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Hard earned point Despite some glaring opportunities for both sides, the score remained blank at the interval. Ugwu sinned a couple of times and Musonda too, but the biggest sinner of all was our own Roddy MacGregor who failed to get the ball past the bodies lying on the goalline from three yards. What an opportunity, what a miss and goalless at the interval. More chances went abegging after the interval and Sean Welsh hit the post with a header. Saves misses and good fortune ensured this entertaining game ended all square. It was not the win we wanted, but trust me this was a massive upgrade from the drivel served up against Morton. The guys got their pride back and played with the passion and desire required to stay in this league. Neil McCann was looking for a reaction after the dross on display against Morton, in fact since we returned to action after the glut of postponements. It was going to be difficult with Doran, Harper, Vincent and Storey all out and three youngsters on the bench alongside the departing James Keatings and a recovering Kevin McHattie. Raith had wing wizard Kai Kennedy on from the start but Manny Duku was on the bench with Gozie Ugwu starting. Looks like it could be a long night. The weather was marginally better than it was for the Morton game, but it was still bitterly cold and damp as a depleted Inverness took to the field. Raith kicked off towards the Kessock Bridge end and Inverness were soon on the back foot with their makeshift side. Ugwu should have scored early but he fresh aired the ball two yards from goal. Musonda had an equally good opportunity after a corner fell to his feet twelve yards out but he scooped his shot just over the bar. The first Inverness involvement was almost twenty minutes in when a Todorov header at the back post went over and wide when it looked like he should have done better. Midway through the half the hosts appeared to have weathered the storm and were looking to create something for themselves. We missed an unbelievable opportunity after Kieran Macdonald slid along the goal line and cleared Dan Mackay's effort off the line as it rolled towards the goal. It fell to Roddy MacGregor who turned and shot from inside the six yard box but again the ball was smothered on the line and eventually cleared. What have we got to do to score. More pressure from the hosts and Todorov had a shot charged down for a corner. Good response by our second string. A tempting ball from Kai Kennedy found Ugwu in prime position in front of Ridgers but he headed just over when he should have hit the target. Carson did well at the other end and delivered a good cross into the area but Toddy could not get enough purchase on the ball and Macdonald saved comfortably. Raith forced a couple of corners just before the interval as Inverness made it to the whistle on level terms. Half Time: 0-0 Six minutes into the second half and a Carson clearance inside his own box could have gone anywhere. As it was it slipped past his own post; sigh of relied all round. A free kick invited Robbie Deas to have a go but he was deemed offside. An Allardice free kick had just too much on it as the Caley Jags forwards closed in. A series of fouls saw Inverness get down the left side and Allardice's driven free kick was was bounced behind off Deas for a goal kick. Determined play by MacGregor down the right and a whipped cross by Carson left Sean Welsh with a headed opportunity, but his header bounced down and off the post with the keeper beaten. Moments later Shane Sutherland went through one on one with MacDonald but the experienced keeper stood firm and blocked Shane's shot as he tried to lift it into the net. Good spell by Inverness and unfortunate not to be ahead. Carson not impressed by Kennedy as he went to ground and handbags were exchanged with around 25 minutes left. Dylan Tait lifted a cut back from the left just over the bar with Ridgers rooted to the spot and Robbie Deas took a knock that required treatment. Up the park and a turn and strike from Mackay won us a corner and Todorov almost got on the end of the cross but Benedictus was first to the ball to clear as Toddy fouled him. With ten minutes left the points were still up for grabs by both sides and Ridgers ably assisted by a couple of defenders smothered the ball close to his near post as Raith homed in on his goal along the bye line. The visitors were pressing hard for the winner and Duku replace Ugwu with five minutes left. Some great defending by the home defence ended with a tremendous save by Ridgers and a scrambulation in the box before the ball was knocked wide. Last chance fell to Todorov in injury time but his shot from the right side was not struck cleanly enough and MacDonald gathered at his near post. Full Time 0-0 Well, McCann asked for a response and despite the scoreline he certainly got one. Considering our available squad it was a good point that could easily have been three. David Carson was given MotM by the BBC pundits and few could argue with that. Great contributions from our entire back line and Ridgers was absolutely solid when called into action and took the pressure off the defence with some confidence boosting catches when under pressure. Should we have scored? Yes, probably three or four, but Raith might feel the same. Onward to Tuesday night with more confidence after a much needed boost tonight with the team showing that they are up for the battle. Well done to all who responded. Highlights Positive Neil Here's Carson talking just after releasing Kai Kennedy from his back pocket Date: 12/03/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Steven McLean Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Devine, Deas, Allardice, MacGregor, Carson, Allardice, D Mackay, Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Nicolson, Harkness, Duffy, Keatings, McHattie, Scorers: none Booked: Welsh (38) Mckay (60), D Mackay (82), Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 0 Manager: John McGlynn Lineup: J MacDonald; Tumilty, Benedictus, Hendry, K MacDonald, Kennedy, Tait, Musonda, Ugwu (Duku 85), King (Armstrong 66) Gullan (Mathews 66) Subs (not used): Thomson; Davidson, Abraham, Spencer Scorers: none Booked: Tumilty (2), K MacDonald (60), Mathews (70), Hendry (78), Taut (90+2) Sent Off: none a -
McCann breaks his duck Inverness beat ten-man Raith Rovers thanks to a tidy second half goal from Dan Mackay who had controlled a kick out from Ridgers before lifting the ball over keeper MacDonald for the only goal of the game. We were never troubled for long spells but struggled to impose ourselves against the ten men after Iain Davidson was sent off after a midfield clash. A welcome three points and a first win under Neil McCann. After the goalless draw four days earlier, the two sides went toe to toe once more for the fourth time this season. The League Cup encounter ended 3-3 in November, eleven days later at Inverness ended 2-0 for the Caley Jags and Friday's game finished 0-0. Despite the league positions, there was little to choose between the sides at the Caledonian Stadium and both sides were looking for maximum points at different ends of the table. Inverness were somewhat down to the bare bones on Friday and were hoping to have a couple of their missing players back. McCann went with the same starting XI that played the whole game on Friday night and Miles Storey was fit enough to make the bench. John McGlynn had no such problems apart from Fernandy Mendy who is still away on African Nations duty. Ugwu again started up front and there were starts for Armstrong, and Mathews with Duku on the bench alongside Vaughan, Musonda and Tait. Raith set the ball rolling but it was Inverness that started the fastest. A wonderful Allardice header came back off the corner of bar and post from fully fifteen yards and from the resultant return ball into the box it was stabbed into the hands of Jamie MacDonald from four yards by a hesitant Shane Sutherland. Ten minutes in and Iain Davidson was given a straight red after a clash in the middle of the Raith half. That started a wee stushie and Davidson was red carded with Sean Welsh also booked. A great burst down the left by Dan Mackay after twenty minutes ended with keeper MacDonald throwing an arm out to keep the ball out at the expense of a fruitless corner. It was a much faster start by Inverness after we were slow out of the blocks on Friday night but with half an hour gone we were not making the extra man count. In fact we were more impressive when Raith had eleven on the park. A great ball forward found Todorov running into the box but the defender stood his ground to usher the ball clear. Ridgers did well to cut out a great ball in from the left and took a knock as the striker closed in. Some loose passing was restricting our forward play as Rovers dug in. A swift move cut Rovers open but Sutherland was crowded out in the six yard box. As the interval approached Raith were making their way down the touchline with a number of throw-ins as the game turned untidy but it remained goalless at the break. Half Time: 0-0 Macdonald was fortunate that Shane Sutherland was not sharp enough to take advantage of a spilled ball at the edge of the box as it bounced back into his hands off the big forward. Tumilty sent a rasping shot from distance that Ridgers tipped over comfortably. Less than five minutes after the restart the visitors took the lead after a long ball from keeper Ridgers went all the way to the edge of the Raith box where Dan Mackay did brilliantly to get clear of the defender before cheekily lifting the ball over the advancing Macdonald and into the empty net. Great assist from the keeper who brilliantly cut out the cross and sent the ball forward in the same movement. We could have doubled our lead but for a weak finish this time by Mackay as he burst into the left side of the box. From a deep corner, Benedictus lofted a header towards the top of the goal frame and Ridgers took no chances and tipped the ball behind for a corner. Better play from Rovers and their next corner saw a header bounce well wide. A free kick to the Caley Jags ended with a shot being charged down in a crowded defence and Inverness made their first change with Miles Storey replacing Shane Sutherland. Gullan dipped a free kick over with Ridgers watching closely. Rovers were pushing for an equaliser as Ridgers fluffed a punch clear for a corner. A tidy run on the left and cut back by Storey saw a first time effort from Sean Welsh curl just wide with MacDonald beaten. A Keatings free kick found Deas in space inside the box on the left but his clipped shot rolled across the face of the goal and out for a goal kick. Ridgers was forced into a good diving save as Vaughan shot from the edge of the box to remind Inverness how precarious a one goal lead can be with five minutes left on the clock. Full Time: 0-1 However, despite the usual late scares, the Raith ten man challenge petered out and Inverness claimed a valuable three points and manager Neil McCann his first win. What a crucial three points that could be and with Ayr beating Dundee it's getting very tight in the middle section of the table. Highlights from Raith TV Dan's the man First time winner with the Caley Jags... Date: 16/03/2021 Venue: Stark's Park, Kirkaldy Attendance: 0000 Referee: Colin Steven Raith Rovers: 0 Manager: John McGlynn Lineup: J MacDonald; Tumilty, Davidson, Benedictus, K MacDonald, Kennedy (Gullan 66), Armstrong (Musonda 19), Spencer (Vaughan 76), Mathews, Hendry, Ugwu Subs (not used): Thomson; Abraham, Tait, Duku Scorers: none Booked: Mathews (13), Spencer (41), Gullan (89) Sent Off: Armstrong (11) Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, B Mckay, Devine, Deas, D Mackay, Welsh (Keatings 79 McHattie 91), Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland (Storey 63), Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde, Duffy Scorers: D Mackay (50) Booked: Welsh (12), Allardice (69) Sent Off: a -
Points from Pars as Carson strikes A fortunate goal line clearance after Sutherland hit a defender standing on the line was the best opportunity of a close first half that Inverness just edged, but there was no scoring at the break. The visitors opened the scoring ten minutes from time when MotM David Carson cut in from the right, jinked inside and smashed a right footer off the post and into the net. That was Carson's first goal for the club in his 47th appearance and a vital one it was too. Inverness held on comfortably thereafter to take all three points North and move up to fifth in the table. After an encouraging win at Stark's Park in midweek the Neil McCann entourage were looking for their second win in a week, but it was a tough ask to go to East End Park with the Pars sitting second in the table and try to take all three points back up the A9. This would be McCann's seventh game at the wheel as he tries to steer us clear of the relegation zone whilst still maintaining an interest in the top four play-off places. He would have to do it without the injured Aron Doran, Cameron Harper, Lewis Toshney, Anthony MacDonald, James Keatings and James Vincent who is on compassionate leave after a family bereavement. Condolences to James. Stevie Crawford has an extensive squad with a strong bench so no hassle for him to make his team selections. An ominously strong looking bench for the Pars with O'Hara and McManus lying in wait. Craig Wighton started up front with Scott Banks in midfield. So, both teams unchanged from last time out and it was game on. It was a cagey opening and fully ten minutes before Ridgers had anything to deal with as he pulled a mishit shot from Murray out of the air. An Inverness free kick off the training ground produced a corner and from that a close range shot from Sutherland hit a defender on the line in the nether region (Comrie) before Fon Williams grabbed the loose ball. Craig Wighton slipped the ball into the net from a tight angle soon after but was adjudged to be offside. Moments later Sean Welsh fed MacGregor on the edge of the box but he smothered his shot and the keeper saved comfortably. Half an hour gone and neither side were able to impose themselves on the proceedings as Scott Allardice skied a shot from a corner as Toddy got in his way. A Welsh free kick from thirty yards was straight down the keepers throat with five minutes left to the interval, but it ended goalless at the break. Half Time: 0-0 The visitors got the second half going as the Skids faded out. A great defensive tackle saw Dan Mackay burst forward on the left before cutting in, alas his shot was wayward. Some good pressure from the visitors saw opportunities for offloading shots and Roddy Macgregor's effort had Fon Williams scrambling across his line as the ball slipped past the post. Toddy then saw a shot hit the roof of the net as the hosts were pressed back. Another scramble ensued after MacGregor drilled a ball into the box, the defence eventually blocking and clearing. Poor defending allowed Whittaker an opportunity but Mark Ridgers made a tremendous save low down at full stretch. The game had opened up now as The Pars were getting to grips with the second half and both keepers were called into routine action. Welsh brought out another save from the keeper with another free kick. The visitors opened the scoring ten minutes from time when MotM David Carson cut in from the right, jinked inside and smashed a right footer off the post and into the net. We held on comfortably thereafter to take all three points North and move up to fifth in the table. Full Time: 0-1 That was a solid performance from the Caley Jags to give temporary boss Neil McCann his second win in four days against the second and third placed sides. Brilliant first goal for David Carson who excelled again and a second clean sheet in four days away from home at difficult locations. What a difference a week makes! Match reaction from Neil McCann: Read full story at ICTFC “I don’t think anyone can say we didn’t deserve that today. We got the three points from an unbelievable goal from David Carson, who I though was magnificent today.” “I thought all round we looked a proper unit and a team that was prepared to do everything for each other. I’m delighted today.” “The boys have turned it around. We’ve changed our shape because I looked at them and thought they needed something a little different. It’s just one that makes them feel secure out of possession.” David Carson after his first goal for the club Full highlights from Pars TV Date: 20/03/2021 Venue: East End Park, Dunfermline Attendance: 0000 Referee: Peter Stuart Dunfermline: 0 Manager: Stevie Crawford Lineup: Fon Williams; Comrie, Watson (Gaspuitis 72), E Murray, MacDonald, Whittaker, Wilson (Mayo 57), Banks (McManus 68), F Murray, Thomas, Wighton Subs (not used): Gill; Edwards, McCann, O'Hara Scorers: none Booked: Watson (14), Wighton (79), McManus (82) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, B Mckay, Devine, Deas, D Mackay (McHattie 87), Welsh, Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland, Todorov (Storey 60) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde, Harkness, Duffy Scorers: Carson (81) Booked: Carson (74) Sent Off: none a -
Thick and fast The games are coming thick and fast and it's another fraught weekend ahead as we travel to East End Park, Dunfermline, to take on second top 'Pars' for a 3:00pm kick-off as the league enters a crucial stage with only seven games left for the Caley Jags to determine where we finish this difficult season. April will be a tough month with games coming up against Morton (a) Queens (a) Dundee (h) Hearts (a) Ayr United (h). This game can be streamed from Pars TV for £12 on PPV and you can find out how to do it by clicking HERE. Remember to register first then pay then click on 'watch' icon. Simples. We play Buckie Thistle in Scottish Cup action next Tuesday 23rd March and PPV for that game can be found HERE In midweek we had an encouraging result at Stark's Park where a Daniel Mackay goal gave temporary boss Neil McCann his first win in charge of Inverness at the sixth time of asking. Raith were reduced to ten men after ten minutes when Iain Davidson was red carded after leaving Nikolay Todorov on the turf when he challenged him from behind. Difficult to see exactly what happened on the replay but the referee was in no doubt and his card was coming out of his top pocket before Toddy hit the ground. That was Dan's 4th goal this season. That result coupled with an excellent win for Ayr United at Dens Park shows the table like this with Alloa to play Dundee on Friday night. OFFICIAL PREVIEW Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 20 14 3 3 48 21 27 45 2. Dunfermline 18 8 6 4 27 19 8 30 3. Raith Rovers 19 8 5 6 32 25 7 29 4. Dundee 19 7 6 6 34 35 -1 27 5. Queen of the South 20 8 3 9 32 40 -8 27 6. Inverness CT 20 5 9 6 26 23 3 24 7. Ayr United 20 6 6 8 25 24 1 24 8. Morton 20 5 7 8 17 25 -8 22 9. Arbroath 20 5 6 9 17 26 -9 21 10. Alloa Athletic 20 4 5 11 24 44 -20 17 Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Dunfermline Athletic 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) Oh Danny boy... 4th goal this season We played at East End Park on the opening day of the league campaign but went down 3-1 after Todorov opened the scoring in the second minute. Captain Euan Murray levelled with his head before the interval and the Pars eased away with two goals in the final twelve minutes through Ryan Dow and a belter from Declan McManus. Up in the Highlands we came from behind to earn a point after Kyle Turner drilled a low shot behind Ridgers in the first half. The equaliser was a spectacular left footed strike by Miles Storey with twenty-five minutes left and that's how it ended. ***Latest Team News*** Miles Storey played the last half hour against Raith with Kevin McHattie leaving the bench to take up some time added on. Still missing were Aaron Doran, James Vincent and Lewis Toshney. James Keatings was a used substitute against Raith but he came off injured twelve minutes after coming on. With McCann not giving much away I'll guess that one or two are still carrying knocks and we will be along similar lines to Tuesday night with maybe Miles Storey starting. Dunfermline have put promising midfielder Kyle Turner out on loan to Airdieonians. They have taken Craig Wighton on loan from Hearts and the big striker is relishing the challenge with three goals in three games. Another good loan signing is Scott Banks who had spells at Dundee United and Alloa Athletic. Former Caley Jags wage earner Owain Fon Williams is the current No1 at East End Park. -
Thick and fast The games are coming thick and fast and it's another fraught weekend ahead as we travel to East End Park, Dunfermline, to take on second top 'Pars' for a 3:00pm kick-off as the league enters a crucial stage with only seven games left for the Caley Jags to determine where we finish this difficult season. April will be a tough month with games coming up against Morton (a) Queens (a) Dundee (h) Hearts (a) Ayr United (h). This game can be streamed from Pars TV for £12 on PPV and you can find out how to do it by clicking HERE. Remember to register first then pay then click on 'watch' icon. Simples. We play Buckie Thistle in Scottish Cup action next Tuesday 23rd March and PPV for that game can be found HERE In midweek we had an encouraging result at Stark's Park where a Daniel Mackay goal gave temporary boss Neil McCann his first win in charge of Inverness at the sixth time of asking. Raith were reduced to ten men after ten minutes when Iain Davidson was red carded after leaving Nikolay Todorov on the turf when he challenged him from behind. Difficult to see exactly what happened on the replay but the referee was in no doubt and his card was coming out of his top pocket before Toddy hit the ground. That was Dan's 4th goal this season. That result coupled with an excellent win for Ayr United at Dens Park shows the table like this with Alloa to play Dundee on Friday night. OFFICIAL PREVIEW Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 20 14 3 3 48 21 27 45 2. Dunfermline 18 8 6 4 27 19 8 30 3. Raith Rovers 19 8 5 6 32 25 7 29 4. Dundee 19 7 6 6 34 35 -1 27 5. Queen of the South 20 8 3 9 32 40 -8 27 6. Inverness CT 20 5 9 6 26 23 3 24 7. Ayr United 20 6 6 8 25 24 1 24 8. Morton 20 5 7 8 17 25 -8 22 9. Arbroath 20 5 6 9 17 26 -9 21 10. Alloa Athletic 20 4 5 11 24 44 -20 17 Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Dunfermline Athletic 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) Oh Danny boy... 4th goal this season We played at East End Park on the opening day of the league campaign but went down 3-1 after Todorov opened the scoring in the second minute. Captain Euan Murray levelled with his head before the interval and the Pars eased away with two goals in the final twelve minutes through Ryan Dow and a belter from Declan McManus. Up in the Highlands we came from behind to earn a point after Kyle Turner drilled a low shot behind Ridgers in the first half. The equaliser was a spectacular left footed strike by Miles Storey with twenty-five minutes left and that's how it ended. ***Latest Team News*** Miles Storey played the last half hour against Raith with Kevin McHattie leaving the bench to take up some time added on. Still missing were Aaron Doran, James Vincent and Lewis Toshney. James Keatings was a used substitute against Raith but he came off injured twelve minutes after coming on. With McCann not giving much away I'll guess that one or two are still carrying knocks and we will be along similar lines to Tuesday night with maybe Miles Storey starting. Dunfermline have put promising midfielder Kyle Turner out on loan to Airdieonians. They have taken Craig Wighton on loan from Hearts and the big striker is relishing the challenge with three goals in three games. Another good loan signing is Scott Banks who had spells at Dundee United and Alloa Athletic. Former Caley Jags wage earner Owain Fon Williams is the current No1 at East End Park. View full article
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It's only half time! The second phase of the double header is at Stark's Park Kirkaldy as Inverness head South on Tuesday night for a 7:00pm kick-off. Part one ended all square in an enthralling no scoring draw at the Caledonian Stadium last Friday night in front of the BBC cameras and a covid restricted crowd of 000. You can Stream this game live from RAITH TV FOR £12. Log in/register, pay then select game. Follow instructions from Raith TV. Friday's game saw Neil McCann struggle to get a squad together with injuries denying him three or four first choices. Regulars Cammy Harper, Aaron Doran, James Vincent and Miles Storey all missed out which left us down to the bare bones with three youngsters, the departing James Keatings, knackered Wallace Duffy and crocked Kev McHattie our only outfield choices. That'll be one of the reasons we made no subs in this game. Here's hoping we get a couple of our missing bodies back into contention for a start soon. Despite our skeleton squad, we warmed to the task midway through the first half and by the end of the game we gave as good as we got. It could have been a high scoring draw but for various reasons it ended 0-0, not for the want of trying from both sides. Closest to a goal for the hosts were captain Sean Welsh who headed onto the post and Roddy MacGregor who drove the ball into the ruck of bodies lying on the grass on the goal line. He should really have scored, after all it was only two yards out. Raith missed opportunities from Ugwu and Mendosa amongst others in a flying start and before the end both keepers made excellent saves. Overall a point each gives no complaints from me. Since then Neil McCann has added Billy Dodds to his coaching staff to help get the best out of the players at his disposal. Interesting, let's see how that goes. Read about it here Championship fixtures tonight: Dundee v Ayr United & Raith Rovers v Inverness CT, both 7:00pm Kick-Off. Rescheduled 2nd rd Scottish Cup Tie: Buckie Thistle v Inverness CT Tuesday 23rd March 8:00pm Kick-Off PPV £10 on BUCKIE TV Last updated: 13.03.2021 at 12:06 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Hearts 20 14 3 3 48 21 45 2. Dunfermline 18 8 6 4 27 19 30 3. Raith Rovers 18 8 5 5 32 24 29 4. Dundee 18 7 6 5 33 32 27 5. Q.O.S. 20 8 3 9 32 40 27 6. Morton 20 5 7 8 17 25 22 7. Inverness CT 19 4 9 6 25 23 21 8. Ayr United 19 5 6 8 22 23 21 9. Arbroath 20 5 6 9 17 26 21 10. Alloa Athletic 20 4 5 11 24 44 17 Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Raith Rovers 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) 4 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) ***Latest Team News*** We were hit with some unannounced call-offs for last Friday's game as McCann was keeping his injury problems close to his chest. Missing for a couple of games now have been Miles Storey, Cameron Harper, James Vincent and the recently returned Aaron Doran. Wallace Duffy was given the night off as well and that all left us a bit thin on the ground. Kevin McHattie is clearly not fully fit and Lewis Toshney featured once on the bench but has since disappeared. OFFICIAL PREVIEW John McGlynn has a simpler task of naming his squad, in fact he has the luxury of picking and choosing who he plays and who goes on the bench and who to leave out altogether, whereas our hands are tied. Ugwu or Duku, .......... Here's a reminder of the teams from Friday night: ICT: Ridgers; B Mckay, Devine, Deas, Allardice, MacGregor, Carson, Allardice, D Mackay, Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Nicholson, Harkness, Duffy, Keatings, McHattie, Raith: J MacDonald; Tumilty, Benedictus, Hendry, K MacDonald, Kennedy, Tait, Musonda, Ugwu (Duku 85), King (Armstrong 66) Gullan (Mathews 66) Subs (not used): Thomson; Davidson, Abraham, Spencer The Wyness Shufflers have produced another gem... -
It's only half time! The second phase of the double header is at Stark's Park Kirkaldy as Inverness head South on Tuesday night for a 7:00pm kick-off. Part one ended all square in an enthralling no scoring draw at the Caledonian Stadium last Friday night in front of the BBC cameras and a covid restricted crowd of 000. You can Stream this game live from RAITH TV FOR £12. Log in/register, pay then select game. Follow instructions from Raith TV. Friday's game saw Neil McCann struggle to get a squad together with injuries denying him three or four first choices. Regulars Cammy Harper, Aaron Doran, James Vincent and Miles Storey all missed out which left us down to the bare bones with three youngsters, the departing James Keatings, knackered Wallace Duffy and crocked Kev McHattie our only outfield choices. That'll be one of the reasons we made no subs in this game. Here's hoping we get a couple of our missing bodies back into contention for a start soon. Despite our skeleton squad, we warmed to the task midway through the first half and by the end of the game we gave as good as we got. It could have been a high scoring draw but for various reasons it ended 0-0, not for the want of trying from both sides. Closest to a goal for the hosts were captain Sean Welsh who headed onto the post and Roddy MacGregor who drove the ball into the ruck of bodies lying on the grass on the goal line. He should really have scored, after all it was only two yards out. Raith missed opportunities from Ugwu and Mendosa amongst others in a flying start and before the end both keepers made excellent saves. Overall a point each gives no complaints from me. Since then Neil McCann has added Billy Dodds to his coaching staff to help get the best out of the players at his disposal. Interesting, let's see how that goes. Read about it here Championship fixtures tonight: Dundee v Ayr United & Raith Rovers v Inverness CT, both 7:00pm Kick-Off. Rescheduled 2nd rd Scottish Cup Tie: Buckie Thistle v Inverness CT Tuesday 23rd March 8:00pm Kick-Off PPV £10 on BUCKIE TV Last updated: 13.03.2021 at 12:06 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Hearts 20 14 3 3 48 21 45 2. Dunfermline 18 8 6 4 27 19 30 3. Raith Rovers 18 8 5 5 32 24 29 4. Dundee 18 7 6 5 33 32 27 5. Q.O.S. 20 8 3 9 32 40 27 6. Morton 20 5 7 8 17 25 22 7. Inverness CT 19 4 9 6 25 23 21 8. Ayr United 19 5 6 8 22 23 21 9. Arbroath 20 5 6 9 17 26 21 10. Alloa Athletic 20 4 5 11 24 44 17 Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Raith Rovers 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) 4 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) ***Latest Team News*** We were hit with some unannounced call-offs for last Friday's game as McCann was keeping his injury problems close to his chest. Missing for a couple of games now have been Miles Storey, Cameron Harper, James Vincent and the recently returned Aaron Doran. Wallace Duffy was given the night off as well and that all left us a bit thin on the ground. Kevin McHattie is clearly not fully fit and Lewis Toshney featured once on the bench but has since disappeared. OFFICIAL PREVIEW John McGlynn has a simpler task of naming his squad, in fact he has the luxury of picking and choosing who he plays and who goes on the bench and who to leave out altogether, whereas our hands are tied. Ugwu or Duku, .......... Here's a reminder of the teams from Friday night: ICT: Ridgers; B Mckay, Devine, Deas, Allardice, MacGregor, Carson, Allardice, D Mackay, Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Nicholson, Harkness, Duffy, Keatings, McHattie, Raith: J MacDonald; Tumilty, Benedictus, Hendry, K MacDonald, Kennedy, Tait, Musonda, Ugwu (Duku 85), King (Armstrong 66) Gullan (Mathews 66) Subs (not used): Thomson; Davidson, Abraham, Spencer The Wyness Shufflers have produced another gem... View full article
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Down Down Deeper and Down After the lethargic jaded performance on Tuesday night comes the visit of second place Raith Rovers, the first of a double header against the Kirkaldy side who we play again next Tuesday night at Starks Park. First up we are at the Caledonian Stadium where points are at a premium for both clubs but for different reasons. This game can be seen on BBC Scotland on Friday night with a 7:45 kick-off. This season has been a disaster on and off the park. The pandemic apart, we are at an all time low being beaten regularly by clubs that have struggled to get points off us over the years through all the divisions. Now we can't beat Alloa home or away, Queen of the South, Morton, Arbroath are all jumping on the bandwagon as we struggle to perform and points are being given away like nobodies business. What's going on? Managerless, aimless, leaderless, goalless, headless, gutless, useless, hapless and hopeless are all being used to describe our demise. At this moment in time I don't fancy our chances in a play-off situation with any club, or Buckie Thistle in the Scottish Cup for that matter. It's time to smell the coffee and get our heads out of our ar5e5 before it's too late. Should the unthinkable happen and we get consumed by relegation then that could trigger the death knoll of our club. Part time football beckons, and with that comes anonymity and even less income. It's a slippery slope that's so easy to slide down but one that's very difficult to climb back up. What can be done to halt the slide? Well, picking up three points would be very welcome but that's not so easy given our fixture schedule and small squad. Another factor in all this has been the stop start season and poor playing conditions. I know I know, it's the same for both sides I hear you say, but conditions like the Morton game levelled out the skill factor in favour of the technically poorer squad whilst ensuring we were brought down to a lower level. Yep, it's clutching at straws, but it's all we have at the moment. We need a leader on the park and direction from the dugout. That's not happening at the moment. Injuries have crippled our season and even Pixie Lott makes us look sh!te. Unfortunately, the league table does not lie and prior to the Raith game we sit second bottom of the table having all but caught up on our games in hand. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 19 13 3 3 46 21 25 42 2. Raith Rovers 17 8 4 5 32 24 8 28 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Queen of the South 19 8 3 8 30 37 -7 27 5. Dundee 17 6 6 5 31 32 -1 24 6. Morton 19 5 7 7 17 24 -7 22 7. Ayr United 18 5 6 7 22 21 1 21 8. Arbroath 19 5 6 8 17 24 -7 21 9. Inverness CT 18 4 8 6 25 23 2 20 10. Alloa Athletic 19 3 5 11 21 42 -21 14 Saturday games in the Championship, all 3:00pm kick-off. Dundee v Arbroath Dunfermline v Morton Hearts v Ayr United Queens v Alloa Athletic Our record over the years against Raith Rovers is one of total dominance. It's almost 21 years since Raith Rovers last won, a 2-1 win in the Highlands when first half goals by Jay Stein and Ivan Mballa were enough to see off a depleted Caley Jags who replied through Paul Sheerin ten minutes before the end. Since then we have been totally dominant winning eighteen games and drawing just three. Unfortunately our recent demise could result in another team changing the balance of power. Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Rovers going back to Saturday, April 24th, 2004 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) 4 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) We played Rovers in a League Cup game at the start of the season and that ended in an entertaining 3-3 draw with Rovers getting the penalty shoot-out bonus point. The second encounter was the first game with fans allowed in. A covid restricted crowd saw Inverness tame the high scoring Rovers and emerge from the game with a deserved 2-0 win with goals from James Keatings and Scott Allardice. We sat 5th in the table after that game, only three points behind Raith in second place. After trouncing Queen of the South the following week at Palmerston we were level with Raith on ten points. There was little evidence of the slump that was about to follow once the postponements set in. We even managed to draw with Dundee, surrendering a lead to a late goal. Then came Alloa. They hold the Indian sign over us recently and if that is our benchmark, then the rot set in after another failure to beat the Wasps. Only one win in ten games since the defeat to Alloa, and that was something of a surprise result at Ayr. That is simply not the form of a team looking for promotion, but it certainly smacks of relegation. A couple of the players have been speaking in the local press, Allardice and Duffy have used the word embarrassing and I can't disagree with that. They are implying that it's all down to the players to dig their way out of this hole. I can't disagree with that. Allardice added we should forget all talk about promotion, can't disagree with that either, he is spot on. I suppose it's good to know that the players realise we have a problem. Let's see if we get a reaction to our dismal performance against Morton where the most disappointing aspect was our inability to create enough chances coupled with some bog standard Caley Jags shoddy defending. Time to change the record guys. Brad Mckay is another who has stuck his oar in as he said "if anyone thinks Inverness Caledonian Thistle doesn’t care about bouncing back from their poor form and fighting against relegation, they’re wrong." Well, the fans are waiting guys, show us you care and let's get a result please, preferably a positive one! Championship Managerial Merry go Round: I see that Morton and Ayr United have made their moves to escape relegation. Morton have dumped Antone McElhone from the gaffers seat since they beat us and in comes the experienced Gus McPherson. Ayr United have signed on former Livingston and Morton manager David Hopkin. Meanwhile, we have under fire Neil McCann still helping out. Arbroath's manager Dick Campbell has been awarded Manager of the Month after a series of great results in February. Three wins and two draws tipped the scales in Dick's favour. Makes our 1-1 draw at Gayfield feel like a result! ***Latest Team News*** Neil McCann will have to decide whether he plays James Keatings or leaves him out against his future employers. Aaron Doran managed some game time against Morton but it was under difficult conditions. Kevin McHattie made the bench with Lewis Toshney on it for the previous game, so hopefully these defenders will be ready for selection soon as we need a steady hand at the back to compliment the brashness of youth. Up front we missed the pace of Miles Storey against Morton. Raith Rovers have been steadily building their squad and have a few to look out for. We are well aware of the trickery of Kai Kennedy, something we sadly lack since he left us. He will be joined next season by James Keatings who has signed a pre-contract at Stark's Park. Hell mend him! Manny Duku was well policed last time at Inverness but he is a goal threat. Raith will be without the services of defender Fernandy Mendy for three weeks as 'Nando' has been called up to play in the African Nations Cup for Guinea Bissau, which means he misses tonight's game at Inverness. More Pre-Match info/video will be added when available... -
Down Down Deeper and Down After the lethargic jaded performance on Tuesday night comes the visit of second place Raith Rovers, the first of a double header against the Kirkaldy side who we play again next Tuesday night at Starks Park. First up we are at the Caledonian Stadium where points are at a premium for both clubs but for different reasons. This game can be seen on BBC Scotland on Friday night with a 7:45 kick-off. This season has been a disaster on and off the park. The pandemic apart, we are at an all time low being beaten regularly by clubs that have struggled to get points off us over the years through all the divisions. Now we can't beat Alloa home or away, Queen of the South, Morton, Arbroath are all jumping on the bandwagon as we struggle to perform and points are being given away like nobodies business. What's going on? Managerless, aimless, leaderless, goalless, headless, gutless, useless, hapless and hopeless are all being used to describe our demise. At this moment in time I don't fancy our chances in a play-off situation with any club, or Buckie Thistle in the Scottish Cup for that matter. It's time to smell the coffee and get our heads out of our ar5e5 before it's too late. Should the unthinkable happen and we get consumed by relegation then that could trigger the death knoll of our club. Part time football beckons, and with that comes anonymity and even less income. It's a slippery slope that's so easy to slide down but one that's very difficult to climb back up. What can be done to halt the slide? Well, picking up three points would be very welcome but that's not so easy given our fixture schedule and small squad. Another factor in all this has been the stop start season and poor playing conditions. I know I know, it's the same for both sides I hear you say, but conditions like the Morton game levelled out the skill factor in favour of the technically poorer squad whilst ensuring we were brought down to a lower level. Yep, it's clutching at straws, but it's all we have at the moment. We need a leader on the park and direction from the dugout. That's not happening at the moment. Injuries have crippled our season and even Pixie Lott makes us look sh!te. Unfortunately, the league table does not lie and prior to the Raith game we sit second bottom of the table having all but caught up on our games in hand. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 19 13 3 3 46 21 25 42 2. Raith Rovers 17 8 4 5 32 24 8 28 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Queen of the South 19 8 3 8 30 37 -7 27 5. Dundee 17 6 6 5 31 32 -1 24 6. Morton 19 5 7 7 17 24 -7 22 7. Ayr United 18 5 6 7 22 21 1 21 8. Arbroath 19 5 6 8 17 24 -7 21 9. Inverness CT 18 4 8 6 25 23 2 20 10. Alloa Athletic 19 3 5 11 21 42 -21 14 Saturday games in the Championship, all 3:00pm kick-off. Dundee v Arbroath Dunfermline v Morton Hearts v Ayr United Queens v Alloa Athletic Our record over the years against Raith Rovers is one of total dominance. It's almost 21 years since Raith Rovers last won, a 2-1 win in the Highlands when first half goals by Jay Stein and Ivan Mballa were enough to see off a depleted Caley Jags who replied through Paul Sheerin ten minutes before the end. Since then we have been totally dominant winning eighteen games and drawing just three. Unfortunately our recent demise could result in another team changing the balance of power. Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Rovers going back to Saturday, April 24th, 2004 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) 4 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) We played Rovers in a League Cup game at the start of the season and that ended in an entertaining 3-3 draw with Rovers getting the penalty shoot-out bonus point. The second encounter was the first game with fans allowed in. A covid restricted crowd saw Inverness tame the high scoring Rovers and emerge from the game with a deserved 2-0 win with goals from James Keatings and Scott Allardice. We sat 5th in the table after that game, only three points behind Raith in second place. After trouncing Queen of the South the following week at Palmerston we were level with Raith on ten points. There was little evidence of the slump that was about to follow once the postponements set in. We even managed to draw with Dundee, surrendering a lead to a late goal. Then came Alloa. They hold the Indian sign over us recently and if that is our benchmark, then the rot set in after another failure to beat the Wasps. Only one win in ten games since the defeat to Alloa, and that was something of a surprise result at Ayr. That is simply not the form of a team looking for promotion, but it certainly smacks of relegation. A couple of the players have been speaking in the local press, Allardice and Duffy have used the word embarrassing and I can't disagree with that. They are implying that it's all down to the players to dig their way out of this hole. I can't disagree with that. Allardice added we should forget all talk about promotion, can't disagree with that either, he is spot on. I suppose it's good to know that the players realise we have a problem. Let's see if we get a reaction to our dismal performance against Morton where the most disappointing aspect was our inability to create enough chances coupled with some bog standard Caley Jags shoddy defending. Time to change the record guys. Brad Mckay is another who has stuck his oar in as he said "if anyone thinks Inverness Caledonian Thistle doesn’t care about bouncing back from their poor form and fighting against relegation, they’re wrong." Well, the fans are waiting guys, show us you care and let's get a result please, preferably a positive one! Championship Managerial Merry go Round: I see that Morton and Ayr United have made their moves to escape relegation. Morton have dumped Antone McElhone from the gaffers seat since they beat us and in comes the experienced Gus McPherson. Ayr United have signed on former Livingston and Morton manager David Hopkin. Meanwhile, we have under fire Neil McCann still helping out. Arbroath's manager Dick Campbell has been awarded Manager of the Month after a series of great results in February. Three wins and two draws tipped the scales in Dick's favour. Makes our 1-1 draw at Gayfield feel like a result! ***Latest Team News*** Neil McCann will have to decide whether he plays James Keatings or leaves him out against his future employers. Aaron Doran managed some game time against Morton but it was under difficult conditions. Kevin McHattie made the bench with Lewis Toshney on it for the previous game, so hopefully these defenders will be ready for selection soon as we need a steady hand at the back to compliment the brashness of youth. Up front we missed the pace of Miles Storey against Morton. Raith Rovers have been steadily building their squad and have a few to look out for. We are well aware of the trickery of Kai Kennedy, something we sadly lack since he left us. He will be joined next season by James Keatings who has signed a pre-contract at Stark's Park. Hell mend him! Manny Duku was well policed last time at Inverness but he is a goal threat. Raith will be without the services of defender Fernandy Mendy for three weeks as 'Nando' has been called up to play in the African Nations Cup for Guinea Bissau, which means he misses tonight's game at Inverness. More Pre-Match info/video will be added when available... View full article
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Morton Catch-Up No rest for the wicked and we face Morton at the Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night, the game kicking-off at 7:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV. In this cut-throat league we have got to the stage where a play-off slot is achievable. Unfortunately, that's more likely at the wrong end of the table although both options are still available with only ten games left for us. We could go a long way to relieving some of the pressure on ourselves by beating Morton who have fallen just below us in the table, but we are Caley Jags and we don't take the easy options. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 19 13 3 3 46 21 25 42 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 3 5 32 24 8 27 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Queen of the South 19 8 3 8 30 37 -7 27 5. Dundee 17 6 6 5 31 32 -1 24 6. Arbroath 19 5 6 8 17 24 -7 21 7. Inverness CT 17 4 8 5 25 22 3 20 8. Ayr United 17 5 5 7 22 21 1 20 9. Morton 18 4 7 7 16 24 -8 19 10. Alloa Athletic 19 3 5 11 21 42 -21 14 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Morton back to April 2018 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) On Saturday we battled from behind to earn a draw at Alloa after Innes Cameron had given the hosts the lead. Nikolay Todorov replied for the Caley Jags before the Interval and that's how it ended. Both keepers made decent saves and that's the reason there was no further scoring. Well that and a couple of shocking misses. Good to see Lewis Toshney involved with the squad, even it was just sitting on the bench. His experience could be useful in the final few games of the season. Since drawing 2-2 with us in January, Morton have failed to win in five games although a couple of deserved draws with Hearts and Dundee have been undermined by poor results against Arbroath and Raith Rovers. However a 0-2 defeat from Ayr United at the weekend has dumped Morton below Ayr and Inverness although there is only one point in it. Both sides are in a rut at the moment. Neither side has an out and out goal scorer, both sides have only four wins and are flirting with the relegation zone and both sides need the points. What could possibly go wrong? There is one other game tonight in the Championship as Raith Rovers take on Ayr United at Stark's Park which is also a 7:00pm kick-off. Dunfermline v Dundee is postponed due to a covid outbreak at East End Park with players having to self isolate. ***Latest Team News*** Neil McCann: We have a doubt over Cameron Harper who was precautionarily substituted at Alloa. Better news is that Aaron Doran is back training. Todorov and Sutherland are our top scorers this season with five apiece and Raith bound James Keatings has four. Scott Allardice is our most booked player with five yellow's. Antone McElhone used these players in the home defeat to Ayr United: McAdams, Ledger, McLean, McGinty, Strapp (Muirhead 50′), Jacobs, McGuffie (Johnson 65′), Colville (Sterling 65′), Blues, Nesbitt, Salkeld. Left back Lewis Strapp is a doubt for Morton after he was injured in the game against Ayr United where Robbie Muirhead replaced him after fifty minutes. A foot injury could see Strapp miss this one. Kalvin Orsi, Cameron Blues and Craig McGuffie are the Ton's top scorers with three goals each this season. This post has been promoted to an article
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At the Crossroads With our season gradually disintegrating, we head to Recreation Park Alloa to face The Wasps @ the Indodrill Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday with both sides lingering at the wrong end of the table, games in hand or not. Our games in hand are dwindling away and there's little improvement in our league position. Four wins from sixteen games is not the form of a team challenging for a play-off slot to the premiership. This is now a crucial game in our season which is at the crossroads. Which way do we turn? Crossroads We have found Alloa difficult to beat recently with no wins in our last four meetings, such is the demise of our club. Financial constraints have seen us unable to attract the quality of player required at this level to sustain a challenge at the top end of the table and we are having to blood youngsters in the Championship. The latest jumping ship is James Keatings who has reportedly signed a pre-contract agreement with Raith Rovers. With little leadership on the park, it's difficult to get any consistency and Premiership football looks unlikely with the prospects of league 1 closer to the mark. It's a tough league to get out of at the right end and there's a fine line between challenging at the top to falling into a relegation battle and that is something we have to get used to pretty quick. We have eleven games left to save our season, which way will we turn? Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 18 12 3 3 44 20 24 39 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 3 5 32 24 8 27 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Dundee 16 6 6 4 30 30 0 24 5. Queen of the South 18 7 3 8 26 35 -9 24 6. Arbroath 18 5 6 7 15 20 -5 21 7. Inverness CT 16 4 7 5 24 21 3 19 8. Morton 17 4 7 6 16 22 -6 19 9. Ayr United 16 4 5 7 20 21 -1 17 10. Alloa Athletic 18 3 4 11 20 41 -21 13 All Championship games this weekend Raith v Dundee - Postponed - Covid Alloa v Inverness CT Arbroath v Queen of the South Hearts v Dundee Morton v Ayr United Only eleven games left and we need to start picking up points starting with Alloa away at the weekend, so get behind the guys, for better or for worse. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ OFFICIAL PREVIEW PPV STREAMING £12 FROM ALLOA TV +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Neil McCann pre-match with Alloa... ***Latest Team News*** Anthony McDonald has had an operation on his knee and with only a dozen games left in this season, it is unlikely we will see much, if anything at all from him this campaign. Roddy MacGregor is doubtful after the clattering he took against Hearts from Kingsley. The rest are back in training and will be needed as soon as they are ready for action before our season is beyond repair. It looks as though the best we can do this year is survive and get the youngsters some valuable game time ready for next season. This is not a drill! Alloa will make it difficult and for the first time ever we will probably be regarded as underdogs in this fixture. Their mix of experience, young loanees and dogged journeymen have been good enough to hold the Indian sign over us recently and I see little evidence that will change this weekend. Loan signing Innes Cameron seems to be prospering with game time and Innes Murray likes a free kick, both scoring against us in the last couple of meetings. Here's a wee reminder that not all left feet are just for standing on.... View full article
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Morton Catch-Up No rest for the wicked and we face Morton at the Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night, the game kicking-off at 7:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV. In this cut-throat league we have got to the stage where a play-off slot is achievable. Unfortunately, that's more likely at the wrong end of the table although both options are still available with only ten games left for us. We could go a long way to relieving some of the pressure on ourselves by beating Morton who have fallen just below us in the table, but we are Caley Jags and we don't take the easy options. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 19 13 3 3 46 21 25 42 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 3 5 32 24 8 27 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Queen of the South 19 8 3 8 30 37 -7 27 5. Dundee 17 6 6 5 31 32 -1 24 6. Arbroath 19 5 6 8 17 24 -7 21 7. Inverness CT 17 4 8 5 25 22 3 20 8. Ayr United 17 5 5 7 22 21 1 20 9. Morton 18 4 7 7 16 24 -8 19 10. Alloa Athletic 19 3 5 11 21 42 -21 14 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Morton back to April 2018 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) On Saturday we battled from behind to earn a draw at Alloa after Innes Cameron had given the hosts the lead. Nikolay Todorov replied for the Caley Jags before the Interval and that's how it ended. Both keepers made decent saves and that's the reason there was no further scoring. Well that and a couple of shocking misses. Good to see Lewis Toshney involved with the squad, even it was just sitting on the bench. His experience could be useful in the final few games of the season. Since drawing 2-2 with us in January, Morton have failed to win in five games although a couple of deserved draws with Hearts and Dundee have been undermined by poor results against Arbroath and Raith Rovers. However a 0-2 defeat from Ayr United at the weekend has dumped Morton below Ayr and Inverness although there is only one point in it. Both sides are in a rut at the moment. Neither side has an out and out goal scorer, both sides have only four wins and are flirting with the relegation zone and both sides need the points. What could possibly go wrong? There is one other game tonight in the Championship as Raith Rovers take on Ayr United at Stark's Park which is also a 7:00pm kick-off. Dunfermline v Dundee is postponed due to a covid outbreak at East End Park with players having to self isolate. ***Latest Team News*** Neil McCann: We have a doubt over Cameron Harper who was precautionarily substituted at Alloa. Better news is that Aaron Doran is back training. Todorov and Sutherland are our top scorers this season with five apiece and Raith bound James Keatings has four. Scott Allardice is our most booked player with five yellow's. Antone McElhone used these players in the home defeat to Ayr United: McAdams, Ledger, McLean, McGinty, Strapp (Muirhead 50′), Jacobs, McGuffie (Johnson 65′), Colville (Sterling 65′), Blues, Nesbitt, Salkeld. Left back Lewis Strapp is a doubt for Morton after he was injured in the game against Ayr United where Robbie Muirhead replaced him after fifty minutes. A foot injury could see Strapp miss this one. Kalvin Orsi, Cameron Blues and Craig McGuffie are the Ton's top scorers with three goals each this season. -
Toddy earns the point Alloa's man of the moment Innes Cameron opened the scoring in the 17th minute driving home from fifteen yards before Nikolay Todorov levelled with an equally tidy finish ten minutes later. Alloa had the better of the chances thereafter but it was level at the break. Inverness ramped up the performance after the interval but were unable to get the winner. James Keatings and Shane Sutherland brought out great saves from Parry but it finished a point apiece. Alan Trouten was sent off in time added on for a possible off the ball incident. Straight red! Nikolay Todorov started up front with Miles Storey and Roddy MacGregor was deemed fit enough to start. Danny Devine was on the bench with the forever injured Lewis Toshney and Raith Rovers bound James Keatings. Alloa had loanee man of the moment Innes Cameron starting with the ever present Alan Trouten and goal threat Kevin Cawley. With Neil McCann still in charge, the order of the day for the Caley Jags would have been to retain possession from your own box out, such has been his approach from previous managerial duties. Dundee knew this and Alloa quickly cottoned on to our strategy and took control of the early exchanges after ten minutes into the game. Lee Connelly was first to threaten but ended up getting booked for diving as Mark Ridgers went to close him down. David Carson tested Neil Parry with a low controlled shot from the edge of the box but Parry smothered it at the second attempt. A minute later Innes Cameron benefitted from a superb through ball from Kevin Cawley. He took control outside the box and drove forward like an inside left before hammering a fifteen yard shot behind the exposed Ridgers. Ten minutes later some loose play in midfield offered an opportunity for Steven Heatherington, he played in Alan Trouten but the angle was tight and Ridgers blocked his effort with his feet. The wasps were swarming all over us at this point as we struggled to make any headway. However, ten minutes after the opener we were level. After Carson was robbed in midfield, the ball came back to Sean Welsh who threaded a low ball forward to Shane Sutherland. He in turn touched it deftly to Nikolay Todorov who stepped onto the pass and drilled it into the bottom corner. Connelly found himself with the ball at his feet similar to Cameron's opening goal but his shot lacked power and as Ridgers had anticipated his arrival he blocked well. Thirty seconds later a blooper from the keeper saw him pass the ball out to the edge of the box. Now total football is fine, but you need to pass it to your own players. Cameron spotted the error and stepped onto the pass but fortunately for a red faced Mark he drove the ball over the bar from twenty yards with the goals vacant. We ventured forward before the break but our indecision saw Alloa nick the ball from us on the edge of their box. Robertson wasted no time in launching a long ball forward where Cameron did well to control and shoot under pressure to force Ridgers into an excellent save to keep out his powerful effort. Half Time: 1-1 Just after the break his touch deserted him six yards out after a Jon Robertson cross found him loose inside the area. Again Ridgers was quick to shut him down. Miles Storey crossed from the left and Robbie Deas slashed at an attempted volley. The ball landed at Sutherland but his effort was more akin to three points at Murrayfield. Alloa then made their own blooper and offered Sutherland another go, this time Parry pulled off a tremendous one-handed save to deny the striker. Inverness were having a much more successful second forty-five and it was Sutherland who should have put the visitors ahead. On the hour, he beat the offside trap and ran through on goal, unfortunately he also beat the post as he curled the ball low past Parry as he came out and past the wrong side of the post. Great opportunity missed. Trouten tried an overhead but it lacked power and Ridgers had it covered and moments later he had to react quicker to push away a Scott Taggart free kick from just under the bar as Alloa came back into the game. Big Andy Graham thought he was Ronaldo at one point, dancing and skipping his way down the wing. Great effort from the big man! Daniel Mackay's cross from the left ended at the feet of James Keatings and his blistering shot was, well, parried well by Parry I suppose. As the clock ticked down there was one more mystery to be solved. All will be revealed. An Alloa attack was halted on the left side of our box and Alan Trouten received a straight red card. No, it wasn't for scoring the penalty against us last week but the video shows that he deliberately kicked his marker on the edge of the box to free up space for himself. Old dogs old tricks, but it was well spotted and Trouten was in the bath a couple of minutes earlier than everyone else. Still time for Ridgers to gather an awkward shot from distance just before the final whistle but that was it, all square. Full Time: 1-1 So the game ended in controversy but overall it had been an open and entertaining game with a draw just about right. Alloa dominated the first half with Inverness more prominent after the break. Both keepers made some super saves two tidy goals and a red card. Joint Men of the Match, Parry & Ridgers. I imagine there will be a few sniffing around Innes Cameron, big, strong athletic and a goal scorer, what's not to like. That's what Saturday's are for! Interim Inverness CT manager Neil McCann: "I think maybe a draw was a fair result. I thought we were a bit sloppy and we're better than that. "You have to start putting a run together and showing you're good players. They're a really good group that have had to deal with stuff off the pitch too - that has a negative effect on the group." Alloa Athletic manager Peter Grant: "We deserved the points. We played really well and created chances- we just didn't have luck in front of goal. "The hardest way to play football is the way we play - especially when you're bottom of the league." Full Highlights from Alloa TV Neil McCann post match Date: 06/03/2021 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 0000 Referee: Alan Muir Alloa Athletic: 1 Manager: Peter Grant Lineup: Parry; Taggart, Graham, Dick, Hetherington, Grant, Robertson, Connelly (O'Donnell 58) Trouten, Cawley, Cameron, Subs (not used): Willison; Buchanan, Brown, Jamieson, Malcolm, Murray Scorers: Cameron (17) Booked: Connelly (14) Sent Off: Trouten (90+1) Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann (temp) Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Deas, Harper (Devine 50), MacGregor, Carson, Welsh, Sutherland, Storey ( D Mackay), Todorov (Keatings 78)) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Toshney, Vincent, Allardice, Scorers: Todorov (27) Booked: D Mackay (74), Devine (90+2) Sent Off: none a -
At the Crossroads With our season gradually disintegrating, we head to Recreation Park Alloa to face The Wasps @ the Indodrill Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday with both sides lingering at the wrong end of the table, games in hand or not. Our games in hand are dwindling away and there's little improvement in our league position. Four wins from sixteen games is not the form of a team challenging for a play-off slot to the premiership. This is now a crucial game in our season which is at the crossroads. Which way do we turn? Crossroads We have found Alloa difficult to beat recently with no wins in our last four meetings, such is the demise of our club. Financial constraints have seen us unable to attract the quality of player required at this level to sustain a challenge at the top end of the table and we are having to blood youngsters in the Championship. The latest jumping ship is James Keatings who has reportedly signed a pre-contract agreement with Raith Rovers. With little leadership on the park, it's difficult to get any consistency and Premiership football looks unlikely with the prospects of league 1 closer to the mark. It's a tough league to get out of at the right end and there's a fine line between challenging at the top to falling into a relegation battle and that is something we have to get used to pretty quick. We have eleven games left to save our season, which way will we turn? Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 18 12 3 3 44 20 24 39 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 3 5 32 24 8 27 3. Dunfermline 17 7 6 4 26 19 7 27 4. Dundee 16 6 6 4 30 30 0 24 5. Queen of the South 18 7 3 8 26 35 -9 24 6. Arbroath 18 5 6 7 15 20 -5 21 7. Inverness CT 16 4 7 5 24 21 3 19 8. Morton 17 4 7 6 16 22 -6 19 9. Ayr United 16 4 5 7 20 21 -1 17 10. Alloa Athletic 18 3 4 11 20 41 -21 13 All Championship games this weekend Raith v Dundee - Postponed - Covid Alloa v Inverness CT Arbroath v Queen of the South Hearts v Dundee Morton v Ayr United Only eleven games left and we need to start picking up points starting with Alloa away at the weekend, so get behind the guys, for better or for worse. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ OFFICIAL PREVIEW PPV STREAMING £12 FROM ALLOA TV +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Neil McCann pre-match with Alloa... ***Latest Team News*** Anthony McDonald has had an operation on his knee and with only a dozen games left in this season, it is unlikely we will see much, if anything at all from him this campaign. Roddy MacGregor is doubtful after the clattering he took against Hearts from Kingsley. The rest are back in training and will be needed as soon as they are ready for action before our season is beyond repair. It looks as though the best we can do this year is survive and get the youngsters some valuable game time ready for next season. This is not a drill! Alloa will make it difficult and for the first time ever we will probably be regarded as underdogs in this fixture. Their mix of experience, young loanees and dogged journeymen have been good enough to hold the Indian sign over us recently and I see little evidence that will change this weekend. Loan signing Innes Cameron seems to be prospering with game time and Innes Murray likes a free kick, both scoring against us in the last couple of meetings. Here's a wee reminder that not all left feet are just for standing on.... -
untilInverness CT -V- Arbroath Championship Football @ The Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Saturday 27th March 2021 @ 3:00pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans
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untilInverness CT -V- Raith Rovers Championship Football @ The Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Friday 12th March 2021 @ 7:45pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans
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untilDundee -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Dens Park 2nd March, 2021 - Kick-Off 7:00pm Covid restrictions - No Fans
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untilInverness CT -V- Morton Championship Football @ The Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Tuesday 9th March 2021 @ 7:00pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans
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untilAlloa Athletic -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Recreation Park, Alloa Saturday 6th March @ 3:00pm Covid restrictions - No Fans
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Virtual game time It's been a hectic week for the Caley Jags. An away day at Ayr, midweek game in the Highlands, a temporary manager installed, title favourites Hearts visiting the Caledonian Stadium and Neil McCann's first match in the Caley Jags dugout in front of a massive virtual crowd. Welcome Neil and haste ye back John Robertson and Scott Kellacher. Can we have a virtual score of 3-0 please. Thank you! Yes, it's been a massive success the virtual ticket sale and could add some much needed dosh to our accountants wee purse. Thanks to all who contributed and to all who made this possible. "A number of weeks ago, our club CEO Scot Gardiner was approached by Stevie Kilgour, the General Secretary of the Federation of Hearts Supporters, to discuss how Hearts fans could look to assist Caley Thistle during what has been an extremely onerous financial period for Scottish football." Buy Tickets Here Worrying news ahead of the Alloa fixture was manager John Robertson being given compassionate leave after a family bereavement. All this on top of Robbo's recent openness regarding the stress and strain the pandemic has put on all walks of life including his own during these unprecedented times. Add the serious illness Scott Kellacher has been dealing with and it was no surprise that the board felt the need to bring in someone who was prepared to help out and someone who has had previous experience in organising a football team. So here we are with Neil McCann offering his services to help out an old mate. Thank you Neil and good luck to all involved. After clawing Alloa back, going ahead then ending up drawing, it felt like a loss. It ended 2-2 but many felt we undid some of the good work we achieved at Ayr. Alloa benefitted from a couple of close calls, a missed penalty and some defensive naivety to earn their point. Wallace Duffy scored his first senior goal and what a goal it was. Possibly thirty yards into the roof of the net with his standing leg. Boom! James Keatings put us ahead after Miles Storey cut the ball across the box where Keatings hit a controlled volley into the bottom corner. A penalty award should have seen us take all three points but insistent penalty taker Storey shot weakly and keeper Parry saved easily. To then rub salt into the wound Trouten scored a late penalty to level the game and that's how it ended. Here's the goals against Alloa. Duffy..... Booooom! Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Hearts 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 3 (N) 0 - 5 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (H) Looking at the above statistics, our last win over Hearts was on September 11th, 2015, 7:45 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Incidentally, Miles Storey scored a last minute goal on that Friday night. James Vincent got the opener, let's hope he is fit for this game. Is that an omen? Hearts were held to draws in their last two outings where Morton and Queen of the South came away with a point as Hearts came from behind in both games to level the score. They left it very late at Palmerston where Liam Boyce scored a 90th minute penalty. Neil McCann will have been well versed on the capabilities of his acquired charges despite only getting to know them since after the Alloa game. I'm sure he would have been well impressed by the likes of David Carson and James Keatings and hopefully he can get the best out of the rest. Danny Mackay and Roddy MacGregor will be out to impress and Miles Storey would do well to listen to McCann's advice. I'm sure most of the squad will benefit from some time with the 'new' gaffer. Wallace Duffy was as shocked as anyone to score that spectacular goal. You could tell he was new to scoring judging by his awkward non celebration. What a belter though. I'll let Neil explain how he came to be here... ***Latest Team News*** Usual candidates missing for the Caley Jags; the long term four and as noticed against Alloa Sean Welsh and James Vincent were not on the team-sheets. It looked as though everyone else came through unscathed and there's little scope for change. Hearts have a depth of squad that only Dundee can get close to, so it matters little if they have one or two missing. This post has been promoted to an article
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Virtual game time It's been a hectic week for the Caley Jags. An away day at Ayr, midweek game in the Highlands, a temporary manager installed, title favourites Hearts visiting the Caledonian Stadium and Neil McCann's first match in the Caley Jags dugout in front of a massive virtual crowd. Welcome Neil and haste ye back John Robertson and Scott Kellacher. Can we have a virtual score of 3-0 please. Thank you! Yes, it's been a massive success the virtual ticket sale and could add some much needed dosh to our accountants wee purse. Thanks to all who contributed and to all who made this possible. "A number of weeks ago, our club CEO Scot Gardiner was approached by Stevie Kilgour, the General Secretary of the Federation of Hearts Supporters, to discuss how Hearts fans could look to assist Caley Thistle during what has been an extremely onerous financial period for Scottish football." Buy Tickets Here Worrying news ahead of the Alloa fixture was manager John Robertson being given compassionate leave after a family bereavement. All this on top of Robbo's recent openness regarding the stress and strain the pandemic has put on all walks of life including his own during these unprecedented times. Add the serious illness Scott Kellacher has been dealing with and it was no surprise that the board felt the need to bring in someone who was prepared to help out and someone who has had previous experience in organising a football team. So here we are with Neil McCann offering his services to help out an old mate. Thank you Neil and good luck to all involved. After clawing Alloa back, going ahead then ending up drawing, it felt like a loss. It ended 2-2 but many felt we undid some of the good work we achieved at Ayr. Alloa benefitted from a couple of close calls, a missed penalty and some defensive naivety to earn their point. Wallace Duffy scored his first senior goal and what a goal it was. Possibly thirty yards into the roof of the net with his standing leg. Boom! James Keatings put us ahead after Miles Storey cut the ball across the box where Keatings hit a controlled volley into the bottom corner. A penalty award should have seen us take all three points but insistent penalty taker Storey shot weakly and keeper Parry saved easily. To then rub salt into the wound Trouten scored a late penalty to level the game and that's how it ended. Here's the goals against Alloa. Duffy..... Booooom! Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Hearts 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 3 (N) 0 - 5 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (H) Looking at the above statistics, our last win over Hearts was on September 11th, 2015, 7:45 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Incidentally, Miles Storey scored a last minute goal on that Friday night. James Vincent got the opener, let's hope he is fit for this game. Is that an omen? Hearts were held to draws in their last two outings where Morton and Queen of the South came away with a point as Hearts came from behind in both games to level the score. They left it very late at Palmerston where Liam Boyce scored a 90th minute penalty. Neil McCann will have been well versed on the capabilities of his acquired charges despite only getting to know them since after the Alloa game. I'm sure he would have been well impressed by the likes of David Carson and James Keatings and hopefully he can get the best out of the rest. Danny Mackay and Roddy MacGregor will be out to impress and Miles Storey would do well to listen to McCann's advice. I'm sure most of the squad will benefit from some time with the 'new' gaffer. Wallace Duffy was as shocked as anyone to score that spectacular goal. You could tell he was new to scoring judging by his awkward non celebration. What a belter though. I'll let Neil explain how he came to be here... ***Latest Team News*** Usual candidates missing for the Caley Jags; the long term four and as noticed against Alloa Sean Welsh and James Vincent were not on the team-sheets. It looked as though everyone else came through unscathed and there's little scope for change. Hearts have a depth of squad that only Dundee can get close to, so it matters little if they have one or two missing. -
Rescheduled Alloa game 7:00pm Tuesday night Weather & Covid permitting... The original preview has been resurrected and irrelevant parts have been greyed out. The section regarding manager John Roberton has been left in as it has been revealed today that he has been granted compassionate leave due to a family bereavement. The club are looking to appoint an interim manager whilst Robbo is away. All at CTO send sincere condolences to John and family and hope everyone gets the support they need. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. It's one month since the original fixture was called off. Since then we have played four times, drawing with Morton and Arbroath, disappointingly losing at home to Queen of the South but bouncing back at the weekend to defeat Ayr United 2-0 at Somerset Park. Daniel Mackay and Shane Sutherland with the goals in each half. Importantly David Carson played from the start and put in a MotM performance. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Fast forward one month for the Wasps and they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at Ayr followed by an excellent 2-1 home win over Queen of the South. A home draw with Arbroath led to Saturdays narrow loss at East End Park where word on the street has it that they deserved something from that game. Alloa now find themselves five points adrift at the foot of the table. No room for complacency at Inverness though as we are one of the teams 5 points above Alloa. ***Latest Team News*** David Carson has returned to action and played a big part in the win at Ayr. Danny Devine has been out recently but he also played at Ayr. We are still without Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie on long term sickness benefits and they have been joined by Aaron Doran and loan signing Anthony McDonald. James Vincent was missing at Ayr as well. All three picked up injuries in training with Doran and McDonald possibly out for longer term. Peter Grant had this team out against Dunfermline with dangerman Kevin Cawley on target. Team: Parry; Robertson (Thomson 91), Graham, Taggart, Dick, Hetherington Williamson (Brown 90), Scougall, Trouten, Cawley, Cameron Subs: Buchanan, Jamieson, Connelly, Murray, Wright So there you have it, we are up to date now. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 Club Statement re- John Robertson & Scott Kellacher Alloa Kick-off 7:00pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend ------------------ League table as at 20th January. Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware! -
Rescheduled Alloa game 7:00pm Tuesday night Weather & Covid permitting... The original preview has been resurrected and irrelevant parts have been greyed out. The section regarding manager John Roberton has been left in as it has been revealed today that he has been granted compassionate leave due to a family bereavement. The club are looking to appoint an interim manager whilst Robbo is away. All at CTO send sincere condolences to John and family and hope everyone gets the support they need. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. It's one month since the original fixture was called off. Since then we have played four times, drawing with Morton and Arbroath, disappointingly losing at home to Queen of the South but bouncing back at the weekend to defeat Ayr United 2-0 at Somerset Park. Daniel Mackay and Shane Sutherland with the goals in each half. Importantly David Carson played from the start and put in a MotM performance. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Fast forward one month for the Wasps and they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at Ayr followed by an excellent 2-1 home win over Queen of the South. A home draw with Arbroath led to Saturdays narrow loss at East End Park where word on the street has it that they deserved something from that game. Alloa now find themselves five points adrift at the foot of the table. No room for complacency at Inverness though as we are one of the teams 5 points above Alloa. ***Latest Team News*** David Carson has returned to action and played a big part in the win at Ayr. Danny Devine has been out recently but he also played at Ayr. We are still without Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie on long term sickness benefits and they have been joined by Aaron Doran and loan signing Anthony McDonald. James Vincent was missing at Ayr as well. All three picked up injuries in training with Doran and McDonald possibly out for longer term. Peter Grant had this team out against Dunfermline with dangerman Kevin Cawley on target. Team: Parry; Robertson (Thomson 91), Graham, Taggart, Dick, Hetherington Williamson (Brown 90), Scougall, Trouten, Cawley, Cameron Subs: Buchanan, Jamieson, Connelly, Murray, Wright So there you have it, we are up to date now. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 Club Statement re- John Robertson & Scott Kellacher Alloa Kick-off 7:00pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend ------------------ League table as at 20th January. Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware! View full article
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Should Auld Acquaintances be forgot... We travel to Somerset Park, Ayr on Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off against the Honest Men and renew acquaintances with a couple of former colleagues, namely Tom Walsh and Joe Chalmers. It's been a difficult few weeks for the Caley Jags with postponements in abundance although we did return to action in midweek after the big freeze relented. Unfortunately, despite dominating the game, we went down 1-0 to Queen of the South when Nortei Nortey scored his first goal for the Doonhamers. We seemed to lack composure or pick the right ball as we failed to unlock the visitors defence and resorted to shooting from distance which keeper Ferguson dealt with comfortably. Failing that, many of our efforts were blocked before troubling the keeper or blazed high and wide which meant a frustrating night all round for the Caley Jags and their supporters. Ayr have not played since losing narrowly to Hearts a couple of weeks ago, a Liam Boyce penalty the only difference between the sides. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW Ayr United PPV £12.50 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Ayr United going back to August 2018 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (H) Incidentally, that 1-0 defeat shown in the above stats for January 2020 was the first win for Ayr in 17 years covering 14 games. We drew the first encounter this season in the Highlands when Nokolay Todorove earned a point with an 86th minute goal after Innes Cameron gave United the lead around the hour. All fixtures on Saturday at 3:00pm Ayr United v Inverness CT Arbroath v Raith Rovers Dundee v Queen of the South Dunfermline v Alloa Athletic Hearts v Morton Latest Team News Robbo will be without the usual long term crocks, Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney (is he a real thing). Add Aaron Doran and recent loan signing Anthony McDonald to that list. James Vincent is a new short term casualty, another training ground injury. Good to see David Carson back on the pitch in midweek, his energy has been missed. Looks like more game time coming for our youngsters over the next few weeks which will see two games a week for the foreseeable future. Mark Kerr has defender Jordan Houston returning to the squad after injury. We know all about the dangers that Walsh and Chalmers possess but there's more to United than that. Former Aberdeen and Dundee United forward Cammy Smith will cause problems and never write off veteran Michael Moffat. Young keeper Sinisalo is also proving to be an excellent shot stopper. The team that night v Hearts: Sinisalo, Miller, Muirhead, Baird, Ndaba, Chalmers (McGavin 79′), Murdoch, Walsh (Moffat 74′), Smith, McCowan, Wright. Robbo talking ahead of the trip to Ayr... -
Third time lucky This fixture is looking like it might beat the pandemic, snow, ice and water and is scheduled to be played on Wednesday evening with a 6:30pm kick-off. That is unless the strong winds force another postponement. The original preview is still mostly relevant apart from a couple of fairly serious injuries to a couple of Caley Thistle players. First the good news: We have signed Anthony McDonald on loan from Hearts and there is no pitch inspection planned......yet. Now the bad news: Anthony McDonald is injured and possibly out for most of the season with suspected knee cartilage/ligament damage. Aaron Doran has a torn thigh muscle. Both were injured in separate incidents during training on the artificial surface at the indoor facility and both will be out for a lengthy spell. With Kai Kennedy now at Raith Rovers, the new injuries leave us short on suppliers for the strikers. Maybe David Carson will be fit enough to start, but like most of the squad, match sharpness will be an issue. Plenty room for the young team to get back into the starting XI and give Robbo some food for thought. James Keatings was a casualty after 20 minutes of the Arbroath game, so he might be missing as well. It might be easier to check and see who is not fit...... Queen of the South are a different beast from the team we swept aside 3-0 at Palmerston back on the 4th December. Players like Dapo Awokoya-Mebude, Isaiah Jones, Ayo Obileye and Connor Shields are making the Doonhamers tick along nicely and have added a goal threat to the Queens attack. Not household names, but certainly giving the Dumfries side a lift, especially with goal machine Stephen Dobbie missing a few games through injury. Of course, Mebude might have a problem should his partying be deemed naughty. He might have to sit this one out. Up to the officials to sort that one out. Queens come North on the back of contrasting results. A 2-1 win over Morton, a defeat at Alloa by the same score and an excellent draw against Hearts where it took a 90th minute penalty for the Jambo's to rescue a point. We enter this game after a 1-1 draw at Gayfield followed by two postponements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW PPV £10, (cheap at half the price) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previously: Queens of the ice age frozen off...***GAME OFF*** (30th January) Another rearranged game due to go ahead on Saturday afternoon with Queen of the South the visitors. Should snow, ice, rain, covid or road blockages not stop this one, it is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV. Pixie Lott for a £10er. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves as the words that we all dread have been uttered by the club. "There will be a pitch inspection at 9am tomorrow morning ahead of the match against Queen of the South". Now there's a surprise! It could be an opportunity for us to bounce back after a disappointing draw against the ten men of Morton. Easier said than done given our lack of game time over the last month. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Queen of the South back to Jan 13th 2018 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) At Cappielow we were without Brad Mckay and more importantly striker Miles Storey. With Kai Kennedy off to Raith Rovers, we were bereft of the guile needed to prize open a stubborn defence, and when we did, a lack of composure ensured we would not run away with the game despite the Ton being a man short for over half of the match. All this has not best pleased Robbo who has let them know in no uncertain terms that it's simply not good enough to just turn up and claim the points. You tell them John... Queens are on a bit of a roll since we last played them on December 4th. They took a thrashing at Tynecastle the week after (6-1) then lost to Morton and Dundee. However, since then they beat Raith Rovers 0-2 on 29th December, they have been on the up. Victories over Ayr United, Queens Park and Morton along with a draw against Arbroath have lifted them above Inverness in the table although we do have three games in hand. In fact we have games in hand over everyone, but that does not equate to points in the bag; think Morton in midweek. Connor Shields is the man on form just now and Queens now seem to have enough talent on board to ease away from the relegation area. Shields has nine goals this season, and more worrying for us seven in the last six games since Xmas. Team news not forthcoming but Robbo hinted at some changes after the slackness at Cappielow. I'll keep it short as there is no guarantee the game will go ahead, so look out early morning for any news from ICT FC.
