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Better late than never... Here's an appetiser from our site owner Scotty: This article will be a first – in more ways than one. "It’s the first article I have written in quite a while and It’s the first time we will announce two years’ worth of Player of the Year winners in a single article, and as you read through it you will discover more firsts as we go along. First a word about our award history. We first dished this out – to Bobby Mann – in 2000/01 and it has consistently been one of only two external supporters’ awards recognized by the club since then, with the other being the Supporters Club PotY. It was also, until his tragic passing, included in Ian Broadfoot’s comprehensive and official club stats. We take great pride in that and continue to seek to ensure the voting process is handled with fairness and integrity. Without further ado, let’s get going and start talking numbers. Season 2019/2020: The season all started normally enough. COVID & Coronavirus were not yet in the vernacular, social distancing was drinking in a different pub than the opposition fans, and our idea of low crowds was reserved for a wet and windy Tuesday night in the league cup where figures dropped below 1000. The 2019/20 PotY calculation was ‘normal’ from the season start in July, right up to March and then of course with the season being cut short there were no awards for the final three months of the season... OK OK, enough from Scotty, once he starts he won't stop... Before we get too far into this season, we better tell you who has won the CTO Player of the Year trophy. With the previous couple of seasons being disrupted by covid 19, these results were put into cold storage and almost forgotten about. Step forward IBM and ictEWD. These guys have been working tirelessly in the background updating stats, adding current stats/results and new information to this site and keeping the voting polls going. Along with that Eric has produced a wonderful spreadsheet and Iain has collated all the votes over the last two seasons to come up with the Player of the Year for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. It doesn't make it any easier to sort out but the same player has won both titles despite missing a fair chunk of last season through injury, all this despite his hairband! He is our 20th and 21st winner and the first to win it twice. He is very deserving of this award and scored his first goal for the club last season in his 47th appearance, a beauty against Dunfermline after cutting in from the right wing and rifling the ball across the keeper. He won the supporters Player of the Year last season as well. He also picked up the Championship Player of the Month back in March and he has been playing an unfamiliar role at right back since coming back from injury. His hairband is the topic of much discussion. Signing on for another three seasons has ensured him of cult status at the Caledonian Stadium and we look forward to cheering him on for the foreseeable future. 2019-2020 was a close run affair with David Carson (225 votes) edging out another fans favourite Shaun Rooney (206) with Mr consistency Mark Ridgers in third place (196) Carson came from behind with a late run to pip Rooney and Ridgers by winning the polls for February and March. Ridgers had a busy winter topping the votes in November and December with Rooney the main man for some swashbuckling performances in August and January. The top three had pulled well clear of the rest of the field. Scotty clarifies the voting system thus... In the 9 months where there were awards, 3 players each got Player of the Month twice and three more got that accolade once. There were a total of 1842 votes cast over the course of the shortened season, which although down from previous years was still healthy given the circumstances. These were spread amongst a total of 23 players. Over the course of the season the player with the highest number of votes cast for them (regardless of the value of the votes 5/3/1) was David Carson with 225 votes. Second spot for 2019/2020 goes to Shaun Rooney with 206 votes with Mark Ridgers claiming third spot with 196 votes. 2020-2021 turned out to be another success story for David Carson despite missing the start of the season through injury. Such was his impact on return he collected the trophy for an unprecedented second season. It was even tighter in this shortened season with only three votes separating the top two. David Carson - 134 Scott Allardice - 131 Nikolay Todorov - 112 So, belated congratulations to David. Monthly winners starting in October Dan Mackay in April - No doubt for his stunning goal and performance in the Scottish Cup against Ross County. He has won a few accolades since signing for Inverness, but none so prestigious as the CTO Player of the Year. Above he can be seen in the supporters Player of the Year photo <pic from ICTFC> below he is brandishing the Scottish Championship Player of the Month for March. Here's David with the Championship Player of the Month in March 2021 Here's our Bio of your CTO PotY for the last two seasons: David Carson spent his early career with Ashington. In 2014, Carson signed for Blackburn Rovers but he returned to non-league, playing with South Shields, Whitby Town and Morpeth Town from whence he came to ICT from on a free transfer on 15 May 2019. His last season in Evo-Stik East League saw the 23-year-old named league player of the season, as well as making the league team of the year, as Morpeth Town secured a league and Cup double. When Carson signed for Scottish Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle, John Robertson tipped him for success. He had made 37 appearances for Inverness but he had yet to score although he likes a yellow card gaining 8 bookings prior the the 20/21 season. David missed the start of season 20/21 through injury. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win over Dunfermline in his 47th appearance following MotM performances in his previous three games at right back. David has extended his stay by adding three years to his contract announced on 15th April 2021 which keeps him at Inverness until end of season 2024 and was the supporters player of the year choice.

MacGregor Stunner Inverness maintained their winning start to the league campaign, but it took a stunning half volley from substitute Roddy MacGregor to settle the points. It had been a relatively even game with the hosts having slightly the better of it throughout. Jamie MacDonald had pulled off three or four decent saves before Roddy struck from 25 yards, the ball flashing into the net past an outstretched keeper after some neat interplay outside the box involving Sutherland and Duku. Six points from two games, we could not have asked for a better start to the Championship. Sean Welsh was still missing as were Anthony McDonald and Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran and Billy Mckay were on the bench alongside Roddy MacGregor with Manny Duku starting up front against his former employers. Lewis Vaughan missed out for Raith, but James Keatings would make the bench for Rovers on his first return to the Caledonian Stadium which was loosely populated with fans as covid restrictions begin to ease. The new and improved stream maybe taking it's toll on the attendance with Auldy Boy and Rossco on the commentary, replays and all! Big downpours ahead of kick-off ensured the pitch was well watered with steady rain being the order of the day as Inverness attacked the South Stand end in the first half. An even opening to the game saw both sides struggle to create any clear cut opportunities. Manny Duku looked most likely to unlock the visitors defence. Could have been a red card before the break for Mathews after Duku pounced on a lofted ball forward, as he broke clear he was upended and Mathews got away with just a yellow for his troubles. Duku missed out from a great ball into the front post from Walsh and later in the half he was unfortunate after Michael Gardyne fed him into the left side of the box only for Berra to make a great interception as he shot, the ball spinning behind for a fruitless corner. Meanwhile, Raith were reduced to shooting from distance although we almost let them in when Broadfoot misjudged the bounce on a through ball but we swept it away eventually. Just on the interval Tom Walsh was close to connecting with a dangerous ball into the box from Gardyne on the left side, but a goal kick was the result. No scoring at the break but Inverness always looked the more likely to get amongst the goals. Sutherland saw a shot gathered by MacDonald with ease, but he was more troubled when Duku got on the end of a ball into the box from Sutherland and shot on the turn, MacDonald saving well to his left. The keeper did well to deny the same player direct from a free kick as he covered his top corner well to prevent the opener. Substitute MacGregor did well down the left to set up Gardyne for a pot at goal but he skied it badly. Ridgers saved comfortably after Raith burst along the left byeline and minutes later he was also fortunate not to be sent packing for a similar offence, bringing down Ethon Varian as he started to break clear, similar to Duku in the first half. When Allardice broke forward from the halfway line, it looked hopeful. Sutherland gathered the ball and shipped it to Duku who laid it off for MacGregor to strike a peach from twenty-five yards on the half volley with a bit of side spin on it. What a hit, what a goal! Rovers still pushed for a breakthrough but never really looked like creating the opportunity they needed and Inverness saw out the game relatively comfortably. The managers speaking to BBC Sport Inverness head coach Billy Dodds: "It wasn't pretty. You knew the first goal was going to win it and it took a pretty spectacular one to do it from Roddy. He responded well to being left out." Raith Rovers manger John McGlynn: "We were well organised. We certainly didn't want to lose four goals like we did last week late on. It took a wonder strike for them to score. We are gutted." Inverness were best served by the hard working Manny Duku with Scott Allardice and Ryan McAlear bossing the midfield. Wee Roddy maybe doesn't score many, but when he does they are pretty special. Best for Rovers were all in defence with keeper Jamie MacDonald making three or for crucial saves and he was certainly the busier keeper. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Partick Thistle 2 2 0 0 6 2 4 6 2. Kilmarnock 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6 3. Inverness CT 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 6 4. Morton 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4 5. Hamilton Academical 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1 6. Raith Rovers 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1 7. Arbroath 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1 8. Ayr United 2 0 1 1 2 4 -2 1 9. Dunfermline 2 0 1 1 2 5 -3 1 10. Queen of the South 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 0 Roddy on the half volley: Boom!!! Date: 07/08/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1675 Referee: Alan Muir Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Broadfoot, Deas, Gardyne, Allardice, McAlear (MacGregor 63), Walsh (Doran 81), Sutherland, Duku (Hyde 88) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, B Mckay, Jamieson, Scorers: MacGregor (80) Booked: Devine (28), Ridgers (78) Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 0 Manager: John McGlynn Lineup: MacDonald; Benedictus, Berra, Lang, Tumilty, Connolly, Mathews, Tait (Riley-Snow 73), Dick, Zanatta (Keatings 85), Poplatnik (Varian 66) Subs (not used): Thomson; Arnott, Mckay, Fotheringham. Scorers: none Booked: Dick (24), Mathews (53) Sent Off: none a

Matchday Two After an opening day win for the Caley Jags, we entertain Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium with fans in attendance as covid restrictions begin to ease, 2000 allowed entry for this one with more to come on Monday. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm on Saturday as the joint holders of the Challenge Cup face off. Rovers began their title challenge with an incredible 4-4 draw against Hamilton Accies at the weekend with Inverness edging out Arbroath. SEASON TICKET HOLDERS STREAM ACCESS PPV ACCESS MATCHDAY INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW With Kilmarnock beating Ayr United 2-0 on Sunday, they top the table after Matchday One. Partick were the other winners beating Queens 3-2. Morton drew with Dunfermline 2-2. Ayr United v Arbroath Dunfermline v Partick Thistle Hamilton Accies v Morton Inverness CT v Raith Rovers Queen o.t South v Kilmarnock Pars v Partick and Queens v Killie the pick of the games this weekend with Accies hosting Morton and Ayr hosting Arbroath. Stat Attack First Competitive Meeting v Raith Rovers Sep 25th, 1999 League (H) 0 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Mar 16th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (A) 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) Biggest Victories Jan 12th, 2002 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Aug 26th, 2000 League (A) 1 - 4 Venue Head to Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 16 12 2 2 35 13 +22 Away 13 7 3 3 26 16 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 29 19 5 5 61 29 +32 As the stats show, we have a great record against Raith Rovers both home and away. Only two defeats at home back in 1999 and 2000. Not surprising really when you consider the quality of the Raith team back then. Here's Iain Broadfoot's match report from 25th September 1999 Caley Thistle lost this game because of a dismal first half performance. They came out fighting in the second half and matched Raith well but produced no goals. Raith took the lead in the ninth minute after a Jay Stein corner from the right - Marvin Andrews rose above Mann to head downwards and into the net. In 24 minutes the second goal came courtesy of an error. Mann was too slow passing back to Fridge and Didier Agathe stepped in and he ran on and volleyed past Fridge from 20 yards. Caley Thistle hit on the occasional breakaway but to little effect. A disappointing afternoon for the home support despite a spirited fight back. Caley Thistle now slip to second bottom of Division 1. ICTFC: Les Fridge; Richard Hastings, Ross Tokely, Mark McCulloch, Bobby Mann, Charlie Christie, Mike Teasdale, Barry Wilson, Barry Robson, Paul Sheerin, Martin Bavidge Raith: Van DeCamp; McEwan, Ellis, Andrews, Browne, Black, Agathe, Tosh, Dargo, Burns, Stein We opened our League campaign with an untidy but welcome victory at Gayfield. Shane Sutherland sealed the points with a tidy finish after bursting forward to chip the keeper from the edge of the box, the one piece of class and composure in a game more suited to welfare football at the Bught park. Raith will be disappointed to only take one point from their opener after throwing away a four goal lead with only twenty-two minutes left. Vaughn (2), Zanatta and Connolly had put Rovers four up against relegated Accies, but they stunned the home support by equalising deep into time added on to snatch a point they really should not have had an earthly of getting. Dario Zanatta with the pick of the goals. Boom! John McGlynn summed it up nicely on BBC Sport: "I've spoken about the rollercoaster of ups and downs during a season - I didn't expect to go through all those emotions in one game. "We could have been even further ahead as we had two one-on-ones at 4-0 up. To lose four goals in 22 minutes is extremely disappointing. It's two points chucked away. There's disbelief over how easily we lost the goals." Latest Team News Sean Welsh missed the opener after picking up an injury in the League Cup group A match against Stirling Albion. David Carson and Billy Mckay returned to action last week and Anthony McDonald played a few minutes against Hearts but was an unused sub last weekend. Aaron Doran has missed the last couple of weeks. Manny Duku will hopefully want to show Rovers fans what they are missing. Here's the two Billy's John McGlynn has assembled a squad capable of challenging for the top spot again. James Keatings is now a Rover and if he stays fit will be an asset. With the likes of Chrisophe Berra, Dario Zanatta, Aidan Connelly and Liam Dick signing on, McGlynn reckons his squad is stronger this season. They also have some loan signings, notably forward Matej Poplatnik from Livingston.

It's a cinch After a goalless first half Shane Sutherland broke through the middle to drink the ball neatly over Gaston for the opening goal with just over twenty minutes left. A late rally from the hosts should have drawn them level but Inverness hung on grimly to take all three points. In the opening forty-five, Sutherland had an effort cleared off the line and Nouble proved to be an awkward customer as he bulldozed his way around the park spurning the Lichties best chance of the first half. It was a welcome three points but a difficult watch throughout. Billy Mckay and Anthony McDdonald were both on the bench for the opening fixture. David Carson was fit enough to start but Sean Welsh missed out through injury. Bright sunshine and football fans welcomed the teams onto the park for the opening fixture of the cinch championship. Inverness started on the front foot with Tom Walsh prominent down the left flank and Manny Duku a willing chaser. Despite Walsh seeing plenty of the ball, most of his efforts to cut inside and cross the ball ended on the head or feet of an Arbroath defender. The closest call in the opening exchanges came at the other end when the bustling Joel Nouble broke forward on the inside right channel but dragged his effort just wide across the keeper. At the other end Allardice arrived on the edge of the box just in time to meet a lay off between Walsh and Duku but he lashed his shot just over the bar. Minutes later Duku did well to find Sutherland in the box but his shot was blocked inside the six-yard box en route to the net. That would be the best opportunity for either side in a tousy first half. Half Time: 0-0 The second period saw Nicky Low fire a yard wide from a free kick and a super headed 'goal' from Duku was adjudged offside as both teams looked for the opener. Ridgers saved well after McKenna headed goalwards as Arbroath began to open out. However the deadlock was broken when Shane Sutherland pounced on an error on the halfway line as Donnelly intercepted a Duku lay-off and tried to head the ball back to safety. Sutherland anticipated brilliantly, and as he raced forward he dinked the ball over the keeper from 19 yards to put the visitors ahead. A classy finish out of context with the rest of the game. That goal seemed to agitate Arbroath and they started to put the visitors on the back foot thereafter. For all their possession, they were unable to create many clear cut opportunities although the visitors back line led a charmed life at times. Devine and Broadfoot were able to mop up most attacks as Arbroath looked to feed the mountainous Nouble to no avail. By the ninetieth minute they seemed to have blown over and we saw out the four minutes of injury time with Arbroath eventually resigning themselves to defeat. Best for Inverness in a difficult watch were mostly in midfield where Allardice and McAlear shone through the dross with Sutherland applying that classy finish to raise the profile of a somewhat tedious game. Good to see Billy Mckay getting a few minutes on the park. Oh, and the referee; He's the real deal. Date: 31/07/2021 Venue: Gayfield Park, Arbroath Attendance: 1008 Referee: David Dickinson Arbroath: 0 Manager: Dick Campbell Lineup: Gaston; Stewart (Swankie 83), Little, O'Brien, Colin Hamilton, Linn (Hilson 62), Low, McKenna, Clark (Craven 78), Donnelly, Nouble Subs (not used): Antell; Chris Hamilton, Paterson Scorers: none Booked: Hamilton (33), Swankie (94) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Broadfoot, Deas, Walsh (Harper 74), MacGregor (Mckay 79), Allardice, McAlear, Sutherland, Duku (Hyde 90) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Jamieson, McDonald, Scorers: Sutherland (66) Booked: Broadfoot (52), Mckay (81) Sent Off: none a

Seaside opener The season gets real on Saturday when the opening fixtures of the Championship kick-off with Inverness travelling to Arbroath to take on the 'Smokies' with fans from both sides being allowed entry, albeit on a restricted basis. The ball starts rolling at 15:00 as season 2021-2022 gets underway for the Caley Jags under the new leadership of Billy Dodds. Good to see the supporters bus getting an airing for this one after a year of inactivity. Supporters Bus Match Info Streaming from Arbroath TV Official Preview Our standard League Cup exit was confirmed before the Hearts game with Stirling Albion clinching second spot in the group. Good luck to them. We went through the motions against Hearts and but for a superb performance by Mark Ridgers we would have conceded a hatful of goals. It ended 1-0 to the hosts after substitute Jamie Walker rifled in a sharp finish to end our League Cup games. One or two positives from the game but the gulf in class was evident as the Jambos prepare for life in the Premiership; for us, another season in the Championship starts at Arbroath, a side we have found difficult to break down of late. Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Arbroath 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (H) 7 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) Venue - Head to head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 15 2 2 53 17 +36 Away 17 8 3 6 25 22 +3 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 36 23 5 8 78 39 +39 First Competitive Meeting Aug 12th, 1994 League ((Div 3)) (H) 5 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Mar 27th, 2021 League (Championship) (H) 1 - 0 Things are looking up for Arbroath with news that over 800 season tickets have been sold. That's great news for the highest placed part time team in Scotland who have come up two tiers under the guidance of the wily olde Dick. Latest Team News Michael Gardyne is suspended for Inverness after his straight red at Tynecastle. Sean Welsh is still injured but it was good to see Anthony McDonald back on the park after recovering from his knee operation. David Carson has missed the last couple of games and Billy Mckay has not surfaced since we signed him from County. Let's hope we get these guys back on the park sooner rather than later. Dick Campbell has former Edinburgh City player Liam Henderson suspended for Arbroath, but captain Tam O'Brien is back after a foot injury saw him miss the last few games. One miss for them this term will be striker Jack Hamilton who has returned to Livingston. Ex Dundee player Nick Low will be an asset at Gayfield this season. Bin man Linn will always be a threat to a static defence. Billy Dodds talking after the defeat to Hearts And here's the Billy and Danny show ahead of the visit to Gayfield

Over and Out Inverness slumped out of the League Cup in unsurprising fashion after a 1-0 defeat at Tynecastle, Jamie Walker with a second half goal enough for the dominant Jambo's. Michael Gardyne was sent off just before the ninety minutes for a rash scissors tackle on Walker to add to our woes. The League Cup; its not for everyone, meh! Date: 25/07/2021 Venue: Tynecastle Park Attendance: 2989 Referee: Nick Walsh Hearts: 1 Manager: Robbie Neilson Lineup: Gordon; M Smith, Halkett, Kingsley, Cochrane, Pollock (Walker 66), Halliday (Haring 66), Mackay-Steven, Boyce, Gnanduillet (Henderson 84), Ginnelly Subs (not used): Stewart; McEneff, C Smith, Popescu, Watson, Denholm Scorers: Walker (75) Booked: Ginnelly (6), Pollock (56) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine (Fyffe 76), Broadfoot, Deas (Harper 76), Walsh (McDonald 81), McAlear, McGregor, Gardyne, Sutherland (Jamieson 81), Duku (Allardice 70) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Cairns, Hennem Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: Gardyne (88) a

Hearts league cup Our involvement in this seasons opening event will come to an end once we face Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday in a 17:15 kick-off in our final Group A game. It's been another disastrous League Cup campaign after the optimism of the opening encounter against Peterhead. Subsequent flaky performances against part-time lower league sides have seen the optimism replaced by despair. Not so much the defeats, but the performances have been poor leaving new gaffer Billy Dodds the daunting task of breathing new life into this rapidly deflating side. This game will be broadcast by Premier Sports. OFFICIAL PREVIEW Premier Sports Group A HOME AWAY POS. P W D L GF GA W D L GF GA GD PTS 1 Heart of Midlothian 3 1 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 4 0 7 9 2 Stirling Albion 3 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 5 4 -1 5 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 1 1 0 4 2 0 0 1 1 3 0 4 4 Peterhead 3 1 0 1 3 3 0 0 1 0 2 -2 3 5 Cove Rangers 4 1 0 1 5 4 0 0 2 1 6 -4 3 Stirling Albion finish second after beating Peterhead in the other Group A game this weekend. (Final Score 3-1) Dodds talking after the defeat to Cove Rangers So, having said he has not done any work with his defenders, Doddsy has promptly gone shopping and brought in another striker to bolster his misfiring forwards. Nineteen year old Lewis Jamieson has come in for a season long loan from Premiership side St Mirren. Quite what he has to offer compared to our own academy graduates has yet to be seen, but good luck to him anyway. Sean Welsh is still out but David Carson who missed the Cove game could feature. Lewis Jamieson will be included in the squad with Billy Mckay and Anthony McDonald still sidelined. Young right back Harry Nicolson has been loaned to Elgin City until January 2022 and gets a start on Saturday against East Fife.

Cove cruise Inverness' dismal run of League Cup results continued with defeat at Cove. This was a must win game for Inverness if they were looking to progress in the competition. Sean Welsh was out after rolling his ankle against Stirling Albion and David Carson missed out after taking a knock against Albion. There were some 'friendly' faces in the Cove ranks with Vigurs, Draper and McAllister in opposition. Manny Duku had a shot cleared off the line in the tenth minute after intercepting the ball and driving into the box. Ten minutes later Mark Ridgers was called into action to deny Neill after a corner. Play moved to the other end and Gardyne and Doran combined to play Duku through on goal but he shot wide. Half an hour gone and Sutherland and Duku combine to give Allardice an opportunity but he lashed the ball over. Cove opened the scoring in the 35th minute when Leighton McIntosh scored. A couple of minutes later and Cove doubled their lead through Mitch Megginson. Megginson then shot over the bar before Sutherland shot over at the other end and then keeper Gourlay denied Duku after McAlear found him in the box with an excellent ball. Plenty of action but no goals for Inverness at the interval. Sutherland went close five minutes into the second half after Gourlay fluffed a clearance. Ridgers tipped a Scully shot over the bar as play moved to the other end and Ridgers also saved from Megginson on the hour. Sutherland headed over after Walsh put a tremendous cross into the box with twenty minutes left. With ten minutes left Sutherland headed another Walsh cross onto the post and wide. Walsh himself had an effort scrambled off the line as Inverness pressed for a lifeline. However Yule completed the embarrassment for Dodds duffers with a third goal five minutes from the end after shambolic defending. A penalty to Inverness in the 90th minute offered little consolation for the Caley Jags but Duku duly converted from the spot. Plenty of work for Dodds to do before the league campaign begins in earnest. RIG of Wyness Shuffle fame was not impressed: That was grim. Despite a first half that was arguably quite even in terms of chances created as soon as Cove were two goals up the game was over. Duku and Sutherland both passed up decent chances for us with Duku perhaps missing the best opportunity when he rounded the keeper and decided to take about 74 touches in the box before having a shot. Neill and Draper looked quite suspect at times. Unfortunately for us our entire defence looked even worse with Broadfoot and Deas really struggle to understand where one another was. Duffy looked incredibly rusty at RB and was continuously beaten by Leitch down the Cove left side whilst Harper, although reasonable enough getting forward, is a little suspect defensively for me. Wonderful opening goal for the home side. nice little dinked ball over the top of the ICT defence and McIntosh sent a superb curled effort beyond Ridgers into the net. Barely a moment later Cove had a second. Another ball over the top found Megginson and he easily beat Ridgers for number two. With this the game was pretty much over as we struggled to get anything going in the second half. Walsh had the best chance when Duku sped past a Cove defender and cut the ball back from the bye line but Walsh saw his effort blocked and then cleared off the line. Cove's third goal looked, from the opposite end of the pitch, a little similar to the chance Walsh had missed. Bursting run into the box, ball cut back and Yule finished well to wrap things up. Although a penalty from Duku saw us get on the scoresheet it did nothing to mask a pretty desperate performance. I don't particularly care about going out of the League Cup, we have been dreadful in it since this new format was introduced, but I am bothered about the poor performances against Stirling and Cove Rangers. The latter had nothing to play for, only had 14 fit players available and were absolute toilet for their first three games yet they cigared past us no problems. I'm also worried that there were evident problems on the pitch which Dodds did nothing to address. The players still seem to be adjusting tot his 442 / 4411 setup Dodds is trying to implement. Last night we were outnumbered in midfield and struggled in the centre of the pitch for long periods yet nothing was done to change it which was a concern. When we did look threatening it was when we had the ball on the deck and were passing it around but too often we were sending high balls up towards Duku and Sutherland who struggled to control them under pressure from Draper and Neil. It was evident this wasn't working yet it seemed to be our main way to "attack". We need to improve and quickly. <<understatement alert>> Full highlights from Cove Date: 20/07/2021 Venue: Balmoral Stadium, Cove Attendance: 319 Referee: Chris Graham Cove Rangers: 3 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Gourlay; Neill, Milne, Scully, Yule, Megginson, McIntosh (McAllister 72), Draper, Vigurs, Leitch (Watson 46), Fyvie Subs (not used): McKenzie Scorers: McIntosh (35), Megginson (38), Yule (85) Booked: Milne (46) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Broadfoot, Harper, Gardyne (Walsh 60), Allardice (MacGregor 60), McAlear, Doran, Sutherland, Duku. Subs (not used): C Mackay; H Nicolson, Fyffe, Hennem, Cairns, Devine Scorers: Duku (92 pen) Booked: Doran (23) Sent Off: none a

Welsh Woe A visit to Balmoral Stadium to face Cove Rangers on Tuesday night brings fresh urgency after a lacklustre draw against Stirling Albion ended with the Bino's taking the bonus point after a penalty shoot-out. We will have to do it without the injured Sean Welsh. The Cove game kicks-off at 19:45 with live streaming available from Cove Rangers TV for a tenner. PPV Stream Official Preview Attendance info Both sides had the wind taken out of their sails at the weekend with Stirling Albion causing an upset at the Caledonian Stadium after winning the bonus point in a penalty shoot out following a 2-2 draw after ninety minutes. Mackin and Moore had given the visitors an early lead before Roddy MacGregor pulled one back before the break. Shane Sutherland quickly restored parity after the break but no further scoring saw the tie being decided on penalties where the Bino's took the bonus point. Cove surprisingly went down to a rejuvenated Peterhead by 3-1. Brown put Peterhead in front after only three minutes before Megginson levelled ten minutes later. However Cameron and McLean scored either side of the break to give Peterhead their first win of the competition. Surprise surprise; Vigurs and Draper both booked. Cove starting XI v Peterhead: McKenzie; Ross, Neill, Higgins, Yule, Vigurs, Draper, Scully, Megginson, McAllister, Leitch League Cup Group 'A' Stirling Albion v Hearts Tuesday 7:45pm Team P GD Pts 1 Hearts 2 5 6 2 Stirling 2 1 5 3 Inverness CT 2 2 4 4 Peterhead 3 -2 3 5 Cove Rangers 3 -6 0 Latest team news Captain Sean Welsh looks likely to be out for at least a month. The often injured midfielder turned his ankle at the weekend and will miss the next few weeks. Leaves the door open for another midfielder to stake a claim for a start, or push David Carson forward and see if Wallace Duffy is ready to fill the right back slot. Still waiting for Billy Mckay and Anthony McDonald to surface, although Mckay could be ready sooner rather than later.

League Cup Second game of the season has Stirling Albion coming North to face the Caley Jags with both sides getting off to a winning start in their opening group 'A' fixture. The Bino's went to Cove and came away with an excellent 3-2 win and Inverness defeated Peterhead 2-0 in Billy Dodds first game flying solo. The match is a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon with home fans only allowed in the stadium under current covid restrictions. PPV Streaming from ICTV OFFICIAL PREVIEW INFO We comfortably beat Peterhead on Tuesday night thanks to two fantastic second half strikes. Manny Duku opened his account with a tight finish from sixteen yards and Aaron Doran thundered in a swerving 30 yarder to complete the scoring. Inverness were rarely troubled and eased home with Peterhead winless after two games. Stirling edged out Cove in an entertaining five goal game at Balmoral Stadium. Rabin Omar put Stirling in at the break a goal to the good. Nathan Flanagan doubled the advantage early in the second half but a Fraser Fyvie double looked likely to take the tie to a penalty shoot-out. Note that Vigurs is credited with the assists for both Cove goals. However Flanagan scored again in stoppage time to win the game for the visitors. Bino's starting XI v Cove Rangers: Currie; Cummins, McLean, McGregor, McNiff, Laird, Leitch, Omar, Flanagan, Moore, Mackin Latest Team News Robbie Deas has returned to full training and Billy Mckay will return to full training, possibly next week. Anthony McDonald has been on light training and will be stepping up his rehab with full training soon. Looks like we will be along similar lines to the Peterhead game. Manny Duku and Kirk Broadfoot caught the eye on Tuesday night with Aaron Doran, Sean Welsh and Tom Walsh looking spritely. Other fixture in group A Peterhead play Cove Rangers on Saturday.

Season ends in stalemate Inverness opened the scoring early through Daniel Mackay in the sixth minute. We were unable to build on that and Ayr levelled before the break when Aaron Muirhead converted a penalty after Baird went down in the box. Level at the break but Sean Welsh bagged a penalty two minutes into the second half only for United to level again through Josh Todd. No further scoring but results elsewhere meant that Ayr were safe and Dundee jumped above Raith Rovers to finish second. The final game of the season for Inverness saw Ayr United come North looking for a point to keep themselves in the Championship as Morton take on Arbroath in the other crucial game at the bottom. For Inverness, we fell just short of a promotion play-off place and Neil McCann would be in charge for his final game as temporary manager. Aaron Doran was on the bench and Scott Allan played the final game of his loan spell for Inverness CT. Tom Walsh was on the visitors bench with veteran forward Michael Moffat fronting the Ayr side. Scott Allan set the ball rolling as Inverness kicked off towards the South stand. Todorov forced the Ayr keeper to hastily knock the ball wide for an attacking throw in the fifth minute as we looked to get forward and it paid off moments later as Daniel Mackay got on the end of a tidy ball into the box from Welsh to slot past Morrison for the opening goal. Not the start the Honest Men were looking for. Ayr got their first corner in the twelfth minute and from the return ball back into the box it almost bounced straight into the net,however it was knocked out for another corner which offered Michael Moffat an opportunity but he was crowded out at the back post. Midway through the half and the visitors had grown into the game as it became a midfield battle with little goalmouth action. Just after the half hour Todorov got his head on a deep cross from Carson but it was too tight an angle to worry Ayr too much and the danger was cleared. Penalty to Ayr seven minutes before the break as Baird went down in the box under some flailing legs, Deas or possibly Carson as he was raging. Despite some serious protests and a booking for Carson, Muirhead buried the ball low into the net. Last action of the half saw Todorov volley a difficult chance over the bar after a great ball through from Allan. Half Time: 1-1 Inverness got a penalty of their own when MacGregor was sent tumbling in the box. Up stepped MotM Sean Welsh to comfortably score to restore our advantage. We almost threw the lead away a minute later as a short pass back put Ridgers in trouble but Ayr were unable to take full advantage and we eventually mopped up. Scott Allan was setting up players at will, but nobody had the clinical finish to put the gloss on the moves. Shane Sutherland was one who received a great ball but he shot over from a great position after cutting inside. That was his last involvement as he was replaced by Arran Lyall. Inverness paid for their profligacy as Ayr equalised again, this time through Josh Todd who drilled through a ruck of legs into the net. A couple of late corners ended with a header from Danny Devine flashing across the visitors goal, but out for a goal kick. A bit of a mix-up in the Ayr box let Ayr off the hook as two Caley-Jags players left the ball for each other after Arran Lyall had created the chance. Ayr saw out the game with neither side trying too hard to win all three points. Full Time 2-2 Surprise surprise, the final game of the season petered out to a 2-2 draw which suited Ayr United as Morton failed to win at Arbroath, which means Ayr stay in the Championship and Morton go into the relegation play off to fight for their survival. A drab affair, typical end of season maybe with Inverness unable to shake off Ayr United overall and a point apiece was just about right. Best on the night was Sean Welsh. That's all from us folks, enjoy the break and see you for the start of the new season More reaction to follow... Date: 30/04/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Craig Napier Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary manager, last game) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Deas, Harper, D Mackay (Doran 68), Welsh, MacGregor, Sutherland (Lyall 58), Allan, Todorov (Storey 76 ) Subs (not used): C Mackay; McHattie, Vincent, Allardice Scorers: Mackay (6), Welsh (47 pen) Booked: Carson (39), MacGregor (87) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 2 Manager: David Hopkin Lineup: Morrison; Houston, Baird, Roscoe-Byrne, Reading, Todd, Chalmers, Muirhead, Miller (McKenzie 53), McCowan (Murdoch 90+2), Moffat (Walsh 69) Subs (not used): Urminsky; Barjonas, Wright, Zanatta Scorers: Muirhead (39 pen), Todd (67) Booked: Miller (27), Houston (65) Sent Off: none a

The end is nigh For us, it's the final game of the season as we have missed out on the promotion play-offs despite a tremendous last six weeks which saw us go on a six game winning run including a derby Scottish Cup win over Ross County. Unfortunately we left ourselves an uphill task after the first two thirds of our season was decimated by injuries, covid and inclement weather. Ayr United head North with Championship survival high on their agenda as they look to avoid the relegation play-offs with Arbroath and Morton the other contenders. The game is a 19:45 kick-off on Friday night. Our season ended last Saturday at Tynecastle in an error strewn first half where Hearts scored three times without reply. MotM Gary Mackay-Steven scored twice and McEneff netted the other via a slight deflection. Our misery was exacerbated at the third goal as Robbie Deas ushered the ball back to the advancing Mark Ridgers. Unfortunately, as Ridgers dived down to gather, Deas dropped his guard too early and the ever alert GMS stuck his leg between them to prod the ball into the now unguarded net. Comedy goal, but we were not laughing. It ended at 3-0 and season over with Dunfermline and Dundee consolidating their places in the play-offs. So near, yet so far! LIVE UPDATES PPV LIVE STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW ICTFC MEDIA SILENCE CEO Scot Gardiner said: “We very much stand shoulder to shoulder with the other clubs and sports to convey the message that online abuse and discrimination of any kind is completely unacceptable.” CTO MEDIA SILENCE Enough is enough! CTO will join with Scottish football to support a boycott of social media in response to continuing racist and discriminatory abuse online aimed at players, staff, supporters and others associated with the game. It should and will not be tolerated and we will have no social media posts from 3:00pm on Friday through to midnight on 3rd of May. Ayr United now find themselves in a three way battle for survival after a goalless draw at Queen of the South. Arbroath are sucked into the mire along with Morton, and they meet at the Smokie Dome on Friday night. Ayr are the best placed of the three threatened clubs and a draw will ensure their Championship status. An Arbroath win will also see Ayr safe and relegate Morton. All games kick-off at the same time of 7:45pm. Table with one game to go before play-offs Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 26 16 6 4 59 24 35 54 2. Raith Rovers 26 12 7 7 45 32 13 43 3. Dundee 26 11 9 6 47 40 7 42 4. Dunfermline 26 10 9 7 38 33 5 39 5. Inverness CT 26 8 11 7 34 29 5 35 6. Queen of the South 26 9 5 12 38 49 -11 32 7. Arbroath 26 7 8 11 28 34 -6 29 8. Ayr United 26 6 10 10 29 35 -6 28 9. Morton 26 6 10 10 22 33 -11 28 10. Alloa Athletic 26 4 7 15 29 60 -31 19 Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Ayr United --- Ayr last five games DLDLD --- ICT last five games WWDDL 2 - 0 (A) 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) Venue (H to H) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 9 9 1 32 18 +14 Away 21 10 4 7 40 26 +14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 19 13 8 72 44 +28 Neither side have won in their last three games with points becoming difficult to claim as the season comes to a climax. We have had some memorable games against Ayr United over the years, this one might have too much tension to go down as a classic and with a point suiting Ayr, that's maybe where the smart money will go. ***Latest Team News*** Neil McCann has indicated this will be his last game in charge according to this article in the Inverness Courier. I'm sure we are all grateful for his and Billy Dodd's input since coming in to cover for John Robertson. After an iffy start, we almost made it to the play-offs. So cheers guys. Last outing of the season and it's a fair bet many will not be back next year with something like 18 players out of contract in the summer. Those that are already contracted to be here next season: 2022: M Ridgers, Duffy, Devine, Harper, MacGregor, D Mackay, Welsh. 2023: Allardice, Deas, 2024 Carson. The rest have not committed themselves yet or may not have been offered a new contract, so some tough talking ahead and none more important than who will be in charge. Brad Mckay is suspended after his red card against Dundee. Latest Ayr boss David Hopkin has brought in young Motherwell keeper Peter Morrison since the 3-0 defeat to Dundee as young Finnish keeper Viljami Sinisalo returned to his parent club, Aston Villa, after picking up an injury. Corrie Ndaba missed out against Queen of the South with a knock picked up at Arbroath. Tom Walsh and Joe Chalmers are still on the books and Michael Moffat returned to the starting XI last week. So, get your old Ayr guitar out one last time... Caramel Wafer Cup Final scrapped Raith & Inverness CT joint winners of Chocolate Cup. The Scottish Professional Football League (the “SPFL”) today announced that the final of the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup will not take place and that Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Raith Rovers have been declared joint winners of the competition for Season 2019/20. Official Player of the Year voting

Hearts end our season Our season looked over inside ten minutes after Mackay-Steven ran at the defence before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner as the defenders backed off. McEneff doubled the lead with the aid of a deflection in the ninth minute to nestle the ball in the bottom corner again. Mackay-Steven notched his second as he poked his leg in between Deas and Ridgers to kill the game with half an hour gone. The second half was an anti-climax for both sides with no further scoring, and with results elsewhere our challenge has come to an end. ____________________________ After the disappointing draw with Dundee in midweek, our destiny was in the hands of others. All we can do is gather points and hope that others can lend a helping hand by taking points of Dunfermline and Dundee as we visit Tynecastle to take on Champions Hearts. All games kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday, it's a massive day of football in the Championship. Scott Allardice was cleared to play in this one but Brad Mckay was suspended after the disciplinary committee met on Friday to decide the outcome of the red cards against Dundee. In came Cameron Harper at left back with Miles Storey starting. Roddy MacGregor and Shane Sutherland would be the impact players on the bench. Jamie Walker was not involved at Cappielow and Raith bound Cristophe Berra was also missing. Young defender Harry Cochrane has not signed a new contract and none of them would feature against Inverness. Neilson has twelve players out of contract this summer. Mackay-Steven came back into the side with Naismith and Henderson on the bench. ___________________________ A sunny Tynecastle was echoing with the disturbed sound of silence as The Caley Jags clapped the Champions onto the park as this covid restricted game kicked off with no fans in attendance. Scott Allardice had a shot deflected for a corner in the first minute and from the resultant cut back corner Scott Allan almost opened the scoring, his shot just clearing the bar. Ridgers gathered a header from Gnaduillet but moments later Mackay-Steven was allowed to run at the defence unchallenged before drilling a superb low shot behind Ridgers. The lead was doubled when a slight deflection took the ball out of the keepers reach and right in the bottom corner, McEneff the one with the strike. Gnaduillet almost got on the end of a great Haring cross to the back post as Hearts continued to dominate midway through the half, the ball getting knocked out for a goal kick as Ridgers and his defence closed him down. Game over with half an hour gone when Deas and Ridgers got in a fankle and Mackay-Steven prodded the ball into the net as the keeper came to collect and Deas tried to usher. Nightmare half hour from the Caley Jags! Ridgers saved from McEneff as Hearts threatened to run riot and the same two were involved before the interval as Hearts cigared it. Half Time: 3-0 Roddy MacGregor replaced Scott Allardice at the break and Toddy forced Craig Gordon into a save as he shot from wide right, the keeper saving without spilling. Despite a spirited second half showing especially from young substitute Arran Lyall the visitors failed to get a foothold in the game with Hearts looking more likely to add to their tally. A tidy twisting run forward by Scott Allan ended with a stabbed shot which Gordon gathered comfortably with around ten minutes left. Full Time: 3-0 In truth, we huffed and puffed while Hearts went through the motions without inflicting any further damage. So a late run on the stand side ended at Tynecastle as we fell short of reaching our target of a play off slot. Them's the breaks and it was a familiar scenario of too little too late. On the plus side, there's only one more preview and report to go... From BBC Sport Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: "Delighted, delighted. It's been a tough season for everyone. I'm delighted for the players. "I thought we were great. I'm really pleased with the performance. The game really suited Gary. It was a bit more open and expansive and you see the real Gary Mackay-Steven." Inverness CT interim manager Neil McCann: "We were much better in the second half. That's to be expected because we were so unlike ourselves. I lost my cool. Frustration boiled over. I shouldn't have done that. "Sore one. I feel really sorry for everybody connected to the club. We've just come up short." Date: 24/04/2021 Venue: Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh Attendance: 0000 Referee: Bobby Madden Hearts: 3 Manager: Robbie Neilson Lineup: Gordon; Smith, Souttar, Haring (Irving 40), McEneff, Logan, Halkett, Halliday, Gnanduillet (Naismith 65), Mackay-Steven (Pollock 80) Boyce Subs (not used): Stewart; Popescu, McGill, Henderson Scorers: Mackay-Steven (6), McEneff (9) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Deas, Devine, Harper, D Mackay, Welsh, Allardice (MacGregor 45), Allan, Storey (Sutherland 73) Todorov (Lyall 56) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, McHattie, Vincent Scorers: none Booked: Carson (19), Welsh (57) Sent Off: none a

DEE DAY. There's no going back now, Dee Day is upon us and it's virtually win or bust as Dundee visit the Caledonian Stadium at 7:00pm on Tuesday evening for a crunch game. With Dunfermline picking up more crucial points since their thrashing at Raith they now have two very winnable games coming up over Arbroath and Alloa whilst we face Dundee, arguably the best squad of individuals in the Championship, followed by the best team in promoted Hearts away, then a tough final game against relegation threatened Ayr United. Of course, three wins for Inverness will suffice for a play off place, but that's a monumental task given our opponents. Streaming Info Official Preview We missed out on a second Premiership scalp in the Scottish Cup at the start of the weekend going down to a very late goal from Marcus Fraser that took the gloss of a superb team performance as we went toe to toe with St Mitten in a highly entertaining tussle. Nikolay Todorov scored his eleventh of the season but Kristian Dennis levelled immediately to keep the game on a knife edge right up until the 90th minute when Fraser tapped in the winner. Ach well, it was a fun distraction while it lasted but the main course will be served when Dundee visit. Toddy: 6th goal in last five games Whilst we were on Cup duty, Dunfermline leapfrogged us into fourth place with a 3-1 win over Queen of the South. They are now in prime position for the play offs but it is still in our own hands at the moment, although looking more likely that we will need to win all of our remaining games to do this. That leaves the table looking like this ahead of Tuesday night's games: Inverness CT v Dundee, Morton v Hearts SPFL Championship League Table Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 24 15 5 4 56 24 32 50 2. Raith Rovers 25 12 7 6 44 30 14 43 3. Dundee 24 10 8 6 44 38 6 38 4. Dunfermline 25 9 9 7 34 30 4 36 5. Inverness CT 24 8 10 6 33 25 8 34 6. Queen of the South 25 9 4 12 38 49 -11 31 7. Arbroath 25 7 8 10 25 30 -5 29 8. Ayr United 25 6 9 10 29 35 -6 27 9. Morton 24 6 8 10 21 32 -11 26 10. Alloa Athletic 25 4 6 15 28 59 -31 18 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee ------ Dundee last six League games -> DDWWWL 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) 2 - 2 (H) Of the two games played this season, the first ended in a 2-2 draw in the Highlands in front of a covid restricted crowd of 300 on 12th December. Dee grabbed a late point after a pulsating game at the Caledonian Stadium ended all square. Liam Fontaine opened the scoring just before the interval reacting quickest to a rebound from the crossbar. Robbie Deas deservedly equalised with twenty minutes left and James Keatings put the hosts ahead three minutes later only for Jordan McGhee to peg us back again eight minutes from the end. The return fixture at Dens Park resulted in a 2-1 victory for the hosts. It was too little too late and Dundee manager Jake McPake looked to have tightened his shoogely peg as first half goals from Max Anderson and Jason Cummings put Dundee in at the break two up. Inverness were out of sorts in a poor first forty-five. Nikolay Todorov pulled a goal back with fifteen minutes left heading home a Cammy Harper cross. Inverness mounted a mini-comeback but fell just short as Dundee held on for all three points. We have a decent record in the Highlands against Dundee, the only loss being a Scottish Cup replay in 2018 after a 2-2 draw at Dens Park. However, this is a different beast now and it's points that make prizes. With Dunfermline gathering points, it's still all in the balance. Venue (All competitions) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 15 7 7 1 26 14 +12 Away 19 6 8 5 25 23 +2 Neutral 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 Total 36 13 15 8 53 41 +12 ***Latest Team News*** James Keatings and birthday boy Wallace Duffy missed the visit to Paisley. I wonder if we have seen the last of the departing Keatings or is his injury prone career going to travel with him. Under fire McPake seems to have managed to resurrect his managerial career and has turned a mediocre season into a possible promotion one. Dundee have probably the best squad of individuals and McPake is slowly getting the best out of them at the right time. Cummings, Sow, McMullan, Adams, are all quality players who can hurt you. McMullan in particular has been a thorn in our side over the last couple of seasons, and all can score goals. Defender Jordon Forstor has left the club. Left back Jordan Marshall will miss out through injury and this game could also come too soon for Paul McGowan and Max Anderson. Cammy Kerr will likely continue to cover at left back.

Out of our hands After the disappointing draw with Dundee in midweek, our destiny is in the hands of others. All we can do is gather points and hope that others can lend a helping hand by taking points of Dunfermline and Dundee as we visit Tynecastle to take on Champions Hearts. All games kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday, it's a massive day of football in the Championship. We remained unbeaten on league business against Dundee on Tuesday night but it wasn't the result we were looking for. A 1-1 draw hands the control to Dunfermline who can now only throw away their play-off place. It all kicked off in the second half against McPake's illustrious squad. Unfortunately two red cards for Scott Allardice and Brad Mckay swung the game heavily in favour of the Dee. Incredibly we took the lead with six minutes to go when Dan Mackay brilliantly scored his eighth goal of the campaign. Alas, two minutes later Lee Ashcroft made the most of our missing players as he headed almost unchallenged into the net following a corner from Charlie Adams. That's how it ended, us with nine men and a point apiece. OFFICIAL PREVIEW STREAMING INFO RED CARDS The table looks like this ahead of Saturday's fixtures with Inverness one point below a play-off place. It has to be said that the Pars have the more comfortable conclusion to their season, but Arbroath could spring a surprise. Should Dundee also fail to win their remaining games, they could also be caught. Remaining fixtures for 3rd & 4th play-off place. Hearts v Inverness CT ---- Dunfermline v Arbroath ---- Dundee v Raith Rovers Inverness CT v Ayr United ---- Alloa v Dunfermline ---- Queen of the South v Dundee Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 25 15 6 4 56 24 32 51 2. Raith Rovers 25 12 7 6 44 30 14 43 3. Dundee 25 10 9 6 45 39 6 39 4. Dunfermline 25 9 9 7 34 30 4 36 5. Inverness CT 25 8 11 6 34 26 8 35 6. Queen of the South 25 9 4 12 38 49 -11 31 7. Arbroath 25 7 8 10 25 30 -5 29 8. Ayr United 25 6 9 10 29 35 -6 27 9. Morton 25 6 9 10 21 32 -11 27 10. Alloa Athletic 25 4 6 15 28 59 -31 18 Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Hearts. Peer through your fingers only... 1 - 1 (H) 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) Venue (all competitions) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 4 10 4 16 17 -1 Away 21 5 4 12 23 37 -14 Neutral 3 0 2 1 3 6 -3 Total 42 9 16 17 42 60 -18 As expected, Hearts have cruised to the title. Despite this, many Jambos are still bemoaning the fact that Robbie Neilson is in charge. Some folk are just never happy Their last outing was a 0-0 draw at Cappielow where we won easily recently. Prior to that they thumped relegated Alloa 6-0. Our problem is we don't know which Hearts will turn up on the day they get their Championship trophy, maybe they will be demob happy. Neil talking ahead of the trip to Tynecastle ***Latest Team News*** Neil McCann is appealing the two red cards received in the Dundee game. The problem with this is we won't know the outcome until the night before the game which is unsettling for his squad preparation for what is now the biggest game of the season. So, we could well be without Brad Mckay and Scott Allardice. Cammy Harper will come in at left back with maybe James Vincent in the holding midfield role. ***NEWS JUST IN: SCOTT ALLARDICE is free to play but Brad Mckay will serve his ban after a meeting of the disciplinary committee in Glasgow today. Robbie Neilson has plenty talent to choose from. Jamie Walker was not involved at Cappielow and Raith bound Cristophe Berra was also missing. Young defender Harry Cochrane has not signed a new contract and it's unlikely that any of them will feature against Inverness. Neilson has twelve players out of contract this summer. Robbie Neilson has plenty talent to choose from. Jamie Walker was not involved at Cappielow and Raith bound Cristophe Berra was also missing. Young defender Harry Cochrane has not signed a new contract and it's unlikely that any of them will feature against Inverness. Neilson has twelve players out of contract this summer.

All but over In a game with so much at stake it was a tentative opening forty five where neither keeper was over exerted on a fiery pitch. Mackay and Sutherland both had efforts saved by Legzdins, but in truth little else happened with defences on top and it remained goalless at the interval. In a crazy spell after the break, Scott Allardice and Brad Mckay were sent off but nine man Inverness took the lead through Daniel Mackay. Unfortunately, Lee Ashcroft equalised minutes later. It had been backs to the wall since we went down to nine men and time ran out with the game ending all square. Not the result we were looking for, but defiant to the end as Dundee's winless streak in Inverness continues on League business. ---------------------------------------------------- With games running out, points were now precious. A win for Inverness would put us back above Dunfermline and only one point behind Dundee. A win for Dundee would all but end our promotion aspirations. A draw would be of little use to us and not much help to Dundee either in their pursuit of second place. Bottom line, both sides are in desperate need of the three points. Inverness are undefeated in their last six Championship games and Dundee are undefeated in their last five Championship games. Something was going to give. Neil McCann started with Shane Sutherland up front with Nikolay Todorov and Miles Storey on the bench. James McPake was without Jordan Marshall from the side that drew with Dunfermline, Cammy Kerr deputising and Jason Cummings and Charlie Adams were on the bench. Paul McGowan was out injured. ---------------------------------------------------- A beautiful night for a game of football as the sides entered the pitch and it was Dundee that set the ball rolling. First effort of note came in the fifth minute as Mullen hooked the ball slowly over the bar after a long throw in found him near the front post. Dan Mackay latched onto a long goal kick from Mark Ridgers but the angle was tight as he cut in from the left and the keeper made the first save of the game, pushing the ball behind for a fruitless corner. Mullen had a shot deflected for a corner from a long throw and the Caley Jags went up the other end with Todorov netting from an offside position. Almost the opener for Inverness but a close range effort from Sutherland was blocked away near the goalline by Legzdins. With half an hour gone, neither side was able to break down the opposition defence and chances were at a premium. Ten minutes before the break Danny Devine headed a yard wide from a deep corner. Play was becoming disjointed and scrappy but a great ball forward set Mackay free on the left as he won a corner. It came to nothing and it was level at the break Half Time: 0-0 Charlie Adams entered the fray at the interval with Afolabi going off. The visitors started with more urgency after the interval and we resorted to hoofing the ball anywhere, and generally the way we were facing. A super run down the right wing saw David Carson whip a ball across the box but it was just too high for Toddy. Scott Allan threaded the ball of the night to Deas running into the left side of the box and a fraction of a second delay in pulling the trigger allowed Legzdins to pull off a great save. Confusion when the linesman flagged Dundee offside and Ridgers made a tremendous save. However play continued and the save was crucial. Minutes later Allardice was sent off for a crunching tackle in midfield. Wtf. We gained a pass-back free kick inside the Dundee box but Todorov's effort was blocked and cleared. I suppose it made it worth the keepers deliberate foul to stop Toddy from getting to the ball for the sake of an indirect free kick on the right side of the box. Meh! Miles Storey and Roddy MacGregor came on for the final twenty minutes. Jason Cummings picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and forced Ridgers into making a good save as Dundee looked to take advantage of the extra man. The extra man became two when Brad Mckay was left short and had had to lunge in. Red card and down to nine men. It looked worse when Cummings headed into the net but after much debate and celebration in the Dark Blue ranks the 'goal' was ruled out for offside presumably. Unbelievably we went ahead when birthday boy Daniel Mackay brought down a lobbed ball forward from Welsh before clipping the ball neatly behind the keeper to score. Scenes! Another great goal from the young forward, his eighth of the season. Unfortunately it didn't last long though as Lee Ashcroft headed home from a corner to square matters two minutes later and despite some desperate defending at times that's how it ended. Full Time 1-1 Oh well, the run for promotion has all but ended with two games remaining. It's well out of our own hands now and we will need a massive helping hand from the Smokies and the Wasps if we are to sneak into the top four. Going down to nine men scuppered our chances big time but credit to the lads for fighting to the end and getting a draw. Albeit not enough, it still means that Dundee have not won a League game in Inverness. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 25 15 6 4 56 24 32 51 2. Raith Rovers 25 12 7 6 44 30 14 43 3. Dundee 25 10 9 6 45 39 6 39 4. Dunfermline 25 9 9 7 34 30 4 36 5. Inverness CT 25 8 11 6 34 26 8 35 Here's Neil post match Date: 20/04/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Mike Roncone Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, B Mckay, Devine, Deas, D Mackay, Welsh, Allardice, Allan (MacGregor 69), Sutherland (Storey 69), Todorov (Harper 83) Subs (not used): C Mackay; McHattie, Vincent, Lyall Scorers: D Mackay (84) Booked: Allardice (25) Sent Off: Allardice (64), B Mckay (79) Dundee FC: 1 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Legzdins, Kerr, Fontaine, McGhee, Mullen Cummings (65), Byrne (Anderson 76), Ashcroft, McDaid, Elliot, McMullan, Afolabi (Adams 45) Subs (not used): Ferrie; Fisher, Jakubiak, Sow Scorers: Ashcroft (86) Booked: Elliot (55) Sent Off: none a

Can we be King of Queens? Down to the nitty gritty now and another crucial game ahead as we travel to Palmerston Park Dumfries for what is the start of the proverbial six-pointers with only four games left in the Championship. Queens on Saturday at 3:00pm, our sixth away game out of the last seven, then Dundee (H), Hearts (A), Ayr United (H). It's a difficult closing run to the season when you consider our immediate target, Dunfermline, close out the season against bottom teams Arbroath and Alloa. As the table stands, we are only three points ahead of Queens going in to this game and they still have a game in hand. OFFICIAL PREVIEW STREAMING INFO £10 We started the week in fine fettle as we clinically beat Morton 4-1 at Cappielow thanks to stunning goals from Allardice, Todorov (2) and Dan Mackay. The strikers must have taken a bottle of Hot Toddy's stunning goal linctus as every goal was sublime, maybe none better than Toddy's second goal when he chested the ball down and volleyed spectacularly past keeper McAdams. We toiled for a time on the poor surface at Cappielow before two quick goals approaching the break put us in control. Ton pulled one back as they rallied after the break but the wind was taken out of their sails with Toddy's spectacular intervention and Dan added the icing on the cake when he curled a beauty of his own into the top corner. Great goals and a good win at what is often a difficult place to get all three points at times. Neil McCann was full of praise for the side after that one, and rightly so. Enjoy these goals again, not often you get four crackers in the same game... Here's the league table ahead of the Hearts v Alloa game on Friday night. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Hearts 23 14 5 4 50 24 26 47 2. Raith Rovers 22 10 6 6 39 27 12 36 3. Dundee 22 10 6 6 43 37 6 36 4. Inverness CT 23 8 9 6 32 24 8 33 5. Dunfermline 22 8 7 7 30 28 2 31 6. Queen of the South 22 9 3 10 36 44 -8 30 7. Ayr United 23 6 8 9 28 30 -2 26 8. Arbroath 23 6 7 10 19 28 -9 25 9. Morton 23 6 7 10 20 31 -11 25 10. Alloa Athletic 23 4 6 13 27 51 -24 18 Last 10 Competitive Meetings with Queen of the South - Queens last SIX League games since beating us 0-1-> W- W-W - L-L-W 0 - 1 (H) 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) Dunfermline recently took a 5-1 hammering from Raith Rovers but bounced back to hold Hearts to a 0-0 draw which is the result that yoyo'ed them back above us momentarily. Such is the fixture chaos this season, it won't become clear until the final two games who is maybe going where. Queen of the South went out of the cup on Monday night, going down 3-1 to an impressive Hibernian. James Maxwell scored what proved to be a late consolation goal for the Doonhamers. Nortei Nortey scored the only goal in the Highlands but is likely to miss this game. Their form shows that since they beat us in Inverness they have won four and lost three including the cup game with Hibs. During that run they have had impressive wins over Dundee, Dunfermline Hearts and Arbroath, but suffered defeats to Alloa and Morton. It's a funny old game! A repeat of the away game at Palmerston earlier in the season would be maybe stretching the bounds of possibility a tad, but a backs to the wall scrappy win will suffice. Points make prizes as they say and that's what we need to do to keep in the hunt for a top four finish. Who knew we would be in this position after a season destroyed by injuries, weather and viruses? ***Latest Team News*** Duffy, Doran, Keatings and Welsh missed out at Morton, Welsh being replaced after the warm up but he could be available for this crucial game. Sadly, McDonald's season is probably a right-off. Nikolay Todorov scored his ninth goal of the season, and what a goal it was. Toddy is on a roll just now and young Dan Mackay notched his seventh. Good return from these guys of late after a slow start to the season. Allan Johnstone had this team out against Hibs in the Scottish Cup: Ferguson, Gibson, Buchanan, Breen, Maxwell, Obileye, McCabe, Dickson, Joseph (Jones 56′), Dobbie (McKee 76′), Shields (Mebude 76′) As always, Stephen Dobbie is a big threat and Connor Shields is the man on form with plenty pace and power, and like Toddy, nine goals in the bank as well. Nortei Nortey looks likely to miss out but Dan Pybus could return and Isaiah Jones played for half an hour in the cup game on his return from injury.

Tight as a ducks erse This crucial game ended in stalemate as did the entire Championship fixture list. In a tight first half both keepers had saves to make with Ridgers probably the busier. Queens opened the scoring on the hour when the defence allowed Fitzpatrick to run forty yards unchallenged to fire high past Ridgers. Toddy levelled minutes later from a Storey cross, heading down into the bottom corner for his tenth goal this season. No further scoring with Inverness finishing the game on top but unable to get the winner. Inverness went down to Dumfries for their sixth away game out of the last seven, and more importantly on a winning run of six on the bounce, including two Scottish Cup games. This late run has put Inverness in contention for a top four finish, but one defeat could change all that as we hang on to our ambitions with only four games left. Neil McCann was without the services of Sean Welsh and James Keatings with Brad Mckay as captain and Roddy MacGregor starting. Queen of the South made two changes from the game against Hibs. In come East and Jones with Dobbie and Joseph dropping to the bench and they will go with a front three of Connor Shields, Isaiah Jones and Dapo Mebude. Less than four minutes gone and both keepers were called into action with Ferguson saving from Allan and Ridgers likewise from Shields. It had been a bright opening by both sides with Inverness doing most of the pressing. Ridgers kept the scoresheet blank with a tremendous save after a long free kick found Breen ghosting in behind the defenders. The big keeper dived full length to turn the header behind for a corner which he gathered well to ease the pressure. He had to make another superb save just after the half hour when Shields broke into the box. In an increasingly rare foray forward a deep cross by Mackay saw Ferguson gather the header which was too straight at him. Indiana Jones took a sore one when Allardice challenged for the ball and it cannoned off his neck/face. Ferguson saved a free kick low to his right five minutes before the break and one minute before the forty-five a Todorov header was blocked en-route with big shouts for a penalty falling on deaf ears. A promising free kick right on the interval was skied by Allardice and it remained goalless at the break. Half Time: 0-0 Ridgers was back in action early in the half when he dived low to his left to save a shot on the cut back as he was left wrong footed but got to it at full stretch to make the save. Dan Mackay curled an effort just over on the run and Scott Allan should have done better than shoot wide after substitute James Vincent set him up. Toddy headed a free kick towards goal but Ferguson picked it out of the air comfortably. The deadlock was broken when our defence parted like the Red Sea to allow Fitzpatrick to run through on an exposed keeper to slot home high into the net. The lead lasted only a couple of minutes before Todorov headed a cross to the far post from Storey low into the net under challenge. Entering the final fifteen and Storey fired a left footer from distance but Ferguson was right behind it. Dan Mackay fizzed one just over with ten minutes left. A good run down the right saw a Storey cross dummied for Sutherland to strike from fifteen yards but it was too straight at the keeper again. Chances were getting tight now and defences remained on top as the game drew to a close with Inverness on the offensive but no further goals. Full Time: 1-1 An entertaining and open game could not separate the sides and with all other results ending all square we remain in fourth place, but you can't get a fag paper between the top six sides apart from Hearts who are now confirmed as Champions with Alloa all but relegated. Still all to play for and next up for the Caley Jags in the Championship is Dundee at the Caledonian Stadium. Great display from our defence with Mckay, Ridgers and Devine outstanding and hot Toddy still on a roll with his tenth of the season. Date: 10/04/2021 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 0000 Referee: Grant Irvine Queen of the South: 1 Manager: Allan Johnstone Lineup: Ferguson; Gibson, Breen, Buchanan, Maxwell, Obileye, Dickson, McCabe, Mebude, Shields, Jones (Fitzpatrick 57)) Subs (not used): Leighfield; McKee, Joseph, Pybus, East, Dobbie Scorers: Fitzpatrick (65) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, B Mckay, Devine, Deas, D Mackay, Allardice, Allan (Sutherland 75), MacGregor (Vincent 58), Storey, Todorov (Harper 85) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Lyall, Duffy, McHattie Scorers: Todorov (68) Booked: MacGregor (26), Deas (87), Storey (89) Sent Off: none a