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Top v Bottom Again For the second week in a row Inverness face table toppers. This time it's Alloa Athletic after our win over last weeks toppers at Cove. Now into plus figures, the Caley Jags can focus on the teams directly above them in the knowledge that they can compete with the best in this league after the shackles have been taken off, the legacy from the Duncball era no longer restricting them on the park. It won't all be plain sailing, but those that witnessed the second half at Cove have said this was the best performance for a couple of years. A word of warning, Alloa come North unbeaten away from home on League1 business. For us, it's onwards and upwards as they say at the bottom end of the table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info Battery Farm Appeal Thrown Out Bar94 Drop Off Point ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Going to the game today? Then drop your donation into Bar94 12:00 - 2:30pm to help the Community Development Trust to provide as many Festive Hampers as possible. The CDT holds free Christmas Lunches at the Stadium for elderly fans and delivers hampers to vulnerable and deserving fans in the lead up to Christmas. Please donate if you can to help make someones Xmas that little bit better. Click HERE for more detail. Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 8 10 2 36 22 +14 Away 23 11 6 6 47 24 +23 Neutral 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 Total 44 19 17 8 87 50 +37 Looking at the stats, a draw seems to be the favoured result over the last three encounters with goals in every game. Overall, in a previous life the Caley Jags used to get the better of the Wasps but times have changed. They seem to be a more resilient side at the moment and wins breed confidence, that's why they find themselves leading the pack in the chase for promotion to the Championship. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) The last encounter at Recreation Park ended all square when we threw away a two goal advantage after the introduction of seasoned campaigner Conor Sammon. Wasps Buzzing: 2-2 Inverness were without Charlie Gilmour, Flynn Duffy, Paul Allan, Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson for the trip to Alloa although Jack Newman, Luis Longstaff and Keith Bray have returned to the squad after injury. Alloa have plenty experience in their ranks, notably Conor Sammon and Kevin Cawley and went in to this encounter off the back of a superb win over Partick Thistle last weekend in the Challenge Cup. Sammon started on the bench with Cawley joined by Luke Donnelly up front. Danny Devine gave Inverness an early lead with a tremendous birthday boy volley into the corner. Calum Macleod added a second but a few minutes later we were level when substitute Sammon and Luke Donnelly scored for the Wasps and despite a frantic last twenty minutes, that's how it ended. Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes. Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released and fifteen points being wiped off our total. First game after Admin was at Dumbarton with Scott Kellacher as head coach and Billy Mckay his assistant on and off the park. Alas it ended in a 3-1 defeat after a promising first hour. Kelty Hearts came North next and went away with a point in a 1-1 draw. Kell's got his first win in week (unlucky for some)13, a deserved 2-1 win at top of the table Cove Rangers. Alloa up next at Inverness in matchday 14... ALLOA Athletic: D D W W D D WD L / W L W D Alloa had an eight game unbeaten start to League1. They began the League campaign with draws at home to Queen of the South and away to Dumbarton followed by a home win over Stenhousemuir and another win away to Annan at the same ground we lost 1-0. They drew 0-0 at Gayfield and the following week was Challenge Cup action and Alloa pulled off a shock 1-3 win over Partick Thistle who had opened the scoring through our olde 'friend' Brian Graham. However, three second half goals from Kevin Cawley (65', 76') and Scott Taggart (90'+5 pen) gave the Wasps a tremendous result and a home tie against Arbroath in the next round which they also won (1-0). That was Cawley's 79th & 80th goals for Alloa. Our first meeting with the Wasps ended 2-2 after we were two up. Meh! A win over Kelty followed by a draw at Montrose before Cove dished out their first defeat. However they followed that with a win away to Stenhousemuir before Arbroath gained revenge for the Challenge Cup defeat winning 1-0 for Alloa's second League defeat. November saw them hammer Annan 5-0 before drawing with Queens. In midweek they bowed out of the Challenge cup going down 1-0 at Championship side Dunfermline. League1 Fixtures all 3:00pm this Saturday Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 13 6 21 2 Cove Rangers 13 5 20 3 Kelty Hearts 13 8 19 4 Arbroath 13 0 19 5 Stenny 13 1 18 6 Queen of Sth 13 -2 18 7 Montrose 13 2 17 8 Annan Ath 13 -13 14 9 Dumbarton 13 -6 12 10 Inverness CT 13 -1 +1 Latest Team News With Scott Kellacher getting the first win under his belt at Cove, hopes are high for another upset at home against Alloa who currently top the table. Charlie Gilmour returned at Cove and our goals were made in the Western Isles thanks to Adam MacKinnon and Keith Bray. Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson missed out last week. Former Caley Jags keeper Michael Fraser has been offering advice to cult keeper Musa Dibaga since Goalie Coach Stuart Garden was dismissed in administration. Will post official team news when the club upload it. Alloa's team versus Dunfermline in the Challenge Cup in midweek is shown below. I notice that the keeper was a busy man starting and on the bench. A first half strike from McCann was enough to put the Pars into the semi-final. Noted that Sammon and Cawley started on the bench and keeper PJ Morrison was missing since we last played them, presumably Ogayi getting some game time. Connor Sammon, Luke Donnelly and Luke Rankin all have four League goals. Incidentally, defender Danny Devine tops our League1 scoring chart with three goals. Remember: After the game, our sponsors Dog Falls Brewing Co will be presenting the MotM in Bar94 where all are welcome to attend with players and management in attendance. The bar will remain open until 6:00pm Dog Falls is an award-winning nano brewery in the heart of the Highlands, cranking out fresh, bold & distinctive beers according to one simple observation: Flavour Reigns Supreme. We brew beer that brings people together, beer that captures a moment, and beer that transcends the ordinary.

Caley Jags Get Vital Win Top versus bottom ended in victory for the Caley Jags who climb into positive numbers at the foot of the table. Cove had made one change from the win at Dumbarton as they looked for their fifth win on the trot. Findlay Marshall replaced Arron Darge. For Inverness, graduate Sam Reid took his place on the bench with Lewis Nicolson missing. On the field, Charlie Gilmour returned to midfield to bolster the squad with Connal Ewan out injured and boss Scott Kellacher would be looking to get into positive numbers with his positive team talks. However, it only took Cove ten minutes to get in front through top scorer Mitch Megginson. Megginson failed to convert a first half penalty with Dibaga saving and two minutes later it was all square when Adam MacKinnon drilled high into the net. With 25 minutes left, Keith Bray popped up with a much needed and deserved winner. This was a great result played out at Cove, sharpened at Inverness but made in the Isle of Lewis. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A fine afternoon for a game of football and after a minutes silence it was game on. Billy Mckay brought out the first save of the game but one minute later we were behind. A bit of hesitancy in defence, but no surprise for guessing that Mitch Megginson opened the scoring. The on form striker fired home after Fraser Fyvie threaded a ball to Blair Yule who unselfishly teed up Megginson to open the scoring. Half an hour gone and chances were difficult to come by with Cove not shy to halt our attacks by fair or foul means. Touch wood and Cove had the opportunity to double their lead when Megginson stepped up to take a penalty after he was fouled by Jake Davidson. Musa Dibaga saved his spot kick and two minutes later we were level when Adam MacKinnon's shot from outside the box found the net. Just before the break Luis Longstaff slashed wide after James Nolan headed down to him in the box. HALF TIME: 1-1 Longstaff and Billy Mckay missed the target and Nolan had his attempt saved as the visitors started the second period on the front foot. Goal scorer MacKinnon was unfortunate as his long range shot came back off the post and Nolan missed the target after good work by Jake Davidson. Megginson brought Dibaga into action as the big keeper denied the strikers low shot towards the bottom corner, the keeper saving comfortably. Charlie Gilmour's deflected shot from range at the opposite end had the same result, Demus saving. However, the visitors persistence paid off when Keith Bray drilled in from outside the box. Gilmour shot over and Mckay saw his shot saved as the visitors looked for a wee cushion in the final quarter of the game. Into the final ten and substitute Declan Glass fired just over as Cove looked to level the game. In the final minutes Glass saw Dibaga save from close range at the expense of a corner as the visitors held firm for an important three points. FULL TIME: 1-2 Good performance from the Caley Jags and a deserved win on the road after a swashbuckling second half performance from the visitors. Great to see the young team scoring the goals today in Adam MacKinnon and Keith Bray. Goals made in the Western Isles. Musa Dibaga saved his second penalty of the season and made a crucial late block to deny Declan Glass as Cove tried to salvage something. Into plus numbers in the table; onwards and upwards hopefully. Late game: Queen of the South 1-1 Alloa Athletic - A result that puts Alloa top of the table. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 13 6 21 2 Cove Rangers 13 5 20 3 Kelty Hearts 13 8 19 4 Arbroath 13 0 19 5 Stenny 13 1 18 6 Queen of Sth 13 -2 18 7 Montrose 13 2 17 8 Annan Ath 13 -13 14 9 Dumbarton 13 -6 12 10 Inverness CT 13 -1 +1 Date: 09/11/2024 Venue: Balmoral Stadium Attendance: 0551 Referee: Euan Anderson Cove Rangers: 1(penalty saved Megginson (37)) Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Demus; Lobban (Glass 70), Doyle, Gillingham, Harrington, Emslie, Yule, Marshall (McAllister 70), Scully, Fyvie, Megginson (Gaffney 90) Subs (not used): Suman; Murray, McGrath Scorers: Megginson (10) Booked: Fyvie (90+2) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray, B Mckay (Cairns 90+2) Subs (not used): Rebilas; R Thompson, Strachan, Sam Reid, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: MacKinnon (39), Bray (67) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Kells Home Draw Kelty came North on the back of two defeats on the trot looking to get back on track. Inverness were looking to get out of the minus points total and back into the land of the living with Scott Kellacher and his positive vibes at the helm in his first home game in charge. Danny Devine returned after suspension for the hosts with Tam O'Ware doing likewise for the visitors. Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns made long awaited returns to the bench but Charlie Gilmour is still missing. Pre-match entertainment was in full swing in Bar94 with raffles, auctions, merriment and Dog Falls refreshments lubricating the vocal cords as the Supporters Trust heralded the new partnership with the Dog Falls Brewing Co. An early Luis Longstaff strike was cancelled out by a Ross Cunningham 25 yard free kick after fifteen minutes and that endeth the scoring. Danny Devine hit a post from close range and Keith Bray saw his effort brilliantly saved by Adams just before the break. No further scoring after the interval and it ended all square in the Highland Capital. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly morning gave way to glimpses of sunshine as the day headed towards kick-off on a reasonable afternoon for a kick about with a stiff breeze the only downside, but it dropped before a ball was kicked as we started in a hurry with Luis Longstaff drilling home from a tight angle in the fourth minute following a corner. We let Kelty back into the game after quarter of an hour when Danny Devine gifted the ball to the eager Kelty forwards who drove towards our box only for Connell Ewan to abruptly stop Luke McCarvel in his tracks and earn a caution for his last ditch tackle. Ross Cunningham stepped up and curled a beauty into the top corner from outside the box. In as soon as it left his foot. Doh! Kelty were in control of proceedings in the middle of the half but Inverness ended the half knocking on the door. Clear chances had been hard to come by and a Billy Mckay snap shot on the turn was easily dealt with by Adams in the visitors goal. Ten minutes before the break and Devine was unfortunate to see his hooked shot bounce off the keepers post and back into Adams' arms as he watched helplessly. Keith Bray was then denied by a tremendous save from the keeper who should buy a few lottery tickets tonight. Great save though. Half time followed soon after with Inverness dominant again. HALF TIME: 1-1 Paul Allan had a go but his shot was weak and swallowed up by Adams and Adam MacKinnon leaned back and shot over after a promising move cut open the Kelty defence. Musa Dibaga was forced to dive late to keep out a low curling effort from Mercer as bodies crossed the keepers path to make his task more difficult. Bray did have the ball in the net fifteen minutes from the end but it was ruled out for an infringement on the keeper as we pushed the visitors onto the back foot. Billy Mckay spurned a great headed chance from a super ball into the front post from the industrious Jake Davidson with fifteen minutes remaining. Good to see Ethan Cairns get on the park, albeit only for a few minutes as time ran away from us. FULL TIME: 1-1 Points dropped after a blistering start and then the dreaded defensive error to create the opportunity for the equaliser. Cairns got a few minutes under his belt and Lewis Nicolson took his place on the bench. Charlie Gilmour was missed for a bit of steel in the middle but otherwise a game we could easily have taken all three points although Kelty might disagree, despite Adams and his post dealing with more challenging efforts than Dibaga had to. I thought Davidson was a driving force on the right side. Our biggest downfall was the lack of shots offloaded from good positions, especially in the second half where we tended to end up playing wide instead of having a pop. Paul Allan was named Bar94 MotM after a busy performance. More reaction to follow>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Only 14 points behind now 1. Cove Rangers 12 6 2 4 21 15 20 2. Alloa Athletic 12 5 5 2 16 10 20 3. Arbroath 12 5 3 4 14 14 18 4. Stenhousemuir 12 5 2 5 15 14 17 5. Q.O.S. 12 5 2 5 10 12 17 6. Kelty Hearts 12 4 4 4 19 13 16 7. Montrose 12 4 4 4 11 9 16 8. Annan Athletic 12 4 1 7 8 21 13 9. Dumbarton 12 2 6 4 17 21 12 10. Inverness CT 12 2 7 3 9 11 -2 Week 12 results Results from the weekend that have put Cove Rangers at the top of the table with Alloa Athletic on 20 points. Unfortunately for us, Cove Rangers have hit a bit of form since they rubbed shoulders with us at the lower end of the table a few weeks ago. Since drawing with us back in the last week of September, Cove were beaten 2-4 by Arbroath, but since then have three 2-0 wins in a row and last week they pumped Dumbarton 3-0 at the Rock. 15 points that has rocketed them to top spot. We play Cove away next week with the teams at Polar ends of the table right now. Date: 02/11/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1502 Referee: Ryan Lee Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Ewan (R Thompson 36), Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray (Cairns 87), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Nicolson, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: Longstaff (4) Booked: Ewan (13), Devine (49) Sent Off: none Kelty Hearts: 1 Manager: Michael Tidser (player manager) Lineup: Adams; Mercer (Thomas 75), O'Ware, Harding, Paterson, McCarvel (Flatman 75), Allan, Moore (Williamson 46), Tidser (Trialist 90+2), Johnston, Cunningham (Owens 87) Subs (not used): Adamson; Bryce, Cole, Hobbs Scorers: Cunningham (14) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Handicap Hurdles And they're off. With a fifteen point deduction because of Administration, we started our League1 campaign again at Dumbarton under the guidance of Scott Kellacher and Billy Mckay for the first time. Danny Devine and Charlie Gilmour were missing which would make Scott Kellacher's team selection more difficult. The Son's were along similar lines to last weeks excellent win at Arbroath. It would be an uphill battle after James Hilton fired the Sons ahead but Jake Davidson headed us level after half an hour and that's how it was at the break. Ryan Blair restored the Sons lead and Hilton added a third to push the Sons 15 points ahead of Inverness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not much to shout about in the opening exchanges until James Hilton smacked in the opening goal from the edge of the box to put the hosts ahead quarter of an hour into the game. Inverness responded with player coach Billy Mckay firing over the bar. On the half hour and it was all square. Jake Davidson scored following a corner with a close range header, Paul Allan with the assist. The visitors upped the pressure on the home goal and Billy Mckay headed over before Adam MacKinnon's header was saved by Brett Long in the home goal. MacKinnon fired wide moments later. Mathew Shiels brought Musa Dibaga into action as the keeper saved comfortably. Five minutes before the break a neat move from a corner ended with the Sons defence having to block from Robbie Thompson as he offloaded. Hilton missed the target with a header just before the break as the ball bounced wide. All to play for in the second period. HALF TIME: 1-1No changes at the interval. Brett Long saved from Mckay's low shot five minutes after the restart and the defenders mopped up the loose ball. Dibaga again denied Hilton just before the hour. Ryan Blair edged the hosts ahead after a corner was recycled. Blair finished with a curling shot behind the keeper. Hilton had been causing problems and he notched his second of the game and Dumbarton's third after driving forward and shooting into the bottom corner. A late flurry of activity saw Remi Savage head over from a corner and Sons sub Mumbongo shooting wide on the run. The last action had Long saving from Nolan as time ran away. FULL TIME: 3-1 Scott Kellacher's first game in charge ended in defeat at the Rock. Not the start we had hoped for but it was a big ask with Devine and Gilmour missing. Great Summary on CTO by Mantis: Massive disappointment in the end. So much positivity in the bar and in the stand, and the team were excellent first half. Hilton’s goal was pretty much Dumbarton’s only attacking effort of the half, completely against the run of play, but what a worldie giving Musa no chance, although he was allowed too much room to turn. The Sons started the second half much better and I always felt that if they scored first, they would win. One or two experienced pros such as Wallace and Carlo. They stuck to the basics, defended well without trying to be fancy, and hit us on the break. A couple of unforced errors cost us. ICT heads dropped at 2-1 and we never looked like coming back. Fantastic support today and great applause for the team at the end. Rather weird coming to a team with such a poor support when you are used to Championship crowds like Partick and the Pars. Hardly heard a sound when they scored. Big uphill task now. Annan beat QotS 1-0 in the late game on BBC Alba Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 11 3 17 2 Stenhousemuir 11 2 17 3 Alloa Athletic 11 1 17 4 Montrose 11 3 16 5 Kelty Hearts 11 6 15 6 Arbroath 11 -1 15 7 Queen of Sth 11 -3 14 8 Annan Athletic 11 -8 13 9 Dumbarton 11 -1 12 10 Inverness CT 11 -2 -3 Date: 26/10/2024 Venue: Marbill Coaches Stadium, Dumbarton Attendance: 0872 Referee: Graham Grainger Dumbarton: 3 Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup: Long; Miller, Durnan, Brown, Blair, Pignatiello (Orsi 81), Wilson (McGuffie 81), Niang, Hilton (Wallace 77), Ruth (Mumbongo 81), Shiels (Gray 55) Subs (not used): O'Neil; Young, Lynas, Clark Scorers: Hilton (14, 72), Blair (63) Booked: Wilson (80) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher (Head Coach) Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson, Ewan, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, R Thompson (MacLeod 76), Allan, MacKinnon (Strachan ), Bray (C Mackay 77), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; S Thompson, Scorers: Davidson (28) Booked: Nolan (21), Savage (56) Sent Off: none a

Life in Administration Starts on Saturday at Dumbarton Stadium in the Scottish League 1 with Inverness now deducted fifteen points which puts us twelve points below our hosts this weekend. Unfortunately, five players have been released along with the management team of Duncan Ferguson, Gary Bollan and Stuart Garden. So far, we have retained the bulk of our squad including our senior players with Scott Kellacher taking on the head coaching role assisted by none other than Billy Mckay. They will also be given further assistance from Charlie Christie and the rest of the youth squad trainers. So, it's almost as you were without our management team and a 15 point deduction. The downside so far is the dismissal of four contracted players and loan keeper Jack Newman. More details later in the preview. Good luck to those released through no fault of their own. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Administration Info on ICTFC Match/Ticket/Travel/Info 5 Players let go (1 loan) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes. Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended in like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released. First game after Admin is at Dumbarton this week... Dumbarton: D D D D D D L L L / W Dumbarton started the season with six draws on the trot followed by three defeats. It was only last week that they recorded their first league win of the season in their tenth League fixture with an excellent 1-3 away win at Gayfield. Arbroath had opened the scoring through Tam O'Brien after ten minutes but Carlo Pignatiello replied ten minutes later. A Dylan Smith og and a last minute goal from Finlay Gray ended the scoring as the Sons celebrated their first win in style..... just in time for our visit, meh! Our first game of the League1 campaign was against Dumbarton at the Caledonian Stadium on the back of disappointing League Cup group stages for both sides. It was also the game where Johndo was remembered in the sixth minute. I wonder what Johndo would make of all this. As already said on CTO, plenty of scope for his CTO Xmas pantomime with villains in abundance and a hero in Alan Salvage. Game of two halves: 1-1 A rousing round of applause rang out from the crowd on the sixth minute in appreciation of the dedication of John Mackenzie, AKA the Immortal Howden Ender who sadly passed away last week. A fitting tribute as cheering and clapping broke out around the ground and one in which he would have loved to have led the way. Rest in Peace my well travelled friend. You would have enjoyed the first half. The second I'm sure you would have had some choice words for in your after match summary. It was the proverbial game of two halves. Inverness were miles ahead in the first half and rubbish after the break. Plenty of possession and slick movement with new signings Flynn Duffy and Adam Mackinnon prominent in attacking moves. Charlie Gilmour brought out a tremendous reflex save from keeper Long, however most of the good work petered out when we got into the final third but we took the lead on the stroke of half time when Danny Devine sneaked in behind the defence to nod in unchallenged at the back post from a corner. Hey ho we all thought, lifes not so bad after all. Wrong!!! We allowed Dumbarton to dominate the next half hour and they deservedly levelled through Carlo Pignatiello as we seemed to go back into our shell. Niang was booked a second time for persistent fouling and reluctantly left the field when he was red carded. Billy Mckay had cracked one off the bar and Charlie Gilmour and Remi Savage were denied by the keeper but it was a bit of an anti climax after a promising first half. Jack Newman also had to make a good save five minutes from the end to keep the score level when he denied Mumbongo. Here's the fixtures for this weekend and this is how the table looks after we were deducted 15 points. Meh! Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 10 2 17 2 Montrose 10 5 16 3 Kelty Hearts 10 7 15 4 Cove Rangers 10 1 14 5 Stenhousemuir 10 1 14 6 Queen of Sth 10 -2 14 7 Arbroath 10 -2 12 8 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 9 Dumbarton 10 -3 9 10 Inverness CT 10 0 -3 Latest Team News With administration comes redundancies. First to go was Duncan Ferguson and his coaching staff of Gary Bollan and Stuart Garden. Four players were released although the bulk of the experienced players were retained. No surprise that Cameron Ferguson was released. Bit part striker Adam Brooks was also released along with the promising left back Flynn Duffy who has been recovering from a punctured lung after looking lively in the five games he did play. Wallace Duffy was the most experienced player to be released after coming back into the squad since being ignored at the end of last season, in total making 113 appearances and scoring five goals. Big comedown for Wallace having been our MotM in the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic in 2023. I'm sure we all appreciated the efforts of those released although like every team, we have our boo boys who picked on the unfortunate. In this instance young Cameron was the brunt of most ill feeling which probably stunted his development whilst here although one wonders would he have been here had his father not been the manager. Some may say that the release of the management team is a step in the right direction as many questioned our style of play since Ferguson arrived. It looked like a case of keep the ball at all costs and don't be rushing up the park. We were set up to hold what we had with little directness. That led to too many draws and late defeats as we regressed. That aside, he can't be faulted for his gesture of not drawing a wage and I wish him and his team good fortune for the future. Duncan Ferguson gone. Gary Bollan gone Stuart Garden gone Players out Cameron Ferguson (12 appearances, not ready at this level) Adam Brooks (7 goals in 41 appearances) Flynn Duffy (recovered from a punctured lung) Wallace Duffy (113 apps, 5 goals) Jack Newman (loan ended back to Dundee United...maybe) On the plus side, Scott Kellacher has been promoted to Head Coach with Billy Mckay as his assistant player coach. Charlie Christie appears to be assisting as well, possibly overseeing/helping with the coaching along with the rest of the clubs youth coaches. Good luck Scott and Billy, all the best and all at CTO will get behind you and the boys as we attempt to play.... Against All Odds as Charles Bannerman once said. (No truth in the rumour that his next book will be entitled Against All Frauds) Given the circumstances, I imagine we will be along similar lines to last time out without Wallace Duffy in the starting XI. It will be interesting to see how we set our stall out under Scott and Billy. Good luck guys. Dumbarton's last Starting XI in the win at Arbroath. Carlo Pignatiello scored in the first fixture at the Caledonian Stadium and he scored last week in the 3-1 win over Arbroath. Pignatiello, Ruth and Durnan have all scored three League goals. Dumbarton have the leakiest defence conceding 17 goals whereas we have only conceded 7 times. The Sons are third top scorers with 14 goals, twice as many as our shot shy players.

There's Life Jim but not as we know it With Administration pending at the start of next week, this game might be the last time we will see the famous Inverness Caledonian Thistle in it's present form. Administration does not come alone. Redundancies and heartbreak goes hand in hand with it and that is the price paid for years of neglect. We had already lost twice to Annan this season, once in the League Cup and once on League business when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference at Galabank but he was missing out this time. Paul McGowan and Wullie Gibson added their experience to the Annan starting XI. Danny Devine returned to the team but Charlie Gilmour, Adam Brooks and Charlie Reilly were missing. After a slow start, Danny Devine headed Inverness in front in the twenty-first minute. That's how it was at the interval with chances difficult to come by. The second half was similar with Devine coming closest to adding a second but his header was just the wrong side of the post and it ended 1-0 with the creditors closing in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright and breezy afternoon greeted the players on a somewhat sombre afternoon for the Caley Jags with the stench of administration lingering around the stadium. Annan looked spritely in the opening few minutes firing wide on a couple of occasions before Inverness ventured forward. Duncan Ferguson was yellow carded after discussing a penalty claim with the referee when Billy Mckay appeared to be barged off the ball inside the penalty area. After a couple of poor balls into the box Paul Allan provided Danny Devine with the perfect opportunity and Danny duly headed the Caley Jags in front after twenty minutes to lift the mood. Keith Bray was put through on goal on the right side of the box but keeper Smith spread himself to block well. HALF TIME: 1-0 The second period was less than entertaining with a bit too much faffing around outside the box and down the wings with directness the last thing on the minds of the players. Bray had a volley comfortably saved and Devine went very close following a free kick angled into the box by Paul Allan, Danny's header just bouncing past the wrong side of the keepers left hand post with Smith beaten. We did have a few attempts from around the edge of the box but they all went well wide of the target. Meanwhile Annan never troubled Musa Dibaga and two poor teams played out the final forty-five without adding to the scoreline. FULL TIME 1-0 I suppose the result was more important than the performance, which was just as well as both sides were honking. However we have bigger fish to fry on Monday as the grim reaper comes calling with bad news. We may have seen the last of some of these players as the high earners might be culled as our cloth gets cut by the Administrators. Billy Mckay did get a rousing round of applause when he was substituted five minutes before the end and the rest were warmly applauded as they left the field at the end of play. Match reaction from CTO Good summary from Robert: I thought we deserved the win, but once again we made hard work of it in the second half. We dominated the first half and should have had more than one goal. One definite penalty was not given, possibly two (I wasn’t sure if the other incident was in or just outside the box). Devine took his goal well and led the back line with, as others have said, MacKinnon also having a good game. Allan also looked good to me. We allowed ourselves to get hemmed in after the break but Annan were fortunately toothless. With the 15 point penalty, next week’s game at Dumbarton becomes a real six pointer as we try to get ourselves back into the pack. Well done to all who played a part today. It must be tough with all the uncertainties at present. Robbo 1985: Danny Devine was awarded the sponsors man of the match and credit to him for popping up with another crucial goal and putting on another very good defensive display. For me though, Adam MacKinnon stood head and shoulders above every other player on the park today. Broke up play, drove us forward, distributed the ball well, had some shots on goal and worked his absolute socks off. A fantastic individual performance but well done to all the players and staff today for digging in to get the result. Alan: A deserved victory over a poor Annan side who didn't manage one shot on target during the 90 minutes. it wasn't the most exciting game but I'll take 1-0 wins in every every match between now and the end of the season. A wins a win Alloa top the table after a 78th minute winner at Stenhousemuir. Other winners today were Inverness, Dumbarton, Cove & Montrose. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 10 2 17 2 Montrose 10 5 16 3 Kelty Hearts 10 7 15 4 Cove Rangers 10 1 14 5 Stenhousemuir 10 1 14 6 Queen of Sth 10 -2 14 7 Inverness CT 10 0 12 8 Arbroath 10 -2 12 9 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 10 Dumbarton 10 -3 9 Danny Devine got his MotM award after the game in Bar94. Date: 19/10/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1501 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Duffy (Macleod 46), Devine, Savage, Nolan (Ewan 92), Longstaff (Thompson 84), Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray, B Mckay (Ferguson 84) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, C Mackay Scorers: Devine (21) Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (20), MacLeod 75) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 0 Manager: Wullie Gibson (player manager) Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Todd, Dixon (Ross 81), Breen, Kilsby, (Quitongo 31), Zaid (Quigg 81), A Smith, McGowan, K Fleming, Stevenson, Subs (not used): Aitchison; Muir, Barnes Maxwell, Lennon Scorers: none Booked: Dixon (42), Stevenson (46), Quitongo (74) Sent Off: none a

If we still have a team We are scheduled to play Annan Athletic on Saturday 19th October at 3:00pm as the second phase of League1 fixtures begin. Having played all nine of the teams we find ourselves second bottom of the table with only one win from our opening round of games, a 1-0 win over Queen of the South in the Highlands, who, incidentally are sitting one point off the top in fourth place. However, should administration hit us then a 15 point deduction would see us go bottom on minus 6 points. Worse would follow with top earners being removed from the club and all the other embargo's that go along with these situations. It's almost inevitable that we will drop into League two after 30 years of being in existence. As expected, Administration has now been confirmed this evening, Friday, 18th October 2024. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket & Bar94 Info Supporters Trust Fans Meeting ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMED Club Statement 29 18th OCT ICTFC GO FUND ME PAGE ALL OFFICIAL CLUB NEWS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Events off the Park have caught up with us after more than five seasons of tyrannical malfunction and despite some last ditch efforts to find a buyer to take on the club and their debt we find ourselves heading for Administration and redundancies and all that goes along with it unless there is one final twist to this sorry self inflicted saga. News coming out of the club is changing every few hours, so fingers crossed for a happy ending as we enter Administration on Monday. Bar 94 will be open after the match and will include a presentation to the Man of the Match. If popular, it will hopefully become a permanent additional facility for those attending the games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes. Annan Athletic: W W L L L D L L W After an encouraging start to the season that included two wins over Inverness, one in the League Cup and one in the League, they hit a bit of a slump losing five of the next six League games before beating Montrose 1-0 at home. They crashed out of the Challenge Cup last weekend as Queens Park beat them 1-4, Nikola Ujdur scoring in that one. Our League encounter in August ended in defeat at Galabank at the start of the League campaign. Too Little Too Late: Inverness added their two new signings to their squad which meant Keith Bray was benched with Wallace Duffy returning to the starting XI and Musa Dibaga as back up keeper on the bench. Annan had one change with Josh Dixon replacing Paul Smith in midfield. Jack Newman had the only notable save of the first forty-five denying Aidan Smith after ten minutes. Other than that it was Annan on top without overly threatening. After the interval Annan were awarded a penalty after fifty minutes and Tommy Goss duly scored from the spot. That was the difference between the sides as Annan took all three points despite a late charge from the visitors. Plenty of early posturing and the first action for the keepers saw Jack Newman save brilliantly from an Aidan Smith header in the tenth minute as Annan came close to the opening goal. Inverness' first effort followed soon after as Adam Brooks shot over from a tight angle. Annan were controlling the pace of the game in the first quarter and forced three corners to no avail. Smith again went close on the half hour when he shot just wide. Josh Dixon shot over from the edge of the box ten minutes before the break and Wallace Duffy picked up a yellow for abruptly stopping an Annan attack. Half Time: 0-0 Danny Devine gave away a penalty five minutes after the restart when he fouled Tommy Goss who got up to slot home the spot kick into the bottom corner. Luis Longstaff fired a free kick over the bar and Billy Mckay was denied by the keeper after a turn and run from Longstaff. Almost a tap in for Smith but for a great interception by the defence. Devine headed wide from a Charlie Gilmour free kick as we tried to get back on level terms. A double denial for Inverness as Gilmour's effort was well saved then Devine hit the underside of the bar from the recycled ball as we entered the final ten minutes. Bray shot wide as we pushed for an equaliser with Annan looking for the final whistle. Annan were by now hanging on by a thread and a couple of late corners for the visitors came and went before the final whistle ended the siege. Full Time: 1-0 Here are your fixtures for Saturday 19th October and this is how the table looks ahead of Saturday's fixtures Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 9 9 15 2 Stenhousemuir 9 2 14 3 Alloa Athletic 9 1 14 4 Queen of the Sth 9 0 14 5 Montrose 9 3 13 6 Arbroath 9 0 12 7 Cove Rangers 9 -1 11 8 Annan Athletic 9 -8 10 9 Inverness CT 9 -1 9 10 Dumbarton 9 -5 6 Latest Team News It's bad enough off the field of play, but we don't have our troubles to seek on the park either. Flynn Duffy, Ethan Cairns, Lewis Nicolson, Charlie Reilly and possibly Charlie Gilmour are all out. Danny Devine was missing at Livingston.

Valiant Effort Ends in Penalty Loss It was a case of taxi for the Caley Jags at The Home of the Set Fare Arena after a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat when Stephen Kelly swept in the final spot kick to put us out of the Challenge Cup. Danny Devine and Charlie Reilly were missing for the Caley Jags but Keith Bray returned to the starting XI with Jack Newman taking the gloves. Jake Davidson was part of a five man midfield. Livi had former Caley Jags players Samson Lawal and Andy Shinnie starting with Reece McAlear on the bench. David Carson was missing for Livingston. Paul Allan scored his first goal for the Caley Jags in the tenth minute as he headed in an inviting cross from Luis Longstaff. Stevie May levelled after seventeen minutes and top scorer Scott Pittman edged the hosts ahead. However Charlie Gilmour equalised almost immediately in an entertaining first half. No further scoring in the second half and it went to penalties with the hosts prevailing 5-4 Meh! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most expected this to be a stroll for Livi but it was Inverness that were first to threaten when Billy Mckay's shot from distance was saved by Pitaluga. Stevie May saw a header saved by Jack Newman before Inverness went back up the park to open the scoring through a Paul Allan header into the bottom corner off a great ball in from Luis Longstaff. The lead was short lived as Stevie May equalised seven minutes later with a low shot in off the post from inside the box, assisted by Scott Pittman. May and Shinnie returned the compliment ten minutes later to leave Pittman with an easy header. However, Charlie Gilmour scored from close range to level matters two minutes later. Minutes later Pitaluga had to tip an effort from Billy Mckay over the bar. Just before the break, Samson Lawal, Andy Shinnie, May and Clarke set up a chance for Pittman but his header was too close to the keeper and easily dealt with by Newman. In an open first forty-five, Inverness had given Livi a run for their money as the whistle went with the score level. HALF TIME: 2-2 No changes at the interval but Gilmour got an early booking for a high challenge on Shinnie. May fired a thirty-yarder just wide as the hosts threatened and at the other end Pitaluga pulled off a tremendous double save to deny Adam MacKinnon and Longstaff's follow up was also blocked. With twenty minutes remaining, Keith Bray's cross was knocked over by MacKinnon from the edge of the box. Lawal mishit an effort at the other end and was subbed moments later along with Shinnie. Livi upped the intensity and Montano headed over before fellow substitute Liam Sole was denied by Newman and Clarke's effort on the rebound was blocked. With the pressure mounting on the visitors defence Shinnie headed over. Jack Newman received treatment for a leg injury as we went in to overtime. Despite the late pressure it ended all square and penalties would decide who goes into the hat for the draw. FULL TIME: 2-2 Livingston win penalty shoot-out 5-4, scoring all five penalties (Shinnie, McGowan, Winter, Yengi & Kelly) ICT: Davidson Gilmour Savage B Mckay Thompson Saved by Keeper We lost didn't we... Date: 12/10/2024 Venue: Almondvale Attendance: 0943 Referee: Colin Steven Livingston: 2 (5 pens) Manager: David Martindale Lineup: Pitaluga; Clarke (Yengi 84), Nottingham, McGowan, Finlayson, Lawal (Montano 72), Pittman, Kelly, Shinnie, May (Winter 71), Smith (Sole 55) Subs (not used): Prior; McAlear, Green, Muirhead, Stark Scorers: May (17), Pittman (28) Booked: Smith (26) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 (4 pens) Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Newman; Bray (Thompson 84), W Duffy, Savage, Nolan (Strachan 63), Longstaff, Davidson, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 63), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Dibaga; Ewan, C Mackay, Ferguson, Brooks Scorers: Allan (10), Gilmour (30) Booked: Gilmour (52) Sent Off: none a

Another Blank Massive financial hurdles were put to one side as we went down to the Greenversity Stadium, or Gayfield as we all know it, for this Scottish League 1 fixture against Arbroath. With both sides getting off to a cautious start in the league this fixture between last seasons relegated pair might give an indication if either of them are capable of challenging for a play-off place at the top end of the table or will it be a few seasons in the doldrums, or administration or worse. Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns were missing. Charlie Reilly came in on loan from Dundee this week met his new team mates today for the first time and Started up front with Billy Mckay. Arbroath were without Scott Stewart and Tam O'Brien with co-manager David Gold and Ross County's young on loan defender Dylan Smith in their starting XI. The other co-manager Colin Hamilton, Ali Spalding and Calum Gallagher were all on the injured list. After a goalless first half where Inverness were looking the more likely, Reilly opened the scoring. Unfortunately it was Gavin Reilly for Arbroath. Another Saturday, another game slips away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An early shout for a penalty in the first minute when Watson brought down debutant Charlie Reilly but nothing given. A recycled ball after a corner in the eighth minute offered Paul Allan a chance but Aidan McAdams somehow clawed away his header destined for the bottom corner. Charlie Reilly looked eager to please and the keeper had to deny his effort from outside the box. Billy Mckay might have done better after getting behind the defence but the keeper made a good block to deny the ageing striker. Arbroath's first effort of the game came in the 28th minute with a powerful Fraser Taylor shot from the centre of the box but it was straight down Musa Dibaga's throat. Ten minutes before the break, Luis Longstaff was next to have a go after cutting in from the right, but his shot was kept out by McAdams assisted by his post before the resultant corner was cleared. Just before the break Mckay missed the target and Charlie Gilmour had a shot blocked as the visitors finished the half with a flourish having had the better of the first forty-five. HALF TIME: 0-0 Substitute Quinn Coulson went close minutes after coming off the bench as he bent an effort just wide. Ryan Dow's reverse pass allowed Gavin Reilly to score with a tidy curling shot from the edge of the box to open the scoring for the hosts. Minutes later, Charlie Reilly hit the post for Inverness with twenty minutes remaining. Everything in our favour seems to be against us. Reilly and Mckay had both been substituted for the final throws of the game and as it slipped from our grasp Cameron Ferguson saw an effort from outside the box blocked and he shot wide in the 90th minute. Keith Watson was given a second yellow in time added on, and that brought about a yellow card for Arbroath coach Jimmy Boyle as well. It was just another Saturday as we failed to score again and after 96 minutes the full time whistle ended another disappointing day for the Caley Jags. That's three wins on the trot for the Smokies and, erm, just one win in nine for us. FULL TIME: 1-0 From CTO Heartbroken and Embarrassed. A totally broken club. How long has it been since anything to do with ICT brought a smile to your face? Missed chances and lose a goal, same old story. Desperate, miserable, awful. What a mess. We play mostly part time teams with a pro squad and we still can't score. The buck rests with the manager. That's the first round of nine games played ------- And we sit second bottom of League 1. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 9 9 15 2 Stenhousemuir 9 2 14 3 Alloa Athletic 9 1 14 4 Queen of South 9 0 14 5 Montrose 9 3 13 6 Arbroath 9 0 12 7 Cove Rangers 9 -1 11 8 Annan Athletic 9 -8 10 9 Inverness CT 9 -1 9 10 Dumbarton 9 -5 6 Highlights from Arbroath FC TV Date: 05/09/2024 Venue: Gayfield Attendance: 1381 Referee: Craig Napier Arbroath FC: 1 Manager: Colin Hamilton & David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Smith, Wilkie, Watson, Bisland, Gold (Slater 62), Taylor, Sinclair (Coulson 46), Flynn, Dow (Callaghan 86), Reilly (Murray 80) Subs (not used): McConnell; Scorers: Reilly (67) Booked: Watson (55, 90+3) Sent Off: Watson (90+3) Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 64), MacKinnon, Reilly (Brooks 75), B Mckay (Ferguson 80) Subs (not used): Newman; Duffy, Bray, Ewan, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Reilly (53) Sent Off: none a

Meanwhile, on the pitch With the noose of administration tightening around the Caley Jags' neck, the team on the park will head down to Gayfield on Saturday looking to put off-field issues behind them as they take on a rejuvenated Arbroath at 3:00pm. Flynn Duffy appears to be the main one missing out again although Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns may also still be absent. Loan signing Charlie Reilly will meet up with the squad at Arbroath and will be in contention for a place in the squad on Saturday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info £££SAVE ICTFC FUND£££ OPEN MEETING ON MONDAY 7th Finances & Threat of Admin Panos Thomas Resignation There's a lot to take in in the above links Have a read on CTO for fans reactions Charlie Reilly on Loan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v ARBROATH Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 18 5 4 62 22 +40 Away 25 11 7 7 36 30 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 52 29 12 11 98 52 +46 Historically we hold a big advantage over Arbroath. However, most of that was built up in a previous life when we dished out the odd seven goal thrashing. Changed days now and many of the more recent games are close affairs. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) It's a long time since our first encounter with Arbroath back in August 13th 1994 when Alan Hercher scored that hat-trick as we started off on the bottom rung of Scottish Football. He would be turning in his grave if he knew what they have done to our club now. 30 years of memories; Scottish Premier League Football, a Scottish Cup win and European Football, all undone by total mismanagement on a scale unheard of around here. Hang your heads in shame!... Ian Broadfoot reported on this historic occasion: Caledonian Thistle's Scottish League debut resulted in a tremendous performance and a fine victory. Alan Hercher was the hat-trick hero as Caley Thistle got their League campaign off to a flying start. Three first half goals by Hercher set the scene for a dramatic opening League 3 encounter. In the opening minutes Caley Thistle 'keeper Mark McRitchie had to look sharp to save a 15 yard drive from John Reilly. In 13 minutes Mark McAllister won a corner and Alan Hercher headed in Graeme Bennett's kick to score Caley Thistle's first ever Scottish League goal. It was not long before he also scored the second and third! Before that Arbroath came close on two occasions -the first when a John Brock header went inches past the post and the second when a 25 yard free kick almost found the net. John Scott and Mike Andrew had chances for the home side before Alan Hercher again wrote his name into the record books. In 31 minutes he shot home his second goal through a ruck of players then headed home another corner in 33 minutes. Half Time: 3-0 In the second half Arbroath came back into it and scored through Brock and Reilly - Caley Thistle bounced back and scored twice more. In 71 minutes Paul McKenzie latched onto a long McRitchie clearance and lobbed over the keeper then Wilson Robertson completed the scoring six minutes later with a high ball from 22 yards. Full Time: 5-2 This rounded off an exciting match and an historic occasion for both the club and Inverness. ##################################### Season so Far INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. ARBROATH FC: L D L D D L W W Arbroath were propping up the League at the start of the season but have slowly lifted themselves up to mid-table with wins in their last two games over Annan at home and Cove Rangers away. Their three defeats came from Stenhousemuir (2-1) on day one, Kelty Hearts (0-3) on day three and Queen of the South (2-1) on Matchday six. The draws came against Montrose, Dumbarton and Alloa in that order. They also dumped Montrose out of the Challenge Cup with a resounding 3-0 win at Gayfield There's nothing to separate the sides on the park, but will the off-field struggles affect the players. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Queen of South 8 4 14 2 Alloa Athletic 8 3 14 3 Montrose 8 4 13 4 Kelty Hearts 8 5 12 5 Stenhousemuir 8 0 11 6 Inverness CT 8 0 9 7 Arbroath 8 -1 9 8 Cove Rangers 8 -3 8 9 Annan Athletic 8 -9 7 10 Dumbarton 8 -3 6 LATEST TEAM NEWS The Smokies had this squad representing them in their televised clash against Cove Rangers last weekend. Just to be sure, there's pics of all their Starting XI for good measure. They came away with their second win in a row and bagged four goals in an excellent 4-2 win. Scott Stewart, Innes Murray. Ali Spalding and Jack Wilkie were the scorers Ryan Dow is top scorer with three League goals. Scott Stewart has bagged two. Arbroath have scored 10 goals in the League but have conceded 11. In contrast, we have only conceded 6 but have only scored 6. Something is going to give. INVERNESS Flynn Duffy and Lewis Nicolson definitely out and no news of Ethan Cairns. Charlie Reilly will manifest at Arbroath. He made five appearances for them last season so will know his way to the stadium. Wonderful gesture by Duncan Ferguson to do the job for nothing at the moment to help our plight. Some might say that's what he is worth, however hats off to him for doing it.

Bore Draw Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existant for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval. Half Time: 0-0 The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way. Full Time: 0-0 Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display. OCG on CTO: Well that was dire possibly even worse than last week. Does DF ever try to play football that suits the players he has? Does he even know that we need to win anymore? Most exciting bit was good natured banter with the Stennie keeper! Finding it harder and harder finding any positivity these days. Can you imagine what it will be like watching football like this when it's minus 3 and dark by full time!! More match reaction to follow Big Musa with a big hand <<caleyjags.com>> Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Queen of the South 8 4 14 2 Alloa Athletic 8 3 14 3 Montrose 8 4 13 4 Kelty Hearts 8 5 12 5 Stenhousemuir 8 0 11 6 Inverness CT 8 0 9 7 Arbroath 8 -1 9 8 Cove Rangers 8 -3 8 9 Annan Athletic 8 -9 7 10 Dumbarton 8 -3 6 Date: 28/09/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1601 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy, Davidson, Devine, Savage, Longstaff, Gilmour, MacLeod (Allan 69), Nolan, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Brooks 68) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ferguson, Ewan, C Mackay, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (56) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 0 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: D Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Bilham, Wedderburn (Alston 55), Berry, Ewen (Tomlinson 75), Aitken, Banner, Anderson, Yates (O'Reilly 88) Subs (not used): Trialist A (Hogarth), Trialist B (Cameron). Scorers: none Booked: Berry (45) Sent Off: none a

Warriors up for the Battle The second home League1 game in a row has Stenhousemuir visiting for the first time since 1998 when we won 2-1. Mike Teasdale scored both goals as we came from behind to win that relegation battle after Ian Little had opened the scoring early in the first half. It's a standard 3:00pm kick-off this Saturday afternoon apart from Cove v the Smokies which can be seen on BBC Alba at half past five. The revamped 94' Bar will be open at mid-day for both sets of fans with Supporters Trust members and helpers at your service and if you are free around 10:30am on Saturday morning, pop over and help with the tidy up around the Stadium. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Livingston Date Ch Cup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 3 3 0 0 11 3 +8 Away 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 8 6 1 1 21 8 +13 Brian Thomson We have only met Stenhousemuir eight times in total, winning six and losing once, a 3-2 reverse at Ochilview in August 1997. Our top scorer of all time against Stenny is Brian Thomson who has scored seven times in all competitions including a hat-trick in a league cup encounter in 1997 at the Caledonian Stadium. Get yer boots on Brian, we need someone to put the ball in the net. Alas, Brian can't make it, he's washing his hair this weekend. Signed from Huntly - Position: Forward Previously with Fraserburgh, Motherwell, Peterhead & Arbroath Debut Played: 16 Dec 1995 - Last Game: 2 May 1998 Third Division Championship medal 1996/97; Joint top Second Division goalscorer 1997/98 (20 goals) Scored a barrowload, including the vital goal v Stenhousemuir which gained access to Rangers in the Scottish Cup in 1996 and he was a star in that quarter final at Tannadice as well. He made a stunning debut v Ross County in the Inverness Cup Final in December 1995. First Goal: January 13th, 1996 - Alloa Athletic 0 - 2 Caley Thistle (Div 3 "The first goal came in 30 minutes - a header by Brian Thomson after a cross from Richard Hastings) Born: June 19th, 1966 (Fraserburgh) Height: 1.83m Position: inside forward Signed: July 1st, 1995 Left Club: May 31st, 1998 Career Stats: 93 appearances, 34 goals Full Debut: December 16th, 1995 - Cowdenbeath 0 - 0 Inverness CT (League - ) First Goal: January 13th, 1996 - Alloa Athletic 0 - 2 Inverness CT (League - ) Also Played For: Arbroath, Buckie Thistle, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Motherwell, Peterhead Season so Far INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour with his first goal for the club. The optimist said it's only one defeat in seven games. The pessimist said FFS, we've only won one game out of seven. Billy Dodds said folk have been sacked for less... Stenhousemuir: W L L W W L D Having been promoted as Champions in season 23/24, the Warriors opened their account in League1 with a 2-1 home win over Arbroath but lost the following week at Kelty (2-0). Another loss followed at Alloa (1-0) before a 3-2 home win over Cove Rangers. The highlight of their season so far was a 5-1 thrashing of Annan Athletic at Ochilview. Bilham, Anderson and a Blair Alston hat-trick did the damage as Stenny took their chances whilst Annan only took one of their many opportunities. Montrose brought them back down to earth in the next League game with a 3-0 win at Links Park. Last week a no scoring home draw where Queen of the South dominated the game as Darren Jamieson earned the Warriors another vital point. They also knocked Falkirk out of the Challenge Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Jamieson was again a standout for Stenhousemuir denying Falkirk half a dozen times. Blair Alston is their top scorer in the League with three goals followed by midfielder Michael Anderson on two. Former Hearts defender Gary Naysmith is the Warriors manager. It's difficult to assess the teams this early in the season with everyone capable of pulling off wins over all the other challengers.... except for us with our waltzing slowwww slowwww slowwww slowwww slowwww approach to the game which must be easy to set up against and our lack of penetration in the final third. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of this weekends game with Stenny two points above Inverness. 1. Alloa Athletic 7 3 4 0 8 5 13 2. Montrose 7 3 3 1 7 3 12 3. Q.O.S. 7 3 2 2 6 4 11 4. Stenhousemuir 7 3 1 3 10 10 10 5. Kelty Hearts 7 2 3 2 9 7 9 6. Inverness CT 7 1 5 1 6 6 8 7. Cove Rangers 7 2 2 3 10 11 8 8. Annan Athletic 7 2 1 4 6 12 7 9. Dumbarton 7 0 6 1 10 11 6 10. Arbroath 7 1 3 3 6 9 6 Saturday 28 September 2024 Inverness CT v Stenhousemuir Kelty Hearts v Annan Athletic Montrose v Alloa Athletic Queen Sth v Dumbarton (BBC Alba) Cove v Arbroath (17:30) Latest Team News Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns are still out and Keith Bray has not trained all week. We remain toothless up front with Billy in a withdrawn role and little other attacking options available. Striker for the weekend anyone? Here's Dunc talking about his young team, strikers (or lack of), grass, defence and goals; the hardest part of the game isn't it>>> <<<This was the Stenhousemuire starting XI that Gary Naysmith went with in the home draw against Queen of the South. Nat Wedderburn was a sixth minute sub for the Warriors as Kyle Jacobs went off injured. With six yellow cards last week, looks like the Warriors will be up for the battle. Last week was an open game with Queens more than matching their hosts who were thankful for keeper Jamieson pulling off a handful of great stops. Assistant manager Brown Ferguson bemoaned a number of injuries during this game and was pleased with the battling point against a full time team in QotS. Alston, Taylor, Steele, O'Reilly and Jacobs were all substituted against Queens. Maybe Alston for his own good having just been booked in the closing stages of the game. Ayr United midfielder Scott Tomlinson has recently signed on loan for the season at Ochilview.

Drab Draw Inverness hosted Cove Rangers and were without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and former Cove players Luis Longstaff and Charlie Gilmour had returned to the squad with Gilmour and Longstaff starting. Cove had won their last two outings and put three past Kelty Hearts last weekend with Mitch Megginson always a threat up front. Adam Emslie tapped in at the back post to open the scoring after twenty minutes. Substitute James Nolan levelled five minutes after the restart following a corner. A replacement official was required to complete the game and even with fifteen minutes added on, there was no further scoring. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An overcast but calm afternoon greeted the players and a freshly painted bar area greeted the fans at the stadium. After a slow start, Adam Brooks was first to have a go, in fact a double go as his first effort was saved at the expense of a corner, the second fired over the bar. Cove opened the scoring after twenty-minutes following a quick break forward involving Marshall, Adam Emslie the scorer and Megginson after he missed the ball at the front post and Emslie had the simple task of tapping in at the far post. Brooks missed a great opportunity to level matters but headed over from close range at the near post. Scully shot over from the edge of the box five minutes before the break. It had been a poor first half for the hosts who trailed at the interval with Brooks the biggest sinner in front of goal. HALF TIME: 0-1 James Nolan came on at the restart and five minutes later he was scoring his first goal for the club after his initial shot was saved but his follow-up found the net. Keeper Suman was replaced by Demus when he went off injured minutes later. Duncan Ferguson appeared to pick up another yellow card after an angry exchange when Gilmour was booked. An injury to the referee prompted a tannoy call for a replacement from the crowd as the game was halted. One of the assistants took control of the game and a substitute linesman was sourced from the stand and duly appeared to run the line as assistant Will Pare took centre stage. On resumption, Emslie was denied a second goal by Dibaga. Megginson was blocked brilliantly by Calum MacLeod as he looked favourite to add a second for Cove as the game approached the ninety-minute mark. However, there was plenty time added on for the replacement of the referee and Jake Davidson fired wide deep into added time. 15 minutes of additional time came and went before Will Pare brought the game to a halt and the points were shared with opportunities at a premium. FULL TIME: 1-1 The only positive to take from today was Caley Jags fan Jamie Mackinnon stepping in to save the game being abandoned and running the line after the referee went off having made too many wrong decisions... Or maybe he was injured. Apparently the tannoy announcement was so successful the club will do the same at next weeks game with Stenhousemuir and will ask the fans if there is a manager in the stands willing to step in and do Dunc's job. There you go Jamie. This week running the line, next week running the club. The world is your lobster. <<<Jamie can be seen here jogging past Remi Savage after assuring him that the offside law has been cancelled. Well done you. <<image from Caley Jags.Com >> Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 7 3 13 2 Montrose 7 4 12 3 Queen of the South 7 2 11 4 Stenhousemuir 7 0 10 5 Kelty Hearts 7 2 9 6 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 7 0 8 7 Cove Rangers 7 -1 8 8 Annan Athletic 7 -6 7 9 Dumbarton 7 -1 6 10 Arbroath 7 -3 6 Date: 21/09/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1505 Referee: Stewart Luke Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (Nolan 46), Devine, Savage, Davidson, Longstaff, Gilmour, MacLeod (Allan 90), MacKinnon, B Mckay (Thompson 90), Brooks (Bray (82) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ferguson, Ewan, C Mackay Scorers: Nolan (51) Booked: Gilmour (60) Sent Off: none Cove Rangers: 1 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Suman (Demus 55); Doyle, Gillingham, Darge, Parker, Harrington (McAllister 61), Scully, Yule, Megginson (Gaffney 90+6), Marshall, Emslie Subs (not used): Demus; Murray, McGrath Scorers: Emslie (21) Booked: Doyle (39), Darge (42), Yule (43), Marshall (85) Sent Off: none a

Bring your own curry oot Cove Rangers are the visitors on Saturday for a League 1 encounter at the Caledonian Stadium with a kick-off time of 3:00pm. Unfortunately curry is off the menu due to lack of interest, let's hope that malaise does not transmit onto the field of play. Inverness will be without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour are back in the squad after injury and Ferguson is still looking for a striker on loan. It's just the ninth meeting between the clubs with Inverness in the driving seat with six wins, one defeat and one draw. The last four games all went the way of the Caley Jags when Cove popped up into the Championship in season 2022/2023. The pick of that games was a 6-1 win for Inverness at home with Billy Mckay notching a hat trick. More of this would be dandy: Happy New Year: Inverness began 2023 with a crushing win against Cove. Two from Billy Mckay and one from Danny Devine countered the opening goal from Jack Sanders. Two quickfire own goals within five minutes of the restart put the hosts 5-1 ahead. Mckay notched his hat-trick from close range as we ran away with the game. Big win to start the year, just what we needed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Challenge Cup Fixture Date ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Season so Far INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium a fortnight ago. Last weekend we beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers last weekend. COVE RANGERS: L L D L W W Cove got off to a poor start in the league with defeats at home by Annan (3-1) and Queen of the South away (2-1). A 1-1 draw at home to Dumbarton was followed by another loss away to Stenhousemuir (3-2). However, they are on the up now after winning their last two games oner Montrose (1-0) and a good win at Kelty by 3-1. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Saturday's game with Cove 1. Alloa Athletic 6 2 4 0 7 5 10 2. Q.O.S. 6 3 1 2 6 4 10 3. Kelty Hearts 6 2 3 1 9 6 9 4. Montrose 6 2 3 1 6 3 9 5. Stenhousemuir 6 3 0 3 10 10 9 6. Inverness CT 6 1 4 1 5 5 7 7. Cove Rangers 6 2 1 3 9 10 7 8. Annan Athletic 6 2 1 3 6 10 7 9. Dumbarton 6 0 6 0 10 10 6 10. Arbroath 6 0 3 3 4 9 3 Fixtures for Saturday 21st September 2024 Inverness CT v Cove Rangers Alloa v Kelty Arbroath v Annan Ath Dumbarton v Montrose FC Stenhousemuir FC v Queen of the Sth LATEST TEAM NEWS INVERNESS will be without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour coming back will be a boost to the squad after injury and Ferguson is still looking for a striker on loan. Dunc likes the grass, doesn't he... Cove Rangers <<< Cove's starting XI last weekend in that excellent 3-1 win at New Central Park, Kelty. Megginson had given Cove a half time lead but Cunningham squared the game just after an hour. Yule blasted in five minutes before the end and Marshall added the third in stoppage time to complete the job. Mitch Megginson and Blair Yule are always a danger and Captain Fraser Fyvie has been around with Connor Scully part of the fixtures and fittings. Midfielder Findlay Marshall is top scorer with three goals. Megginson and Adam Emslie have scored two apiece. Marshall and winger Emslie joined this season from Aberdeen and are great acquisitions for manager Paul Hartley. Here's the strike from Blair Yule at Kelty. Boom! We failed to score at Kelty and are once again one of the lowest scoring teams in the league with the best defensive record. Nothing changes really. Cove are one of the high scorers but have one of the worst defensive records thus far. However, we need to be aware of the threat from Megginson and Yule.

Wasps Sting Back Inverness were without Charlie Gilmour, Flynn Duffy, Paul Allan, Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson for the trip to Alloa although Jack Newman, Luis Longstaff and Keith Bray have returned to the squad after injury. Alloa have plenty experience in their ranks, notably Conor Sammon and Kevin Cawley and went in to this encounter off the back of a superb win over Partick Thistle last weekend in the Challenge Cup. Sammon started on the bench with Cawley joined by Luke Donnelly up front. Danny Devine gave Inverness an early lead with a tremendous birthday boy volley into the corner. After the interval, Calum Macleod added a second, drilling home, but a few minutes later we were level when substitute Sammon and Luke Donnelly scored for the Wasps. Despite a frantic last twenty minutes, that's how it ended. (2-2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once the early posturing was over, it was a birthday gift from Danny Devine as he lashed in the opening goal from twenty-two yards in the seventh minute to give the visitors the perfect start. What a strike from Danny into the corner off the post. Boom and Happy Birthday! Musa Dibaga saved from Cameron O'Donnell two minutes later at the expense of a corner and Billy Mckay put a header wide after fifteen minutes. Adam MacKinnon was denied by PJ mid-way through the half when the keeper parried his strike away for a corner. On the stroke of half time Adam Brooks went through at an acute angle but his effort was saved at the near post and Mckay was then blocked before MacKinnon shot over from a tight angle. Alloa were seeing plenty of the ball in the opening half but it was the visitors that went in at the break a goal to the good and good value for that lead. HALF TIME: 0-1 No changes at the interval and it was a lively re-start two minutes in when PJ had to deny Mckay from a tight angle. Following an Alloa corner, Big Musa had to deny Morgyn Neill and at the other end Calum MacLeod burst forward and saw his effort tipped onto the post before the rebound was cleared. Billy Mckay went close again after the hour before substitute Stefan Scougall forced Big Musa into a good save. A minute later MacLeod gave us some short lived breathing space following a swift break forward as he drilled the ball across the keeper into the bottom corner, however Conor Sammon quickly pulled a goal back with a great header three minutes later into the top corner finishing a well built move from back to front. Moments later it was all square when Donnelly looped a ball behind Dibaga after a long throw from Taggart and a touch from Sammon. Having been well in control we were now under the cosh but despite some hairy moments towards the end it finished all square. FULL TIME: 2-2 Disappointing to throw away a two goal lead after being in control for over an hour. Two great goals scored but we will be not be happy with our defending at Alloa's goals. Most of us would have taken a draw before kick-off, but the manner in which we capitulated will need addressed. Both managers appeared to be yellow carded in the final minute. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after todays games 1. Alloa Athletic 6 2 4 0 7 5 10 2. Q.O.S. 6 3 1 2 6 4 10 3. Kelty Hearts 6 2 3 1 9 6 9 4. Montrose 6 2 3 1 6 3 9 5. Stenhousemuir 6 3 0 3 10 10 9 6. Inverness CT 6 1 4 1 5 5 7 7. Cove Rangers 6 2 1 3 9 10 7 8. Annan Athletic 6 2 1 3 6 10 7 9. Dumbarton 6 0 6 0 10 10 6 10. Arbroath 6 0 3 3 4 9 3 Date: 14/09/2024 Venue: Recreation Park Alloa Attendance: 0778 Referee: George Calder Alloa Athletic: 2 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Taggart, McKay, Neill, Thomson, Hetherington, Virtanen (Sammon 64), O'Donnell, Buchanan, Donnelly, Cawley (Scougall 64) Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Nevans Scorers: Sammon (70), Donnelly (73) Booked: Virtanen (54) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan (C Mackay 82), W Duffy, Devine, Savage, Longstaff, Davidson, MacLeod, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Bray 69), Brooks (Ferguson 86) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ewan, Keogh, Thompson Scorers: Devine (7), MacLeod (67) Booked: MacLeod (31), Nolan (78) Sent Off: none a

A bit of Recreation at the Indodrill Matchday 6 has Inverness travelling to Clackmannanshire to face one of the top sides in the table and a team we often struggled against away from home through the years, especially in more recent times. With events off the field of play casting further dark shadows over the future of the club, it's a tough ask for the players to remain focussed when their futures are at stake thanks to the incompetence and now unrivaled power hunger of our former tyrannic leaders. Flynn Duffy, Charlie Gilmour, Paul Allan and Ethan Cairns are still out but Jack Newman, Luis Longstaff and Keith Bray return to the squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Bus (10:00 am) Info Investment Topic on CTO Payer Sponsorship on CTO Hospitality v Cove Rangers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are you a budding Picasso, Constable or Vincent van Gogh? If so, the ICT Supporters Trust are looking for volunteers this weekend to help brighten up the bar area at the Stadium with a paintbrush or roller to make it more inviting and less Gulag in appearance. Oh, not that kind of painters then...unless you fancy doing a mural... We have accepted the challenge to bring the bar up to date and hopefully make it a destination venue for all fans pre (and hopefully in the future post) games. We have already stripped out the bar and started the prep work but to ensure we get the bar open in time for the Cove game we are seeking help from our members this Sunday to get some fresh paint on the walls. We have all the materials we just need hands to tackle the job and many hands make light work. If anyone is able to help then please be at the sports bar from 11am this Sunday. Can’t stress enough that we need plenty of painters please. We also need joiners who can spare a few hours, doesn’t need to be Sunday. There are some jobs that won’t take long with the right level of expertise. Please contact us on [email protected] and we can sort out a time that suits you and to look over what needs done. Venue H2H v Alloa Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 8 10 2 36 22 +14 Away 22 11 5 6 45 22 +23 Neutral 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 Total 43 19 16 8 85 48 +37 We do have the edge over Alloa, but that was in a previous life before Gardiner & Co decimated our club. Our new look squad will find a battle hardened Wasps a difficult byke to cycle, like we often did over the years and they will no doubt have a sting in their tail. Our last meeting was in the Championship in season 20/21, and we have lost twice and drawn three of our last five encounters. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) Who could forget the dramatic ending in the 1999 Challenge Cup Final when 4,043 fans were at the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie to watch a Martin Cameron inspired Alloa lift the Challenge Cup after a 3-3 draw, extra time and penalty shoot-out. All this despite a Paul Sheerin hat-trick and an unikely hero in Alloa Keeper Mark Cairns who scored the fifth penalty then saved the clincher from Teasdale. Starting XI Mark Cairns Jimmy Boyle Derek Clark Paul McAneny David Beaton Craig Valentine Ian Little Gary Clark Martin Cameron Willie Irvine Mark Wilson Les Fridge Richard Hastings Ross Tokely Mark McCulloch Stuart Golabek Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Barry Wilson Paul Sheerin Davide Xausa Dennis Wyness Gregor McKechnie Max Christie Mark Donaghy Kevin Byers Martin Bavidge Martin Glancy It was bitter disappointment for Caley Thistle as they lost their first ever senior cup final on penalties. They came from behind three times in normal play then again in extra time to take the game to a penalty decider. Alloa took the lead in 20 minutes when Gary Clark hit a low ball past Les Fridge from 15 yards. Barry Wilson equalised in 29 minutes with a neat chip over the keeper. A defensive error let in Mark Wilson to score Alloa's second in 33 minutes but Paul Sheerin equalised from the penalty spot just after half time. This lasted 2 minutes before Martin Cameron made it 3-2 with a 15 yard angled volley. Another penalty goal by Sheerin made it 3-3 in 56 minutes. 14 minutes into extra time Alloa again took the lead when Martin Cameron beat the defence and ran on to score. Paul Sheerin completed his hat trick 8 minutes from time with a 16 yard shot. It was 4-4 on penalties after the regulation 5 attempts each. Alloa keeper Mark Cairns was the hero when he scored to make it 5-4 then saved Mike Teasdale's penalty. The Cup was on its way to Alloa after an exciting match. Alloa Pens (Irvine, Boyle, Cameron, Little, Cairns) Beaton miss. Inverness Pens (McCulloch, Tokely, Byers, Wilson) Sheerin, Teasdale saved. Report by Ian Broadfoot The Season so far ALLOA Athletic: D D W W D Alloa are unbeaten and they began the League campaign with draws at home to Queen of the South and away to Dumbarton followed by a home win over Stenhousemuir and another win away to Annan at the same ground we lost 1-0. Last time out they drew 0-0 at Gayfield. Last week was Challenge Cup action and Alloa pulled off a shock 1-3 win over Partick Thistle who had opened the scoring through our olde 'friend' Brian Graham. However, three second half goals from Kevin Cawley (65', 76') and Scott Taggart (90'+5 pen) gave the Wasps a tremendous result and a home tie against Arbroath in the next round. That was Cawley's 79th & 80th goals for Alloa. INVERNESS CT: D L D D W Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium a fortnight ago. Last weekend we beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Matchday Six 1. Kelty Hearts 5 2 3 0 8 3 9 2. Stenhousemuir 5 3 0 2 10 7 9 3. Alloa Athletic 5 2 3 0 5 3 9 4. Q.O.S. 5 2 1 2 4 3 7 5. Inverness CT 5 1 3 1 3 3 6 6. Montrose 5 1 3 1 3 3 6 7. Annan Athletic 5 2 0 3 5 9 6 8. Dumbarton 5 0 5 0 9 9 5 9. Cove Rangers 5 1 1 3 6 9 4 10. Arbroath 5 0 3 2 3 7 3 League 1 Fixtures all @ 3:00pm Alloa Athletic v Inverness CT Annan Athletic v Dumbarton FC Kelty Hearts v Cove Rangers Montrose FC v Stenhousemuir Queen Sth v Arbroath Latest Team News Alloa Manager Andy Graham has a wealth of experience at his disposal. Alloa's line up in their recent league encounter with Annan Athletic shows some well experienced players in there, notably strikers Conor Sammon and Kevin Cawley. Former Morton defenders Calum Waters, Scott Taggart and midfielder Luke Donnelly are now at Recreation Park. Stefan Scougall is also well experienced having been at St Johnston and Carlisle United in more recent years. Inverness have one or two filtering back into the squad. Jack Newton has returned from Dundee United after getting injections in his knee without requiring a major operation. Keith Bray and Luis Longstaff will also join the squad again after injury. I would imagine Big Musa will retain the gloves whilst Newman proves his fitness on the bench with the other two returnees joining Jack on the sidelines.

Trust Trophy Triumph It's a couple of years since we edged past Stirling Albion in a Scottish Cup tie at the Caledonian Stadium and they were back today for a Challenge Cup 3rd Round tie against a Caley Jags club in crisis and ravaged by injury. Wallace Duffy was fit enough to start as did our two recent loan signings of James Nolan and Connall Ewan. In a first half dominated by the hosts, Adam Brooks scored twice to give the Caley Jags a comfortable lead at the interval. After the break Adam Mackinnon added a third after an hour with another deflected effort to kill the tie as Inverness cruised into the fourth round. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reslpendent in our new away kit, Billy Mckay was first to make a keeper work when Derek Gaston saved his low effort. Inverness had a goal disallowed for offside before Adam Brooks backheeled to Mckay, but his shot from the edge of the box missed the target. Inverness had been knocking on the door in the opening stages and it was no surprise when Adam Brooks opened the scoring on the half hour after being fed through by Adam MacKinnon to slot behind the keeper. Musa Dibaga took a knock soon after but was able to continue after treatment as our medical staff held their breath. When Brooks was brought down thirty-yards out some ten minutes before the break he took the kick himself and with the aid of a deflection the ball nestled behind Gaston for his second of the afternoon. HALF TIME: 2-0 Lewis Milne replaced Aaron Weir at the break for the visitors. However, it was the hosts that added to their lead through Adam Mackinnon with deflection now topping the assist list after James Nolan's shot had been brilliantly blocked by Gaston. After a spate of substitutions the game became a bit more disjointed and Ally Roy brought a save out of Dibaga ten minutes from the end before shooting over moments later. Brooks failed to get his hat-trick as Gaston saved in the final minute and that was it for the first outing of the 30th Anniversary shirt. FULL TIME 3-0 With Duncan Ferguson red carded last week, Gary Bollan was in charge against the Bino's and a 3-0 win is a good way to hand the team back. Great for Brooks to grab a couple but my MotM was Adam MacKinnon who set up the first and scored the third goal. His general play between the boxes was one of our main driving forces and he capped it with the shot for his goal. Date: 07/09/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Ryan Lee Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Gary Bollan Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy, Devine (Strachan 63), Savage, Ewan, Nolan (Thompson 61), Davidson (Keogh 74), MacLeod, MacKinnon (Ferguson 73), Brooks, B Mckay (C Mackay 61) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Corner Scorers: Brooks (29, 38), MacKinnon (60) Booked: none Sent Off: none Stirling Albion: 0 Manager: Alan Maybury Lineup: Gaston; McGeachie, Kerr, Davidson (Knox 66), Sula, Roy, Brown, McKinley, Weir (Milne 46), Waugh (Howe 80), Crane (Dall 66) Subs (not used): McTavish; Featherstone Scorers: none Booked: Sula (41), Roy (64), Waugh (69) Sent Off: none a

First win for the Caley Jags Another controversial week in the life and death of the Caley Jags culminated in a home fixture against Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. A couple of new faces were acquired prior to kick-off with four faces missing, Newman, Longstaff, Bray and Cairns. In came Connall Ewan and James Nolan. Kai Kennedy was in the Doonhamers squad. A first half goal from Billy Mckay in a turgid encounter was enough to secure all three points. A bit of pinball around the visitors goal ended with Billy scoring from close range. Referee Gavin Duncan was the focal point of many a strange decision as he ignored two big penalty claims for the hosts, and a brilliant goalline clearance from an Adam Brooks effort kept Queens in with a chance. Despite a late flurry from Queens we held on for our first win of the League 1 campaign. The downside of these industrial challenges today was that both Duffy's left the field injured, Flynn on a stretcher. Duncan Ferguson was also redcarded for continuallly questioning the referee's decisions. One in particular when Brooks was booked for simulation instead of being awarded a penalty. Baffling incompetence from the ref! On the plus side, the pitch looked in fantastic condition. Full Time: 1-0 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The points were more important than the performance. However, it was encouraging to kick-start our season today and put us only three points off the pace in the table. Billy Mckay beavered away on scraps and got his reward in the first half and Brooks was unfortunate a couple of times. Musa Dibaga did not have too much to deal with, but he seemed to read situations well and took the pressure off the defence with some good catches under pressure, especially when Queens were hurling massive throw-ins into our penalty box in the final quarter of the game. Devine and Savage were solid in the heart of the defence but it was disappointing to lose both full backs to injury. Todays scores on the doors in League 1 Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 5 5 9 2 Stenhousemuir 5 3 9 3 Alloa Athletic 5 2 9 4 Queen of the South 5 1 7 5 Inverness CT 5 0 6 6 Montrose 5 0 6 7 Annan Athletic 5 -4 6 8 Dumbarton 5 0 5 9 Cove Rangers 5 -3 4 10 Arbroath 5 -4 3 Date: 31/08/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1703 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (Nolan 67), Devine, Savage, F Duffy (Ewan 75), Davidson, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 46), A MacKinnon, B Mckay, Brooks (C Mackay 79) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Thompson, Ferguson, Keogh Scorers: B Mckay (19) Booked: Brooks (48), Devine (63) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 0 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; Hewit (Johnston3 43), MacIntyre, Hannah, Douglas, Lyon, Dickenson, Kennedy (Doherty 85), Luissint (Walker 58), McKechnie, McIntosh. Subs (not used): Hogarth; Willis, Church, Rogerson, McLinden, Ross Scorers: none Booked: McKechnie (19), Johnstone (70) Sent Off: none a

Back to Life after Death It was another quiet week in the life and death of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as we died a few times before Alan Savage once again applied cardiopulmonary resuscitation to breathe new life back into our lifeless soul. Having mentioned administration earlier in the day, his next statement shortly after was much appreciated by the fans. An "Amicable deal has been struck that saves club from administration all stakeholders should be delighted" quote from Sir Savage, or as we now call him around these parts Sir Alan Salvage, a title bestowed on him by one of our more astute forum members. Meanwhile the revelations keep coming, but at least Mr Savage has caught the attention of the fans with his transparency and speed at which he has conducted his "forensic audit", struck "amicable deals" and removed bad eggs. Nothing short of a miracle to be honest as he has strived to correct five years of wrongdoings in five days of scrutiny and integrity. The freedom of the City awaits Sir Salvage. In the meantime, we still have a team to support and olde adversaries Queen of the South come North on Saturday for a League 1 encounter. Queens are the only other 'full time' squad in the division with genuine aspirations of getting back into the Championship and we last played them at the end of season 21/22. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Shop/Bar Info Connall Ewan loan James Nolan Loan Oh No! Oh Yes! Challenge Cup 7th September ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 3 6 38 26 +12 Away 20 8 7 5 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 41 20 10 11 72 48 +24 Home advantage is usually a good indicator as to the outcome of these encounters. However, given our plight this will negate that advantage and we will be looking for our defender heavy squad to keep us interested. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) Our first ever game against Queen of the South was a Scottish Cup tie in December 1994: An indifferent display saw Caley Thistle lose their first Scottish Cup match to a competent Queen of the South side. The second division team were first on the attack and Bell nearly connected with a Jackson cross. In the 10th minute Wilson Robertson was set up by Charlie Christie but he shot over the bar. Both sides had further chances with the home side's best effort being when a Mike Andrew drive was well saved by Purdie. In the second half Purdie again saved well from Noble & Robertson. At the other end McRitchie made a tremendous save from Kennedy and from the kick out found Robertson in space - he ran towards goal but his 25 yard drive thundered off the upright. In 73 and 83 minutes the game was settled when the visitors scored 2 identical goals - direct shots from free kicks on the edge of the area by Bell & Bryce. McAllister scored a consolation goal in the last minute for the home side. Starting XI Mark McRitchie Dave Brennan Mark McAllister Mike Andrew Mike Noble Sergei Baltacha Steven MacDonald Norman MacMillan (McKenzie 56) Charlie Christie Alan Hercher Wilson Robertson Subs: Jim Calder, Paul McKenzie, Colin Mitchell. Queen of the South: Purdie (gk) B. McKeown, D. McKeown, Campbell, Hetherington, McFarlane, Bryce, Bell, McLaren, Kennedy Jackson FULL TIME: 1-2 Scottish Cup - Rd 1: Saturday, December 17th, 1994, 3:00 PM Telford Street Park, Inverness Attendance: 1,100: Referee: S Dougal Report by Ian Broadfoot ************************************************************************ Season so far Inverness: 1-1 v Dumbarton, 0-1 @ Annan Athletic, 1-1 v Montrose, 0-0 @ Kelty Hearts. QotS: 0-0 @ Alloa, 2-1 v Cove, 2-0 v Annan Athletic, 0-1 @ Montrose. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Those results show the table like this after four games 1. Kelty Hearts 4 2 2 0 6 1 8 2. Alloa Athletic 4 2 2 0 5 3 8 3. Q.O.S. 4 2 1 1 4 2 7 4. Montrose 4 1 3 0 3 2 6 5. Annan Athletic 4 2 0 2 4 4 6 6. Stenhousemuir 4 2 0 2 5 6 6 7. Dumbarton 4 0 4 0 7 7 4 8. Inverness CT 4 0 3 1 2 3 3 9. Arbroath 4 0 2 2 3 7 2 10. Cove Rangers 4 0 1 3 5 9 1 All 3:00pm Fixtures this weekend Arbroath v Alloa Ath Cove Rangers v Montrose Fc Dumbarton v Kelty Hearts Inverness CT v Queen South Stenhousemuir v Annan Athletic Latest Team News Inverness: Four players are out for around the next month. Keeper Jack Newman out for another three to four weeks, as is Luis Longstaff, who is awaiting news on a scan for his thigh injury and Ethan Cairns. The latest set back for the Caley Jags is is that Keith Bray is out for two to three weeks with a hip flexor issue. Hopefully see all these guys around November then. Jack Walker has been loaned out to Nairn County until January 2025. That no doubt came about as a result of the young County prospect, centre back Connall Ewan signing a one year loan from our neighbours. The Caley Jags badly need a proven striker, and with that in mind, they have managed to bring in midfielder Paul Allan who played as a sub at Kelty and defender Connall Ewan from Dingwall. Is this a sign from Johndo as he watches over us. James Nolan, who was born in Chorley, has come to us on a season long loan from Manchester United youth. He's a versatile player from defence to attack. Queens Team v Montrose last weekend Queen of the South: Queens suffered a surprise defeat at Montrose last week and to add insult to injury, defender Harry Cochrane, who was celebrating his 100th appearance, got his marching orders in the 91st minute moments after Brydon had left the field with a possible hamstring injury leaving just nine on the park at the end for Queens. Despite having favourable stats it was Montrose that took the points when Craig Brown shot into the bottom corner from outside the box in the twenty-first minute. Cammy Gill made a couple of great saves for Montrose to keep their noses ahead. Cochrane will miss this one after his red card. Fraser Brydon might miss out and Lewis O'Donnell took a heavy knock. Note that Kai Kennedy is at Palmerston and he looked a dangerous player when at Inverness a few seasons ago. View full article

Mar0-0ned Table toppers Kelty Hearts welcomed the Caley Jags to New Central Park, and this was not just for a training session. Musa Dibaga retained the golves with Jack Newman possibly requiring surgery on his knee and Luis Longstaff is out for a month with a thigh injury. New signing Paul Allan was on the bench. Some 0-0 draws are not as dull as the scoreline might suggest. Well, unfortunately this was not the case here as both sides were reluctant to take the game to their opponents which resulted in a game as dull as dishwater. The visitors did look marginally more industrious, but it would be stretching the imagination somewhat to suggest that we should have won. Billy Mckay shot over from the edge of the box in our best only moment of the first half. Musa made a couple of routine saves and one from a fierce shot but he was not overly exerted. Adams in the Kelty goal had even less to deal with although part of that was down to our inability to get shots on target. In truth, neither side deserved to win, and in the same vein, neither side deserved to lose, so stalemate it was and a point apiece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thankfully, the wee social club was the focal point of the Johndo Awayday as olde faces gathered to remember our fallen comrade. Great to meet up with Isla and Gareth and remember the past and also some well kent faces from better times, Iain Coia, the Wyness Shufflers and many more. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Matchday 4 1. Kelty Hearts 4 2 2 0 6 1 8 2. Alloa Athletic 4 2 2 0 5 3 8 3. Q.O.S. 4 2 1 1 4 2 7 4. Montrose 4 1 3 0 3 2 6 5. Annan Athletic 4 2 0 2 4 4 6 6. Stenhousemuir 4 2 0 2 5 6 6 7. Dumbarton 4 0 4 0 7 7 4 8. Inverness CT 4 0 3 1 2 3 3 9. Arbroath 4 0 2 2 3 7 2 10. Cove Rangers 4 0 1 3 5 9 1 Date: 24/08/2024 Venue: New Central Park, Kelty Attendance: 0692 Referee: George Calder Kelty Hearts: 0 Manager: Michael Tidser (player manager) Lineup: Adams; Mercer, O'Ware (Thomas 46), Flatman, Paterson, Allan, Tidser (B Owens 47), Cunningham, McCarvel, Johnston, Williamson Subs (not used): Adamson; Miller, L Owens Scorers: none Booked: Paterson (37), Mercer (45+4), B Owens (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (Brooks 63), Devine, Savage, F Duffy, Davidson, MacLeod (Allan 73), Bray, Gilmour, B Mckay (Ferguson 85), A Mackinnon, Subs (not used): M MacKinnon; Walker, Strachan, Corner, C Mackay, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: W Duffy (31), Gilmour (68), F Duffy (75) Sent Off: none a

This is NOT a Training Drill This away day is not a training drill as our binned regime might have once thought about, but this will be a fans celebration of the support, leadership and friendship of one extraordinary fan, Johndo Mackenzie, otherwise known on CaleyThistleOnline as The Immortal Howden Ender. Johndo was a regular at home and away games for many a season, befriending everyone he met, olde or young, it mattered not to Johndo. With his amiable larger than life character, he could be found leading those with the best of intentions astray on occasion. He was partial to a cheeky wee conga, one example at Rugby Park and he was not shy when it came to starting chants, easily recognisable in his kilt and often tastefully coloured beard and mullet: O2-O2B-O2BA-JAGGY... GIVE ME AN I... OH INVERNESS, IS WONDERFUL... WHO PUT THE O AND THE Y IN COUNTY...... rant chant rinse repeat. Johndo gained the respect and legendary status within our support and this weekend we are dedicating this away day to him, as a mark of respect for his unstinting services to supporting our club, his cameraderie, his genial presence and most of all to show our love for his family friends and the man himself. Respect & Rest in Peace Johndo, we will carry on your work here whilst you sip a large voddie & coke. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Johndo Special info & Supporters Bus Heart Foundation Donations for Johndo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alan Savage has steadied the ship since removing Scot Gardiner and going through the books with a fine toothcomb. He has done in one week what the entire board and CEO failed to do in five years of tyranny. Give this man the freedom of Inverness. Of course, there is the minor matter of a game of football to deal with on Saturday as well when we take on table toppers Kelty Hearts at our training ground away venue of New Central Park, Kelty. So who is playing for Kelty these days? Former Inverness defender Brad Mckay's loan ended at the close of last season and he now plays for Brechin City. Scot Allan is a new recruit joining from struggling Arbroath. Michael Tidser, once of Ross County is also at Kelty as is robust defender Tam O'Ware who has been at Morton and Partick Thistle. The hosts season so far Kelty Hearts top the League table at the moment with two wins and a draw. They opened their campaign with a draw (1-1) at Montrose followed by a 2-0 home win over Stenhousemuir and then a convincing 3-0 win at Arbroath. Ross Cunningham has scored three, with Scott Allan scoring twice and Scott Williamson with one strike. <<< That was their starting XI at Arbroath. Players In: Callum Flatman, defender (Hearts); Murray Thomas, forward (Hearts); Brody Paterson, defender (Hartlepool United); Scott Allan, midfielder (Arbroath); Scott Mercer, defender (Bonnyrigg Rose); Murray Miller, midfielder (Stirling Albion); Liam Brown, midfielder (East Kilbride); Ryan Adamson, goalkeeper (Cumbernauld Colts); Luke McCarvel, forward (Cumbernauld Colts); Robbie Cole, midfielder (Civil Service Strollers). Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after Matchday three 1. Kelty Hearts 3 2 1 0 6 1 7 2. Q.O.S. 3 2 1 0 4 1 7 3. Annan Athletic 3 2 0 1 4 3 6 4. Alloa Athletic 3 1 2 0 4 3 5 5. Dumbarton 3 0 3 0 5 5 3 6. Montrose 3 0 3 0 2 2 3 7. Stenhousemuir 3 1 0 2 2 4 3 8. Inverness CT 3 0 2 1 2 3 2 9. Cove Rangers 3 0 1 2 3 6 1 10. Arbroath 3 0 1 2 1 5 1 Latest Team News Inverness are interested in young Aberdeen striker Alfie Bavidge. Alfie, 18, is the son of former Caley Jags striker Martin Bavidge who made 96 appearances for the Caley Jags. That makes him the grandson of Mitch Bavidge, the former Caley player. Incidentally, Alfie was on loan at Kelty Hearts last season scoring nine goals in twenty-five appearances and has been capped at u16, u17 and u19 level for Scotland. Jack Newman will be missing after going back to Dundee United for now with a knee injury which means that Musa Dibaga will get his second start. Luis Longstaff is out for a month with a thigh injury, Ethan Cairns has been out with a health issue recently. and there is no mention of his condition.

New Start Same Problems The first game after the olde CEO was prized from his oligarchy bubble saw a decent crowd turn out in appreciation of the efforts of Alan Savage to right the wrongs. It won't happen overnight, but the first steps have been taken to put some life back into the ailing Caley Jags. On the park, Musa Dibaga replaced the injured Jack Newman in goal with emergency loan keeper from Clach Martin MacKinnon on the bench. Keith Bray kept his place with Adam Brooks on the bench. Montrose were the visitors and they are a more settled side although Michael Gardyne was suspended with former Inverness youth player Matheus Machado starting. Both teams were looking for their first win of the League campaign. Kane Hester scored after twenty minutes but on the interval Montrose were reduced to ten men when Sean Dillon was sent off. After the break it was one way traffic against the ten men and no surprise when Adam MacKinnon equalised. However the winning goal eluded us and it was a point apiece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was an overcast, breezy and somewhat chilly afternoon with an Autumnal feel about it as the teams emerged from the tunnel, Inverness in their new strip, the visitors in white tops with black shorts. Prior to kick off Captain Billy Mckay was presented with a wee memento on reaching 300 appearances for the Caley Jags, not to mention his 112 goals for the club. The first action saw Keith Bray's shot deflected at the expense of a corner when he spun on the edge of the box and tried to get his shot away in the seventh minute. Twenty minutes in and what a finish for the opening goal. Former Elgin player Kane Hester opened the scoring with a tremendous strike into the top corner from a tight angle after his miscontrol seemed to deceive Danny Devine to give the visitors the early advantage. Machado was booked a minute later. Billy Mckay came close to levelling the scores after half an hour when Cammy Gill turned his shot across the keeper onto the post with his fingertips. It was a half littered with fouls and Luis Longstaff shot over ten minutes before the break. Sean Dillon headed over at the other end before he received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Billy Mckay. How dare he on his 300th appearance! That was on the interval to leave the visitors to face the second half a man short but a goal to the good. HALF TIME: 0-1 Mathew Strachan replaced Flynn Duffy at the start of the second half and Gill denied Longstaff shortly after. The other Duffy was hooked for Callum MacLeod ten minutes into the half and Mckay was again foiled by Gill as he shot from inside the box. It was turning into a procession towards Cammy Gill and Longstaff and Gilmour had a go before Adam Mackinnon equalised just after the hour, drilling home from outside the box. He almost scored a second momnents later. Mckay would not find that elusive strike as Gill saved again and Gilmour was blocked before Davidson should have done better at the back post. MacKinnon had another couple of attempts ten minutes from the end and Mckay was denied for the 300th time by the keeper in the top corner. We plugged away until the end but try as we did, the winning goal eluded us and it ended all square. FULL TIME: 1-1 A disappointing result but we did create enough chances to win three games. However, as has been our downfall over the last few seasons, we struggle to get the ball in the net. Great for Adam MacKinnon to get his first goal, and with a bit of fortune he could have scored another couple. Overall the concensus of opinion is that it is a bit of improvement on recent dire performances but we still have a long way to go. Let's not forget we played against 10 men for the whole of the second half. Doofers Dad summarised neatly: Of course it is very disappointing to not to beat a 10 man part time team at home, but I felt there were a lot of positives yesterday. We laid siege to their goal for lengthy periods in the second half and created more chances than we have for a long time. It got the crowd going and was quite exciting to watch. (Dunc, please take note.). A mixture of very narrow misses and weak efforts meant we couldn't find the winner but it could just have easily have been a victory by 3 or 4 goals. How that would have changed the mood! Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after today's draw with Montrose 1. Kelty Hearts 3 2 1 0 6 1 7 2. Q.O.S. 3 2 1 0 4 1 7 3. Annan Athletic 3 2 0 1 4 3 6 4. Alloa Athletic 3 1 2 0 4 3 5 5. Dumbarton 3 0 3 0 5 5 3 6. Montrose 3 0 3 0 2 2 3 7. Stenhousemuir 3 1 0 2 2 4 3 8. Inverness CT 3 0 2 1 2 3 2 9. Cove Rangers 3 0 1 2 3 6 1 10. Arbroath 3 0 1 2 1 5 1 If you can make out what is being said, you are better than me... Sort this out, the wind did the same last time. Can just about make it out in the interview, but it sounds like keeper Jack Newman has gone back to Tannadice for treatment. Sounds like he could be out for some time. Date: 17/08/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1902 Referee: Alastair Grieve Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (MacLeod 55), Davidson (Thompson 86), Devine, Savage, F Duffy (Strachan 46), Bray, Gilmour, A MacKinnon, Longstaff (Brooks 77), B Mackay (Ferguson 86) Subs (not used): M MacKinnon; Walker, Keogh, C Mackay Scorers: A MacKinnon (63) Booked: F Duffy (40), Gilmour (45) Sent Off: none Montrose FC: 1 Manager: Stewart Petrie Lineup: Gill; Williamson, Quinn, Masson (McKenzie 59), Steeves, Hester (Maciver- Redwood 70), Dillon, Lyons (Trialist 70), Hannah (Shrive 58), Brown, Machado (Smith 77) Subs (not used): Mathews; Scorers: Hester (20) Booked: Machado (22), Dillon (34 & 45+1), Masson (38), Steeves (72), Smith (87) Sent Off: Dillon (45+1) a

Gable Endies Trip North A week is a long time in the changing faces of Caley Thistle. Montrose are the visitors this weekend as news of a Savage intervention overpowered the extra sensory perceptions of fantasy that were wafting around the Caledonian Stadium as if they were going out of fashion. Not since the early days of LSD have we been subjected to such psychedelia and hallucinatory fables that we were experiencing at the moment as philanthropist or fantasist Ketamine McWannabe attempted to pull the wool over the eyes of those we once trusted to lead our club in search of the holy graill. He did manage to bluff his way through a few clowns, but sense and sensibility will now take over as the prodigal son, Alan Savage, returns to stabilise the club. The club motto is 'Pride of the Highlands'. It was about to be altered to 'Laughing Stock of the North'. But wait! There is a God afterall, his name is Savage, Alan Savage. Was it written in the stars... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Savage Intervention Supporters Trust Forensic Audit topic on CTO Safety Message ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On hearing the news, the fans turned a Whiter Shade of Pale: To be honest, it was akin to a scene from the Wizard of Oz with the Munchkins showing much merryment. We skipped the light fandango, turned some cartwheels across the floor, I was feeling kind of seasick, when the crowd called out for more. The room was humming harder, and the ceiling flew away when I called out for another drink the waiter brought a tray... Apologies for the lack of Football information on the preview this week. Unfortunately a lot has happened in a very short space of time and it's difficult to keep abreast of the situation as it changes everytime you log in to the laptop. What we do know is that Alan Savage will conduct a 'forensic review' of all that is concerning the club in these difficult times. Scotty has started a topic on CTO to discuss this. Scot Gardiner has been shown the door and with Alan Savage at the helm we can be assured that all will be upfront and integrity will return. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg and the deeper they dive, the more we will know about our plight. We are not out of the woods by any means, but it is the first positive step forward in what will be a long arduous trek after years of self inflicted decline from within. Last Time Out Inverness lost out again at Annan as they did on League Cup duty when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference between the two sides. Goss also scored the only goal in the League Cup game. A disappointing result on the back of a 1-1 draw against Dumbarton in the League opener at the Caledonian stadium. Danny Devine opening our account on half time but a resurgent Son's perked up after the break and got a deserved equaliser. Billy Mckay makes his 300th appearance for Inverness tomorrow. What a legend sitting on 112 goals. Note to Dunc. Billy is a striker, so let's see him strike please. Montrose have drawn their opening two fixtures in the League. A 1-1 draw at home to Kelty was followed by a goalless draw at Arbroath. Craig Brown scored the goal on the hour against Kelty who hit back soon after through Cunningham. Surprise surprise, but Michael Gardyne was sent off after an hour against Arbroath and will be suspended for the trip North. We will find Montrose a stubborn team and our last encounters with them saw us scrape through the play-offs at the end of last season. That's sort of irrelevant now with our playing staff decimated and morale at rock bottom. <<<That was their starting XI against Arbroath last week. No massive squad changes from last term but Gardyne suspended. In: Ben MacIver-Redwood, forward (Stirling University); Craig Smith, defender (Heriot-Watt University). Loan in: Blair McKenzie, defender (Aberdeen); Callum Hannah, defender (Raith Rovers). Out: Liam Callaghan, midfielder (Arbroath); Ben Hermiston, forward (Deveronvale, undisclosed); Craig Batchelor, forward.

Too Little Too Late Inverness added their two new signings to their squad which meant Keith Bray was benched with Wallace Duffy returning to the starting XI and Musa Dibaga as back up keeper on the bench. Annan had one change with Josh Dixon replacing Paul Smith in midfield. Jack Newman had the only notable save of the first forty-five denying Aidan Smith after ten mintes. Other than that it was Annan on top without overly threatening. After the interval Annan were awarded a penalty after fifty minutes and Tommy Goss duly scored from the spot. That was the difference between the sides as Annan took all three points despite a late charge from the visitors. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plenty of early posturing and the first action for the keepers saw Jack Newman save brilliantly from an Aidan Smith header in the tenth minute as Annan came close to the opening goal. Inverness' first effort followed soon after as Adam Brooks shot over from a tight angle. Annan were controlling the pace of the game in the first quarter and forced three corners to no avail. Smith again went close on the half hour when he shot just wide. Josh Dixon shot over from the edge of the box ten minutes before the break and Wallace Duffy picked up a yellow for abruptly stopping an Annan attack. Half Time: 0-0 Danny Devine gave away a penalty five minutes after the restart when he fouled Tommy Goss who got up to slot home the spot kick into the bottom corner. Luis Longstaff fired a free kick over the bar and Billy Mckay was denied by the keeper after a turn and run from Longstaff. Almost a tap in for Smith but for a great interception by the defence. Devine headed wide from a Charlie Gilmour free kick as we tried to get back on level terms. A double denial for Inverness as Gilmour's effort was well saved then Devine hit the underside of the bar from the recycled ball as we entered the final ten minutes. Bray shot wide as we pushed for an equaliser with Annan looking for the final whistle. Annan were by now hanging on by a thread and a couple of late corners for the visitors came and went before the final whistle ended the siege. Full Time: 1-0 More detail to follow>>> Date: 10/08/2024 Venue: Galabank Stadium Attendance: 0386 Referee: Alex Shepherd Annan Athletic: 1 Manager: Wullie Gibson (player manager) Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Dixon (K Fleming 89), T Muir (Quintongo 70), McGowan, Todd, R Muir, Goss (Stevenson 89), Kilsby, A Smith, Zaid (Barnes 79) Subs (not used): G Fleming; Maxwell, Quigg Scorers: Goss (50 pen) Booked: McGowan (51) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Newman; W Duffy (Thompson 83), Davidson, Devine, Savage, F Duffy (Strachan 83), Mackinnon (Bray 74), Gilmour, B Mckay (Ferguson 74), Brooks (MacLeod 46), Longstaff Subs (not used): Dibaga; Walker, Keogh, C Mackay Scorers: none Booked: W Duffy (37) Sent Off: none a

30 years On... Thirty years on from our entry into the Scottish League system when we were then known as Caledonian Thistle, we head to Galabank Stadium, Annan, for a League 1 game, having already lost there this season in the League Cup group stages. This will be only the fourth meeting between the two clubs having won the first two 8-1 and 4-0 many moons ago before losing 1-0 last month. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus Info Thirty Years Ago Today ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not much has changed since we played Annan a month ago. Ethan Cairns is still out with a health issue. Trialist keeper still not signed up. Spoke to the 'Owner', hopeful of adding another couple of players. Wallace Duffy is also still a possibility. Annan beat Cove Rangers last week in their opening League fixture. Second half goals from Max Kilsby, Josh Todd and Malik Zaid gave Annan a 3-1 win over Cove. That win put Annan at the top of the table on goal difference. The League cup encounter was a close affair against Inverness and Tommy Goss got the winner despite a promising display from Inverness where Ferguson felt we were unfortunate not to take something from the game. Whilst Annan were beating Cove, we were drawing with Dumbarton in a game of two halfs. An opening headed goal from Danny Devine put us ahead just on the interval in a lively opening 45'. Alas we went back ito our shell after the break and the Sons capitalised on that to draw level. The Good Old Days Who remembers this one? Four days before the legend that was Alan Hercher scored that opening day League hat-trick against Arbroath at Telford Street in a 5-2 League fixture, we faced East Stirlingshire in the Coca Cola Cup first round and came away with a 2-0 win thanks to first half goals from Wilson Robertson and Alan Hercher. Report by Ian Broadfoot: A fine performance by Caledonian Thistle in their first competitive match won them a second round tie against Dundee. The home 'keeper Moffat denied both Hercher and McAllister but the deadlock was broken in the 36th minute when Wilson Robertson scored after a 1-2 with Paul MacKenzie. Just on half time they went two ahead - Hercher distracted Ian Lee and a Scott corner ricocheted into the net off the defender. Alan Hercher was credited with the goal. In the second half the result was never in doubt and both MacDonald and Hercher nearly increased the visitors' lead. East Stirling did come close seven minutes from time when John Scott was forced to clear from his line. A few minutes later Robertson and Noble had shots saved by Moffat. In the last minute a Geraghty shot nearly gave East Stirling a consolation goal but it came off the bar. League Cup - Rd 1 Tuesday, August 9th, 1994, 7:30 PM at Firs Park, Falkirk Attendance: 899 Referee: M Clark Starting XI Mark McRitchie Dave Brennan Mark McAllister Mike Andrew Mike Noble John Scott Danny MacDonald Graeme Bennett Alan Hercher Paul McKenzie (Smart 66) Wilson Robertson Subs: Jim Calder (GK), Martin Lisle, Allan Smart