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Battle of the Jags After three away day wins on the trot in the Championship, it's the battle of the Jags this Friday night at the Caledonian Stadium, or as it's now known as, The Vaccination Derby. Kick-off is at 7:45 and this game will be shown live on the BBC Scotland channel. Partick are steaming ahead at the top of the table after a crushing 5-1 defeat of Morton last weekend and we have managed to get back on track after losing 4-1 to Partick on the 19th of August, the start of a three game losing sequence. Since then Partick have gone to the top of the table and we have won our last three, all away from home and will be looking to close the gap at the top. Should make for good viewing and will give us an idea how we are coping with our extensive injury problems. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATCH/TICKET INFO Venue H2H v Partick Thistle Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 6 7 37 33 +4 Away 23 6 6 11 24 34 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 46 16 12 18 61 67 -6 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick Thistle 1 - 4 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 1 - 3 (H) 2 - 1 (A) Home advantage is normally a good indicator in these fixtures although our biggest defeat was a 0 - 4 encounter back in 2014: CTO report: OUCH! Inverness fans took a sore one as they watched their team being dismantled by an energetic Partick Thistle in the battle of the Jags. It was a day to forget for the Caley Jags side as their unbeaten home run was ended in spectacular style by a team that have sussed us out big time. While we tapped the ball around the back quarter in tentative style, Partick's cut and thrust won the day and they deservedly crushed us 4-0. Much of this was down to our own error ridden display, but take nothing away from Partick, they took full advantage of the situation and trounced us with their high intensity pressing game. Partick just seem to have our number this season and I can't say I am looking forward to the Cup game in February. We need to try and find a way to combat the apparent high intensity, pressing game that they employ against us otherwise we will be getting thrashed again in a couple of months. Two first half goals from Ryan Stevenson were added to after the break by Gary Fraser and Conrad Balatoni. Inverness had a couple of strikes ruled out for interference by Billy McKay from a Raven shot and a couple of interlopers who took to the field to relieve the boredom. (naughty boys, don't do this at home children). Biggest Victories Apr 30th, 2016 League (A) 4 - 1 Jan 10th, 2009 Scottish Cup (Rd 4) (H) 3 - 0 Apr 27th, 2002 League (H) 3 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Dec 13th, 2014 League (H) 0 - 4 There was a couple of eye brow raising results this midweek in the Championship Cove R 3-1 Dundee Queens 1-2 Morton Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Partick Thistle 8 5 2 1 21 11 17 2. Queens Park 9 5 1 3 14 13 16 3. Ayr United 8 4 2 2 14 11 14 4. Inverness CT 8 4 2 2 12 9 14 5. Dundee 9 4 1 4 16 14 13 6. Cove Rangers 9 3 2 4 14 14 11 7. Morton 9 3 2 4 9 13 11 8. Raith Rovers 8 3 0 5 8 11 9 9. Hamilton Ac. 8 1 4 3 7 12 7 10. Arbroath 8 1 2 5 5 12 5 FRIDAY 7TH OCTOBER Inverness CT v Partick Thistle SATURDAY 8TH OCTOBER Arbroath v Dundee Ayr Utd v Queen's Morton v Accies Raith v Cove LAST TIME OUT Partick romped to the top of the table on their own with an emphatic 5-1 thrashing of Morton at Firhill and they even had the luxury of a missed penalty on the hour from Kevin Holt. Morton took an early lead through Robbie Muirhead in the 17th minute and this must have annoyed the Jags. They responded with strikes from Brian Graham and Holt before the break. Aaron Muirhed Scott Tiffoney and Anton Dowds completed the rout after the interval to boost Partick's goal difference to a massive +10 this early in the season. Last time we met we were disappointing and were brushed aside by a confident Partick side 4-1 at Firhill. Meh! Inverness are on a triple roll with the last game being a carbon copy of the previous two on the road at Starks Park and Dens Park. Instrumental in those victories has been re-incarnated left sided midfielder Cammy Harper who is revelling in his new roll with Zak Delaney covering the left back berth at the moment. Two sublime left peg strikes at Dens Park and and a deft glanced header at Somerset Park last weekend are becoming the trademark of Cammy as he relishes his elevated status. LATEST TEAM NEWS Still out will be Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh, Sean Welsh and probably Austin Samuels although Welsh and Samuels should be back sooner rather that later................ hopefully. Eric's quickie on Partick Thistle: As alluded to by tm4tj (aka the Boss) I did rather present an epic tome of "War and Peace" proportions to the reader(s) last week regarding squad changes at Ayr United. This week it's only a one liner. There are no apparent changes to the Partick Thistle squad since the last fixture away to Partick on the 26th of August...... Hooray! However, Partick are the form team just now with a good blend of experience and quality. Brian Graham has always troubled us with his sheer hammer thrower bulk. Scott Tiffony is a bag of tricks and Anton Dowds will score coming off the bench. Steven Lawless and Stuart Bannigan amongst others provide experience in abundance. They are certainly heading in the right direction at the moment and will be a stern test for the Caley Jags.

Brechin pay the Penalty Prior to today, Brechin had only won twice at Inverness in ten encounters. This was a close one that went to penalties to decide who went into the hat for the fourth round draw. Inverness got off to the perfect start through George Oakley in the fifth minute to open the scoring. However, Kevin McHattie levelled the score with a great strike into the top corner after half an hour. Ten minutes before the break Oakley caught the side netting after being fed through by Duffy. A couple of minutes later Nathan Shaw put the hosts back in front. Half Time 2-1. Oakley scored from the spot just after the break, but it was far from job done. Two late strikes from Grady McGrath and Euan Spark took the game to penalties where Inverness just got over the line 4-3. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first meeting between the sides since 2018 had a low key approach to it. Inverness had Max Ram back in for a start after an early season injury in the League Cup against Kelty Hearts saw him miss the next two months. Billy & Bazza made a number of changes to the side that beat Dundee a week earlier. Cammy Mackay came in for Mark Ridgers with Nathan Shaw, Lewis Hyde and Dan's younger brother Calum all starting. Keith Bray and Mathew Strachan were part of a strong bench for the hosts (Ridgers; Carson, Deas, Allardice, D Mackay, B Mckay, Boyd, Strachan, Bray). Andy Kirk's Brechin had former Inverness players Kevin McHattie and Anthony McDonald in their squad and will be in confident mood after scoring ten goals in their last two games, both away from home. Good to see both these players back performing well on the park after careers disrupted by serious injuries. Aaron Arnott makes his debut for City after coming in on loan from Raith Rovers and Michael McArthur comes back into the starting XI after missing out last week. McHattie started with McDonald on the bench. An early tap in from George Oakley after a great save by keeper Wilson from a Max Ram header set Inverness up nicely but former Inverness defender Kevin McHattie levelled the scores after half an hour with a great curling strike into the top corner from twenty yards. Ten minutes before the break Nathan Shaw put Inverness ahead after Oakley pressurised defender Nathan Cooney into making a costly error before passing to Shaw to score his second goal for the club and that's how it stood at the interval. HALF TIME: 2-1 Oakley converted from the spot 3 minutes after the interval when Duffy was fouled in the box by Cooney. Shaw did well on a couple of occasions after the break but it was Brechin that pulled a goal back through Grady McGrath when he slotted in after Scott set him up with twenty minutes remaining. With ten minutes left they were level after Euan Spark knocked home following a corner. Inverness searched for a winner but time ran out and it went to penalties. Cammy Mackay made a crucial brilliant save from Ryan McInnes in the shoot out then Robbie Deas blasted home his spot kick, and that was the difference. FULL TIME 3-3 Penalties: Brechin City: Bain, McGrath, Loudon, Inglis, McInnes - 3 Inverness CT: B Mckay, Oakley, Boyd, Allardice, Deas - 4 The opening goal was Oakley's 20th goal for the Caley Jags. Incidentally, his first goal was also against Brechin City in a 3-0 league cup win in July 2017 in the 57th minute. Credit to Brechin for making a come back when heads could have dropped just after the interval when Oakley scored his second goal. By all accounts a miserable performance by a side without a number of first picks starting. The only consolation is that we are in the next round, but performances like that won't see us go far in this competition. School report: Must try harder It's no pretty, but we're in the next round From CTO: Awful performance. At 3-1 I thought like most that it was game over despite our midfield setup being so poor. But to concede 2 goals and almost another was criminal, I can't even think apart from Oakley any player that deserved a pass mark! Lethargic, Clueless wrong tactics and player choice made it difficult viewing for the fans.... Well that was painful. 3-1 up and we throw that away. The whole attitude was wrong today. They thought they just had to turn up. No drive,energy,tempo or hunger to win. Passing woeful. This was a great chance for the fringe players to show what they could do and they blew it... Here's Bazza Date: 24/09/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 832 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 3 (4 pens) Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Duffy, Devine (Allardice 45), Ram (D Mackay 62), Delaney, Shaw, Hyde, Harper (Deas 45), Doran (B Mckay 83) Callum Mackay (Boyd 62), Oakley Subs (not used): Ridgers; Carson, Strachan, Bray Scorers: Oakley (6, 47pen), Shaw (38) Booked: none Sent Off: none Brechin City: 3 (3 pens) Manager: Andy Kirk Lineup: Wilson; McHattie, Cooney, Northcott, Spark (90+1), Scott (Inglis 90+2), McArthur (Loudon 25), MacLeod, Cruickshank, Arnott (Bain 67), McGrath Subs (not used): Easton; Thomson, McDonald, Naglik Scorers: McHattie (28), McGrath (72), Spark (78) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

If you like a challenge We host Brechin City this Saturday in the Challenge Cup, or SPFL Trust Trophy if you prefer, but remember to set your alarm clock early as it's a 2:00pm kick-off. This is Brechin's third game in this competition having ousted Hibernian colts and Stirling Albion in previous rounds. Both games went to penalties with City prevailing. Inverness are thrice winners of the Challenge Cup if you include the joint affair with Raith Rovers. MATCH/TICKET INFO Over the years we hold a massive advantage over the Hedgers and they now find themselves plying their trade in the Highland League after dropping out of League Two in May 2021 after losing out in the play-off to Kelty Hearts. However, wins breed confidence and they have started this season with a flourish, winning all seven of their Highland League games scoring 17 goals, conceding only twice. Our last fixture against Brechin was a Championship game back in 2018 when Inverness ran out 4 - 0 winners over a side heading for relegation having picked up only four points during the 2017/2018 season with four draws. George Oakley was one of our scorers in that game. Out of the SPFL: On 23 May 2021, Brechin lost 3–1 on aggregate to Lowland League side Kelty Hearts in the relegation playoffs, dropping down to the Highland League, the club's first spell out of the national leagues in 67 years. In June 2021, after the departure of player/manager Michael Paton, the club appointed Andy Kirk to the role of club manager. In the club's first season in the Highland League, they secured a respectable third-place finish. (Wikipedia) Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 10 7 1 2 25 5 +20 Away 8 5 2 1 17 9 +8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 18 12 3 3 42 14 +28 Last Time Out We had a tremendous result at Dens Park against the background of some powderpuff performances over the previous few weeks. An encouraging 2-0 win at Starks Park in the game before ignited a wee spark of optimism and a hard fought 3-2 win at Dundee followed, despite going behind early doors. Cammy Harper was the hero with two sublime strikes from distance to add to Billy Mckay's penalty just before the break. Chances at both ends in an open game where we eventually got on top and deservingly took all three points. Our goals at Dundee. BOOM! Brechin's tremendous start to the season continued with high fives all round. Their last two fixtures saw them trounce Strathspey Thistle 0-5 in the Highland League followed by a 1-5 defeat of Jeanfield Swifts in the Scottish Cup at the Riverside Stadium. Note that former Inverness player Anthony McDonald was instrumental in this game and scored City's third goal. And full back Kevin McHattie is also back playing after his injury problems. Here's Brechin putting five past Swifts in a second half blitz... Lenny Wilson: Kevin McHattie, Nathan Cooney, Marc Scott, Grady McGrath, Michael Cruickshank, Fraser MacLeod, Anthony McDonald, Ewan Loudon, Jordan Northcott, Euan Spark Latest Team News Usual suspects out for Inverness but maybe an opportunity to give some fringe players some game time and rest some weary legs for the bigger picture. Cammy Mackay may be in line for the keepers gloves. Max Ram is possibly the only recovering player that may get a run out with younger fringe players also getting involved. Eric's Brechin catch-up " Manager Andy Kirk has made a number of additions over the summer mostly from the junior ranks or lower league sides, he has however secured a loan deal for a promising youngster Aaron Arnott from Raith Rovers. Arnott only transferred on 7th September and has yet to make an appearance for the Glebe Park side" One or two recognisable names around Glebe Park. Euan Spark formerly with Dundee United and Dunfermline, Anthony McDonald and Kevin McHattie both ex ICT. They also have had Rogue defender *Iain Davidson* of Raith Rovers red card fame. *update* Fortunately for the ref and our players, Davidson may have left Brechin recently. Anyway, they have a good blend of youth experience and confidence which may well be enough to see them back in league 2 at the end of the season. They will have to do it without star midfielder Seth Patrick. The Zimbabwean has returned home for personal reasons after some great performances for City. (maybe he fell out with Davidson) It's only the main stand that will be open for this game and tickets are available now online from ictfc.tickethour.co.uk, the Club Shop (Monday-Friday)10am-4pm and you can buy them over the phone on 01463 222880 Ticket Prices:- Adults: £10. Concessions (Over 65s & Students): £8 Under 12s: Free*Disabled Carers: Free

More rubbish than the streets of Edinburgh The fans turned up looking for a reaction after the feeble attempt at Firhill last Friday. They would leave disappointed after 95 minutes with lots of questions unanswered as they slumped to a second defeat in a row to a bang average Morton side who had previously only ever won three games at the Caledonian Stadium in nineteen encounters. Goalless at the break, Grant Gillespie slotted home a penalty with five minutes remaining after Duffy handled in the box. Woeful stuff from Billy Dodds and his hapless team. Simply another inept performance from the Caley Jags who are now six points behind early leaders Ayr United. It could have been worse but for Mark Ridgers who saved well from Jaze Kabia's twenty yard volley and another great save from a Jai Quitongo effort. Steven Boyd had the first serious attempt in the tenth minute but it was comfortable for the Morton keeper and Austin Samuels shot high and wide as Inverness looked for an opening. However his game ended after 24 minutes through injury with Nathan Shaw replacing him. Roddy MacGregor had a close range effort saved and it was looking promising without being too critical, but in truth we were still too pedestrian with clear chances at a premium in the little goalmouth action there was on display, Morton looking more intent on not conceding than scoring one for themselves. Kabia produced the first bit of decent play followed a second later by the next, a great save in the top corner by Ridgers to deny Morton the lead five minutes before the break. Half Time: 0-0 An untidy opening to the second half came to a close when Ridgers did brilliantly again to deny Quitongo on the hour, tipping his 12 yard volley onto the bar and over for a corner, as we huffed and puffed without doing anything. Nothing noteworthy happened until Duffy handled, Gillespie scored and the fans were left frustrated once more as they could see all this coming a mile away. The decision was maybe a tad harsh as the ball was being knocked out of the box some 18 yards from goal and hit a flailing arm, but penalty was given. Hold on, the referee was Nick Walsh, maybe that explains it. A MacGregor header over and a Dan Mackay shot were all we could muster as the game petered out and another defeat it was. Full Time: 0-1 Well well well, where do we go from here. The two year olde question of where is our right back has not been addressed. Where has our desire gone is also a mystery. Where is our ability to take throw ins, (wait, we never ever had that), where is our ability to attack at pace. Gone are the days of swashbuckling moves late in the game to salvage something, we are now down to punting hopeful balls forward waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen. Below is a selection from the unhappy bunnies on the forum here on CaleyThistleOnline Match Reaction from CTO Well, that was horrendous. I really believe now that Dodds has no idea how to set up and inspire a team. There was no energy, no pace, no desire, no leadership, no tactics, unless you count the hopeful hoofball that the team likes to play. We keep hearing that their all happy campers but that is not what it appears like. You get the impression that something is upsetting the applecart. Battered by Partick mugged by Morton....and not a glove laid on either.... Was like watching a training exercise... no urgency, no creativity, no pace, no tactics, no inspiration, no imagination, no skill, and no heart! Looking at that team today, there's nothing there. There's nothing that says to me that this team can challenge for the title. And the winner is: Two blokes stranded on a desert island, with no way of contacting the outside world. "Caley Thistle got beaten again!" "How do you know?" "Back home, it's ten to five on a Saturday." Date: 27/08/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1924 Referee: Nick Walsh Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Deas, Harper, Samuels (Shaw 24) Allardice, MacGregor, Boyd, Oakley (D Mackay 67), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Delaney, Devine, C Mackay Scorers: none Booked: Allardice (38), B Mckay (50), Boyd (73) Sent Off: none Morton: 1 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Schwake; King (Strapp 67), O'Connor, Baird, Pignatiello (Hynes 81), Muirhead, Blues, Gillespie, Crawford, Kabia (McGrattan 80), Quitongo Subs (not used): Green, Lyon, Lithgow. Scorers: Gillespie (pen 85) Booked: Crawford (86), Gillespie (90+2) Quitongo (90+5) Sent Off: none a

Ton of trouble   After last weeks sobering experience at the hands of Partick Thistle, Dougie Imrie's Morton head North looking to pose more problems for Inverness. It's a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday with both clubs sitting on five points after four games, three behind early pace setters Ayr United. Our squad were somewhat depleted last weekend and there's no sign of much improvement on the injury front. We are a bit thin on defensive cover, especially down the right, but that's nothing new. We have only had a couple of years to sort that one out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TICKET INFO   Venue - H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 12 4 3 46 17 +29 Away 17 10 3 4 35 19 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 36 22 7 7 81 36 +45 Head 2 Head results show that we have lost only three times at home to Morton in nineteen games, although the most recent was a 1-0 defeat at the Caledonian Stadium last season. That was a hard one to get your head round considering we had thumped them 6-1 in the previous league game at Cappielow before Xmas, our biggest ever win over Morton. It also coincided with a massive dip in fortunes when we never won a game for an eternity, possibly costing us automatic promotion. Overall the stats are heavily in our favour with a plus 45 goal difference. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton. (click on scores to view more) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) Biggest Victories Dec 11th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 6 - 1 Aug 30th, 2019 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Nov 12th, 1999 League (A) 1 - 5 FRIDAY 26TH AUGUST Ayr United19:45Dundee SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST Hamilton v Arbroath Inverness v Morton     Partick v Rovers Queen's v Cove     The season so far Morton started their campaign at New Douglas Park with a 1-1 draw against Hamilton. That was followed by a 1-0 home win over Cove Rangers thanks to a Jai Quitongo strike then a defeat by Raith Rovers, going down 2-1 at Starks Park. Last week was a massive game for them with a no scoring draw against title favourites Dundee at Cappielow, Robbie Muirhead hitting the post with a late flick on target. After mediocre early draws culminating in a 4-1 beating of Cove, we got a rude awakening last Friday night when an error strewn defensive display saw us hammered 4-1 on the telly at Firhill. George Oakley got the definitive consolation goal, probably more than we deserved. We will need better if we want to get into the top four in what will be a tight division.  Dodds no happy after Partick Pumping... Latest Team News Sutherland and Walsh are long term absentees. Sean Welsh and Max Ram are recovering. Carson and Duffy are nursing injuries and Danny Devine missed out at Partick as he struggles for fitness. Prove me wrong Billy, but my money is team lines similar to Partick away!     Eric's Morton Movers (and there's plenty) Manager Dougie Imrie reshaped his squad after the summer break. Out go both keepers, Jack Hamilton in a move to Livingston and Joshua Bysouth currently without a club. Backs released: Jamie Brandon end of loan deal. Oisin McEntee end of loan from Newcastle FC Brian McLean moves to Clyde, and Mark Russell on a free move to Galway United. Imrie appears to have kept faith in the majority of his midfield. Kyle Jacobs sent out on loan to Edinburgh FC, Iain Wilson off to QOS and on loan Tom Allan returns to parent club Newcastle Up front only Robbie Muirhead remains from last seasons strike force. The following players have left: Gavin Reilly end of loan from Livingston. Gary Oliver joined Falkirk, Gozie Ugwu released no club and Alexander Easdale centre forward has retired at the tender age of 22 to take up a position in the family business. New faces at Cappielow. Between the sticks the manager has handed the No. 1 jersey to the American born Brian Schwake who at 21 years of age arrive on a season loan from Livingston. Back up keeper is a another young player in 19 year old Lawton Green, a New Zealander previously with Motherwell B. Centre backs Darragh O'Connor from Motherwell and Jack Baird last couple of seasons at Ayr United. Carlo Pignatiello a right back comes in from Livingston FC Robbie Crawford, midfielder from Partick Thistle, also in the middle of the park we have Grant Gillespie from Queens Park FC and he has been handed captaincy of the team. Up front on loan from Livingston is Jaze Kabia a right winger and in on a free from Queens Park is centre forward Jai Quitongo who is incidentally son of Jose Quitongo who had a long career with numerous clubs in Scotland.

Austin Powers: Man of Mystery Goals Austin Samuels scored twice as Inverness registered their first win of the Championship this season. Aaron Doran and substitute Nathan Shaw opened their accounts with Robbie Leitch tapping in for Cove just after the interval. An ultimately comfortable win for the hosts that bumps them up the table into second spot behind Dundee. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Megginson got the game underway and in the sixth minute Aaron Doran fed Austin Samuels in to score the opener. Thereafter Inverness mostly dominated the first half before losing their way until Samuels restored the two goal advantage. From CTO Robert: I was nervous when I saw the line up with seven players missing (Duffy, Carson, Devine, Ram, Welsh, Walsh and Sutherland) and only three defenders in the team, all left sided. We came out fast and Samuels’ well finished early goal set us up for as good a 45 as I’ve seen in a long time. I thought Mackay’s shot was goal bound but Doran made sure for the second. We could have had more, with the Cove ‘keeper Gourlay making several good saves. Our most nervous moment came when Delaney (I think) tried to head the ball wide but instead forced Ridgers to make a great save to avoid an own goal. Cove started the second half with Vigurs on, and scored in their first attack. Ridgers could only parry a shot towards Robbie Leitch who scored. We were then unable to keep the ball and were looking poor for the next 20 minutes or so, with Cove looking the more likely to score, but we gradually grew back in to the game. Mckay set Samuels up for the third, which steadied things and Shaw got the fourth after Samuels came close to a hat trick but the goalie palmed his effort towards Shaw. 4-1 maybe flattered us a bit, but it was in the main a good team performance, with four Academy products starting. Ridgers had a couple of saves, with one down at the post as well as stopping the potential own goal. He was also talking the defence through the game well. Hyde is not a natural full back and it showed at times, but he acquitted himself well. Delaney and Samuels both assisted him. I thought Delaney did well, playing on the wrong side of the defensive pairing for a left sided player, whilst Deas steadied everything and got forward a few times, coming close with an overhead kick. Harper has improved from last season, both defensively and with his delivery. Allardice was great in midfield, supported well by MacGregor. Dan Mackay had a couple of decent runs, whilst I thought Doran had a very good game. Billy Mckay was very busy and kept the ball well to bring others into the game. The pick, though, was Samuels, who took his goals well and could have had a third. He had the beating of the defence and made a lot of good runs into space, which seemed to be a deliberate ploy today with players looking for him. What a contrast from his performance against Queens Park. Three subs were used late on with Boyd coming close from a free kick and Shaw being in the right place to get the fourth. All in all, a satisfying afternoon, particularly after the wobble early in the second half. Well done to all, and I hope Douglas Ross “enjoyed” the stick he got Thanks Robert, great summary of today's game Good win for the Caley Jags that moves them on to five points, one point behind Dundee who sit top on six points. It was also a good day for Austin Samuels to bag a double, his sixth in total, with Nathan Shaw getting his first goal for the club. Aaron Doran's goal was his 51st goal in 337 appearances. Date: 13/08/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2106 Referee: Greg Aitken Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Hyde, Deas, Harper, Delaney, Samuels, Allardice, MacGregor, Doran (Shaw 83), D Mackay (Boyd 79), B Mckay (Oakley 88) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson Scorers: Samuels (6, 74), Doran (31), Shaw (90+3) Booked: Samuels (45), Deas (89) Sent Off: none Cove Rangers: 1 Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Gourlay; Logan, Ross, Reynolds, Neill (Vigurs 45), Scully, Leitch (McIntosh 80), Fyvie (McDonagh 80), Masson (Longstaff 69), Dunne, Megginson Subs (not used): McKenzie: Thomas Scorers: Leitch (46) Booked: Scully (60) Fyvie (68) Ross (82) Logan (87) Sent Off: none a

Hello Again We meet again a mere three weeks after our last visit from newly promoted Cove Rangers. This time it's a Championship encounter at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday the 13th. Sounds a bit creepy if you ask me. The last meeting was a game in group G of the league Cup and was a close affair. It ended all square, and nothing less will be expected this time round. MATCHDAY INFO/TICKETS/STADIUM BAR/PARKING First Competitive Meeting Jul 14th, 2018 League Cup (H) 2 - 0 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Jul 23rd, 2022 League Cup (Group Stage Group G) (H) 1 - 1 All four Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (H) Last meeting with Cove ended 1-1: A bright afternoon saw George Oakley Zak Delaney and Nathan Shaw start for the hosts with Mark Ridgers back between the sticks. Roddy MacGregor opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute when he headed a Nathan Shaw cross into the top corner of the net. Mitch Megginson was left unattended to level the game when he scooped the ball behind Ridgers after twenty minutes. Just after the half hour Daniel Mackay turned and shot from the edge of the box, but the keeper saved low to deny Dan. George Oakley was put through by Robbie Deas but Kyle Gourlay pulled off a good save just before the break. HALF TIME: 1-1 After a slow start to the second half, Megginson headed over following a corner and at the other end Cammy Harper put a free kick just over and then Deas diverted a Leighton McIntosh effort wide of the target. Billy Mckay went close to a winner but it went to penalties after ninety minutes and the Caley Jags prevailed 5-3 on penalties with Ridgers saving a weak spot kick from Fraser Fyvie. Fixtures (fri) Dundee v Arbroath (fri) Ayr United v Hamilton Inverness CT v Cove Rangers Queen's Park v Partick Thistle Rovers v Morton Opening League fixtures: Matchday 1 saw Inverness struggle to make much headway against newly promoted Queens Park. Jake Davidson gave the Spiders an early lead which they held until almost half time until Billy Mckay levelled. That's how it ended. Cove began life in the Championship with an excellent 2-0 win over Raith Rovers. Mitch Megginson scored both in a game dominated by Cove. Matchday 2 and a goalless draw at Arbroath leaves Inverness on two points from two games. Cove went down to a spectacular strike by Jai Quintongo at Cappielow on the same day. LATEST TEAM NEWS Long term absentees are Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Sean Welsh. Max Ram is also out. Robbie Deas returns after a two game ban but Wallace Duffy to be assessed before kick-off. Eric reports one in and one out at Cove since our meeting in the league cup: In is Luis Longstaff a right wing player previously Youth to under 21 with Liverpool FC and on Loan last season at Queens Park, also featured in the England U16 &U17 squads. Out is one time ICT forward Rory McAllister who has signed a 2 year deal at Montrose FC. Blair Yule is out with an ankle injury. Robbie Leitch should have recovered from a hamstring injury and Luis Longstaff will be added to the squad for Saturday

Queens make their point. Queens 39 year hiatus from this tier of football ended as they ventured into the Championship, and it all started well when Jake Davidson opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute. In a half of many chances, Billy Mckay levelled the score a minute before the interval. That's how it stood until the final whistle with neither side able to make the breakthrough despite numerous opportunities at both ends with thanks to Calum Ferrie and Mark Ridgers and some wayward finishing. Queens Park showed they are not here just to make up the numbers and were good value for their point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the hosts, Robbie Deas was suspended for two games and George Oakley and Nathan Shaw dropped to the bench with Billy Mckay, Austin Samuels and Steven Boyd starting. Dom Thomas and Simon Murray started up front for the Spiders. The visitors were first to test a keeper when Mark Ridgers was called into action in the first minute to deny Simon Murray. The hosts responded well with the eager Steven Boyd having three attempts, one blocked and two off target and in the eighth minute Calum Ferrie denied Roddy MacGregor. Queens opened their Championship account in the thirteenth minute when Jake Davidson ran through unchallenged from the halfway line and his early snapshot was not dealt with by Ridgers, the ball slipped under his hands and body and rolled into the net. Five minutes later and Simon Murray shot narrowly over the bar as Queens grew in confidence with Daniel Mackay doing likewise at the other end. After a few blocked efforts at both ends of the park, Dan Mackay saw Ferrie save his shot from distance in the bottom corner and Boyd went close with another effort that was near the top corner. Josh McPake was denied by Ridgers when one on one with the keeper as Queens responded yet again in a see-saw game. A minute before the break Billy Mckay squared matters when he got on the end of a loose clearance of a Boyd cross to drill home from just inside the box with a low shot into the bottom corner. Charlie Fox almost restored Queens advantage just on the interval but he headed narrowly wide. The early goal from Davidson had rocked Inverness and we still had plenty work to do after the break. HALF TIME 1-1 The second half saw Inverness more in control and numerous chances came and went. Ferrie made a tremendous save to deny Billy Mckay, diving to his right to palm the strikers shot away. Queens Park were not so prominent after the interval but were still dangerous on the break, McPake once more forcing Ridgers to block with just the keeper to beat after he dribbled into the box, Ridgers did well to deny him. A scramble in our box saw another effort blocked as we lived dangerously, Grant Savoury pouncing on the loose ball after a corner. Ferrie clawed a corner away from under his crossbar and smothered a low shot from Doran. The same player would sting his palms later in the game with a ferocious thirty yard effort. Biggest sinner though was George Oakley who miscued from a great position twelve yards out and his shot stayed in play on the right side. In golfing terms; a shank. Naismith took one for the team when he pulled MacGregor back as he burst over the halfway line picking up the only booking of the contest, and that ensured the score stayed level. FULL TIME 1-1 Another disappointing result after the poor game against Cove Rangers. Queens Park looked the sharper side in the first half but Inverness were busier after the break. Mark Ridgers in his 200th game for the club will be disappointed with his contribution for the opening goal. Again substitutions disrupted the flow of the game and Queens were quick on the counter. Both keepers had work to do in the second half and they ensured it would be point apiece. David Carson reached a milestone as well, 100 not out for David. Highlights from Queens Park TV Owen Coyle Date: 30/07/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1993 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Bily Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Delaney (Devine 72), Harper, Samuels (Shaw 63), Allardice, MacGregor, D Mackay (Doran 74), Boyd (Oakley 62), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde Scorers: B Mckay (44) Booked: none Sent Off: none Queens Park: 1 Manager: Owen Coyle Lineup: Ferrie; Davidson (Bannon 73), Kilday (Naismith 78), Fox, Robson, Brown, Thomson (Jarrett 45), McPake (Longridge86), Savoury, Thomas, Murray (Williamson 78) Subs (not used): Heraghty, Moore, Bruce, Nicol Scorers: Davidson (13) Booked: Naismith (90+2) Sent Off: none a

Group G Sorted Inverness played the first of five scheduled meetings with Cove Rangers today in the last of the group G qualifiers for the knock out stages of the League Cup. Inverness won the penalty shoot-out 5-3 after Fraser Fyvie saw his weak effort saved by Mark Ridgers. Inverness will now face an away tie at Motherwell in the knock-out stages. Roddy MacGregor opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute when he headed a Nathan Shaw cross into the top corner of the net. Mitch Megginson was left unattended to level the game after twenty minutes and it stayed that way at the break. A relatively uneventful second half saw the game go to penalties to decide the bonus point but as it stood, Inverness topped the group G to enter the knock out stages. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Our reward for qualifying is an away tie at Motherwell in midweek. Not the most romantic of games, however given their poor performance against Sligo Rovers, then anything is possible. This season is taking the same shape as thirteen years ago. A bright afternoon saw George Oakley Zak Delaney and Nathan Shaw start for the hosts with Mark Ridgers back between the sticks. Roddy MacGregor opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute when he headed a Nathan Shaw cross into the top corner of the net. Mitch Megginson was left unattended to level the game when he scooped the ball behind Ridgers after twenty minutes. Just after the half hour Daniel Mackay turned and shot from the edge of the box, but the keeper saved low to deny Dan. George Oakley was put through by Robbie Deas but Kyle Gourlay pulled off a good save just before the break. HALF TIME: 1-1 After a slow start to the second half, Megginson headed over following a corner and at the other end Cammy Harper put a free kick just over and then Deas diverted a Leighton McIntosh effort wide of the target. Billy Mckay went close to a winner but it went to penalties after ninety minutes and the Caley Jags prevailed 5-3 on penalties with Ridgers saving a weak spot kick from Fraser Fyvie From Robert on CTO Our goal was excellent. Good play by Oakley to put Shaw free and a great cross for MacGregor to score with a rare header. Cove’s equaliser came when we were temporarily down to ten as Duffy took a heavy knock and we seemed disorganised at the back as a result and it was too easy for the Cove player to hit the target. Cove had the best of the early part of the second half but we finished more strongly. I felt we just about shaded it but a draw was probably fair enough. It was good to at least win on penalties. Unfortunately that was not enough and we will be unseeded in the draw. I was disappointed with Cove’s approach. They approached the match in a cynical manner, trying to buy free kicks with play acting. They also tried to run the clock down when even. We have enough teams like that in the Championship already and I had expected more from them. I think our medical staff had to give treatment to players at least four times, generally due to the aggression of Cove. Some of their big names were worst, such as Logan and Fyvie, so justice was done when Fyvie‘s penalty was saved by Ridgers. Shortly after Samuels was harshly booked, a Cove player blatantly dived to try to get him sent off. The ref gave a foul but at least did not produce a red card. Of the new signings, I thought Oakley’s holding up play and distribution was good. Shaw was lively and could develop into an important player for us. Delaney is a calm defender despite playing on the wrong side for a left sided defender. Boyd had a couple of efforts when he came on. At times it felt like a pre-season game again, so hopefully when the league starts next week we get off to a winning start. Date: 23/07/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1020 Referee: Alan Newlands Inverness CT: 1 (Pens 5 Boyd, Samuels, Harper, B Mckay, Allardice) Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy (Doran 73), Deas, Delaney, Harper, Shaw (Boyd 79), Allardice, MacGregor, D Mackay (Samuels 67) Oakley (B Mckay 67) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde, Cairns Scorers: MacGregor (13) Booked: Oakley (66) Sent Off: none Cove Rangers: 1 (Pens 3 Megginson, Leitch, FyvieLogan) Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Gourlay; Logan, Ross, Reynolds, Towler, Scully, Vigurs, Leitch, McIntosh (McDonagh 78), Megginson, Fyvie, Subs (not used): McKenzie; Neill, Thomas, McAllister, Scorers: Megginson (19) Booked: Megginson (6), Fyvie (55), Ross (60), Towler (90+3) Sent Off: none a

Hello Cove! We welcome new Championship club Cove Rangers to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon for our final group G League Cup group stages encounter. It's a 3:00pm kick-off for this game and we should see some familiar faces in the Cove ranks. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Ex Aberdeen players Shay Logan, Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Last Time Out Cove surprisingly lost out 3-2 at home to Kelty Hearts. McAllister and Vigurs featured in that game with Fraser Fyvie and Robbie Leitch scoring for them. Shay Logan also started but it was Kelty that took the points, and they even had the luxury of Nathan Austin missing a first half penalty. Leitch's late goal made the score closer, but Cove were well beaten. Other group G results: Cove 1-2 Livi, Albion Rovers 1-2 Cove. Inverness eventually cruised to a 4-0 win over Albion Rovers. An early goal for Billy Mckay and a stunning free kick from Cammy Harper gave us the cushion needed at the interval. Another quickie a minute after the restart from Wallace Duffy impersonating a striker and a steal from Harper with his head ended the scoring to put Inverness in a strong place to qualify from Group G. Three wins for the Caley Jags so far over Kelty, Livi and Albion Rovers. The last time we played Albion Rovers thirteen years ago we also ran out 4-0 winners. Even better, we went on to beat Dundee to the Championship title and got promotion to the Premier League for the second time. Sounds good, let's have another bash at that. Cove Catch-up by Eric A corresponding fixture last season saw Paul Hartley in charge, however after guiding Cove to promotions through the leagues to the Championship he has been lured south of the Border to manage Hartlepool United. Hartley and his assistant left this summer after a fee was negotiated. Incoming manager is Jim McIntyre whose coaching career has included Dunfermline, Bristol City (first team coach), Queen of the South then Ross County September 2014 to September 2017 when he was sacked alongside assistant Billy Dodds. Most recently managing Dundee season 2018/19 but was relieved of duties after only 4 wins in 31 games. Former Inverness players Iain Vigurs, Rory McAllister and Ross Draper are still on the books at Balmoral Stadium. Former Don's Shay Logan Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie are also well established opponents and Mitch Megginson is a danger to any team. Incoming players so far are Evan Towler a 17 year old left back on loan from Aberdeen FC B, and Gerry McDonagh a centre forward once of Nottingham Forest Youth to U23 set up but after being with a number of English clubs has arrived at Cove on a free transfer. Latest Team News Sutherland and Walsh are long term casualties

Rovers Return Deja Vu Albion Rovers last visit to the Caledonian Stadium thirteen years ago ended in a 4-0 League Cup defeat. It went the same way this time, another 4-0 thumping. An early header from Billy Mckay was added to before the interval by a super free kick from Cameron Harper. Rovers were not without their moments in the first half but Cammy Mackay was equal to the occasion. Wallace Duffy added a third just after the restart following a corner and Harper got his second minutes later. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been hot and sticky for a couple of days but an hour before kick-off the heavens opened to dampen the pitch. Ach well, the garden was needing it. Biilly Dodds went with a strong starting XI against League 2 Albion Rovers. Wallace Duffy returned to action at centre back and Daniel Mackay made his home debut for the season with Cammy Mackay getting his chance between the sticks as Mark Ridgers tested the bench. Before the bums were planted firmly on their seats, Billy Mckay opened the scoring after just two minutes when he followed up his first header from a Daniel Mackay cross to head home the rebound from the keeper after he made a brilliant save. It was just the start that Billy Dodds would have wanted, but Rovers came back at their hosts and Cammy Mackay had to look sharp to deny Kyle Fleming and Scott Roberts. Austin Samuels shot across the face of the goal after sixteen minutes in a lively opening to the game with the visitors looking dangerous going forward and just before the half hour Mackay saved an effort from Callum Wilson. Roddy MacGregor went close and Mckay shot over after a corner as Inverness pressure mounted before the break. That pressure paid off after Samuels was fouled outside the box. Up stepped Cammy Harper and he sent a beauty of a free kick into the top corner to double the advantage five minutes before the interval. Leighfield saved another shot from Billy Mckay before the ref blew for half time. HALF TIME 2-0 Similar to the first forty-five, Inverness came out of the blocks fast and Wallace Duffy scored inside a minute of the restart, firing low into the net following a corner. Harper did likewise seven minutes later with his head as he beat a stranded Leighfield to the ball and that was 4-0 and game over. That brought about a couple of substitutions and Duffy and Samuels were replaced by youngsters Zak Delaney and Nathan Shaw. Lewis Hyde then replaced Allardice ten minutes later as heavy rain fell once more. A bit of a let off for the hosts as Rovers hit the post and bar when Devon McCall shot off the post and Kieron Dolan followed up to hit the bar from close range. McCall then had a header saved as Rovers looked to get on the scoresheet. Substitute Lewis Hyde had a deflected shot from outside the box strike a post at the opposite end of the park and Nathan Shaw and Robbie Deas had efforts over the bar in the closing stages. Aaron Doran saw an effort blocked in the ninetieth minute and that endeth the action as Inverness reach nine points at the top of group G, three ahead of Livingston. FULL TIME 4-0 Date: 19/07/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 871 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Carson, Duffy (Delaney 54), Deas, Harper (Nicolson 70), Doran, Allardice (Hyde 63), MacGregor, D Mackay (Cairns 70), Samuels (Shaw 54), B Mckay Subs (not used): Ridgers; Boyd, Oakley Scorers: B Mckay (2), Harper (41, 53), Duffy (46), Booked: none Sent Off: none Albion Rovers: 0 Manager: Brian Reid Lineup: Leighfield; Fernie, Fagan, Sonkur, McGowan, Reilly (Testa 75), Leslie, Wilson (Duncan 71), Fleming, Roberts (McCall 71), Paton (Dolan 66) Subs (not used): Smith; Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Rovers Return Albion Rovers, infrequent visitors to the Caledonian Stadium, head North on Tuesday for an evening kick off in Inverness. The third Group G game for the Caley Jags has a 7:45pm start against the League 2 side. Inverness top Group G after two wins on the road at Kelty and Livingston and have a game in hand over Livi who share top spot on six points. Rovers have one win from their three games played, an excellent 0-2 win at Kelty where late goals from Sonkur and Reilly were the difference. They also ran Livi close before going down 3-2 and a narrow 1-2 loss at home to Cove Rangers. They do like a late goal, and came back well against Livi. Maybe a word of warning not to take the foot off the pedal. Latest Team News Sutherland, Walsh, Devine, Welsh, Duffy and Ram were all missing at Livingston. Eric's Rovers Roundup As you would expect from a bottom tier club there are no big name additions to the Squad, all below added on free transfers. Jack Leighfield, goalkeeper from Edinburgh FC Ayrton Sonkur a centre back from Stranraer FC Lewis Kidd right back, previously spent a short spell with Albion in 2021, more recently with Edinburgh City which he left at the end of January 2022. Michael Paton midfield from Brechin FC Kyle Fleming another midfield player from Annan Athletic FC Amaury Testa a French born winger both left and right side, from Caledonian Braves. Blast from the past We have played Albion Rovers 14 times with 9 wins and 4 draws and a solitary defeat. The last time we met Rovers was in 2009 and that was also in the League Cup. Here's our line up from that game, a 4-0 win at the Caledonian Stadium. Esson Tokely - Bulvitus - Munro - Djebi Zadi Eagle - Cox - Stratford - Hayes Rooney - Foran Subs: Sutherland, Ross, Proctor Goals: (Eagle 8, Rooney 16 Bulvitus 41, Munro 57) Crowd: 681 That was the season we ended with a flourish. Fifteen games unbeaten to pip Dundee to the title. Feck you Dundee you'll never win the league. Same again this season would be much appreciated. Maybe a bit of Deja Vu.

What a turnaround An understrength Inverness struggled badly for an hour against a solid St Johnstone who took a two goal lead into the interval. Shaun Rooney and Melker Hallberg put the Saints in the driving seat. However, step forward Reece McAlear and take a massive bow. A thumping strike off the underside of the bar and an exquisite curling free kick levelled matters and gives us something to play for in the return leg at Perth, where we should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy back after suspension. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After seeing off Partick Thistle and Arbroath, The Caley Jags faced St Johnstone in the first leg of the Premiership play-off final at the Caledonian Stadium. Unfortunately the final has already been influenced by other factors. Injuries to Tom Walsh, Shane Sutherland and Roddy MacGregor have been added to by the incompetence of referee Willie Collum at Gayfield where he wrongly sent off Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy. What that means is that Inverness will be short on players in an already wafer thin squad. Youngsters Mathew Strachan and Calum Mackay made up a six man bench. Tony Gallacher Chris Kane, David Wotherspoon and Craig Bryson are all long term injuries for St Johnstone who rested six players for their final league game, a 4-0 loss to Hibs. Rain an hour before kick off dampened the atmosphere at the Caledonian Stadium and made for great conditions on a good pitch with Inverness getting the game underway. A breathtaking save from Mark Ridgers denied Glen Middleton as he unleashed a ferocious shot after cutting across the outside of the box in the fifth minute. Ridgers diving high to his right to pull off a fantastic one handed save. As expected, the visitors playing in red and white striped shirts, were making most of the early play and Ridgers was brought into action again to save a low shot from Shaun Rooney after fifteen minutes with a more routine save. St Johnstone opened the scoring after eighteen minutes when Rooney powered in a header after an inviting cross into the box, probably from the area where Danny Devine would normally have been. After a scramble in the home box when Ridgers pushed away a shot from Callum Hendry the ball was eventually forced over the line by Hallberg to double Saints lead. Inverness were finding it difficult to make any headway against a robust looking premiership side and all the half chances were falling to the visitors. When one did come our way Sean Welsh snatched at it and volleyed high and wide. Ten minutes later makeshift central defender Welsh took a knock but continued after treatment with five minutes to go before the interval. Plenty to do for Inverness in the second half with St Johnstone cruising. HALF TIME: 0-2 Dodds replaced Doran and Hardy with Chalmers and Samuels. Early second half pressure saw another scramble in the home box however this time we managed to keep the ball out. St Johnstone were all over us like a rash. If that was not bad enough we made a number of basic errors that led to more opportunities for the Perth side. Scott Allardice replaced Lewis Hyde as we looked to get back into the game, but it was a long shot with the midfielder just back after serious injury. Just after the hour, Middleton went close with a low shot that Ridgers looked to get a fingertip to, however a goal kick was the result. Best effort for Inverness was a run down the left by Billy Mckay where his cross was cleared for a corner. From the corner Welsh volleyed high over again. Chalmers was showing some great touches and turns and he also knocked a dangerous ball into the box but there were no takers. Out of the blue Samuels went down the right and cut the ball back to the edge of the box where Reece McAlear smashed a superb shot into the roof of the net via the underside of the bar from fifteen yards. Game on! Ten minutes before the end McAlear won a free kick about twenty five yards out. He picked himself up and curled a beauty into the top right corner of Zander Clarks goal. What a strike from a man who doesn't do tap ins against a 6ft 5" keeper. Another great burst forward by Samuels almost resulted in a third for Inverness but Mckay was blocked out for a corner at the front post. FULL TIME: 2-2 What a turnaround from Inverness after a torrid first hour. The second half substitutions were crucial to the outcome of this one and has reignited the Premiership flames for the Caley Jags. MotM was Reece McAlear with two absolute belters. On to McDiarmid Park on Monday night and the tie is still very much alive. From BBC Sport Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Billy Dodds: "I had to change it at half-time, I had to do something. Luckily it worked but it wasn't just the changes, it was because of the desire of my players. "We really played well second half, once we got our goal. The subs were good. Two great goals from Reece McAlear. "We just want to go to McDiarmid with a fighting chance and put some pressure on because pressure tells in football. We've still got a big ask, we have to play better from the start than tonight but I think they realise they're good enough now." St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "It's a poor refereeing decision for their first goal. It's two yards offside and it was a head knock. Two really poor decisions let them back in the game. They got a little bit of momentum. "For the first 60 minutes, we were outstanding. It's probably a little bit disappointing we didn't score more goals. It goes back to McDiarmid and it's up to us to win the game. "We need to go and perform like that on Monday. If we do, we'll be confident we can win the game. It's one game so let's go." More match reaction Date: 20/05/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 4811 Referee: Bobby Madden Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers, Carson, Broadfoot, Deas, Harper, Doran (Chalmers 45), Welsh, Hyde (Allardice 56), McAlear, Hardy (Samuels 45), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Strachan, Calum Mackay Scorers: MacAlear (73, 80) Booked: none Sent Off: none St Johnstone: 2 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Clark; Rooney, Cleary, Gordon, McCart, Brown, Hendry, Middleton (May 69), MacPherson, Davidson, Hallberg (Butterfield 69) Subs (not used): Parish; Mahon, Sang, Gilmour, Craig, Ciftci, O'Halloran Scorers: Rooney (18), Hallberg (24) Booked: Middleton (52) Sent Off: none a

Play Off Final 1st Leg It's the second time we have faced St Johnstone in a crucial promotion encounter at the Caledonian Stadium. This game kicks off on Friday night on 20th May at 7:45pm. The last crucial one was back in 2004. It was Saturday 15th of May when Inverness beat St Johnstone 3-1 to top the League on the final day of the season. It took a bit more wrangling to finally clinch promotion after a legal battle, but we got there. Devine Intervention by Willie Collum: We will have to do it without Danny Devine as the equally incompetent SFA have upheld his decision to issue a red card. Absolutely total incompetency shown here by the self preservation society. Buses for play off final 23rd leave stadium at 4pm . Book through Facebook or on 07462218717 Buses are filling up fast MERRY XMAS DICK FROM THE WYNESS SHUFFLE We are an appealing side: Inverness have lodged an appeal to overturn the red card awarded to Danny Devine by the incompetent Willie Collum for not fouling Jack Hamilton. Danny was sent off after 66 minutes as he challenged for a high ball with Arbroath's Hamilton. TV evidence showed little happened but it was of course the Wilie Collum show. Red card for Devine. We will know on Wednesday if the appeal has been successful. He also gave Wallace Duffy a second yellow. Unfortunately, due to some archaic rule, that means we can't appeal against that one despite it looking like the second tackle appeared to be a clean one. Cheers Willie. Helicopter Saturday CTO Report from 15th May 2004 - 3-1: A triumphant end to a fantastic day, season and decade. The sun shone, the ground was packed, there was tension in the air and the First Division trophy was waiting in a helicopter at Braemar. It just remained for the team to make one last major effort and they did just that. Clyde were leading Brechin 1-0 before the Inverness match even started but this changed nothing as it had always been clear that a win was essential. David Bingham headed a Liam Keogh corner past in the second minute then Craig Nelson tipped over a Stuart Golabek shot from 18 yards. A Bobby Mann header from Keogh's corner scraped past the post. In 14 minutes Barry Wilson raced to stop the ball crossing the bye line but Paul Ritchie touched his cross past. The home pressure finally paid off on the half-hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Stuart McCaffrey's free kick reached David Bingham and his overhead kick fooled Nelson; the keeper backtracked but could only help the ball into the net. This was what most of the crowd wanted and they went wild. It was back to earth just before half-time when Keigan Parker raced through and hammered an equaliser past Mark Brown from long range. Seconds later Wilson scored with a low shot but the offside flag was up. Steve Hislop came on for Keogh in the second half. Saints began to play some good football, particularly through Parker and Simon Donnelly, but ICT always looked more like scoring. In 56 minutes Bingham's through ball set Wilson heading for goal and, as he waited for the moment to shoot, Nelson brought him down. The penalty was a certainty and the pressure was all on Barry Wilson. A trademark short run and it was 2-1. A male streaker joined in the celebrations and was promptly evicted. As the excitement reached fever pitch all that was needed was a third goal to calm the nerves. Roy McBain tried to provide it in 64 minutes with a neat lob over Nelson but it cleared the bar. Bingham headed a Wilson corner goalwards in 71 minutes but Mark Reilly hit it off the line then Stuart McCaffrey headed wide. A third goal came in 76 minutes and fittingly it was from Paul Ritchie who was playing his last game for the club. Wilson took a corner from the left and Ritchie stooped low to head home his 63rd goal in three years. The title was a certainty and the final period was all about waiting for the whistle. Wilson shot wide in 86 minutes then the ball spent vital minutes deep in the Saints half and around the corner flag. The final whistle went, the crowd invaded the pitch, the cup arrived by helicopter, Bobby Mann stepped up to receive the trophy from Lord Macfarlane and the whole of Inverness went ballistic. Now for the SPL........maybe. (Crowd: 6092) Venue H2H (all comps) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 21 15 +6 Away 16 3 4 9 10 20 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 13 7 14 31 35 -4 As the stats show, the home sides have had the better of these encounters over the years. However, it's over five years since we last played the Perth side and on that occasion we lost 3-0 at home as relegation loomed large. CTO SUMMARY APRIL 8TH 2017: On the brink: Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 0 - 3 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Here's how we got here..... The Caley Jags way Latest Team News Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor are all out through injury, Although rumours of a face mask for Roddy are circulating. If he gets a mask, let's make it a Lionel Messi one. Time will tell. Wallace Duffy misses this one after his two yellow cards. Danny Devine ????? Wait for the Wednesday reveal or ***Unfortunately, it's a complete whitewash*** There will be a lot of tired bodies both physically and mentally after that emotionally draining shoot-out win at Gayfield. Our bench was thin prior to that game, it will have less bums on it now. Duffy will miss this game but might return for the second leg at Perth if its only a one match suspension. Scott Allardice has been on the bench in the previous play-off games, however after his long lay off, i wonder if we are still protecting him, or best scenario, keeping him fresh for these final two games. What a bonus that would be. To be honest, should we be competitive after all this, it really would be a Roy of the Rovers finale to a rollercoaster of a season. St Johnstone limbered up for this game by resting more than half of their regulars in an abject 4-0 defeat at Easter Road having fielded four seventeen year old debutants. I wouldn't read too much into that result as they were obviously preparing themselves for the play-off finals which are infinitely more important than a dead end of season game against Hibs that would have gained them nothing. So, no fresh injury worries for Callum Davidson to worry about, and know doubt a full bench to fall back on when the push comes to the shove. We will be able to renew acquaintances with a couple of former players in defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney who had cult status at the Caledonian Stadium with his marauding Ross Tokely style runs down the right flank. In Zander Clark they have an imposing presence and top quality keeper. Scoring goals has been their downfall this season, but let's not forget they have been playing in a League a notch or two above where we are at just now. They also have the experienced Nadir Ciftci in the squad who has a trick or two up his sleeve. Michael O'Halloran and Liam Craig will also add more experience and quality to the side, so plenty of options for the Super J's. Having watched our performances in the Play-Off semi's, I doubt Callum Davidson will have lost much sleep. However, we are at our best when the odds are stacked against us. 3 days to go until our Premiership Play-Off Final 1st Leg v St Johnstone We strongly recommend getting your tickets in advance for this game as it will be a busy fixture. Tickets on sale now from ICT FC Club Shop open until 4pm today Tickets available over the phone on 01463 222880 AWAY TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE St Johnstone v ICT FC cinch Premiership Play-Off Final 2nd Leg Monday 23rd May 2022 19:45pm kick-off McDiarmid Park AWAY FANS TICKETS FULL INFO ON ICTFC

All to play for at Gayfield Arbroath were up for this one shutting Inverness down high up the pitch in a poor first half. Logan Chalmers was nearest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the bar with a rasping shot from close to thirty yards. Inverness upped the pace after the break but it was too little too late. Sleeves will need to be rolled up on Friday from the start if we are to get through. The whole of the first half passed Inverness by as Arbroath were in our faces. That needs to change on Friday and it might work in our favour if Arbroath decide to have a go which will give us more space to exploit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Premiership Play-Off 1st leg paired Inverness with second place finishers Arbroath, everyone's favourite wee team. Could Inverness upset the apple cart and take a lead down to Gayfield for the return leg on Friday? All would be revealed at a breezy Caledonian Stadium. Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor were missing for Billy Dodds as he went with the same team that started against Partick Thistle with Wallace Duffy added to the bench along with just six others. Dick Campbell unsurprisingly made eight changes from his last game against Morton and managed a full bench of nine. Arbroath set the ball rolling in between the showers on a blustery evening and as the visitors pushed forward in the fifth minute, Mark Ridgers produced a vital tip away from a deep cross with Nicky Low about to head into the net. It was a typically cagey start from the hosts. Kirk Broadfoot gave away the ball and when Arbroath transferred it into the box a half chance presented itself but the ball was knocked high over. The Smokies were in our face and we were struggling to make any headway with fifteen minutes gone. Any football that was being played was coming from the visitors. Twenty minutes gone and the Caley Jags had not started yet in a scrappy affair. Maybe they thought it was a 7:45 kick off. A long free kick into the box almost found Ricky Little on the lunge but it just evaded him and out for a goal kick. On a rare jaunt forward, Austin Samuels almost set up Billy Mckay, but his awkward flick went out for a goal kick. Moments later Logan Chalmers struck the bar with a superb near thirty yard shot. A booking for Broadfoot gave Arbroath a free kick twenty five yards out, but Ridgers was equal to Low's strike as he made a decent but routine save, and at the other end Logan Chalmers drilled a left footer just wide from outside the box as the interval loomed. That half took forever to get going, but opportunities did manifest themselves just before the break, but there's no scoring so far. HALF TIME: 0-0 Just after the start of the second half a well timed sliding tackle by Devine stopped Arbroath bursting into the box to thwart a run forward. A swift break upfield started with David Carson bursting forward at pace and ended with Chalmers winning a corner from his blocked shot. It was a brighter start to the second period from the hosts. A super run forward by Robbie Deas on the other wing offered Chalmers another opportunity but the final ball wasn't ideal and Chalmers eventual shot missed the target. Arbroath responded and Hamilton drilled a low ball into the box which was put behind for a corner. The action raged to the other end and Derek Gaston denied Samuels with a tremendous save. That would be the closest to a goal all night and moments later Aaron Doran volleyed just over. Chris Hamilton smuggled the ball away from under the feet of Samuels in the box and from the corner Broadfoot headed over when he should have hit the target. A Michael McKenna snapshot saw Ridgers parry to safety and the defence cleared. Chalmers volleyed over after a clearance fell to him on the edge of the box, just after Dick and Dodds had a wee spat on the touchline An untidy spell ensued with play broken by fouls and substitutions. The chances stopped coming for both sides as time slipped away and a late free kick was wasted and that was it. Not a great night for Inverness to be honest, but still all to play for at Gayfield. Best performers were in defence with maybe Sean Welsh the only midfielder to put his foot on the ball. More match reaction to follow... From BBCSport Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Billy Dodds: "I'm happy we're in there pitching because it's going to be so tight on Friday. There's going to be nerves and tension because both teams have left themselves in a decent position."I didn't think we played our best but we had the best chances. We hit the bar first half but we weren't doing the things we're good at. Second-half was a bit better; thought we created the better chances but we just couldn't take one." Arbroath manager Dick Campbell: "If you'd asked me before the game if I'd be happy with that, I would be. The game is still alive and that's all I wanted to happen. The strongest survives on Friday."We will have a go and have our trumpets out. What does it mean to us? You'll see on Friday. They're part-time players. Two games this week, two games next week. It definitely sways towards the full-time clubs. Even if they lose, they'll still be immortal in my eyes." Dick, you forgot to add that you never played for ten days before this game whilst we played twice against Partick Thistle Why do they call him Clean Sheet Ridgers........ Because there's no Mark Date: 10/05/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2201 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Samuels, Welsh, McAlear, Chalmers (Hardy 79), Sutherland (Harper 71), B Mckay (Doran 63) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Hyde, Allardice Scorers: none Booked: Broadfoot (39), McAlear (65) Sent Off: none Arbroath: 0 Manager: Dick Campbell Lineup: Gaston; Thomson, Little, O'Brien Hamilton, Stewart, Low (Henderson 84), McKenna, C Hamilton, Craigen, J Hamilton (Donnelly 84) Subs (not used): Antell; Swankie, Ford, Linn, Bakare, Gold, Wighton Scorers: none Booked: O'Brien (58), Henderson (90+3) Sent Off: none a

Smokies next A draw would have been sufficient for Inverness to progress in the Premiership Play-Offs after winning the first leg 2-1 at Firhill. After a cagey opening Austin Samuels scored a superb opening goal when Sutherland fed him into the box. Graham rattled the bar and Ridgers denied the big striker from a goalbound header as Partick came back at their hosts but at the break it was advantage Inverness. Inverness weathered the expected storm after the interval and restricted Partick to half chances and but for Sneddon Inverness could have added another couple of goals, but it's job done and Arbroath up next. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At home to Arbroath was the prize for getting through this game. Inverness carried a slender advantage from the first leg at Firhill into this tie at the Caledonian Stadium. Tom Walsh, Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor were all out for the hosts leaving just six on the bench including the returning from long term injury, Scott Allardice. Cammy Smith and Ricky Foster were in the Partick starting XI with Brian Graham and Scott Tiffoney still the ones to watch. The game kicked off in bright sunshine and in the third minute Logan Chalmers got the break of the ball off Ricky Foster but he shot over as he approached the corner of the box. Robbie Deas lashed one over from the same area three minutes later as a loose ball came back to him outside the box. Partick almost got the opener when Scott Tiffoney whipped a great ball into the area where Robbie Crawford met it on the run but it just cleared the bar. Very close but no cigar this time. Inverness responded and Billy Mckay shot just wide but he won a corner as his effort was deflected. From the corner Sean Welsh had a shot blocked on the edge of the box The game was littered with loose passing with so much at stake, neither side wanting to make the first error. Brian Graham turned Kirk Broadfoot well twenty five yards out but his shot curled three yards wide of Ridgers left hand post. A wayward back header from Ross Docherty gave Inverness a corner but it was curled just behind, possibly off the corner of the bar. Tiffoney was causing all sorts of problems down the Partick left and he drifted inside but his shot was weak and dragged wide with almost half an hour gone. Almost against the run of play Inverness opened the scoring when Shane Sutherland sent Samuels into the left side of the box where he lashed a powerful shot high into the net behind Sneddon. Great strike, two important goals in two games for the striker. What a time to start scoring. AUSTIN POWER Partick struck the bar moments later through Graham when he got the break of the ball off the chest of Welsh after a corner, his shot from ten yards smacking the bar and bouncing clear. Six minutes before the break an absolutely fantastic save from Ridgers denied Graham as he dived low to his left to save what looked like a certain goal for the big striker. Back up the other end and Samuels almost snatched a second for Inverness but the ball just evaded him. Partick may be aggrieved to be one down, but Inverness hold a two goal aggregate advantage at the interval. Inverness would be well advised to cut out the loose passing to avoid a nervy ending to the tie. HALF TIME: 1-0 Immediately after the break Graham gave substitute Jakubiak an opportunity that won them a corner and almost another chance came from that. It was a sluggish start to the half for the hosts. What a save from Sneddon to deny a Broadfoot header after Carson had won a corner. Great agility from the keeper. Samuels then hit the bar from close range but Mckay was adjudged offside when he clipped the ball across goal. Ridgers gathered a speculative effort from Tiffoney just before the hour. Deas returned the speculative efforts and his one went wide. A bit of a lull since the substitutions after sixty five minutes as the game entered the final twelve minutes with Joe Hardy replacing Billy Mckay. Cammy Harper almost got on the end of a great Sean Welsh ball into the box, Sneddon just beating Harper to the ball to snatch it away from the Inverness player as we broke forward at pace. Sneddon made another tremendous save as Sutherland shot goalwards after a corner, that would have been game over but for the keepers reflexes. We appeared to have weathered the mini storm from Partick and their opportunities seemed to have dried up with eighty seven minutes gone. Decent performance in a tough game where we stood up to Partick and eventually nullified them. Great goal again from Austin Samuels and some tremendous defending with Carson MotM and Devine a close second. Onwards to face Arbroath next Tuesday and Friday, another tough tie. On BBC Sport Inverness CT manager Billy Dodds told BBC Scotland: “It’s a brilliant result I'm so happy for the boys! “I can't say I enjoyed the game, we weren’t at our best, but I don't want to be downbeat because we're through. It's a tremendous result to get through and have a crack at Arbroath. "We worked our socks off, we always do. I'd have liked another one to go in because you've always got that feeling in case they got one back. "We deserved to go through over the piece." Inverness' goalscorer Austin Samuels told BBC Scotland: "I thought I took it too wide but the power on the shot took it past the goalkeeper. "Shane is a really reliable player, as long as I've been here he’s always done a job for the team. "We had a tough period but the gaffer always told us to keep positive and that our time was coming, and it looks like our time is now. On facing Arbroath in the semi-finals, he added: "It’s going to be tough, they’re in the play-offs for a reason, we’ve got to focus on ourselves and hopefully we’ll be in the final after it. Goal can be seen HERE on BBC Sport BOOM!!! Date: 06/05/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2470 Referee: Kevin Clancy Inverness CT: 1 (agg 3) Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Samuels (Doran 66), Welsh, McAlear (Hyde 90+2), Chalmers (Harper 66), Sutherland (Allardice 90+2), B Mckay (Hardy 79) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Scorers: Samuels (29) Booked: Carson (61), McAlear (85), Devine (89) Sent Off: none Partick Thistle: 0 (agg 1) Manager: Ian McCall Lineup: Sneddon; Foster, Akinola, Holt ( Bell 66), Hendrie, Crawford (Murray 82), Bannigan (Turner 45), Docherty, Smith (Jakubiak 45), Tiffoney, Graham ( Alegria 66) Subs (not used): Firth; Stanway, McKenna Scorers: Booked: none Sent Off: none a

First Leg v Smokies After an edgy quarter final play off win over Partick Thistle, we face Championship team of the season Arbroath on Tuesday night at 7:05pm. Dick Campbell takes his team North as favourites to progress to the final, with St Johnstone being the likely candidates for the opposition. The game will also be screened live on the BBC Scotland channel. Arbroath have had a fantastic season falling just two points short of automatic promotion and finishing second in the Championship, six points ahead of third placed Inverness, and with a superior goal difference of seven, and losing only five Championship games all season. The one thing in our favour is that we beat them twice, the most recent a slightly flattering 3-0 win a couple of months ago. TICKET INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue H2H all comps Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 16 2 3 56 18 +38 Away 19 9 4 6 26 22 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 25 6 9 82 40 +42 This seasons meetings with the Smokies 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Interestingly, over the final six games of the Championship, Inverness were the team on form, finishing with a flourish ahead of the Play-Offs Overall Home Away Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 6 4 1 1 12 5 3 0 0 8 1 1 1 1 4 4 +7 13 2. Arbroath 6 3 2 1 13 6 2 1 0 11 4 1 1 1 2 2 +7 11 3. Kilmarnock 6 3 2 1 9 6 3 0 0 6 2 0 2 1 3 4 +3 11 Last time we faced Arbroath we were on an eleven game run of no wins since we thumped Morton 6-1 at Cappielow on December 11th CTO Report March 12th: 3-0: The spell is broken: A blistering start by Inverness put them on their way to a first win in 12 starts. Goals from Shane Sutherland and Reece McAlear set them on their way inside eleven minutes. Billy Mckay sclaffed in a third with twenty minutes to go and there was no way back for Arbroath who lost ground at the top of the table with Dick Campbell sent to the stands. As Partick Thistle lost to Morton, we closed the gap to two points behind them with Raith still one point behind us. Away to Rovers next week. That's a massive game now as both sides chase a play-off spot. I said to my grandkid's at the game "that was an emphatic win" At only seven years old, Ava said "granda, what does win mean?" Yes, it's been a long time coming... Well done Mark, great stuff. 68 clean sheets, that's some size of linen cupboard pal! TEAM NEWS Roddy MacGregor has cracked a bone in his jaw and could be out for the next few games. Tom Walsh is likewise after being injured inside twenty minutes at Firhill. Wallace Duffy missed the last couple after being injured against Accies on matchday 36. Scott Allardice made it onto the pitch as an injury time sub for the first time in months, so that's a positive and here's another one, Aaron Doran came on as a sub for the last half hour after taking a knock at Cappielow on matchday 35. Well deserved April's Player of the Month award for Logan Chalmers who has chipped in with some massively important stunning goals recently in our drive for promotion. He scored five goals in a five game purple patch starting with a match winning fiercely struck brace over Raith Rovers. He followed that up with a belter against Ayr United, a sweet winner against Killie a a wonderful solo thumper against Queen of the South. That's some left peg lad.

Time to Complete Job With only one goal between the sides, these two teams come to the Caledonian Stadium on Friday night (7:45pm) for the return leg of the Premiership play-off quarter final. The first game at Firhill on Tuesday night saw Inverness come from behind to take a slight advantage back up the A9. With away goals not counting double the tie is still in the balance. At Firhill Neither side were able to dominate on the tattie field and they went in goalless at the break although Logan Chalmers looked to be impeded in the box as he tried to get a shot away midway through the half. Robbie Crawford opened the scoring when he got onto a reverse ball from Brian Graham to shoot high into the net from inside the box to put Partick in the driving seat. Inverness turned it round in the second half with goals from Shane Sutherland and Austin Samuels. So here we are back to the Highlands on Friday night to conclude this tie. The downside of playing on that pitch in such a fiercely competitive match saw Tom Walsh injured inside twenty minutes which is a great pity as he was starting to get back to his former self. We were without Aaron Doran, Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor in the first leg, hopefully precautionary in Doran and Duffy's case. Roddy MacGregor might be out for the season. Scott Allardice managed a place on the bench but was rightly not risked on that pitch. Arbroath await the victor. Ahead of Partick game Highlights from 1st Leg The better surface at the Caledonian Stadium will benefit both sides. Scott Tiffoney is a tricky customer although David Carson stuck to the task well at Firhill, but he can be a handful. Brian Graham is always a threat in the air with his physical style and Danny Devine and Kirk Broadfoot need to watch him closely as he will try anything to gain an advantage, including diving in the box. We have our own players to look out for and Logan Chalmers has come on leaps and bounds since joining on loan, and he also has a lethal left foot. Players Player of the Year Shane Sutherland was MotM on Tuesday and is looking good value for his award. Austin Samuels has the pace to trouble defenders and our defence is normally solid. OFFICIAL PREVIEW & TICKET INFO Billy talking after win at Firhill

End of season rout Inverness rounded off the regular season with big win over hapless Hamilton. Tom Walsh gave Inverness an early lead and Shane Sutherland added a tremendous second after fifteen minutes. Walsh notched his second when Sutherland slipped him into the box and Joe Hardy got in on the act with his first goal. Four up at the break and the foot was off the pedal in the second half as Inverness cruised to victory in the final home game with no further scoring. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The last game of the season ahead of the play-offs saw Hamilton Accies come North looking to secure sixth place in the Championship. For Inverness it was about game management and preparation for the play-offs to come, therefore I wasn't expecting too much from the team as this result counts for nothing other than pride. Dodds rested Broadfoot and Devine with McAlear, Samuels and Chalmers on the bench. Hamilton were claiming a reduced squad due to injuries and covid. After a bright opening, Tom Walsh opened the scoring with a low shot across the keeper in the fourth minute. Popescu headed just wide from a great position after a corner was swung into the box, the defender should really have done better than to place his header wide. Shane Sutherland doubled the lead when Walsh turned provider and played him into the right side of the box. Sutherland stepped onto it and first timed the ball into the roof of the net from around seventeen yards. Mark Ridgers did well to beat away a dangerous shot that bounced just in front of him as Accies responded through Lewis Smith, but their joy was short lived when Sutherland slipped Walsh into the box for him to place the ball behind the keeper with aplomb. Billy Mckay nearly got on the scoresheet after Walsh threaded him into the box, Fulton saving at the expense of a corner. Moments later Joe Hardy almost got his first goal for the club, Fulton saving once more. However, Hardy would not be denied and he rolled in a fourth goal with Walsh involved again. It was all too easy for the hosts and Stuart Taylor hooked Ellis Brown and replaced him with the reliable and experienced Brian Easton in an attempt to shore up at the back against a rampant Caley Jags. Half Time: 4-0 First notable action of a quieter second half saw sub keeper Cammy Mackay deny Popescu who had drilled a low dipping shot near his left hand post, the keeper doing well to keep the ball out. A tremendous sweeping move down the right almost found an acrobatic finish from Austin Samuels but the defence just managed to deny him the opportunity. Samuels went close again soon after as he shot across the face of the goal. MacGregor and Chalmers combined well to win a corner on the left but it came to nothing. Accies looked to have scored a consolation goal when substitute Andrew Winter lashed a through ball into the roof of the net but it was adjudged to be offside, marginal decision if at all. Samuels had a late effort saved by the keeper as he shot from a narrow angle on the right side. Full Time: 4-0 Inverness warmed up for the play-offs with a superb first half which blew Accies away. That's our first win over them this season. Great performance all round with some slick play on show and that afforded us the luxury of coasting through the second half. Man of the Match for me was Roddy MacGregor who strolled through this one and Tom Walsh looked more like his old self with a couple of slick goals. Hot off the press Goal of the season: Reece McAlear (v Dunfermline) Fans' and players' young player of the season: Reece McAlear Players' player of the year: Shane Sutherland Fans' player of the year: David Carson Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts FINAL LEAGUE TABLE AHEAD OF PLAY-OFFS 1. Kilmarnock 36 20 7 9 50 27 67 2. Arbroath 36 17 14 5 54 28 65 3. Inverness CT 36 16 11 9 53 34 59 4. Partick Thistle 36 14 10 12 46 40 52 5. Raith Rovers 36 12 14 10 44 44 50 6. Hamilton Ac. 36 10 12 14 38 53 42 7. Morton 36 9 13 14 36 47 40 8. Ayr United 36 9 12 15 39 52 39 9. Dunfermline 36 7 14 15 36 53 35 10. Q.O.S. 36 8 9 19 36 54 33 Tonights results Caley Jags 4-0 Hamilton Arbroath 3-0 Morton Ayr Utd 3-1 Partick Dunfermline 1-2 Queen of South Rovers 1-1 Killie ***Dates for your diary*** CINCH PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS Tuesday May 3 Quarter-final, 1st leg Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.05pm Friday May 6 Quarter-final, 2nd leg Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm Date: 29/04/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2131 Referee: Graham Grainger Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; (C Mackay 45) Carson, Duffy (Welsh 25), Deas (McAlear 58), Harper, Hardy, MacGregor, Hyde, Walsh, Sutherland (Chalmers 65), Mckay (Samuels 45) Subs (not used): Scorers: Walsh (4, 22), Sutherland (15), Hardy (28) Booked: none Sent Off: none Hamilton: 0 Manager: Stuart Taylor (head coach) Lineup: Fulton; Mullin, Popescu, O'Reilly, Shiels, Mimnaugh (Hughes 47), L Smith, Spence (Winter 73), Lawson, Brown (Easton 29), Moyo (McGowan 90) Subs (not used): J Smith; McGinn, Newbury Scorers: none Booked: Popescu (35), Easton (57) Sent Off: none a