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Liam's late show again Liam Polworth extended Caley Thistle's unbeaten run to five games with a superb injury time leveler against Hamilton Accies. The home side had taken the lead in the eighteenth minute after Alexandre D'Acol scored from a rebound. Hamilton enjoyed the lions share of possession, but Inverness were able to fashion an equal share of the chances, however a point looked unlikely until Poly pounced in the 93rd minute. Foran benched Jake Mulraney, handing luxury man Iain Vigurs a start with Lonsana Doumbouya given the striker role. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Immortal Howden Ender has this report for us. For the benefit of those with a humour bypass, some of this may be tongue in cheek. Junior Strictly Come Dancing or Green Street? Are they simply getting nervous at the thought of IHE watching from the stands? It certainly was nowhere near as bad as Tynecastle, although Hearts may well have hit five against us and we were fortunate that their last touch was very poor and their shooting was rushed and mainly way off target. The statistics will suggest that this was a close affair but I feel that we did NOT deserve to take anything from this and that was a real “smash and grab” in injury time. But playing poor away from home, coming away with a point and stretching the unbeaten run to five games. Well you shouldn’t complain but I have enjoyed better games down the park on a Sunday morning. I wonder if other away teams lament the Hamilton experience. Due to the unfriendliness of local hostelries we enjoyed our pre-match bevvy in the Auctioneers in down down Glesga prior to catching the 14.20 train from Central Station. Then a wee trudge through a shittty alleyway and in to a practically empty stadium. Attendance was given at 1611 but it did not even look like that. Only two stands in use. The Main Stand had three sections full and the rest sparsely populated. We must have had 200-300 but we were spread out all over the place and there was little atmosphere to enthuse about. The only craic was the exchanges between our Young Team and their Hamilton counterparts. I don’t think that I will have to use much space to report on the actual game. We looked the part for the first ten minutes but it was tippy-tappy stuff. Then we faded and let Hamilton take control. It looked like a Warren error that allowed D’Acol to put the Accies ahead in the 18th minute. Their young kids basically looked like they had more energy and commitment until we went for broke in the last ten minutes when Accies also looked as if they had run out of steam and settled for a 1-0 win. It sounds as if that is the story of their season. Not sure why Foran decided to start Vigurs instead of Mulraney. He then took Mulraney on to play wide left whilst Hamilton's right flank looked as unsteady as one of the nearby slum tenements. Draper appeared to be in more of a centre forward role and it appeared that a lot of balls were being launched at him instead of Doumbouya. Again the match stats state that we had 7 attempts on target. Well we were looking dangerous only from dead ball situations. Mckay and Warren (twice) had half efforts in the first half. Draper had a great header saved by the substitute keeper, Scott Harrison late on, and then of course Polworth's drive deep into injury time. I suppose that people will say that Foran got the substitutes right but I don’t. Our main saviour was the amount of injury time which resulted from two stoppages for the keeper, time wasting by the Hamilton substitutions and Hamilton sitting back and us going for broke. We could even have snatched three points if Doumbouya had put the last minute header on target. It was nice to see Dougie Imrie prostrate and distraught at the end. I have to add that Hamilton’s youth Academy appears to continue to bring up talented youngsters. I would love to know their recipe for success. Docherty looks a winner and he and Crawford bossed the midfield which turned the whole game in their favour. Imrie to be fair did look illustrious and effective. But I feel that we missed a trick by not targeting the young lad, at left back, making his first appearance. I also thought that Sarris dominated and bullied Doumbouya. I can’t even be bothered doing a Smileymometer as I think that I have summed up the performance previously. Fon Williams did nothing wrong. McKay looked less reassured. Warren and Meekings looked shaky at times but probably not helped by Hamilton totally bossing the midfield. Tremarco continues to be consistent and gets my MotM. Cant believe that we continue to play Polworth wide right and he proved that by coming through the middle for the late goal. I only noticed Tansey for the first time when he went off injured. Same could be said of Vigurs!! King had an off day. Draper had to slot in to three different roles but he looks wholly suited to the front hole role. The surface did not appear to bother him and he looked like our real driving influence. Sorry but I am still not enthralled by Doumbouya. I felt that he let Sarris bully him. Get him down the Gym and on the weights and a wee bit of sprint training as well. But again what service and support did he get. I have already decried taking Mulraney on to the left and when we switched we began to look dangerous. Boden simply looked disinterested and added nothing. Cole is clearly “green” but got involved, appears to have a good touch and pace. Then I bet Doran is one cheesed off punter forced to watch that for 97 minutes. So in essence the first 93 minutes were shocking but the last 4 were promising. As fer Mr Cook – well we would have been better with Mary feckin Berry in the centre. He upheld the current reputation of Scottish officialdom. Talking about bullying earlier on, a wee mention for the so called Hamilton Youth Team. What a feckin firm. They joined us at the trudge back down the alleyway to the Station. They spouted filth at families and disabled supporters. They passed by us and ignored our shouts of abuse encouragement. Some of them were 11 or 12 years old. They did not retaliate. They then grouped at the end of the alley in clear sight of the Polis and entered in to the dancing and come on gesturing. It looked more like Junior Strictly Come Dancing than Green Street. However, please don't try this at home children. Match footage from SPFL Website Post match Richie added – “I thought we had the better chances, their keeper pulled off one or two decent saves, we had one cleared off the line so on chances alone I think we deserved a point. On overall play, I thought they were the better team.” Not sure if he was at the same game. Video from Caley Jags TV Hamilton:- 1 (D'Acol 18) Matthews (Thomson 81), Seabourne, Gillespie, Imrie, Docherty, D'Acol (Bingham 65), Crawford, Longridge (Want 85), Mackinnon, McMann, Sarris. Subs not used: Redmond, Roy, Tierney, Hughes. Inverness CT:- 1 (Polworth 90+3) Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Cole 75), Tansey (Boden 50), King (Mulraney 59), Mckay, Doumbouya. Subs not used: Mackay (GK), Doran, Horner, Fisher. Referee: Barry Cook. Attendance: 1611.

Dundee's Dismal run continues. Inverness took all three points with a relatively comfortable 3-1 win over Dundee who have never won in the Highland Capital, and never looked like changing that after the hosts early flurry gave them a two goal cushion. Despite Dundee seeing plenty of the ball, they were unable to do much with it and their dismal form in Inverness continued. Lonsana Doumbouya nodded his first goal for Inverness in the seventh minute and Greg Tansey lashed home a penalty nine minutes later to give the hosts the lead at the break. A smart third from Liam Polworth settled the game before Inverness took the foot of the gas. Dundee scored from an excellent set piece as Nicky Low picked his spot from twenty yards with six minutes remaining. Not the most impressive performance from Foran's men, but the three points have catapulted Inverness up to eighth in the table and we remain unbeaten in four now. Old Caley Girl was at this one and here is her thoughts about the game Comfortable Comfortable was the word of the afternoon. Dundee continued their poor record in Inverness as they returned home pointless. ICT took to the pitch looking confident and hoping to add to an unbeaten run of 3 games with only one change from the team that started against Celtic. The visitors had former Caley Jags player Nick Ross in the starting XI, but Danny Williams and James Vincent were on the bench. A few eyebrows were raised at the omission, from the starting line-up, of Iain Vigurs but that was soon forgotten when, 8 minutes in, CaleyJags took the lead. Brad Mckay popped the perfect cross into the centre of the box to find the head of Doumbouya who headed into the top left hand corner. This game was essentially all over 8 minutes later when Etxabeguren was adjudged to have fouled Billy King in the box. From the North stand my view of the incident was poor but it appears King was shoulder barged in the box with a leading elbow and the referee was correct in his award of a penalty kick. Up stepped Tansey and slammed home the spot kick. The penalty effectively ended the game as a contest. Dundee have not won since the opening day of the season and it showed. They huffed and puffed but could'nt blow the house down, and if it hadn’t been for Bain it could have been a rout. They play nice football at times but El Bakhtaoui looked a lonely man up front with non-existent support, although Fon Williams did have to pull off a tremendous reflex save just before the break as we tried to offer Dundee a lifeline. Half Time 2-0 They certainly looked much brighter in the second half but in 51 minutes any lingering doubts of a Dundee comeback were ended. Brad Mckay earned himself a second assist by charging through the middle and passing perfectly to Polworth who slotted home past Bain. Polworth could, and should, have added another a few minutes later but decided to pass to Mulraney in front of goal but he fluffed his lines by shooting straight at the keeper. Maybe too eager to get on the scoresheet, but Bain blocked his shot. The only disappointing part of the afternoon, if being picky, was the failure to keep a clean sheet. Owain Fon Williams did not have to get anywhere near having to repeat the performance of last week. Nicky Low gained a consolation goal from a spectacular free kick into the top corner about 20 yards out in 84 minutes. Full Time 3-1 Special mention to Dundee’s odd formations at corner kicks. Bizarre, just bizarre! Make no mistake this was an important win. These are the sort of games we need to be winning if we have aspirations of top 6 this season. The league table looks a lot more pleasing reading but another 3 points at Hamilton next week could see us climb into a top six slot for the first time this season. Old Caley Girl MotM:- A harder choice this week. The match sponsors went for Jake Mulraney who continues to show promise. There were competent performances throughout the team. My jury is out on Doumboya though, as he kept earning the referees attention with some awkward challenges. Brad Mckay had an excellent game and looks like he might be a top signing by Foran. My choice however, was the excellent Liam Polworth who bagged himself a goal and was our standout midfielder. He divides opinion, within our support, but more of this type of performance please. Match footage from SPFL Website Match reaction from Caley Jags TV Date: 24/09/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2884 Referee: Kevin Clancy Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth, Draper, Mulraney (Cole 87), Tansey, King (Doran 75), McKay, Doumbouya (Fisher 61) Subs (not used): Mackay, Vigurs, Boden, Sutherland Scorers: Doumbouya (8), Tansey (pen.17), Polworth (51) Booked: Doumbouya (47), Warren (74) Sent Off: none Dundee: 1 Lineup: Bain, Holt, O'Dea, Hateley (Loy 54), Low, Duffy (Teijsse 61), Etxabeguren, Ross (Williams 75), McGowan, El Bakhtaoui, Kerr Subs (not used): Mitchell, Vincent, Gadzhalov, Wighton Scorers: Low (84) Booked: Ross (53), Etxabeguren (62), Low (85) Sent Off: none

Owain Fon Williams saves the day Inverness keeper Owain Fon Williams was the reason Inverness were still interested in the game as it approached the ninety minutes and a very late Alex Fisher header earned an unlikely draw. Tom Rogic had knocked home the opener but his strike was bettered by a fantastic goal from Billy King. Sloppy play in midfield led to Scott Sinclair going it alone to put the visitors ahead before the late action around the Celtic box saw substitute Fisher level. Ross Draper was denied a penalty and a probable sending off just before Sinclair scored when he was felled on the edge of the box by Sviatchenko, but referee Don Robertson was the only man inside the ground that saw it differently. Man of the Match Fon Williams kept the eager Celtic attack at bay, especially in the second half, and he was aided by the woodwork on at least three occasions. Richie Foran stuck to his game plan to attack when they could, although Celtic pinned Inverness back for long spells. With Celtic unable to take advantage of their superiority, Inverness delivered the sucker punch in the final minute to earn another point which will keep us off the foot of the table. Richie Foran made one change to his side from the one that drew at Pittodrie bringing Lonsana Doumbouya into the starting line-up. Brendan Rodgers went with a strong attacking X1 but without the injured Leigh Griffiths. Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele, Callum McGregor and Patrick Roberts all started as Celtic looked to bury the memories of Barcelona. Inverness took the game to Celtic in the opening exchanges and Iain Vigurs had a shot blocked before Brad Mckay directed a header wide, but Celtic would respond with efforts from Cristian Gamboa and Scott Sinclair missing the target. Greg Tansey also fired one well over as the game picked up pace. Tansey had another effort saved comfortably in the top corner of the goal by de Vries but Celtic would take the lead following this. Sviatchenko lofted a ball down the left and Kieran Tierney cut inside Liam Polworth before sending a probing ball into the box with the outside of his left peg. Tom Rogic was quickest to react and he got in front of the defender to knock the ball home from seven yards. Soft goal defensively, but well set up by the ever improving Tierney. Lonsana Doumbouya showed some nimble feet when he turned on the edge of the box but his left footed shot lacked power and de Vries collected again. Moments later, Inverness were level. A long ball forward from the right back area was neatly transferred to Billy King by Ross Draper. Now then, Billy had plenty to do here. He was wide left some 35 yards from goal. He cut inside Gamboa before unleashing a rocket of a shot over de Vries from around 27 yards, the keeper only succeeding in helping the ball into the opposite corner of the goal. What a stunner, he really is King Billy! Biggest talking point of the game followed soon after. Ross Draper mugged Callum McGregor on the halfway line. He burst forward to the edge of the box hotly pursued by three defenders. Sviatchenko got there first as Draper looked to protect the ball right on the edge of the box but referee Don Robertson bottled it and awarded nothing. At the very least a free kick on the line and a sending off surely. At the best a penalty and yellow card. However, Robertson saw nothing wrong. Unbelievable officiating but not surprising against the big Bhoys. That incident was sorely punished almost immediately after a blunder by Inverness' central pairing. Josh Meekings rolled a short ball to Gary Warren on the halfway line who was caught on the back foot. Scott Sinclair gathered and raced towards the Inverness goal. We were caught short with most players upfield, and as we backed off Sinclair strode forward before curling an effort from the edge of the box round Fon Williams into the net. A good finish from the Celt, but shocking defending from the hosts. Six goals in six domestic games for Sinclair. Not a bad return from the former Aston Villa player. Celtic controlled the last quarter of the half without threatening too much as we went back into our shell, content to give Celtic the ball but defending resolutely as Scott Brown, Rogic, Sviatchenko and Sinclair all fired attempts at goal without troubling Fon Williams. He would be busier in the second half. Half Time 1-2 There seemed to be more purpose about Celtic in the second half and they went for the third goal that would probably end the tie as a contest. Moussa Dembele tested Fon Williams as he spun on the edge of the box but the Welsh keeper dived to his left to deny him. That was the start of the onslaught. Tierney did brilliantly to burst into the box on the left side and he lashed a shot goalwards. Fon Williams was equal to it though and pulled off a brilliant save diving high to his left. Soon after Rogic and Dembele combined to set up McGregor and his shot from eighteen yards was tipped onto the crossbar by the keeper for a hat-trick of brilliant saves. He wasn't finished yet though. The game had now become shooting practice for Celtic and last ditch defensive tackling for Inverness. But one man stood defiant; Owain Fon Williams was simply superb. He would be helped out by the woodwork on another two occasions. Fon Williams pushed away a curling shot from Sinclair as the pressure mounted and it was from that corner that Sviatchenko fluffed his lines. He might have done better with a close range header that bounced off the outside of the post as our back line miraculously kept them out. McGregor almost danced his way onto the scoresheet, but for another magnificent save from Fon Williams. McGregor waltzed through the heart of the defence and when the ball held up slightly, he tried to chip the keeper, but Fon Williams acrobatically clawed the ball away from danger. It was woodwork to the rescue as Tierney had another thunderous shot from the left side smack off the bar. It really was backs to the wall stuff as Celtic piled on the pressure looking to exorcise the ghost of Barcelona. But Messi had morphed into Nessy and there was one more twist in this tale. With one minute left of normal time, Inverness made one final effort and an Aaron Doran shot was deflected wide for a corner. From that corner substitute Alex Fisher made a nuisance of himself in the box as he tried to slide the loose ball towards the goal. The ball was blocked and it spun out wide to Tansey who swung over an inviting cross. Fisher was back up on his feet again and he rose high to glance a header downwards and behind de Vries for an astonishing end to a quite astonishing game. Absolute pandemonium after the goal and delight all round as three minutes of added time came and went, but not before Fon Williams fittingly plucked another ball out of the air. He had been superb all afternoon and won't have a finer game. Full Time 2-2 As they say, a one goal lead is a precarious one and Celtic paid the price for not getting the cushion a third goal would have offered. Celtic may count themselves unfortunate and on another day might have score six goals. But this was not another day, it was Owain Fon Williams' day and he defied belief with an exceptional display of quality goalkeeping. Of course, it might have been oh so different had Don Robertson awarded a penalty or free kick or a sending off. The new rules indicate it could have been a penalty and a possible yellow, but that is the subject of much debate now. Not difficult to pick out MotM. Owain Fon Williams take a bow. Immense display from him with at least half a dozen inspired saves. He got tremendous help from an overworked defence with Carl Tremarco once again defying the odds. The woodwork surely deserves a mention too, heroic stuff. Billy King will struggle to score a better goal in his life. Credit to Richie Foran who showed belief in his players to go for attacking options and what a great way to repay the managers faith by nodding in the leveler in the final minute. Celtic did not do too much wrong here apart from not putting the ball in the net often enough. In Kieran Tierney, they have a tremendous player and the Celtic front line will score plenty throughout the season. When they go forward at pace it's a wonderful footballing sight, but look what can be achieved with hard work and belief. That's three unbeaten for Inverness and off the foot of the table. Plenty to look forward to now and Dundee come North next weekend. Bring it on. Delighted for Richie and the whole team who showed an attitude that was instilled in Foran the footballer. Video from SPFL website https://www.youtube.com/user/splofficial Date: 18/09/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Attendance: 6061 Referee: Don Robertson Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams; McKay, Meekings, Warren, Tremarco, Tansey, Vigurs (Doran, 59), Polworth (Mulraney, 68), Draper, King, Doumbouya (Fisher, 81). Subs (not used): Mackay, Raven, Boden, Cole. Scorers: King (28), Fisher (89) Booked: Vigurs (41), Tremarco(66) Sent Off: none Celtic: 2 Lineup: De Vries; Gamboa (Simunovic, 68), Lustig, Sviatchenko, Tierney, Brown, McGregor, Roberts (Forrest, 75), Rogic (Armstrong, 85), Sinclair, Dembele. Subs (not used): Gordon, Izaguirre, Christie, Bitton. Scorers: Rogic (17), Sinclair (34) Booked: Brown (26), Sviatchenko(90) Sent Off: none

Vigurs Screamer Rescues Point A tremendous strike from Iain Vigurs earned Inverness a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie after Niall McGinn had opened the scoring soon after the break with an angled drive that found the far corner of Fon Williams' net. Inverness came off the bottom of the table with a hard fought draw against Aberdeen, but I suspect that next weeks visitors to the Highlands will prove to be a tougher nut to crack with Celtic overwhelming the Rangers 5-1 in the first Old Firm League game since the blue teams demise some four or five years ago. Richie Foran handed Brad Mckay his debut at right back with Alex Fisher chosen to lead the line and Lonsana Doumbouya a substitute. Jonny Hayes returned for Aberdeen but Peter Pawlett started on the bench along with new signing James Maddison. The opening minutes were somewhat scrappy. Misplaced passes from both sides were in abundance as the ball exchanged hands, or more correctly, feet, at regular intervals. Inverness were first to serve notice that there was a game on and when the ball came to Polworth inside the box, he smashed a shot off the top of the bar from twelve yards. That was after around fifteen minutes of slackness. That was the nearest either side came in a cagey first half, more akin to a chess game where it ended in stalemate at the break. Half Time 0-0 Inverness started the second on the front foot and Ross Draper was unlucky to see a volley deflected just wide as we surged forward. However it was the Dons that opened the scoring in slightly controversial circumstances. Liam Polworth looked to be fouled in the centre of the park. Crawford Allan saw it differently and play continued as Polworth lay prostrate on the grass. The ball reached Niall McGinn wide on the left and he stepped inside before hitting a low drive right across the keeper from a wide angle but the ball nestled in the bottom corner to give the Dons the lead. That was a goal that came out of the blue and it unsettled the visitors for a while. Wes Burns showed his pace as he drove at the Caley Jags defence which had parted momentarily, but his shot went wide with others expecting a pass. Vigurs was robbed outside his own penalty box and Adam Rooney almost replicated the opening goal. This time, Fon Williams read the script and dived headlong to keep the ball out as the Dons started to turn the screw. But, as we showed last week, we are not beaten until the fat lady sings. Draper won a tussle in the midfield and when the ball came to Vigurs some twenty five yards out, he crashed an unstoppable shot off the underside of the bar, despite the acrobatics of keeper Lewis. What a strike, as Arthur Montford would say, he absolutely blootered the ball into the top corner. Aberdeen upped the pressure in the final ten minutes looking for a winner but our defence held firm reasonably comfortable apart from one final push from the hosts where the ball was not cleared properly but Meekings was on hand to keep the ball out. Full Time 1-1 A well deserved share of the points and you will be hard pushed to see a better goal than Iain Vigurs effort. Although statistics will show that there were few shots on target, this was always an intriguing contest with plenty of wee cameo roles going on. We looked fairly solid at the back for most of the game and the midfield competed well. If any criticism can be given, then we lacked the defence splitting pass and gave away possession too easily in the final third. However, a point at Pittodrie is not to be scoffed at and we would have taken that prior to kick off. Video from https://www.youtube.com/user/splofficial Brad Mckay put in a decent shift on his debut and will be difficult to drop on that performance. Fon Williams was more assured as were the whole back line and the middle men kept the Aberdeen play-makers quiet. Alex Fisher battled tirelessly with little service and it was great to have Doran on the park showing flashes of sublime control and the bustling style from Doumbouya will reap rewards throughout the season. Plenty to look forward to for the rest of the season and Celtic will be prudent to be wary of us next week, despite everyone writing us off. Only downside at Pittodrie was the local stewards getting heavy handed with some young upstarts just after we scored. Cromwellian attitudes are alive and well at Pittodrie. Date: 10/09/16 Venue: Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Attendance: 11,356 Referee: Crawford Allan Aberdeen: 1 Lineup: Lewis, Logan, O'Connor, Taylor, Considine, Shinnie (Maddison 33), Burns (Pawlett 77), McGinn, Hayes (Stockley 84) McLean, Rooney. Subs (not used): Alexander, Storie, Storey McKenna. Scorers: McGinn (51) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, B Mckay, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Tansey, Polworth, Draper, King (Horner 90+4), Vigurs (Doran 75), Fisher (Doumbouya 63) Subs (not used): C Mackay, Raven, Mulraney, Boden. Scorers: Vigurs (68) Booked: Tansey (31) Tremarco (45), King (45+1) Sent Off: none

The Season has started Inverness beat St Johnstone 2-1 with a Josh Meekings goal in time added on to kill off a stubborn Perth outfit. It might not have been the best strike Meekings has ever hit, but the important thing here is that the ball ended up in the net and we have finally got our season off and running. With challenging games ahead after the international break, this was a vital win to lift the fans, players and Richie Foran alike. Ross Draper rose highest in the box to crash a header home, but that goal was cancelled out by a thunderous strike from Richard Foster before the scrambulated (there's that word again) winner after the ninety. Manager Richie Foran promised a couple of changes and he was bold enough to do just that. Dropping to the bench were Scott Boden, Jake Mulraney and David Raven. In came Alex Fisher, Billy King and Lewis Horner. New signing Lonsana Doumbouya was on the bench also and he would make his debut late in the game. Tommy Wright had Murray Davidson on the bench, but he would replace Blair Alston at the interval and the dangerous Danny Swanson was looking for his eigth goal of the season playing wide left. A typically meagre crowd for what has been historically dour affairs saw St Johnstone kick off on a bright and pleasant day for a game of football, the crowd bolstered by Paul Gablonski all the way from down under and wee Ava hoping to see Inverness beat St Johnstone this time. Staright from the kick off, you could sense that this was going to be be an open game played with pace and a bit of freneticism thrown in. And it was as we took the game to the visitors from the off. Alan Mannus made the first of many saves from a Gary Warren header as we pressed for an opener, and Danny Swanson was drifting past defenders at the other end, creating havoc along our back line but missing the vital telling cross that would create the chances. The heavily criticised Owain Fon Williams had to look spritely to stop a Steven Anderson header as the Super J's began to get to grips with the game and as play opened out Liam Polworth went close with a shot from outside the box, unfortunately the ball always just the wrong side of the post. Mannus saved headers from Ross Draper and Alex Fisher in quick succession as we continued to take the game to St Johnstone, but Chris Kane fired over at the other end with the goal gaping. Iain Vigurs, Billy King and Alex Fisher all went close with Mannus required to save two of the three attempts as the game raced towards the interval, but try as they might, Inverness were unable to get the ball behind Mannus who was largely responsible for the 0-0 scoreline at the break. Half Time 0-0 The chances kept coming after the break and Fisher fired over from the angle. A goal was coming as we kept pressing forward and a cracker it was too, just before the hour. Billy King drew a foul and a booking from David Wotherspoon and from the resultant free kick, Ross Draper wanted the ball most and he powered a header beyond Mannus for the opening goal. No more than we deserved really. St Johnstone forays forward were becoming rarer, but in one such attack, Murray Davidson headed wide from a decent position. A warning that the visitors were still very much in the game. St Johnstone sub Graham Cummins was seeing plenty of the ball now as the visitors sensed they might snatch an unlikely draw. He had fired a free kick just over then Williams had to save a header from him. Wright's men were given some hope though when out of the blue, Foster bludgeoned a shot home with the keeper well beaten with over ten minutes remaining. That goal sparked Foran into action and soon after Lonsana Doumbouya entered the scene. He is slightly ungamely, but looks like he will cause problems with his height and power. Boden and Mulraney joined him on the park soon after as Richie layed all his cards on the table, going for all three points. Boden brought Mannus into action again and MotM Ross Draper shot narrowly past before testing Mannus with a header. That looked to be it as the clock reached the ninety, but a minute into time added on, Josh Meekings jabbed the ball home after a scrambulation on the goal line when it looked as though the bobbling ball would not fall kindly for us, but persistence paid off and it eventually found the back of the net from Meekings' toe. Mulraney almost added a third as he broke forward with Saints trying to salvage a point, but he sliced his shot at pace as he drove into the box and it went high, wide and not very handsomely into the North Stand. Full Time 2-1 A highly entertaining game with both sides giving it a go. You could see what it meant to the players as they broke their duck. Massive celebrations in the corner of the stadium after the goal and relief all round. Richie Foran was delighted to get off the mark as you can see with his match reaction here, talking to Davie, who is showing a tremendous appetite for this interviewing lark. Lewis Horner did brilliantly coming in at right back and shows plenty of promise when going forward. Fon Williams looked much more assured as his Euro holiday fades into the past. The whole back line worked tirelessly and did a great job of eventually shackling Danny Swanson. Greg Tansey looks as though he is still holding something in reserve and Vigurs and Polworth were good in flashes. Striking has been a problem area but I thought Alex Fisher led the line well and all the substitutes played their part when they came on. But for sheer industry and his goal, Ross Draper was head and shoulders above everyone else and is my MotM. So, international break coming up, then away to the Dons and home to Celtic after that. Tough games ahead, but nobody said it was going to be easy. However, a weight was lifted off the shoulders yesterday and it should set us up nicely for the rest of the season. Foran is still trying to add a couple of players and that should be good enough to see us start to climb the table. Onwards and upwards! Here's Davie talking to match winner Josh Meekings after his screamer....... Footage of game from SPFL website -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inverness CT - 2 - Draper (59) Meekings (90 + 1) Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Boden 84), Tansey, Horner, Fisher (Doumbouya 82), King (Mulraney 85). Subs not used: Esson, Raven, Doran, Sutherland. Booked: Draper (67) St Johnstone: - 1 - Foster (79) Mannus, Alston (Davidson 46), Anderson, MacLean, Wotherspoon, Swanson, Shaughnessy, Paton (Craig 67), Foster, Easton, Kane (Cummins 63). Subs not used: Clark, Millar, Coulson, Gordon. Booked: Wotherspoon (58) Referee: Stephen Finnie. Attendance: 2729.

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

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

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

Ultimate Anti Football Inverness and St Johnstone served up an utter borefest of a game as anti-football took over the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. The Perth side took all three points in a 0-1 win over a punchless Inverness who had not a clue how to break down the 10 men of St Johnstone. Both sides should be ashamed of themselves as misplaced passes, poor tackles and miscontrol was the order of the day. Both keepers could have stayed in the dressing room and the score would have remained the same as a 90th minute Liam Craig penalty won the match for the visitors. It turned out to be a decent day for a game of football after overnight rain, the pitch left moist but it great condition. It should have led to an entertaining afternoon's sport. How wrong can you be. Inverness were still unable to field a full strength squad and it showed. Carl Tremarco played at left back, but there is still no sign of Jordan Roberts, Tobi Sho-Silva, Gary Warren, Aron Doran, Richie Foran, and Andrea Mutombo was also out. Iain Vigurs made the bench and James Vincent got a start along with Liam Polworth. St Johnstone had Liam Craig on the bench, but he would be instrumental in our downfall late in the game. Fon-Williams was fortunate a couple of times as he replicated some of Dean Brills twitchy moment from clearances, having to dive full length to save the first one from rebounding in. That was as close as anyone came to breaking sweat in a dire first half. Our only half chance came when Tremarco was well blocked by O'Halloran as he broke into the left side of the box, just before he was able to offload. What a tedious first forty-five, surely the second half would be better? Half Time. 0-0 Well, we didn't know it at the time, but the second half was equally poor, in fact even worse if anything. Dave Mackay was sent off after catching Tremarco on the halfway line. That would maybe give us the upper hand. No. Despite the numerical advantage, and oceans of possession, we hadn't a clue how to get behind the Perth bus and were unable to make Mannus work for his bonus. Fon-Williams was equally idle as the Saints looked to hold on for a point. Little did they know how inept we were about to become and in Michael O'Halloran, they had the only player on the park worthy of his wages. The boredom was now reaching world championship level and it was about to turn into utter chaos as Devine was adjudged to have impeded substitute Liam Craig after ninety minutes had passed. Craig himself took the kick and our misery was complete. Full Time 0-1 Oh dear, what can you say about that. There was lots of head shaking as disgruntled fans left the stadium, muttering the words, shambles, disgraceful, punchless, wet paper bag, useless, no strikers, headless chickens etc. To be honest, that is probably doing a disservice to headless chickens who I'm sure would have shown more aptitude and attitude than those on the park. I would have liked to tell you more about our efforts during the game, but to be honest, there were none, absolutely zilch, zero, nothing. Worst game of football I have ever witnessed. In truth, St Johnstone were no better and we would maybe have done better if they had eleven players on the park. As soon as Mackay went off, they retreated further into their already defensive shell and the writing was on the wall. Yogi needs to turn this around pretty quick or this week will be a complete disaster for us. League Cup action on Tuesday night and the fans might be voting with their feet after this one. MotM. Well, there were none in blue worthy of a mention. They all underperformed. Best on the park was a lively Michael O'Halloran who led the line well. Take note Yogi, we need someone to do this for us. Full match report to follow..............