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Mid Table Congestion. It's a mid-table battle to end the year at Hamilton as Inverness head to New Douglas Park to take on the Accies as both clubs strive to get into the top half of the table. Inverness fought hard for their point at Pittodrie on Boxing Day and will be a tad disappointed at only coming away with the draw after surrendering a two goal lead. It was great to have an almost full strength X1 available at Aberdeen with only Josh Meekings being the obvious exception. Hamilton lost to second bottom Kilmarnock on the same day and that result saw us jump above them in the league on goal difference. Accies are on a shocking run just now with only one win out of their last ten games, that being a defeat of bottom club Dundee United. They have now lost their last three games, conceding eight goals and scoring one. However, they did win in Inverness back in August, inflicting a 2-0 defeat on us in the Highlands. We have not made the most of some of our visits to NDP and often come away empty handed. In saying that, we have won our last four games there. Back in August on matchday five, Hamilton came North and goals from Carlton Morris and Louis Longridge won the game for them. That result put Accies fourth in the table and we were bottom equal with just two points after five games. We are starting to get a more settled side on the park now while Accies slide down the table and John Hughes will be looking to get something from this game. There's little to choose between the sides. We have scored one more goal but have conceded three less, hence we sit above them in the table. Recent form hints that we should be favourites to win this one, but that's never a good status for us. Inverness will be able to call upon Iain Vigurs after suspension, But Josh Meekings is still struggling with an injury after he missed the game at Pittodrie. Also out are long term victims, Aaron Doran, Dean Brill and Richie Foran. Jordan Roberts is fit enough to claim a spot on the bench and will be like a new signing when he is unleashed on the unsuspecting SPFL. Hamilton have no new injury worries although Michael Devlin and Darren Lyon are not ready to return, but Daniel Redmond played his first game this season last weekend in the defeat by Kilmarnock when he came on as a substitute in the 81st minute. tm4tj Prediction:- I suppose I was a bit scathing in the lead up to the Aberdeen game, but with players returning, we are starting to see a better all round balance to the side. Ross Draper was excellent at Pittodrie as was Miles Storey who ran himself to a standstill. With David Raven also returning at right back, we will be healthier defensively. If we can nick a goal or two then Dougie Imrie and Co will be staring at four defeats in a row. Here's hoping.

Another Late Goal. Inverness surrendered a two goal lead against in form Aberdeen to draw 2-2, thanks to a last minute penalty scored by Adam Rooney, his 14th of the season. Despite six minutes of time added on, we managed to not concede again and it ended all square. Liam Polworth had stroked home in the first half after great work by Ross Draper. Just after the restart, Greg Tansey put the keeper the wrong way from the spot. As Inverness sat deeper, Aberdeen were certainties to capitalise and Niall McGinn scored his 50th goal for the Dons. Ohhh Gary Warren has a new meaning as the big defender was mugged on the edge of the box. Up stepped Willie Collum just when it looked as though we had weathered the onslaught to provide Rooney with the opportunity to score in injury time, and score he did. This was a result we would have bitten your hand off prior to kick off, but once more the late goal scuppers us. Yes it was like a defeat, but credit to the team for getting us into that positon in the first instance. Ross Draper and David Raven returned to the starting X1 much to the relief of the travelling support. Josh Meekings was missing presumably carrying a knock. Aberdeen began with David Goodwillie on the bench along with the returning Mark Reynolds. Miles Storey was first to show on a cold East coast afternoon. He probably should have done better with the two opportunities presented to him as he raced clear of the defence. His first one was blocked by Danny Ward as he bore down on goal, the second was tipped round the post when a square ball to Draper would surely have paid dividends. Devine breathed a sigh of relief as he scurried back when Aberdeen broke forward. He met the cross as he raced into his own box and his header arrowed just past Fon Williams' post. Inverness restricted the Dons pretty well in the first half and we took the lead through Liam Polworth four minutes before the break. Draper picked up on the halfway and drove forward. He played on to David Raven who returned the ball to Draper as he burst into the box. The big man did well to shrug off Paul Quinn before rolling the ball across the box where Polworth met it some 12 yards out to guide the ball into the net. Half Time 0-1 The second half was only one minute in when Draper was adjudged to have been impeded in the box and the controversial Willie Collum pointed to the spot. A tad harsh maybe, but if you make contact in the box then you run the risk of falling foul and that is what happened here as Quinn made the challenge. Greg Tansey wasn't worried and he stroked the ball neatly into the bottom corner, Ward looking for something on the other side of the net. Quinn had been getting the brush off from Draper and he was replaced by David Goodwillie as Derek MacInnes went for broke. Niall McGinn was beginning to see more of the ball in search of his 50th Dons goal and he shot narrowly over from just outside the box as Aberdeen pushed forward with more urgency, Inverness content to let them have a go as we sat deeper. Goodwillie had a header saved as the Dons racked up the corners, but Inverness were still holding firm. Owain Fon Williams took a sore one as he smashed his head of a post, as he scrambled to keep the ball out. He required lengthy treatment after this but we are pleased to say the post was able to continue after the collision. Aberdeen were throwing everything at Inverness as they looked for a way back into the game and just when it looked as though they were running out of ideas, we helped them out somewhat. Gary Warren mopped up an attack deep in his own box, but instead of clearing the danger, he elected to dribble his way out of trouble. Wrong thing to do Gary as McGinn mugged him and sped towards goal, scoring from an acute angle. Game on and Inverness had about twenty minutes to keep the ball out. McGinn missed again as he shot wide and Kenny McLean rattled the underside of the bar with a tremendous shot from distance as Inverness were finding it difficult to make any headway, and this would be our undoing with a bit of help from referee Collum. The ninety minutes were all but up when Danny Devine was hit by a shot inside the box. It appeared to strike his chest but Collum was confident enough to award the spot kick. Adam Rooney cracked the ball home and there were six more minutes to endure before we finally got out of our own half. Full Time 2-2 It was a backs to the wall performance in the second half, partly because Aberdeen went for it, and partly because we gave them control of the midfield. However, had Miles Storey taken one of his two excellent first half chances then the game could have been over before Warren let Aberdeen back into the game. Still a point at the title challengers den is not too shabby. Despite this blip from Gary, he had an excellent game otherwise and many fans had his card marked as MotM. This result actually lifts us one place in the table to eighth, but it's still very congested in there. Aberdeen stay one point behind Celtic after they drew with Hearts at Tynecastle. Date: 26/12/15 Venue: Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Attendance: 15,142Referee: Willie Collum Aberdeen: 2 Lineup: Ward, Logan, Shinnie, Taylor, Considine, McLean, Rooney, McGinn, Hayes, Quinn (Goodwillie 48), Jack Subs (not used): Brown, Reynolds, Smith, Robson, Pawlett, Storie Scorers: McGinn (73), Rooney (pen.90) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Warren, Devine, Tremarco, Tansey, Wedderburn, Polworth (Mbuyi-Mutombo 77), Vincent, Draper, Storey (Williams 88) Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Sho Silva, Roberts Scorers: Polworth (41), Tansey (pen.47) Booked: Polworth (76), Draper (82), Fon Williams (95) Sent Off: none

Festive Feast of Footie. Inverness take on a revitalised Aberdeen on Boxing Day with the Dons looking to close the gap on leaders Celtic while Inverness look anxiously over their shoulder at the fight for relegation. It has been a tremendous season for the Dons as they try to halt Celtic's dominance in the Premier League. They sit just one point behind the champions as we enter the festive feast of football which often makes or breaks teams aspirations for the season. Aberdeen can look forward to their challenge and a probable European slot with their finely tuned squad beginning to show great promise on the park. Included in that will be former Inverness favourites Adam Rooney, Jonny Hayes and cup winning captain Graeme Shinnie. Rooney has now scored 50 goals in 91 games for the Dons, 7 in his last 8 games. Might be worth keeping an eye out for him. Inverness fans will have a different outlook. The prospect of relegation is unfortunately very real as we have struggled with injuries and squad depletion from the start of the season. In reality, we are only a couple of wins away from the heart of the top six. Turn those wins into defeat, and we will be preparing for a relegation battle until the end of the season; it's that tight. The Dons limbered up for this game by thrashing Kilmarnock 4-0 at Rugby Park last week. They battered Killie stupid, a result that puts the Ayrshire club second bottom. Whilst the Dons were giving Kilmarnock the runaround, we were struggling to snatch a draw at home to bottom club Dundee United. It took an injury time goal by Lewis Horner to salvage a point after former players Rankin and Mckay looked to have given United all three points, something that never went down well in the North Stand. To boo or not to boo, that is the question. Anyway, we did enough to earn a point, but we were so close to nothing from a game we were hoping to have done better in. Since we last met in September, a game we won by the way, we have earned just eleven points from nine games. Aberdeen have fared slightly better. They have gathered seventeen points and are back on track after winning five of their last six games. They are, however, beatable as St Johnstone proved when they hammered the Dons 5-1 at Pittodrie as their season began to disintegrate temporarily. That's the kind of result that we have to cling on to, and hope that we can get in on the act ourselves. Aberdeen have a wealth of talent to draw upon, including four of our former players and they will be further bolstered by the return of Andrew Considine and Mark Reynolds. Inverness will be without the suspended Iain Vigurs, but some Xmas cheer with Josh Meekings and Ross Draper returning to the squad. We could also see David Raven and Jordan Roberts after they featured in a development game in midweek. Raven at right back is a must for Inverness and let's get Meekings back into the heart of the defence with a left back playing at left back. Well, that's my Xmas wish list sorted. tm4tj Prediction:- We couldn't have asked for a tougher game than this one. The Dons are on a roll just now, winning their last four on the trot, conceding only one goal in the process. Adam Rooney is on fire just now and scoring for fun while we stutter our way down the league. I have to say that the omens are not great for us and we will do well to take anything from this game. It might be a case of damage limitation, but beware of the scalded cat. However, I can't see past a comfortable win for the home side, although we could be stronger than we have been in recent weeks. Fingers crossed.

Return of the Mac. Basement boys Dundee United will be our last visitors before Santa comes along. The Tayside strugglers are propping up the league and thus far have made themselves favourites for the automatic relegation slot, although there is plenty of time to overhaul that eight point gap to second bottom Kilmarnock before next May. The clubs met back at Tannadice in September and bludgeoned their way to a 1-1 draw with Billy Mckay scoring for the Arabs after his return to Scottish football. Josh Meekings squared the game in the second half and a point each was just about right. Jackie McNamara was still in charge but things were not going well for the ex-Celtic player. That result left them on five points from eight games and second bottom of the league. Fast forward to the present, and they have hit rock bottom, sacked their manager and slipping into the Championship at an alarming rate. In the ten games since our last meeting, United have gained a mere four points out of a possible thirty. That's relegation form in any league. Their only win in that run was against Ross County, a draw with ten man Kilmarnock their only other positive result. Looks like new manager Mixu Paatelainen has plenty of work to do if he wants to avoid relegation being stamped on his CV. We have not had a lot to crow about either, but the return from injury of some influential players has seen us gather thirteen points over the same period. Four wins in that run of games, the Aberdeen one being the pick of the bunch. Also worth mentioning a 2-1 derby defeat of Ross County and despite our dismal start and erratic form we find ourselves eleven points above United in seventh place and knocking on the top-six door. Inverness have been able to field Richie Foran in development matches, although he got a smack on his face in the last one and left the field for treatment. Jordan Roberts also took part and that is good news for us. Ross Draper is struggling for fitness and will be assessed later. Definitely out are Aaron Doran and Dean Brill with Roberts and Foran likely to miss out. More good news, Miles Storey is fit enough to be included in the squad and John Hughes is looking to extend the young strikers stay at Inverness along with Tobi Sho Silva. Dundee United will be without Paul Paton, Ryan Dow until New Year and Florent Sinama Pongolle is out for a month. Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima has still not completed his work permit tests based on his understanding of the English language. Not sure how much English he will need to get by in Dundee. United have struggled since losing Gary Mackay-Stevens, Stuart Armstrong and Nadir Ciftci, three players who could change a game. tm4tj Prediction:- Well, everybody else is taking plenty of points from the Arabs so anything less than that will be seen as a disappointment. Miles Storey will be vital to our success and the striker should start. The ongoing question of who plays at right back is one for Yogi to decide, but general opinion seems to be that David Raven should be there if fit. Plenty of choices now for the manager to ponder over and that's a bonus. Billy Mckay is worth keeping a close eye on, rumour has it he has an eye for goals. Home win for me, let's not make the mistake of underestimating a team down on their uppers.

Early Xmas Present Inverness managed to get three points in a 2-1 victory, but not before losing another late goal to keep the fans on edge. An Iain Vigurs double saw us cruise in at the break two up but we conceded a late goal to give Killie a sight of the points. Mark Connolly scored with three minutes left but we managed to see out the game and get a much needed three points. This was a must not lose game and we achieved that. However, we made hard work of it in a poor second half showing when we let a sloppy Kilmarnock off the ropes and gave them every encouragement that they could possibly take something from a game that should have been well beyond them. John Hughes had a stronger squad available for this one as players returned from injury. Oddly, he still persists with Raven and Horner on the bench and Josh Meekings at right back with Danny Devine partnering Gary Warren at the heart of the back four. Carl Tremarco, Tobi Sho-Silva and Andrea Mutombo all started on the bench but all three of them would feature later in the game. Nat Wedderburn started this one with Ross Draper nowhere to be seen. Killie were much as expected with Kris Boyd and Josh Magennis the target men and a small band of hardy supporters had made the long trek to back the Ayrshire club. The opening exchanges were fairly even with Inverness doing their usual crisp passing without any penetration. We needed a little help and Kilmarnock duly obliged in the fourteenth minute. Comedy defending by two Killie players near the corner flag allowed Polworth to smuggle the ball from them. He ran along the line before teeing up Iain Vigurs who had the simplest of tasks to tap the ball home. An early Xmas present for Inverness, gift wrapped by the Kilmarnock defence. For all our dominance and good possession, we were still creating very little in the final third and more often than not seemed reluctant to build on our fortuitous start to the game. Kris Boyd gave the home fans cause for concern when he fired a powerful free kick a couple of feet over the corner of Fon Williams bar as Kilmarnock tried to get back on level terms, however it was Inverness who were busier around the penalty box, but without making keeper Jamie MacDonald work. That changed just after half an hour into the game and there was nothing fortunate about this one. We tore into the Kilmarnock defence down our right flank. Miles Storey got the better of the defenders this time and he rifled a ball into the box. James Vincent stepped over the ball and Iain Vigurs was left with time to pick his spot. Conrad Balatoni eventually got the booking he so richly deserved. The guy is a clown, getting his card not long after handbags when he tried to steal the ball when we were looking to take a throw in. Could easily have been an early bath for the hot-head. The half ended without much further ado and a comfortable position for Inverness to build on, surely. Half Time 2-0 Gary Locke decided enough was enough and he rang the changes at the break bringing on Carrick and Kiltie to replace Slater and Obadeyi. This appeared to inject a bit more urgency to the visitors, but Owain Fon Williams was still pretty much a spectator in the Inverness goal. We helped the Kilmarnock cause by being content to pass the ball sideways for long spells without looking to kill the game off and that would cause some unease in the stands. Storey limped out of the game on the hour being replaced by Andrea Mutombo, who's fleet of foot would entertain us for a bit although we were looking to kill the game off. We were content to hit on the break and at least half a dozen good bursts forward went without troubling the keeper as our efforts fizzled out before working the Killie defence. Liam Polworth missed the best chance of the half as he burst into the box after some intricate play just outside of it. Unfortunately he could not wrap his foot round the ball properly and he slid his shot just the wrong side of the post from close range. The game was slipping away from a lifeless Kilmarnock but we offered them a little help after failing to mop up from a corner. Mark Connolly scored from close range to unsettle the home support and set up a fraught last few minutes of play. Still time for substitute big Tobi to ruffle the side netting from a tight angle as we went seeking a third and Tansey brought out a save from MacDonald. We weathered the final moments fairly comfortably despite Killie winning a corner to keep their hopes alive. Full Time 2-1 Hard earned three points beginning with a gift from Kilmarnock. Cracking second goal and relatively comfortable passage despite Killie scoring late. Liam Polworth was a standout with his driving runs and incisive passing and is my MotM. Well backed up by Nat Wedderburn, especially in the first half and two goal hero Iain Vigurs. We tried to let Kilmarnock back into the game but they were unable to accept our generosity and were really there for the taking, but likewise, we were unable to give them the doing they should have had. However, a welcome three points which moves us in the right direction, up to seventh, but little in it between seventh and eleventh where Kilmarnock now find themselves. Next up is Dundee United, another must not lose game. Keep the faith as we look to enter the top-six. Date: 12/12/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2775 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Meekings, Warren, Devine, Williams, Wedderburn (Tremarco 77), Tansey, Polworth, Vincent, Vigurs (Sho-Silva 82), Storey (Mbuyi-Mutombo 60) Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Lopez, Horner Scorers: Vigurs (14, 32) Booked: Vigurs (21) Sent Off: none Kilmarnock: 1 Lineup: MacDonald, O'Hara, Connolly, Balatoni, McHattie, Smith, Hamill (Robinson 82), Magennis, Slater (Carrick 46), Obadeyi (Kiltie 46), Boyd. Subs (not used): Ridgers, Barbour, Westlake, Ashcroft Scorers: Connolly (87) Booked: Balatoni (22), McHattie (38), Connolly (45), Boyd (90) Sent Off: none

Time to dig deep Kilmarnock are the visitors this weekend and hopefully the weather will allow the game to take place after last weeks chaotic fixture list was blown apart for many teams. Just in case there is another postponement, I'm keeping this weeks effort brief. The enforced lay off can only benefit us as the players get an extra week of recuperation in their search for full fitness. Carl Tremarco has shaken off his hamstring problem and Jordan Roberts has resumed full training. With Tobi Sho-Silva and Andrea Mutombo a couple of weeks ahead in their return things are starting to look slightly healthier for Yogi who will now have the problem of team selection to ponder over. Kilmarnock, on the other hand were involved in a 1-1 draw with bottom club Dundee United. The game was not without incident though. Kris Boyd scored his 95th goal for Killie but he scores when he wants, Billy (small K) Mckay, levelled from the spot. The Rugby Park side were reduced to ten men at the penalty when Stuart Findlay was sent off midway through the first half, but they held on for a point. We lost our earlier meeting with Killie at Rugby Park by 2-0 and the Caley Jags fans were less than enthusiastic with our performance on that October day. Alternative Maryhill was moved to pen - "The second half was as bad as I've seen us all season though: far too narrow, far too many misplaced passes, far too many lazy-looking through balls that seemed to suggest players thinking 'we'll just give it to Miles and he'll do the rest'. I felt sorry for Storey - he ran his socks off, but the Killie defence stuck close to him and dealt with him pretty effectively throughout." Rig backed this up with - "Later on when the game was getting increasingly congested in the middle of the pitch we strangely took off Williams who was playing quite well and at least gave us some kind of width to our play as an alternative to trying to force it through the middle of the pitch where Christie was struggling to impose himself and Storey was getting no change out of the excellent Killie centre backs. It seemed a very odd decision." So, plenty of food for thought for Yogi to get his teeth into. The consensus of opinion suggests that it's not a great idea for us to fall behind, because we seem incapable of turning the game around. Remember, this game was played when we had the services of Ryan Christie. Tobi reckons he would like to stay at Inverness after January should both clubs agree on this. He has some unfinished business I suppose having been injured for most of the time he has been here, but still wants the opportunity to show what he can do. Well, Miles Storey needs some support and Tobi could be the man to provide it. Inverness still have a couple of players out long term. Dean Brill, Aaron Doran and Ryan Christie are way off a return but Roberts and Foran are starting full training, with Foran having been involved in a couple of Development league games. Tremarco could be added to the squad as could bad boy Dani Lopez. Kallum Higginbotham is ruled out along with midfield absentees Rory McKenzie and Chris Johnston. tm4tj Prediction:- It's time we cuffed someone and what better time to start than against fellow strugglers. Our season has been a disaster so far and the league table backs that up, regardless of how we have achieved that. We are on the same points as Killie and Partick and this will surely be seen as a must not lose game. That usually means a bit of a defensive borefest, but we are hardly overladen with attacking flare options, and if we can blunder our way to all three points, I will be most grateful. Kris Boyd has scored 191 career goals in the top flight and will be a major worry for our fragile defence along with the steamroller that is Josh Magennis. I expect nothing less than a tough encounter as the teams battle it out at the wrong end of the table, but will be looking for all three points.

Capital Return Game Off A welcome return to the Capital for Inverness Caledonian Thistle this weekend. It's been too long and this is our first League visit to Tynecastle since February 2013 after both Hearts and Hibs tasted relegation over the last couple of seasons. We have all missed our trips to Edinburgh since the demise of the Capitals big two, and this one comes along just in time for some Xmas retail therapy and mulled wine ahead of the festivities. However, if you are travelling from the North side of Edinburgh, be aware that the Forth Road Bridge is closed both ways for structural repair and you will have to take the long way round. I don't see why we can't use the fifth bridge. It doesn't rain but it pours, and a pitch inspection will be carried out at 07:30 tomorrow. Inverness looked relatively comfortable last weekend against Celtic but the same old failings cost us dear. A bit of slackness in defence and a lack of creation were evident as Celtic ran out eventual winners by three goals to one. It was great to have Gary Warren and Ross Draper back in the starting line up, but without the tenacity and creativity of the injured Ryan Christie, we were pretty toothless up front, despite the best efforts of Miles Storey who scored his seventh goal of the season. Celtic recovered well from their disappointment in the Ajax tie. They were deservedly hauled level at the break but they were able to ease towards the three points without much fear of retaliation in the second half. We could consider ourselves a tad unlucky given the circumstances of the killer third goal, but if you don't create sufficient chances for the front men, then you will invariably come up short. We had to play Danny Williams at left back against Celtic with Carl Tremarco out through injury. That is no bad thing, but one wonders why we are persisting with Josh Meekings at right back and David Raven on the bench, unless of course he is carrying an injury. Meekings and Warren were a formidable force in our cup winning season, but since Warren's injury, we have played Danny Devine in the centre back position. That was fine when we had no other options, but what are we waiting for now. Scoring goals has been a problem all season and with Yogi penning a new deal, will we see one or two following in his footsteps. It would be prudent to try and get Miles Storey on board before someone else notices his potential and prises him away. We have yet to see the best of Tobi Sho-Silva since he arrived. His best wee cameo was in our first win of the season ironically against Hearts in Inverness. He played a starring role in that game when he came on as a substitute, hitting the woodwork and winning headers in the box. He was involved in the sending off of Juwon Oshaniwa just before we sealed the points with a debut goal from Miles Storey. James Vincent had opened the scoring earlier in the second half after great work by Ryan Christie. Since that game in September, we have picked up only eight points from a possible twenty-seven, while Hearts have accumulated sixteen points in their nine games. That damning stats are consistent with the season so far as the Jambo's have almost twice as many points as we have, (31 against 17). The table is a good reflection on the difference between the sides this year. Hearts sit third and we are hovering just above the relegation play-off place. The Edinburgh side are ahead of us in every statistic, scoring 29 against our 17, and conceding 17 compared to our 22. It makes you wonder how we managed to beat them already. It's a funny old game. Our injury crisis has improved to just drastic now after the return of Warren and Draper, with news that Foran has also returned to playing some development games. Andrea Mutombo and Sho-Silva were substitutes against Celtic and will benefit from more game time. Dean Brill has even managed some glove work so things are looking up, although Carl Tremarco missed out against Celtic and could miss out again to add to Ryan Christie, Aaron Doran and Jordan Roberts on the sidelines. Dani Lopez is clear of SFA suspension and it will be up to the Inverness management if he is to feature. Hearts were boosted by news that Arnoud Djoum and Igor Rossi have signed contract extensions until May 2017. Alim Ozturk is fit enough to be added to the squad but Jamie Walker is out. tm4tj Prediction:- We are not in the best of condition right now and although we won the first encounter this season, we don't look capable of stringing a few results together to get us out of the rut we are in. Hearts on the other hand are sitting pretty, third in the league on merit and can produce some sparkling results. I hope we have turned the corner in terms of injury, but I still fear for us in games like this when we could get overrun. I hope I am wrong here, but we are still a long way from our best and it could be a bleak day out in the capital.

Celtic Edge TV Show Celtic ran out relatively comfortable 1-3 winners eventually, after the Caley Jags had matched them all over the park except in the vital goal scoring area. Miles Storey levelled the game before half time after Callum McGregor replicated his goal against Ajax. After the break Leigh Griffiths scored from close range and Carlton Cole managed to handle the ball into the net off Danny Devine's shins for what could be described as a scrappy own goal. Heavy rain meant an early pitch inspection ahead of this televised game. Inspection passed but the horrendous weather would make for a heavy pitch as Vivaldi's Four Seasons was played out in one day. Gary Warren made a welcome return to the starting X1 along with Ross Draper, but there was no room for David Raven who was joined on the bench by Andrea Mutombo and Tobi Sho-Silva. Danny Williams went to left back and Josh Meekings was the preferred option at right back. Celtic continued with Kieran Tierney in defence and Scott Allan on the bench, but there was no sign of the struggling Kris Commons. Anthony Stokes was on the bench as his twitter account revealed. Something that would not best please the Celtic management team. Both sides started crisply but Celtic took full advantage from a third misplaced pass in a row from Josh Meekings. The ball was transferred swiftly forward and Mcgregor raced towards the home goal and planted the ball beyond Fon-Williams as the home defence went into reverse. We are in good company here as this was a photo-copy of the goal he scored in midweek against Ajax. Craig Gordon was fortunate to keep out a point blank header from Warren. Not sure he knew much about it, but the ball stayed out of the net and from the ensuing stramash, Meekings slid a sot just wide. We had responded well to the early setback and we forced a couple of corners but to no avail and at the other end Lustig headed wide after a Celtic corner. In the 38th minute, Miles Storey broke into the box chasing a neat ball from Polworth who did well when he robbed Armstrong in midfield. His initial shot was saved by Gordon but the ball broke kindly for the speedy hitman and he mopped up by slotting the ball into an empty net. Game on! Bitton shot wide as the game approached the break but all square at the interval was no more than Inverness deserved. Half Time 1-1 A positive start to the second period saw Draper head just wide as we looked to get our noses in front. Celtic responded with a hat-trick of corners which came to nothing before introducing Scott Allan for the struggling Stuart Armstrong. That substitution injected a bit more urgency about the visitors and just before the hour Tierney and Allan combined down the left to set up Griffiths to hammer the ball high into the net from six yards for a smart finish from the Champions. Inverness were restricted to containing Celtic as the visitors tried to assert themselves on proceedings and this was having a detrimental effect on our attacking options. Most of our good work was being done in midfield and neither keeper was being overworked. Carlton Cole almost made an instant impact as he headed downward, but Fon-Williams was alert and saved well, however, the cumbersome Cole was instrumental in the goal that killed the game. Leigh Griffiths unleashed a powerful shot that Williams did well to Parry. The ball hung around the Inverness box and with Cole lying on the deck, he appeared to nudge the ball with his hand/arm onto the unfortunate Devine who could only watch in dismay as the ball trundled into the corner of the net. Goal given and game over with around ten minutes of play left. Mutombo and Sho-Silva also got some game time but were not able to influence this game as we ran out of time and ideas. Full Time 1-3 We competed well and it was encouraging to get Warren and Draper on from the start. Same old problems of not creating enough really and although the third goal should not have stood, we never quite did enough to warrant getting anything from the game after the break. This result has us staring at the play off position, but still within touching distance of the top-six. We don't play Celtic every week so all is not lost as we get more players up to speed. The news that Yogi has signed on for another couple of seasons has been welcomed by most involved with the club and we can now focus on climbing away from danger and maybe even a wee cup run, starting at Stirling Albion in January. The two players that combined for our goal were the pick of our bunch with Fon-Williams making a couple of excellent saves as well, but Hughes can now maybe sort out a contract for MotM and top scorer Miles Storey now that his own destiny has been decided. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVG9Sc6Ol6g Date: 29/11/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 5976 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Meekings, Warren, Devine, Williams, Tansey, Draper, Polworth (Horner 84), Vincent (Mbuyi-Mutombo 73), Vigurs (Sho-Silva 73), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Wedderburn Scorers: Storey (39) Booked: none Sent Off: none Celtic: 3 Lineup: Gordon, Lustig, Simunovic, Boyata, Tierney, Johansen, Bitton, Armstrong (Allan 53), Rogic (Cole 59), McGregor, Griffiths (Mackay-Steven 92) Subs (not used): Bailly, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Ciftci Scorers: McGregor (7), Griffiths (59), Devine (og.85) Booked: Biton (65) Sent Off: none

Partick Test Inverness resume their challenge for points in the Premiership after the break with an away game against Partick Thistle, a ground where we never seem to get the better of the home side often enough, and this will be a stern test for Yogi's walking wounded. The gap week has been beneficial for us this time as it has allowed another two or three players to get back on the park and test their fitness, notably Ross Draper, Andrea Mutombo and Tobi Sho-Silva, so that's a bonus. However, there is always a sting in the tail at Inverness and Dani Lopez will not be available after the club suspended him following an alleged gobbing incident in the development league match against St Johnstone when he earned himself a red card during the spat, no pun intended, but it fits the crime; (allegedly). Our last venture to the central belt stronghold produced a welcome return to winning ways with a 3-1 win at Motherwell. Iain Vigurs scoring a peach of a volley the pick of the goals. A retaken Greg Tansey penalty and a Miles Storey deflection were the other scorers and the home sides consolation was also a bit scrappy as a Moult knockdown deflected in off Horner on the goal line. Partick also got a welcome point after being pegged back by a late Kane Hemming goal at Dens Park; sounds familiar. Defender Liam Lindsay had opened the scoring earlier for second bottom Thistle who are being kept off the basement by much troubled Dundee United. The sick list at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium is shortening slightly after the last break. Gary Warren, Ross Draper and Andrea Mutombo all featured in the development game in midweek and Tobi Sho-Silva and Richie Foran have returned to training. David Raven is available after suspension but the aforementioned Dani Lopez has been suspended by the club pending an investigation into what went on. A huge miss will be Ryan Christie who might have played his last game for Inverness and is now longer term injured, along with Aaron Doran, Jordan Roberts and Dean Brill. Partick are in better shape with Robbie Muirhead and Gary Miller back from injury and keeper Ryan Scully returning after suspension. Stuart Brannigan is suspended and Christie Elliot and Tomas Cerny are out injured. tm4tj Prediction:- I predicted a hammering for us last time out at Motherwell and that went badly wrong..............or right. A tremendous away win against the odds brought us out of our mini slump. Partick have been a thorn in our side in recent years and we will do well to take points back up the A9 without the precocious talents of Ryan Christie. We will have to get used to life without him sooner or later and with players returning that eases the burden on others, but the headache is all Yogi's as he decides who to keep in and who needs a rest. I will settle for a point.

I wasn't expecting that Inverness defied the odds to surprise even their most ardent of fans with a tremendous 1-3 win at Fir Park. A re-taken Greg Tansey penalty opened the scoring and Miles Storey added a second just before the interval. Iain Vigurs crashed home a superb third ten minutes after the break before Motherwell's Louis Moult poked in a consolation for the Steelmen soon after. To complete Wells misery, Stephen McManus was red carded in stoppage time. Inverness were down to the bare bones and by the time the final whistle went the bones were even barer as Ryan Christie and Miles Storey had to leave the field suffering from injury. Miles Storey managed to make the starting eleven and Gary Warren was on the bench along with Dani Lopez and Nat Wedderburn, but there was no place for utility man Danny Williams anywhere as he was suffering from a groin injury. Lewis Horner filled in for the suspended David Raven at right back. Motherwell managed to get Stephen Pearson fit enough for duty and he started. Theo Robinson and Wes Fletcher began on the bench with Scott MacDonald expected to score the goals and the talented Lionel Ainsworth to be one of the main providers. Inverness were minus a teamful of players and John Hughes had to sit in the stand. It was looking bleak for the Caley Jags, so much so that even the supporters bus was not required as they joined in the general malaise. Johndo will take over from here and give us a full match report when he has recovered from the shock of seeing the team win................................ Well was it worth the 180+ mile car journey in the persisting rain, an even worse return leg added to by a gale force wind, staying in Hamilton overnight, trains cancelled, getting a bus to Motherwell, getting lost, the Himalayan trek to the South Stand, a taxi back home and winning the Stoke v Chelsea first scorer sweep and not being there to pick up the winnings - presumably drunk by my compadres - Ya bet yer feckin bottom dollar it was. I thought that was as good a performance as we have put in this season. I thought that we deserved to win. Not a bad feat away from home with half a feckin squad to pick from and the manager in the stands. The Well crowd were so painful. On looking at the highlights / replays I think that he got every decision spot on. Well may well have had the lions share of the possession and considerably more shots (not on target !!) but we were relatively comfortable - apart from a companion who said that he would settle for 3-3 with 20 minutes to go - (hope he feckin choked on my Arnutovic winnings !! Looked like we went 4-4-1-1 to begin with - four at the back - a diamond in the middle with Tansey at the rear and Vincent up top - Christie roving and Storey running the line. Oh and two Development players on the bench. I thought that we played some lovely stuff in the first 20 minutes. Christie let fly with a curling left footer that went just wide and we were looking in charge. In some ways the early penalty goal changed our outlook. As fer the penalty - it was soft but you simply do not raise yer hand in a crowded goalmouth. Again a yellow is harsh but those are the rules. Tansey made it a replay of last week and the keeper sussed it. And again Thompson got it "spot-on" with the retake decision and TANSEY fired this one down the middle. Both Law and Storey encroached. But poor Well felt hard done by. WELL what they should have done was to concentrate on getting a shot on target plus their final passes were shocking. But they cascaded derision on Craig Thompson instead. We always looked more like scoring in the first half apart from a cracker that hit our crossbar. We may have thought that it was all over when we lost Christie and our shape. Lopez went into the Christie role which is OK'ish when he has Storey beside him. And STOREY neatly got himself in to a scoring position and abetted by a wicked deflection the ball sailed in the net to put us 2-0 up at half time. I had to laff at our substitutes at half time. The sight of Wedderburn and Warren playing passball with MacRae and Sutherland was like watching the Hulk, Spiderman and two of Snowwhite's dwarves. So onto the second and preparing for an onslaught which did come but not before Goal of the Season, probably even more satisfying as it was clearly straight out of the training ground. Superb flighted corner from Tansey and as sweet a strike from VIGURS as you will ever see. After that it was Well, Well, Well but we defended stoutly and always looked a danger on the break. May be harsh but I though that Fon Williams was at fault with the goal. It came at the perfect time for Well but they did not cash in on it. Perhaps they were too intent on chastising and calling Mr. Thompson !! Plus we never looked like scoring after Storey departed - clutching his hamstring again. But we hung on in there and thoroughly deserved the three points. And the 111 Highlanders went home happy - and what a feckin noise at the end with the acoustics of an empty stand FON WILLIAMS Despite the pressure he really did not have that much to do. Thought he misjudged the cross for their goal. Also I hate seeing keepers punch instead of holding. HORNER For a left footer squad player to fit in at right back was no mean feat. Didn't offer much going forward but defended stoutly. MEEKINGS Both central defenders were heroic DEVINE Both central defenders were heroic TREMARCO More of his type of game with little thought of going forward but tackling tigerishly - apart from the cross that ended in their goal. TANSEY More feckin like it - he controlled the game from deep. POLWORTH Shaded (just) MOM fer me. Great shift with doses of skill to put. Did that stare at Lopez after the hospital pass not scare you ?!! VIGURS Too much of a luxury fer us at the moment but a good "shoe-in" and the best possible bench warmer. What a feckin goal !! VINCENT I thought that he put in a great shift and was always on hand to help the attackers. CHRISTIE Usual before the early injury - hopefully a twinge. STOREY I suppose that we had little option but he really looked as if he was struggling and "Draperish" carrying an injury in the second half. Could never fault his effort and movement though. LOPEZ Looked OK with Storey but he is NOT a lone striker and he makes Vigurs look like Mr Dynamic. WARREN Welcome back skipper. Glad we didn't start you and your entry and the way that play was developing excused changing to a 5-4-1 WEDDERBURN Is he losing weight ? Date: 03/10/15 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 5473Referee: Willie Collum Motherwell: 1 Lineup: Ripley, Law, Kennedy, McManus, Chalmers, Ainsworth, Grimshaw, Pearson, Johnson (Robinson 79), McDonald (Fletcher 68), Moult Subs (not used): Samson, Laing, Clarkson, Leitch, Taylor Scorers: Moult (58) Booked: Pearson (12), Kennedy (55), McManus (64) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Horner, Polworth, Christie (Lopez 39), Vigurs (Wedderburn 79), Storey (Warren 71) Subs (not used): Esson, Sutherland, MacRae Scorers: Tansey (pen.11), Storey (45), Vigurs (53) Booked: Vigurs (17, Devine (51) Sent Off: none

Tale of two penalties This game was decided by two penalties and a sending off as the sides had to settle for a point apiece in a 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium. Rory Loy slotted Dundee's penalty home to take the lead after David Raven was sent packing, but Greg Tansey returned the favour just after the hour. That ended the scoring but not the chances, with Liam Polworth left pounding the turf after dragging a glorious opportunity wide late in the game. As expected, our injury situation dictated how we approached this game and the addition of Miles Storey to the casualty list saw Iain Vigurs start wide left with the versatile Danny Williams helping out up front. Gary Warren was a welcome addition to the bench, even if he might still be on crutches. Dundee began with the side that ended the Kilmarnock game. That meant there was no starts for Gary Harkins, Kane Hemmings or Darryll Meggatt. They made way for Thomas Konrad, Paul McGowan and Nicky Low. Heavy overnight wind and rain gave way to a pleasant Saturday afternoon and just under 3000 turned up to see if our fortunes could change. As is traditional, we started brightly without threatening and the game soon settled into a midfield tussle with neither keeper being troubled. There were a few half snippets, but everything would fizzle out before the keepers were made to work. We did find the net once our wide players worked out how to get the ball beyond the first defender, but unfortunately Josh Meekings was flagged for offside as he headed smartly into the net. I suppose the best chance of the half fell to Ryan Christie, but he elected to chest down a long cross rather than use his head, in doing so he was closed down before shooting. What were Dundee doing while we plugged away? Well, virtually nothing, that'll be why Hartley had them warming up on the pitch five minutes before the second half started. Half Time 0-0 Well, it seemed to work as Dundee raced to the opposition box right from the restart. Only five minutes into the second period David Raven tackled Greg Stewart as he was about to shoot and referee Brian Colvin who was handily placed had no doubt it was a spot kick and to make things worse, he sent Raven for an early bath for his troubles . Rory Loy converted from twelve yards as Fon-Williams tried to cover the opposite side of the goal frame. Things looked bleak for Inverness and we expected the worst. The sending off left acres of space for Dundee to exploit and we were now under the cosh. Nicky Low had a shot deflected for a corner and from he resultant ball into the box, Healey headed wide from a good position. Despite Dundee's dominance since Raven walked, Inverness drew level after 65 minutes. A decent break forward saw Polworth hitting the turf out wide in the box as he tried to cut back inside. It looked like a penalty, but play raged on and Ryan Christie spotted his chance. He burst onto the loose ball trying to head towards the corner flag, and before you could say for fecks sake ref, Colvin pointed to the spot as Christie was upended. Fair enough, one penalty from two shouts and when the dust settled, Greg Tansey tucked the ball into the bottom corner. That sparked Dundee into more activity around our box but again most moves were breaking down without Fon-Williams being pestered. Ricardo Calder and Kane Hemmings upped the pace when they were introduced and we did well to prevent Dundee from getting ahead. Healey and Hemmings had forced Fon-Williams into making tremendous stops but it was at the other end where the points should have been won. Josh Meekings saw the headlines in the Courier as he burst into the box wide on the right side, but he blazed his shot high and not very handsomely into the North Stand. Well at least that's where I thought it ended up. We received a boost when Gary Warren made a surprise return to action after his leg break and that locked the back door. We ventured forward, and after some neat interplay the ball looked to sit up nicely for Liam Polworth, but the midfielder dragged his shot across the goal from around twelve yards and that endeth the opportunities for the home side. Dundee would still pressure our defence, but with Warren in there we looked impenetrable and held on for a welcome point, much to Dundee's frustration, especially with us being reduced to 10 men for most of the second half. Full Time 1-1 It was a game of two penalties, simple as that. Neither side looked capable of carving out their own chances and it was probably fitting that the outcome was decided on penalties. Dundee will feel disappointed that they could not get the better of the ten men, but in all honesty they were atrocious in the first half and they could not take full advantage of a side reduced in numbers. Sounds familiar. A point each was probably a fair reflection on the overall play and neither side looked as if they were worth more than that. For us, it's a step in the right direction, even with more injuries to contend with and a sending off for Raven, but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for ooooohhh Gary Warren. MotM could be nobody else but Ryan Christie, who at times looked like the only home player tying to achieve something. His work rate was simply tremendous and some of his touches were sublime, fitting that he won the penalty that gave us a point. He was well backed up by Owain Fon-Williams in goal and Josh Meekings at the back. One or two others need to up their work rate though and Iain Vigurs will need to know that his honeymoon period is over and he must knuckle down to some serious hard graft. We have no room for luxury players at the moment. James Vincent's goal in the cup final seems like a lifetime away now as he struggles to create anything. I'll put it down to a shortage of players and some guys having to play unaccustomed roles. Welcome back Gary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm8oRPZjnwo&t=11s Date: 31/10/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2940 Referee: Brian Colvin Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Williams (Warren 79) , Polworth, Christie, Vigurs (Sutherland 66) Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, MacRae Scorers: Tansey (pen.64) Booked: none Sent Off: Raven (50) Dundee: 1 Lineup: Bain, Holt, Konrad, Stewart, Low (Calder 70), Loy (Hemmings 71), Ross, McGowan, McGinn, Healey, Gadzgalov Subs (not used): Mitchell, Irvine, Meggatt, Harkins, Skelly Scorers: Loy (50) Booked: none Sent Off: none

Survival of the fittest It's Halloween weekend and guisers Dundee FC come to the Highlands dressed as footballers in the hope that they can find Inverness Caledonian Thistle ready to dish out more gifts. We will be kitted up like patients at Raigmore. It's been a rough fortnight for Inverness after the euphoria of back to back league wins over Aberdeen and Ross County. Since then, we have lost two home games in a row. We went down insipidly to 10 man St Johnstone and were easily knocked out of the League Cup by derby rivals Ross County. Defeats are hard enough to take on their own, but the manner of these defeats has alarm bells ringing at the Caledonian Stadium. Against the Perth Saints, we were clueless as to how to break them down and the visiting keeper could have stayed in Perth. The County game was similar although we started brightly and finished strong, but the middle section of the game belonged to County and that was when the match was won. Once more, the lack of a cutting edge was evident as we struggled badly to create clear opportunities. Visitors Dundee have not exactly been a pillar of consistency themselves. They suffered a 6-0 thrashing from Celtic and their only win since then was against fellow strugglers Motherwell. That's one win in the last five for Dundee, but its still enough to keep them ahead of Inverness. They sit three points and two places above us in seventh place. We can't really complain about our league position given our lack of goals and reluctance to have a go at teams. I suppose it's a reflection on our lack of depth due to a lengthy injury list, but there comes a point where those given the opportunity have to grab the chance and stake a claim for a regular starting berth, even when the sidelined players return. Liam Polworth has had a few starts now and should be asserting himself in the engine room and Carl Tremarco needs to make the Graeme Shinnie slot his own as our purse strings seem reluctant to open any further. We drew the earlier game at Dens Park, surrendering an early lead to come away with a disappointing draw. Kane Hemmings popped in a last minute equaliser after David Raven had opened the scoring for Inverness earlier in the second half. We were unable to build on that and suffered a not unexpected lapse, a trait that seems to replicate itself this season. There's plenty of speculation surrounding the future of John Hughes. The silence was deafening after the board refused United permission to speak to Yogi, but the speculation is still rife as we appear no closer to getting the gaffer signed up on a new contract, fuelling the fires of discontent amongst the fans. At the last count, Yogi was said to be considering his options of the new contract, but has plenty to think about. He has been quoted on BBC Sport as saying "[It's] right down to trying to recruit players and budgets," he explained. "That's all part and parcel of me staying at this club, 100%. "I'm quite sure there might be one or two players that are out of contract and want to see what the manager does before they commit. "But I'm honest enough to say this; I would never hold a gun to anyone's head at Inverness to say, 'I want to make sure that this is the budget next year'. "I knew when I came up here I was working with the budget I was working with. It's never changed. "It's just before you sign that contract just getting to know exactly what tools you're working with next year. I don't want to sign a contract and something gets taken away. "I have to speak to my wife and family. I've been away for a long, long time and that's a big part of it as well but I love it up here." We have made cuts elsewhere. The nice lady that always appeared to be in control when you entered the club shop has not had her contract renewed, instead the club look as though they are going down the part-time route. Quality or quantity? Just like on the park, you can't replace quality players like Billy 'small k' Mckay, Marley Watkins or Graeme and Andy Shinnie with inferior products and expect the consistency to continue. Well, it's the same in the club shop. We need leaders on and off the park and it's time this whole sorry mess is sorted before it's too late. Inverness have more misery piled on them this week with the news that Miles Storey might not make the squad. He could join the others on the temporary list like Ross Draper, Andrea Mutombo, Tobi Sho-Silva and Dani Lopez. Looking further away, Gary Warren, Aaron Doran, Richie Foran, Dean Brill and Jordan Roberts are long term shirkers. It really is a case of the survival of the fittest. I sometimes wonder if they are still on our books. Meh! Jake McPake has been injured in training and misses out. He is joined on Dundee's short list by Julen Etxabeguren and Kevin Thomson. tm4tj Prediction:- Surely we won't screw it up three home games in a row? Or will we. We are running out of players fast as injuries ravage our squad. Injuries on top of more injuries. It's like a broken record now but we will just have to get on with it. Who knows who will be fit enough to turn out for us, but let's hope they can at least make the opposition work hard for their point. I'll settle for a draw out of this to help us get back on track. The damage done so far will take a while to repair and we will just have to take small steps before we can think about running. 0-0 is my best guesstimate.

Ultimate Anti Football Inverness and St Johnstone served up an utter borefest of a game as anti-football took over the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. The Perth side took all three points in a 0-1 win over a punchless Inverness who had not a clue how to break down the 10 men of St Johnstone. Both sides should be ashamed of themselves as misplaced passes, poor tackles and miscontrol was the order of the day. Both keepers could have stayed in the dressing room and the score would have remained the same as a 90th minute Liam Craig penalty won the match for the visitors. It turned out to be a decent day for a game of football after overnight rain, the pitch left moist but it great condition. It should have led to an entertaining afternoon's sport. How wrong can you be. Inverness were still unable to field a full strength squad and it showed. Carl Tremarco played at left back, but there is still no sign of Jordan Roberts, Tobi Sho-Silva, Gary Warren, Aron Doran, Richie Foran, and Andrea Mutombo was also out. Iain Vigurs made the bench and James Vincent got a start along with Liam Polworth. St Johnstone had Liam Craig on the bench, but he would be instrumental in our downfall late in the game. Fon-Williams was fortunate a couple of times as he replicated some of Dean Brills twitchy moment from clearances, having to dive full length to save the first one from rebounding in. That was as close as anyone came to breaking sweat in a dire first half. Our only half chance came when Tremarco was well blocked by O'Halloran as he broke into the left side of the box, just before he was able to offload. What a tedious first forty-five, surely the second half would be better? Half Time. 0-0 Well, we didn't know it at the time, but the second half was equally poor, in fact even worse if anything. Dave Mackay was sent off after catching Tremarco on the halfway line. That would maybe give us the upper hand. No. Despite the numerical advantage, and oceans of possession, we hadn't a clue how to get behind the Perth bus and were unable to make Mannus work for his bonus. Fon-Williams was equally idle as the Saints looked to hold on for a point. Little did they know how inept we were about to become and in Michael O'Halloran, they had the only player on the park worthy of his wages. The boredom was now reaching world championship level and it was about to turn into utter chaos as Devine was adjudged to have impeded substitute Liam Craig after ninety minutes had passed. Craig himself took the kick and our misery was complete. Full Time 0-1 Oh dear, what can you say about that. There was lots of head shaking as disgruntled fans left the stadium, muttering the words, shambles, disgraceful, punchless, wet paper bag, useless, no strikers, headless chickens etc. To be honest, that is probably doing a disservice to headless chickens who I'm sure would have shown more aptitude and attitude than those on the park. I would have liked to tell you more about our efforts during the game, but to be honest, there were none, absolutely zilch, zero, nothing. Worst game of football I have ever witnessed. In truth, St Johnstone were no better and we would maybe have done better if they had eleven players on the park. As soon as Mackay went off, they retreated further into their already defensive shell and the writing was on the wall. Yogi needs to turn this around pretty quick or this week will be a complete disaster for us. League Cup action on Tuesday night and the fans might be voting with their feet after this one. MotM. Well, there were none in blue worthy of a mention. They all underperformed. Best on the park was a lively Michael O'Halloran who led the line well. Take note Yogi, we need someone to do this for us. Full match report to follow..............

The Great Unpredictables Inverness host St Johnstone in a busy week for the Highland club, ahead of their League Cup quarter final against Ross County and the league visit of Dundee, with all three games being played at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. A poor result last week for Inverness who went down 2-0 at Kilmarnock despite showing well in the first half hour, but fading badly as the game progressed. We had been on fine form prior to this game, unbeaten in six including the league cup win at Livingston. However, after passing up two or three great opportunities to take the lead, we fell behind on the stroke of half time and lost an unfortunate second with the aid of a deflection to put the game beyond us and halt our revival. Ross Draper took a knock and James Vincent never started, somewhat blunting our engine room supply despite the return of Ryan Christie. Hopefully, we can put this one down to a bad day at the office, but time will tell. St Johnstone have been unpredictable since the start of the season and they too suffered defeat at the hands of the Harry Wraggs, going down 2-1 in Perth. That was also a disappointing result as far as the Perth men were concerned coming off the back of their 5-1 thrashing of Aberdeen and victory in the Tayside derby against struggling Dundee United. They have also meted out punishment to Hamilton when they stuffed them 4-1. Their other win was against Motherwell. That Jekyll And Hyde performances sees them sit only one point above us in the league, but their surprising goal rushes this season has them outscoring us by two to one, although we are defensively more robust normally. The earlier game this season saw the clubs share the points after Inverness were pegged back in the last few moments of the game. Ryan Christie had drilled home in the ninth minute, but substitute Graham Cummins levelled with a header at the death. That was the first points of the season for both clubs. Back to the future, and we have amassed 13 points with 3 wins and four draws. We are eighth in the table, one place below our opponents. Inverness have doubts over the fitness of Ross Draper, David Raven and James Vincent. Andrea Mutombo is out as are the permanently injured Warren, Doran and Foran along with Jason Roberts and Tobi Sho-Silva. Tommy Wright will be able to call upon Michael O'Halloran who featured last week, but Chris Millar is out for a couple of weeks. tm4tj prediction:- Predictions are frightening this year with all the teams below Celtic capable of beating each other on the day. St Johnstone have surprised a few with a couple of uncharacteristic high scoring games and that is a worry. Although we dug ourselves out of a hole with the Dons win and derby win we put ourselves back in it with a shoddy display at Rugby Park. St Johnstone were no better losing to Partick therefore I will sit on the fence and settle for a draw, a scoring one though.

Disappointment at Rugby Park Inverness went down 2-1 at Rugby Park as Kilmarnock scored in each half to continue their resurgence and halt Inverness in their tracks. Greg Kiltie scored right on half time and Josh Magennis added a second as Inverness wilted, with Killie running out deserved winners in the end. Johndo will have a full report for us in due course...........and here it is Well that was my first venture since the trip to Romania. Have to admit that Kilmarnock ain't Bucharest and the Portmann ain't the Old City but at least I remembered the game this time. Another enjoyable Juanjo Awayday, only spoilt by a tepid performance and a very disappointing scoreline. It wasn't that we actually played that badly but it was a case of looking good but with no end product. That was Killie's first clean sheet of the season and no wonder Jamie McDonald had a wry smile at the final whistle as he applauded the away support who had been goading him most of the afternoon. "You won us the cup" ditty evidently fell on deaf ears. The possession stats were 50/50 and only eight shots with five on target throughout the game pretty much sums it up. But it really could have been so different if we had pressed home our domination of the first 20-25 minutes. There was a lot of possession but of the tippy-tappy, Ray Wilkins variety. Killie threw seven men across the pitch and limited us to chances from crosses or dead ball situations. Perhaps it might have been different if either Devine, Draper or Meekings had placed their headers in the back of the net - but as was the case throughout the game - our final touch or attempted pass was atrocious. I haven't really criticised Yogi too much but I felt that he was at fault this time. Why he allowed Draper to stay on the pitch until half-time baffles me. Sure Draper is determined and did not want to go off but he was a passenger for the last 20 minutes and all that was probably accomplished was to make his injury worst. Yogi should have hooked him and took Vigurs on earlier. And then Mutombo for Williams was a strange decision. I thought Williams was having a good day and his pace was worrying Killie. Mutombo to me is a forward version of Djebi-Zadi. And the introduction of Sutherland was also too late. To me the difference in the sides was Magennis. I have never really been impressed by him but his mere physical presence appeared to upset Devine and Meekings. The second half felt far longer than 45 minutes and we appeared to rely on big punts looking to capitalise on the pace of Storey who had little if any support. So perhaps it was just a bad day at the office. Perhaps the Tannadice farce left its mark. At least ours wasn't the only surprise scoreline. And I ended my time in Kilmarnock visiting a hostelry whose name resembled some of the players on show earlier. Fon Williams 6/10 - Never really had that much to do. Thought that he could have done better with the first goal, sadly in added on time. Raven 4/10 - Thought that he had a shocker - was he fit ? Watching trying to chase a ball down the wing in the second half reminded me of Marius Niculae at Motherwell. Tremarco 4/10 - He was fit so he has no excuse. Sooner we get Williams ensconsed in that position the better. Devine 6/10 - Actually looked the best of the defence which sadly was not too difficult to achieve. Meekings 5/10 - Bad day at the office. I always feel that he is not as good without Warren beside him. Polworth 6/10 - Didn't really do anything particularly wrong but did little to impress either. Draper 4/10 - Well you simply cannot perform with an injury but you can come off when you have one. Tansey 4/10 - Again 2-3 lovely touches but otherwise anonymous. Played far too deep Christie 7/10 - The only one who actually looked like changing the game. Williams 6/10 - Not sure why he was hooked as he was beginning to look like a danger, especially if we had pushed him forward. Storey 7/10 - Full of running and determination but he is simply not a target man or a centre forward. Let him play off somebody and we have a real winner. Vigurs 8/10 - My MOM for his 45 minute contribution. He may look lazy and he may not be all action but he has a head for the game and some of his passing was one touch and inspirational. Motombo 3/10 - Headless chicken impersonation Sutherland 4/10 - No time to make any type of impact Yogi 4/10 - Tactically his poorest selection and poorest tactics - 4-5-1 with what looked like 3 holding midfielders played right into Killie's hands. Date: 17/10/15 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3234 Referee: Stephen Finnie Kilmarnock: 2 Lineup: MacDonald, O'Hara, Balatoni, Findlay, Smith, Slater, McHattie, McKenzie, Kiltie, Higginbotham, Magennis Subs (not used): Ridgers, Hamill, Connolly, Boyd, Obadeyi, Ashcroft, Frizzell Scorers: Kiltie (45), Magennis (66) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven (Sutherland 81), Devine, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper (Vigurs 46), Williams (Mbuyi-Mutombo 53), Polworth, Christie, Tansey, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Miles Storey (69) Sent Off: none