) Brian Thomson (55) Stanley Leslie (o.g.) (74) Barry Wilson (84) Duncan Shearer (86) Montgomerie (8) The home side demolished a determined Annan side after an early fright. A loose ball found Norman Montgomery clear inside the Inverness half and he lobbed the ball over Jim Calder. Caley Thistle stormed upfield and scored 3 goals in a 6 minute spell. In 16 minutes Barry Wilson was set up by Iain Stewart just inside the area and he drove the ball low past Robert McColm. Three minutes later Brian Thomson slipped it to Stewart on the 18 yard line and he sent a low ball past the keeper. On the 20 minute mark Thomson was fouled just outside the box. He took the kick himself and sent it into the top corner. A fourth goal came in the 38th minute. Thomson and Stewart set up Barry Robson down the right and he headed straight for goal. Under strong pressure Robson hit it home. In 55 minutes Mark McCulloch cleared upfield from the half-way line and found Stewart who ran through the defence and slipped it to the side of the keeper as he unselfishly sent it across to Thomson who only had to tap it in. After 74 minutes it was 6-1. A Vetle Andersen cross from the left went in off the head of defender Stanley Leslie . 10 minutes later Wilson got the seventh with a low drive from 15 yards and with 4 minutes left substitute Duncan Shearer rose above the Annan defence on the penalty spot and headed in an Andersen cross to complete the 8-1 record score. Annan's bad tempered tackling was finally punished in 86 minutes when Stanley Leslie was sent off Caley Thistle now play Dundee United at Tannadice on February 14th. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W ? Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan up North on Saturday in a six-pointer... Scott Kellacher may still be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the last two and Alfie Bavidge might be joining him on the sidelines similarly. Calum MacLeod was also reported as having a slight thigh injury after a good performance against Stenhousemuir. Annan won the first two encounters this season, both at Galabank. The first was a League Cup game and the second a League1 game. Both went the way of the hosts by a single goal. We reversed that at the Caledonian Stadium by the same scoreline before a crucial 3-0 win at Galabank in the middle of January with goals from Alfie Bavidge, Keith Bray and Billy Mckay, his 114th and last strike for the club. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Cove 28 18 47 3 Stenny 28 12 47 4 Alloa Ath 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 28 0 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Inverness CT 28 5 32 8 Montrose 28 -7 32 9 Annan Ath 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 Last Six: W W L L L L <<<Annan's squad for last Saturday in the 0-2 defeat to Stenhousemuir. They began February well with good wins over Kelty (1-3) and Dumbarton (2-1). That was as good as it got with four straight defeats. Cove Rangers (3-1), Alloa Athletic (3-4), Arbroath (3-0) and last week (0-2) at home to the Warriors. After a promising start to the campaign Annan have dropped down to the relegation play off position. Having a poor defensive record has not helped their cause, shipping 54 league goals and only scoring 29 gives a goal difference of -24, and that's the worst in League1. They have had their fair share of injuries to contend with throughout the season, but then again we know a thing or two about that over the last few seasons. The matchday buses will get you to the game and back on time. Buses leave the Bus Station at 1300 and 1415, returning from the Stadium 10 minutes after the full time whistle and then at 1800. Concession passes are valid on all journeys, with the fare for non concessions being £2.40. Bar 94 will be open from 1200 before the game and until 1800 after the game

Moving on up This rearranged fixture took second place Stenhousemuir North to face the Caley Jags, fresh out of the relegation play-off slot after last weeks dramatic win over Dumbarton. Stenhousemuir were looking to keep the pressure on top of the table Arbroath whilst Inverness could climb another place with a win. The Warriors were on a five game winning run that included a win over League leaders Arbroath recently. Luis Longstaff missed out for the hosts with Ben Brannan getting his second start. Nat Wedderburn was in the Warriors squad and Corey O'Donnell was the hot property to keep an eye on with nine League goals to his name was on the bench. Mathew Aitken and Matty Yates were back in the starting XI. It ended in the Caley Jags biggest win of the season with early first half goals from Ben Brannan and Charlie Gilmour followed by two quick second half strikes from Keith Bray and Paul Allan, who also rattled the post with a superb strike in the first half. We tailed away towards the end and McLuckie was unlucky as he hit the bar with a good effort from outside the box and Musa Dibaga saved an injury time penalty from Blair Alston after a dubious trip on a Stenny player bursting into the left side of the box. That win moves us above Montrose and into seventh place. Great win, plenty of goals and climbing the table. What's not to like. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been a decent afternoon in the Highland capital and the weather had stayed fine into the evening, with just a gentle shower or two to moisten the pitch as the teams took to the park under the floodlights. All set for the game until we had a half hour delay to find a replacement referee after the first one broke! Scott Kellacher was looking for his side to get off to a fast start and he got exactly that in both halfs. With just three minutes on the clock after a 35 minute delay, the impressive Ben Brannan opened the scoring. We moved the ball sharply from the left side across the face of the box where Calum MacLeod laid it off to Brannan who made the run into the box on the right side. He never really broke stride before rifling the ball high into the net from ten yards for his first goal for the Caley Jags. The perfect start for the hosts. Alas, seven minutes later we were level when Euan O'Reilly got on the end of a ball into the box after a fast break forward that caught us on the hop as we pushed forward. It went from bad to worse just four minutes later when Alfie Bavidge had to leave the pitch with what looked like a thigh/hamstring injury. As he limped off he was replaced by Billy Mckay and we all feared the worst in the stands. Fear not said Charlie Gilmour as he put us back in front three minutes later when he fired in following a corner as he drilled in the second ball. It was a really positive display from the hosts as they took the game to their more fancied opponents and Adam MacKinnon was unfortunate not to score as his twenty-five yard drive just cleared the corner of the bar. Both sides were playing some slick football and as the hosts opened up the visitors defence five minutes before the break Paul Allan's curling effort clattered the post halfway up with keeper Jamieson rooted to the spot. Just on the interval, Musa Dibaga had to make a scrambled dive across his goal as O'Reilly shot from the centre of the box following another incisive burst forward from the Warriors. A better connection might have been rewarded with a goal. HALF TIME: 2-1 We stated the second half even faster than the first and within two minutes Keith Bray had diverted a superb driven cross from MacKinnon into the net from close range with his chest to make it 3-1. Well worked goal and more followed four minutes later when a slick move down the right ended with Paul Allan drilling home ably assisted by three or four willing helpers, Mckay with the killer ball. The wind was well and truly out of the Warriors sails by now as we controlled the next phase of the game with ease. With twenty minutes remaining the unfortunately named Bobby McLuckie was unlucky that Dibaga was in good form to push his drive round the post. He was even unMcLuckier minutes later with a tremendous effort that crashed back off Dibaga's crossbar as the visitors looked for a consolation goal. They almost achieved that with what might go down as a soft penalty award but Dibaga guessed right and smothered Blair Alston's spot-kick to his left and reached forward to grab the loose ball just in time. The stuff legends are made of. FULL TIME: 4-1 Best performance of the season against a pretty slick Stenhousemuir. Paul Allan was the sponsors MotM. To be honest we were not short of contenders. How about Remi Savage who doubled up as a twinkle toed left winger at times. Danny Devine who was solid at the heart of the defence against the athletic Yates, Aitken and O'Reilly. Big Musa with a couple of crucial saves and the penalty stop. For me, the performance of Ben Brannan was outstanding. He brings a new dimension to our game with his foraging forward, his loooong throws, precise curling crosses and biting tackles. He was my pick. The only downside was the injury to Alfie Bavidge. Let's hope his substitution was more precautionary than serious. With Cove cuffing Kelty Hearts 0-4, the table now looks like this with eight games left. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Cove Rangers 28 18 47 3 Stenhousemuir 28 12 47 4 Alloa Athletic 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 28 0 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Inverness CT 28 5 32 8 Montrose 28 -7 32 9 Annan Athletic 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 The Eagle was too incisive for the Warriors in an entertaining contest as the Caley Jags consolidated their new found league position with a confident and sometimes swashbuckling performance. Alfie Bavidge came off wounded, but he was not the first to come off injured. We needed a replacement referee before the game started and a thirty-five minute delay ensued as another one was unearthed. Seventh in the table now and the prospect of more to come. Date: 11/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: **** Referee: Tommi Kerr Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Bray, Gilmour, Allan (Stewart 69), MacLeod, MacKinnon (R Thompson 84), Bavidge (B Mckay 13) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, Strachan, Walker, Keogh, Cairns Scorers: Brannan (3), Gilmour (17), Bray (47), Allan (51) Booked: Allan (60) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 1 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Fisher, Bilham, O'Reilly (Alston 72), Anderson (Wedderburn 71), McGill (Jacobs 77), McLuckie, Aitken (O'Donnell 61), Yates Subs (not used): Morrison; Banner, Ewen, Tomlinson, Taylor Scorers: O'Reilly (10) Booked: Anderson (71) Sent Off: none a