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If you like a challenge We host Brechin City this Saturday in the Challenge Cup, or SPFL Trust Trophy if you prefer, but remember to set your alarm clock early as it's a 2:00pm kick-off. This is Brechin's third game in this competition having ousted Hibernian colts and Stirling Albion in previous rounds. Both games went to penalties with City prevailing. Inverness are thrice winners of the Challenge Cup if you include the joint affair with Raith Rovers. MATCH/TICKET INFO Over the years we hold a massive advantage over the Hedgers and they now find themselves plying their trade in the Highland League after dropping out of League Two in May 2021 after losing out in the play-off to Kelty Hearts. However, wins breed confidence and they have started this season with a flourish, winning all seven of their Highland League games scoring 17 goals, conceding only twice. Our last fixture against Brechin was a Championship game back in 2018 when Inverness ran out 4 - 0 winners over a side heading for relegation having picked up only four points during the 2017/2018 season with four draws. George Oakley was one of our scorers in that game. Out of the SPFL: On 23 May 2021, Brechin lost 3–1 on aggregate to Lowland League side Kelty Hearts in the relegation playoffs, dropping down to the Highland League, the club's first spell out of the national leagues in 67 years. In June 2021, after the departure of player/manager Michael Paton, the club appointed Andy Kirk to the role of club manager. In the club's first season in the Highland League, they secured a respectable third-place finish. (Wikipedia) Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 10 7 1 2 25 5 +20 Away 8 5 2 1 17 9 +8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 18 12 3 3 42 14 +28 Last Time Out We had a tremendous result at Dens Park against the background of some powderpuff performances over the previous few weeks. An encouraging 2-0 win at Starks Park in the game before ignited a wee spark of optimism and a hard fought 3-2 win at Dundee followed, despite going behind early doors. Cammy Harper was the hero with two sublime strikes from distance to add to Billy Mckay's penalty just before the break. Chances at both ends in an open game where we eventually got on top and deservingly took all three points. Our goals at Dundee. BOOM! Brechin's tremendous start to the season continued with high fives all round. Their last two fixtures saw them trounce Strathspey Thistle 0-5 in the Highland League followed by a 1-5 defeat of Jeanfield Swifts in the Scottish Cup at the Riverside Stadium. Note that former Inverness player Anthony McDonald was instrumental in this game and scored City's third goal. And full back Kevin McHattie is also back playing after his injury problems. Here's Brechin putting five past Swifts in a second half blitz... Lenny Wilson: Kevin McHattie, Nathan Cooney, Marc Scott, Grady McGrath, Michael Cruickshank, Fraser MacLeod, Anthony McDonald, Ewan Loudon, Jordan Northcott, Euan Spark Latest Team News Usual suspects out for Inverness but maybe an opportunity to give some fringe players some game time and rest some weary legs for the bigger picture. Cammy Mackay may be in line for the keepers gloves. Max Ram is possibly the only recovering player that may get a run out with younger fringe players also getting involved. Eric's Brechin catch-up " Manager Andy Kirk has made a number of additions over the summer mostly from the junior ranks or lower league sides, he has however secured a loan deal for a promising youngster Aaron Arnott from Raith Rovers. Arnott only transferred on 7th September and has yet to make an appearance for the Glebe Park side" One or two recognisable names around Glebe Park. Euan Spark formerly with Dundee United and Dunfermline, Anthony McDonald and Kevin McHattie both ex ICT. They also have had Rogue defender *Iain Davidson* of Raith Rovers red card fame. *update* Fortunately for the ref and our players, Davidson may have left Brechin recently. Anyway, they have a good blend of youth experience and confidence which may well be enough to see them back in league 2 at the end of the season. They will have to do it without star midfielder Seth Patrick. The Zimbabwean has returned home for personal reasons after some great performances for City. (maybe he fell out with Davidson) It's only the main stand that will be open for this game and tickets are available now online from ictfc.tickethour.co.uk, the Club Shop (Monday-Friday)10am-4pm and you can buy them over the phone on 01463 222880 Ticket Prices:- Adults: £10. Concessions (Over 65s & Students): £8 Under 12s: Free*Disabled Carers: Free

Dundee Test   We head down the road to the City of Discovery this Saturday to discover that Dens Park is now the Kilmac Stadium. What next? The game is scheduled for a 3:00pm kick-off with away fans being housed in the Bob Shankly Stand in what will be a tough encounter for the recovering Caley Jags after a shaky couple of weeks where optimism was replaced by pessimism. However a welcome three points at Raith Rovers has lifted spirits and hopefully we are  getting back on track. MATCH/TICKET/SUPPORTERS BUS INFO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 16 7 8 1 27 15 +12 Away 19 6 8 5 25 23 +2 Neutral 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 Total 37 13 16 8 54 42 +12 Surprisingly, the stats show that we have had the better of Dundee both home and away. The most recent scores are fairly even with Dundee just edging it. The two neutral venue wins both went the way of Dundee in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 2003 and the Final of the Challenge Cup (Alba Cup) at McDiarmid Park Perth in 2009, where the Dark Blues edged out Inverness 3-2. FROM HEROES TO ZERO'S: Report by Hislopsoffsideagain Heroes at half-time: Zero's at the final whistle. Two up and coasting at the break, Inverness Caledonian Thistle suffered an extraordinary second half collapse and threw away their chance at a second Challenge Cup title, crashing 3-2 to Dundee. ICT had raced into a deserved half time lead thanks to goals from Adam Rooney and Nauris Bulvitis, and probably should have been further ahead. However, the scores were level within seven second half minutes after a Bulvitis own goal and a Gary Harkins strike, and Craig Forsyth popped up late on to score the winner. In front of 8,000 fans, this author predicted that both sides would be nervous and the match would be cagey from the off. Dundee followed that script; Inverness had other ideas. Terry Butcher had made only one change from the side which beat Airdrie United last week, with Jonny Hayes replacing Dougie Imrie. It quickly looked like a masterstroke, as the opening period might better have been known as The Jonathan Hayes Show. ICT came flying out of the traps, and dominated the early stages as their opponents looked nervous and worried. Hayes was at the centre of everything good, tormenting his full-back. He created the first chance of the match for Richie Foran, latching onto Grant Munro’s long diagonal pass and firing the ball across the face of the box. Foran, however, could only knock the ball into the side netting with the goal gaping. That spurned opportunity only served to spur Caley Thistle on. Danni Sanchez was to come even closer, smacking an Adam Rooney cutback against the crossbar. Like with Foran, he probably should have scored, but it was clear a goal was coming, and there was no surprise that Hayes was the creator; cutting in off the right flank, his inswinger cross was met by Adam Rooney’s forehead and the ball flew into the net. It was no less than ICT deserved for a blistering start. Dundee threatened on occasion, with a fabulous Munro block deflecting Sean Higgins’ header wide, but Inverness showed no interest in sitting on their lead. Bulvitis looked to have doubled the advantage when he flicked a loose ball home after Rab Douglas had dropped a corner, only for the referee to rule the Dundee keeper had been fouled. But the Latvian had the ball in the net again soon after, and this time it stood. Dundee made a hash of another set piece, and Grant Munro flicked the ball back into the danger zone for his centre-half partner to knock past Douglas from point-blank range. Dundee looked stunned, Caley were ecstatic. The hitherto quiet Harkins had a half-chance to get one back, but shot wide after Esson had flapped at a cross. As the first forty-five drew to a close, Inverness might have been even further clear. Sanchez wriggled free in midfield and played in Rooney, but his fierce shot was brilliantly blocked by Douglas’ right hand, the veteran using all his experience and size to deny the Highlanders a third goal. That save would turn out to be critical. But when the half time whistle blew, Inverness fans celebrated as if the game was won. Sadly, it turned out that most of the players were thinking along the same lines. Half Time: Dundee 0-2 Inverness CT It was no surprise that Dundee manager Jocky Scott fired a rocket up his underperforming side, but Terry Butcher’s words appeared to have the same effect as a heavy dose of rohypnol. Dundee made no changes at the break, but within seven minutes they were back level, and without having to break sweat. First Richie Hart got the ball on the right and, with Golabek standing off him, he whipped in a dangerous cross which Bulvitis, under pressure from Higgins, headed into his own net. Cue the familiar scenes of confusion and arguing amongst the defenders. But the warnings were not heeded, as Forsyth wandered down the right, and his shot was palmed by Esson straight to the feet of Harkins, with the former Partick man making no mistake from six yards. Inverness looked shell-shocked, and Butcher’s decision to replace Sanchez with the more defensive Lee Cox stank of shutting the door after the horse had bolted. Dundee continued to look more threatening, with Leigh Griffiths the next to pass up a chance; the forward took advantage of Ross Tokely’s failure to intercept a through ball, but Esson managed to get a hand on the ball as he attempted to round the keeper. But with little attacking threat from ICT, there was little surprise that the winner came for Dundee. With seven minutes left, Harkins turned creator – from the Dundee right flank again – and cut the ball back for Forsyth to smash into the top corner. There was no sign of a comeback, even when Butcher turned to his bench in the dying seconds to send on Eric Odhiambo and Dougie Imrie. The latter had time to make an impact of sorts; an appalling lunge from behind on Pat Clarke saw him sent off only four minutes after his arrival. Caley’s hopes of a dramatic equalizer went down the tunnel with him. Full Time: Dundee 3-2 Inverness CT As the Dark Blues celebrated, we were left in bewilderment as we navigated the wet A9 back North; how on earth did we manage to blow that? The patented Hislopsoffsideagain Man Of The Match Award There were eleven candidates for this at half-time; there were considerably fewer at the end. Adam Rooney probably shades it after an energetic effort with a deserved goal, while Russell Duncan also put in a phenomenal shift and, as stated above, Jonny Hayes was greased lightning early on but faded as the match progressed. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) Biggest Victories May 14th, 2016 League (H) 4 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Aug 17th, 1994 League Cup (Rd 2) (A) 0 - 3 Highest Attendance Apr 20th, 2003 Scottish Cup (Semi-Final) (N) 14,429 Highest Home Attendance May 1st, 2010 League (H) 6,031 SATURDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER Dundee v Inverness  Hamilton v Queen's Pk Morton v Arbroath  Partick v Cove       Rovers v Ayr Utd   Last Time Out Dundee saw off Queens Park 3-0. Two first half goals from Zach Robinson and a third from Zak Rudden did the damage and that puts the Dark Blues in third place on eight points, two more than Inverness.  Inverness went to Starks Park after a mini slump and came away with all three points as we subdued then went on to get the better of Raith Rovers. Scott Allardice opened the scoring from the spot on the hour before Billy Mckay sealed the points at the death with a goal that put him second on his own in our all time scoring chart. That result moved us up to fifth in the table. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Ayr United 6 4 2 0 12 7 14 2. Partick Thistle 6 4 1 1 14 8 13 3. Dundee 6 3 1 2 11 8 10 4. Queens Park 6 3 1 2 10 11 10 5. Inverness CT 6 2 2 2 8 7 8 6. Morton 6 2 2 2 5 5 8 7. Hamilton Ac. 6 1 4 1 7 8 7 8. Raith Rovers 6 2 0 4 5 8 6 9. Cove Rangers 6 1 1 4 7 11 4 10. Arbroath 6 0 2 4 3 9 2 Latest Team News Long Term casualties are still much the same with Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh recuperating. Doran, Samuels and Ram have had a weeks training. Still a reluctance to reveal all which makes me wonder if Sean Welsh might be nearing a return. Who knows, it's all guesswork at the moment, but the extra week off will be beneficial to all those recovering. Here's what Billy had to say about it.   Eric's Dundee FC update Departed from Dundee from last season: Centre backs Zeno Ibsen-Rossi end of loan from Bournemouth and Liam Fontaine transferred to FC Edinburgh. Christie Elliot right back has retired, and fellow right back Vontae Daley-Campbell's loan from Leicester U21 expired. One-time Rangers, Blackpool and Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam is posted as being without a club and may have retired at 36 years of age. Declan McDaid midfielder transferred to Bohemians and forward Danny Mullen is now at Partick Thistle. New era at Dens Park After the departure of manager Mark McGhee in his short and unsuccessful period in charge the Board at Dundee appointed Gary Bowyer as his replacement. Gary Bowyer was a central defender in England with Hereford United, Nottingham Forest and Rotherham before he was forced to retire aged 25 due to injury. Bowyer then turned to coaching and management spending the majority of that apprenticeship at Blackburn Rovers from 2004 being U18 manager, reserve team manager then progressing to the Senior team between 2012 and 2018. More recently he was manager of Salford FC for 61 games. A couple of centre backs have been brought in: Joe Grayson on loan from Barrow once a Blackburn U21 player and Tyler French signed from Wrexham. On Loan from Rangers FC is midfielder Ben Williamson who was on loan last season at Raith Rovers. Up front Zak Rudden has made his loan spell from Partick Thistle a permanent move and centre forward Zach Robinson has made a move up north on loan from AFC Wimbledon and he looks to be a big threat having scored twice against Queens Park a couple of weeks ago.   Second in line to the throne now.....  

Is the Pendulum Swinging... It's been a long time since Raith became the dominant force in these encounters, but given our less than impressive recent form, it looks like the pendulum will be swinging the other way very soon. Already bowing down to the likes of Arbroath, Morton, Hamilton etc, we need to get our house in order on and off the park and show the desire, passion and commitment to compete at this level. Failure will have massive repercussions which could well signal the demise of the Caley Jags as we know them. Raith Rovers will host Inverness on Saturday with a 3:00pm kick-off. MATCH INFO/TICKETS/SUPPORTERS TRAVEL Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 13 4 2 37 14 +23 Away 15 8 4 3 30 19 +11 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 21 8 5 67 33 +34 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) Biggest Victories Jan 12th, 2002 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Aug 26th, 2000 League (A) 1 - 4 Last League game We slumped to defeat at home to Morton, another side we became accustomed to beating regularly. A Gillespie penalty undoing us in another lack lustre performance, hot on the heels of the 4-1 drubbing at Firhill. Rovers lost out to Partick Thistle 2-1 at Firhill. Tiffoney and Lawless put Partick two ahead but Ethan Ross replied immediately just before the break. That's how it finished. That leaves Rovers one point above Inverness Games this Saturday Arbroath v Partick Cove v Accies Dundee v Queen's Morton v Ayr Utd Raith Rovers v Inverness CT Latest Team News Add Roddy MacGregor to the injury list after the Motherwell game, but George Oakley will rejoin the squad after being suspended in midweek. Usual suspects still out and two or three still carrying injuries. Eric's Stark Revelations Raith have a managerial change since last season with John McGlynn moving to Falkirk, his replacement is Ian Murray who joins after his contract expired at Ardrieonians. The defenders who have left Stark's Park are Kyle Benedictus to Dunfermline, Frankie Musonda now at Ayr United, David Mackay left to join Q.O.S. and Reghan Tumulty transferred to Hartlepool Utd. In addition Seam Mackie's loan spell ended while Greig Young has been sent out on loan to Elgin City. Finally at the age of 37 veteran Christophe Berra has retired. Midfielder Ben Williamson has been recalled to Rangers after his loan Of last seasons forwards Matej Poplatnik loan from Livingston ended and Ethon Varian who was on loan from Stoke U21 is now with Irish side Bohemians. New arrivals at Stark's Park. A fourth goalkeeper has been added to the squad in Andy McNeil from Berwick Rangers. Ryan Nolan an Irish born centre back saw his development with Inter U17 & U19 in Italy and came on a transfer via Northampton Town. Another centre back Connor O'Riordan is on loan from Crewe Alexandra. On loan from Aberdeen FC B is left back Kieran Ngwenya and at right back is Ross Millen transfer from Scunthorpe Utd previously with numerous Scottish clubs such as Dunfermline, Queens Park, Kilmarnock and Clyde FC. Scott Brown a central midfield player joins from Peterhead FC. Up front centre forward Kyle Connell is on loan from Kilmarnock. Long term injuries for Raith are. Tom Lang centre back, cruciate ligament surgery Ross Mathews midfield, sore toe Brad Spencer midfield, foot surgery Lewis Vaughan forward, cruciate ligament rupture. Cheers Eck. Breaking News Due to our inability to hit the target recently, new goalposts have been installed at the Caledonian Stadium to give us a better chance of scoring. A club spokesperson has said "we can't hit a coo in the arse with a banjo, so this should help us to improve our goals scored".

Ton of trouble   After last weeks sobering experience at the hands of Partick Thistle, Dougie Imrie's Morton head North looking to pose more problems for Inverness. It's a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday with both clubs sitting on five points after four games, three behind early pace setters Ayr United. Our squad were somewhat depleted last weekend and there's no sign of much improvement on the injury front. We are a bit thin on defensive cover, especially down the right, but that's nothing new. We have only had a couple of years to sort that one out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TICKET INFO   Venue - H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 12 4 3 46 17 +29 Away 17 10 3 4 35 19 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 36 22 7 7 81 36 +45 Head 2 Head results show that we have lost only three times at home to Morton in nineteen games, although the most recent was a 1-0 defeat at the Caledonian Stadium last season. That was a hard one to get your head round considering we had thumped them 6-1 in the previous league game at Cappielow before Xmas, our biggest ever win over Morton. It also coincided with a massive dip in fortunes when we never won a game for an eternity, possibly costing us automatic promotion. Overall the stats are heavily in our favour with a plus 45 goal difference. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton. (click on scores to view more) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) Biggest Victories Dec 11th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 6 - 1 Aug 30th, 2019 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Nov 12th, 1999 League (A) 1 - 5 FRIDAY 26TH AUGUST Ayr United19:45Dundee SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST Hamilton v Arbroath Inverness v Morton     Partick v Rovers Queen's v Cove     The season so far Morton started their campaign at New Douglas Park with a 1-1 draw against Hamilton. That was followed by a 1-0 home win over Cove Rangers thanks to a Jai Quitongo strike then a defeat by Raith Rovers, going down 2-1 at Starks Park. Last week was a massive game for them with a no scoring draw against title favourites Dundee at Cappielow, Robbie Muirhead hitting the post with a late flick on target. After mediocre early draws culminating in a 4-1 beating of Cove, we got a rude awakening last Friday night when an error strewn defensive display saw us hammered 4-1 on the telly at Firhill. George Oakley got the definitive consolation goal, probably more than we deserved. We will need better if we want to get into the top four in what will be a tight division.  Dodds no happy after Partick Pumping... Latest Team News Sutherland and Walsh are long term absentees. Sean Welsh and Max Ram are recovering. Carson and Duffy are nursing injuries and Danny Devine missed out at Partick as he struggles for fitness. Prove me wrong Billy, but my money is team lines similar to Partick away!     Eric's Morton Movers (and there's plenty) Manager Dougie Imrie reshaped his squad after the summer break. Out go both keepers, Jack Hamilton in a move to Livingston and Joshua Bysouth currently without a club. Backs released: Jamie Brandon end of loan deal. Oisin McEntee end of loan from Newcastle FC Brian McLean moves to Clyde, and Mark Russell on a free move to Galway United. Imrie appears to have kept faith in the majority of his midfield. Kyle Jacobs sent out on loan to Edinburgh FC, Iain Wilson off to QOS and on loan Tom Allan returns to parent club Newcastle Up front only Robbie Muirhead remains from last seasons strike force. The following players have left: Gavin Reilly end of loan from Livingston. Gary Oliver joined Falkirk, Gozie Ugwu released no club and Alexander Easdale centre forward has retired at the tender age of 22 to take up a position in the family business. New faces at Cappielow. Between the sticks the manager has handed the No. 1 jersey to the American born Brian Schwake who at 21 years of age arrive on a season loan from Livingston. Back up keeper is a another young player in 19 year old Lawton Green, a New Zealander previously with Motherwell B. Centre backs Darragh O'Connor from Motherwell and Jack Baird last couple of seasons at Ayr United. Carlo Pignatiello a right back comes in from Livingston FC Robbie Crawford, midfielder from Partick Thistle, also in the middle of the park we have Grant Gillespie from Queens Park FC and he has been handed captaincy of the team. Up front on loan from Livingston is Jaze Kabia a right winger and in on a free from Queens Park is centre forward Jai Quitongo who is incidentally son of Jose Quitongo who had a long career with numerous clubs in Scotland.

Friday Footie Frills at Firhill It's Friday Footie Frills at Firhill for a TV spectacular as we take on fellow contenders Partick Thistle in the Championship. This game can be seen on BBC Scotland, that's cooncil TV to you and me, or even better get yersel along to Firhill and cheer the lads on. It's a 7:45pm kick off as two of the fancied teams for a play-off place meet head on. We have history of course. We ended Partick's ambitions last season with home and away wins in the play-offs. Early doors yet, but both teams will be looking to keep pace with favourites Dundee at the top of the table. MATCH/TICKET/SUPPORTERS BUS INFO Venue H2H v Partick Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 6 7 37 33 +4 Away 22 6 6 10 23 30 -7 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 45 16 12 17 60 63 -3 Home advantage looks to be the deciding factor in these fixtures. We did however get the better of Partick in last seasons play-off games, winning 2-1 at Firhill:- Advantage Inverness: The first leg of the Premiership Play-Offs saw Inverness travel to Glasgow to take on the Maryhill Magyars as a place in the top division beckoned. Neither side were able to dominate on the Firhill tattie field and they went in goalless at the break although Logan Chalmers looked to be impeded as he tried to get a shot away. Crawford opened the scoring when he got onto a reverse ball from Graham to shoot high into the net from inside the box to put Partick in the driving seat. Inverness turned it round in the second half with goals from Shane Sutherland and Austin Samuels and it's back to the Highlands on Friday night to conclude this tie. And that turned out to be a 1-0 home win for the Caley Jags. Here's the goals from that last game at Firhill Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 1 - 3 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) Saturday fixtures Arbroath v Queen's Park Cove v Ayr Utd Accies v Rovers Morton v Dundee This Season Partick Thistle started the season with a bang. A tremendous away win at Dens Park in a five goal thriller was followed up by a home draw against Hamilton Accies, Brian Graham salvaging a point with a late equaliser in a game that Partick always had the edge but had to battle to get their point. Last week the big Glasgow derby ended in defeat as newly promoted Queens Park stunned the visiting faithful with a 3-2 win. Makes Inverness' opening day draw with Queens feel like a point gained instead of a point lost. Our second game was a predictable no scoring draw at Arbroath and last Saturday brought our first win of the campaign by 4-1 over Cove Rangers. Austin Samuels the one responsible for most of that with a couple of goals along with Aaron Doran and Nathan Shaw who opened his account at the Caledonian Stadium. Latest Team News Alas, Sutherland and Walsh are out long term with Sean Welsh and Max Ram also in recovery mode. Wallace Duffy and David Carson missed out last week which left us a bit lop sided at the back. To compound that, left sided defender Lewis Nicolson has gone on loan to Elgin City until January. Austin Samuels' performance last week earned him a 'place' in the team of the week. Eric's Partick probe Exodus from Firhill: Mason McCready goalkeeper on loan to Dalbeattie Star. The following players had their loans terminated by parent club Rangers FC, Andy Firth goalkeeper, Lewis Mayo centre back and centre forward Juan Alegria. Loan player right winger Kyle McCallister back to St Mirren and forward Alex Jakubiak returned to Dundee FC. Three players have gone on free transfers to Queen of the South, backs Ciaran McKenna and Stephen Hendrie also right-winger Connor Murray Moving on from Firhill on free transfers are Steven Bell centre back to Kelty Hearts, Shea Gordon a midfield player now at Larne FC and forward Ross MacIver to Alloa. Zak Rudden confirmed signed for Dundee after being on loan there for the second half of last season. Another couple of players have left, Ricky Foster is off to Detroit City and midfielder Robbie Crawford is going spare. New faces at Firhill that have arrived on a free transfer basis. David Mitchell goalkeeper from Hibernian: Harry Milne left back from Cove Rangers: Jack McMillan right back from Livingston FC Another right back in Aaron Muirhead from Ayr United: Aiden Fitzpatrick from Queen of the South plays on the right of midfield. Steven Lawless right winger previously at Dunfermline Athletic: A couple of centre forwards added to the squad are Danny Mullen from Dundee FC and Anton Dowds ex Falkirk. Loan players in include Lee Hodson a right back from Kilmarnock, and no surprised to find a couple of Loan ins from Rangers FC in Cole McKinnon in midfield and forward player Tony Weston. Thanks Eric, Partick Thistle keeping you on your toes I see

Matchday Two   Last season's nearly men are the hosts on matchday 2 as we visit Gayfield to take on Arbroath. Saturday at 3:00pm is the time to be there with both clubs looking to improve on opening day draws in the cinch championship. Its a tough place to take points away from although we were the only club who managed that last season in the league. Hibs were the only other side to defeat them there, and that was in a Scottish Cup tie. Arbroath had a fantastic season last term and may find it difficult to emulate that this season. Nonetheless, its still a massive challenge to get something from these games with Dick & Dom at the helm. MATCH/TICKET/SUPPORTERS BUS INFO On day one, the Smokies were held to a scoreless draw at Somerset Park. They ended the game a man short when Thomas O'Brien was red carded. He will now miss Saturday's game. We fared little better with a 1-1 draw at home to newbies Queens Park who took an early lead through Jake Davidson before Billy Mckay equalised just before the break. Both teams spurned numerous opportunities and both keepers did well to keep the score level. Venue H2H v Arbroath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 16 3 3 56 18 +38 Away 20 9 5 6 26 22 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 42 25 8 9 82 40 +42 First Competitive Meeting Aug 13th, 1994  League ((Div 3)) (Hercher hat-trick: Legend) (H) 5 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting May 13th, 2022 League (Playoff) (Semi Final 2nd Leg) (A) 0 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (H) Biggest Victories Jul 30th, 2016 League Cup (Group C) (H) 7 - 0 LATEST TEAM NEWS  Robbie Deas misses out again in his second game for accumulated bookings. Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh are long term injuries. Sean Welsh is recovering after minor surgery and Max Ram is out for a while. Danny Devine is not 100% and needs to be used sparingly at the moment. Apart from that, we are good to go with youngsters, fresh faces and Aaron Doran.    Eric's Smokies catch-up  Departures Calum Antell, reserve keeper off to Berwick Rangers on a free: Backs Liam Henderson now at Falkirk and Chris Hamilton end of loan. In the January window last season Arbroath brought in a number of forward players in their push for the title, they have now left the club. Jack Hamilton end of loan from Livingston. Craig Wighton back at Dunfermline after loan spell. Sam Ford now plying his trade with Hume City FC in Australia, and Michael Bakare centre forward is now with Helsinki FK. A notable departure is Gavin Swankie who has retired at the age of 38 after four spells at Arbroath, his first appearance for the club back in season 2000/2001. New Arrivals Replacement reserve keeper Cammy Gill from Cowdenbeath FC. Mason Hancock a left back on loan from Aberdeen FC B. Keaghan Jacobs central midfielder on a free transfer from Livingston FC. Daniel Fosu a midfield player from an amateur team called Thatcham Town FC which is seemingly in Berkshire. Keiran Shanks from Inverurie Locos, a centre forward once an Aberdeen U18 player. Oh and Bobby Linn is still there after 9 years at the club. (some things never change)

Arachnophobia Should we fear the Spiders from Hampden as the new Championship season gets underway on Saturday with the visit of Queens Park. It's a 3:00pm kick off and a season of anticipation or maybe trepidation is almost upon us. TICKET PRICING Only form to go on for this season is the League Cup which saw Inverness qualify to face Motherwell in the knock out stages of group G. We ended our League Cup Group G games with a disappointing home draw against Cove Rangers despite Roddy MacGregor heading the opening goal. Megginson pinned us back but we took the bonus point in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. Queens Park failed to progress from their play-off Group H where Dundee and Hamilton Accies progressed. However they did manage a couple of wins thumping Stranraer and Forfar and drawing with Accies. They lost narrowly 1-2 against Dundee. Accies qualified a point ahead of the Spiders virtue of the penalty shoot-out win to pip Queens by a point. Queens Park, a club steeped in history, join us in the Championship this season along with Cove Rangers. They only finished fourth in the table behind Cove, Airdrie and Montrose, but came through the promotion play-offs to get into the Championship having beaten Dunfermline over two legs and then beating Airdrie in extra time to win promotion thanks to a Simon Murray penalty. Mind you, they have won the Scottish Cup ten times, albeit the last time was back in 1893. I remember it well. They have been playing out of Ochilview Park recently as they await Lesser Hampden to be upgraded. Here's one for you: They can boast a record attendance of 95,722 against Rangers in a Scottish Cup first round encounter on January 18th 1930 at their home ground of Hampden Park. That's a world record for an amateur side. They are now a professional outfit as of 2019 and on the up, consecutive promotions will see them ply their trade in this seasons Championship after years in the doldrums. Welcome to the Spiders Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Queens Park 3 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) Venue H2h v Queens Park Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 9 4 3 2 14 11 +3 Away 6 5 0 1 13 8 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 15 9 3 3 27 19 +8 League - (Div 3) Saturday, August 20th, 1994, 3:00 PM at Telford Street Park, Inverness Attendance: 1,500: Referee: M Pocock Ian Broadfoot reporting on our first ever competitive meeting against Queens Park. Caley Thistle's mid week efforts against Dundee had taken their toll and they went a goal down in 14 minutes - a McAllister header to McRitchie was short and Garry Orr took advantage with a goal from 15 yards. Four minutes later Maxwell made it two when he bundled in Edgar's corner. In 53 minutes McKenzie had rare chances for the home side but he hit the 'keeper twice. The match was over a few minutes later when a Garry Orr pass set up Graham who beat McRitchie with an angled drive. Two minutes later Maxwell headed a fourth. Full Time: 0-4 Mark McRitchie Dave Brennan Mike Andrew Mike Noble Mark McAllister John Scott Danny MacDonald Graeme Bennett Alan Hercher Paul McKenzie Wilson Robertson First Competitive Meeting Aug 20th, 1994 League ((Div 3)) (H) 0 - 4 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Jul 31st, 2010 League Cup (Rd 1) (H) 3 - 0 League Cup Match: Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003, 7:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 968 This report comes from Ian Broadfoot back in 2003, the last time Queens Park beat Inverness in the Highlands. The Spiders gave Caley Thistle a dose of their own medicine when they produced a shock cup win away from home. Barry Wilson played for the first time following his return to the club. Queens belied their third division status with some lively play and they soaked up early pressure - a Steve Hislop drive was turned over the bar and Richie Hart hit the woodwork. It was not all one way as Ross Clark hit the bar at the other end. Caley Thistle scored in 26 minutes when Paul Ritchie turned in a Wilson cross but the lead only lasted two minutes. Bobby Mann brought down Clark and Steve Reilly converted the resultant penalty. Half Time: 1-1 Queens took the lead in 59 minutes when poor defending allowed a Reilly free kick to reach Ally Graham and he shot low past Mark Brown. With four minutes left Queens substitute Derek Carcary should have made it 3-1 but he shot wide with only Brown to beat. The drama was not over as the home side were awarded a penalty in injury time when Reilly handled in the box. Mann's kick came off the post. Full Time: 1-2 There was bitter disappointment in the home camp but no real complaints. Latest Team News Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh are long term casualties. Wallace Duffy came off injured against Cove Rangers. Danny Devine has missed all the League Cup games and pre-season along with Sean Welsh. Eric's Queens Park roundup: Under new manager Owen Coyle, Queens Park have trimmed the Squad with more than 10 departures in the summer. Four players have arrived all on free transfer basis. Jason Naismith a right back signed from Kilmarnock Fc: Dom Thomas midfielder from Dunfermline FC: Pat Jarret an attacking midfield player, from Stoke City where he has gone from Youth teams to the U23 level: Grant Savoury who spent last season at Peterhead FC is a centre forward. Loan in: Josh McPake, forward (Rangers). Out: Jai Quitongo, forward (Greenock Morton); Grant Gillespie, midfielder (Greenock Morton); Michael Doyle, defender (Hamilton Academical); Stuart Morrison, defender (Queen of the South); Willie Muir, goalkeeper (Alloa Athletic); Peter Grant, defender (Clyde); Bob McHugh, forward (East Kilbride); Darren Lyon, midfielder; Will Baynham, forward. Loan ended: Luca Connell, midfielder (Celtic); Luis Longstaff, midfielder (Liverpool); Connor Smith, midfielder (Heart of Midlothian); Connor McBride, midfielder (Blackburn Rovers); Ronan Darcy, midfielder (Bolton Wanderers). Queens main threat will come from the now experienced Simon Murray. The thirty year old striker has previously been at Arbroath, Dundee United and Hibs. Dom Thomas will be an excellent asset and along with Louis Longridge will provide stability in the midfield.

Hello Cove! We welcome new Championship club Cove Rangers to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon for our final group G League Cup group stages encounter. It's a 3:00pm kick-off for this game and we should see some familiar faces in the Cove ranks. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Ex Aberdeen players Shay Logan, Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Last Time Out Cove surprisingly lost out 3-2 at home to Kelty Hearts. McAllister and Vigurs featured in that game with Fraser Fyvie and Robbie Leitch scoring for them. Shay Logan also started but it was Kelty that took the points, and they even had the luxury of Nathan Austin missing a first half penalty. Leitch's late goal made the score closer, but Cove were well beaten. Other group G results: Cove 1-2 Livi, Albion Rovers 1-2 Cove. Inverness eventually cruised to a 4-0 win over Albion Rovers. An early goal for Billy Mckay and a stunning free kick from Cammy Harper gave us the cushion needed at the interval. Another quickie a minute after the restart from Wallace Duffy impersonating a striker and a steal from Harper with his head ended the scoring to put Inverness in a strong place to qualify from Group G. Three wins for the Caley Jags so far over Kelty, Livi and Albion Rovers. The last time we played Albion Rovers thirteen years ago we also ran out 4-0 winners. Even better, we went on to beat Dundee to the Championship title and got promotion to the Premier League for the second time. Sounds good, let's have another bash at that. Cove Catch-up by Eric A corresponding fixture last season saw Paul Hartley in charge, however after guiding Cove to promotions through the leagues to the Championship he has been lured south of the Border to manage Hartlepool United. Hartley and his assistant left this summer after a fee was negotiated. Incoming manager is Jim McIntyre whose coaching career has included Dunfermline, Bristol City (first team coach), Queen of the South then Ross County September 2014 to September 2017 when he was sacked alongside assistant Billy Dodds. Most recently managing Dundee season 2018/19 but was relieved of duties after only 4 wins in 31 games. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Former Don's Shay Logan Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Incoming players so far are Evan Towler a 17 year old left back on loan from Aberdeen FC B, and Gerry McDonagh a centre forward once of Nottingham Forest Youth to U23 set up but after being with a number of English clubs has arrived at Cove on a free transfer. Latest Team News Sutherland and Walsh are long term casualties

Rovers Return Albion Rovers, infrequent visitors to the Caledonian Stadium, head North on Tuesday for an evening kick off in Inverness. The third Group G game for the Caley Jags has a 7:45pm start against the League 2 side. Inverness top Group G after two wins on the road at Kelty and Livingston and have a game in hand over Livi who share top spot on six points. Rovers have one win from their three games played, an excellent 0-2 win at Kelty where late goals from Sonkur and Reilly were the difference. They also ran Livi close before going down 3-2 and a narrow 1-2 loss at home to Cove Rangers. They do like a late goal, and came back well against Livi. Maybe a word of warning not to take the foot off the pedal. Latest Team News Sutherland, Walsh, Devine, Welsh, Duffy and Ram were all missing at Livingston. Eric's Rovers Roundup As you would expect from a bottom tier club there are no big name additions to the Squad, all below added on free transfers. Jack Leighfield, goalkeeper from Edinburgh FC Ayrton Sonkur a centre back from Stranraer FC Lewis Kidd right back, previously spent a short spell with Albion in 2021, more recently with Edinburgh City which he left at the end of January 2022. Michael Paton midfield from Brechin FC Kyle Fleming another midfield player from Annan Athletic FC Amaury Testa a French born winger both left and right side, from Caledonian Braves. Blast from the past We have played Albion Rovers 14 times with 9 wins and 4 draws and a solitary defeat. The last time we met Rovers was in 2009 and that was also in the League Cup. Here's our line up from that game, a 4-0 win at the Caledonian Stadium. Esson Tokely - Bulvitus - Munro - Djebi Zadi Eagle - Cox - Stratford - Hayes Rooney - Foran Subs: Sutherland, Ross, Proctor Goals: (Eagle 8, Rooney 16 Bulvitus 41, Munro 57) Crowd: 681 That was the season we ended with a flourish. Fifteen games unbeaten to pip Dundee to the title. Feck you Dundee you'll never win the league. Same again this season would be much appreciated. Maybe a bit of Deja Vu.

Olde Rivalries Resumed Inverness and Livingston meet up again with both clubs having previous as they made their way to the top divisions. This time it's a Group G League Cup encounter, or Premier Sports Cup for all you anorak's out there. Game is at Livingston on Tuesday night with a 7:45pm kick-off. The teams are level at the top of group G and this game could go a long way to decide who progresses into the knockout stages of the competition, something we have failed to do in recent years. However, let's not forget we are still warming up for the main task ahead. Tickets and Transport Info The Future of ICT Both clubs recorded away wins on Saturday as the season got underway: Inverness left it late before seeing off Kelty Hearts in a testing fixture at New Central Park. With six new faces getting game time for the Caley Jags it was an old head on familiar shoulders that scored the only goal in a highly competitive match. Substitute George Oakley scored on his second debut for Inverness in the last minute of the ninety to break Kelty hearts (see what i did there) Livingston were 3-0 up just after the break at Albion Rovers through Scott Pittman, Josh Mullin and Bruce Anderson. However, Rovers staged a fightback after Livi made a spate of substitutions and counters from Ayrton Sonkur and Michael Paton left them twenty minutes to get an equaliser. Alas for the wee Rovers, Livi held on to get the win. Venue H2H v Livi Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 9 4 6 32 25 +7 Away 20 7 6 7 30 31 -1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 16 10 13 62 56 +6 Decent record overall against Livingston. The last encounter saw Inverness knock Livi out of the Scottish cup on a landmark day for this club. A Sean Welsh strike was the difference between the sides. Most Recent Competitive Meeting - Click on score to show more stats and Highlights Feb 8th, 2020 Scottish Cup (5th round) (H) 1 - 0 Both clubs have come a long way since this first competitive meeting between the sides in August 1995. First Competitive Meeting - Cick on score and peer through your fingers... Aug 12th, 1995 League (H) 0 - 3 Latest Team News Billy Dodds used all six of his Summer signings at some stage of the game on Saturday. Unfortunately Max Ram was injured early on and Zak Delaney stood in for him. Danny Devine Wallace Duffy and Sean Welsh were not on duty and Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh are out longer term. From Barry's coy interview, sounds like Welsh will miss out. Barry holding back.... Eric's Livi squad checker shows this: Manager David Martindale has added to his defensive options with signings Philip Cancar a centre back from Western Sydney Wanderers, Jamie Brandon ex Hearts right back and a defensive midfield player in Scott Bitsindou who came through the Anderlecht youth system and recently at Belgian second tier club KSK Lierse Kempenzonen. Up front Esmael Goncalves joins on a free, has previously popped up in Scotland with St Mirrren and Hearts. Dylan Bahamboula having been a Republic of Congo International player, once of AS Monaco and more recently at Oldham Athletic added to the attacking options. There's a couple we know plenty about. Andrew Shinnie, Josh Mullin and Joel Nouble. Shinnie left Inverness to join Birmingham City in July 2013. Josh Mullin was at Hamilton Accies last term and scored a screamer against us. Nouble was an important striker for Arbroath last season on loan and they missed him when he returned to Livi in January.

Hey big spenders We're back! The season begins on Saturday with the group stages of the League Cup. This season it's known as the Premier Sports Cup and Inverness travel to the artificial surface of New Central Park, Bath Street, to take on newly promoted Kelty Hearts in a Group G encounter. The 'Maroons' have a good mix of seasoned professionals and some exciting emerging talent and that saw them promoted to League One last season as Champions with five games of the season still to play. Tempted by the generous wage income were seasoned campaigners like Kallum Higginbotham, Joe Cardle, Michael Tidser Thomas O'Ware and of course former Inverness striker Nathan Austin. All players who could perform at a higher level. The usual merry-go-round of players saw many leave Inverness for pastures new, with some new faces coming in to bulk out the squad. Out went loan players Reece McAlear, Logan Chalmers, Joe Hardy with Kirk Broadfoot returning to the central belt. Former Inverness and Clach defender Harry Nicolson has joined League of Ireland club Finn Harps. In come Stephen Boyd, Nathan Shaw, Zak Delaney and the man with the cool name, Max Ram. George Oakley has returned to Inverness after a three year hiatus. They will meet up with those still on contracts which will be the core of our squad. Shane Sutherland is out long term after his knee injury during the play-offs. Tom Walsh is another who will miss the start of the season. We also have an excellent youth academy with a number of players ready to break into the first team squad. Eric has been doing his homework: Kelty Hearts open the season with newly appointed manager John Potter, a one time Dunfermline, Clyde and St Mirren player who since retiring has been in a coaching role under Jack Ross at St Mirren, Sunderland and Hibs. He replaces Kevin Thomson, who resigned after Kelty lifted the Scottish League 2 title. The 42-year-old Potter had 20 games in charge of Dunfermline in season 2014-15 and later assisted Jack Ross at Sunderland and Hibernian. More recently, he coached at Queen's Park, who won promotion to the Championship via the play-offs. They have added to the defence with the signing of Lewis Martin from Dunfermline on a free transfer. Up front ex ICT player Nathan Austin is in the squad, Nathan joined ICT Jan 2018 until summer of 2019 but had limited appearances due to injury. Experience in the forward line include Joe Cardle (35) of numerous clubs including rivals County season 2014/15. Also 33 year old Kallum Higginbotham who spent last season with Real Kashmir in India, and previously with Dunfermline. Latest Team News Daniel Mackay is the latest player to do the olde Peters & Lee as he has returned North on a season long loan from Hibs. That will be a welcome addition to the squad along with George Oakley, two players that we know will fit in with our work ethics and already know the routine up here. With Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh missing the start of the season, these will be ready made replacements to add to the other new summer signings. Scott Allardice will be like a new signing after he made his comeback in the play-off games at the end of last season. We still have the core of our defence with Duffy, Devine, Deas and Harper all available. Welcome home, welcome Come on in, and close the door You've been gone, too long Welcome, you're home once more TICKET INFO Tickets available now in advance via Fanbase and Pay at the Gate will be available from Central Park on Saturday. Kelty have said that there is no segregation in place for these matches Adults: £12 Concessions: £8 Under 16s: £4

One Game Shootout Well well, after the drama of Friday night, it all comes down to this game in a winner takes all final. It's another blank canvas after a 2-2 draw at the Caledonian Stadium for the final game at McDiarmid Park Perth on Monday night at 7:45pm. We can thank Reece McAlear for that after his two stunning second half goals cancelled out two first half goals for the Perth side. We should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy free from suspension after the Willie Collum debacle. (I notice he was also rubbish in the Showpiece Scottish Cup Final as well. Seriously useless. Maybe VAR will make our refs pull their socks up). Unfortunately, Nick Walsh is allegedly the man in the middle on Monday. That also gives me the fear more than St Johnstone. Buses for play off final 23rd leave stadium at 4pm. Book through Facebook or on 07462218717 Here's our summary from CTO: An understrength Inverness struggled badly for an hour against a solid St Johnstone who took a two goal lead into the interval. Shaun Rooney and Melker Hallberg put the Saints in the driving seat. However, step forward Reece McAlear and take a massive bow. A thumping strike off the underside of the bar and an exquisite curling free kick levelled matters and gives us something to play for in the return leg at Perth, where we should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy back after suspension. It was great to see Scott Allardice back on the park on Friday. Along with the tricky Logan Chalmers and the rapid Austin Samuels he helped to get us back on track in the second half after a torrid first forty five where our tactics were a bit pear shaped as Dodds tried to match Saints 3-5-2 formation. Fortunately Billy realised by the interval that we needed to go back to a more standard 4-4-2. After an hour the momentum swung in our direction and up stepped Reece McAlear to thunderblast us on our way to Perth still in the tie. Who to look out for Glen Middleton caught the eye on Friday with his pace, willing running and workrate. Shaun Rooney is as powerful as ever as he bounced a few bodies off him. Melker Hallberg showed quick feet when scoring. In fact with St Johnstone seasoned campaigners in the top division, thirteen seasons now, that gap in stature was massive until we got to grips with the game. Once the belief was there, we turned the tide. All hands to the pumps on Monday, good luck guys.

Play Off Final 1st Leg It's the second time we have faced St Johnstone in a crucial promotion encounter at the Caledonian Stadium. This game kicks off on Friday night on 20th May at 7:45pm. The last crucial one was back in 2004. It was Saturday 15th of May when Inverness beat St Johnstone 3-1 to top the League on the final day of the season. It took a bit more wrangling to finally clinch promotion after a legal battle, but we got there. Devine Intervention by Willie Collum: We will have to do it without Danny Devine as the equally incompetent SFA have upheld his decision to issue a red card. Absolutely total incompetency shown here by the self preservation society. Buses for play off final 23rd leave stadium at 4pm . Book through Facebook or on 07462218717 Buses are filling up fast MERRY XMAS DICK FROM THE WYNESS SHUFFLE We are an appealing side: Inverness have lodged an appeal to overturn the red card awarded to Danny Devine by the incompetent Willie Collum for not fouling Jack Hamilton. Danny was sent off after 66 minutes as he challenged for a high ball with Arbroath's Hamilton. TV evidence showed little happened but it was of course the Wilie Collum show. Red card for Devine. We will know on Wednesday if the appeal has been successful. He also gave Wallace Duffy a second yellow. Unfortunately, due to some archaic rule, that means we can't appeal against that one despite it looking like the second tackle appeared to be a clean one. Cheers Willie. Helicopter Saturday CTO Report from 15th May 2004 - 3-1: A triumphant end to a fantastic day, season and decade. The sun shone, the ground was packed, there was tension in the air and the First Division trophy was waiting in a helicopter at Braemar. It just remained for the team to make one last major effort and they did just that. Clyde were leading Brechin 1-0 before the Inverness match even started but this changed nothing as it had always been clear that a win was essential. David Bingham headed a Liam Keogh corner past in the second minute then Craig Nelson tipped over a Stuart Golabek shot from 18 yards. A Bobby Mann header from Keogh's corner scraped past the post. In 14 minutes Barry Wilson raced to stop the ball crossing the bye line but Paul Ritchie touched his cross past. The home pressure finally paid off on the half-hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Stuart McCaffrey's free kick reached David Bingham and his overhead kick fooled Nelson; the keeper backtracked but could only help the ball into the net. This was what most of the crowd wanted and they went wild. It was back to earth just before half-time when Keigan Parker raced through and hammered an equaliser past Mark Brown from long range. Seconds later Wilson scored with a low shot but the offside flag was up. Steve Hislop came on for Keogh in the second half. Saints began to play some good football, particularly through Parker and Simon Donnelly, but ICT always looked more like scoring. In 56 minutes Bingham's through ball set Wilson heading for goal and, as he waited for the moment to shoot, Nelson brought him down. The penalty was a certainty and the pressure was all on Barry Wilson. A trademark short run and it was 2-1. A male streaker joined in the celebrations and was promptly evicted. As the excitement reached fever pitch all that was needed was a third goal to calm the nerves. Roy McBain tried to provide it in 64 minutes with a neat lob over Nelson but it cleared the bar. Bingham headed a Wilson corner goalwards in 71 minutes but Mark Reilly hit it off the line then Stuart McCaffrey headed wide. A third goal came in 76 minutes and fittingly it was from Paul Ritchie who was playing his last game for the club. Wilson took a corner from the left and Ritchie stooped low to head home his 63rd goal in three years. The title was a certainty and the final period was all about waiting for the whistle. Wilson shot wide in 86 minutes then the ball spent vital minutes deep in the Saints half and around the corner flag. The final whistle went, the crowd invaded the pitch, the cup arrived by helicopter, Bobby Mann stepped up to receive the trophy from Lord Macfarlane and the whole of Inverness went ballistic. Now for the SPL........maybe. (Crowd: 6092) Venue H2H (all comps) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 21 15 +6 Away 16 3 4 9 10 20 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 13 7 14 31 35 -4 As the stats show, the home sides have had the better of these encounters over the years. However, it's over five years since we last played the Perth side and on that occasion we lost 3-0 at home as relegation loomed large. CTO SUMMARY APRIL 8TH 2017: On the brink: Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 0 - 3 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Here's how we got here..... The Caley Jags way Latest Team News Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor are all out through injury, Although rumours of a face mask for Roddy are circulating. If he gets a mask, let's make it a Lionel Messi one. Time will tell. Wallace Duffy misses this one after his two yellow cards. Danny Devine ????? Wait for the Wednesday reveal or ***Unfortunately, it's a complete whitewash*** There will be a lot of tired bodies both physically and mentally after that emotionally draining shoot-out win at Gayfield. Our bench was thin prior to that game, it will have less bums on it now. Duffy will miss this game but might return for the second leg at Perth if its only a one match suspension. Scott Allardice has been on the bench in the previous play-off games, however after his long lay off, i wonder if we are still protecting him, or best scenario, keeping him fresh for these final two games. What a bonus that would be. To be honest, should we be competitive after all this, it really would be a Roy of the Rovers finale to a rollercoaster of a season. St Johnstone limbered up for this game by resting more than half of their regulars in an abject 4-0 defeat at Easter Road having fielded four seventeen year old debutants. I wouldn't read too much into that result as they were obviously preparing themselves for the play-off finals which are infinitely more important than a dead end of season game against Hibs that would have gained them nothing. So, no fresh injury worries for Callum Davidson to worry about, and know doubt a full bench to fall back on when the push comes to the shove. We will be able to renew acquaintances with a couple of former players in defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney who had cult status at the Caledonian Stadium with his marauding Ross Tokely style runs down the right flank. In Zander Clark they have an imposing presence and top quality keeper. Scoring goals has been their downfall this season, but let's not forget they have been playing in a League a notch or two above where we are at just now. They also have the experienced Nadir Ciftci in the squad who has a trick or two up his sleeve. Michael O'Halloran and Liam Craig will also add more experience and quality to the side, so plenty of options for the Super J's. Having watched our performances in the Play-Off semi's, I doubt Callum Davidson will have lost much sleep. However, we are at our best when the odds are stacked against us. 3 days to go until our Premiership Play-Off Final 1st Leg v St Johnstone We strongly recommend getting your tickets in advance for this game as it will be a busy fixture. Tickets on sale now from ICT FC Club Shop open until 4pm today Tickets available over the phone on 01463 222880 AWAY TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE St Johnstone v ICT FC cinch Premiership Play-Off Final 2nd Leg Monday 23rd May 2022 19:45pm kick-off McDiarmid Park AWAY FANS TICKETS FULL INFO ON ICTFC

Friday the 13th looms... Not quite as drastic as the original Friday the 13th, but expect plenty of blood and guts on display as these teams battle it out for a Premiership showdown with St Johnstone after it was confirmed in midweek that Dundee are officially relegated. A goalless draw in the first leg means that it's a blank canvas for both sides in their quest to get to the promised land. A land of milk and honey, a land where riches, trophies and big crowds are mythical, but bottom six, relegation and empty seats a reality. The first leg was fraught with tension and anxiety in abundance, the first half especially. Logan Chalmers and Austin Samuels came close, but Dick Campbell's game plan of snapping at our ankles reduced us to making hurried decisions. Unfortunately these were mostly the wrong ones, and along with poorly executed passes, worked in the Smokies favour. They played to their strengths and we went along with it. There's a lot of hard work to be done on Friday, this time we need to be prepared to muck in right from the first whistle. CTO 1st leg summary: 0-0 Arbroath were up for this one shutting Inverness down high up the pitch in a poor first half. Logan Chalmers was nearest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the bar with a rasping shot from close to thirty yards. Inverness upped the pace after the break but it was too little too late. Sleeves will need to be rolled up on Friday from the start if we are to get through. The whole of the first half passed Inverness by as Arbroath were in our faces. That needs to change on Friday and it might work in our favour if Arbroath decide to have a go which will give us more space to exploit. So, who will prevail? Arbroath are the media darlings, and rightly so this season. The Caley Jags had their time, but that's consigned to the history books now. Beating Arbroath 5-2 with a hat-trick from the legend that is Alan Hercher in our first League game with the big boys on August 13th 1994. Feb 8th 2000, Scottish Cup glory in 2015. We've had our share. Arbroath can point to a 36-0 win over Bon Accord on 12th September 1885. As there was no TV, mobiles, WhatsApp or Messenger back then, not even teletext, the result never filtered through until the next day. So we'll take that as the 13th as well. 15-0 at half time, the game was over as a spectacle but they went on to score a further 21 goals. Bloody bullies if you ask me. We have never played Arbroath on the 13th since that opening day 5-2 win at Telford Street that set the club on their way. Bring on the 13th!!!

First Leg v Smokies After an edgy quarter final play off win over Partick Thistle, we face Championship team of the season Arbroath on Tuesday night at 7:05pm. Dick Campbell takes his team North as favourites to progress to the final, with St Johnstone being the likely candidates for the opposition. The game will also be screened live on the BBC Scotland channel. Arbroath have had a fantastic season falling just two points short of automatic promotion and finishing second in the Championship, six points ahead of third placed Inverness, and with a superior goal difference of seven, and losing only five Championship games all season. The one thing in our favour is that we beat them twice, the most recent a slightly flattering 3-0 win a couple of months ago. TICKET INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue H2H all comps Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 16 2 3 56 18 +38 Away 19 9 4 6 26 22 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 25 6 9 82 40 +42 This seasons meetings with the Smokies 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Interestingly, over the final six games of the Championship, Inverness were the team on form, finishing with a flourish ahead of the Play-Offs Overall Home Away Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 6 4 1 1 12 5 3 0 0 8 1 1 1 1 4 4 +7 13 2. Arbroath 6 3 2 1 13 6 2 1 0 11 4 1 1 1 2 2 +7 11 3. Kilmarnock 6 3 2 1 9 6 3 0 0 6 2 0 2 1 3 4 +3 11 Last time we faced Arbroath we were on an eleven game run of no wins since we thumped Morton 6-1 at Cappielow on December 11th CTO Report March 12th: 3-0: The spell is broken: A blistering start by Inverness put them on their way to a first win in 12 starts. Goals from Shane Sutherland and Reece McAlear set them on their way inside eleven minutes. Billy Mckay sclaffed in a third with twenty minutes to go and there was no way back for Arbroath who lost ground at the top of the table with Dick Campbell sent to the stands. As Partick Thistle lost to Morton, we closed the gap to two points behind them with Raith still one point behind us. Away to Rovers next week. That's a massive game now as both sides chase a play-off spot. I said to my grandkid's at the game "that was an emphatic win" At only seven years old, Ava said "granda, what does win mean?" Yes, it's been a long time coming... Well done Mark, great stuff. 68 clean sheets, that's some size of linen cupboard pal! TEAM NEWS Roddy MacGregor has cracked a bone in his jaw and could be out for the next few games. Tom Walsh is likewise after being injured inside twenty minutes at Firhill. Wallace Duffy missed the last couple after being injured against Accies on matchday 36. Scott Allardice made it onto the pitch as an injury time sub for the first time in months, so that's a positive and here's another one, Aaron Doran came on as a sub for the last half hour after taking a knock at Cappielow on matchday 35. Well deserved April's Player of the Month award for Logan Chalmers who has chipped in with some massively important stunning goals recently in our drive for promotion. He scored five goals in a five game purple patch starting with a match winning fiercely struck brace over Raith Rovers. He followed that up with a belter against Ayr United, a sweet winner against Killie a a wonderful solo thumper against Queen of the South. That's some left peg lad.

Time to Complete Job With only one goal between the sides, these two teams come to the Caledonian Stadium on Friday night (7:45pm) for the return leg of the Premiership play-off quarter final. The first game at Firhill on Tuesday night saw Inverness come from behind to take a slight advantage back up the A9. With away goals not counting double the tie is still in the balance. At Firhill Neither side were able to dominate on the tattie field and they went in goalless at the break although Logan Chalmers looked to be impeded in the box as he tried to get a shot away midway through the half. Robbie Crawford opened the scoring when he got onto a reverse ball from Brian Graham to shoot high into the net from inside the box to put Partick in the driving seat. Inverness turned it round in the second half with goals from Shane Sutherland and Austin Samuels. So here we are back to the Highlands on Friday night to conclude this tie. The downside of playing on that pitch in such a fiercely competitive match saw Tom Walsh injured inside twenty minutes which is a great pity as he was starting to get back to his former self. We were without Aaron Doran, Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor in the first leg, hopefully precautionary in Doran and Duffy's case. Roddy MacGregor might be out for the season. Scott Allardice managed a place on the bench but was rightly not risked on that pitch. Arbroath await the victor. Ahead of Partick game Highlights from 1st Leg The better surface at the Caledonian Stadium will benefit both sides. Scott Tiffoney is a tricky customer although David Carson stuck to the task well at Firhill, but he can be a handful. Brian Graham is always a threat in the air with his physical style and Danny Devine and Kirk Broadfoot need to watch him closely as he will try anything to gain an advantage, including diving in the box. We have our own players to look out for and Logan Chalmers has come on leaps and bounds since joining on loan, and he also has a lethal left foot. Players Player of the Year Shane Sutherland was MotM on Tuesday and is looking good value for his award. Austin Samuels has the pace to trouble defenders and our defence is normally solid. OFFICIAL PREVIEW & TICKET INFO Billy talking after win at Firhill

No Hiding Place It's Play-Off time: There's no hiding place now as we enter the first leg of the Premiership Play-Offs at Firhill to take on fourth place Championship finishers Partick Thistle. After a Championship campaign that saw more ups and downs than fair fortnight on the Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, it's now crunch time for all the Premiership contenders. Arbroath await the winners of this two-leg tie after they fell just two points short of automatic promotion with Killie making the step up. What a season for Dick Campbell and his Smokies though. However, it's one game at a time and let's see how far that will take us. TUESDAY - MATCH/TICKET/SUPPORTERS INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462218717 FRIDAY - MATCH/TICKET/HOSPITALITY INFO We come into the play-offs on the back of a resounding 4-0 win over Hamilton Accies in the final game of the regular campaign. With one or two rested, it was a great opportunity for others to stake a claim for a start in this important finale to the season. Not much was anticipated ahead of that game with Accies also a bit understrength, but Inverness blew Accies away with a four goal first half blitz. Gone were the long hopeful punts forward to be replaced by slick interplay and incisive passing and clinical finishing. A joy to behold at times as we bemused hapless Hamilton. Tremendous team goals from Walsh (2), Sutherland and a first for wee Joe Hardy enabled us to cruise through the second half without getting out of second gear. Partick also rested players ahead of this one but they were turned over 3-1 by Ayr United. Expect them to be at full strength though when we visit as thorns in our side Brian Graham and Scott Tiffoney missed out at Somerset Park. Venue H2H v Partick (all) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 9 6 7 36 33 +3 Away 21 5 6 10 21 29 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 43 14 12 17 57 62 -5 One win apiece and two draws is the tale of the tape this season. CTO Sep11th 3-1: After a difficult first half, Inverness ran out comfortable winners against Partick Thistle in a second half goal blitz. The visitors dominated the first forty-five and Scott Tiffoney drilled the opener out of nothing as the defence backed off. Manny Duku was denied by a combination of keeper and post but it was Partick that should have scored a second, however Mark Ridgers did well to deny Brian Graham. Harsh talking at the break saw Inverness come out for the second half with the bit between the teeth and Kirk Broadfoot was the unlikely hero as his twenty yard shot evaded the outstretched fingertips of the keeper to level the score. Shane Sutherland did well to drill in the second from an angle after the keeper fluffed his lines allowing Shane to slot in from twenty yards. The third was a peach as Duku stepped over the ball and Aaron Doran fired high into the net for a brilliant goal and game over. That's five wins out of five and the run goes on... CTO Oct30th: Caley Jags pay the penalty 0-0: Partick Thistle survived to earn a point after the woodwork saved them twice and keeper Jamie Sneddon denied Sean Welsh from the spot after guessing the right way. Inverness were well on top but it's only a point which means Killie pull further away at the top. Performance of the day was from Arbroath who came from two down to beat Dunfermline Athletic 4-2. CTO Feb9th: Late Leveller 3-3: Partick Thistle struck early to add to our gloom through Brian Graham but Billy Mckay squared the game after twenty minutes with a close range finish from a Carson cross. Graham scored his second with a header soon after, Scott Tiffoney once again the provider and he almost scored one for himself but for a fine save from Ridgers. Shane Sutherland equalised just on the interval with a header from a McAlear corner. With twenty minutes left Deas conceded a stone wall penalty and Graham notched his hat-trick. Substitute Cammy Harper drove into the box but Sneddon blocked his shot and moments later Pearson appeared to hit the bar with an angled drive from twelve yards and Mckay rolled one past the post. We got the draw with the last head of the ball deep into stoppage time when Broadfoot headed in a cross from McAlear. CTO Mar4th: The slide goes on: 1-0 On a pitch resembling the aftermath of the battle of the Somme, Inverness blew any lingering hopes of promotion with another unacceptable performance at Firhill. Billy Dodds keeps telling us that training is going well. Stats will show something like nineteen shots with only one on target. What the hell do we actually practice? On the plus side, a cut and paste of his post match report will suffice as it's been the same story for almost three months now. Absolutely abysmal, the lifeblood seems to have been sucked right out of the whole team, management and long suffering support. Kevin Holt scored the only goal in the 85th minute after a low corner was driven through a ruck of bodies in the penalty box into the centre of the goal. Game over, season over and surely Dodds over and out! Apologies to Dodds and the team we have managed to turn it round again and here we are, ready for the play-offs, but that 11 match run was a nightmare. ***Dates for your diary*** CINCH PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS Tuesday May 3 Quarter-final, 1st leg Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.05pm Friday May 6 Quarter-final, 2nd leg Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm Latest Team News Scott Allardice is the one long term casualty and Wallace Duffy took a knock in midweek against Hamilton. Some legs were spared in midweek but I would be expecting them to feature in the play-off games. Brian Graham and Scott Tiffoney missed the loss to Ayr United but will be important players for Partick in these games. Fans Player of the Year David Carson Some of these would be much appreciated