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The struggle continues A visit to East End Park is on the cards for this weekend. With both teams conveniently knocked out of the Scottish Cup, then we can play catch-up on this postponed fixture from the end of December. Kick off is 3:00pm and with fan restrictions lifted, a healthy crowd is anticipated as the omicron cobwebs get blown away. Inverness' cup winning manager John Hughes is now the man in charge at East End Park with the unenviable task of lifting the Pars up the table. It's an opportunity for both clubs to get back on track after festive flops and the stakes are high at both ends of the table. OFFICIALPREVIEW TICKETS/STREAMING/SUPPORTERS BUS/MATCH INFO Venue - Head 2 Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 9 8 5 28 21 +7 Away 23 9 9 5 28 25 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 47 18 18 11 59 50 +9 This is the only Championship fixture this weekend Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 22 11 8 3 35 16 41 2. Inverness CT 21 10 7 4 29 17 37 3. Kilmarnock 21 11 4 6 27 15 37 4. Raith Rovers 22 9 8 5 29 22 35 5. Partick Thistle 20 9 6 5 33 19 33 6. Hamilton Ac. 22 6 6 10 24 37 24 7. Ayr United 21 5 6 10 19 34 21 8. Morton 21 4 8 9 24 31 20 9. Q.O.S. 21 4 6 11 21 33 18 10. Dunfermline 21 3 9 9 19 36 18 This seasons clashes show that despite their present status, the Pars will no doubt present us with another difficult hurdle to overcome. We were fortunate to come away with a point in the first fixture but we slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the Caledonian Stadium on 13 November: 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. Last Time Out: Inverness flopped for the fourth game in a row as we were held at home by equal bottom club Queen of the South. We came from behind to go 2-1 ahead but threw the points away when Carson teed up Queens sub Roy to make it 2-2. Donnelly had put Queens ahead before Mckay and Walsh gave us the lead. However, as is our tale of woe just now, we can't see out a game and that's one loss and three draws in the last four games. At this rate, promotion looks a long way off. Dunfermline's tale of the tape is confusing as well. A draw with Raith Rovers in the derby, thrashed 5-0 at Morton then last game a 1-0 win over Hamilton Accies. That leaves them bottom of the league in the relegation slot, level on points with Queen of the South, who we failed to beat last week. Latest Team News: Inverness have been dealt a major body blow with the news we were all dreading. It's not a rumour, Scott Allardice is out for the season. Ryan Fyffe has extended his loan at Nairn County. Aaron Doran and Cameron Harper were also missing last week. Awaiting further team news..............And here it is: Welsh u21 forward Sam Pearson has joined on loan from Bristol City. Joining Sam at Inverness is Dundee United forward Logan Chalmers who comes in on loan as well. Both players will join the squad at East End Park. Since the January sales, Dunfermline have lost defenders Ross Graham who has been recalled by Dundee United and Mark Connolly has returned but has been loaned out to Irish Premier side Dundalk. So far, Col Donaldson is the only new defender at East End Park arriving on loan from Dingwall. Up front, Kai Kennedy has been loaned out to Hamilton Accies by Rangers and Arbroath have taken Craig Wighton on loan. One forward has arrived, and that is Steven Lawless (winger) who has been without a club since leaving Motherwell in October 2021 ICTFC Under 18s beat St Johnstone 2-1 this afternoon. Goals from Ben Barron and Kenny MacInnes Well done lads

Shut that window Second bottom Queen of the south come calling to the Caledonian Stadium to take on second top Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm is the kick-off. Queens have lost their last two fixtures and Inverness are without a win in their last three games. Time to close the transfer window before we have nobody left to play out the season. OFFICIAL PREVIEW/STREAMING/TICKET INFO Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 2 6 36 24 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 20 9 10 69 44 +25 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 21 10 8 3 33 15 38 2. Inverness CT 20 10 6 4 27 15 36 3. Kilmarnock 20 11 3 6 26 14 36 4. Raith Rovers 21 9 8 4 28 20 35 5. Partick Thistle 19 9 5 5 32 18 32 6. Hamilton Ac. 21 6 6 9 24 36 24 7. Ayr United 20 5 6 9 19 32 21 8. Morton 20 3 8 9 22 31 17 9. Q.O.S. 20 4 5 11 19 31 17 10. Dunfermline 20 2 9 9 18 36 15 FRIDAY 19:45 Partick 1-1 Killie SATURDAY 15:00 Ayr Utd v Morton Dunfermline v Hamilton Inverness v Queens Raith Rovers v Arbroath Inverness have picked up six points from the two games between the clubs this season, both ending 2-1 in favour of the Caley Jags. CTO Summary from 25th September: Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Summary from 19th November: The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. Last Time Out The Caley Jags recovered from a goal down to draw with Raith Rovers last weekend. The points were shared thanks to two spectacular goals from Ethan Ross and Reece McAlear. A poor first half for the hosts saw Raith lead at the break but a better performance after the interval earned a share of the points although Raith will be aggrieved that they never ended their 22 year wait for a win over Inverness. Queens were deservedly beaten by Kilmarnock in a 2-0 defeat at Palmerston. Alan Johnston had this to say about it on BBC Sport: "It was never a penalty. There was a tug of the shirt but I've seen it again and it was way outside the box. But we continue to give away cheap goals. We have a fight on our hands. That's for sure." That's something like only four wins in 25 games since Alan Johnston went to Palmerston. The sort of form that gets teams relegated. Unfortunately, on the whole, we seldom take full advantage of this and often find ourselves struggling to dominate these games. That needs to change now if we want to remain interested in topping this league. Showing some urgency from the start would be an improvement on recent offerings. Latest Team News Billy Dodds saw Sean Welsh return last week as a second half substitute against Raith Rovers. Aaron Dorran missed out with a thigh injury and is a major doubt. Youth player Harry Hennem will continue his loan spell at Brora Rangers until the end of the season. More disturbing news though if true is that Scott Allardice is allegedly out for the season if you believe the latest rumours. Another equally disappointing one is that Robbie Deas is the subject of a six figure bid (£150K) by St Johnstone to lure our defender to McDiarmid Park, following the footsteps of defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney. Meh! I bet that next up for scrutiny will be Shane Sutherland; what's the odds on that... As an aside, but equally annoying: Daniel Mackay has joined Killie on loan, and loan Ranger Kai Kennedy has gone to Hamilton Accies. Willie Gibson should return for Queens who should also have former County and Inverness player Alex Cooper plying his trade at left back. Keeper Sol Brynn has been recalled by Middlesbrough but midfielder Don McMahon comes back from his loan to Dalbeattie Star. Here's Doddsy...

Duku Derby First home game of the year has third placed and fellow title contenders Raith Rovers coming North to face second place Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at 3:00pm, but given the recent weather and covid restrictions, don't hold your breath. This game has a restricted crowd of 500 Willy Wonka golden tickets allocated. Fear not if you failed to get a hold of a ticket as ICTV will be streaming the game at a mere £15. MATCH INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW LIVE STREAMING £15 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 20 10 8 2 33 14 38 2. Inverness CT 19 10 5 4 26 14 35 3. Raith Rovers 20 9 7 4 27 19 34 4. Kilmarnock 19 10 3 6 24 14 33 5. Partick Thistle 18 9 4 5 30 16 31 6. Hamilton Ac. 20 6 5 9 22 34 23 7. Ayr United 19 4 6 9 18 32 18 8. Q.O.S. 19 4 5 10 19 29 17 9. Dunfermline 19 2 9 8 18 31 15 10. Morton 19 2 8 9 17 31 14 Full fixture list scheduled for Saturday 8th January, all 3:00pm. Ayr Utd v Arbroath Accies v Partick Caley Jags v Raith Rovers Queens v Killie Morton v Dunfermline Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 13 3 2 36 13 +23 Away 14 7 4 3 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 32 20 7 5 63 30 +33 The stats are stacked heavily against Rovers who we seem to hold the Indian sign over. All of their wins came in the early years, their last triumph over ninety minutes was a 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium back in October 2000. Ian Broadfoot had this report on the game: Injury-hit Caley Thistle lost this game because of a poor first half display. Despite this they nearly took the lead in 13 minutes when a David Bagan shot was blocked by Greig McCulloch and spun over the bar. Raith scored first in 16 minutes when Jim Calder failed to hold a Shaun Dennis cross and Jay Stein hit home the loose ball from six yards. In 21 minutes a poor headed clearance by Stuart McCaffrey was picked up by Andrew Clark and he set up Ivan Mballa and the Frenchman slammed the ball into the net from 12 yards. ICT had a penalty claim turned down in 38 minutes when Charlie Christie was brought down by Paul Browne. After the break the home side improved but Guido Van de Kamp denied them on several occasions. Paul Sheerin pulled one back in 79 minutes when he netted from close range after a good cut back by Roy McBain. Four minutes later Sheerin watched in frustration as Van de Kamp saved his low shot. As time ran out he came close twice more but Raith held on to win. This seasons encounters show that a superb Roddy MacGregor strike was the difference between the sides back in August. MacGregor Stunner: Inverness maintained their winning start to the league campaign, but it took a stunning half volley from substitute Roddy MacGregor to settle the points. It had been a relatively even game with the hosts having slightly the better of it throughout. Jamie MacDonald had pulled off three or four decent saves before Roddy struck from 25 yards, the ball flashing into the net past an outstretched keeper after some neat interplay outside the box involving Sutherland and Duku. Six points from two games, we could not have asked for a better start to the Championship. The return fixture at Starks Park ended all square. And the wait goes on: Plenty of endeavour in the first half at Starks Park but little quality in the final third resulted in a game void of goalmouth action over the first forty-five minutes for both sides. Biggest talking point was the sending off just before the break of Ross Mathews for what looked like a rash studs up challenge. Contentious maybe, but straight red dished out. After the break more space saw more chances created but it was Raith that broke forward and scored through Aidan Connolly. Inverness struggled to get back on level terms but eventually did ten minutes from the end when Sean Welsh drilled home from the edge of the box and that ended the scoring. Raith's quest for a win over Inverness goes into a 22nd year. Killie were the only winners in the Championship and closed the gap to three points but Inverness remain top. There was also a Challenge Cup game at the end of November where both sides made numerous changes. That went to a penalty shoot-out which Raith won 5-4 after a goalless ninety minutes. Last time out Inverness drew at Gayfield in a game dominated by the wind which made the pitch virtually unplayable. Prior to that we have not played since the shambles of the 2-1 home loss to Hamilton Accies on the 18th December. Raith drew 0-0 with Dunfermline on 2nd January as we were being blown around Gayfield. Raith have not won in their last three games with their form taking a dip recently. So, fairly uninspiring stuff from both sides ahead of this clash at the top. Latest Team News Billy Dodds has been without Sean Welsh since he was injured in the Scottish Cup tie versus Morton on the 7th December. We will hopefully have more players available after covid struck and isolations hit the club. Aaron Doran has been added to the injury list and will be out for a couple of weeks. One man who will be seen no more is Michael Gardyne who has left the building by mutual consent following some alleged misconduct which had an upsetting effect on the morale in the dressing room. He has appropriately joined the 'Table Endies' at Links Park. Also leaving the club but on better terms, Anthony McDonald's contract has expired and after only five appearances this season he has also left the building and has signed on at Edinburgh City. Raith Rovers have signed Hibs forward Jamie Gullan on a two and a half year deal. The 'Hammer' has been on loan at Starks Park three times previously making fifty appearances and already has 14 Rovers goals to his name. McGlynn has moved early in the market and midfielder Ben Williamson comes in on loan from Rangers and Sam Stanton from Dundalk. Christophe Berra should return to action for Raith, but Lewis Vaughan and Brad Spencer are out long term. Here's Billy - Where's Wally?

Smoking Smokies The form team of 2021 entertain their table topping rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle as we first foot Gayfield on Sunday 2nd January. This game is scheduled for a 3:00pm kick-off and is the proverbial six pointer, but there is no guarantee of anything in these eerie times given our last two games were called off for covid at home to Partick and then a waterlogged pitch at Dunfermline. The game can be streamed live from Arbroath TV RAITH ROVERS MATCH INFO Have a good New Year when it comesFrom CTO editorial Arbroath took full advantage in the one game they played with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Dunfermline on Boxing day to put the part-timers top of the league on their own. Part-timers they may be, but they are a well drilled unit with a shrewd manager at the helm in Dick Campbell and you have to give them full credit for what they have achieved so far this season. The team is littered with quality players and in Michael McKenna they have a proven reliable goal scorer who would not look out of place in the Premiership. He scored his 12th goal of the season against the Pars and is the top scorer in the Championship. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 19 10 7 2 33 14 37 2. Inverness CT 18 10 4 4 26 14 34 3. Kilmarnock 19 10 3 6 24 14 33 4. Raith Rovers 19 9 6 4 27 19 33 5. Partick Thistle 18 9 4 5 30 16 31 6. Hamilton Ac. 19 5 5 9 19 34 20 7. Ayr United 19 4 6 9 18 32 18 8. Q.O.S. 18 4 5 9 19 26 17 9. Dunfermline 18 2 8 8 18 31 14 10. Morton 19 2 8 9 17 31 14 January 2nd scheduled fixtures all 3:00pm Arbroath v Caley Jags Partick P Morton Queens v Accies Raith v Pars The spoils are even this term. We edged the first one at Gayfield when Shane Sutherland bustled his way towards the box before dinking a delightful finish behind Gaston. In the reverse fixture Arbroath returned the favour after we lost our way and took the points in a 0-1 win. A second half goal from McKenna sufficient to win the game against a toothless Caley Jags back in October. CTO summary from that one: Inverness toiled to make any headway in a dour first half, the poor fare on display being matched only by the miserable weather. We improved in the final ten minutes before the interval but clear chances were at a premium. After the break and some initial half chances for the hosts, McKenna scored with a cross/shot free kick that caught out the keeper, possibly wind assisted. Inverness still struggled to create clear openings, an all too familiar habit of late. They could have doubled their lead soon after but Ridgers was in the right place to put Little's header over the bar. Thereafter we ruined what little chances we had by a lack of quality around the box and stout defending by Arbroath. Well done to them, they did what they had to do, we need to take a long hard look at how we are going about our business. Last Time Out Inverness slumped to defeat as Accies won 2-1 in the Highlands before Xmas. This was the second defeat to Accies this season who have been struggling but seem to be able to cancel us out and win, not always with eleven men. Arbroath pumped Dunfermline 3-0 at East End Park on Boxing Day. Goals from Breen (og), McKenna and a late one from Dowds sealed Pars fate. Latest Team News Who knows what's happening after the covid intervention. On the plus side, our injury situation should not be any worse given that we have not played since the 2-1 defeat to Accies on the 18th December. More recovery time for our Captain, who appears to be made of rice paper, but if fit he can be influential on the park. Here's hoping. Arbroath's Joel Nouble could be playing his final game before heading back to Livingston with rumours circulating that Jack Hamilton is a strong contender to go the opposite direction. The big bustling striker will be missed at Arbroath as he scares the sh!t out of defenders with his physical presence. Should Hamilton join Arbroath, then that will be a decent bit of business for the Smokies as well. Fixture Rearranged Our cinch Championship match against Dunfermline Athletic will now take place on Saturday 22nd January, 3pm kick-off, at East End Park. BYOB...Buy your own birdie.

Hughes the Daddy Inverness' cup winning manager John Hughes is now the man in charge at East End Park with the unenviable task of lifting the Pars up the table. The Caley Jags should be turning up in midweek, weather and covid permitting, the game is scheduled for a 7:45pm kick-off on Wednesday night. It's an early opportunity for both clubs to get back on track after festive flops and the stakes are high at both ends of the table. OFFICIAL PREVIEW & STREAMING INFO Last time out Inverness failed to play on Boxing Day but our last game was a dismal failure as Accies won 2-1 in the Highlands before Xmas. Second defeat to Accies this season who have been struggling but seem to be able to cancel us out and win, not always with eleven men. Dunfermline went down 3-0 at home to team of the season so far Arbroath. Their previous game was abandoned at Kilmarnock just after the hour with the score tied at 1-1, the fog making it impossible to continue, a real thick pea souper. Could have done with some fog in Inverness that day. That game was Tommy Wright's last one in charge of Killie as he was sacked after it. Venue - Head 2 Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 9 8 5 28 21 +7 Away 23 9 9 5 28 25 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 47 18 18 11 59 50 +9 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 19 10 7 2 33 14 37 2. Inverness CT 18 10 4 4 26 14 34 3. Raith Rovers 19 9 6 4 27 19 33 4. Kilmarnock 18 10 2 6 23 13 32 5. Partick Thistle 18 9 4 5 30 16 31 6. Hamilton Ac. 19 5 5 9 19 34 20 7. Ayr United 19 4 6 9 18 32 18 8. Q.O.S. 18 4 5 9 19 26 17 9. Dunfermline 18 2 8 8 18 31 14 10. Morton 18 2 7 9 16 30 13 Other fixtures on Wednesday night Killie v Morton Partick v Ayr Utd Arbroath v Accies & Raith v Queens postponed. First game between the sides this season saw Dunfermline get their second point of the season in a goalless draw at East End Park. They went one better in November with a 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium as we imploded. Here's our summary from that game: Under Par: Inverness opened the scoring after probing well for over twenty minutes. M****** G****** 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. Meh! Despite that result, after fourteen games, the Pars were still bottom of the league on ten points with Inverness third on twenty-five. Latest Team News We had to pull out of our Boxing Day fixture against Partick Thistle due mainly to an outbreak of covid and the related isolation process. As Dodds alludes to in his pre-match interview we have some back although I think that might be a bit of a smoke screen and we could still be seriously depleted. Only time will tell and see what Wednesday night brings. Sean Welsh has been injured and may still be receiving treatment, but it would be a bonus to have him back. Bit of deja vu from the November game with a diluted squad - 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. Yogi made his first signing in the experienced Steven Lawless from Motherwell Dodds looking tentatively ahead to Wednesday night

Xmas is coming We face Hamilton Accies on Saturday in the Championship, fresh from our mauling of Morton last weekend, but can we sustain that level of intensity as we enter the heavy winter schedule? The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with live streaming available from ICTV at £15 if you are unable to get to the stadium. We are due Accies a doing after our lousy performance down there on 2nd October against ten men for over an hour. Let's hope we can continue to build on our performance from last weekend. If not, Raith, Arbroath, Killie and Partick are waiting in the wings... OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH INFO*TICKETS*STREAMING Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 13 4 4 5 20 17 +3 Away 10 6 1 3 16 12 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 23 10 5 8 36 29 +7 First Competitive Meeting Jan 25th, 1997 Scottish Cup (Rd 3) (H) 1 - 3 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 2nd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 2 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The first meeting of the clubs this season saw Inverness fail to beat ten man Accies at NDP despite the hosts playing over half the game a man short. Lewis Smith and Andy Ryan had put Accies two up inside twenty-six minutes before Reegan Mimnaugh was red carded after half an hour. We huffed and puffed for the next hour before eventually getting an injury time consolation by he who shall not be named, but it was too little too late to retrieve the situation. That was our first League defeat of the season at the Fountain of Youth, but it left us three points clear of Kilmarnock in second place at the beginning of October. Since then we have gained a further fifteen points and remain top, but with Raith Rovers and Arbroath breathing down our neck. Accies have added nine points since that first meeting and are heading the bottom half of the table in a League where anyone can beat the rest on their day. Other fixtures this weekend Arbroath v Morton Kilmarnock v Dunfermline Partick v Rovers Queens v Ayr Utd Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Inverness CT 17 10 4 3 25 12 34 2. Raith Rovers 17 9 6 2 27 16 33 3. Arbroath 17 8 7 2 28 13 31 4. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 5. Partick Thistle 17 8 4 5 29 16 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 17 4 5 8 15 30 17 7. Ayr United 17 3 6 8 16 29 15 8. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 9. Q.O.S. 17 3 5 9 16 26 14 10. Morton 17 2 7 8 15 28 13 Last Time Out We trounced a hapless Morton 6-1 at Cappiellow. Doran, Sutherland (2), Mckay, McAlear with a screamer and Jamieson scored the goals in a one sided affair. Ugwu replied for Morton just on the break from the spot. Accies drew 1-1 at Somerset Park with Ayr United in a highly competitive encounter. They opened the scoring through Lewis Smith five minutes before the interval but Tomi Adeloye headed Ayr level three minutes after the break and that's how it ended. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will require more time to rest up. Other than that we should have a fairly healthy squad although Roddy MacGregor was also missing last week.

Back to the Championship    As if we have not played Morton often enough over the last few weeks we have to play them again on Saturday, the fourth meeting already this season. However, this is infinitely more important than the last couple of 1-1 draws. It's back to the Championship on Saturday and a chance to atone for dropping out of the Scottish Cup to Morton after a penalty shoot-out defeat.  Tuesday's replay ended level after ninety minutes with Muirhead and Devine scoring within the ninety minutes. However, after Danny saw his spot kick saved, Gary Oliver netted his to send Morton through to face Motherwell in the next round and left Inverness to concentrate solely on the Championship. That game was the result of a previous draw in Inverness, Mckay and Reilly sending the tie to a replay. The first meeting this season was a Championship encounter at the Caledonian Stadium with Inverness getting the better of a stubborn Morton, easing to a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Billy Mckay and Mi***** Ga*****. Match-Ticket-Bus-Streaming-Info Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 12 4 2 46 16 +30 Away 15 8 3 4 28 18 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 33 20 7 6 74 34 +40   Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Inverness CT 16 9 4 3 19 11 31 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 6 2 26 16 30 3. Kilmarnock 16 9 2 5 20 10 29 4. Partick Thistle 16 8 4 4 29 14 28 5. Arbroath 16 7 7 2 26 13 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 16 4 4 8 14 29 16 7. Ayr United 16 3 5 8 15 28 14 8. Morton 16 2 7 7 14 22 13 9. Dunfermline 16 2 7 7 15 25 13 10. Q.O.S. 16 3 4 9 13 23 13 As the table shows, we are at opposite ends, but based on the cup games there's little to choose between the sides. Thanks to results after our 1-0 win over Killie on the Friday night, we now sit on top of the pile with some interesting encounters coming up this weekend. Friday 10th December Ayr United v Hamilton Saturday 11th December Dunfermline v Queens Partick Thistle v Arbroath Raith Rovers v Killie fc They say familiarity breeds contempt, it also affords the opportunity for both clubs to cancel each other out. That's what has happened over the last couple of games against Morton and it's going to take a bit of inventive creativity to unlock either defence, or perish the thought, a blunder in defence. Whatever the case, let's hope for a bit more energy across the pitch.  And hopefully Morton have brought the away changing room up to standard after Billy Dodds made public his concern over the state of them in his condemnation of their fit for purpose suitability. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will be out for a couple of weeks after coming off early in the Cup replay, so there's a change already. Aaron Doran will possibly miss out as he has been struggling to recover. Manny Duku was on the bench on Tuesday, maybe we will see a return of the awkward gangly style that confuses him as much as the defenders.    

Replay It's a Scottish Cup replay at Cappielow on Tuesday night as Inverness take on Morton to see who travels to Motherwell in the next round. The first game ended at 1-1 in the Highlands with strikes from Billy Mckay and Gavin Reilly taking the game to a replay, probably something neither club will relish. Since then an Inverness XI went out of the Challenge Cup to Raith Rovers on penalties. That was largely a squad littered with fringe players ahead of the big fish which was played out on Friday night. That game went well when Sean Welsh scored a screamer as Inverness beat Kilmarnock in a televised game to go to the top of the table. Whilst Inverness were slinking out of the Challenge Cup, Morton were also departing that competition as they went down 2-1 to Queen of the South at Palmerston. On Saturday, Morton drew 2-2 with Ayr United with Reilly and Oksanen scoring to tie the game. League form indicates that Inverness should be favourites to go into the next round, but on the evidence of the original tie, Morton were the ones forcing the pace of the game and deserved a second bite at the cherry. This is the first of a double header against the 'Ton as we play them again on Saturday in the Championship. That is surely more important for both clubs, especially given our good result against Killie, and for different reasons given Morton's result against Ayr in the bottom half of the table. MATCH INFO & TV STREAMING Latest Team News Reading between the lines, I think it's fair to say that Mr Gardyne has probably left the building. His footballing skills will be missed, but his team bonding efforts were uncalled for and disruptive. Would be good if we could draw a line under this and a statement from the club would be appreciated. Hopefully we have no more niggles to worry about although Manny Duku and Wallace Duffy were not in the squad for the Killie game although Duku has returned to training. However, will we be putting all our eggs in one basket, or will we put our fingers in more than one pie. That my friends is the burning question. Morton; well we should not be too concerned by what they do, but what we do ourselves, so let's not get too hung up about them. Here's their last starting XI v Ayr United: Hamilton; Strapp, McEntee, Ledger, Hynes, Russell, Oksanen, Blues, Muirhead, Reilly, Ugwu However, one glaring change from the first game is that Gus McPherson has been removed. Official Statement from Greenock Morton: The club can today confirm that following Saturday’s news of Gus MacPherson being relieved of his duties, the team will be led in the interim by Head of Youth Academy, Derek Anderson, supported by Assistant Manager Andy Millen and Reserve Team Coach, John Sutton. Or if you prefer it in Pink!

Tight at the Top   The hectic week continues with the visit of Championship leaders Kilmarnock on Friday night for a 7:45 kick off. With only two points separating the top five, there's little room to slip a fag paper between the lot of them. We managed to surreptitiously extricate ourselves from the Challenge Cup on Tuesday night to alleviate the fixture schedule thanks to a couple of weak penalties. Not too weak to bring us to the attention of everyone, but just enough to get dumped out of the event. Next up for the same treatment is a trip to Cappielow in the Scottish Cup next midweek, another waste of our time. So, let's concentrate 100% on the Championship from now until the end of the season. MATCH INFO OFFICIAL PREVIEW GAME ON BBC SCOTLAND ICTV for Season Ticket Holders     Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Kilmarnock 15 9 2 4 20 9 29 2. Raith Rovers 15 8 5 2 26 16 29 3. Inverness CT 15 8 4 3 18 11 28 4. Partick Thistle 15 8 3 4 29 14 27 5. Arbroath 15 7 6 2 26 13 27 6. Dunfermline 15 2 7 6 15 24 13 7. Ayr United 15 3 4 8 13 26 13 8. Hamilton Ac. 15 3 4 8 13 29 13 9. Morton 15 2 6 7 12 20 12 10. Q.O.S. 15 3 3 9 13 23 12 Venue Head to Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 9 4 43 32 +11 Away 25 8 6 11 36 44 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 18 15 15 79 76 +3 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 3 - 3 (H) We have a decent home record overall against Killie although most of these games were in the Premier League. We shocked Killie earlier in the season when a Michael Gardyne strike earned us all three points. Killie have taken nine points from there last five Championship games, whilst we have been dropping points all over the place with only five points from a possible fifteen. We did however stop the rot with a deserved 2-1 win at Palmerston, our first win in six league games. Last Time out on league duty we beat Queen of the South 2-1 having been cruising at 2-0 with only fifteen minutes to go. However, we do nothing the easy way and had to be wary in the final fifteen after Lee Connelly threw Queens a lifeline. As it was, the two goals from Billy Mckay were enough to give us all three points. Since then we drew 1-1 with Morton in the Scottish Cup, Mckay scoring his tenth of the season in that game, and a weakened squad went out of the Challenge Cup on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Raith Rovers on Tuesday night. Killie's last league game was a home defeat by part-time Arbroath (0-1), the success story of the season so far. They followed that with a 1-0 win over Queens Park in the Scottish Cup, Euan Murray with the goal. And in the Mickey Mouse Trophy they put Accies out with a very late double to win 2-3. That was basically a second string for Killie, but unfortunately for them, they still managed to get through Latest Team News The midweek squads can be disregarded as both sides rested players. Look out for Ridgers, Broadfoot, Devine et all returning to bolster the squad for the better...... maybe. No news forthcoming on the 'niggles' front so be prepared for anything, except you know who. Killie also rested a raft of players in midweek so apart from any outstanding long term injuries, they should have a full squad to pick from.   Billy Dodds.....not really saying much to be honest     

Joint holders clash It's the second game of a hectic period for the Caley Jags as the joint holders of the Challenge Cup meet at the Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night in a game that kicks-off at 7:45pm. This season it's called the SPFL Trust Trophy and last time it was held it ran out of time with Inverness and Raith being awarded joint custody of the Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup for 2019/2020. No event for 2020/2021 as covid was the only winner that season. Inverness have held the Challenge Cup three times with Raith holding it twice. Falkirk have the most victories with four wins. MATCH INFO & TICKETS PPV STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 13 2 2 36 13 +23 Away 14 7 4 3 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 31 20 6 5 63 30 +33 First Competitive Meeting Sep 25th, 1999 League (H) 0 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 23rd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) Despite our recent run of form, we hold the Indian sign over Raith Rovers with only two defeats in seventeen home games in all competitions, and that was not yesterday (Oct 2000)... This season it took a super strike from Roddy MacGregor to separate the sides back in August and more recently at Starks Park Aiden Connolly and Sean Welsh scored the goals in a 1-1 draw where Ross Mathews was sent off on half time for Rovers. Billy Mckay is our top scorer with 10 goals for the season, half of those coming in the Challenge Cup including a hat-trick against Elgin City in the last round. The Caley Jags put Buckie Thistle out in the previous round 4-2 with Mckay and Jamieson scoring braces. Raith got here by virtue of beating East Fife 3-1 at Starks Park. Tait, Connolly and Poplatnik the scorers for them. They put Forfar Athletic out before that scoring the only goal of the game. Latest Team News The mystery continues as the tough winter schedule kicks in and with an unwanted Scottish Cup replay coming up against Morton, the frailties of our wafer thin squad will no doubt be severely tested over the next few weeks. Unfortunately there is some unfinished personal business that is disrupting the squad and it's affecting performances on the park. It's about time the club acted professionally on this and make the paying public aware of the situation to avoid further embarrassment. A good chance to progress, but also a great opportunity to give some of our fringe players some more game time and those returning from injury. Manny Duku seems to have lost his way, but maybe he fancies a game against his old club and the likes of Cammy Mackay, Harper, Duffy, McDonald and Jamieson are all in need of getting some mileage on the park. Scott Kellacher ahead of the Raith game

Cup Action Its a break from the rigours of the Championship this weekend as Morton head North looking to progress in the Scottish Cup. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm and for those unable to get to the Caledonian Stadium, ICTV will be streaming the match for a tenner. Not a big change for either side though as these two Championship sides clash in the 3rd round. They have met in the Scottish Cup twice before with Inverness dishing out heavy defeats of 4-0 and 5-1. In other knockout competitions there has been two meetings with the Caley Jags winning them both. MATCH INFO & TICKETS LIVE STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 12 3 2 45 15 +30 Away 14 8 2 4 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 31 20 5 6 72 32 +40 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) In this season's encounter Inverness won 2-0 recently on league duty and will play Morton away in another couple of weeks at Cappielow. We have a great overall record against Morton with only two defeats in seventeen games, however, that defeat came as recently as March of this year and here is our match overview. Abysmal, a new low! A stormy evening saw no goals at the break. Todorov came closest when he hit the post just before the interval. Could it get worse? The answer was yes when Aidan Nesbitt drilled a low shot into the net from the edge of the box with Inverness unable to make any headway. With twenty minutes left you could see the game slowly drifting away from the hosts. Sutherland hit the woodwork again and Todorov's follow up 'goal' was ruled out. Last time out Inverness dominated Queen of the South and came away from Palmerston with all three points thanks to a Billy Mckay brace in a 2-1 win. That was our first win in six games, so nothing to crow about really, but the performance was much easier on the eye than recent offerings. Morton went down 2-1 at Starks Park after taking the lead through Ledger in the fifth minute but Raith took the points as Morton ended the game with ten men when Lithgow was sent off with 15 minutes remaining. Morton remain in the bottom two after some indifferent performances. Latest Team News The mystery and intrigue surrounding our squad is coming to a head and our injury list has never been forthcoming. Look out for either Carson or Gardyne starting and hopefully our other 'niggles' will start clearing up soon. Sean Welsh, Tom Walsh, Wallace Duffy and Michael Gardyne were missing against Queen of the South but Shane Sutherland and Roddy MacGregor made a welcome return to the starting XI Here's Morton's squad from the 2-1 defeat at Starks Park last week where they ended the game with ten men after Lithgow was red carded. Dodds and Dan time

On the Telly...   Not sure if it's a good thing that we are on the telly on Friday night for all to see given our recent tepid performances, but we travel to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South at Palmerston for a 19:45 kick-off. Unfortunately any confidence we built up over the first nine games has dissipated in the Autumn mist and our form is now on a par with Queens who are second bottom of the table. Only Ayr united are worse over the last five games, and we failed to beat them as well. Our demise has been excruciatingly rapid over the last few weeks where we have gone from five points ahead to four points and two places behind leaders Kilmarnock in the space of five games where we have only managed to accumulate three points out of a possible fifteen with zero wins. This is certainly not the form of a team looking for at least a play-off place, unless of course it's at the wrong end of the table. OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH & TICKET INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462 218717   Venue - Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 2 6 36 24 +12 Away 18 7 7 4 31 19 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 38 19 9 10 67 43 +24 First Competitive Meeting Dec 17th, 1994 Scottish Cup (Rd 1) (H) 1 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Sep 25th, 2021 League (Championship) (H) 2 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) Saturday Fixtures Dunfermline v Ayr United Kilmarnock v Arbroath Partick v Accies Rovers v  Morton     Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Kilmarnock 14 9 2 3 20 8 12 29 2. Raith Rovers 14 7 5 2 24 15 9 26 3. Inverness CT 14 7 4 3 16 10 6 25 4. Partick Thistle 14 7 3 4 28 14 14 24 5. Arbroath 14 6 6 2 25 13 12 24 6. Ayr United 14 3 4 7 13 23 -10 13 7. Hamilton Academical 14 3 4 7 13 28 -15 13 8. Morton 14 2 6 6 11 18 -7 12 9. Queen of the South 14 3 3 8 12 21 -9 12 10. Dunfermline 14 1 7 6 12 24 -12 10 The first meeting this season ended in a narrow 2-1 victory for Inverness in the Highlands after goals from Welsh and Gardyne overcame Queens who scored through Lee Connelly. Last time in Dumfries it ended all square at 1-1. Both sides have three draws and two defeats in their last five championship games. Latest Team News Must be a copy'n' paste on the official preview as that's all we get these days. “There’s always a couple of little niggles, I don’t want to give anything away with it being live on TV. We’ve given them right up until the last minute but apart from that I’ve got a healthy squad to choose from.”  What that probably means is that we have four or five missing, and the usual 'made of rice paper' players injured again and a four man bench. Good to see Carson back last week, let's hope he has no reaction from his first game in weeks and hopefully maybe some news about Shane Sutherland. QOTS (away v Arbroath 1-1): Brynn, McKay, Nditi, Debayo, Johnston, McGrory, Gibson, Liddle (Todd 78′), Paton, Connelly (Roy 58′), Cameron Same old story from Dodds <<yawn>>