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

New Year Derby 2016 It's a new Year and the first derby beckons at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium with Ross County first footing on the 2nd of January at 15:00. Inverness made the most of Storm Frank at Hamilton as they blew the Accies away in a stirring, epic encounter. We were well in control and cruising at 2-0 ahead when the wheels fell off. This is a worrying trend this season that needs addressed urgently. We allowed Accies to draw level before restoring our lead with Tansey's second thumping free kick. However, we were caught cold again and plenty of finger wagging went on in the box amongst our own players. Liam Polworth became an instant hero though as he exploded a shot behind the Accies former County keeper in time added on to secure a remarkable three points. County beat Kilmarnock 3-2 in Dingwall the night before in another topsy turvy game. Craig Curran had given County the lead before Killie forged ahead just after the break. Man of the moment Michael Gardyne became County's all time record scorer with two goals to seal the win and move County on to 30 points, 5 above Inverness. The clubs have met twice this campaign with one win apiece. Inverness ended County's seven match unbeaten sequence in the Premiership encounter at Dingwall when Miles Storey and James Vincent opened up a two goal lead, but despite Liam Boyce scoring a late goal, Inverness won 2-1, a somewhat shock result given the circumstances of both clubs. County gained revenge in the league cup quarter final by the same margin at Inverness this time. Irvine and Gardyne put County two up before Tansey reduced the deficit, but it was too little too late for a depleted Inverness as County moved into the semi-final. Inverness should be able to field an unchanged side from the one that performed heroically at Hamilton on Wednesday afternoon. Josh Meekings missed that one and he looks like missing out again along with season long absentees, Aaron Doran, Dean Brill and Richie Foran. Jordan Roberts made the bench and could provide an unknown alternative should Yogi decide to use him. One or two players could need time to prove their fitness for this one. Ross County should also be unchanged from the squad that beat Kilmarnock on Tueday night. That's a luxury that Yogi has not been afforded all season. tm4tj Prediction:- We are a different beast from the one that limped out of the league cup. In saying that, County have been on form recently and scoring for fun. Liam Polworth is our man of the moment for Inverness and he has grown in stature over the last couple of months. He has scored four goals in his last three games, his final one at Hamilton an absolute screamer. Miles Storey has not been scoring, but his pace is still causing all sorts of problems for defenders. With David Raven back in his role at right back and Ross Draper adding more muscle in midfield along with Nat Wedderburn, we have become more difficult to beat. Greg Tansey has found his free kick shooting boots and that should concern the County keeper. The downside of our displays has been after the hour we seem to surrender possession to the opposition and retreat into our own wee bubble. If we can sort that out and keep the County hotshots quiet, then it could be a Happy New Year. Home win on the cards; the Highlands are ours. One trivia stat that has been unearthed by one of our regular forum users Sneckboy is that we are getting very close to our 1500th competitive goal. As far as his painstaking statistics show, we need another three goals to reach this milestone. 500th goal was scored by Davide Xausa, Grant Munro scored the 1000th. It would be nice to complete the full set against our near neighbours and maybe another local lad could get the job done. Hat-Trick for Polworth anyone?

Frankly Awesome Storm Frank did his best to disrupt this game but the plastic pitch at New Douglas Park stood up to the test and it was game on at a dreich NDP, and Inverness won a thriller 4-3. Eamonn Brophy made his first start of the season for Hamilton at the expense of Carlton Morris. Morris was joined on the bench by Daniel Redmond, Christian Nade and Steven Boyd amongst others. Inverness fielded David Raven once more with Carl Tremarco returning at left back. Still no sign of Josh Meekings. Jordan Roberts was on the bench along with Iain Vigurs, Dani Lopez and Danny Williams. As at Pittodrie, Miles Storey missed a one on one with McGovern coming out on top after nine minutes, deflecting the ball with his legs to keep the score level. Carl Tremarco lifted a ball over to Storey but his shot misses from the angle across the goal. Inverness were getting on top and won a free kick around thirty yards out. Greg Tansey took it and with Michael McGovern not covering himself in glory, the ball ended up high in the centre of the net. Half an hour gone and Frank opens up again, dampening the atmosphere, the players responding by taking shelter on the pitch. Devine broke the monotony, but his header from a corner goes just wide and five minutes before the break David Raven forced McGovern into making a save from close range. Half Time 0-1 So far so good, but can we manage to avoid the late goal syndrome that has afflicted us all season? 154 away fans made the journey in this weather. Absolute nutters to be honest. It's horrendous out there, let's hope they get rewarded for their nuttery. Five minutes into the second period and our new sensation Liam Polworth gave them more hope as he notched our second goal of the game, his third in a row. Raven sent him on his way and he made a bee line for the opposition box before rifling a shot low into the bottom corner. Miles Storey was giving the Accies back line a hard time with his powerful running, causing concern every time he sprints after the ball, and that's enough for some of the Hamilton fans as they leave the building. Carlton Morris replaced Louis Longridge as Accies looked to change things around, but Inverness were content to use the Miles Storey outlet to stretch the home defence. Fon Williams was eventually asked to work saving from Crawford after 65 minutes but they would not be denied moments later as Morris flicks home from six yards to reduce the deficit. Miles Storey caused more panic but was unable to find the net soon after as Inverness fans feel the pressure that comes with losing a two goal lead. Accies were now dominating the game and we were looking like frightened rabbits as the home side went searching for a leveller, Christian Nade coming on for Brophy. The inevitable happened though and ten minutes from the end Ziggy Gordon scored the equaliser with a header. Deja Vu. That was just the start of it though and a frenetic finish to the game would ensue. It looked as though Accies might now go on and win the game, but Tansey got the opportunity of another free kick in the 88th minute and some twenty five yards out. His first one was bludgeoned towards the goal, this one was curled brilliantly over the wall using the elements to fair gain and the ball whistled into the top corner, McGovern could do little about it. But, late goals R us and one minute later Nade was knocking the ball beyond Owain Fon Williams at the other end with his head from a corner. This sparked a mass argument in the Inverness defence amongst themselves, plenty of finger pointing as win bonuses looked to be disappearing once more. However, there was one more twist in the tale during the three minutes of stoppage time. Ross Draper fed Liam Polworth and our new superhero lashed an unstoppable shot across the keeper into the top corner. McGovern had little chance with Tansey's second free kick, he had not an earthly with this one. What a strike from 25 yards, the ball rocketed into the net. Scenes of joy in the away end as we finally ended a game on a high and the long knives were put back in the drawer for another while. Full Time, an incredible 3-4 Storm Frank turned this into some game and no doubt had a hand in some of the spectacular goals on show. I doubt you will see four better strikes in the same game. At one point we were facing throwing away a two goal lead for the second time in a week. Then we faced the prospect of another late, late, goal scuppering us. But, we never gave up and the winning goal was simply unbelievable. Full credit to all the players, Tansey and Polworth outstanding, but the real heroes were the 154 away fans who made the journey amid scenes of biblical proportions. Alternative Maryill, one of our more obsevant fans had this to say about our midfield battlers after yesterdays game. There was plenty to be encouraged by in addition to the final score. The midfield trio Tansey, Polworth and Draper was immense, key to us absolutely controlling the first hour of the game. After being one of our best and most important players last season, Tansey had seemed quieter and less confident in the early part of this season, but on the evidence of yesterday, he is starting to get back to his best. Draper drove us forward, as he apparently did against Aberdeen; we're simply a far better side with him in the team, and we need to get him tied to a new contract asap. And of course, the revelation of St Liam continues. For a good three months now, he has been the bright spot in the team: relentlessly industrious, and positive and dynamic in his passing and the runs he makes, where too many others have been timid and conservative. Yesterday's two goals encapsulated all these qualities and rewarded Polworth for what he brings to the team. The one concern, of course, is that if his ability and influence continue to develop at the pace they have done in the first half of this season, then he might be the next player to follow Christie out the door. Wedderburn also had a good game yesterday, commanding the area in front of the central defence and bringing the three aforementioned players into the game. Vincent, on the other hand, still looks like he doesn't quite know where he should be playing. Date: 30/12/15 Venue: New Douglas Park, Hamilton Attendance: 1555 Referee: Euan Anderson Hamilton: 3 Lineup: McGovern, Gordon, Kurakins, Gillespie, Imrie (Redmond 90), Crawford, Longridge (Morris 58), MacKinnon, Brophy (Nade 81), Tena, Tagliapietra Subs (not used): Martin, Sendles-White, Docherty, Boyd Scorers: Morris (66), Gordon (81), Nade (89) Booked: Gillespie (24), Imrie (87) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 4 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Vincent, Warren, Draper, Devine, Wedderburn (Williams 87), Tansey, Polworth, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Roberts, Sho-Silva, Vigurs, Mbuyi-Mutombo Scorers: Tansey (18, 88), Polworth (51,93) Booked: Draper (25), Raven (70), Tansey (83) Sent Off: none

Mid Table Congestion. It's a mid-table battle to end the year at Hamilton as Inverness head to New Douglas Park to take on the Accies as both clubs strive to get into the top half of the table. Inverness fought hard for their point at Pittodrie on Boxing Day and will be a tad disappointed at only coming away with the draw after surrendering a two goal lead. It was great to have an almost full strength X1 available at Aberdeen with only Josh Meekings being the obvious exception. Hamilton lost to second bottom Kilmarnock on the same day and that result saw us jump above them in the league on goal difference. Accies are on a shocking run just now with only one win out of their last ten games, that being a defeat of bottom club Dundee United. They have now lost their last three games, conceding eight goals and scoring one. However, they did win in Inverness back in August, inflicting a 2-0 defeat on us in the Highlands. We have not made the most of some of our visits to NDP and often come away empty handed. In saying that, we have won our last four games there. Back in August on matchday five, Hamilton came North and goals from Carlton Morris and Louis Longridge won the game for them. That result put Accies fourth in the table and we were bottom equal with just two points after five games. We are starting to get a more settled side on the park now while Accies slide down the table and John Hughes will be looking to get something from this game. There's little to choose between the sides. We have scored one more goal but have conceded three less, hence we sit above them in the table. Recent form hints that we should be favourites to win this one, but that's never a good status for us. Inverness will be able to call upon Iain Vigurs after suspension, But Josh Meekings is still struggling with an injury after he missed the game at Pittodrie. Also out are long term victims, Aaron Doran, Dean Brill and Richie Foran. Jordan Roberts is fit enough to claim a spot on the bench and will be like a new signing when he is unleashed on the unsuspecting SPFL. Hamilton have no new injury worries although Michael Devlin and Darren Lyon are not ready to return, but Daniel Redmond played his first game this season last weekend in the defeat by Kilmarnock when he came on as a substitute in the 81st minute. tm4tj Prediction:- I suppose I was a bit scathing in the lead up to the Aberdeen game, but with players returning, we are starting to see a better all round balance to the side. Ross Draper was excellent at Pittodrie as was Miles Storey who ran himself to a standstill. With David Raven also returning at right back, we will be healthier defensively. If we can nick a goal or two then Dougie Imrie and Co will be staring at four defeats in a row. Here's hoping.

Another Late Goal. Inverness surrendered a two goal lead against in form Aberdeen to draw 2-2, thanks to a last minute penalty scored by Adam Rooney, his 14th of the season. Despite six minutes of time added on, we managed to not concede again and it ended all square. Liam Polworth had stroked home in the first half after great work by Ross Draper. Just after the restart, Greg Tansey put the keeper the wrong way from the spot. As Inverness sat deeper, Aberdeen were certainties to capitalise and Niall McGinn scored his 50th goal for the Dons. Ohhh Gary Warren has a new meaning as the big defender was mugged on the edge of the box. Up stepped Willie Collum just when it looked as though we had weathered the onslaught to provide Rooney with the opportunity to score in injury time, and score he did. This was a result we would have bitten your hand off prior to kick off, but once more the late goal scuppers us. Yes it was like a defeat, but credit to the team for getting us into that positon in the first instance. Ross Draper and David Raven returned to the starting X1 much to the relief of the travelling support. Josh Meekings was missing presumably carrying a knock. Aberdeen began with David Goodwillie on the bench along with the returning Mark Reynolds. Miles Storey was first to show on a cold East coast afternoon. He probably should have done better with the two opportunities presented to him as he raced clear of the defence. His first one was blocked by Danny Ward as he bore down on goal, the second was tipped round the post when a square ball to Draper would surely have paid dividends. Devine breathed a sigh of relief as he scurried back when Aberdeen broke forward. He met the cross as he raced into his own box and his header arrowed just past Fon Williams' post. Inverness restricted the Dons pretty well in the first half and we took the lead through Liam Polworth four minutes before the break. Draper picked up on the halfway and drove forward. He played on to David Raven who returned the ball to Draper as he burst into the box. The big man did well to shrug off Paul Quinn before rolling the ball across the box where Polworth met it some 12 yards out to guide the ball into the net. Half Time 0-1 The second half was only one minute in when Draper was adjudged to have been impeded in the box and the controversial Willie Collum pointed to the spot. A tad harsh maybe, but if you make contact in the box then you run the risk of falling foul and that is what happened here as Quinn made the challenge. Greg Tansey wasn't worried and he stroked the ball neatly into the bottom corner, Ward looking for something on the other side of the net. Quinn had been getting the brush off from Draper and he was replaced by David Goodwillie as Derek MacInnes went for broke. Niall McGinn was beginning to see more of the ball in search of his 50th Dons goal and he shot narrowly over from just outside the box as Aberdeen pushed forward with more urgency, Inverness content to let them have a go as we sat deeper. Goodwillie had a header saved as the Dons racked up the corners, but Inverness were still holding firm. Owain Fon Williams took a sore one as he smashed his head of a post, as he scrambled to keep the ball out. He required lengthy treatment after this but we are pleased to say the post was able to continue after the collision. Aberdeen were throwing everything at Inverness as they looked for a way back into the game and just when it looked as though they were running out of ideas, we helped them out somewhat. Gary Warren mopped up an attack deep in his own box, but instead of clearing the danger, he elected to dribble his way out of trouble. Wrong thing to do Gary as McGinn mugged him and sped towards goal, scoring from an acute angle. Game on and Inverness had about twenty minutes to keep the ball out. McGinn missed again as he shot wide and Kenny McLean rattled the underside of the bar with a tremendous shot from distance as Inverness were finding it difficult to make any headway, and this would be our undoing with a bit of help from referee Collum. The ninety minutes were all but up when Danny Devine was hit by a shot inside the box. It appeared to strike his chest but Collum was confident enough to award the spot kick. Adam Rooney cracked the ball home and there were six more minutes to endure before we finally got out of our own half. Full Time 2-2 It was a backs to the wall performance in the second half, partly because Aberdeen went for it, and partly because we gave them control of the midfield. However, had Miles Storey taken one of his two excellent first half chances then the game could have been over before Warren let Aberdeen back into the game. Still a point at the title challengers den is not too shabby. Despite this blip from Gary, he had an excellent game otherwise and many fans had his card marked as MotM. This result actually lifts us one place in the table to eighth, but it's still very congested in there. Aberdeen stay one point behind Celtic after they drew with Hearts at Tynecastle. Date: 26/12/15 Venue: Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Attendance: 15,142Referee: Willie Collum Aberdeen: 2 Lineup: Ward, Logan, Shinnie, Taylor, Considine, McLean, Rooney, McGinn, Hayes, Quinn (Goodwillie 48), Jack Subs (not used): Brown, Reynolds, Smith, Robson, Pawlett, Storie Scorers: McGinn (73), Rooney (pen.90) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Warren, Devine, Tremarco, Tansey, Wedderburn, Polworth (Mbuyi-Mutombo 77), Vincent, Draper, Storey (Williams 88) Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Sho Silva, Roberts Scorers: Polworth (41), Tansey (pen.47) Booked: Polworth (76), Draper (82), Fon Williams (95) Sent Off: none

Festive Feast of Footie. Inverness take on a revitalised Aberdeen on Boxing Day with the Dons looking to close the gap on leaders Celtic while Inverness look anxiously over their shoulder at the fight for relegation. It has been a tremendous season for the Dons as they try to halt Celtic's dominance in the Premier League. They sit just one point behind the champions as we enter the festive feast of football which often makes or breaks teams aspirations for the season. Aberdeen can look forward to their challenge and a probable European slot with their finely tuned squad beginning to show great promise on the park. Included in that will be former Inverness favourites Adam Rooney, Jonny Hayes and cup winning captain Graeme Shinnie. Rooney has now scored 50 goals in 91 games for the Dons, 7 in his last 8 games. Might be worth keeping an eye out for him. Inverness fans will have a different outlook. The prospect of relegation is unfortunately very real as we have struggled with injuries and squad depletion from the start of the season. In reality, we are only a couple of wins away from the heart of the top six. Turn those wins into defeat, and we will be preparing for a relegation battle until the end of the season; it's that tight. The Dons limbered up for this game by thrashing Kilmarnock 4-0 at Rugby Park last week. They battered Killie stupid, a result that puts the Ayrshire club second bottom. Whilst the Dons were giving Kilmarnock the runaround, we were struggling to snatch a draw at home to bottom club Dundee United. It took an injury time goal by Lewis Horner to salvage a point after former players Rankin and Mckay looked to have given United all three points, something that never went down well in the North Stand. To boo or not to boo, that is the question. Anyway, we did enough to earn a point, but we were so close to nothing from a game we were hoping to have done better in. Since we last met in September, a game we won by the way, we have earned just eleven points from nine games. Aberdeen have fared slightly better. They have gathered seventeen points and are back on track after winning five of their last six games. They are, however, beatable as St Johnstone proved when they hammered the Dons 5-1 at Pittodrie as their season began to disintegrate temporarily. That's the kind of result that we have to cling on to, and hope that we can get in on the act ourselves. Aberdeen have a wealth of talent to draw upon, including four of our former players and they will be further bolstered by the return of Andrew Considine and Mark Reynolds. Inverness will be without the suspended Iain Vigurs, but some Xmas cheer with Josh Meekings and Ross Draper returning to the squad. We could also see David Raven and Jordan Roberts after they featured in a development game in midweek. Raven at right back is a must for Inverness and let's get Meekings back into the heart of the defence with a left back playing at left back. Well, that's my Xmas wish list sorted. tm4tj Prediction:- We couldn't have asked for a tougher game than this one. The Dons are on a roll just now, winning their last four on the trot, conceding only one goal in the process. Adam Rooney is on fire just now and scoring for fun while we stutter our way down the league. I have to say that the omens are not great for us and we will do well to take anything from this game. It might be a case of damage limitation, but beware of the scalded cat. However, I can't see past a comfortable win for the home side, although we could be stronger than we have been in recent weeks. Fingers crossed.

Return of the Mac. Basement boys Dundee United will be our last visitors before Santa comes along. The Tayside strugglers are propping up the league and thus far have made themselves favourites for the automatic relegation slot, although there is plenty of time to overhaul that eight point gap to second bottom Kilmarnock before next May. The clubs met back at Tannadice in September and bludgeoned their way to a 1-1 draw with Billy Mckay scoring for the Arabs after his return to Scottish football. Josh Meekings squared the game in the second half and a point each was just about right. Jackie McNamara was still in charge but things were not going well for the ex-Celtic player. That result left them on five points from eight games and second bottom of the league. Fast forward to the present, and they have hit rock bottom, sacked their manager and slipping into the Championship at an alarming rate. In the ten games since our last meeting, United have gained a mere four points out of a possible thirty. That's relegation form in any league. Their only win in that run was against Ross County, a draw with ten man Kilmarnock their only other positive result. Looks like new manager Mixu Paatelainen has plenty of work to do if he wants to avoid relegation being stamped on his CV. We have not had a lot to crow about either, but the return from injury of some influential players has seen us gather thirteen points over the same period. Four wins in that run of games, the Aberdeen one being the pick of the bunch. Also worth mentioning a 2-1 derby defeat of Ross County and despite our dismal start and erratic form we find ourselves eleven points above United in seventh place and knocking on the top-six door. Inverness have been able to field Richie Foran in development matches, although he got a smack on his face in the last one and left the field for treatment. Jordan Roberts also took part and that is good news for us. Ross Draper is struggling for fitness and will be assessed later. Definitely out are Aaron Doran and Dean Brill with Roberts and Foran likely to miss out. More good news, Miles Storey is fit enough to be included in the squad and John Hughes is looking to extend the young strikers stay at Inverness along with Tobi Sho Silva. Dundee United will be without Paul Paton, Ryan Dow until New Year and Florent Sinama Pongolle is out for a month. Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima has still not completed his work permit tests based on his understanding of the English language. Not sure how much English he will need to get by in Dundee. United have struggled since losing Gary Mackay-Stevens, Stuart Armstrong and Nadir Ciftci, three players who could change a game. tm4tj Prediction:- Well, everybody else is taking plenty of points from the Arabs so anything less than that will be seen as a disappointment. Miles Storey will be vital to our success and the striker should start. The ongoing question of who plays at right back is one for Yogi to decide, but general opinion seems to be that David Raven should be there if fit. Plenty of choices now for the manager to ponder over and that's a bonus. Billy Mckay is worth keeping a close eye on, rumour has it he has an eye for goals. Home win for me, let's not make the mistake of underestimating a team down on their uppers.

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

Time to dig deep Kilmarnock are the visitors this weekend and hopefully the weather will allow the game to take place after last weeks chaotic fixture list was blown apart for many teams. Just in case there is another postponement, I'm keeping this weeks effort brief. The enforced lay off can only benefit us as the players get an extra week of recuperation in their search for full fitness. Carl Tremarco has shaken off his hamstring problem and Jordan Roberts has resumed full training. With Tobi Sho-Silva and Andrea Mutombo a couple of weeks ahead in their return things are starting to look slightly healthier for Yogi who will now have the problem of team selection to ponder over. Kilmarnock, on the other hand were involved in a 1-1 draw with bottom club Dundee United. The game was not without incident though. Kris Boyd scored his 95th goal for Killie but he scores when he wants, Billy (small K) Mckay, levelled from the spot. The Rugby Park side were reduced to ten men at the penalty when Stuart Findlay was sent off midway through the first half, but they held on for a point. We lost our earlier meeting with Killie at Rugby Park by 2-0 and the Caley Jags fans were less than enthusiastic with our performance on that October day. Alternative Maryhill was moved to pen - "The second half was as bad as I've seen us all season though: far too narrow, far too many misplaced passes, far too many lazy-looking through balls that seemed to suggest players thinking 'we'll just give it to Miles and he'll do the rest'. I felt sorry for Storey - he ran his socks off, but the Killie defence stuck close to him and dealt with him pretty effectively throughout." Rig backed this up with - "Later on when the game was getting increasingly congested in the middle of the pitch we strangely took off Williams who was playing quite well and at least gave us some kind of width to our play as an alternative to trying to force it through the middle of the pitch where Christie was struggling to impose himself and Storey was getting no change out of the excellent Killie centre backs. It seemed a very odd decision." So, plenty of food for thought for Yogi to get his teeth into. The consensus of opinion suggests that it's not a great idea for us to fall behind, because we seem incapable of turning the game around. Remember, this game was played when we had the services of Ryan Christie. Tobi reckons he would like to stay at Inverness after January should both clubs agree on this. He has some unfinished business I suppose having been injured for most of the time he has been here, but still wants the opportunity to show what he can do. Well, Miles Storey needs some support and Tobi could be the man to provide it. Inverness still have a couple of players out long term. Dean Brill, Aaron Doran and Ryan Christie are way off a return but Roberts and Foran are starting full training, with Foran having been involved in a couple of Development league games. Tremarco could be added to the squad as could bad boy Dani Lopez. Kallum Higginbotham is ruled out along with midfield absentees Rory McKenzie and Chris Johnston. tm4tj Prediction:- It's time we cuffed someone and what better time to start than against fellow strugglers. Our season has been a disaster so far and the league table backs that up, regardless of how we have achieved that. We are on the same points as Killie and Partick and this will surely be seen as a must not lose game. That usually means a bit of a defensive borefest, but we are hardly overladen with attacking flare options, and if we can blunder our way to all three points, I will be most grateful. Kris Boyd has scored 191 career goals in the top flight and will be a major worry for our fragile defence along with the steamroller that is Josh Magennis. I expect nothing less than a tough encounter as the teams battle it out at the wrong end of the table, but will be looking for all three points.

Capital Return Game Off A welcome return to the Capital for Inverness Caledonian Thistle this weekend. It's been too long and this is our first League visit to Tynecastle since February 2013 after both Hearts and Hibs tasted relegation over the last couple of seasons. We have all missed our trips to Edinburgh since the demise of the Capitals big two, and this one comes along just in time for some Xmas retail therapy and mulled wine ahead of the festivities. However, if you are travelling from the North side of Edinburgh, be aware that the Forth Road Bridge is closed both ways for structural repair and you will have to take the long way round. I don't see why we can't use the fifth bridge. It doesn't rain but it pours, and a pitch inspection will be carried out at 07:30 tomorrow. Inverness looked relatively comfortable last weekend against Celtic but the same old failings cost us dear. A bit of slackness in defence and a lack of creation were evident as Celtic ran out eventual winners by three goals to one. It was great to have Gary Warren and Ross Draper back in the starting line up, but without the tenacity and creativity of the injured Ryan Christie, we were pretty toothless up front, despite the best efforts of Miles Storey who scored his seventh goal of the season. Celtic recovered well from their disappointment in the Ajax tie. They were deservedly hauled level at the break but they were able to ease towards the three points without much fear of retaliation in the second half. We could consider ourselves a tad unlucky given the circumstances of the killer third goal, but if you don't create sufficient chances for the front men, then you will invariably come up short. We had to play Danny Williams at left back against Celtic with Carl Tremarco out through injury. That is no bad thing, but one wonders why we are persisting with Josh Meekings at right back and David Raven on the bench, unless of course he is carrying an injury. Meekings and Warren were a formidable force in our cup winning season, but since Warren's injury, we have played Danny Devine in the centre back position. That was fine when we had no other options, but what are we waiting for now. Scoring goals has been a problem all season and with Yogi penning a new deal, will we see one or two following in his footsteps. It would be prudent to try and get Miles Storey on board before someone else notices his potential and prises him away. We have yet to see the best of Tobi Sho-Silva since he arrived. His best wee cameo was in our first win of the season ironically against Hearts in Inverness. He played a starring role in that game when he came on as a substitute, hitting the woodwork and winning headers in the box. He was involved in the sending off of Juwon Oshaniwa just before we sealed the points with a debut goal from Miles Storey. James Vincent had opened the scoring earlier in the second half after great work by Ryan Christie. Since that game in September, we have picked up only eight points from a possible twenty-seven, while Hearts have accumulated sixteen points in their nine games. That damning stats are consistent with the season so far as the Jambo's have almost twice as many points as we have, (31 against 17). The table is a good reflection on the difference between the sides this year. Hearts sit third and we are hovering just above the relegation play-off place. The Edinburgh side are ahead of us in every statistic, scoring 29 against our 17, and conceding 17 compared to our 22. It makes you wonder how we managed to beat them already. It's a funny old game. Our injury crisis has improved to just drastic now after the return of Warren and Draper, with news that Foran has also returned to playing some development games. Andrea Mutombo and Sho-Silva were substitutes against Celtic and will benefit from more game time. Dean Brill has even managed some glove work so things are looking up, although Carl Tremarco missed out against Celtic and could miss out again to add to Ryan Christie, Aaron Doran and Jordan Roberts on the sidelines. Dani Lopez is clear of SFA suspension and it will be up to the Inverness management if he is to feature. Hearts were boosted by news that Arnoud Djoum and Igor Rossi have signed contract extensions until May 2017. Alim Ozturk is fit enough to be added to the squad but Jamie Walker is out. tm4tj Prediction:- We are not in the best of condition right now and although we won the first encounter this season, we don't look capable of stringing a few results together to get us out of the rut we are in. Hearts on the other hand are sitting pretty, third in the league on merit and can produce some sparkling results. I hope we have turned the corner in terms of injury, but I still fear for us in games like this when we could get overrun. I hope I am wrong here, but we are still a long way from our best and it could be a bleak day out in the capital.

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

Partick Test Inverness resume their challenge for points in the Premiership after the break with an away game against Partick Thistle, a ground where we never seem to get the better of the home side often enough, and this will be a stern test for Yogi's walking wounded. The gap week has been beneficial for us this time as it has allowed another two or three players to get back on the park and test their fitness, notably Ross Draper, Andrea Mutombo and Tobi Sho-Silva, so that's a bonus. However, there is always a sting in the tail at Inverness and Dani Lopez will not be available after the club suspended him following an alleged gobbing incident in the development league match against St Johnstone when he earned himself a red card during the spat, no pun intended, but it fits the crime; (allegedly). Our last venture to the central belt stronghold produced a welcome return to winning ways with a 3-1 win at Motherwell. Iain Vigurs scoring a peach of a volley the pick of the goals. A retaken Greg Tansey penalty and a Miles Storey deflection were the other scorers and the home sides consolation was also a bit scrappy as a Moult knockdown deflected in off Horner on the goal line. Partick also got a welcome point after being pegged back by a late Kane Hemming goal at Dens Park; sounds familiar. Defender Liam Lindsay had opened the scoring earlier for second bottom Thistle who are being kept off the basement by much troubled Dundee United. The sick list at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium is shortening slightly after the last break. Gary Warren, Ross Draper and Andrea Mutombo all featured in the development game in midweek and Tobi Sho-Silva and Richie Foran have returned to training. David Raven is available after suspension but the aforementioned Dani Lopez has been suspended by the club pending an investigation into what went on. A huge miss will be Ryan Christie who might have played his last game for Inverness and is now longer term injured, along with Aaron Doran, Jordan Roberts and Dean Brill. Partick are in better shape with Robbie Muirhead and Gary Miller back from injury and keeper Ryan Scully returning after suspension. Stuart Brannigan is suspended and Christie Elliot and Tomas Cerny are out injured. tm4tj Prediction:- I predicted a hammering for us last time out at Motherwell and that went badly wrong..............or right. A tremendous away win against the odds brought us out of our mini slump. Partick have been a thorn in our side in recent years and we will do well to take points back up the A9 without the precocious talents of Ryan Christie. We will have to get used to life without him sooner or later and with players returning that eases the burden on others, but the headache is all Yogi's as he decides who to keep in and who needs a rest. I will settle for a point.

I wasn't expecting that Inverness defied the odds to surprise even their most ardent of fans with a tremendous 1-3 win at Fir Park. A re-taken Greg Tansey penalty opened the scoring and Miles Storey added a second just before the interval. Iain Vigurs crashed home a superb third ten minutes after the break before Motherwell's Louis Moult poked in a consolation for the Steelmen soon after. To complete Wells misery, Stephen McManus was red carded in stoppage time. Inverness were down to the bare bones and by the time the final whistle went the bones were even barer as Ryan Christie and Miles Storey had to leave the field suffering from injury. Miles Storey managed to make the starting eleven and Gary Warren was on the bench along with Dani Lopez and Nat Wedderburn, but there was no place for utility man Danny Williams anywhere as he was suffering from a groin injury. Lewis Horner filled in for the suspended David Raven at right back. Motherwell managed to get Stephen Pearson fit enough for duty and he started. Theo Robinson and Wes Fletcher began on the bench with Scott MacDonald expected to score the goals and the talented Lionel Ainsworth to be one of the main providers. Inverness were minus a teamful of players and John Hughes had to sit in the stand. It was looking bleak for the Caley Jags, so much so that even the supporters bus was not required as they joined in the general malaise. Johndo will take over from here and give us a full match report when he has recovered from the shock of seeing the team win................................ Well was it worth the 180+ mile car journey in the persisting rain, an even worse return leg added to by a gale force wind, staying in Hamilton overnight, trains cancelled, getting a bus to Motherwell, getting lost, the Himalayan trek to the South Stand, a taxi back home and winning the Stoke v Chelsea first scorer sweep and not being there to pick up the winnings - presumably drunk by my compadres - Ya bet yer feckin bottom dollar it was. I thought that was as good a performance as we have put in this season. I thought that we deserved to win. Not a bad feat away from home with half a feckin squad to pick from and the manager in the stands. The Well crowd were so painful. On looking at the highlights / replays I think that he got every decision spot on. Well may well have had the lions share of the possession and considerably more shots (not on target !!) but we were relatively comfortable - apart from a companion who said that he would settle for 3-3 with 20 minutes to go - (hope he feckin choked on my Arnutovic winnings !! Looked like we went 4-4-1-1 to begin with - four at the back - a diamond in the middle with Tansey at the rear and Vincent up top - Christie roving and Storey running the line. Oh and two Development players on the bench. I thought that we played some lovely stuff in the first 20 minutes. Christie let fly with a curling left footer that went just wide and we were looking in charge. In some ways the early penalty goal changed our outlook. As fer the penalty - it was soft but you simply do not raise yer hand in a crowded goalmouth. Again a yellow is harsh but those are the rules. Tansey made it a replay of last week and the keeper sussed it. And again Thompson got it "spot-on" with the retake decision and TANSEY fired this one down the middle. Both Law and Storey encroached. But poor Well felt hard done by. WELL what they should have done was to concentrate on getting a shot on target plus their final passes were shocking. But they cascaded derision on Craig Thompson instead. We always looked more like scoring in the first half apart from a cracker that hit our crossbar. We may have thought that it was all over when we lost Christie and our shape. Lopez went into the Christie role which is OK'ish when he has Storey beside him. And STOREY neatly got himself in to a scoring position and abetted by a wicked deflection the ball sailed in the net to put us 2-0 up at half time. I had to laff at our substitutes at half time. The sight of Wedderburn and Warren playing passball with MacRae and Sutherland was like watching the Hulk, Spiderman and two of Snowwhite's dwarves. So onto the second and preparing for an onslaught which did come but not before Goal of the Season, probably even more satisfying as it was clearly straight out of the training ground. Superb flighted corner from Tansey and as sweet a strike from VIGURS as you will ever see. After that it was Well, Well, Well but we defended stoutly and always looked a danger on the break. May be harsh but I though that Fon Williams was at fault with the goal. It came at the perfect time for Well but they did not cash in on it. Perhaps they were too intent on chastising and calling Mr. Thompson !! Plus we never looked like scoring after Storey departed - clutching his hamstring again. But we hung on in there and thoroughly deserved the three points. And the 111 Highlanders went home happy - and what a feckin noise at the end with the acoustics of an empty stand FON WILLIAMS Despite the pressure he really did not have that much to do. Thought he misjudged the cross for their goal. Also I hate seeing keepers punch instead of holding. HORNER For a left footer squad player to fit in at right back was no mean feat. Didn't offer much going forward but defended stoutly. MEEKINGS Both central defenders were heroic DEVINE Both central defenders were heroic TREMARCO More of his type of game with little thought of going forward but tackling tigerishly - apart from the cross that ended in their goal. TANSEY More feckin like it - he controlled the game from deep. POLWORTH Shaded (just) MOM fer me. Great shift with doses of skill to put. Did that stare at Lopez after the hospital pass not scare you ?!! VIGURS Too much of a luxury fer us at the moment but a good "shoe-in" and the best possible bench warmer. What a feckin goal !! VINCENT I thought that he put in a great shift and was always on hand to help the attackers. CHRISTIE Usual before the early injury - hopefully a twinge. STOREY I suppose that we had little option but he really looked as if he was struggling and "Draperish" carrying an injury in the second half. Could never fault his effort and movement though. LOPEZ Looked OK with Storey but he is NOT a lone striker and he makes Vigurs look like Mr Dynamic. WARREN Welcome back skipper. Glad we didn't start you and your entry and the way that play was developing excused changing to a 5-4-1 WEDDERBURN Is he losing weight ? Date: 03/10/15 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 5473Referee: Willie Collum Motherwell: 1 Lineup: Ripley, Law, Kennedy, McManus, Chalmers, Ainsworth, Grimshaw, Pearson, Johnson (Robinson 79), McDonald (Fletcher 68), Moult Subs (not used): Samson, Laing, Clarkson, Leitch, Taylor Scorers: Moult (58) Booked: Pearson (12), Kennedy (55), McManus (64) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Horner, Polworth, Christie (Lopez 39), Vigurs (Wedderburn 79), Storey (Warren 71) Subs (not used): Esson, Sutherland, MacRae Scorers: Tansey (pen.11), Storey (45), Vigurs (53) Booked: Vigurs (17, Devine (51) Sent Off: none

Tale of two penalties This game was decided by two penalties and a sending off as the sides had to settle for a point apiece in a 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium. Rory Loy slotted Dundee's penalty home to take the lead after David Raven was sent packing, but Greg Tansey returned the favour just after the hour. That ended the scoring but not the chances, with Liam Polworth left pounding the turf after dragging a glorious opportunity wide late in the game. As expected, our injury situation dictated how we approached this game and the addition of Miles Storey to the casualty list saw Iain Vigurs start wide left with the versatile Danny Williams helping out up front. Gary Warren was a welcome addition to the bench, even if he might still be on crutches. Dundee began with the side that ended the Kilmarnock game. That meant there was no starts for Gary Harkins, Kane Hemmings or Darryll Meggatt. They made way for Thomas Konrad, Paul McGowan and Nicky Low. Heavy overnight wind and rain gave way to a pleasant Saturday afternoon and just under 3000 turned up to see if our fortunes could change. As is traditional, we started brightly without threatening and the game soon settled into a midfield tussle with neither keeper being troubled. There were a few half snippets, but everything would fizzle out before the keepers were made to work. We did find the net once our wide players worked out how to get the ball beyond the first defender, but unfortunately Josh Meekings was flagged for offside as he headed smartly into the net. I suppose the best chance of the half fell to Ryan Christie, but he elected to chest down a long cross rather than use his head, in doing so he was closed down before shooting. What were Dundee doing while we plugged away? Well, virtually nothing, that'll be why Hartley had them warming up on the pitch five minutes before the second half started. Half Time 0-0 Well, it seemed to work as Dundee raced to the opposition box right from the restart. Only five minutes into the second period David Raven tackled Greg Stewart as he was about to shoot and referee Brian Colvin who was handily placed had no doubt it was a spot kick and to make things worse, he sent Raven for an early bath for his troubles . Rory Loy converted from twelve yards as Fon-Williams tried to cover the opposite side of the goal frame. Things looked bleak for Inverness and we expected the worst. The sending off left acres of space for Dundee to exploit and we were now under the cosh. Nicky Low had a shot deflected for a corner and from he resultant ball into the box, Healey headed wide from a good position. Despite Dundee's dominance since Raven walked, Inverness drew level after 65 minutes. A decent break forward saw Polworth hitting the turf out wide in the box as he tried to cut back inside. It looked like a penalty, but play raged on and Ryan Christie spotted his chance. He burst onto the loose ball trying to head towards the corner flag, and before you could say for fecks sake ref, Colvin pointed to the spot as Christie was upended. Fair enough, one penalty from two shouts and when the dust settled, Greg Tansey tucked the ball into the bottom corner. That sparked Dundee into more activity around our box but again most moves were breaking down without Fon-Williams being pestered. Ricardo Calder and Kane Hemmings upped the pace when they were introduced and we did well to prevent Dundee from getting ahead. Healey and Hemmings had forced Fon-Williams into making tremendous stops but it was at the other end where the points should have been won. Josh Meekings saw the headlines in the Courier as he burst into the box wide on the right side, but he blazed his shot high and not very handsomely into the North Stand. Well at least that's where I thought it ended up. We received a boost when Gary Warren made a surprise return to action after his leg break and that locked the back door. We ventured forward, and after some neat interplay the ball looked to sit up nicely for Liam Polworth, but the midfielder dragged his shot across the goal from around twelve yards and that endeth the opportunities for the home side. Dundee would still pressure our defence, but with Warren in there we looked impenetrable and held on for a welcome point, much to Dundee's frustration, especially with us being reduced to 10 men for most of the second half. Full Time 1-1 It was a game of two penalties, simple as that. Neither side looked capable of carving out their own chances and it was probably fitting that the outcome was decided on penalties. Dundee will feel disappointed that they could not get the better of the ten men, but in all honesty they were atrocious in the first half and they could not take full advantage of a side reduced in numbers. Sounds familiar. A point each was probably a fair reflection on the overall play and neither side looked as if they were worth more than that. For us, it's a step in the right direction, even with more injuries to contend with and a sending off for Raven, but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for ooooohhh Gary Warren. MotM could be nobody else but Ryan Christie, who at times looked like the only home player tying to achieve something. His work rate was simply tremendous and some of his touches were sublime, fitting that he won the penalty that gave us a point. He was well backed up by Owain Fon-Williams in goal and Josh Meekings at the back. One or two others need to up their work rate though and Iain Vigurs will need to know that his honeymoon period is over and he must knuckle down to some serious hard graft. We have no room for luxury players at the moment. James Vincent's goal in the cup final seems like a lifetime away now as he struggles to create anything. I'll put it down to a shortage of players and some guys having to play unaccustomed roles. Welcome back Gary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm8oRPZjnwo&t=11s Date: 31/10/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2940 Referee: Brian Colvin Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Vincent, Meekings, Devine, Tansey, Williams (Warren 79) , Polworth, Christie, Vigurs (Sutherland 66) Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, MacRae Scorers: Tansey (pen.64) Booked: none Sent Off: Raven (50) Dundee: 1 Lineup: Bain, Holt, Konrad, Stewart, Low (Calder 70), Loy (Hemmings 71), Ross, McGowan, McGinn, Healey, Gadzgalov Subs (not used): Mitchell, Irvine, Meggatt, Harkins, Skelly Scorers: Loy (50) Booked: none Sent Off: none

Survival of the fittest It's Halloween weekend and guisers Dundee FC come to the Highlands dressed as footballers in the hope that they can find Inverness Caledonian Thistle ready to dish out more gifts. We will be kitted up like patients at Raigmore. It's been a rough fortnight for Inverness after the euphoria of back to back league wins over Aberdeen and Ross County. Since then, we have lost two home games in a row. We went down insipidly to 10 man St Johnstone and were easily knocked out of the League Cup by derby rivals Ross County. Defeats are hard enough to take on their own, but the manner of these defeats has alarm bells ringing at the Caledonian Stadium. Against the Perth Saints, we were clueless as to how to break them down and the visiting keeper could have stayed in Perth. The County game was similar although we started brightly and finished strong, but the middle section of the game belonged to County and that was when the match was won. Once more, the lack of a cutting edge was evident as we struggled badly to create clear opportunities. Visitors Dundee have not exactly been a pillar of consistency themselves. They suffered a 6-0 thrashing from Celtic and their only win since then was against fellow strugglers Motherwell. That's one win in the last five for Dundee, but its still enough to keep them ahead of Inverness. They sit three points and two places above us in seventh place. We can't really complain about our league position given our lack of goals and reluctance to have a go at teams. I suppose it's a reflection on our lack of depth due to a lengthy injury list, but there comes a point where those given the opportunity have to grab the chance and stake a claim for a regular starting berth, even when the sidelined players return. Liam Polworth has had a few starts now and should be asserting himself in the engine room and Carl Tremarco needs to make the Graeme Shinnie slot his own as our purse strings seem reluctant to open any further. We drew the earlier game at Dens Park, surrendering an early lead to come away with a disappointing draw. Kane Hemmings popped in a last minute equaliser after David Raven had opened the scoring for Inverness earlier in the second half. We were unable to build on that and suffered a not unexpected lapse, a trait that seems to replicate itself this season. There's plenty of speculation surrounding the future of John Hughes. The silence was deafening after the board refused United permission to speak to Yogi, but the speculation is still rife as we appear no closer to getting the gaffer signed up on a new contract, fuelling the fires of discontent amongst the fans. At the last count, Yogi was said to be considering his options of the new contract, but has plenty to think about. He has been quoted on BBC Sport as saying "[It's] right down to trying to recruit players and budgets," he explained. "That's all part and parcel of me staying at this club, 100%. "I'm quite sure there might be one or two players that are out of contract and want to see what the manager does before they commit. "But I'm honest enough to say this; I would never hold a gun to anyone's head at Inverness to say, 'I want to make sure that this is the budget next year'. "I knew when I came up here I was working with the budget I was working with. It's never changed. "It's just before you sign that contract just getting to know exactly what tools you're working with next year. I don't want to sign a contract and something gets taken away. "I have to speak to my wife and family. I've been away for a long, long time and that's a big part of it as well but I love it up here." We have made cuts elsewhere. The nice lady that always appeared to be in control when you entered the club shop has not had her contract renewed, instead the club look as though they are going down the part-time route. Quality or quantity? Just like on the park, you can't replace quality players like Billy 'small k' Mckay, Marley Watkins or Graeme and Andy Shinnie with inferior products and expect the consistency to continue. Well, it's the same in the club shop. We need leaders on and off the park and it's time this whole sorry mess is sorted before it's too late. Inverness have more misery piled on them this week with the news that Miles Storey might not make the squad. He could join the others on the temporary list like Ross Draper, Andrea Mutombo, Tobi Sho-Silva and Dani Lopez. Looking further away, Gary Warren, Aaron Doran, Richie Foran, Dean Brill and Jordan Roberts are long term shirkers. It really is a case of the survival of the fittest. I sometimes wonder if they are still on our books. Meh! Jake McPake has been injured in training and misses out. He is joined on Dundee's short list by Julen Etxabeguren and Kevin Thomson. tm4tj Prediction:- Surely we won't screw it up three home games in a row? Or will we. We are running out of players fast as injuries ravage our squad. Injuries on top of more injuries. It's like a broken record now but we will just have to get on with it. Who knows who will be fit enough to turn out for us, but let's hope they can at least make the opposition work hard for their point. I'll settle for a draw out of this to help us get back on track. The damage done so far will take a while to repair and we will just have to take small steps before we can think about running. 0-0 is my best guesstimate.