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  1. Basement battle continues. Inverness welcome Motherwell on Wednesday night as the frantic festive football continues with another game where points are getting more crucial as the season goes on. 4 4 40. That's not a new football formation or our goals against column, not even our win-draw-defeat column, but it has been causing a bit of a kerfuffle.A pricing initiative to get more bums on seats has not gone down well at Well. Apparently the season of goodwill did not extend as far as away fans and they are not amused. For home fans, it means that four people can get in for £40, that's £10 a head. Great offer for us, but maybe seen as a bit harsh on the far travelled visitors, many who would have been carrying gifts as they travelled to our stable at this time of year. Merry Xmas.. Our last game ended in defeat at Ibrox on Xmas Eve, but not for the want of trying. we outplayed Rangers but Foderingham put in a great shift to deny the Inverness forwards, saving the day on three or four occasions, and when a gift came along, Liam Polworth picked his spot from eighteen yards. Unfortunately that spot was just the wrong side of the post. To rub salt into the wounds, we even scored the goal for Rangers, Brad Mckay being the unfortunate recipient of a Martyn Waghorn ball into the box, the ball cannoning off his shins and into the net. Even worse, it was his sore shins. Motherwell's last outing also ended in defeat at the hands of the Dons. Former Inverness players Graeme Shinnie and Adam Rooney scored in the first half, as did Scott McDonald for the Steelmen, but Niall McGinn settled it with a late third. So, 3-1 defeat it was, the same score we managed against the Dons just over a month ago. Motherwell were the last side Inverness beat. Mind you, there has only been three, the others being Dundee and St Johnstone. Our win at Motherwell was as surprising as it was welcome. A three goal blitz in the second half saw us cruise home with the three points thanks to goals from Carl Tremarco, Lonsana Doumbouya and Liam Polworth. That result put us into the top-six and we were looking to kick on from there; we are still waiting and we have now reached the bottom of the pile. We are now eight games without a win, Motherwell have no wins in their last five. We have the usual crop of walking wounded with Kev McNaughton and David Raven out longer term and Lewis Horner added to that for at least a couple of months. Alex Fisher and Scott Boden got an airing at Ibrox. The keeper crisis is ongoing but both were prepared to play despite lingering niggles. Motherwell's Carl McHugh could be fit enough to be included in the squad but captain Keith Lasley has a shoulder injury that could rule him out. Joe Chalmers, Kieran Kennedy, Jacob Blyth and Ross MacLean are all set to miss out. tm4tj prediction:- It's been a tough couple of months and a disappointing run of results without a win, but there were very encouraging signs against Rangers that our outfield play deserves better. We will be more positive at home and play with at least one wide player, possibly utilising the pace and trickery of Mulraney to provide the ammunition our strikers need. A win would be a fabulous result but a draw seems to be the likeliest outcome. Greg Tansey looks like he will be away at the end of the season, choosing not to renew his contract. We need that kind of player in our side, but we need one that is fully focused on giving his all for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Old Caley Girl made sure we had our Preview organised and sent this one in as well, two for the price of one, enjoy....... Things are not getting any better in ICT land with festive results not doing us any favours and we found ourselves bottom of the league before taking to the pitch on Saturday at Ibrox. Despite reports of an excellent performance we still did not win and the need for us to start winning is becoming desperate. No wins in 8 is relegation form and the only saving grace is that the league is so close and means a couple of wins can propel you up the table. Motherwell are the visitors tonight and it goes without saying that it is a game we must not allow ourselves to lose. The ugliest win imaginable would be acceptable. Motherwell themselves will be desperate to win this one having not won themselves in 5 games and having only won on the road once this season. Keith Lasley is major doubt with a shoulder injury and Chalmers, Kennedy, Blyth and MacLean are definitely out. Carl McHugh may feature, for the visitors, having been out with concussion since August. There is a bit of chat on the Motherwell forums about giving Dean Brill his chance. Could we see the return of “Deano” at the TCS albeit in the wrong colours. As to ourselves, Richie Foran is looking for a bit of consistency from the players. A lack of goals is a worrying feature as is our failure to keep more than one clean sheet this season. Raven, McNaughton and Horner are definitely out with Ryan Esson apparently a major doubt. There is also a lot of press speculation about potential moves in the January transfer window especially regarding Tansey and Meekings. The players need to keep thoughts of moves out of their heads tonight and dig in to obtain us the result that we so badly need. OCG Prediction – Hoping we can keep the 3 points in the Highlands and obtain a 3rd home win of the season but I predict a score draw with 1-1 the most likely.
  2. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  3. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Rangers -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 24/12/2016 @ 12:30PM, Ibrox Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  4. Inverness were dealt a blow when an own goal from Brad Mckay was enough to give Rangers all three points despite the hosts being played off the park by a lively Inverness. Martyn Waghorn cut along the byeline and prodded the ball into the box, unfortunately it cannoned off Mckay for the only goal of the game. The goal came seconds after Lonsana Doumbouya spurned a great chance to score at the other end, Foderingham stopping the ball on the line as the big striker looked to be impeded before poking the ball goalwards. Larnell Cole almost benefited from slack play across the Rangers back line but Foderingham saved well again. Greg Tansey saw another effort saved by the keeper and Carl Tremarco almost got on the end of a deep cross that was just missed by Doumbouya as the visitors dominated in everything but the scoreline.. The best chance before the break fell to Liam Polworth after another cock-up in the home defence, alas he side footed the ball just the wrong side of the post. It was more of the same after the break but Rangers did break forward occasionally only for players to squander the chances. Owain Fon Williams was a virtual spectator as Inverness searched for the goal their slick play deserved, but he was eventually called into action to deny Jason Holt an undeserved second for the hosts. The last major action saw Foderingham deny sub Alex Fisher who spun and fired a superb volley towards the top of the goal, unfortunately the keeper was alert enough to tip it over for a corner. Full Time 1-0 So, bottom of the table as expected, but that was as good a performance as we have had all season and deserving of so much more. I'm not sure the goal will stick with Waghorn as it was going across the face of the goal before striking Mckay, but we will have to wait and see on that one. As I said, great performance, but wrong result. Motherwell next, a win would be nice. Alternative Maryhill was slightly more restrained in his summary. Really frustrating to come away without anything there. We looked stronger at the back than we have in ages - Meekings was superb and Mckay again showed that he has been an excellent signing - and we pressed the ball really well further up the park; Tansey and Doumbouya deserve particular praise in this regard. Cole also had probably his best game for us to date - nominally starting on the left of a three behind Doumbouya, he actually played a bit of a free role and looked far more willing take players on than he has in previous games. The drawback of the line-up and tactics we adopted was that we were very short of pace up front, and, especially with Doumbouya dropping back to support so much, we lacked anyone overlapping or taking the ball on. The chances we created - and there were more than there have have been for a while - were mostly created through sheer hard graft, forcing Rangers back by degrees. The fact that we weren't able to take any of them points to a fundamental weakness in the current squad that will probably see us struggling all season, even if we can turn in performances as impressive as this on a consistent basis. Then again, six points against Motherwell and County and we could be back in the top six for the start of 2017. Funny league this year. Merry Christmas btw, CTO folks. Richie Foran was quoted on BBC Sport as saying "I think the fact Rangers struggled is all down to us. I thought we controlled the game and absolutely dominated the first half. We cut them open on numerous occasions and were solid at the back. I can't ask for much more than that We were just lacking that wee bit of magic. Unfortunately we were up against a goalkeeper in unbelievable form. It's soul-destroying how we don't come away with more than a point today." Date: 24/12/16 Venue: Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow Attendance: 48,528 Referee: Don Robertson Rangers: 1 Lineup: Foderingham; Hodson, Kiernan, Hill, Wallace; Tavernier (Windass 58), Halliday, Holt; Waghorn (Forrester 70), Garner, McKay (Miller 58) Subs (not used): Gilks, Wilson, Dodoo, O’Halloran Scorers: Waghorn (13) Booked: Tavernier (42) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, McKay, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Tansey, Polworth, Draper, Cole (Boden 83), Vigurs (Doran 72), Doumbouya (Fisher 78) Subs (not used): Esson, Mulraney, King, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Cole (36), Vigurs (45), Meekings (84) Sent Off: none a
  5. Ho Ho Ho It's Xmas Eve and we have to get on our sleigh and head to the home of the bad Santa's at Ibrox to deliver our Xmas presents. Wrapped up nicely ready for delivery are no clean sheets, loads of injuries, gift goals and Richie Foran's beard, bless him. And to make matters worse, Barbara is on her way and we kick off at 12:30, yes, you read that right, 12:30 (in the afternoon). It's a daunting task at any time of the year, but the powers that be think it's no problem to go to Govan on Christmas Eve for a wee kick about with the bears. Maybe someone should send them a calendar and a map for New Year so they can get the fixture list sorted. Anyway, the bears den it is and we just have to get on with it. The Rangers have done as well as could be expected after their meteoric rise through the divisions, lurking in the top quarter of the Premiership. With Aberdeen fluffing their lines at Dingwall and Hearts stuttering under new boss Ian Cathro, the Gers find themselves a distant second behind Champions elect Celtic and look like being the best bet for the second spot and the Euro place that goes along with it. It's all happening below them though as seven or eight teams vie for the right to enter the Championship. Unfortunately, one of the front runners at the moment are Inverness Caledonian Thistle. However, this can all change at the drop of a Santa hat, noticeable last weekend as County displaced Kilmarnock in the top-six for now, being the only winners from the bottom half. Last time out the Rangers held on to beat Hamilton Accies at the Superseal Stadium thanks to a brace from Martyn Waghorn. Dougie Imrie made their keekie winkers twitch with a late strike but it was the Blues that took all three points to tuck in behind Celtic. Our last game saw us score late again to earn a point at Rugby Park. Souleymane Coulibaly scored a contentious stunner only for Gary Warren to level matters to get us what looked like a distant point at times during the game. Credit to us for keeping the energy levels high despite suffering more injury blows with Lonsana Doumbouya, Brad Mckay and Lewis Horner all being replaced because of injury. The Ibrox club are on a great run of results in their last nine games since losing to Celtic. Their only defeat was 2-0 at Tynecastle, but they rectified that a couple of games later by beating the Jambos at Ibrox by the same score. Three wins on the trot and five games without defeat at Ibrox sends out a grim message to Inverness that this is not going to be an enjoyable festive frolic. We have scored only two goals less than the Rangers but it's in defence where the difference is obvious as we have conceded almost twice as many as them (34 to 18). Our last result at Ibrox was a 3-0 League Cup win in October 2012. Goals from Andy Shinnie and Gary Warren were added to by a Graeme Shinnie penalty. The first encounter this season was won by a stunning Kenny Miller volley as Inverness offered their visitors the freedom of the park. Our generosity knows no bounds. It looks as though we withdraw our attacking intent when we go on the road and remove Mulraney, Doran, and King looking to fill the midfield with more bodies instead. Problem with this is that we can't buy a clean sheet either and once we start chasing the game it's difficult to see where the goals are going to come from. Our one paced midfield has to work harder and will need to get up to speed quickly at Ibrox or they will be overrun. Injuries are rearing their ugly head once more with three players limping out of Rugby Park. Lewis Horner took a more than robust challenge and will be out for a couple of months with knee damage. Brad Mckay suffered a bleeding nose on top of his sore shins courtesy of Graeme Shinnie against Aberdeen and Lonsana Doumbouya was singled out for some rough treatment. It was good to have Liam Polworth back though, and sooner than expected as well, so that's a bonus. Keeper crisis is ongoing with both still suffering in silence. Kev McNaughton will be out for months and David Raven till at least the end of January. Scott Boden and Alex Fisher are ready for action. Mark Warburton can look forward to this one with less pessimism. The Joey Barton revolution looks like it's over. Apparently he likes a bet and he is set to join Burnley again. Jordan Rossiter and Nico Krancjar will miss out but Matt Crooks, and Josh Windas should be available for selection. tm4tj prediction:- I'm expecting the worst to be honest and fully expect us to be propping up the league by the time 2017 comes along. We are dangerous when the chips are down but if our heads go down as well we could be on a steep learning curve here. We have taken points from Ibrox before but will need to be at our best and cut out the slackness. I'll happily take a point now although I fear that is more a wish than a prediction. Interesting times ahead and we could do with more attacking intent, drive in midfield and a no nonsense defender. The Xmas wish list will be sent to Santa, I hope he has the presents that Richie requires, although we will maybe have to wait until the January sales to get our bargains. I'm not sure it will be a Whyte Christmas at Ibrox, but it could be a white Christmas in the Highlands. Rock Star Rod, AKA Naelifts has this Xmas message for everyone................ And finally, Richie looks ahead to the challenge at the bears den.................. Merry Christmas
  6. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Kilmarnock -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 17/12 @ 3PM, Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  7. Injuries ruin our chances. Inverness came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock in a game marred by more injuries to our already creaking squad. Souleymane Coulibaly scored a superb individual goal, his eleventh of the season, but captain Gary Warren cancelled that out as he headed home with six minutes remaining. That result keeps us second bottom with Ross County the only bottom team to pick up three points, and that was enough for them to replace Killie in the top six. Gary Warren returned to the starting XI with injury ravaged Owain Fon Williams and Lewis Horner taking their places in defence. In an attempt to bolster the midfield, Brad Mckay played in front of the back four, and Foran started with Lonsana Doumbouya the lone target man. Larnell Cole kept his place after his fine performance last week. Wide players Jake Mulraney, Aaron Doran and Billy King all started on the bench alongside Liam Polworth who has returned sooner than anticipated from injury. Killie had injury worries of their own and youngster Ian Wilson was given a start at the back with Scott Boyd missing out. It was a pretty dour first half with the home side occasionally threatening. In one such attack Josh Meekings made a tremendous clearance off the line after Nathan Tyson had clipped the ball over Owain Fon Williams. He did enough to hook the ball away from the goal line and Brad Mckay completed the clearance to avert a certain goal. Nick Walsh was called into question when the ball came off an Inverness arm in a goalmouth scramble but that would have been harsh had he penalised it. He was asked again and this time it could easily have been given as a cross was blocked by an elbow on the edge of the box. We struggled to make much headway in the first half, not helped by injuries to Doumbouya, Horner and Mckay. Fisher replacing the big striker after twenty-one minutes. Polworth replaced the nose bloodied Brad Mckay at the break. Lewis Horner struggled on until the hour before leaving the field, replaced by Billy King. Gary Warren had our only effort of note in the first forty-five but his header went wide. He would do better late in the game. Half Time 0-0 Billy King entered the fray and flashed a shot wide soon after and it looked as though the pace of the game had changed as we ventured forward. However, clean sheets are difficult to come by and Kilmarnock took the lead through a piece of individual magic. Coulibaly scored his wonder goal in the second half, although there was an element of good fortune about it. When he gathered a long ball on the corner of our eighteen yard box, their seemed little danger. The ball bounced up and he controlled it with his arm. Undaunted and unpunished, he twisted and turned substitute Liam Polworth onto the ground before firing a high shot into the keepers near post as defenders closed on him. Chances were at a premium, but Inverness found a way back into the game through captain Gary Warren. Greg Tansey fired a free kick into the box and the Killie rearguard parted to allow Warren every opportunity to head the ball down into the corner past a diving Jamie MacDonald. Just what we needed to get us off the foot of the table again and the game ended with no further scoring. Full Time 1-1 A draw was just about deserved as both sides had their moments on the ascendancy, but Killie will feel they might have nicked it with the one cleared off the line and a couple of penalty claims that were turned down. We came out stronger in the second half and did well to get back on level terms, so we won't complain about a share of the points. Rig saw it like this Really poor game overall. We lacked any attacking intent in the first half and seemed to have no plan for most of the game other than lump balls towards Doumbouya and Fisher. It was desperate stuff. Second half was a bit better but still we lacked an real incisive play in the final third. We seem to absolutely refuse to try and use our wingers and try and cross the ball into the box for the striker to attack. Looked like there was a hint of a handball when Coulibaly took the ball down when he scored the opener. Still, poor defending from Polworth to let him cut back inside and Fon Williams beaten again at his near post. Atrocious marking for our equaliser. Warren seemed to get in between two Kille players and still had a free header to plant the ball past MacDonald. Injuries really disrupted us today. Doumbouya, Horner and Mckay all taken off. Our reorganisation was a bit odd. Polworth at right back was strange. Far rather have Meekings there, drop Draper into defence and stick Polworth into midfield. He (Polworth) seemed to be one of the very few ICT players willing to carry the ball forward instead of battering it towards Fisher. Massively underwhelming first half performance, slightly improved second half but there's a lot of work to be done specifically in terms of our attacking play. We remain one dimensional, predictable and largely toothless. Think we deserved a draw but there's a lot of concerns there for me from an ICT point of view Immortal Howden Ender picked out different highlights in his summary. That was the best away day in years. The game was frenetic. It was highly entertaining and surprisingly competitive. I witnessed levels of skill and endeavour that I had never seen in certain individuals before. But then, unfortunately, the Hang The Man competition ended and we had to go to the game. How the feck did Mary Hill get Bahram Fetai !! The game itself was wholly forgettable. Up until the Coulibally goal BOTH teams served up dire stuff. The game only really heated up after they scored. We did show a lot of guts to recover but they went defensive and paid the price. Speaking to Killie fans afterwards they said that they had been doing the same all season. The goal was terrific and I had to celebrate with a piked, double somersault over the seats in front of me - ably abetted (feckin pushed) by King Beastie. And RedCard organised and won the goalscorer award and Warren could have had time to do a turn in the Hang the Man competition whilst he strolled in for the equaliser. The "spirit" certainly was there. Agree with what SuperFan posted earlier. Strange substitution but injuries are taking their toll. Strange to see the Walrus parading around with a huge ice pack on feckin freezing day and blood oozing from the two others. Tremarco was my clear MOM although Meekings was close. And we have no "teeth" up front. Date: 17/12/16 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3294 Referee: Nick Walsh Kilmarnock: 1 Lineup: MacDonald, Hendrie, Boyle, Wilson, Taylor, McKenzie, Smith, Dicker, Jones, Tyson, Coulibaly Subs (not used): Mackay, Bojaj, Frizzell, Smith, Hawkshaw, Cameron, Adams Scorers: Coulibaly (73) Booked: Taylor (63), Smith (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Vigurs, Tansey, Horner (King 52), Mckay (Polworth 46), Doumbouya (Fisher 20), Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Doran, Mulraney, Boden Scorers: Warren (84) Booked: Draper (16), Polworth (90) Sent Off: none a
  8. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  9. Killie Challenge for Caley Jags It's the long haul this Saturday as we head for Rugby Park to take on sixth place Kilmarnock, a mere three points ahead of us in eleventh spot. With seven teams vying for the last top-six space and relegation at the same time, it's anyone's guess as to who is the favourites for these positions. Often a fruitful day out in previous years, but we have faltered in the last two fixtures at Rugby Park going down on both occasions. The first encounter of this season was in the Highlands and it ended with the points shared, but it took a very late goal from Lonsana Doumbouya to cancel out an early Coulibaly penalty. We had won the previous one at Inverness at the end of last season quite comfortably and many expected an easier ride than we got from a revamped Kilmarnock side, but they are proving to be a match for all in the top-six relegation battle. I know it's a bit early in the season to be calling it a relegation battle, but that's the nature of the beast. If you are not going for Europe, then it's a downhill struggle below that. Killie have clambered to sixth slot but like the rest are showing signs of fluctuating fortunes. A 2-0 win over Dundee was followed by a 5-1 thrashing at Pittodrie before steadying the ship last week with a goalless draw at Motherwell. We ended a run of four straight defeats by drawing at home to Hamilton in what turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining game. Still hit by injury and suspension, we managed to get a team on the park and despite going behind, we came back strongly to get a deserved draw. Either side will feel they could have nicked this one but a draw keeps the status quo. Larnell Cole was our star performer against the Accies and topped it off with a fine goal, his first for the club. Clean sheets are a problem for us this season with only one so far. A changing defence through injury and suspension is not helping and the midfield need to work harder to help out the defence when needed. Inverness will be able to call on the services of Gary Warren, back after his one match ban for his unnecessary sending off against St Johnstone. David Raven, will be offered a six month contract extension, but he is out injured for another couple of months. Liam Polworth has made great progress and has resumed full training, however this might be a game too early for the young midfielder, but a late fitness test will let us know if he is ready. Our keeper crisis is still ongoing although it looks as though Fon Williams will play through his back injury whilst Ryan Esson is still suffering with a groin injury. Better news up front is that Scott Boden looks to have shaken off his ankle knock and will be included in the squad. Other strike option Alex Fisher could also be included. Killie have two central defenders missing for this clash. Miles Addison is out for a couple of months after having foot surgery. Jonathan Burn is also out and that means that Scott Boyd and Will Boyle are Lee Clark's only recognised centre backs available. Others missing are Kris Boyd, Greg Kiltie and full back Dapo Kayode. tm4tj prediction:- Given that we were rubbish on the road at Dundee and Perth, I'm not filled with confidence going in to this one. On the other hand, Warren should take his place at the heart of the defence and Brad Mckay can revert to right back. Hopefully Owain Fon Williams will have less back spasms to deal with and a clean sheet will do his confidence no harm. Midfield is an area we are struggling. Ross Draper has been a constant, but Iain Vigurs leaves a lot to be desired, mainly due to his work rate although he was noticeably more active against Accies last week. Larnell Cole deserves another chance after his last performance which might mean attacking wide players Mulraney, King or Doran will be vying for the right to supply Lonsana Doumbouya with the ammunition he needs. Killie will rightly feel they have enough to be able to take all three points and we have to be wary of that. Coulibaly has proven to be a handful having scored ten times this campaign.They showed fleet of foot on the break when they came North and we will do well to match their pace going forward. Any team going on a two or three game winning streak will pull away from the rest. It's hard to see if that will be us, but a point would be a decent result. Richie looks ahead to the plastic pitch encounter and talks about our keeper crisis. and Dave the Rave has his say on where he is at just now................
  10. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Hamilton PREVIEW 10th Dec @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  11. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  12. Cole Goal Earns Point Larnell Cole scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Hamilton as Accies once more surrendered the lead in an entertaining encounter in the Highlands. This point was enough to lift us off the foot of the table for now as Partick Thistle take over at the bottom. Injuries and suspension robbed Inverness of their standard back line but Brad Mckay and Lewis Horner stepped in to a makeshift back four with Gary Warren suspended and David Raven injured. Mckay was not 100% fit, but that did not deter him from taking to the field to bolster our fragile defence. Fon Williams also took to the field nursing back pain and that was evident as Accies opened the scoring. Accies were coming North with high hopes of a result given their decent record in Inverness in recent times, having won on their last two visits. When Jake Mulraney gave away a free kick wide of our eighteen yard box, there seemed little imminent danger as Ali Crawford sized up his options. I'm not totally convinced his choice was a shot, or was it a low ball to the keepers near post but the end product was a goal as the ball deceived Fon Williams to bounce just inside his near post when a cross looked on the cards. It had been a bright opening quarter as we buzzed around the Accies half with Larnell Cole and Jake Mulraney scampering forward at pace. Lonsana Doumbouya was getting well involved and causing havoc in the Accies rearguard and things looked promising up till this point. Fon Williams stuck up an apologetic glove to the unimpressed fans behind the goal as Accies celebrated this early Xmas gift. Still, plenty of time to get back into the game and we surged forward at will, but as per norm, found Accies a tough nut to crack. A deep cross from Lewis Horner caused problems in the visitors goalmouth and when Doumbouya nodded goalwards, it was knocked clear by the hand of defender Dan Seaborne. Penalty was the obvious choice, but we are talking about Scottish referee's here and play continued without anything given. Rather odd considering Mr Aitken had a good view of the incident. Doumbouya was giving the defenders more hassle and he headed a through ball down towards Iain Vigurs. The ball broke kindly to Mulraney but a despairing lunge by a defender blocked what would have been a certain goal. Greg Tansey twisted and turned his way into the box on the end of a ball forward, but as defenders fell around him, he took one turn too many and the chance was lost as former County keepr Gary Woods narrowed the angle to make a tremendous block and deny the twinkle toed midfielder. I felt he could easily have scored with one touch less as he looked for the immaculate finish. We cut open Accies again as Ross Draper was brilliantly set up by Doumbouya and a busier than usual Iain Vigurs, but he lashed his effort from the edge of the box just over the bar when it looked easier to score. Plenty to enthuse over in a busy first half, but no goals for us as the visitors went in at the break a goal to the good despite Inverness dominating the game. Half Time 0-1 Just after the interval D'Acol brought out a smart save by Fon Williams, low to his left and Doumbouya headed just wide at the other end. We started to up the pace even more after the break and six minutes in we were rewarded with a spanking goal from Larnell Cole, his first for us. Mulraney and Vigurs combined well as they entered the box before Cole stepped in to lash the ball high into the net from seventeen yards, ably assisted by the underside of the bar. Fabulous goal and great reward for the young loan star. That goal opened the game out once more and Accies tried to get their noses in front again. It took a flying save from Fon Williams to prevent them from doing so as a tackle come shot was heading for the top corner before the keepers timely intervention. It was end to end stuff now as the action picked up and Tansey was foiled again, this time it looked as though his goalbound shot struck the back of his own players legs and the ball was hacked clear by a relieved defence. Ali Crawford saw an effort similar to Draper's one curl just over as both teams looked for a winner, but try as they might it never came. Fon Williams made a meal of a long range free kick, pushing the ball out when it looked easier to gather it, but hey ho, he kept the ball out this time. and as the Hamilton corner count increased the game ended with no further scoring. Full Time 1-1 Both sides will feel they could have won this game and fair play to Hamilton for coming out of their shell and having a go to make it an enjoyable spectacle for the fans. Good to see that Fon Williams has a sense of humour after his suspect positioning for the Accies goal. Another free kick in a similar location saw a stinging comment from one fan who shouted, "mind your near post this time". Despite the occasion, he found time to give the thumbs up to quell any fears we all had. Happy days. To be fair to the keeper, he had been struggling all week to make the game and it was touch and go whether we would actually have a keeper at all with Esson also unable to kick properly. Ross Draper courted a red card after his booking earlier in the game. We all held our breath as he made a couple of robust challenges. Careful Ross, Careful. tm4tj MotM is going to Larnell Cole, not just for his tremendous goal but his work rate was good and he got involved in plenty of attacks. This was a vast improvement from the grim performance at Perth and with news that Liam Polworth, Alex Fisher and Scott Boden are nearing full fitness then things will hopefully pick up. Gary Warren should be back from suspension so we might have a full bench next week. Anyway, good to come back and get a point, a point that lifts us off the bottom. Date: 10/12/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2473 Referee: Greg Aitken Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Meekings, Draper, Vigurs, Mulraney, Tansey, Horner (King 86), Mckay, Doumbouya, Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Doran, Sutherland, Gilchrist, Robertson, Maclennan. Scorers: Cole (51) Booked: Draper (35), McKay (85), King (89) Sent Off: none Hamilton Acc: 1 Lineup: Woods, Seaborne, Gillespie, Imrie, Docherty, D'Acol (Redmond 67), Crawford, Longridge (Bingham 67), Mackinnon, McMann, Sarris. Subs (not used): Thomson, Brophy, Donati, Cunningham, Hughes Scorers: Crawford (16) Booked: Imrie (57), Gillespie (73), McMann (75) Sent Off: none a
  13. Winning Ugly Will Do Due to results last week, we find ourselves looking up the table at the rest of the teams in the league and the visit of Hamilton takes on a bit more significance given the respective position of both teams. It doesn't have to be pretty, it's points that matter. We have hit rock bottom after defeat at Perth and from here on, the only way is up. It's still early days, but given our indifferent form and injury problems then it's difficult to see an instant solution to the mini crisis that we find ourselves in. Of course, we are not helping our cause by having key players suspended at a time when injuries are wreaking havoc with our continuity. Greg Tansey, Lewis Horner and now Gary Warren have all fallen foul of the beaks in the last few weeks and that was on top of injuries robbing us of Liam Polworth in midfield and with defenders David Raven and Brad Mckay out it has left us struggling to fill the vacancies. Last time out we went down after an insipid display in Perth. It ended 3-0 to St Johnstone and we can have no complaints after Gary Warren was stupidly sent packing. Luxury midfielder Iain Vigurs has been taking some flak for his lackadaisical approach and inability to track back after giving away possession. This has been well documented in recent topics on the forum and it's something that needs addressed. The lack of protection for our overworked defence is one reason we are conceding more goals than ever. As for the Accies, they once more let a lead slip after Alex D'Acol opened the scoring 15 minutes in. As is their trademark this season, they turned three points into one when Partick equalised through Welsh on the hour. We think our season is bad with only three wins to date, Well Accies can top that with just two wins. The reason they are above us is nine draws. They have the ability to turn defeats into draws, whereas we manage to turn draws into defeats. In saying that, there is only one point between the clubs. The league is so congested we could jump from 12th to 6th depending on other results provided we can beat Accies. On the other hand, defeat would be a bit of a mini disaster. The first meeting between the clubs this season ended in stalemate but it took a very late Liam Polworth strike to snatch a point after D'Acol scored in the eighteenth minute. That ended a six game winning sequence at New Douglas Park for us and it was the second time in a week that Accies had thrown away a winning advantage. Times have changed though and since Richie Foran won the manager of the month award in September, the curse has struck and we find ourselves floundering at the bottom, unable to stick together a run of results to steer clear of problems. It's the same for all the clubs in the lower part of the league though as only the top five are making any headway with Celtic the clear winners at this stage. They did everybody else a favour last night by beating Partick Thistle. A chink of light at the end of the injury tunnel as news that Liam Polworth is making better than expected progress on his injured ankle and could return within the month or sooner. Even better news is that Brad Mckay could return against Accies to ease our defensive problems and on top of that Lewis Horner is free from suspension, albeit he is just a stop gap defender at the moment, but this will be seen as an opportunity to further his case for inclusion every week with David Raven out for at least another month. Gary Warren is suspended and that's a blow as our defence has been creaking all season. Up front Alex Fisher and Scott Boden are both out and that leaves big Lonsana Doumbouya on his lonesome again. Accies have midfielder Gramos Kurtaj out for around a month with an ankle knock. Also out are long term absentees Remi Mathews (GK), Jesus Garcia and Craig Watson. tm4tj prediction:- Oh dear, if ever we needed a morale boosting win, it has to be today against one of the other seven sides in fear of relegation. Below St Johnstone, nobody is safe and any side that can get a winning run going will feel an awful lot better. We are terrible at the back this season with an unsettled formation due to injuries and suspension. Our midfield is depleted and work shy and up front it's the same old same old with a lone striker and underachieving wide players I don't see much changing to be honest as we struggle to get players on the park. Accies have always given youth a chance and in Ali Crawford they have a match winner worth watching closely. We have never found it easy to get the better of Hamilton in the Highlands and I don't see it being any different today. As we find it embarrassingly difficult to keep a clean sheet, I'm going for a score draw as Accies dig in. Nothing new there.
  14. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 3rd December @ 3PM, McDiarmid Park, Perth Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  15. Rock Bottom Inverness have sunk as low as they can for now as St Johnstone inflicted more misery than you could shake a stick at. A 3-0 defeat at Perth has us at rock bottom in more ways than one. The 3-0 defeat was misery enough, but Gary Warren saw fit to get himself sent off moments after being booked. We are not helping ourselves here with additional suspensions on top of injuries to crucial players. Liam Craig opened the scoring in the first quarter and Murray Davidson added a second around the hour as Warren left the field. The rout was completed when Danny Swanson knocked home the third. By all accounts, we were pretty limp. Injury crisis time once more for Inverness with two right backs out injured and a third suspended. It doesn't rain but it pours, and with Polworth missing from midfield we were down to the bare bones. Josh Meekings went to full back and Ross Draper was used as a makeshift centre back. Larnell Cole started in midfield. St Johnstone got a boost with Murray Davidson starting and Joe Shaughnessy also fit enough to get a game. As is the norm for these encounters it was a fairly low key opening to the game, with Danny Swanson and Larnell Cole trying their luck at either end but that changed after fourteen minutes when Inverness lost the ball in midfield. Poor tracking back allowed Liam Craig to find plenty space inside the box and he calmly send a low strike into the net from twelve yards. Great strike, but woeful defending and application from the visitors. Craig had an effort from distance well watched by Fon Williams as St Johnstone took control of proceedings and the only attempt of note came from a Carl Tremarco header that caused little concern. Half Time 1-0 The customary dull first forty-five would liven up somewhat after the break, but none of that had much to do with a lethargic Inverness. Josh Meekings was fortunate not to give away a penalty after a shove in the back on Richard Foster. Clumsy stuff from Meekings, and that set the tone for our defending thereafter. Gary Warren took on the mantle of chief clumsiness the pantomime villain and he was booked for a series of minor indiscretions. That would catch up with the veteran defender just moments later when he challenged for a ball with the tricky Danny Swanson who made Warren look like a rugby player. He barged over the Perth player and can have no complaints over the red card that followed. Poor decision making from an experienced player who had left his team further exposed, not only for this game, but for the next one as well. It got worse once the free kick was taken as Murray Davidson turned on the ball as it was fired low into the box to beat Williams for the second time from around eight yards from the left side of the six-yard box. Iain Vigurs suffered the same fate as Foster, and the result was the same, no penalty as Inverness tried to force their way back into the game, and Billy King fired a decent shot just over, but it was an uphill struggle and we looked like we were treading treacle. Two down and playing with a man short the game was well and truly up when Brian Easton ran onto a long through ball to play in Danny Swanson who wasted no time in taking one touch before smacking the ball home from fifteen yards. Good goal to round off the scoring from the quality player on the park. Full Time 3-0 Plenty to ponder over for Richie Foran as we hit the bottom of the league after yesterday's results. Injuries and suspensions are crippling us just now. That's Tansey, Horner and Warren all missing games for sending off's and that's not good enough at a time when we need experience on the park. They are no use sitting in the stand watching a bench filled with youngsters as those that are not injured try to get us out of this fine mess. Here's a couple of observations from those at the game. Alternative Maryhill was less than impressed with the contribution of some. "Warren has looked shaky this season, but he hasn't been helped by having a player who can't tackle and who has no pace - Iain Vigurs - playing ahead of him in deep midfield all season. I understand the thinking behind playing Draper further forward earlier this season, but why on earth Vigurs has consistently been preferred to Polworth in the centre when both have been available is completely beyond me and is, imho, probably the most significant factor in using having the worst defensive record in the league. It was shown again with the opener today, when Craig seemed able to just stroll onto the ball, completely untroubled. Obviously we have been pretty unlucky again with injuries recently, but given the lack of penetration we have up front, the lack of dig and pace we have in midfield, and our woeful defensive record, there's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be among the favourites to go down". Rig was equally despondent. "Absolutely depressing stuff today. Struggling to think of any real positives at all. We were shocking at the back, had no real control in midfield and struggled to create much of note up front. Our sole tactic of lobbing it towards Doumbouya was easily handled by Anderson and Shaughnessy. With no Plan B Saints rarely looked troubled and ended up with a deserved win. First goal was really poor tracking of Liam Craig who burst into the box and was found by Maclean and the ball was quickly poked beyond Fon Williams. Second came from a free kick which wasn't cleared and Davidson turned the ball in whist the third came late on with our makeshift defence all at sea and Swanson danced inside what was left of it before finding the net. Sending off seemed justified. I can't remember the first yellow but it was a warranted second yellow and Warren had struggled for most of the game to deal with Swanson running right at him. Whilst our players seemed to take a touch of the ball to get it down and kill the forward movement Saint Johnstone continuously looked to attack and get forward. We had a lot of the ball but any time we got into the final third we couldn't break down the Saints defence and just passed the ball or ran across the edge of the penalty area before either shooting wide or passing the ball out for a throw in. It was similar to some of the toothless displays under Hughes last season". And Yngwie summed it up thus; "Any Saints fan or neutral may well conclude today that ICT are a bunch of uncultured thugs, incapable of playing football, or defending, or attacking. They might also conclude that we are the worst team they have seen this season, that we are getting relegated and that the league will be better without us. And based purely on today, it would be hard for me to disagree. So, little for the visiting fans to get excited over and that's a recurring theme this season. We have to take stock and get our heads round this. Bottom of the league is not where we want to be seen. I hope Richie Foran can do something about this. If not, standing in the terraces looks to be an ever increasing possibility, and it could take a while to get back to all seated stadium. Big games coming up in the next fortnight. At home to Hamilton Accies and away to Kilmarnock. These could be season defining moments and we must start to pick up points before we are cut adrift. Sorry to sound a tad depressing, but that's how it is at this stage of the season. Date: 03/12/16 Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth Attendance: 2549 Referee: Euan Anderson St Johnstone: 3 Lineup: Clark, Foster, Shaughnessy, Anderson, Easton, Coulson (Alston 75), Swanson (Kane 83), Davidson, Craig, Wotherspoon, MacLean (Cummins 82) Subs (not used): Mannus, Scobbie, Millar, Gordon Scorers: Craig (14), Davidson (62), Swanson (81) Booked: Coulson (56), Wotherspoon (74) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Cole, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco (Gilchrist 86), Draper, Vigurs, Doran (Mulraney 69), Tansey, King, Doumbouya (Sutherland 84) Subs (not used): Esson. Robertson, MacLennan Scorers: none Booked: Draper (45), Doumbouya (50), Warren (60) Sent Off: Warren (61) a
  16. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  17. Time to have a go. Relatively short trek on Saturday as we head to Perth to face St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park for a 3:00pm kick off. It's been a sad week for football with the Associação Chapecoense de Futebol disaster, where only five of eighty-one passengers are reported to have survived the plane crash that has all but wiped out an entire football club. I'm sure all supporters throughout the world will take a moment to pause for thought and pay tribute to those that perished. Our heartfelt sympathy and condolences go out to all involved. Life is too short. Celebrating their greatest achievement one week, wiped out the next. Life can be so cruel. RIP. The wheat seems to be getting separated from the chaff in the Premiership as the cream of the crop are rising to the top, opening up a gap to the rest suffering with blight, with St Johnstone having a foot in both camps. Unfortunately we seem to be firmly entrenched with the chaff just one point from the bottom of the table. However, It is very tight at the foot with a mere two points between Partick in 12th and Motherwell in 6th, with St Johnstone trying to bridge the gap a further four points ahead. Last time out St Johnstone were beaten 4-2 by our neighbours in Perth. The Saint's were two down at the break and fell further behind before form player Danny Swanson reduced the deficit. Steven Maclean pulled another back but Liam Boyce put the game to bed with a late winner to leave TommyWright bemoaning their poor defending of cross balls. That's no wins in their last four games now as St Johnstone head towards the chaff. Inverness ended their Indian sign hoodoo over Dundee by going down 2-1 at Dens Park. Despite dominating possession, clear chances were hard to come by and we paid the penalty for once more being wasteful in the final third. Signed on again Carl Tremarco scored our counter with around ten minutes to go but we fell short despite Richie Foran claiming we were at our best. The visiting fans would dispute that as we ended our dominance in this fixture and are now five games without a win. Iain Vigurs left the field injured and Lewis Horner saw red in stoppage time and that summed up our day. You have to go back two years for the last Inverness win at Perth and with only one win in our last ten visits, the omens are not great. We did win the first fixture between the clubs this season, but it took a last gasp poke from Josh Meekings to win the game. Ross Draper opened the scoring on the hour but Richard Foster thundered home a venemous shot with ten minutes to go to draw Saints level. Justice was served in injury time when Meekings scored and the points deservedly stayed in the North on this occasion. This was our first win of the season after a dismal start to the campaign. We have not really kicked on though with only three league wins so far, hence our lowly position. Good news for Inverness fans is that Carl Tremarco has extended his stay at the club. He has a one year deal with an option for another. That virtually makes it a two year deal as Carl loves life in the Highlands and he has made the left back slot his own since the departure of Graeme Shinnie. He is also getting a name for himself as a bit of a goal scorer with a target of ten for the season, he is half way there. Tremarco's signature comes hot on the heels of Alex Fisher who signed on until the end of the season. Murray Davidson should be back in the squad after suffering from an ankle injury. Zander Clark and Joe Shaughnessy could be fit for selection but Chris Millar, Keith Watson and Ally Gilchrist will not be fit enough for inclusion. Lewis Horner is suspended for this one and Liam Polworth, Kevin McNaughton, Scott Boden and Alex Fisher are all out. Brad Mckay is another who will be absent after missing out last week with a Shinnie injury. Raven has suffered a further injury after returning from concussion, but could yet make the starting XI. Iain Vigurs took a knock last week but should be fit. tm4tj prediction:- these are historically insipid affairs with low scoring the order of the day. Both clubs are on poor runs just now and nothing tells me that this will be any different. Inverness are struggling for fit players and will rely heavily on providing service for lone striker Lonsana Doumbouya. St Johnstone have a quality player in Danny Swanson and he could be the difference between the sides. I can't see an away win given our injury problems, but a draw would be most welcome. It's going to be a long hard season.
  18. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Aberdeen PREVIEW 19/11/2016 @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound LIVE Commentary [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  19. Dundee end Inverness hoodoo Inverness crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Dens Park despite dominating for long spells. This was Dundee's first win over Inverness since the Challenge Cup Final in 2009. League games go back 11 years since Dundee last won. Goals from young star Craig Wighton and Kostadin Gadzhalov were enough for Dundee despite a late Carl Tremarco strike for the visitors, but it was Dundee who held on for that crucial win which lifts them to seventh in the league as we slump to tenth, just one point off the bottom. Our miserable day was complete when Lewis Horner was red carded in injury time. Brad Mckay missed out with a shin injury sustained against Aberdeen and Lewis Horner was his replacement with David Raven also unavailable. Greg Tansey returned from suspension. The home side were without Yordi Teijsse and Craig Wighton continued in attack with Nicky Low and Mark O'Hara also unavailable. Rig made the journey as he does to most games, here's what he saw............ Really disappointing result and performance. Foran is kidding himself if he thinks that was our best performance of the season though I suspect he is deflecting attention from the players. Whilst we did knock the ball about pretty well, especially in the first half, all too often our final ball was lacking or Dundee snuffed out any threat. The likes of King and Doran far to often failed to send in a really good cross for Doumbouya to attack and most of our efforts on goal were long range strikes that were always sent flying well over the bar and seldom troubled Bain. Good goal from Wighton to open the scoring driving right at Warren and slotting the ball beyond Fon Williams in the style of Thierry Henry. Dundee also had a penalty claim when Draper tangled with McGowan but it was difficult to see what happened from the other end of the ground. Just before half time there was a bit of a scramble in the Dundee box after a Tansey corner wasn't cleared and despite a number of sclaffed efforts towards goal no ICT player was able to turn it into the net. Half Time 1-0 Second half was much of the same. ICT tended to dominate possession but Dundee created better chances. The second goal largely killed the game off. Free kick on the ICT left was whipped in by Hately, Doumbouya missed the ball and Gadzhalov powered the ball into the net. Whilst we did get a goal back when Tremarco somehow found the net after Bain appeared to cock up his attempted save bagging an equaliser probably wouldn't have been deserved. Full Time 2-1 Dundee were much better than when we cuffed them earlier in the season whereas we seem to have gone backwards somewhat. Despite playing with 'proper' wide men in Doran and King we didn't really get much joy down the left or right flanks and Doran seemed to spend most of his time cutting in from the right and sitting inside leaving Draper to play on the right for large parts of the first half which seemed a bit odd. Vigurs went off injured which might go some way to explain his complete lack of effort when trying to defend Dundee attacks in the second half. Another injury is not really what we need with Polworth and Mackay out but hopefully the former is back soon especially with Raven out and Horner now suspended. We're starting to look a wee bit thin, low on confidence and pretty toothless up front. Some massive games coming up now against St Johnstone, Hamilton and Killie. I think we really need at least two wins from that lot. Going to be a tight old season this one. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dundee:- Bain, Holt, Vincent (Williams 64), O'Dea, Hateley, McGowan, Haber (Etxabeguren 90), Gadzhalov, Kerr, Wighton, Gomis. Subs not used:- Mitchell (GK), Loy, Duffy, El Bakhtaoui, Curran. Inverness CT:- Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Doran (Boden 74), Vigurs (Cole 81), Tamsey, Horner, King (Mulraney 66), Doumbouya. Subs not used:- Esson (GK), Sutherland, Macrae. Referee:- Andrew Dallas. Attendance:- 5094.
  20. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dundee -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 26th November @ 3PM, Dens Park, Dundee Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  21. Time to get back on track Off to the city of discovery on Saturday to see if we can rediscover that winning feeling. It's four games since we had something to cheer about when we beat Motherwell at Fir Park and results have seen us slip perilously close to the bottom end of the table. Dundee put a stop to a horrific run of six straight defeats, including a 3-1 win for us, by beating Hamilton and Motherwell before a narrow defeat at Ibrox last time out. Those defeats saw them slump to the foot of the table and they were in danger of becoming detached from the rest, but the two wins have them now just two points worse off than us. We also share the same goal difference at minus seven. Dundee are the lowest scorers in the league on just twelve goals compared to our twenty but we have the leakiest defence having conceded twenty-seven times to Dundee's nineteen. What does all that mean I hear you say. Well, it means that we are eighth and Dundee are twelfth but only two points apart. Defeat at Dens Park will see Dundee leapfrog us in the table, it's that tight. In our favour, Dundee have failed to beat Inverness in the last sixteen League meetings between the clubs, although many of these games have been very close. Since winning at Motherwell, we have only picked up one point, an entertaining 3-3 draw at home to Hearts. That was followed by defeat at Celtic and a disheartening home loss against Aberdeen. The only highlight for us has been the goals coming from Lonsana Doumbouya who has recently been called into the Guinea national side. Alex Fisher has penned a new deal to keep him here until the end of the season and Carl Tremarco is close to extending his stay in the Highlands. Dundee have ex Caley Jags players Nick Ross, James Vincent and Danny Williams to call on as they search for a more settled side. However, the one to watch is young striker Craig Wighton who has quickly struck up a good understanding with recent signing Marcus Haber. Striker Yordi Teijsse is out along with midfielders Mark O'Hara and Nicky Low. Nick Ross and Michael Duffy are both doubts for this game. We will have Greg Tansey back after his suspension saw him miss the Dons game. Liam Polworth will be out for a few weeks after being injured against Celtic and David Raven is out after suffering concussion in an accidental clash with Jake Mulraney. Brad Mckay took a sore one in a crunching tackle against Aberdeen and is a doubt, as is Alex Fisher tm4tj prediction:- Dundee are on the up and we are sliding a bit. The incentive is there for the Dee to get themselves off the basement and that could be enough for Dundee to shade this one. Our normally reliable defence is the worst in the league but our scoring is better than most. We have only kept one clean sheet this season in the league and that is a concern, but Dundee are a tad shot shy and that could lead to stalemate. I'll settle for a scoring draw. Richie Foran and Alex Fisher talk ahead of the game at Dens Park.
  22. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  23. Too easy for Dons Aberdeen won convincingly 1-3 with Kevin Clancy instrumental in the first two Dons goals. He was probably man of the match as the Dons won for the first time in five attempts. Lonsana Doumbouya glanced a wonderful opener for Inverness but after that it was Aberdeen that took full advantage of Clancy's assistance. A dubious free kick saw McLean level the scores and after another accidental clash, Clancy saw fit to award a spot kick which Rooney gratefully accepted to slot home. Clancy continued to control the flow of the game as the Aberdeen players threw themselves to the ground at will and it was no surprise (or maybe it was) when Maddison was eventually booked for simulation. They added a third deep into the game when they broke swiftly and McLean completed the scoring. One more assist from Clancy and he would have kept the match ball. Unbelievable Jeff! Plenty to ponder over for Inverness boss Richie Foran as the injury list grows, Brad Mckay stretchered off in the second half as we begin to court the fringes of the relegation tussle this early in the season. RIG was a bit miffed, but managed to squeeze out this report for us................... Some absolute telt today from Aberdeen to Inverness. A really comfortable Dons performance and an easy three points heading back along the A96. Decent start from Aberdeen but we took the lead against the run of play when Draper lifted a cute ball into the box and Doumbouya appeared in acres of space to steer a header past Lewis to put us one up. After that it was pretty much all Aberdeen with any chances for ICT at a premium. Hayes turned in an absolutely stunning performance and a lot of the Aberdeen attacks were coming down the ICT right with Hayes linking up well with Shinnie and also Maddison who was always on offer when Aberdeen drove through the middle. After a Maddison free kick was easily repelled by the Inverness wall McLean had better luck when he curled the ball low round the right edge of the wall and inside the post. A really good free kick and it brought Aberdeen deservedly level. The award of the free kick looked pretty suspect. Maddison seemed to go down very easily, a recurring theme over the course of the game sadly, but disappointing that we didn't defend the resultant strike a bit better. Minutes later Aberdeen were ahead. Hayes scampered into the box and Warren struggled to stay with him and Hayes went down as he collided with Warren. There was certainly contact between the two as Hayes clearly tripped over Warrens outstretched leg but, and this is coming with massive ICT bias, I did wonder if perhaps Warren had just planted his leg slightly ahead of Hayes which the winger then went down over. Regardless, I can probably see why Clancy gave it and again it was poor defending in the first place to let Hayes break into the box like that. Rooney had no issues finding the net with the penalty. Sadly, given how little we had threatened since our opening goal even at 2-1 down I couldn't see a way back into the game for us. However Tremarco saw an effort go wide and McLean nearly bagged his second when a shot that looked like it was already going wide was turned around the post by Fon Williams. Half Time 1-2 Into the second half and it was much the same with the Dons dominating proceedings and ICT resorting to lumping long balls in the vague direction of Doumboya. Aberdeen almost went 3 - 1 up when a fine cross from the right found Considine in the box and his downward header was met by Fon Williams who somehow managed to scramble it away. Aberdeen then saw a great chance for Shinnie go begging as he sped down the left and was picked out with a fine pass from Maddison however the former ICT man shot straight at Fon Williams. Maddison then paid the price for some of his earlier antics when he went down in the box under a challenge by Meekings and was booked. It was difficult to tell from the other end of the pitch if this was justified or not but given his previous histrionics and because I'm a seething, bitter mess right now I'm inclined to say yes. Shortly after Maddison nearly made headlines for better reasons as a fine free kick cracked off the base of the post with Fon Williams well beaten. ICT then lost Mckay to injury after a bad challenge from Shinnie which inexplicably went unpunished from Clancy. Aberdeen eventually got their deserved third goal when they seized on ICT losing possession after a corner and Hayes broke rapidly towards goal and he teed up McLean who drilled the ball past Fon Williams to seal the points. A really good counter attacking goal which triggered a mass exodus from the home support. Full Time 1-3 We seldom had a chance to speak of in the second half. A header from Doumbouya had Lewis scrambling to turn it over the bar, Draper wriggled into the box but his shot wasn't powerful enough to get past Lewis and Tremarco poked a late effort goalwards without really causing any difficulty. If we had got a goal back it would have made the game look a lot closer than it really was. Overall there can't be any complaints about the result and having read the comments from Foran it's good to see he's not trying to dress it up as anything other than what it was - a sound beating by a much better team. Clancy was an absolute omnishambles today with some really questionable calls. His decision not to at least give Shinnie a yellow card for his challenge on Mckay was bizarre as was his incredible call to allow Maddison to go down claiming he was injured, wave play on but then halt play as we got to the edge of the Aberdeen penalty area and allow Maddison to get treatment. But he wasn't the reason for our downfall today. There were plenty of errors from ICT that we should look to address before the next run of crucial games coming up against the likes of Dundee, Hamilton and Killie. Granted we were missing important players in Tansey and Polworth but our sole tactic of leathering it towards Doumbouya was easily being snuffed out by Considine and O'Connor yet we still persisted with it. Joe Lewis is enormous yet we played high balls into the six yard box most of the time we got our crosses in. As for our free kicks....Jesus wept. We really lack a striker who can play off the last defender and a midfielder with a real eye for a pass to play that hypothetical striker in. As it stands we are quite direct and rigidly stick to that direct style come what may. It might work well against some teams but it definitely wasn't working today and we didn't really have a clue what to do about it. In summary.... Date: 19/11/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 4867 Referee: Kevin Clancy Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, McKay (Horner 76), Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper, Vigurs, Doran, Cole (Mulraney 70), King (Fisher 84), Doumbouya Subs (not used): Esson, Boden, Sutherland Scorers: Doumbouya (15) Booked: Vigurs (53) Sent Off: none Aberdeen: 3 Lineup: Lewis, Logan, Considine, O'Connor, Shinnie (Reynolds 91), Maddison (Taylor 74), McLean, Jack, Hayes, Stockley (McGinn 73), Rooney Subs (not used): Alexander, Pawlett, Morris, Storey Scorers: McLean (28, 89), Rooney (pen.33) Booked: Maddison (67) Sent Off: none
  24. A visit from our second string Aberdeen are the visitors on Saturday as domestic football returns after the international break. It's a distraction from the domestic scene that we could do without, although sometimes it enables one or two to recover from injuries. Unfortunately, not in our case with Polly and Raven sidelined and Tansey falling foul of the beaks. Sounds more like an aviary than a dressing room. I'm sure the Dons will be showcasing a handful of our ex-players as they come to the Caledonian Stadium looking for their first win over us at the fifth time of asking. So hello Jonny, Graeme, Adam, Miles and Greg. It will be a frosty reception for them in more ways than one as the temperatures dropped overnight leaving the surrounding area with a crisp white coating. I hope the cental heating is on. Some good news for Caley Jags fans this week as Alex Fisher and Carl Tremarco are reported to be pretty close to signing on for more duty in the Highlands. Our last outing saw us go down 3-0 at Parkhead. We kept it close until half time but with the sending off at the second goal we were always going to be under the cosh and I suppose we got off lightly by keeping it to 3-0. Aberdeen's last game was a hard earned 2-1 win at Partick Thistle. Anthony O'Connor and Jayden Stockley scored the goals that gave them all three points. That shows them sitting in second place in the league on twenty-one points, seven ahead of Inverness. James Maddison is one to watch for the Dons. The youngster on loan from Norwich City has been in sparkling form and can take a decent free kick as he showed with that winner against the Rangers. Miles Storey has been a noticeable omission from Aberdeen line-ups since leaving us. Interesting suggestions that a swap for Greg Tansey might be on the cards is certainly exciting Caley Jags fans. I think we can live with that. We have a loan player of our own who is looking to get more game time after a series of setbacks since coming North. Larnell Cole, on loan from Fulham has struggled with injuries since joining but the absence of Polworth and Tansey could offer him the chance of a start against the Dons. Lonsana Doumbouya made his international debut for Guinea during the break. Unfortunately they lost out 2-1 to the Democratic Republic of Congo after leading. Great confidence for Doumbouya though and some recognition for his recent goal run prior to the Celtic game. If we can provide some service for the big striker, he may get back on the goal trail, and he makes a decent target for Jake Mulraney, Billy King and Aaron Doran to hit. Inverness will be without the suspended Greg Tansey after his early bath at Parkhead. Liam Polworth also fell foul in that game after an unpunished tackle by Leigh Griffiths saw the promising Inverness youngster end up with a leg/ankle plaster. He will be out for at least two months. David Raven will miss out with a head knock and Kevin McNaughton is out long term. Aberdeen have pretty much a clean bill of health with defender Ash Taylor looking for a start and Scott Wright ready for action. tm4tj prediction:- It's been a turbulent world over the last couple of weeks. What, with Donald Trump winning in America and Ed Balls still in Strictly despite doing a Gangnam style Salsa. It just goes to show that anything is possible. Prior to the Celtic game I was looking forward to this clash, but the edge has been taken off our squad with suspension and injury. That could open the door for Aberdeen to exploit. On the other hand, it will also create change in our engine room, an area we have been sadly deficient over recent weeks. It may make for more creativity if players are deployed in their best positions, like Iain Vigurs pulling the strings in central midfield and Ross Draper dictating in the holding roll. I'm not sure I can see any better than a point from this one as we regroup, although Aberdeen have not beaten us in four games now. A plus for us is that the Dons might be keeping one eye on next weeks League Cup final
  25. Tough day at the office. Ten man Inverness went down 3-0 in Glasgow as Celtic eventually wore us down and dominated from the time they took the lead. Nothing surprising about the result, but disappointing to have a man sent off and Liam Polworth crocked. A tight first half saw Inverness go in at the break level. A couple of great chances for Celtic, a superb save from Owain Fon Williams and a half chance for Doumbouya produced no goals. Just after the break Scott Sinclair raced between the centre backs to knock the ball behind Fon Williams to open the scoring. Leigh Griffiths scored a tap-in after slack play from Inverness, and Greg Tansey was red carded in the move that led to the goal, having been booked in the first half. The third goal was scored by sub Tom Rogic with a deflected shot to complete our misery. Inverness were missing David Raven, Carl Tremarco and Aaron Doran with Lewis Horner, Billy King and Owain Fon Williams coming back into the starting XI. Celtic had a pretty potent strike force on from the start with Leigh Griffiths, Scott Sinclair, Patrick Roberts and man of the moment Moussa Dembele all lining up. The first half might have been level in score, but Celtic were mostly on the front foot, that means that we were mostly on the back foot. Best chance of the half went to Leigh Griffiths who saw his close range effort brilliantly turned onto the bar by Owain Fon Williams. For Inverness, Lonsana Doumbouya wasted a half chance and Ross Draper headed straight into Craig Gordon. Celtic squandered a handful of chances which would not have impressed Brendan Rodgers as we kept them at bay. Half Time 0-0 The second half was only a couple of minutes old when Scott Sinclair nipped into the box to get on the end of a smart Callum McGregor pass and he duly dispatched the ball behind the keeper. Just after the hour, Sott Brown came off injured being replaced by Nir Bitton. A double Inverness replacement saw Jake Mulraney and Alex Fisher replace Billy King and Lonsana Doumbouya. Celtic had replaced Mikael Lustig with Emilio Isaguirre in the first half. Moments later Griffiths got a tap-in after Fon Williams stopped Dembele from scoring, the ball breaking kindly for the Celtic striker. Greg Tansey was sent off for his involvement in that goal and there was no way back for the visitors. The Bhoys final change saw Tom Rogic take over from Moussa Dembele with around twenty minutes left. Last change of the match had Larnell Cole coming on for the final fifteen minutes as Liam Polworth was crunched and left the field in pain. With Inverness down to ten men, the final whistle can't come soon enough as Celtic's domination increased. It was no surprise when Rogic added a third after eighty three minutes, the away defence ran ragged by this time. Full Time 3-0 Inverness were seldom seen as an attacking force in the second half. The same could not be said of Celtic who surged forward at every opportunity. No disgrace going down to a rampant Celtic, especially having to play for around half an hour with a man short. There's little point going through every event on the park, suffice to say, we were second best and got away with some missed opportunities for Brendan Rodgers' side, but that's what you get at Parkhead. Tough shift for Inverness. Although it was a bad day at the office, the overall results were favourable and we retained our top-six status for now. As is the case for most teams visiting Parkhead, damage limitation is the first choice and I don't think we can be too vexed at going down 3-0. A couple of observations from RIG who was at the game. "The closest we came to a chance on goal was a free kick from Vigurs after Mulraney had been bundled over as he looked to break clear but I can barely remember us getting out of our half in the second 45". RIG picked out "Mckay as probably our best player (again) and I thought Polworth did well until his injury. Tansey and Vigurs were both poor in terms of their passing with Tansey especially slack at times. All in all, disappointing result but we can't realistically expect to complete with Celtic when they can start players like Dembele, Griffiths, Roberts and Sinclair". Fair enough RIG. Anyway, nothing to see here, big team beats wee team, move along please......... Date: 05/11/16 Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Attendance: 54152 Referee: Crawford Allan Celtic: 3 Lineup: Gordon; Lustig (Izaguirre 14), Simunovic, Sviatchenko, Armstrong, Brown (Bitton 61), McGregor, Griffiths, Roberts, Dembele (Rogic 69), Sinclair Subs (not used): De Vries, Gamboa, Christie, Forrest Scorers: Sinclair (48), Griffiths (63), Rogic (83) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Horner, Warren, Meekings, McKay, Draper, Tansey, King (Mulraney 61), Vigurs, Polworth (Cole 77), Doumbouya (Fisher 61) Subs (not used): Mackay, Boden, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Tansey (43) Sent Off: Tansey (65)
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