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Walsh nicks it A slightly damp morning opening out into a muggy but calm afternoon in the Highlands made for near perfect conditions for this game. However, the football did not match the weather in a dour first half and it was goalless at the interval. Ayr rattled the top of the stand at the start of the second half as the game came to life. Tom Walsh looked to have opened the scoring when he bundled an inviting cross from Manny Duku behind the keeper after 54 minutes with Sean McGinty in close proximity trying to clear the ball. Joe Chalmers put a shot across the face of the Inverness goal that went narrowly wide. Walsh missed a glorious chance to double the lead moments later but pulled his shot across the face of the goal as well. Robbie Deas also missed an opportunity for a second goal, firing the ball over the bar from a great position inside the box. The game was more open but Inverness held on for their third 1-0 win of the season and top the league jointly with Killie. Chest a minute, it's definitely Tom's Goal! Inverness were one of three unbeaten sides in the Championship after opening wins over Arbroath and Raith Rovers. The point against Rovers was hard earned and deserved, but it took a wonderful strike from Roddy MacGregor to win the match. We sat third in the table behind promoted Partick Thistle and relegated Kilmarnock before this match with visitors Ayr United. Billy Dodds had few injury worries ahead of this match after last weekend off whilst Ayr were on League Cup duty against Dundee United. Ayr's last win at the Caledonian Stadium was in 2003 when Stewart Kean scored the only goal of the game. Roddy MacGregor kept his place after his stunning goal against Raith Rovers with Reece McAlear dropping to the bench alongside Sean Welsh, Billy Mckay and Aaron Doran. No sign of the injured Wallace Duffy or the recovering Anthony McDonald. Ayr came North with a somewhat depleted squad after routine covid testing unearthed some cases. Still some experience in their ranks though with Tomi Adeloye and Joe Chalmers starting and Michael Moffat on the bench. Roddy MacGregor was first to have a go in the third minute but his drive from the edge of the box was dragged just wide into the side netting. Manny Duku should have done better when he was set up as he burst into the box but he duffed his shot into the hands of a grateful keeper from fifteen yards. Shane Sutherland was the next sinner after a short corner, but the ball sat up as he tried to pick his spot and he lifted it high and wide from a good position. From another corner swung into the front post Robbie Deas went down low to head the ball but his connection was poor and the ball drifted wide of the mark. Ayr's first chance came from a defensive error that saw a shot off target from the right, but it lacked any power or direction. Tom Walsh saw a shot blocked by an elbow as the half time whistle approached but Kevin Clancy was not interested and the first period drew to a close with clear opportunities at a premium. Half Time 0-0 Ayr started the second half by rattling the facing on the top of the stand some 40 feet above the crossbar. Better would come ten minutes into the half. Shane Sutherland hooked a ball over his shoulder for Duku to stretch his legs down the left wing. He drilled the ball across goal where Sean McGinty tried to clear the ball from the fast approaching Tom Walsh. He only succeeded in knocking the ball off Walsh's chest and into the net. Joe Chalmers then missed Ayr's best opportunity, but as the angle narrowed, he placed his shot just wide of the far post. Walsh replicated this at the other end driving just wide from eighteen yards as Inverness searched for a cushion. Robbie Deas squandered the best chance of the game scooping the ball over the bar from six yards following a corner. Aaron Doran saw Ayr keeper Albinson fumble a drive from the edge of the box but he gathered at the second attempt as the game ran away from the Honest Men. Roddy MacGregor will be difficult to shift if he continues to show this form and Manny Duku worked hard for his team mates and it was his speed and ability that set up the goal. Poor first half all round but a much more entertaining second half made up for it with a goal to boot. Three wins on the trot, top of the table and a clash with table toppers Kilmarnock coming up next weekend. What's not to like! OFFICIAL MATCH REPORT Date: 21/08/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2032 Referee: Kevin Clancy Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Broadfoot, Deas, Walsh (Doran 85), Allardice, MacGregor, Gardyne, Sutherland (Welsh 78), Duku (B Mckay 68) Subs (not used): C Mackay, Harper, McAlear, Jamieson Scorers: Walsh (54) Booked: Carson (70) Deas (73) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 0 Manager: David Hopkin Lineup: Albinson; Houston, McGinty, Murdoch (Salkeld 81), Muirhead, Chalmers (O'Connor 75), Hewit (Afolabi 65), Baird, McKenzie, Adeloye, Fjortoft Subs (not used): Mateusz Miller; Ecrepont, Michael Miller, Moffat Scorers: none Booked: Fjortoft (40), Muirhead (75) Sent Off: none a

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

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

Inverness CT -V- Ayr United - SPFL Championship Football @ Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Friday 30th April 2021 @ 19:45pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans Streaming available

Caley Jags beat Ayr and the weather. Wet and windy was the order of the day as Inverness beat Ayr United with a goal in each half. After half an hour, Daniel Mackay finished off a swift break forward after getting on the end of some neat one touch football. Ten minutes after the break Shane Sutherland did well to control, turn, and fire the ball into the net after Todorov drove the ball goalwards. Both keepers pulled off some excellent saves but Inverness were deserved winners to lift them up above Ayr in the league. Andre Wright missed out for Ayr having picked up a groin strain with Michael Moffat starting up front. Former Caley Jags Tom Walsh and Joe Chalmers were both in the starting XI. Inverness shook their squad a bit after failing to hit the target against Queen of the South in midweek. Miles Storey, James Keatings, Brad Mckay and Sean Welsh found themselves on the bench. There were starts for Roddy MacGregor, David Carson, and Nikolay Todorov with Robbie Deas and Danny Devine back in the heart of the defence. A wet and windy afternoon greeted the players at Somerset Park. At least it's football of sorts I hear you say. A wind assisted Ayr came flying out of the blocks and forced a couple of corners in the first minutes and had Mark Ridgers grasping the ball before Ayr players got on the end of it at one point. It took the visitors fully five minutes before we got our foot on the ball. Dan Mackay did put the ball in the net with a lovely bending finish but the whistle had already gone. An early clearance from Ayr keeper Sinisalo bounced menacingly over Ridgers' bar, the keeper watching it anxiously. Ayr were buzzing around the Inverness defensive zone but neither side were able to test the keepers yet. First test for Sinisalo came after a tidy break forward on the right side. Carson drilled a low ball into the box and a turn and shot from Sutherland saw the keeper save comfortably. Ayr also had the ball in the net when Tom Walsh crossed into the box, but Miller climbed all over the defence to head home. Foul given though. Another turn and shot at the other end, this time from Todorov, another comfortable save for the keeper. Had either of these efforts been struck better we might have troubled the keeper, but both efforts were smothered when striking making it easy for the young keeper. After half an hour the visitors opened the scoring with a swift break and excellent low finish from Daniel Mackay. Danny Devine started it with a ball forward and three or four passes later Danny finished superbly with assists from Toddy and Sutherland. Five minutes before the break McCowan had a snapshot saved at his near post by Ridgers. Two minutes later he produced a brilliant save from the same player as his header bounced down to the keepers left, Ridgers diving full length to turn the ball round the post. Joe Chalmers fired a wind assisted effort from distance that had Ridgers scampering across his line but it flew just wide minutes before the break. Half Time: 0-1 Mackay latched onto the ball some distance out at the start of the second half but shot high over the bar, in fact almost over the stand. The Caley Jags doubled their lead ten minutes into the second forty-five when Shane Sutherland shot home from inside the box after controlling a Todorov drive for goal before turning and drilling behind the keeper. Soon after, Todorov found the angle too tight when through on the keeper who made an important block and moments later Ayr did well to scramble an Allardice free kick from the edge of the box away to safety. A free kick to Ayr was charged down when Chalmers tried for goal from the touch sideways as Ayr struggled to make progress and as the weather worsened Miles Storey replaced Nikolay Todorov. Almost immediately Sinisalo pulled off a tremendous save to deny Robbie Deas who had the goal at his mercy after a pinpoint cross from Cameron Harper. Ridgers did have an important block to make as a powerful shot from close range was pushed away for a corner, Walsh with the strike. Up the other end a Storey surge forward ended with Carson firing over the bar. Ayr were running out of ideas and the pitch was starting to look the worse for wear as we entered the final ten minutes, but Inverness were resolute in defence and restricted Ayr to fleeting glimpses of goal whilst always looking dangerous on the break. Time ran away from the hosts as they searched for a way through the visitors defence, but Danny Devine was calm under pressure and most Ayr raids floundered on the big defender back from injury. A deserving away win for Inverness after a frustrating few weeks and nobody was better than David Carson who was my MotM. Highlights from Ayr TV Here's a more detailed report from RIG An excellent result against potentially very difficult opposition in far from ideal weather conditions. As is usually the case in Ayr the home side started very brightly. We often find ourselves under the cosh early doors at Somerset and today was no different with the windy conditions not helping. Ayr settled quickly and were soon stroking the ball around well looking to hit Walsh and McCowan on their respective flanks. The former, well known to ICT fans of course, was the main focus as he frequently cut inside Duffy on the left flank and looked to hang balls up to the back post for team mates to attack. Whilst Walsh was looking threatening on the Ayr left, on the other side the in form McCowan was being marshalled well by Harper with the Ayr player barely in the game until a tactical switch by Kerr later in the first half saw him move into the middle. Bizarrely the first chance of the game fell to the Ayr keeper Sinisalo when he launched a goal kick forward which caught the wind and almost had Ridgers scrambling to keep it out of harms way. Not too long after this Cammy Smith broke through the ICT defence and cut the ball back for team mate Moffat but the ICT defence was able to clear the danger. Most of our attacks were starting from long balls forward with Toddy displaying some deft control to take in these high balls and link with team mates to relieve the pressure on the Caley Thistle rear-guard. Carson, breaking forward, fired a low pass to the feet of Sutherland just inside inside the penalty area and he rolled his marker and shot straight at the United keeper. Ayr were next to threaten when Walsh, again cutting back onto his right foot, swung a high cross to the back post from the left where Michael Miller met it and found the net but it was correctly ruled out for a push on Harper. Todorov then had a chance with a similar effort to that of Sutherland a few minutes before as he also rolled his marker in the box but he too sent his effort down the keepers throat. Not long after this we opened the scoring with a crisp counter attack. Devine sent a controlled ball to the feet of Todorov who collected the ball and played it across to Sutherland on the Ayr right side. He then laid the ball off to the onrushing MacKay who strode onto it confidently and dispatched his shot beyond the despairing Sinisalo to open the scoring. Ayr responded with a tactical switch moving Walsh to the right, Smith to the left and let McCowan roam in the middle behind Moffat and it almost paid off when McCowan found himself just inside the penalty area in acres of space but he wasn't able to make the best of the opportunity and ICT were able to clear the danger. McCowan then almost scored again when his header from a Walsh cross was beaten round the post at close range by Ridgers. This was to be the last we would see of McCowan in the game as he was completely negated by Allardice and Carson in the second half and whilst Walsh continued to offer a threat on the Ayr right Smith drifted from the game on the opposite flank and this change really curtailed Ayr as a fluent attacking force. Only a few minutes into the second half and we grabbed a vital second goal. Todorov saw his effort blocked by his own team mate Sutherland and it was Caithness Cristiano who was first to the ball to fire it into the net with Ayr players claiming for offside. And it was almost three when Todorov bundled his way into the box and with MacKay unmarked in the centre chose to go it alone but saw his shot suppressed by a late challenge. Allardice was next to threaten for Inverness when he sent a free kick low under the Ayr wall as it jumped and it was partially saved by Sinisalo and United cleared at the second attempt. Again, the next best chance fell the way of ICT when Robbie Deas met a free kick from only a few yards out but his header was right at the Ayr keeper. Ayr almost got a goal back when Walsh, still causing problems for Harper on the ICT left, flashed a ball across goal which MacKenzie latched onto but he sent his low effort wide of the goal with Ridgers stranded. Walsh then had an effort at goal himself when he collected the ball at the back post and leathered an effort towards goal which Ridgers saved with his knee with Devine also lunging in to block. In the end though we hung on for a big three points after an excellent performance that probably should have seen us concede a goal but also should really have been much more comfortable given the chances that were passed up. Big call for Robbo to drop four players from Wednesday but they paid dividends with MacGregor, Todorov and Carson all impressing today. MacGregor offers a much more mobile link between our midfield two in front of the defence and the wide players / forward than Keatings does whilst Carson was tenacious alongside Allardice marshalling McCowan well after he moved inside and also breaking forward to support our counters attacks. Todorov showed some excellent touches holding the ball up and Ridgers pulled off some superb saves particularly from McCowan and Walsh in each half. As mentioned earlier I think Kerr's changes to the three behind Moffat disrupted the fluency of Ayr's attacks and whilst Walsh was still a threat McCowan and Smith were anonymous after the break. They didn't seem to have anything in the centre of the pitch to break up our counter attacks with Murdoch and Chalmers nowhere to be seen at times. Cheers RIG, great in depth report on the game and tactics in action And here's Bazza post match Date: 20/02/2021 Venue: Somerset Park Attendance: 0000 Referee: Peter Stuart Ayr United: 0 Manager: Mark Kerr Lineup: Sinisalo; Muirhead, Murdoch, Ndaba, Baird, Moffat, Smith (Hewitt 75), Miller (McKenzie 58) , Chalmers, McCowan, Walsh (Zanatta 86). Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Reading, Roscoe, McGavin Scorers: none Booked: McCowan (54), Muirhead (63), Ndaba (68) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: John Robertson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Devine, Deas, Harper, D Mackay (B Mckay 87), Carson, Allardice, MacGregor (Welsh 75), Sutherland, Todorov (Storey 68) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde, Keatings Scorers: D Mackay (31), Sutherland (54) Booked: Todorov (35) Sent Off: none a

Should Auld Acquaintances be forgot... We travel to Somerset Park, Ayr on Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off against the Honest Men and renew acquaintances with a couple of former colleagues, namely Tom Walsh and Joe Chalmers. It's been a difficult few weeks for the Caley Jags with postponements in abundance although we did return to action in midweek after the big freeze relented. Unfortunately, despite dominating the game, we went down 1-0 to Queen of the South when Nortei Nortey scored his first goal for the Doonhamers. We seemed to lack composure or pick the right ball as we failed to unlock the visitors defence and resorted to shooting from distance which keeper Ferguson dealt with comfortably. Failing that, many of our efforts were blocked before troubling the keeper or blazed high and wide which meant a frustrating night all round for the Caley Jags and their supporters. Ayr have not played since losing narrowly to Hearts a couple of weeks ago, a Liam Boyce penalty the only difference between the sides. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW Ayr United PPV £12.50 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Ayr United going back to August 2018 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (H) Incidentally, that 1-0 defeat shown in the above stats for January 2020 was the first win for Ayr in 17 years covering 14 games. We drew the first encounter this season in the Highlands when Nokolay Todorove earned a point with an 86th minute goal after Innes Cameron gave United the lead around the hour. All fixtures on Saturday at 3:00pm Ayr United v Inverness CT Arbroath v Raith Rovers Dundee v Queen of the South Dunfermline v Alloa Athletic Hearts v Morton Latest Team News Robbo will be without the usual long term crocks, Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney (is he a real thing). Add Aaron Doran and recent loan signing Anthony McDonald to that list. James Vincent is a new short term casualty, another training ground injury. Good to see David Carson back on the pitch in midweek, his energy has been missed. Looks like more game time coming for our youngsters over the next few weeks which will see two games a week for the foreseeable future. Mark Kerr has defender Jordan Houston returning to the squad after injury. We know all about the dangers that Walsh and Chalmers possess but there's more to United than that. Former Aberdeen and Dundee United forward Cammy Smith will cause problems and never write off veteran Michael Moffat. Young keeper Sinisalo is also proving to be an excellent shot stopper. The team that night v Hearts: Sinisalo, Miller, Muirhead, Baird, Ndaba, Chalmers (McGavin 79′), Murdoch, Walsh (Moffat 74′), Smith, McCowan, Wright. Robbo talking ahead of the trip to Ayr...

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

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

Inverness CT -V- Ayr United Championship Football Matchday 2 Saturday 24th October 15:00 Caledonian Stadium Unfortunately these will be closed doors games due to Covid19

Robbo Burns As Rabbie once said to me.... The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft a-gley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain For promis'd joy. On the day of the Bard of Ayrshire, Inverness faced the Honest Men at Somerset Park with a new look defence after Coll Donaldson jumped ship, with Lewis Toshney joining Tom Walsh and Sean Welsh on the bench. The departing Jamie McCart was also benched again.There was the added incentive of Dundee crashing 2-0 at East End Park last night and three points for either side would be a huge bonus. Stephen Kelly scored the only goal of the game after an hour and both sides hit the woodwork, but it was no more than Ayr deserved as they closed the gap on Inverness to just one point. Our new defence got in a fankle at the goal allowing Kelly to take advantage. From the quill of the Bard himself, and so true...... There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing. RIG was on hand to see the wee sleekit courin timerous beastie, also known as the referee...... I think whilst we were on the end of some pretty debatable calls from the referee, Ayr were the better team throughout the 90 minutes and deserved the win. Kerr seemed to set Ayr up a bit more defensively than previous match ups and they let us carry the ball forward with little pressure but we were swarmed as we entered the Ayr half and forced to thread balls through a well organised Ayr midfield and defence (which we couldn't do) or try and dink a ball up to White and later Todorov (which we also couldn't do). When Ayr seized the ball they broke with real pace and direction quickly feeding the ball wide to Forrest or Moffat on the flanks or looking to play a pass in behind the ICT centre backs and a lot of their good chances game from this. Only a triple block/save combination from McHattie and Ridgers stopped Ayr opening the scoring in the first half which saw wave after wave of attacks threaten the ICT rearguard. Fortunately we held them off and had the ball in the net when Keatings lifted a free kick in for White who beat Doohan to the ball and flicked it in but the referee gave a free kick for a foul by White. Seemed pretty soft but it would have been hard on Ayr had we gone ahead (though thoroughly pleasing obviously). Second half and there seemed to be a strong claim for a penalty when Doran broke into the box and looked like he was pushed in the back sending him to the ground but the referee waved play on. Not long after this Ayr scored. I didn't see what happened but after I had stopped admiring my new trainers I looked up to see Trafford on his arse and Kelly seizing on a loose ball, heading for goal before calmly slotting past Ridgers. No more than Ayr deserved in fairness but frustrating nonetheless from an ICT point of view. Ayr had more chances after this to extend their lead before Doran went down under another challenge however this time he got straight back up to chase the ball before Aitken blew for a foul and cautioned Doran for diving which seemed a bit odd given he didn't seem to be looking for anything. We went with 2 strikers for the final few minutes with Todorov coming on to partner White but we didn't really create anything of note until the final kick of the game when Ayr threw bodies to block a couple of ICT efforts from close range (these might even have been our only shots on target...). Bizarre to see us end the game with a couple of big lads up front and our two best crossers of the ball on the wings yet we persevered with little dinked balls up towards White and Todorov which almost never found them. Any ICT fan not bothered about losing Donaldson AND McCart should be worried after today's defensive showing. Whilst McHattie was solid enough Mckay with the ball at his feet was an absolute bombscare. Vincent was decent for us, possibly closest to ICT MotM. Kerr and Moffat looked good for Ayr and Drinan really gave Mckay and McHattie a torrid time. We have a real battle on to maintain second spot which could be huge come the end of the season.. Highlights from Ayr United TV Eagle4Caley left Crystal Palace behind for the weekend to go to Somerset Park and enjoyed the ambience...... The highlights suggest a close game, although I felt Ayr had more chances, but we hit the bar, and quite why our goal was disallowed is beyond me...White at no time is looking at the goalie only at the ball, and I'm not convinced he even touches him. Also Doran was clearly pushed over in the penalty area, and then next time he gets a booking for going down, when you can see he catches the defender legs and is trying to regain his feet. Their goal was a bit of a bummer, at first I thought that McHattie was at fault but credit to the Ayr player who actually closes Charlie Trafford down very quickly. I thought McHattie had a decent game, as did McKay...strange how quickly our CB pairing has changed (presumably to make ends meet). For me our midfielders were the pick of the bunch, plus Walsh when he came on. Our forwards were very much powder-puff, Doran was quieter than expected, Storey didn't offer much apart from two/three decent crosses, I'm not sure what Keatings was doing and White looks like he is the Centre Forward because he's tall, because he seemed unable to anticipate where high balls were going nor jump at the right time (except for the disallowed goal), he's definitely better with his feet! For me 2nd place is probably between us and Ayr, so this was a disappointing reverse, but I guess we can't win every match against them. Robbo's the man for a' that.... Date: 25/01/2020 Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr Attendance: 1200 Referee: Greg Aitken Ayr United: 1 Lineup: Doohan; Houston, Muirhead, Harvie, Bell, Kerr, Moffat (Rocco 90+3), Forrest (McKenzie 90), Drinan, Docherty, Kelly Subs (not used): Ellis Hare-Reid; Doolan, McCowan, McGuffie, Hewitt Scorers: Kelly (61) Booked: Docherty (85) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, McHattie, Tremarco, Doran, Trafford (Todorov 75), Vincent, Storey (Walsh 66), Keatings (Carson 66), White Subs (not used): C Mackay, Toshney, McCart, Welsh. Scorers: none Booked: B Mckay (71), White (72), Doran (78) Sent Off: none a

Ayr do Back to League business this weekend as Inverness make the journey to Somerset Park to take on Championship play-off contenders, Ayr United. The game kicks off at 3:00pm on Saturday at the same venue where Ross County were dumped out of the Scottish Cup last week. There's only four points separating the sides at the moment and this should be another tight affair. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match and Travel Information can be found on the OFFICIAL SITE @ ICTFC We're in the money £££ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's been a rewarding fixture for us in recent seasons, including last season when we beat Ayr in the away leg of the play-off and both league fixtures at Somerset Park. We have already beaten Ayr away this season back in October when goals from James Vincent and Shaun Rooney were enough to earn the points. The second meeting this campaign was another 2-0 win in the Highlands, Jordan White and Miles Storey the scorers. Last time out we were on Cup duty and recorded a hard fought 2-3 win over Alloa Athletic at Recreation Park. We were pegged back twice after Aaron Doran opened the scoring. Jordan White put us ahead again only for Kevin O'Hara to get his second of the game. Charlie Trafford scored the vital winner with only a handful of minutes remaining. Ayr pulled off a minor upset by knocking our neighbours out of the Cup thanks to a powerful headed goal from seasoned professional Steven Bell. Form since we last met in the league Last time we met was back on the 7th of December, and after winning 2-0 in the Highlands we were five points ahead of Ayr. Since then we have won two (Pars & Dundee) and lost two (Partick & Arbroath), plus a win over Alloa in the Scottish Cup. Our game against Queen of the South fell foul of the weather. In December, Ayr had a midweek draw with Arbroath then beat Alloa before losing to Dundee United and Queen of the South. They started January with an away win at Dunfermline, a postponed fixture at Dens Park and beat Ross County in the Scottish Cup. So form is fairly even at the moment at that is mirrored in the League table with Ayr just one place and four points behind Inverness now. Fixtures this weekend Dunfermline v Dundee (Friday) Ayr United v Inverness Arbroath v Partick Thistle Dundee Utd v Morton Queen of Sth v Alloa Robbo said ahead of the game: “We’ve got to go down there and do what we’ve done at Dens Park and Alloa, that’s go down there and be very busy and very proactive with the ball and when we lose it make sure we’re nice and solid. The key to our success all season is our solidity at the back.” Whilst that is very true Robbo, you would wonder why the club can not hold on to the heart of the defence until the end of a possible promotion campaign. Is there enough ambition left at the Caledonian Stadium? Team News It was great to see Tom Walsh back on the park last week after hamstring problems and a further bonus to have Sean Welsh on the bench as he recovers from a second broken foot. These guys have been out for a while now and it will be like having two new signings when they are both back up to speed. Unfortunately the loss of Coll Donaldson is a blow and the impending departure of Jamie McCart adds to our misery. McCart is still here for now unless St Johnstone dig deep into their pockets. It remains to be seen if McCart will be asked to play for the club he wants away from. However, we have to go with what we have and Lewis Toshney will come into defence with Brad Mckay and Kevin McHattie also looking to claim a place. There will be plenty room for them all should Shaun Rooney turn his back on us as well. Mark Kerr has strengthened his squad by signing Grant Gillespie from Hamilton Accies. Jordan Houston has also joined from Rangers. Kerr will be without Craig Moore, Andy Geggan and Andy Murdoch, but Grant Gillespie will be added to the squad. Speaking on Ayr United's official site Kerr said : ”We don’t need reminding that we don’t have the greatest recent record against Inverness, it is just another game and another opportunity to pick up points and continue this wee run we are on. We know what Inverness are all about. They are extremely well organised, everyone knows their jobs and they play good football at times as well. It’s a challenge that we are looking forward to and we’ve been working had on a plan all week to get the best out of the players tomorrow afternoon. The last couple of games have proved that we are able to mix it up now and win games a different way.” Oops, sorry for the reminder Mark. We have some good news and some bad news for you this week First the good news. The club have reached their original investment target of £500K and have issued a statement to that effect. In fact they have exceeded expectations and you can read about it HERE The bad news is the break up of our defence with Coll Donaldson already away and Jamie McCart following him out the door in the summer if not sooner. As expected, after sitting on the bench at Alloa, Jamie McCart is next to go. He will be on his way to Perth in the summer unless we can sell him now for a few pennies. Sometimes life's a bitch! The final blow would be the departure of the much sought after Shaun Rooney who has been in tremendous form for the Caley Jags lately. Sadly Tommy Wright wants to tie up both players before the weekend. With the run in for a play-off place at stake, this is indeed not what the fans want to hear. Scottish Cup Draw Coll Donaldson is now confined to history after he left the building to join Ross County before last weeks Scottish Cup ties. However, unlike his former Inverness team mates, he won't be in the next round of the cup as Ayr sent them homewards, tae think again. Inverness will host Livingston in the next round, the weekend of February the 8th. Now then, that date rings a bell!

Storey is Miles better.... Inverness did what they had to do to remain in second place, and they did it in style. A fine finish from Jordan White in the 20th minute was built upon by born again Miles Storey after the break who sprinted from ten yards inside the halfway line before drilling the ball through keeper Doohan who will feel he should have done better on that occasion. However, Doohan was the reason that the score remained closer than it should have been with a handful of excellent saves to deny the eager Caley Jags men who thouroughly deserved the win to keep them behind leaders Dundee United. Inverness went unchanged from last weeks win over Alloa Athletic whilst Ayr United were likewise with Steven Bell coming on to the bench. Inverness were looking for their third win on the trot and in contrast Ayr were looking to avoid a hat-trick of defeats on the bounce. A crowd of under 2000 were on hand to watch this game as the miserable weather continued with a blustery wind adding to the clilled downpours. The hosts started in confident mode and Jordan White headed a James Keatings corner over in the fifth minute. Aaron Doran was poleaxed on the edge of the box a minute later but the referee was not interested. The first of many frustrating calls by a referee out of his depth. Keatings volleyed across the box but it narrowly missed the keepers left hand post as the pressure mounted on the Ayr goal. A free kick over and another effort from Keatings showed our intent and a goal was imminent. Ayr's one fleeting glimpse of goal in the first half came when a long ball forward saw Mark Ridgers come thirty yards off his line only to miss the tackle. However, by the time Ayr got the ball under control and lofted it towards the box Inverness had bodies back and the opportunity fizzled out. David Carson picked up the ball in an attacking area inside the centre circle and drove forward before feeding White just outside the box. The big man took one touch then offloaded early as a defender tried to block. This seemed to wrong foot the keeper and the ball was tucked into the bottom corner with Ross Doohan stranded. Great goal from the big striker and no more than Inverness deserved. Miles Storey was beginning to see more of the ball after a sloppy start to the game with some wasted opportunities to deliver a telling ball. He got on the end of a long clearance from Ridgers but Doohan saved comfortably low down. He forced Doohan to earn his money shortly before the break after we dispossessed Ayr near the centre circly. The ball fell to Storey and he strode forward before unleashing atesting 25 yard effort that the keeper did well to claw away with a diving save. Half Time 1-0 Ayr began the second half on the front foot as the Caley Jags looked content to weather the storm, however Ayr got the break of the ball after a clearance fell kindly to them off the back of a defender but Alan Forrest shot across the face of the goal sneaked just wide of the post. Storey was looking sharper as the game wore on and when a clearance from a corner came to him some 15 yards inside his own half he did what he can do best. He sprinted clear with pace and power before deciding whether to cross or shoot. He elected to shoot and the ball squirmed away from Doohan and rolled slowly into the net for a superb individual goal. That eased the pressure in the home stands and gave us a cushion to work with. That second goal seemed to take the wind out of the Ayr sails and we looked most likely to add to our tally. Carl Tremarco went off injured to be replace by Kevin McHattie just after the hour. With twenty minutes left, Keatings and Doran linked well around the box and when Keatings returned the pass to Doran it took a superb reaction save from Doohan to keep the score at 2-0 after Doran's shot from 10 yards was goalbound. Storey was now in full flow and when he burst down the right flank, his cross was met first time by Keatings only for Doohan to pull off another tremendous save low down to his left. Ayr's best moment came soon after when Ridgers did well to spread himself and block an effort from Mark McKenzie after he was set clear on the right side of the box. The Doran and Keatings double act linked well again and after Doran jinked his way into the box it was left to Doohan to once more deny Inverness a third goal with five minutes left. We finished the game on the front foot and Todorov saw a header booted off the line as the game ran away from Ayr. Good afternoons entertainment despite the horrendous conditions and a well deserved three points for the hosts. Miles Storey was given the sponsors MotM award and few could complain about that although David Carson has picked up most votes on the CTO voting. No failures today with the defence once more back to their best, three wins and three clean sheets. Carson and Charlie Trafford were in control of the midfield and Miles Storey used his power to good effect, especially in the second half. James Keating was unfortunate not to score today and but for some heroics from Ross Doohan, Inverness could have gone nap! Weekend Scores in the Championship Inverness CT 2-0 Ayr United Arbroath 1-1 Dundee Dundee Utd 2-1 Alloa Dunfermline 3-1 Morton Queen ot South 1-2 Partick Miles Better...........MotM Robbo impressed........... Match highlights from Caley Jags TV Date: 07/12/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1833 Referee: Gavin Ross Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco (McHattie 64), Doran, Carson, Trafford, Storey, Keatings (MacGregor 85), White (Todorov 86) Subs (not used): C Mackay; B Mckay, Harper, Curry Scorers: White (20), Storey (63) Booked: Rooney (39) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 0 Lineup: Doohan; Houston, Muirhead, Byrne, Harvie, Geggan (McKenzie 68), Docherty, Kelly, Moffat (Kerr 78), Moore, Forrest (McGuffie 69) Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Bell, Ecrepont. Scorers: none Booked: McKenzie (90+2) Sent Off: none a

Ayr Pressure Ayr United will try to keep the pressure on Inverness in this top end clash this weekend as the Honest Men come North looking for three points after their midweek loss to the Pars, whilst the Caley Jags will be hoping to make it three wins on the bounce. It's second versus third in the Championship and an opportunity for the hosts to consolidate their position within the top four whilst doing some damage to the other contenders. Ayr United lost 1-0 at Somerset Park to Dunfermline Athletic thanks to a strike from Kevin Nisbet, his ninth goal in five games. Inverness remained in second place and this game would be the perfect time to lay down a marker and state our intentions. Defeat would be a blow and undo the good work of the last couple of weeks and hand Ayr, Dundee and Dunfermline the impetus to get right in the mix for second place. We overcame a difficult hurdle last week by beating Alloa Athletic 2-0 at the Indodrill Stadium. It took a fortuitous Scott Taggart own goal to get us going but there was nothing fortunate about Aaron Doran's half volley from 17 yards after Jordan White layed off the ball to him just on the break. No further scoring after the interval but the Wasps had a Dick sent off for a rash challenge on James Keatings. The week before, we had battled hard for a narrow win over Dundee, Doran scoring the winner in that game. It's good to see Doran getting back amongst the goals. He is the top scorer in our squad with 44 goals in 263 appearances and has scored four times this season. His form has picked up recently and he is starting to look a lot sharper than he was at the start of the season. The sketch is one by local artist Sophie Robb. There's been a murder & Pick that one out...... Here's the goals from the Rooney show @ Somerset Park... Team News from Ayr United web site: Steven Bell returns to the squad after illness but Kris Doolan and long-term absentees Jamie Adams and Andy Murdoch remain on the sidelines. Luke McCowan serves the second game of his two match ban. Mark Kerr said: “We were extremely disappointed on Tuesday night with the result and the performance so it’s good to have another game quickly to try and rectify that. It is never easy playing against Inverness but we have a big incentive knowing a win will put us back into second place. We are heading up this morning (Friday) and training this afternoon so we will be well prepared.” Championship games on Saturday 14th December Inverness CT v Ayr United Arbroath v Dundee Dundee United v Alloa Athletic Dunfermline v Morton Queen of the South v Partick Thistle Heeeeeeeere's Johnny............ And here's a man on good form just now.............. If you like a wee flutter, our partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ .

Ayr Raid There was plenty at stake for both clubs and it was the visitors that opened the scoring in the first half when James Vincent knocked a short clearance into the net. In the second half, Shaun Rooney did a Forrest Gump before scoring a brilliant second just after the hour. With no further scoring Inverness moved to within two points of both Dundee United and Ayr United. Great end to a difficult week for the club. Run Forrest, run......... Apparently when Shaun scored Pikachu said:- There's magic that brought us together. And that magic... is Rooney! John Robertson went with the tried and tested at Somerset Park as Ayr went searching for their sixth win on the trot that would see them top the table on matchday 8 after leaders Dundee United stumbled at Alloa last night. Brad Mckay and Mitch Curry are back in training but not deemed fit enough to start this one, although they could see some action on Sunday in the Nos Cup final. Tom Walsh was still out injured and that saw Roddy MacGregor get his second start. Caretaker boss Sandy Stewart was without the experienced Mark Kerr with Jordan Houston replacing him. That was the only change for Ayr who were looking to top the table after last nights Championship game saw the Wasps sting the Arabs 1-0. A massive three points available and all to play for in this one. A crowd of nearly 2,000 were on hand to see this lively encounter with 148 & Pikachu supporting the Caley Jags. Amongst those was the Immortal Howden Ender and he will bring you his report shortly.................. Me you and Pikachu..... It was the day that the Highland Pokemon prevailed in deepest Ayrshire and I am sure that Pikachu was envious of the lightning strike by Shaun Rooney in the second half. It was my first “live” game of the season and the fare served up by the Caley Jags enthused and surprised me. That was as solid a team performance that I have witnessed for some time. We could have been ahead in the first minute when Miles Storey outpaced the Ayr defence but then dragged his shot slightly wide with the help of the keepers fingertips, corner for ICT. Then came ten minutes of Ayr dominance. I felt that Ridgers kept us in the game three times, especially saves from McCowan and Moffat. Then on the half hour the away support lamented the substitution of Sean Welsh who hobbled off with yet another injury. However, within seconds we were celebrating a contentious opening goal. Not many would have been surprised if the referee had stopped play to allow treatment for the poleaxed Jordan White, lying prostrate in front of the Ayr goal. But the referee played on and JAMES VINCENT appeared to deflect home a Rooney cross. Not exactly a carbon copy of his Hampden clincher but very important none the less. I thought that we controlled the game thereafter. We were wholly solid defensively and looked dangerous on the break. The midfield certainly worked their socks off. Ayr’s final touch or shooting was well off although Ridgers did save us twice more in the second half, especially one save where he appeared to turn himself in the air when the initial shot was deflected. Roddy MacGregor should have notched a second after the break but he hesitated and he who hesitates is lost. And then what must be a contender for goal of the season. In the 64th minute Donaldson punted upfield and SHAUN ROONEY remarkably kept the ball in play, swiveled, sped inside and as cool as a feckin cucumber slotted the ball home. Rooney could have claimed a second late on when Todorov failed to execute the through ball with Rooney sure to overlap again. Doran really should have made it three but slashed at the ball from the penalty spot. That completed another fine away day and the long journey home was worth it. Robbo’s after match comments summed it up and perhaps he really does think that Ayr are more of a danger than the Tannadice bunch - "We are only eight games in, but it is important that we are still there at the top of the table. We faced the best team in the Championship today and we asked the players to put on a performance, show their character and that's what they did in some style." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From BBC Sport, here's what the gaffers thought Ayr United caretaker manager Sandy Stewart: "I can't fault the team's effort. While I don't think we were as good today as we have been in the last five or six weeks, we still had chances to take something from the game. "People will look at the Dundee United loss to Alloa and be disappointed we did not take advantage today, but it was always going to be a tight race at the top and that has not changed." Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson: "We are only eight games in, but it is important that we are still there at the top of the table. We faced the best team in the Championship today and we asked the players to put on a performance, show their character and that's what they did in some style." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And so to the Smileymometer and my apologies to the short-sighted Caley Stan !! ? RIDGERS (*****) On many a day he would have been MOM but he was outshone on the day by a Ross Tokely lookalike. ROONEY (*****) + Looking forward to seeing a replay of that goal. But apart from that he was solid at the back and always looked a danger when going forward – which he did menacingly on a regular basis. DONALDSON (****) Looked more assured and far much more like his old composed self. Perhaps his fitness has hit the 100% mark ? McCART (***) Tends to play in the shadow of Coll but he also looked assured and that central defence partnership will be a very important building block for the remainder of the season. TREMARCO (***) Appeared to concentrate more on defensive duties which may well be his remit from now on. VINCENT (***) Playmaker in the first half and very effective. Quieter in the second but defensively solid. WELSH (**) Another bitter blow and leg injury allowed only 30 minutes of holding midfield at its best. MacGREGOR (***) Very lively, sharp and pacy. Some nice touches but too easily knocked off the ball. Did look like a wee boy on a pitch of men. But he can only improve and he does have the required potential. DORAN (**) Never does shine when the game is mostly about defending. Has lost some pace and that shows at this level. WHITE (**) Poor Jordan is simply not my cup of tea. His height and presence does attract central defenders but he does nothing in the air and his hold up play is lacking. His main contribution was the first goal assist !! STOREY (***) If only he had that bit of panache and composure to add to the lightning pace – he really would be wearing a magic hat. More effective out wide though. TRAFFORD (****) He more than successfully filled the boots of Welsh. He was winning everything in central midfield. CARSON (***) Evidently taken on to beef up the midfield. The complete opposite of McGregor. No nonsense needed in a game of this ilk. TODOROV (***) Still not the final product but I feel he is more mobile, is a better holder and has more pace than any other forward at the club. Probably a better foil for Storey as well It says that the attendance was 1912 but there looked a lot more than that – although the migration of Honest Men at the start and half time may have confused me. There were not many in the home end at full time though. My thanks to all, on and off the pitch, for making my first away day of the season a very enjoyable and wet one - and that surprisingly includes Kenny McLean Alternative Maryhill added: It was a really disciplined, hardworking performance from ICT. It looks like Robertson and Kellacher are more focused on coaching players on their individual roles than either Foran or Hughes were: Doran is tracking back and covering Tremarco far more then he used to, and Storey did the same really well on the opposite flank and provided real strength there, which is obviously necessary for us when Rooney goes off on his peregrinations. I thought Storey would be absolutely useless if not played through the middle, but he did an excellent job yesterday. Vincent worked his socks off in the middle and Trafford did fine when he came on, although it is going to be a big blow for us if Welsh does turn out to be long-term injured again. I thought Ayr played some lovely stuff going forward - some great interplay between Forrest, Kelly and Moffat, and McCowan looked dangerous too - but Donaldson in particular dealt with them really well. And Rooney is just an absolute force of nature at the moment, and looks like he's loving playing for us. He's probably always going to struggle defensively if he's up against a fast, tricky left winger, but those rampages forward have been getting more and more audacious and basically made the difference between the teams yesterday. It's an absolute nap that he's going to get caught out at some point soon, and some team is going to ruin us on a counter-attack down our right, but it's worth it. Biggest cult hero we've had since Tokely. Here's both goals............. Birthday boy post match............ Nice present for you John. Full match highlights from Caley Jags TV Date: 05/10/2019 Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr. Attendance: 1912 Referee: Steven McLean Ayr United: 0 Lineup: Doohan; Houston, Muirhead, Rosscoe, Harvie, Geggan (Doolan 76), Docherty, Kelly, Moffat, McCowan, Forrest, Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Moore, Ecrepont, McKenzie, McGuffie. Scorers: none Booked: Geggan (75), Muirhead (79). Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Doran, Welsh (Trafford 30), Vincent, MacGregor (Carson 67), Storey, White (Todorov 70) Subs (not used): C Mackay; B Mckay, McHattie, Machado Scorers: Vincent (31),Rooney (64), Booked: Carson (79), Todorov (79), Trafford (90) Sent Off: none a

One down, two to go. Inverness booked their place in the next stage of the play-offs after a rather uncomfortable 1-1 draw with Ayr United. As expected Ayr came out of the blocks flying and deservedly took the lead through Luke McCowan in the 19th minute. It took until the 79th minute before we eased the pain on the supporters when Coll Donaldson claimed he got a touch on Liam Polworth's inviting free kick into the danger area. It mattered not who scored it, but it was a crucial goal that scuppered Ayr's hopes of taking the tie into extra time. Inverness will now play Dundee United on Tuesday night, the return at Tannadice on the Friday night. St Mirren are in pole position to be the Premiership fall guys unless Accies blow a four point lead going into the final two games, Dundee already relegated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TICKET PRICES FOR Dundee United ARE AS FOLLOWS: Adult: £15 Concession: £8 Tickets can be bought online HERE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A noisy crowd in the away end met the teams as they came out on a sunny afternoon at the Caledonian Stadium. Carl Tremarco was still injured and Kevin McHattie started again in a familiar looking side for this crucial second leg tie. Ian McCall had Luke McCowan on from the start and Robbie Crawford was deemed fit enough to take his place in the side. Michael Moffat was on the bench for the Honest Men and top scorer Lawrence Shankland would be the man to keep an eye on. Around 2500 watched this one and Ayr started brightly without causing too much concern. However, it was Jordan White who had the first couple of attempts. The first was blocked by Ross Doohan in the visitors goal after White was fed through on the right side, Doohan blocking as White tried to dink the ball behind him. The second effort was a shot on the turn from the edge of the box which the keeper gathered with ease. From that save, Ayr took the lead when a crossfield pass from Shankland found Declan McDaid scampering down the right flank. His cross took a slight deflection off Jamie McCart's leg but it still found McCowan sprinting across the box to fire high into the net from six yards. Ayr were looking slick at this point and their passing game was outdoing the stifled approach from Inverness who looked a little edgy in the opening half. White saw an effort saved and Robbie Crawford could have done better than shoot wide at the other end. As Inverness upped the pace heading to wards the break Aaron Doran shot wide and they ended the half on top, but a goal behind on the day. Half Time 0-1 Inverness were dealt a blow ten minutes into the second half as Tom Walsh left the field feeling his hamstring to be replaced by Anthony McDonald. McDaid shot wide as Ayr looked to level the aggregate score and Mark Ridgers had to look smart to deny a header from Skankland. McDaid and Crawford were next to go wide as Inverness restricted the visitors to trying speculative efforts, but it was an uneasy spell for the hosts. We began to get to grips with the game and Jamie McCart headed wide and a couple of minutes later we were level. Aaron Doran was fouled some thirty yards from goal wide on the left. Liam Polworth curled an inviting ball into the mix and White and Coll Donaldson were left unmarked as they both rose for the ball. There was little doubt where the ball ended up, but Donaldson claimed he touched it with his hair and the relief in the stands was instant as Coll took the plaudits from the North Stand, his first goal this season. Ayr almost went in front again just two minutes later as Andy Murdoch unleashed a thumping shot from outside the box but Ridgers was equal to it. Time was now running out for United to take the game to extra time and their frustration showed as they picked up a couple of late bookings as Inverness looked more assured towards the end of a game they had struggled to control for long spells. Not a classic by any manner or means, but that vital 3-1 win at Somerset Park set Inverness up and enabled them to take it easier than they might have done had the match been all square. Great contributions from MotM Coll Donaldson with his partner Jamie McCart also playing well as we defended in depth at times. Aaron Doran was the pick of the forwards as he twisted and turned his way down the wing and Jordan White showed his worth once more, using his power and height to good effect. All in, not a great spectacle, and Ian McCall seems a bit miffed that his side were the best team over the two legs. I've got news for you Ian, Inverness play Dundee United on Tuesday night and Ayr United's wonderful season has ended. So Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night and Tannadice on Friday night. A schedule John Robertson has voiced his concerns over preferring the option of Wednesday and Sunday. The winners will play St Mirren or Hamilton who meet on Monday night and that could decide who is in the play-off final. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's the managers speaking to BBC Sport Inverness manager John Robertson: "It's a strange situation defending a two-goal lead at home - it's awkward. The players weren't sure whether to go for it or to sit back and we were a bit safe. I thought we looked very nervous in the first 15-20 minutes. Ayr got a beautifully-worked goal and that woke us up a bit. These matches are done over 180 minutes and we've come through it." Ayr manager Ian McCall: "I'm very disappointed. I'm very proud of the players and what they've put in over two years and a lot of them will be leaving us for bigger clubs. I thought we were the better team in both games in terms of playing football and passing the ball but ultimately theses games are about getting through. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not the best performance ever, but this was all about getting through to the next round of the play-off and so far it's mission accomplished with more difficult games to come. Good backing for the Ayr players must have given them a lift when they came on to the park and the moved the ball around better with Inverness looking edgy trying to protect that two goal cushion. Anyway, job done so far. Here's the goals from yesterdays game. No doubt about the Ayr scorer, but difficult to see who got the final touch although Donaldson is claiming the Inverness goal. Here's Johnny................... Date: 11/05/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2323 Referee: Steven McLean Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay (Rooney 63), Donaldson, McCart, McHattie, Walsh (McDonalld 54), Trafford, Polworth, Chalmers, Doran, White. Subs (not used): C Mackay, Harper, MacGregor, McCauley, Austin. Scorers: Donaldson (79 maybe) Booked: McHattie (89) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 1 Lineup: Doohan; Smith, Muirhead, Rose, Harvie, Crawford, Murdoch, Kerr (Cadden 83), McDaid (Miller 77), Shankland, McCowan (Moffat 65) Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Forrest, Ecrepont, Docherty. Scorers: McCowan (19) Booked: Muirhead (29), Smith (45+1), Harvie (83), Shankland (87) Sent Off: none a

Opportunity Knocks Inverness have a great opportunity of progressing to the next stage of the play-offs after gaining a 3-1 advantage from the first leg at Somerset Park thanks to goals from Charlie Trafford and a Jordan White brace. Whoever gets through, they will face Dundee United at their own ground on the 14th May, then again at Tannadice on the 17th May. It's a tough schedule and not for the weak. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just day until we face Ayr United in the Premiership Play-Off Quarter-Final Second-Leg Who's coming along to get behind the Caley Jags in tomorrow's big game? Tickets available online Adult £12/ Concession £6/ Under 12s FREE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Given this week of comebacks of biblical proportions, think Liverpool Tottenham, it's not inconceivable that this tie has a bit to run yet. The first goal will be seen as vital by both clubs. An Inverness goal would virtually kill the tie, a goal for the visitors could well put a spanner in the works. Remember that away goals do not count in the event of the games finishing level over the two legs. The team that scores the most goals over the two legs go through to the next round. If the scores are level over the two legs then there will be extra-time and then penalties if required. What that means is if Ayr were to win 2-0, not absurd by any manner or means given our poor home results, we would be going into extra-time and the possibility of penalties. Bricking it yet? It was a somewhat controversial victory at Ayr with Ian McCall claiming our second goal was offside and the third should not have been a penalty. He always was a greetin faced wee nyaff with a chip on his shoulder if you ask me. It was a hard fought win on Tuesday night. Charlie Trafford broke the deadlock in the first half and Jordan White clipped in the second. Michael Rose pulled one back but White converted a penalty to restore our two goal cushion and that's how it ended. Those goals were White's 15th & 16th of the season. Not a bad return from the big fellow after a slow start. Here's the match video of the goals so you can judge for yourself if McCall was justified in his rant. Inverness have no further injury worries after the first leg. Coll Donaldson came through unscathed after being subbed against Dunfermline the week before. Carl Tremarco missed the game at Ayr with a calf injury with Kevin McHattie stepping up to the plate with ease. The injured Sean Welsh has signed a two year extension to his contract. Good news for Inverness fans and let's hope Sean makes a full and quick recovery from his current broken foot. Team News from Ayr:- Steven Bell, Jamie Adams, Craig Moore and Andy Geggan are out with injuries. Robbie Crawford was replaced at half time in the first leg and will be a doubt One man to be wary of is Lawrence Shankland who collected a new award this week. He picked up the inaugural Ladbrokes Championship Tartan Ball for finishing as top scorer in the league with 24 goals. Amongst that was a four goal haul at Tannadice when Ayr thumped the Arabs 5-0. Here's all his league goals for the season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you like a wee flutter, new partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.

So far so good The Caley Jags take a two goal advantage back to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday after beating Ayr United 3-1 at Somerset Park in the first leg of the play-off. An entertaining game saw Charlie Trafford open the scoring in the first half with a powerful header. Jordan White doubled the advantage in the second half, Ayr claiming for offside. Coventry City signing Michael Rose headed Ayr back into the game but a Jordan White penalty ended the scoring in favour of the Caley Jags. A place in the Premiership is the prize for the team that can battle their way through the play-offs and that journey started last night at Somerset Park, Ayr. Whoever manages to get into the play-off final will be facing either St Mirren or Hamilton Accies who face each other this weekend. John Robertson was still without captain Carl Tremarco with Kevin McHattie replacing him. Other than that it was a fairly strong starting XI with Coll Donaldson fit enough to resume at centre back. Ian McCall had Liam Smith on from the start with Michael Moffat and Lawrence Shankland up front keeping young star Luke McCowan on the bench. A crowd of nearly 2200 were on hand to watch the first leg with just over 200 away fans making the long trek, and on a school night too. Here's the main talking points from the game. The visitors opened the scoring just after the half hour when Tom Walsh won a corner on the right. Charlie Trafford was first to the ball from the boot of Joe Chalmers and he wanted it most. His powerful header went high into the net with Doohan stranded. Ayr and Ian McCall were left raging when Jordan White doubled our advantage after the linesman failed to give offside against the big striker when Aaron Doran poked a ball through to him on the edge of the box. Jordan carried on and deftly chipped it over the onrushing keeper, a superb finish for a big lad, the defence not happy at the decision. Ayr won a free kick some twenty-five yards out. The ball was rolled to Lawrence Shankland who put his laces through the ball but Mark Ridgers pulled off a tremendous save at the expense of a corner. From the resultant corner, Michael Rose got the run on the defence as Coll Donaldson ball watched. We all then ball watched as it powered into the net to give the Honest men some hope. Another debatable decision would go against United as Mark Kerr was adjudged to have bundled over Jamie McCart as he went for a header in the box. Difficult to spot, but the referee was on hand and White made no mistake from the spot, emphatically firing the ball high to the keepers left. Doohan had already made his mind up that the ball was going to his right. Big stramash near the end which resulted in Jordan White being booked with Shankland and his Ayr cohorts doing their best to get him red carded. Luke McCowan had the final chance to salvage something for Ayr, but Inverness held out and take the the advantage back up the A9 with Trafford, White and Ridgers getting the plaudits. More to come............... Action from the game courtesy of AyrUnitedFCTV............. Here's Johnny............... Two goal hero Jordan White talking on BBC Sport Managers reaction talking on BBC Sport Ayr United manager Ian McCall: "He is a yard offside and it is nowhere near a penalty kick. "We always knew the physicality from Inverness would be a problem, albeit they have a lot of good footballers. Inverness boss John Robertson: "We have said to the players it is a really good away performance. "But the job is not finished. This is a team that knocked five by Dundee United earlier this season. We will prepare for another battle on Saturday." Date: 07/05/2019 Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr Attendance: 2171 Referee: Alan Muir Ayr United: 1 Lineup: Doohan; Smith, Muirhead, Rose, Harvey, Docherty, Crawford (Kerr 45), Murdoch, McDaid (Forrest 80), Moffat (McCowan 62), Shankland Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Ecrepont, Cadden, Miller. Scorers: Rose (65) Booked: Crawford (42), Kerr (75) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, McHattie, Walsh (Rooney 79), Trafford, Chalmers, Polworth (McDonald 88), Doran (McCauley 78), White Subs (not used): C Mackay, Harper, MacGregor, Austin. Scorers: Trafford (33), White (51, 76 pen) Booked: Trafford (68), White (90+1) Sent Off: none a

Ayr Raid Inverness beat Ayr 1-0 thanks to a second half goal from substitute Brad Mckay. Early drama when we spurned the chance to go ahead after seven minutes. Unsurprisingly, Aaron Doran missed from the spot, our second failure in two games. Coll Donaldson went off injured to be replaced by goal scorer Mckay. We held out to gain a valuable three points and jump above Ayr in the table. With Dunfermline drawing at Partick, it was a good weekend for the Caley Jags. John Robertson had to make some enforced changes to the side that went down in the Highland derby Out went the suspended Charlie Trafford, out went the injured Jamie McCart and the jaded Brad Mckay dropped to the bench. Little did we know that he would play a major part in the proceedings. In came Shaun Rooney at Right back, Kevin McHattie in central defence and Nathan Austin up front alongside Jordan White. Ian McCall thrust Nicky Cadden into the starting XI with Calvin Miller and Lawrence Shankland up front. Declan McDaid and Michael Moffat were on the bench as he made some bold changes. It's as clear as mud now for the play-off places, but it should become more transparent this week as Ayr host Queen of the South and Ross County host Dunfermline on Tuesday night. Next weekend whilst we travel to Hampden, Dundee United and Ayr clash and on Saturday, Dunfermline play Falkirk. Full report from RIG Huge win in a quite entertaining game if somewhat short on quality at times. One player who certainly isn't short of quality is Polworth and his superb defence splitting pass sent Austin scampering away and he looked to be clipped by Doohan and from seemingly nowhere we had the chance to go one goal up. Sadly, as is the current ICT style, we fluffed the spot kick as Doran sent a weak shot down the middle of the goal and it was kept out by the trailing leg of the Ayr keeper. Austin was involved at the other end when we failed to clear a corner and Miller sent a fierce shot heading towards goal but Austin was on hand to header away. A few folk around me said it was probably going wide but I'm not so sure. Certainly grateful to have Austin there to keep Ayr out. Doran was next to threaten for Inverness when he picked up the ball on the right edge of the box but his shot was just over the bar although Doohan looked to have it covered. Miller again had a great chance to put Ayr ahead when a cross from Cadden, who was roasting Rooney for much of the opening 30 minutes, was deflected into his path but thankfully he sent a poor header high and wide with Ridgers looking stranded. Then came one of the many goalmouth scrambles of the day. Walsh tried to get onto the ball as it bobbled around in the six yard area but when he did swing a foot at the ball his effort wasn't good enough to beat the Ayr keeper. Half Time 0-0 The start of the second half saw Ayr administer an absolute bodying to the ICT defence save from actually scoring. Almost all the Ayr attacks were coming down the ICT right with a number of low crosses flashed across the goal. However it was Craig Thomson who almost helped set up the Ayr opener when a Donaldson clearance crashed off his back and sat up nicely for Geggan but he pulled a volleyed effort wide. Another goalmouth scramble saw Rooney and Tremarco make desperate blocks to keep United out before Geggan somehow hooked an effort well over from only a few yards out as Ayr started to turn the screw and it looked to be only a matter of time before we would concede especially given that we had lost Donaldson to injury by this point. Almost inexplicably we then took the lead Rooney was felled on the right touchline, Chalmers lifted a ball into the box which was missed by the United defence and Brad Mckay was on hand to score a goal of the season contender from 0.3 yards out. Ayr came right back into the game when McDaid cut inside and sent a low drive towards goal but Ridgers got down well to smother the shot. in the final few moments Moffat managed to create some space in the box but he seemed to hook his effort across the face of goal with no team mate on hand to tuck it away. Something of a smash and grab win for us but, as we've found out this season, if you don't take your chances... I was really impressed with the pace and movement of Shankland, Miller and Cadden and then McDaid when he came on. Rooney had a torrid time at right back and it was only a result of really poor finishing from the likes of Miller and Geggan that we didn't concede about 4 goals. For ICT White had a poor game for the first 60 minutes then turned into a colossus for the final 30 mainly due to having a bit more space to work in as mentioned by Caley Stan above. He went from losing every header he went up for to winning just about everything and linking brilliantly with team mates to really take the pressure off the defence. Austin had a good game as well as did Doran (despite the penalty miss) and Polworth. Huge loss for us with Donaldson going off with what looked to be a knee injury. He appeared in the dugout before full time in flip flops so I am hoping he was just looking to boost early to get a Ryanair flight at Prestwick right after kick off......... ? A word for the Ayr fans, almost never stopped singing and getting behind their team for pretty much the entire game. I can't recall a home support like that this season. Great effort. Footage from Ayr United Fc TV Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson on BBC Sport: "We had a superb first half, but our Achilles heel came back to haunt us with another missed penalty. I thought Ayr were superb - they were the team on the front foot in the second half - but then we got the goal and that gave us the impetus to defend and see the game out. We had to dig deep. I wouldn't have complained with a draw but its a massive three points for us. Ian McCall was disappointed to lose "I thought the first half after the penalty we were dominant, a draw at half-time was fair. But the second half, for 25 minutes we battered them. There was silence in the stadium after the goal, there was shock - the second half was so once sided, we just couldn't believe it. I wasn't disappointed with the performance - the Somerset Road end was like a real football ground, it was fantastic, then we lost a silly goal. Its a really hard one to take but we've got to go and win all three points to try and clinch the top four." And on twitter, the banter goes on..... Mark Ridgers: Big 3 points today and great shift from the lads, surely not far away from being on the next penalty Anthony McDonald: Huge 3 points for the boys today dug in and got what we deserved! Happy to get back on the pitch after 6 weeks out, safe trip up the road to the fans???? different class? RIG agrees with McCall: Ayr miss a great chance to take the lead. Cadden cross headed over by Miller. It's all Ayr second half: Geggan fires over from a few yards out. How we aren't behind is beyond me! They think it's all over: ICT have been rotten this second half. Lucky to still be level and Donaldson going off injured It is now: Goooooooal! Mckay tucks the ball away from close range after Ayr struggle to clear a Chalmers free kick Zogg made it onto the terraces behind enemy lines, good lad! By the way, the u18's don't seem to have a problem with penalties....... Date: 06/04/2019 Venue: Somerset Park Attendance: 1566 Referee: Craig Thomson Ayr United: 0 Lineup: Doohan; Smith, Rose, Bell, Harvey, Geggan (Adams 69), Docherty, Murdoch (Moffat 79), Cadden (McDaid78), Shankland, Miller. Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Kerr, Crawford, Moore. Scorers: none Booked: Doohan (7) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson (B Mckay 62), Tremarco, McHattie, Walsh (McDonald 70), Polworth, Chalmers, Doran, Austin (McCauley 84), White Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, Brown, D Mackay. Scorers: B Mckay (66) Booked: Rooney (66) Sent Off: none a

Fresh Ayr Challenge Somerset Park is the venue this Saturday as the business end of the season approaches and we find ourselves still in with a chance of securing a play-off place, and with it the slim prospect of promotion is still within our own grasp. Last game before Hampden for Inverness, let's hope we can get through this without any further damage to our squad. Don't forget to buy your tickets for the Scottish Cup Semi-Final against Hearts. No tickets will be available on the day. The ICT Supporters Travel Club are running a bus to this match and the leaving times are as follows: Leaving the Caley Club: 8.45am Leaving the Caledonian Stadium: 9am Book through their Facebook page HERE or call/text 07462 218717 Admission at Somerset Park Adults : £17 OAP’s, students and 18-21 year olds £11 Under 18s £6 It's been a frantic month with our stretched squad having had to cope with six games since the 3rd of March. These were mostly successful until it finally caught up with us on Tuesday night and lethargy set in as we went down 2-1 against Ross County and Nick Welsh. That success has brought the dreaded Manager of the Month & Player of the Month awards for March to Inverness with John Robertson and Aaron Doran being the recipients. Four wins and a draw saw the accolades head North. Doran waded in with 4 goals in March, including the vital winner in the Scottish Cup game at Tannadice. Well deserved if you ask me. Unfortunately the curse has already kicked in with defeat to Ross County in the derby. More info on the awards can be found on the OFFICIAL SITE Despite that loss we are clinging on to fourth spot with Dunfermline the nearest challengers and realistically the only ones likely to make the effort. They have a game in hand over us and at the moment are six points adrift. Ayr have only one win in their last five whilst we have three. Second place looks to be out of our reach so it would appear that third or fourth are the targets and either of them would be sufficient to get us into the play-offs. The updated table is shown above after Friday nights draw in Dingwall. Other games on Saturday are Partick -V- Dunfermline, Falkirk -V- Alloa and Queens -V- Morton. As it was the sixth derby between the sides, stalemate was setting in, but County went at it right from the first whistle and deservedly went ahead when a Josh Mullin strike nestled in the bottom corner as we strolled around the pitch in training mode. We missed a penalty but Carl Tremarco drew us level off the bar with a header before Andy Boyle nodded in the winner before the break. Down to ten men just before the interval, we plodded on but to no avail although we minimised the damage and went down 2-1. A result that gives County a five point cushion going into their Friday night game with second placed United. It remained a five point gap after a 1-1 draw in Dingwall, County levelling well into time added on. Here's our man of the moment discussing the derby......... Ayr took all three points as they dominated at Dunfermline last Friday thanks to a Declan McDaid goal but in midweek were held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Morton. A Shankland penalty had them ahead at the break but Greg Kiltie tapped in with twenty minutes to go for a share of the points. Our last visit to Ayr was an odd won. We raced into a three goal lead with three goals in a nine minute spell. By the 18th minute we were in the rare position of being three ahead and didn't know what to do with it. Ayr reshuffled at the break and the introduction of Shankland brought them instant reward, Declan McDaid reducing the deficit. Shankland reduced the lead further from a free kick late on. We held on and the goals from Nathan Austin (2) and Liam Polworth were good enough for all three points. The other two games at Inverness were a 0-0 draw and a 1-0 win for Inverness, Jordan White scoring a second half goal in that one. Ian McCall might ring the changes for this one after the disappointing draw with Morton. He has no injury worries ahead of this game. Here was his starting XI against the Ton. Ian said on the Ayr United official site: “Tuesday night was disappointing, we never really got going or played at the kind of tempo that makes us very dangerous. We were flat and probably in the end slightly fortunate to come away with a point. John Robertson will be without the suspended Charlie Trafford thanks to some refereeing ineptitude. Sean Welsh is a big miss in midfield and Jamie McCart took a heavy knock against County. Some desperately sad news: Twenty-three year old Angus Beith has had to retire from football after being unable to recover from a hip injury. You can read the full story on the Official Site. Angus said “I have done everything possible to recover from injury and to get back playing but, reluctantly I have had to accept that it is just not possible for me to play football any longer. I wish the club every success this season and in the future” I'm sure everyone at Caley Thistle Online wishes Angus all the best for the future, and success in whatever challenges he has ahead of him. Feed the Goose Here's Angus scoring in his loan spell at Stranraer FC, thanks for the footage. Stevie Farrell, the Stranraer FC manager paid tribute on their website:- Farrell was “gutted” for the 23-year-old and said: “You think we are going through a difficult spell, with a hard season and struggling and fighting. “Here is a young lad with his future in front of him. “Regardless of where we are, we always have a Saturday to put right. “Unfortunately, he does not have that. “He was a fantastic player for us and was very, very respectful. “They always say bad things happen to good people and Angus is one of those very good people.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you like a wee flutter, our partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ FansBet have Ayr 6/5 - Draw 23/10 - ICT 43/20 Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.

Ayr Raid Inverness surged into a three goal lead inside 20 minutes, Nathan Austin bagging the first two goals and Liam Polworth adding the third with a low shot from outside the box. It remained 0-3 at the interval but substitute Lawrence Shankland made his presence felt as he set up Declan McDaid to open Ayr's account eight minutes after the break. Shankland scored from a free kick with five minutes to go to set up a tense finish but Inverness just managed to hold on to take all three points. That's a tremendous result that has put us back into the top four and denied Ayr a return to the top of the table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John Robertson made two changes to the team that drew 2-2 at Falkirk. Jambos loanee Anthony McDonald started in place of the injured Aaron Doran and George Oakley replaced Jordan White. Cammy Mackay kept the keepers jersey with Mark Ridgers still out with back pain. Ayr kept faith with Craig Moore and Michael Moffat up front which meant that Lawrence Shankland was on the bench. Nathan Austin started the ball rolling towards the Somerset Road end on a freezing night at Somerset Park in front of 1559 shivering fans. The 76 visiting ones would be warmed up well before half time. Immortal Howden Ender was one of the 76........... To start with a round of applause for the recorded 76 fans who made it to Somerset Park despite the road conditions in both North and South directions. The records also show that there was 1559 in total attendance although it looked more to me. And we were then treated to the best 9 minutes of the season. The first, in the eight minute, had a degree of luck to it. Superb through ball from Polworth and Nathan Austin took it round Rose and Doohan with a little help from Rose but he finished well which has not always been the case this season. And just as one bus leaves another turns up, three minutes later (certainly wasn’t sponsored by ScotRail). A terrible pass by Smith found Oakley who played in Nathan Austin who again rounded the keeper but knocked it in with his left foot. Not sure how the defender on the line missed the clearance but hey-ho. And as most if not every fan in the ground were shaking their heads we go three up. Liam Polworth sweetly stuck a low 20 yarder which went in via the post. As good a strike as I have seen this season. But any chance of a 7-0 Somerset repeat were soon dashed as Ayr appeared to waken up. They could well have got a goal back before half time. A header came off the crossbar and Cammy MacKay made a fine save just on the half time whistle. In many ways it was fortunate for us that we held out as the second half may have been even more arduous. Enter Lawrence Shankland for the second half. It felt that the combination of a McCall bollicking, Shankland enthusing the crowd and Ayr lifting their effort made the second half a very, very long one. The first goal in the 53rd minute was made by Shankland and finished off by McDaid. Although I would have given the “assist” to Jamie McCart – although the ball did appear to hit a divot. There were two penalty claims thereafter although I feel that both being denied were the correct decision. The ball clearly played Tremarco’s hand and Oakley had lost the ball in a rumble in the box. Also in the 58th minute Robbo made his first substitution which basically puzzled me. He hooks Austin whos’ pace was the main worry for the Ayr back four and would have been a bonus on the break. And he brings on White ?!! Trafford replaced McDonald in the 70th minute but that was understandable. McCauley replaced Oakley in the 82nd minute and that was one that may have been better happening 15-20 minutes earlier. And three minutes later the inevitable Shankland goal made us fear that another draw was on the cards. And it was – and you could hear a collective sigh of relief from 76 Highlanders when Muirhead headed over in injury time – although I thought that Tremarco’s presence put him off. Ayr United manager Ian McCall: "You can't give teams a three-goal start. I thought they had 20 minutes, then we dominated, but we couldn't get an equalizer – have to agree. Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "You know if you lose a goal here, the atmosphere can change and it's a brilliant throw back coming here – spot on again. Robbo added - "If we win on Saturday, we're back in the hunt going into the break for the cup. We're just targeting whatever team is directly above us. – who can argue against that ? SMILEYMOMETER MacKay - Young Cammy did well and I thought that his save before half time was a real game saver. top. At the time I was critical of his Alan Rough impersonation for the second goal but the free kick looks as if it took a mean deflection. Rooney – Disappointed me. Always looks good going forward but I felt that most of Ayr’s chances came down their left wing and Rooney lacking pace. McKay ?– No nonsense and why not. McCart – ?As Mckay apart from the 53rd minute Brain Fart (Rigism) Tremarco – Best defender for me and good to see him back at full fitness. Chalmers – ? No sign of his sweet left foot but worked his socks off Welsh – An “old head” which we need at the present time. Looked more like a captain. Polly – My MOM. Super pass for the first goal and super strike for the third goal. Also worked hard which often is lacking at home. McDonald – Thought that Robbo would have played McCauley from the start on physique alone. Has a look of a Doran about him – which we need. Suspect that he will be more effective at home. Austin – Best game in our colours for me. Two good finishes and worked the line very well. So why the hooking in the 58th minute ? White – ?Actually thought that he was a good out option and he held the ball up quite well. Trafford – Evidently taken on for the Davy Crockett effect McCauley – Wrong game to judge. Here's the footage from Ayr TV Robbo post match on twitter Date: 29/01/2019 Venue: Somerset Park Attendance: 2000 Referee: Nick Walsh Ayr United: 2 Lineup: Doohan; Smith, Bell, Rose, Harvie, Murdoch, Crawford (Muirhead 82), Docherty (Higgins 45), McDaid, Moore (Shankland 45), Moffat Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Hilton, Ecrepont, McCowan. Scorers: McDaid (53), Shankland (85) Booked: Crawford (79) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: C Mackay; Rooney, B Mckay, J McCart, Tremarco, McDonald (Trafford 70), Polworth, Welsh, Chalmers, Austin (White 58), Oakley (McCauley 82). Subs (not used): MacKinnon; Harper, McHattie, Mackay. Scorers: Austin (9, 12) Polworth (18) Booked: Polworth (36), Oakley (69) Sent Off: none a

Let's go fly a kite.... Somerset Park Ayr is the venue on Tuesday night in this re-arranged fixture after the original date was called off less than an hour before kick-off due to high winds. Unfortunately many Inverness fans had already made the five hour journey only to be met with the news they didn't want to hear. And it could be Deja Vu with a pitch inspection planned for 11:30am after a week of rain in Ayrshire. ?️ The ICT Supporters Travel Club is running a bus to this match. The Bus leaves the Caley Club at 13:45 and the Stadium at 14:00. The Bus can be booked by text on 07462218717 or through their Facebook page. The original game was due to be played on the 7th December, but strong winds forced the postponement with teams and fans already at the stadium. Since the postponement, Ayr have had three draws, three defeats and one win on Saturday against Dundee United, Craig Moore scoring early. Falkirk and Inverness were Championship winners but the surprising defeat was to Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup. Prior to the game that was called off, Ayr were sitting on top of the League. They were knocked off their perch as County turned the screw, but had managed to get back on top before Saturday when County won to regain the lead although Ayr have a game in hand, this one against the Caley Jags. We have blown hot and cold recently and since the postponement have three wins, two defeats and two draws. The biggest win was a 4-0 defeat of Lowland League leaders East Kilbride in the cup. The two disappointing losses were the Highland derby and a home defeat by Queen of the South. The first meeting of the season saw Inverness fail to get the better of ten man Ayr, Liam Polworth missing the target from the spot. We did keep Shankland fairly quiet in that game, but even with ten men Ayr were still a threat on the break, the game ended 0-0. The last time we met a couple of weeks ago we managed to get the better of Ayr thanks to a header from Jordan White, a rare home win for the Caley Jags this term. Inverness fielded their two new signings at the weekend, both coming off the bench in a 2-2 draw at Falkirk. Mark Ridgers was unable to play due to a back spasm and Cammy Mackay deputised in goal. Unfortunately that probably contributed to Falkirk's second goal resulting in a couple of points dropped. Disappointing result really as we led twice but our attacking intent was evident and Aaron Doran's stunning strike was worth all three points. Three of our most influential players were missing at Falkirk. Coll Donaldson and Tom Walsh are out for over a month unfortunately. Ridgers will hopefully be over his back problem soon. The introduction of Darren McCauley and Anthony McDonald will give the squad a lift though and Jamie McCart has proven to be an able deputy for Coll. Aaron Doran pulled up at Falkirk with a possible hamstring injury and might be out for a couple of games. Ayr have scoring sensation Lawrence Shankland back in action after he missed a few games. Craig Moore and Michael Moffat have shown that Ayr are not a one man team though. Geggan and Forrest are out, but Kerr and Adams are almost there. It's a pity Aaron Doran is out as he has been getting back to his best recently. Here's what he is capable of. Here's new Inverness signing Darren McCauley talking ahead of the Ayr United game........... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you like a wee flutter, our new partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.

Ayr Pressure Down Both sides were somewhat diminished with major players either injured, ill or suspended and it was a battle of the walking wounded as Ayr tried to keep the pressure on at the top of the League with County facing a difficult away trip to Palmerston. Inverness had Brad Mckay and Shaun Rooney suspended with strikers George Oakley and Nathan Austin injured. Angus Beith is still missing and this has now been reported to the polis as nobody has seen him yet! Kevin McHattie made his first home start with Carl Tremarco covering at right back. Ayr were without top striker Lawrence Shankland, Jamie Adams, Mark Kerr, Liam Smith and Alan Forrest with Adam Murdoch suspended. An unseasonably mild January afternoon with a touch of a stiff breeze coming in from the West met the teams as they entered the park in front of a 2283 crowd............. Liam Polworth was first to have an opportunity as he fired goalwards from twenty yards but his shot was weak and wide as he dragged it past the post. Michael Moffat broke clear for Ayr at the other end but his low shot was well held by Mark Ridgers from the angle when the striker might have been better squaring the ball. Aaron Doran should have scored when he latched on to a cross from Tom Walsh but his shot from close range cannoned back off the middle of the post and bounced back out of the box to safety. The home side were starting to dominate and Doran was flagged offside as he sprinted on to a good through ball from Polworth. Ayr were still a threat on the break though and Declan McDaid curled a shot over from one such venture forth and at the opposite end Joe Chalmers went close with a strike from distance as Ross Doohan sprawled across his goal line. Back came Ayr and Ross Docherty fired one over the bar as the game panned out. The end to end stuff continued as Polworth created the space to get a shot away after a delightful drag back, but it was always heading too high. Too high was the order of the day as McDaid sent another one over, the ball dipping too late. Best move of the half saw Jordan White miss a golden opportunity after he linked up well with Doran, but the striker shot just past the near post when it looked easier to score. Half Time 0-0 Ayr went close just after the break as Craig Moore met a great cross unchallenged, but his header was just wide of the junction with Ridgers stranded. That seemed to stir Inverness into action and from there on we dominated the game without overly exerting Doohan in the visitors goal. White was becoming more prominent and had an effort saved by the keeper who just got his finger tips to the ball at the expense of a corner. However he would not be denied in the 64th minute. Following a poor miss when he did not get enough contact on a header, the ball was sent back into the box by Sean Welsh and White had dusted himself down quickly enough to send a powerful header into the net with Doohan merely a spectator. The goal had been coming after a good spell of pressure from the home side. Ten minutes later Doran should have wrapped up the points but he skewed his shot just wide when scoring looked the better option. The dreaded 'hold what we had' was in the thoughts of most fans who had only witnessed one previous home League win this season. However, if truth be told we saw out the game in relative comfort thereafter and ran the clock down in style with some keep ball at the end. Full Time 1-0 Great to witness a win after so long, most had forgotten what it felt like. It was a narrow victory though with big Jordan White powering a header home just after the hour. He can jump after all! Aaron Doran missed that great opportunity to make the game comfortable but skewed wide and that led to a slightly tetchy last ten minutes, but we saw it out safely and took all three points with Joe Chalmers getting the sponsors MotM but Jordan White getting the nod from me. Speaking on BBC Sport, the respective managers had this to say....... Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "It was an even first half, but the second half we started to impose ourselves. It was a terrific goal and I'm delighted for Jordan - what a job he does as a lone striker. "We didn't look like we were going to lose a goal. There was a resilience to them and we thoroughly deserved the three points." Ayr United manager Ian McCall: "We had good chances but I thought Inverness deserved to win. I don't think we played very well, nothing to do with injuries I just don't think we played well enough. "I think the first goal was always going to win it. It was a great chance for us, we knew Ross County had a hard game but the league's going to be really, really tight." Highlights from Caley Jags TV If you can access Facebook, then here is Robbo's post match interview...... Date: 12/01/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2283 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Tremarco, Donaldson, McCart, McHattie, Polworth (D Mackay 71), Chalmers, Welsh, Doran (Trafford 85), Walsh, White. Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, MacGregor, Brown, Harper. Scorers: White (64) Booked: none Sent Off: none Ayr United: 0 Lineup: Doohan; Ferguson, Rose, Bell, Harvie, Geggan (McGuffie 67), Docherty, Crawford, McDaid (Higgins 73), Moffat, Moore (McCowan 79). Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Honest Men come North It's heading towards Tam O' Shanter time as the Honest Men head North to tackle the Chapman Billies at the Caledonian Stadium in Inverness. Ayr have been a revelation this term and a breath of fresh Ayr has certainly breathed some life into the Championship with Lawrance Shankland being one of the reasons they sit at the business end of the table. They sit second in the League only three points behind County. Ayr thrashed Dundee United 5-0 at Tannadice at the end of November, but since then they have drawn three and lost last week against Falkirk. Top scorer Lawrance Shankland missed that one and looks like missing out again. Our last two games have ended in defeat. We went down 2-1 in the Highland derby and threw away a lead against Queen of the South last week as two goals in a minute turned the game on it's head. It was a similar tale in the derby where we had the better of the game but ended up losing all three points, sums up the season so far. Due to a postponement at Somerset Park, we have only played Ayr once. That game ended goalless despite Ayr being reduced to ten men when Daniel Harvie was sent off in the first half. Ayr have a plethora of possible call offs which could include Lawrance Shankland, Mark Kerr, and Liam Smith . Andrew Geggan is back after suspension but midfielder Andrew Murdoch has reached the yellow card threshold and misses this game. Jamie Adams and Alan Forrest will definitely be out. For Inverness, Shaun Rooney serves the second of his two match ban and Brad Mckay has to serve a one match ban for accumulated bookings. Rumours also abound that possibly as many as three unnamed players might be down with the flu. Kevin McHattie could be involved given that at least two of our first choice defenders are out. George Oakley is still sidelined. Back up keeper Daniel Hoban has been loaned out to Forfar Athletic for the remainder of the season. Keeper Cammy Mackay has returned from Rothes and will cover for Mark Ridgers when required. Here's Kevin McHattie talking ahead of tomorrow's game. The Official Digital Online Programme is available HERE I asked the Bard for a prediction, he came up with this:- “The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, Gang aft agley. An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy! In other words, it might not go to plan, which might annoy the fans................ Thanks Robbie. Another draw it is then! He also had some advice for Robbo:- “O, wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, An' foolish notion.” Aye, well said Robbie, I'm sure our own Robbo will take that on board bard. Enjoy yer haggis & neeps peeps. If you like a wee flutter, our new partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.

Something in the Ayr tonight GAME OFF due to high wind. Anyone got a kite............. It's our third game within a week as we head to Ayrshire to take on the table topping Honest Men in a Friday night game under the floodlights of Somerset Park, or as Thunderclap Newman used to say, there's something in the Ayr......... Because the revolution's here, and you know it's right. The last few days have seen contrasting fortunes for Inverness. A first defeat of the season to bottom club Falkirk on Saturday was followed up by a crushing Scottish Cup win over Edinburgh City. The Falkirk game was hard to take and it ended our long unbeaten Championship run, an injury time goal sealing the points for the Bairns. The cup replay saw Jordan White claim a hat-trick and Tom Walsh a brace. It was a dour first half, but much better application after the break saw Inverness run out comfortable winners over League Two leaders Edinburgh City. Ayr have been without a game since last Friday when they juiced the Tangerines 5-0 at Tannadice. Lawrence Shankland was the man making the difference with a four goal salvo to keep Ayr at the top of the league ahead of Ross County. In fact it's all going on in Ayrshire with Kilmarnock heading the Premership after the midweek games. In fact there's definitely something in the Ayr. Hotbed of Scottish football just now! The first meeting of the season saw Inverness fail to get the better of ten man Ayr, Liam Polworth missing the target from the spot. We did keep Shankland fairly quiet in that game, but even with ten men Ayr were still a threat on the break, the game ended 0-0. Talking of Shankland, Swansea City are reported to be about to offer £400k for his services in the English Championship. The 26 goal striker is reputed to have around twenty clubs looking for his signature, unfortunately Inverness are not one of them. Ian McCall has nipped all rumours in the bud but accepts that there will be massive interest in his star striker come the January window. Ayr have won ten of their fifteen league games with only two defeats, Ross County (2-1) and Queen of the South (surprisingly 5-0). They have 33 points (to our 22) and are the top scorers in the division with 30 goals ( ICT 21) having conceded only 12 (ICT 16). Despite the doom and gloom of our extended unbeaten run, it's almost a relief to lose that tag as we embark on the next part of the journey. Turning draws into wins was proving to be a stumbling block, but Falkirk have hopefully given us the wake up call to get us back on track. Good to see Roddy MacGregor getting more game time as he looks to have a bright future with his energy and quick feet giving him the ability to drive at defences. Nice wee cameo against Edinburgh City where he set up Aaron Doran for our sixth goal. Sixth goal: Not often we can say that. The Ayr team that faced Dundee United last week can be seen in the image to the right, Striker Craig Moore returns to the Ayr squad after a two game ban. Ian MacCall has fitness doubts over defender Jamie Adams and midfielders Alan Forrest and Mark Kerr. Rumour has it that they will all miss this one. For Inverness, Carl Tremarco is back training but not fit for action yet. Jamie McCart will continue to deputise at left back, he's doing reasonably well there. Sean Welsh missed the midweek cup game, presumably rested. Jordan White will surely be given the nod up front after his striking performance against Edinburgh City. Daniel Mackay has been missing recently for the u18's and first team squad. Ayr Utd v ICTFC Somerset Park, Ayr Friday 19:45pm kick-off. Live on BT Sport Tickets: Adults £17, Concessions £11, Child £6. The ICT Supporters Travel Club is running a bus to the match, book on their Facebook page HERE or on 07462218717 The Car Park closes at 2.50pm, we have allocated spaces for Blue Badge holders, staff and officials only. Public parking is available at Craigie Park. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Young Caley Jags take on @CelticFC tomorrow in their SFA Youth Cup match. Entry is FREE for all Supporters at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. 2pm kick-off. There will be donation buckets outside the ground with all proceeds going towards the Youth Development Department. The club shop will be open tomorrow from 10am-2pm for a chance to get your gifts in time for Christmas! The u18 game has also fallen foul of the weather, anyone got a boat???