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Alloa Dump Sad Inverness The Wasps dumped Inverness out of the League Cup with a 1-0 win at the Indodrill Recreation Park Stadium. This was another inept display by Richie Foran's side who were given another chance en block to make amends for their poor showing at Partick, but nothing changed as the League One side scrambled the winner in the first half through Jason Marr. The visitors were unable to take control of the game and struggled to create much of note and Alloa held on for the win. Congratulations to Alloa who continue a six game winning streak since relegation at the end of last season. Shame on you Inverness who appear to be clueless with Richie Foran's honeymoon period coming to an end quicker than expected. We had a couple of keen observers on hand to relate the tale. Alternative Maryhill and Rig saw it like this and put their thoughts down on paper. Very poor tonight said A M. Going forward, Mulraney looked lightweight and on the rare occasion where he managed to get space to cross, his final ball was poor. King was slightly better, but the potential impact of both players seemed to be limited by the fact that they were played on the wrong wings - Mulraney, as a pacey left footer, should surely be allowed to use his pace to get to the bye-line and swing balls in with his left foot, while King contributed little from the left in the first half but looked a bit more effective when he was eventually switched to the right in the second. Where we really lost the game, though, was in the centre of the park: Polworth looked OK driving forward but both his and Tansey's distribution was poor, and neither seemed able to anticipate passes played into their opponents' feet or impose themselves physically; we at least had more of the play when Draper came on in the second half. We also allowed Alloa to push us back too deep in the first half in particular, and while they didn't create too many chances, there was too much scrappy, last ditch defending. McNaughton reads the game well, but his distribution was poor tonight, and he doesn't dominate opposing attackers the way Meekings can. As soon as Meekings is fit, he needs to come back into the team, and after tonight, Foran will hopefully also accept that we are a stronger team when Draper starts, whether it is Vigurs, Polworth or Mulraney who gives way. It was good to see Doran back as a second-half sub, although he didn't do a great deal, and Fisher had a few good touches and might be worth a start in place of Boden, who had a poor evening. Rig added: Not really much else to add other than we seemed utterly intent on trying to force the ball up the middle of the pitch which was bizarre given that we actually have wingers for the first time in forever to try and whip crosses in. In the second half especially, after Doran had come on and King was switched to the right flank (presumably to stop him cutting inside all the time from the left) we still tried to go right down the throat of the Alloa side and with Goodwin in there that was always going to be a tall order. Really strange that we didn't try and stretch Alloa more by playing with more width but given how excellent they were last night in a defensive sense I think they still would have held firm quite easily. The second half was like one of those overload training exercises given how much of the ball we had and how often we were camped in the Alloa side of the pitch. That said, it is also an exercise we would have failed badly at given how wasteful we were with the ball. Over the course of the 90 minutes I can recall a good shot in the first half from Polworth, a Vigurs (half?) volley in the second after a Fisher knock down and a late effort poked wide by Vigurs and that was it really. Fifteen shots on goal and only two on target. That's very poor. I thought Alloa were superb. You can argue they didn't offer too much in an attacking sense particularly in the second half but they were fantastic across the back completely neutralising our (limited) attacking play and their midfield dominated for most of the game although we got a wee bit of an edge back when Draper came on. Still, all the possession we had is only good if you do something with it. Our wasteful attacking play meant we didn't deserve to go through and Alloa rightly progressed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks guys. A hugely disappointing result for Inverness and with a local derby coming up this weekend, no time to dwell on this result. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa, Date 09th August 2016, kick off 19:30 Alloa Athletic - 1 (Jason Marr 28) Starting Xl: Parry, Taggart, Waters, Graham, Marr, Goodwin, Longworth (Cawley 46) Robertson, Spence (Layne 81), Kirkpatrick (Holmes 76), Flannigan. Subs: McDowall, Wilson, Hoggan, Hetherington, Holmes, Layne, Cawley. Inverness CT - 0 Starting XI: Fon Williams; Raven, McNaughton, Warren, Tremarco, Tansey, Polworth (Doran 74), King, Vigurs, Mulraney (Draper 46), Boden (Fisher 60), Subs: Mackay, Horner, Brown, Draper, Doran, Sutherland, Fisher. Referee: Don Robertson Crowd: 613

What is it with Partick Thistle? Richie Foran's side lost their first big test going down 2-0 at Partick in the seasons opener after a rather insipid display which disappointed the away support given the promise offered in the League Cup showing, where goals were in abundance. Goals in either half from Chris Erskine and David Amoo were enough to give Partick the points as Inverness rarely threatened and they can have no complaints about the three points staying in Glasgow. Alternative Maryhill was on hand to witness Foran's first Firhill visit as manager. New season, new manager, new signings, same old story for Inverness Caley Thistle at Firhill. This was a disappointing season-opener that showed, once again, that there are few managers better than Alan Archibald at setting up his teams to contain and nullify the ICT threat, and provided a useful reminder to those of us buoyed with enthusiasm after the last two Betfred Cup Games that there is a significant difference between lower-league and Premiership sides, that even the most promising new signings will need time to adjust to their new surroundings and new opponents, and that we should probably temper our more extravagant predictions about top-three or top-two finishes. Richie Foran opted to continue with the starting line-up that had beaten Dunfermline and Arbroath so convincingly, which meant a back five of Fon Williams, Raven, McNaughton, Warren and Tremarco, Polworth and Tansey in the centre of midfield with Mulraney and King on the wings, and Vigurs playing an advanced midfield role behind the lone striker Boden. The decision to continue with a winning side was understandable, but the consequent omission of Ross Draper, a player proven to be highly comfortable and effective at this level, probably contributed to Caley Thistle’s inability to seize control of this match at any point. Draper took a place on the bench, alongside Aaron Doran. The opening ten minutes set the tone for much of what was to follow: rather than taking the game to the ICT players, Partick seemed content to allow them possession, but closed down and marshalled attackers very effectively whenever they got into the final third, doubling up on Mulraney to make it difficult for him to exert any influence, and maintaining a solid back line that restricted Caley Thistle, in the main, to shots from distance. An early example of this was when King cut in from the left and fired a shot a couple of feet over from about twenty yards out; later in the half Mulraney gained a rare bit of space and made a similar attempt coming in from the opposite wing, but his shot ballooned high over. It also became clear in the opening exchanges that this was going to be a stop-start game characterised by niggly fouls, not all of which would have been given by a less whistle-happy referee than Nick Walsh. On twenty-four minutes, ICT were given one of their best opportunities of the half when Billy King was brought down on the edge of the box after a tricky run at the Partick defence. In attempting to place the ball to the left of the keeper, however, Greg Tansey succeeded only in sending it off the wall for a corner, which was dealt with well by the Glasgow side. Partick then had their own chance when Liam Lindsay got on the end of a David Amoo free kick into the Caley Thistle penalty area, but his downward header went wide of Owain Fon Williams’ right hand post. The opening goal came during a period where ICT had enjoyed one of their best spells of possession without being able to do much with it, and while the goal was an excellent example of fluid counter-attacking football, it also raised questions about the Inverness players’ willingness or ability to get close to and close down their opponents as effectively as the Partick players were able to do. During the slick passing move that culminated in Chris Erskine receiving Steven Lawless’ pass on the right-hand corner of the ICT penalty area and bending a fine left-foot shot past Fon Williams, Vigurs, Raven, Polworth and McNaughton all failed to challenge effectively, either diving in too late or not committing at all. Obviously this will happen at times throughout the season, but it was a little worrying to see the team cut open quite so easily by a side that hadn’t looked particularly threatening going forward, and is something that the manager must hope can be tightened up before his players come up against faster and trickier teams. As half time approached, Caley Thistle had a couple of half-chances to even up the scoreline. A diagonal ball from Liam Polworth found Boden approaching the right-hand corner of the penalty area, but the ICT striker sent a weak shot across the goal and well wide. A few moments later, Iain Vigurs worked space on the left hand edge of the area, but instead of shooting elected to play in Tremarco, who seemed to stumble and failed to make meaningful contact with the ball. Half time: Partick Thistle 1, Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 The second half started similarly to the first, with Caley Thistle allowed plenty of the ball but unable to make their possession count, despite winning six free kicks in the opening ten minutes of the half. The best effort for ICT during this period was a shot from twenty yards by Greg Tansey, after being played in by Liam Polworth, which flew wide of the Partick keeper’s right hand post. Caley Thistle’s frustration began to show, with Polworth getting agitated over the referee’s failure to book one of the Partick players after yet another foul, and it was perhaps this frustration, coupled with having been robbed of possession far too easily, which led to Iain Vigurs’ unnecessarily clumsy challenge on Sean Welsh, and thus to the goal which finished the match as a contest. Welsh took the free kick himself, floating it over the ICT defence towards the head of Abdul Osman. His header back into the Caley Thistle penalty area was helped on by Liam Lindsay, and David Amoo forced the ball over the line from a yard out, with the Inverness defenders outmuscled and floundering. Foran gave his chosen starting eleven five more minutes to try to play themselves back into the match before making his first change. Perhaps a little surprisingly, although he had had a largely ineffective afternoon, it was Jake Mulraney who made way for Ross Draper, with Polworth taking up Mulraney’s berth on the right wing. Draper’s commitment to the cause was exemplified by a thunderous fifty-fifty challenge with Liam Lindsay which led to the Partick player having to be substituted, but this change, and the subsequent appearance of Fisher for Vigurs, did little to improve the Caley Thistle performance and nothing to influence the eventual result. If anything, the final half hour was ICT’s least effective or urgent passage of play, despite being in a position where they should have been chasing the game, with a weak Vigurs shot and a Fisher header that was easily saved being the only chances of note. In the end, Partick Thistle comfortably deserved the victory for their superior defensive organisation and their more clinical play going forward. Full time: Partick Thistle 2, Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 The post-match comments from Richie Foran struck the right note, acknowledging the disappointingly flat nature of the team’s attacking play while vowing to remain patient and praising the players for their commitment so far. However, with two important games to come this week, against in-form Alloa in the Betfred Cup, and then against local rivals Ross County, who had a similarly disappointing league curtain-raiser yesterday, it will be interesting to see what sort of response Foran gets from his players and whether he will make immediate changes to his starting line-up. One thing is clear: it is far, far too early to make any meaningful predictions, whether they are of glorious success or impending doom. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Venue: Firhill, kick off 15:00, Saturday 6th August 2016 Partick Thistle - 2 (Erskine 36) (Amoo 60) X1: Cerny, Booth, Welsh, Lindsay (Azeez 78), Osman, Amoo, Doolan, Erskine (Edwards 72), Lawless, Devine, Gordon. Subs: Scully, Azeez, Wilson, Edwards, McDaid, Syme, Pogba Inverness CT - 0 X1: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, McNaughton, Warren, Polworth, Vigurs (Fisher 76), Mulraney (Draper 66), Tansey, Boden, King. Subs: Mackay, Draper, Doran, Brown, Horner, Fisher, Sutherland Referee: Nick Walsh Crowd: 2943

Magnificent Seven Inverness routed luckless Arbroath 7-0 with a superb attacking display that had the home fans licking their lips in anticipation ahead of the start of the Premiership next weekend. The first was a howler from Smokies keeper Robbie Mutch as a trickler from Billy King squirmed through his hands and his open legs into the net. Scott Boden (2) and Carl Tremarco made it 4-0 at the break. Further goals from Iain Vigurs, Boden and Tremarco again completed the scoring. He never got on the scoresheet, but Jake Mulraney gave the Lichties defence a torrid time of it all afternoon and they were grateful when he went off after 73 minutes. Smokies Burnt A decent day for a game of football and the pitch was in pristine condition as the Fun Day gave way to the Betfred League Cup game with the Red Lichties the opposition. Aaron Doran was on the bench but Owain Fon Williams returned from his Euro vacation to get between the sticks. We were set up to have a go with Billy King on the left and Jake Mulraney on the right. Ross Draper was left on the bench with Tansey and Polworth doing the donkey work. Arbroath had former Inverness player Bryan Prunty starting up front, but given their list of missing players, there was only going to be one outcome. It took only ten minutes for the hosts to open the scoring although visiting keeper Robbie Mutch won't want to see that one again. Billy King looked to have spoiled a brilliant move down the left as he shot rather tamely at the goal. In golfing terms, he topped it. However as Mutch crouched down to scoop the ball up it went under him and trickled into the net. Disaster for the Smokies, maybe the scuffed shot confusing the issue, pleasing for the Caley Jags. Goal machine Carl Tremarco (yes you read it right) incredibly missed an open goal but Scott Boden scored a beauty as he drilled a shot wide of the keeper eight minutes after the opener from an incisive through ball from Tansey as Inverness built a head of steam. Arbroath were being put to the sword I'm afraid, and that was before someone switched on Jake Mulraney. This boy is electric, like a younger and quicker Cristiano Ronaldo. He will terrify defences this season with his pace and ball juggling skills. Iain Vigurs rattled the bar with a header from a King cross as the one sided contest raged on and it was no surprise when Boden scored a third, heading home from close range after a Tremarco cross was headed off the post by King before landing on the strikers napper. Tremarco would not be denied though and he got on the end of a Raven cross to score the fourth a few minutes before the break. Four up and Arbroath could have no complaints as King and Mulraney were causing havoc on the flanks. Half Time 4-0 The second half was only two minutes old when Iain Vigurs banged in the fifth from six yards. A tremendous ball from Polworth set Mulraney on his way and he picked out Vigurs who cracked the ball high into the net. For a moment, it looked as though he might have clipped it too high, but it hit the roof of the net for number five. That goal sparked the Smokies best spell of the game as they had a minor resurgence. Tremarco went back to his defensive duties when he hooked a Steven Dorris flick off the line when the striker should probably have scored and Fon Williams kept out a snapshot from Bobby Linn to keep his goal intact. After seventy-one minutes normal service was resumed and Scott Boden rounded off his day with a hat-trick, curling in after Vigurs slipped him through as the visitors ran out of power. Left back come striker Carl Tremarco ended the scoring late on after Gary Warren went on a mazy run, oooh. He picked the ball up around halfway, and waltzed past three defenders. He had obviously been watching Jake closely as he sped forward before teeing up Tremarco to bundle home number seven. Full Time 7-0 As comprehensive a result as you could ask for. Nobody is getting carried away after this given the difference in class of the opposition, but Jake Mulraney is going to set the Premiership alight if he keeps up this form. The guy is just awesome and well worth the entrance fee alone. He was my MotM despite tremendous displays from Boden, Tremarco, King, well everybody really. We will have tougher games ahead, but the Foran revolution is taking shape nicely and it was like going back in time to the Pele era as we went for the jugular. Seven goals going on a dozen. Tough luck on Arbroath who will have better days I'm sure, but we had a job to do and did it in style. The season begins in earnest next week as we head to Firhill to take on Partick Thistle. They won't know what hit them if we continue in this form with Mulraney the man for the job. Date: 23/07/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1316 Referee: Greg Aitken Inverness CT: 7 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, McNaughton (Brown 62), Warren Polworth, Vigurs, Mulraney (Fisher 73), Tansey, Boden, King (Draper 56) Subs (not used): Mckay, Doran, Horner, Sutherland Scorers: King (10), Boden (18, 25, 71), Tremarco (37, 88), Vigurs (47) Booked: none Sent Off: none Arbroath: 0 Lineup: Mutch, Thomson (Dunlop 46), Whatley, Hamilton, Phillips, Kader, Gold, Callaghan, Linn, Doris, Prunty (Hester 78) Subs (not used): Gomes Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none

FIVE OVER PARS This was a fixture that Inverness players and supporters alike probably anticipated with a certain amount of trepidation, realising that anything less than a win would almost certainly spell the end of the team’s involvement in the Betfred Scottish League Cup. When they look back at it at the end of the season, however, will they pinpoint it as the game where the Richie Foran revolution started in earnest? Reflecting what was in many ways a promising performance despite the outcome of the penalty shoot-out, Caley Thistle’s starting line-up showed only one change from Saturday’s match against Dundee Utd, with Ross Draper surprisingly dropping to the bench to make way for Jake Mulraney, who occupied the wide right position with Liam Polworth moving into the centre. That meant a second consecutive start for young goalkeeper Cammy MacKay, experience that could prove invaluable with Ryan Esson approaching the end of his playing days. Dunfermline, despite an impressive win on Saturday, made two changes, Rhys McCabe replacing the apparently unwell Nat Wedderburn (sick at the prospect of facing his former team-mates?) and Lewis Spence coming in for Gavin Reilly. The game got off to a lively start, setting the pattern for what was to follow. A slack Dunfermline back-pass on 5 minutes almost let Scott Boden in for a Caley Thistle opener, and ICT then had a claim for a penalty denied when Jake Mulraney went to ground; not the last time in the evening that he would create problems for the Dunfermline defence. A minute later it was Dunfermline’s turn to claim for a penalty as the action swung to the other end of the ground, and Dunfermline went on to force two corners in quick succession as the Inverness players struggled to withstand some sustained pressure, with Gary Warren uncharacteristically shaky, slashing wildly at a clearance. Eventually regaining some composure, Caley Thistle began to look more threatening, with Mulraney looking to move play forward at speed whenever possible. After combining well with Mulraney down the right, David Raven fired in a dangerous near-post cross that Scott Boden failed to convert. Then, the breakthrough. A comical piece of Dunfermline defending began when a dangerous pass back from Ben Richards-Everton forced keeper David Hutton to make a hurried, shanked clearance, which landed at the feet of Iain VIGURS, who curled home a composed right foot finish from 40 yards. Thereafter, the Inverness team tried to turn the screw, with the two wingers growing in confidence, and a Billy King shot was turned round the post by a Dunfermline defender before Gary Warren was unlucky to see a diving header go narrowly wide. On 27 minutes, Dunfermline had another shout for a penalty with the Pars players claiming that the ball had struck McNaughton’s hand. Within two minutes, however, the Fife side had their equaliser, prolific skipper Andy GEGGAN rising well to head home a dangerous cross by recent signing Kallum Higginbotham. After that, action switched more evenly from end to end, with Mulraney continuing to look threatening and drawing frequent fouls, but with the Caley Thistle central midfield at times seeming atypically hesitant and error-prone under pressure, allowing Dunfermline to create their own moments of danger. With just minutes remaining before half-time, ICT restored their lead, thanks once again to the composure and vision of Iain Vigurs. The ever-impressive Mulraney drew yet another foul, and after a lengthy break for treatment to Lewis Spence, who had injured himself making the challenge on Mulraney, VIGURS stepped up and, having scored with his right earlier, cracked his left-footed free kick into the goal via the underside of the bar. ‘Beautiful, an absolutely fantastic free kick’, according to the BBC’s Steven Thompson. HALF TIME: DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC 1 – 2 INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE The second half got off to a frenetic start, with Dunfermline’s Michael Moffat threatening within 30 seconds of the restart and then Mulraney again running rings around opposing full back Jason Talbot and almost playing Vigurs in for his hat-trick. And just five minutes later, did Caley Thistle increase their lead, with another impressive goal. A sweeping, multi-passing move from the back after a spell of Pars pressure culminated in Billy KING cutting inside from the left and firing in a shot that deflected over the keeper and into the net. To their credit, Dunfermline, who could justifiably feel aggrieved to find themselves two down, continued to press and create problems for ICT, and after seeing a third penalty appeal turned down around the hour mark, three Pars players found their way into Crawford Allan’s book due to the fury of their protests. Shortly thereafter, Ross Draper replaced the highly impressive Mulraney, and little more than five minutes later, Caley Thistle finally put the game out of Dunfermline’s reach. The scorer? Who else but VIGURS, completing the perfect hat-trick by getting his head to a Tremarco cross. Unthinkably, some ICT supporters (OK, at least one ICT supporter) had suggested on Twitter prior to the game that Vigurs, rather than Draper, should have been the player to make way for Mulraney in the starting line-up. The moral of this story is that the manager is always right. Unless it’s John Hughes last season. Or second-spell Craig Brewster. With a three-goal deficit to overcome, Dunfermline’s heads seemed to go down for the first time in the match, and Greg Tansey found the post with a sweetly-struck shot as Caley Thistle took full control of the game. Next to threaten was Liam Polworth, having moved to wide right after the substitution of Mulraney, who received a pass from King and tried his luck with a chip that ended up just off-target. With around 10 minutes remaining, Alex Fisher replaced Scott Boden, one of ICT’s quieter players on the night, up front, and as the game drew towards a close, Richie Foran gave the travelling support the opportunity to give Iain Vigurs a well-deserved ovation, withdrawing his match-winner to allow Ali Sutherland some game time. The last piece of icing on the cake, cancelling out the superior goal difference that Dundee Utd had accrued in their win over Cowdenbeath, came in the closing minutes, when Greg Tansey crashed a free-kick off the same post that he had struck previously, and Carl TREMARCO nodded in the rebound. FULL TIME: DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC 1 – 5 INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE A bigger win, then, than almost any ICT supporter might dared to have predict before the match, and while the final scoreline did not perhaps reflect the balance of play in the first hour of the game, the result must be seen as a tribute to the positive attacking way in which Richie Foran has opted to set up his team this year, to the work ethic he has instilled in his players, and to the way he has recruited over the summer, with King, McNaughton and especially Mulraney all excelling again. There will inevitably be some poor results and some disappointments over the course of the season, but with performances and results like this, Foran can only add to the already considerable goodwill he already enjoys among the majority of ICT supporters, and provided the team’s standards do not drop against Arbroath on Saturday, they must now be favourites to top this group. Date: 26/07/16 Venue: East End Park, Dunfermline Attendance: 2580 Referee: Crawford Allan Dunfermline: 1 Lineup: Hutton, Williamson, Ashcroft, Richards-Everton, Talbot, McCabe, Spence, Geggan, Cardle (Thomas 89), Moffat (Smith 77), Higginbotham (McMullan 73) Subs (not used): Gill, Martin, Paton Scorers: Geggan (28) Booked: Geggan (24), Cardle (60) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 5 Lineup: Mackay, Raven, McNaughton, Warren, Tremarco, Tansey, Polworth, Mulraney (Draper 58), Vigurs (Sutherland 84), King, Boden (Fisher 80) Subs (not used): Fon Williams, Horner, Brown Scorers: Vigurs (16, 42, 66), King (54), Tremarco (89) Booked: none Sent Off: none abcabcabc

United Win Bonus Inverness drew 1-1 with Dundee United in Richie Foran's first competitive home game in the Betfred League Cup group stages. United went on to claim the bonus point scoring all four of their taken penalties with only Carl Tremarco scoring for ICT Inverness held the upper hand in the first half without over extending the United defence. Scott Boden headed home the opener ten minutes before the break. United responded well after the interval and scored a superb equaliser through Stewart Murdoch. Simon Murray should have won the tie for the Arabs but placed a shot the wrong side of the post. Late flurries from the hosts brought out a couple of good stops from Cammy Bell but it ended all square after ninety minutes. Old Caley Girl has this excellent report for us. So we start afresh after the summer break with lots of changes. 1st home game in charge for new gaffer Richie Foran. 1st home game in the revamped Betfred League Cup and 1st home game with new turnstile arrangements in operation. Several home players making their home debut including Kevin McNaughton and Billy King. Scottish football fans quite often express a liking for summer football however, attendances in this cup are maybe are not backing up this talk. A disappointing attendance for a 3pm kick off against arguably the top tie in group C. This also may be the only chance ICT fans will have to see Dundee United this season following their relegation to the championship before the summer. It was a new look United side with Willo Flood back on board and Cammy Bell between the sticks. For ICT it was a home debut for young keeper Cammy Mackay and a chance for the home fans to see the new signings including striker Scott Boden. Most of the ICT faithful are hopeful of seeing more attacking football under Foran and they weren’t disappointed with the attacking style of play on display. However, although dominating possession in the first half, it took until the 35th minute to break the deadlock. A Tremarco throw in was flicked on by Warren to the head of Boden and straight into the net. Cammy Mackay was rarely threatened at the other end in this half with the defence standing firm. Toshney hitting the bar was perhaps their best opportunity although a flag had gone up prior to this. Half Time 1-0 This was to change in under a minute following the resumption of the second half. Caley Thistle were caught cold when Murray found Spittal following a run on the right where Warren was skinned. The ball was cut back quickly to Murdoch who gave Mackay absolutely no chance from twenty yards. We huffed and puffed for a while but eventually regained the bulk of possession. The home debut for Jake Mulraney half way through the second half gave United problems with foul after foul being committed to try to stop him. Richie Foran is sure he will soon become a fans favourite and his fast pacey football makes him one to watch. Unfortunately little protection was coming his way from ref Euan Anderson and I would imagine he knows he was in a game with bruises to prove it. Both teams had chances to win this with Simon Murray chipping wide when it looked easier to score, and our best effort being perhaps a free kick from Tansey that was well saved by Bell who also saved Polworth's shot from the rebound. Full Time 1-1 A point apiece then at full time but in another first, a penalty shoot-out was held with the lure of a further point on the board for the winners. Obadeyi stepped up first sending Mackay the wrong way with a left handed shot into the net. Tremarco dispatched his penalty for ICT then Donaldson for United in a carbon copy of their first. Next up was Tansey who unexpectedly saw his effort saved by Bell. Murdoch dispatched his efficiently leaving Ross Draper to try and save the day. Unfortunately his right footed effort to the left hand corner was poor and saved easily by Cammy Bell. All that means is that United get an extra point in this group stages. Early days then for our rookie manager but he will, I’m sure, be disappointed we didn’t manage to secure all 3 points within the 90 minutes. This now leaves us with no room for any further slip ups if we have any ambitions to progress in the competition. Steak Bridies await Caleyaway on Tuesday at East End Park and nothing less than a win will do. OCG MotM:- goes to Kevin McNaughton with an impressive home debut with honourable mention going to Cammy Mackay for whom a great future hopefully awaits. All videos can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialICT/videos Date: 23/07/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1839 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Mackay, Raven, Warren, McNaughton, Tremarco, Polworth, Draper, Tansey, King, Vigurs (Mulraney 58), Boden (Fisher 84) Subs (not used): Fon Williams, Horner, Brown, Sutherland Scorers: Boden (35) Booked: Draper (37) Sent Off: none Dundee Utd: 1 Lineup: Bell, Toshney, Donaldson, Durnan, Dixon (Dillon 46), Spittal (Obadeyi 66), Flood, Murdoch, Van der Velden (Anier 78), Smith, Murray Subs (not used): Zwick, Fraser, Telfer, Soutar Scorers: Murdoch (46) Booked: Van der Velden (48), Durnan (79), Obadeyi (81) Sent Off: none PENALTIES DUFC:Obadeyi - scored ICT:Tremarco - scored DUFC:Donaldson - scored ICT:Tansey - saved DUFC:Murdoch - scored ICT:Draper - saved DUFC:Murray - scored DUFC win 4-1 on pens and gain 1 additional point

New Inverness manager Richie Foran did something that Brendan Rodgers would have liked to have done. He started his new managerial career with a win. Albeit over Cowdenbeath, but the Premiership side had to battle hard for victory in the Betfred League Cup group qualifying stages. It was all square at the break with Ross Draper opening the scoring in thirteen minutes only for Cowdenbeath to level the game through Dean Brett ten minutes later. Inverness held the upper hand for most of the game but found that scoring was not going to be easy. It took a disputed header from Gary Warren to win the match after seventy-five minutes. The ball came crashing down off the bar and over the line according to the officials. David Raven missed out through suspension and Josh Meekings and Aaron Doran are reportedly injured. Owain Fon Williams is still partying with his Welsh teammates and Ryan Esson was between the sticks Full report to follow.............. Date: 16/07/16 Venue: Central Park, Cowdenbeath Attendance: 487 Referee: Stephen Finnie Cowdenbeath: 1 Lineup: McGurn, Brett, Mullen, Moore, O'Brien (Johnston 82), Glen (Miller 55), Turner, Ross, Renton, Rutherford, McLaughlan Subs (not used): Sneddon (GK), Robertson, Swann, Creany, Muirhead. Scorers: Brett (23) Booked: none Brett (53), Rutherford (63), Turner (69) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Esson (Mackay 85), Tremarco, McNaughton, Warren, Polworth (Mulraney 46), Draper, Vigurs, Tansey, Horner, Boden, King Subs (not used): Brown, Fisher, Sutherland Scorers: Draper (13), Warren (75) Booked: Warren (68) none Sent Off: nonea

Raven signs off on a high. Inverness recorded their biggest win of the season defeating Dundee 4-0 to round off the campaign on a high and confirm seventh place, after a torrid season. All goals came in a lively second half following a pedestrian first forty-five. Miles Storey started the ball rolling by scoring from an acute angle just after the hour, and defender Danny Devine bundled home the second eight minutes later, closely followed by Ross Draper. Richie Foran completed the rout from the penalty spot after great work by Liam Polworth. That was despite the fans protestations looking for David Raven to have a go. Big send off for Raven at the end as he went to the fans to say cheerio in the sun, and he also picked up the fans player of the year vote at the stadium, with Ross Draper getting the players player of the year award. Twas a pleasant afternoon as the game kicked off with John Hughes continuing to irk the home fans with his persistence to keep David Raven on the bench. And just to rub salt into the wound, the Dundee departing Danny Williams started the game. Why, you may ask. There's nothing wrong with Danny by the way, but he has chosen to go elsewhere so why was he playing when others were kept on the bench. It all smacks of a rift within, and one that will get worse before it gets better. Anyway, to the game, and Inverness looked to be getting a stranglehold early on but as we were attacking without intent Scott Bain was left mainly untroubled early doors. Iain Vigurs and Greg Tansey failed to fluster the Dundee keeper with long range efforts and Dundee grew more into the battle and a couple of breakaways threatened Owain Fon Williams goal. A swift counter between Greg Stewart and Kane Hemmings had them combine brilliantly before Stewart saw his curling effort deflect off the corner of the bar with Fon Williams stranded. A let off for Inverness. They never heeded this though and Hemmings should have done better from twelve yards, but he lifted his shot well over the bar from prime position. Ten minutes before the break John McGinn saw a shot saved well by Fon Williams as Dundee took the more direct approach as Inverness' more pedantic approach kept possession but lacked penetration. A Tansey shot five minutes before half time was easily plucked out of the air by Bain as Inverness looked to make the breakthrough, but the whistle ended the first forty-five with the score level. Half Time 0-0 The home fans were looking for more urgency and they were treated to a much better second period. It still took until around the hour before we opened the scoring and a cracking goal it was too. Inverness pressure saw Ross Draper slip the ball to Liam Polworth who in turn slipped a great ball into the box where Miles Storey ran onto it and rounded the keeper, and as he went wide he drilled the ball home from an acute angle for a smart finish and his thirteenth goal of the season. After sixty-seven minutes club captain Richie Foran was introduced for Storey, the reason for that would become apparent over the next few days. The Inverness pressure had been building since the goal and when Iain Vigurs sent in a decent ball from a corner it looked as though Foran nudged it on and Danny Devine bundled it in at the back post, his second goal in the last two games. It was raining goals now and two minutes later Ross Draper capitalised on a bad mistake by the Dundee defence from none other than Nick Ross, who was mugged outside the box. Drapes then bore down on goal before slotting the ball neatly behind the keeper to leave the Dark Blues shell shocked. Huge cheers all round when David Raven entered the game and he almost had the perfect send off. He stopped the ball with his foot from a throw in, his second touch was a deep curling cross which was met full on by Carl Tremarco. Unfortunately he was denied by a tremendous point blank save by Bain as he met the cross and crashed a header towards the goal. The fans were now loving this and every touch by Raven was greeted with a cheer. Dundee signing Danny Williams left the field to polite applause, Ryan Williams replacing him. The goal rush was not finished yet though and when Liam Polworth bamboozled Andrew Black inside the box he was uncerimoniuosly dumped on the turf. Richie Foran was quick to grab the ball and despite the fans chanting for Raven to take the spot kick, it was Foran that sent Bain the wrong way to round off the scoring. Raven almost signed off with a goal but he headed over from six yards, much to the chagrin of the home fans. But we were in fine spirit now although Fon Williams had to look lively to deny Dundee a late consolation. Full Time 4-0 All in, it turned out to be a great afternoon especially in the second half as we went on a goal spree. Great send off for Raven who spent a long time amongst the fans getting selfies and autographs. John Hughes kept a low profile throughout all this, but the fans were left chanting David Raven's name, a fine tribute to an excellent servant to this club, and one that is leaving before his time. Ross Draper was my MotM and Aberdeen target Miles Storey did well in the second half although it looks as though he has scored his last goal for this club. Marvelous memories of David Raven's last stand and the silence from Yogi was deafening. Date: 14/05/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3794 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 4 Lineup: Fon Williams; Meekings (Raven 74), Devine, Warren, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs, D. Williams (R. Williams 76), Storey (Foran 67) Subs (not used): Esson, Roberts, Horner, Mbuyi-Mutombo Scorers: Storey (61), Devine (69), Draper (71), Foran (pen.84) Booked: none Sent Off: none Dundee: 0 Lineup: Bain; McGinn (Black 78), Etxabeguren, O'Dea, Holt, Colquhoun (Perez-Reverte 67), Ross, Wighton, Stewart (Curran 77), Loy, Hemmings Subs (not used): Mitchell, Meggatt, Gazhalov Scorers: none Booked: Black (84) Sent Off: none a

Devine nets winner Inverness ground out a result at Hamilton thanks to a Danny Devine goal before the break. It was a rather dour encounter and one where Darian Mackinnon earned himself two yellow cards in ten seconds..............is that a record. The least said about this game the better with fans less than impressed by the quality of play on display. John Hughes left out Jordan Roberts and Andrea Mutombo, with Iain Vigurs and Danny Williams starting. It may just be me, but I find it odd that a player not wanting to stay at Inverness gets a start ahead of guys who would give an arm and a leg to play. David Raven was of course left on the bench. No surprise there. RIG was at this game and here's his report. Really poor end of season affair lightened up by MacKinnon being a colossal ned and scrapping with his coaching staff as he was bundled off the pitch and one of the ICT fans charging across the stand to celebrate the Williams 'goal' before realising it had been chalked off For some reason, after turning in a wonderful performance against Partick, we seem to have returned to our timid, non threatening, slow passing game. Whereas Draper and others had been snapping at the heels of Partick players winning the ball and providing great support further forward for the likes of Storey we seemed significantly less inclined to attack with anyone other than Storey, Williams and Polworth. Draper and Tansey were lined up exceptionally deep with Meekings and Tremarco seldom supporting on the flanks. It was like we had put the brakes on for this one despite 7th place and some potentially important prize money up for grabs. The best move of the game for us came when Storey scampered free on the left flank and crossed for Williams who finished well but had apparently just drifted offside. Hard to tell from where we were. A quick free kick from Vigurs released Devine and he tackled the ball into the net. Decent finish for a defender. Hamilton had largely been restricted to shots from range with a couple looking like they flew pretty close to OFW goal. Half Time 0-1 Second half was sadly a very timid affair from us in attacking sense best exemplified when Williams had the ball on the right flank and the ICT players alongside him stood completely still. There was little movement off the ball to create space for either a pass or for the player who had the ball. We seemed happy to knock the ball around and protect the one goal lead. Draper (I think) did find Polworth with a superb through ball but he shot right at McGovern. MacKinnon, perhaps the biggest ned in Scottish football, was sent off for clashing with Vigurs. Looked like he threw an elbow in the direction of Vigurs after a challenge which strangely brought only a yellow card before he then mouthed off at the ref and was shown a second yellow. As he went off he clashed with the Accies coaching staff and was restrained before appearing to launch himself at whoever was holding him back. Bizarre. For most of the latter part of the second half we were defending deeper and deeper as we clung on to the lead. Hamiltons best chance came when a clever and quick free kick nearly caught us out but somehow the final shot from an Accies player, from about 3 yards out, was ballooned into the retail park. Full Time 0-1 Not going to complain too much about a win but having seen what the team can do when it is set up correctly it seems bizarre to put the brakes on and reign the side back. Date: 11/05/16 Venue: New Douglas Park, Hamilton Attendance: 1516 Referee: Stephen Finnie Hamilton Ac: 0 Lineup: McGovern, Gordon, Kurakins, Devlin, Gillespie, Kurtaj (Docherty 56), Morris, MacKinnon, Brophy, Garcia Tena (Redmond 63), Boyd (Hughes 78) Subs (not used): Martin, D'Acol, Tierney, Cunningham Scorers: none Booked: MacKinnon (74), Gillespie (82) Sent Off: MacKinnon (74) Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Devine, Tansey, D.Williams (Foran 92), Polworth, Vigurs, Storey (Roberts 87) Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, R Williams, Horner, Mbuyi-Mutombo Scorers: Devine (41) Booked: Warren (57), Polworth (85) Sent Off: none a

Sluggish Jags as United sign off with a win. Dundee United signed off from the Caledonian Stadium with a surprise 2-3 win on their way to the Championship as Inverness flattered to deceive in another uninspiring home performance. The Arabs were 3-0 ahead before Inverness responded with goals from Jordan Roberts and Liam Polworth. But despite going down to ten men, United held on to win with their goals coming from Simon Murray (2) and Edward Ofere. A pleasant afternoon gave way to a bright but bitter evening as the Arabs came calling for their last visit of the season before they tumble out of the Premiership. Friday night football and television screening made sure there would be a low crowd, bolstered only by the appearance of Scotty, all the way from Canada. Inverness went with the side that demolished Partick Thistle last week and they should have been good enough to beat a side 22 points below them in the league. United had Edward Ofere and Billy Mckay on from the start but no swathing changes as they looked to claw back some respect after a depressing week at Tannadice. They started well enough and got the first shot away through Ofere and a Scott Fraser follow up was also blocked by Fon Williams in the home goal. However, the keeper was caught flat footed when Simon Murray latched onto the ball nearly thirty yards out and quickly fired a powerful shot towards goal. Fon Williams seemed slow to react and the ball whistled behind him a yard to his right. Good strike by Murray, not sure Fon Williams will want to see it too many times though. We had plenty of possession but as is our want, we created very little of note until Storey raced into the box. He tried to flick it past the keeper but it was blocked and the rebound suffered the same fate. Storey maybe should have done better, but credit to the keeper for the blocks. It was Storey again who made the keeper work as he tipped over a dipping shot from twenty yards and it looked like we would go in at the break a goal behind. However, United stole a second right on half time as they broke down the right. A bit of a stramash followed in the area which ended with Murray bundling in his second in a crowded six yard box with Meekings in close attendance. Half Time 0-2 The home fans were not best pleased and were looking for better after the break, but in all honesty, we were too pedestrian and United were able to keep us at arms length. Boredom was setting in but there was something to entertain the fans in the North Stand when an over officious steward meddled with the young team. After an exchange of fingers, the steward was substituted. It might be his last appearance as he waved at the throng on his way to the bench. Meanwhile, back at the match, because we were chasing the game, United were able to pick us off again ten minutes into the half when Murray fed Mckay who rolled his ball to Ofere and he stroked it home to the delight of the long suffering Arab fans. 3-0 down to the team already relegated. Not good enough Yogi. Inverness were simply not doing enough, and when we did do anything, we did it wrong and we were merely going through the motions. Jordan Roberts reduced the deficit almost immediately, 13 seconds apparently, with a superb strike from twenty two yards and when Liam Polworth tapped in a second things started to look up. It got even better when United were reduced to ten men with Calum Morris receiving a second yellow with twelve minutes left, but Inverness could not make another breakthrough despite piling on the pressure in a frantic final few minutes. The ball would just not fall kindly and time ran out to end a disappointing night for the home fans. Full Time 2-3 Of dear, we turned up looking for a performance and what we got was the runaround from relegated Dundee United. A hugely disappointing result and performance. To go three nil down was an embarrassment and one we need to get over quickly. Struggling to find any crumbs of comfort from this pedantic showing, especially in the first half although Jordan Roberts scored a cracker and Ross Draper put himself about well. Why oh why we waited until it was too late to show some urgency I'll never know, but it was back to the too little too late scenario that we can do without. This was a fantastic opportunity to go back up to seventh place, instead we managed to make Dundee United look good in what was only their seventh win of the season. Enough said! Video from spl website https://www.youtube.com/user/splofficial _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: 06/05/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 2587 Referee: Don Robertson Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Meekings, Warren, Devine (R Williams 83), Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Roberts (D Williams 83), Polworth (Foran 76), Mbuyi-Mutombo , Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Horner, Raven, Hughes Scorers: Roberts (56), Polworth (69) Booked: Storey (73) Sent Off: none Dundee Utd : 3 Lineup: Eiji Kawashima, Durnan (Donaldson 74), Morris, Dillan, Knoyle, Fraser, Rankin, Dixon, Murray (Coote 77), Ofere, Mckay Subs (not used): Johnson, Robson, Smith, Zwick Scorers: Murray (6) (45+1), Ofere(55) Booked: Morris (76) Sent Off: Morris (78)

Caley Jags rout sad Partick Inverness jumped into seventh place with a 1-4 rout of Partick Thistle to end our Firhill hoodoo and give Partick a taste of their own medicine for some of the beatings they have given us in recent years. Partick were quickest out of the blocks but it was Inverness that opened the scoring after 14 minutes through Carl Tremarco when Mutombo and Roberts sent him through on goal. Miles Storey added a second just after the break from another Mutombo assist. Josh Meekings knocked in number three with quarter of an hour left. Kris Doolan got a consolation for Partick and that seemed to annoy the Caley Jags as they went up the park and scored a belter from Jordan Roberts to round off the scoring. Yogi produced a surprise change to the starting line-up with Jordan Roberts getting a start ahead of Danny Williams. An enforced change also saw Andrea Mutombo in the starting X1 with Iain Vigurs suspended. Partick had Ryan Scully in goal for the injured Tomas Cerny and Inverness targets Abdul Osman and Steven Lawless started. Mathias Pogba was on the bench. Old Caley Girl has this report for us................ The Caleyaway faithful rolled up to Firhill in smallish numbers for the last Saturday awayday of the season. There was an air of optimism in the stadium bar, probably due to the sunshine, as this was Partick away after all which is never a happy hunting ground for us. Or so we thought…. Your first choice match reporter IHE failed in his endeavours to attend due to the inability of public transport in the UK to actually work. Sorry Johndo you missed a cracking display and a day out! Pre-match the news greeted us that Jordan Roberts had returned to the first eleven. He certainly didn’t disappoint! The first half started in an uneventful fashion with both sides having a few chances in what was a good open game. It was clear that ICT were playing a more pressing game than of late and in 14 minutes fans favourite Mutombo split the Partick defence open allowing Carl Tremarco to race from the halfway and slot home. Carl has been threatening to score for weeks but it was worth waiting on. The game changed following the goal and it was all ICT but despite several chances the score remained with us only one ahead. Half time: Partick 0 – ICT 1 Caleyaway had barely got back to their seats with their steak and ale pies when we went further ahead. Miles Storey nicked the ball past the keeper and slotted home into the right hand corner. From then on the chances kept coming. This was ICT at their best. Pressing forward at pace and first to every ball. The ball hit the post several times and it was if it just wouldn’t go in again when in 76 minutes an assist by Greg Tansey found Josh Meekings who slotted ball into the right hand corner from the centre of the box. At this point the boos from the home support would have been heard in Inverness and the stand to our left emptied. A lot of abuse was shouted by the home crowd at their keeper Scully but if it hadn’t been for several fine saves the score would have been 8 or 9 for us at this point. In 83 minutes Richie Foran replaced Storey who left the field to loud cheers. A few seconds later Partick ruined our clean sheet plans with Doolan scoring a consolation goal. Owain Fon Williams protesting loudly he had been fouled but the ref wasn’t listening. If Partick had any hopes of turning this around they were dashed a minute later. A pass from Foran found Jordan Roberts in the centre of the box who unmarked thumped the ball home making it 1-4. At that the score remained. What a second half display, possibly the best of the season. Full time: Partick 1 – ICT 4 Didn’t really see this one coming tbh and begs the question why haven’t we seen this enough this season? Hard to pick a man of the match as everyone played their part well. If had to pick it would be between Tremarco, Mutombo and Draper with my final vote to Mutumbo. Roberts and Storey were both shown yellow cards during the match for not very much. Funny moments worth a mention go to the young lad who decided to do a one man pitch invasion in the second half. Ran on hugged Draper (a selfie wouldn’t have been out of order at this point ha ha) and then hobbled off having probably injured himself jumping over the stand wall. Chant of the day goes to “You’re just a s**t Paul Pogba” to his hapless brother Mathais who had slammed the ball into the stand in frustration. I’m sure the noisy support and drumming is much appreciated by our players tho. All in all a good day out for Caleyaway. If you can’t make Hamilton see you all next season. Cheers Video from SPFL website here https://www.youtube.com/user/splofficial Date: 30/04/16 Venue: Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Attendance: 2609 Referee: Euan Anderson Partick Th: 1 Lineup: Scully, Dumbuya, Seaborne, Lindsay, Booth (Elliott 63), Welsh, Osman, Edwards (Pogba 52), Amoo (Wilson 68), Lawless, Doolan Subs (not used): Gallacher, Miller, Frans, Nesbitt Scorers: Doolan (83) Booked: Edwards (32), Pogba (75) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 4 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Devine, Tansey, Roberts (Hughes 90), Polworth, Mbuyi-Mutombo (D.Williams 84), Storey (Foran 82) Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, Raven Scorers: Tremarco (14), Storey (46), Meekings (76), Roberts (85) Booked: Roberts (22), Storey (31) Sent Off: none

Killie Pay The Penalty. Inverness eased any lingering doubts about their Premiership status for next season with a resounding 3-1 win over troubled Kilmarnock who are now looking like favourites for the play-offs. This game hinged on a penalty for Inverness and a red card for Kilmarnock keeper Jamie MacDonald less than ten minutes into the second half. Kallum Higginbotham had given the visitors the lead at the end of the first half and Greg Tansey put away the penalty after the break. Further goals followed from Ross Draper and the outgoing Danny Williams to put Killie in the mire and push us up to eighth in the league. A bright but brisk Sunday morning saw the teams warm up prior to kick off and with the game being televised live there was always going to be a low crowd in attendance. David Raven was a notable addition to the home bench and he was joined there by Andrea Mutombo who gave way to Danny Williams. Other than that, Hughes fielded the same side that drew with Hearts in their last outing. Killie were without Josh Magennis and had prolific scorer Kris Boyd up top as they looked to get themselves out of bother. For what was at stake, it was a rather grim first half with Kilmarnock looking livelier and Inverness content to keep them at bay. The first effort of note came from the visitors when Greg Kiltie smashed a powerful shot a couple of yards wide after ten minutes. Inverness responded on the half hour, and after Miles Storey raced across the front of the box, Danny Williams took over and curled a shot goalwards but Jamie MacDonald pulled off a TV save to deny the Inverness player, parrying the ball to his right. Ross Draper might have done better after a Danny Devine knock down found the big man at the back post, but the ball seemed to bounce high and Draper awkwardly turned the ball onto the outside of the base of the post and past for a goal kick. Five minutes before the break and Meekings fired a shot just over but just when it looked like Inverness were getting on top, Killie scored an excellent goal through Higginbotham. He started the move in midfield and fed Kiltie. He returned the ball to the overlapping Higginbotham who cut inside and placed a low shot from seventeen yards behind Fon Williams to silence the already silent home crowd. In fairness, they did break into a boo for the ear cupped Higginbotham as he celebrated his goal right on half time. Half Time 0-1 It had been a poor first period but that would change after the break as an unlikely hero would emerge from the gloom. Take a bow Conrad Balatoni. The Killie defender would take centre stage when he cocked up a pass back to his keeper. Ross Draper showed a tidy fleet of foot as he reacted to the pass and nipped in to round MacDonald. The keeper brought him down and was subsequently red carded. Greg Tansey was cool though and he smacked the penalty to sub keeper Conor Brennan's right to level things. A disappointed Higginbotham being subbed as a result showed his anger as he left the field. Here's a pic of Greg about to put the ball low down to Brennan's right, the keeper guessing correct but Tansey had enough direction and power to put the ball into the net. That was a game changer if ever I saw one and Inverness looked to take the game by the scruff of the neck against ten man Killie. After some Killie pressure, Inverness got another break when a low curling free kick from Kris Boyd struck the base of the post with Fon Williams at full stretch, the ball rebounding to safety. Meekings missed a sitter from a Storey cross as play opened out, the defender really should have done better as he met the ball at the back post and bulleted his header wide. Maybe he was too close to the post and took his eye off the ball, but it should have been the second. Draper stabbed in number two from a knock down following a corner, the Killie defence failing to clear the ball as the big number eight turned it home. Breathing space followed soon after when Williams ended a thirty nine pass move when he slickly cut the ball home from fifteen yards to spectacularly complete the scoring and take the wind out of the visiting sails, sending them into the doldrums. There was still time for the obligatory scares and heart in mouth moments. Killie were not completely out of it though and they hit the woodwork again when a cross from Faubert wide left bounced off the top of the bar. Not convinced it was a shot, but it almost sneaked in, a throwback to the Motherwell game, fortunately, this time the ball stayed out. But the damage had been done and Killie were by now stretched and bedraggled as the game wore on and we looked to capitalise on numerous surges forward. However, the score stayed at that as we saw out the remainder of the game, and the home fans were pretty pleased. Full Time 3-1. The best and worst on display here. A first half littered with inactivity and a sucker punch goal and a second half full of attacking options and a tremendous team goal to round off the scoring when Williams finished a 39 man move, where ball retention was lasting for ever. Ross Draper was my MotM. Scoring one, setting up another at the penalty and generally driving Inverness forward at every opportunity, especially in the second half. Carl Tremarco was at his best as well and Danny Williams showed what we will miss next season. Good three points ultimately deserved but it took the penalty and sending off to ignite our fires. After that there was only going to be one winner, although Killie, to their credit, almost got a second through Boyd, but I always felt we could get another if required; It wasn't and we didn't so 3-1 it was and a welcome three points. Big cheer for David Raven when he trotted out to warm up. Take note Yogi, the fans are on his side. video from SPFL website https://www.youtube.com/user/splofficial Date: 23/04/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2228 Referee: John Beaton Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams; Meekings, Warren, Devine, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs (Mbuyi-Mutombo, 74), D. Williams, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, R. Williams, Foran, Horner, Hughes Scorers: Tansey (pen.55), Draper (73), D.Williams (76) Booked: Tansey (23) Sent Off: none Kilmarnock: 1 Lineup: MacDonald; Faubert, Addison, Balatoni (Ashcroft, 77), Hodson, Higginbotham (Brennan, 53), Dicker, O'Hara, McKenzie, Kiltie (Obadeyi, 77), Boyd Subs (not used): Findlay, Henshall, Taylor, Frizzell Scorers: Higginbotham (44) Booked: none Sent Off: MacDonald (53)

Bore Draw Inverness and Hearts ground out an uninspiring no score draw on a bitterly cold Spring evening in the Highlands where a swirling wind made conditions more suitable for flying a kite. This was one of the poorest games of a dreadful void of entertainment season and the 0-0 scoreline sums up the fare on display. Neither side could make much headway in a game littered with errors and poor passing although Hearts looked the more fluent as we stuttered our way about the park seemingly intent on stifling the Jambo's, but offering little in terms of goalmouth action. It was near half time before we tried our luck as long range efforts from Josh Meekings and Liam Polworth just cleared the bar in a forty-five that was sadly lacking any initiative and ambition. Half Time 0-0 The second period continued in the same manner with Hearts looking the more controlled and the Caley Jags feeding off scraps. Owain Fon Williams made an excellent block after substitute Abiola Dauda burst forward but the keeper kept out his effort as he made his way into the box and tried to clip the ball home. Inverness failed to make any headway at all and the lack of attempts on goal by both sides summed up the evening. Full Time 0-0 This result means that Hearts have qualified for Europe and Inverness remain ninth, but one point further away from the play off position. It's into the split now and we start with a home game against fellow strugglers Kilmarnock on 24th April (12:30 KO). A win in that one should be enough to all but banish the relegation play-offs from our heads, defeat would fuel the speculation that all is not well. Date: 12/04/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3202 Referee: Don Robertson Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Devine, Draper, Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs, Mbuyi-Mutombo (Vincent 46), Storey (D.Williams 75) Subs (not used): Esson, R.Williams, Foran, Horner, Hughes Scorers: none Booked: Vigurs (24) Sent Off: none Hearts: 0 Lineup: Alexander, Souttar, Ozturk, Augustyn, Oshaniwa (Nicholson 80), Zanatta (Dauda 64), Pallardo (Paterson 37), Kitchen, Djoum, Delgado, Walker Subs (not used): Hamilton, Reilly, McGhee, Smith Scorers: none Booked: Walker (21), Djoum (24), Augustyn (48) Sent Off: none

Bottom Six It Is. Inverness were confined to the lower half of the league despite an accomplished 2-0 win at Tannadice, a result that pushes Dundee United closer to the drop. Goals in either half from Miles Storey and Iain Vigurs were enough to collect the points and this proved to be an important win with Kilmarnock and Hamilton both picking up vital points in an effort to stave off the dreaded relegation play-off. Only Partick Thistle failed to read the script that would have given Inverness the slim hope that a win against Hearts in midweek would put us into the top-six, alas, they lost in Dingwall, a result that means County make the elite. A rare occurrence, but hey ho. A large home backing came out to see if United could perform the great escape, but like Steve McQueen the end product was just the same. Sadly for them it looks improbable now, but they live in hope. Billy Mckay would spearhead the United attack but there was no sign of Edward Ofere. For Inverness, Greg Tansey returned to the starting X1 with Liam Hughes on the bench and Andrea Mutombo the provider for our target man Miles Storey. Gavin Gunning would provide the comedy show when he picked up the ball and left the field, only for him to return without the ball and collapse to the turf. Scenes. There's no truth in the rumour that he was muttering 'it's ma ball and I'm no playing ............ Full Report to follow............. Date: 09/04/16 Venue: Tannadice Stadium, Dundee Attendance: 6927 Referee: Craig Thomson Dundee Utd: 0 Lineup: Kawashima, Dixon (Murray 37), Morris, Paton, McKay, Rankin, Knoyle, Dow (Fraser 54), Gunning (Dillon 59), Anier, Demel Subs (not used): Szromnik, Erskine, Spittal, Donaldson Scorers: none Booked: Murray (85), Rankin (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Devine, Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs, Mbuyi-Mutombo (Vincent 62), Storey (D Williams 80) Subs (not used): Esson, R Williams, Foran, Horner, Hughes Scorers: Storey (13), Vigurs (50) Booked: Mbuyi-Mutombo (52), Tansey (57), Tremarco (61), Fon Williams (92) Sent Off: none

Caley Jags reign on County's parade. Inverness trounced Ross County 0-3 in the local derby with a good old fashioned swashbuckling display to confirm what we all knew anyway, that the Highlands are still ours. County were massive favourites going in to this one and the fans turned out to get a glimpse of the Mickey Mouse Cup after the derby. The away end was also full and in good voice despite our recent form. As expected Jim McInally brought back Alex Schalk and Liam Boyce for this one with County looking to consolidate their top-six place. Yogi made a few alterations after the shambles in midweek and actually played with a striker on the pitch, albeit playing wide left. Miles Storey, Greg Tansey and Liam Polworth came back into the side and surprisingly Liam Hughes retained his forward roll with Richie Foran, Nat Wedderburn Lewis Horner and Danny Williams on the bench. No sign of Andrea Mutombo, must be too cold for him. Josh Meekings continued at right back in a defensive four with Devine, Warren and Tremarco making up our last line. Polworth, Draper, Tansey and Vigurs were in the engine room and Liam Hughes would be the target man hoping to feed on to Miles Storey. Great day for football and a big crowd expecting County to win at their own party. What could go wrong. Everything looked rosy for County and their party almost got off to a flying start. Owain Fon Williams was the party pooper when he saved brilliantly in the first couple of minutes from a Schalk header. Andrew Davies headed over and Liam Boyce failed with a shot as the celebrations began. Carl Tremarco almost broke the deadlock when he smashed a shot off the bar in 25 minutes and from that, County broke forward. The pitch opened up for Jackson Irvine and he raced into the box. His shot curled low round Fon Williams but the post spoiled his fun as the ball bounce off the base of the woodwork and away to safety. However, Inverness were right in the game now and just after the half hour we took the lead. Storey made great headway down the left before looking up and rolling the ball across to Polworth who had made the effort to keep up with him. Similar to midweek, he sped towards the box, but this time he got it right as he kept the ball down and fired it across the keeper and into the net, County were shell shocked and within five minutes we had scored again. From a Liam Hughes knockdown, Ross Draper made it look all too easy as he entered the box and clipped his shot into the net to silence the Jail End. How dare he! We could have been three up before the break but a Meekings header went just wide as we tore County a new one. Half Time 0-2 County made two changes at the break, Andrew Davies and Jackson Irvine staying in the dressing room and Chris Robertson and Jonathan Franks replacing them. Irvine had taken a sore one during the first half, Davies was probably just embarrassed. The next goal would be crucial to the outcome of this game, the question was who was going to get it? We didn't have long to wait for the answer and what a goal it was. A long ball towards Storey wide left was brilliantly chested down by the striker who had not scored since his goal in the New Years derby at Dingwall on the 2nd of January. He was about to put that right as the ball landed nicely for him as he cut inside before unleashing a dipping swerving volley that flashed over the keeper and into the net for a stunning goal. Take a bow Miles Storey. How's the party going? The young guns were having a ball, literally. Every time we shot wide of the goal, they somehow failed to find it quickly enough and County had to produce a new one. Meh. The game was over as a contest and it turned to shooty-in for our forward players. Draper, Storey and Tansey all fired just wide as the County Party turned sour and we turned on our hosts. The much maligned Liam Hughes was enjoying todays game and he even had the audacity to fire a shot on target but the keeper saved as we turned the screw, County were bedraggled as the game wore on and we looked likely to increase our lead every time we weaved patterns round their defence. Liam Polworth came closest to getting a fourth which would have by no means flattered us. He hit a thunderous shot from twenty yards which smacked the bar. What a strike that was. Josh Meekings nearly got on the end of a ball to the back post and he almost scored at the end with a header as we continued to torture our hosts. What were County doing during this half. Well, nothing really apart from watching us run rings round them. Their party was well and truly pooped. Full Time 0-3 What a season best performance from Inverness. We took the game by the scruff of the neck and had a real go at County. They had no answer to our power play and looked a sorry lot at the end. Great credit to Fon Williams for the early save and our defence cut out the errors and had the home strikers well marshalled all day. Yes, even Danny Devine, he took no chances today and was defensively solid. The midfield were superb, bossing and dictating the game and backing up the front men when required. Special mention to Liam Hughes who put in a great shift today and looked more like a footballer. But my Man of the Match is going to Miles Storey. If his confidence was low due to inactivity around the nets, then he will have received a massive boost after scoring that wonder goal today. It wasn't just about the goal though as he took on the County defence single handed at times and his pace saw him run them ragged, aided by some wonderful close control. Undoubtedly his best game yet, and what a match to do it in. Anyway, we enjoyed the party, thanks for the invite, will come back again next season. The Highlands are ours, Forever in our Shadows, Bragging rights (a temporary position of ascendancy in a closely contested rivalry) And finally, can we play you every week, etc etc................... Three wins this season = 9 points. . Date: 16/03/16 Venue: Victoria Park, Dingwall Attendance: 5912 Referee: Bobby Madden Ross County: 0 Lineup: Woods, Fraser, Quinn, Davies (Robertson 46), Foster, Gardyne (Goodwillie 54), Irvine (Franks 46), McShane, Murdoch, Schalk, Boyce Subs (not used): Konopka, Dingwall, De Vita, McLaughlin Scorers: none Booked: Foster (51), Boyce (63), Fraser (69) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams, Meekings, Warren, Devine, Tremarco, Tansey, Draper, Vigurs (R.Williams 86), Polworth (D.Williams 89), Hughes (Foran 86), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Roberts, Wedderburn, Horner Scorers: Polworth (32), Draper (37), Storey (48) Booked: Vigurs (41) Sent Off: none

Grim Stuff. Our miserable form continues as Hearts swept us aside in a comfortable 2-0 win for the Jambos. It was another uninspiring performance from Inverness, although it's hardly surprising with nine players receiving treatment and Ross Draper suspended. A goal in either half from Jamie Walker and Abiola Dauda condemned us to life outside the top-six for now. With another trip to Edinburgh on Sunday for the Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road, it could be a grim week for the Caley Jags unless Yogi can lift he team for the defence of our trophy. Here's a report from a Hearts perspective: Jamie Walker on scoresheet again as Hearts beat Inverness: Jamie Walker continued his goalscoring streak as Hearts moved to 50 points for the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Inverness. The midfielder netted in his fourth consecutive Ladbrokes Premiership game after latching on to Arnaud Djoum's searching pass to get in behind a packed Caley Thistle defence in the 35th minute at Tynecastle. Inverness had not got going as an attacking force before Abiola Dauda capitalised on Greg Tansey's mistake to give the home side a cushion within eight minutes of the restart. The victory moves Hearts six points behind second-placed Aberdeen while Caley Thistle remain in the bottom six. Inverness looked content to sit in from the start and they frustrated Hearts for long spells of the first half. The first chance fell for Dauda after Walker had brought down Alim Ozturk's diagonal ball, but Danny Devine threw himself in the way of the striker's shot. Hearts continued to probe patiently. Prince Buaben had a shot saved and right-back Liam Smith - deputising impressively for the injured Callum Paterson - played a one-two with Gavin Reilly and fired a left-footed shot from 20 yards which just cleared the bar. A touch of desperation crept into the home side when Ozturk shot from the edge of the centre circle, although Owain Fon Williams had to watch the bounce carefully before clutching the ball. The breakthrough came following another diagonal ball to Walker, who took down Djoum's 50-yard pass on his foot, kept it away from two Inverness defenders, nipped round Williams and squeezed a shot inside the near post. Caley Thistle had to come out and attack after the interval but they were caught out after one of their first attempts broke down. Tansey tried to play the ball back to Williams from the halfway line but under-hit the pass and Dauda pounced before rounding the goalkeeper and finding the empty net. Inverness, who missed the suspended Ross Draper, plugged away without looking like getting back in the game. Jordan Roberts shot weakly at home goalkeeper Neil Alexander and Dauda had a good chance to score his fourth Hearts goal, but side-footed straight at Williams after being set up by Sam Nicholson. Alexander was busier in the final 10 minutes, saving from Carl Tremarco and Iain Vigurs, but it was too little, too late from the visitors. Date: 01/03/16 Venue: Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 15767 Referee: Alan Muir Hearts: 2 Lineup: Alexander, Smith, Ozturk, Souttar, Rossi (McGhee 80), Nicholson, Buaben, Sutchuin, Walker (Zanatta 66), Reilly, Dauda (Cowie 78) Subs (not used): Hamilton, Augustyn, Pallardo, Delgado Scorers: Walker (35), Dauda (53) Booked: Sutchuin (54) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Horner (Hughes 82), Warren, Devine, Tremarco, Tansey, Polworth, D.Williams, Roberts (R.Williams 70), Vigurs, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Brown, Maclennan Scorers: none Booked: Roberts (53), Vigurs (59) Sent Off: none

Another score draw, another late goal. Inverness and Dundee played out their third 1-1 draw of the season and that man Kane Hemmings scored a late leveller again, after Ross Draper had given Inverness an early lead. This result keeps the status quo in the table with St Johnstone managing a draw against Aberdeen and Ross County getting gubbed by bottom club Dundee United. It's all getting rather congested below the top three. David Raven missed out once more along with Andrea Mutombo who was not risked after taking a knock in training. Lewis Horner continued at right back in Raven's absence and Danny Williams was added to the squad after being unavailable last week. Jordan Roberts seemed to be the main striker with Miles Storey being used wider. Dundee as suggested in the preview would have the triple threat of Rory Loy, Greg Stewart and Kane Hemmings looking to cause all the problems with Gary Harkins dictating their play. Inverness started where they left off at Parkhead, passing the ball briskly and probing with intent. Jordan Roberts had a shot saved and Miles Storey had one blocked as we took the early initiative. From one of these accurate passes forward we took the lead in the thirteenth minute through Ross Draper. Liam Polworth threaded a brilliant through ball into the box where Ross Draper had made a perfect run to meet the ball and round keeper Scott Bain before clipping the ball neatly into the net off the base of the post. The visitors were looking assured at this point but scoring the goal appeared to make us believe we could defend that advantage for the rest of the match and all urgency drained from our legs. The only energy on display was channelled into fouling as a spate of yellow cards disrupted the flow of the game. Owain Fon Williams even managed to pick up a booking just before the break for apparently time wasting as we killed the game as a spectacle. Half Time 0-1 Paul Hartley must have spoken some harsh words at the interval and as we regressed, Dundee grew in confidence and took over control of the second half. Dundee squandered chance after chance in the second period, starting as early as the 48th minute when Greg Stewart shot wide from ten yards when he really should have hit the target. Hemmings made Fon Williams work as he shot at the target and Liam Polworth broke the one way traffic for a moment but he fired over. Fon Williams was getting plenty of work to do and he saved a header from Paul McGinn as Dundee pressed Inverness back, and he followed that by saving from Paul McGowan soon after. The shooty-in continued and Kevin Holt and Craig Wighton were next up to test the Welsh keeper. Hemmings and Stewart had near misses as we went further into our shell looking to protect what we had and Fon Williams was inspired saving from Stewart again. Iain Vigurs almost stole the game with seven minutes left, but Bain saved, and that was crucial as Dundee levelled three minutes later. Gary Harkins headed a deep corner back into the box and Hemmings reacted quickest to score his 20th goal of the season from close range to square the game. That ended the scoring and disappointingly for Inverness another late goal conceded cost us more points than we would care to remember. Full Time 1-1 There can only be one MotM in this one and that goes to Owain Fon Williams who almost did enough to give us all three points with a string of excellent saves to keep our noses in front. Alas, our defensive play eventually cracked and it was no more than Dundee deserved. It's frustrating to lose a lead once more, but this is the third 1-1 draw this season, so it's not really surprising it finished that way. Alternative Maryhill summed up the negative approach we adopted after scoring:- "It's a risky strategy given our tendency to concede late goals. It would be nice to think there was some reason for how negative we were after scoring, particularly as we did so well for almost an hour pressing forward at Celtic Park, and played some pretty good stuff throughout the game against Aberdeen. Maybe just an off day, but there's no way we'll get so lucky again if we try to do the same against Hearts or Hibs. Good day out in Dundee as always, but not between 3.30 and 4.50. Hawkeye The Gnu added:- "Just back from Dundee - that game made my eyes bleed. Disappointed not to have held on, but given the chances Dundee wasted in the second half and the eccentric performance of the referee (more on that later) I will take a point. And Renegade was in agreement:- "Attempting to pass the ball into the net wasn't our undoing. It was desire from around a half hour onwards to time waste, defend and drop deeper and deeper for the remaining hour. For the first time in my football going life, I witnessed a keeper booked for time wasting in the first half! We invited Dundee onto us and for most of the game our goal lived a charmed life. Inviting a side featuring the likes of Harkins, Stewart and Hemmings to attack us was always asking for trouble. We were punished as a result. Hearts coming up on Tuesday night before we head back to the capital for our cup game against Hibs on the Sunday. We will need to be a bit more adventurous if we want to defend our trophy. Date: 27/02/16 Venue: Dens Park, Dundee Attendance: 5048 Referee: Andrew Dallas Dundee: 1 Lineup: Bain, McGinn, Etxabeguren, O'Dea (Gadzhalov 46), Holt, Ross, McGowan, Stewart, Harkins, Loy (Wighton 63), Hemmings Subs (not used): Mitchell, Low, Rodriguez, Black, Kerr Scorers: Hemmings (86) Booked: Stewart (25), Ross (61) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Horner, Warren, Devine, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Polworth (D.Williams 67), Roberts, Vigurs, Storey (Hughes 79) Subs (not used): Esson, R.Williams, Wedderburn, Brown, Maclennan Scorers: Draper (13) Booked: Tremarco (25), Vigurs (30), Devine (35), Fon Williams (42) Sent Off: none

Tremendous Performance All In Vain Inverness went down 3-0 at Parkhead after dominating the first half. The Caley Jags could have been three ahead before Gary Mackay-Steven opened the scoring after 54 minutes. Leigh Griffiths added a second soon after and the final goal came in stoppage time from the same player, his 32nd of the season. Inverness were strutting their stuff in the first 45, moving the ball around incisively, a bit like watching Barcelona, but the missed chances proved costly and once Celtic scored the two quick goals, alas, it was game over for Inverness. It's the fixture the Inverness fans are not too keen on. Given the statistic that the aggregate over the last six visits to Parkhead is 24-2 in favour of Celtic, then that's hardly surprising. Gary Mackay-Steven was first to have a swipe at the ball, but his shot fron outside the box took a deflection as it sliced wide. Miles Storey was similar at the other end, his shot slicing high and wide. The first big event of the game came after 17 minutes as Inverness began to get a stranglehold on the game. A tremendous free kick by Iain Vigurs from deep left curled over everyone including keeper Craig Gordon and into the box. It was met perfectly by Gary Warren six yards out in line with the back post. Unfortunately Warren must have had on his thrupenny bit head and missed what can only be described as a sitter, the ball flashing wide back across the unguarded net and well off target. Miss of the season for us. Griffiths fired in a snapshot that Owain Fon Williams made a meal of, but he kept the ball out and Inverness continued their domination of proceedings. Ross Draper was unfortunate as he saw his shot deflected agonisingly wide as Inverness turned the screw. His chance was set up by Ian Vigurs with a deft ball slipped to him on he edge of the box after determined work by Miles Storey. Celtic were merely spectating by this point in the game Armstrong and Tansey exchanged attempts, both missing the target and Sviatchenko was booked as he brought down Storey who looked to be getting away from him as he broke over the half way line, but the half drew to a close with the scoreline unchanged, and that would be our downfall. Half Time 0-0 Celtic came out after the break and looked to have upped their energy levels, Mackay-Stevens and Stuart Armstrong having attempts blocked and missed, but it was Inverness that almost opened the scoring three minutes in. Celtic had pushed forward but the visiting defence broke down another attack. Greg Tansey played a precision ball forward and Jordan Roberts showed Sviatchenko a clean pair of heels. As he got to the eighteen yard line he released his shot but Craig Gordon had stood tall and spread himself well, Roberts shot striking the keeper in the chest and bouncing to safety. Celtic opened the scoring through Gary Mackay-Steven after they played the ball along the edge of the Inverness box, the final touch before Mackay-Steven looked to have struck a Celtic arm but he whipped a shot into the net with the aid of a deflection. A few minutes later and Inverness went two down. Dylan Tierney played a crossfield ball from deep in the visitors half. The ball found it's way to Griffiths and he wasted no time getting his shot away after a short dribble to his right, and from the right corner of the box found the bottom of the net. The pinpoint accuracy beet the keeper as his low shot went across Fon Williams and into the net off the far post. An absolute hammer blow to Inverness who had been so far on top prior to this quick one-two. Celtic had their tails up now and Inverness started to look despondent. Stefan Johansen met a cut back from twelve yards out but Fon Williams smothered the ball low to his left. Inverness were not done yet though and after a header from close range was blocked, the ball was taken down by Lewis Horner outside the box. He neatly turned his man before shooting just wide, a slight deflection earning him a corner. Ryan Christie had come on by this time, unfortunately wearing a Celtic strip. Tansey whipped a free kick in from thirty yards but it was all too comfortable for Gordon in the Celtic goal as he plucked the ball out of the air with ease. Substitute Andrea Mutombo caused some consternation in the home box after the ball had been smuggled away from the defender, but it was cleared at the expense of a corner. The ball falling to Vigurs eventually, but there was to be no repeat of his Motherwell volley as he hit the ball well over the bar. Griffiths competed the scoring in time added on after a slick seven man move involving a bit of showboating before Griffiths embedded the ball in the back of the net from the edge of the box, fantastic goal to finish the game. Full Time 3-0 You would have put your mortgage on Inverness winning this one at half time. However hard luck stories don't win games and Celtic showed why they are on top of the league with a clinical display of finishing, something we could have done with. Our ball retention and passing were first class and deserved a better fate. No real failures in this team performance and it would probably have been enough to see off anyone else. Special mention for Lewis Horner who took a bit of stick a few weeks ago but has come back well and answered his critics with a decent display in his last two outings. MotM will be going to an Inverness born and bred lad. Ryan Christie for coming back well after his serious injury this season. Inverness players all acquitted themselves very well and had we taken our chances we could have been out of sight before Celtic scored, but that's life. Date: 20/02/16 Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Attendance: 43600 Referee: Don Robertson Celtic: 3 Lineup: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, Sviatchenko, Tierney, Bitton, Brown, Armstrong (Allan 63), Johansen (Christie 67), Mackay-Steven (Roberts 82), Griffiths Subs (not used): Bailly, Mulgrew, Commons, Kazim-Richards Scorers: Mackay-Steven (54), Griffiths (59, 93) Booked: Sviatchenko (45) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Horner (Hughes 78), Devine, Warren, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey (R. Williams 88), Vigurs, Roberts (Mbuyi-Mutombo 72), Polworth, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Brown, Maclennan Scorers: none Booked: Warren (52) Sent Off: none

The sheep are not on fire Inverness came from behind to defeat Aberdeen 3-1 as the sheep were doused whilst Inverness burned their own smoke filled chimney. Apparently a wee fault with the central heating generator filled the stadium with smoke in the second half as goals from Vigurs, Tansey (pen) and Tremarco overshadowed Adam Rooney's opener. A bitter night in Inverness for the Monday night game which was also televised restricted the crowd somewhat. The Inverness fans had some bad news prior to kick off as Danny Williams would miss out due to family reasons and David Raven was carrying a knock and would not be risked. That left Lewis Horner at right back and Jordan Roberts started after his game winning cameo at Motherwell. Adam Rooney spearheaded the Aberdeen attack with Jonny Hayes one of the providers and former Inverness captain Graeme Shinnie was at left back with the Dons' armband. Andrew Considine and Willo Flood only made the bench with new signing Simon Church on from the start. Aberdeen made the brightest start to the game but both sides looked to get forward at every opportunity, Inverness winning the first corner of the game but it came to nothing. In the seventh minute Inverness had to thank Owain Fon Williams as he tipped a vicious Graeme Shinnie shot onto the top of the crossbar as the full back burst into the box on the left side. To top it all, drastic referee Willie Collum gave a goal kick. Maybe that helped Aberdeen as from the goal kick, Storey chested the ball down but Vigurs never got it. The Dons broke forward at pace and Craig Storie fed Rooney as the defence backed off and he rifled the ball through Devine into the net. The Dons looked to be buoyed by this and started to dictate the pace of the game, but Inverness were starting to get forward and saw a bit more of the ball. In the eighteenth minute Inverness got the break they were looking for as Ash Taylor made a hash of defending and Iain Vigurs accepted the gift, strolled forward and drove the ball behind the exposed keeper. This stirred Aberdeen into action again and McGinn fired over and did the same a few minutes later as the Dons looked to up their title challenge, but Carl Tremarco headed just wide at the other end. With almost half an hour gone one of Aberdeens main threats went off injured. Jonny Hayes left the field to be replaced by Peter Pawlett. Aberdeen target Greg Tansey fired a free kick wide as the game entered a scrappy phase with free kicks coming back in fashion as Collum stopped the game at every opportunity, however there was no more scoring as the half ended. Half Time 1-1 The second half began as the first ended, fouls galore, but one crucial one given to Inverness was deemed to be a penalty by Collum much to everyone's surprise. But hey ho; we have been on the wrong end of these many times. After Draper bit the turf, Greg Tansey, who else, strode forward and despatched the spot kick with ease to put Inverness ahead. Almost on the hour and Ash Taylor almost made amends with a header but he headed narrowly wide. Players were going down like ninepins and the crime count was mounting, but in 65 minutes Inverness went further ahead after some divine intervention by Willie Collum. Jordan Roberts clipped a ball in from the right and the cross was headed to the back post where Tremarco turned up to head home. The linesman flagged for offside thinking the head on was by an Inverness player, but it was off a defender, probably the hapless donkey that is Ash Taylor, and Collum rightly awarded the goal after a short discussion with the linesman. For the remainder of the game it was the hosts that looked likeliest to add to their tally as Aberdeen looked shell shocked, Miles Storey making a number of superb breaks forward and only the final ball denying Inverness a goal on a few occasions. Three minutes of added time came and went as Inverness denied the Dons with consummate ease and at the final whistle Aberdeens title challenge took a knock as Inverness went back into the top six. Full Time 3-1 Well deserved victory for Inverness with Aberdeen resorting to shouting for penalties every time they entered our box. Mind you, one or two of the challenges looked more worthy that the one Draper got. Baaa, what a shame Great performance all round from Inverness with the defence outstanding and in Miles Storey a tremendous outlet for the back line when under pressure. Jordan Roberts put in a great shift as well before being replaced and Carl Tremarco continued his good run and got a goal to boot. Gary Warren was immense and won the aerial battle along with his partner Danny Devine. Willie watch. Well, he got some things right, and some things wrong, but you won't find me complaining when he awarded the goal after the linesman flagged it offside. The linesman got it wrong and fair play to Willie for spotting that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS5IIhHgyhA Date: 15/02/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 4544 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Draper, Roberts (Mbuyi-Mutombo 80), Devine, Tansey, Horner (Hughes 88), Polworth, Vigurs, Storey (R.Williams 90) Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Brown Scorers: Vigurs (18), Tansey (pen.51), Tremarco (65) Booked: Tremarco (22), Roberts (53), Draper (61), Devine (63) Sent Off: none Aberdeen: 1 Lineup: Brown, Logan, Taylor, Reynolds, Shinnie, Rooney, Storie, McLean, Hayes (Pawlett 28), McGinn, Church (Smith 67) Subs (not used): Collin, Considine, Flood, Robson, Ross Scorers: Rooney (7) Booked: Taylor (45), Reynolds (67) Sent Off: none

Roberts Stunner Puts Caley Jags Through With Late Winner. Number 39 scored in the 39th minute to put Inverness ahead before the break. Miles Storey it was that claimed the goal to give the visitors the lead with Stephen McManus in close proximity. We were down to one hand on the trophy when Scott McDonald equalised after the break as McManus powered a header goalward. Jordan Roberts restored two hands on the trophy with a fantastic winner in the 91st minute and it's Inverness that go into the quarter finals after a hard fought game. Inverness travelled to Fir Park to take on Motherwell after being paired with the Lanarkshire club in the last sixteen of this seasons Scottish Cup and came away with the trophy still in their grasp for now. Much had been made of the young guns being kept off the buses, but there was still enough away fans to encourage the side to defend the trophy, and substitute Jordan Roberts became an instant hero with a spectacular winner as the game entered injury time. Inverness went unchanged with Carl Tremarco at full back and Danny Williams in a more attack minded midfield position. New signings Liam Hughes and Ryan Williams joined Jordan Roberts on the bench. Mark McGhee riled the home support before a ball was kicked by leaving top scorer Louis Moult on the bench, but veteran striker Scott McDonald led the attack. First to have a crack at scoring was our man in the news this week, Aberdeen target Greg Tansey who tried his luck from 35 yards with a free kick, but Ripley gathered reasonably comfortably as the ball curled round the wall, the ball bouncing into the keepers arms. Ripley didn't look so comfortable when an unlikely scorer Carl Tremarco looped a header goalwards, the keeper scrambling backwards to tip the ball onto the bar before eventually grasping the ball as it bounced to safety. Scott McDonald hit woodwork for the Steelmen when a brilliant cross from Cadden was glanced onto the top of the bar with Fon Williams beaten, the ball bouncing up and over for a goal kick A let off for the Cup holders and they rubbed salt into the wound by going straight up the park to open the scoring. Mutombo did well chesting down the long ball forward before slipping a ball wide down the left. Carl Tremarco was well advanced and raced onto the ball before firing a low ball across goal. Miles Storey was closely followed by Stephen McManus and it appears as though the big defender got the final touch as the ball bounced into the net in the 39th minute. That goal was all about the quality down the left from Tremarco who was having an excellent game. As the half drew to a close, Fon Williams plucked an effort from Cadden out of the air but it was the visitors who held the upper hand. Half Time 0-1 McDonald brought out a regulation save from Fon Williams as Motherwell looked to get back into the tie. Mutombo was booked as he looked to be fading out of the game and was subbed soon after, Jordan Roberts at last getting a fair crack of the whip, I wonder what he can do. Motherwell striker Scott McDonald was willing to shoot on sight when it wasn't really the best option, Fon Williams once more gathering comfortably. Stephen Pearson fresh aired what looked like a glorious chance to score and Danny Williams brought out a reflex save from Ripley at the other end as Inverness looked to extend their lead. On 66 minutes, Devine was booked after bringing down Chris Cadden as he broke clear. Devine not convinced it was a free kick and neither was I. However, from the corner that followed the aftermath of the free kick McMannus powered a header on target and Scott McDonald was handily placed to divert the ball into the net away from the keeper. Game on! Motherwell fans frustration eventually won the day as McGhee eventually brought on Louis Moult with around ten minutes of play left. However, it was another substitute that produced the goods to shatter the Steelmen. As the game entered time added on, Jordan Roberts outmuscled Morgaro Gomis just inside the Inverness half. He strode forward and jinked onto his left foot before unleashing a thunderbolt that flashed behind a diving Ripley into the keepers top right corner, the net just doing enough to stop the progress of the ball. What a goal and a great way to get off the mark for Roberts who has had his season badly curtailed through injury. The timing of the goal was of course, impeccable leaving Motherwell only time to wonder at the strike but not enough to be able to do anything about it and it was game over. Full Time 1-2 Well well Well, what a way to get into the next round. We probably just deserved to edge it but as expected, there was little between the sides and it was fitting that it took an exceptional strike to win the tie. A couple of paragraphs from our onsite viewers who saw the game like this and concurred that we deserve to be in the hat. Rig thought so as well and gave Tremarco top points:- "Anyway, might not have been the best game but I think we deserved that. I felt we created the better chances overall and whilst Motherwell edged the first half we were the better side in the second. Great play by Tremarco to make the first goal. Not seen him show that kind of speed, well, ever! Perhaps an error by the Well defence thinking they had more time or another man over but credit Tremarco for getting to it and then playing in such a good ball to Storey. So it went in off McManus but we'll take it. Disappointing goal to concede. Devine didn't cover himself in glory with a rash challenge when Motherwell broke which led to the corner from which they scored but we really need to defend set pieces better. I thought Tremarco was perhaps our best player. He was good defensively and offered a good bit of support going forward. Devine had a game that encapsulated his season. Some heroic defending one minute and then he was losing his man which nearly saw us concede. Mutumbo started well but faded quite a lot. Didn't give Raven much help defensively and, like Williams on the left, had a habit of coming inside a lot meaning we weren't playing with a lot of width for most of the game. Jordan Roberts showed some very nice touches when he came on and hopefully we'll see him starting in games in the near future. Looks a good one." Alternative Maryhill was as ever, more philosophical, but agreed that we shaded it:- "Not a vintage performance, but we did deserve the win. Both full backs played well, and I thought Draper was the pick of the midfielders and that Danny Williams looked our most dangerous attacking player: some excellent movement, particularly at the start of the second half, and he had one clever flick that Ripley saved at his near post. Mutombo started well, but I thought he faded before the end of the first half was over, and he does still look a little lightweight, both in possession and when trying to close down opponents - I'd like to see him work a bit harder in the latter respect. There's clearly talent in there, but he does still look a bit of a luxury. Not as much, though, as Vigurs, who I thought was extremely disappointing. He was ponderous in possession, didn't close down enough or fight for the ball when he lost possession, and was frequently negative in his passing. Tremarco's run and cross for the opener was about the first really decisive piece of play that we had managed, despite a few passages of neat interplay. The second half was better, although we did lose our way for a while around the time of the Motherwell goal, something that wasn't helped by the substitution of Storey for Polworth, when Vigurs would have been a far more obvious candidate to be replaced. In a way though, it was good that Motherwell scored, because it made the impact of Roberts' goal all the sweeter. What a strike. If you weren't there, you'll enjoy seeing it on TV. The Motherwell Twitter account, from deep in a well of its own salty tears, described it as 'speculative'. How bitter." Date: 06/02/16 Venue: Fir Park, Motherwell Attendance: 3907 Referee: Steven McLean Motherwell: 1 Lineup: Ripley, Hammell, McManus, Kennedy, Law, Pearson, Lasley (Moult 83), Gomis, Johnson, Cadden, McDonald (Ainsworth 88) Subs (not used): Samson, Laing, Chalmers, Leitch, Thomas Scorers: McDonald (67) Booked: Pearson (76) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Warren, Draper, Devine, Tansey, D.Williams, Vigurs (Hughes 88), Mbuyi-Mutombo (Roberts 56), Storey (Polworth 70) Subs (not used): Esson, R.Williams, Wedderburn, Brown Scorers: Storey (39), Roberts (91) Booked: Mbuyi-Mutombo (54), Devine (65) Sent Off: none

Isn't It Ironic As Alanis Morrisette once said, "Isn't It Ironic". We produce an utter borefest of a performance (0-0), and still creep into the top-six once more as others around us falter. Some people say that not all 0-0 games are boring. Well, this one topped the table in terms of boredom, mistakes, lack of creativity, lack of incident and a total lack of entertainment. Yes it was simply rubbish, even if you did pay what you can, you might be entitled to a refund. A great initiative by the club undermined by the dreadful fare on display. Andrea Mutombo started again after a dazzling one man show against Stirling Albion in the cup and Danny Williams was in with Liam Polworth on the bench. The crowd initiative drew in a few extra bodies hoping to be entertained. Sadly, entertainment was not on the menu so they had to make their own, and fair play to them, they kept chanting and dancing to the end, something the players should be thankful for. To be fair to the Caley Jags, it was us that looked the more interested early on with Mutombo continuing where he left off, running and twisting his way towards the defenders, a one man box of tricks. He fired one high and wide six minutes into the game. Sadly, he would run out of tricks before the break as Thistle began to suss him out. Miles Storey tested the keeper soon after but it was all too easy for the keeper. We were dominating the early possession, but as per usual, with little threat to the opposition goal. Iain Vigurs also shot over in a rare moment of movement from the luxury midfielder, but chances were at a premium for the rest of the half as Partick seemed to know that we lacked any punch up front which was indicative of our pedantic style of possession boredom. Ten minutes before the break and Gary Warren found himself outside the penalty box. He elected to shoot, maybe not his strongest point and the ball went high over the bar. This was swiftly followed by a cushioned header from Mutombo that went wide, and at the other end Steven Lawless dollied a shot into the hands of the untested Owain Fon Williams. Vigurs was yellow carded before the break and Ross Draper passed up the best chance of the half but tamely headed over. That was about the last action of a lifeless first half and Partick would be better pleased to be going in level. Half Time 0-0 It had been a shocker of a first half, unfortunately, the second wasn't any better. If anything, it looked worse as Partick began the process of levelling out the possession percentages. Mutombo earned a booking probably due to frustration as he was not getting beyond the defenders any more as the game entered a scrappy phase. Not a lot happened until Miles Storey brought out a finger tip save just under the crossbar to tip over his 25 yard shot. That managed to get the crowd off their mobiles to look up and see what all the commotion was about. However it never lasted and most were back to looking at twitter or posting status' on facebook. Liam Polworth had entered the scene, but unfortunately for him he would not be best pleased by his contribution. Storey did well down the left flank, skinning the full back and cutting the ball back to the feet of Polworth six yards out. He took a touch but could not dig the ball out from his feet and he ended up sclaffing the ball just wide of the post in the games best opportunity to make the fans happy. Full Time 0-0 What an absolute anti football game that was. If clubs want to increase attendances, then they are going about it the wrong way as teams are frightened to open out and be a bit more creative. Partick got what they came for, Inverness got what they deserved. On the park, Inverness were best served by new extended contract Captain Gary Warren, with Miles Storey looking better after the break and Danny Williams doing his best to help out. Regardless, the young fans behind the goal in the North Stand did their best to liven the atmosphere and they can go home with their heads held high as they take the MotM award for singing, dancing and drumming up some semblance of an atmosphere, something that should have been created on the park. Let's get this game out of the system as Hearts come North next week. I doubt they will sit back and wait for something to happen, let's hope we are prepared for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMi4XB-pNp4 Date: 23/01/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3556 Referee: Greg Aitken Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Warren, Draper, Devine, Tansey, Williams, Vigurs, Mbuyi-Mutombo (Polworth 70), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Foran, Wedderburn, Roberts, Brown, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Vigurs (41), Mbuyi-Mutombo (52) Sent Off: none Partick Thistle: 0 Lineup: Cerny, Seaborne, Welsh, Booth, Osman, Amoo, Bannigan, Doolan, Lawless (Elliott 57), Frans, Dumbuya Subs (not used): Scully, Miller, Wilson, Leyden, Nisbet, Penrice Scorers: none Booked: Booth (87), Seaborne (90) Sent Off: none

The Highlands are ours. Inverness won the New Year derby 2-0 with a thoroughly deserved victory over first footers Ross County at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, reclaiming the Highlands. First half goals from Miles Storey and Greg Tansey were enough to see off the visitors as Inverness closed to within two points of neighbours Ross County. The Caley Jags had Raven and Tremarco in the full back slots as they went seeking their 1500th goal. Ross County had a surprise omission with striker Liam Boyce out with an injured hand, Alex Schalk given the task of getting the County goals in the New Year derby. The home fans were in fine voice as the sides came out on a warm 2nd of January afternoon and the drums were beating a pulsating rhythm which would transfer onto the park to keep the players energy levels high. It was the visitors who looked sharper in the opening exchanges and Rocco Quinn might have done better than to fire over from an inviting position after seven minutes. David Raven did likewise a few minutes later at the other end but it was County that were making most of the early play. Quinn and Martin Woods missed in quick succession as we rode our luck a little and Craig Curran was replaced with Brian Graham before twenty minutes were up because of an injury, but the home side were beginning to get to grips with the pace of the game. With 25 minutes gone Inverness took the lead. A corner was knocked out of the box and James Vincent returned it goalwards. Miles Storey was alert enough to re-direct the ball beyond Scott Fox from close range to open the scoring. Tough on County maybe, but they were made to pay for earlier missed opportunities. With half an hour on the clock, Ross Draper failed to keep a header down from a corner as the ball went over the bar. Five minutes before the break, Andrew Davies had a header saved by Owain Fon Williams as County tried to get back on level terms, but it was Inverness that would go in at the interval much the happier side. Greg Tansey took a free kick wide on the left after Wedderburn had been fouled. He directed his cross come shot towards the danger area and with two or three missing the ball, it bounced through everybody and ended up in the net. That was the final action of the first half and Inverness had stolen a march on their rivals with that second goal in stoppage time. Half Time 2-0 Now then, 2-0 has been a dangerous lead for us in recent games but we were in no mood to let this one slip. We had rolled our sleeves up during the beak and came out snapping at the visitors heels, not allowing them to settle on the ball. Yogi hooked Wedderburn soon after the break looking to get Iain Vigurs to control the pace of the game. This seemed to work well and County would get little joy in the second half. Michael Gardyne was having little joy but he did get a shot away from a tight angle which Williams saved at the expense of a corner. Alex Schalk was ineffective as a replacement for Liam Boyce and he was replaced by Raffaele De Vita as Jim McIntyre shuffled his pack. Martin Woods had a couple of shots saved by Williams but it was Liam Polworth who should have scored the next goal. Great play by inverness around the box teed up Polworth who tried to guide his shot into the top of the net. Unfortunately he directed it past the top corner of the net. Vigurs also chose the wrong side of the post as the game raged from end to end and the drum beat got louder, the full repertoire unloaded on the fans ears. Miles Storey had been running the County back line ragged and he almost scored a spectacular third goal. He whistled a rasping shot high at the goal, but Scott Fox made a finger tip save to divert the ball onto the bar as Inverness looked to kill off the game. Gary Warren tried an acrobatic overhead effort but the keeper had it covered as Inverness played the game out in front of the North Stand, County reduced to speculative efforts and wayward free kicks. Mutombo came on and had time to lash a sot wide from an acute angle. Might have been better lifting his head and looking for a team mate but it mattered not a jot. The Highlands were ours once more. Full Time 2-0 Maybe a tad fortunate to open up a two goal gap in the first half, but our second half performance was tremendous and we ran out comfortable winners in the end. Miles Storey was my Man of the Match, giving the County defence a torrid time of it, scored one and almost added a second but for a great save by the keeper. Ross Draper was also impressive and another great display from Liam Polworth who should have scored as well. Defensively solid and the clean sheet was a massive bonus. We are back inside the top-six again and just two points behind County. Not bad for the Pride of the Highlands considering the start we made to our season. Next week it's cup action at Stirling, maybe the 1500th goal will come in that game. Date: 02/01/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 5388 Referee: John Beaton Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco (Williams 82), Vincent (Mbuyi-Mutombo 88), Warren, Draper, Devine, Wedderburn (Vigurs 53), Tansey, Polworth Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Roberts Scorers: Storey (26), Tansey (45+2) Booked: Wedderburn (33), Raven (79) Sent Off: none Ross County: 0 Lineup: Fox, Reckord, Quinn (Franks 57), Boyd, Gardyne, Curran (Graham 17), Foster, Davies, Schalk (De Vita 66), Woods, Irvine Subs (not used): Woods, Fraser, McShane, Murdoch Scorers: none Booked: Boyd (54) Sent Off: none

Horner saves blushes Inverness came from behind twice to snatch a 2-2 draw against Dundee United after two former Caley Jags players had put United ahead. John Rankin smashed in the opener as the Arabs went in at the break a goal up. We levelled right at the start of the second half when Liam Polworth side footed a volley into the net. Billy Mckay capitalised on an Owain Fon Williams error late on, but Lewis Horner bundled in the equaliser in stoppage time to end the scoring. A mild but damp December afternoon greeted the players as the game kicked off with Xmas shopping looking like the winner. Yogi continued without David Raven at right back, but the bigger surprise was that Josh Meekings missed out through injury, as did Ross Draper. Lewis Horner was the man chosen to fill the position and he had a torrid time of it, but it was he who would have the last laugh as he netted the equaliser. Dundee United fielded two former Inverness favourites, and they would play a big part in the outcome. John Rankin was recalled to the starting X1 along with Scott Fraser and Chris Erskine. A brisk start for the bottom club and Billy Mckay almost scored in the first minute had he connected with a cross, and a couple of minutes later we had Owain Fon Williams to thank for blocking a Mckay effort from inside the box. We forced four corners in quick succession, all to no avail despite dangerous looking crosses into the box, but no takers in blue shirts were to be found. Lewis Horner was having a tough time of it down the United left flank. He was doing plenty of ball watching and lost his man a few times which was causing a bit of concern in the North Stand. Practically every United attack was coming through that channel and Horner was left exposed a few times. Iain Vigurs brought out a save from the keeper although it looked as though his header was going just wide anyway. We chose the wrong option plenty of times in the first half and did our best to help out United with a series of misplaced passes, electing to pick out players in tangerine despite our players clearly dressed in blue. Storey brought out another save when he tried to float in a shot from the left but it was dealt with comfortably. With twenty five minutes gone United once more capitalised on poor defending down their left wing. Scott Fraser wriggled clear on the bye line and his cut back was met by John Rankin who lashed the ball high into the net from twelve yards giving the keeper no chance. We had a shot charged down in a penalty box scrambulation, the ball just never fell kindly enough for us. Next, Devine found himself well forward as we neared the break but his shot whistled just wide. The miss of the match came a minute before the break as James Vincent looked set to head home, but he headed wide when it looked easier to score from Polworth's cross. Half Time 0-1 Hughes would have read the riot act at the interval and it worked as we were level within thirty seconds of the restart. Danny Williams did well down the left and he picked out Polworth with his cross and he duly guided the ball into the net from ten yards. That should have been the cue for us to kick on, but after a brief flurry we reverted to type and started passing the ball sideways and backwards again. Iain Vigurs had a shot wide and at the other end Scott Fraser made Fon Williams work to keep the ball out. The game went through an untidy phase with neither side creating much although Gary Warren saw a header miss to the right as the ball flashed across the goal, but United were starting to come more into the game as an attacking threat. Rankin had a shot saved and Fraser shot just over from outside the box. But it's Xmas time and presents are all the rage at the Caledonian Stadium. A speculative cross from the left should have been tidied up by Fon Williams but he dropped the ball at the feet of the wrong man and Billy Mckay turned villain as he scored against his old club. Gary Warren crashed a close range header off the bar as we tried to recover from this blow, and it looked all over for Inverness but we woke from our slumber once more to press for a second equaliser and another villain, Lewis Horner, turned saviour as he bundled a Williams cross just over the line. We almost had the audacity to score a winner, but despite a late flurry of activity the game ended all square. Full Time 2-2 We snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat but it wasn't our most impressive of performances. Too many sloppy passes ruined our first forty-five and it was no surprise that Rankin blasted United ahead after getting the opening down the left wing. Horner was being horribly exposed and the big surprise was that he came out for the second half. He did however stick to his task and got some joy with the equaliser. A disappointing result and performance really against a struggling side, but at the end of the day it was a relief to snatch a draw. This was a tremendous opportunity to crawl into the top-six, but we blew it big style and this result has dropped us down the table to ninth place. All the teams from second to twelfth are capable of beating each other and this result just shows that you can take nothing for granted in this league. My MotM goes to Gary Warren who had a couple of crunching tackles and tried his best to get a goal. Helping him out were Greg Tansey and, erm, well, that's about it. Not enough passmarks for anyone else to get a mention. Date: 19/12/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2981 Referee: Craig Thomson Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Horner, Warren, Devine, Williams, Tansey, Wedderburn (Tremarco 86), Polworth, Vincent (Sho-Silva 90), Vigurs (Mbuyi-Mutombo 68), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Lopez, Foran Scorers: Polworth (46), Horner (90) Booked: Warren (25) Sent Off: none Dundee Utd: 2 Lineup: Szromnik, Durnan, Morris, Gunning, McGowan, Demel (Souttar 77), Rankin, Dixon, Fraser (Spittal 89), McKay (Dillon 89), Erskine Subs (not used): Zwick, Murray, Spark, Bodul Scorers: Rankin (26), Mckay (81) Booked: Durnan (5), Dixon (77) Sent Off: none

Early Xmas Present Inverness managed to get three points in a 2-1 victory, but not before losing another late goal to keep the fans on edge. An Iain Vigurs double saw us cruise in at the break two up but we conceded a late goal to give Killie a sight of the points. Mark Connolly scored with three minutes left but we managed to see out the game and get a much needed three points. This was a must not lose game and we achieved that. However, we made hard work of it in a poor second half showing when we let a sloppy Kilmarnock off the ropes and gave them every encouragement that they could possibly take something from a game that should have been well beyond them. John Hughes had a stronger squad available for this one as players returned from injury. Oddly, he still persists with Raven and Horner on the bench and Josh Meekings at right back with Danny Devine partnering Gary Warren at the heart of the back four. Carl Tremarco, Tobi Sho-Silva and Andrea Mutombo all started on the bench but all three of them would feature later in the game. Nat Wedderburn started this one with Ross Draper nowhere to be seen. Killie were much as expected with Kris Boyd and Josh Magennis the target men and a small band of hardy supporters had made the long trek to back the Ayrshire club. The opening exchanges were fairly even with Inverness doing their usual crisp passing without any penetration. We needed a little help and Kilmarnock duly obliged in the fourteenth minute. Comedy defending by two Killie players near the corner flag allowed Polworth to smuggle the ball from them. He ran along the line before teeing up Iain Vigurs who had the simplest of tasks to tap the ball home. An early Xmas present for Inverness, gift wrapped by the Kilmarnock defence. For all our dominance and good possession, we were still creating very little in the final third and more often than not seemed reluctant to build on our fortuitous start to the game. Kris Boyd gave the home fans cause for concern when he fired a powerful free kick a couple of feet over the corner of Fon Williams bar as Kilmarnock tried to get back on level terms, however it was Inverness who were busier around the penalty box, but without making keeper Jamie MacDonald work. That changed just after half an hour into the game and there was nothing fortunate about this one. We tore into the Kilmarnock defence down our right flank. Miles Storey got the better of the defenders this time and he rifled a ball into the box. James Vincent stepped over the ball and Iain Vigurs was left with time to pick his spot. Conrad Balatoni eventually got the booking he so richly deserved. The guy is a clown, getting his card not long after handbags when he tried to steal the ball when we were looking to take a throw in. Could easily have been an early bath for the hot-head. The half ended without much further ado and a comfortable position for Inverness to build on, surely. Half Time 2-0 Gary Locke decided enough was enough and he rang the changes at the break bringing on Carrick and Kiltie to replace Slater and Obadeyi. This appeared to inject a bit more urgency to the visitors, but Owain Fon Williams was still pretty much a spectator in the Inverness goal. We helped the Kilmarnock cause by being content to pass the ball sideways for long spells without looking to kill the game off and that would cause some unease in the stands. Storey limped out of the game on the hour being replaced by Andrea Mutombo, who's fleet of foot would entertain us for a bit although we were looking to kill the game off. We were content to hit on the break and at least half a dozen good bursts forward went without troubling the keeper as our efforts fizzled out before working the Killie defence. Liam Polworth missed the best chance of the half as he burst into the box after some intricate play just outside of it. Unfortunately he could not wrap his foot round the ball properly and he slid his shot just the wrong side of the post from close range. The game was slipping away from a lifeless Kilmarnock but we offered them a little help after failing to mop up from a corner. Mark Connolly scored from close range to unsettle the home support and set up a fraught last few minutes of play. Still time for substitute big Tobi to ruffle the side netting from a tight angle as we went seeking a third and Tansey brought out a save from MacDonald. We weathered the final moments fairly comfortably despite Killie winning a corner to keep their hopes alive. Full Time 2-1 Hard earned three points beginning with a gift from Kilmarnock. Cracking second goal and relatively comfortable passage despite Killie scoring late. Liam Polworth was a standout with his driving runs and incisive passing and is my MotM. Well backed up by Nat Wedderburn, especially in the first half and two goal hero Iain Vigurs. We tried to let Kilmarnock back into the game but they were unable to accept our generosity and were really there for the taking, but likewise, we were unable to give them the doing they should have had. However, a welcome three points which moves us in the right direction, up to seventh, but little in it between seventh and eleventh where Kilmarnock now find themselves. Next up is Dundee United, another must not lose game. Keep the faith as we look to enter the top-six. Date: 12/12/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2775 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Meekings, Warren, Devine, Williams, Wedderburn (Tremarco 77), Tansey, Polworth, Vincent, Vigurs (Sho-Silva 82), Storey (Mbuyi-Mutombo 60) Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Lopez, Horner Scorers: Vigurs (14, 32) Booked: Vigurs (21) Sent Off: none Kilmarnock: 1 Lineup: MacDonald, O'Hara, Connolly, Balatoni, McHattie, Smith, Hamill (Robinson 82), Magennis, Slater (Carrick 46), Obadeyi (Kiltie 46), Boyd. Subs (not used): Ridgers, Barbour, Westlake, Ashcroft Scorers: Connolly (87) Booked: Balatoni (22), McHattie (38), Connolly (45), Boyd (90) Sent Off: none

Celtic Edge TV Show Celtic ran out relatively comfortable 1-3 winners eventually, after the Caley Jags had matched them all over the park except in the vital goal scoring area. Miles Storey levelled the game before half time after Callum McGregor replicated his goal against Ajax. After the break Leigh Griffiths scored from close range and Carlton Cole managed to handle the ball into the net off Danny Devine's shins for what could be described as a scrappy own goal. Heavy rain meant an early pitch inspection ahead of this televised game. Inspection passed but the horrendous weather would make for a heavy pitch as Vivaldi's Four Seasons was played out in one day. Gary Warren made a welcome return to the starting X1 along with Ross Draper, but there was no room for David Raven who was joined on the bench by Andrea Mutombo and Tobi Sho-Silva. Danny Williams went to left back and Josh Meekings was the preferred option at right back. Celtic continued with Kieran Tierney in defence and Scott Allan on the bench, but there was no sign of the struggling Kris Commons. Anthony Stokes was on the bench as his twitter account revealed. Something that would not best please the Celtic management team. Both sides started crisply but Celtic took full advantage from a third misplaced pass in a row from Josh Meekings. The ball was transferred swiftly forward and Mcgregor raced towards the home goal and planted the ball beyond Fon-Williams as the home defence went into reverse. We are in good company here as this was a photo-copy of the goal he scored in midweek against Ajax. Craig Gordon was fortunate to keep out a point blank header from Warren. Not sure he knew much about it, but the ball stayed out of the net and from the ensuing stramash, Meekings slid a sot just wide. We had responded well to the early setback and we forced a couple of corners but to no avail and at the other end Lustig headed wide after a Celtic corner. In the 38th minute, Miles Storey broke into the box chasing a neat ball from Polworth who did well when he robbed Armstrong in midfield. His initial shot was saved by Gordon but the ball broke kindly for the speedy hitman and he mopped up by slotting the ball into an empty net. Game on! Bitton shot wide as the game approached the break but all square at the interval was no more than Inverness deserved. Half Time 1-1 A positive start to the second period saw Draper head just wide as we looked to get our noses in front. Celtic responded with a hat-trick of corners which came to nothing before introducing Scott Allan for the struggling Stuart Armstrong. That substitution injected a bit more urgency about the visitors and just before the hour Tierney and Allan combined down the left to set up Griffiths to hammer the ball high into the net from six yards for a smart finish from the Champions. Inverness were restricted to containing Celtic as the visitors tried to assert themselves on proceedings and this was having a detrimental effect on our attacking options. Most of our good work was being done in midfield and neither keeper was being overworked. Carlton Cole almost made an instant impact as he headed downward, but Fon-Williams was alert and saved well, however, the cumbersome Cole was instrumental in the goal that killed the game. Leigh Griffiths unleashed a powerful shot that Williams did well to Parry. The ball hung around the Inverness box and with Cole lying on the deck, he appeared to nudge the ball with his hand/arm onto the unfortunate Devine who could only watch in dismay as the ball trundled into the corner of the net. Goal given and game over with around ten minutes of play left. Mutombo and Sho-Silva also got some game time but were not able to influence this game as we ran out of time and ideas. Full Time 1-3 We competed well and it was encouraging to get Warren and Draper on from the start. Same old problems of not creating enough really and although the third goal should not have stood, we never quite did enough to warrant getting anything from the game after the break. This result has us staring at the play off position, but still within touching distance of the top-six. We don't play Celtic every week so all is not lost as we get more players up to speed. The news that Yogi has signed on for another couple of seasons has been welcomed by most involved with the club and we can now focus on climbing away from danger and maybe even a wee cup run, starting at Stirling Albion in January. The two players that combined for our goal were the pick of our bunch with Fon-Williams making a couple of excellent saves as well, but Hughes can now maybe sort out a contract for MotM and top scorer Miles Storey now that his own destiny has been decided. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVG9Sc6Ol6g Date: 29/11/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 5976 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Meekings, Warren, Devine, Williams, Tansey, Draper, Polworth (Horner 84), Vincent (Mbuyi-Mutombo 73), Vigurs (Sho-Silva 73), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Wedderburn Scorers: Storey (39) Booked: none Sent Off: none Celtic: 3 Lineup: Gordon, Lustig, Simunovic, Boyata, Tierney, Johansen, Bitton, Armstrong (Allan 53), Rogic (Cole 59), McGregor, Griffiths (Mackay-Steven 92) Subs (not used): Bailly, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Ciftci Scorers: McGregor (7), Griffiths (59), Devine (og.85) Booked: Biton (65) Sent Off: none

Bogey Time Inverness once more struggled against our bogey side Partick Thistle and went down 2-1 thanks to a last gasp sucker punch. Miles Storey had opened the scoring after only six minutes but Partick's Kris Doolan restored parity just before the break. Ryan Stevenson's cross/shot eluded everyone and ended up in the net in the 90th minute to snatch all three points. Gary Warren, Ross Draper, Andrea Mutombo, Nat Wedderburn, Tobi Sho-Silva and David Raven all started on the bench as Yogi went with the guys who did so well at Motherwell. To be honest, our bench looked stronger than our starting X1. 2864 hardy souls braved the cold to witness yet another Inverness side struggle at Firhill. They seem to hold the Indian sign over us and that was evident as the game unfolded. Today's report comes from two of our regular supporters at the away venues and first up with his views is alternative Maryhill. We did close down well early on and moved the ball about well, but over the piece, there were a few players who simply didn't contribute enough. Vincent again looked a bit lightweight and didn't seem to know where he should be playing. Vigurs showed flashes of his ability with a couple of backheels and incisive passes, but for the most part he strolled about the place, as if he wasn't particularly interested in looking for the ball or getting forward. This was in contrast to Polworth, who worked his socks off looking for the ball in the way that Christie has found himself having to do this season, or Horner, who looked direct and confident going forward. As a relatively senior player with obvious ability and a lot of experience at this level, Vigurs surely has to take more responsibility and look to dictate play more. The substitutions were a bit odd too. Williams for Mutombo was an absolute head-scratcher: Williams was one of our harer working and more direct players; Mutombo, on the other hand, again looked like a poor signing. He looks utterly unwilling to mix it - despite his height, he was outjumped for every ball he 'contested', and, as I've noticed before, when an opposing player in his proximity has the ball, he has a tendency to skip on the spot before beginning his run to challenge, as if buying the opponent time to get away from him. Maybe this is simply his running style, but it is highly inefficient and someone should be working on it with him. He did make one good run into the box late on, but didn't seem aware of the opportunity for a cut-back, and again, I just don't think his awareness of team mates is good enough to make him an effective player for us. This is maybe the fifth time I've seen him play, and the same concerns are apparent every time. Storey for Sho-Silva was also a strange one, giving how little Vincent was contributing - surely Sho-Silva could have played as a link-man in behind Storey? - but he did look a more promising prospect when he came on, although he had precious few opportunities. He made one excellent challenge for a high ball, and looked quick and direct when trying to break forward; unfortunately, we didn't seem able to find him with anything. Draper for Polworth was more understandable, give how hard Polworth had worked. When Draper is fully fit, though. I'd like to see if both could be accommodated within the team - Polworth deserves to keep his place. Finally, the concession of yet another late goal surely points to the fact that at the moment, something about the tactics and system isn't working. It seems clear that too often, we cede control of the game as soon as we go ahead, rather than trying to increase our advantage. Opposing managers are probably quite relaxed about going behind to us, because they know they'll have the opportunity to start dominating the midfield and pushing us back and forcing us into mistakes. The fact that Fon Williams was one of our best players (despite possibly misjudging the flight of the winner - I'd need to see it again) says a great deal. I think everyone in the away section would have taken a draw - this was ICT at Firhill, after all - but there was a depressing familiarity, almost a feeling of inevitability, to that late goal. Our inability to compete over 90 mins in many games bodes ill for Celtic next week. RIG thought much the same as above, and here are his thoughts. We can have no complaints with that result. The only surprise was that Partick didn't take advantage of their numerous chances and win by more. They could easily have won that 4 or 5 - 1 were it not for a string of excellent saves from Fon Williams. The save in the first half from a header from Doolan I think was the pick of the bunch for me. Good start for ICT as alternative maryhill mentions. Some nice intricate passing led to the first goal well finished by Storey (seriously get this kid signed up now) and he had another smashing chance to make two but he seemed to just miss a ball that was crossed in from the right. For the rest of game all the chances fell to Partick and whilst we enjoyed a comparable share of possession we created so little with it we never deserved to add to our lead. The best chance in the second half for ICT came when Mutumbo broke into the box but shot at a tight angle instead of cutting back to Vincent who would have been well placed to score. Poor defending from us for the Partick equaliser. We seemed to think the initial danger was over but the ball was quickly worked back into the box and it seemed we were caught out somewhat and Doolan finished well into the corner of the net. Second half was more of the same i.e. Partick creating the best chances and Fon Williams largely equal to them. Muirhead and one other Partick player both had efforts saved before the fluke winner from Stevenson. I think that Fon Williams should have done better with the cross but despite it not being meant the three points were no more than Partick deserved. Peculiar that, after largely dominating the opening period, we yet again seemed to sit back and never again regained that same level of dominance in the game. We saw a fair chunk of the ball but we lacked any real creative spark to generate anything of note especially in the second half. The odd nice flick from Vigurs and Mutumbo can't compensate for a complete dearth of attacking chances to get us back into the game and that is very concerning. Contemplating the rest of the season without the flair and creative spark of Christie is troubling. Good away crowd from us however and the steak pie was decent (firm crust, generous filling and no soggy bottom) so there were some positives. Cheers lads, better luck next time. Date: 21/11/15 Venue: Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Attendance: 2864Referee: Don Robertson Partick Thistle: 2 Lineup: Scully, Seaborne, Welsh, Booth, Osman, Amoo (Muirhead 59), Doolan (Pogba 75), Lawless, Dumbuya, Lindsay, Fraser (Stevenson 81) Subs (not used): Gallacher, Miller, Frans, Edwards Scorers: Doolan (42), Stevenson (90) Booked: Lindsay (79) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Horner, Williams (Mbuyi-Mutombo 65), Polworth (Draper 75), Vigurs, Storey (Sho Silva 69) Subs (not used): Esson, Warren, Raven, Wedderburn Scorers: Storey (6) Booked: Vigurs (88) Sent Off: none