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What's the Storey, Miles Glory. Inverness fell behind after twenty minutes when some pinball ended with McInroy drilling the ball home from inside the box. Sutherland was unlucky when his header crashed off the bar with the keeper beaten. Miles Storey scored with a stunning left foot shot high past a despairing Fon Williams to level the game with around 25 minutes left and that's how it ended, all square in the final game of 2020, a year we all want to forget. Happy New Year when it comes. Second placed Dunfermline Athletic came North for this 6:30pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium as we moved into the second phase of this seasons shortened Championship. No fans of course as we have now been plunged into tier 4 for covid 19, but live streaming was available from ICTFC. The Pars were looking to build on some good results which has them second in the Championship behind Hearts, we were looking to get back on track after a poor performance at Alloa and a day off last Saturday when we should have been at Cappielow. John Robertson went for a more experienced squad with Sean Welsh, Aaron Doran and James Vincent returning to the starting XI. James Keatings missed out with a thigh strain. Wallace Duffy and Davis Carson were on the bench with young guns Roddy MacGregor and Kai Kennedy Kevin O'Hara started this one with DecLan McManus on the bench along with Fraser Murray and Ryan Dow. After a minute silence in memory of Jim McLean the game went ahead and it was five minutes in before Robbie Deas broke forward on the left side before firing a shot from distance which was easy enough for Fon Williams to gather. Euan Murray was next to try his luck but he headed over. Captain Murray was always going to be a threat from set pieces. A great ball into the box from Cammy Harper saw no takers as the game approached 15 minutes with defences on top in an open game. The Pars opened the scoring with a rather fortunate goal. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the ball fell kindly for them twice before it was put behind Ridgers by Kyle Turner just after 20 minutes. Moments later, Kerr McInroy flashed a snapshot wide as we all held our breath, the ball whistling just wide. We almost responded immediately but a tremendous cross from Harper was headed strongly off the bar by Shane Sutherland with the keeper well beaten. He rose well to power his header but it was a fraction too high and smacked the crossbar. Sutherland brought out a brilliant one handed diving save from the keeper soon after as he shot from distance following a defensive slip by the Pars, the ball being tipped over for a fruitless corner. Ten minutes before the break we had a Devine intervention in the six yard box to deny a certain tap-in goal at the back post as a low ball across the box was cleared over the bar at full stretch by Danny Boy with Kevin O'Hara lurking with intent. The goal apart, there was little between the sides as the interval approached with Inverness winning a couple of corners and a header went harmlessly wide from the returning ball into the box after the second corner. A rare burst forward after we gave away the ball in the visitors half saw Kevin O'Hara test Ridgers right on the break, the big keeper down quickly to his low shot from the edge of the box to save comfortably. HALF TIME 0-1 Kai Kennedy replaced Aaron Doran at the interval. Doran had taken a knock in the first half and continued after treatment but had remained in the dressing room. Ridgers saved a deflected shot eight minutes into the second half as The Pars looked dangerous on the break at the start of the half. Sean Welsh fired wide as the hosts responded but the play was getting untidy and Miles Storey might have done better when he was set free inside the left side of the penalty box, instead his half hit shot rolled meekly into the keepers hands. However, his next major involvement was stunning when it came along. Fon Williams cut out a dangerous cross after good work down the left flank, Kennedy injecting a bit of urgency about proceedings since he was introduced after the interval. Sean Welsh entered the referees book for a scything tackle in midfield as we looked to break down a resolute Pars defence but with around half an jour left it was not looking too good. Out of the blue, Inverness scored a screamer with 66 minutes on the clock. Miles Storey turned on a long throw-in from Brad Mckay just outside the box and lashed a powerhouse of a shot into the keepers top right corner. What a strike by Storey from around 25 yards across the keeper and into the roof of the net with Fon Williams clutching at thin air. A bit of ball flapping in the home box led to a corner as Allardice deflected the eventual strike for the Pars but the ball was headed tamely over from the set piece. Into the final ten minutes and still all to play for as the Pars pushed for a winner. The visitors pressed hard as the clock ticked down and with Danny Devine going off injured it was backs to the wall in a frantic finish. A couple of yellow cards later and it was all over, a hard earned point for both sides. What the managers said on BBC Sport Dunfermline manager Stevie Crawford: "Really pleased with the first-half performance. We created a number of chances. Inverness had a decent spell and put us under pressure in the second half, but we responded well and tried to win the game." Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "It was a very good game. We started slowly and didn't quite get going. We battled back into it. We tweaked the system at half-time and it was a different game, we totally dominated the second half." Match Highlights, look out for the Glory Storey thunderball @66mins A point each right eenuff... Date: 29/12/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 000 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, Doran (Kennedy 45), Welsh, Allardice, Vincent, Sutherland (D Mackay 88), Storey (Todorov 85) Subs (not used): C Mackay, Duffy, Carson, MacGregor Scorers: Storey (67) Booked: Welsh (64), B Mckay (87), D Mackay (90+4) Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams; Comrie, Mayo, Watson, E Murray, Edwards, Wilson, McInroy (Dow 66), McCann (McManus 69), Turner, O'Hara (Thomas 80) Subs (not used): Gill; Whittaker, Berry, F Murray Scorers: Turner (23), Booked: Turner (90+5) Sent Off: none a

Pars visit Second placed Dunfermline Athletic head North on Tuesday 29th December for a 6:30pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium as we move into the second phase of this seasons shortened Championship. No fans of course as we have now been plunged into tier 4 for covid 19. The game can be streamed live, see tweet below from ICTFC. Sad news this week with the passing of Jim McLean. Former Dundee United manager who dared to build a team that Would go on to beat Barcelona home and away twice. Condolences to his family and friends and the extended football world who knew his worth. One of the great managers to grace the Scottish game. RIP It all started back in October when we went to East End Park for the first game of the season under covid19 restrictions. The Pars proved to be too strong for an injury decimated Caley Jags who conceded two goals in the final twelve minutes to take the points in a 3-1 win. Nikolay Todorov had given Inverness a second minute lead before captain Euan Murray levelled after twenty. Unfortunately two goals saw the Pars run out winners, Ryan Dow and Declan McManus with a belter were the late scorers. We were inactive on Boxing Day as storm Bella drenched Cappielow and the game was called off around 10:00am. The previous week we earned zero points as we slumped at Recreation Park after taking an early lead through Brad Mckay. A stunning free kick from Innes Murray drew the Wasps level before a Mark Ridgers blunder gift wrapped the points for Alloa after Robbie Thomson volleyed towards goal. Whilst we were undermining our recent recovery, the Pars took four points from their last two games. A tremendous three goal comeback at Dens Park was backed up by a hard earned win over Arbroath on Boxing Day, Kevin O'Hara with a 91st minute winner as Owain Fon Williams kept the Red Lichties at bay. At Dens Park the hosts had taken a three goal lead which they held until the 78th minute. Goals from Watson, McManus and a 93rd minute equaliser from man of the moment Kevin O'Hara earned a point for the Fifers. What a signing he has been. With our game against Morton having been postponed, I would hazard a guess that Robbo will still be looking at making one or two changes with Wallace Duffy now ready to return to action. I doubt there will be sweeping changes although starting Aaron Doran might be an option with Kai Kennedy being kept quiet over the last couple of weeks and could be more of an impact player later in the game. Dunfermline will not need to alter much, if it's not broken, don't fix it. Here's their starting XI for the Arbroath game. 1 Owain Fôn Williams; 22 Lewis Mayo, 44 Paul Watson, 5 Euan Murray (c), 3 Josh Edwards, 16 Steven Whittaker, 11 Ryan Dow, 8 Kyle Turner, 15 Iain Wilson, 23 Dom Thomas, 10 Declan McManus. At the moment, this is how I see it. The Pars look likeliest to keep second place for themselves with Dundee shaping up for third. That leaves Raith, Ayr, Morton and ourselves scrapping for the final play-off position. A lot can change between now and the end of the season, but you would expect Dundee and Pars being able to strengthen as required and us and the rest having to make do with what we have. As a distraction to the weekly Championship games, the second round draw for the Scottish Cup takes place on Tuesday evening. The 2020/21 Second Round draw takes place tomorrow at 7:15pm on the ScottishCup YouTube and Facebook page. ICTFC will be ball number 27 in the draw...aaaand we are away to ball 8 Any further team news will be added to preview when available. Here's a wee tune to see us through the winter of woe...

No Post Turkey Trot @ Cappielow ***GAME OFF*** Waterlogged pitch After a pitch inspection at 09:45 this morning the game at Cappielow has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch. The game has still to be re-scheduled but will now be after New Year given the fixture is already in place for the 29th December against Dunfermline Athletic at the Caledonian Stadium. After an inexplicable collapse last week at Alloa, Inverness face an even tougher task on Boxing Day as they head for Greenock to take on form side Morton, who have jumped up to third in the table after excellent back to back wins over Queen of the South and Dunfermline Athletic. The game will kick off @3:00pm with covid restrictions in place meaning no fans in attendance at a down to earth rustic Cappielow. After a deserved win at East End Park for the Ton, they backed that up by beating struggling Queen of the South 2-0 on Saturday. Kalvin Orsi scored his first two goals of the season; a close range shot and a second half header from similar distance. The added bonus for the Greenock side is that interim manager Anton McElhone has been given the job at Cappielow until the end of the season after David Hopkins' departure. ********************************************* ‘TonTV Streaming Information Saturday’s game will be available to watch live for £14 on ‘TonTV. Supporters are asked to purchase in advance where possible to avoid any excessive online traffic before the coverage starts at 2.45pm. ********************************************* As all around us were dropping points, we failed to capitalise and capitulated worryingly at recreation Park. Most of that was of our own doing apart from a stunning free kick from Innes Murray, worth another look to be honest. After Brad Mckay had lashed in an early goal from close range we struggled to impose ourselves on the match and as Alloa grew in confidence, we regressed. Too many needless free kicks around the box led to the spectacular opener from Murray which Ridgers could do nothing about. However, he won't want to see the second goal as a simple collection squirmed out of his grasp and into the net. Oops, butterfingers was the cry heard in living rooms around the North. The disappointing aspect of this defeat was confirmed at 5:00pm as all other results would have been exactly as we would have wanted had we done our own job and won. Credit to Alloa, zilch for us. Boom! Worth noting that the village team from Dingwall are all heart in the lead up to Christmas and have offered a jobless man work for the next few months. It's a heartwarming festive tale that will see John Hughes try to scrape Dross County (damn you predictive text) off the bottom of the Premiership before the end of the season. Aye, good luck with that Yogi, some guid honest laddies there. Championship games on Boxing day, all 3:00pm kick-offs. Alloa Ath v Raith Rovers Dunfermline v Arbroath Hearts v Ayr United Queens v Dundee Morton v Inverness CT John Robertson had gone with an unchanged side for the third week in a row at Alloa. Maybe it's time to freshen up with Sean Welsh, Nikolay Todorov and Aaron Doran all starting from the bench and David Carson getting closer to match fitness. Certainly it seemed that we ran out of ideas quickly at Alloa and could not inject any urgency after the Waspies started buzzing. We were one paced and one dimensional which was a massive reality check given that the part timers had played a gruelling midweek cup tie against Hibs prior to our visit. Difficult to spot the full timers on that evidence. Robbo has said that Wallace Duffy is ready for selection and changes will be made with a hectic three game schedule coming up. Morton had this team against Queen of the South: McAdams; Ledger, McLean, McGinty, Strapp, Lyon, McAlister (Omar 69′), Salkeld (Nesbitt 66′), Muirhead, McPake (Oliver 77′), Orsi. OFFICIAL PREVIEW FROM ICTFC Robbo Shuffling

Inverness CT -V- Dunfermline Athletic Caledonian Stadium Tuesday night 29th December @ 18:30pm ***Early kick-off*** Championship Football Covid restrictions apply Live Streaming available from ICTFC Happy New Year when it comes

Wasps Sting Jaded Jags The Caley Jags took an early lead through Brad Mckay as he lashed home from close range. A stunning free kick by Innes Murray levelled the game on the hour, and Robbie Thomson put the Wasps ahead fifteen minutes from the end. (Mark Ridgers look away now). What a disjointed performance by the Caley Jags after the promise of the last few weeks. Credit to Alloa for sticking with it when we should have looked for a second goal, but our second half effort was non existent. What the managers said on BBC Scotland: Alloa Athletic manager Peter Grant: "The second half, we dug right in and we got what we deserved. We had a big game midweek and then to galvanise ourselves the way we did is credit to them." Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson: "I'm hugely disappointed with the second half. We didn't get it going at all. We were outworked and outplayed. That's disappointing." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ After encouraging results in recent weeks Inverness faced Alloa Athletic at the Indodrill Stadium. Alloa would be looking to carry their League Cup form into the Championship and climb further away from the basement end of the table. Beating Arbroath last week was a good start to that. The Caley Jags were hoping to continue the progress they have made since the opening weeks and with the treatment table looking healthier things were beginning to look upwards. John Robertson had a settled side in the last three weeks with the young team keeping some more recognised faces on the bench. Shane Sutherland had recovered after a knock last week as Inverness went unchanged again. David Carson was fit enough to sit on the bench. Alloa were without the injured Scott Taggart and Ray Grant with Stephan Scougall also missing out. And of course, they are without Kevin O'Hara and Robbie Deas this season. O'Hara is now at Dunfermline, I wonder whatever happened to Robbie Deas ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Steven Kirkland, the man in charge today, set the ball rolling with a puff of his whistle. An early goal by Brad Mckay from close range should have seen us in control of this game but in truth, we had little to offer after opening the scoring in the 7th minute. Scott Allardice shot narrowly over and Shane Sutherland had an effort saved well by Neil Parry. Other than that it was an untidy half. Unfortunately it got worse after the break HALF TIME 0-1 Innes Murray scored a superb free kick after the interval to restore parity. From just over 25 yards the ball whistled into the keepers top right corner, Ridgers absolutely helpless as the ball curled and dipped into the net. That superb goal lifted Alloa and you would now think it was Inverness that had gone twelve rounds with Hibs in midweek, such was our inability to build any momentum. We were now clearly brain dead as Alloa looked more likely to get the winner. They did just that when it appeared as though our normally reliable keeper fumbled a bog standard half hit shot that squirmed through his grasp as he crouched down to gather the ball. Whatever happened it ended in the net and with it our hopes of getting anything from this game. We did huff and puff as Robbo said in the interview but we looked clueless and more like a bunch of schoolkids having a kickabout than a team looking to get into the promotion play-off positions. Full credit to Alloa for this win and they ended the game much stronger than the Caley Jades who will need to pull their socks up pronto. Another difficult test coming up next Saturday against a resurgent Morton at Cappielow. And a sobering thought, Alloa did this without Alan Trouten, Scott Taggart and Ray Grant. l'm still raging about this performance, so here's Honest John to sum up the disappointment in his after match interview which is how I saw the game as well... Listen to the full interview on Facebook. Full highlights from Alloa TV Date: 19/12/2020 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 000 Referee: Steven Kirkland Alloa Athletic: 2 Lineup: Parry; Dick, Graham, Jamieson, Hetherington, Murray, Robertson, Buchanan (Malcolm 87), Cawley, Connelly (Thomson 62), O'Donnell Subs (not used): Willison; Evans, Lynch, Williamson, Scorers: Murray (61), Thomson (78) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, Kennedy (Doran 69), Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland (Todorov 80), Keatings (Welsh 69), Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Vincent, Carson, D Mackay Scorers: B Mckay (7) Booked: Devine (61), McKay (77) Sent Off: none a

Wasps Waiting for their Jags Its a visit to Clackmannanshire for the Caley Jags on Saturday as they take on the Wasps at the Indodrill Stadium; that's Recreation Park to you and me. The game kicks off at 3:00pm and unfortunately covid restrictions mean there will be no crowd in attendance. The good news though is the game can be streamed live from Alloa FC on PPV for £12, details of which are in the Alloa tweet below. Beats Xmas shopping so get yourself registered and log in for the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW FROM ICTFC Alloa PPV INFO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness dropped two points last week as Dundee scored late to earn a point at the Caledonian Stadium. It was a see-saw game where Dundee took a first half lead through Liam Fontaine before two goals in quick succession from Robbie Deas, his first in blue, and James Keatings, changed the game. It was no more than Inverness deserved at that point but Jordan McGhee popped up with the equaliser for a share of the points. It was a decent performance in front of a covid restricted 300 fans against a side who are beginning to gel after a slow start to the campaign. There's no doubting the quality of McPake's individuals, but individuals do not maketh a team. However, I expect Dundee to make the top four come the end of the season, and on last weeks evidence it looks likely that we will join them. Alloa beat Arbroath last week at the bottom end of the table to lift them above the Lichties. The only goal of the game came from Stephan Scougall ten minutes from the end. They also played in midweek and almost pulled off a shock result against Hibernian in the League Cup but they fell just short of causing an upset. It was looking like a capital double for the Wasps in the League Cup but they couldn't quite hold on. They had led through a first half own goal, the ball bouncing off Hanlon. That was a lead they held until the hour when Hibs scored twice. Doidge with the first then another own goal from Alloa's Jamieson in the 83rd minute was enough to put Hibs into the semi-finals where they will face St Johnstone. Livi will play Rangers conquerors St Mirren in the other semi. Great effort from Alloa though and given the result against Arbroath, it can be seen as a positive week and a possible springboard for the season. Philosophical as ever........ Other Championship games this weekend, all Saturday afternoon. Arbroath v Ayr United Dundee FC v Dunfermline Morton FC v Queen of the South Hearts have a Scottish Cup Final to play against Celtic on Sunday at 2:15pm. Mon the Championship side. We are all Hearts! The Highlanders injury crisis is thankfully on the wane with only longer term casualties Kevin McHattie, Lewis Toshney and David Carson still receiving treatment. Carson is nearest to recovery and has started training. Shane Sutherland took a knock last week and news on his progress is awaited. Wallace Duffy is on the mend but this weekend might be too soon for him after his recent knee injury. No matter anyway as the young players have taken to this Championship football malarkey like a duck to water. So much so that the likes of Sean Welsh, James Vincent, Aaron Doran and Nikolay Todorov have to be content with starting from the bench in last couple of games. Robbie Deas will meet up with some of his Alloa buddies from last season after his move to the Caley Jags over the summer break. Alloa boss Peter Grant might have some weary legs to contend with after the battling performance against Hibs in midweek. They were without Scott Taggart and Ray Grant against Hibs. After an incredible 8,490 consecutive minutes playing for Alloa, Taggart's run ended in November and he is now in crutches and will be out for a few weeks. Murder! Grant has a hamstring injury. Kevin Cawley and the experienced Alan Trouten will be the ones to watch up front and Neil Parry will be a safe pair of hands between the sticks. The Wasps did lose one Kevin since last season. No, not Kevin the carrot, but striker Kevin O'Hara who is now at East End Park and will be a big miss. They are undoubtedly weaker since last term with players moving on but should not be underestimated as Hearts found out in the League Cup with Hibs almost going the same way. Always a difficult fixture to take all three points and this one will be no different, nothing but 100% will be good enough for the three points, but it's a great opportunity to put some pressure on the clubs above with Raith Rovers idle and Dundee and the Pars clashing at Dens Park. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RIG also has this preview ahead of tomorrows game. It's more upbeat and word on the streets, down with the kids and all that sort of stuff. The lack of activity on the site ahead of the visit of the big man in red has prompted this start... Erm, we have a game tomorrow right? Or is not being able to go to games just killing interest in football at the minute? After playing Alloa a record 28 times last season this is the first of a mere 3 fixtures against them in this campaign. Fairly makes you pine for a pie in a roll. Despite playing well last season Alloa were often found languishing towards the bottom of the league and things are much the same this season. Except Alloa aren't playing well. They lost some important players at the end of last season like Kevin O'Hara, Robbie Deas, Iain Flannigan and Scott Banks. No wonder they aren't doing as well! Games between the two sides have been pretty entertaining in the last couple of seasons including an enthralling Scottish Cup tie which we won with a late Charlie Trafford header. Wait, Trafford...header...winning goal...nope that's what it says. Anyway, yours truly lost his mind with that goal after one too many fruit ciders and can be seen falling over the advertising boards at the end of this video Alloa use the Pixellot camera system for their games, as I understand it, but they don't seem to have been plagued by the same problems at Inverness for whatever reason. So perhaps you can be a bit more confident if you choose to part with a mere £12 to watch us "swat" the wasps aside or might we be "stung" by the home side? https://live.alloaathletic.co.uk/event/5fc50c9c9e8ec810c40e6cb3 Don't forget your weekly dose of Wyness Shuffle. The guys are doing a tremendous job putting these Podcasts together for you, so have a listen. Here's what the last one was about Find the Whistleblower The Shuffle is back… with Roddy MacGregor, Charlie Christie, the 300, views from Dundee, all the autumn action analysis, Initiation Songs, the Nightmare XI plus a look forward to December’s Xmas crackers.

Dee grab late point After a pulsating game at the Caledonian Stadium it 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. No damage done to either club although with Dunfermline losing to Morton, it tightens up in the middle of the table. Hearts pumped Queens 6-1 to move further ahead at the top. Matchday 7 and Dundee were the visitors to the Caledonian Stadium to take on the Caley Jags in a battle for mid-table supremacy. The game kicked off at 3:00pm with a hand picked crowd of just 300 in attendance to this game. Both sides had got off to an inauspicious start to the campaign but were edging upwards recently. Something had to give. The last time the clubs met was in front of over 5,000 fans at Dens Park when first half goals from Aaron Doran and James Keatings put Inverness second in the table with Dundee six points behind in fourth. All this was in a previous life before covid19 came along and closed the world. The atmosphere was less raucous today, (muffled cheering and polite hand clapping), with only the chosen few allowed entry in a tier 1 covid zone. How would it pan out today?... Both sides were near to full strength, Inverness still without Kevin McHattie, Lewis Toshney and the likes of David Carson who needs match fitness along with three or four others who are being eased back up to speed. Dundee were reported to be at full strength with on loan Celt Jonathan Afolabi back in the squad after he missed the Arbroath game. That will be competition for Danny Mullen and Osman Sow. Jordan Foster and Callum Moore are both back in training but will be doubtful if they make the bench today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Speaking to BBC Sport Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "I'm very disappointed. Their goalkeeper Jack Hamilton's had seven or eight great saves and we missed two sitters. We got ourselves in front and then a lack of communication has cost a second goal." Dundee manager James McPake: "Their second goal was clearly offside. I'm proud of my players but gutted for them as it should be three points. You always need to battle when you come up here - we handled that side of things really well and gave as good as we got." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dundee kicked off towards the North Stand on a dour afternoon but it would make for better viewing on Pixie Lott, the skies overcast, the ground wet after days of rain. The league record for the Dark Blues in Inverness reads five draws and seven defeats in 12 trips up the A9... Dundee were first to show when Jakubiak volleyed wide with Ridgers a spectator. The hosts first opportunity fell to Shane Sutherland who also volleyed wide after great work by Miles Storey down the left, the shot flashing past the keepers right hand post. Great save by Hamilton after 20 minutes to deny Roddy MacGregor from the edge of the box after some good pressure from the Caley Jags. Danny Mullen broke forward on the Dundee right but the flag stayed down. It took a massive blocking tackle from Danny Devine to to stop him just as he pulled the trigger. Mullen stayed down for fully five minutes before getting back to his feet. He continued after more treatment. The game evolved into a tense midfield battle with defences on top. Ten minutes before the break Jordan McGhee powered a header off the crossbar from a corner and Liam Fontaine scrambled the loose ball into the net through a ruck of players in the six yard box. We almost responded immediately but a simple tap in ended with Dundee scrambling the ball to safety. Looked like Keatings blocked from close range. Another foray forward saw a header over the bar and soon after Storey delayed his effort and Hamilton got down to block with Sutherland in a promising position. Dundee once more scrambled the ball away just before the interval as Inverness pressed for a leveller, the ball just not quite rolling for us. Half Time 0-1 Five minutes into the half and from a corner Mullen lashed the ball just over the bar at the back post. Robbie Deas should have scored when the ball landed at his feet six yards from goal, but he inexplicably dollied it into Hamilton's body as the keeper sprawled across his line. Storey made a superb break down the right before a half cleared ball was headed goalwards by substitute Aaron Doran, but Hamilton saved down low. Plenty of home pressure now and Robbie Deas popped up at the back post to hammer the ball home after a corner from the left was flicked on to make amends for his earlier miss. Inverness turned the game on its head few minutes later when Sutherland headed on and James Keatings struck a low shot into the net. Jordan McGhee equalised minutes later after substitute Osman Sow knocked the ball into his path. Meh! In a frantic ending to the game substitute Nikolay Todorov had the ball in the net but it was ruled offside and that's how it ended, all square after an entertaining match where no quarter was given or asked. Dundee will be delighted with the point and Inverness will rue some missed sitters. Hamilton was probably Dundee's busiest man with some crucial stops. Both managers feel they deserved all three points. My money is on Robbo for the honesty bonus. McPake is lying through his teeth desperate to keep his job. Downside to all this was an injury to Shane Sutherland late in the game. OFFICIAL REPORT Robbo talking after the game... Date: 12/12/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Craig Napier Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, Kennedy (Doran 67), Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland (Todorov 81), Keatings, Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Vincent, D Mackay, Welsh. Scorers: Deas (72), Keatings (75) Booked: Deas (45+1), Allardice (50), Keatings (90), B Mckay (90+4) Sent Off: none Dundee FC: 2 Lineup: Hamilton; McGhee, Fontaine, Jakubiak (Anderson 72), Byrne, Mullen (Sow 64), McGowan (McDaid 68), Ashcroft, Elliot, Marshall, Adam Subs (not used): Ferrie; Kerr, Forster, Robertson. Scorers: Fontaine (37) McGhee (82), Booked: Adam (84), Byrne (90+1) Sent Off: none a

Dark Blue Visit Matchday 7 on Saturday as Dundee head North to the Caledonian Stadium to take on the Caley Jags in a battle for mid-table supremacy. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm with a selected crowd of 300 allowed to attend this game in a tier 1 covid zone. Both sides got off to an inauspicious start to the campaign but are edging upwards recently. Something has to give. last time the clubs met was in front of over 5,000 fans at Dens Park. First half goals from Aaron Doran and James Keatings put Inverness second in the table with Dundee six points behind in fourth. All this was in a previous life before covid19 came along and closed the world. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ PPV Info Official Preview SPFL Matchcentre instructions Shane v Roddy How to get into the game Happy Birthday Cammy Mackay 21 ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ We made for pleasant viewing last Friday night in the televised game on BBC Scotland as we bageled Queen of the South 3-0. A game we largely dominated and scored three superb goals into the bargain. Kai Kennedy opened his big boy account via the keepers leg. Roddy MacGregor scored his second for the club with a marvellous 20 yard first time shot and Miles Storey completed the scoring, rifling a low shot into the bottom corner from fifteen yards. Great entertainment all round and coming off the back of a solid display and win over Raith Rovers, an encouraging performance that sees us climb into the middle of the table. Dundee edged out Arbroath 1-0 last week and have quietly eased themselves into contention in the middle of the table two points below Inverness. Paul McGowan made the difference with a superb solo goal. Both clubs have made their way to the middle of the table after a poor start to the season, and like Dundee, Inverness will be looking to get into the top four behind Hearts. However Dunfermline, Raith Rovers and Ayr United will have something to say about that with Ayr playing Raith on Friday night. With Ayr and Raith Rovers drawing, the incentive is there for Inverness to climb up to third in the table should they beat Dundee. Table ahead of Friday night's game and Other Championship games this weekend, Saturday @ 3:00pm unless stated. Ayr United 0-FT-0 Raith Rovers (Friday) Arbroath v Alloa Athletic Dunfermline v Morton Fc Hearts Fc v Queen of the South John Robertson has seen an upturn on the injury crisis in recent weeks with only Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney on the longer term list with David Carson back training but not fully match ready yet. Either way, the young players that have come into the side since the start of the season have been performing well. The likes of Roddy MacGregor, Cameron Harper and loan signing Kai Kennedy have been a joy to watch over the last couple of games and will be difficult to shift. Kennedy has been superb and every defender in this league will need to keep a close eye on him. Miles Storey for all his wastefulness can help to create for others and with James Keating getting up to speed thing are looking up. A couple of our young team have gone on loan to Highland League clubs. Midfielder Lewis Hyde joins Rothes until January. Shane Harkness is already at Mackessack Park. Defender Ryan Fyffe is off to local team Clachnacuddin until January. Good luck to all these guys as they look for some first team action. Don't be looking for many if any changes from the last couple of games. Jake McPake has been under pressure since the start of the league. A 6-2 hammering from Hearts opened their campaign but they have crawled upward since and are just above the drop zone.Paul McGowan has been in fine form, love him or hate him, but he is certainly a talented footballer. With the experienced Charlie Adam in the side, Dundee will provide a sterner test than hapless Queen of the South last week and this could well be a tight affair. Keeper Jack Hamilton is coming under scrutiny as the defence has been leaking goals and Adam Legzdins and Calum Ferrie are looking to get their hands in the gloves. However Hamilton pulled off some great stops against Arbroath last week and was crucial in their 1-0 win over the Lichties. Graham Dorrans has left the building but Osman Sow could be a big signing for the Dark Blues. The Wyness shufflers have been busy and they are looking for the grass. Takes all kinds I suppose, each to their own. Another great episode from the guys. Have a listen. Find the Whistleblower Running Order: 01.20 Disease & Vaccine The boys kick off by topically picking if X is the disease, what is the vaccine? 04.21 Charlie Christie Charlie sits down to discuss the season so far plus a certain recent Scotland game. 20.32 Game by Game All the action from the matches against Arbroath, Hearts, East Fife and Raith. 33.47 The 300 We talk to two of the lucky ICT fans who were at the home game v Raith. 41.20 Initiation Songs Just what songs have various players sung over the years? 43.54 Gary Cocker Host of Dundee FC podcast Walking Down the Provie Road, and sometime Terrace TV contributor, Gary Cocker runs us through the Dark Blues dismal season to date. 54.53 League Lookahead We preview the matches against Queens, Dundee and Alloa. 1.03.53 Roddy MacGregor Young Superstar Roddy pops by for a chat about the season. 1.16.44 Nightmare XI Another shocking footballer is added to the hallowed ranks. 1.20.38 Outro and the TWS mug!

Dumfries Cruise Inverness deservedly opened the scoring through Kai Kennedy in the 20th minute, his first goal for the club as he cut in from the left and scored low behind Leighfield from a tight angle, the ball coming off the keepers leg. Roddy MacGregor scored a second with a tremendous finish five minutes after the break to give Inverness a cushion. Miles Storey secured the points with a vicious left footed shot into the bottom corner from fifteen yards. Great three points for Inverness and consolidation in the middle of the table. Queen of the South were the last side we played back in March before covid19 came along and changed our lives. On that occasion Inverness ran out 3-1 winners. What happened on the night... John Robertson had slightly more choice than normal as injuries began to heal thanks to the International break and League Cup second round. Still without Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney, but the rest are on the mend and back training although not all back to match fitness. Inverness looked pretty in pink as they took to the artificial surface at Palmerston. TV on and tuned to BBC Scotland, James Keatings was first to show with a header that he should have done better with, but he missed the target from a great position. He was involved in the next opportunity when Deas made a great run forward to get on the end of it, but his effort was blocked by Leighfield as he slid in and from that save, Sutherland dribbled across the box but he smothered his shot and it was cleared. McKee got an effort away as Queens got forward but it was deflected for a fruitless corner for the hosts. Twenty minutes gone and the brilliant Kai Kennedy opened the scoring for Inverness when he dribbled down the left, cut along the byeline and drove the ball low into the net from an acute angle. First goal for Inverness and what a goal! Kennedy and Keatings had shots that troubled the Queens defence as Inverness pressed for a second. Dobbie broke on the left a las Kennedy but Shields effort was just wide of the post from close range. Queens were on a roll just now and another couple of efforts went close. Attempts at both ends thereafter but both keepers were mainly untroubled before the interval although Dobbie was starting to pull a few strings. Deas and Devine were intercepting most Queens forays forward and at the interval it remained 1-0 for the visitors. Half Time 0-1 No changes at the break and five minutes into the half Roddy MacGregor doubled the lead for the visitors. A great ball forward was headed on by Shane Sutherland to Brad Mckay who cut the ball across the edge of the box where Roddy met it perfectly to side foot the ball into the top corner. What a tremendous goal for the Caley Jags and young Roddy. There were opportunities for both sides, but the keepers were underworked until Inverness stretched their muscles again. Storey passed up on a great opportunity when he broke clear down the left but was forced wider than he would have liked. His shot hit the side netting when a bit of composure would have seen him score but he would not be denied. Miles Storey scored a superb third to seal the points as he turned and slotted into the bottom corner with some venom ten minutes from time. No more than Inverness deserved after a long throw in by Brad Mckay found Miles in the box. Miles better as they say around here. On a night when the clubs saluted Diego Maradona, young Roddy MacGregor wrote a whole new book of skills and capped it all with a tremendous goal. Kai Kennedy was another who impressed again and in truth, there were no flaws in the side tonight. Solid in defence, and playing with some style. The future is bright, the future is pink. Great result for Inverness who move on to 10 points. OFFICIAL REPORT What the managers said on BBC Sport Queen of the South manager Allan Johnston: "First half I thought we didn't start well at all. Then when we started to actually pass the ball, we created a number of chances, but we obviously weren't clinical. We just never had that spark tonight. We didn't do enough to get anything out of the game." Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "We're delighted. After such a good performance at home to Raith Rovers, you're worried especially with a young squad that you don't maintain those standards. Our squad's coming back slowly, and we just need to pick up points and keep it going." Congratulations to Mark Ridgers. He does like a clean sheet. That's 50 clean sheets in 133 appearances for the Caley Jags keeper and he tweeted this: Delighted to reach 50 and looking forward to many more!! Great result and performance again from the boys! Hopefully be home for sun rise now. Highlights from BBC/SPFL Date: 04/12/2020 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 000 Referee: Steven McLean Queen of the South: 0 Lineup: Leighfield; Maxwell, Obileye, Buchanan, McKee, Fitzpatrick (McCabe 84), Pybus, Shields, Dobbie, Joseph (East 56) Gibson (Nortey 82) Subs (not used): Ferguson, McKecknie, McGrory, Goss. Scorers: none Booked: Fitzpatrick (58) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, Kennedy (Doran 78), Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland (Todorov 84), Keatings (Welsh 72), Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Vincent, D Mackay. Scorers: Kennedy (21), MacGregor (50). Storey (80) Booked: Welsh (90+2) Sent Off: none a

Friday night on council TV We're on the telly on Friday night for a 7:45pm kick-off at Palmerston Park, Dumfries, where Queen of the South will host matchday six for both clubs in a covid restricted game which will feature on BBC Scotland. Steven McLean will be the man in charge for this one. Queen of the South were the last side to visit the Caledonian Stadium back in March before covid19 came along and changed our lives. On that occasion Inverness ran out 3-1 winners to remain second in the table behind Dundee United. Here's the action from that miserable Tuesday night, the game played out in a bit of a monsoon. Both sides were idle last weekend as the next phase of the League Cup was played out. I notice that the village pub team from the quaint market town of Dingwall had the temerity to end Celtic's 35 match unbeaten run in domestic cup competitions and put more pressure on Neil Lennon. Shame Anyway, big team big cup, wee team wee cup and all that sort of stuff..... Meanwhile, back in the Championship, the quest for promotion goes on as we head for Palmerston on a relative high after an encouraging win over table topping Raith Rovers, a game that saw a few fans viewing the game from inside the stadium with strict covid protocols in operation. It's a start, let's hope this trend continues across the country. We were never stretched by Rovers and scored in each half. Miles Storey should have opened the scoring but for the woodwork intervening, twice. He did however tee up James Keatings for the first and Scott Allardice later in the game as he slotted in the second to seal the points and push Inverness towards the middle of the table. Queens picked up their first win of the campaign whilst we were beating Raith as they deservedly beat Alloa Athletic 2-0 with goals either side of the interval from Gregor Buchanan and a superb Joe McKee free kick. That result has put Alloa at the foot of the table. League table after five games and other Championship fixtures this weekend (Saturday) Alloa Ath v Ayr United Dundee v Arbroath Morton v Hearts Rovers v Dunfermline With an alarming amount of injuries to contend with, the recent international break and the League Cup knockout stages have come along at the right time for Robbo and his injury hit squad. It will allow those that have been nursing knocks and strains more recovery time and put those out longer term closer to a return to action. John Robertson might have some better news regarding his injury list and hopefully David Carson, Kevin McHattie, and Lewis Toshney might be a step nearer the pitch, with Sean Welsh, Miles Storey, Shane Sutherland, James Vincent, James Keatings and Aaron Doran all putting more mileage into their legs. Allan Johnston, like most managers in the Championship is also working on a shoestring and has taken players in he hopes will do the job for him. He still has the prolific Stephen Dobbie on the books but Kevin Holt has left the club. Attacking midfielder Calvin McGrory, versatile midfielder Nortei Nortey, Niyah Joseph, Euan East, defender James Maxwell, Kieran McKechnie, Harry Robinson and keeper Rohan Ferguson are all new at Palmerston, many of these secured on loan deals such was the haste that many clubs had to operate on to build a squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL MATCH PREVIEW FROM ICTFC GREG TANSEY THUNDERSTRUCK AC/DC THUNDERSTRUCK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Danny Boy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RIG also looks ahead to this one: After a weekend off we are back in action in a couple of nights with a long trip to Queen of the South. One of the best away day trips has been ruined because of COVID-19 and the SPFL moving it to a Friday night for coverage on a TV channel that almost no one watches but don't let that get you down and tune in to the BBC Scotland channel from 19:30 on Friday to see us take on the Doonhamers. A really impressive win over early season "surprise" package Raith Rovers coupled with a number of players coming back from injury means confidence will surely be high ahead of this one. Queens are a shambles of a team thrown together last minute in a similar manner as we were at the start of the 17/18 season. That said, they've not performed that badly so it's not going to be an easy game but hopefully it's one we can win and keep up our remarkable run of results in Dumfries where we haven't lost since 2004! The last time we lost there Busted, one of the great UK heavy metal bands of the early noughties, were number one. No need for streaming info although after 30 seconds of listening to Leanne Crichton and Jonathan Sutherland you may even be desperate enough for our commentator to take over... The Wyness Shuffle guys have been busy knocking out another Podcast for you. Give it a listen, it'll pass an hour and a half for you. Review of recent fixtures with analysis from Charlie Christie Look ahead to forthcoming games including Dundee preview with Dee fan Gary Cocker Chatting to 2 of the "300" who got into the ground for the first game this season with fans Interview with Roddy MacGregor Initiation Songs Another Nightmare XI entrant Well why not reinforce your collection of porcelain with a classy mug adorned with "The Wyness Shuffle" featuring artwork from the superb Sophie Robb Use it for tea coffee, Hot Todorovs or some pencils! Look no further for your Stocking Filler Got a story to tell, speak to Chris

Queen of the South -V- Inverness CT Palmerston Park, Dumfries Friday night 7:45pm Championship Football Covid restrictions apply Live on BBC TV Live Streaming available

300 fans, half a stream & a broken corner flag. James Keatings opened the scoring midway through the first half after Miles Storey broke forward before squaring to Keatings who calmly stroked a low shot into the net from fifteen yards. We had hit the woodwork twice in the first half through Storey without actually dominating. Scott Allardice doubled the lead after the hour. There was no further scoring but it turned out to be a comfortable win for the hosts with keeper Mark Ridgers restricted to catching crosses as Raith failed to trouble him. Jamie MacDonald at the opposite end kept Raith interested with three or four great saves coupled with some wayward efforts from our busy forwards. After matchday five, Dunfermline now head the table after their win over Hearts on Friday night coupled with Raith Rovers losing at Inverness. Ayr united dumped Dundee as well so the league table now looks like this with the Caley Jags climbing to the middle of the table. Hearts do have a game in hand against Alloa Athletic. It was the first game that fans were allowed into the stadium since the start of the covid19 pandemic. The North and South Stands were used to comply with social distancing and Raith Rovers were the visitors. Inverness still had a number of absentees through injury including David Carson, Lewis Toshney, Kevin McHattie and Wallace Duffy. We welcomed Aaron Doran and Miles Storey back to the squad over the last couple of games and Shane Sutherland who scored the winner last week against East Fife. Sean Welsh made the bench and Brad Mckay returned at right back with Duffy injured. Here's the managers speaking on BBC Sport: Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "Everything was great today. It was great to have fans back. Credit to both sets of player, they put on a very good show for them. It was a great game of football between two good teams."We took our chances well. We played really well but we had to because Raith Rovers are a very, very good side. It was a very, very good performance." Raith Rovers assistant manager Paul Smith: "We've had a fantastic start to the season but today we weren't quite at it. I thought Inverness deserved to win the game over 90 minutes."Jamie MacDonald had a couple of fantastic saves to keep us in the game. We had a lot of ball in the first half but our final ball wasn't good enough to create many chances." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two sides met almost a couple of weeks ago on League Cup duty, the game ending all square at 3-3 in Kirkaldy. Would it be another goalfest or would the Championship fixture be a more sedate affair with the priority being not to concede. Not an easy task with Manny Duku in the opposition team. The game kicked off at 3:00pm for those in the stadium. For those streaming, it was more likely that they were steaming as the SPFL failed to get round technical difficulties and the whole of the first half was missed. With a small percentage of fans in the ground the Caley Jags played towards the South Stand in the first forty-five. After ten minutes of posturing the game exploded onto the Raith Rovers bar as Miles Storey broke through the middle before moving right to unleash a ferocious shot that rocked the frame of the goal. What a strike that was and he was unlucky not to open the scoring with a sensational goal. The hosts were restricting Rovers to fleeting glimpses of the Inverness penalty box with Mark Ridgers untroubled other than a weak shot from Kieran MacDonald comfortably saved a couple of minutes after Storey's blistering strike. When Scott Allardice broke down a Rovers move in the centre circle, Storey sped forward like an express train. He held the ball up on the eighteen yard line before squaring to Keatings who was lurking around the penalty spot where he swept the ball home with ease to the delight of the South Stand. Not often you can say that at the Caledonian Stadium. Half an hour gone and Storey hit the woodwork again as the ball found him in space ten yards from goal. He looked a stick on for a tap in but he somehow got under the ball and hit the top of the bar with his effort when it looked easier to score. He had another go five minutes before the break as we looked to double our lead, but his shot was wide of the mark. Manny Duku was being well policed by Danny Devine and the most he saw of the ball was an effort blocked by our defence just before the break. Half Time 1-0 We came out of the blocks fast at the start of the second half, maybe trying to impress the streamers who now had access to the game after missing the first forty-five. A Storey cross was cleared to Roddy MacGregor who fired a shot across MacDonald but the keeper saved the low shot well. Storey again tested MacDonald but he stood up to the barrage and kept the ball out at the expense of a corner. All action now and a Keatings corner was close to crossing the line as it honed in on goal and minutes later the skillful Kai Kennedy set up Shane Sutherland but again the keeper did well to make a tremendous reflex save. Kennedy left a couple of Raith players needing to pay to get back into the ground as he sent them the wrong way down the left before cutting along the line, however his cross come shot was deflected behind for a corner. Would we rue these missed opportunities as Raith briefly threatened to get a grip on the game, Ridgers making a couple of routine stops. A bizarre booking for Armstrong after he threw away the broken corner flag before taking a free kick, yellow card for something he did or said. The free kick fizzled out and soon after we scored a second. Kennedy popped up on the right and went for the byeline before pinging an inviting cross into the box. Storey collected and then Allardice picked up the ball from him in the box and slotted neatly into the bottom corner. Another goal could have come two minutes later when the ball fell nicely to MacGregor on the edge of the box but he slashed his shot well wide from an inviting position. Storey and Harper combined to give Sutherland the chance at the far post but he slipped at the wrong time and the chance was gone. Kennedy sent a great ball into the path of substitute Daniel Mackay but once more MacDonald saved well as Raith ran out of ideas and we finished the game strongly. The full highlights on Caley Jags TV Overview: Comfortable win ultimately but despite squandering a few great opportunities we were never really troubled by Raith. Our defence was superb today with Devine and Brad Mckay on top. Harper was wayward with balls from defence but we never got punished for it and he got better as the game went on. Allardice is the find of the season, great engine and an eye for goal. Keatings showed his class at times and Miles Storey had a day of less bloopers. He really should have scored when he skimmed the top of the bar. His first effort which was also missed by our own twitter feed was a spectacular shot from 25 yards which crashed back off the bar. MacGregor sliced badly with the goal at his mercy but put in a great shift. Shane was maybe the quieter of our front men today. The wee man with the wee legs was again outstanding. He has the ability to beat any defender he wants. Tremendous close skill. A tanner ball player in olde money. Although we led 1-0 at half time, in terms of possession and ascendancy, we were not out of sight despite hitting the bar twice. Out of the blocks early at the start of the second should have seen us coasting but missed chances and good saves kept it close. Overall, we were worth the three points and good to see Welsh back on as a sub. Here's the goals only, enjoy! OFFICIAL REPORT FROM ICTFC Date: 21/11/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 300ish covid Referee: Alan Newlands Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, MacGregor, Allardice, Keatings (Welsh 82), Kennedy (Doran 88), Sutherland, Storey (D Mackay 82). Subs (not used): C Mackay; Vincent, Todorov, Nicolson. Scorers: Keatings (19) Allardice (68) Booked: Allardice (53) Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 0 Lineup: MacDonald; Tumilty, MacDonald, Benedictus, Armstrong, Hendry, Duku, Mathews, Musonda, Tait (Spencer 75), Ross (Lokotsch 55) Subs (not used): Thomson; Mendy, Ugwu, Arnott, Coulson. Scorers: none Booked: Armstrong (60) Sent Off: none a

Willie Wonka and the Goalden Tickets Raith Rovers are the visitors this weekend for Matchday 5 in the Championship, and it will be the first game at the Caledonian Stadium to allow fans in during the covid pandemic, albeit restricted to around 300 tier one season ticket holders. It's a step in the right direction for football and hopefully it will be a successful occasion on and off the park. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm on Saturday November 21st, a date for the diary. It might be a bit like Willie Wonka, but from little acorns and all that stuff... The good news for streaming fans is that last weeks offering for the East Fife game was a marked improvement from the first couple of Pixie Lott efforts. This time a camera operator was apparently in place and aided by a lack of sun from the west, the live pictures came across much better without any following of the lineman's follicly challenged head. So credit where it's due, well done to whoever took note of the many unhappy viewers from previous games although it would have been nice if they could have let us know what was happening and that they were going to do something about it. Anyway, sorted for now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matchday Protocol Video Fans return Ballot £10 PPV option for this game £10 Ian Broadfoot - Milestones & Memories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two sides met eleven days ago in the League Cup group stages at Stark's Park Kirkaldy. It was an entertaining game which finished 3-3 with Raith taking the bonus point after winning the penalty shoot-out 3-2. Manny Duku was a menace throughout and scored the opening goal before Shane Sutherland levelled for Inverness. A Danny Devine own goal put Raith back in front after Ethan Ross broke on the left before cutting the ball into the box and off the unfortunate Danny boy. Two quick goals for us from James Keatings (pen) and Roddy MacGregor, his first for the club, put us in the driving seat but Duku sent the tie to penalties in time added on. It was a good work out for both sides who will no doubt have some different personnel this weekend. Brad Mckay and James Vincent were both injured at Raith to add to out lengthy list of casualties. We played East Fife last weekend in the same competition and laboured to a 1-0 win in true Scotland style. We had Cammy Mackay to thank for that as he saved a penalty in stoppage time from Jack Hamilton. Shane Sutherland gave us the lead in the second half with a powerful header. Good points to come out of the game were a debut for Harry Nicolson and Miles Storey came off the bench on his return after injury. Also Cammy Mackay was in brilliant form with a super save earlier in the first half and ended his day with that superb penalty save. Rovers had a Fife derby to contend with and they also made life difficult for themselves but they saw off Cowdenbeath 1-0 with Manny Duku again on the scoresheet. I'm sure both sides will be stronger for this game with Dylan Tait back for Rovers and Lars Lokotsch available again. Jamie MacDonald will probably be between the sticks although Robbie Thomson did well against us and defender Kieran MacDonald could also return. That's seven goals already for Duku and he will need to be shackled if we are to take anything from this game. Here's a few words from Kai Kennedy John Robertson saw Miles Story return against East Fife and was able to rest one or two others with Aaron Doran and James Keatings coming on from the bench. Sean Welsh has missed a couple of games recently, let's hope he's just resting his fragile body as he's required for crucial games. Anyway, Robbo just wants to see this game out so we can regroup and hopefully get more players fully fit before the next round of Championship games on December 5th for us when we visit Palmerston on the Friday night. David Carson, Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie have been longer term casualties and time will be a great healer for them. Other Championship games this weekend & Table prior to Dunfermline v Hearts Dunfermline 2 - 0 Hearts (Friday night 7:45) Arbroath Fc -V- Morton Ayr United -V- Dundee Fc Queen Sth -V- Alloa Ath *** LATEST TEAM NEWS*** From the Official Preview: John Robertson said “I don’t think Wallace Duffy will make it, he’s still injured from last week.” “We’ve got players back in training this week, James Vincent has started to train, Sean Welsh has started to train but he’s still a bit tender, Miles Storey has done a bit more training, David Carson has started his running programme.” “The squad will be virtually the same as last week with the players with the possibility of one or two senior lads maybe on the bench. They’re still miles off it unfortunately due injury and fitness but it may well be that they can do something for us off the bench.” So there you have straight from the horses mouth. Latest from Raith with Paul Smith looking ahead to this game

Keeper in the spotlight again Inverness won the game but all credit to East Fife for making this a tough tie. It took a penalty save by Cammy Mackay in stoppage time to keep us ahead after Shane Sutherland had opened the scoring in the second half. We had Mackay to thank for a wonderful save in the first half as well and he was my MotM. The final Betfred League Cup group A game was played out at an empty Caledonian Stadium with East Fife the visitors in our tier 1 covid restricted tie. The Fifers came North after losing narrowly to Hearts in midweek whilst we drew 3-3 with Raith Rovers. Hearts would progress to the next round from this group with Raith Rovers just missing out, let's find out what happened here.... The stream for todays game was free for everyone with Andy Bannerman on commentary and a cameraman controlling the camera. What a difference this made to the viewing experience. Well done ICTFC for getting this sorted. Brad Mckay, James Vincent, Wallace Duffy, Lewis Toshney, Kevin McHattie and Sean Welsh were all missing. Miles Storey made the subs bench after injuring his hamstring over a month ago. In comes Cammy Mackay and Harry Nicolson makes his competitive debut as Shane Sutherland gets more game time up front with Nicolay Todorov. East Fife's danger men were up front in Jack Hamilton and Ryan Wallace with eight goals between them this season. East Fife got the game underway in a vacant stadium, kicking towards the North Stand. Almost six minutes on the clock when a tidy dummy saw Kai Kennedy take the ball into the box but he couldn't get enough power on the shot and the keeper smothered the ball. Toddy was next to break into the box but was crowded out as he tried to get the ball away. Cameron Harper headed a dangerous ball to the back post behind for a corner in East Fife's first foray forward, but the defence cleared comfortably. Shane Sutherland snatched at a shot on the right side of the box but he dragged it across the goal and wide. A flurry of activity by the visitors saw Scott Allardice head clear but the follow up volley by Ryan Wallace was lashed well over the bar, high and wide. Good spell for the Fife side and they fired another long range effort a couple of yards over the bar. Toddy was thwarted on the eighteen yard line by a strong challenge by a Fifers defender. Series of good blocks by the Fife defence denies Inverness and it ends with MacGregor's shot taking a deflection and looping into the keepers arms. What a save from Cammy Mackay from point blank range to keep the score level. A header by Chris Higgins from six yards in a crowded box looked certain to score, great reactions from Mackay kept the ball out. Kai Kennedy was roving around the flanks causing problems for the defenders, winning free kicks wide right, but there were no takers for the crosses into the box as East Fife defend well. Aaron Doran did well to step inside his marker five minutes before the break but his shot from the edge of the box was well over. Most of the pressing coming from the home side but the Fife defence standing firm so far. Despite having plenty of the ball, it was the visitors that had the best chance of the half when they were denied by Cammy Mackay. In truth, Inverness looked void of ideas in trying to get behind a well drilled East Fife bus. Half Time 0-0 Striker Ryan Wallace was replaced at the interval by Thomas Collins. Probably bored by the game. Sutherland got a shot on target three minutes into the second half but it was too easy for the keeper then up the other end the Fifers headed narrowly over with a looping effort. Kennedy shot wide from around twenty-five yards but it fell away to the keepers left. Annoyingly, East Fife looked more dangerous than us at the start of the second half. However, the deadlock was broken when Sutherland rose highest to send a powerful header into the top of the net off a Cameron Harper corner. Back came the Fifers and a ball bobbled around our box before Mackay was able to gather. Mackay was quick off his line to save at the feet of the oncoming forward as the visitors stormed forward once more. The hosts then looked to get on top of the game and Kennedy sliced a volley over before he was replaced by James Keatings. Miles Storey made a complete arse of an effort when he went through looking suspiciously offside, but he sand danced around and lost the opportunity. What a numpty. A curling effort by Davidson went just over the bar as East Fife kept plugging away, still looking likely to get something out of this game. It's beginning to look a bit like watching Scotland play. We ended the game on the back foot, throwing bodies in the way and scrambling the ball away for a corner. But all was not lost as they were awarded a penalty in the 91st minute when Jack Hamilton was brought down by Robbie Deas. As I said, just like watching Scotland. And just like Scotland, the keeper saved the penalty from Hamilton brilliantly. What a save by Cammy low down to his left, similar to David Marshall, to earn the points as the game ended. Keepers are big news this week and Cammy Mackay was our hero with a crucial point blank save in the first half and a tremendous penalty save in time added on. Brilliant from young Cammy. Good performance from birthday boy Cameron Harper as well and a well taken header by Shane Sutherland won the game for us where we toiled to create for long spells. Facebook link for Robbo interview post match Date: 14/11/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Chris Graham Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: C Mackay; Deas, Nicolson, Devine Harper, Doran (D Mackay 65), Allardice, MacGregor, Kennedy (Keatings 78), Sutherland, Todorov (Storey 65) Subs (not used): Ridgers; Fyffe, Hyde, , Keatings, Scorers: Sutherland (64) Booked: none Sent Off: none East Fife: 0 Lineup: Hart; Higgins, Murdoch (Watson 69), Dunlop, Denholm (Dunsmore 61), Slattery, Smith (Watt 69), Agnew (Newton 75), Hamilton, Davidson, Wallace (Collins 45). Subs (not used): Long; McLaughlin Scorers: none Booked: Agnew (33) Sent Off: none a

Alloa Athletic -V- Inverness CT Recreation Park, Alloa - Indodrill Stadium Saturday 19th December @ 3:00pm Championship Football Covid restrictions apply Live Streaming available

Inverness CT -V- Dundee FC Caledonian Stadium Saturday 12th December @ 3:00pm Championship Football Covid restrictions apply Live Streaming available from ICTFC

Inverness CT -V- Raith Rovers Caledonian Stadium 21st November 2020 Championship football Covid restrictions apply Live Streaming available from ICTFC

Fay Fife For Footie It's the final Betfred League Cup game for Inverness this season with the team Fay Fife the visitors to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off. No no no, not the Rezillos, but the football side from Bayview. Nothing at stake for either side with Hearts heading the group. Here's the other ones fae Fife........ More good news, or not, depending on your view, but this game will be available for free to watch through the spfl portal/matchday centre. The information can be found by clicking on the link in the twitter feed below or the link provided. Some might say we should be paid to watch it, however, it won't cost you anything and you can watch the sun setting in the west and follow the linesman head or cars going on to the Kessock Bridge. Don't say we didn't warn you, but yer no payeen anyhing mun, so no complaineen this week. Enjoy! Free Stream from ICTFC Information In all honesty, nothing really matters after the drama that unfolded on Thursday night when Scotland qualified for the Euros after doing it the Scottish way. Twenty-four seconds of the ninety to go and leading 1-0. Boom! Extra time with our backs to the wall and a nail biting penalty shoot-out saw new heroes emerge for another generation with our very own Ryan Christie right at the top of the tree. Congratulations Ryan, we are all so proud of you, none moreso than your olde daddy, Charlie. The downside of Scotland qualifying is that a whole nation is now walking around humming "Yes Sir, I can Boogie, Ach well, you can'y have everything; the good news is that this version is much better than Baccara's effort in 1977.......43 years ago! Meanwhile, back at the Betfred League Cup: East Fife come North after running Hearts close in their last game, going down 3-2 at Bayview. Jack Hamilton and Ryan Wallace scored for the Fifers as they fell just short despite being 2-0 down after just 3 minutes. Hamilton and Wallace are making a habit of scoring goals this season and will be worth keeping an eye on. Inverness did well at Stark's Park but had to settle for a draw. Raith took the bonus point as we fired three penalty blanks. We got ourselves into a winning position but, like Scotland, did it our way as the menacing Manny Duku equalised in the 90th minute. Nonetheless, it was a decent performance from Inverness who scored through, Shane Sutherland, his first on his return to the club, James Keatings from the spot and Roddy MacGregor, his first for the club. But for a tremendous double save from Raith keeper Robbie Thomson we would have won the three points, however, it is what it is. A good workout for both teams and game time for returning injured players. Unfortunately, James Vincent came off in the first half as did Brad Mckay who looked to catch his foot on the astroturf. OFFICIAL PREVIEW FROM ICTFC RETURN OF FANS BALLOT Latest team news: As noted in the official preview, Brad Mckay and James Vincent are out. Wallace Duffy is struggling but Miles Storey might make the bench. More game time for those that need it and also an opportunity for for the young team to make their mark. Finally, we are all Ryan Christie, what a legend, from this young loon..... To Scotland hero, take a bow RYAN CHRISTIE A nation is forever indebted to you

Jambos edge it. After a minutes silence for former Hearts player Marius Zaliukas and all the fallen heroes, Hearts kicked-off just after 3:00pm. There was no scoring at the interval with few clear chances either way, although Boyce might have done better early on. Kai Kennedy looked most likely to unlock the home defence; Peter Haring booked after being nutmegged by the winger. Steven Naismith opened the scoring just after the interval and Nemesis Boyce added a second with twenty minutes left. Aaron Doran scored a late goal for the visitors with a superb header five minutes from time. Inverness pushed hard for a leveller but Hearts held on for the three points. Cristophe Berra made the bench for the Jam Tarts who had Steven Naismith and Peter Haring starting with Liam Boyce leading the attack. Aaron Doran, James Vincent and Shane Sutherland were fit enough to warm our bench as youngsters Daniel Mackay, Cameron Harper and Roddy MacGregor kept their place in the side after some bright performances. The sides were changed a bit from the recent League Cup encounter with Hearts bringing in the big guns for this Championship game. Inverness started brightly and Nikolay Todorov had the first chance in five minutes but Craig Gordon saved comfortably. Liam Boyce should probably have opened the scoring twelve minutes in but headed wide. That was moments after he just failed to get on the end of Kingsley cross. Wallace Duffy and Brad Mckay both made crucial blocks as Hearts threatened to break through but the visitors defence stood firm at the break. Half Time 0-0 The second half had barely started when Steven Naismith swept a ball from Kingsley on the left side behind Mark Ridgers to break the deadlock. Inverness responded well and when Kai Kennedy broke forward his shot was deflected behind for a corner. A spell of further persistence followed but Duffy had an effort blocked as we looked to get back on level terms. With twenty-two minutes remaining Liam Boyce doubled Hearts advantage when he flicked a cross from Ollie Lee into the net after some neat work down the right side. Aidy White almost made it three but his shot smacks the woodwork and Boyce had an effort deflected wide. The visitors plugged away and we got our just reward when substitute Aaron Doran head flicked a super Duffy cross into the opposite corner with Craig Gordon stranded guarding his near post. The ball bouncing in despite a despairing dive from the long keeper. We proceeded to make life uncomfortable for the Gorgie side but despite some flurries around the Jambos box the final ball always fell short of the intended target. When it did get through a couple of wild slashes at the ball went high and wide and time ran out for us. Despite the result, it was a decent performance from the young Inverness team and good to see Shane Sutherland and Aaron Doran getting on the park. Sean Welsh took some heavy challenges and Kai Kennedy looked lively. This was against a strong Hearts side whilst we were still without four or five regulars such as Miles Story, Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney with Doran, Sutherland, Devine Vincent and Keatings still building up towards full strength. The next two games are league cup ties and that will give us some more time to prepare for the rigours of Championship football while bedding in our new players and welcoming more back from injury. All is not lost yet! ROBBO POST MATCH Goals from Hearts Twitter Date: 07/11/2020 Venue: Tynecastle Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madden Hearts: 2 Lineup: Gordon; Smith, Halkett, Popescu, Kingsley, Halliday, Naismith (White 72), Haring (Irving 61), Lee, Wighton, Boyce (Frear 84). Subs (not used): Stewart; Berra, Brandon, Henderson. Scorers: Naismith (47), Boyce (70) Booked: Haring (22), Halliday (56) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Deas, Harper, MacGregor (Sutherland 68), Welsh, Allardice, Kennedy (Doran 75), D Mackay (Keatings 75), Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Fyffe, Devine, Vincent, Scorers: Doran (86) Booked: Deas (39) Sent Off: none a

Capital Tester Most difficult fixture on the calendar coming up this weekend as we head to Gorgie to take on overwhelming Championship favourites Hearts. Another covid restricted game which kicks off at 15:00 on Saturday afternoon with Hearts one game behind leaders Dunfermline and Raith Rovers, having been at Hampden last weekend knocking Capital rivals Hibs out of the Scottish Cup. Hearts will be streaming the game live and I'm sure it will be superior quality to the "linesmans head" guff that we have been subject to at the Caledonian Stadium. However, many fans will draw the line at the price of the Tynecastle stream. £18.50 is taking the pi55. Have a word with yourself Hearts. Sad news this week as it was announced that former Hearts player Marius Zaliukas has passed away after battling with Motor Neuron Disease. Lithuanian Marius was the captain when Hearts won the Scottish Cup in 2012 beating Hibs 5-1. Taken too soon at the tender age of just 36. RIP Marius. The club's met at Tynecastle a few weeks ago in the group stages of the Betfred League Cup. An injury stricken Inverness side went down narrowly to the Jambos. Despite having to field many youngsters, we created a couple of great chances but it was a harsh penalty incident that saw Jamie Walker score from the spot. Hot Toddy missed a late chance to level but Hearts took the points. The opening game of the Championship season saw Hearts crush Dundee 6-2 with an outstanding performance. They followed that up with an edgy 1-0 win at Gayfield. Last week they dumped Hibs out of the Scottish Cup at Hampden to reach the final, Wighton and Boyce from the spot ending the interest of the Leith club. Keeper Craig Gordon was once again in top form to deny Hibs and will be a difficult man to get the ball past this season. Daniel Mackay opened his account for the season with this header just after the break against Arbroath. Other Championship games this weekend Alloa Ath v Dundee (Friday night) Arbroath v Queen of the South Ayr United v Dunfermline Ath Raith Rvrs v Greenock Morton ***LATEST TEAM NEWS*** Great to have Aaron Doran stretching his legs last week, albeit for only the last five minutes but it's a step in the right direction. Some are still a few weeks away from returning. Strikers Miles Storey and Shane Sutherland are out with hamstring injuries. Defenders Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney are out and Daniel Devine has been used sparingly. Midfielders David Carson and James Vincent were missing against Arbroath, Carson seemingly longer term. Sean Welsh and Robbie Deas returned to the starting XI last week and hopefully they showed no reaction to what turned out to be a rather gruelling match in Siberian conditions. Robbie Neilson has the luxury of a large squad to select from. Josh Ginnelly was outstanding in the League Cup encounter but was injured at Arbroath and missed the cup tie against Hibs. Jordan Roberts came in to replace him, but he is now a doubt. Such is the depth of the Jambos squad they can afford the luxury of Steven Naismith on the bench. And why not when former Dundee striker Craig Wighton is scoring goals. Liam Boyce is back as well so it's a strong Hearts team that will be looking to keep up with the leaders. They have their own injury problems with long term absentees like John Souttar (Ruptured Achilles) and Cristophe Berra (Torn Achilles) to contend with but the depth of talent at Tynecastle will minimise the damage by their absence. Peter Haring is building towards full fitness and Jamie Walker might need a late assessment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW £££ PPV Streaming £££ Aye Right! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget to have a listen to the Wyness Shuffle. There's plenty to get your teeth into in the Podcasts and they have managed to get some Caley Jags legends to talk to them over the months. Hear from real life legends like Charlie Christie and his loon Ryan, Greg Tansey, Gary Warren, Barry Wilson, Carl Tremarco, James Keatings, Josh Meekings... The list goes on right down to the marmite of Yogi Bear, The Magic Roundabout a seagull in a carrier bag and even Marge Simpson's mother! Robbo talking ahead of the trip to Tynecastle

Smokies Smoked The visitors opened the scoring midway through the first half while Pixellot were looking elsewhere. Apparently Kris Doolan scored somehow. In the middle of a hurricane, Daniel Mackay levelled matters with a header early in the second half. Scott Allardice scored a thumping goal from near thirty yards out to put the hosts ahead. Nikolay Todorov secured the points with ten minutes left for our first win of the season. Well done to both teams for weathering the storm..... Still without a host of regular picks, John Robertson put his faith in the young guns to continue the good work they have put in over the opening two games of the Championship season despite the lack of a win. Arbroath come North searching for their first point after a difficult first two games for the Lichties. They had the measure of Inverness last season with two wins out of the three games played, one of those at the Caledonian Stadium. PPV streaming was available and with covid19 restrictions in place an empty Stadium would greet the teams, Inverness emerging from the tunnel, The Smokies coming from the tradesman's entrance at the South end of the ground. Here's how it played out on another damp and blustery afternoon in the Highlands. Robbo had a couple surprises up his sleeve with Sean Welsh and Robbie Deas starting with Aaron Doran on the bench alongside James Keatings and Daniel Devine. A horrendous afternoon greeted the sides and this impacted on the whole game. There would be only one winner on a windy afternoon in the Highland Capital, and that was Aiden, whose 50mph swirling gusts ensured it would be a difficult afternoon for both sides. The Lichties opened the scoring midway through the first half making the most of any advantage Aiden would provide. It was engineered and executed by two veterans. Bobby Linn broke on the left after Aiden intercepted the ball and when bin man Linn crossed into the box Kris Doolan was on hand to knock it home. The hosts struggled to make much headway as Aiden repelled every attack. The visitors would experience the same problems after the break. Half Time 0-1 It only took a couple of minutes for the Lichties to realise whose side Aiden was on in the second half as Daniel Mackay headed in the equaliser after good work by Kai Kennedy and Wallace Duffy. Aiden and abetting would then combine to give Scott Allardice the chance to sidefoot home effortlessly from nearly thirty yards, the ball flying high past a startled Gaston in goal. What a way to open your account in a Caley Jags strip. The visitors were rarely seen in the second half and it was no surprise when it opened up for Nikolay Todorov to stroke the ball into the net to seal the points ten minutes from the end. If truth be told, Arbroath were blown away in the second half as Inverness claimed their first win of the season, the Smokies still looking for their first points. Credit to both sets of players for staying on the park for 90 minutes in the middle of a storm. One of the main highlights was the sight of Aaron Doran on the pitch for the final five minutes. Great to see him back and hopefully he will build up to full speed in the next few weeks. FULL TIME 3-1 OFFICIAL REPORT from ICTFC Here's the managers talking on BBC Sport Inverness manager John Robertson: "That game should never have been played. It was impossible to find our rhythm in a 50mph wind in the first half." Arbroath assistant manager Ian Campbell: "We were on top and at half-time we went in 1-0 up deservedly. Second half, the wind caused us a lot of bother and John's game plan worked." Date: 31/10/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Deas, Harper, MacGregor (Doran 86), Welsh, Allardice, Kennedy (Keatings 79), D Mackay, Todorov (Devine (90+1) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Fyffe, Nicolson. Scorers: D Mackay (47), Allardice (71),Todorov (79) Booked: B Mckay (63) Sent Off: none Arbroath FC: 1 Lineup: Gaston; Thomson, Hamilton, Little, O'Brien, Gold, Linn (Donnelly 75) Ruth, Smith (McKenna 76) Doolan (Hilson 75), Virtanen Subs (not used): Douglas; Whatley, Swankie, Stewart. Scorers: none Doolan (24) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

The Campbell's are coming Oh-Ho! Oh-Ho! Arbroath will be heading North on Saturday for matchday 3 of the shortened Championship season. It's a 3:00pm kick-off and another closed doors game due to covid19 restrictions. Let's hope the sun is not shining on the assistant referees napper this week. I'm certain some punters gave the linesman points in the Player of the Year poll, such was his stage presence last Saturday. The Smokies returned to Championship football last season and were a thorn in our side, inflicting a thumping 3-0 defeat at Gayfield and stunning Inverness 1-0 at the Caledonian Stadium. The first encounter saw Inverness stumble over the line with a 2-1 win. Fast forward to October, along came covid to save us more damage at the hands of the Red Lichties. Well done to Dick Campbell and his brother Ian and his coaching staff for an excellent season consolidating back into the Championship and taking some great scalps along the way. The game can be found live online by registering on the SPFL Portal and logging in to your account. Season Ticket holders will have a code to redeem and PPV viewers can watch the action for only a £enner. Let's hope the stream has been tweaked since last week. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's not been a great start for either side this campaign. We lost at East End Park and salvaged a draw at home to Ayr United and the linesmans head. In our defence we almost have a full team on the treatment table. Yes, its a big table. Arbroath fell foul of the promotion bounce and lost 3-0 at Raith where the dancing in the streets began. Their second game saw them lose narrowly to Championship favourites Hearts in a game they probably should have taken something from. Former Dundee and St Johnstone player Gavin Swankie is back on the field after a season plagued with injury and his experience will be vital for the Lichties. Bobby Linn has always been a problem for our defenders and is still capable of troubling the best defences. Kris Doolan comes in from Partick Thistle to add even more experience and is a threat up front. His former Partick team mate James Craigen is another who has been round the block, as is Ricky Little, so plenty of guile within the squad to guide the younger members through another season in the Championship. Former Morton keeper Derek Gaston was a standout last campaign and is a difficult man to pass. With Hearts on Cup duty this weekend, it's a chance for front runners Raith Rovers and Dunfermline to stretch their legs at the top of the table which will leave the rest playing catch-up. Raith & Pars were the big winners last week and look likeliest to get in the Jambos face. Games coming up this weekend: Dundee v Raith Rovers Dunf Ath v Queen of the South Morton v Ayr United ICT FC v Arbroath Injuries R Us is the new trading name for the Caley Jags. Eight first team players missing last week is not really what the doctor ordered. Most will be out for the next few weeks which means we have to rely on the young team to see us through the opening month or two. In fairness, they have coped reasonably well in the opening two fixtures. Arise Sir Pixellot Right, it's time for a moan: Its Thursday 2:00pm, five days after the Ayr game and the silence from the Caledonian Stadium is deafening. The live streaming of the first home game was a mixed bag to be honest. It was supposed to go live around half hour before kick-off. However the wheel of doom was the only thing visible once we negotiated the registration and login. Just after 2:45 we suddenly got a live picture of players warming up. The image was distant, and looking from the main stand into the low Autumn sun from the West. Not only did that make viewing difficult, it made the stadium look like a public park as cars drove along the dual carriageway towards the Kessock Bridge. As the Pixellot system has technology allowing it to be unmanned, the automatic ball following sensor would often track the cars and more so the follicly challenged head of the assistant referee. I'm certain he will be given an assist for the Ayr goal as they surged forward down the stand side. I know it's all new to everyone, but maybe someone could have done their homework on this camera and worked out how to get the best out of the system and promote the club in the the best way possible. Surely it's better to look towards the main stand, even if it is empty, than stare into the glare of the sun and the landscape surrounding the Kessock Bridge. We had excellent highlights from our own Caley Jags TV which put the live stream to shame. Now, I'm not one for having a go at the club in general, but why has there been no feedback emanating from the Stadium to even explain the reason behind the poor quality of the stream. I'm in the "It's better than nothing" camp, but many paying customers feel disappointed with the offering received for their hard earned cash in difficult times. If I'm being totally honest, its hard to disagree, but for goodness sake speak up and tell the fans why this happened and more importantly what they are going to do about it before we face more ridicule from fans around the country. They have managed to do a promo for drive in movies and wall of fame tiles, how about a wee communication with feedback on how well the Pixellot system never did. I never liked her songs anyway...... Rant over and I hope a few tweaks make it more enjoyable for everyone Since then, Scott Gardner told the P&J "There were going to be teething problems for the first game. We didn’t think it was going to be a bald headed linesman, but you live and learn. If the sun is not out it’s not a problem. “The league are in charge of it. They are aware of it and working on it. “It wasn’t as bad as everyone was saying but it wasn’t ideal". Really! Understatement alert! ***Latest Team News*** First the good news. Kai Kennedy has been called into the Scotland u21 squad for the forth coming EUFA qualifiers against Croatia and Greece. He will also be available this weekend after featuring on the bench last Saturday. Now for the bad news: there is no more good news. The treatment table is massive. It's too soon for Aaron Doran, David Carson, Lewis Toshney, Kevin McHattie and Miles Storey. Sean Welsh, James Vincent and Shane Sutherland also missed out last week in a well kept top secret mission to not inform anyone what was happening to them. So, looks like we will be relying on the young guys to see us through these difficult times with hopefully Nikolay Todorov staying injury free. Without giving anything away, Robbo has hinted that one or two might make the squad, I'm guessing that might be Sutherland, Welsh and Vincent. The Campbell's are coming North with a pretty much injury and suspension free squad. Kris Doolan could well be starting and Bobby Linn would be a great impact player should he not be in the starting XI. They have run Hearts and Ross County close this season, expect this to be another difficult game. Don't forget your dose of Wyness Shuffle to blow away your Halloween blues. Pumpkins & PPV We pick out our Highland Highlight’s of the season so far (1:45) The pod picks over the bones of the recent games against Hearts and Cowdenbeath in the League Cup as well as our opening league matches against Dunfermline and Ayr (3:50) The Digital Elephant in the Room – match day streaming and thoughts on the experience so far (18:30) A View from the Opposition Terrace – Moff dials up Ayr fan and Ayrshire Post reporter Stuart Wilson to get his views on the draw with The Honest Men (24:59) We try to look into the future and predict what might happen in our forthcoming league games against Arbroath and Hearts before the League Cup restarts and we face Raith Rovers and East Fife (36:48) Get to know one of the new faces in the ICT squad as Wallace Duffy chats with Riley who continues grafting for freebies (49:45) Nightmare XI is back for Hallowe’en but who is next in line for a place in the side? (59:50) We received some great questions on Twitter this week. We do our best to answer them with the return of mailbag (1:04:12)

25 years on On our 25th Anniversary game and a moment to remember the legend that set us on our way, Alan Hercher, many fans were left wondering if those that started it all would have been out of place on a day where the occasion was greater than the game. Inverness fumbled their way to three points thanks to a Miles Storey thunderbolt not dealt with by Arbroath keeper Darren Jamieson with around ten minutes left. It all started well for the Smokies as they took the lead in the 25th minute. A Jason Thomson cross found it's way to Bobby Linn standing all on his own at the far side of the box. He was given ample time to control the ball, tee it up and drive it into the net without being pestered by a defender. Shoddy from Inverness but Linn didn't care. We levelled the game just on half time when James Keatings threaded a great ball into the box and Aaron Doran ran onto it and slid the ball neatly home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John Robertson sprung a couple of surprises before kick off. Jordan White retained his place as main striker and Shaun Rooney started at right back after a lengthy lay off through injury in pre-season. Charlie Trafford was benched (huff) with James Vincent starting. Dick Campbell was without Gavin Swankie but danger man Steven Dorris started, however his day only lasted quarter of an hour. Almost 2300 fans welcomed the sides onto the park and with some original legends looking on, there was a rousing minutes applause to remember the legendary Alan Hercher who scored that memorable hat-trick in our opening League game 25 years ago against Arbroath. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Speaking on BBC Sport Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "There was a lot of distractions this week with everything going on - the 25th anniversary, fact it was Arbroath and the launch of the Alan Hercher Enclosure and our tribute to our first ever captain today. "I thought we started well. We lost a goal and it rocked us a bit but then we got a really good equaliser and we kept pressing and pressing and pressing and eventually got the goal." Arbroath manager Dick Campbell: "We are winning 1-0 and we end up losing 2-1 and the second goal is a mistake by the keeper - you would expect him any time to stop that shot. "I've no complaints about the way we are going about our jobs. We've seen in these first two games that we really have to work hard. But the harder you work the luckier you get." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The newly surfaced pitch looked in great condition considering the downpours in recent days and Arbroath were first to have a go but Mark Whatley's free kick went wide with Ridgers watching it closely. Aaron Doran responded at the other end but he shot tamely straight at the keeper and had a second effort stopped in similar fashion minutes later. Bobby Linn was proving to be the visitors best option and with Rooney getting little help from Walsh, he stood off him and that gave Linn the space to probe his way into the box and he saw one effort go over and Mark Ridgers save his second attempt. White headed wide and soon after Dorris was replaced by Michael McKenna, the striker unable to continue after picking up a knock. Inverness started to take control of the game at this point but we passed up on some great opportunities to open the scoring. Carson, Doran, Walsh and Keatings all having goes. The most audacious effort came from Keatings as he connected well with an overhead kick but Jamieson reacted well to save. Shortly after Jordan White headed tamely at Jamieson, Arbroath took the lead. A deep cross found Linn once more in space and he steadied himself before rifling a powerful shot through the keeper and into the net. Two minutes later he was given more space than the fans in the North Stand would have liked him to have but Ridgers saved his effort. However, Inverness worked their way back into the game and just on half time a brilliant ball from James Keatings saw Doran run through the middle to guide the ball home. Half Time 1-1 The second half had barely started when Arbroath almost snatched a second goal but a ball into the box was missed by defenders and forwards alike and the chance was gone. A swift break forward down the right saw Walsh cut a low ball into the path of Doran but his first time shot was somewhat strangled and Jamieson smothered the ball. One of the few incisive breaks forward amongst our mostly casual and pedestrian approach. Jamie McCart headed wide as the pressure mounted on the visiting defence and we would inflict more problems for them when Miles Storey replaced White on the hour. He showed some good pace when he sprinted down the left side on a surge but the move petered out after an Arbroath defender bounced of Storey as he flexed his muscles. Powerful stuff and it would pay off with just under ten minutes to go. Storey got his reward after a thumping shot caught out the keeper, the sheer power of it deceiving him. Maybe he should have been able to keep it out, however, I'll give Miles the benefit of the doubt as he unleashed his shot from around the same area that Linn scored from after Tom Walsh picked up a loose ball and drove across the face of the box before feeding on to Storey. We looked to get a third but some staunch defending kept us at bay and in time added on Mark Ridgers had to be alert to ensure we never turned a win into a draw after he saved a Luke Donnelly shot from close range low down near the post. So, not the classic we saw 25 years ago, but a welcome three points against a well organised Arbroath side who despite having Dorris replaced still caused problems for our disheveled defence with Bobby Linn their star man. Difficult to pick any standouts for Inverness but David Carson put in a good shift and did lots of tidying up so he get's my nod for best on the park. Miles Storey did well when he came on, his bustling style causing problems for the defenders and well done to Mark Ridgers for staying alert right to the final whistle. The real Man of the Match was Alan Hercher. Footage from Caley Jags TV Here's Robbo......... And he's Miles better now............ Date: 10/08/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2298 Referee: Mike Roncone Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers, Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Doran (Todorov 73), Carson, Vincent, Walsh, Keatings, White (Storey 60). Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, Machado, MacGregor, Trafford. Scorers: Doran (44), Storey (82) Booked: Donaldson (47) Sent Off: none Arbroath: 1 Lineup: Jamieson; Thomson, Little, O'Brien, Hamilton, Stewart (Donnelly 84), Murphy (Gold 74), Whatley, Linn, Doris (McKenna 16), Spence. Subs (not used): Gaston; Kader, Wilson Scorers: Linn (26) Booked: Spence (5) Sent Off: none a

All square with Ayr. Better late than never, the live stream burst onto the laptop 15 minutes before kick-off and it was game-on. Inverness had the first chance when Todorov headed off the underside of the bar, the ball adjudged not to have crossed the line. Todorov also slid one just wide as did Cameron Harper. Young keeper Silisano also made a couple of good saves to deny the eager hosts. Mark Ridgers made one great save and the ball ricocheted around the box like a game of bagatelle, but at the break it was 0-0 with Inverness making most of the running. Substitute Innes Cameron opened the scoring seconds after replacing Joe Chalmers before the hour. Nikolay Todorov squared matters with five minutes left. Ridgers denied Ayr at the death and a point apiece it was. It's the first live streamed match from the Caledonian Stadium and Ayr United were the visitors on a blustery October Saturday afternoon. It's another covid restricted game so no spectators allowed into the stadium. Nikolay Todorov was deemed fit enough to start, but Inverness were without Miles Storey, Sean Welsh, James Vincent, Aaron Doran, Lewis Toshney, Kevin McHattie, and David Carson. Shane Sutherland never made the squad either but Kai Kennedy would be available. Not a great start to the season for Inverness injury wise. That is possibly an award winning statement. Ayr have Luke McCowan suspended and Tom Walsh is out with a hamstring injury. New signing Cammy Smith started with Innes Cameron on the bench. What could possibly go wrong in the first live streamed game from the Caledonian Stadium. Well, that's another debate, it was watchable suffice to say. Maybe the camera's will be moved to the West side gantray as the low Autumn sun was causing as much havoc as the assistant referee's hairless head. On the park Todorov rattled the bar with a powered header and the ball bounced down and away in the first five minutes. Great effort from the big striker, the ball appeared to hit the bar, line, bar, line then scrambled away. Ooft! Ridgers made a superb one handed save in the 17th minute and from the following scrambulation, the ball ricocheted around before Brad Mckay popped up on the line to scoop clear. Cameron Harper fired a powerful free kick round the wall from the edge of the box but the keeper kept it out as Inverness controlled the pace of the game. Toddy went through on goal on a great ball forward but managed to hit the stanchion behind the goal instead of bulging the net. Good power from the big man, pity bout the finish. A loose ball on the angle of the box was curled wide as the hosts looked likeliest to open the scoring and a wonderful swift break from our own box saw Harper fed through on the left. Unfortunately his powerful shot rose just over the bar. Cammy redeemed more than his voucher moments later when he hooked one off his own line following an Ayr raid. That was a mere distraction from the attacking intent of the hosts and Daniel Mackay sent a swerving shot on target from distance that the Ayr keeper saved brilliantly. Half Time 0-0 However, we were undone by our own sloppiness just before the hour. Ayr substitute Innes Cameron slotted home calmly after an Inverness foray forward broke down tamely. Some shoddy backtracking and good speed from Ayr saw Cameron stroke the ball home tidily. Harsh on the hosts. The goal spurred Ayr on and Ridgers stooped to gather a shot from 25 yards comfortably. Kai Kennedy was introduced and he sent a long ball onto Toddy's head but the keeper gathered easily. Some frantic defending kept Inverness at bay as we probed for an equaliser. It would come in the 85th minute as Toddy turned on a super cross into the penalty area from substitute Ryan Fyffe and he wheeled before hitting it early, low behind a static keeper. Great goal and no more than we deserved. Into time added on and we had Ridgers to thank for pulling off a tremendous diving one handed save (think Mike Fraser against Celtic) to keep the score level. Top corner, top drawer. Considering our circumstances this was a good result with eight players missing. The debate about the streaming rages on elsewhere...... Official Match Report from ICTFC Highlights from Caley Jags TV Robbo talking post match https://www.facebook.com/ICTFC/videos/387817095577014 Date: 24/10/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Alan Muir Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay (Fyffe 75), Devine, MacGregor, Harper, Allardice, Keatings (Kennedy 71), D Mackay, Todorov. Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Harkness, Scorers: Todorov (86) Booked: Devine (54), Allardice (68) Duffy (90 +1) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 1 Lineup: Silisano; Muirhead, Reading, Baird, Roscoe; Miller, Murdoch, Chalmers (Cameron 57), Moffat (Houston 79) Smith (Hewit 90+2), Anderson. Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Kerr, Smith, McKenzie, Scorers: Cameron (57) Booked: Miller (62) Sent Off: none a

Ayr today, gone tomorrow It's matchday two this weekend in the Ladbrokes Championship and the visitors to the Caledonian Stadium are Ayr United who have two former Caley Jags players in their ranks. Tom Walsh and Joe Chalmers joined the Honest Men in the summer and could be in the squad this weekend for the game that kicks off at 3:00pm. It is of course another covid restricted game played behind closed doors, with Alan Muir the man in charge of proceedings. Ayr's one and only win at the Caledonian Stadium came in 2003. That's seventeen years ago, and since then it has been five draws and four defeats for the Honest Men. Live streaming is available for all home Championship games through your season ticket or PPV for any game. The Ayr game will be our first broadcast match and can be viewed through the SPFL Portal. Let's hope it all runs smoothly. The link below takes you to the SPFL Portal from where you can view the games. You must have already registered to gain access to this portal. All live matches available on the platform are broadcast from a Pixellot camera, one of which has been installed at each Scottish Championship ground. The camera is unmanned and uses ball tracking technology. These cameras will produce 1080p (HD) footage and the broadcast will come with commentary. What could possibly go wrong...... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live Streaming link & PPV Official ICTFC Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The opening fixtures saw mixed fortunes for the teams with Inverness going down 3-1 at East End Park. Nikolay Todorov had given us the lead in 88 seconds, converting a tantalising cross from Daniel Mackay. Unfortunately Pars captain Euan Murray scored his 4th goal of the season, all with the head, to level matters. Ryan Dow prodded home from close range as we failed to clear our lines in the last quarter of an hour and Declan McManus fired a superb strike into the top corner across keeper Mark Ridgers to seal the points. A disappointing outcome where we matched the home side for long spells but slackness at the back benefited Dunfermline who took full advantage and all three points with two goals in the final twelve minutes. To compound matters, goalscorer Todorov had to leave the pitch twenty minutes in after a nasty collision with Euan Murray where he took a heavy knock from which he never recovered. That's all three strikers crocked one game into the season to add to four other regulars that were unavailable. Meh! Here's the early strike from Toddy before he joined the crocked list...... Ayr opened their account by beating Queen of the South 2-1 at Somerset Park. Defender Michael Miller scored both goals with Stephen Dobbie grabbing a penalty for the Doonhamers. Both sides ended the game with ten men as Luke McCowan was sent off in stoppage time for Ayr with James Maxwell likewise for Queens just after the hour. Ayr had to thank nineteen year old Finnish keeper Viljami Sinisalo for making a magnificent save to deny Gregor Buchanan in the dying embers of time added on. A hard earned three points for Ayr, but it's three more than we got. Our injury woes are well documented with Miles Storey, Nikolay Todorov and Shane Sutherland all injured. David Carson, Lewis Toshney, Aaron Doran and Danny Devine all missed the Pars game although Devine was an unused sub. Kai Kennedy should be available after his isolation from the Scotland u19 squad covid problems. Dorans sketch is all we have seen of him so far this season. Here's the breakdown on the broken players: Lewis Toshney (hip flexor), Kevin McHattie (hip), David Carson (muscle), Miles Storey (torn hamstring), Nikolay Todorov (rib and lung bruising), Aaron Doran (knee) and Shane Sutherland (hamstring strain). Dario Zanatta was rested for the opener and Tom Walsh also missed out. Walsh has the Caley Jags jinx, hamstring problems. However, Joe Chalmers played and Patrick Reading made his competitive debut. Bruce Anderson and Michael Miller also featured and young Finnish keeper Sinisalo had a good afternoon. Other Championship fixtures this weekend. ARBROATH 0-1 HEARTS (Fri) ALLOA v DUNFERMLINE DUNDEE v MORTON QUEENS v RAITH ***LATEST TEAM NEWS*** John Robertson is without a number of players, particularly up front with Miles Storey and Nikolay Todorov out. Shane Sutherland is struggling to be ready in time and will be assessed late. Aaron Doran and David Carson have not featured in pre-season and Lewis Toshney was injured during it. Kai Kennedy has met his new pals and will enter the squad. Hopefully he will get some time on the park. Danny Devine will be fit enough to be included as he made the bench last week. Brad Mckay and Kevin McHattie have had to play in the opening games despite not being up to speed yet after a disjointed pre-season. Jesus Christ, he's like buses. Nothing for eight months then two images at the same time. Hi Aaron, hiya pal! Remember, all will be revealed soon as we enter the age of streaming where video will be the order of the day, so stay tuned to any statements coming from ICTFC or any of their media outlets such as Facebook or Twitter. Ayr signed Dundee United midfielder Cammy Smith on loan two days before they came North and he will go straight into their squad. He is signed until January, as is striker Innes Cameron who comes in on loan from Kilmarnock ahead of the trip North. Jordan Houston could return along with Zanatta, but Walsh looks set for another week or two on the sidelines. Luke McCowan is suspended after his late sending off against Queen of the South last Saturday. The evergreen Michael Moffat will be a threat as always. The 35 year old is still one to be watched and along with Cammy Smith will provide the pace and ammunition for the rest. Don't forget to check out all the latest from the fabulous Wyness Shuffle guys....