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

16 undefeated and counting... After the euphoria of a last minute equaliser against Celtic, it's back to the more mundane, but nonetheless important task of a home game against Dundee on Saturday with a 15:00 kick off. Prior to kick off, there will be a minutes applause in memory of club Director Donnie Fraser who passed away last Sunday night at the age of 59. Our condolences to his family, friends and extended Caley Thistle family from all here at Caley Thistle Online. Club chairman Kenny Cameron said: "Donnie's passing comes as a severe shock to us all and although no words can ease his families pain our deepest sympathy and condolences go to his wife Theresa and the family." Mr Fraser was born in Helensburgh but had lived in Inverness for over thirty years. He was the successful managing director of Korrie Mechanical and Plumbing in Inverness and became a director at the club in 2015. Full story at Official ICTFC RIP Donald Fraser 1957-2016. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More sad news for football fans and especially Dundee FC as former player Alan Cousin has died at the age of 78. He was signed by the then Dundee manager Willie Thornton in 1955. He made 288 appearances scoring 103 goals in more than ten years at Dens Park, and he was the clubs top scorer three years in a row playing alongside the likes of Alan Gilzean. He later moved to Hibernian and then Falkirk. Another great gone from the game. RIP Alan Cousin - 1938-2016 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Old Caley Girl is your previewer this week and she has been checking out our opponents ahead of the game once she got over the shock of the photos in the ticketing promotion. Sponsors McEwan Fraser Legal held a Competition to design the cover of the match programme and this has been won by Sienna Hastings, none other than the daughter of former Caley Jags defender Richard Hastings. Well done Sienna. More here Things are looking up. It’s not been too bad the last few weeks. 5 points from 9 against arguably the three top teams in the league is not too shabby. However, being so close to the bottom of the league even this early feels a tad uncomfortable. The table remains very close though and even one win can take you far up the table. Dundee up next, first of two fixtures before the next International break and two very winnable fixtures on paper. In fact these are the type of games that we must be picking up full points from if we have aspirations of top-six this season. ICT look in good shape. No known injury worries apart from Lewis Horner (ankle) and Ryan Esson (elbow) and the players are having to fight to gain/retain a first eleven spot. Owain Fon Williams was on fire against Celtic and surely his next aim will be to secure the first clean sheet of the season. Brad Mckay is looking like a promising addition by Richie Foran and Carl Tremarco will be looking to continue the form he displayed against Celtic. Meekings and Warren continue to show they are our best central pairing and thankfully under Foran have been able to resume this partnership. I would expect the midfield for this one to line up as on Sunday. Up front, Foran finally has a bit of choice, but the jury is out on which one of the three strikers will turn out to be our number one. My money is on Alex Fisher, a hard worker who wears his heart on his sleeve, and now that he is off the mark I have high hopes he can push on and make the lone striker spot his own. A startling statistic is that Dundee have only ever beaten us once in 18 league matches from the 1st division into the SPL with their one win coming in our first ever season in the top flight, 17 games ago. They did of course win the Challenge Cup in 2009, but that doesn't count, does it?. Dundee have only picked up 3 points once this season so far, beating our neighbours in the first game of the season over the bridge. Since then they have managed 2 draws whilst losing to the Rangers and last week against Aberdeen. They are sitting in 8th but only one point ahead of us. So,Dundee come into this one without a win in their last five games. We are unbeaten in our last three after a slow start, should make for an interesting afternoon. They appear to have recruited a fair few players pre-season including James Vincent and Danny Williams from ICT. Neither are apparently setting the heather on fire with Vincent carrying on his reputation of being made of fragile stuff. It is always nice to see Nick Ross and his move to secure a regular first team place seems to have worked out for him. There was one less than encouraging comment on Danny Williams from the excellent Pie & Bovril website. When asked by an Inverness fan how he was getting on, the reply was that "he should be melted down for glue." And that was one of the more polite replies. Sounds like a sticky end for our Danny. The main ins after Vincent and Williams are defenders Kevin Gomis (Nice), Tom Hately, the former Motherwell player, (Slask Wroclaw), and Mark O'Hara (Killie). In charge of getting the goals will be Faissal el Bakhtaoui and Yordi Teijsse. They have lost some top quality however in the shape of Greg Stewart (Birmingham), striker Kane Hemmings (Oxford), Paul McGinn (Chesterfield) and Glorious Gary Harkins who could light up any stadium with his silky skills. Richie Foran looks forward to this game with a touch of poignancy. His last outing as a player was in the final game of last season in a 4-0 win over Dundee where he scored a late penalty. But he sees this as the biggest game so far despite three excellent results against top sides. He said "Those were three tough games. Those will count for nothing if we don’t win on Saturday – this is our biggest game of the season so far. It’s huge." Latest news from the City of Discovery is that Dundee will be without the suspended Kevin Gomis and Mark O'Hara. Gomis is on his second of two games out while O'Hara pays the price for a late sending off against Aberdeen last week. Meh! Old Caley Girl Prediction:- I am hopeful we can finally start to climb the league and carry on with the improvement of the last few games. The passion and togetherness seems to be back and confidence appears to be growing game by game. With that in mind, I'm going for a narrow home win with hopefully a clean sheet. Let’s hope so anyway……. High praise for Owain Fon Williams in Richie's pre-match interview................ And here is Brad. No, it's not our new Brazilian signing Brangelina, but our very own Brad Mackay.............

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

From Messi to Nessy It's a big ask this weekend early in his managerial career, but Brendan Rodgers takes his domestically all conquering Bhoys North to face Richie's rookies at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in a 3:00pm kick off on Sunday. Celtic are going from Messi to Nessy in the space of five days. They will find it easier in Nessy. It took Lionel just three minutes to breach the Celtic defence in Barcelona. He did it again before the half hour was up and had a hat-trick before the hour. Could it be that Celtic struggle against teams in red and blue stripes? We're no Barcelona but stranger things happen at sea. Celtic have been in great form in the domestic League and topped it off by trouncing the Rangers 5-1 last week before heading to Barcelona in the Champions league. Fifteen goals in four games is testament to their attacking intent and new striker Moussa Dembele looks like a class act. So, who are the people that have transformed Celtic? For a start, they have replaced the much maligned Ronnie Deila and John Collins with the well respected Brendan Rodgers and Chris Davies. Their player signings are a who's who in the wish lists of most football clubs outside the English Premiership. Scott Sinclair is an attacking wide midfielder and already has five goals. Moussa Dembele has just scored a hat-trick coming in from Fulham and seven goals in total. When you add these to Scotlands star striker Leigh Griffiths (7 goals) and wide player Patrick Roberts, it's not difficult to see why Celtic are banging in the goals. Defensively, Kolo Toure joins from Liverpool, Christian Gamboa from West Brom, keeper Dorus de Vries to challenge Scotland International Craig Gordon and midfielder Kristoffer Ajer to the engine room. The Brendan Rodgers clear out was ruthless and swift. The main departures were Scotland full back Charlie Mulgrew, Athony Stokes, Mr clumsy-Colin Kazim-Richards, Stefan Scepovic, Scott Allan and Carlton Cole There is a raft of others who are littered across the Scottish lower leagues, enough to make a couple of teams to be honest, but Rodgers looks to have built a squad based on quality rather that quantity which was enough to see Celtic lift the title last season, but not with the panache their fans wanted to see. Richie has had a steep learning curve in the Premiership games hitting rock bottom after three before clambering off the foot of the table with a hard earned draw at Pittodrie, following on from a gritty home win over St Johnstone. The signs are encouraging after a poor start to the campaign and it's good to see we are moving in the right direction. We will need to be at our best on Sunday and it's a tremendous boost how the team have bounced back since the 5-1 thrashing at Tynecastle. That was Josh Meekings' first game back from injury and he and Gary Warren are beginning to return to the solid partnership they forged previously. Owain Fon Williams has got rid of his Euro holiday hangover and looks more focussed and young Brad Mckay had a decent debut in a baptism of fire at Pittodrie and with Carl Tremarco claiming the left back slot our back line is taking shape nicely. The midfield should be a match for most teams and Ross Draper has never looked sharper. Luxury player Iain Vigurs showed just why he is in the team with a superb goal at Aberdeen, but can we afford his laid back style with a bit of cynicism thrown in? We were wasteful in the final third and I'm sure Richie Foran will be working on that this week. We have wide players with pace now with Aaron Doran gaining more match time and in Lonsana Doumbouya we have a powerful front man when Alex Fisher runs himself to a standstill. Aye, it's a difficult job being the Invermess target man. Despite Celtic going down in Spain, the gulf in class between Celtic and Barcelona is as big as the gap between Celtic and the rest of the clubs in Scotland. That's how difficult this task is for Inverness. The pace of Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair is a worry for our back line, although Dembele's penalty kick routine is suspect. Our best hope is that one or two players are rested and Leigh Griffiths is still injured. However, their depth of squad is such that it won't make too much difference who plays. We lost all three games against Celtic last season conceding twelve goals in those games while scoring only two. Apart from the Cup semi-final win, our last win over Celtic in the Highlands came in August 2014 when we won 1-0 thanks to an Eoghan O'Connell own goal. Celtic had made 10 changes from the side that played NK Maribor in midweek and paid the price. I wonder if they will be so lenient this time after the thrashing at Barcelona. Richie Foran has no fresh injury worries and will have an almost full squad to pick from apart from Ryan Esson who is out with an elbow injury. I would expect a similar side to the one that performed well at Pittodrie. Brendan Rodgers is not expected to make any drastic changes despite the sides thrashing in Barcelona. However, Leigh Griffiths is still out injured. tm4tj Prediction:- I can't see us taking much from this game and damage limitation could be the way forward. Celtic's pace going forward is frightening but they are suspect at the back. In saying that, you have to get into those areas to be able to hurt them and that's not our strong point at the moment. Difficult to see anything other than a convincing win for Celtic but there's always the chance of a Champions League hangover. A draw would be seen as a success and that will be enough to drive us forward. I feel we might fall just short on this occasion, but the experience will stand us in good stead for games against teams of a similar calibre.

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

A96 Derby It's the battle for supremacy of the A96 as the teams from either end of that road face off at 3:00pm. Yes, we visit Pittodrie on Saturday, having gained our first points of the season last time out against St Johnstone just before the international break. During that international break, Jake Mulraney and Billy King had some game time for their U21 International sides and Owain Fon Williams was on the bench for Wales in their impressive opening game of the World Cup campaign where they thrashed Moldova 4-0. News this week that Josh Meekings has been offered a two year contract extension has been welcomed by the fans. 24 year old Josh had forged a great partnership with the reliable Gary Warren over the last few years and he was sorely missed last season through injury. Foran is keen to keep Josh in the squad and the ball is now in his court. What have the Dons been up to over the holidays? Let's see who Derek McInnes has brought in over the summer. No surprise to us, but Miles Storey was taken on with Simon Church and David Goodwillie moving on. Another striker Jayden Stockley was also added from Bournmouth. At the back, Joe Lewis (Cardiff City) and Neil Alexander (Hearts) replace Danny Ward in goal, (not at the same time). Callum Morris joins from relegated Dundee United and Anthony O'Connor comes in from Burton Albion. That looks to have added strength in depth to an already solid squad for the Dons. Other notable outs are Willo Flood returning to the Arabs, keeper Scott Brown offski and Barry Robson given up, presumably too olde. Lawrence Shankland has moved to St Mirren and lot's of other minor players have also moved along. The latest addition is midfielder James Maddison from Norwich City, on loan until January. The Dons failed to beat us last season as we recorded two wins and a draw against them. A tremendous turnaround from the previous season when Aberdeen won all four encounters. The best Aberdeen could do was a 2-2 draw at Pittodrie on Boxing Day when a dubious stoppage time penalty from Adam Rooney earned them a point. Liam Polworth and a Greg Tansey spot kick had given Inverness a comfortable lead but we invited the Dons onto us and a McGinn goal threw the Reds a lifeline from a rare Gary Warren error.They took full advantage late into time added on to level matters. We went our separate ways after the split as Aberdeen finished runners up whilst we were the best of the rest. As the transfer window came to a close last week, Richie Foran has secured a loan deal until Xmas for Fulham youngster Larnell Cole, a 23 year old forward minded midfielder. We have also added former St Johnstone defender Brad McKay (23) to our squad on a two year deal as we look to get more cover for the loss of Kevin McNaughton who will likely miss the whole season. And, with Ryan Esson out for a possible six weeks due to an elbow injury, Cammy Mackay has been recalled from his loan at Elgin City. We look to have assembled a reasonable squad at our disposal now and I am convinced our season will get better once everyone gets to know each other and they all reach match sharpness. We may not quite be there yet, but there were encouraging signs against St Johnstone. Lonsana Doumbouya looks like he will be a handful for defences and with wide players available in Jake Mulraney, Aaron Doran and Billy King, then the future is bright as we build on top of our previously resilient defence and robust midfield. Inverness will be without Kevin McNaughton for the season and Ryan Esson for over a month. Cover has been drafted in and with Meekings returned to the heart of the defence, things are looking up. Horner played at right back against St Johnstone and should continue, although he could face a torrid time if Jonny Hayes is involved. David Raven would be a tried and tested replacement should Foran prefer that option. Brad Mckay is up to speed and ready to go according to Richie, so there's another option should Foran hand the former St Johnstone defender his debut. Here him talk about his arrival. Larnell Cole is another new arrival and he is talking to Caley Jags TV ahead of the Aberdeen game. Aberdeen have had the added bonus of early competitive games in Euro competition to hone their skills. On the flip side, they have only one win in their four league games so far beating Partick Thistle 2-1. Draws against Hearts and St Johnstone gave them four points before they were thumped 4-1 at Parkhead last time out. Hayes could return after missing out at Celtic and Peter Pawlett is in full training, but Mark Reynolds will be suspended after being sent off in that game and skipper Ryan Jack is out for at least six weeks after knee surgery. And last, but not least, here's Richie looking forward to the action. All video from Caley Jags TV, the official channel of ICT FC https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialICT tm4tj Prediction:- I won't get too excited after beating St Johnstone, but what was historically a cagey affair turned out to be a highly entertaining game with plenty of incident. A cavalry charge near the end gave us a deserved victory and broke our duck and gave us some hope for the season ahead. With a game against Celtic coming up next week, we need to dig deep here, and I will go with the optimistic approach and say we will take something back from Pittodrie. Let's hope it's not a thrashing!

POINTS NEEDED URGENTLY It's off to the Capital on Saturday to visit Tynecastle for a 15:00 kick off as Inverness face the Jam Tarts, where we will be looking to get our season off and running. Old Caley Girl has been running the rule over the teams ahead of this one and had penned this Preview. If you ask most Caleyjags fans to name their favourite away day Tynecastle is normally top of the list. The mood is despondent at the moment, unfortunately, but hopefully Caleyaway will turn out in large numbers as is normally the case in Edinburgh. The league campaign hasn’t really gone the way we had all hoped it would this far and the fixtures for Foran’s men are not getting any easier. Last week’s derby loss was a hard one to take especially given the lack of passion seemingly on display. Our small squad seems to be straining at the seams already and the news that Kevin McNaughton has a serious Achilles injury was a further blow. Due to the lack of options at present, predicting our team is not really a challenging task. Losing 3 goals to our neighbours will hopefully add to the determination to tighten up at the back with OFW in particular needing a morale boosting performance. I’ve heard a few comments lately suggesting the club should have retained Dean Brill as number one keeper so it is up to Owain to prove that the decision made was indeed the correct one. Josh Meekings turned out in a friendly on Tuesday v Nairn but whether he is fit enough to be risked a start here is doubtful. Therefore a back four of Horner, Raven, Warren and Tremarco looks likely. The midfield should line up the same as against County and I think most fans feel that Ross Draper should be the first name on the team sheet, being one of the few who gained any pass marks last Saturday. Up front the jury is out re our strikers but Boden appears to be hard working and hopefully will come good. No Billy King this week due to SPFL rules so up to Richie who comes in with choices of Polworth, Doran or Mulraney. Hearts appear in good shape this season however, rumours persist of Neilson being a puppet on a string for Craig Levein and their fans have high expectations. Up front they look very healthy with new signings Tony Watt and Conor Sammon. They apparently, have the opposite problem to us with trying to accommodate their large squad. They will try and stretch us at the back from the off and not losing an early goal is vital. The crowd will be quick to get on their backs if we can strike the first blow. It is early days for us but getting points on board is getting urgent. It’s hard to see where a win will come from and even a point from Tynecastle could be seen as a good result. The one thing I’m hoping for is a bit of fight and passion which surely a Foran team should be able to show. OCG Prediction – Hoping for a win but would settle for draw. We do not want to get marooned at the foot of the table this early in the season. NB – Tickets now available on the day at Tynecastle. Pity it took so long for common sense to prevail.

Highland Derby Day Second League game of the season and it's derby day already with Ross County making the short trip over the Kessock Bridge to face Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Close Both sides have made a poor start to the League on matchday one taking zero points and both sides exited the Betfred League Cup. I'm not sure who made the biggest hash of that, County failing to get out of their group stage or Inverness failing to beat Alloa, the side that also topped County's group. It's early days yet in the Foran revolution, but the last two results have taken the shine off the free scoring results of the previous fortnight. Instead, we reverted to type and have created little in our last two games for the fans to enthuse over. Our normally reliable defence has shown some frailties and we have conceded a couple of avoidable goals. Josh Meekings has still to make an appearance and should help to toughen up the back four, with maybe the reprieved David Raven the one who will make way when Meekings proves his fitness. Midfield has been discussed in depth with Ross Draper only making the bench in our last couple of games, presumably carrying a slight knock. Jake Mulraney has been closely watched as word got out about his pace and trickery, so much so that he has been ineffective in the last two. Our common concern is still regarding our lack of striking quality, with both Scott Boden and Alex Fisher having a go, but neither setting the heather on fire. However, it was good to see Aaron Doran emerging from his injury nightmare and getting back on the park against Alloa as a late substitution. County have lost the services of the hard driving midfielder Jackson Irvine who is off to Burton Albion. Another midfielder Rocco Quinn has gone to Paisley and Stewart Murdoch has joined Dundee United. In come defenders Jay McEveley from Sheffield United, Kenny van der Weg from Breda and Erik Cikos of Slovan Bratislava, Goalkeeper Aaron McCarey replaces the departed Gary Woods. So, Jim McIntyre has prioritised in defence, but has not yet replaced the huge midfield gap left by the loss of Irvine and Co. We have held the upper hand in the derby, winning all three last season although County did take advantage of our injury crisis and put us out of the League Cup. It is too early to gauge how either side will perform, but on the basis of their exploits so far, it's not looking too promising for either set of fans. The Staggies look to be setting their stall out to defend in numbers, but do we have the guile to break them down. I hope Mulraney will be given a free role on the wide pitch and Billy King can operate effectively on the other flank. Ross Draper is a must for these games, if nothing else he annoys the County fans. Making a prediction is difficult just one game into the season, so I will sit on the fence and go for a share of the points whilst hoping we can root County to the bottom of the table. ***Note Reminder : Home fans needing to purchase tickets tomorrow should do so from the Ticket Office BEFORE going to the turnstiles. @RCFCStaggies Matchday Tickets : Cash sales at the South Stand Kiosk, Card Sales at the Main Ticket Office. 7 hours ago

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

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

Annus horribilis comes to an end. Last game of the season at Home to Dundee with a 12:30 kick off at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, a game which will decide the final pecking order for this campaign. The two sides battle it out to see who will be the best of the rest. A draw will be enough to ensure that Inverness finish in seventh place, whereas a win for Dundee would see them jump ahead of us, and more importantly get the extra cash that goes with every League position gained. It's been a difficult season for Inverness after the euphoria of last term when we finished third and won the Scottish Cup. This season has been blighted by injuries and failure to hold onto our top players whilst not replacing them with the required quality. It's also been a reality check for Yogi and the fans. Maybe winning the cup went to his head, but we have been playing some real mind-numbingly boring football of late. Maybe his hands are tied in terms of what he can and can't do, but one major issue has been gnawing away at the fans for a couple of months now. David Raven is presumably fit, but why oh why does he not get a start as one of our recognised and experienced right backs with Yogi keeping him benched while employing central defender Josh Meekings in that spot. It's a mystery to everyone and it looks like the end of the road for Raven as an Inverness player given the way he has been treated. Tactical genius he is not and the fans were also left wondering why our most creative talent in Jordan Roberts was left out of the starting eleven at Hamilton as well as Andrea Mutombo. Two players that are capable of changing a game, but not if they are left on the bench. It's all getting a little confusing down at the stadium. The fans have been looking for some entertainment recently, well that's not been in abundance of late with dour anti-football on show. Richie Foran is another who is seeking talks over his future at the club. He reckons he could do a turn for another year, but that won't happen sitting on the bench. Are we coming apart at the seams or can we stitch ourselves together and get a quality squad to the Caledonian Stadium in time for a new season. The sides have drawn all three games this season so far. Inverness have won four of their last six games, but Dundee have only two wins over the same period. As you would expect, there's little between the sides and another close encounter is on the cards. Inverness will say farewell to one or two this weekend, but the big talking point is will he or won't he let Dave the Rave take to the pitch. I imagine we will be on recent familiar team lines as most of the squad are back to fitness. Your call Yogi. Dundee might be without top scorer Kane Hemmings who has strained a hamstring. Missing will be Paul McGowan, Gary Harkins, Nicky Low, Thomas Konrad, Cammy Kerr and Jake McPake. tm4tj prediction:- Can we finish with a flourish. I'm no holding my breath on that one either. We might be capable of seeing off Dundee, but our lack of creation ensures that we make life difficult for ourselves and leaves the fans looking for something extra. When was the last time we put another team to the sword and threw in a bit of swashbuckle? Partick recently, but other than that it's been a stop start season and one to forget. I know, I know, injuries etc, but that wore thin a while ago. Anyway, let's get this one out of the way and then look forward to next season. No scoring draw, but it will be as tight as a ducks posterior. However, it will net us another £53K if we can do it.

Accies, Last Trip of the Season It's the penultimate game of a torrid, or should that be horrid, season for Inverness Caledonian Thistle as we visit New Douglas Park, Hamilton, to take on fellow survivors Hamilton Academical on Wednesday night in a 7:45 kick off. This was the scene of one of the more memorable games of the season where Inverness threw away a two goal lead only for Accies to draw level before Liam Polworth scored a spectacular winner in injury time. That game was littered with stunning goals as Inverness took all three points after coming out on top 3-4. However, Hamilton came North and went home with all three points in March after a 1-0 win at the Caledonian Stadium. Both sides have done just enough to stave off the threat of relegation and avoid the play-off place which this season goes to Kilmarnock with Dundee United in the automatic drop slot. Since the break, Accies have beaten both Dundee sides but were soundly thrashed by Killie. We have beaten Killie and Partick but went down rather tamely to United last Friday having been three down before losing 3-2. Revolving doors spring to mind! There are only four points between the sides although Inverness have a vastly superior goal difference and will be looking to overhaul Dundee who are one point better off than us. Plenty of cash still to be won by climbing another place in the league and contracts can still be won or lost. Well, if your face fits at least. With Dundee United clawing back two late goals to draw with Partick tonight, a win for Inverness at Hamilton will see us finish no lower than eighth. Should be enough incentive to have a go, but I'm no holding my breath. David Raven looks to be out of favour with Manager of the Month John Hughes as he is still reluctant to put him on the park despite playing Josh Meekings at right back and Danny Devine at center back, a scenario that is not best pleasing the Inverness fans. On the bright side, Liam Polworth has signed on for another three years and more are expected to follow. Yogi talks about his MotM Award https://audioboom.com/boos/4547978-ictfc-john-hughes-manager-of-the-month-for-april?t=0 Owain Fon Williams has been included in the Welsh squad for the European Championships this summer, a tremendous boost for the Welsh keeper who has been in great form for most of the season. Inverness can call on Iain Vigurs who will return after serving a two match ban. Ahem, David Raven is fit should Yogi decide to play him and Jordan Roberts is also hopefully fit after his excellent performances in the last few games. Accies will be without former Inverness player Dougie Imrie and lively forward Ali Crawford through suspension. One or two others are expected to shake off knocks after the win against Dundee. tm4tj prediction:- We can be a bit hit or miss against teams like Hamilton although we tend to do better away from home, as do Accies at Inverness. If we are as lethargic as we were in the first half against Dundee United then we will struggle to get anything. We need our playmakers to get on the ball and take on the defender. Jordan Roberts is one who can deliver and it's also encouraging that he would like to stay here. Miles Storey is another and he will do his prospects no harm if he puts in a good shift. The David Raven enigma needs resolved. Yogi looks to have dug his heels in and that is against the wishes of the support. If that's the case then it's sheer stubbornness and to the detriment of the team. Why split up our best center back pairing just to give Devine a game and keep our preferred right back out of the side. Baffling decision, and not one which has won him the Manager of the Month award. I'm taking us not to lose, but if we are to harbour any thoughts of climbing above Dundee, then we need to turn a draw into a win and not rely on others to help us out. Three points for Inverness in a towsy game littered with bookings and misplaced passes.

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