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Tannadice set-back. The first half was very even with chances at both ends of the park. ICT began in excellent form and were playing a good passing game but it was at the other end of the pitch that the first real chance of the game came along when Jason Scotland ran on to a McIntyre pass and fired in an excellent shot which Mark Brown did well to turn away for a corner kick. Midway through the half, Caley Thistle nearly scored a stunning goal when Barry Wilson hit a glorious 20-yard drive but Tony Bullock was up to the challenge and made a superb save. The last real chance of the half fell to ex-ICT man Barry Robson but his effort was pushed over the bar by Mark Brown. Half Time: 0-0 United's new signing, Grant Brebner had an early chance in the second half but his 20-yard drive went just wide of the post. On the hour mark ICT stunned the home side when Juanjo latched on to a fine pass from Ross Tokely but he was brought down inside the box by Bullock and Ref. John Rowbotham pointed to the spot. Up stepped Barry Wilson, scorer the previous week against Celtic from the penalty spot, to make it two-out-of-two spot kicks. Barry then had the chance to increase the lead but he sliced his shot wide after good work by Graham Bayne. The home side were stung into action and five minutes later they grabbed an equaliser when Chris Innes slotted the ball home from all of six yards after Dodds' shot was brilliantly saved by Mark Brown. Caley Thistle continued to soak up the pressure but could they hold out for a well-deserved point? Unfortunately, the answer was to be no. With five minutes remaining McIntyre sharply turned his marker on the edge of the box before lashing home a tremendous shot into the bottom corner of the net. Full Time: 2-1 At the end of the day, disappointment at not taking anything from the game but once again maximum effort from all the players. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dundee United: 2 Team: Bullock; Wilson, McCracken, Innes, Archibald, Brebner, Kerr, McIntyre, Robson, Scotland (Grady 78), Dodds (McLaren 83) Subs not used: Hirschfeld, McInnes, Duff, Bell, Kenneth Booked: Dodds (61), Innes (65) Inverness CT: 1 Team: Brown; Tokely, Golabek, Hart, Munro, McCaffrey, McBain (Hislop 87), Keogh, Juanjo (Prunty 83), Wilson, Bayne Subs not used: Fraser; Dods, Duncan, Thomson, Black Booked: None

Neil Lennon - Shameless Cheat This was the big one - at ‘home’ to the champions in the SPL and live on Setanta TV. It turned out to be a day of drama and excitement but it ended in disappointment for the vast Caley Thistle support. John Robertson made one change to the line-up with Barry Wilson starting and Steve Hislop reverting to the bench. Chris Sutton was missing from the Celtic line-up through injury but new signing Senegalese striker Henri Camara made his first start. Celtic came out on top thanks to a wonder strike from Stan Petrov and a double from John Hartson but the defining moment of the afternoon was the 17th minute red card for ICT’s Juanjo. The home side started confidently and Juanjo hit over in the first minute. Mark Brown saved from Alan Thompson and Petrov then pressure on the Celtic goal ended with headed clearances by Bobo Balde and Petrov. Camara hit past the post then Celtic ‘keeper David Marshall had to come out of his area to head away from Juanjo in 16 minutes. The Spaniard’s game came to an end a minute later when he clashed with Neil Lennon. TV evidence confirmed that Lennon hit out at Juanjo after an accidental collision then Juanjo pushed Lennon’s chest. The Celt went down clutching his nose and fourth official Alan Freeland brought the incident to the attention of the referee – both he and his assistants saw nothing but a red card was produced for the Spaniard and Lennon received no punishment. Shameless cheating from Lennon. [note: the red card was later rescinded] Despite protests the decision stood and it was an uphill struggle for Caley Thistle after that. The team responded well and put up a great show but Celtic took advantage of the extra man in 25 minutes when Hartson headed in a Didier Agathe cross to make it 1-0. Mark Brown was in fine form and he saved from Thompson in 29 minutes and Camara three minutes later. At the other end Marshall saved from Barry Wilson in 40 minutes but it fell for Liam Keogh – he shot over from 18 yards. A Roy McBain corner in 42 minutes led to some confusion then a penalty award for hand-ball by Balde. It seemed a soft award but Wilson stepped up, sent Marshall the wrong way and it was 1-1. Stan Varga headed over at the other end and it remained 1-1 at the break. Half Time: 1-1 The second half was virtually all Celtic. Hartson headed wide in 52 minutes then a minute later Brown brilliantly tipped over an 18 yard shot from Hartson. The second soft penalty of the match came in 67 minutes when Grant Munro’s arm made contact with the ball but Brown dived to his right to deny Petrov. In the aftermath Ross Wallace crossed from the left and Petrov was there to score with a marvellous angled strike from the edge of the box. Hartson sealed it in 76 minutes when Brown parried a Joos Valgaeren shot and he was there to score from the rebound. A Richie Hart curling free kick in 83 minutes was missed by everyone and three minutes from time Thompson hit the bar with a 25 yard free kick. After three minutes of added time an Ian Black corner led to an old-fashioned stramash in the Celtic box, two shots blocked then a third saved by Marshall. Full Time: 1-3 Celtic deserved their victory but with ten men it was a hard task for Caley Thistle. The teams have now met four times in competitive games and it is two games each. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness CT: 1 Team: Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, Munro, Golabek, Wilson (Prunty 70), Hart, Keogh, McBain (Black 81), Juanjo, Bayne (Hislop 65). Subs Not Used: Dods, Duncan, Proctor, Fraser. Booked: McBain, Hart, Hislop. - Sent Off: Juanjo (18). Goal: Wilson 44 pen. Celtic: 3 Team: Marshall, Agathe, Varga, Balde (Laursen 84), Valgaeren, Petrov (Lambert 80), Lennon, Thompson, Wallace (Pearson 80), Hartson, Camara. Subs Not Used: Douglas, McGeady, Cuthbert, McManus. Goals: Hartson 25, Petrov 68, Hartson 76. Att: 8,736 Ref: D McDonald ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Golly opens our SPL account in Pars win Another historic day for the club – the first ‘home’ match at Pittodrie, the first SPL goal (from Stuart Golabek) and, most important of all, the first SPL win. The players were stung by the negative press coverage of last week’s defeat and they reacted in style to earn a well-deserved victory against the Pars. John Robertson made changes with Barry Wilson and Russell Duncan dropping to the bench and Richie Hart and Juanjo starting. In the event Barry Wilson came on in the 23rd minute to replace the injured Steve Hislop. Dunfermline had travelled to Iceland in midweek on UEFA Cup business but fatigue was never an excuse – Caley Thistle could, of course, have been the Icelandic travellers if last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final had gone the other way. Early shots from Juanjo put pressure on the Pars then Golabek scored a captain’s goal in the 12th minute. His fourth goal for the club came after a run from nearly the halfway line and an angled 20 yard shot – Derek Stillie could only push it onto the far post and watch it bounce into the net. Minutes later a Roy McBain curling ball gave Graham Bayne a chance but it came to nothing. Dunfermline began to press and Noel Hunt hit over Mark Brown and the bar. Brown made a number of good stops before the break but in the second half ICT ran the show. Half Time: 1-0 The all-important second goal came from Juanjo in 70 minutes. Barry Wilson ran down the right then cut the ball back into the box – it went beyond Juanjo but the Spaniard stretched to hit it past two defenders and Stillie from just outside the six-yard area. Full Time: 2-0 The long trip back from the far east was a happy one for the ICT fans. Inverness CT: 2 Team: Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, McBain, Golabek, Keogh, Hart, Munro, Juanjo (Prunty 88), Bayne, Hislop (Wilson 23). Subs Not Used: Fraser, Dods, Duncan, Proctor, Black. Goals: Golabek (12), Juanjo (70). Dunfermline: 0 Team: Stillie, Shields, Scott Wilson, Skerla, Byrne (Darren Young 45), Dempsey, Nicholson, Mason, Scott Thomson, Hunt (Donnelly 71), Brewster (Mehmet 75). Subs Not Used: Langfield, Lyle, Labonte, McKeown. Booked: Scott Wilson. Att: 1,972 Ref: T Brown

First SPL game ends in defeat An historic day in the short life of Inverness Caledonian Thistle but, in the end, bitter disappointment. The meeting of the two clubs in the SPL completed a piece of Scottish football history – Livingston and ICT became the first clubs to meet in all four divisions. Unfortunately for Inverness it was not the introduction to the SPL that they wanted, but a lesson learned for the future, and one they would heed. As Vera Lynn once said: We'll Meet Again SAT 7th AUGUST 2004 ALMONDVALE STADIUM LIVINGSTON 3 (O’Brien 44, Easton 57, Lovell 66) Team: McKenzie, McNamee, Rubio, Dorado, Boyack, O’Brien, Easton, McLaughlin, Lilley, Lovell, Libbra (Hamilton 65) Subs – McMenamin, Dair, Brittain, Snowdon, Bahoken & Meldrum INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 0 Team: Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, Munro, Golabek, Wilson, Duncan (Hart 58), Keogh, McBain (Black 65), Hislop (Juanjo 58), Bayne Subs – Dods, Proctor, Prunty & Fraser Referee C Richmond Attendance 3310 Man of the Match Stuart Lovell A new SPL rule meant that seven substitutes were named but only three could play. Caley Thistle started brightly and in the second minute a Russell Duncan header was only partly cleared and the ball fell to Liam Keogh – from 15 yards he shot high. In nine minutes Livi’s Scott McLaughlin raced down the left, found Steve Boyack and his ball across goal came off the woodwork. Wilson hit low and just wide of the Livi goal and a David McNamee shot was blocked. Burton O’Brien hit wide in 33 minutes after Mark Brown pushed down a cross then Brown held a shot from Derek Lilley. With the half-time whistle only seconds away Livi made the breakthrough when McCaffrey tried to head back to Brown. Communications broke down as the ‘keeper came out and O’Brien only had to tap in to the empty goal for 1-0. Half Time: 1-0 The second half was mostly Livingston but in 54 minutes Steve Hislop set Wilson up one-on-one with Roddy McKenzie but it fell to his left foot and he hit wide. It was no surprise when Livi extended their lead in 57 minutes. Boyack sprinted down the right, neatly rounded Golabek then his low ball was turned in at the near post by Easton. Substitute Richie Hart tried from 25 yards in 63 minutes but it went wide then McKenzie held a deflected Hart effort from long range. The third goal in 66 minutes was a simple one as Lovell and Jim Hamilton combined to walk through the defence – Lovell touched it in from close-range. ICT created a couple of good late chances when a curling Hart free kick was headed over by Tokely then a McCaffrey lob gave Bayne an opening – Rubio stepped in quickly to clear. With two minutes added time on the clock Lilley headed wide and it stayed 3-0. Full Time: 3-0 A bad start to the season and a taste of the level of football to expect in the coming months. Welcome to the SPL!