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  1. Omicron 1-0 Football Game off due to outbreak of covid Read Club Statement here You might as well have the Preview anyway, it's no use to anyone now Omicron has appeared just in time to ruin Xmas, well, to be more precise, Boxing day. New restrictions will be in place for all games from Boxing Day, so be sure to check the Match Info from your club as a 500 crowd limit will be imposed on outdoor events. Unfortunately, what that means is that NO away fans will be permitted in to the Stadium. Omicron or not, how appropriate is it that we should play against the team that has Brian Graham plying his trade for them on Boxing Day. Yes, Partick Thistle are the opponents on the day when traditionally, gifts are given to the poor during the season of goodwill to all men, apart from Brian Graham. You can catch the action at 3:00pm on Sunday or watch the live stream from ICTV for £15. We passed on the opportunity to consolidate our position at the top of the table last weekend which has baffled many after the thrashing dished out to Morton the previous week. Accies threw a spanner in the works winning at the Caledonian Stadium last week which resulted in part time Arbroath hitting the top of the table on goal difference half way through the season. You've got to doff your cap to the main man with the bunnet who has done a tremendous job at Gayfield. Nonetheless, Merry Xmas from the CTO editorial team Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 18 9 7 2 30 14 34 2. Inverness CT 18 10 4 4 26 14 34 3. Raith Rovers 18 9 6 3 27 17 33 4. Partick Thistle 18 9 4 5 30 16 31 5. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 6. Hamilton Ac. 18 5 5 8 17 31 20 7. Q.O.S. 18 4 5 9 19 26 17 8. Ayr United 18 3 6 9 16 32 15 9. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 10. Morton 18 2 7 9 16 30 13 Other Championship games on Boxing Day Ayr Utd v Rovers Dunfermline v Arbroath FC Accies v Killie Morton v Queens Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 9 5 7 33 30 +3 Away 20 5 6 9 21 28 -7 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 41 14 11 16 54 58 -4 Last Time out We went down 2-1 at home to Accies after surrendering a lead given to us through Cameron Harper in the 65th minute. That was his second goal for the club, his first in the Championship. Two goals in the space of three minutes from David Moyo and Andy Winter turned the game on it's head as Accies responded when we regressed. As we passed up chances to score it was deja vu from the first encounter this season, but they had eleven on the park this time. Disappointing result and we need to be more clinical around the box. Strange thing to have to say given the way we dealt with Morton, but an all too familiar scenario this season. Partick did us all a favour at the weekend when a late goal in the fog at Firhill saw them beat 10 man Raith Rovers and put themselves back in contention only three points off the pace. Kyle Turner scored the winner in the 96th minute with Raith playing out the final half hour without the red carded Cristophe Berra. First encounter this season ended at 3-1 to the Caley Jags after Partick had dominated the opening 45. Here's our summary from that game: After a difficult first half, Inverness ran out comfortable winners against Partick Thistle in a second half goal blitz. The visitors dominated the first forty-five and Scott Tiffoney drilled the opener out of nothing as the defence backed off. Manny Duku was denied by a combination of keeper and post but it was Partick that should have scored a second, however Mark Ridgers did well to deny Brian Graham. Harsh talking at the break saw Inverness come out for the second half with the bit between the teeth and Kirk Broadfoot was the unlikely hero as his twenty yard shot evaded the outstretched fingertips of the keeper to level the score. Shane Sutherland did well to drill in the second from an angle after the keeper fluffed his lines allowing Shane to slot in from twenty yards. The third was a peach as Duku stepped over the ball and Aaron Doran fired high into the net for a brilliant goal and game over. That's five wins out of five and the run goes on... Perennial cheat Brian Graham seemed to be involved in an off the ball altercation which left David Carson enraged. He was removed from the park by McCall immediately after. It's about time this thug in a football strip was taken to task. Latest Team News Billy Dodds has been without Sean Welsh for a couple of weeks and Aaron Doran limped off last week against Accies. Otherwise, we should have a fairly full squad to choose from unless we have had any more mystery training injuries to contend with. Loosely connected to three of the teams mentioned in this preview, I see that Dougie Imrie has been appointed as the new Morton manager. The former Accies, Inverness and Morton player has a tough job on his hands there but good luck to him in that role. Ian McCall View full article
  2. Shut that window Second bottom Queen of the south come calling to the Caledonian Stadium to take on second top Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm is the kick-off. Queens have lost their last two fixtures and Inverness are without a win in their last three games. Time to close the transfer window before we have nobody left to play out the season. Venue - H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 2 6 36 24 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 20 9 10 69 44 +25 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 21 10 8 3 33 15 38 2. Inverness CT 20 10 6 4 27 15 36 3. Kilmarnock 20 11 3 6 26 14 36 4. Raith Rovers 21 9 8 4 28 20 35 5. Partick Thistle 19 9 5 5 32 18 32 6. Hamilton Ac. 21 6 6 9 24 36 24 7. Ayr United 20 5 6 9 19 32 21 8. Morton 20 3 8 9 22 31 17 9. Q.O.S. 20 4 5 11 19 31 17 10. Dunfermline 20 2 9 9 18 36 15 FRIDAY 19:45 Partick v Killie SATURDAY 15:00 Ayr Utd v Morton Dunfermline v Hamilton Inverness v Queens Raith Rovers v Arbroath Inverness have picked up six points from the two games between the clubs this season, both ending 2-1 in favour of the Caley Jags. CTO Summary from 25th September: Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Summary from 19th November: The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. Last Time Out The Caley Jags recovered from a goal down to draw with Raith Rovers last weekend. The points were shared thanks to two spectacular goals from Ethan Ross and Reece McAlear. A poor first half for the hosts saw Raith lead at the break but a better performance after the interval earned a share of the points although Raith will be aggrieved that they never ended their 22 year wait for a win over Inverness. Queens were deservedly beaten by Kilmarnock in a 2-0 defeat at Palmerston. Alan Johnston had this to say about it on BBC Sport: "It was never a penalty. There was a tug of the shirt but I've seen it again and it was way outside the box. But we continue to give away cheap goals. We have a fight on our hands. That's for sure." That's something like only four wins in 25 games since Alan Johnston went to Palmerston. The sort of form that gets teams relegated. Unfortunately, on the whole, we seldom take full advantage of this and often find ourselves struggling to dominate these games. That needs to change now if we want to remain interested in topping this league. Showing some urgency from the start would be an improvement on recent offerings. Latest Team News Billy Dodds saw Sean Welsh return last week as a second half substitute against Raith Rovers. Aaron Dorran missed out with a thigh injury and is a major doubt. Youth player Harry Hennem will continue his loan spell at Brora Rangers until the end of the season. More disturbing news though if true is that Scott Allardice is allegedly out for the season if you believe the latest rumours. Another equally disappointing one is that Robbie Deas is the subject of a six figure bid by St Johnstone to lure our defender to McDiarmid Park, following the footsteps of defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney. Meh! Next up for scrutiny will be Shane Sutherland... As an aside, but equally annoying: Daniel Mackay has joined Killie on loan, and loan Ranger Kai Kennedy has gone to Hamilton Accies. Willie Gibson should return for Queens who should also have former County and Inverness player Alex Cooper plying his trade at left back. Keeper Sol Brynn has been recalled by Middlesbrough but midfielder Don McMahon comes back from his loan to Dalbeattie Star.
  3. Comedy of Errors Inverness once more failed to take advantage of the given situation by producing another abject display at home against a club staring at relegation. This time it was Queen of the South that showed up our lack of quality and Lee Connelly scored the opener in the first half with Willie Collum waiving away appeals for offside. Same old same old from Inverness in a dire first half. We looked to have got out of jail when the Queens defenders made a hash of clearing a long kick out from Mark Ridgers and Billy Mckay accepted the comical defending to prod the ball home. If ever a man needed a goal it was Tom Walsh who has been totally ineffective this season, but score he did after being sent into the box by Mckay before drilling the ball behind Josh Rae. Phew we all thought, thank feck for that! Alas we shot ourselves in the foot, or more accurately David Carson shot us in the foot as he teed up substitute Ally Roy who had only been on the park for one minute. Surprisingly we actually jumped back into second place thanks to other results, but it's a complete mystery how we have done this given the dross we are subject to at the moment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As expected, Aaron Doran once again missed out. Also missing was Scott Allardice who they kept quiet about and Cameron Harper. Still waiting for confirmation that Allardice's injury is season ending or just a rumour, but he is not included today. That left us with only six on the bench, two of those being youth players. Queens made three changes from their last outing with Shea Gordon making his debut for the 'Doonhamers' and Willie Gibson returning after injury. Another flat calm afternoon with a covid restricted crowd in attendance saw the hosts set the ball rolling attacking the South Stand end. I'll let RIG tell the story. I know I know, you've all read it before, but this is how it is I'm afraid. That was grim. After a decent opening 15 - 20 minutes from Queens, during which they probably should have scored at least once, we started to get on top and looked like ending the first half the stronger side. Queens main attacking plan seemed to be trying to slide the ball in behind our CBs for Connelly to latch on to and we got a glimpse of this when Paton (I think) burst through and looked set to round Ridgers but fortunately a well timed challenge snuffed out this threat. Deas had a couple of decent chances which fell to him at the left edge of the box but your CB filling in at left back probably doesn't have the greatest shooting boots in the world and it showed as he snatched at both efforts. Walsh had a good chance to score as well but I think he tried to be too cute and attempted to shoot back across Rae in goal instead of sending a shot away from him. The opening goal looked miles offside but that was probably because there was one Queens player standing ahead of Connelly before he raced clear to round Ridgers and, eventually, put the ball into the net. At the time I thought he was offside but folk watching on the stream said he was played onside by Broadfoot. Still annoying given we had a taste of this minutes before with the aforementioned Paton chance. In the second half and Devine made a desperate challenge to stop a second Queens goal throwing himself in front of a goal bound shot from a few yards out. A bit of route one got us level with a long thump downfield by Ridgers and it looked like Gibson got in a right state trying to decide if he was going to clear the ball or not and Mckay took it off him to bundle in the equaliser. Route one Sutherland had a good chance to get the second goal for us but seemed to take forever to actually get his shot away and a Queens defender did well to deflect the effort behind for a corner. The second for ICT did come eventually with Mckay flicking the ball on for Walsh who got in behind the defence and finished well across Rae. But only a few minutes later Queens were back level and no one seemed to know what exactly had happened with Roy turning hom a cross whilst in an offside position. At the game I could only think that the ball had come off an ICT player so Roy couldn't therefore be offside and from what I've read it seems the ball was actually played to him by Carson so the goal, sadly, stood. An absolutely gutting result with Arbroath winning and other sides around us faltering. Queens looked decent in spells but seemed a bit of a mess at the back and it's frustrating that we couldn't take advantage of this as I felt we had enough chances to put the game to bed. That said I still think we were very poor again and whilst the likes of Mckay and McAlear turned in good performances we need more from the likes of Walsh (although he did score today) and we also need some fresh faces in quickly to try and give the squad a lift. Talking to BBC Sport Inverness CT head coach Billy Dodds: "My players showed a brilliant appetite to get back into it. When you feel it's gone against you with the first goal you can let the heads go down - they didn't. "They kept battling away and then we lose another questionable goal - not because of the officials but because of the interpretation of the law. There's a couple of players standing slightly offside and they gain an advantage." Queen of the South manager Allan Johnston: "I thought we played well for long periods. "It was a really good team performance and we were really unlucky to come away with just a point. "We were under pressure from a big, physical team at the end. We gave away cheap goals, which has been a thing too often from my point of view." Date: 15/01/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 479 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Walsh, Welsh, McAlear, MacGregor (Duku 64), Sutherland, Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Hyde, Duffy, Jamieson Scorers: Mckay (62), Walsh (73) Booked: Mckay (8), Deas (45) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 2 Manager: Alan Johnston Lineup: Rae; Johnston, Nditi, Gibson (Fitzpatrick 76), East, Gordon (Debayo 70), McGrory, Liddle, Cooper, Connelly, Paton (Roy 76) Subs (not used): Cowie, Joseph, McKechnie, Junior Scorers: Connelly (39), Roy (77) Booked: Nditi (60), Liddle (61) Sent Off: none a
  4. Shut that window Second bottom Queen of the south come calling to the Caledonian Stadium to take on second top Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm is the kick-off. Queens have lost their last two fixtures and Inverness are without a win in their last three games. Time to close the transfer window before we have nobody left to play out the season. OFFICIAL PREVIEW/STREAMING/TICKET INFO Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 2 6 36 24 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 20 9 10 69 44 +25 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 21 10 8 3 33 15 38 2. Inverness CT 20 10 6 4 27 15 36 3. Kilmarnock 20 11 3 6 26 14 36 4. Raith Rovers 21 9 8 4 28 20 35 5. Partick Thistle 19 9 5 5 32 18 32 6. Hamilton Ac. 21 6 6 9 24 36 24 7. Ayr United 20 5 6 9 19 32 21 8. Morton 20 3 8 9 22 31 17 9. Q.O.S. 20 4 5 11 19 31 17 10. Dunfermline 20 2 9 9 18 36 15 FRIDAY 19:45 Partick 1-1 Killie SATURDAY 15:00 Ayr Utd v Morton Dunfermline v Hamilton Inverness v Queens Raith Rovers v Arbroath Inverness have picked up six points from the two games between the clubs this season, both ending 2-1 in favour of the Caley Jags. CTO Summary from 25th September: Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Summary from 19th November: The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. Last Time Out The Caley Jags recovered from a goal down to draw with Raith Rovers last weekend. The points were shared thanks to two spectacular goals from Ethan Ross and Reece McAlear. A poor first half for the hosts saw Raith lead at the break but a better performance after the interval earned a share of the points although Raith will be aggrieved that they never ended their 22 year wait for a win over Inverness. Queens were deservedly beaten by Kilmarnock in a 2-0 defeat at Palmerston. Alan Johnston had this to say about it on BBC Sport: "It was never a penalty. There was a tug of the shirt but I've seen it again and it was way outside the box. But we continue to give away cheap goals. We have a fight on our hands. That's for sure." That's something like only four wins in 25 games since Alan Johnston went to Palmerston. The sort of form that gets teams relegated. Unfortunately, on the whole, we seldom take full advantage of this and often find ourselves struggling to dominate these games. That needs to change now if we want to remain interested in topping this league. Showing some urgency from the start would be an improvement on recent offerings. Latest Team News Billy Dodds saw Sean Welsh return last week as a second half substitute against Raith Rovers. Aaron Dorran missed out with a thigh injury and is a major doubt. Youth player Harry Hennem will continue his loan spell at Brora Rangers until the end of the season. More disturbing news though if true is that Scott Allardice is allegedly out for the season if you believe the latest rumours. Another equally disappointing one is that Robbie Deas is the subject of a six figure bid (£150K) by St Johnstone to lure our defender to McDiarmid Park, following the footsteps of defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney. Meh! I bet that next up for scrutiny will be Shane Sutherland; what's the odds on that... As an aside, but equally annoying: Daniel Mackay has joined Killie on loan, and loan Ranger Kai Kennedy has gone to Hamilton Accies. Willie Gibson should return for Queens who should also have former County and Inverness player Alex Cooper plying his trade at left back. Keeper Sol Brynn has been recalled by Middlesbrough but midfielder Don McMahon comes back from his loan to Dalbeattie Star. Here's Doddsy...
  5. Duku Derby First home game of the year has third placed and fellow title contenders Raith Rovers coming North to face second place Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at 3:00pm, but given the recent weather and covid restrictions, don't hold your breath. This game has a restricted crowd of 500 Willy Wonka golden tickets allocated. Fear not if you failed to get a hold of a ticket as ICTV will be streaming the game at a mere £15. MATCH INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW LIVE STREAMING £15 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 20 10 8 2 33 14 38 2. Inverness CT 19 10 5 4 26 14 35 3. Raith Rovers 20 9 7 4 27 19 34 4. Kilmarnock 19 10 3 6 24 14 33 5. Partick Thistle 18 9 4 5 30 16 31 6. Hamilton Ac. 20 6 5 9 22 34 23 7. Ayr United 19 4 6 9 18 32 18 8. Q.O.S. 19 4 5 10 19 29 17 9. Dunfermline 19 2 9 8 18 31 15 10. Morton 19 2 8 9 17 31 14 Full fixture list scheduled for Saturday 8th January, all 3:00pm. Ayr Utd v Arbroath Accies v Partick Caley Jags v Raith Rovers Queens v Killie Morton v Dunfermline Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 13 3 2 36 13 +23 Away 14 7 4 3 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 32 20 7 5 63 30 +33 The stats are stacked heavily against Rovers who we seem to hold the Indian sign over. All of their wins came in the early years, their last triumph over ninety minutes was a 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium back in October 2000. Ian Broadfoot had this report on the game: Injury-hit Caley Thistle lost this game because of a poor first half display. Despite this they nearly took the lead in 13 minutes when a David Bagan shot was blocked by Greig McCulloch and spun over the bar. Raith scored first in 16 minutes when Jim Calder failed to hold a Shaun Dennis cross and Jay Stein hit home the loose ball from six yards. In 21 minutes a poor headed clearance by Stuart McCaffrey was picked up by Andrew Clark and he set up Ivan Mballa and the Frenchman slammed the ball into the net from 12 yards. ICT had a penalty claim turned down in 38 minutes when Charlie Christie was brought down by Paul Browne. After the break the home side improved but Guido Van de Kamp denied them on several occasions. Paul Sheerin pulled one back in 79 minutes when he netted from close range after a good cut back by Roy McBain. Four minutes later Sheerin watched in frustration as Van de Kamp saved his low shot. As time ran out he came close twice more but Raith held on to win. This seasons encounters show that a superb Roddy MacGregor strike was the difference between the sides back in August. MacGregor Stunner: Inverness maintained their winning start to the league campaign, but it took a stunning half volley from substitute Roddy MacGregor to settle the points. It had been a relatively even game with the hosts having slightly the better of it throughout. Jamie MacDonald had pulled off three or four decent saves before Roddy struck from 25 yards, the ball flashing into the net past an outstretched keeper after some neat interplay outside the box involving Sutherland and Duku. Six points from two games, we could not have asked for a better start to the Championship. The return fixture at Starks Park ended all square. And the wait goes on: Plenty of endeavour in the first half at Starks Park but little quality in the final third resulted in a game void of goalmouth action over the first forty-five minutes for both sides. Biggest talking point was the sending off just before the break of Ross Mathews for what looked like a rash studs up challenge. Contentious maybe, but straight red dished out. After the break more space saw more chances created but it was Raith that broke forward and scored through Aidan Connolly. Inverness struggled to get back on level terms but eventually did ten minutes from the end when Sean Welsh drilled home from the edge of the box and that ended the scoring. Raith's quest for a win over Inverness goes into a 22nd year. Killie were the only winners in the Championship and closed the gap to three points but Inverness remain top. There was also a Challenge Cup game at the end of November where both sides made numerous changes. That went to a penalty shoot-out which Raith won 5-4 after a goalless ninety minutes. Last time out Inverness drew at Gayfield in a game dominated by the wind which made the pitch virtually unplayable. Prior to that we have not played since the shambles of the 2-1 home loss to Hamilton Accies on the 18th December. Raith drew 0-0 with Dunfermline on 2nd January as we were being blown around Gayfield. Raith have not won in their last three games with their form taking a dip recently. So, fairly uninspiring stuff from both sides ahead of this clash at the top. Latest Team News Billy Dodds has been without Sean Welsh since he was injured in the Scottish Cup tie versus Morton on the 7th December. We will hopefully have more players available after covid struck and isolations hit the club. Aaron Doran has been added to the injury list and will be out for a couple of weeks. One man who will be seen no more is Michael Gardyne who has left the building by mutual consent following some alleged misconduct which had an upsetting effect on the morale in the dressing room. He has appropriately joined the 'Table Endies' at Links Park. Also leaving the club but on better terms, Anthony McDonald's loan deal has expired and after only five appearances he has also left the building. Raith Rovers have signed Hibs forward Jamie Gullan on a two and a half year deal. The 'Hammer' has been on loan at Starks Park three times previously making fifty appearances and already has 14 Rovers goals to his name. Christophe Berra should return to action for Raith. Here's Billy - Where's Wally? View full article
  6. Duku Derby First home game of the year has third placed and fellow title contenders Raith Rovers coming North to face second place Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at 3:00pm, but given the recent weather and covid restrictions, don't hold your breath. This game has a restricted crowd of 500 Willy Wonka golden tickets allocated. Fear not if you failed to get a hold of a ticket as ICTV will be streaming the game at a mere £15. MATCH INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW LIVE STREAMING £15 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 20 10 8 2 33 14 38 2. Inverness CT 19 10 5 4 26 14 35 3. Raith Rovers 20 9 7 4 27 19 34 4. Kilmarnock 19 10 3 6 24 14 33 5. Partick Thistle 18 9 4 5 30 16 31 6. Hamilton Ac. 20 6 5 9 22 34 23 7. Ayr United 19 4 6 9 18 32 18 8. Q.O.S. 19 4 5 10 19 29 17 9. Dunfermline 19 2 9 8 18 31 15 10. Morton 19 2 8 9 17 31 14 Full fixture list scheduled for Saturday 8th January, all 3:00pm. Ayr Utd v Arbroath Accies v Partick Caley Jags v Raith Rovers Queens v Killie Morton v Dunfermline Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 13 3 2 36 13 +23 Away 14 7 4 3 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 32 20 7 5 63 30 +33 The stats are stacked heavily against Rovers who we seem to hold the Indian sign over. All of their wins came in the early years, their last triumph over ninety minutes was a 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium back in October 2000. Ian Broadfoot had this report on the game: Injury-hit Caley Thistle lost this game because of a poor first half display. Despite this they nearly took the lead in 13 minutes when a David Bagan shot was blocked by Greig McCulloch and spun over the bar. Raith scored first in 16 minutes when Jim Calder failed to hold a Shaun Dennis cross and Jay Stein hit home the loose ball from six yards. In 21 minutes a poor headed clearance by Stuart McCaffrey was picked up by Andrew Clark and he set up Ivan Mballa and the Frenchman slammed the ball into the net from 12 yards. ICT had a penalty claim turned down in 38 minutes when Charlie Christie was brought down by Paul Browne. After the break the home side improved but Guido Van de Kamp denied them on several occasions. Paul Sheerin pulled one back in 79 minutes when he netted from close range after a good cut back by Roy McBain. Four minutes later Sheerin watched in frustration as Van de Kamp saved his low shot. As time ran out he came close twice more but Raith held on to win. This seasons encounters show that a superb Roddy MacGregor strike was the difference between the sides back in August. MacGregor Stunner: Inverness maintained their winning start to the league campaign, but it took a stunning half volley from substitute Roddy MacGregor to settle the points. It had been a relatively even game with the hosts having slightly the better of it throughout. Jamie MacDonald had pulled off three or four decent saves before Roddy struck from 25 yards, the ball flashing into the net past an outstretched keeper after some neat interplay outside the box involving Sutherland and Duku. Six points from two games, we could not have asked for a better start to the Championship. The return fixture at Starks Park ended all square. And the wait goes on: Plenty of endeavour in the first half at Starks Park but little quality in the final third resulted in a game void of goalmouth action over the first forty-five minutes for both sides. Biggest talking point was the sending off just before the break of Ross Mathews for what looked like a rash studs up challenge. Contentious maybe, but straight red dished out. After the break more space saw more chances created but it was Raith that broke forward and scored through Aidan Connolly. Inverness struggled to get back on level terms but eventually did ten minutes from the end when Sean Welsh drilled home from the edge of the box and that ended the scoring. Raith's quest for a win over Inverness goes into a 22nd year. Killie were the only winners in the Championship and closed the gap to three points but Inverness remain top. There was also a Challenge Cup game at the end of November where both sides made numerous changes. That went to a penalty shoot-out which Raith won 5-4 after a goalless ninety minutes. Last time out Inverness drew at Gayfield in a game dominated by the wind which made the pitch virtually unplayable. Prior to that we have not played since the shambles of the 2-1 home loss to Hamilton Accies on the 18th December. Raith drew 0-0 with Dunfermline on 2nd January as we were being blown around Gayfield. Raith have not won in their last three games with their form taking a dip recently. So, fairly uninspiring stuff from both sides ahead of this clash at the top. Latest Team News Billy Dodds has been without Sean Welsh since he was injured in the Scottish Cup tie versus Morton on the 7th December. We will hopefully have more players available after covid struck and isolations hit the club. Aaron Doran has been added to the injury list and will be out for a couple of weeks. One man who will be seen no more is Michael Gardyne who has left the building by mutual consent following some alleged misconduct which had an upsetting effect on the morale in the dressing room. He has appropriately joined the 'Table Endies' at Links Park. Also leaving the club but on better terms, Anthony McDonald's contract has expired and after only five appearances this season he has also left the building and has signed on at Edinburgh City. Raith Rovers have signed Hibs forward Jamie Gullan on a two and a half year deal. The 'Hammer' has been on loan at Starks Park three times previously making fifty appearances and already has 14 Rovers goals to his name. McGlynn has moved early in the market and midfielder Ben Williamson comes in on loan from Rangers and Sam Stanton from Dundalk. Christophe Berra should return to action for Raith, but Lewis Vaughan and Brad Spencer are out long term. Here's Billy - Where's Wally?
  7. Rovers still waiting after 22 years Title challengers clashed at the Caledonian Stadium for the second time this season and it was only Killie that benefitted after a score draw in the Highlands. A spectacular strike from Ethan Ross put Raith in front as the hosts struggled to create anything. Mark Ridgers had to be alert to deny Ross Mathews a second goal to keep it at one before the interval. We upped the pace after the interval, but chances were still at a premium early on. However, our pressure paid off when Reece McAlear lashed a low shot behind the outstretched Jamie Macdonald from near thirty yards to level the game, and despite efforts from both sides it remained 1-1 at full time. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Inverness were without Aaron Doran although Sean Welsh made the bench. Anthony McDonald and Michael Gardyne were already out the door, one of them with the well wishes from ICTFC. Raith had long term absentees in Lewis Vaughan and Brad Spencer but Christophe Berra returned after suspension and recent additions Ben Williamson, Sam Stanton and Jamie Gullan were all in the squad. It was an excellent afternoon for a game of football, a flat calm after the horrendous conditions of last week. Game on! It was a cagey opening quarter to the game as both sides probed for an opening. Sam Stanton and Ben Williamson were looking sharp for the visitors who looked to carry more direct threat when they went forward whilst the hosts flattered to deceive as they strolled around the park as if it was a Sunday League kick about. The best Inverness could muster was a blocked Billy Mckay shot from a very tight angle where there was virtually no hope of finding the net. In contrast the visitors movement and pace was a joy to behold, then I remembered they were the opposition. The goal was a prime example of the different approach the teams had to attacking football. Mark Ridgers quickly threw the ball out to Tom Walsh who ran thirty yards with the ball before being halted on the edge of the box, seemingly exhausted by his effort. Jamie MacDonald gathered the ball and sent it up the park to Ross who shrugged off a challenge, drove forward and powered a shot into the top corner. I rest my case. After twenty minutes of anti-football, the game exploded into life with a stunning strike from Ethan Ross. He gathered the ball just inside the Inverness half and easily turned his marker. He drove into space twenty yards further forward before unleashing an unstoppable shot high into Ridgers' right side from around thirty-yards. What a goal that was, and you could only applaud the strike, although questions should be asked about the space afforded to Ross. Billy Mckay looked to have levelled matters but his strike from six yards was ruled to be offside after he latched onto the ball when it was lobbed back into the box. Ten minutes before the break Mathew Ross forced Ridgers to dive low to his left to keep out a speculative twenty-five yard effort that was creeping in at the near post, the keeper turning the ball round the post for a corner. After his stunning goal, Ross must have been hugely disappointed to drag a shot wide from fifteen yards seven minutes before the break. Half Time 0-1 Dodds had seen enough and changed things around at the interval, hooking the ineffective David Carson and right back Wallace Duffy for Reece McAlear and Manny Duku. Despite the changes, Raith were still on top although there appeared to be more urgency about our play and Frankie Musonda headed over before Ethan Varion shot wide. Duku was looking to be a handful for the Raith defenders with his awkward style and he had a pop at goal from the edge of the box but it lacked the power to beat MacDonald and he held it comfortably. However, the tide was slowly turning and a weak Mckay header went wide before McAlear volleyed over the bar from inside the box. Reghan Tumilty missed a great opportunity to put some distance between the sides after a run down the right, but his cross come shot missed the target and his strikers and the chance was wasted. Musonda saw Ridgers save and at the other end Mckay headed weakly again. nonetheless the raids on the visitors goal were becoming more intensified. Half time substitute Reece McAlear squared the game with another superb finish from a similar position that Mathews tried from before the interval. The on loan midfielder fired a vicious low shot that skidded before bouncing across MacDonald into the bottom corner. Another superb goal from Reece, his second for the club. There was still time for the keepers to deny Aaron Arnott and Billy Mckay before time ran out and the points were shared as the game ended in frantic mode. Overall a draw was just about right. After an infuriatingly frustrating first half we got to grips with the pace of the game and two tremendous strikes maintained the status quo at the head of the table with Arbroath going down to Ayr united and Accies drawing with Partick. Killie tightened it all up after beating Queen of the South 2-0 in Dumfries. Best for Inverness were goal hero McAlear with Mark Ridgers making crucial saves to help us earn the point. From BBC Sport Inverness CT head coach Billy Dodds: "We didn't have our best day in the first half. The subs that came on did really well, not just because Reece scored. They just had an impact and that's what I needed. "I thought we deserved a draw in the end but I would have loved three points. We worked hard, created a few chances and could have stolen it." Raith Rovers manager, John McGlynn: "We are a bit gutted for the players who put so much effort into the game. We attacked really well, much better than we have been doing recently. Great goal by Ethan Ross and I've got to say their strike was a great goal as well. "It's never an easy place to come. We've not got a great record here. Although we are disappointed we take the point - we take the positives and dust ourselves down for next week." Dodds talking after the game... Reece McAlear Full Highlights from ICTV Date: 08/01/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 478 Referee: Don Robertson Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy (McAlear 45), Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Walsh, Carson (Duku 45), Allardice Welsh (73), Harper, Sutherland, Mckay Subs (not used): Esson; L Nicholson, Jamieson, MacGregor Scorers: McAlear (86) Booked: Devine (47) Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 1 Manager: John McGlynn Lineup: MacDonald; Tumilty, Musonda, Berra, Dick, Mathews, Benedictus, Stanton, Varian (Poplatnik 76), Williamson (Arnott 84), Ross (Gullan 51) Subs (not used): Thomson, Lang, Zanatta, Connolly Scorers: Ross (24) Booked: Williamson (31), Dick (73), Gullan (80), Berra (81) Sent Off: none a
  8. Xmas is coming We face Hamilton Accies on Saturday in the Championship, fresh from our mauling of Morton last weekend, but can we sustain that level of intensity as we enter the heavy winter schedule? The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with live streaming available from ICTV at £15 if you are unable to get to the stadium. We are due Accies a doing after our lousy performance down there on 2nd October against ten men for over an hour. Let's hope we can continue to build on our performance from last weekend. If not, Raith, Arbroath, Killie and Partick are waiting in the wings... OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH INFO*TICKETS*STREAMING Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 13 4 4 5 20 17 +3 Away 10 6 1 3 16 12 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 23 10 5 8 36 29 +7 First Competitive Meeting Jan 25th, 1997 Scottish Cup (Rd 3) (H) 1 - 3 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 2nd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 2 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The first meeting of the clubs this season saw Inverness fail to beat ten man Accies at NDP despite the hosts playing over half the game a man short. Lewis Smith and Andy Ryan had put Accies two up inside twenty-six minutes before Reegan Mimnaugh was red carded after half an hour. We huffed and puffed for the next hour before eventually getting an injury time consolation by he who shall not be named, but it was too little too late to retrieve the situation. That was our first League defeat of the season at the Fountain of Youth, but it left us three points clear of Kilmarnock in second place at the beginning of October. Since then we have gained a further fifteen points and remain top, but with Raith Rovers and Arbroath breathing down our neck. Accies have added nine points since that first meeting and are heading the bottom half of the table in a League where anyone can beat the rest on their day. Other fixtures this weekend Arbroath v Morton Kilmarnock v Dunfermline Partick v Rovers Queens v Ayr Utd Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Inverness CT 17 10 4 3 25 12 34 2. Raith Rovers 17 9 6 2 27 16 33 3. Arbroath 17 8 7 2 28 13 31 4. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 5. Partick Thistle 17 8 4 5 29 16 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 17 4 5 8 15 30 17 7. Ayr United 17 3 6 8 16 29 15 8. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 9. Q.O.S. 17 3 5 9 16 26 14 10. Morton 17 2 7 8 15 28 13 Last Time Out We trounced a hapless Morton 6-1 at Cappiellow. Doran, Sutherland (2), Mckay, McAlear with a screamer and Jamieson scored the goals in a one sided affair. Ugwu replied for Morton just on the break from the spot. Accies drew 1-1 at Somerset Park with Ayr United in a highly competitive encounter. They opened the scoring through Lewis Smith five minutes before the interval but Tomi Adeloye headed Ayr level three minutes after the break and that's how it ended. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will require more time to rest up. Other than that we should have a fairly healthy squad although Roddy MacGregor was also missing last week. View full article
  9. Omicron 1-0 Football   Game off due to outbreak of covid Read Club Statement here You might as well have the Preview anyway, it's no use to anyone now  Omicron has appeared just in time to ruin Xmas, well, to be more precise, Boxing day. New restrictions will be in place for all games from Boxing Day, so be sure to check the Match Info from your club as a 500 crowd limit will be imposed on outdoor events. Unfortunately, what that means is that NO away fans will be permitted in to the Stadium. Omicron or not, how appropriate is it that we should play against the team that has Brian Graham plying his trade for them on Boxing Day. Yes, Partick Thistle are the opponents on the day when traditionally, gifts are given to the poor during the season of goodwill to all men, apart from Brian Graham. You can catch the action at 3:00pm on Sunday or watch the live stream from ICTV for £15. We passed on the opportunity to consolidate our position at the top of the table last weekend which has baffled many after the thrashing dished out to Morton the previous week. Accies threw a spanner in the works winning at the Caledonian Stadium last week which resulted in part time Arbroath hitting the top of the table on goal difference half way through the season. You've got to doff your cap to the main man with the bunnet who has done a tremendous job at Gayfield.  Nonetheless, Merry Xmas from the CTO editorial team    Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Arbroath 18 9 7 2 30 14 34 2. Inverness CT 18 10 4 4 26 14 34 3. Raith Rovers 18 9 6 3 27 17 33 4. Partick Thistle 18 9 4 5 30 16 31 5. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 6. Hamilton Ac. 18 5 5 8 17 31 20 7. Q.O.S. 18 4 5 9 19 26 17 8. Ayr United 18 3 6 9 16 32 15 9. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 10. Morton 18 2 7 9 16 30 13 Other Championship games on Boxing Day Ayr Utd v Rovers Dunfermline v Arbroath FC Accies v Killie Morton v Queens   Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 9 5 7 33 30 +3 Away 20 5 6 9 21 28 -7 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 41 14 11 16 54 58 -4 Last Time out We went down 2-1 at home to Accies after surrendering a lead given to us through Cameron Harper in the 65th minute. That was his second goal for the club, his first in the Championship. Two goals in the space of three minutes from David Moyo and Andy Winter turned the game on it's head as Accies responded when we regressed. As we passed up chances to score it was deja vu from the first encounter this season, but they had eleven on the park this time. Disappointing result and we need to be more clinical around the box. Strange thing to have to say given the way we dealt with Morton, but an all too familiar scenario this season. Partick did us all a favour at the weekend when a late goal in the fog at Firhill saw them beat 10 man Raith Rovers and put themselves back in contention only three points off the pace. Kyle Turner scored the winner in the 96th minute with Raith playing out the final half hour without the red carded Cristophe Berra. First encounter this season ended at 3-1 to the Caley Jags after Partick had dominated the opening 45. Here's our summary from that game: After a difficult first half, Inverness ran out comfortable winners against Partick Thistle in a second half goal blitz. The visitors dominated the first forty-five and Scott Tiffoney drilled the opener out of nothing as the defence backed off. Manny Duku was denied by a combination of keeper and post but it was Partick that should have scored a second, however Mark Ridgers did well to deny Brian Graham. Harsh talking at the break saw Inverness come out for the second half with the bit between the teeth and Kirk Broadfoot was the unlikely hero as his twenty yard shot evaded the outstretched fingertips of the keeper to level the score. Shane Sutherland did well to drill in the second from an angle after the keeper fluffed his lines allowing Shane to slot in from twenty yards. The third was a peach as Duku stepped over the ball and Aaron Doran fired high into the net for a brilliant goal and game over. That's five wins out of five and the run goes on... Perennial cheat Brian Graham seemed to be involved in an off the ball altercation which left David Carson enraged. He was removed from the park by McCall immediately after. It's about time this thug in a football strip was taken to task. Latest Team News Billy Dodds has been without Sean Welsh for a couple of weeks and Aaron Doran limped off last week against Accies. Otherwise, we should have a fairly full squad to choose from unless we have had any more mystery training injuries to contend with. Loosely connected to three of the teams mentioned in this preview, I see that Dougie Imrie has been appointed as the new Morton manager. The former Accies, Inverness and Morton player has a tough job on his hands there but good luck to him in that role. Ian McCall
  10. Xmas is coming We face Hamilton Accies on Saturday in the Championship, fresh from our mauling of Morton last weekend, but can we sustain that level of intensity as we enter the heavy winter schedule? The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with live streaming available from ICTV at £15 if you are unable to get to the stadium. We are due Accies a doing after our lousy performance down there on 2nd October against ten men for over an hour. Let's hope we can continue to build on our performance from last weekend. If not, Raith, Arbroath, Killie and Partick are waiting in the wings... OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH INFO*TICKETS*STREAMING Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 13 4 4 5 20 17 +3 Away 10 6 1 3 16 12 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 23 10 5 8 36 29 +7 First Competitive Meeting Jan 25th, 1997 Scottish Cup (Rd 3) (H) 1 - 3 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 2nd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 2 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The first meeting of the clubs this season saw Inverness fail to beat ten man Accies at NDP despite the hosts playing over half the game a man short. Lewis Smith and Andy Ryan had put Accies two up inside twenty-six minutes before Reegan Mimnaugh was red carded after half an hour. We huffed and puffed for the next hour before eventually getting an injury time consolation by he who shall not be named, but it was too little too late to retrieve the situation. That was our first League defeat of the season at the Fountain of Youth, but it left us three points clear of Kilmarnock in second place at the beginning of October. Since then we have gained a further fifteen points and remain top, but with Raith Rovers and Arbroath breathing down our neck. Accies have added nine points since that first meeting and are heading the bottom half of the table in a League where anyone can beat the rest on their day. Other fixtures this weekend Arbroath v Morton Kilmarnock v Dunfermline Partick v Rovers Queens v Ayr Utd Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Inverness CT 17 10 4 3 25 12 34 2. Raith Rovers 17 9 6 2 27 16 33 3. Arbroath 17 8 7 2 28 13 31 4. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 5. Partick Thistle 17 8 4 5 29 16 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 17 4 5 8 15 30 17 7. Ayr United 17 3 6 8 16 29 15 8. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 9. Q.O.S. 17 3 5 9 16 26 14 10. Morton 17 2 7 8 15 28 13 Last Time Out We trounced a hapless Morton 6-1 at Cappiellow. Doran, Sutherland (2), Mckay, McAlear with a screamer and Jamieson scored the goals in a one sided affair. Ugwu replied for Morton just on the break from the spot. Accies drew 1-1 at Somerset Park with Ayr United in a highly competitive encounter. They opened the scoring through Lewis Smith five minutes before the interval but Tomi Adeloye headed Ayr level three minutes after the break and that's how it ended. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will require more time to rest up. Other than that we should have a fairly healthy squad although Roddy MacGregor was also missing last week.
  11. Cup Action Its a break from the rigours of the Championship this weekend as Morton head North looking to progress in the Scottish Cup. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm and for those unable to get to the Caledonian Stadium, ICTV will be streaming the match for a tenner. Not a big change for either side though as these two Championship sides clash in the 3rd round. They have met in the Scottish Cup twice before with Inverness dishing out heavy defeats of 4-0 and 5-1. In other knockout competitions there has been two meetings with the Caley Jags winning them both. MATCH INFO & TICKETS LIVE STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 12 3 2 45 15 +30 Away 14 8 2 4 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 31 20 5 6 72 32 +40 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) In this season's encounter Inverness won 2-0 recently on league duty and will play Morton away in another couple of weeks at Cappielow. We have a great overall record against Morton with only two defeats in seventeen games, however, that defeat came as recently as March of this year and here is our match overview. Abysmal, a new low! A stormy evening saw no goals at the break. Todorov came closest when he hit the post just before the interval. Could it get worse? The answer was yes when Aidan Nesbitt drilled a low shot into the net from the edge of the box with Inverness unable to make any headway. With twenty minutes left you could see the game slowly drifting away from the hosts. Sutherland hit the woodwork again and Todorov's follow up 'goal' was ruled out. Last time out Inverness dominated Queen of the South and came away from Palmerston with all three points thanks to a Billy Mckay brace in a 2-1 win. That was our first win in six games, so nothing to crow about really, but the performance was much easier on the eye than recent offerings. Morton went down 2-1 at Starks Park after taking the lead through Ledger in the fifth minute but Raith took the points as Morton ended the game with ten men when Lithgow was sent off with 15 minutes remaining. Morton remain in the bottom two after some indifferent performances. Latest Team News The mystery and intrigue surrounding our squad is coming to a head and our injury list has never been forthcoming. Look out for either Carson or Gardyne starting and hopefully our other 'niggles' will start clearing up soon. Sean Welsh, Tom Walsh, Wallace Duffy and Michael Gardyne were missing against Queen of the South but Shane Sutherland and Roddy MacGregor made a welcome return to the starting XI Here's Morton's squad from the 2-1 defeat at Starks Park last week where they ended the game with ten men after Lithgow was red carded.
  12. Table Toppers League leaders Kilmarnock looked determined to spoil the game as a spectacle and it was a first half of few chances. Mckay having a shot blocked for a corner by Hemming and Ridgers denying McKenzie. However, chances were at a premium and the half ended goalless. The goal that settled the game was a stunning strike from captain Sean Welsh and no more than Inverness deserved with Killie void of attacking intent. This result put Inverness back on top of the table for now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Neither club are on the best run of form at the moment but nonetheless they are still in the congested top five in the Championship, with Killie just one point ahead of the Caley Jags at the head of the table. Could Inverness hit the top tonight or will Killie stamp their authority on the race for promotion. All to play for at the Caledonian Stadium in a Friday night TV spectacular. Inverness would wear black armbands as a tribute to assistant coach Barry Wilson's mum, Jessie, who sadly passed away this week. Oh how she would have loved to have seen how this match would play out and a goal fit to grace a tribute to a wonderful lady. RIP Jessie and heartfelt condolences to Bobby, Barry and family from the Caley Jags Family Both sides were at or very near to full strength with Billy Mckay and Shane Sutherland up top for Inverness and Kilmarnock had Liam Polworth in midfield for them with Chris Burke and Ollie Shaw in attack. A cagey opening quarter saw Inverness take the game to the visitors without being able to create anything of note, that was until the 14th minute when Roddy MacGregor fed Billy Mckay through on the inside left position, but his shot was blocked by the legs of Zach Hemming at the expense of a corner, which came to nothing. McKenzie brought out a good save from Mark Ridgers as his low curling shot was heading to the bottom corner as it skidded off the wet surface, the ball going behind for a corner. Inverness almost took the lead just before the half hour after Sean Welsh was blocked and the ball fell nicely for Sutherland. Unfortunately he placed his curled effort just off target and it hit the stanchion of the netting. Ten minutes before the break Aaron Doran found himself in space after cutting in from the left but he fired high and wide. Five minutes before the break and Doran never learned from his previous abysmal effort and he fired another effort well over the bar from thirty yards. Right on the break, Burke fired across the goal from the edge of the box and just wide to bring a dour first half to a close. That would have been an injustice on Inverness who had dominated the first forty-five. Half Time: 0-0 A livelier start to the second half saw Hemming tip away a deep cross and when Killie broke forward Ridgers had to gather a low shot from Lyons. A mix up in the Inverness box allowed Ollie Shaw a free hit but he sliced it wide from ten yards. Not quite the melee from the Morton game, but still something we need to cut out. Almost out of nothing, Inverness took the lead with a stunning strike into the top corner. Allardice did well to keep the ball and when Welsh got it outside the box he sidestepped a challenge before rifling the ball into the roof of the net from twenty-five yards. What a strike, and on the telly too! Almost a second minutes later but Tom Walsh scuffed his shot from twelve yards and Hemming made the save at full stretch, and with ten minutes left Robbie Deas fired a powerful shot just over from twenty-five yards. Full Time: 1-0 Inverness saw out the game with little fuss and kept Killie penned in their own half at the final whistle. This result puts Inverness back on the top of the table, maybe just for one day, but it was a thoroughly deserved win and the second win over Killie this season. There's him... Sean Welsh. Centre Back on Tuesday night against Raith Rovers in the Challenge Cup, Striker on Friday night in the top of the table clash with Kilmarnock and scoring a stunning winner from twenty-five yards into the top corner. That was his 13th goal for the Caley Jags. No doubt he will be back to being just another midfielder when we travel to Cappielow in midweek for a Scottish Cup replay against Morton, but what a guy. Here's our Bio for Sean: Sean started his career at Hibs and excelled in the U19 team, captaining them to a league and cup double in 2008/09 and being awarded the League Player of the Season that year but a series of injuries including a double leg-break limited his first team chances. He went on loan to Stenhousemuir and then Stirling Albion in the 2010/11 season but agreed a one year deal extension with Hibs in the interim. In July 2011 he was injured in a training session after being punched by a team-mate and required surgery to repair a broken cheekbone He made a further 8 appearances on the subs bench but did not feature on the park. A loan spell at Partick followed in early 2012 and when he was released from his contract at the end of the season he signed a two year deal with Partick. Welsh was an integral part of the 2012/13 First division championship winning side and was handed the Partick captaincy for their return to the Premiership ahead of the 2013/14 season. Once again injury hampered his season (knee) and he was limited to only 3 appearances. In 2015/16 and 2016/17 he had a total of 64 appearances scoring 6 goals. He left Partick when his contract expired. Sean was out of the game for almost 8 months before signing on a short-term deal with Falkirk during the 2017/18 season. At the end of the season he left Falkirk and signed for Caley Thistle. He scored his first goal for the club, a 48th minute penalty against Alloa in a League match at the Caledonian Stadium on August 25th 2018. Rrripper.......Booooom! Doddsy Delight Date: 03/12/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2296 Referee: Nick Walsh Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran (Harper 75), Welsh, Allardice, MacGregor (Walsh 62), Sutherland, B Mckay (McAlear 85) Subs (not used): C Mackay; McDonald, Jamieson Scorers: Welsh (69) Booked: Welsh (87) Sent Off: none Kilmarnock: 0 Manager: Tommy Wright Lineup: Hemming; Hodson, McGowan, E Murray, Waters, Lyons, Polworth (Alston 71), McKenzie (F Murray 71), Burke, Shaw, Robinson (Burrell 79) Subs (not used): Walker; Sanders, Stokes, Armstrong Scorers: none Booked: McKenzie (42) Sent Off: none a
  13. Tight at the Top   The hectic week continues with the visit of Championship leaders Kilmarnock on Friday night for a 7:45 kick off. With only two points separating the top five, there's little room to slip a fag paper between the lot of them. We managed to surreptitiously extricate ourselves from the Challenge Cup on Tuesday night to alleviate the fixture schedule thanks to a couple of weak penalties. Not too weak to bring us to the attention of everyone, but just enough to get dumped out of the event. Next up for the same treatment is a trip to Cappielow in the Scottish Cup next midweek, another waste of our time. So, let's concentrate 100% on the Championship from now until the end of the season. MATCH INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW GAME ON BBC SCOTLAND ICTV for Season Ticket Holders     Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Kilmarnock 15 9 2 4 20 9 29 2. Raith Rovers 15 8 5 2 26 16 29 3. Inverness CT 15 8 4 3 18 11 28 4. Partick Thistle 15 8 3 4 29 14 27 5. Arbroath 15 7 6 2 26 13 27 6. Dunfermline 15 2 7 6 15 24 13 7. Ayr United 15 3 4 8 13 26 13 8. Hamilton Ac. 15 3 4 8 13 29 13 9. Morton 15 2 6 7 12 20 12 10. Q.O.S. 15 3 3 9 13 23 12 Venue Head to Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 9 4 43 32 +11 Away 25 8 6 11 36 44 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 18 15 15 79 76 +3 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 3 - 3 (H) We have a decent home record overall against Killie although most of these games were in the Premier League. We shocked Killie earlier in the season when a Michael Gardyne strike earned us all three points. Killie have taken nine points from there last five Championship games, whilst we have been dropping points all over the place with only five points from a possible fifteen. We did however stop the rot with a deserved 2-1 win at Palmerston, our first win in six league games. Last Time out on league duty we beat Queen of the South 2-1 having been cruising at 2-0 with only fifteen minutes to go. However, we do nothing the easy way and had to be wary in the final fifteen after Lee Connelly threw Queens a lifeline. As it was, the two goals from Billy Mckay were enough to give us all three points. Since then we drew 1-1 with Morton in the Scottish Cup, Mckay scoring his tenth of the season in that game, and a weakened squad went out of the Challenge Cup on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Raith Rovers on Tuesday night. Killie's last league game was a home defeat by part-time Arbroath (0-1), the success story of the season so far. They followed that with a 1-0 win over Queens Park in the Scottish Cup, Euan Murray with the goal. And in the Mickey Mouse Trophy they put Accies out with a very late double to win 2-3. That was basically a second string for Killie, but unfortunately for them, they still managed to get through Latest Team News The midweek squads can be disregarded as both sides rested players. Look out for Ridgers, Broadfoot, Devine et all returning to bolster the squad for the better...... maybe. No news forthcoming on the 'niggles' front so be prepared for anything, except you know who. Killie also rested a raft of players in midweek so apart from any outstanding long term injuries, they should have a full squad to pick from.   Billy Dodds.....not really saying much to be honest      View full article
  14. Tight at the Top   The hectic week continues with the visit of Championship leaders Kilmarnock on Friday night for a 7:45 kick off. With only two points separating the top five, there's little room to slip a fag paper between the lot of them. We managed to surreptitiously extricate ourselves from the Challenge Cup on Tuesday night to alleviate the fixture schedule thanks to a couple of weak penalties. Not too weak to bring us to the attention of everyone, but just enough to get dumped out of the event. Next up for the same treatment is a trip to Cappielow in the Scottish Cup next midweek, another waste of our time. So, let's concentrate 100% on the Championship from now until the end of the season. MATCH INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW GAME ON BBC SCOTLAND ICTV for Season Ticket Holders     Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Kilmarnock 15 9 2 4 20 9 29 2. Raith Rovers 15 8 5 2 26 16 29 3. Inverness CT 15 8 4 3 18 11 28 4. Partick Thistle 15 8 3 4 29 14 27 5. Arbroath 15 7 6 2 26 13 27 6. Dunfermline 15 2 7 6 15 24 13 7. Ayr United 15 3 4 8 13 26 13 8. Hamilton Ac. 15 3 4 8 13 29 13 9. Morton 15 2 6 7 12 20 12 10. Q.O.S. 15 3 3 9 13 23 12 Venue Head to Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 9 4 43 32 +11 Away 25 8 6 11 36 44 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 18 15 15 79 76 +3 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 3 - 3 (H) We have a decent home record overall against Killie although most of these games were in the Premier League. We shocked Killie earlier in the season when a Michael Gardyne strike earned us all three points. Killie have taken nine points from there last five Championship games, whilst we have been dropping points all over the place with only five points from a possible fifteen. We did however stop the rot with a deserved 2-1 win at Palmerston, our first win in six league games. Last Time out on league duty we beat Queen of the South 2-1 having been cruising at 2-0 with only fifteen minutes to go. However, we do nothing the easy way and had to be wary in the final fifteen after Lee Connelly threw Queens a lifeline. As it was, the two goals from Billy Mckay were enough to give us all three points. Since then we drew 1-1 with Morton in the Scottish Cup, Mckay scoring his tenth of the season in that game, and a weakened squad went out of the Challenge Cup on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Raith Rovers on Tuesday night. Killie's last league game was a home defeat by part-time Arbroath (0-1), the success story of the season so far. They followed that with a 1-0 win over Queens Park in the Scottish Cup, Euan Murray with the goal. And in the Mickey Mouse Trophy they put Accies out with a very late double to win 2-3. That was basically a second string for Killie, but unfortunately for them, they still managed to get through Latest Team News The midweek squads can be disregarded as both sides rested players. Look out for Ridgers, Broadfoot, Devine et all returning to bolster the squad for the better...... maybe. No news forthcoming on the 'niggles' front so be prepared for anything, except you know who. Killie also rested a raft of players in midweek so apart from any outstanding long term injuries, they should have a full squad to pick from.   Billy Dodds.....not really saying much to be honest     
  15. Joint holders clash It's the second game of a hectic period for the Caley Jags as the joint holders of the Challenge Cup meet at the Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night in a game that kicks-off at 7:45pm. This season it's called the SPFL Trust Trophy and last time it was held it ran out of time with Inverness and Raith being awarded joint custody of the Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup for 2019/2020. No event for 2020/2021 as covid was the only winner that season. Inverness have held the Challenge Cup three times with Raith holding it twice. Falkirk have the most victories with four wins. MATCH INFO & TICKETS PPV STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 13 2 2 36 13 +23 Away 14 7 4 3 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 31 20 6 5 63 30 +33 First Competitive Meeting Sep 25th, 1999 League (H) 0 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 23rd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) Despite our recent run of form, we hold the Indian sign over Raith Rovers with only two defeats in seventeen home games in all competitions, and that was not yesterday (Oct 2000)... This season it took a super strike from Roddy MacGregor to separate the sides back in August and more recently at Starks Park Aiden Connolly and Sean Welsh scored the goals in a 1-1 draw where Ross Mathews was sent off on half time for Rovers. Billy Mckay is our top scorer with 10 goals for the season, half of those coming in the Challenge Cup including a hat-trick against Elgin City in the last round. The Caley Jags put Buckie Thistle out in the previous round 4-2 with Mckay and Jamieson scoring braces. Raith got here by virtue of beating East Fife 3-1 at Starks Park. Tait, Connolly and Poplatnik the scorers for them. They put Forfar Athletic out before that scoring the only goal of the game. Latest Team News The mystery continues as the tough winter schedule kicks in and with an unwanted Scottish Cup replay coming up against Morton, the frailties of our wafer thin squad will no doubt be severely tested over the next few weeks. Unfortunately there is some unfinished personal business that is disrupting the squad and it's affecting performances on the park. It's about time the club acted professionally on this and make the paying public aware of the situation to avoid further embarrassment. A good chance to progress, but also a great opportunity to give some of our fringe players some more game time and those returning from injury. Manny Duku seems to have lost his way, but maybe he fancies a game against his old club and the likes of Cammy Mackay, Harper, Duffy, McDonald and Jamieson are all in need of getting some mileage on the park. Scott Kellacher ahead of the Raith game View full article
  16. Joint holders clash It's the second game of a hectic period for the Caley Jags as the joint holders of the Challenge Cup meet at the Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night in a game that kicks-off at 7:45pm. This season it's called the SPFL Trust Trophy and last time it was held it ran out of time with Inverness and Raith being awarded joint custody of the Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup for 2019/2020. No event for 2020/2021 as covid was the only winner that season. Inverness have held the Challenge Cup three times with Raith holding it twice. Falkirk have the most victories with four wins. MATCH INFO & TICKETS PPV STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 13 2 2 36 13 +23 Away 14 7 4 3 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 31 20 6 5 63 30 +33 First Competitive Meeting Sep 25th, 1999 League (H) 0 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 23rd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) Despite our recent run of form, we hold the Indian sign over Raith Rovers with only two defeats in seventeen home games in all competitions, and that was not yesterday (Oct 2000)... This season it took a super strike from Roddy MacGregor to separate the sides back in August and more recently at Starks Park Aiden Connolly and Sean Welsh scored the goals in a 1-1 draw where Ross Mathews was sent off on half time for Rovers. Billy Mckay is our top scorer with 10 goals for the season, half of those coming in the Challenge Cup including a hat-trick against Elgin City in the last round. The Caley Jags put Buckie Thistle out in the previous round 4-2 with Mckay and Jamieson scoring braces. Raith got here by virtue of beating East Fife 3-1 at Starks Park. Tait, Connolly and Poplatnik the scorers for them. They put Forfar Athletic out before that scoring the only goal of the game. Latest Team News The mystery continues as the tough winter schedule kicks in and with an unwanted Scottish Cup replay coming up against Morton, the frailties of our wafer thin squad will no doubt be severely tested over the next few weeks. Unfortunately there is some unfinished personal business that is disrupting the squad and it's affecting performances on the park. It's about time the club acted professionally on this and make the paying public aware of the situation to avoid further embarrassment. A good chance to progress, but also a great opportunity to give some of our fringe players some more game time and those returning from injury. Manny Duku seems to have lost his way, but maybe he fancies a game against his old club and the likes of Cammy Mackay, Harper, Duffy, McDonald and Jamieson are all in need of getting some mileage on the park. Scott Kellacher ahead of the Raith game
  17. Cup Tie It's off to Cappielow in midweek for a cup replay on Tuesday 7th December after these two sides served up a 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium. Billy Mckay opened the scoring in the twelfth minute after what appeared to be a gift from keeper Hamilton, and as is our current trend we failed to capitalise on our good fortune and fell away in the second half which allowed Morton to snatch a deserved late equaliser after we returned the compliment and Gavin Reilly took the game to a replay. To be brutally honest, simply not good enough, too many players not producing the goods. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This was the third Scottish Cup clash between these sides with Morton looking for their first cup win over Inverness. The Caley Jags won the previous games 5-1 and 4-0. Poles apart in the Championship, but the Cup is a different kettle of fish. Adding more fuel to the fire, Michael Gardyne was missing, presumably having left the building? David Carson was at right back with wishy washy Welsh and Walsh on the bench. The hosts started the game in spritely fashion with Reece McAlear blazing a 15 yard volley over the bar from a corner kick. Moments later, Kirk Broadfoot made a hash of clearing the ball and when it was passed into the middle, Gary Oliver would have scored but for a 'Devine' intervention as the ball deflected off Danny and onto the post with Ridgers stranded. Aaron Doran shot from distance but it was plucked out of the air by Jack Hamilton with ease and Shane Sutherland saw a close range header clawed away by Hamilton with an instinctive save before McAlear again had another effort deflected just wide of the post by a defender. Therefore it was no surprise when Billy Mckay poached a goal from the fingertips of the keeper as he tried to gather a header back into the box from Sutherland. Could we put the tie to bed? Well, the answer was no, as has been a familiar trait of late. Ridgers blocked Ugwu on the right side of his six yard box as the big forward tried to shoot twenty minutes into the half and five minutes later he drilled a shot over the bar from the inside right position with Ridgers watching closely. Four minutes before the break a massive scrambulation in the Inverness box saw the ball blocked about half a dozen times before it was hoofed clear much to the relief of the North Stand. McAlear had at least two of these with possibly Devine again, Deas and pick any one from ten other bodies who threw themselves in front of the ball to keep Morton out as the interval neared. Almost hidden in the midden was another fluffed Broadfoot clearance. Strewth, wtf is going on. HALF TIME: 1-0 The start of the second half saw more bodies getting in the way of Morton scoring as we thwarted them again and again, the pressure easing when Reece Lyon curled his shot over from the edge of the box. Sutherland forced Hamilton into a decent, but relatively comfortable save as he tipped his header over the bar and a couple of minutes later Devine headed wide as we looked for a second goal. Ugwu dragged a shot wide when he forged his way towards the box as the visitors responded. After 81 minutes the visitors forced a replay as Broadfoot completed his hat-trick of blunders when he was muscled off a long clearance from Hamilton by Gavin Reilly who strode forward to drill the ball behind Ridgers. Foul was the obvious decision, apart from referee Colin Steven. Anyway, Broadfoot had been pushing his luck all afternoon and was found wanting when it really mattered. FULL TIME:1-1 Oh dear, another occasion where we let the lead slip from our grasp compounded by our own inability to put the ball into the net. Billy Mckay was probably the pick of the Inverness players with keeper Jack Hamilton doing his job sufficiently for the visitors. Looks like the Gardyne issue has been resolved with Carson at right back and Gardyne not in the building... the silence from the club is deafening. The Goals Full Highlights from ICTV Sort it Billy Date: 27/11/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 790 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran, Allardice, McAlear (Welsh 71), McGregor (Walsh 70), Sutherland, B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, Jamieson, McDonald, Duku, Scorers: B Mckay (12) Booked: none Sent Off: none Morton: 1 Manager: Gus MacPherson Lineup: Hamilton; Ledger, McEntee, Lithgow, Strapp, Oliver, Blues (Reilly 75), McGrattan (King 68), Oksanen, Ugwu, Lyon, Subs (not used): Bysouth; Jacobs, Muirhead, Russell, Hynes, Easdale, Allan Scorers: Reilly (81) Booked: McGrattan (63) Sent Off: none a
  18. Cup Action Its a break from the rigours of the Championship this weekend as Morton head North looking to progress in the Scottish Cup. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm and for those unable to get to the Caledonian Stadium, ICTV will be streaming the match for a tenner. Not a big change for either side though as these two Championship sides clash in the 3rd round. They have met in the Scottish Cup twice before with Inverness dishing out heavy defeats of 4-0 and 5-1. In other knockout competitions there has been two meetings with the Caley Jags winning them both. MATCH INFO & TICKETS LIVE STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 12 3 2 45 15 +30 Away 14 8 2 4 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 31 20 5 6 72 32 +40 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) In this season's encounter Inverness won 2-0 recently on league duty and will play Morton away in another couple of weeks at Cappielow. We have a great overall record against Morton with only two defeats in seventeen games, however, that defeat came as recently as March of this year and here is our match overview. Abysmal, a new low! A stormy evening saw no goals at the break. Todorov came closest when he hit the post just before the interval. Could it get worse? The answer was yes when Aidan Nesbitt drilled a low shot into the net from the edge of the box with Inverness unable to make any headway. With twenty minutes left you could see the game slowly drifting away from the hosts. Sutherland hit the woodwork again and Todorov's follow up 'goal' was ruled out. Last time out Inverness dominated Queen of the South and came away from Palmerston with all three points thanks to a Billy Mckay brace in a 2-1 win. That was our first win in six games, so nothing to crow about really, but the performance was much easier on the eye than recent offerings. Morton went down 2-1 at Starks Park after taking the lead through Ledger in the fifth minute but Raith took the points as Morton ended the game with ten men when Lithgow was sent off with 15 minutes remaining. Morton remain in the bottom two after some indifferent performances. Latest Team News The mystery and intrigue surrounding our squad is coming to a head and our injury list has never been forthcoming. Look out for either Carson or Gardyne starting and hopefully our other 'niggles' will start clearing up soon. Sean Welsh, Tom Walsh, Wallace Duffy and Michael Gardyne were missing against Queen of the South but Shane Sutherland and Roddy MacGregor made a welcome return to the starting XI Here's Morton's squad from the 2-1 defeat at Starks Park last week where they ended the game with ten men after Lithgow was red carded. Dodds and Dan time
  19. Ticketing and PPV information for Saturday’s game: https://ictfc.com/next-match-dunfermline-athletic-h https://ictfc.com/ictv-info-dunfermline-ath-h Also details of offers in the club shop and on line: https://ictfc.com/pre-christmas-shop-offers-15-off-replica-home-kit If won’t be an easy game, as Dunfermline matched us in the 0-0 draw in Dunfermline a few weeks ago, but it is time for us to get back to winning ways and start putting another good run together.
  20. Yogi returns to Inverness Inverness will host Dunfermline on Saturday, complete with new manager John Hughes, after Yogi was appointed as the man tasked with saving the Pars from relegation after a dismal first quarter of the season has them toiling at the foot of the table with no wins from thirteen games. The cinch Championship game kicks-off at 3:00pm with Inverness looking to get back to winning ways and the Pars hoping for the 'new manager bounce'. The first encounter this season ended goalless, but Dunfermline were looking the most likely to take the points as Mark Ridgers stood firm. OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH & TICKET INFO STREAMING FROM ICTV Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 9 8 4 27 19 +8 Away 23 9 9 5 28 25 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 46 18 18 10 58 48 +10 First Competitive Meeting Aug 7th, 1999 League (A) 0 - 4 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Sep 18th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 0 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) After the disappointing draw at Somerset Park where we let the lead slip twice, we failed to fully capitalise on Partick beating Kilmarnock although the lead is only one point now. Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne scored our goals but Joe Chalmers and Patrick Reading replied for the Honest Men to give them a share of the points. It's a tough old league this one with every team capable of beating the others on their day. The Pars went down 1-3 to Morton last week to rubber stamp their position at the foot of the table and Yogi has some task to get them away from the bottom half of the table with the top five looking like they will contest the promotion slots. However, in his favour, there's plenty of time to change that. Championship Fixtures this weekend Arbroath v Queens Ayr Utd v Partick Accies v Raith ICTFC v Pars Morton v Killie Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Kilmarnock 13 8 2 3 18 8 10 26 2. Inverness CT 13 7 4 2 15 8 7 25 3. Arbroath 13 6 5 2 24 12 12 23 4. Raith Rovers 13 6 5 2 21 15 6 23 5. Partick Thistle 13 6 3 4 24 14 10 21 6. Ayr United 13 3 4 6 13 19 -6 13 7. Hamilton Academical 13 3 4 6 13 25 -12 13 8. Morton 13 2 6 5 11 16 -5 12 9. Queen of the South 13 3 2 8 11 20 -9 11 10. Dunfermline 13 0 7 6 10 23 -13 7 We may be next to the top of the table, but we are on a poor run at the moment with no wins from our last four games, three of those were draws. Over the same period, Dunfermline have two draws and two defeats. Touch wood, but we still have the meanest defence conceding only eight times whilst Dunfermline's defence is pretty much in line with their league position. Breaking News from EEP Latest Team News Inverness could have David Carson back in the squad for this game after return from injury and family bereavement. Shane Sutherland has missed the last couple of games and we are waiting on news of him. Cammy Harper returned to the squad last week. Well, what a boost for the Pars with the announcement of big Yogi as their new manager. He kept County afloat last year and of course will always be remembered as the man that led the Caley Jags to their greatest triumph in winning the Scottish Cup. I imagine this will be an excellent bit of business by the Pars and he won't take too long to get the team playing his way. Let's hope it takes more than a couple of days. The start of his tenure will be hampered by the loss of Kai Kennedy and Vytas Gaspuitis. Back to the days of 'guid honest laddies'....
  21. Punchless and Pointless Inverness toiled to make any headway in a dour first half, the poor fare on display being matched only by the miserable weather. We improved in the final ten minutes before the interval but clear chances were at a premium. After the break and some initial half chances for the hosts, McKenna scored with a cross/shot free kick that caught out the keeper, possibly wind assisted. Inverness still struggled to create clear openings, an all too familiar habit of late. They could have doubled their lead soon after but Ridgers was in the right place to put Little's header over the bar. Thereafter we ruined what little chances we had by a lack of quality around the box and stout defending by Arbroath. Well done to them, they did what they had to do, we need to take a long hard look at how we are going about our business. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Caley Jags were looking to get back to winning ways after dropping points to Hamilton and Raith in recent games and Arbroath were looking for their first win in five games which has seen them slip just off the pace at the top of the table. The pitch was watered more heavily than Starks Park after a day of dark clouds and rain with a blustery wind getting stronger heading towards kick-off. Duku and Mckay were the preferred partners up front with Gardyne and Sutherland on the bench. David Carson and Cammy Harper were still missing and Allardice was at right back. Bobby Linn was on the bench for Arbroath with Nouble and Dowds up front and scoring midfielder Michael McKenna in behind them. After a minutes silence in memory of Walter Smith, play got underway with Arbroath attacking the North Stand. A scrappy opening to the game saw the ball being moved around like a hot potato with nether side keeping possession for any length of time. In the 14th minute Manny Duku chased a lost cause and when he whipped the ball into the box it appeared to graze the face of the crossbar before running out. Arbroath forced a series of corners which we eventually hoofed clear to take the pressure off the defence. A free kick from Aaron Doran almost bounced into the net as the wind played havoc with the flight of the ball, but it was a difficult watch in the first quarter of the game. Nouble bounced a couple of players off him as he cut into the box on the left but we eventually blocked his route to goal. Walsh snatched at a ball on the edge of the box and Gaston made a bit of a meal of it but gathered it at the second time of asking. Moments later Doran almost curled an effort into the net after turning his marker inside the box but his shot drifted just wide. The hosts had upped the intensity just before the break but had still not made the breakthrough. Half Time: 0-0 Shooting towards the North Stand after the break we found ourselves a goal down out of nothing. Top scorer Michael McKenna took a free kick out wide from a crossing position. Unfortunately for Ridgers, he curled it into the net with the keeper flapping at the ball as the wind held the ball back. He might not want to see that one again. Like the weather, we spoiled the fans night by being totally useless in front of goal with most efforts going wide or being blocked and the visitors still looked menacing on the break when they stopped their time wasting. Last chance fell to Saturday's saviour Sean Welsh but he hooked his shot high over the bar and that summed up our night. Horrendous! We looked like a Highland League side at times and our inability to fashion out clear opportunities is worrying. Good week for Killie who started it 5 points behind us and now sit top of the table. with Killie scoring a late penalty at Ayr, they have taken the lead at the top of the table on goal difference as we appear to be found wanting when the push comes to the shove. Thoroughly disappointing game, performance, result and weather and it gets even tougher at the weekend as we take on Partick Thistle. From CTO SteveA, he's not pulling any punches... I've seen some bad performances at the stadium but that must be up there with the worst. Horrible game. We never threatened, couldn't pass the ball and looked bang average all over the park. We showed next to no urgency and got exactly what we deserved. I might of missed the man of the match announcement or maybe whoever was picking it decided that none of our players deserved it. If it was the latter I would fully agree with them. Every one of them was shocking. From CTO caley100 is no a happy bunny either: Hopeless, inept, clueless and that was the referee! ICT were not far behind, As has been said before we have been very poor and tonight showed that we are papering over the cracks. So many poor passes, and failed lay offs to nobody, and a complete lack of idea's in the opposition box. The ref was awful, truly awful, He let them get away with murder, then ignored the time wasting **** of a keeper. Not happy. Just let this Arbroath FC tweet sink in... Date: 26/10/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1909 Referee: Craig Napier Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Allardice, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran (Gardyne 62), Welsh, MacGregor (McAlear 71), Duku (Jaimeson 62), Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay, Duffy, McDonald, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Deas (32), Broadfoot (86) Sent Off: none Arbroath: 1 Manager: Dick Campbell Lineup: Gaston; Chris Hamilton, Little, O'Brien, Colin Hamilton, Clark, Stewart (Gold 82), McKenna, Donnelly (Craigen 71), Dowds (Hilsen 71), Nouble Subs (not used): Antell; Henderson, Swankie, Linn Scorers: McKenna (54) Booked: Craigen (85) Sent Off: none a
  22. Matchday 11 A busy night of Championship Football has Arbroath heading North to the Caledonian Stadium for a 7:45 kick-off on Tuesday night. The Smokies sit seven points behind the league leaders in fifth place despite being the second highest scorers in the Championship, but four draws and two defeats have held them back slightly. The first game this season at Gayfield ended in a scarcely deserved away win thanks to a neat dinked finish from Shane Sutherland as he bore down on Gaston in the Arbroath goal. Dinky Shane Matchday Info - Tickets - Streaming Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 15 2 2 53 17 +36 Away 18 9 3 6 26 22 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 37 24 5 8 79 39 +40 First Competitive Meeting Aug 13th, 1994 League ((Div 3)) (H) 5 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Jul 31st, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (H) 7 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) Biggest Victories Jul 30th, 2016 League Cup (Group C) (H) 7 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Nov 9th, 2019 League (A) 0 - 3 Aug 2nd, 2016 Challenge Cup (Under 20s) (H) 0 - 3 Highest Attendance Aug 10th, 2019 League (H) 2,298 Highest Home Attendance Aug 10th, 2019 League (H) 2,298 The stats for this home fixture lie heavily in our favour with 15 wins from 19 fixtures and only 2 defeats. However, those defeats have come recently and we lost this one 0 - 1 in December 2019 when Luke Donnelly scored the only goal in December 2019. Fortunately, we won both home fixtures last season, but we seem to have difficulty breaking Arbroath down and end up clinging on somewhat. Changed days from the 7-0 results of yore. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 10 7 2 1 13 5 8 23 2. Kilmarnock 10 6 2 2 13 7 6 20 3. Raith Rovers 10 5 3 2 17 12 5 18 4. Partick Thistle 10 5 1 4 23 14 9 16 5. Arbroath 10 4 4 2 18 9 9 16 6. Ayr United 10 3 3 4 10 14 -4 12 7. Queen of the South 10 3 1 6 10 14 -4 10 8. Hamilton Academical 10 2 2 6 10 23 -13 8 9. Morton 10 1 4 5 7 14 -7 7 10. Dunfermline 10 0 6 4 6 15 -9 6 Despite those defeats for Arbroath, it's still been a successful season so far and Dick Campbell can be pleased with his part time sides progress. The two losses were against Inverness & Raith Rovers which tells you all you need to know about their resilience. Fixtures on Tuesday night Morton 19:30 Partick Th Ayr United 19:45 Kilmarnock Dunfermline 19:45 Raith Rovers Hamilton Accies 19:45 Queen of the Sth Inverness CT 19:45 Arbroath FC On Saturday we face a tough trip to Partick Last time out We laboured for a point against ten man Raith Rovers. Aidan Connolly had given Raith the lead but Sean Welsh drove through a ruck of players from just outside the box to earn the point. Disappointing given Raith played the whole of the second half with ten men and also had to replace to important players through injury. However, a point would have been acceptable before the game and no major damage to our title aspirations with Killie the only ones to close the gap. Here's the goals from Starks Park Arbroath had to settle for a draw at the weekend as Ayr United came from behind to get their point in a close encounter. Form player Michael McKenna opened the scoring ten minutes into the second half only for Jonathan Afolabi to level ten minutes before the end. No wins in the last four for Arbroath. Latest Team News Billy Dodds has been without David Carson for a few weeks through injury now and he has been on compassionate leave for a couple of weeks now. Cammy Harper missed out against Raith Rovers with a groin injury. As usual, little info filtering through regards injuries and availability. Dick Campbell has been without Nicky Low and it's unlikely he will make this game. Joel Nouble was a big nuisance in the first game with his robust style and will be a danger. At over 6ft 3in he will be a problem for most defences. He was named as Cinch Championship player of the Month for September and has scored four goals in ten games. Here's Bazza The Caley Jags will face Morton at home in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup Third Round Ties to take place weekend of November 27th Unfortunately it's a bit of a damp squib for those looking to visit new grounds. I suspect the Morton fans will be even less enthusiastic given the tie will be played in the Highlands. However, it's a great opportunity to progress into the hat for the 4th round draw, alas, Morton will feel the same.
  23. Ticket and PPV information out nice and early: https://ictfc.com/next-match-greenock-morton-h After the disappointing performance and result at Hamilton, hopefully we get back to winning ways. I’d like to see Mckay start given Duku has failed to score in eight league starts so far.
  24. Caley Jags open up a gap Inverness extended their lead at the top of the Championship as the Pars got a late leveller against Killie. The hosts opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Billy Mckay with the credit for the assist going to Mark Ridgers from his quick goal kick. Inverness stepped up a gear after the interval and Michael Gardyne scored the second early in the second half as he crashed a loose ball in the box high into the net. That was enough to see off Morton who battled hard throughout but fell short. It could have been a different story had the visitors made more of their own opportunities. Five points clear after the first quarter: Who knew? The Goals Inverness were looking to bounce back after their miserable performance against whipping boys Hamilton Accies who were ransacked 6-1 by Partick Thistle last night. The Caley Jags were without David Carson due to a family bereavement and Cammy Harper who took a knock at Elgin last Saturday. That left us a tad short for defenders. Reece McAlear came into midfield with Scott Allardice deputising at right back with hat-trick hero Billy Mckay partnering Shane Sutherland up front. Manny Duku was on the bench. Despite their lowly league status, the visitors were looking sharp in the early stages and Thomas Allan danced down the left wing and sent a cross into the box which hit the outside junction of post and crossbar with Mark Ridgers keeping a close eye on the ball. Reece McAlear drove wide with the aid of a deflection after good set up play down the Inverness left, the ball spinning out wide for a corner. Slack play at the other end saw Morton get the ball into the box and two attempts were blocked by last ditch tackles, Devine doing brilliantly to stop Gavin Reilly's effort from going on target from ten yards. Let off for the hosts. When Kyle Jacobs header went wide from a Morton corner, Ridgers spotted Billy Mckay lurking around the centre circle. His hastily taken goal kicked bounced off a defenders head and Billy anticipated superbly to stride forward before notching his 71st goal for the Caley Jags as he placed the ball into the net with his left peg low across the keeper. Michael Gardyne was instrumental in offering Mckay another shooting opportunity on the half hour but Billy dragged his shot wide of the goal. Shortly before the interval, Jimmy Knowles shot across the face of the goal after good build up play from the Ton across the park. Moments later Ridgers dealt with another effort from Knowles. Just before the whistle, a clash of heads led to an extended tea break as Michael Gardyne came back out after receiving treatment. Thomas Allan was not so fortunate and was replaced by Mark Russell. Half Time: 1-0 Despite his injured head being plastered over, he was alert enough to get onto the loose ball after Roddy MacGregor and Mckay were blocked inside the box, Michael stepping onto the ball to smash home the second goal and his fourth in four games. McAlear saw an effort saved before substitute Manny Duku should have opened his Championship account. He was fed through on the left side of goal by Gardyne, but caught the keepers legs with his angled shot which ran out for a corner. Likewise, Morton should have scored after a long range shot by Reece Lyon was pushed out by Ridgers, but the follow up header from Gary Oliver was knocked wide. Lewis Jamieson shot wide as Inverness kept the visitors options down to a minimum and by the end of the game it was another three points in the bag without over exerting ourselves. Morton did have their moments and should have scored, but thems the breaks. MotM performances from Michael Gardyne and Roddy MacGregor and another good display at the back from Danny Devine. From CTO Robert A deserved win, but on several occasions at 0-0 and 1-0 we did our best to let Morton get into the game by poor passing and some comic book defending. Ridgers’ kicking was not to his usual standards, but the one that counted was great vision and very accurate to set Mckay up for a cool finish into the corner. Gardyne pounced for the second after Mckay could have scored in the same move. We could, and possibly should, have got more against a poor defence, with Jamieson coming closest. CTO Doofers Dad The recent games against the bottom 3 have shown there are no easy games in this division, yet we are 5 points clear at the top. We must be doing something right. This season we seem to be managing to win games that are pretty finely balanced. The difference seems to be that the team are all working really hard for each other and when we have those "heart in the mouth" moments there is a real collective effort to clear the danger. Pressing hard and winning the ball back then gives us more chance of creating opportunities up front. Maintaining the level of intensity and the team spirit will be essential if we are going keep the challenge for promotion going. Doddsy's a Happy Bunny Match Highlights from ICTV Date: 16/10/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1900 Referee: Mike Roncone Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Allardice, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Gardyne, Welsh, McAlear (Doran 61), MacGregor, Sutherland (Duku 58), B Mckay (Jamieson 77) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, McDonald, Walsh Scorers: B Mckay (20), Gardyne (49) Booked: Allardice (36) MacGregor (76), Duku (90) Sent Off: none Morton: 0 Manager: Gus MacPherson Lineup: Hamilton; McEntee, Lithgow, Strapp, Blues, Jacobs, Oksanen, Allan (Russell 45), Oliver, Knowles (Muirhead 62), Reilly (Lyon 69) Subs (not used): King, Ledger, McLean, McGrattan Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  25. Championship Resumes After the international break it's back to the Championship on Saturday as Morton come to the Caledonian Stadium looking to lift themselves up the table and clear of the bottom places. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm with Inverness hoping to put the defeat to Hamilton behind them. Head 2 Head v Morton Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 16 11 3 2 43 15 +28 Away 14 8 2 4 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 30 19 5 6 70 32 +38 First Competitive Meeting Sep 4th, 1999 League (H) 1 - 1 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Apr 6th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 4 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) Biggest Victories Aug 30th, 2019 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Nov 12th, 1999 League (A) 1 - 5 Highest Attendance Oct 31st, 2009 League (H) 3,021 Highest Home Attendance Oct 31st, 2009 League (H) 3,021 Here's the table ahead of tonight's TV game between Hamilton and Partick Thistle where the Jags routed Accies 1-6. Other fixtures tomorrow Ayr United v Queen of the South Dunfermline v Kilmarnock Raith Rovers v Arbroath Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 8 6 1 1 10 4 6 19 2. Kilmarnock 8 5 1 2 9 4 5 16 3. Arbroath 8 4 3 1 16 6 10 15 4. Raith Rovers 8 4 2 2 14 10 4 14 5. Partick Thistle 8 4 0 4 17 13 4 12 6. Queen of the South 8 3 0 5 9 12 -3 9 7. Ayr United 8 2 2 4 7 12 -5 8 8. Hamilton Academical 8 2 2 4 8 15 -7 8 9. Morton 8 1 3 4 7 12 -5 6 10. Dunfermline 8 0 4 4 4 13 -9 4 There's a big swing towards Inverness in these fixtures. Only two defeats at home versus Morton out of sixteen encounters. One of those was as recent as last season though, when we went down to the only goal of the game at the Caledonian Stadium. Aiden Nesbitt was the scorer of the goal and that result put Inverness second bottom of the table in March. Our last game was a rousing 4-2 Challenge Cup win at Borough Briggs where a Billy Mckay hat-trick saw us overcome a two goal deficit to go into the next round where we will play Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium at the end of November. Lewis Jamieson scored the fourth goal to round off the comeback. Arbroath scored a late goal to deny Morton all three points a couple of weeks ago in a Championship encounter. That would have been a decent result against team of the month Arbroath. Gary Oliver and Cameron Blues scored the goals for the Ton. However Michael McKenna's 87th minute penalty earned the Smokies a point. Last time out Morton edged past Montrose in the Challenge Cup on penalties (4-2) after a goalless draw. Latest Team News According to the Official Preview we still have a number of players carrying knocks. Probably David Carson and with Danny Devine and Cammy Harper being subbed early at Elgin last week then they might require resting for a bit longer, but Billy Dodds likes to keep his injury situation close to his chest so we will have to wait until just after 2:00pm tomorrow to find out Here's Roddy
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