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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

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

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)

Bhoys Zone Tough task this weekend as Foran takes his side down to the Bhoys Zone, Parkhead, to face domestically dominant Celtic, still the only side to take a point off Brendan Rodgers' side. I'm sure that's a statistic not lost on the Celtic manager, and he will be out to make sure they don't slip up this time. Last midweek game was away to Motherwell and we surprised many by coming away with our first clean sheet and a 3-0 win. Goals from Carl Tremarco, Lonsana Doumbouya and Liam Polworth made the difference as we strolled through the second half. We followed up our tremendous result at Fir Park with a 3-3 thriller against Hearts in the Highlands. We suffered a few setbacks before and during the game, but we still managed to get a point. Cammy Mackay replaced Welsh international Owain Fon Williams prior to kick off. Ten minutes into the game and Carl Tremarco was next to leave the park feeling his hamstring. His replacement was not too shabby though, and David Raven finished a brilliant team move to add to the drama. Great to see Lonsana Doumbouya continue his scoring run with his third goal in as many games, he seems to be growing into the role and his efforts have not gone unnoticed. He has been called into the Guinea national squad. Another plus was Aaron Doran scoring his first goal since returning from serious injury. All things considered, a decent point against a side that spanked us 5-1 a few weeks ago. Celtic came North a week and a half ago and burst Ross County 4-0. That score flattered them somewhat with County unfortunate not to score and as the game wore on Celtic bagged three late goals to give them a win they scarcely merited. They went to Pittodrie at the weekend and came away with a narrow 1-0 victory to keep them firmly on track to retain the Premiership title, thanks to a superb Tom Rogic improvised strike. The goals are still coming from Dembele and Sinclair, both subs against County, and as they showed in Dingwall, not a bad pair to have sitting around waiting for a game. Patrick Roberts and Stuart Armstrong started at the Global Energy Stadium and they notched the first two goals. With players of that standard uncertain of a start, it's a daunting task for the rest of the league. It's not a game many Caley Jags fans relish with expectation not high given Celtic's monetary dominance in the Scottish game and restricted viewing arrangements for visiting fans. Celtic fans bemoan the difference when they play the likes of Barcelona in European games. Welcome to our world! It's heartbreaking watching the likes of Ryan Christie warming the bench at Celtic when he could have had his pick of any other club in Scotland and regular football to boot. In fact, he sometimes can't even get on the bench. What a waste of fine Scottish talent. Mind you, I don't suppose his wallet is complaining£££ As usual, I would expect Richie Foran to set his stall out to give little away and hit on the break. That's standard practice for most clubs at Parkhead, but it's a dangerous game to play when Celtic are in the mood and can and has led to some doings in Glasgow. It's all very well saying why give them too much respect, but in all honesty there's little other option. It will be a stern test for not only the team, but of Foran's ability to absorb the pressure and hype surrounding a game at Parkhead. Celtic had the minor irritation of a Champions League game to contend with on Tuesday night in Germany. The played Borussia Mönchengladbach in the return leg after losing the first encounter 0-2 in Glasgow. That could mean that Brendan Rodgers might tinker with his squad for our visit although the size and wealth of talent available to him should be sufficient to take care of domestic games. Maybe Ryan will get a rare run out against his old buddies. That game ended with Celtic gaining a credible 1-1 draw in Germany with Moussa Dembele stroking home a penalty with the confidence and calmness of a veteran. One or two concerns for Richie Foran coming in to this game. Carl Tremarco looks as though he will miss out as the club investigate his hamstring injury. Better news for Larnell Cole and Alex Fisher who are both back in contention although Fisher is touch and go and, it might be a game too early for match saver Fisher who scored that late equaliser last time the sides met. Aaron Doran looks like missing this game out, but Billy King is eligible once more. Things are looking up in the goal keeping stakes with Owain Fon Williams set to return having missed last weeks game with back spasms during the warm-up. Ryan Esson has returned to full training as well, and Cammy Mackay will have learnt from his enforced appearance against Hearts. Bad news for Scotland and Celtic supporters is that Kieran Tierney will be out for a couple of months with ankle ligament damage picked up in training. Nineteen year old Tierney has been in sensational form for Celtic and will be a big miss. I suppose they will just have to use some international reserve, in this case, Honduran Emilio Izaguirre. Leigh Griffiths and Jozo Suminovic will return but Kolo Toure is out. tm4tj prediction:- I suppose as it's on the 5th November, we should be expecting some fireworks from Celtic. It's a tough game this one, probably the most difficult on the calendar, but usually the easiest to predict. It depends who Brendan believes will be sufficient to dismiss us whilst his team leave the rest behind. We have shown some tremendous resilience this season after a slow start and Celtic will need to be aware of this, however, they should have enough strength in depth to be able to win the points. In Liam Polworth, we have a lad that can set off a few rockets of his own and he has already scored a couple of bangers. We can always hope. Let the fireworks begin.

Six Goal Thriller in the Highlands. The points were shared in the Highlands in an entertaining 3-3 draw where the drama started before the match had begun and continued throughout the game. Owain Fon Williams pulled out in the warm up and Cammy Mackay replaced him between the sticks. That was just the beginning. Carl Tremarco had to be replaced after nine minutes and his replacement scored the opener five minutes later. None other than Dave the Rave, what an introduction from the fans favourite. Lonsana Doumbouya continued his scoring run with the second to double the advantage. Hearts were thrown a lifeline before the break when Bjoirn Johnsen scored and they went for broke in the second period. Faycal Rherras got a fortunate equaliser and it looked as though Hearts had the impetus, but Aaron Doran put the home side ahead again. His first goal since returning from his injury nightmare. Hearts turned the screw again and Arnaud Djoum levelled to set up a tense final fifteen minutes, but neither side could get their noses in front and a point each it was with all the punters going home happy after a highly entertaining contest. Old Caley Girl will have a full report for us when she takes time to digest the afternoon's spectacle. Back in December I had the misfortune to witness the Tynecastle 5-1 horror show, however, what a difference in ICT that day. Richie Foran in his post match interview that day said he knew what was wrong and how to sort it and he has been true to his word. At 3pm at the TCS the music played for the arrival of the players but instead of the players running on to the pitch the music went on and on and on…….............. Eventually both teams appeared but with Cammy Mackay in goal instead of the already announced Owain Fon Williams. OFW apparently had a back problem from the warm up and had to drop out. After nine minutes play David Raven replaced an injured Carl Tremarco and the home crowd wondered if it wasn’t to be our day. We were wrong though as this turned out to be a terrific match to watch with end to end action. Caleyjags started off brightly with Doumbouya hitting the crossbar and on the 15 minute mark David Raven opened the scoring with a cracking volley, finished like a striker after a headed knockdown from Ross Draper following some tidy teamwork. ICT extended their lead in 32 minutes with a right footed shot into the top of the net from 17 yards. We broke up a Hearts forward move and swiftly transferred the ball forward. When it came to Lonsana Doumbouya just inside the box, he wasted no time in smashing it high into the net Liam Polworth with the assist. Hearts huffed and puffed but really were not causing too much problems in front of goal until a slip from Josh Meekings allowed Johnsen to run into the box and pull one back for the visitors eight minutes before the break, rifling the ball home from ten yards on the right side. Hearts continued to press for an equaliser before half time but the Caleyjags went into the break in the lead. Half Time 2-1 Both teams came back out from the break pushing for more goals and it was Hearts who leveled in 51 minutes with Rherras taking a chance from long range and hitting the target beyond Cammy Mackay who was wrong footed and bamboozled by the cross/shot which everyone missed as it bounced into the net. One of those awkward ones I'm afraid. At that point you had to wonder if heads would go down but no, Aaron Doran had other ideas pinching the ball of Don Cowie following a lob and firing low past Hamilton in the Hearts goal. The end to end action continued and Hearts were rewarded with another goal to equalise, Djoum hitting it across Mackay from fifteen yards on the right side. Hearts continued to pile on the pressure with subs Tony Watt and Conor Sammon but fortunately for us, they couldn’t find the winner. In the end 3-3 seemed fair I suppose but I think both players and fans will be disappointed not to take all three points. Full time 3-3 A hugely entertaining match with plenty to thrill fans of both teams and any neutrals present. Defensive mistakes stopping us take the 3 points. An interesting post match debate could be had from comments made by Gary Warren that he would prefer to win ugly than by entertaining draws. Given the injury dramas a point was welcomed by most and cemented our top six place on merit. A small worry is the injuries sustained. Owain Fon Williams, Carl Tremarco, Aaron Doran and Iain Vigurs. Hopefully all not too bad. An unpleasant feature of this game that I feel I must mention was Hearts tendency to go down every few minutes (polite way of mentioning a lot of diving) and the fact that Craig Thomson seemed to be falling for it at every turn. Is it just me or is the standard of refereeing dropping again in this league? OCG MotM – Several candidates but my vote goes to Lonsana Doumbouya. Improving every game, put in a shift and knows where the back of the net is. He is full of promise and hopefully lots more goals to come. Date: 29/10/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 3565 Referee: Craig Thomson Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: C.Mackay, B.McKay, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco (Raven 9), Tansey, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Horner 89), Doran (Mulraney 81), Doumbouya Subs (not used): Hoban, Boden, Sutherland Scorers: Raven (15), Doumbouya (32), Doran (55) Booked: Meekings (78), McKay (84), Vigurs (85) Sent Off: none Hearts: 3 Lineup: Hamilton, Paterson, Igor Rossi, Souttar, Rherras (Ozturk 59), Cowie, Kitchen, Djoum, Muirhead (Watt 54), Walker, Johnsen (Sammon 76) Subs (not used): Noring, Buaben, Oshaniwa, Nowak Scorers: Johnsen (38), Rherras (51), Djoum (74) Booked: Rherras (50) Sent Off: none

Time for revenge The visitors this Saturday are a team we have a wee score to settle with. We were trounced at Tynecastle earlier in the season and it would be nice to reverse that and possibly get our goal difference back to level par. It has taken us since then to get back into the top-six as our goal difference took a pounding that day. Justice would be done if we can get a win, and even better by two goals, that would see us retain our top-six status for now. Old Caley Girl has been busy checking out the stats for this fixture and she has given us this excellent Preview. After a morale boosting bumper 3-0 away win on Wednesday, Hearts are next to visit the TCS on Saturday. My favourite awayday is Tynecastle but our August visit was thoroughly miserable. In fact, fellow CTO scribe, IHE described our performance that day as “toothless”. Richie Foran stated post match that he could see what our team issues were and knew how to solve them and to be fair we have done fairly well since, although some of the points gained have not been pretty to watch. Wednesday was also our first clean sheet this season and the reports from those there seem to suggest that our defence is returning to its reliable self with Brad Mckay looking like a very astute signing and the Courier describing Carl Tremarco as arguably the best full back in the league at present. With our A team of Warren and Meekings in the centre hopefully a few more clean sheets are on the cards. I would be very surprised if Foran changes the favoured four tomorrow. There has been lots of debate on the site re the recently preferred midfield and forward picks. Iain Vigurs seems like marmite at the moment with some praising his unsung work in the team with others not impressed by his form of late. Tansey and Draper are also said by some to not be reaching the performance level displayed in the past. There is also no doubt that Liam Polworth is a sublime striker of the ball as shown with his goals this season so far. The local press are reporting that Alex Fisher is to be offered a new deal next week which is welcome news in my humble opinion. Doumbouya appears to be becoming a fans favourite and is starting to show promise with his goal scoring tally so far. Aarron Doran was a welcome starter on Wednesday with King shining when he came on a sub. My guess is that we will line up the same as Wednesday but Foran has options and it is especially pleasing to see a bench line up this season offering change if needed. Hearts have been riding high in the table this season but have stuttered at times including midweek at Killie. There is no doubt they will be dangerous and eager to get back to winning ways to continue to challenge in the European place race. CaleyJags will be keen to remain in the hard earned top-six place we occupy at present. Fans were also delighted to see us go above our near neighbours on points for the first time in a long time. Brad Mckay has had an Xray on his finger for a suspected fracture and the gaffer awaits the outcome of that. Alex Fisher has a minor niggle and will miss out again as will Larnell Cole. Ryan Esson and Kevin McNaughton are out longer term. The visitors have only one absentee and that is winger Sam Nicholson who has had knee surgery. Billy King will have to sit this one out; parent club ruling for the Hearts loanee. OCG prediction – Hard one but going to go with a hard fought home win.

Well Well Well. Wednesday night in Lanarkshire and Inverness were the visitors to Fir Park under the floodlights with both clubs hovering just outside the top-six. It was the visitors that took all three points with an ultimately convincing win, although it never looked that way at the break. Tremarco, Doumbouya and Polworth scored the goals as Motherwell capitulated in the second half. Richie Foran elected to start with Aaron Doran wide replacing Jake Mulraney who drops to the bench. Lonsana Doumbouya retained the strikers jersey. Mark McGhee had Lionel Ainsworth, James McFadden and Scott McDonald on the bench, opting for the youth of Ross McLean and Jack McMillan with Louis Moult the danger man. A promising start for the visitors and a couple of headers go off target, Doumbouya rising highest in the box from a corner but not finding the target. A clash of heads has Carl Tremarco and Richard Tait receiving treatment, the Inverness player donning a bandage before continuing. Soon after this, Liam Polworth hit a long range effort that goes just wide and Motherwell's Craig Clay does likewise at the other end. It's tit for tat stuff halfway through the first half and although the visitors are getting their fair share of the ball, they lack penetration, Brad Mckay foraging well on the right though. Louis Moult made his first telling contribution but his shot hits the side netting on the half hour, and at the other end Doumbouya heads just wide again. Shortly after, Doumbouya and Vigurs combine, but the latter fires over. Just before the break a bit of a cufuffle around our box as Cadden strikes from range. The deflection finds Moult but Mckay recovers to clear. Neither keeper has been seriously tested in a cautious first forty-five and one added minute brings the half to a close. Half Time 0-0 Moult squanders the first chance of the second period as a deep cross is headed over Fon Williams' bar, and Mckay continues where he left off in the first half, but no takers for his cross that fizzes across the box. However, his persistence pays off as he pings another cross into the box and Carl Tremarco meets it on the slide six yards out to knock it in off the underside of the bar. Billy King replaced Doran just after the hour, the Irishman not best pleased by that decision from the gaffer, rightly so as he had been fairly promising all night. The home side react by bringing on Scott McDonald for Bowman as they search for an equaliser. But it's the visitors that take the game forward and Samson has to tip a Polworth shot round the post for a corner. Tremarco and Warren combine well........ in attack, and win a corner. Total football mun. From the corner, the much maligned Doumbouya knocks home from the centre of the six yard box when the ball fell to him, his initial header blocked and dropping at his feet. Great reply from the big man after taking some stick over the last couple of weeks for missing a couple of relatively simple chances. Motherwell clutching at straws now and desperately firing a couple of shots from distance but they don't trouble Fon Williams and with around fifteen minutes to go McGhee makes his last throw of the dice and on come McFadden and Ainsworth for Clay and Maclean. Moult does find the net but is adjudged to be off side, much relief in the visitors ranks. Could be a testing last quarter of the game. Doumbouya should have scored his second of the night but his downward header from three yards bounced up and over the crossbar after a delightful flighted cross from Polworth. However, Liam Polworth had other ideas about a Well revival and rifled a low shot from twenty-five yards to kill off any thoughts of a Motherwell revival. Thumping shot from Polly who makes a habit of this at times, the ball finding the bottom corner with the keeper diving full length to his right. Billy King was the provider for Liam to slash the ball home. A couple of efforts either end after the goal but the result is a formality now and Inverness keep a clean sheet into the bargain to record an excellent away win to push us back into the top-six. Full Time 0-3 A somewhat unexpected but welcome win, and after a dour first half, we swept Motherwell away with some clinical finishing. That's three wins on the trot at Fir Park. We should play there every week. Much improved performance all round and great to see Doumbouya grab another goal, that will do his confidence no harm. Fon Williams kept a clean sheet, although he was relatively untroubled Tremarco keeps on giving and Polly back on the goal trail. All good at Fir Park. Manager Richie Foran had this to say " "There was some great play all over the park, our fitness levels were spot on, and once again we're finishing the game stronger, we're going right to the final whistle, so it was good. I'm delighted for the back four getting that clean sheet". Match video from SPFL Website Date: 26/10/16 Venue: Fir Park, Motherwell Attendance: 3131 Referee: Don Robertson Motherwell: 0 Lineup: Samson, Tait, Heneghan, McManus, Moult, Bowman (McDonald 64), Cadden, Lasley, Clay (McFadden 77), MacLean (Ainsworth 78), McMillan Subs (not used): Brill, Lucas, Ferguson, Hastie Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings (Raven 86), Polworth, Draper, Doran (King 62), Vigurs, Tansey, McKay, Doumbouya (Boden 89) Subs (not used): MacKay, Mulraney, Horner Scorers: Tremarco (57), Doumbouya (71), Polworth (83) Booked: Tremarco (85) Sent Off: none a

Let's see the real Mr Vigurs After Saturday's disappointing performance, it's off to Motherwell on Wednesday night for a 19:45 kick off with both clubs vying to claim a top-six spot, one we hold on goal difference at the moment from Killie and County and one point ahead of Motherwell. Last time out we struggled to create much against a rejuvenated Kilmarnock and had to come from behind once more to snatch a late draw. Frustration was the order of the day as we were left chasing the game after Brad Mckay gave away a needless penalty with a clumsy barge on Coulibaly who scored from the spot thereafter. As we struggled to make some headway, Killie looked the likeliest to double their advantage, but as is the theme of late, we struck four minutes from the end when Lonsana Doumbouya forced home an equaliser from close range. It had been such a poor day at the office, even Ross Draper was substituted, raising eyebrows as to why the likes of Iain Vigurs had escaped the managers notice, conspicuous by his absence. He was not alone though and we really need to show a vast improvement if we want to take some points North. Motherwell faced a much sterner examination going down 2-0 at Celtic Park. With Mark McGhee setting out his stall intent on keeping Celtic out, they made life difficult for them at times but with Celtic's fire power they were always going to search for goals and so it proved with Sinclair and Dembele scoring. I doubt McGhee will be so cautious against us given our lack of creation in the final third and our midfield content to let the opposition control the pace of the game. We had four fixtures last season against the Well. Inverness won two games at Fir Park, one of these in the Cup. Motherwell won both games in the Highlands. Iain Vigurs scored a spectacular volley at Fir Park last season. Inverness had gone three goals ahead before Well staged a late recovery, but we held on to take the three points. Would be nice if he could wake from his slumber and help the team out once more. The cup game was won by another stunning goal, but Jordan Roberts is no longer on the books at the Caledonian Stadium. Ross Draper was subbed against Killie, not because of injury, but for tactical reasons. He has expressed his frustration at not being able to stay on the pitch to help the team out, but is fully committed to the overall cause. Larnell Cole was a doubt before Saturday and will still miss out with an Achilles injury. Ryan Esson is also out. Stevie Hammell is doubtful for the hosts with a hamstring injury but Carl McHugh is out. Mark McGhee is in a similar position to Richie Foran, still trying to work out his best XI with Louis Moult the most likely to score the goals, but Lionel Ainsworth appears to be out of favour so that's good news for us. tm4tj Prediction:- I'm not overly confident after our last six encounters have seen us gain one win and four draws with a solitary defeat to the Rangers. Motherwell fare slightly worse, one win, two defeats and three draws. It is however still very tight in the middle of the league and a win will catapult either side into the top-six, although we are already there (just). Well we were until Accies beat the Dons last night. Doh! I can't see where our goals are going to come from as Richie juggles his strikers around looking for the most productive solution. When Ross Draper is your top scorer, you know you have a striking problem. We will do well to get a point, but 1-1 seems to be a common score of late, and seeing as we can't keep a clean sheet either, that looks like the best bet. Richie & Josh speak to the Press ahead of tonight's game...................

Another late goal earns a point. Lonsana Doumbouya rescued an unlikely point for Inverness in a dismal display that left the home fans frustrated at the poor performance. Soulimane Coulibaly won and converted a penalty to give the visitors an early lead and it was them that looked most likely to add to their tally until the late strike leveled the scoring. Richie Foran placed Billy King on the bench with the tricky Jake Mulraney getting a start. Iain Vigurs' inclusion was a big talking point as we have not been seeing the best of him recently and Josh Meekings returned to the back line having missed out against the Rangers with David Raven returning to the bench. Liam Polworth did start, but he looked like a fish out of water given his wide position. Kris Boyd made the bench for the visitors who were looking to build on their excellent result from last week where they won at Perth. Killie belied their low key start to the season and looked to get behind the home defence at every opportunity. Nathan Tyson saw an early header sail over the bar from a good position and in just seven minutes they took the lead. From a ball into the box, Garry Warren and Brad Mckay converged on Soulimane Coulibaly. Mckay saw fit to clumsily barge the striker to the deck and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. No complaints from me either as Mckay was rather rash with his challenge. Coulibaly got up and took the penalty himself, low to Fon Williams' right. The keeper got a good hand on the ball but it had just enough pace to reach the back of the net. Not the start we had been looking for, but it was early doors and we had plenty of time to respond. Unfortunately we didn't. A complete lack of understanding and dearth of quality was on display as we toiled to create anything, the visitors leading by example as they managed to unsettle us at the back. Coulibaly almost doubled the advantage as we opened the back door and Fon Williams denied him from close range. He really should have scored, and Josh Meekings made a timely block as we were carved open once more. This provoked a reaction and Lonsana Doumbouya and Liam Polworth brought Jamie McDonald into the game. Greg Tansey latched onto one outside the box but the swerve on the ball brought it too close to McDonald and he saved relatively comfortably, although the shot had plenty of power. That was about as close as we got in a first half lacking endeavour from the home side. Half Time 0-1 The home fans were looking for a vast improvement after the break, but it was still the visitors that looked more threatening and Coulibaly headed over five minutes after the restart. Luke Hendrie tried his luck from outside the box but his swerving shot dipped just wide of the net. At the other end, Liam Polworth had a shot blocked as we tried to salvage something from the game but the harder we tried the more frustrating it became. Substitute Kris Boyd almost extended the lead but his shot was charged down and bounced just wide, possibly glancing off the frame of the goal. But, if nothing else, we are triers. And God loves a trier. With time running out and all our efforts coming to nothing, Carl Tremarco swung over a deep cross. Aaron Doran nodded it back into the mix and Doumbouya chested the ball to the side, nicking it off the toe of Alex Fisher before forcing it over the line from close range. There was still some defending to do though and Killie hit the post again as Rory McKenzie drilled a shot from outside the box that hit the outside base of the post with Fon Williams scrambling across his line. That was it though and the final whistle brought an end to an uninspiring game. Full Time 1-1 We just about deserved a point for neatness, although Kilmarnock will feel hard done by after passing up some gilt edged chances, especially in the first half. They can also point to a couple of shots that came off the woodwork. On the other hand, we will be thankful that we played rubbish but never lost. tm4tj MotM is going to a wee guy with a big heart. Carl Tremarco kept plugging away and thanks to his willingness to get down the left flank we snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat. Many wondered why Iain Vigurs was still on the park at the end, but to be honest there were plenty of candidates to catch Richie Foran's eye as suitable bench warmers. A poor day at the office was the general consensus of opinion. Killie played their part in that though and they will be well chuffed with a point in the Highlands. We are off to Motherwell in midweek and Hearts visit Inverness next weekend. It's not rocket science to see that we will need a vast improvement if we are to take anything from these games. Despite ourselves, we toppled into the top-six on goal difference, and on the bright side, we can only get better. Surely? Highlights will be available to view later today from SPFL website Here's what Killie manager Lee Clark thought about it all Date: 22/10/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2591 Referee: Nick Walsh Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, McKay (Boden 79), Meekings, Warren, Tremarco, Tansey, Vigurs, Mulraney (King 66), Draper (Doran 56), Polworth, Doumbouya Subs (not used): Mackay, Raven, Horner, Fisher Scorers: Doumbouya (86) Booked: Polworth (63), Meekings (80), Vigurs (94) Sent Off: none Kilmarnock: 1 Lineup: MacDonald, Hendrie, S Boyd, Addison, Taylor, Dicker, Coulibaly (K Boyd 79), M Smith (S Smith, 66), McKenzie, Jones, Tyson Subs (not used): Mackay, Boyle, Bojaj, Frizzell, Paterson Scorers: Coulibaly (pen.7) Booked: S.Boyd (26), Hendrie (88) Sent Off: none abcabc

Time to kick on We welcome Kilmarnock to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium this Saturday for a 3:00pm kick off with both clubs sitting on nine points, so it's an opportunity for one of these clubs to climb into the top-six with a win as there is only one other match on Saturday, Partick at home to Ross County. The clubs had contrasting fortunes last time out. We lost our five game unbeaten run, going down 1-0 to the Rangers, courtesy of a stunning strike from Kenny Miller. Kilmarnock steadied the ship after a run of six games without a win by beating St Johnstone 1-0 in Perth, an excellent result given the mediocre results of the previous six games. They did however manage a 1-1 draw against the Rangers during that spell, but were also hammered by Celtic and Aberdeen. It's a topsy turvy league with every team capable of performing well on the day making it difficult to predict any outcome. But, It's time to kick on now, and try to create the gap that will ensure safety for another season. Our opponents made sweeping changes in the close season. Lee Clark removed eight defenders from his inherited squad in a bid to resolve his defensive frailties, and Lee McCulloch retired from playing. In came defenders Dapo Kayode (Dinamo Bucharesti), Jamie Cobain (Newcastle United), Joshua Webb (Aston Villa), Jonathan Burn (Middlesborough), Luke Hendrie (Burnley), William Boyle (Huddersfield) and Scott Boyd from our neighbours Ross County. Midfield has also been revamped with Callum McFadzean (Sheffield United), Martin Smith (Sunderland), Jordan Jones (Middlesborough), George Green (Burnley), Charlee Adams (Birmingham City). Forwards coming in are Flo Bojaj (Huddersfield), Nathan Tyson (Doncaster Rovers) and the young man who has made the biggest impact Souleymane Coulibaly, an Ivory coast u17 international. The most notable players making way for these guys are Irish international Josh Magennis (Charlton Athletic), Tope Obadeyi (Dundee United), journeyman Kallum Higginbotham, Craig Slater (Colchester United) and Mark O'Hara (Dundee). Conrad Balatoni, Lee Ashcroft, Kevin McHattie and Jamie Hamill have all dropped down to the Scottish Championship. Add to that a bit of boardroom unrest and it's an unsettling time to be a Killie fan. Michael Johnston appears to be the reason that Russel Smith has stepped down as one of the directors at Rugby Park. So, big changes at Rugby Park, but manager Lee Clark has kept a strong backbone to his squad, starting at the back with keeper Jamie MacDonald and up front he can still call on the experience of Kris Boyd. Killie were expected to be one of the sides that would have their hands full trying to avoid relegation, along with us. Those predictions looked ominous when we lost our first three games. Killie won one of their first three followed by three draws and two defeats before winning at Perth. It's early days but both clubs need to find a level of consistency to be able to climb the table. That has proved difficult with teams still finding their feet and positive results hard to come by. Richie Foran thought we played well last week and could have taken more from the game. "We just lacked that wee bit of quality in front of goal. I think it's our best performance over the last six games. I knew we'd get chances. Bringing Jake Mulraney and Aaron Doran on can turn a game for you and I thought they might have nicked us a goal". To be honest, we were second best in a first half dominated by Rangers after Lonsana Doumbouya missed a great opportunity as early as the third minute. It did however take a goal of the month strike from Kenny Miller to separate the sides as we fought back in the second period and fell just short as we failed to capitalise on the three or four half chances that came our way. We have played better, but we have also played much worse. We gave Rangers too much freedom in the first half which saw us chasing shadows. I doubt we will offer Kilmarnock the same respect and sit off them in the same manner. It could be time for the luxury that is Iain Vigurs to feel the bench as he has been posted missing for long spells during games, occasionally surfacing to show a touch of class, but just as likely to display a cynical side to his game that we can do without. Liam Polworth would benefit from this by moving more central where we get the best out of him. Jake Mulraney and Aaron Doran made their cases clear for a start as they livened the game up last week after their introduction. Billy King was rather subdued last week and maybe a rest will be good for him. He will be missing for the Hearts game next week anyway, so Foran will need to shape his side without him. We missed Josh Meekings last week due to a hamstring injury. David Raven stepped back into his right back role with Brad Mckay moving inside. It's the midfield where the problems start with Tansey supposedly pulling the strings. We do drift out of games and seldom seem to dominate the middle area which is odd considering the physical presence we have in there with Ross Draper being prominent every week. It's the use of Polly that is open to criticism and the inclusion of Vigurs that raises most eyebrows. The next quandary is who is our best striker. None are prolific and both Fisher and Doumbouya had glaring misses last week whilst Scott Boden appears to be out of favour. Lot's of choices for Richie the Rookie, rather him than me. By the way, Kevin McNaughton has had his protective boot removed and has discarded his crutches, so some positive news for Kev in his long road back to fitness. Larnell Cole is doubtful with an injury. Killie will be without Johnny Burn who has a broken nose, but Kris Boyd and Steven Smith should return to the squad. However, midfielders Greg Kiltie and Callum McFadzean are out injured. tm4tj Prediction:- Both sides looking to climb up the table and both capable of producing the goods on the day. Historically we have been getting the better of Killie in the Highlands, one defeat in fifteen, and we should be able to have a go at them easier than we did against the Rangers. Souleymane Coulibaly is an exceptional talent and he has scored some spectacular goals already since his arrival. He is definitely one to watch and we will need to keep our focus at the back if we want to keep him out. We might just sneak this one, but a draw is not beyond the bounds of possibility. I find it difficult to see anything better for Killie. Former Inverness manager and Hearts legend John Robertson, 52, has been rushed to hospital yesterday (Thursday) after falling down a flight of stairs at Tynecastle. It is understood that Robbo has been treated for broken ribs and is recovering in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. All the best for a speedy recovery Robbo.

Miller Stunner Stings Caley Jags Inverness went down 0-1 by virtue of a stunning volley from Kenny Miller to end our five game unbeaten run. It was his 100th goal in the blue jesey having previously played in the green and white of Hibernian and Celtic. He won't score many better goals as he smashed a volley past Owain Fon Williams from a deep Lee Wallace cross from around 15 yards, the ball searing past the keepers outstretched hands on it's way to the back of the net. Inverness passed on glorious opportunities, at either end of the game, both headers and both well off target from great positions, but it was Rangers that held on to take all three points back down the A9. Immortal Howden Ender has this TV report for us all the way from Chorley.......... I should begin by emphasising that I was not in attendance at the TCS and this report is based on watching BT Sport in my “snug” in Chorley. It is often stated that it is a different perspective watching on the telly. I concede that but the telly throws up different angles, replays and commentator perspectives. From a BT perspective the only aspect that I feel may be agreed by all is that Chris Sutton is an absolute ****. Paul Ritchie, Craig Brewster, Marius Niculae and even Rory McAllister must be stumped to explain how our two centre forward options, Doumbouya and Fisher failed to connect and score from crosses in the 3rd and 86th minute. I would have knocked them both in maself. Doombars’ was more culpable as it was clear cut. Fishers’ needed a flick but they were both practically unmissable. We simply do NOT have a striker of Premiership class. Draper could well be the answer but what a feckin waste that would be. I still feel really disappointed that we did not pick up at least a point. Richie Foran said that it was our best performance in the last six games. I would disagree with that but it certainly was above average. We looked very threatening in the first 15 minutes. If Doombar had netted then we may have wreaked havoc. Rangers controlled the first half but did not really dominate. They are John Hughes “tippy-tappy” like and have not got that last killer touch. But lets face it Kenny Miller’s volleyed goal / winner was superb. Blame probably is shared between Raven and Polworth for not tracking back. Fon Williams kept us in it with a great stop in the 25th minute. Waghorn and company claimed that it had crossed the line but it clearly didn’t. Polworth then missed a half chance on the 27th minute when he ballooned a 25 yarder well over. Tansey then tried to showboat when a straight strike would have been better. To me the second half was even-stevens but we just about won it – in possession and chances – but not goals unfortunately. It could have been 3-3 in the end but for skied or blocked efforts. We were again lacking in width and we are simply impotent up front. Full Time 0-1 FON WILLIAMS 7/10 – No chance with the goal but look assured and kept us in it, although he did not really have that much to do. RAVEN 6/10 – Worried when I heard of his inclusion but he was more like the Raven of old. WARREN 6/10 – Worries me with his undisciplined impetuousness at times. Warriors do not put themselves at risk and do not take one for the team when there is cover. MckAY 5/10 – Lucky not to be dismissed. Went for balls that were never his. Clearly a better full back. TREMARCO 7/10 – Continues to be solid and consistent. Never given a chance of being an attacking option. POLWORTH 6/10 – I simply cannot believe that he is being played wide right. Drifted inside most of the night and was culpable at not giving Raven cover on quite a few occasions. TANSEY 5/10 – Scored him lower as he feckin annoys me. It was probably a 6 ½ out of 10 but why did he keep his best display of the season to the Showroom game. VIGURS 4/10 – Almost the same comment as Tansey. Appeared to make more effort tonight than he has done for weeks. KING 5/10 – Followed up from a disappointing game at Hamilton to another. Clearly right footed and not looking comfortable wide left. DRAPER 8/10 – My MOM for again filling in so many positions in one night – even taking over the main striker role in the second half. He showed his frustration by dropping too deep at times. DOUMBOUYA 3/10 – Thought that he was shocking even giving him a let off for the glaring 3rd minute miss. Simply does not appear to be Premiership quality. No real pace, won little in the air and allowed himself to be bullied. MULRANEY / DORAN 6/10 each – Have clearly staked the claims to start next game. FISHER 4/10 – Missed another chance at glory. My preference to start as he is more mobile, pacier and better in the air – What the feck more does he need !! Footage from SPFL website INVERNESS CT 0 Fon Williams; Raven, Tremarco, Warren, Mckay, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Doran 67), Tansey, King (Mulraney 67), Doumbouya (Fisher 80). Subs unused: Mackay, Horner, Boden, Cole. Booked: Mckay, Warren. RANGERS 1 Fotheringham, Tavernier, Hill, Kiernan, Wallace, Miller, McKay (Garner 70), Halliday, Kranjcar (Windass 75), Holt, Waghorn (Dodoo 70). Subs unused: Gilks, Forrester, Hodson, Senderos. Booked: Waghorn. Scorer: Kenny Miller (22) Referee: W Collum Attendance: 7012

If you know your History Friday night Footie returns to the Highlands with a bang as new club The Rangers visit the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium for the first time in their short history, the game kicking off at 19:45. They have made a meteoric rise to fame since their inception, climbing through the leagues in four years and getting to the final of the Scottish Cup. It's a touch of Gretna revisited. Unfortunately for them, like Gretna they also failed to win the cup at the hands of an Edinburgh club. They do look pretty slick though, having tailored their needs for each division as they made their way into the Premiership and they now have a squad capable of challenging most with Mark Warburton leading the way. Richie Foran has been named Manager of the Month for September after turning the fortunes of his slow starters around. However, we all know the repercussions of the curse of the Manager of the Month. Sounds like an adventure from Scooby Doo. Yikes! Come to think of it, have you ever seen Richie Foran and Shaggy in the same room? Me neither. Immortal Howden Ender has given us this fabulous whirlwind history lesson to rival Charlie Bannerman's Against All Odds This could be entitled the Inaugural meeting of the “Young Firm” of Scottish football. Both teams having painful and traumatic experiences in the not too distant past. Both teams are lamenting and many still grieving for the teams that they did support, whose existence was sadly terminated. Caley were even called “The Rangers of the North”. Caledonian Thistle F.C. was formed in August 1994 by the merger of Caledonian and Inverness Thistle who had been members of the Highland Football League since 1885.The league restructured in 1994 to four divisions of ten teams each. The merged clubs were elected in to the Scottish Third Division. The club's name was amended to Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. in 1996 at the request of Inverness District Council. Many still refer to the team as Caley or Thistle. They rose through the divisions at some speed, given their finances and many teams trying to halt their rise, especially when initially promoted to the SPL. The original Rangers came into existence in 1872, 13 years before the Inverness giants. The Rangers Football Club PLC entered liquidation on 31 October 2012. Sevco Scotland Ltd later changed its name to The Rangers Football Club Ltd. The new team, The Rangers FC started off life, akin to ICT, in the Scottish Third Division in the 2012-2013 season, a mere 18 years after Inverness. Due to their superior finances they climbed the leagues far quicker than ICT and made it this season. So Inverness Caledonian Thistle and The Rangers FC take to the park to on Friday 14th October 2016 in the first ever league meeting between the two clubs. Sadly I suspect that there may be as many old Caley and Thistle diehards (and their families) in the Rangers End as there are in the Main Stand and The North Stand. The two previous outcomes of meetings between the new clubs have been Scottish League Cup affairs. Inverness hammering Rangers 3-0 at Ibrox in October 2012 and Rangers scraping a fortunate 1-0 win in September 2014. In their history Inverness have only met the old Rangers team in League encounters and, at home, it does not make good reading with Rangers winning 8 and Inverness 1 and two drawn. The only ICT win was in December 2006 (Live on Setanta Sports !!) and the match was an all ticket SELL OUT. Nacho Novo scored for Rangers from the penalty spot (Craig Thompson was at it even then) before Darren Dods equalised. And many will recall the winner screamed in by John Rankin in the last minute. And we all had a fleeting look at the wondrous SEBO. We have a better record at Ibrox, winning three and drawing four of the thirteen encounters. My own personal lasting memory has to be the injury time penalty winner by Iain Black in March 2009. And Zjebi-Zadi was MotM and David Proctor won the penalty, drawing a foul from Davie Weir who was sent off. And Rangers were frightened by the pace of Dougie Imrie and Eric Odhiambo. It was fair rocking in “Brechins” that night. Going back to the Howden End days memories fade back to 18 February 1984 when the mighty old club known as Rangers visited Telford Street Park on Scottish Cup duty. A crowd of 5,500 packed in to watch Rangers win 6-0. Somebody called McCoist scored a brace that day and somebody called Billy Urquhart played against his old team. He should have stayed in Wigan !! I fail to recall any great Inverness Thistle v Rangers encounters although that was probably reserved for Brora Rangers. And finally on the trip down memory lane – we simply can’t leave out the initial Scottish Cup meeting with the old Rangers. A quarter final moved to the “neutral” ground of Tannadice Park in Dundee, on the 9th of March 1996. A crowd of 11,296 was in attendance (an estimated 5,000 from Sneck) when Rangers were the “visitors”. Rangers won 3-0, with Brian Thomson scoring an own goal and a certain Paul Gascoigne hitting a double. I can only suggest that you read the account made by Pele Paterson in his book “Confessions of a Highland Hero” - “We were Third Division and they were Champions”. That was one feckin hoore of a weekend. Hopefully the thought of the forthcoming Betfred Cup tie with Celtic will be a distraction and the Joey Barton debacle lingers on and on. Rumours are rife that Joey has put a pony on Inverness winning 2-1. That is certainly worth a wee gamble although it is unclear whether he is purely doing this out of churlish malice. Rangers have had what only can be described as an inconsistent start to the season and are clearly struggling to identify a starting eleven. The Central Belt Bluenoses however appear confident that Rangers have a clearer starting XI and expect to line up in a 4-3-3 formation. Wes Foderingham should keep his place in goals ahead of veteran Matt Gilks. James Tavernier and Lee Wallace will start in the two full-back positions. Rob Kiernan missed the last few games with an injury but looks likely to start. Kiernan and Wilson appear to have claimed the first-choice centre-back pairing (unfortunately) despite the arrival of experienced but aging duo of Clint Hill and Philippe Senderos. Andy Halliday should start in defensive midfield with Joey Barton missing (or running scared of Ross Draper). Jason Holt provides a lot of energy in the middle of the park and should keep his place whilst Niko Kranjcar impressed against the Plastic Whistle. Kenny Miller is likely to start up front as the target man with Martyn Waghorn operating as the wide forward from the right. Barrie McKay, to me the big danger, will keep his place on the left. If that is the Rangers line up then we need to go wide and offensive. Both Wallace and Tavernier are prone to leave their defensive duties and will leave space up front. Personally I would go with Fisher up front, if he has shaken off his knock, rather than Doumbuoya. Keep Draper “in the hole” behind him Tansey and Polworth to hold central midfield. I have not been impressed by Tansey this season but this is a “shop window” and I expect him to put in a MotM performance. Two wide players are a must and it looks like it will be Mulraney and King to start with. The back five pick themselves. McKay and Tremarco will be tested by McKay (need to check with CaleyD about the spelling). We certainly went backwards at Hamilton but escaped with a point, leaving us on a 5 game unbeaten run. That has led to Richie Foran being awarded the coveted Manager of the Month Award. Let’s hope that his lucky shamrock can ward off the curse that the award has placed on previous ICT Managers. And a 2-0 win would take us into the Top Six and ahead of Rangers on goal difference. But three points and a scabby one goal win will suffice. Shaggy Richie looks ahead to the game........

Liam's late show again Liam Polworth extended Caley Thistle's unbeaten run to five games with a superb injury time leveler against Hamilton Accies. The home side had taken the lead in the eighteenth minute after Alexandre D'Acol scored from a rebound. Hamilton enjoyed the lions share of possession, but Inverness were able to fashion an equal share of the chances, however a point looked unlikely until Poly pounced in the 93rd minute. Foran benched Jake Mulraney, handing luxury man Iain Vigurs a start with Lonsana Doumbouya given the striker role. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Immortal Howden Ender has this report for us. For the benefit of those with a humour bypass, some of this may be tongue in cheek. Junior Strictly Come Dancing or Green Street? Are they simply getting nervous at the thought of IHE watching from the stands? It certainly was nowhere near as bad as Tynecastle, although Hearts may well have hit five against us and we were fortunate that their last touch was very poor and their shooting was rushed and mainly way off target. The statistics will suggest that this was a close affair but I feel that we did NOT deserve to take anything from this and that was a real “smash and grab” in injury time. But playing poor away from home, coming away with a point and stretching the unbeaten run to five games. Well you shouldn’t complain but I have enjoyed better games down the park on a Sunday morning. I wonder if other away teams lament the Hamilton experience. Due to the unfriendliness of local hostelries we enjoyed our pre-match bevvy in the Auctioneers in down down Glesga prior to catching the 14.20 train from Central Station. Then a wee trudge through a shittty alleyway and in to a practically empty stadium. Attendance was given at 1611 but it did not even look like that. Only two stands in use. The Main Stand had three sections full and the rest sparsely populated. We must have had 200-300 but we were spread out all over the place and there was little atmosphere to enthuse about. The only craic was the exchanges between our Young Team and their Hamilton counterparts. I don’t think that I will have to use much space to report on the actual game. We looked the part for the first ten minutes but it was tippy-tappy stuff. Then we faded and let Hamilton take control. It looked like a Warren error that allowed D’Acol to put the Accies ahead in the 18th minute. Their young kids basically looked like they had more energy and commitment until we went for broke in the last ten minutes when Accies also looked as if they had run out of steam and settled for a 1-0 win. It sounds as if that is the story of their season. Not sure why Foran decided to start Vigurs instead of Mulraney. He then took Mulraney on to play wide left whilst Hamilton's right flank looked as unsteady as one of the nearby slum tenements. Draper appeared to be in more of a centre forward role and it appeared that a lot of balls were being launched at him instead of Doumbouya. Again the match stats state that we had 7 attempts on target. Well we were looking dangerous only from dead ball situations. Mckay and Warren (twice) had half efforts in the first half. Draper had a great header saved by the substitute keeper, Scott Harrison late on, and then of course Polworth's drive deep into injury time. I suppose that people will say that Foran got the substitutes right but I don’t. Our main saviour was the amount of injury time which resulted from two stoppages for the keeper, time wasting by the Hamilton substitutions and Hamilton sitting back and us going for broke. We could even have snatched three points if Doumbouya had put the last minute header on target. It was nice to see Dougie Imrie prostrate and distraught at the end. I have to add that Hamilton’s youth Academy appears to continue to bring up talented youngsters. I would love to know their recipe for success. Docherty looks a winner and he and Crawford bossed the midfield which turned the whole game in their favour. Imrie to be fair did look illustrious and effective. But I feel that we missed a trick by not targeting the young lad, at left back, making his first appearance. I also thought that Sarris dominated and bullied Doumbouya. I can’t even be bothered doing a Smileymometer as I think that I have summed up the performance previously. Fon Williams did nothing wrong. McKay looked less reassured. Warren and Meekings looked shaky at times but probably not helped by Hamilton totally bossing the midfield. Tremarco continues to be consistent and gets my MotM. Cant believe that we continue to play Polworth wide right and he proved that by coming through the middle for the late goal. I only noticed Tansey for the first time when he went off injured. Same could be said of Vigurs!! King had an off day. Draper had to slot in to three different roles but he looks wholly suited to the front hole role. The surface did not appear to bother him and he looked like our real driving influence. Sorry but I am still not enthralled by Doumbouya. I felt that he let Sarris bully him. Get him down the Gym and on the weights and a wee bit of sprint training as well. But again what service and support did he get. I have already decried taking Mulraney on to the left and when we switched we began to look dangerous. Boden simply looked disinterested and added nothing. Cole is clearly “green” but got involved, appears to have a good touch and pace. Then I bet Doran is one cheesed off punter forced to watch that for 97 minutes. So in essence the first 93 minutes were shocking but the last 4 were promising. As fer Mr Cook – well we would have been better with Mary feckin Berry in the centre. He upheld the current reputation of Scottish officialdom. Talking about bullying earlier on, a wee mention for the so called Hamilton Youth Team. What a feckin firm. They joined us at the trudge back down the alleyway to the Station. They spouted filth at families and disabled supporters. They passed by us and ignored our shouts of abuse encouragement. Some of them were 11 or 12 years old. They did not retaliate. They then grouped at the end of the alley in clear sight of the Polis and entered in to the dancing and come on gesturing. It looked more like Junior Strictly Come Dancing than Green Street. However, please don't try this at home children. Match footage from SPFL Website Post match Richie added – “I thought we had the better chances, their keeper pulled off one or two decent saves, we had one cleared off the line so on chances alone I think we deserved a point. On overall play, I thought they were the better team.” Not sure if he was at the same game. Video from Caley Jags TV Hamilton:- 1 (D'Acol 18) Matthews (Thomson 81), Seabourne, Gillespie, Imrie, Docherty, D'Acol (Bingham 65), Crawford, Longridge (Want 85), Mackinnon, McMann, Sarris. Subs not used: Redmond, Roy, Tierney, Hughes. Inverness CT:- 1 (Polworth 90+3) Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Cole 75), Tansey (Boden 50), King (Mulraney 59), Mckay, Doumbouya. Subs not used: Mackay (GK), Doran, Horner, Fisher. Referee: Barry Cook. Attendance: 1611.

Welcome to the Jungle. Unbeaten in four now and Richie Foran takes his squad off to Cadzow, a war torn Eastern Block concrete jungle parallel town in South Lanarkshire, now known as Hamilton, to face The Accies on the plastic pitch where fleet footedness might be the order of the day. It's been a decent September for Foran as he has turned the fortunes of his team around with a win and two draws, following on from a victory over St Johnstone at the end of August. That was in stark contrast to four consecutive defeats that saw Inverness stuck at the foot of the Premiership, a 5-1 thrashing at Tynecastle, and out of the League Cup at the hands of Alloa. September must surely give Richie a chance at winning the Manager of the Month award, albeit an award that historically signals the start of a run of poor results. Maybe we should leave that out and just concentrate on moving up. Stat Attack:- Inverness have won their last six games at New Douglas Park. Last season it was two wins apiece, all wins coming at away games including a stunning 3-4 win at Hamilton where long range efforts were the order of the day in somewhat blustery conditions. Biggest ever win was a 6-1 thrashing in the Scottish cup when Inverness ran riot after falling behind to an early goal. That was fourteen years ago. Five years earlier, Hamilton had come North and knocked Inverness out of the Scottish Cup 3-1. It was a brace from Paul Ritchie that made the difference. I'll hand you over to Immortal Howden Ender for his pre-match banter where he has been checking out Saturday's opponents and casting his eye over the architectural beauty of Cadzow. There's a preview in there somewhere if you work your way through the old gits memoirs. He could be preparing to write his autobiography, Life after HMS Sneck. Yes indeed the trip to New Douglas Park (it will never be the feckin SuperSeal Stadium) has usually been a fruitful experience for ICT and hopefully we will be leaving with another three points and moving in to the Top Six, hardly expected after our horrific start to the season. We appear to thrive on synthetic surfaces (apart from Ross Draper that is) and it may well suit the current squad of pacy players even better than previous. We have not lost a point there since January 2009. During that time we have won the last six fixtures since, scoring 15 goals and conceding only 5. At the TCS it is practically a reversal of fortune and I never realised that Hamilton were such a bogey team in Sneck. I have also realised that Hamilton must be the one team who I have never seen us get beaten by. Three of those goals conceded away happened in the game on December 30th 2015. But in a real end to end affair we sneaked a 4-3 victory. Two free kicks by Greg Tansey and a late Polworth winner sent our hardy support home prematurely celebrating the New Year. The other game that lives in the memory was the “Farewell to Brewster” defeat in January 2009 when we serenaded (and sacked) him with the famed shoe song !! As the Sun reported: “The shoes one day. The boot the next. Craig Brewster fell victim to fan power as he was kicked out of Inverness Caley Thistle. Fed up supporters had chanted ‘Shoes Off If You Hate Brewster’ as they lost at Hamilton. The club’s seventh straight league defeat left then stranded at the foot of the SPL. It also left them walking a relegation tightrope five years after a spectacular sprint into the top flight. Brewster has paid the price as Caley faced the biggest on-field crisis in their 15-year history.” I can remember that we pegged Hamilton back in the last 20 minutes and came close to equalising three times. My heart was in my mouth and I kept on saying to maself, "Fer fecks sake Caley, give us a break mun, DON'T feckin score and spoil our day, right eenuff " The 4-3 was not the only high scoring match in the history of ICT and Hamilton. I was fortunate to be on holiday on 22/02/2003 when we met Hamilton in the Scottish Cup in Inverness and ended with a resounding 6-1 victory. Braces from Wyness and Robson were added to by Ritchie and McCaffrey. Bobby Mann went off injured early doors and was replaced by a young Grant Munro. And then we went ballistic again against Celtic but fell to the Argentine influenced Dundee in the semi-final at Hampden Park. And I would never have guessed at that time, how many times we would be heading to Mount Vernon. Eight points out of the last 12, including draws against the current top two has been a breath of fresh air. Add to that an apparent attacking philosophy of the “under fire” novice manager, a growing sign of togetherness and squad options that ensures everybody is fighting for their places can only be healthy. Hamilton are only three points behind us but we are only three points off third place. This may not be your classic six-pointer but there is a lot at stake. At first glance Hamilton’s draw with St Jones Town, after taking the lead, looks worrying. However the Perth Pack may have suffered from a gruelling cup tie less than 72 hours previous and they rang the changes at Hamilton. This included the non-appearance of Steven McLean who apparently will not play on synthetic purposes. Always preferred a bit of pure, mature grass maself. Hamilton suffer as badly as us in transfer windows. They tend to look to youth rather than spending and that appears to have kept them afloat in the Premiership. They still have a number of decent players like Grant Gillespie, Darian MacKinnon and Ali Crawford (being touted for a Scotland cap) and then there is the Peter Pan of Neds - Dougie Imrie - who always appears to go up a gear against us. Add to that the youth of Eamonn Brophy and new Under 21 player Greg Docherty, who has already got 50 games under his belt. The problem appears to be that they simply do not know their first XI. Canning is a novice and tactically is suspect. Midfielder Darren Lyon could be out for five or six weeks. Gary Woods, Jesus Garcia Tena and Craig Watson are all out, but captain Michael Devlin could return. As far as our starting XI goes I suspect that it will simply be same again. I feel that Foran has made it clear that everyone is playing for their place and a 4-4-1-1 will suit as away from home. At the moment we have a goalie on top form, a solid back four playing together, two fine holding players with Tansey as the creator, two wide players with pace, possibly the player of the month in the hole and Doumbouya's goal will probably keep him ahead of Fisher. Doran must be close to starting but I don't feel that Richie could justify dropping either Mulraney or King. I wonder what Scott Boden is thinking about all of this? David Raven and Kev McNaughton are our only absentees. Ryan Esson has been struggling with an elbow injury, but Lewis Horner could be fit enough to cover any defensive mishaps. But should we even start Draper after what happened at Killie last season? Some people are simply not matched to playing on synthetic surfaces. Draper's playing style, running from deep and the loping stride are wide open to injury. Perhaps like McLean from St Jones Town we should take the risk of resting him and playing either Fisher or Boden ; Boden being a better match for Doumbouya. And if ya think our Young Team are mischievous, then their counterparts – The Hamilton Young Fannies – appear to be getting a ten times worse reputation. Last time we were there they were “challenging” some Canadian school sports team - mixed genders, probably about 12 or 13, and their teachers – who were probably having a day out !! By the way the Canadians were the Winnipeg ICT Supporters Club on tour. Good job the neds did not cross over cos they would have been ice hockey sticked to puck. And last but clearly not least. What watering hole will be allowed into. On my previous trips to Hamilton we have faced Home Supporters Only greetings. So basically Hamilton is a shithole where you need to spend the least amount of time possible. So it is a case of grabbing a few beers and double voddies in Glesga, grabbing a train which thankfully stops beside the Stadium, grab a few goals, three points and back on the train as soon as possible. Kinda spoils the idea of the Away Day experience though. At least Superseal, the sponsors, are a Home Improvement Company. I might ask if my uncle can get a job as he would be an asset in that type of environment. He is a bulldozer driver. Disclaimer:- This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental............. But these videos from Caley Jags TV are the real thing.

Dundee's Dismal run continues. Inverness took all three points with a relatively comfortable 3-1 win over Dundee who have never won in the Highland Capital, and never looked like changing that after the hosts early flurry gave them a two goal cushion. Despite Dundee seeing plenty of the ball, they were unable to do much with it and their dismal form in Inverness continued. Lonsana Doumbouya nodded his first goal for Inverness in the seventh minute and Greg Tansey lashed home a penalty nine minutes later to give the hosts the lead at the break. A smart third from Liam Polworth settled the game before Inverness took the foot of the gas. Dundee scored from an excellent set piece as Nicky Low picked his spot from twenty yards with six minutes remaining. Not the most impressive performance from Foran's men, but the three points have catapulted Inverness up to eighth in the table and we remain unbeaten in four now. Old Caley Girl was at this one and here is her thoughts about the game Comfortable Comfortable was the word of the afternoon. Dundee continued their poor record in Inverness as they returned home pointless. ICT took to the pitch looking confident and hoping to add to an unbeaten run of 3 games with only one change from the team that started against Celtic. The visitors had former Caley Jags player Nick Ross in the starting XI, but Danny Williams and James Vincent were on the bench. A few eyebrows were raised at the omission, from the starting line-up, of Iain Vigurs but that was soon forgotten when, 8 minutes in, CaleyJags took the lead. Brad Mckay popped the perfect cross into the centre of the box to find the head of Doumbouya who headed into the top left hand corner. This game was essentially all over 8 minutes later when Etxabeguren was adjudged to have fouled Billy King in the box. From the North stand my view of the incident was poor but it appears King was shoulder barged in the box with a leading elbow and the referee was correct in his award of a penalty kick. Up stepped Tansey and slammed home the spot kick. The penalty effectively ended the game as a contest. Dundee have not won since the opening day of the season and it showed. They huffed and puffed but could'nt blow the house down, and if it hadn’t been for Bain it could have been a rout. They play nice football at times but El Bakhtaoui looked a lonely man up front with non-existent support, although Fon Williams did have to pull off a tremendous reflex save just before the break as we tried to offer Dundee a lifeline. Half Time 2-0 They certainly looked much brighter in the second half but in 51 minutes any lingering doubts of a Dundee comeback were ended. Brad Mckay earned himself a second assist by charging through the middle and passing perfectly to Polworth who slotted home past Bain. Polworth could, and should, have added another a few minutes later but decided to pass to Mulraney in front of goal but he fluffed his lines by shooting straight at the keeper. Maybe too eager to get on the scoresheet, but Bain blocked his shot. The only disappointing part of the afternoon, if being picky, was the failure to keep a clean sheet. Owain Fon Williams did not have to get anywhere near having to repeat the performance of last week. Nicky Low gained a consolation goal from a spectacular free kick into the top corner about 20 yards out in 84 minutes. Full Time 3-1 Special mention to Dundee’s odd formations at corner kicks. Bizarre, just bizarre! Make no mistake this was an important win. These are the sort of games we need to be winning if we have aspirations of top 6 this season. The league table looks a lot more pleasing reading but another 3 points at Hamilton next week could see us climb into a top six slot for the first time this season. Old Caley Girl MotM:- A harder choice this week. The match sponsors went for Jake Mulraney who continues to show promise. There were competent performances throughout the team. My jury is out on Doumboya though, as he kept earning the referees attention with some awkward challenges. Brad Mckay had an excellent game and looks like he might be a top signing by Foran. My choice however, was the excellent Liam Polworth who bagged himself a goal and was our standout midfielder. He divides opinion, within our support, but more of this type of performance please. Match footage from SPFL Website Match reaction from Caley Jags TV Date: 24/09/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2884 Referee: Kevin Clancy Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth, Draper, Mulraney (Cole 87), Tansey, King (Doran 75), McKay, Doumbouya (Fisher 61) Subs (not used): Mackay, Vigurs, Boden, Sutherland Scorers: Doumbouya (8), Tansey (pen.17), Polworth (51) Booked: Doumbouya (47), Warren (74) Sent Off: none Dundee: 1 Lineup: Bain, Holt, O'Dea, Hateley (Loy 54), Low, Duffy (Teijsse 61), Etxabeguren, Ross (Williams 75), McGowan, El Bakhtaoui, Kerr Subs (not used): Mitchell, Vincent, Gadzhalov, Wighton Scorers: Low (84) Booked: Ross (53), Etxabeguren (62), Low (85) Sent Off: none