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  1. Tannadice woe. Dundee United would inflict further woe on cash strapped Inverness after a close encounter of the third kind. A Nicky Clark penalty was sufficient to swing the game towards United with Inverness just failing to get back on level terms. John Robertson would rest Carl Tremarco and Aaron Doran, although Jamie McCart made the bench, but Tom Walsh and Anthony McDonald were out injured. United kicked off with over 4700 watching and immediately put Inverness onto the back foot creating three or four openings inside the first ten minutes. Peter Pawlett and Charlie Seaman narrowly missing the target from great positions inside the box and Nicky Clark heading tamely wide. Kevin McHattie was booked in the 17th minute as the Inverness defence came under sustained pressure. It took Inverness half an hour to fashion out a decent opportunity and Shaun Rooney headed over. Nathan Austin then drove into the box but his shot had the sting taken out of it and Ben Siegrist gathered. Coll Donaldson followed that up by heading over from close range as we began to threaten the home defence. Pawlett was the Arabs danger man as he drove forward and at the other end a Connolly error almost led to Austin getting in on goal. It was Pawlett that was causing most problems for the visitors, but at the break it was all square. Half-Time 0-0 There were no changes at the start of the second half as Liam Polworth kicked off. United were first to try after the break but Ridgers easily mopped up an effort from Clark. Inverness responded with Polworth firing over from outside the box and Austin almost flicked on to White, but United got it clear. Harkes had to clear one away from the line after some confusion in the Arabs ranks. Inverness were having a good spell and a Rooney cross was headed over by Austin................ However, It's the kiss of death and United get a penalty awarded after Coll Donaldson tripped Nicky Clark in the box, Clark converting from the spot. Three minutes later, the problematic Pawlett became a problem for United as he was sent off for a second bookable offence. Charlie Trafford shot just wide from outside the box as we looked to get back on level terms and an Austin header and a Chalmers shot had to be saved by Siegrist. Plenty of Caley Jags pressure in the final ten minutes with United down to ten men and the last fling is Daniel Mackay replacing Joe Chalmers as the clock ticked past ninety minutes. Safranko passed on a great chance to seal the points at the end but he blazed the ball over the bar and Donaldson saw a deflected effort tipped over, but it was too little too late as United held on for all three points. After tonights results, Dunfermline closed the gap to two points behind Inverness after a 3-0 win over Partick Thistle, Morton a further point behind after they beat Queen of the South and Ross County stretched their lead at the top by beating Ayr United thanks to a Billy Mckay hat-trick. Stirling Observer observed thus on CTO:- Entertaining game for one we didn't manage to score. Took a while to settle to the diamond midfield and Utd could have been out of sight. Gradually worked our way into the game and were arguably on top despite not creating much. Second half was really open and end to end. They were on top for a spell when they won the pen. I would have said it was a fair award. Coll lunged in to block the shot but took the players legs before the ball. Mchattie took an awful touch to draw Pawlett into a rash challenge for his second booking. This killed the game as our lack of creativity against there solid unit meant the classic sit deep and let us punt it. Coll's last second deflected shot was the closest I think we got, but Safranko did miss a great chance late on. Speaking to BBC Sport the managers had this to say:- Dundee United head coach Robbie Neilson: "I thought the first half we played well but couldn't get the ball over the line. "It's massive for us. It takes us a step further and now second in the league." Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson: "I'm disappointed. I thought United started very well. Coming down the slope, they got at us with good chances, but then we settled. "We changed our system a bit tonight by playing a diamond in there just to upset them." Action from Tannadice.............. Date: 26/02/2019 Venue: Tannadice Attendance: 4737 Referee: Barry Cook Dundee United: 1 Lineup: Siegrist; McMullan (Nesbitt 59), Clark (Gomis 78), Reynolds, Robson, Butcher, Seaman (Watson 84), Connolly, Harkes, Safranko, Pawlett. Subs (not used): Laidlaw, Fyvie, Sow, Smith. Scorers: Clark (pen 68) Booked: Connolly (32), Pawlett (48, 72), Safranko (82) Sent Off: Pawlett (72) Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, McHattie (Doran 76), Austin, Trafford (McCauley 82), Polworth, Welsh, Chalmers (D Mackay), White. Subs (not used): C Mackay, Tremarco, McCart, MacGregor. Scorers: none Booked: McHattie (17), Rooney (47) Sent Off: none a
  2. No rest for Coll The gruelling recent schedule was taking it's toll as Inverness played out a slender one goal win against Morton. Carl Tremarco glanced an early header home with what proved to be the only goal of the game. The final result was closer than it could have been, but given our recent exertions, then we'll take a narrow win over the Greenock side any day as we tried to conserve our energy levels. This win gives us a five point cushion in fourth place in the quest for a play-off slot, with Dunfermline emerging as the next best placed team to mount a challenge. Queen of the South and Morton are a further point behind the Pars. So it's still all to play for as we get down to the business end of the season with Ross County looking most likely to top the table after a great 4-2 win at Partick who hit the bottom. John Robertson tried to protect some players by giving Shaun Rooney a start at right back and moving Brad Mckay alongside Jamie McCart in central defence whilst resting Coll Donaldson. That plan went pear shaped when McCart had to leave the field after sustaining an injury on the half hour which meant no day of rest for Coll Donaldson. Tom Walsh missed out after picking up an injury against County in the cup and Anthony McDonald took his place. The more mundane atmosphere of the Championship fixture barely whispered round the ground with only a busload or two in the away end amongst some 2400 fans in the stadium. Liam Polworth set the ball rolling as we kicked off towards the away end. Nothing of note in the opening exchanges as both sides jockeyed for position, but Captain Carl would break the deadlock in the eleventh minute as he met a Liam Polworth corner at the near post to send the ball behind keeper McCrorie. The visitors responded and Mark Ridgers had to tip an effort from Chris Millar behind for a corner a couple of minutes after the goal. The ball looked like it might just be heading for the outside of the woodwork, but Mark took no chances and dealt with it accordingly. Brad McKay missed an opportunity after a ball found him in the box. Unfortunately it was more of the ball hitting Brad than Brad hitting the ball and the chance was missed. The game had little flow about it as players from both sides looked too eager to impress, nobody willing to put their foot on the ball and control proceedings. Jamie McCart went down and had to be replaced by courageous Coll on the half hour. Jordan White knocked a header forward but it just evaded the strikers as it ran through to the box after Polly passed on. We saw out the half with little coming from Morton in an attacking sense, the hosts doing just enough to keep their advantage. Half-Time 1-0 Darren McCauley replaced the injured Anthony McDonald at the interval and it was more of the same after the break. Morton struggling to create, Inverness happy with the reprieve. In the 57th minute Tremarco almost got his second goal but his header was cleared off the line by Buchanan to deny the captain as he met a great ball in from Sean Welsh. There followed a spell of Inverness pressure where we threatened to run a way with the game, but some last ditch defending and wayward shooting kept the score at 1-0. The second half was fast becoming an anti-climax as we were content to give the lightweight Morton offence the ball, and fortunately they had little idea what to do with it. Donaldson received more treatment towards the end after going down injured, but he is made of strong stuff is Coll and he resumed after being repaired. As the clock ticked away, we sat deeper and deeper allowing the visitors the freedom of the park. We did counter on a few occasions but in all honesty neither side looked likely to get another goal. The game ended with Morton frantically trying to put pressure on our defence, but we held out comfortably enough to record only our third home win in the Championship. It was a much needed low key encounter and a welcome three points that boosts our play-off chances. Carl Tremarco is the proverbial Duracell Bunny and he gets my nod for MotM. That was his first goal this term and it was good enough to win all three points. The future is bright, the future is orange. It's a difficult week coming up with two visits to Tannadice. On Wednesday it's Championship night and Sunday is the quarter final of the Scottish Cup, so no let up in the intensity and challenges for our stretched squad. From BBC Sport Inverness CT boss John Robertson: "We created plenty of chances today but we had to hang on. The last five or six minutes we decided to just take what we had. I cannot praise the players highly enough for their attitude and application. "They gave it everything and they gave absolutely everything they had on Tuesday, and absolutely everything today so it's a wonderful three points. It was a massive performance from them." Morton manager Jonatan Johansson: "I'm disappointed with the result obviously and I'm also disappointed in the way we lost the goal - another set-play. I know we are a small team but we need to be better at defensive set plays - they've been costing us for a while now. "Before that I felt everything was going alright. I think we played some nice passing football but in the final third we didn't have the spark or belief and it was powder-puff at times. We never really threatened them." Match Highlights from Caley Jags TV Yesterday's goal hero, Tommy Tremarco................. Date: 23/02/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2413 Referee: Steven Reid Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, McCart (Donaldson 32), Tremarco, McDonald (McCauley 45), Polworth (Trafford 83), Welsh, Chalmers, Doran, White Subs (not used): C Mackay, McHattie, Austin, D Mackay. Scorers: Tremarco (11) Booked: Tremarco (36) Sent Off: none Morton FC: 0 Lineup: McCrorie; McAlister, Waddell, Buchanan, Iredale, Millar, Telfer (Tidser 60), Dykes (Lyon 70), O'Connell (Tumilty 59), McHugh, Kiltie Subs (not used): Gaston; Kilday, Thomson, Dallas. Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  3. Inverness progress after dramatic shootout Inverness went through on a night of high drama after the game ended all square at 2-2. It was another bruising encounter and extra-time saw no further goals and penalties it was. Mark Ridgers saved one penalty and that was enough as Inverness went on to convert all five of their spot kicks, Nathan Austin with the final one. Jordan White was the local hero in normal time with both Inverness goals, twice coming from behind after Ross Stewart opened the scoring and Michael Gardyne grabbed a second for County. County resorted to type, some bare knuckle fighting broke out before the end when Van der Weg should have been sent off. Groundhog Derby stirs the passion. John Robertson made three changes from the side that slumped at East End Park. In came Coll Donaldson, Liam Polworth and Sean Welsh. On to the bench went Charlie Trafford, Shaun Rooney and Darren McCauley. County brought back five players that did not start against East Fife in the Challenge Cup. All the big boys were back in, with Scott Fox, Michael Gardyne, Billy Mckay, Keith Watson and Lewis Spence all starting. A great atmosphere greeted the players from both sides as they took to the park on a damp night, over 3600 were about to witness a night of high drama in the Groundhog Derby. The hosts started brightly and Tom Walsh fired a warning shot high over the bar in the second minute. Little did he know his night would be cut short in the 15th minute as he was replaced by Anthony McDonald after picking up an injury. Liam Polworth also fired wide as we gathered momentum. In the 22nd minute Inverness were undone as County surged down the right wing after winning the ball on the halfway line. Josh Mullin received the ball after good work by Marcus Fraser on the right and sent in a tantalising cross. Serial derby scorer Ross Stewart met the ball at the front post to head powerfully down and up and into the net via the crossbar. Good finish by Stewart, slightly against the run of play at that point. Inverness responded well to going behind and the game was being played at a frantic pace with no quarter asked or given. Substitute Anthony McDonald dragged a shot wide from the left side of the box as we searched for a way back into the tie, a corner given for that effort. Jamie McCart missed the best chance so far as he headed over from eight yards unchallenged, he maybe should have at least made the keeper work. Mark Ridgers was looking assured at corners and he had to save from Mullin as County tried to double their advantage. This game was not for the faint hearted and the half time whistle went with County holding a slender lead. Half Time 0-1 The sides swapped corners at the start of the second period and it was from another corner that Inverness were level. Joe Chalmers sent a curling ball into the heart of the box and big Jordan White rose highest to power a great header into the top corner. The North Stand liked that one, John Beaton not so much and he booked White for his celebration with the young team. Just after the hour, Scott Fox pulled off a tremendous save low down to his right as he saved a thumping shot from Liam Polworth. Similar to Doran's goal in the first game, but this time he kept it out with some assistance from the post. Five minutes later and County went back in front when Michael Gardyne picked up a loose headed clearance. He prodded the ball past two players before thrashing a low shot behind Ridgers from ten yards. A bit sloppy from Inverness but another good finish by Gardyne. White was now relishing the challenge and looked like he was enjoying himself as he played his best game since joining the Caley Jags, challenging well and laying off to fellow players. He got another header on target but Fox was well positioned to grab it out of the air. However, Jordan would not be denied and when Doran cut inside and fed Polly, he slid a great ball into the path of White who took a touch before finding the bottom corner from 15 yards. Superb goal and heading for extra time. Nathan Austin was creating havoc around the County defence with his awkward style as he poked his legs between defenders and sprinted forward. He headed one over from an inviting cross as we pressed for a winner. It looked like there was only going to be one winner before the end of the ninety minutes as we took charge. Coll Donaldson was absolutely bossing the County forwards, strolling around like Franz Beckenbauer, and why not. Jamie McCart was his able assistant and between them County were rendered ineffective. The ninety ended too soon for Inverness as they harassed the visitors in their own box, Fox fortunate not to concede a goal as he juggled with a ball facing his own goal, the post helping out again. Ninety Minutes 2-2 Extra time was slightly less eventful as both sides held what they had. In the second period Coll went down injured, but he was having none of that and he returned to the battle as tackles were flying in like they were going out of fashion. Carl Tremarco almost won it before the penalty shoot-out, his effort crashing off the bar after a scrambulation in and around the County box, great effort by the wee man and a let-off for County with Fox beaten. A couple of late free kicks for County were wasted as referee John Beaton went card happy. Gardyne started a brawl after a bit of man hugging with Charlie Trafford as they laid on the ground. Needless stuff, but Kenny van der Weg rushed in from nowhere to start some rather dangerous shoving and pushing. For me he should have been red carded for this assault. If he did that at an Inverness night club he would be in the cells. It seems that they must get this coaching from above, what with Stuart Kettlewell sitting in the main stand and Iain Vigurs in the South Stand. Brian Graham was out though as he appeared as a second half substitute. Anyway, I digress. After the dust settled the failure that is a Scottish referee booked van der Weg and Coll Donaldson when all around were squaring up to each other. Bare knuckle fighting on the park, but it was County that would be dealt the knock-out blow. Anyway, penalties it was. The winner will travel to Tannadice to take on Dundee United in the Quarter Final on the weekend of 2/3 March Here's how it went, County started the process in front of the away end. Gardyne 1-0 White 1-1 Fraser 2-1 Donaldson 2-2 McManus, penalty brilliantly saved by Mark Ridgers, 2-2 Welsh 2-3 Graham 3-3 Polworth 3-4 Draper 4-4 Austin for game set and match.They think it's all over..........it is now. 4-5 Coll Donaldson was my MotM for absolutely cigaring his way through the game. Jordan White was magnificent with his goals and general all round battling display. Liam Polworth was classy and showed it in abundance. Jamie McCart put in a great shift. Nathan Austin was sensational when he came on and caused County no end of problems. To be honest everyone did the fans proud and the celebrations at the end epitomised the desire and effort shown by the players. This was much appreciated by the fans who returned the favour with tremendous vocal backing, especially the young team in the North Stand. So, everybody, give yourselves a round of applause. We have had greater achievements, but this was drama of the highest order and the intensity and passion shown by both sets of players made this one of the best nights of football ever seen at the Caledonian Stadium. Players were almost on their knees long before the end of extra time and it was great to see the passion shown by our players after this well deserved win. Passion. I'll show you some passion said Coll........ Speaking on BBC Sport Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "We had the better of the game, we had the better chances. We've hit the post, we've hit the bar. There's two off the line in the last minute. Scott Fox has produced a wonder save. "We have been horrendous at penalties this season. We practised them yesterday. We actually had the players taking penalties from 15 yards out because if they can score from 15 yards, they can certainly score from 12 and all five of them scored." Robbo was delighted with the home fans contribution..... Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson: "Proud of our team. It was a great cup tie and when it goes to penalties, it becomes that little bit of a lottery and somebody has to miss and it happens to be us. We accept it and we move on. "It's always disappointing to lose the lead. When it's a cup tie like that, it's to-ing and fro-ing all the time and we could've scored again and Caley could've scored again. As far as a cup tie goes, I think everything was squeezed into that." Two goal Jordan White talking after the game......... Night of high drama, have a look. Date: 19/02/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3608 Referee: John Beaton Inverness CT: 2 - Inverness through 5-4 after penalties. Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Doran (Trafford 101), Polworth, Welsh, Chalmers (Austin 76), Walsh (McDonald 15, McCauley 105), White. Subs (not used): C Mackay; Rooney, McHattie Scorers: Jordan White (56, 81) Booked: White (57), McDonald (58), Doran (66), Tremarco (84), Donaldson (120) Sent Off: none Ross County: 2 Lineup: Fox; Fraser, Draper, Watson, Boyle, Van der Weg, Draper, Mullin (McManus 78), Spence (Lindsay 66), Gardyne, Stewart (Graham 100), Mckay (Wallace 112). Subs (not used): Munro; Grivosti, Murray. Scorers: Ross Stewart (22), Michael Gardyne (67) Booked: Draper (89), Gardyne (90+2), Van der Weg (120) Sent Off: none a
  4. Par for the course It was pretty much Par for the course as we slumped to another defeat in the league. It would appear that our league form is not as good as our cup form, or maybe it's just the local derby's we get our act together for. Whatever is the issue, it's a disappointing trend and Dunfermline were untroubled for most of the game with Joe Thomson getting the only goal of a scrappy game. Mark Ridgers will feel he might have done better at the goal. Aidan Connolly smacked the bar, but a late flurry from Inverness produced little of note in another hapless display, the team looking somewhat jaded. John Robertson made several changes after the bruising cup tie at Dingwall last Monday. Liam Polworth was injured and Coll Donaldson and Sean Welsh got some bench time. That meant that Darren McCauley and Charlie Trafford started and Shaun Rooney came back in at right back. RIG was as usual in the away end with Caley Away and here is his report. Hands down one of the worst performances from an ICT that I can recall in a long time, especially that first 45 minutes. We were all over the shop. McCart, who until recently had been a very solid performer, was uncharacteristically sloppy with a number of sliced clearances and slack passes but he got better as the game wore on as did the likes of Trafford who was something of a headless chicken until we went to 442 and he seemed to be a lot more effective. White struggled badly until Austin came on. He (White) didn't get much service and when the ball did come his way he was largely dominated by Ashcroft who was excellent yesterday as were Connolly and Vincent for the home side. McCauley should have been sent off. After he was booked he committed two needless fouls that both could have resulted in a second booking so it was no surprise when Robbo took him off for MacDonald. Pars had a weak penalty claim when Anderson seemed to go down quite easily. Maybe any highlights will show something different but I wasn't convinced at the time. Second half Dunfermline started much the better side. I don't know what Robbo said to the players at the break but most seemed to be still sleepwalking when Thomson dribbled across goal then lashed a shot past Ridgers who seemed to be caught by a deflection or by McCart ducking out of the way or something. In Mark's defence, it appears that he may have been slightly unsighted and the ball also appears to swerve a bit. Meh! Disappointing goal to concede but we were lucky not to be two down when Connolly battered the crossbar with a lovely shot just outside the area. We started to come back into the game when Doran went off and Austin came on giving White a bit more support up front and we started to create some half chances. Walsh had perhaps the best opportunity for an equaliser when he drove towards goal and was afforded a lot of time and space to shoot from about 20 yards but he sent the ball well over. White and Mckay passed up a couple of decent chances to bring us back on level terms but they shot wide of / over the goal. A seriously disappointing performance after what was a good showing on Monday night against County. We were missing arguably three of our most important players in Donaldson, Polworth and Welsh however if we want to stay in the play-off spot we need to improve our performances quickly. Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson was speaking to BBC Sport: "I'm massively disappointed. It was straightforward - Dunfermline showed more hunger, energy and work-rate in first 10 minutes of each half. "I felt they were up for the taking, but they got their goal - Ridgers should've saved it. It was mistake from him. "Then the penny dropped and in the last 15 minutes we were camped in their half, but we had chances through Brad McKay and Shaun Rooney. "It's a missed opportunity because, if we win, we get a wee gap and we start pushing above us. "We're now in a hell of a scrap with Queen of the South, Morton, Partick, Falkirk. What they've done now is give me a blank sheet of paper for Tuesday night because there will be changes." Caley Stan was less than impressed with the value for money That's the worst away performance I've seen this season. We missed Coll and Polly as you would expect, but the absence of Sean Welsh had the most impact, his replacement charged and lunged his way around the park in a way that seemed to unsettle his teammates as much as the opposition. We didn't get the forward midfield 3 into the game at all, and when we finally went to 4-4-2 we looked slightly more threatening but without creating clear-cut chances. It could've been worse - McCauley should've been sent off and a better side would've added to their tally in the second half. We are a very poor side without those 3 players. Yngwie was more supportive to the keeper................ What actually happened with Ridgers for the goal? Routine looking save but the shot went through him. You know it’s not your day when even your most dependable player messes up. Look away now Marky boy............. Site Admin Scotty has this to add from our site sponsors FANSBET Ahead of our replay against County, Fansbet are allowing CTO users to suggest what the special bet to be promoted on their site should be for the game next week ? If you want a specific special listed please put them in the thread on CTO and they will chose one at random, assign it odds and feature it before the game in the fan boosts section. : https://www.fansbet.com/en/betting/sports/fan-boosts/ Here's the full highlights................ Date: 16/02/2019 Venue: East End Park Attendance: 4497 Referee: Steven Kirkland Dunfermline: 1 Lineup: Scully; Craigen, Ashcroft, Devine, Longridge, Vincent, Beadling, Thomson, Blair (Williamson 78), Connolly (Longridge 70) Anderson (Durnan 90+1) Subs (not used): Gill; Todd, Hippolyte, Higginbotham Scorers: Thomson (47) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, McCart, Tremarco (Welsh 88), Walsh, Trafford, McCauley (McDonald 34), Chalmers, Doran (Austin 64), White Subs (not used): C Mackay, Donaldson, McHattie, MacGregor, Scorers: none Booked: McCauley (27), Trafford (55), Rooney (81) Sent Off: none a
  5. Ayr Raid Inverness surged into a three goal lead inside 20 minutes, Nathan Austin bagging the first two goals and Liam Polworth adding the third with a low shot from outside the box. It remained 0-3 at the interval but substitute Lawrence Shankland made his presence felt as he set up Declan McDaid to open Ayr's account eight minutes after the break. Shankland scored from a free kick with five minutes to go to set up a tense finish but Inverness just managed to hold on to take all three points. That's a tremendous result that has put us back into the top four and denied Ayr a return to the top of the table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John Robertson made two changes to the team that drew 2-2 at Falkirk. Jambos loanee Anthony McDonald started in place of the injured Aaron Doran and George Oakley replaced Jordan White. Cammy Mackay kept the keepers jersey with Mark Ridgers still out with back pain. Ayr kept faith with Craig Moore and Michael Moffat up front which meant that Lawrence Shankland was on the bench. Nathan Austin started the ball rolling towards the Somerset Road end on a freezing night at Somerset Park in front of 1559 shivering fans. The 76 visiting ones would be warmed up well before half time. Immortal Howden Ender was one of the 76........... To start with a round of applause for the recorded 76 fans who made it to Somerset Park despite the road conditions in both North and South directions. The records also show that there was 1559 in total attendance although it looked more to me. And we were then treated to the best 9 minutes of the season. The first, in the eight minute, had a degree of luck to it. Superb through ball from Polworth and Nathan Austin took it round Rose and Doohan with a little help from Rose but he finished well which has not always been the case this season. And just as one bus leaves another turns up, three minutes later (certainly wasn’t sponsored by ScotRail). A terrible pass by Smith found Oakley who played in Nathan Austin who again rounded the keeper but knocked it in with his left foot. Not sure how the defender on the line missed the clearance but hey-ho. And as most if not every fan in the ground were shaking their heads we go three up. Liam Polworth sweetly stuck a low 20 yarder which went in via the post. As good a strike as I have seen this season. But any chance of a 7-0 Somerset repeat were soon dashed as Ayr appeared to waken up. They could well have got a goal back before half time. A header came off the crossbar and Cammy MacKay made a fine save just on the half time whistle. In many ways it was fortunate for us that we held out as the second half may have been even more arduous. Enter Lawrence Shankland for the second half. It felt that the combination of a McCall bollicking, Shankland enthusing the crowd and Ayr lifting their effort made the second half a very, very long one. The first goal in the 53rd minute was made by Shankland and finished off by McDaid. Although I would have given the “assist” to Jamie McCart – although the ball did appear to hit a divot. There were two penalty claims thereafter although I feel that both being denied were the correct decision. The ball clearly played Tremarco’s hand and Oakley had lost the ball in a rumble in the box. Also in the 58th minute Robbo made his first substitution which basically puzzled me. He hooks Austin whos’ pace was the main worry for the Ayr back four and would have been a bonus on the break. And he brings on White ?!! Trafford replaced McDonald in the 70th minute but that was understandable. McCauley replaced Oakley in the 82nd minute and that was one that may have been better happening 15-20 minutes earlier. And three minutes later the inevitable Shankland goal made us fear that another draw was on the cards. And it was – and you could hear a collective sigh of relief from 76 Highlanders when Muirhead headed over in injury time – although I thought that Tremarco’s presence put him off. Ayr United manager Ian McCall: "You can't give teams a three-goal start. I thought they had 20 minutes, then we dominated, but we couldn't get an equalizer – have to agree. Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "You know if you lose a goal here, the atmosphere can change and it's a brilliant throw back coming here – spot on again. Robbo added - "If we win on Saturday, we're back in the hunt going into the break for the cup. We're just targeting whatever team is directly above us. – who can argue against that ? SMILEYMOMETER MacKay - Young Cammy did well and I thought that his save before half time was a real game saver. top. At the time I was critical of his Alan Rough impersonation for the second goal but the free kick looks as if it took a mean deflection. Rooney – Disappointed me. Always looks good going forward but I felt that most of Ayr’s chances came down their left wing and Rooney lacking pace. McKay ?– No nonsense and why not. McCart – ?As Mckay apart from the 53rd minute Brain Fart (Rigism) Tremarco – Best defender for me and good to see him back at full fitness. Chalmers – ? No sign of his sweet left foot but worked his socks off Welsh – An “old head” which we need at the present time. Looked more like a captain. Polly – My MOM. Super pass for the first goal and super strike for the third goal. Also worked hard which often is lacking at home. McDonald – Thought that Robbo would have played McCauley from the start on physique alone. Has a look of a Doran about him – which we need. Suspect that he will be more effective at home. Austin – Best game in our colours for me. Two good finishes and worked the line very well. So why the hooking in the 58th minute ? White – ?Actually thought that he was a good out option and he held the ball up quite well. Trafford – Evidently taken on for the Davy Crockett effect McCauley – Wrong game to judge. Here's the footage from Ayr TV Robbo post match on twitter Date: 29/01/2019 Venue: Somerset Park Attendance: 2000 Referee: Nick Walsh Ayr United: 2 Lineup: Doohan; Smith, Bell, Rose, Harvie, Murdoch, Crawford (Muirhead 82), Docherty (Higgins 45), McDaid, Moore (Shankland 45), Moffat Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Hilton, Ecrepont, McCowan. Scorers: McDaid (53), Shankland (85) Booked: Crawford (79) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: C Mackay; Rooney, B Mckay, J McCart, Tremarco, McDonald (Trafford 70), Polworth, Welsh, Chalmers, Austin (White 58), Oakley (McCauley 82). Subs (not used): MacKinnon; Harper, McHattie, Mackay. Scorers: Austin (9, 12) Polworth (18) Booked: Polworth (36), Oakley (69) Sent Off: none a
  6. All Square at Falkirk It was a depleted Inverness that kicked off with Coll Donaldson, Tom Walsh and Mark Ridgers out and third choice keeper Cammy Mackay in goal. Undaunted, we took the lead after 12 minutes when Shaun Rooney touched in a Joe Chalmers free kick. On the half hour Zak Rudden equalised from close range. Doran restored our lead just on the interval when he volleyed into the top corner in spectacular fashion. Freak goal from McShane levelled the game again 10 minutes into the second half. Inverness had both new signings Darren McCauley and Anthony McDonald available and on the bench for this game, however, we were dealt a blow with Mark Ridgers unable to play because of a back spasm and Fon Williams allegedly with a groin injury. That thrust young Cammy Mackay into the spotlight with Martin MacKinnon as back up on the bench. Nathan Austin and Jordan White started up front with George Oakley on the bench. Falkirk had new keeper from Wolves Harry Burgoyne between the sticks for the first time and prolific scorer Zak Rudden starting. It was a sodden miserable afternoon as Falkirk kicked off in front of nearly 5000 fans, 240 of them supporting the team from the Highlands, Cammy Mackay tasked with keeping the Bairns out. His last game was a month ago, a 2-0 defeat for Rothes in the Highland League against Brora Rangers whilst out on loan. A bright start for the visitors saw Nathan Austin, Aaron Doran and Jamie McCart all make Harry Burgoyne work in the Falkirk goal. Shaun Rooney did even better when he made him pick the ball out of the net in twelve minutes when he diverted a low Joe Chalmers free kick into the net for the opening goal. Great start for the Caley Jags. Austin had a header saved as we pushed for a second and Doran was close with a shot and Sean Welsh dragged another shot wide halfway though the first period. Burgoyne made a tremendous save to deny Doran from distance, fisting the ball away as the visitors continued to dominate and keeping young Cammy Mackay quiet in goal so far. Spoke too soon as out of the blue Zak Rudden tapped in from close range to level the match after good work from Mark Waddington. We fail to convert after a scramble in the Bairns box and soon after Liam Polworth shot wide after a lay-off from White. A quick break from defence saw White's first effort saved and his follow up deflected for a corner. From the corner, Falkirk do likewise as Rudden is denied at the other end. Inverness have had the greater opportunities in the first half and just on the break we regained the lead in spectacular fashion. A Polworth free kick was cleared as far as Doran at the edge of the box, and after taking a touch the wee man smashed the ball into the top corner on the volley, what a strike. Pick that one out Harry! Half Time 1-2 No changes at the break as Inverness set the ball rolling for the second half and we began on the front foot again, Austin doing his best to undo his old club as he drilled a ball across the box but there were no takers. Falkirk were relying on Mackay being in the firing line and they equalised when a corner from Ian McShane deceived the keeper and ended up in the net. Austin tried to reply moments later but his header was too straight and saved by the keeper and Sean Welsh missed from distance. Doran pulled up on a run forward and he had to make way for Darren McCauley to make his debut and it's almost an instant success as his ball is deflected to White and behind for a corner. Jamie McCart took a head knock as well, injuries we don't need at the moment. Substitute George Oakley had a header saved as we looked to get back in front, and Anthony McDonald replaced Jordan White to make his debut. McCauley had an effort blocked as we looked for the winner and at the other end Paul Paton saw Mackay save his shot. Big shouts for a penalty after a McCauley shot is blocked but nothing doing and Rudden blazed a shot over from 8 yards after being played in. That should have clinched it for the hosts. It all ended a bit towsy with a couple of bookings but with no further scoring it finished all square. Inverness will feel it's two points dropped, after having enough chances to win two games, but the injury to Doran could be more worrying. Speaking on BBC Sport Falkirk manager Ray McKinnon: "That's us unbeaten in January but we need to start winning games. It will happen sooner or later, I'm certain of that. "We still need two players. We need someone to hold the ball up front and an experienced centre half. We played a more attacking style but we just weren't clicking in the final third." Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "It was a strange game. Both equalisers come against the run of play. The Falkirk keeper - he was terrific - kept them in the game. "The most disappointing thing was not getting a penalty kick. Their player runs six yards to close down, hands above shoulders, and it comes off both hands. It's a clear a penalty as you'll get." Here's some footage from Falkirk TV on YouTube Where's Harry.............. Here he is............... Date: 26/01/2019 Venue: Falkirk Stadium Attendance: 4843 Referee: David Munro Falkirk: 2 Lineup: Burgoyne; McGhee, Petravicius (Lavery 75), MacLean (Keillor-Dunn 64), Osman, Robson, McShane, Rudden, Dickson, Waddington (Paton 79), McKenna Subs (not used): Mitchell; Kidd, Brough, McKee, Scorers: Rudden (29) McShane (56) Booked: Keillor Dunn (90+2) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: C Mackay; Rooney, B Mckay, McCart, Tremarco, Doran (McCauley 64), Polworth, Welsh, Chalmers, Austin (Oakley 63), White (McDonald 80) Subs (not used): McKinnon; Harper, McHattie, Trafford. Scorers: Rooney (12), Doran (45) Booked: Tremarco (62), Rooney (90+3) Sent Off: none a
  7. Ayr Pressure Down Both sides were somewhat diminished with major players either injured, ill or suspended and it was a battle of the walking wounded as Ayr tried to keep the pressure on at the top of the League with County facing a difficult away trip to Palmerston. Inverness had Brad Mckay and Shaun Rooney suspended with strikers George Oakley and Nathan Austin injured. Angus Beith is still missing and this has now been reported to the polis as nobody has seen him yet! Kevin McHattie made his first home start with Carl Tremarco covering at right back. Ayr were without top striker Lawrence Shankland, Jamie Adams, Mark Kerr, Liam Smith and Alan Forrest with Adam Murdoch suspended. An unseasonably mild January afternoon with a touch of a stiff breeze coming in from the West met the teams as they entered the park in front of a 2283 crowd............. Liam Polworth was first to have an opportunity as he fired goalwards from twenty yards but his shot was weak and wide as he dragged it past the post. Michael Moffat broke clear for Ayr at the other end but his low shot was well held by Mark Ridgers from the angle when the striker might have been better squaring the ball. Aaron Doran should have scored when he latched on to a cross from Tom Walsh but his shot from close range cannoned back off the middle of the post and bounced back out of the box to safety. The home side were starting to dominate and Doran was flagged offside as he sprinted on to a good through ball from Polworth. Ayr were still a threat on the break though and Declan McDaid curled a shot over from one such venture forth and at the opposite end Joe Chalmers went close with a strike from distance as Ross Doohan sprawled across his goal line. Back came Ayr and Ross Docherty fired one over the bar as the game panned out. The end to end stuff continued as Polworth created the space to get a shot away after a delightful drag back, but it was always heading too high. Too high was the order of the day as McDaid sent another one over, the ball dipping too late. Best move of the half saw Jordan White miss a golden opportunity after he linked up well with Doran, but the striker shot just past the near post when it looked easier to score. Half Time 0-0 Ayr went close just after the break as Craig Moore met a great cross unchallenged, but his header was just wide of the junction with Ridgers stranded. That seemed to stir Inverness into action and from there on we dominated the game without overly exerting Doohan in the visitors goal. White was becoming more prominent and had an effort saved by the keeper who just got his finger tips to the ball at the expense of a corner. However he would not be denied in the 64th minute. Following a poor miss when he did not get enough contact on a header, the ball was sent back into the box by Sean Welsh and White had dusted himself down quickly enough to send a powerful header into the net with Doohan merely a spectator. The goal had been coming after a good spell of pressure from the home side. Ten minutes later Doran should have wrapped up the points but he skewed his shot just wide when scoring looked the better option. The dreaded 'hold what we had' was in the thoughts of most fans who had only witnessed one previous home League win this season. However, if truth be told we saw out the game in relative comfort thereafter and ran the clock down in style with some keep ball at the end. Full Time 1-0 Great to witness a win after so long, most had forgotten what it felt like. It was a narrow victory though with big Jordan White powering a header home just after the hour. He can jump after all! Aaron Doran missed that great opportunity to make the game comfortable but skewed wide and that led to a slightly tetchy last ten minutes, but we saw it out safely and took all three points with Joe Chalmers getting the sponsors MotM but Jordan White getting the nod from me. Speaking on BBC Sport, the respective managers had this to say....... Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "It was an even first half, but the second half we started to impose ourselves. It was a terrific goal and I'm delighted for Jordan - what a job he does as a lone striker. "We didn't look like we were going to lose a goal. There was a resilience to them and we thoroughly deserved the three points." Ayr United manager Ian McCall: "We had good chances but I thought Inverness deserved to win. I don't think we played very well, nothing to do with injuries I just don't think we played well enough. "I think the first goal was always going to win it. It was a great chance for us, we knew Ross County had a hard game but the league's going to be really, really tight." Highlights from Caley Jags TV If you can access Facebook, then here is Robbo's post match interview...... Date: 12/01/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2283 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Tremarco, Donaldson, McCart, McHattie, Polworth (D Mackay 71), Chalmers, Welsh, Doran (Trafford 85), Walsh, White. Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, MacGregor, Brown, Harper. Scorers: White (64) Booked: none Sent Off: none Ayr United: 0 Lineup: Doohan; Ferguson, Rose, Bell, Harvie, Geggan (McGuffie 67), Docherty, Crawford, McDaid (Higgins 73), Moffat, Moore (McCowan 79). Subs (not used): Hare-Reid; Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  8. Xmas Cheer Tom Walsh does like an early goal and he did it again scoring the opener after 17 minutes to put the visitors ahead. It should have been two moments later but Brad Mckay headed just wide from close range. Sean Welsh hit the post from the spot after Kerr Waddell was sent off. Just after the interval Aaron Doran headed home via the crossbar after a short corner had been taken. Scott Tiffoney pulled a goal back for Morton who perked up after a double substitution just after the hour. Mark Ridgers produced a wonder save to deny Reece Lyon an equaliser with ten minutes left. Inverness held on thereafter to record a 2-1 win. Inverness were unchanged from last weeks starting XI which meant George Oakley started up front with Jordan White on the bench. Morton had Kerr Waddell in for the injured Buchannan, but his day was cut short when he was red carded after 34 minutes for fouling George Oakley in the box. Full Report to follow.............. Caley Stan summed it up neatly:- While it was a shame to see us reduced to clear at all costs after such a composed first half performance, I suppose it was at least another demonstration of the great spirit that this side possesses. And it was a crucial 3 points that gives us a wee cushion in 4th place - I'd be delighted with that come May. A word for Cappielow, a delicious relic full of really sound folk. Always a great welcome for the kids (who paid £1 each) and a wide range of well priced sweets. Not complaining about the leg-room, but I'd love to get my feet on that terracing someday. Here's the match footage from Cappielow.......... Here's Robbo on the Official Facebook page talking post Morton..... Jonatan Johansson was disappointed with the outcome but happy with the commitment shown by his 10 men. And to round off our Xmas, thanx for the three points and have a wee sing song with these wonderful singers. Date: 22/12/2018 Venue: Cappielow Attendance: 1608 Referee: Steven Reid Morton: 1 Lineup: Gaston; McKeown, Kilday, Waddell, Tumilty, McAlister, Millar, Tidser (MacLean 84), Telfer (Lyon 62), McHugh, Thomson (Tiffoney 62) Subs (not used): Scully; Bell, Armour, Eardley. Scorers: Tiffoney (73) Booked: Millar (90+2) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, Walsh, Welsh (MacGregor 85), Chalmers, Doran (Trafford 76), Polworth, Oakley (White 45) Subs (not used): Hoban, Austin, Nicholson Scorers: Walsh (17), Doran (49) Booked: Oakley (30), Rooney (66), Macgregor (90+2), Polworth (90+2) Sent Off: none a
  9. What a surprise, another draw ZZzzzzzzzz.. Inverness produced another text book performance to draw with Dundee United. A first half goal from Tom Walsh was nullified by former Caley Jags player Billy King. It's all become a bit predictable at the Caledonian Stadium and the result was met with plenty of derision by the home support after a gutless second half when the inevitable happened. We all waited for the United winner but it never came. We look like a team short on confidence as we struggled to create anything while United stroked the ball about and were probably unfortunate not to take all three points but for a couple of great saves by Mark Ridgers. Immortal Howden Ender has curtailed his report due to a lack of action on the park, yet he still managed to pick out some moments..... My first home game of the season and so enjoyable - pre and post match !! Good to see so many friends in the Caley Club, the North Stand and the Innes Bar. At least people who know that Johndo is the person and IHE is an alter ego - and neither will go away I have read through the initial posts on the match thread and I could like them all. Apart from the smart, sharp, slick passing move for the Walsh goal and a "worldie" save by Ridgers on the first half whistle there is little else to enthuse about. We went ultra defensive and paid the price. It looked like the tactic was to grab one more on the break but we simply gave the incentive to a team, no better than us, but a team that could pass and sadly looked more passionate and driven to get a result. We practically played 4-3-3 at times and pressed BUT changed it when we scored. And it was soul destroying to see the Arabs out passing us and showing a will to win. If they had netted a second I could not have complained Ridgers Two good stops in the first half and one worldview. Rooney Is it just me but if I was a coach I would have totally bollicked him for his overall attitude. He looks good going forward but his head goes down to easily and he strolls back. Simply not a defender. McKay Let's just say that he looked OK but how much was that due to Coll. Donaldson My MOM - nuff said. McCart Impressive first half followed by an OK second. Polly I feel so sorry for him. I feel that he is our only real true footballer. He is one or two moves ahead of his team mates but my frustration is that instead of getting angry he falls out of games. Chalmers I still think that he has a sweet left foot but a creative midfielder he is not. Another who goes missing. Welsh Disappointed with him today. I would play him just in front of the back four centrally in the Draper role. Doran Has lost that off the mark pace and I feel that he detracts from Polly Walsh He has been in and out of every game I have watched him in. Perhaps we should be just playing him wide on either flank and treating him like a luxury Oakley Another hit or miss although why are we playing a lone striker at home ? Would it not be rash but exciting to see MacGregor and Danny McKay played on a regular basis? I see he has refrained from commenting on White, or maybe he just forgot he came on, like the rest of us??? Here's the action from the Caledonian Stadium with Mark Ridgers keeping ICT in the game. And Robbo on the ICTFC Twitter account Date: 15/12/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2464 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, Walsh, Polworth, Chalmers, Welsh (Trafford 82), Doran (MacGregor 83), Oakley Subs (not used): Hoban; Harper, Nicolson, Austin. Scorers: Walsh (18) Booked: B Mckay (80) Sent Off: none Dundee United: 1 Lineup: Siegrist; Murdoch, Bouhenna, Frans, Booth, Fyvie (Rabitsch 89), Stanton, Smith (Curran 70), King, Aird (McMullan 63), Safranko Subs (not used): Robson, Watson, Rakovan, Edjenguele Scorers: King (76) Booked: Bouhenna (29) Sent Off: none a
  10. White Xmas Jordan White bagged a hat-trick as Inverness cruised into the fourth round of the Scottish Cup with an ultimately emphatic win over League Two Edinburgh City on a chilly Highland night with 672 freezing souls in attendance. A Tom Walsh brace and a last minute Aaron Doran goal completed the Inverness scoring and for City Blair Henderson scored early in the first half to cancel out Walsh's opening goal. This was a much needed win for Inverness who had been struggling in front of goal recently. After an uninspiring first half the home side began to cut open the visitors and eased their way to a fourth round tie against East Kilbride. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Much was expected of Inverness tonight after a disappointing last couple of games and after a dreich first half the game came to life in the second period. Tom Walsh opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a replica goal straight out of the Falkirk game, running onto a forward pass from Aaron Doran into the box and drilling home. Alas the lead was short lived and hesitancy in the defence allowed Blair Henderson to pop up between two defenders to equalise a couple of minutes later, the big striker finishing well. There followed a turgid spell where everything broke down before the final third and misplaced passes were commonplace, however Jordan White was on hand to score after fifteen minutes, nodding in from close range. More mediocrity followed right up to the break with neither keeper being called into serious action and Edinburgh were still in the tie as Inverness found it difficult to get in behind their defence. Half Time 2-1 City knew they had nothing to fear at this point after we had toiled for forty-five minutes and they came out of the blocks fast at the start of the second half, Henderson trying his luck once more. Robbo must have been unimpressed by that first half and you could see a bit more urgency about our play. Ten minutes into the half and we sealed the tie when Walsh scored after a mazy burst forward by Donaldson who gave the ball to Polworth to set up Walsh for the finish. Some good possession play along the front of the visitors box saw Shaun Rooney cross low and the ball was met by White in the box, his low drive being too hot for the keeper to handle as the ball squirmed into the net. One minute later and White grabbed his hat-trick as he powered a Liam Polworth corner high into the net from five yards. The introduction of Roddy MacGregor had sparked some life into the Inverness ranks and his quick feet and build up play was creating more chances for the now eager forwards. The scoring ended in stoppage time when we broke down a City attack on the edge of our box. The ball broke to MacGregor who sprinted forward with the ball, jinking across the City defence before releasing a timely ball into the path of Doran who had made good ground and he never broke stride as he placed the ball across the keeper into the bottom corner. So, into the next round we go where we will take on East Kilbride at the Caledonian Stadium. Well done big Jordan White for getting the hat-trick, that will do his confidence the world of good. Still room for improvement though as the big striker could almost have doubled his tally. Tom Walsh seems to have taken to this scoring lark, that's his third in two games, I feel there's plenty more to come from the lively wide player. Ridgers had little to do and Coll Donaldson was neat and tidy again. Charlie Trafford looked sharp in midfield with some tight turns and good distribution. Liam Polworth was involved in some of the goals but was also guilty of some wayward play, especially in a poor first half. Big Shaun Rooney is shaping up as a better wing back than a dedicated full back with some marauding runs in the Ross Tokely style. Special mention for Roddy MacGregor who looks like a tremendous prospect. His quick feet setting him aside from some of our more pedantic players. Overall, a comfortable win after a grim first half. Let's not get carried away though, we are far from the finished article and will find Ayr a much tougher proposition on Friday night. However, let's bask in the glory of scoring six goals and getting into the next round of the cup for now. Next game as mentioned is Friday night at Somerset Park against league leaders Ayr United. Highlights from the game............... Jordan speaking after his treble performance.............. And Robbo has his post match thoughts....................... Date: 04/12/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 672 Referee: David Munro Inverness CT: 6 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart (Harper 69), Doran, Trafford, Polworth (McGregor 64), Chalmers, Walsh, White (Austin 78) Subs (not used): Hoban; Oakley, Nicolson, Brown Scorers: Walsh (5, 53), White (15, 60, 61), Doran (90+1) Booked: Donaldson (41), White (37) Sent Off: none Edinburgh City: 1 Lineup: Antell, Thomson, McIntyre, Black (Watson 49), Balatoni, Laird, Smith (Rodger 64), B. Henderson, Taylor, Shepherd (Hall 80), L. Henderson Subs (not used): Morton, Beveridge, Lumsden. Scorers: B Henderson (7) Booked: Smith (40), Taylor (77) Sent Off: none a
  11. Bottoms Up Bottom club Falkirk claimed the win right at the death when Scott Harrison knocked the ball home after a free kick. Inverness had opened the scoring early when Tom Walsh slotted in before a Zak Rudden double turned the game on it's head. George Oakley stooped to head home from close range with half an hour to go but Inverness were unable to add to that before being hit with the sucker punch. The hosts squandered a raft of chances in the second half after a poor first forty-five and once more paid the price for a lack of composure in front of goal. That late goal ended the worst unbeaten run anywhere in the world where draws became more important than winning. With that monkey off the back, maybe we can go out and play something more entertaining for the fans and hopefully bag a few wins. If not, then we look to be in big trouble and sliding into obscurity. A bright but chilly afternoon with 2260 spectators saw the hosts get off to the perfect start. We played briskly from defence when Sean Welsh passed forward to Liam Polworth, he spun round and threaded a lovely ball into the path of Tom Walsh who took a touch towards the corner of the six yard box then drilled low across the keeper into the bottom corner. Great start but could we build on it? The answer became apparent as Falkirk got to grips with the game and broke forward at pace at every opportunity as we reverted to holding onto the ball at all costs. Their persistence paid off when they burst down the right, three passes and a Petravicius cross later Zac Rudden was left unmarked to nod into the net with Ridgers merely a spectator, helped to watch by Brad Mckay and Shaun Rooney, when maybe they should have been more involved. Good goal from the Bairns point of view, sloppy from ours. Falkirk survived a massive penalty claim when George Oakley was manhandled to the ground by Scott Harrison as he entered the box on the left edge. Referee Colin Steven deemed that the crime started outside the box and a free kick was awarded which we wafted way over the bar, one of many wayward attempts from crosses, corners to free kicks. Aaron Doran was buzzing in and around the visitors box and he had one effort blocked by the legs of Leo Fassan in the Falkirk goal. Falkirk were still looking more direct on the break and it was no big surprise when they scored a second and no surprise it came as a result of more ball watching from Shaun Rooney. A quick free kick saw a long ball floated over the less than alert defender and Rudden capitalised to gather the ball and head goalwards. It was a fairly tight angle but from about three yards out from the bye line he managed to squeeze the ball through Ridgers and in off the far post. Another good goal for Falkirk, another self inflicted disaster from us. Oakley headed well over the bar from a corner when he should have been hitting the target as we tried to get back on level terms before the break, however most of our moves as usual broke down in the final third. Half Time 1-2 More urgency was shown after the interval and Rooney was deployed further up the park where we were hopeful he could make amends for his earlier slackness. At least there was less chance of us conceding when he was at the other end of the park. He did get a useful low ball into the box after ducking in between two players but Oakley's slid attempt just went a foot over the top of the bar as it dipped over. Close, but no cigar. Oakley appeared to be shoved in the back for a second time but the referee chose to ignore this one completely for what looked like a stonewall penalty. A goal was coming for the hosts but not yet. The now familiar sight of Jordan White getting under a cross, leaning back and heading an inviting cross over the bar from inside the six yard box was too much for some to take, an outburst of biblical proportions from some filled the air. Ridgers had been idle for most of the second half but he had to look sharp to get down low to his left post to tip a curling shot round the post from Paton. We would not be denied though and a deep corner was headed back into the mix by Rooney where it bounced kindly for Oakley to stoop and nod the ball in from close range. That goal prompted an assault on the advertising hoarding as two or three jubilant players were fouled by our sponsor McEwan Fraser, but it was not legal. Game on! We pressed hard for the winner and Joe Chalmers curled an effort just over the junction but it was not to be. Tom Walsh tried a low shot to the near post but Fassan parried then a defender blocked the rebound as White tried to turn it in, but it was not to be. Then, out of nothing, deep into stoppage time, a late free kick wide right for Falkirk saw a dangerous ball swing to the back post where Donaldson was the wrong side of Harrison and he bundled the ball in to the delight of the visiting fans. Misery complete for the home fans who had seen enough. So, the unbeaten run ends. Thank Christ we all sigh, now let's get the season started. It could be a make or break week with a tough cup tie on Tuesday and an even tougher trip to Somerset Park on Friday. Our normally reliable defence let us down today but Donaldson and McCart still played well, despite the odd lapse. Ridgers has had better days and the forwards did what we expected, missed loads of chances, so there you have it, run over and beaten by the bottom club. Let's end on a bright note. Roddy MacGregor was a late sub and looks like a bright prospect. ??? RIG sums it up brilliantly in his summary of our first two goals "Awful defending from Mckay for the first Rudden goal. It's almost as if someone playing as ICT on FIFA suddenly loses their controls connection with the PS4 as he just stops dead and doesn't even bother trying to challenge for the ball. As if that wasn't bad enough Rooney then follows it up by getting distracted by a shiny object in the North Stand and forgets to challenge Rudden for the ball and let him ghost past before finishing well past Ridgers." Zak seems to agree with my assessment............. Post Match on BBC Sport website, the managers had different reactions:- Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson: "I'm hugely disappointed. We didn't deserve to lose the game. We created chance after chance after chance and got caught by a sucker punch. "It's cruel on the players. The worst we should have got was a point but we desperately wanted all three." Falkirk manager Ray McKinnon: "I'm really, really happy with the guys. They executed the game plan brilliantly. We got off to a bad start but responded well and right at the end we tried to win the game. "Inverness are a good side that's why they are unbeaten for 25 games. We worked extremely hard and we got the rewards." Here's Robbo on the Official Facebook page Date: 01/12/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2260 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, Walsh, Polworth, Chalmers, Welsh (Trafford 58), Doran (White 58), Oakley (MacGregor 84) Subs (not used): Hoban; Trafford, White, MacGregor, Nicolson, Brown, Harper. Scorers: Walsh (6), Oakley (61) Booked: Mckay (52), Polworth (90+1) Sent Off: none Falkirk: 3 Lineup: Fasan; Kidd, McGhee, Muirhead, Paton, Petravicius (Haber 77), Sammut (Irving 80), Robson, Harrison, Brough, Rudden (Lewis 90+2) Subs (not used): Mitchell, Dallison, Dumbuya, Russell. Scorers: Rudden (16, 36), Harrison (90+3) Booked: Harrison (21), Muirhead (90+1) Sent Off: none a
  12. Replay Required Shaun Rooney scored the opening goal six minutes before the break when he headed home a Liam Polworth set piece at the back post to put Inverness ahead. However, Liam Henderson levelled the tie with five minutes left to force a replay for The Citizens. The replay will be held on Tuesday 4th December at 19:45. Mantis was on hand to catch the celebrations after the opening goal. Full report to follow................... Inverness faced a tricky away tie at Ainslie Park in the third round of the Scottish Cup against Edinburgh City. This tie had all the potential ingredients to be the proverbial banana skin match against a side making a name for themselves in League Two on the artificial surface of Ainslie Park. Just ask Alloa who were dumped out of the Challenge Cup after having led The Citizens 2-0. A home tie against East Kilbride awaited the winner of this game. City were without the services of Josh Walker, John Dunn, Danny Handling and Brad Donaldson but Adam Watson was back in the squad. Big striker Blair Henderson would be the main danger for the visiting defence and the experienced former Partick Thistle defender Conrad Balatoni will be tasked with keeping Austin & White out of the box. The Caley Jags started with George Oakley on the bench and Nathan Austin and Jordan White up front. Shaun Rooney returned to full back after injury. No place in the squad for Aaron Doran on the artificial surface. Plenty of youth on the bench as well. RIG was in attendance and was less than impressed with his afternoon's entertainment............. The performance was devoid of creativity, as it has been for weeks on end now. We've been so sluggish in pretty much every game aside from the Derby match for the last couple of months with no real sign of improvement. You could copy and past pretty much everything I have said after games against the likes of Alloa, Dundee United, QotS and so on about our lack of penetration in the final third and passing up the few chances we do create. Today we were again wasteful in the first half and then in the second half we went very defensive and sat back inviting pressure on to us and paid the price. Odd line up. McCart was at left back and did fine. Not sure who was meant to be going on in front of the defence though. Walsh was deployed on the left, Chalmers and Welsh in the middle with Polworth drifting across the pitch behind Austin and White. Having two up helped keep City pinned back for the most part but White was really poor today. Wouldn't have minded seeing Oakley and Austin getting some time up front together. After the subs we seemed to be playing three at the back (Mckay, Donaldson and McCart) with MacKay and Walsh on the left and right flanks respectively, Chalmers, Trafford and Welsh in the middle with Polworth behind Oakley. Looked like Ridgers lost the ball for the City equaliser dropping it at the feet of one of their players but they probably should have scored long before they did testing Ridgers with some decently struck long range efforts prior to that. Massively disappointing from us, particularly in the second half, where we completely took our foot off the pedal and paid the price. We're not good enough to get by on one goal and really should have gone for the jugular. City were barely a threat in the first half so it's concerning how we much let them back into the game and how poor again we were in an attacking sense. A performance that we really shouldn't be happy about and I'm sure Robertson and the players aren't happy either. As you can see in the video, we did squander a couple of guilt end chances, but that's a recurring theme.The second 45 offered little joy and RIG was rightly miffed at the overall performance but not overly surprised at the result. ymip was straight to the point:- "Quite frankly an embarrassment of a performance and result. Could see it coming for much of the second half. We barely troubled their keeper and are badly in need of some creativity. Far too passive and lacking any kind of cutting edge. Very poor." So peeps, not a great deal to enthuse over but at least we get another crack at getting into round 4, but then again, so do Edinburgh City. Here's the highlights from the Ainslie Park debacle........... Date: 25/11/2018 Venue: Ainslie Park, Edinburgh Attendance: 867 Referee: David Munro Edinburgh City: 1 Lineup: Antell; Thomson, Balatoni, L Henderson, McIntyre, Smith, Black, Laird, Taylor (Watson 70), Shepherd (Rodger 84), B Henderson Subs (not used): Morton; Hall, Lumsden, Kennedy. Scorers: L Henderson (86) Booked: Laird (66) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney (Trafford 74), Donaldson, McCart, B Mckay, Chalmers, Welsh, Polworth, Walsh, Austin (Oakley 55), White (D Mackay 71). Subs (not used): Hoban; Brown, Harper, MacGregor Scorers: Rooney (39) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  13. Comeback keeps the run going. If Carlsberg did draws, they would probably do them like this................ Inverness left it late and were almost beaten by a Doonhamers side who were three up before we woke up. Lyndon Dykes bundled home on the half hour to give Queen of the South the lead at the interval. They doubled their advantage early in the second half when Dykes fed Stephen Dobbie in on goal for the striker to round Ridgers and slide the ball home. Josh Todd added a third, curling a shot wide of Ridgers as Inverness capitulated. A late fight back saw Jamie McCart and Nathan Austin (or maybe Tom Walsh) score and Sean Welsh converted a late penalty. We almost had the audacity to win the game but Austin was thwarted in the box, and it ended all square at 3-3. Inverness went with the same starting line-up that won all three points at Firhill with George Oakley spearheading the attack, Jordan White was on the bench. No Daniel Mackay to be seen, so we still only had five on the bench including young Roddy MacGregor. Queens had Alan Martin out with young Jack Leighfield replacing the experienced keeper. Stephen Dobbie and Lybdon Dykes were the attacking threat with last weeks goalscorer Connor Murray starting on the bench. As per norm, RIG was in attendance............ As has already been said we only showed up for the last 30 minutes with the game seemingly out of sight. A lot of our players were claiming handball for the first goal with Ridgers seeming to suggest that Dykes bundled it over the line with his hand. Whilst it would be a shame if that's what happened our defending was so abysmal leading up to that goal we probably deserved to concede a goal anyway. The second strike wasn't much better from our point of view. Trafford (I think) lost the ball in the middle and it was quickly launched forward to Dobbie who stole into a massive gap at the back with our players out of position. Ridgers half came, half stayed and Dobbie took advantage of his indecision to slide the ball past him and it was three not long after as we again failed at defending and couldn't clear the ball which was picked up by Todd and he dispatched a beautiful curling shot past Ridgers. Game over as far as I was concerned. But seemingly from nowhere we got back into it when McCart rose highest to head home a free kick and this was followed not long after by Walsh who sent a ball into the box which evaded everyone and nestled in the net. The Queens keeper, having barely been tested all game, was looking exceptionally suspect. The third duly arrived via a Welsh spot kick after he himself had been brought down. Not sure what it was awarded for but the fact that very few QotS players challenged the decision suggests it was a fair decision. We almost won it with perhaps the move of the match as we quickly broke from the back, Welsh, Polworth, MacGregor and White linked to play in Austin but his toepoke of a shot was well saved by Leighfield, his first act of competent keeping at a crucial time in the game. The change to 4 - 4 - 2 saw us make much more use of the wings and removing the possession haemorrhage that was Trafford in the middle left us with a much more effective partnership in the form of Polworth and Welsh. Queens should have been out of sight truth being told but we did exceptionally well to battle back to grab a point. Made the journey home a lot more bearable. Alt Maryhill enjoyed his day out............ That was good crack. Got to admit that I assumed that our chickens were coming home to roost after a few decent results despite dodgy performances recently. We were clearly second best against Dundee Utd, Alloa and in the first half against Partick, and yesterday Queens again played the better football in the first half, and then absolutely tore us apart for about 20 mins at the start of the second. Up until he scored, Dykes didn't impress me all that much, but after that I thought he was superb. When Dobbie finally got his goal against us, I assumed that the unbeaten run was coming to an end, and deservedly so. Ridgers, uncharacteristically, looked shaky, Charlie Trafford's touch and distribution in the middle of the park were miles off (again) and the team as a whole looked like it was scared of taking any risks. It only changed once Trafford and Oakley went off and we went to 4-4-2, and when Walsh and Polworth seemed to start playing without fear after it went to 3-0. Both were superb, and hopefully they'll take that into the Falkirk and Ayr games, as we can't keep starting games so hesitantly and still expect to get results. Great to see young Roddy MacGregor get a run at the end, and he almost helped to set up a winner for Austin at the death after some superb interplay with Polworth cutting through Queens in the middle of the park. Definitely looks a player. John Robertson speaking to BBC Sport:- "For 70 minutes Queen of the South should have been six or seven nothing up. "They were the best team, they outfought us, they outplayed us, they outrun us, they bullied us, they played some magnificent football. "We got a goal out of nothing, and then we get another quick goal and you think we might have a wee chance here, and then we get a penalty." Highlights from the amazing comeback to snatch a point..........then almost win it! Gary Naysmith bewildered.......... Andy Sirling has his say............. Date: 17/11/2018 Venue: Palmerston Attendance: 1233 Referee: Greg Aitken Queen of the South: 3 Lineup: Leighfield; Doyle, Fordyce, Marshall, Semple, Harkins (Murray 86), Jacobs, Todd, Stirling (Norman 82), Dobbie, Dykes. Subs (not used): Gibson; Mercer, Bell, Frizzell, Irving. Scorers: Dykes (31), Dobbie (51), Todd (61) Booked: Stirling (79) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, Chalmers, Walsh, Polworth, Trafford (Austin 58), Welsh, Doran (McGregor 87), Oakley (White 57 ) Subs (not used): Hoban; Harper. Scorers: McCart (71), Walsh (74), Welsh (pen 81) Booked: Trafford (42), Welsh (65), Donaldson (79) Sent Off: none a
  14. Walsh stunner stuns Jags Tom Walsh scored the only goal of the game with a brilliant solo goal to earn the Caley Jags all three points. Inverness had Mark Ridgers to thank for keeping another clean sheet as he superbly saved a Blair Spittal penalty with 15 minutes to go. Lest we forget................... John Robertson made a couple of enforced changes from the side that started the Highland derby against Ross County. Out went the disgraced Riccardo Calder who has had his contract terminated and Shaun Rooney has ligament damage and will be out for some time. Carl Tremarco is still out injured. That meant a revamp at the back with Brad Mckay moving to right back, Joe Chalmers to left back and Jamie McCart teaming up with Coll Donaldson at the heart of the defence. Charlie Trafford was drafted into midfield. Gary Caldwell had former Inverness striker Miles Storey on from the start with Jai Quitongo and Kris Doolan backing him up. The impressive Cammy Bell was the man hoping to keep Inverness out, with midfield powerhouse Blair Spittal a key player for the Harry Wraggs. A crowd of around two and a half thousand observed an impeccable silence to remember the fallen before Partick got the match underway, Inverness defending the Glasgow end of Firhill Stadium. Immortal Howden Ender was our man at the match and here is his report.............. Didn’t we have a lovely day the day went to Partick. Well I just about got there and no thanks to yet another Rail strike. But it was well worth it to watch a sublime Tom Walsh curler hit the back of a rain soaked net in the 71st minute of what I can only describe as a turgid affair. Pre match we went “Into the Deep” and I enjoyed a scuba dive with Red Card, RIG, the Moffat Bros and a certain Mr. Oliver. Nice to actually listen to plaudits for the backroom staff and confirmation that a lot is actually been done behind the scenes. Never saw or heard a vulture all day. Anyway to the game and probably a reason to make a more extensive introduction. In a way we were lucky to get away with three points. Partick had the more clear cut chances BUT they looked poor and never really looked like scoring, even from the penalty spot. It isn’t hard to cheer on Caley when you are bombarded with “Come on Thistle / Jags” shouts and chants !! And a paltry crowd of just over 2500 at the ”Energy Check Stadium” just summed up the fall of the Magyars of Firhill. A closed main stand and the barren hill at one end was a rather pitiful sight – especially when the heavens opened. It was another disciplined and well organized defensive display that brought home the points. To be honest we never really tested Cammy Bell until the goal and although it was a sweet strike Bell did appear to flounder – and perhaps we should have had more than four strikes on target from 15 attempts. The first half was rather tedious. It was an open affair but neither side showed that killer touch. It looks like neither outfit have that goal scoring forward. Nice but ineffective tippy-tappy stuff but always either a poor last touch or a failed through ball. Plastic Whistle probably had the best opportunities when Ridgers saved from Quitongo and Doolan fluffed a half chance. We appeared to move up a gear at the start of the second half and Oakley squandered a couple of chances from corner kick ploys. And then Thistle IMHO made a major error in hooking Miles Storey who had evidently been buoyed by facing his old team but his magic hat vanished and Gary Calwell displayed some of his tactical magic once again. And then on 71 minutes TOM WALSH successfully pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Picking up the ball on the left, neatly cut inside and curled a beauty via a sweeter right foot. But it was only three minutes later when we could have fecked it up. IMHO it was never a penalty but officials have a tendency to make such rewards when the ball accidentally is fired at a defenders flailing arm. But Ridgers stood tall and showered himself with a Calderesque (Jim by the way) slap off the crossbar, through himself to his left and tapped the ball round the post. He is definitely “One of our own”. And the Plastic boys then went all out to save the game but Ridgers, Coll and McCart stood firm and were abetted by the substitute Fitzpatrick of Partick who missed a 1-1 chance and never even tested Ridgers. So our unbeaten run continued and Thistle slumped to their seventh consecutive defeat. And the relief from our players was clearly displayed as to a man plus Robbo they hailed the travelling support. SMILEYMOMETER RIDGERS ? ? ?? ?– I suspect that many will award him MotM. Well to me he was a very close second. But he has come on leaps and bounds and must be as good a custodian as anyone else in Scotland. Perhaps Tin-Tin Mcleish should have a wee gander. McKAY ? ? ?– Well he basically did his job defensively but rarely went forward apart from dead ball situations. DONALDSON ? ? ?? ?– MotM with a superb display. Made one bad error but more than made up for it. His calmness and distribution was a joy to behold. McCART ? ? ?? - Now that was a very solid looking central defence pairing. McCart was more of a get rid / hoof type performance but almost as effective as Coll. CHALMERS ? ? ?– Has not played at full back for some time but did a good job. Evidently was thinking defence and like Brad rarely foraged forward. POLWORTH ? ? ? - Well he ran and ran and ran. Clearly designated as the play maker but his good touches and good deliveries were almost the same ratio as the flawed ones. But he really did not have many moving targets. Perhaps Doran should be taking more of the dead ball ploys. TRAFFORD ? ? ?– Stood his ground, didn’t make any mistakes but had a quiet 90 minutes. WELSH – ? ? ?Did a good job as the defending midfielder. Clearly thinks a good game and was leading others around him. DORAN – ? ? ? not sure exactly where he was playing. Perhaps it was supposed to have been as a Number 10 but it looked more like an extra midfielder to me. I far prefer him playing out wider. WALSH – ? ? ??Apart from the goal he looked the man most likely to produce chances. The only flaw was his reluctance to take on defenders and play the through ball 20-30 yards out instead of hitting the bye line. OAKLEY – ? ? Basically up front on his Jack Jones and really should have scored from the one heading chance that came his way. WHITE – Never really got a chance to show anything as he came on when we were under the cosh. But perhaps he should have started as his height may well have been more effective. And we only had four outfield players on the bench including McGregor and Harper. So three points was more deserving for a depleted squad. So lets roll on to Dumbfries and plunder another three points from the Doon Hammers. Here's a wee summary from Caley Stan.. Typical performance from us. Solid, organised, lacking creativity, but full of spirit. A real moment of magic from Tom Walsh and an excellent penalty save from Ridgers won us the game. McCart and Donaldson played very well but it looked like Coll was carrying an injury for much of the second half. Polworth also had a good game - great to see him finding pockets of space in wide and deep areas and using his ability to keep the ball - he's growing as a player. And Ridgers was excellent throughout, giving it big licks at the end too. What a season he's having. Walsh's superb goal and Mark's brilliant penalty save............. Robbo aftermatch at Partick. Here's Tom Walsh talking post match............. Date: 10/11/2018 Venue: Firhill, Partick Attendance: 2509 Referee: Steven Kirkland Partick Thistle: 0 Lineup: Bell; Elliott, Penrice, Keown, McGinty, Spittal, Bannigan, Doolan, Slater, Storey (Fitzpatrick 66), Quitongo Subs (not used): Storer, McCarthy, Wilson, Sneddon, Scobbie, Ntambwe Scorers: none Booked: Slater (69), Quitongo (78) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Mckay, McCart, Donaldson, Chalmers, Doran, Polworth, Trafford, Welsh, Walsh, Oakley (White 68) Subs (not used): Hoban; Harper, McGregor, Austin Scorers: Walsh (71) Booked: Trafford (39), Chalmers (90+2) Sent Off: none a
  15. New record for ICT as County cling on for a point All the goals came in a frenetic first half with County equalising just on the break with an own goal from Brad Mckay. Jamie Lindsay opened the scoring out of the blue when he chanced his hand from distance, the ball going well wide of Ridgers but into the bottom corner. Two minutes later George Oakley levelled and Shaun Rooney then put the hosts ahead on the half hour before that unfortunate own goal gave County hope they scarcely deserved. Mark Ridgers pulled off a tremendous Gordon Banks moment denying Billy McKay and it was all square at the break. After the interval Inverness looked to be the only team capable of winning and a number of close calls went unanswered, Ridgers eventually having to make another noteworthy save before the end, but the hosts had passed on a few opportunities to seal all three points. Two dropped for Inverness, one gained for County. Caley Jags manager John Robertson was still without captain Carl Tremarco and Riccardo Calder deputised at left back once more. Joe Chalmers came in for Charlie Trafford and George Oakley was fit enough to start with Jordan White dropping to the bench. Aaron Doran started with Daniel Mackay coming on from the bench later. Former Caley Jags players Billy Mckay, Ross Draper, Iain Vigurs and Don Cowie all started for Ross County who had Marcus Fraser back in the side. A healthy crowd of over 4000 witnessed an excellent Highland derby played out in good condition, with both sides looking for the advantage at every opportunity. Where do you start with that game? From the off it was clear that this was going to be a high octane game. The hosts looking sharp as they took the game to the visitors in the opening exchanges forcing a couple of early corners. Shaun Rooney heading wide from one. County got to grips with the pace of the game and Mark Ridgers saved from Josh Mullin twelve minutes in but five minutes later they scored out of the blue when Jamie Lindsay gathered the ball around thirty yards out. He had space to move forward before rifling a low shot beyond the outstretched arms of Ridgers into the bottom right hand corner of the net. Inverness were level two minutes later when George Oakley brilliantly turned a header back into the box from Walsh into the top of the net, the keeper rooted to the spot. That goal was the culmination of a wonderful move after breaking up a County attack on the half way line. The next goal was equally as good. After a Polworth corner was part cleared, Sean Welsh played a one-two with Joe Chalmers before flicking the ball down the flank to Polworth. He raced into the edge of the box before picking out Rooney who side footed perfectly into the bottom corner for a brilliant goal, Fox once more stuck to his line like a Subbutteo keeper. We continued to press and a Chalmers free kick just evaded Oakley as we looked for a third. Save of the day next when Billy Mckay looked to have levelled for County. However Mark Ridgers managed to claw his close range header away as the ball looked to have bounced behind him. Truly a Gordon Banks/Pele moment. What a save! Two minutes before the break and County were level. Vigurs released Billy Mckay who was right on the shoulder of Donaldson. The wee striker turned and sprinted forward before firing a low ball into the box. Unfortunately Brad Mckay thought he could intercept the delivery but only succeeded in turning the ball into the net with Calder ready to clear the harmless cross. Half Time 2-2 The end to end action continued after the break. There were numerous attempts to score from both sides. Unfortunately the strikers at either end were an inch or two away from completing the task of putting the ball in the net. We should have scored a third, maybe even a fourth or fifth given the amount of dangerous balls we were hurtling into the box, but every one just evaded the despairing lunges of the forwards. Liam Polworth will wonder how he missed the best opportunity when we burst forward on the right through Aaron Doran who unselfishly teed up Liam for a tap-in. However, he screwed the ball goalwards and it hit the base of the post with Fox beaten. A glorious chance to win the game. Doran, McCart and White were unable to stretch far enough to divert balls into the net as we pounded the County lines and at the other end Mark Ridgers had the final say in a superb Highland derby as he saved a Brian Graham header near the end. Wow, what a game and I suppose a point apiece is near the mark although we probably should have taken all three. I can't fault anyone out there today in what was a tremendous advert for Championship football. Mark Ridgers save from Mckay was exceptional, a world class save from the big man. Coll Donaldson and Riccardo Calder were immense, Calder firing crosses into the box like nobody's business. Sean Welsh was a powerhouse in midfield and Liam Polworth had his best game in weeks. I could mention them all, no failures. Two superb goals from Oakley and Rooney, not just the finishes, but the build up play as well. The one disappointment was the own goal which in retrospect was unnecessary. Anyway, to put it into context, that's 23 games unbeaten in the Championship, albeit a run of seven draws, but not many will be complaining after witnessing that game. Ross County TV are first up with the highlights.......... Robbo on facebook George Oakley on facebook The opposition view from Steven Ferguson Date: 03/11/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 5500 Referee: Kevin Clancy Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney (McCart 57), B Mckay, Donaldson, Calder, Walsh (D Mackay 74), Polworth, Chalmers, Welsh, Doran, Oakley (White 61) Subs (not used): Hoban; Austin, McGregor, Trafford Scorers: Oakley(19), Rooney (30) Booked: Calder (45 +1) Walsh (49) Sent Off: none Ross County: 2 Lineup: Fox; Fraser, Kelly, Draper, Lindsay, Vigurs, Cowie (Graham 75), Watson, Keillor-Dunn (McManus 66), Mckay, Mullin (Stewart 85), Subs (not used): Munro; Fontaine, Demetriou, Dingwall Scorers: Lindsay (17), Mckay (og 43) Booked: Vigurs (67), Lindsay (90+3) Sent Off: none a
  16. 2-2, Who knew? Everyone I should think. That result was as predictable as Xmas is on the 25th of December. Isn't it? Four first half goals ended the entertainment with neither side able to create an opening in a turgid second half at a baltic Caledonian Stadium. Keena put the Pars ahead twice, the second a spectacular effort from thirty yards plus. Calder equalised with a sweet finish first time and White scored our second to make it six draws on the trot. Boo's greeted the players at the end as the fans frustrations grew, a point not lost on Jordan Whyte who replied into the North Stand as angry fans remonstrated with the players, Whyte a particular target of the boo boy brigade. John Robertson shuffled the pack a little in a bid to get out of the cycle of draws. Carl Tremarco was missing through injury and was replaced by Riccardo Calder. Tactical switches saw Charlie Trafford in for midfielder Joe Chalmers and Daniel Mackay replacing Aaron Doran up front. Allan Johnston gave starts to Aidan Connolly, Malaury Martin and Joe Thomson. It was ice cold in Inverness as the Caley Jags kicked off with less than 2000 in the ground. Despite a bright opening from the hosts, it was all undone with one sloppy pass on the halfway line. Sean Welsh passed the ball to the visitors and when it came to Aidan Keena from Myles Hippolyte, the Hearts loan player calmly curled a low shot beyond the outstretched Mark Ridgers in the Caley Jags goal. A sloppy goal to lose, almost a replica of the Brad Mckay gift against Morton. We looked determined to get back on level terms, a couple of headers from Jordan Whyte causing little concern to Robinson in the Pars goal. After Daniel Mackay had won a free kick, Liam Polworth fired a low ball across the box where it was left to run to the left side and the incoming Riccardo Calder fired it home first time as he met the ball for an excellent reply. Keena and Whyte had efforts saved at either end of the ground and the Pars were threatening to open us up as we slithered around. On the half hour the Pars went back in front in spectacular style. Keena picked the ball up some forty yards out and after a few paces forward he sent a vicious shot high into the left hand side of Ridgers' net. No chance for the keeper and a stunning goal for Keena. Five minutes later and it was back level. Polworth fed the ball wide and Tom Walsh fired a low ball into the box where Whyte, under pressure, nicked the ball behind Robinson. An entertaining half ended level as the temperatures kept dropping. Half Time 2-2 More of the same would have been nice in the second period, unfortunately it was a bit of an anti-climax with both sides trying to make the breakthrough. Neither keeper was troubled but with just over ten minutes left, Aidan Connolly skimmed the top of the bar with a free kick, although Ridgers may well have had it covered had it been six inches lower. The nearest Inverness came to grabbing the winner was just after that free kick but Whyte headed over at the back post after failing to get above the ball following a corner. Great chance missed and maybe that just added fuel to the boo boys which led to the angry exchange after the final whistle. Full Time 2-2 Another draw and we fall further behind the leaders. Eight points behind surprise leaders Ayr United. Plenty of effort and a couple of goals were not enough to keep the fans happy. A lack of ambition in the second half undid any positives from the first forty-five. Inverness were best served by Coll Donaldson, Riccardo Calder and Mark Ridgers. However, my MotM is going to Dunfermline's Aidan Keena who exploded that shot behind Ridgers from probably thirty-five yards. Great goal worth seeing in the highlights. Highland derby on Saturday and Inverness will need to up their game if they want to remain unbeaten. Here's the goals from Caley Jags TV And Robbo's aftermatch can be seen on the facebook page Full Highlights from Dunfermline TV Date: 30/10/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1994 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Calder, Welsh, Polworth (Doran 75), Trafford (Chalmers 70), Walsh (Austin 71), D Mackay, White Subs (not used): Hoban; McCart , Oakley, McGregor. Scorers: Calder (20), White (34) Booked: Welsh (62), Rooney (85) Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 2 Lineup: Robinson; Craigen, Ashcroft, Devine, Longridge, Connolly, Martin, Thomson, Longridge, Hippolyte, Ryan, Keena (Muirhead 81) Subs (not used): Gill; Williamson, Martin, HigginBotham, El Bakhtaoui, McCann, Scorers: Keena (10, 29) Booked: Craigen (14) Sent Off: none a
  17. White earns point for Caley Jags Inverness came from behind to take a hard earned point away from Tannadice in Robbie Neilson's first home game in charge of Dundee United. It was a hard fought point for the visitors after Safranko headed the Arabs in front after the break. Inverness levelled when a Liam Polworth free kick was headed into the top corner. Jordan White wants it but Coll Donaldson was not so sure that he was the scorer, both players claiming it. Either way, a goal it was and that ended the scoring but for Donaldson his day still had a bit to run as he was red carded with around ten minutes left. A decent day in Dundee saw over five and a half thousand welcome Robbie Neilson to Tannadice, with around two hundred and eighty visiting fans in the Shed to see if Inverness could remain unbeaten. Riccardo Calder has had some impressive outings off the bench recently and he was handed a start with Aaron Doran on the bench. Joining Aaron was Daniel Mackay fresh from scoring a brace for the under 18's at Rugby Park the day before and fellow striker Nathan Austin. It was the proverbial stalemate in the first half with neither defences giving much away and it was fully twenty minutes before a keeper was asked to do anything meaningful, Ridgers saving from McMullan. Rachid Bouhenna headed wide as United began to get the better of proceedings but Ridgers was never seriously threatened. Joe Chalmers had our first attempt, a shot from distance saved low by Siegrist, and at the other end Safranko brought Ridgers back into action as he saved his shot. Billy King was next to have a pop and as the half wore on Inverness were being pushed further back, Safranko being prominent in most things United. Brad Mckay made a tremendous block to deny a certain goal as Ridgers scrambled back across his goal. The half time whistle was a welcome sound to the ears of the visitors as we defended deeper and deeper. Half Time 0-0 Jordan White headed high over just after the break and Safranko went close with a header at the opposite end. However, two minutes later he would enjoy more success as he headed powerfully past a helpless Ridgers from an inviting Fraser Aird cross. No more than United deserved at this point and it was going to be an uncomfortable half hour for the visitors as United looked to extend their lead. Donaldson picked up a booking before the hour and that would come back to bite him on the bum before the end. The game turned a bit towsey and yellow cards were dished out at will as we held on to our one goal deficit. With twenty minutes remaining, Inverness won a free kick wide right. Liam Polworth curled a luscious ball into the danger area and someone headed it high into the net from a bundle of players. Jordan White wants it, but so does Coll Donaldson. It matters not one bit, what did matter was that we were back on level terms. With ten minutes left, White could have won the game as he turned on a ball in the box fed through neatly by Polworth but he couldn't wrap his foot round the ball properly and it went by the post. United made a late surge to try and win all three points and Donaldson was shown a second yellow for fouling Nicky Clark. Jamie McCart replaced Coll with Sean Welsh being made the scapegoat for Coll's misdemeanours. Despite a late flurry of activity around the visitors box, the wasteful United attacks came to nothing as their desperation to score grew and Inverness held on to take a hard earned point back North. Full Time 1-1 Still unbeaten and with all the signs pointing towards a home win, this was an excellent point against a United side who had the added boost of the new manager adrenaline rush. The United fans love to hate Coll Donaldson, maybe that's why he wanted to claim the goal. What a guy and he's my Man of the Match just for his nuisance value. He'll have a job convincing White that it's his goal having watched this footage. Mark Ridgers was solid in goal and Sean Welsh and Liam Polworth put in a good shift. Here's all the action from Tannadice.......... Robbo was delighted with the point and acknowledges that either side could have won, Robbo aftermatch reaction.... Date: 20/10/2018 Venue: Tannadice Attendance: 5628 Referee: Euan Anderson Dundee United: 1 Lineup: Siegrist; Murdoch, Bouhenna, Frans, Booth, Aird (Loemba 84), Stanton, Fyvie, King (Clark 75), McMullan, Safranko Subs (not used): Barton; Smith, Robson, Rabitch, Rakovan, Scorers: Safranko (55) Booked: Fyvie (64) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Walsh (Mackay 70), Polworth, Chalmers, Welsh (McCart 83), Calder (Doran 57), White Subs (not used): Hoban; Austin, Trafford, Harper Scorers: White or Donaldson (72) (to be confirmed) Booked: Chalmers (40), Donaldson (57), B Mckay (63), Polworth (65), Rooney (90+2) Sent Off: Donaldson (82) a
  18. North of Scotland Cup Final 2018 The Staggies lifted the NoS Cup after a five goal second half. The game was played in a mini tempest and County looked to have it all sewn up until a late rally by the Caley Jags, but they fell just short. It was a wild afternoon that greeted the youthful sides from Inverness CT and Ross County for the North of Scotland Cup Final at Grant Street Park, Inverness, the home of Clachnacuddin. Nathan Austin, Daniel Mackay and Riccardo Calder who were all substitutes against Morton were in the starting XI alongside squad players Jamie McCart and Charlie Trafford. County had a pair of Dingwalls on from the start and it was Russell Dingwall that had the first attempt, his shot deflected for a corner. Minutes later keeper Ross Munro denied Riccardo Calder from close range with a superb reflex save. Calder was the man causing the early problems for County and Munro saved again as Calder let fly from 25 yards, the ball going behind for a corner. County ventured forward and Maciver shot over, however the balls are taking a battering in the strong wind and another one disappears into the Merkinch landscape. County coming more into the game as the half hour approaches and a Gallagher shot is saved by Daniel Hoban and R Dingwall pinged one just wide ten minutes before the break. County having the better of it as the half wears on and James Wallace hit the post from a free kick just outside the box. Half Time 0-0 The second half was only a couple of minutes old when Hoban had to make a double save to deny first Dykes, then Grivosti. The Dingwall men carried on where they left off in the first half, on the front foot and R Dingwall shot just over. Jack Murray was denied on the line by a tremendous block from Jamie McCart as County turned the screw. Gunn and Macgregor swapped places for the Caley Jags and Charlie Trafford was yellow carded on the hour, but it was no surprise when County opened the scoring, albeit with the aid of a deflection. It was Tom Kelly that volleyed in from around fifteen yards after an assist from James Wallace. County were awarded a penalty when Hoban brought down Maciver and was booked for his troubles before Dylan Dykes scored from the spot. Wallace was involved again in the build up with a tremendous run. Morrison replaced Hastings as Inverness looked to get back into the game, but it was County that broke forward and Dykes netted his second of the game. Inverness were thrown a lifeline a minute later when Ross Gunn scored and soon after Charlie Trafford headed home a Brown corner for the second to set up a grandstand finish. Nathan Austin brought out a fine save from Munro but it was County that held on to lift the trophy. Full Time 2-3 It must be an ICT thing, too little too late once more. Congratulations to Ross County for winning the North of Scotland Cup after an entertaining final given the atrocious conditions the game was played in. Here's the goals that won and lost the cup.............. Date: 07/10/2018 Venue: Grant Street Inverness Attendance: 0000 Referee: Liam Duncan Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Hoban; Hastings (Morrison), Fyffe, McCart, Harper, Brown, Trafford, Mackay, MacGregor (Gunn), Calder, Austin Subs (not used): Nicholson, Kennedy, Hyde Scorers: Gunn (86), Trafford (88) Booked: Trafford (60), Hoban (70), Fyffe (79) Sent Off: none Ross County: 3 Lineup: Munro, Kelly, Murray, Grivosti, Johnstone, R Dingwall, T Dingwall, Dykes, Maciver, Wallace, Gallagher Subs (not used): Reid, Fraser, Macdonald, Hughes, Goodall, Wright, Williams. Scorers: Kelly (63), Dykes (pen 71, 85) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  19. Not such a gay day It was all hands to the pumps as Inverness hosted the LGBT march, but it was not such a joyous day at the Caledonian Stadium as we let slip another two points in a 1-1 draw with Morton. Charlie Telfer scored early doors for Morton and Jordan White replied just before the interval. Ryan Scully pulled off a string of unbelievable saves to earn a point for the Ton. As Larry Grayson would have commented. "What a gay day", however, not so on the football pitch as Inverness once more struggled to get the better of an average Morton side who shipped five goals at home to Ayr United last weekend. Robbo went unchanged again much to the chagrin of the meagre home support noted at just over 2000. That meant Jordan White started with Daniel Mackay, Nathan Austin and Riccardo Calder on the bench. Morton had Michael Tidser fit enough to start, he had been a doubt prior to the weekend. Similar to last week, Inverness took ten minutes to find their feet. By then we were a goal down after a series of defensive blunders and wayward passes opened the door for Morton to take advantage. They did just that after intercepting Brad Mckay's soft pass and a few deft touches later Charlie Telfer drilled home Michael Tidser's cut back. Sloppy stuff from Inverness as the visitors deservedly went ahead. It was fifteen minutes before we threatened when Donalson headed wide and five minutes later a Mckay effort was deflected wide after a corner by Joe Chalmers. The home support had seen it all before as we struggled to make much headway even when the visitors threat was on the wane. We badly needed an injection of pace and quality in the engine room, but that was sadly lacking once more as our predictability took over. We were beginning to get on top of the game now and Scully did brilliantly to deny Aaron Doran with a low save ten minutes before half time. With the break fast approaching a piece of genuine skill from Jordan White leveled the game. I never thought you would see those two words in the same sentence, but there you go. Coll Donaldson put a ball forward into the heart of the box where big Jordan defied the odds to control the ball, turn and flick it past Scully for a sensational goal. Eat yer heart out Messi! Half Time 1-1 Robbo wasted no time to alter his tactics as he went 4-4-2 by removing Jo Chalmers and introducing Daniel Mackay to the proceedings for the second half. However it was Morton that almost went back in front as Sean Welsh cleared a looping header from Tidser away from the goal line. Riccardo Calder was then brought out, replacing Aaron Doran and the crowd sensed a bit more urgency with the two subs on the park. Unfortunately the final ball still eluded everyone and Ryan Scully was soon to be the chief villain. Donaldson made a tremendous block to deny Gary Oliver a clear shot on target as the visitors took control of the midfield, Inverness reduced to chasing shadows at one point. Half an hour left and we started to get back on the front foot, Calder heading over and Donaldson flashing a shot wide from outside the box. Nathan Austin joined in for a final flourish but Scully was the man of the moment as first he broke Daniel Mackay's heart with a stunning point blank save from the young strikers close range shot. Mackay could not believe it as he covered his head with his hands, Tully flying across goal to keep the ball out. What a save! He would repeat his heroic performance as he touched a Nathan Austin header over the bar when Austin ghosted onto a forward ball almost nicking it over the keeper who finger tipped the ball over for a corner. Great stuff from Scully, the North Stand crowd looking on in disbelief. What a Scullywag! Big penalty shout at the end when Tremarco went down in the box but nothing given although Robbo confirmed after the game that Carl has stud marks down his thigh. Meh! Full Time 1-1 We finished the game well on top but it was another case of too little too late, a bit of a recurring theme at the moment. Morton had come out of the blocks flying and were behind before we ventured forth. I reckon this was certainly an upgrade from the Queens performance, or lack of one. Had Ryan Scully not made three outstanding saves we could have won this game, but credit to the Irish keeper he was on fine form and is my MotM. Once again our best performers were in defence and Coll Donaldson was again outstanding at the back and not afraid to drift forward and have a go. Food for thought again for Robbo and despite his stunning goal, White is maybe a bit ponderous and Austin, D Mackay and Riccardo Calder will be knocking on the managers door looking for a start next time out. By the way, here's how the official Morton twitter account saw Scully's saves:- 84' That is extraordinary from Scully! The Ton goalkeeper somehow manager to flip Daniel Mackay's close-range snapshot up onto the bar and over. A jaw-dropping save. 86' He's at it again! Scully flips Austin's looping header over the top just as it threatens to drop over him and into the net. And a Morton fan commented thus;- "In all fairness. That save Scully made towards the end of the game in top corner from 6 yards has to be one of the best saves I’ve ever seen live. I believe reactions and reflexes! A save that would go viral if he was De Gea or Lloris! Footage now available................. Here's Robbo talking after the game........ Date: 06/10/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2186 Referee: Craig Thomson Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Chalmers (D Mackay 45), Polworth, Welsh, White (Austin 79), Doran (Calder 58), Walsh. Subs (not used): Hoban; McCart, Trafford, Mcgregor. Scorers: White (45) Booked: Rooney (70), Tremarco (81) Sent Off: none Morton: 1 Lineup: Scully; Kilday, Buchanan, Waddell, McKeown, McAlister, Telfer, Iredale (McHugh 85), Tidser, Tiffoney (MacLean 54 ), Oliver, Subs (not used): Gaston, Tumilty, Thomson, Armour, Lyon. Scorers: Telfer (10) Booked: Tiffoney (52), Iredale (66) Sent Off: none a
  20. County hold rampant Caley Jags Ross County held Inverness to a scoreless draw at the Global Energy Stadium in front of a bumper crowd of nearly six and a half thousand. Inverness almost blew County away in a totally dominant first half. As the game wore on, County came back into the picture and Mark Ridgers kept the score sheet blank with a superb double save to deny McManus and Billy Mckay. Shaun Rooney and Liam Polworth were fit enough to start but George Oakley missed out through injury. No sign of Nathan Austin anywhere, apparently suffering from slight concussion picked up in training. Iain Vigurs was on the bench for County and would be introduced later in the game to try and disable Polworth with a series of cynical tackles on the controlling Inverness midfielder. Billy Mckay, Ross Draper and Don Cowie all started. Ginger Jaggy has penned this report for us.................. The game may have ended in a draw but there is only one team that will go away satisfied by the first Highland Derby of the Championship Season. Before the game the talk of some fans was about going to Dingwall to make a statement on enemy turf. Although the result didn’t reflect it, there definitely was a statement made. There was only one team playing football and it wasn’t the team in Dark Blue as Caley Thistle from kick off dominated the ball and played some excellent easy on the eye football. Liam Polworth was the standout player pulling all the strings and it was he who had the first chance early on but dragged his shot wide when in a good position. For all County’s money that has allowed them to build the strongest squad on paper, they lacked any cohesion as a team with the CaleyJags looking more fluent and fluid in possession. Goes to show you that football is not all about what’s on paper! Mark Ridgers was unemployed in the first half but his counterpart at the other end was pulling off numerous saves to keep his side in it. Scott Fox won man of the match and it was little wonder with some outstanding saves as he became last man standing in the way of the Caley Thistle juggernaut. He first kept out Aaron Doran with a fantastic one-handed tip over before pulling off another brilliant block from the same player and recovering as fast as lightening to block Jordan White’s rebound – to the astonishment of White who thought he had an easy tap in. White had a couple more half chances, but the score remained goalless at half time with only a harmless Michael Gardyne curler wide of goal the only chance of note for the home side. Half Time 0-0 The second half continued in the same fashion as Polworth went close with a dipping overhit cross that had Fox scrambling but landing just on the roof of the net. For the first hour it had all been the Caley Jags with County looking edgy and uncoordinated at the back as a long-range Chalmers shot had all the sting taken out of it and was rolling harmlessly to Fox before a panicked County defender booted it out for a throw in. Sean Welsh should have done better in the closing stages when a deflected Polworth shot landed perfectly into his path but instead of showing composure he lent back and hammered it high into the travelling supporters. County had made all their subs early in the half, while Inverness had failed to make one as the lack of fresh legs started to take their toll in the final 10 minutes. Gardyne was their main man with the late chances as he continued to shoot with most going miles too high that disappeared over the jail end although one did only just skim over the bar – a warning shot. Their best chance fell late on when Declan McManus got the break of the ball on the edge of the box and fired powerfully at goal, which Ridgers did well to stop before recovering to smother the resultant rebound and collect under pressure from Mckay. Full Time 0-0 County’s late rally only really happened as Inverness tired but a point apiece was just about right with chances for both teams but for an hour at least Caley Thistle were on top and playing some lovely stuff. The unbeaten run continues for another week and although it wasn’t a win, a statement has been well and truly made that Inverness will compete and are likely to be right up there come the business end of the season. That result saw Inverness toppled from the head of the table, Ayr United are the new leaders. Here's something you don't often see in the same sentence. Willie Collum and the word praise, but Old Caley Girl managed it. Congratulations! "Word of praise for Willie Collum who let the game flow and was restrained with the cards Different class to Aitken last week." And Polly was also singled out by OCG and he was our MotM. "How good was Polly running things in the middle. His best position and yesterday proved it. Happy with a point and we remain unbeaten." Here's the footage from Caley Jags TV with the Robbo interview following........ Official Report can be found here Date: 22/09/2018 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall. Attendance: 6402 Referee: Willie Collum Ross County: 0 Lineup: Fox; Watson, Morris, Fontaine, Kelly, Cowie (Mullin 65), Lindsay, Draper (Vigurs 65), Gardyne, Mckay, Graham (McManus 81) Subs (not used): Munro; Demetriou, Stewart, Keillor-Dunn Scorers: none Booked: Kelly (72) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Chalmers, Polworth, Welsh, White, Doran, Walsh (Mackay 88) Subs (not used): Hoban; McCart, Calder, Trafford, McGregor, Brown. Scorers: none Booked: Donaldson (89) Sent Off: none a
  21. Game of two halves It was the proverbial game of two halves. Inverness winning the first half 3-0 and Partick the second 2-0. When the dust settled it ended 3-2 for Inverness which was sufficient to move the Caley Jags to the top of the Championship. Three first half goals from Jordan White, Shaun Rooney and a penalty from Sean Welsh had the home side cruising at the break. However, we sat too deep in the second half and it was no surprise when Partick scored through Blair Spittal. They fell just short with a last gasp counter from Kris Doolan but the Caley Jags held on to take all three points and sit top of the division with Ross County drawing with Queen of the South. At the end of the action, the Caley Jags can be thankful for a penalty save by Mark Ridgers at the end of the first half. That became more important as the second half unfolded. No surprises in the Inverness starting XI, Jordan White chosen as target man with George Oakley and Nathan Austin on the bench. Partick had former Inverness players Miles Storey and Andrea Mutombo on from the start with Kris Doolan and Jai Quitongo making the bench. Old Caley Girl has this report for us, see what she had to say about the game. We’re top of the league and you’re no! Only 5 games in granted but certainly feels good and it’s been a long time coming. We got there in a very odd way to be honest. Summed up by a quote on twitter by our own Renegade “The first half was probably the best Caley Thistle have played all season. The second half was easily the worst”. Partick appeared to start brightly but as the first half went on it was clear this is a team that, like us last season, are a bit shell-shocked after relegation and have yet to gel. With ex-Caley jags men Miles Storey and Mutumbo in the Partick line up there was a bit of extra interest from the home fans with Storey especially getting attention from the boo boys in the north stand. Blair Spittal had a good chance 4 minutes in which was ably saved by Ridgers. However, it was the home fans who were cheering in 11 minutes with Jordan White opening our account. The ball found its way to Polworth who put in a great run and launched a thundering shot from about 20yds out. This hit the post and fell to White who made no mistake in popping it in the net. This was the start of a great spell for the home side with some tidy football on display and in 23 minutes we were 2 up. A Polworth corner was headed down to Sean Rooney who made no mistake with a right footed volley into the net. We were cruising, and the home fans were lapping it up. Walsh and Polworth had further chances to extend our lead and Slater came close at the other end. Just over half an hour in and Polworth broke free on goal to be hauled down in the box by Ntambwe and a penalty was awarded. Madness on the Partick players part and he was extremely lucky to be awarded a yellow and not a red. His manager clearly agrees with me as minutes later he was substituted. Anyway, back to the penalty. Up stepped Sean Walsh and he netted with a calmly despatched shot right down the centre of the goal past Bell. At last we appear to have found the competent penalty taker we have craved since Tansey left. In 41 minutes, referee Greg Aitken enraged the home support with what looked like a very dubious penalty award to Partick. Sean Welsh was judged to have fouled Miles Storey right on the edge of the penalty area. It didn’t even look like a foul to most of us and was arguably not even in the box. As usual the protesting players were not listened to and up stepped Storey only for Mark Ridgers to save in his bottom right corner with the hapless Storey even managing to miss a header from the rebound. Just on half time Rooney was replaced by McCart with the former going off injured. Half Time 3-0 The second half was a total contrast from our point of view. The referee decided to take a starring role and infuriate the home support. There were several bookings for both sides for not very much. The Partick defenders always seeming to get the benefit of the doubt in 50/50 tussles and the game frustratingly very stop start. Oakley replaced White and Calder replaced Doran. We staggered on with too much sitting back for my liking until 82 minutes when Blair Spittal managed to get one back for the visitors. It still felt frustrating but comfortable to be honest. A few players appear to be carrying slight knocks with Polworth limping his way through last 10 minutes or so as we had no subs left. More worryingly Oakley had to leave the park (88mins), in agony, after going down whilst chasing on the main stand side towards goal. As all subs were used we were down to 10 men and in reality, 9 as Polworth was struggling badly and managed to pick up a yellow in 90 mins. In the dying seconds Doolan managed to get Partick a second. That was that though and the players went off to big cheers and the morale boosting news of being top of the league. Full Time 3-2 So, a tale of two halves but a win is a win and we are now 18 league games unbeaten. Off to Dingwall we go next week and that is looking like a tasty fixture now with our neighbours snapping at our heels one point behind. Our second half performance was worrying, and we cannot allow, ourselves to sit back next week or disaster will surely ensue. The Mallard and haggis pies await and hopefully another 3 points. We will have to play at our absolute best and I hope the experienced players such as Tremarco are drumming into the newbies how important this fixture is. More worryingly are injuries to Rooney going off in first half and Polworth struggling. Oakley however appears to be the most serious and I doubt we will see him for a while sadly. OCG MOTM – Id say everyone yesterday got pass marks so a hard choice. Ridgers a contender for that great penalty save and its fab to see Welsh despatch another penalty. However, for me it must be Polworth for his first half performance alone. Was involved in everything and we would be a much poorer team without him. I hope this performance gave the boo boys in our support something to ponder over. Special mention to the match officials. Very inconsistent and pernickety. Partick penalty award looked outside box to me. Standside assistant appeared to stand and watch Doolan elbow Donaldson in the face and do nothing and fans on twitter reporting one of the assistants had to answer his phone mid game to switch it off!!! Doesn’t do much to enhance the reputation Scottish officials are gaining this season. Robbo in this post-match interview was disappointed we only went in 3 up at half time and also felt the 2nd Partick goal took a bit of shine off the day. Sentiments I agree with. Archibald felt his side were hard done by and always a threat? Hmmmm not so sure what he was watching. Always felt comfortable even in the dying minutes for me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the dust settled, here's what we thought of it all on CTO. Despite a grim second half, there were some heartening moments after the break. Inverwegian picked out this one:- "Why has no one mentioned the best thing about the second half?? The Partick keeper falling over the advertising boards! Really, you’ve got to take what you can from that second half and that was mine." Caman was straight to the point:- "2nd half kinda sucked, but three points, still unbeaten and top of the league. Could be worse I suppose!!! " And The Long Man summed it up nicely while looking ahead to next weekend:- "Good Stuff. Remember the doom and gloom after Hearts - now look where both clubs are. Sets up next week beautifully." Rig was feeling sentimental towards the 'Magic Hat' man:- "Great to see them capturing Mckay dishing out some telt to Storey after his penalty miss though I did feel for him a wee bit with the abuse he was getting." You can feel the love? See you all in Dingwall next week! Here's the action from Caley Jags TV Date: 15/09/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2424 Referee: Greg Aitken Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney (McCart 43), Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Doran (Calder 76), Polworth, Welsh, Chalmers, White (Oakley 69), Walsh Subs (not used): Hoban, Trafford, Austin, Mackay Scorers: White (11), Rooney (23), Welsh (pen 32) Booked: Chalmers (48), Polworth (90+2) Sent Off: none Partick Thistle: 2 Lineup: Bell; Elliot, Keown, McGinty, Penrice, Mutombo ( Doolan 56), Ntambwe (Bannigan 37), Slater, Spittal, Storey (Quitongo 71) Subs (not used): Sneddon, Melbourne, Fitzpatrick, Jefferies Scorers: Spittal (82), Doolan (90+3) Booked: Ntambwe (32), Bannigan (72) Sent Off: none a
  22. Can Cans Can't Stop Mackay A damp and blustery night greeted the semi-final of the North of Scotland Cup on a sad day for North football and journalism as it was announced that former Caley manager Alex Main, who amassed 14 trophies including 4 Highland League titles at Telford Street, had passed away at the age of 86. A tribute to Alex can be found on the Official Site. RIP Alex. John Robertson had indicated he would give a handful of squad players a game and Charlie Trafford, Riccardo Calder, Daniel Mackay and Jamie McCart were joined by striker George Oakley in the starting XI. George Oakley got the game underway and it only took five minutes for Inverness to get themselves in front. Daniel Mackay made his way down the right and crossed into the six yard box where Roddy MacGregor headed home. Forres steadied the ship and Milne headed a Duncanson cross wide after 18 minutes, at the other end Daniel Mackay shot over from distance. Halfway through the first half and Knight had to look sharp to come off his line and block George Oakley as he raced through on goal. Former Inverness player Stuart Soane went close with a header from a corner as we neared the interval. Half Time 1-0 The second half brought no changes, but three minutes in and Mackay volleyed home from ten yards after a Gabriel Hastings cross was part cleared by the visiting defence. Charlie Trafford was booked for a late challenge and moments later Daniel Hoban was called into action to deny Soane who had headed goalwards. Inverness stepping up a gear now and Jack Brown wins a corner that is cleared, but it's that boy again as Daniel Mackay scored his second and Caley Jags third after Oakley sent him through on the keeper. Mackay rounded Knight to score. Mackay tried to return the favour to Oakley but he could not take full advantage of the opening. Jack Brown got in on the act as he rounded Knight to score the Caley Jags fourth of the night and put the result beyond doubt. Right at the death, Riccardo Calder went close with a tremendous effort, but there was no more scoring as the ref brought the game to a halt. Full Time 4-0 Inverness progress to the final and await the winner of the Ross County v Brora Rangers tie which will be played tomorrow night. Date: 11/09/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: ???? Referee: Billy Baxter Inverness CT: 4 Lineup: Hoban, Hastings, Harper, Trafford (Gunn 64), Fyffe, McCart, Mackay, Brown (Hyde 85) Oakley (Kennedy 74), MacGregor, Calder. Subs (not used): Mackinnon, Nicolson, Harkness Scorers: MacGregor (6), Mackay (48, 62), Brown (70) Booked: Trafford (53) Sent Off: none Forres Mechanics: 0 Lineup: Knight, MacPherson, Fraser, Groat (Allan 65), Moore, Milne, Pollock (MacPhee 65) , MacRae, Duncanson (Taylor 70), Howarth, Soane Subs (not used): Brown, MacGillivray, Paterson, Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  23. Long time since Rooney scored for Inverness But today it was Shaun Rooney who opened his account for the Caley Jags and paved the way for a tremendous away win at East End Park. Liam Polworth and George Oakley completed the scoring, all goals coming in the second half. Our first visit to East End Park last season saw us whipped 5-1 by a rampant Dunfermline. The 1-0 defeat against Dunfermline on March 13 was the last time ICTFC had lost in the Championship. Something was going to give. The hosts had two former Caley Jags players starting in Danny Devine and James Vincent. Late signing Robbie Muirhead was on the bench alongside Kallum Higginbotham and Aidan Connolly. Inverness made a couple of changes from the Alloa game with big striker Jordan White spearheading the attack and Aaron Doran starting. That put George Oakley on the bench with Nathan Austin nowhere to be seen. Dunfermline got the game underway in front of a crowd of 5138 shooting towards the visiting fans. The Caley Jags were playing towards the Norrie McCathie stand, and it was the Pars that made the early running forcing Inverness onto the back foot and winning an early corner which came to nothing. Inverness had a goal chalked off after quarter of an hour and Mark Ridgers did well to tip a fierce shot from Myles Hippolyte onto the bar with Danny Devine lashing the loose ball just wide. Just before the half hour Joe Chalmers headed just over from a Tom Walsh cross. Soon after a defensive error by Ashcroft allowed Aaron Doran to play in Walsh, unfortunately Keeper Robinson made a good save to deny the Caley Jags forward. Just before the break Carl Tremarco and Myles Hippolite were booked after a bit of a set-to. There was still time for efforts at both ends, Brad Mckay went close with a shot from distance and Louis Longridge brought out another great save from Ridgers to keep out his eighteen yard volley. Plenty action at both ends but at the break there was no scoring Half Time 0-0 Polworth almost got a shot away early in the half but Inverness didn't have long to wait to open the scoring. Ashcroft was booked for bringing down Doran, and from the resultant free kick and clearance Walsh crossed for Shaun Rooney to get his first goal for the club. Polly stepping up now and he forced Robinson into a fine save moments after the opening goal. Inverness turning the screw now and Jordan White headed over from a Tremarco cross. El Bakhtaoui woke up and caused some problems around the visitors box but we were able to block and clear. Dunfermline were starting to press and forced a couple of corners but it was Inverness that hit on the break to double their advantage. Doran put in a lovely ball to the back post where Polly met it first time to volley home, 2-0 to the visitors. The Pars went close with a shot from Thomson that went just wide, and with ten minutes left Ridgers blocked an effort from Bakhtaoui with his legs. All action now and Oakley and Polworth bring out saves from Robinson in the Pars goal. However, Oakley would not be denied and he put the game to bed after Ridgers 'kick' out was flicked forward by Doran, Oakley running through to score. Full Time 0-3 Never saw that one coming, great result and the fans chanting for Polworth in a positive mood this time is a bonus all round. A plus for Rooney as well and the third bonus is we scored three goals. All good. Rig was chuffed with what he witnessed and here's how he describes the goals and summarises thus:- A simply stunning ICT performance of yesteryear. A return to the reliable 4-2-3-1 setup and philosophy of sitting in, absorbing pressure and hitting Dunfermline hard on the break. Going into the game and seeing the line up I wasn't expecting much at all but needless to say by full time I was eating humble pie and it tasted great. The second half saw ICT tear Dunfermline apart by allowing them to come on to them before clinically hitting them on the counter. The opener however came after a free kick found its way to Walsh on the Pars left flank and he stood up a cross to the back post where Rooney ghosted in to steer a header into the net. 1-0 We extended our lead with a quite brilliant counter attack. Dunfermline failed to make one of their many crosses go anywhere useful and Donaldson cleared the ball to Oakley who brought the ball down and quickly fed Doran who galloped down the right wing and picked out Polworth darting into the box with a quite delicious cross which was sidefooted in to make it two. 2-0 The game was killed off when Ridgers partially sclaffed a clearance up the pitch in the general direction of Doran. As the ball sat up nicely for him Doran cheekily backheel flicked it over his head and into the path of Oakley who bench pressed the Pars defender and raced towards goal and coolly slide the ball past Robinson. 3-0 As has been mentioned on here before it may be that this season we are a more successful team away from home than in Inverness where we might be expected to dominate the opposition. Based on today it seems very much like this is a team that would excel sitting in and hitting on the break and we're unlikely to do that much at TCS. Hopefully Robbo keeps the 4-2-3-1 going forward. A 3 - 0 win away from home against a fellow promotion challenger is not to be sniffed at. Caley Stan still showed some trepidation in his summary:- That was fun! As RiG says, it was an excellent counter-attacking display after a tetchy first half. Doran's second half performance was particularly pleasing - I've doubted his ability to come back and he's clearly had to change his game but his work-rate was superb today and his class eventually shone through with two wonderful assists. Great to see Polly back in his proper position and the fans did a good job of undoing some of that damage. We also saw decent games from Donaldson, Tremarco, Walsh and Welsh, and Ridgers made a couple of blinding saves. Our weaknesses, though, remain glaring. Rooney is a huge concern, and while Welsh is an improvement on Trafford, we still aren't strong enough in defensive midfield where Dunfermline found a lot if room to get shots in from the edge of the box in the first half. And we're no closer to finding out who our striker will be - White worked hard and used his body well but Oakley looked far sharper when he came on and took his goal well. Here's the action from Caley Jags TV..................... Date: 01/09/2018 Venue: East End Park, Dunfermline Attendance: 5138 Referee: Don Robertson Dunfermline: 0 Lineup: Robinson: Ashcroft, Durnan, Devine, Williamson (Higginbotham 67), Vincent (Connolly 79), J Longridge,Thomson, L Longridge, Bakhtaoui, Hippolyte (Muirhead 59) Subs (not used): Gill: Ryan, Connolly, Martin, Craigen, Higginbotham Scorers: none Booked: Hippolyte (40), Ashcroft (50) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers: Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Walsh, Polworth (Trafford 86), Welsh, Chalmers, White (Oakley 67), Doran (Calder 84) Subs (not used): Hoban: McCart, D Mackay, Brown Scorers: Rooney (51), Polworth (72), Oakley (83) Booked: Tremarco (39), Walsh (54), Welsh (90+2) Sent Off: none a
  24. No fizzy pop joy this season. The holders wimped out of the IrnBru cup at the first hurdle in what can best be described as a reserve team game. Both sides made massive changes to their starting line-ups and it was the visitors that went through to the next round after surviving a plethora of Inverness attacks, but holding on to score a break away goal at the end. Both sides fielded fringe players with youth players making up the squads for this IrnBru cup game. John Robertson said the players had been knocking on his door looking for some game time. That wish was granted for some, but Robertson was less than impressed after the game with what he saw on the park. Daniel Hoban was in goal and Jamie McCart and Riccardo Calder came into the back line. Aaron Doran started as did Sean Welsh, Daniel Mackay and Jordan White, all getting the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular game. The Pars fielded a whole new starting line-up with seven debutantes since their defeat to County, giving youth a chance to show their worth, and they certainly responded positively, although much of that was due to the inability of the Inverness players to impress their manager. Similar to the first team squad, chances were created and squandered before Dunfermline opened the scoring in controversial fashion. The Pars broke forward after a poor choice of ball by McCart played Trafford into trouble. He failed to deal with the ball and Andy Ryan broke forward to the edge of the box before being fouled by Brad Mckay. It looked to happen just outside the box given the position of the large divot left on the park. However, penalty was offered and Kallum Higginbotham promptly dispatched the ball low and hard to the keepers right hand side. We struggled to make any impact in a first half dominated by a stiff breeze and the Pars went in at the break one goal ahead as the early threat offered by Daniel Mackay eroded. Half Time 0-1 Robbo saw enough ten minutes into the second half and made changes as we continued to disappoint. Mackay and Trafford made way for Tom Walsh and George Oakley, and that coincided with our best spell of the game as Riccardo Calder began to threaten down the left and get some dangerous crosses in with Walsh doing likewise on the right. After three or four false alarms, Jordan White eventually met an inviting cross from the left, meeting Calder's ball ten yard out to drive it into the net for the equaliser. White was now beginning to get plenty joy in and around the box but unfortunately for him he was unable to direct any headers on target or with sufficient force to seriously trouble the keeper. Similar to Saturday, White landed another looping header on top of the net as our frustration grew. We were undone in the final few minutes when Polworth lost possession around the halfway line. Andy Ryan once more benefiting from our slackness and racing forward before rolling a ball into the box from the left side. Callum Smith was first to it and he knocked it high behind an exposed Hoban. We still managed to miss another couple of attempts, White knocking one over the bar from one yard and another header going over. Full Time 1-2 The experimental squad backfired for us but gave Dunfermline a safe passage into the next round. Was it deserved? Maybe not, but you make your own luck or get help from your opponents, and both of these happened on the night. Robbo has taken his squad to task over the display. I'm in agreement with him, it's time to take the cotton wool wrapping of the players and get them to perform to a higher level. So no fizzy pop joy for us this season, but good luck to Dunfermline in the next round. Wee midfielder Aidan Connolly (8) was a handful for our middlemen. Good control, able to beat a man and pick a pass, something we could have done with. He is the son of former Dundee United player Paddy Connolly and he is my MotM. Date: 14/08/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1046 Referee: Alan Muir Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Hoban; Rooney, B Mckay, McCart, Calder, Polworth, Welsh, Trafford (Walsh 55), Doran, D Mackay (Oakley 55), White Subs (not used): C Mackay; Brown, Harper, Fyffe, Kennedy Scorers: White (60) Booked: B Mckay (23), Rooney (34), Welsh (38) Sent Off: none Dunfermline: 2 Lineup: Gill; Allan, Morrison, Beadling (Jordan 63), Luke, Higginbotham, Todd, Connolly, Smith (Robertson 90), Ryan, McCann Subs (not used): Burt; Swanson, Crosbie, Brown, Sawers Scorers: Higginbotham (Pen 24), Smith (87) Booked: McCann (64) Sent Off: none a
  25. Inverness pay the penalty Inverness were held to a 0-0 draw by newly promoted Ayr United who had been reduced to ten men after half an hour. Despite the numerical superiority we were unable to capitalise and wasted a few good opportunities to take all three points, including a missed penalty. Prior to kick-off, a minutes silence was impeccably held in memory of Alan Hercher who died at the tender age of 52. Alan was our first club captain and scored our first, second and third goals with a hat-trick against Arbroath in 1994. How we could have done with Herchies drive in this game. RIP Alan Hercher 1965 - 2018. The visitors took along a healthy support amongst the 2376 crowd and were looking for wanted man Lawrence Shankland to see them through the game. Inverness were pretty much as expected with Nathan Austin and George Oakley up front and Jordan White, Aaron Doran and Daniel Mackay starting on the bench. The hosts started brightly and buzzed around the visitors box without actually creating too much for keeper Ross Doohan to deal with, Tom Walsh going close but missing the target in the third minute. Unfortunately that would be a recurring theme for the afternoon. Ayr's Daniel Harvie received a yellow card in the 13th minute that would come back to haunt him after half an hour. Robbie Crawford called Mark Ridgers into action as the keeper saved his effort in the 17th minute as Ayr began to get to grips with the pace of the game with their hosts not able to penetrate their defence. Harvie looked to push George Oakley over as he went for a high ball into the box and promptly got his marching orders from Andrew Dallas. Unfortunately Liam Polworth could not take advantage and directed his spot kick well wide of the post with the keeper going the wrong way. Five minutes before the break Nathan Austin should have scored when put through one-on-one with the keeper. He also picked his spot with his shot, but unfortunately that spot was two yards wide of the post. Great opportunity that went abegging. He also managed to hit the keeper right on the break for a frustrating end to the half for the home fans. We should have been at least two up at the break but through our own inability to hit the target Ayr went in at the interval on level terms. Half Time 0-0 Ayr came out of the blocks flying at the start of the second half and dangerman Lawrence Shankland used his strength and speed to good effect, but his angled shot went across the face of the goal with Ridgers scrambling across to cover it. Michael Moffat could also have opened the scoring but like everyone else he shot narrowly wide six minutes into the half. Robbie Crawford followed suit as Ayr looked for the opening goal. Inverness gradually came back into the game and Joe Chalmers stung the palms of Doohan. His shot had plenty of power but was too direct at the keeper. Robbie Crawford tried his luck again as the game opened out and Coll Donaldson took matters into his own hands and surged forward a couple of times. Plenty of effort from the hosts in the last half hour but we were unable to fashion any really clear opportunities. Donaldson fired a shot just over in one of his runs forward and substitute Jordan White could not quite direct a header on target, the ball landing on the roof of the net. A flurry of corners came and went and Ayr managed to hold on for an excellent point for them. Full Time 0-0 A frustrating afternoon all round and to be honest this felt like a defeat, but credit to Ayr for having a go especially once they went down to ten men. Difficult to select a MotM from an Inverness perspective with nobody catching the eye. Shankland gave our defenders a hard time with his powerful play and quick feet as did Moffat and Crawford. Donaldson might just be our best player on the day after making a couple of early mistakes which he recovered to deal with himself. He was one of the few players to drive forward with any menace and gets my vote. Miserable day for Liam Polworth not helped by some of our own fans venting their displeasure towards him with some unsavoury chants. Clean it up please. Dunfermline visit on Tuesday night in the Challenge Cup. They surprisingly went down 3-1 at home to Ross County on Saturday. Expect a difficult game in midweek. Here's the action from the game............. Date: 11/08/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2376 Referee: Andrew Dallas Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Walsh (Doran 70), Trafford (D Mackay 68), Polworth, Chalmers, Oakley, Austin (White 59) Subs (not used): Hoban; McCart, Welsh, Calder. Scorers: none Booked: Tremarco (19), Rooney (49) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 0 Lineup: Doohan; Geggan, Adams, Rose, Harvie, Forrest (Ferguson 31), Crawford, Kerr (Docherty 83), Murdoch, Shankland, Moffat (Bell 74) Subs (not used): Hare-Reid, Moore, McDaid, McGuffie. Scorers: none Booked: Harvie (13), Crawford (70) Sent Off: Harvie (30) a
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