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

The Great Unpredictables Inverness host St Johnstone in a busy week for the Highland club, ahead of their League Cup quarter final against Ross County and the league visit of Dundee, with all three games being played at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. A poor result last week for Inverness who went down 2-0 at Kilmarnock despite showing well in the first half hour, but fading badly as the game progressed. We had been on fine form prior to this game, unbeaten in six including the league cup win at Livingston. However, after passing up two or three great opportunities to take the lead, we fell behind on the stroke of half time and lost an unfortunate second with the aid of a deflection to put the game beyond us and halt our revival. Ross Draper took a knock and James Vincent never started, somewhat blunting our engine room supply despite the return of Ryan Christie. Hopefully, we can put this one down to a bad day at the office, but time will tell. St Johnstone have been unpredictable since the start of the season and they too suffered defeat at the hands of the Harry Wraggs, going down 2-1 in Perth. That was also a disappointing result as far as the Perth men were concerned coming off the back of their 5-1 thrashing of Aberdeen and victory in the Tayside derby against struggling Dundee United. They have also meted out punishment to Hamilton when they stuffed them 4-1. Their other win was against Motherwell. That Jekyll And Hyde performances sees them sit only one point above us in the league, but their surprising goal rushes this season has them outscoring us by two to one, although we are defensively more robust normally. The earlier game this season saw the clubs share the points after Inverness were pegged back in the last few moments of the game. Ryan Christie had drilled home in the ninth minute, but substitute Graham Cummins levelled with a header at the death. That was the first points of the season for both clubs. Back to the future, and we have amassed 13 points with 3 wins and four draws. We are eighth in the table, one place below our opponents. Inverness have doubts over the fitness of Ross Draper, David Raven and James Vincent. Andrea Mutombo is out as are the permanently injured Warren, Doran and Foran along with Jason Roberts and Tobi Sho-Silva. Tommy Wright will be able to call upon Michael O'Halloran who featured last week, but Chris Millar is out for a couple of weeks. tm4tj prediction:- Predictions are frightening this year with all the teams below Celtic capable of beating each other on the day. St Johnstone have surprised a few with a couple of uncharacteristic high scoring games and that is a worry. Although we dug ourselves out of a hole with the Dons win and derby win we put ourselves back in it with a shoddy display at Rugby Park. St Johnstone were no better losing to Partick therefore I will sit on the fence and settle for a draw, a scoring one though.

Disappointment at Rugby Park Inverness went down 2-1 at Rugby Park as Kilmarnock scored in each half to continue their resurgence and halt Inverness in their tracks. Greg Kiltie scored right on half time and Josh Magennis added a second as Inverness wilted, with Killie running out deserved winners in the end. Johndo will have a full report for us in due course...........and here it is Well that was my first venture since the trip to Romania. Have to admit that Kilmarnock ain't Bucharest and the Portmann ain't the Old City but at least I remembered the game this time. Another enjoyable Juanjo Awayday, only spoilt by a tepid performance and a very disappointing scoreline. It wasn't that we actually played that badly but it was a case of looking good but with no end product. That was Killie's first clean sheet of the season and no wonder Jamie McDonald had a wry smile at the final whistle as he applauded the away support who had been goading him most of the afternoon. "You won us the cup" ditty evidently fell on deaf ears. The possession stats were 50/50 and only eight shots with five on target throughout the game pretty much sums it up. But it really could have been so different if we had pressed home our domination of the first 20-25 minutes. There was a lot of possession but of the tippy-tappy, Ray Wilkins variety. Killie threw seven men across the pitch and limited us to chances from crosses or dead ball situations. Perhaps it might have been different if either Devine, Draper or Meekings had placed their headers in the back of the net - but as was the case throughout the game - our final touch or attempted pass was atrocious. I haven't really criticised Yogi too much but I felt that he was at fault this time. Why he allowed Draper to stay on the pitch until half-time baffles me. Sure Draper is determined and did not want to go off but he was a passenger for the last 20 minutes and all that was probably accomplished was to make his injury worst. Yogi should have hooked him and took Vigurs on earlier. And then Mutombo for Williams was a strange decision. I thought Williams was having a good day and his pace was worrying Killie. Mutombo to me is a forward version of Djebi-Zadi. And the introduction of Sutherland was also too late. To me the difference in the sides was Magennis. I have never really been impressed by him but his mere physical presence appeared to upset Devine and Meekings. The second half felt far longer than 45 minutes and we appeared to rely on big punts looking to capitalise on the pace of Storey who had little if any support. So perhaps it was just a bad day at the office. Perhaps the Tannadice farce left its mark. At least ours wasn't the only surprise scoreline. And I ended my time in Kilmarnock visiting a hostelry whose name resembled some of the players on show earlier. Fon Williams 6/10 - Never really had that much to do. Thought that he could have done better with the first goal, sadly in added on time. Raven 4/10 - Thought that he had a shocker - was he fit ? Watching trying to chase a ball down the wing in the second half reminded me of Marius Niculae at Motherwell. Tremarco 4/10 - He was fit so he has no excuse. Sooner we get Williams ensconsed in that position the better. Devine 6/10 - Actually looked the best of the defence which sadly was not too difficult to achieve. Meekings 5/10 - Bad day at the office. I always feel that he is not as good without Warren beside him. Polworth 6/10 - Didn't really do anything particularly wrong but did little to impress either. Draper 4/10 - Well you simply cannot perform with an injury but you can come off when you have one. Tansey 4/10 - Again 2-3 lovely touches but otherwise anonymous. Played far too deep Christie 7/10 - The only one who actually looked like changing the game. Williams 6/10 - Not sure why he was hooked as he was beginning to look like a danger, especially if we had pushed him forward. Storey 7/10 - Full of running and determination but he is simply not a target man or a centre forward. Let him play off somebody and we have a real winner. Vigurs 8/10 - My MOM for his 45 minute contribution. He may look lazy and he may not be all action but he has a head for the game and some of his passing was one touch and inspirational. Motombo 3/10 - Headless chicken impersonation Sutherland 4/10 - No time to make any type of impact Yogi 4/10 - Tactically his poorest selection and poorest tactics - 4-5-1 with what looked like 3 holding midfielders played right into Killie's hands. Date: 17/10/15 Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Attendance: 3234 Referee: Stephen Finnie Kilmarnock: 2 Lineup: MacDonald, O'Hara, Balatoni, Findlay, Smith, Slater, McHattie, McKenzie, Kiltie, Higginbotham, Magennis Subs (not used): Ridgers, Hamill, Connolly, Boyd, Obadeyi, Ashcroft, Frizzell Scorers: Kiltie (45), Magennis (66) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven (Sutherland 81), Devine, Meekings, Tremarco, Draper (Vigurs 46), Williams (Mbuyi-Mutombo 53), Polworth, Christie, Tansey, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Horner, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Miles Storey (69) Sent Off: none

Killie Pie Time Inverness head to Kilmarnock on Saturday after the international break for a game that could shape the seasons of both clubs after their poor starts to the season. International breaks are usually quiet affairs, but not so for fans of Inverness Caledonian Thistle as the vacant post at Tannadice was played out in the full glare of the media. This break was fraught with tension as John Hughes became the bookies favourite to take over at Tannadice after Tommy Wright's St Johnstone told the Arabs where to go. The Inverness board did likewise with Hughes, but the silence was deafening after that fuelling speculation that Yogi was gone. However, in stepped Mixu to save the day at the eleventh hour, and, after the dust had settled, John Hughes remains at Inverness and Mixu Paatelainen starts the task of getting Dundee United off the foot of the table. We like our International breaks to be gentle, a time for getting injured players up to speed and players relaxing with their families. Not this one as our gaffer played hard ball. However, it's mentally not the best way to prepare for your next League encounter. So, with all the guesswork and wind ups put to bed, let's get on with the season, a season that started slowly but is now building a head of steam as we take the Leagues longest current unbeaten run (six games since last defeat) down to Ayrshire to face a resurgent Kilmarnock. Killie finished 10th last term and would have fancied their chances to better that this season. Let's find out who are the in's and out's at Rugby Park that Gary Locke believes will see them climb the table. Well, the main man given the task of scoring the goals is former Rugby Park idol Kris Boyd. He has returned from the Rangers a few stone heavier, but the same man knows how to find the back of the net given half a chance. Add in a trio of signings from Tynecastle in the shape of Kevin McHattie (defender), Scott Robinson (midfielder) and forward Dale Carrick. Another striker, Kallum Higginbotham has joined from Partick Thistle and the experienced Lee McCulloch came in from Championship side the Rangers. Cup final clanger Jamie MacDonald has signed from Falkirk along with another keeper, Oliver Davies on loan from Swansea City, Stevie Smith has also gone up in the world coming from Ibrox as well, and a loan signing from Celtic in defender Stuart Findlay. To make way for the new guys, out went former Scotland striker Lee Miller, the experienced Manuel Pascali, Paul Cairney to Stranraer and keeper Craig Samson. Midfielder Sammy Clingan has gone, so no more Star Trek jokes and the luxury that was Alexei Eremenko, a tremendous player on his day, but has probably gone out to seed now. A raft of lesser mortals have also left the building and Gary Locke will be looking for these guys to blend with what he already has, although it's been a less than pleasing start for the Killie fans. Last season we did hold the upper hand in the three games played between the clubs. A 3-3 draw at Inverness was followed by a 2-1 victory at Rugby Park. The final game saw Inverness take all three points in a 2-0 win. Rugby Park was also the ground where we recorded our best ever away win with a 6-3 trouncing of Kilmarnock on Guy Fawkes day 2011. There were certainly plenty of fireworks that day as Inverness sparkled on the pitch whilst Killie were like damp squibs and old bangers. We scored a few crackers as well and a rocket from Jonny Hayes. Gregory Tade even managed a couple and Andy Shinnie went one better as he fired a hat-trick. Ahhh, those were the days. Killie's highlights this season have been a 2-2 draw with Celtic and their two wins against Dundee United and St Johnstone. Unfortunately for them, they have also suffered too many low points, a 4-0 hammering from Dundee was repeated by Ross County, both games played at Rugby Park. Just when it looked as though they had turned the corner with consecutive wins, they lost to Hamilton although they drew with Hearts last time out. A bit similar to us from the beginning and the stats show that we have scored only one goal more than Killie but our defence is less porous. There's a gap of four points between the clubs and Killie sit where they finished last season in 10th place with Inverness in 8th. Sick list has the usual suspects for Inverness. Dean Brill, Gary Warren, Jordan Roberts, Aaron Doran, Richie Foran and Tobi Sho-Silva. Ryan Christie will be available after missing the derby through suspension. Iain Vigurs scored from a free kick in the development game in midweek and Dani Lopez notched a goal as did Andrew MacRae, so these guys will be looking to push into the starting eleven. All that happened in a 3-1 win at Clach Park over Hearts. Gary Locke could have the option of fielding captain Mark Connolly who is returning after medial ligament damage and Lee Ashcroft will return after suspension. However, Scott Robinson, Darryl Westlake and Dale Carrick are unlikely to feature after resuming training following injuries. tm4tj prediction:- Things are looking up for Inverness after a dismal opening sequence and to be fair, Kilmarnock have perked up a bit as well. Great news on the managerial front with John Hughes staying put, but it remains to be seen if that will encourage the board to lash out with a new contract for Yogi. That aside, it is a boost to keep the status quo and the emergence of Miles Storey as a goal threat and James Vincent as a box to box predator has lifted the gloom around Inverness and gives the fans renewed hope for the rest of the season. Owain Fon-Williams has been performing well since the Europa games and the defence is more settled with Josh Meekings back. Kris Boyd will always be a threat, no matter what size he is and Gary Locke will be looking to push on after an erratic start to their campaign. Another man who will be useful is the human battering ram that is Josh Magennis who is returning on a high from international duty with Northern Ireland. Our season has transformed quicker than Killie's and I can see us extending our unbeaten run. Johndo, our regular soothesayer, will be at Rugby Park and will have a full report for us after the game once he returns to his present form.

Still in our Shadows Inverness kept Ross County in their shadows with a hard fought 2-1 win at the Global Energy Stadium. The damage was done just before half time in two brilliant counter attacking moves. The first came at the end of a multi player move and culminated with Miles Storey burying the ball behind Scott Fox. He was beaten again a couple of minutes later following a swift break by Storey. We won a corner and James Vincent neatly nodded home the ball home after a bit of head tennis in the box. County responded well in the second half but Fon-Williams and his defence held firm until Liam Boyce scored in the ninetieth minute to give the hosts some hope of getting a leveller in the six minutes that followed. It was not going to happen though and Inverness took all three points back over the bridge and the bragging rights remain with us until the League Cup encounter at least, on 27th October. It's official, we now get to keep Ross County after our fourth win in a row at the Global Energy Stadium. It was a great day for a game of football, dry and no wind and a large crowd for the first Highland derby of the season. The away end looked pretty full as the teams came out. Inverness had won the previous three meetings in Dingwall, but County had started the season the better of the two sides. John Hughes went with the same squad that started against Aberdeen, minus the suspended Ryan Christie. That meant that Liam Polworth kept his place in the starting X1 and Andrea Mutombo was the new face. Carl Tremarco started on the bench along with Iain Vigurs, but Tobi Sho-Silva was still not available. County had Andrew Davies suspended, and De Vita and Dingwall were on the bench. The early exchanges were a bit tentative as both sides probed for an opening. County looked to be trying to take the initiative with Inverness looking to contain and counter attack at pace. Both keepers were called into action, but were untroubled making comfortable saves from Stewart Murdoch and James Vincent respectively. The first big chance fell to Michael Gardyne after David Raven made a hash of cutting out a cross from the County right. The ball deflected off his boot and looped onto the boot of Gardyne in a menacing position eight yards from goal, but he skied his effort just over the bar much to the amusement of the away fans. County were beginning to see more of the ball as we sat deep and another couple of long range attempts went off target from Richard Foster and Liam Boyce as the first half hour of the game passed. Inverness got to grips with the game and started pushing forward, winning a couple of corners and that got the fans approval as half time approached. After 41 minutes, we made the breakthrough, and a fantastic team goal it was too. We collected the ball on the halfway line and worked it across the back line and up the other flank. Eight players were involved in this one with Liam Polworth contributing twice as he burst into the box to cross for Miles Storey who slotted home, sending Scott Fox the wrong way. A goal fit to win any game. County were stunned and they were caught out two minutes later, Miles Storey the creator this time. He turned and sprinted away from Boyd before smashing a shot from the left side which Fox blocked. The ball bounced out of the box where Vincent met it and his effort was also blocked, but at the expense of a corner. From the resultant corner, a hesitant County defence allowed Devine to head on to Vincent, who popped up in the right place to plant his header into the net to further stun the Jail End and send Inverness in at the break two up. Half Time 0-2 Jim McIntyre would have been reading the riot act after their first half collapse and County looked eager to impress after the break. Liam Boyce tested Fon-Williams in the first minute and the Welsh keeper saved down low to his left. Brian Graham shot wide as County surged forward and Williams again saved from Jackson Irvine down to his left once more. Boyce headed over as the home pressure continued with Inverness content to soak it up and Murdoch went close as well. On the hour, County had to replace Scott Fox in goal as the keeper landed awkwardly on his ankle after clearing a looping cross. He was applauded off the park by both sets of fans as he left the field on a stretcher with possible ligament damage. Ouch! Boyce was thwarted once more by a diving Fon-Williams as he handsomely clutched a header out of the air in spectacular fashion, and Irvine's header met with the same fate. County had bossed the second half in terms of possession, but the Inverness defence were standing tall and it looked as though the home side were running out of ideas with the clock heading towards the ninety. But, similar to the second Inverness goal, Boyce headed home as the defenders watched him get the second header unchallenged to give them a glimmer of hope. Five minutes of time were added on and the visiting fans were once more twitching their keeky winkers as County flooded forward, but they could not breach our defence for a second time and the Highland Derby was won by the boys from Inverness. Full Time 1-2 A pulsating game at times and this was a hard fought game between two decent sides. Miles Storey was the difference and his electric pace gave Boyd and Co plenty to think about. Our first goal was Storey's fourth goal in five appearances. Great return from the loan striker. And James Vincent is popping up with vital goals as well, making tremendous box to box runs and getting the rewards for his efforts. Fon-Williams was superb in goal and big Ross Draper put in some shift, booking included. Liam Polworth played a huge part in the first goal and his confidence must be getting a boost. To be honest, we had no failures and it was a standard away day counter attacking performance, and worthy of the three points. For his superb goal and loan striker performance, the lively Miles Storey is my MotM. International break next week, then off to Kilmarnock. Good times. Date: 03/10/15 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 5473Referee: Willie Collum Ross County: 1 Lineup: Fox (Woods 60), Boyd, Boyce, Gardyne, Foster, Graham (Dingwall 72), Irvine, Franks (De Vita 74), Murdoch, Fraser, Robertson Subs (not used): McShane, Holden, Reckord Scorers: Boyce (90) Booked: Murdoch (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Vincent, Meekings, Draper, Devine, Tansey, Williams (Vigurs 90), Polworth, Mbuyi-Mutombo (Tremarco 74), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Wedderburn, Horner, Sutherland Scorers: Storey (42), Vincent (45) Booked: Raven (56), Draper (64), Mbuyi-Mutombo (72) Sent Off: none

Derby Day. After last weeks heroics against unbeaten Aberdeen, Inverness go over the bridge to face another high flying team. This week it's the turn of Ross County to face the Scottish Cup Champions in a league encounter. This will be the first of two games between the clubs in October as we have been drawn against them in the League Cup at the end of the month. Well, what can you say about Ross County this season? They have made a brilliant start to their campaign gleaning 15 points from their opening 9 games. They started the season by losing to Champions Celtic on the opening day. Their only other defeat came at the hands of newly promoted Hearts in Dingwall. County's highlight so far was a thumping 4-0 win at Rugby Park, but their last outing saw them throw away a 3-1 lead over Dundee as the dark blues came back to force a controversial draw in a game that saw defender Andrew Davies sent off soon after half time. In Liam Boyce they have one of the most potent strikers in the division. Boyce has scored almost a goal a game. Ten goals in eleven starts for the Northern Irishman and that includes a hat-trick in the 7-0 humiliation of Falkirk in the League Cup. But County are not a one man team this season and they have drafted in a few new faces to help Jim McIntyre build his squad the way he wants it. Goalkeeper Scott Fox arrived from Partick Thistle with Gary Woods coming in on loan from Leyton Orient. The defence was bolstered with Andrew Davies arriving from Bradford City, Richard Foster from Championship side the Rangers, Darren Holden (Hartlepool United) and Chris Robertson from Port Vale. Midfielders Ian McShane comes in from Queen of the South, Jackson Irvine (Celtic), Stewart Murdoch from (Fleetwood Town), Jonathan Franks (Hartlepool) and Martin Woods from Shrewsbury Town. Up front they have Michael Gardyne back and Brian Graham has left Dundee United to sign on at Dingwall. All of these new faces meant the end of the road for some familiar ones, and out went keepers Antonio Reguero and Mark Brown. Paul Quinn finds himself at Pittodrie and Ruben Palazuelos and Darren Barr are gone. No room either for Jake Jervis, Graham Carey, Joe Cardle, Steven Ross and former captain Richie Brittain, who chose Brora Rangers instead of Dingwall. A raft of other squad players departed along with loan players like Filip Kiss returning to their host clubs. So, Jim McIntyre in his second season is calling all the shots now and it looks as though he is making his own mark on the team. He firmly believes that County are capable of staying in the top-six, and few would argue against that given the positive start his side have made, although he offered a word of caution. "We've started the season really well and got ourselves into the top six at the moment. The hardest part is going to be staying there." Inverness boosted their confidence last week by beating title challengers Aberdeen in a rousing contest at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. All the damage was done in a first half dominated by the Caley Jags, and Miles Storey netted his third goal since coming on loan. Ryan Christie was the architect of all things involving Inverness, including a sending off, and he scored a superb second goal from over thirty yards to shock Aberdeen into action. We helped them out a bit with sloppy defending and marking when Ash Taylor scored the Dons goal but defensively we were very determined thereafter and deservedly held on for a dramatic win. Yogi was a content man after that game and he rebuffed reports that he might be linked with the vacant managerial posts elsewhere by saying "It's flattering to be linked with other jobs but I'm really focused on Inverness and trying to pick up three points on Saturday (in the Highland derby)." Inverness will be without the suspended Ryan Christie who will serve a one match ban after his double yellow last week . Also missing out are long term casualties Dean Brill, Gary Warren, Aaron Doran, Jordan Roberts and Richie Foran. However, Hughes can call on Tobi Sho-Silva, Dani Lopez, Carl Tremarco and Iain Vigurs to add more depth to his squad following recent injuries. Jim MacIntyre will also be without a suspended player as Andrew Davies will have to sit this one out. Similar to Christie, he has been given a one match ban. Scott Boyd is favourite to replace him. Martin Woods and Craig Curran are sidelined, and Rocco Quinn is reported to be injured as well. tm4tj prediction:- If you asked me to predict a winner a month ago then I would have had no hesitation in telling you that County would thump our makeshift side. However, a month is a long time in this game and with the arrival of Miles Storey and the return of Josh Meekings we now have a side able to compete once more. Liam Boyce will take a bit of watching and we will miss Ryan Christie more than they will miss Andrew Davies. County sit five points above us in the table, but a lot of that was due to our poor start to the season. We are slowly getting more back to fitness and our energy levels against Aberdeen were tremendous, especially in the first half. I don't think that a draw will do either side any harm and at this point of the season that may be our best chance of taking something from Dingwall, but I wouldn't say no to all three points. The Highlands are still ours, let's see if we can keep it that way.

Reds Rocked. Inverness ended Aberdeen's winning start to the league campaign with a 2-1 victory in the Highlands. This was no more that John Hughes' side deserved after a scintillating first half where the scoreline flattered the undefeated Dons. A large crowd were expected with Aberdeen getting 500 extra tickets hoping to see their side get back to winning ways after their shock defeat at the hands of Hibernian in the League Cup in midweek. It was an excellent day for a game of soccer and the large crowd were about to witness a devastating start for Inverness. A couple of surprises before kick off with Carl Tremarco out and Danny Williams dropping back to defence to cover that. In came Liam Polworth to midfield. Still no Tobi Sho-Silva, but the rapid Miles Storey started up top again. Derek McInnes sprung the bigger surprise after telling everybody that Graeme Shinnie would not make this game. But make it he did. His other surprises were having David Goodwillie and Adam Rooney starting on the bench. Jonny Hayes returned after suspension and Kenny McLean and Josh Parker accompanied him up front. Owain Fon-Williams was the first keeper called into action as he dived low to his left to turn a 30 yard effort from McLean round the post. That was the last we would see of Aberdeen as a goal threat until the second half. Inverness took the lead in the seventh minute and a fantastic goal it was too. James Vincent won the ball wide left on the half way line. He fed it inside to Greg Tansey who moved it on to Liam Polworth and he dropped it back to Ross Draper just inside his own half. The big man surged forward before feeding the ball to Ryan Christie. He spun and left his marker Graeme Shinnie for dead before sliding a precision pass to the feet of Miles Storey. He in turn sped forward five paces before rifling a shot across Ward and into the net from fifteen yards to stun the big away support behind the goal. Christie was causing havoc every time he got the ball, and he delivered another inch perfect pass for the runner who was Draper this time. Unfortunately, instead of putting his laces through the ball, he tried to dink it in and his effort was blocked by Paul Quinn eight yards from goal and a grateful Ward gathered the loose ball. Danny Williams injured himself making a thunderous tackle that also took out Meekings. As play raced to the other end, Storey teed up Liam Polworth, but Ward pulled off a tremendous one handed save diving high to his right to deny us a deserved second goal. After treatment, Williams was able to continue. However, our delightful attacking display paid off when Ryan Christie smashed a thirty five yard strike high beyond Ward and into the roof of the net. Draper involved in this again after breaking up play, but what a strike from Christie and no more then we deserved. Aberdeen were down and out at this point but we handed them a lifeline when Devine failed to deal with a cross into the box, his header going for a corner instead of the expected throw in. From the corner, Ash Taylor lost his marker and headed down and up into the net unchallenged. Sloppy from us and a gift for Aberdeen to kick start their game. Christie tried to replicate Taylors header at the other end but again Ward kept the dons in touch with another superb save. The half time whistle saved the visitors from further punishment and we went in with a scoreline that flattered Aberdeen. Half Time 2-1 Could we sustain the attacking threat we showed in the first forty-five? Well, the answer was no and that was obvious as we handed the midfield over to the Dons, inviting them forward to try to level the game. Aberdeen players were now falling to ground at every opportunity as they camped around our box, winning a number of free kicks in dangerous positions, but without troubling Fon-Williams. From one such opportunity, Peter Pawlett rattled a post, although Fon-Williams might have helped it onto the woodwork. Either way he had it covered and the danger was cleared. They did beat the keeper soon after, but Danny Devine popped up from nowhere right under the bar to head the ball away from the net. Now that was a close call. Not the first time Devine has done this either. Aberdeen made it an uncomfortable last fifteen minutes for Inverness with Rooney and Goodwillie on the park but we weathered the late storm and held firm. Our own sub Mutombo took the ball forward a couple of times late on to ease the pressure, but it certainly made a few keeky winkers twitch every time the ball entered our box, but the home side managed to stop Aberdeen's winning start and get a welcome three points for themselves. Only black mark was the sending off for Ryan Christie after his second yellow card for upending the same player. Yes, you've guessed it, that player was none other than our old Captain Graeme Shinnie. Welcome back Graeme. Full Time 2-1 Tremendous first half for Inverness merited this win as they took the game to there more fancied opponents. Ross Draper was involved in lots of the action and Christie's turn that saw him leave Shinnie awol for the first was also exquisite and his threaded passes were game winners. Despite that sending off, Christie was superb in every way and his goal is one to treasure. For all of that, he is my MotM. He was ably assisted by the rest of the side, and Devine, Meekings, Draper, Fon-Williams and Storey were easy on the eye as well. Sorry Hamish, but someone had to do it, and it might as well have been us. Onwards and upwards, exciting times ahead, with the local derby next week in Dingwall. Video from Caley Jags TV............... _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: 26/09/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 6410 Referee: John Beaton Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Meekings, Devine, Williams, Draper, Tansey, Vincent, Polworth (Mutombo 74), Christie, Storey (Wedderburn 83) Subs (not used): Esson, Sutherland, Horner Scorers: Storey (8), Christie (29) Booked: Christie (64, 90), Williams (72), Raven (80), Fon-Williams (92) Sent Off: Christie Aberdeen: 1 Lineup: Ward, Logan, Taylor, Quinn (Pawlett 45), Shinnie, Considine, Jack, McGinn (Rooney 43), McLean, Hayes, Parker (Goodwillie 65) Subs (not used): Brown, Smith, Robson, McLaughlin Scorers: Taylor (35) Booked: Jack (57) Taylor (76), Sent Off: None ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Shinnie's Back....... Unfortunately just for the day as his new club Aberdeen visit the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in Inverness. However, he will only be watching from the stands after injury in midweek. It's the famous for once versus the once famous as Aberdeen look to reach nine in a row against the Scottish Cup holders. Yes, the one we have been dreading is fast approaching as table topping Dandy Dons come to the Highlands. Not only with Graeme Shinnie, but Adam Rooney, Jonny Hayes and Barry Robson as well. We warmed up for this clash by removing Livingston from the League Cup in midweek, goals from Miles Storey and Danny Devine enough to see us safely through to round four. Not the greatest of displays it has to be said, but that's cup football for you. The important factor is that we did progress, which is more than can be said for some clubs. Our last League game saw us take a point from Tannadice after coming from behind to merit the draw. It was another robotic performance, but it's also another game under the belt for our new look squad and more game time for our returning crocks. Josh Meekings thundered home a header to earn the point after that chap Billy Mckay had opened the scoring in a first half dominated by United. Aberdeen limbered up by beating Hearts 3-1 in Edinburgh to make it eight wins on the bounce in the Premiership. David Goodwillie bagged a brace and Niall McGinn scored the other. That is a fantastic start to the season for Aberdeen who are starting to look as good as their fans believe they are. In the League Cup on Wednesday night they took on Championship side Hibernian. Hibs had not read the script though and took the wind out of Aberdeen's sails with a stunning 2-0 win. Not the result the Dons were expecting, but the loss of Flood and Shinnie early on would not have helped their cause. So, who are the players that have put the Dandy back in front of the Dons. Well, the addition of Graeme Shinnie has proven to be a terrific signing for attack minded Aberdeen, able to get at defences on both sides of the park. Aberdeen have been building towards this for a couple of seasons now and Shinnie is one of the final pieces in the Dons jigsaw. The key pieces have been new keeper Danny Ward who joined on loan from Liverpool and has jumped in ahead of Scott Brown. Midfielder Paul Quinn has come in from Ross County and added some bite to the midfield. Ryan McGlaughlan is a defender signed on loan from Liverpool as well and is a useful squad player. They have also added a pair of strikers to the squad in Joe Nuttal from Manchester City and Josh Parker from Red Star Belgrade. Our own Graeme Shinnie is a difficult one for us to swallow, but he is a vital part of the red machine now. Derek McInnes had to reduce his budget to help subsidise these new arrivals and out went a host of recognised players. Russell Anderson retired, and keeper Jamie Langfield saw the writing on the wall and went to Paisley. Joe Shaughnessy and Nicky Low went to Tayside, Clark Robertson is at Blackpool and Declan McManus nearby at Fleetwood. Former Hearts player Andrew Driver has left the building and promising youngster Lawrence Shankland is on loan at St Mirren. A host of fringe players have also left the building. That's a lot of players out at Pittodrie, but he has brought in more quality and less quantity to continue the Aberdeen resurgence. It seems to be working so far. Recent form will show that Aberdeen are unbeaten since the start of the season in the League. They are not the highest scoring team in the League (15), but have still scored more than twice as many as us (7). Their defence has been rather miserly though conceding only three goals in eight games. We are the draw specialists with four and that could work in our favour given our reluctance to score goals. On the down side, Aberdeen won all four of our meetings last season. Meh! Crocks corner. Inverness are slowly getting players back, but it's three in and two out. Meekings, Vincent and Foran have returned the last couple of games, but Iain Vigurs and Tobi Sho-Silva missed out at Livingston. Longer term absentees Gary Warren, Aaron Doran, Dean Brill and Jordan Roberts are still out. Aberdeen took a couple of knocks in midweek against Hibs. Willo Flood and Graeme Shinnie were removed from the park in the first half with injuries, and Derek McInnes has confirmed that both will be out of this clash. Flood could be out for over a month. Mark Reynolds has a shoulder injury and sits this one out. Jonny Hayes is eligible after his red card ban and will return to the squad. tm4tj prediction:- Oh my, this really is a tough one. Aberdeen on the form of their life and Inverness struggling to get any momentum going. The statistics don't lie and it's difficult to see past a win for The Dons. Graeme Shinnie has settled in brilliantly and Adam Rooney was the top scorer in the land last term. If he's not scoring, then David Goodwillie is eager to step forward and Niall McGinn is not shy either. We are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of Shinnie, Mckay and Watkins, coupled with a crippling injury list which has denied us of our regular back line. Yes, it has been a struggle, but there is light at the end of the tunnel with Meekings and Vincent back. New striker Miles Storey has done well and has pace to burn. Mutombo can add a spark as well and Fon-Williams is looking solid between the sticks. Hibs showed the way to do it in the midweek League Cup encounter and that might unsettle the Dons. Ach well, somebody had to do it. I'll stick my neck out here and go for a dramatic draw to ruin the Dons perfect start in the League. I met a very nice couple called Hamish and Morag Rosie, whilst on holiday in Venice. We had a great time in the few days we spent together. Hamish is a very talented man, author and artist. He is originally from Orkney, but unfortunately he is an Aberdeen fan and has been rubbing it in since we met. I'm sorry Hamish, but it's our turn. Enjoy the preview.

Point Taken Inverness and Dundee United shared the points in a hard fought 1-1 draw at Tannadice. It was inevitable that Billy Mckay would score against his old club, but Josh Meekings powered home a header just after the break to level the score. It was a glorious day in Tayside as Inverness visited struggling Dundee United at Tannadice. The shirt sleeve weather made it a tremendous day for a game of football and the pitch looked in magnificent condition as the sides took to the park. A decent away support saw Inverness start with a similar side that took to the field against Hearts. News that Tobi Sho-Silva was out injured was a bit of a downer but we were looking to build on our excellent win against the Jambos. Iain Vigurs also missed out but James Vincent and Josh Meekings continued their comeback. United had Billy Mckay in the main strikers role and Darko Bodul and Scott Fraser were the men providing the ammunition. The opening exchanges were fairly even but Ross Draper picked up a booking inside a minute for hand ball. Ryan McGowan fired one just wide after five minutes as United looked for an early opening, and they got the breakthrough after seven minutes. Inverness will feel they could have averted the goal which had a bit of fortune about it and who else but Billy Mckay scored from less than a couple of yards. Familiar territory for Billy who got the break of the ball after a John Rankin close range effort was blocked on the line. Unfortunately for Inverness Billy did what Billy does best and he knocked the loose ball into the net. It looked bleak for Inverness five minutes later when Rankin met a Morris cross about ten yards out bang in the centre of goal. This time we got the break as Owain Fon-Williams spread himself and blocked the ball with his legs. A let off for the visitors and it really should have been two nil for United. Mckay was looking lively early on as we afforded him the freedom of the park, allowing him to link and run directly at the heart of our box. A couple of frantic tackles kept him at bay and he turned and volleyed one just wide. A good effort that could have caught the keeper out, but Fon-Williams soon had to dive smartly to divert a vicious shot from the edge of the box as United and Mckay threatened to run away with the game. We needed half time to arrive sooner rather than later and we reached the break without further damage. Half Time 1-0 Harsh words must have been said over the half time cuppa as straight from the kick off, Ryan Christie drifted goalwards before sliding in Williams who was upended on the edge of the box. Nothing given though and that stung Inverness into determined mode. Following a couple of corners, Josh Meekings rose majestically at the far side of the six-yard box and powered a Christie corner into the roof of the net. Game on! Carl Tremarco was linking well going forward and had a shot savedthe angle before Danny Williams and Greg Tansey lashed shots close to the goals, but just wide. The tide had turned and Inverness looked the most likely to go on and win the game with United reduced to chasing shadows for long spells. Miles Storey was running the lone strikers roll and it was taking it's toll on the lad who gave his all before being substituted near the end, but he looked knackered long before that. Richie Foran replaced Williams with ten minutes left. Scare for Inverness with four minutes of normal time left as United broke out of defence, but despite a swift break the 'goal' was chalked off for offside. Sit down shut up! The game fizzled out thereafter and a point apiece it was in the Autumn sunshine. Full Time 1-1 Maybe not the best of games, but always something happening to keep you interested. At the end of the day, a point each was probably fair enough. United were on top in the first forty five but failed to extend their lead and were rightly hauled level by Inverness who upped their game after the break, no doubt having been ear bashed by Yogi. Billy Mckay was prominent in the first half but faded as we came out stronger in the second period. Spoke to a couple of United fans after the game and we all agreed it was the right result. We were also unanimous in our praise of Scott Fraser who showed quick feet on numerous occasions when in a tight spot. Ryan Christie once more shone for Inverness and Carl Tremarco looked good going forward in the second half. Tremendous header from Meekings to level the game, but Owain Fon-Williams kept us in touch in the first half and he gets my vote as our MotM. Date: 19/09/15 Venue: Tannadice Stadium, Dundee Attendance: 6235Referee: Kevin Clancy Dundee Utd: 1 Lineup: Zwick, McGowan, Morris, Durnan, Dillon, Dow (Spittal 65), Kuhl, Fraser, Rankin, McKay, Bodul (Murray 82) Subs (not used): McCallum, Telfer, Connolly, Taggart, Donaldson Scorers: Mckay (7) Booked: Rankin (28), Bodul (68) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Meekings, Devine, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Vincent, Christie, Williams (Foran 83), Storey (Polworth 90) Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Wedderburn, Horner Scorers: Meekings (56) Booked: Draper (1), Tremarco (10) Sent Off: none

News Storey... After our first win of the campaign last weekend, it's off to see fall guys Dundee United at Tannadice this Saturday, Billy Mckay and all. It does leave a nasty taste in the mouth seeing Billy in an orange shirt, a bit like seeing Graeme Shinnie in a red one, but we have to move on. Miles Sorey could be the man to start a new chapter in the history of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The curse is strong and anyone leaving will regret it sooner or later. We broke our duck against Hearts in a game that was always interesting and entertaining but never really took off until we scored in the second half. Tidy goals from newly repaired James Vincent and debut striker Miles Storey sent the Edinburgh club home with nothing other than a red card for Oshinawa who thought he could get away with knocking people on the head without repercussion. The plus for us was the return from injury of Vincent and defender Josh Meekings. This allowed Carl Tremarco to play in a more familiar position at left back and Ross Draper was released from his withdrawn role at Centre Back. With new boy Storey showing his pace up front, suddenly the league has become more interesting for Caley Jags fans, and our other new force is Tobi Sho-Silva who could be quite a character to have around. He certainly wanted to get involved in everything on his debut from the bench and is an exciting prospect. Dundee United have taken on the Kilmarnock FC role as one of the frontrunners in the race for relegation. They have gone into free fall since the Dundee derby, losing all four games since then. Their only win was against Motherwell 2-0 at Fir Park and those results have them sitting second bottom on four points, one more than Partick Thistle. Last week they were shocked at home by Killie going down 2-1, Mckay notching his first goal for the Arabs with a spot kick. Who are the men responsible for the demise of Dundee United this season. Jackie Macnamara apart, they have put their faith in Darko Bodul, Coll Donaldson, Mark Durnan, Justin Johnson, Adam Taggart and Aaron Kuhl. Who, I hear you say. Well, here is one name more familiar to us. It's Billy (small k) Mckay. The former Inverness favourite failed to get into relegated Wigans elite squad and is at Tannadice on loan for the season. Darko Bodul has plenty of experience at top European clubs in Portugal, Denmark and Austria and is expected to be the ideal candidate to replace the extrovert Nadir Ciftci. United have more departures than arrivals and Ciftci left for Celtic, surprise surprise. Keeper Radoslaw Ciernziak and Jaroslaw Fojut are back in Poland, Calum Butcher at Burton Albion, Brian Graham and Michael Gardyne at County. Keith Watson, Darren Petrie and Jamie Montgomery dropped divisions in Scotland and Robbie Muirhead has been loaned to Partick Thistle while Henri Anier finds himself at Hibernian. That's a lot of bodies to replace, especially on top of Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Stevens who joined Celtic last season. It's not worked out for United yet and their season got off on the wrong foot, going down to Aberdeen on matchday one. They defeated Motherwell the week after, who we all thought would be a decent benchmark after they thrashed us on opening day. But being pegged back by city rivals Dundee in the derby sparked a run of four defeats on the bounce. We could have the impetus with us, coming off the back of that win over Hearts, but it's a tight league with anyone outside the top two capable of beating each other. Our injury crisis eased slightly over the international break and James Vincent and Josh Meekings returned to the starting eleven. Richie Foran was also in the squad but remained on the bench for the visit of Hearts. We do however, still have an extensive list of first team crocks. Dean Brill, Gary Warren, Aaron Doran, Jordan Roberts are out longer term. Andrea Mutombo sits out his second game for the sending off at Dens Park. United have no fresh concerns, but Jackie is keeping it all close to his chest as we have no further information at time of going to press. tm4tj Prediction:- Things are looking more positive for Inverness after new signings Miles Storey and Tobi Sho-Silva gave us a pacey injection that was sadly lacking since the start of the season. Dani Lopez could find himself on the bench for some time having witnessed the immediate impact this pair provided. With Meekings and Vincent returning to bolster the defence and give us more drive box to box then life's not so bad after all. United badly need a win before the long knives come out for Jackie McNamarra and loan signing and former Caley Jags favourite Billy Mckay is the man they have put their trust in. Confidence is low at the moment though, and I will predict that our away form will benefit from the pace of Miles Storey and that will see us take our second win of the season and leave the United board with a decision to make. Away win by two goals. It's been a tough week off the park for the Tannadice club and indeed all concerned with football. The passing of Ralph Milne has left the footballing world all the poorer. Milne was one of the legendary players for United in the early eighties and our thoughts go out to his family, friends and the Dundee United community. He will always be remembered for that magnificent chipped goal in the Dundee derby that ensured United would win the SPL in 1983. He was a very pacey wide player and was a joy to watch in his prime. Milne played 28 times for United, scoring 75 goals and had been inducted into the Tannadice hall of fame. He played for Charlton Athletic, Bristol City and Manchester United after leaving Dundee United. RIP Ralph Milne 1961 - 2015.

Miles Better Inverness bagged their first win of the season against early pacesetters Hearts in an ultimately deserved 2-0 victory. It took a long time coming but we grew in confidence as the game went on and we were able to complete the job with a late clincher. James Vincent opened the scoring after 49 minutes and debut striker Miles Storey capped a whirlwind display with an Andy Shinnie like finish in the final minute. This was no more than we deserved as we finished the game with a flourish, Hearts on the other hand finished the game with ten men after Oshaniwa appeared to raise his fist against the napper of our other new face Tobi Sho-Silva. A very healthy away support swelled the attendance over the four thousand mark, no doubt looking to see if the Jambos could hit the top of the league, even if it might just be for one night ahead of the top of the table clash at Pittodrie. It was great to have James Vincent and Josh Meekings back in the side to stabilise the erratic recent performances and newbie Miles Storey was plunged in at the sharp end to address our lack of goals. On loan midfielder Ryan Christie started and Carl Tremarco was at left back with Danny Williams floating further forward. This looked to be our best starting eleven available given our injury problems. Iain Vigurs was on the bench along with another new signing, Tobi Sho-Silva and club captain Richie Foran. The visitors were pretty much at full strength and handed Danny Swanson his first start for his new club. Jamie Walker, Billy King and Gavin Reilly started on the bench. A bright evening saw Inverness strut their stuff on a well manicured pitch, and it was the home side that started better, but as in previous games, lacking any goalmouth action. One obvious difference was the pace shown by Miles Storey who was chasing balls, giving us another dimension that had been previously lacking. Hearts came more into the game after the first quarter and it looked as though it would be a repeat of the Hamilton game as errors began to creep into our play, offering Hearts the chances to get forward. If truth be told, whilst it was an entertaining enough encounter, the big away support was probably all that was keeping this game from slipping below mediocrity as both sides struggled to get behind defensive barriers and I imagine some stern words would be spoken by both managers at the break. Few first half highlights to report. Juanma tried to convince the referee he had been impeded in the box, aye right, and an appeal for handball against Ryan Christie who got in the way of a shot from a couple of yard distance on the edge of the box. Rightly dismissed and half time came without either keeper getting his hands dirty. Half Time 0-0 The pep talks seemed to get the message across that more was required and Inverness looked a yard smarter after the interval. We worked the ball down the left through Danny Wiliams but he was denied a cross into the box. He then back tackled the defender and Christie picked up the loose ball. He flicked it between two Hearts players and surged past them before arrowing a low ball into the box. Plenty to do yet, but James Vincent has done this before getting in ahead of the defender to ram the ball into the net for our first goal at home this season. Relief all round and joy in the North Stand. The game opened out after this but Fon Williams was still untroubled as Hearts were reduced to striking from distance, and striking them poorly at that. trundling a few wide of the mark. It was similar at the other end as we looked to add the killer second goal, but there were plenty of stoppages for niggly fouls and play was being repeatedly halted. At 1-0 there was always going to be the danger of losing the lead, something we have done twice already, but Yogi had other ideas and went for glory. Hearts sub Jamie Walker was lively when he came on and had a couple of attempts go wide and a jinking run into the box saw him prod the ball over. Yogi had seen enough and replaced Christie with Tobi in a bold move to get more out of this game. He had a dramatic impact after entering the fray, flashing a header over the bar when he could easily have scored. The tall striker certainly looks to be one to watch as he was winning headers and going on mazy runs, dragging the tiring defenders around the park. Hearts were still in it though and more misplaced efforts kept Inverness ahead as Iain Vigurs came on with fifteen to go, replacing scorer James Vincent. Ross Draper almost became an unlikely hero as he drifted forward, leaving defenders in his wake, but unfortunately he could not pick out Storey or get his shot away and the moment was gone. Great work by the big man though. You could sense something was going to give and it almost did in a goalmouth melee, Storey involved amongst others, but too many bodies got in the way and the ball was hacked off the line eventually. Oshaniwa saw red after clashing with Tobi on the goal line whilst waiting for a corner to be taken. I hope Gary Cornish has a better chin than Tobi, but no excuse for the defender pushing his fist onto Tobi's head. From the corner that ensued he almost headed the second, but Bauben got in the way in front of the line and the ball deflected off him just wide. We would not be denied though and Vigurs sent over a tantalising ball similar to Christie's for the opener and Storey picked up at the back edge of the six yard box. He shimmied and thrashed a left footer home from eight yards to settle the points and the jangling nerves. Still time for Hearts to salvage some pride, but Patterson headed wide and the game had passed the Jambos by as Inverness recorded their first win of the season. Full Time 2-0 tm4tj MotM:- Tough one to call with a few players performing well. James Vincent got the sponsors award, probably for his goal on his comeback from injury, but he did have a decent game. Most of the plus performances came in a better second half and Christie, showed why Celtic bought him as he set up the opener. Carl Tremarco was another who showed up well, linking defending with providing the extra man wide left. New strikers Miles Storey and Tobi indicated that they will be a handful for the best of them and look to be an exciting prospect. Storey might even be quicker than Marley Watkins, but for me, MotM goes to Ross Draper for his industry up front and at the back, not to mention his Diego Maradona impression where he burst through the Hearts midfield into the box. Deserved better, but he is my choice for Man of the Match. Date: 11/09/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 4160 Referee: Steven McLean Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Meekings, Devine, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Vincent (Vigurs 76), Christie (Sho-Silva 72), Williams, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Foran, Wedderburn, Horner Scorers: Vincent (49), Storey (89) Booked: Devine (51), Tansey (82) Sent Off: none Hearts: 0 Lineup: Alexander, Paterson, Ozturk, Rossi, Oshaniwa, Buaben, McKirdy (Reilly 77), Nicholson, Sow (King 59), Swanson (Walker 67), Delgado Subs (not used): Hamilton, Augustyn, Pallardo, McGee Scorers: none Booked: Paterson (43), Delgado (90) Sent Off: Oshaniwa (86)

Friday Footie Newly promoted Hearts will be our next problem as we take them on this Friday evening at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in a televised match that kicks off at 19:45. Another tough task ahead as one of the front runners make their second journey to the Highlands this season, having already edged out Ross County 2-1 in Dingwall. Inverness have been in potential relegation form since the start of the season and are without a win since the Scottish Cup Final against Falkirk. That does seem like a long time ago now. We can't buy a win just now and our chances of that happening have been compounded by the sending off of the wreckless Andrea Mbuyi-Mutombo in our last game away to Dundee. How dare he try that on the humble Nick Ross. The Jambos have continued their Championship winning ways into the Premiership and have earned their third position with five wins on the bounce before they were overturned by Hamilton Accies last time out as they ended the game with ten men. That red card has been rescinded though and Callum Paterson will be available for selection against Inverness. Who are the players entrusted with putting Heart of Midlothian back on the footballing map. In came defenders Blazej Augustyn and Nigerian international Juwon Oshaniwa. Three forward players also joined the maroon platoon in the shape of Igor Rossi Branco, Juanma Manuel Delgado Lloria and Gavin Reilly who was plucked from Queen of the South. Out went Kevin McHattie, Scott Robinson and Dale Carrick to Kilmarnock. Brad McKay is off to Perth, Gary Oliver went South to Queens. Jason Holt and Danny Wilson are at Ibrox. Those are the main arrivals and departures and Robbie Neilson will feel that his squad will be good enough to compete at the top end of the table this year. Hearts have also added Danny Swanson to their impressive squad. The former Dundee United midfielder joins them until the end of the season as Neilson assembles a squad capable of pushing on from last years dominating performances. Inverness were involved in transfer activity at the end of the last window. We had some good news, and some bad news. I'll start with the bad news. The inevitable happened as Ryan Christie has signed a four year deal at Parkhead to play for his boyhood heroes. The good news is that he will be staying with us until January before Celtic will probably recall him. I'm sure every fan will wish him well in his career after Inverness. That doesn't mean we are all happy about it, but unfortunately this was going to happen sooner or later. We also acquired the services of two forward players in Miles Storey and Tobi Sho-Silva. Storey has arrived from Swindon and has been capped by England at u19 level. He had not made the hoped for breakthrough at Swindon where he came through the ranks and had been farmed out to Portsmouth and Newport County. He also had talks with St Mirren but nothing came of that. Sho-Silva joins from Charlton and both players appear to be stop gap loan signings until January brought about by our lack of quality in front of goal. Before the international break, we squandered a one goal advantage at Dens park to end up with a draw. David Raven had given Inverness the lead on the hour but Kane Hemmings prodded home a very late leveller for a share of the points. We would have taken a point before the game, but it was disappointing to concede so late in the game for what would have been our first win of the season. However, the performance was still not encouraging and we are not creating nearly enough opportunities to set us up for our first three pointer. Hearts fared little better by going down at Hamilton, having fought back from being a goal down to go ahead, only for Accies to snatch all three points after Hearts were wrongly reduced to ten men. King and Paterson were the Jambos scorers in a see-saw game. That was their first defeat this term, and the Accies have now beaten Inverness and Hearts in successive games. Nonetheless, it has been an excellent start to life at the top table for the capital club. The treatment table has been kinder to Inverness this last fortnight with news that Josh Meekings, Ricjie Foran and James Vincent could be fit enough to be included in the squad for this encounter. However, Jordan Roberts could be out for a further six weeks with an aggravated groin problem. So he can be added to the long term list of Brill, Warren and Doran. It's been a tough start to the season for Inverness injury wise, let's hope that eases a bit in the near future. Not helping is Mutombo as he will be sitting this one out after his ridiculous red card against Dundee. Hearts will have Callum Paterson available after his sending off was overturned. Neilson has a nearly full set of players to choose from and the added bonus of latest signing Danny Swanson. Soufian El Hassnaoui is the only injury worry. tm4tj prediction:- Our troubles are well documented this season and I don't know where or when our first win will come. We can hopefully shore up the defence a bit once Meekings gets back to full fitness, but that won't happen overnight. Our new strikers will need time to get to know how we roll up here so I won't be looking for miracles this Friday. Unlike Juanma, our Spanish striker has not exactly set the heather on fire. It may be time to try something different as it's not happening for Dani at the moment. Maybe the competition will spur him on to greater things. Juanma has netted four times this season and Osman Sow is a big threat as well. Reilly is scoring too and Hearts attacking flair could prove too much for our bedraggled troops. We have only lost one more goal than Hearts, but they have scored 15 times to our 4, and therein lies the problem. Given that horrendous stat, I can't see us picking up anything against Hearts, other than a thrashing. Comfortable win for the visitors by a couple of goals and little in the way of goalmouth action for Inverness. I'll still go along though and keep my fingers and toes crossed for a much healthier outcome. Yogi believes otherwise and thinks we are a match for Hearts. He will probably be tempted to throw in one of his new attacking options at the deep end in the hope that we can end our dismal run.

Walking Wounded Two points from five games and the prospect of another blank day beckons at the City of Discovery as we take on the Dark Blues at Dens Park on Saturday, the game kicking off at 3:00pm. It's been a disappointing start to the season and there will be little respite against Dundee who have edged their way into the top half of the table, some five points better off than Inverness. Their opening day thrashing of whipping boys Kilmarnock at Rugby Park was followed by home defeat at the hands of adrenalin pumped Jambos. An entertaining derby draw against the Arabs then another Tayside derby game against St Johnstone saw the Dark Blues pick up another win before last weeks defeat to the once famous Aberdeen. All that means that Dundee are on seven points and sit sixth in the league. So who is playing for them this season. Well, we certainly know one of them very well. Yes, it's our own Nick Ross. The tidy midfielder has performed well for his new club after leaving the Highlands. Striker Rory Loy came in from beaten Cup finalists Falkirk and another scorer in the shape of Kane Hemmings arrives after joining from Barnsley. They have brought in defenders Kevin Holt (Queen of the South), and Daryll Meggat from Alloa Athletic. Goalkeeper David Mitchell left Stranraer and the man with the long name Julen Etxabeguren Leanizbarrutia is a defender who joined from East Fife. No longer at Dens are David Clarkson, Jim McAlister, Martin Boyle, Paul Heffernan and Kyle Benedictus. They are the main departures and that leaves Dundee with a squad ready for the rigours of the Premiership. Dundee's last league game saw them lose 2-0 to Aberdeen and they also had Gary Harkins red carded in the penalty incident where Adam Rooney scored the decisive second goal. They played a league cup game on Tuesday evening and were surprisingly beaten 3-1 by Dunfermline Athletic, the prolific Moroccan Faissal El-Bakhtaoui grabbing a brace. Any club looking for a striker could do worse than give him a contract. Whilst Dundee were losing at Pittodrie, we were going down at home rather tamely to Hamilton Academical by the same scoreline. A bright start which produced no goals for our strikerless squad was our downfall as the Accies had us chasing the game from one of our trademark sideways and backwards plays before we gave the ball away. Accies did the rest and the second goal just reinforced our plight at the moment with seven players unable to help out the squad due to injuries. Doran, Foran, Warren.................. It might be simpler to list who is fit for this game. Our crisis gets worse by the day with the news that Aaron Doran will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Greg Tansey came off against Hamilton with an achilles niggle but should be able to play if selected. Nonetheless, Dean Brill, Aaron Doran, Richie Foran, Gary Warren, Josh Meekings, James Vincent, Jordan Roberts............ any advance on that? Yes I hear you shout, Iain Vigurs, Greg Tansey and Dani Lopez are rumoured to be struggling for fitness. Meekings looks the best bet to get back into the squad, badly missed in the heart of the defence, his return can't come quick enough, and James Vincent could make the squad for Dundee. Rory Loy has been out for a few weeks and Dundee have their own injury situation to deal with. Nicky Low and Kevin Thomson should be fit enough to be added to the squad although they have all been struggling recently, but Etxabeguren is out and Simon Ferry is doubtful. Gary Harkins is out after his red card against Aberdeen. tm4tj prediction:- I fear it will get worse before it gets better. Inverness find themselves drawn back into the pack now. It's a massive change from last season when we were a cut above most teams and we all have to deal with that. Key losses such as Billy Mckay, Marley Watkins and Graeme Shinnie coupled with injuries to our main first team players have not been addressed and that is the problem here, but we have to knuckle down and get on with what we have. Dundee appear to have a stronger squad than last season and will be difficult to break down, but given their loss in midweek, that will give us a glimmer of hope that we can take something from this game. Greg Stewart is the man we need to keep quiet as he is capable of providing for others if he is not scoring himself. Another one to look out for is former Cowdenbeath and Barnsley man Kane Hemmings who is not shy at finding the net. A draw is our best bet, but it could be another defeat if we don't find our shooting boots soon. The international break can't come soon enough as our treatment tables are overflowing. Aside from League business, we have been drawn away to Livingston in the 3rd round of the League Cup. Not an easy task as they put St Mirren out in the last round with an excellent 2-3 win at Paisley. Here's a hard one to take. It has been confirmed that Billy Mckay will join Dundee United on loan for the rest of the season.

Rank rotten Hamilton Accies deservedly went home with all three points against a shambolic Inverness who are still under strength due to injuries to key players. Goals in each half where Hamilton profited from Inverness errors saw them leave the Caley Jags without a win since the Scottish Cup final. Carlton Morris and Louis Longridge did the damage after Inverness failed to capitalise on a bright opening where Dani Lopez failed to take any of his three excellent opportunities. A bright day at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium would soon be overshadowed by the bleak display on the park as Inverness toiled whilst Accies spoiled. A small band of visitors would leave the ground merry, the majority would vent their anguish and frustration at another inept display. Read on. Yogi gave starts to Ryan Christie and Dani Lopez in the hope that they could ease our striking problems, but, as would be revealed, the broken record continues with no cutting edge in the final third. Hamilton had not beaten Inverness last season, that was about to change. The home side got off to the better start and it looked as though it was only a matter of time before we would open the scoring. Christie, Mutombo and Lopez were linking well and creating chances. Lopez fired a shot across goal in his first attempt, narrowly missing the target and soon after he headed a Draper cross goalwards, but his effort lacked the power and direction to beat McGovern who dived low to his right to save well. His third effort should have resulted in the opening goal but somehow he could not direct the ball into the net from close range after good work down the wing by Mutombo. The fans were applauding every move as we danced our way forward. Those same fans were not so pleased at the end of the game. Accies were starting to get to grips with our play after fifteen minutes and Grant Gillespie came close with a long range shot which had Williams diving across goal, but the ball fizzed past the wrong side of the post. That warning was not heeded though and after eighteen minutes, Hamilton went ahead. We gave away cheap possession half way up the park. Crawford set Morris on his way and he kept his head to slot the ball easily behind Fon Williams for the opening goal. That might have been harsh on Inverness, but the lack of a proven striker is damning to say the least. From there on in, Hamilton were never really troubled and Inverness would do well to keep the score to one at the break as we fell out of the game. Gramoz Kurtaj had a shot blocked by Fon Williams and Ali Crawford could not adjust his wee feet quick enough to tap the ball into the net and the chance was gone. Lucky break for Inverness. Half Time 0-1 Would the second half bring some joy to the fizzogs of the home fans. Well, no would be the answer. Lopez did try to curl one into the top left corner from outside the box, but it was all a bit choreographed as McGovern clutched the ball comfortably. Not enough pace on the shot to beat the keeper although it was on target and Dani had another on target later, but it was a trundler that the former County keeper collected with ease. Hamilton were content to hold their advantage and we did our best to keep it that way as time after time moves broke down on the right side with David Raven in particular having an off day. The wine must have been extra strong in the hospitality suite as they awarded him the sponsors man of the match. My word! We did have a bit more joy on the left side after Wedderburn and Tremarco were introduced but there were no takers for a couple of inviting crosses into the penalty box, not helped of course when a fresh air shot sums up our day. Meh! The icing was on the Accies cake when they caught us out again right at the end and Longridge put the final nail in our coffin, game over. Full Time 0-2 Plenty of room for improvement as our poor start to the season continues, and at this moment it is difficult to see when or if their will be any change to that. Injuries of course are the big talking point, but lack of firepower is lingering long. In truth, we matched Hamilton in most aspects of the game without causing them too many problems. Both goals were the result of our own mistakes and unfortunately for us we were punished on both occasions. Difficult to pick out anybody after such a poor overall performance, but I suppose Fon Williams did what he had to do and when Wedderburn and Tremarco came on we looked better balanced. Time to get Tremarco in at left back and let the more creative Danny Williams forage further forward. Plenty of disgruntled fans leaving the stadium and the boos are getting more audible as the plight darkens. Next up we are away to Nick Ross and Dundee. Oh dear, it looks like it's going to be a long season if our fortunes don't change soon. Last year is history, time to start this campaign. Date: 22/08/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3003 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Draper, Devine, Williams, Tansey (Tremarco 66), Polworth, Mbuyi-Mutombo, Christie, Vigurs (Wedderburn 76), Lopez (Horner 77) Subs (not used): Esson, Ferguson, Brown, Sutherland Scorers: none Booked: Devine (30), Tremarco (81) Sent Off: none Hamilton Acc: 2 Lineup: McGovern, Gordon, Tena, Tagliapietra, Kurakins, Gillespie (Docherty 63), Imrie, Crawford, MacKinnon, Kurtaj (Longridge 91), Morris (Nade 79) Subs (not used): Martin, MacDonald, Watson, Boyd Scorers: Morris (18), Longridge (91) Booked: Crawford (35), MacKinnon (43), Morris (60) Sent Off: none

Striking problem Matchday five this weekend as free scoring Hamilton come North to take on this seasons fall guys at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. In truth, they kept the best for last weekend and scored all of their goal tally for this season in the one game, a 4-0 hammering of Dundee United. The Accies have been busy strengthening their squad for this season and they have parted company with a few regulars since we last played them. Out has gone proven strikers Nigel Hasselbaink and Jason Scotland. Other notable departees are Stephen Hendrie, Jon Routledge and Darren Smith. Christian Nade returns to the Scottish Premiership from Raith Rovers and defender Antons Kurakins arrives from Ventspils. Midfielders Gramoz Kurtaj and Chris Turner have signed on along with keeper Alan Martin from Clyde. Carlton Morris comes in on loan from Norwich City. Hamilton have only played three games so far with one win, one draw and one defeat. They drew the seasons opener against Partick Thistle (0-0). Their next game was at Dingwall where they went down 2-0 to Ross County and there was no reason to believe they would come up with that convincing score against Dundee United. Their goals came from the tricky Ali Crawford, a header from Lucas Tagliapietra, on loan Carlton Morris from Norwich and a very late Cristian Nade strike. Our lack of fire power has been well documented so it was a welcome couple of goals that were scored at Parkhead, albeit after the points had gone when Celtic took their eye off the ball a little. Still, it was good to see Dani Lopez get off the mark and the talented Ryan Christie scoring his second of the campaign. John Hughes has been actively trying to get his hands on another striker and we have had Portadown's Darren Murray on trial all week. Yogi was reasonably impressed, but their may be a fee involved if we were to further our interest and the lad would need time to get up to speed. Inverness will have a similar squad to last week, so no returns for Aaron Doran, James Vincent, Jordan Roberts and Josh Meekings. Longer term injuries will keep Dean Brill, Richie Foran and Gary Waren out. Hamilton are in better condition, and Danny Redmond should return to the squad. Gaffer Martin Canning is not fit enough to feature though. tm4tj prediction:- We dominated all three games against the Accies last season but it looks as though the encounters will be a lot tougher this time round. Accies surprise routing of Dundee United has raised eyebrows and our lack of attacking options is restricting our progress somewhat. The Inverness fans are desperate to get the first win under the belt and would like that to begin tomorrow. I'm not so sure that we are ready yet with our side badly depleted and maybe we will have to be content with not losing. I'll go for a no scoring draw.