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  1. Wood you believe it? Big Dunc was looking to remain unbeaten in six, but Inverness were without half a dozen long term injured players including more recent casualties, Jake Davidson, Austin Samuels and Aaron Doran. Captain Sean Welsh was on the bench after a recent back injury. Dunfermline have their own long term absentees but had Deniz Mehmet back between the sticks after his head knock last week and Machael O'Halloran was fit enough to make the bench, with Alex Jakubiak and Craig Wighton as strong back-ups. Best early moments saw Dunfermline hit the post four times inside a couple of minutes but fortune favoured the visitors. Make that six hits on the Inverness woodwork, but Danny Devine showed them all how to hit the net two minutes before the break as tempers flared at the end of the half. More woodwork in the second half and Dunfermline salvaged a point with three minutes left through McCann...... in off the post! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Floodlights on from the start as the visitors set the ball rolling at 15:00 on a rather grey day. First corner of the game to the Pars but it came to nothing as did the Caley Jags' first corner minutes later. Lewis McCann had the first serious attempt but his header was poor and it bounced into the ground without troubling Ridgers. Nathan Shaw was blocked at one and immediately Danny Devine thwarted Matty Todd at the other end as he tried to break through on goal. Owen Moffat dipped a shot over after twenty minutes with Ridgers watching closely. The Pars hit both posts when McCann turned and shot and the ball bounced perilously close to the line before being cleared after hitting the other post. Moments later Hosler slid in and hit the post once more and the rebound came off Devine to hit the post again. After an Inverness corner, Billy Mckay had a low effort blocked in a crowded box. Ridgers saved from Ritchie-Hosler, then on the half hour Cammy Harper missed what is generally described as an open goal at the back post after a Mckay sclaff found it's way to him but he sliced wide. Wood you believe it! Incredibly the Pars hit the woodwork another twice after Morgan Boyes played a loose pass back. McCann hit the inside of the post then Moffat's effort came off the bar from the rebound. From another home corner a Boyes header went agonisingly close to opening the scoring. Danny Devine showed his strikers how to do it a couple of minutes before half time as he drilled into the net. Amazingly, the visitors made it to the interval without conceding, the posts, however, were battered and bruised as were Gilmour, Harper, Chalmers and Hamilton after a clash with yellow cards dished out in a frantic ending to the half. HALF TIME: 0-1 If anything the rain was heavier as the second half kicked off with no alterations to either side and Inverness making some early headway to no avail. Harper fired a cross into the box which David Wotherspoon almost connected properly with but it went wide. Touch wood, but it was a much more positive start to the second half for the visitors. Harper did well to clear away a dangerous McCann cross with substitute Jakubiak lurking with intent. Inverness survived another cafuffle in the box involving Jakubiak again and minutes later he was looking for a penalty under a Devine intervention. A seventh strike off the woodwork saved the visitors again from a thunderous Otoo effort from distance. Lewis McCann levelled the game with three minutes left. Unfortunately the post helped the Pars this time as McCann's effort went in via the post. FULL TIME: 1-1 An incredible game with Woodwork named as MotM with seven tremendous saves and one assist at the end as the Pars got the reward their endeavour deserved. Great finish from Danny Devine for the opening goal, scoring like a Pro. Nobody could grudge Dunfermline their leveller although it came at a time when we looked most comfortable and likely to see out the game for all three points. It's a funny olde game as they used to say. Date: 18/11/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 5034 Referee: Euan Anderson Dunfermline: 1 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Mehmet; Fisher, Hamilton, Otoo, Ritchie-Hosler (O'Halloran 70), Allan, Todd (Jakubiak 60), Chalmers, Edwards, McCann, Moffat (Wighton 70) Subs (not used): Sharp; Little; Fenton, Comrie Scorers: McCann (88) Booked: Chalmers (45), Hamilton (45+3) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Ujdur (Duffy 65), Devine, Boyes, Harper, Gilmour, Anderson, Wotherspoon (Welsh 84), Shaw, B Mckay (Longstaff 65) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Lodovica, Thompson, Brooks, Sheridan Scorers: Devine (43) Booked: Gilmour (45+2), Harper (45+3), Duffy (74) Sent Off: none a
  2. Talkin bout a revolution A trip to Dunfermline beckons this Saturday as Dunc's revolution picks up pace. Unbeaten since his arrival, the Caley Jags take on 5th place Dunfermline Athletic in another tough encounter. A win for Inverness would see Dunc's men climb above the Pars but it's big ask. This will be your only Championship fix this weekend, so the opportunity is there for one of these sides to make up some ground on those above them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Info Supporters Bus Full Cowdenbeath Cup Tie Battery Farm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 9 5 31 22 +9 Away 24 9 10 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 50 19 20 11 63 52 +11 Our home and away encounters with the Pars show similar statistics with only five defeats at East End Park. Last season Dunfermline were heading back into the Championship after a season in League 1 where they bounced back up as Champions. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dunfermline 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) More points thrown away: Full report (Jan 2022) 1 - 1 Inverness wasted an opportunity to put pressure on the top of the table after squandering a first half lead through Shane Sutherland. Steven Lawless levelled from the spot in the second half with ten minutes remaining after David Carson was adjudged to have blocked a cross with a flailing arm. Another drab performance after a first half full of promise. No surprise really given recent performances, but frustrating nonetheless. A very disappointing second half from Inverness after a first half that was full of promise. Maybe Danny Devine going off injured just before the interval decided our tactic for the second half, or maybe Dunfermline just realised they could get something from the game. That point lifts them off the foot of the table for now, our point puts us in second position when we really should have been knocking on Arbroaths door at the top. Whatever the reason, the fans are getting somewhat disgruntled as we are without a win in five games now. It does seem like a long time ago that we absolutely thrashed Morton 6-1 on 11th December. Only four points from our last five games, or four points from a possible fifteen. That's not the form of a team going for promotion. Sort it! Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dunfermline v Inverness CT is the only Championship fixture tomorrow 1. Dundee Utd 13 9 4 0 33 6 31 2. Raith Rovers 12 8 3 1 20 13 27 3. Partick Thistle 13 6 4 3 26 20 22 4. Airdrieonians 13 5 2 6 12 17 17 5. Dunfermline 11 4 2 5 12 13 14 6. Ayr United 13 4 2 7 17 25 14 7. Queens Park 13 3 4 6 18 27 13 8. Inverness CT 11 3 3 5 11 12 12 9. Arbroath 11 4 0 7 16 22 12 10. Morton 12 2 2 8 12 22 8 Last Time Out Inverness romped home agsinst Ayr United after scoring three first half goals in a ten minute spell before the break. David Wotherspoon scored twice and Billy Mckay crashed in a penalty in a dominant first half. The second half was an anti-climax with Ayr scoring a penalty of their own through Jamie Murphy. The points were more important than the performance and it pulled Inverness clear of the bottom team Morton. Last Five Games: W D W D W In the first meeting between the clubs this season it ended all square in the Highlands in September. Nathan Shaw's early goal cancelled out ten minutes before the end by a Chris Hamilton header. FULL TIME: 1-1 The two new loan payers aquitted themselves well without setting the pulses racing. The defence did appear to be more rigid although we were found wanting at the equaliser. Nathan Shaw was the most likely to cause problems and so it proved. Poor decision by Ridgers to decide to flap at thin air for the goal but made amends to earn our point with a tremendous save later. Pars were much more direct than us and you couldn't grudge them their point. However that point still leaves us floundering at the foot of the table with one point from a possible twelve. Dunfermline's last game saw them go down narrowly to a late goal from Chris Mochrie as Dundee United continued unbeaten at the top of the table. United lead in the first half through Fotheringham before Owen Moffat levelled the game ten minutes after the interval. Mochrie hit the winner with just five minutes left on the clock. Last Five Games: L L L W L Latest Team News Half a dozen still missing with Boyes picking up an injury but Dunc is hopeful he will make the squad. So not much change from last week in terms of squad numbers and big Dunc still grappling with the players names Dunfermline manager James McPake had keeper Mehmet and striker Michael O'Halloran taken off injured last Friday against United. Alex Jakubiak replaced Craig Wighton after the hour and he looked threatening. Joe Chalmers is still at East End Park. Pars team in 1-2 loss to the Arabs Mehmet (Sharp 45) Fisher Hamilton Otoo Comrie (Hosler 75) Allan Chalmers Edwards O'Halloran (McCann 22) Moffat (Todd 55) Wighton (Jakubiak 60) Subs Not Used: Fenton, Little And finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution, oh, no
  3. Looking promising Inverness took a massive step towards a play off place by defeating Dunfermline Athletic for the first time this season. An encouraging but goalless first half where Reece McAlear had hit the post was replaced by a two goal second half with chances at both ends. The deadlock was broken by a man who only scores screamers. Reece McAlear lashed the ball across the keeper and into the top right corner of the goal from a difficult position wide on the inside right area. What a strike that was but it only woke the Pars up from their lethargy and they had three or four great opportunities before substitute Austin Samuels sealed the points after he sprinted on to a through ball from Aaron Doran to slot neatly behind Mehmet in goal. Comfortable thereafter for the remainder of the game and an excellent three points to strengthen our hold on third place with Raith, Arbroath and Partick all dropping points. Inverness were thin on the bench with Scott Allardice and Roddy Macgregor out longer term and Danny Devine, Joe Harper and Sam Pearson all missing. Dunfermline had Liam Polworth, Joe Chalmers and Col Donaldson starting with Nikolay Todorov on the bench. An enterprising start to the game in bright sunshine saw plenty of crisp passing in the opening gambit with only the telling pass missing. Denzil Mehmet was the first keeper called into serious action as he dived full length to keep out a low strike from Logan Chalmers on the left side of the box with the loose ball missing the strikers before being mopped up by the defence. You can see Denzil using anything to keep the ball out. Pic courtesy of CaleyJags.com. Inverness were buzzing around the visitors box with plenty of movement up front, creating a few half chances. Aaron Doran scooping one just wide on the volley and Chalmers flashing a thumping drive just over the bar from the edge of the box. Robbie Deas might have done better than lift a shot over the bar from ten yards as the hosts pressed for the opening goal and Doran again shot wide after good battling down the right touchline by Carson and Sutherland. Reece McAlear almost scored with a spectacular curling free kick from the left of centre, his right foot shot coming back off the top of the post with Mehmet beaten; the ball bouncing back into the keepers arms after cannoning off a defender. He would do better in the second half, and what a strike it was. HALF TIME: 0-0 Just before the hour, Inverness scored a contender for goal of the season. Sean Welsh's free kick came back off the wall some 28 yards from goal. Without breaking stride, McAlear turned onto the ball and fired an absolute rocket across the stunned keeper into the opposite side of the net. Mehmet rooted to the spot like a subbuteo keeper waiting for the strike. Boom! What a goal from Reece, his third or fourth contender of the season. That sparked Dunfermline into life and Cammy Mackay did brilliantly to deny Dow and Todorov with point blank saves to keep Inverness ahead. It was bodies on the line time as the defenders guarded their keeper well and the Pars would rue those missed opportunities. Substitute Austin Samuels scored his first goal for the club just after coming on. His first kick of the ball saw him slot home after he had played a one-two with Doran who threaded the ball through for Samuels to run on and steer the ball behind the outrushing Mehmet. That goal took the sting out of the Pars and their discipline disintegrated, Donaldson in particular not enjoying his return to the Caledonian Stadium. How does it feel Austin?................ It feels good! Tom Walsh almost benefited from a defensive lapse as he struck a sweet shot from twenty yards in injury time, but it just curled the wrong side of the post with Mehmet beaten. FULL TIME: 2-0 Great three points for the Caley Jags who have now won their last three in a row and are in prime spot for a shot at the play-offs. Reece McAlear was MotM, even if it was just for his superb goal, but his overall performance was solid and he was unlucky with his free kick that crashed back off the post. Great contribution from Cammy Mackay who stayed alert to deny the Pars after we opened the scoring and well done to Wallace Duffy at centre back who never looked out of place and strolled through the game nullifying some dangerous forwards. No failures today and a decent performance to boot. Reece the Thunderblaster... Date: 26/03/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2172 Referee: Graham Beaton Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Carson, Duffy, Broadfoot, Deas, Doran (Walsh 81), Welsh, McAlear, Sutherland, Chalmers (Harper 67), B Mckay (Samuels 76) Subs (not used): Ridgers; Hyde Scorers: McAlear (58), Samuels (77) Booked: Samuels (83) Sent Off: none Dunfermline: 0 Manager: John Hughes Lineup: Mehmet; Todd (Comrie 79), Donaldson, Ambrose (Cole 79), Edwards, Polworth (Todorov 63), Pybus, Chalmers, Lawless (Kamwa 59), Thomas (Dow 63), O'Hara Subs (not used): Archibald; Allan, Breen, Martin Scorers: none Booked: Donaldson (83), Pybus (90+1) Sent Off: none a
  4. Under Par Inverness opened the scoring after probing well for over twenty minutes. Michael Gardyne drifted inside and the Pars defence opened up allowing him to get a shot away. It came back off the woodwork and Billy Mckay reacted first to knock the ball into the net. However, Dunfermline got their first win of the season as Inverness fired blanks thereafter, and goals from Kevin O'Hara assisted by a massive Danny Devine deflection and a great solo effort from Dom Thomas won the points for the Pars. Another bad day at the office continued with Inverness slipping to third following wins for Killie Raith and Partick. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness were somewhat depleted with only five on the bench and Sean Welsh, Shane Sutherland, Manny Duku and Wallace Duffy all missing. On the bright side, David Carson returned to action at right back and Reece McAlear was in midfield. The Pars had a full bench which included Nicolay Todorov Ryan Dow and Craig Wighton. John Hughes was watching over his new side with Greg Shields taking charge of his final interim game as gaffer. A wonderful afternoon for football, flat calm and a damp pitch, saw a minutes silence observed for armistice to remember the fallen of the armed forces throughout conflicts around the world. Inverness were shooting, or more accurately, playing towards the South Stand and they controlled the pace of the game in a manner big Yogi would have been proud of. Retaining possession well, passing sideways and back but seldom threatening. However, the visitors were happy enough for us to flatter around although Aaron Doran saw an early effort saved by the painter OFW. Billy Mckay was next to try but his shot missed the target and Robbie Deas headed over the bar. The first real threat came when Michael Gardyne cut across the box from the left wing and curled a beauty towards the opposite top where his shot hit the frame of the goal before rebounding to the ever alert Mckay who knocked in from close range to open the scoring. A minute later Mckay could have scored again had he been able to keep his header down. This should have inspired the hosts to kick on from here but it seemed to have a familiar adverse effect. With the Pars suddenly realising we were flattering to deceive, they began to get to grips around the half hour and it took an absolutely incredible Devine intervention to deny the Pars a leveller as a Dom Thomas cross dropped into the six yard box. From there on in, it was backs to the wall defending and A superb reaction save by Mark Ridgers denied Breen from close range as the keeper pushed the ball over the bar, all in the North stand gaping with mouths wide open in astonishment. We were finding it difficult dealing with corners and crosses and in one melee there looked like a headed clearance from under the bar as the Pars looked to draw level but our last ditch defending held out until the break. Half Time: 1-0 Six minutes into the second half and the visitors equalised when they broke on the right after an Inverness attack broke down. Thomas crossed into the box and possibly Kevin O'Hara will get the credit for scoring but it appeared to deflect off Devine before it reached Lewis McCann and caught out Ridgers. The Pars were now forcing the pace of the game as Inverness looked jaded and it was no surprise when MotM Dom Thomas waltzed into our box and curled an exquisite shot behind a stranded Ridgers for a stunner. A stunner for the Pars, a scunner for the Caley Jags. We did look more urgent in the last quarter of the game without really looking threatening whereas Dunfermline were always dangerous on the break. We had three or four efforts from distance all whistle wide of the post and the Painter had a relatively quiet afternoon, broken only by slow motion strolls to collect some wayward footballs, much to the chagrin of the home fans. May his easel break and his canvas tear. One late attack saw Jamieson's shot cleared on the line but as is the norm, it was too little too late on a day when we paid tribute to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice and gave everything for the cause. Lest we Forget Full Time: 1-2 Inverness CT first team-coach Barry Wilson: "We were very good for 30-35 minutes. We said to them at half-time we need to regain control and unfortunately we didn't do it. "We were bombarding them near the end but it was reactive after going behind - we wanted them to do that at one up." Dunfermline interim manger Greg Shields: "In the first half it was a bit edgy and scrappy. We had a chat with them at half-time and the manager came in and had a wee word as well. "Kevin O'Hara and Lewis McCann changed the game for us - the way they pressed. It was really pleasing as it's been a long time without a win and they more than deserved that today." Highlights from ParsTV A dejected looking Barry Wilson Date: 13/11/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2111 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson (McDonald 80), Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Gardyne, McAlear (Jamieson (67), Allardice, Doran, Walsh (MacGregor 67), Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, Scorers: Mckay (22) Booked: none Sent Off: none Dunfermline : 2 Manager: Greg Shields (interim, John Hughes incoming on Monday) Lineup: Williams; Comrie, Connolly, Breen (Graham 74), Edwards, MacDonald, Dorrans, Todd (Pybus 62), Thomas, O'Hara, McCann (Dow 84) Subs (not used): Mehmet; Wighton, Todorov, Allan Scorers: Devine (og 51), Thomas (64) Booked: Dorrans (49), Dow (72), Breen (73), Graham (87) Sent Off: none a
  5. 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'....
  6. 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.
  7. What's the Storey, Miles Glory. Inverness fell behind after twenty minutes when some pinball ended with McInroy drilling the ball home from inside the box. Sutherland was unlucky when his header crashed off the bar with the keeper beaten. Miles Storey scored with a stunning left foot shot high past a despairing Fon Williams to level the game with around 25 minutes left and that's how it ended, all square in the final game of 2020, a year we all want to forget. Happy New Year when it comes. Second placed Dunfermline Athletic came North for this 6:30pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium as we moved into the second phase of this seasons shortened Championship. No fans of course as we have now been plunged into tier 4 for covid 19, but live streaming was available from ICTFC. The Pars were looking to build on some good results which has them second in the Championship behind Hearts, we were looking to get back on track after a poor performance at Alloa and a day off last Saturday when we should have been at Cappielow. John Robertson went for a more experienced squad with Sean Welsh, Aaron Doran and James Vincent returning to the starting XI. James Keatings missed out with a thigh strain. Wallace Duffy and Davis Carson were on the bench with young guns Roddy MacGregor and Kai Kennedy Kevin O'Hara started this one with DecLan McManus on the bench along with Fraser Murray and Ryan Dow. After a minute silence in memory of Jim McLean the game went ahead and it was five minutes in before Robbie Deas broke forward on the left side before firing a shot from distance which was easy enough for Fon Williams to gather. Euan Murray was next to try his luck but he headed over. Captain Murray was always going to be a threat from set pieces. A great ball into the box from Cammy Harper saw no takers as the game approached 15 minutes with defences on top in an open game. The Pars opened the scoring with a rather fortunate goal. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the ball fell kindly for them twice before it was put behind Ridgers by Kyle Turner just after 20 minutes. Moments later, Kerr McInroy flashed a snapshot wide as we all held our breath, the ball whistling just wide. We almost responded immediately but a tremendous cross from Harper was headed strongly off the bar by Shane Sutherland with the keeper well beaten. He rose well to power his header but it was a fraction too high and smacked the crossbar. Sutherland brought out a brilliant one handed diving save from the keeper soon after as he shot from distance following a defensive slip by the Pars, the ball being tipped over for a fruitless corner. Ten minutes before the break we had a Devine intervention in the six yard box to deny a certain tap-in goal at the back post as a low ball across the box was cleared over the bar at full stretch by Danny Boy with Kevin O'Hara lurking with intent. The goal apart, there was little between the sides as the interval approached with Inverness winning a couple of corners and a header went harmlessly wide from the returning ball into the box after the second corner. A rare burst forward after we gave away the ball in the visitors half saw Kevin O'Hara test Ridgers right on the break, the big keeper down quickly to his low shot from the edge of the box to save comfortably. HALF TIME 0-1 Kai Kennedy replaced Aaron Doran at the interval. Doran had taken a knock in the first half and continued after treatment but had remained in the dressing room. Ridgers saved a deflected shot eight minutes into the second half as The Pars looked dangerous on the break at the start of the half. Sean Welsh fired wide as the hosts responded but the play was getting untidy and Miles Storey might have done better when he was set free inside the left side of the penalty box, instead his half hit shot rolled meekly into the keepers hands. However, his next major involvement was stunning when it came along. Fon Williams cut out a dangerous cross after good work down the left flank, Kennedy injecting a bit of urgency about proceedings since he was introduced after the interval. Sean Welsh entered the referees book for a scything tackle in midfield as we looked to break down a resolute Pars defence but with around half an jour left it was not looking too good. Out of the blue, Inverness scored a screamer with 66 minutes on the clock. Miles Storey turned on a long throw-in from Brad Mckay just outside the box and lashed a powerhouse of a shot into the keepers top right corner. What a strike by Storey from around 25 yards across the keeper and into the roof of the net with Fon Williams clutching at thin air. A bit of ball flapping in the home box led to a corner as Allardice deflected the eventual strike for the Pars but the ball was headed tamely over from the set piece. Into the final ten minutes and still all to play for as the Pars pushed for a winner. The visitors pressed hard as the clock ticked down and with Danny Devine going off injured it was backs to the wall in a frantic finish. A couple of yellow cards later and it was all over, a hard earned point for both sides. What the managers said on BBC Sport Dunfermline manager Stevie Crawford: "Really pleased with the first-half performance. We created a number of chances. Inverness had a decent spell and put us under pressure in the second half, but we responded well and tried to win the game." Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "It was a very good game. We started slowly and didn't quite get going. We battled back into it. We tweaked the system at half-time and it was a different game, we totally dominated the second half." Match Highlights, look out for the Glory Storey thunderball @66mins A point each right eenuff... Date: 29/12/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 000 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, Doran (Kennedy 45), Welsh, Allardice, Vincent, Sutherland (D Mackay 88), Storey (Todorov 85) Subs (not used): C Mackay, Duffy, Carson, MacGregor Scorers: Storey (67) Booked: Welsh (64), B Mckay (87), D Mackay (90+4) Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams; Comrie, Mayo, Watson, E Murray, Edwards, Wilson, McInroy (Dow 66), McCann (McManus 69), Turner, O'Hara (Thomas 80) Subs (not used): Gill; Whittaker, Berry, F Murray Scorers: Turner (23), Booked: Turner (90+5) Sent Off: none a
  8. Pars visit Second placed Dunfermline Athletic head North on Tuesday 29th December for a 6:30pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium as we move into the second phase of this seasons shortened Championship. No fans of course as we have now been plunged into tier 4 for covid 19. The game can be streamed live, see tweet below from ICTFC. Sad news this week with the passing of Jim McLean. Former Dundee United manager who dared to build a team that Would go on to beat Barcelona home and away twice. Condolences to his family and friends and the extended football world who knew his worth. One of the great managers to grace the Scottish game. RIP It all started back in October when we went to East End Park for the first game of the season under covid19 restrictions. The Pars proved to be too strong for an injury decimated Caley Jags who conceded two goals in the final twelve minutes to take the points in a 3-1 win. Nikolay Todorov had given Inverness a second minute lead before captain Euan Murray levelled after twenty. Unfortunately two goals saw the Pars run out winners, Ryan Dow and Declan McManus with a belter were the late scorers. We were inactive on Boxing Day as storm Bella drenched Cappielow and the game was called off around 10:00am. The previous week we earned zero points as we slumped at Recreation Park after taking an early lead through Brad Mckay. A stunning free kick from Innes Murray drew the Wasps level before a Mark Ridgers blunder gift wrapped the points for Alloa after Robbie Thomson volleyed towards goal. Whilst we were undermining our recent recovery, the Pars took four points from their last two games. A tremendous three goal comeback at Dens Park was backed up by a hard earned win over Arbroath on Boxing Day, Kevin O'Hara with a 91st minute winner as Owain Fon Williams kept the Red Lichties at bay. At Dens Park the hosts had taken a three goal lead which they held until the 78th minute. Goals from Watson, McManus and a 93rd minute equaliser from man of the moment Kevin O'Hara earned a point for the Fifers. What a signing he has been. With our game against Morton having been postponed, I would hazard a guess that Robbo will still be looking at making one or two changes with Wallace Duffy now ready to return to action. I doubt there will be sweeping changes although starting Aaron Doran might be an option with Kai Kennedy being kept quiet over the last couple of weeks and could be more of an impact player later in the game. Dunfermline will not need to alter much, if it's not broken, don't fix it. Here's their starting XI for the Arbroath game. 1 Owain Fôn Williams; 22 Lewis Mayo, 44 Paul Watson, 5 Euan Murray (c), 3 Josh Edwards, 16 Steven Whittaker, 11 Ryan Dow, 8 Kyle Turner, 15 Iain Wilson, 23 Dom Thomas, 10 Declan McManus. At the moment, this is how I see it. The Pars look likeliest to keep second place for themselves with Dundee shaping up for third. That leaves Raith, Ayr, Morton and ourselves scrapping for the final play-off position. A lot can change between now and the end of the season, but you would expect Dundee and Pars being able to strengthen as required and us and the rest having to make do with what we have. As a distraction to the weekly Championship games, the second round draw for the Scottish Cup takes place on Tuesday evening. The 2020/21 Second Round draw takes place tomorrow at 7:15pm on the ScottishCup YouTube and Facebook page. ICTFC will be ball number 27 in the draw...aaaand we are away to ball 8 Any further team news will be added to preview when available. Here's a wee tune to see us through the winter of woe...
  9. Let there be football It's the start of the covid restricted Championship campaign 20/21 and Inverness travel to Fife to take on Dunfermline Athletic at East End Park. The game is a closed doors event and kicks-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 17th October with live streaming available from Dunfermline or the usual social media outlets via twitter, BBC Sport etc to fill the void of following your team at the stadiums. The steak bridies will be a big miss from East End park as will the pre-match entertainment on Halbeath Road and the general enjoyment of slagging your team off on a Saturday afternoon. It's what 3:00pm's were made for. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How to watch the game PPV £12 https://parstv.co.uk/ Pars TV Information Official Preview from ICTFC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Player of the Year poll will be available to those who have viewed the game on Pars TV or otherwise and can vote once poll is made available after the match. Remember, keep the votes honest as a trophy is awarded at the end of the season to the winner. The covid restricted Championship will have nine games less this season with twenty-seven games scheduled. That makes it all the more important for teams to get off and running early with 27 points less in the season. Those that make the early running could find themselves battling it out at the top of the table with Hearts the strong favourites for automatic promotion. Dundee will also be amongst those fancying their chances and Dunfermline have invested wisely and will be a tough opening fixture for the Caley Jags. Ayr United have secured the services of our own Tom Walsh and former player Joe Chalmers. Add Dario Zanatta to that and they will be a threat. To be honest, as we found out last season, most teams are capable of pulling off great results on the day and I expect it will be no different this season, although my guess is these teams will be vying for the top four places along with us. Discount the rest at your peril with newly promoted Raith Rovers another that could edge towards the top third of the table. Our two Group A games in the League Cup have seen a narrow defeat at Tynecastle (1-0) and a goalless draw at home to Cowdenbeath. Our familiar frailties in front of goal are still evident although we did convert all four penalties in the shootout against Cowdenbeath emphatically. Thanks to Cammy Mackay, we picked up the bonus point as he made two tremendous saves to ensure we got two points on the board. Here's our emphatic penalty shoot-out against Cowdenbeath...... Dunfermline top group E with maximum points from their three games. Six goals without reply is a good return for the Pars who have beaten Dumbarton, Falkirk and Kilmarnock. Captain Euan Murray has scored three so far, all headers. This is how the table ended 7 months ago........... Other Championship games this weekend Saturday 3:00pm unless stated Hearts 6-2 Dundee (Friday 19:45) Ouch! Ayr Utd v Queen of the South Morton v Alloa Athletic Raith R v Arbroath Inverness have both strikers Miles Storey and Shane Sutherland suffering from hamstring injuries in the opening league cup games, and that leaves us a bit thin up top. Daniel Mackay and the misfiring Nikolay Todorov look the likeliest to be given the task of scoring, something we have failed to do in the last two games. Kevin McHattie and James Vincent played for over an hour against Cowdenbeath in midweek as they build back to full strength after injury with Danny Devine getting a quarter of an hour at the end. Kai Kennedy is still in isolation and his debut is on hold. There has been no sightings of David Carson or Aaron Doran so far. A cardboard cut out is all we have to go on. Sketch by the wonderful local artist Sophie Robb. Dunfermline made a tremendous signing in Kevin O'Hara from Alloa Athletic. Plenty of experience as well with Paul Watson, Steven Whittaker and Declan McManus signing on at East End Park. O'Hara scored from the spot against Falkirk but it's captain Euan Murray who leads the scoring with three headed goals. He will be a threat at set pieces. Another Murray, Fraser, scored twice against Kilmarnock, one a header the other a screamer of a free kick. Owain Fon Williams is on the books as well. Remember him? Drawing an honest wage now..... Hell mend him. Here's a damning statistic from the Pars site: Only Morton lost more away games than Inverness in the Championship last season. Sounds like they are fairly confident of keeping our dismal away form from last season running into this one. Let's hope we can redress the balance and get off to a flyer in Fife. Mon the Caley Jags
  10. Walsh winner dumps Pars Inverness were still without Sean Welsh for the visit to East End Park, but captain Carl Tremarco made his 200th appearance for the club. Lewis Toshney started with Tom Walsh and James Keatings on the bench. The Pars had two former Inverness players in their starting XI, Owain Fon Williams and Danny Devine. Form player Kevin Nisbet was leading the attack. Roddy MacGregor set the ball rolling in front of a decent crowd in his first start for some time, but Dunfermline were soon on the attack with Mark Ridgers palming away a dangerous low cross from Jonathan Afolabi, James Vincent mopped up before Kevin Nisbet could benefit. A few minutes later Ridgers had to deal with an effort from Nisbet inside the box. All the early pressure came from the Pars and James Vincent picked up an early booking as the hosts looked for an early advantage. Dom Thomas shot wide after Afolabi headed the ball down to him. Inverness still to get out of first gear. It's all Dunfermline thus far and in the eleventh minute Nisbet headed wide and moments later Afolabi shot just wide. It looks like it's going to be a long night for the visiting fans. Inverness' first venture forward and an Aaron Doran corner finds Lewis Toshney at the back post but from a tight angle he missed the target. As the visitors began to get to grips with the game Roddy MacGregor won a free kick some twenty yards out. Aaron Doran fired the ball high into the net off the underside of the bar to surprise everyone in the stadium. What a goal from Doran, his ninth of the season. Back came the Pars and Ridgers had to deal with an effort from Thomas and at the other end MacGregor headed wide. Five minutes before the break Nisbet diverted a low cross over the bar. As the half ended Vincent deflected the ball at the expense of a corner which saw a Ryan Dow shot cleared. Ridgers then saved from Kyle Turner, the last action of the first forty-five Half Time 0-1 No changes at the interval and the Pars got the second half underway, kicking towards the home fans in the Norrie McCathie Stand but the first opportunity went to Inverness as Jordan White headed over. Dom Thomas sent an effort goalwards but Ridgers was equal to it saving in the top corner and Dow put the rebound over the bar from a tight angle. Minutes later Ridgers held onto another effort from distance from the lively Thomas. Celtic loanee Jonathan Afolabi was next to try his luck but the youngster fired over the bar, his next effort would be held by Ridgers. James Keatings replaced young MacGregor on the hour and Carl Tremarco got something for his 200th game; a yellow card. Dunfermline level the score with twenty minutes remaining when Dom Thomas fired a tremendous shot into the top corner from outside the box after a poor clearance from Inverness. Substitute Tom Walsh was only on for a couple of minutes when he hit the post from the edge of the box. He would do better two minutes later when he shot low into the net after a White dummy, possibly with the aid of a deflection off Euan Murray. Keatings volleyed over the bar after a White shot was blocked as Inverness looked to put the game to bed. Lewis Martin headed over the bar in stoppage time and a late corner was defended well as Inverness held on for a valuable three points with news that Morton had beaten Ayr United 2-1, so a good night for the Caley Jags who go into second place on their own, three points ahead of Dundee. Here's the goals, a couple of belters. And here's a happy chappy..... Full Highlights from PARS TV Date: 25/02/2020 Venue: East End Park Attendance: 3357 Referee: Gavin Ross Dunfermline: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams; Comrie, Ashcroft (Martin 81), Devine, Murray, Dow (Ross 54), Paton, Turner, Thomas, Nisbet, Afolabi (McGill 68). Subs (not used): Gill; Thomson, Brawling, McCann Scorers: Thomas (70) Booked: Paton (30), Ashcroft (57) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Toshney, B Mckay, Tremarco, Doran (Trafford 80), Carson, Vincent, Macgregor (Keatings 61), Storey (Walsh, 71), White. Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, McHattie, Todorov. Scorers: Doran (23), Walsh (77) Booked: Vincent (10), B Mckay (20), Tremarco (61), Toshney (79) Sent Off: none a
  11. 8Steak Bridie time The pitfalls of a wee cup run and some bad weather will be upon us for the next few weeks. On Tuesday night we face Dunfermline Athletic at East End Park, the game kicking off a 7:45pm. That means it's steak bridie time! That will be followed by a Scottish Cup quarter final at Easter Road on Friday night. What a time to be alive! Dundee closed the gap to zero points on Saturday after they beat Queen of the South. We remain above them on goal difference only with Ayr and Arbroath a further one and two behind. Ayr United had their game at Arbroath abandoned at half time with the score level. The table looks like this with one other game tonight, Ayr v Morton. Dunfermline are just off the pace in sixth place and a win would put them right back in the mix. It's all getting rather congested in the race to be the best of the rest as The Arabs disappear into a mirage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match Information including ticket prices & Travel Club Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We went down 2-1 at Tannadice in an entertaining game played in atrocious conditions. Jordan White scored inbetween counters from Louis Aperre and 28 goal Lawrence Shankland. We ran United close but Shankland was the difference on the night. Dunfermline's game on Saturday fell foul to the weather at Firhill. Here's Johnny..... Sean Welsh won't be attending this time as he is still broken. No reports of fresh injuries that I am aware of, so maybe a similar squad that played United or freshen it up with Lewis Toshney coming in to the back four. He is cup tied anyway so can't play at Easter Road. Dunfermline have had three weeks off prior to this game, their latest game falling foul of the wet weather last week. So they will be fresh as a daisy. Let's not forget, they have Danny Devine in their squad. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Don't forget the Quarter Final of the Scottish Cup is this Friday. Having beaten Livingston in the previous round, the Caley Jags travel to Easter Road to take on Hibernian, the game kicking off at 7:45pm. If you are unable to attend, then BBC Scotland will be screening the match live. Mon the Caley Jags
  12. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Dunfermline PREVIEW 21st December @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  13. Devine intervention. It almost literally was a Devine intervention as the former Inverness player was adjudged to have handled the ball late on in what had been a difficult watch in difficult conditions. Penalty it was and returning hero Sean Welsh scored from the spot to win all three points in a game that really neither side deserved anything from. We'll take it though on a day where Ayr United gave everyone else hope after beating Dundee United 2-0. Inverness kept it quiet, but James Keatings was nowhere to be seen as they reverted to the squad that thumped Morton in the Championship, with Miles Storey starting up front with Jordan White. Apparently James had picked up an injury in training late in the week and will undergo tests to see the extent of his injury. Dunfermline had new signing Greg Kiltie starting his first Championship game for them and Cammy Gill was in the sticks in preference to Ryan Scully. Loan signing Harry Cochrane from Hearts was on the bench but Anthony McDonald missed out with an ongoing back problem. Former ICT defender Danny Devine was on the bench for the Pars. It was a very windy East End Park that greeted fans and players alike as they took to the park for this Championship encounter in front of around 3,500 hardy souls. Miles Storey set the ball rolling as we kicked off at 3:00pm. Never mind, the steak bridies will keep you going til the end. Kevin Nisbet had the first attempt in the second minute but shot well wide. Greg Kiltie then saw a shot blocked for a corner and Carl Tremarco managed to scramble it clear as the Pars opened the game on the front foot. Inverness responded and Tom Walsh had an effort blocked by Paul Paton. Tremarco then got a header on target but Cammy Gill was well placed to stop it. Midway through the half and it's the hosts that are controlling possession but there's no clear cut opportunities of note in the difficult windy conditions. Play continued this way up to the interval with neither side able to take the initiative and at the orange slices the wind was the only winner as many were struggling to recall a worse forty-five minutes of football. Half Time 0-0 No changes at the break, here's hoping there's something to cheer in the second period. Nisbet went through the middle but he shot wide as was befitting a game of this lack of quality. Lewis McCann had an effort blocked and then shot over the bar as Inverness seemed content to afford the Pars plenty of possession, dangerous ploy if you ask me. Turner and McCann tried to get shots away and won another corner. On the hour and Robbo had seen enough of this rubbish and replaced David Carson with Sean Welsh in a bid to get to grips with the midfield and Jordan White was removed in favour of Nikolay Todorov. Almost immediately we responded to the threat of someone else being subbed and Miles Storey realised he was on the park but shot wide from inside the box after Tremarco got a ball through to him. The final sub for Inverness saw the lively Roddy MacGregor replace Tom Walsh, and a minute later Dunfermline shuffled their pack in a bid to win all three points. Danny Devine was the final sub of the day and that's when we knew the points were safe....... A bit more action in the final ten minutes and Aaron Dorran had a twenty yard shot parried away by Gill. With five minutes to go Inverness were awarded a penalty when Danny Devine was penalised for hand ball as James Vincent burst into the box. Up stepped Sean Welsh to score from the spot as he smashed it straight down the middle. Cheers Danny, we owe you one........... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From BBC Sport Dunfermline manager Stevie Crawford: "It was a game we certainly didn't deserve to lose. In terms of effort and commitment I can't fault them today and it's bitterly disappointing that we've lost to a penalty kick late on." Inverness Caley Thistle manager John Robertson: "From 20 minutes in you could have had your money on a 0-0 draw. We turned a draw into a win and it sums up Dunfermline's luck at the moment because they didn't deserve to lose." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caley Jags TV have these highlights up................(using the word highlights generously) Our own RIG was less than impressed with the game but pleased with the outcome An absolutely awful game of football. Aimless hurried balls forward for the most part coupled with poor balls in from the wide areas meant there was nothing to get excited about for the first hour or so. Todorov offered surprisingly little when he came on but MacGregor really helped drive us forward and Welsh showed Carson and to a lesser extent Vincent how to properly keep the ball moving through midfield recycling it well and ensuring continual movement across the pitch as we probed for a way through. Doran had our best chance when a wild swerving effort was stopped by Gill before Devine was punished for a handball in the box and Welsh dispatched the spot kick with confidence. Dunfermline were howling but we were far from impressive ourselves. Still, win when you're playing badly is the sign of champions right...? Barry Wilson talking to the media after the game........... Date: 14/09/2019 Venue: East End Park, Dunfermline Attendance: 3426 Referee: Nick Walsh Dunfermline Ath: 0 Lineup: Gill; Comrie, Martin, Ashcroft, Edwards (Devine 78), Turner (Cochrane 72), Paton, Beadling, Kiltie, Nisbet, McCann (Coley 72) Subs (not used): Scully; Todd, Ryan, McGill. Scorers: none Booked: Turner (31) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Doran, Carson (Welsh 61), Vincent, Walsh (MacGregor 71), Storey, White (Todorov 62) Subs (not used): C Mackay; McHattie, Harper, Trafford. Scorers: Welsh (87 pen) Booked: MacGregor (89) Sent Off: none a
  14. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dunfermline -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 14th September @ 3pm, East End Park, Dunfermline Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  15. Third it is After all the speculation as to where we would finish in the league, a 1-0 victory over Dunfermline coupled with Ayr drawing with Alloa ensured we would finish third in the table. That means that the first play-off game will be on Tuesday night at Somerset Park with the return leg at the Caledonian Stadium the following Saturday. Ticket prices have been set at £12 for this game. We achieved this by virtue of a 1-0 defeat of the Pars in a low key game, but one that had an extra £75K bonus for finishing third tagged on to it. Nathan Austin tapped in the winner after a couple of bloopers saw him pick up the loose ball to score easily. Stuart Morrison's chest high pass back was not cleared successfully by keeper Cammy Gill and Austin was left with the simple task of rolling the ball into the net. Simples. John Robertson was without the injured Carl Tremarco and Sean Welsh. Mark Ridgers returned between the sticks after his finger dislocation at Hampden and Jamie McCart, Aaron Doran and Liam Polworth were all benched to give them a break. Darren McCauley and Nathan Austin had rare starts and Kevin McHattie deputised for Tremarco. Jordan White headed wide in the opening minutes and Nathan Austin shot past as we looked to open the scoring. It was however a bit like an end of season game. Wait a minute, that's exactly what it was. Tom Walsh and Austin had further attempts to score and at the other end Mark Ridgers was called into action to deny Bruce Anderson with a comfortable save, the shot lacking any real conviction. Joe Chalmers fired a free kick narrowly over, the ball rippling the roof of the net as it dipped just over the bar and one minute later Inverness broke the deadlock. Stuart Morrison was in no danger when he tried to pass back to keeper Cammy Gill. Unfortunately for Cammy, the ball arrived around head height. He tried to chest it down before hoofing it clear but it bounced off him and Austin reacted well to nick the ball and roll it into the empty net. Calamitous defending but a welcome goal for Austin and the home fans. James Craigen had an effort saved by Ridgers as the Pars tried to respond but we saw out the half to go in at the interval ahead. One worrying moment just on the half time whistle when Caley Thistle Online player of the year Coll Donaldson stretched low to thigh the ball back to Ridgers and looked as though he might have tweaked his thigh muscle slightly. Half Time 1-0 Our fears were confirmed after the break when Jamie McCart replaced Coll, hopefully just a precaution and CTO PotY Donaldson was subbed for Jamie McCart the CTO joint Young Player of the Year (with Tom Walsh). The visitors looked lively at the restart and Kallum Higginbotham's effort was well saved by Ridgers in the top half of the goal. To be honest, it was an uncomfortable second half display by the hosts who were not over exerting themselves, and with Dunfermline unable to take advantage it descended into the proverbial end of season fare. One bright spot was Tom Walsh thumping a shot off the post, the keeper doing well to push the ball onto the wood. We did just enough to hold onto the three points and the result from somerset Park confirmed our third position. Not the most exciting of games, but one with plenty of connotations, and they have been all sorted out now, so Ayr it is on Tuesday night and the prospect of a high energy game back at the Caledonian Stadium next Saturday, and for just £12. Bargain, see you all there. Lots of accolades dished out after the final whistle with Aaron Doran being awarded the Official player of the year by the fans and Tom Walsh the Young Player of the Year. ? Final game, Cammy Gill, look away now..................... Scott Kellacher talking after the game....... OFFICIAL REPORT can be found HERE at ICTFC. Early casualties even before the games kicked off yesterday. Morton parted company with Jonatan Johansson two hours before kick off. A strange one at Palmerston as Queen of the South removed Gary Naysmith at their end of season do, and they still have the play-off's to contend with. WTF! Congratulations are also due to Alloa. Not only did they enable us to climb to third, they have avoided relegation and all done on a shoestring budget. Spare a thought for the Bairns. Scottish cup final in 2015, Scottish third tier 2019/2020 ? Date: 04/05/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2828 Referee: Graham Beaton Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson (McCart 45), Mckay, McHattie, Chalmers, Trafford (Polworth 65), McCauley, Walsh, Austin (Doran 73), White Subs (not used): Mackay; Harper, McDonald, Machado Scorers: Austin (35) Booked: none Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 0 Lineup: Gill; Durnan, Devine, Ashcroft, Craigen, Morrison, Blair (Todd 62), Longridge (Ryan 73), Martin, Higginbotham (McCann 78), Anderson. Subs (not used): Burt; Allan, El Bakhtaoui, Hippolyte. Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  16. Just the Ticket! The final game of the scheduled season will see us play Dunfermline Athletic at the Caledonian Stadium. However, we will have at least another two games and a possible six should we make our way to the play-off final, fingers crossed. All this could see our season extended to Sunday 26th May where we will find out who will join Ross County in the Premiership next season. As well as the play-offs, there is a great ticket offer for next season to be released on 6th May, so no excuses, get yourself sorted and get behind the Caley Jags next season. Your club needs you............ It's been a bit of a slog, but we managed to get ourselves a second chance at promotion after a slow burner of a season where draws were the order of the day for ICT. We are the draw specialists, Morton running us close, but at 14 draws our run for promotion was seriously curtailed. However, despite being interspersed with some excellent results and mediocre performances, we have managed to stay in touch with the play-off zone for most of the season and we will get our opportunity to progress as a reward for our perseverance. Last time out we had a tough time at Alloa before overhauling them with two rapid goals in the second half. Shaun Rooney rifling home from the edge of the box and Charlie Trafford weighing in with his first goal for the club. That was enough to secure the points after a first half penalty had been scored by Alan Trouten. Worryingly, Carl Tremarco had to come off injured before the end and that is bad news with the extra games looming. Dunfermline's season frittered away after a promising spell when they won a shitload of games to jump above us a couple of months ago. They stuttered badly in the run-in and they have now dropped to sixth, two points below Morton who beat the Pars 2-1 at the weekend. So tight has been the bottom half of the league they could plummet even further if results go against them this weekend. Other games on matchday 36 are Ayr United -V- Alloa, Falkirk -V- Ross County, Morton -V- Dundee United, Queen of the South -V- Partick Thistle. Final day of the season and still lots to be decided. Dunfermline were the side that scuppered our progress last season with a goal late into time added on to time added on. So be it. I won't dwell too much on the game on Saturday, suffice to say we have qualified for the promotion play-offs after a roller coaster season, a Scottish Cup semi-final and some rip roaring derby's in the Highlands. The carrot is dangling if we want more next season. For your information, here are the Play-Off dates, times and TV coverage. ** Tuesday May 7 or Wednesday May 8, 2019 Premiership play-off quarter-final, 1st leg 4th in Championship v 3rd in Championship ** Tuesday May 7 if Ayr United finish fourth ** Wednesday May 8 if Inverness CT finish fourth Saturday May 11, 2019 Premiership play-off quarter-final, 2nd leg 3rd in Championship v 4th in Championship Tuesday May 14, 2019 Premiership play-off semi-final, 1st leg 3rd or 4th in Championship v 2nd in Championship (Dundee United) Live on BT Sport, kick-off 7.45pm Friday May 17, 2019 Premiership play-off semi-final, 2nd leg 2nd in Championship (Dundee United) v 3rd or 4th in Championship Live on BT Sport, kick-off 7.45pm Thursday May 23, 2019 Premiership play-off final, 1st leg 2nd or 3rd or 4th in Championship v 11th in Premiership Live on BT Sport, kick-off 7.45pm Sunday May 26, 2019 Premiership play-off final, 2nd leg 11th in Premiership v 2nd or 3rd or 4th in Championship Live on BT Sport, kick-off 3.00pm Play off prices on Official Site Pars boss Stevie Crawford has Jackson Longridge suspended after a red card last week. Striker Andy Ryan and defender Lewis Martin have made comebacks recently and will be looking for a start. Robbo had talked about keeping the momentum going ahead of the play-offs and the extra £75K will come in handy, but self preservation will also be important and I see little point in wearing out our already knackered first choice squad with crucial games ahead. May the fourth be with you Robbo........... Mark Ridgers has been recovering from his dislocated finger, and it's fantastic news for the fans and the club that Mark has signed a new deal to keep him at Inverness for another couple of years. Hope yer finger is better. Sean Welsh is out with a broken foot. Carl Tremarco was injured at Recreation Park and will miss out with a possible calf tear. Others are flagging as our thin squad gets stretched every week. Robbo will have options though. Coll Donaldson made a welcome return last week and Brad Mckay will return after suspension. Cammy Mackay has deputised well for the injured Ridgers and Kevin McHattie is a ready made replacement for Tremarco. He could also look to the youth set-up where we have some wonderful players emerging and they are fresh from securing the Under 18's Progressive Tier title. Top bananas to these guys. They trounced none other than Ross County 4-0 on Tuesday afternoon. A full report can be found on the OFFICIAL SITE. Caley Thistle Under 18s secured the Under 18s Progressive Tier title in style as they beat Ross County 4-0 at the Caledonian Stadium thanks to a brace from Roddy MacGregor and goals from Donald Morrison and Matheus Machado. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just the Ticket Coming soon, there's a great offer for you on the official site if you want to get your season ticket at this years prices, regardless of which division we find ourselves in. Here's hoping it's the Premiership, but the price remains the same. Early Bird Season Tickets for 2019/20 season will go on sale from Monday 6th May. The club would would like to thank everyone who bought a season ticket for season 2018/19 and as we come to the climax of an exciting season with a day in the Hampden sun behind us and with the Premiership Play-Offs looming, the club is pleased to be able to announce that Season Ticket prices have been frozen for those wishing to purchase early. _________________________________________________________________________ If you like a wee flutter, our new partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.
  17. Par for the course It was pretty much Par for the course as we slumped to another defeat in the league. It would appear that our league form is not as good as our cup form, or maybe it's just the local derby's we get our act together for. Whatever is the issue, it's a disappointing trend and Dunfermline were untroubled for most of the game with Joe Thomson getting the only goal of a scrappy game. Mark Ridgers will feel he might have done better at the goal. Aidan Connolly smacked the bar, but a late flurry from Inverness produced little of note in another hapless display, the team looking somewhat jaded. John Robertson made several changes after the bruising cup tie at Dingwall last Monday. Liam Polworth was injured and Coll Donaldson and Sean Welsh got some bench time. That meant that Darren McCauley and Charlie Trafford started and Shaun Rooney came back in at right back. RIG was as usual in the away end with Caley Away and here is his report. Hands down one of the worst performances from an ICT that I can recall in a long time, especially that first 45 minutes. We were all over the shop. McCart, who until recently had been a very solid performer, was uncharacteristically sloppy with a number of sliced clearances and slack passes but he got better as the game wore on as did the likes of Trafford who was something of a headless chicken until we went to 442 and he seemed to be a lot more effective. White struggled badly until Austin came on. He (White) didn't get much service and when the ball did come his way he was largely dominated by Ashcroft who was excellent yesterday as were Connolly and Vincent for the home side. McCauley should have been sent off. After he was booked he committed two needless fouls that both could have resulted in a second booking so it was no surprise when Robbo took him off for MacDonald. Pars had a weak penalty claim when Anderson seemed to go down quite easily. Maybe any highlights will show something different but I wasn't convinced at the time. Second half Dunfermline started much the better side. I don't know what Robbo said to the players at the break but most seemed to be still sleepwalking when Thomson dribbled across goal then lashed a shot past Ridgers who seemed to be caught by a deflection or by McCart ducking out of the way or something. In Mark's defence, it appears that he may have been slightly unsighted and the ball also appears to swerve a bit. Meh! Disappointing goal to concede but we were lucky not to be two down when Connolly battered the crossbar with a lovely shot just outside the area. We started to come back into the game when Doran went off and Austin came on giving White a bit more support up front and we started to create some half chances. Walsh had perhaps the best opportunity for an equaliser when he drove towards goal and was afforded a lot of time and space to shoot from about 20 yards but he sent the ball well over. White and Mckay passed up a couple of decent chances to bring us back on level terms but they shot wide of / over the goal. A seriously disappointing performance after what was a good showing on Monday night against County. We were missing arguably three of our most important players in Donaldson, Polworth and Welsh however if we want to stay in the play-off spot we need to improve our performances quickly. Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson was speaking to BBC Sport: "I'm massively disappointed. It was straightforward - Dunfermline showed more hunger, energy and work-rate in first 10 minutes of each half. "I felt they were up for the taking, but they got their goal - Ridgers should've saved it. It was mistake from him. "Then the penny dropped and in the last 15 minutes we were camped in their half, but we had chances through Brad McKay and Shaun Rooney. "It's a missed opportunity because, if we win, we get a wee gap and we start pushing above us. "We're now in a hell of a scrap with Queen of the South, Morton, Partick, Falkirk. What they've done now is give me a blank sheet of paper for Tuesday night because there will be changes." Caley Stan was less than impressed with the value for money That's the worst away performance I've seen this season. We missed Coll and Polly as you would expect, but the absence of Sean Welsh had the most impact, his replacement charged and lunged his way around the park in a way that seemed to unsettle his teammates as much as the opposition. We didn't get the forward midfield 3 into the game at all, and when we finally went to 4-4-2 we looked slightly more threatening but without creating clear-cut chances. It could've been worse - McCauley should've been sent off and a better side would've added to their tally in the second half. We are a very poor side without those 3 players. Yngwie was more supportive to the keeper................ What actually happened with Ridgers for the goal? Routine looking save but the shot went through him. You know it’s not your day when even your most dependable player messes up. Look away now Marky boy............. Site Admin Scotty has this to add from our site sponsors FANSBET Ahead of our replay against County, Fansbet are allowing CTO users to suggest what the special bet to be promoted on their site should be for the game next week ? If you want a specific special listed please put them in the thread on CTO and they will chose one at random, assign it odds and feature it before the game in the fan boosts section. : https://www.fansbet.com/en/betting/sports/fan-boosts/ Here's the full highlights................ Date: 16/02/2019 Venue: East End Park Attendance: 4497 Referee: Steven Kirkland Dunfermline: 1 Lineup: Scully; Craigen, Ashcroft, Devine, Longridge, Vincent, Beadling, Thomson, Blair (Williamson 78), Connolly (Longridge 70) Anderson (Durnan 90+1) Subs (not used): Gill; Todd, Hippolyte, Higginbotham Scorers: Thomson (47) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, McCart, Tremarco (Welsh 88), Walsh, Trafford, McCauley (McDonald 34), Chalmers, Doran (Austin 64), White Subs (not used): C Mackay, Donaldson, McHattie, MacGregor, Scorers: none Booked: McCauley (27), Trafford (55), Rooney (81) Sent Off: none a
  18. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dunfermline -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW Feb 16th, 2018 @ East End Park, Dunfermline Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  19. 2-2, Who knew? Everyone I should think. That result was as predictable as Xmas is on the 25th of December. Isn't it? Four first half goals ended the entertainment with neither side able to create an opening in a turgid second half at a baltic Caledonian Stadium. Keena put the Pars ahead twice, the second a spectacular effort from thirty yards plus. Calder equalised with a sweet finish first time and White scored our second to make it six draws on the trot. Boo's greeted the players at the end as the fans frustrations grew, a point not lost on Jordan Whyte who replied into the North Stand as angry fans remonstrated with the players, Whyte a particular target of the boo boy brigade. John Robertson shuffled the pack a little in a bid to get out of the cycle of draws. Carl Tremarco was missing through injury and was replaced by Riccardo Calder. Tactical switches saw Charlie Trafford in for midfielder Joe Chalmers and Daniel Mackay replacing Aaron Doran up front. Allan Johnston gave starts to Aidan Connolly, Malaury Martin and Joe Thomson. It was ice cold in Inverness as the Caley Jags kicked off with less than 2000 in the ground. Despite a bright opening from the hosts, it was all undone with one sloppy pass on the halfway line. Sean Welsh passed the ball to the visitors and when it came to Aidan Keena from Myles Hippolyte, the Hearts loan player calmly curled a low shot beyond the outstretched Mark Ridgers in the Caley Jags goal. A sloppy goal to lose, almost a replica of the Brad Mckay gift against Morton. We looked determined to get back on level terms, a couple of headers from Jordan Whyte causing little concern to Robinson in the Pars goal. After Daniel Mackay had won a free kick, Liam Polworth fired a low ball across the box where it was left to run to the left side and the incoming Riccardo Calder fired it home first time as he met the ball for an excellent reply. Keena and Whyte had efforts saved at either end of the ground and the Pars were threatening to open us up as we slithered around. On the half hour the Pars went back in front in spectacular style. Keena picked the ball up some forty yards out and after a few paces forward he sent a vicious shot high into the left hand side of Ridgers' net. No chance for the keeper and a stunning goal for Keena. Five minutes later and it was back level. Polworth fed the ball wide and Tom Walsh fired a low ball into the box where Whyte, under pressure, nicked the ball behind Robinson. An entertaining half ended level as the temperatures kept dropping. Half Time 2-2 More of the same would have been nice in the second period, unfortunately it was a bit of an anti-climax with both sides trying to make the breakthrough. Neither keeper was troubled but with just over ten minutes left, Aidan Connolly skimmed the top of the bar with a free kick, although Ridgers may well have had it covered had it been six inches lower. The nearest Inverness came to grabbing the winner was just after that free kick but Whyte headed over at the back post after failing to get above the ball following a corner. Great chance missed and maybe that just added fuel to the boo boys which led to the angry exchange after the final whistle. Full Time 2-2 Another draw and we fall further behind the leaders. Eight points behind surprise leaders Ayr United. Plenty of effort and a couple of goals were not enough to keep the fans happy. A lack of ambition in the second half undid any positives from the first forty-five. Inverness were best served by Coll Donaldson, Riccardo Calder and Mark Ridgers. However, my MotM is going to Dunfermline's Aidan Keena who exploded that shot behind Ridgers from probably thirty-five yards. Great goal worth seeing in the highlights. Highland derby on Saturday and Inverness will need to up their game if they want to remain unbeaten. Here's the goals from Caley Jags TV And Robbo's aftermatch can be seen on the facebook page Full Highlights from Dunfermline TV Date: 30/10/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1994 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Calder, Welsh, Polworth (Doran 75), Trafford (Chalmers 70), Walsh (Austin 71), D Mackay, White Subs (not used): Hoban; McCart , Oakley, McGregor. Scorers: Calder (20), White (34) Booked: Welsh (62), Rooney (85) Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 2 Lineup: Robinson; Craigen, Ashcroft, Devine, Longridge, Connolly, Martin, Thomson, Longridge, Hippolyte, Ryan, Keena (Muirhead 81) Subs (not used): Gill; Williamson, Martin, HigginBotham, El Bakhtaoui, McCann, Scorers: Keena (10, 29) Booked: Craigen (14) Sent Off: none a
  20. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Dunfermline PREVIEW 30th October @ 7:45pm, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  21. Trick or Treat Dunfermline Athletic are the visitors on Tuesday night for a Championship game that kicks-off at 7:45pm, the day before Halloween. Halloween attire is the order of the day to add some much needed levity to our predicament, but many fans are seeing it more like a trick than a treat. However, if you are in fancy dress, send the pics to the club and tickets for the derby could be yours. Send us your photos in fancy dress tomorrow from your seat as we face @officialdafc The winner will get a Family ticket for Saturday's Highland Derby against @RossCounty! There is also a prize for the best costume in the away end! Last time we played the Pars all was rosy. Well maybe not quite, but at least we won the game and scored three second half goals into the bargain. Shaun Rooney, Liam Polworth and George Oakley scored back on the 1st of September and we were all rubbing our hands in anticipation. Since then we have beaten Partick Thistle 3-2 (just), and then drawn the last five games, scoring only twice. This slump has not gone unnoticed by the fans who are beginning to vent their frustration at the lack of ambition shown on the park, and with some justification I have to add. It could be worse I suppose, we could be Dunfermline. They have had two wins, two draws and two defeats and have been dumped out of the Challenge Cup by Alloa. However, it still equates to the same number of points picked up since the last meeting but the Pars poor start to the season has them five points worse off than Inverness. We have slumped to fifth in the League after our failure to turn draws into wins with Dunfermline struggling in seventh. Our season certainly looked brighter after beating Dunfermline and Partick to sit top of the table. It's gone stale now and an injection of new blood and or tactics is becoming apparent. Dunfermline's demise was the massive clearance at the end of last season and that is still hurting them now. Jordan White is coming in for plenty of stick and the return of George Oakley is seen as a must, sooner rather than later. In White's defence, he has not been getting the best of service and that is down to a pedantic midfield who are less creative than we need. We also need a fair injection of pace, but with money tight I don't see where the improvement is going to come from. Coll Donaldson will return to the heart of the defence after serving his suspension. Carl Tremarco is a doubt and I wonder if Robbo will leave Jamie McCart in central defence and move Brad Mckay to left back. Just a thought, if not then look for Riccardo Calder getting more game time at wing back. George Oakley has been training but my guess is he is nowhere near being ready for a full blown match. I suppose it will be White up top with nobody able to give him any support. Dunfermline will be without Mark Durnan who has just had a hernia operation. This was their starting XI against Dundee United:- Lee Robinson; Ryan Williamson, Lee Ashcroft (c), Danny Devine, Jackson Longridge, James Craigen, Tom Beadling, James Vincent, Louis Longridge, Myles Hippolyte, Faissal El Bakhtaoui Alan Johnston is starting to be a target for the boo boys at East End Park and his counterpart John Robertson is attracting some flak in the Highlands after a series of mind numbing results. Both managers will be desperate for a win but the smart money will be on a no scoring draw with 1-1 being the next best option. Mr Pumkinhead has made his choice and is looking for a home win as another draw will give him a splitting headache..... Happy Halloween everyone.
  22. Long time since Rooney scored for Inverness But today it was Shaun Rooney who opened his account for the Caley Jags and paved the way for a tremendous away win at East End Park. Liam Polworth and George Oakley completed the scoring, all goals coming in the second half. Our first visit to East End Park last season saw us whipped 5-1 by a rampant Dunfermline. The 1-0 defeat against Dunfermline on March 13 was the last time ICTFC had lost in the Championship. Something was going to give. The hosts had two former Caley Jags players starting in Danny Devine and James Vincent. Late signing Robbie Muirhead was on the bench alongside Kallum Higginbotham and Aidan Connolly. Inverness made a couple of changes from the Alloa game with big striker Jordan White spearheading the attack and Aaron Doran starting. That put George Oakley on the bench with Nathan Austin nowhere to be seen. Dunfermline got the game underway in front of a crowd of 5138 shooting towards the visiting fans. The Caley Jags were playing towards the Norrie McCathie stand, and it was the Pars that made the early running forcing Inverness onto the back foot and winning an early corner which came to nothing. Inverness had a goal chalked off after quarter of an hour and Mark Ridgers did well to tip a fierce shot from Myles Hippolyte onto the bar with Danny Devine lashing the loose ball just wide. Just before the half hour Joe Chalmers headed just over from a Tom Walsh cross. Soon after a defensive error by Ashcroft allowed Aaron Doran to play in Walsh, unfortunately Keeper Robinson made a good save to deny the Caley Jags forward. Just before the break Carl Tremarco and Myles Hippolite were booked after a bit of a set-to. There was still time for efforts at both ends, Brad Mckay went close with a shot from distance and Louis Longridge brought out another great save from Ridgers to keep out his eighteen yard volley. Plenty action at both ends but at the break there was no scoring Half Time 0-0 Polworth almost got a shot away early in the half but Inverness didn't have long to wait to open the scoring. Ashcroft was booked for bringing down Doran, and from the resultant free kick and clearance Walsh crossed for Shaun Rooney to get his first goal for the club. Polly stepping up now and he forced Robinson into a fine save moments after the opening goal. Inverness turning the screw now and Jordan White headed over from a Tremarco cross. El Bakhtaoui woke up and caused some problems around the visitors box but we were able to block and clear. Dunfermline were starting to press and forced a couple of corners but it was Inverness that hit on the break to double their advantage. Doran put in a lovely ball to the back post where Polly met it first time to volley home, 2-0 to the visitors. The Pars went close with a shot from Thomson that went just wide, and with ten minutes left Ridgers blocked an effort from Bakhtaoui with his legs. All action now and Oakley and Polworth bring out saves from Robinson in the Pars goal. However, Oakley would not be denied and he put the game to bed after Ridgers 'kick' out was flicked forward by Doran, Oakley running through to score. Full Time 0-3 Never saw that one coming, great result and the fans chanting for Polworth in a positive mood this time is a bonus all round. A plus for Rooney as well and the third bonus is we scored three goals. All good. Rig was chuffed with what he witnessed and here's how he describes the goals and summarises thus:- A simply stunning ICT performance of yesteryear. A return to the reliable 4-2-3-1 setup and philosophy of sitting in, absorbing pressure and hitting Dunfermline hard on the break. Going into the game and seeing the line up I wasn't expecting much at all but needless to say by full time I was eating humble pie and it tasted great. The second half saw ICT tear Dunfermline apart by allowing them to come on to them before clinically hitting them on the counter. The opener however came after a free kick found its way to Walsh on the Pars left flank and he stood up a cross to the back post where Rooney ghosted in to steer a header into the net. 1-0 We extended our lead with a quite brilliant counter attack. Dunfermline failed to make one of their many crosses go anywhere useful and Donaldson cleared the ball to Oakley who brought the ball down and quickly fed Doran who galloped down the right wing and picked out Polworth darting into the box with a quite delicious cross which was sidefooted in to make it two. 2-0 The game was killed off when Ridgers partially sclaffed a clearance up the pitch in the general direction of Doran. As the ball sat up nicely for him Doran cheekily backheel flicked it over his head and into the path of Oakley who bench pressed the Pars defender and raced towards goal and coolly slide the ball past Robinson. 3-0 As has been mentioned on here before it may be that this season we are a more successful team away from home than in Inverness where we might be expected to dominate the opposition. Based on today it seems very much like this is a team that would excel sitting in and hitting on the break and we're unlikely to do that much at TCS. Hopefully Robbo keeps the 4-2-3-1 going forward. A 3 - 0 win away from home against a fellow promotion challenger is not to be sniffed at. Caley Stan still showed some trepidation in his summary:- That was fun! As RiG says, it was an excellent counter-attacking display after a tetchy first half. Doran's second half performance was particularly pleasing - I've doubted his ability to come back and he's clearly had to change his game but his work-rate was superb today and his class eventually shone through with two wonderful assists. Great to see Polly back in his proper position and the fans did a good job of undoing some of that damage. We also saw decent games from Donaldson, Tremarco, Walsh and Welsh, and Ridgers made a couple of blinding saves. Our weaknesses, though, remain glaring. Rooney is a huge concern, and while Welsh is an improvement on Trafford, we still aren't strong enough in defensive midfield where Dunfermline found a lot if room to get shots in from the edge of the box in the first half. And we're no closer to finding out who our striker will be - White worked hard and used his body well but Oakley looked far sharper when he came on and took his goal well. Here's the action from Caley Jags TV..................... Date: 01/09/2018 Venue: East End Park, Dunfermline Attendance: 5138 Referee: Don Robertson Dunfermline: 0 Lineup: Robinson: Ashcroft, Durnan, Devine, Williamson (Higginbotham 67), Vincent (Connolly 79), J Longridge,Thomson, L Longridge, Bakhtaoui, Hippolyte (Muirhead 59) Subs (not used): Gill: Ryan, Connolly, Martin, Craigen, Higginbotham Scorers: none Booked: Hippolyte (40), Ashcroft (50) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers: Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Walsh, Polworth (Trafford 86), Welsh, Chalmers, White (Oakley 67), Doran (Calder 84) Subs (not used): Hoban: McCart, D Mackay, Brown Scorers: Rooney (51), Polworth (72), Oakley (83) Booked: Tremarco (39), Walsh (54), Welsh (90+2) Sent Off: none a
  23. Striking Changes Required Inverness travel to East End Park, home of the delicious steak bridie to take on Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday, the match kicking off at 3:00pm. After the steak bridie, you can wash it down with blood red wine, just ask Sir Patrick Spens The king sits in Dunfermline toune drinking the blude reid wine, "O whar can I get skeely skipper, To sail this ship o' mine?" We have already suffered this season at the hands of the Pars, well their young team anyway after they ditched us from the Challenge Cup, their youth squad being good enough to beat our fringe squad with plenty of experience 2-1. The least said about that the better, although Robbo was less than enthusiastic about the display of the fringe players in that one. Many Caley Jags fans are hesitant about the new season after just a handful of games as we see a regular theme occurring. The lack of a clinical finisher is once more undermining some of our outfield play as we squander chance after chance. An observation that has not gone unnoticed by the manager. We have tried Nathan Austin, George Oakley, Jordan White and Daniel Mackay up front in various combinations with support coming from Tom Walsh, Aaron Doran and Liam Polworth. Walsh looks to be the most promising provider but Riccardo Calder is a surprise packet showing some great ability to beat his man wide on the left and his crosses are begging for a finisher on the end of them. Liam Polworth looked jaded last time out and a rest would do him no harm. However, Robbo usually sees it differently to us and he has stuck by Polworth and Joe Chalmers religiously over the last season whilst others come and go in the starting IX. It's maybe time for a subtle change, but it's no use providing the ammunition if your strikers are firing blanks. Dunfermline have had a surprisingly low key start to the season after showing up well against Hearts in the League Cup going down by just the solitary strike from Jambos midfielder Olly Lee. Unlike us, they were creative in this tie and offered a real threat to Hearts.They began their League campaign with an excellent away win over Dundee United by 3-2. Thomson and Longridges Jackson and Louis both scored in that one. However they were cuffed 1-3 by Ross County, Louis Longridge on target again and the surprise result so far was a 4-1 reverse against Ayr United with Longridge on the scoresheet once more, this time brother Jackson keeping it in the family. Makes our draw against Ayr look like a good result! After those games, the Pars have three points and sit in the bottom quarter of the table, but it's early days yet. Despite our inauspicious start to the Championship, we sit mid-table on five points from three games. That could so easily have been nine points especially as the two draws were played out against ten men from the two recently promoted sides. No disrespect to them, but we really need to win games like that, however, we struggled, especially against Ayr United. In both games chances were aplenty but wayward finishing and good goalkeeping kept us to a minimum and that's what needs to change. The Pars have seen a few changes since the summer. A pair of Longridges. Louis and his brother Jackson have teamed up at East End Park. Former Caley Jag Danny Devine comes in from Partick and forward Miles Hippolyte from St Mirren. Defender Mark Durnan comes in from the Arabs with Tom Beadling making a permanent switch from Sunderland after his loan expired. Aidan Connolly showed up well against us in that Challenge cup game and he joins from York City. Loan deals have been agreed with Faissal El Bakhtaoui (Dundee) and our own cup final hero James Vincent, also from Dundee. Bit of a clear out at East End Park after the end of the season. The bigger names released were Willo Flood who came and went before getting started. Dean Shiels, Nicky Clark, Fraser Aird, Calum Morris, Declan McManus, Joe Cardle, Nat Wedderburn, Michael Paton were all let go. Therein lies the reason the Pars have not got off to the best of starts. You can't replace that quality and expect to be off and running right away as we know all too well. Team news ahead of the game:- Dunfermline still have long time adversary Kallum Higginbotham playing for them and that's never a good thing for us. He loves to tease us a little. The Longridges are scoring freely and El Bakhtaoui can be dangerous. The Pars did some late business in the transfer window signing former Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Partick Thistle, Hearts and MK Dons player Robbie Muirhead . They have also secured the services of Hearts pair Malaury Martin and Aidan Keena on loan. Inverness have no major worries as matchday four approaches apart from who will be sticking the ball in the back of the net. Late news is that Zak Elbouzedi has left the club by mutual consent. tm4tj prediction:- I don't expect an easy game at East End Park and like us, Dunfermline created plenty against Ayr United but failed to capitalise. We were generally neat and tidy against Alloa but were a bit wasteful in front of goal. Penalty taking has been a big problem although Sean Welsh took his opportunity neatly against the Wasps. Unfortunately he was subbed before the second penalty and big Coll cracked the crossbar with his attempt. With both teams failing to put their chances away, I will predict a 0-0 draw. Anything will be better than the 5-1 drubbing we got last season. Here's the Official Site preview with more detail. Enjoy.
  24. No fizzy pop joy this season. The holders wimped out of the IrnBru cup at the first hurdle in what can best be described as a reserve team game. Both sides made massive changes to their starting line-ups and it was the visitors that went through to the next round after surviving a plethora of Inverness attacks, but holding on to score a break away goal at the end. Both sides fielded fringe players with youth players making up the squads for this IrnBru cup game. John Robertson said the players had been knocking on his door looking for some game time. That wish was granted for some, but Robertson was less than impressed after the game with what he saw on the park. Daniel Hoban was in goal and Jamie McCart and Riccardo Calder came into the back line. Aaron Doran started as did Sean Welsh, Daniel Mackay and Jordan White, all getting the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular game. The Pars fielded a whole new starting line-up with seven debutantes since their defeat to County, giving youth a chance to show their worth, and they certainly responded positively, although much of that was due to the inability of the Inverness players to impress their manager. Similar to the first team squad, chances were created and squandered before Dunfermline opened the scoring in controversial fashion. The Pars broke forward after a poor choice of ball by McCart played Trafford into trouble. He failed to deal with the ball and Andy Ryan broke forward to the edge of the box before being fouled by Brad Mckay. It looked to happen just outside the box given the position of the large divot left on the park. However, penalty was offered and Kallum Higginbotham promptly dispatched the ball low and hard to the keepers right hand side. We struggled to make any impact in a first half dominated by a stiff breeze and the Pars went in at the break one goal ahead as the early threat offered by Daniel Mackay eroded. Half Time 0-1 Robbo saw enough ten minutes into the second half and made changes as we continued to disappoint. Mackay and Trafford made way for Tom Walsh and George Oakley, and that coincided with our best spell of the game as Riccardo Calder began to threaten down the left and get some dangerous crosses in with Walsh doing likewise on the right. After three or four false alarms, Jordan White eventually met an inviting cross from the left, meeting Calder's ball ten yard out to drive it into the net for the equaliser. White was now beginning to get plenty joy in and around the box but unfortunately for him he was unable to direct any headers on target or with sufficient force to seriously trouble the keeper. Similar to Saturday, White landed another looping header on top of the net as our frustration grew. We were undone in the final few minutes when Polworth lost possession around the halfway line. Andy Ryan once more benefiting from our slackness and racing forward before rolling a ball into the box from the left side. Callum Smith was first to it and he knocked it high behind an exposed Hoban. We still managed to miss another couple of attempts, White knocking one over the bar from one yard and another header going over. Full Time 1-2 The experimental squad backfired for us but gave Dunfermline a safe passage into the next round. Was it deserved? Maybe not, but you make your own luck or get help from your opponents, and both of these happened on the night. Robbo has taken his squad to task over the display. I'm in agreement with him, it's time to take the cotton wool wrapping of the players and get them to perform to a higher level. So no fizzy pop joy for us this season, but good luck to Dunfermline in the next round. Wee midfielder Aidan Connolly (8) was a handful for our middlemen. Good control, able to beat a man and pick a pass, something we could have done with. He is the son of former Dundee United player Paddy Connolly and he is my MotM. Date: 14/08/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1046 Referee: Alan Muir Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Hoban; Rooney, B Mckay, McCart, Calder, Polworth, Welsh, Trafford (Walsh 55), Doran, D Mackay (Oakley 55), White Subs (not used): C Mackay; Brown, Harper, Fyffe, Kennedy Scorers: White (60) Booked: B Mckay (23), Rooney (34), Welsh (38) Sent Off: none Dunfermline: 2 Lineup: Gill; Allan, Morrison, Beadling (Jordan 63), Luke, Higginbotham, Todd, Connolly, Smith (Robertson 90), Ryan, McCann Subs (not used): Burt; Swanson, Crosbie, Brown, Sawers Scorers: Higginbotham (Pen 24), Smith (87) Booked: McCann (64) Sent Off: none a
  25. No Sweetener for IrnBru Champs It's a tough opening tie for Challenge Cup holders Inverness as we start the defence of our trophy on Tuesday night. However, there's no easy first round tie for the holders with the Pars visiting. Adults: £15 Concessions: £10 Under 16s: £5. Tickets available here Tickets Information for season ticket holders adding the game to their account can be found here How to add to your season ticket Our last involvement in this competition saw us defeat Dumbarton in the final at Perth, a last minute Carl Tremarco goal enough to lift the trophy. It was Championship duty last weekend and we passed up a great opportunity to win all three points against 10 man Ayr United. A penalty amongst other great opportunities went astray and we had to settle for a share of the points with the Honest Men. Inverness looked a bit one paced against Ayr and struggled to make the most of the numerical advantage. At times it was difficult to tell that the visitors were down a man. Nobody took the game by the scruff of the neck and we ultimately paid for our lethargy. Plenty of effort, but not enough guile. The last time the Pars came North they ruined our chances of a play-off slot last season by scoring with seconds left to earn a 2-2 draw in a pulsating game. I fully expect this to be another tough game. Robbo may make some changes for this cup game having gone with the tried and tested over the last few games. We do look as though a bit of pace in the wide areas would be an asset and maybe Elbouzedi or Calder could be more use on the park than on the bench. Daniel Mackay looks certain to make a start in this one. Been a tough week for Liam Polworth with the penalty miss and a minority section of fans getting on his case. Fair play to Liam if he plays through this, but I wouldn't blame him if he were to sit this one out and take stock of everything. Local artist and Caley Jags fan Sophie Robb has sketched this brilliant image of Liam. Let's hope he can put all this behind him and move on with the Caley Jags. Sophie's work can be seen at the stadium, a massive mural on display taken from the IrnBru final against Dumbarton. There's only one Liam Polworth................ The Pars fared worse than us on Saturday as they were unexpectedly beaten 1-3 at East End Park by relegated Ross County. Louis Longridge scored the Pars goal, but County were well worth the three points. Dunfermline might be more interested in the League Cup next weekend and that could lead to both sides fielding one or two fringe players. This was the side that Dunfermline put out at the weekend Robinson; Williamson, Durnan, Ashcroft, Longridge, Craigen, Thomson, Vincent, Longridge, El Bakhtaoui, Hippolyte Subs: Higginbotham, Ryan, Connolly, Gill, Smith, Todd, McCann An excellent digital Preview from the official site can be seen Here
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