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Found 19 results

  1. Wasps sting the Jags with late penalty With temporary gaffers Barry Wilson and Ryan Esson taking care of proceedings, it was an energetic start for the hosts. However that was disrupted after twenty minutes when Innes Cameron burst through the middle to stroke the ball into the net as Ridgers came off his line. Against the run of play, but the Wasps did not care and they held the advantage to go in at the break one ahead. Not much was happening until Wallace Duffy thundered a left footer from over twenty-five yards high into the net. What a strike for your first senior goal. One minute later and substitute James Keatings was stroking us up to fifth in the table before the late penalty from Alan Trouten brought us back down to earth. Disappointing to throw away the lead, but there's more to be worrying about than a game of football. ***It was announced after the game that Neil McCann will take over until Robbo is ready to return*** A difficult period for the club on and off the park has culminated in manager John Robertson being given compassionate leave by the club due to a family bereavement. I'm sure all who know Robbo will offer their sincere condolences. Assistant manager Scott Kellacher is also recovering from severe illness and he too will require some time to recover and our best wishes go out to our management pairing. With that in mind it was coaches Barry Wilson and Ryan Esson that were in the dugout for tonight's game against Alloa. The hosts were without Aaron Doran, Anthony McDonald, Sean Welsh and James Vincent as well as other long term absentees Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie. David Carson was the star man at Ayr and he was in the starting XI tonight. It had been a wet and windy day and but the weather was taking a break with the wind dropping and showers less frequent as the sides took to the field. A bright start to the game for the hosts produced three corners in quick succession for the Caley Jags but the Alloa defence dealt well with the threat and managed to clear their lines. Carson continued where he left off at Somerset Park and was driving forward with menace. Cammy Harper floated a ball towards the edge of the box where Roddy MacGregor knocked down for Daniel Mackay but he miscued and the half chance disappeared. The same pairing created another opportunity soon after but the shot lacked power to trouble Neil Parry. A free kick to Alloa from Innes Murray range saw Ridgers save easily as Alloa came more into the game and a couple of minutes later they took the lead against the run of play. Ray Grant intercepted the ball in midfield from Devene and fed Innes Cameron who burst clear from midway and ran through to neatly side step and slot the ball past Ridgers as the keeper came out. A blow to Inverness and they would need to work a bit harder with Alloa now only two points behind as it stands after twenty minutes. Todorov picked out the run of Carson on the right but his cross come shot drifted just over the bar with 25 minutes gone. Alloa almost doubled their lead but a Cameron shot from around the spot was charged down with the possibility of an arm hitting the ball but nothing given. A free kick offered a heading opportunity for the towering Todorov but his downward header just went the wrong side of the post with Parry beaten. All the pressure coming from the hosts but a couple of testing balls from Toddy and Mackay saw no takers in the box which is surprising considering we were one down. Despite some intricate play, Neil Parry has not had any serious work to do yet and there's only five minutes before the break as he stretches to pluck a deep cross out of the air with aplomb. Carson got the break of the ball on the right and his clipped cross found Todorov at the back post but his header went over junction of post and bar. MacGregor picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and drilled it home, unfortunately the whistle sounded just as he shot and play was taken back for a free kick to Alloa on the edge of the box Half Time 0-1 Like the first half, we forced a couple of quick corners but the pressure was relieved when a foul was given after the second one. Slack play was evident as a heavy shower lashed the park and Alloa introduced Innes Murray for Scougall five minutes into the half and Inverness racked up the corner count, Devine winning another corner. Parry had some work to do as he gathered a low shot from Allardice as the pressure continued. A rare break forward found substitute Innes Murray at the back post but he slashed his shot well wide of the mark, a let off for the Caley Jags. With half an hour left Miles Storey replaced Dan Mackay. Too many hapless long hanging balls into the box were collected by Parry with ease as we struggled to create decisive opportunities. James Keatings replaced MacGregor as we looked to create more but with less than twenty minutes left, nobody was holding their breath. Out of the blue after a couple of fresh air swipes at the ball inside the box, Wallace Duffy strode onto the ball some twenty five yards out and lashed a thumping left footer high behind Parry for his first goal for the Caley Jags and a much needed goal tonight. In dramatic fashion, moments later Keatings buried the ball into the bottom of the net to turn this game on it's head. It should have been three minutes later but Storey dollied a penalty into the keeper. Inverness were swarming all over the Wasps now and Keatings flashed a header just wide with Parry scrambling to get there, and again Alloa got the benefit of another 'goal' when a Storey header beat Parry once more. The craziness continued when Alloa got a stonewall penalty after Harper tripped Robertson in the box and Trouten did what Storey should have done, scored to make it 2-2. A frantic finish saw corners taken and defenders clearing their lines at the expense of more corners and Alloa still trying to break at pace, but alas for the Caley Jags it ended all square. Full Time 2-2 The second half exploded into life with Duffy's thunderous strike and then Keatings' goal. It all looked rosey when we were awarded a penalty but Why Storey took it only he will know. That could have taken the stuffing out of Alloa but they went up the park and got a penalty of their own, and well, Trouten just does not miss. A frenetic last twenty minutes livened up a dull game, but the joy of turning this game round was neutralised by Trouten's 12 yard dead ball death strike. At that point we had reached fifth in the table, unfortunately it was not to be and Alloa will be delighted with their point. Match reaction from BBC Sport Inverness Caley Thistle coach Barry Wilson: "The performance levels were really high tonight - we created chances and dominated the game. Even though we missed the penalty we should still see out the game. It's really frustrating." Alloa manager Peter Grant: "I thought we should have been more comfortable at half-time. This group have fantastic spirit and they showed that. I'm delighted to get the point at the end." Full highlights from Caley Jags TV Date: 23/02/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Barry Wilson/Ryan Esson (John Robertson on compassionate leave ) Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Devine, Harper, D Mackay (Storey 61), Carson, Allardice, MacGregor (Keatings 71), Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Harkness, Hyde, B Mckay. Scorers: Duffy(77), Keatings (78) Booked: none Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 2 Manager: Peter Grant Lineup: Parry; Taggart, Dick, Graham, Hetherington, Robertson, Cawley (Buchanan 83), Scougall (Murray 53), Grant, Trouten (Jameson 87), Cameron Subs (not used): Wright, Brown, Connelly, Thomson, Scorers: Cameron (20), Trouten (87 pen) Booked: Graham (73) Sent Off: none a
  2. until
    Alloa Athletic -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Recreation Park, Alloa Saturday 6th March @ 3:00pm Covid restrictions - No Fans
  3. Rescheduled Alloa game 7:00pm Tuesday night Weather & Covid permitting... The original preview has been resurrected and irrelevant parts have been greyed out. The section regarding manager John Roberton has been left in as it has been revealed today that he has been granted compassionate leave due to a family bereavement. The club are looking to appoint an interim manager whilst Robbo is away. All at CTO send sincere condolences to John and family and hope everyone gets the support they need. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. It's one month since the original fixture was called off. Since then we have played four times, drawing with Morton and Arbroath, disappointingly losing at home to Queen of the South but bouncing back at the weekend to defeat Ayr United 2-0 at Somerset Park. Daniel Mackay and Shane Sutherland with the goals in each half. Importantly David Carson played from the start and put in a MotM performance. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Fast forward one month for the Wasps and they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at Ayr followed by an excellent 2-1 home win over Queen of the South. A home draw with Arbroath led to Saturdays narrow loss at East End Park where word on the street has it that they deserved something from that game. Alloa now find themselves five points adrift at the foot of the table. No room for complacency at Inverness though as we are one of the teams 5 points above Alloa. ***Latest Team News*** David Carson has returned to action and played a big part in the win at Ayr. Danny Devine has been out recently but he also played at Ayr. We are still without Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie on long term sickness benefits and they have been joined by Aaron Doran and loan signing Anthony McDonald. James Vincent was missing at Ayr as well. All three picked up injuries in training with Doran and McDonald possibly out for longer term. Peter Grant had this team out against Dunfermline with dangerman Kevin Cawley on target. Team: Parry; Robertson (Thomson 91), Graham, Taggart, Dick, Hetherington Williamson (Brown 90), Scougall, Trouten, Cawley, Cameron Subs: Buchanan, Jamieson, Connelly, Murray, Wright So there you have it, we are up to date now. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 Club Statement re- John Robertson & Scott Kellacher Alloa Kick-off 7:00pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend ------------------ League table as at 20th January. Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware!
  4. Rescheduled Alloa game 7:00pm Tuesday night Weather & Covid permitting... The original preview has been resurrected and irrelevant parts have been greyed out. The section regarding manager John Roberton has been left in as it has been revealed today that he has been granted compassionate leave due to a family bereavement. The club are looking to appoint an interim manager whilst Robbo is away. All at CTO send sincere condolences to John and family and hope everyone gets the support they need. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. It's one month since the original fixture was called off. Since then we have played four times, drawing with Morton and Arbroath, disappointingly losing at home to Queen of the South but bouncing back at the weekend to defeat Ayr United 2-0 at Somerset Park. Daniel Mackay and Shane Sutherland with the goals in each half. Importantly David Carson played from the start and put in a MotM performance. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Fast forward one month for the Wasps and they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at Ayr followed by an excellent 2-1 home win over Queen of the South. A home draw with Arbroath led to Saturdays narrow loss at East End Park where word on the street has it that they deserved something from that game. Alloa now find themselves five points adrift at the foot of the table. No room for complacency at Inverness though as we are one of the teams 5 points above Alloa. ***Latest Team News*** David Carson has returned to action and played a big part in the win at Ayr. Danny Devine has been out recently but he also played at Ayr. We are still without Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie on long term sickness benefits and they have been joined by Aaron Doran and loan signing Anthony McDonald. James Vincent was missing at Ayr as well. All three picked up injuries in training with Doran and McDonald possibly out for longer term. Peter Grant had this team out against Dunfermline with dangerman Kevin Cawley on target. Team: Parry; Robertson (Thomson 91), Graham, Taggart, Dick, Hetherington Williamson (Brown 90), Scougall, Trouten, Cawley, Cameron Subs: Buchanan, Jamieson, Connelly, Murray, Wright So there you have it, we are up to date now. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 Club Statement re- John Robertson & Scott Kellacher Alloa Kick-off 7:00pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend ------------------ League table as at 20th January. Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware! View full article
  5. Chocolate cup delight Inverness made a number of changes for this Challenge Cup fourth round tie against Alloa Athletic but still came out on top after a somewhat listless game where errors were more commonplace than slick incisive football. Less than 1000 fans were in attendance as Mitch Curry scored his first goal for the club just before the interval. Debutant Nathan Gilhooly gave away the ball thirty yards out and Curry ran into the box before cutting the ball back across the keeper and into the net. We got a deserved second when Charlie Trafford crashed a shot goalwards. It took a big deflection to fly high into the net with keeper Jamie MacDonald stranded. Alloa hit the woodwork twice through Trouten and Graham before we wrapped the game up. In the last minute Matheus Machado was on hand at the back post to knock a Miles Storey cross into the net for his first senior goal. Brazilliant! Five or six non regulars were given the nod in this one, notably, keeper Cammy Mackay, Cammy Harper, Kevin McHattie and Mitch Curry who returned after injury, his first game in eleven weeks. The Wasps were along more familiar lines and made two or three changes from the side that beat Dundee United last Friday. Nathan Gilhooly was making his first start for the club with Robbie Deas missing. Steven Hetherington also missed out and Liam Buchanan started. It was a low key game and the performance echoed that in terms of urgency. Inverness were dominant in the first half but wasteful in the final third with some preferring to flatter to deceive rather than go for the jugular. Mitchell Curry had a couple of efforts as did Roddy MacGregor but either failed to make the keeper work or made it easy for him to gather the ball comfortably. Shooting practice might be on the agenda this week as Aaron Doran fired harmless efforts well over the bar. Curry opened the scoring just before the break after he cut out a loose ball from Gilhooly. He carried on across and into the box before cutting the ball back across the keeper and into the bottom corner. He wasted an equally good chance within a minute after bursting into the left side of the box but shot weakly with his left peg at the near post where MacDonald gathered the ball with ease. He would have been better opening his body looking for the far post or squaring to the incoming teammates. Half Time 0-1 The second period saw our dominance continue and Jamie MacDonald did well to stop a MacGregor shot on the line after a deflection took a bit of the pace off the ball. Aaron Doran looked as though he had scored with half the North Stand already on their feet. However his dipping volley sliced narrowly wide of the keepers left hand post. Close, but no cigar! Our dominance eventually paid off but it took a deflected shot from Charlie Trafford to get the two goal cushion. He bludgeoned the ball from outside the box and it deflected high into the net with MacDonald stranded. We seemed to stir a hornets nest after the second goal and the wasps almost stung us, three times, with Alan Trouten firstly taking forever to pick his spot. That spot was the post and it rebounded back towards the keeper. Adam Brown tried from distance and Cammy Mackay stopped the shot, but as it bounced away from him Robbie Thomson looked favourite to get to the ball first but Cammy dived full length forward to deny the Waspy. Andy Graham also saw a late header come down off the bar as we lost our focus a little. We rallied again and the often wasteful Storey managed to get a cross into the box. Jordan White challenged for it and it was met at the back post by young Matheus Machado who tidily and gleefully knocked it into the net. That's his first senior goal for the club, many more to come methinks. Good end to the contest by the Caley Jags who seemed to be in control but almost undid the good work prior to Alloa's wee revival bid. Overall we were comfortable winners, but had we taken a more urgent approach could have scored half a dozen goals. Unfortunately we were somewhat pedantic at times with Doran going round in circles and Storey often taking the wrong option when he should be using his best asset, his searing pace and power. Good cross for the third goal though. MacGregor is young and comes across as over eager to score. Very busy player though and will be a great asset once he gets off the mark. The goals can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=392555228366434 Not easy to spot the MotM. A few contenders with Charlie Trafford in particular having a good day. David Carson was also industrious and at the back Coll Donaldson looks more focussed than he was at the start of the season and Kevin McHattie will be knocking on the managers door very soon. No real failures, but some need to work to their strengths rather than be fancy Dans. Good to be back.......... The draw for the semi-finals will be made at 1:00pm on Wednesday 16th October. Also through along with Inverness are Stenhousemuir, Elgin City, Clyde, Partick Thistle, Raith Rovers, Wrexham and the winners of Solihull Moors v Rangers Colts(Tues 15th). Date: 12/10/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 973 Referee: John McKendrick Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: C Mackay, Rooney, Donaldson, McHattie, Harper, Doran, Carson, Trafford (Vincent 78), Curry (White 75) , MacGregor (Machado 85), Storey. Subs (not used): Ridgers; Tremarco, McCart, Scorers: Curry (42), Trafford (64), Machado (88). Booked: none Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 0 Lineup: MacDonald; Taggart, Graham, Cawley, Robertson, Buchanan, Trouten, Flannigan, Brown (O’Donnell 86), Gilhooly, O’Hara (Thomson 65) Subs (not used): Henry; Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  6. Wasps Sting Jaded Jags The Caley Jags took an early lead through Brad Mckay as he lashed home from close range. A stunning free kick by Innes Murray levelled the game on the hour, and Robbie Thomson put the Wasps ahead fifteen minutes from the end. (Mark Ridgers look away now). What a disjointed performance by the Caley Jags after the promise of the last few weeks. Credit to Alloa for sticking with it when we should have looked for a second goal, but our second half effort was non existent. What the managers said on BBC Scotland: Alloa Athletic manager Peter Grant: "The second half, we dug right in and we got what we deserved. We had a big game midweek and then to galvanise ourselves the way we did is credit to them." Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson: "I'm hugely disappointed with the second half. We didn't get it going at all. We were outworked and outplayed. That's disappointing." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ After encouraging results in recent weeks Inverness faced Alloa Athletic at the Indodrill Stadium. Alloa would be looking to carry their League Cup form into the Championship and climb further away from the basement end of the table. Beating Arbroath last week was a good start to that. The Caley Jags were hoping to continue the progress they have made since the opening weeks and with the treatment table looking healthier things were beginning to look upwards. John Robertson had a settled side in the last three weeks with the young team keeping some more recognised faces on the bench. Shane Sutherland had recovered after a knock last week as Inverness went unchanged again. David Carson was fit enough to sit on the bench. Alloa were without the injured Scott Taggart and Ray Grant with Stephan Scougall also missing out. And of course, they are without Kevin O'Hara and Robbie Deas this season. O'Hara is now at Dunfermline, I wonder whatever happened to Robbie Deas ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Steven Kirkland, the man in charge today, set the ball rolling with a puff of his whistle. An early goal by Brad Mckay from close range should have seen us in control of this game but in truth, we had little to offer after opening the scoring in the 7th minute. Scott Allardice shot narrowly over and Shane Sutherland had an effort saved well by Neil Parry. Other than that it was an untidy half. Unfortunately it got worse after the break HALF TIME 0-1 Innes Murray scored a superb free kick after the interval to restore parity. From just over 25 yards the ball whistled into the keepers top right corner, Ridgers absolutely helpless as the ball curled and dipped into the net. That superb goal lifted Alloa and you would now think it was Inverness that had gone twelve rounds with Hibs in midweek, such was our inability to build any momentum. We were now clearly brain dead as Alloa looked more likely to get the winner. They did just that when it appeared as though our normally reliable keeper fumbled a bog standard half hit shot that squirmed through his grasp as he crouched down to gather the ball. Whatever happened it ended in the net and with it our hopes of getting anything from this game. We did huff and puff as Robbo said in the interview but we looked clueless and more like a bunch of schoolkids having a kickabout than a team looking to get into the promotion play-off positions. Full credit to Alloa for this win and they ended the game much stronger than the Caley Jades who will need to pull their socks up pronto. Another difficult test coming up next Saturday against a resurgent Morton at Cappielow. And a sobering thought, Alloa did this without Alan Trouten, Scott Taggart and Ray Grant. l'm still raging about this performance, so here's Honest John to sum up the disappointment in his after match interview which is how I saw the game as well... Listen to the full interview on Facebook. Full highlights from Alloa TV Date: 19/12/2020 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 000 Referee: Steven Kirkland Alloa Athletic: 2 Lineup: Parry; Dick, Graham, Jamieson, Hetherington, Murray, Robertson, Buchanan (Malcolm 87), Cawley, Connelly (Thomson 62), O'Donnell Subs (not used): Willison; Evans, Lynch, Williamson, Scorers: Murray (61), Thomson (78) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, Kennedy (Doran 69), Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland (Todorov 80), Keatings (Welsh 69), Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Vincent, Carson, D Mackay Scorers: B Mckay (7) Booked: Devine (61), McKay (77) Sent Off: none a
  7. A spot of Recreation After a good set of results in midweek, the Caley Jags head to Recreation Park Alloa, looking to consolidate their position in second place in the Championship, the game kicking off at 3:00pm. Inverness were the only team to win in midweek as the other four games ended goalless. This will be the sixth meeting between the sides this season, with Inverness having three wins, the other two games were draws. Last time together we struggled to a 1-1 draw against the Wasps. A first half penalty was tucked away by Iain Flannigan but Jordan White rescued our day with a goal on the hour. Last time at Recreation Park we were on Scottish Cup duty and edged out Alloa 2-3 thanks to a late goal from Charlie Trafford. Alloa's top scorer Kevin O'Hara scored twice to square matters after Aaron Doran and Jordan White had Inverness ahead twice. We never find it easy on the artificial surface and I expect it will be no different this time round. Championship fixtures this weekend Aloa Athletic v Inverness CT Ayr United v Dundee Dundee Utd v Partick Thistle Dunfermline v Queen of the South Morton v Arbroath Here's Johnny.............. OFFICIAL PREVIEW Sean Welsh and James Vincent missed out in midweek but Lewis Toshney added some much needed solidarity to our defence. Brad Mckay will be available for selection after his red card against Hibs in the Scottish Cup and Robbo is hopeful Vincent will be added to the squad. Alloa's main threat will be 14 goal Kevin O'Hara although he is not the only player we need to be wary of. Kevin Cawley, and Alan Trouten are well aware how to find the back of the net, and at the other end Neil Parry made a welcome return to the goals, shutting Dundee out with a tremendous performance in midweek. That's some save by Neil Parry in midweek................. Bronson It should be noted that after the passing of the legend that is Bronson, his funeral arrangements have been released. RIP Simon. On behalf Simon’s immediate family, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been in touch, shared their memories of him and offered their support. It has been truly humbling – we knew he was a great bloke, but this has surpassed even our expectations. His death will leave a huge hole in the hearts and lives of all who knew him. The funeral service will take place on Wednesday 11 March at 12.30pm in the Funeral Home of William T Fraser and Son, Culduthel Road, Inverness, IV2 6AB, and thereafter to Kilvean Cemetery. All friends and colleagues past and present welcome. Family flowers only please, and money donations to the Scottish Burned Children’s Club welcome. Please share this information with anyone else you think would like to know. — feeling heartbroken. As a mark of respect for Simon, the Fans will do their own tribute at the Challenge Cup Final against Raith Rovers. We're planning on having a minutes applause in the 44th minute for Simon / Bronson during this game. Something to note for later this month and feel free to make others around you at the game aware.
  8. Inverness Pay The Penalty Inverness slumped again when others around them were faltering, this time only drawing with second bottom Alloa. A first half penalty was tucked away by Iain Flannigan after Shaun Rooney and or Brad Mckay rashly bundled Kevin O'Hara over in the box. We eventually equalised through Jordan White on the hour when he held off the defenders challenge in the box to turn and slot home from close range. White should have won the game with the last attack of the match but headed against the bar when it looked easier to score. Despite a dominant second half, Mark Ridgers had to be alert to block an effort from close range on the rare occasion Alloa ventured forth while we squandered numerous opportunities to make debut keeper Wright work too hard. Despite the dropped points, Inverness remain second top, and Alloa remain second bottom. Shaun Rooney appears to be here until the summer and he was on the park at right back. Tom Walsh started with James Keatings out injured, and Brad Mckay and Kevin McHattie filled the Coll & Jamie shaped hole in the heart of our defence. Alloa were without the injured Jamie MacDonald and young debutante Kieran Wright was in goal. Goal shark Kevin O'Hara was the sting in the Wasps attack. Inverness kick started the game but it was Kevin O'Hara that was first to make a keeper work, Ridgers holding on to his long range effort. Inverness responded and a blocked shot from Aaron Doran brought a corner to the hosts and then Tom Walsh had his attempt blocked as well before O'Hara once more tried his lick from distance, the ball deflecting for a corner. The first decent opportunity fell to Jordan White but Kieran Wright grabbed the ball comfortably as White failed to connect properly. Carl Tremarco popped up towards the front of the box at a corner and his header dipped just over the bar as Inverness looked most likely to score. Alloa broke the one way traffic when a Kevin McHattie back header was intercepted by Robert Thomson, thankfully he shot wide, but it was the hosts that mostly held the upper hand. Miles Storey broke down the right side and cut the ball low across the box but Doran smothered his shot and it trundled safely into the arms of the keeper. White saw a header sail over the bar, unfortunately that would be a recurring theme for the big striker. Boom! Out of nowhere, Alloa were afforded room down our right side and when O'Hara broke into the box, a combination of Brad Mckay and Shaun Rooney targeted the Alloa man. It looked as though it was Rooney who unceremoniously barged O'Hara over as Mckay tugged his man and there was no hesitation from Kevin Clancy as he pointed to the spot. Ridgers guessed right, but Iain Flannigan had sufficient power on his spot kick to find the bottom corner, just out of Mark's reach. If it's any consolation to us, Coll Donaldson did likewise for County yesterday. Meh! Almost immediately, we could have equalised. However Storey set a new record for vertical shooting as he lashed a great ball into the box high above the stand, straight out of the Jordan White heading textbook. Trafford fired a shot from twenty-five yards but it was straight down the young keepers throat as he parried then picked up the ball. Storey saw a header saved by Wright but it was at the other end where a goal almost came. Ridgers and or McHattie had to be at their best to deny Cawley after we got in a bit of a scrambulation in and around our own box. Another chance would come our way as White met a deep cross, but as he stretched out to volley the ball he could only knock it tamely into the goalies gloves. Half Time 0-1 We looked more urgent at the start of the second half and pinned Alloa onto the back foot, but a couple of deflected efforts came and went without troubling Wright too much. Sean Welsh made a welcome return to action and on the hour, White would not be denied though and the big lad did well to control an awkward ball into the box from Welsh on the right, hold off his marker and turn the ball into the net from six yards. No more than we deserved at this point in the game. We looked as though we were going to overrun Alloa now as Rooney began to surge forward but his sterling efforts saw no takers in the box, Doran being denied a couple of times. However, Alloa reminded us that they were also on the park when Ridgers had to make a great save to deny O'Hara after James Vincent gift wrapped a loose ball to the visitors. Best moment of the match from the hosts when substitute David Carson skipped across the Alloa defence before shooting just wide. Close but no cigar! In a frantic ending to the game Ridgers made a desperate stop to deny O'Hara or Alan Trouten, White headed over, Doran had a shot saved and right at the death Jordan White smacked the bar with a close range header when he should have been bugling the net. Doh! Mark Ridgers was our MotM with Shaun Rooney having a good second half. Good to see Walsh and Welsh getting up to speed and wee David Carson looked lively when he came on, really unlucky with the rasping shot that fizzed past the corner of the post and bar. Bottom line though is it's more points dropped against teams at the bottom end of the table, and that won't be good enough to keep us in second place should we continue to falter. The goals.... Speaking to BBC Sport Inverness CT assistant manager Barry Wilson: "I'm frustrated. We were chasing the game after the penalty, which we felt was of the soft variety. Results elsewhere went for us but we've not taken our chance to go further ahead." Alloa Athletic manager Peter Grant: "I've been delighted with our performances. We showed another side today the way they had to dig in at a tough place to come." Full Highlights from Caley Jags TV........... Bazza was on post match duty........ Date: 01/02/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1914 Referee: Kevin Clancy Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, McHattie, Tremarco, Doran, Trafford (Welsh 57), Vincent (MacGregor 73), Walsh (Carson 74), Storey, White Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, Toshney, Todorov Scorers: White (59) Booked: Storey (45+1) Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 1 Lineup: Wright; Taggart, Dick, Deas, Stirling, Hetherington, Cawley, Robertson, Flannigan, O'Hara, Thomson (Trouten (63)) Subs (not used): Wilson, Gilhooley, O'Donnell, Buchanan, Connelly Scorers: Flannigan (30 pen) Booked: Sent Off: none a
  9. Window Pain This transfer window has become a real pain in the back passage for Inverness Caledonian Thistle with practically our entire first choice defenders leaving our ambitionless and penniless club for more lucrative contracts elsewhere. Only veteran defender and captain Carl Tremarco remains of what was once a solid back four. However, don't worry Caley Jags fans. Whilst all around us are strengthening their squads, we are going to do Gaelic translations across the tannoy at the stadium. That should be enough to get us back into the Premiership. You just couldn't make this up. Alloa are the visitors this week for the Championship clash at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday at 3:00pm, and they will have hot property Kevin O'Hara in their line-up. He's the scorer of eight goals in his last six games, including two against Inverness in the Scottish Cup tie at Recreation Park. It's the fifth meeting of the clubs this season with three Inverness wins and one draw so far. The case for the defence..... The case for the defence rests with the Caley Jags board. It's now official, Jamie McCart has left the building, something we all knew for a few weeks, but it's official now Jamie McCart statement. He has sat on the bench for our last two games whilst the i's were dotted and the T's were crossed, so now we have the official line. He's off to Perth. So the heart has been ripped out of central defence with Coll Donaldson already playing in dark blue over the bridge. The season will really disintegrate should Shaun Rooney be whisked away. Here's hoping we can keep him as our defensive showing at Ayr did not fill the fans with confidence, so pick any two from Lewis Toshney, Brad Mckay and Kevin McHattie for central defence. I rest my case. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alloa Match information and ticket prices Scottish Cup 5th round information v Livingstone Official Preview Transfer deadline day and the best ICTFC can come up with is the introduction of Gaelic announcements. For the love of God. airson gràdh Dhè We'll laugh about it one day? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness suffered a disappointing defeat at Ayr last week, going down 1-0 to the Honest men. However, it would have been rude to beat them on Burns night, so we helped them out with a wee assist from our defence. A sloppy pass out from Kevin McHattie saw the marked Charlie Trafford lose the ball to the alert Stephen Kelly who strode forward and slotted the ball past an exposed Mark Ridgers. Meh, just not the start of life after Coll and Jamie we were looking for. If truth be told we rode our luck on a number of occasions when Ayr looked likely to overrun us. However, we were also denied by the woodwork and some dubious refereeing decisions. That apart, Ayr would have been disappointed had they not kept all three points at Somerset Park. Alloa got themselves off the foot of the table with a tremendous away win at Palmerston combined with Arbroath beating Partick to send them to the bottom with a 2-1 win over the Jags. It was looking good for Alloa when they raced into a two goal lead over Queen of the South. Hot streak striker Kevin O'Hara opened the scoring and Robert Thomson added a second in the 14th minute. Queens hit back in the second half through substitute Jack Hamilton and equalised before the hour through Stephen Dobbie with a stunning strike. However, man of the moment O'Hara popped up again with ten minutes to go to give the Wasps a hard earned win. This weekend's Championship fixtures. Partick Thistle V Ayr United (Friday 7:05) Inverness CT v Alloa Athletic Dundee United v Arbroath Morton v Dundee Queens v Dunfermline A less than enthusiastic Robbo as reality kicks in....... ***Latest Team News*** James Keatings is a major doubt with a hip problem and Cameron Harper returns from his loan spell at Elgin as our defence falls apart. Donaldson no more, McCart no more, Rooney??? Alloa have taken in Rangers youth keeper Kieran Wright on loan til the end of the season with Jamie MacDonald injured. They have also managed a loan deal for Crystal Palace's Scott Banks. Here's top scorer Aaron Doran banging one in against Alloa this season.
  10. Charlie is me darling....... Inverness go into the hat for the fifth round draw tomorrow night, and that's not something that Coll Donaldson can say. Aaron Doran fired in a tremendous early opening goal but Kevin O'Hara levelled before the break. Jordan White headed a second on the hour but again the Wasps struck back again through Kevin O'Hara before a late Charlie Trafford header saw Inverness through this difficult tie without the need for a replay. Happy days for Inverness and even happier for Jordan White who scored a goal and announced a baby boy incoming with his wife Alana. Congratulations from all at CTOxxx. With Coll Donaldson preferring to play his football over the bridge, and Jamie McCart tellingly on the bench, we drafted fit again Brad Mckay and Kevin McHattie into central defence with Jordan White leading the attack. The good news was that Tom Walsh and Sean Welsh were both on the bench with Tom making an appearance after the interval. Alloa were without veteran and top scorer Alan Trouten, the onus falling to Liam Buchanan to get the goals. Top Championship shot stopper Jamie MacDonald was in goals for the Wasps with top shut-out keeper Mark Ridgers at the opposite end. Something was going to give. Thankfully the rain had relented and it was game on, and it only took eight minutes for Aaron Doran to bulge the net after a defensive slip gave him room to score after Shaun Rooney crossed in from the right. Ten minutes later Alloa were level when Kevin Cawley met a near post corner from Flannigan to squeeze the ball into the net. Jamie MacDonald had to save from Jordan White as the visitors tried to regain the upper hand but it was the hosts that began to take control of proceedings as Alloa's Jon Robertson shot wide. Adam Brown had two efforts saved by Mark Ridgers in the space of three minutes as the pace of the game increased, Ridgers making a third save from Brown just before the break. Half time 1-1 No changes at the interval and Inverness made a strong start to the second half with White hooking a ball over the bar and Ridgers making an excellent save to deny Liam Buchanan. Tom Walsh made his comeback with Storey leaving the field and after Inverness won a couple of corners, the third one proved fruitful when White headed Doran's ball behind MacDonald to put the visitors back in front. The lead lasted fourteen minutes this time before Kevin O'Hara volleyed a second equaliser for Alloa from a deflected cross. Game on once more! Carl Tremarco had a header deflected wide as we looked to get our noses back in front in this see-saw tussle and substitute Tom Walsh was just too high with a shot over the bar as the game entered the final ten minutes. An unlikely hero would emerge from the pack in the shape of Charlie Trafford when he nodded in from close range in the 86th minute after a Doran corner had been headed back into the box by Shaun Rooney. Scenes! Goal hero Trafford left the field shortly after scoring with a possible head knock to be replaced by David Carson to see out the final few minutes. Caught on camera.................. That's a good win for Inverness after a difficult week with tranfers and speculation. By the way, how did your weekend go Coll? Robbo happy enough after a tough tie....... Here's the scores on the doors from the Scottish Cup weekend. Dundee United v Hibs on Sunday afternoon. Only one replay so far and congratulations to BSC Glasgow who go into the fifth round. Aberdeen scrape through against the Sons, Hissy unlucky against Clyde and Ayr United dump some team out of the event. You've got to love a bit of Scottish Cup action. The highlights from Alloa TV Date: 18/01/2020 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 590 Referee: Willie Collum Alloa Athletic : 2 Lineup: MacDonald; Robertson, Taggart, Deas, Dick, Cawley, Hetherington, Brown (Thomson 65), Flannigan, Buchanan (Connelly), O'Hara Subs (not used): Henry, Gilhooley, Malcolm, O'Donnell. Scorers: O'Hara (18) O'Hara(75) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, McHattie, Tremarco, Doran, Trafford (Carson 90), Vincent, Storey (Walsh 57), Keatings (MacGregor 83), White Subs (not used): C Mackay, McCart, Wesh, Todorov. Scorers: Doran (8), White (61), Trafford (86) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  11. Wasps Sting Themselves... Inverness moved up to second in the table after a 2-0 win over ten man Alloa who had Liam Dick sent off just before the hour. Both goals were scored in the first half with Scott Taggart heading behind his own keeper and Aaron Doran brilliantly volleying home the second from a Jordan White knock down as the half closed. With Dundee United and Ayr United frozen out, we moved into second spot for now and moved a further two points away from Dundee who lost at home to Queen of the South in a dramatic late ending to that game. There were two games called off for frozen pitches. Ayr United -P- Arbroath Morton -P- Dundee United Alloa Athletic 0-2 Inverness CT Dundee 1-2 Queen of the South Dunfermline 5-1 Partick Thistle Immortal Howden Ender has this report for us........... Well at least I am enjoying my Away Days this season. Ayr and Alloa have been good choices. And here I was travelling up in minus temperatures, blue skies and sunshine. And then Radio Scotland announces that two Championship games have been called off. I forgot that the wasps nest is now of the 4G variety. And good to see a fair smattering of the old brigade in a 100+ following. Relaxed train journey with Mantis, into Bobbin John's with the McDonalds - Lynn and Ronald - only to be called to Drysdale's and participation in a PeaPod cast or something like that. And then a late arrival at the Rec but an enjoyable 45 minutes followed by a tolerable second 45. I would have to say that I was impressed by Alloa. Unfortunately their penchant to play football and dispense with the hoof was admirable but may also be their downfall. I don't think that the most staunch of us would have begrudged them a point at the end. The first half made good watching and both teams carved out chances. We also dispensed with the hoof, played football and used the extra wide flanks. I thought that Rooney was exceptional in that half. Ridgers had made a couple of saves, we had wasted at least two half chances before Inspector Taggart became Inspector Clousseau and headed the ball past the man who won us the Scottish Cup. And the eventual match winner came right on the half time whistle. A Rooney cross, exquisite head back by White and Doran curves neatly passed poor old Rod. As good a goal as you will see all season. Half Time 0-2 And then you would have thought that a complete Dick had opened the flood gates with a double footed, red card, over the top tackle on Keatings. But, we appeared to relax and wait for another opportunity. And a few came along but we fluffed the final touch. I felt that we tried to overpass at times. We should have gone nap really. But Alloa improved with 10 men. As is often the case we looked like the team with ten. When an Alloa shot hit the postage stamp corner there was a shiver, not caused by the minus temperature. But we held on and returned to Drysdale's a happy bunch. I will dispense with the smileys but my marks out of 5 are made up of 3's and 4's. Ridgers, Rooney, Coll, Tremarco, Carson and Keatings get the fours. I may also add Roddy McGregor to that list as his pace and movement was terrific when he came on. Carson sneaks in as my MotM - mainly for his defensive display and a developing partnership with Triffid. Let's hope that McCart has only a minor knock. My only other whinge, apart from not scoring more goals was WHY take on Curry if he is on his way out? So Aloha to Clackmannanshire and I may well be back. Have to save up for the Maryhill Caley Away Xmas party ? From BBC Sport Alloa Athletic manager Peter Grant: "The scoreline was very harsh on us. To lose the goals when we did was a double-whammy. "But I was chuffed with the way the players went about their business. Even when we went down to 10 men we were excellent." Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "Both teams carved out really good opportunities. The first goal was really strange, the second was a cracker. "There were more goals if they showed the quality of the final pass, and that's what let us down second-half. We didn't make the extra man count." Extended highlights from Alloa Athletic FC Date: 30/11/2019 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 721 Referee: Greg Aitken Alloa Athletic: 0 Lineup: MacDonald; Taggart, Graham, Deas, Dick, Robertson, Cawley, Flannigan, Hetherington, Trouten, O'Hara. Subs (not used): Henry; Gilhooley, Malcolm, Gillespie, O'Donnell, Buchanan, Thomson, Scorers: none Booked: Hetherington (70), Flannigan (80) Sent Off: Dick (58) Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart (McHattie 76), Tremarco, Doran, Carson, Trafford, Storey (Curry 72), Keatings (MacGregor 73), White Subs (not used): C Mackay, Harper, Machado, Todorov. Scorers: Taggart (og 38), Doran (45) Booked: Keatings (72), Sent Off: a
  12. Top for four minutes Inverness blew the chance to go top of the table after Alloa scored in the 89th minute to earn a point with a disciplined defensive performance at the Caledonian Stadium. Take nothing away from Alloa, but we were void of ideas as we struggled to break down the Wasps defence in a frustrating second half. Liam Buchanan opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute and that opened the door for Alloa to flood their defence and employ standard hit on the break tactics that worked well for them as we toiled in a poor first forty-five. The second period saw more frustration for the hosts until we scored from an unlikely source with a stunning goal. A Tremarco corner came back to him at a tight angle. Undaunted, he fired the ball high into the net with his left foot for a spectacular goal with an hour played. We huffed and puffed before Jordan White looked to have won the game with a powered finish in the 85th minute. However, there was a sting in the tail of the wasps after Jamie McCart took the wrong option, eventually putting the ball out for a throw when a pass to Mark Ridgers would have been sufficient. From the resultant long throw Alan Trouten found himself in space to knock the ball home to silence the frustrated home support. James Keatings hit the bar with a superb free kick as the clock ticked down but it was too little too late and we were knocked off our four minute perch. Given that every other result went our way, it was a hugely disappointing outcome. Meh! John Robertson was without Tom Walsh, Sean Welsh and Nikolay Todorov. Charlie Trafford started in midfield after a good showing in the Challenge Cup game last week and Roddy MacGregor retained his place in the starting line-up. James Keatings was on the bench with other returnees Mitch Curry and Brad Mckay. Peter Grant's Alloa side saw Robbie Deas return and Steven Hetherington and Blair Malcolm were fit enough to start, however Iain Flannigan was suspended. Just over 2,000 were inside the ground and a fitting minutes applause was offered in memory of former Caley Chairman Hugh Crout who passed away recently. Within five minutes of the start, Alloa took the lead with Liam Buchanan finishing off a tidy move on the left side of our area. Neat interplay sliced us open and Buchanan added an excellent finish. We almost responded immediately but Roddy MacGregor's header was well saved by a diving Jamie MacDonald on his line. Unfortunately, that early goal gave Alloa the opportunity to sit back and soak up what we had to offer, and quite frankly that was very limited and very little. All too often we ran out of ideas and any high balls forward were mopped up by the waiting visitors defence. Carl Tremarco let fly from distance but his low shot fizzed just wide. He would do better later in the game. A couple of headers well over the bar from Jordan White was all we could muster. He would also do better later on. Apart from the goal, there was little to enthuse over in a turgid first half for Inverness with Alloa content to sit on their lead, and why not, they deserved it at the break. Half Time 0-1 If anything, the second half saw the visitors even deeper in their own half as their hosts flattered to deceive. Plenty of possession but too many sideways or backward passes saw the crowd looking for a more direct approach. Alloa on the other hand broke quickly on the few opportunities they got. White almost got a shot away inside the box as he broke through the middle of the defence but was stopped by a solid challenge and John Robertson, yes, the manager, got the first yellow card of the afternoon for showing his displeasure at some poor refereeing decisions. Just when we were beginning to think it was not going to be our day, a goal out of the blue from Captain Carl. And what a strike it was. His corner was cleared out as far as himself on the right side of the box. Tremarco never hesitated and fired a tremendous shot high into the net from 20 yards. Spectacular stuff. The introduction of Mitch Curry and David Carson seemed to liven up our efforts and it looked as though White might have given us all three points when his diving header from a Tremarco cross flew into the net. At that moment, we were top of the league with results elsewhere going in our favour. However, another lapse from the normally reliable Jamie McCart saw him fail to clear up a ball forward when a comfortable pass back to his keeper would have cleared any danger. Instead, he almost gave away a corner but ended up knocking the ball out for a throw in. From the long throw in, the ball landed at Alan Trouten's feet and he promptly tucked it behind Mark Ridgers for a sickener. We almost snatched it in injury time when a curling free kick from James Keatings crashed back off the bar with MacDonald stranded, but the rebound was cleared and a great opportunity passed to head the table. Only ourselves to blame for this after struggling to make headway against a team we beat 3-0 the week before. In saying that, the signs were there in that game that Alloa could cut us open at times and so it came to pass. Difficult to pick any Inverness players for MotM, but Carl Tremarco gets my nod for his superb strike and assist. Jordan White similarly, and he was fed on scraps throughout the game. Substitute David Carson did his prospects no harm and took the game by the scruff of the neck by driving us forward with a bit more tenacity and urgency. Those who will not be getting any awards are those not mentioned, especially McCart who needs to look for better options than scrambling the ball out after miscontrol and brain farts. Col Donaldson was in his early season mode, miffed at not getting a transfer probably and looked disinterested and Shaun Rooney never really got going. Roddy MacGregor wanted to be busy, but the game passed him by and Aaron Doran did his usual wee circles of nothing. Miles Storey, now there's an enigma and James Vincent was more sideways than a crab. No blame attached to Ridgers, although he did make a meal of a shot that bounced just in front of him, the ball squirming away for a corner with Mark staring at the offending blade of grass. If looks could kill! Maybe it's time for a wee shake up Robbo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From BBC Sport Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson: "We've let United and Ayr off the hook and that's what disappoints me. To go 2-1 up, if you've got title ambitions you've got to see that out." Alloa manager Peter Grant: "The boys deserved great credit for the way they kept fighting. I'm disappointed to be going down the road with only the one point." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RIG summed it up like this:- Donaldson and McCart were really poor today. Despite not being put under much pressure their balls out of defence were absolutely rotten, Donaldson especially, and often set up chances for Alloa to break on us. Storey was poor again and had one decent cross from the flanks. He isn't a winger and struggled there at Partick so why we are persisting with him there is bizarre. MacGregor struggled to create much of note in the middle as Alloa packed the midfield and sat deep. There was zero creativity in the ICT side today to break them down and it would have been very harsh, though thoroughly pleasing, had we won that game. With Queens getting a superb result today and Morton possessing an excellent home record the next couple of games are going to be a lot more difficult than they might appear on paper. Did he mean it??? Raging Robbo.... Date: 19/10/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2036 Referee: Mike Roncone Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Doran (Curry 59), Trafford (Carson 70), Vincent, MacGregor (Keatings 75), Storey, White Subs (not used): C Mackay; B Mckay, McHattie, Machado. Scorers: Tremarco (61), White (85). Booked: Rooney (68), Carson (77) John Robertson (manager 53) Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 2 Lineup: MacDonald; Taggart, Graham, Deas, Robertson, Cawley, Hetherington, Trouten, Brown, Buchanan (Thomson 81), O'Hara. Subs (not used): Henry; Malcolm, O'Donnell Scorers: Buchanan (5), Trouten (89) Booked: Trouten (77) Sent Off: none a
  13. Main Course We had the appetiser last week in the Chocolate cup and this week it's the main course as Alloa come North again on Championship duty. The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with Inverness looking to consolidate their position at the top end, tucked neatly in behind Dundee United and Ayr United. Last week Inverness made half a dozen changes but still proved to be too strong for the Wasps, despite a late revival by the visitors after going 3-0 down. Mitch Curry scored his first goal for the club just before half time. A deflected Charlie Trafford shot crashed high into the net for number two and Matheus Machado polished the turd when he scored his first senior goal for the Caley Jags. A glimmer of hope for Alloa as they managed to hit the woodwork twice and Cammy Mackay had to be alert to save at the feet of the striker. If there's any criticism of the home team, it comes from some overelaborate play and being wasteful in the final third. However, 3-0 is not to be scoffed at and we went into the hat for the quarter final draw. Here's the goals from the Chocolate Cup game.......... That draw took place on Wednesday and Inverness have been paired with Clyde in the quarter final. Other ties see Raith Rovers host Elgin City, Stenhousemuir take on Patrick Thistle. Solihull or Rangers Colts will play Wrexham. Our last Championship game was an excellent away win at Somerset Park as we beat the Honest Men with goals from James Vincent and Shaun Rooney. That was maybe slightly unexpected given the home defeat to Partick Thistle the previous week. Alloa's last outing in the Championship opened up the table and gave the rest some optimism as they beat league leaders Dundee United 1-0 at Recreation Park. Alloa were deserved winners and Kevin O'Hara finished off a fine move with a great strike. Inverness will be without Sean Welsh for a few months with another broken foot. Tom Walsh has missed the last couple of outings with a hamstring injury. James Keatings is back in full training and could be a surprise addition to the squad after recovering from ankle ligament damage. I imagine we will revert to one of our more familiar line ups with Jordan White returning to lead the line. Charlie Trafford showed up well last week and could be in line for a start. Walsh's injury remains a close guarded secret, should he not return then Roddy MacGregor could continue his run in the team. Peter Grant had made a couple of changes for the Challenge cup game. Jamie MacDonald will continue his emergency loan deal with keeper Neil Parry injured long term. Nathan Gilhooly started last week, but it was his error that led to the opening goal, that could earn him a place on the bench. Liam Dick and Blair Malcolm are still injured. Steven Hetherington could be fit enough for a start after missing the cup game last week which saw Alloa with only three on the bench. To add to their misery, Iain Flannigan was sent off late in the Arabs game and will sit this one out. He was in great form in that game and will be a big miss. Cast your mind back to this one 17 years ago, hat-tricks R us............ If you like a wee flutter, our partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.
  14. Challenging Times Challenging times ahead both on and off the park. Let's concentrate on the park for now as we entertain Alloa Athletic in the Challenge Cup on Saturday as the Wasps come North for a 3:00pm kick off at the Caledonian Stadium. It's the fourth round, or if you prefer, the quarter finals of the Chocolate Biscuit Cup sponsored by Tunnock's Caramel Wafers. If they like it up here, they will be back the week after to face us in the Championship. Bit of Deja Vu there as we also had a double header with Morton which went 8-1 in our favour. In the last round of this competition we put Morton out 3-1 at the Caledonian Stadium the week after pumping them 5-0 in the League. It was a much changed side that took to the field for the second game as Robbo introduced fringe players to the squad and added the returning Sean Welsh to the team to get some game time in his recovery from injury. That went well until last week when it was feared he had broken a metatarsal in his other foot! That has now been confirmed. He will be a big loss as the season unfolds. Anyway, goals by Todorov, Doran and Storey saw us comfortably beat the Ton despite making eight changes from the previous week. Many of them had tasted first team football but not on a regular basis. Cammy Mackay was in goal with the likes of Cameron Harper, Roddy MacGregor, Kevin McHattie and Nikolay Todorov all starting. All in, it was an excellent result given the alterations. Our last competitive match saw us take all three points at Ayr thanks to a rare goal from James Vincent and one from photographer Shaun Rooney with a superb solo goal. Great result from us against one of the form teams in the Championship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SPORTS BAR OPEN FROM 1PM TICKET PRICES FOR THIS MATCH ARE AS FOLLOWS Adult: £10 Concessions (Over 65s, 16-25s, Juniors): £5 Under 12s: FREE* when accompanied by a ticket holding adult/concession. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alloa's progress was less clear cut but they pulled off a tremendous away win at Dunfermline, beating the Pars 1-2. Robert Thomson and Alan Trouten were the scorers as the Wasps came from behind to win this one, but at a cost Keeper Neil Parry was injured and Alloa have since taken Jamie MacDonald on emergency loan from Kilmarnock to cover the position. They finished the game with ten men after Blair Malcolm pulled up but held on to go in to the draw for the next round. Alloa's last outing was an even better performance as they deservedly beat League Leaders Dundee United at Recreation Park. Kevin O'Hara scored the only goal but Alloa were brilliant on the night and the Arabs could have no complaints at the result which could have been greater. They certainly showed the rest of the league how to tackle United. Given that we will tinker with our squad somewhat, I feel that Alloa will be more direct in their approach to this game and will see it as a tremendous opportunity to pick up some silverware, whereas we have bigger fish to fry as the season goes on. That could make it more difficult for us to progress although the squad will be along similar lines to the one that performed so well at Ayr last week. Robbo will draft in some more fringe players and we could see the likes of Tremarco, White and Doran rested. Brad Mckay and Mitch Curry could come into contention for a start, but Sean Welsh is definitely out. Tom Walsh is reportedly suffering from a hamstring injury. This will be a good benchmark for the game next week against the Wasps and any shortcomings will surely be addressed for the Championship encounter. Don't forget to listen to the latest offering from the Wyness Shuffle guys. If you like a wee flutter, our partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.
  15. Comeback earns Status Quo Alan Trouten gave Alloa hope of the great escape after converting a first half penalty. Inverness showed more urgency after the break and two goals in five minutes put the Wasps back into the mire. Shaun Rooney rattled in the first for the visitors from the edge of the box and Charlie Trafford was on hand to score his first goal for the club and snatch all three points. We didn't quite roll over lay down, but maybe it could be down down for Alloa...... With Ayr United winning and Falkirk losing, it's as you were for both clubs and that means that third position is still up for grabs. For Alloa, it means that Falkirk remain three points behind them although Queen of the South and Partick Thistle are still in their sights above them. The only thing that has been decided is that the village club from the quaint market town of Dingwall have now won the Championship. Robbo hinted that the extra cash would be the driver for Inverness ahead of the play-offs and so it was as he put out as strong a team as possible. That meant a return to defence for Coll Donaldson with Brad Mckay suspended. Cammy Mackay continued in goal with Mark Ridgers recovering from his dislocated finger. Carl Tremarco came back in at left back, but that one backfired as he came off injured leaving us with only ten men as all substitutes had been used. Alloa were desperate for points and had Alan Trouten and Dario Zanatta spearheading their attack as they looked to keep the pressure on those above them and keep Falkirk below them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RIG was with CaleyAway and here's his excellent report:- As others have said, the first half performance was pretty rotten. We tried to force our way through the middle of the pitch a lot of the time which was pointless as Alloa frequently had nine men behind the ball and were very disciplined defensively and broke with real pace whenever our attacks broke down which was quite often. The likes of Polworth and Chalmers tried to force balls through to White or Doran / MacDonald cutting in from the flanks but they never found their man. Our best chance probably came when Doran chipped a ball in from the left flank but it evaded White and MacDonald. Prior to this Alloa had taken the lead from the penalty spot when Donaldson bundled over Zanatta and Trouten easily found the net sending MacKay the wrong way. We were lucky to just be one down at the break but Robbo shuffled the pack taking Polworth and MacDonald off for Austin and McCauley and going two up front with Austin slightly withdrawn off White. With this change we were a lot better and started to find a bit of space in wide areas to send a few decent crosses in which Alloa struggled to deal with at times. A Rooney header at the back post was a sign of things to come as Alloa started to struggle with our balls in from the flanks. Chalmers found himself with a bit of time on the left side to loft the ball into the area which Alloa only partially cleared and Rooney strode on to the loose ball to blast in the equaliser. White almost bagged a second goal moments later but Parry was equal to his effort. However we weren't to be denied with Chalmers again the provider. A low corner was hooked into the box by Chalmers and Trafford arrived at the near post to flick the ball into the net. Alloa nearly drew level late on when MacKay spilled a long range effort but was alert to get up and fist the loose ball away before any of the home teams players could seize on the opportunity. There then came a penalty appeal when Graham (?) fell over under pressure from McCart who was clearly incensed and his anger set off a bit of a stramash between the sides but ended with McCart going into the book. Fortunately we hung on. Not our finest performance of the season but it could be a vital win for us. The extra money from 3rd place would be very welcome as Robbo has said already this week. McCart was an absolute stand out for us and a clear MotM. We'll need to improve a lot if we want to progress through the play offs. Cheers Rig, great report from Recreation Park. Here's the goals from Recreation Park........... And Robbo's reaction........... Date: 27/04/2019 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 826 Referee: Mike Roncone Alloa Athletic: 1 Lineup: Parry; Robertson, Graham, Taggart, Dick, Hetherington, Flannigan, Cawley (Kirkpatrick 75), Trouten (Hamilton 75), Zanatta, Aitchison (Shields) Subs (not used): Henry, Rosscoe, Brown, Peggie. Scorers: Trouten (pen 27) Booked: Zanatta (81), Robertson (90+2), Graham (90+4) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: C Mackay; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, McDonald (McCauley 46), Trafford, Polworth (Austin 46), Chalmers, Doran (Walsh 72), White. Subs (not used): Fon Williams; McHattie, Harper, MacGregor Scorers: Rooney (68), Trafford (73) Booked: Trafford (34), McCart (90+2) Sent Off: none a
  16. Nothings Easy It wouldn't be the Inverness way if we simply cruised to victory as we suffered a late fright when Alloa launched a last ten comeback that saw them snatch two goals to take the gloss off an otherwise good performance. Aaron Doran continued his goalscoring run to open the scoring followed by a Sean Welsh penalty before the break. Jordan White added a third on the hour to put the game beyond doubt, or was it? Alloa got a penalty with ten minutes remaining and Alan Trouten scored via the post. Iain Flannigan's deflected shot meant for an uncomfortable five minutes but we held on for all three points to move up to third in the table. Alloa remain three points behind Partick at the foot of the table. A chilly night for football saw Alloa pinned back in the early exchanges as Inverness probed for the opening goal. We had a number of early half chances which were mainly from distance but we must have left our shooting boots in the locker room. Liam Polworth came the closest after he created a yard of space to fire a decent effort from twenty-five yards which went a couple of feet over the bar. However, it was that man again, Aaron Doran who opened the scoring with a glancing header into the bottom corner. Sean Welsh swung a curling cross into the heart of the box where Doran met it at the penalty spot to beat Neil Parry from twelve yards for another superb goal from the wee man, his fourth in four games and his eleventh of the season. Suspicion of foul play when Polly and Welsh combined to set big Jordan White free in the box but nothing was awarded as White was brought down left of the six yard box. Mark Ridgers was eventually called into action around the half hour as he gathered a low shot from outside the box. Soon after, Donaldson swung a deep ball into the box where Doran headed it down to White. As the striker tried to turn he was upended in clumsy fashion by Iain Flannigan and there was no dispute about the award this time. Parry dived to his right, unfortunately for him Sean Welsh smashed the ball high down the centre of the goal to double our advantage. Polworth looked as though he almost skimmed the top of the bar with a rasping shot from thirty yards as we continued to play attractive football with Polly and Welsh pulling the strings in midfield. There followed a succession of attempts from outside the box with Joe Chalmers, Kevin McHattie and Jordan White all looking to get in on the act, but the half ended at 2-0 to Inverness. The second period saw little change in the pattern and an inviting cross was inches away from being turned in by dainty feet White. He would not be denied though and he ran onto a through ball from Polworth to neatly dink it over the onrushing Parry. Alloa were still plugging away though and Ridgers had to make a smart save to deny Alan Trouten putting the ball into the top corner after the striker waltzed into our box. White came close to a fourth after shielding the ball well and playing it wide, he then got on the end of the cross but it bounced narrowly wide. Good effort from the big man who is growing into his role well. A needless rash challenge by Jamie McCart threw Alloa a late lifeline when he brought down Trouten who was facing away from goal, but Jamie went through him to give away a penalty. Trouten picked himself up and buried his spot kick into the net off the post. That perked Alloa up and given that our midfield had altered with Wesh, Chalmers and Doran going off Alloa saw an opportunity. We charged forward looking for another and when the move broke down Alloa were presented with a Flannigan shot from outside the box. It looked harmless enough but a massive deflection took it away from Ridgers and that made for a squeaky bum last five minutes. The bums squeaked even louder as Donaldson conceded a corner in the final minute of overtime but we held on to take a valuable three points as Mark Ridgers rose high to collect the ball and end our torture. A tremendous game for 75 minutes then our wheels fell off somewhat. A bit worrying that in form Sean Welsh had to go off injured, hopefully he will recover quickly as we have some crucial games coming up. Aaron Doran was our pick as MotM with great performances from Sean Welsh and Coll Donaldson with Jordan White endearing himself to the hard to please Caley Jags fans with another display showing some deft touches for a big lad. More reaction to follow............ Video action from Caley Jags TV And here is dainty Jordan.............. Date: 26/03/2019 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2006 Referee: Steven Reid Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, McHattie, Chalmers (Walsh 67), Polworth, Trafford, Welsh (Austin 77), Doran (McCauley 75), White Subs (not used): C Mackay; Tremarco, Machado, B Mckay Scorers: Doran (29), Welsh (35 pen), White (61) Booked: none Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 2 Lineup: Parry, Taggart, Graham, Dick, Hetherington, Shields, Kirkpatrick (Hamilton 61), Flannigan, Cawley (Brown 73), Zanatta, Trouten Subs (not used): Henry, Goodwin, Karadachki, Peggie, Scorers: Trouten (pen 81), Flannigan (90) Booked: Zanatta (59) Sent Off: none a
  17. Opportunity Knocks After back to back wins in the League plus a cup win over Dundee United, we welcome Clackmannanshire's finest, Alloa Athletic to the Caledonian Stadium. We will be looking to consolidate within the play-off places as Alloa try to extricate themselves from the foot of the table. The games are coming thick and fast at this time of the season as clubs play catch up due to the grim weather and fixture congestion. The Alloa game represents a great opportunity to knock on Ayr United's door for third spot, although the games against the Wasps have been tight affairs so far this season. After this one we have Falkirk, Ross County and Ayr United before we head to Hampden for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts. Last game for us was a fine 2-1 win at Firhill where a Tom Walsh stunner saw us take all three points after Stuart Brannigan had equalised for Partick. Aaron Doran had opened the scoring with a well worked goal involving Jordan White and Aaron played a big part in the winner with a superb back flick for Walsh to volley home in spectacular style. Check out these goals......... Alloa battled hard at the weekend but came away with nothing when Nicky Clark scored a late winner for the Arabs to add to the own goal Andy Graham conceded in the first half. Jordan Kirkpatrick scored the opening goal for the Wasps early in the first half. After last weekends results, Inverness are now back in the top four with Dunfermline the nearest contender only two points behind. Alloa are battling it out at the wrong end of the table with four other teams trying to avoid the drop. Dunfermline v Dundee United play Tuesday night as well and it's Dunfermline v Ayr on Friday (TV) Somethings going to give The two games between the sides have ended in draws with our home game in August producing four goals, three penalties, an own goal, woodwork hit and a sending off. Aye it all happened here, and one of the penalties was missed (Coll hit the bar). Brad Mckay and Sean Welsh (pen) scored for Inverness and a George Oakley own goal and a late Iain Flannigan penalty gave Alloa a share of the spoils. And, just when you think it can't get any worse, ICTFC & Ross County fined £2500. Add to that some broken seats after the IrnBru Cup final thanks to Ross County fans then you just wonder where it's all going to end. We welcomed back Kevin McHattie and Tom Walsh to great effect against Partick with Walsh coming off the bench to score the winner. Nathan Austin has been used sparingly of late and could play a part. Alloa lined up like this against Dundee United :- Parry Robertson Taggart Graham Dick Shields Heatherington Flannigan Kirkpatrick Trouten Zanatta If you like a wee flutter, our partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies. Don't forget to buy your tickets for the SemiFinal against Hearts at Hampden. Remember, no one can hear you scream if you are sitting in your living room passing round the werther's originals. The lads have been brilliant to get this far in the cup and it's a great day out at the National Stadium. Tickets for our William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final will be available for season ticket holders and shareholders on Monday 25th March from 10:00am. General sale will commence on Wednesday 27th March at 9:00am. Tickets will be available from the Club Shop and online from ictfc.tickethour.co.uk. The singing section for this game will be East Stand section G5. South Stand: £30 Adult, Concession £15 East Stand: £20 Adult, Concession £10 Concessions are available for supporters aged over 65 and supporters aged under 16
  18. Wasps sting lavish Jags Inverness were held to a 2-2 draw by ten man Alloa after Karadachki was sent packing just after the break. Brad Mckay had headed the opener in the first half but Alloa levelled through possibly the back of Oakley's head, Graham credited at the moment with the goal. We went ahead when Walsh scored a penalty at the Karadachki incident but the visitors got an unlikely equaliser late in the game with a penalty of their own, Flannigan scoring from the spot. Old Caley Girl has this report for us ............. Let me start by saying that this should have been a totally different match report. In fact, one in which we were joint top of the league with 3 points in the bag! I digress though as a totally different scenario played out. A reasonable crowd (these days) of over 2000 sat down on a sunny afternoon at the TCS looking for an entertaining and profitable afternoon. We started off brightly with several goal opportunities early on including a blocked shot by Tom Walsh in 7 minutes. This led onto the opening goal in 10 minutes. A Polworth corner found Brad McKay in the centre of the box, and he headed powerfully into the net. There then followed chance after chance to go further ahead without reward. At this point it looked like we would go on to score at will and felt comfortable. There were several scrappy fouls committed by both sides and in 25 mins Zanatta engineered a foul by getting squashed between Polworth and another ICT player gaining a free kick just outside the box. This led to the equaliser with it looking like a deflection off Oakley to me from behind the goal. However, the news outlets awarded the goal to Andy Graham from a header? From then till half time nothing much of note happened except a succession of fouls again from both sides. It felt like the wind was taken out of our sales after the equaliser. HALF TIME 1-1 The second half was a tale of 3 penalties! Just after half time Karadachki was booked for a foul on Oakley. This led to further madness on his part at the ensuing free kick as he wrestled with Donaldson which led to Donaldson being dragged to the ground. Second yellow meant red and a penalty. I’m sure I was not alone in watching through my hands as Welsh stepped up. There was nothing to worry about here, though, as Welsh coolly stuck the ball into the bottom right hand corner. Smiles all round as word came through that County losing at Morton and the top of the table beckoning for us. It didn’t go like that though despite opportunity after opportunity and good saves from Parry in the Alloa goal. In 56 minutes White replaced Austin and Calder replaced Welsh. In 71 minutes, Calder was clipped in our box and a 2nd penalty was awarded. From my seat there was contact, but it appeared a tad soft. However, penalty it was and what a disaster that turned out to be! Welsh had gone off and no-one seemed to want this task so up stepped a very nervous looking Coll Donaldson to smash it off the bar instead of into the net. Is it just me that thinks it shameful our strikers hid at this particular moment? Shortly afterwards Doran replaced Oakley and did look livelier than of late but to no avail. It looked like we would carry on over the finishing line at this point but then up stepped Shaun Rooney into the spotlight. He tried to foul the Alloa player several times until finally deciding to bundle him over in the box whilst heading towards the by-line. One of the most clueless decisions ever. Up stepped Flannigan to literally steal a point with a thank you very much! FULL TIME 2-2 We are still unbeaten in the league, but this certainly was 2 points dropped not a point gained. The failure to finish off 10 man teams twice this early in the season is worrying and we should be 4 points better off than we really are. We are making chances but being punished for not taking them and it is clear we do not know what our best striking partnership is. Yet again we persist with a narrow formation for a good part of the game and surely everyone, including management, can see Polworth is not and never will be a winger! Calder coming on did create width and as I stated earlier there was glimpses of the old Doran on show during his short appearance yesterday. All 3 substitutions seemed wrong. Is tightening up and seeing a game out not possible for us these days. Robbo was quick to blame the players post-match and yes, we were not clinical enough, but I do feel he has to step up and admit his share of blame as they play to his instructions. There appears a real lack of leadership on the park as well. Tremarco seems very flat and out of sorts to me. I know some wont like me saying this, but we are missing Iain Vigurs terribly. Some players seem totally bombproof as well such as Chalmers whilst others like Trafford and Calder are given little opportunity to shine. Final word of the day is disappointing. Dunfermline away next. They will be smarting from a heavy defeat against Ayr yesterday and 3 points for us is a must. Do I feel confident this team can do that? I’m not so sure sadly. OCG MOTM – A hard one really. Going with Coll Donaldson despite his awful penalty blunder. He showed leadership when there wasn’t much on show by stepping forward and had a steady game overall. RIG summed up his thoughts along similar lines................... All too familiar a tale for ICT fans. Dominate the game in terms of possession but tend not to create much and when we do we are wasteful in taking those chances. Very little width for most of the game until Calder came on and gave Tremarco someone to link with ahead of him instead of having to turn back inside all the time. Welsh had a decent game and we definitely lost a bit of composure in midfield when he went off (presumably due to fitness issues). Donaldson, penalty miss aside, was good at the back but the rest of the squad is quite poor. Austin, Oakley and White all continue to work hard up front but none of them look like they will be particularly prolific for us this season. Rooney was really poor. Defensively naive and poor bringing the ball out from the back. Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson speaking to BBC Sport: "It's inexcusable. You cannot create 15, 16, 17 clear-cut chances and miss them. "We should be sitting comfortably on nine points with a good goal difference but we are now stuck in the middle of the table because we simply haven't been clinical enough at either end. "We've got very good youngsters who may well start to come into plans. We've been loyal to the team that started the vast majority of last season and players who have done well for the club but now maybe we need to start looking to shake it up a bit." Here's the highlights from the game............... Date: 25/08.2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2269 Referee: Barry Cook Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, B Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Polworth, Welsh (Calder 64), Chalmers, Walsh, Austin (White 55), Oakley (Doran 72) Subs (not used): Hoban; McCart, D Mackay, Trafford Scorers: Mckay (10), Welsh (pen 48) Booked: Oakley (24), Walsh (32) Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 2 Lineup: Parry; Taggart, Graham, Karadachki, Dick, Hastie, Heatherington (Burt 78), Flannigan, Cawley (Brown 65), Zanatta, Spence (Peggie 49) Subs (not used): Henry, Trouten, Goodwin Scorers: Graham (35), Flannigan (87) Booked: Karadachki (46) Sent Off: Karadachki (48)
  19. The wasps are coming Player manager Jim Goodwin will take his Alloa Athletic side North on Saturday to face Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium in the Championship. It's a 3:00pm kick off with Inverness looking to remain unbeaten and keep the Wasps winless. I notice that Alloa have the most appropriately named keeper in the league. You've guessed it, his name is Parry, but let's not dwell on that. Keeper Neil Parry was voted onto the League one team having completed 13 clean sheets last season. That aside, what an appropriate name for a keeper........ just saying. Caley Stan has been doing his homework and the result is this informative Preview for us all to read.................... Alloa, known globally not just for its brewing but as the unlikely setting for a popular sitcom set during the French Resistance, lies on the north bank of the Forth where some say it ceases to be the River Forth and becomes the Firth of Forth. Fittingly, the town’s football club continually refuses to accept the place in the Seaside League that usually serves as the pinnacle for a club of its size. Under the chairmanship of local tycoon Mike Mulraney, The Wasps have enjoyed a period of unprecedented success, beginning with the appointment of Paul Hartley as manager in the summer of 2011. Hartley oversaw successive promotions and Alloa went on to spend 3 consecutive seasons in the second tier. Now Player-Manger-Master of the Dark Arts, Jim Goodwin, has led them back up at the second attempt with victories over Raith Rovers and Dumbarton in the play-offs. History of the Fixture Won 14 Drawn 10 Lost 6 We played Alloa 28 times in the first 9 seasons of our history and have faced them just twice since. Our first victory came at the fifth attempt – a 5-0 win at Recreation Park in which a Charlie Christie hat-trick and an Ian Stewart brace provided the first sign of the free-scoring fun that was to follow over the next 7 and a half years. By the end of that glorious period, Alloa had been the recipients of a series of unremitting pumpings, and Pele’s last visit to ‘The Recs’ fittingly saw us run out 6-0 winners, with hat-tricks from both Dennis Wyness and Paul Ritchie. I’ve always wondered who got to keep the ball. For all that, it’s a defeat that lingers most vividly in the memory. The 1999 Challenge Cup Final in Airdrie was an epic 4-4 draw that saw The Wasps victorious after a penalty shoot-out. Paul Sheerin, whose hat-trick in the game had included 2 from the spot, missed our opening penalty in the shoot-out and the loss was complete when Mike Teasdale had his saved. To add insult to injury, Alloa keeper Mark Cairns who saved Teasdale's penalty, scored the one before it. It may be difficult to imagine now, but it was a gut-wrenching defeat at the time – just 5 years into our history and in our debut season in the First Division, we were competing in our first final, bringing around 3000 fans down to a less than neutral venue. But in retrospect, with everything we’ve gone on to achieve, it’s difficult to begrudge Alloa a success that takes pride of place in their 140 year-old honours list. And lest we forget, it was not just a victory for Alloa Athletic Football Club, but a significant milestone in the integration of duffel coat wearing headmasters into mainstream society. The teams last met in the Second Round of the League Cup 2 years ago, with Alloa running out 1-0 winners. The defeat turned out to be a harbinger of things to come under the stewardship of Richie Foran and our descent since then has been steep. A maiden victory for Alloa at the Caledonian Stadium would represent a new low. Form Alloa Last 7: WDWLLLW ICT Last 7: WWWLWDL Form is in the eye of the beholder here, as it can be argued that the all competitions figures above don’t tell us much about confidence in the respective squads. Although Alloa have lost their opening two league fixtures, those games have been tight and they have performed well in the cups. There’s little to suggest that they will suffer as Brechin did. From our end, we remain unbeaten in the league since the 13th March, a run of 13 games, but the manner of our departures from the cups, combined with the failure to score against an Ayr side that played over an hour with 10 men, leave the impression that all may not be well. Teams & Tactics Like Dumbarton before them, Alloa’s chances of staying in this division are largely dependent on their ability to supplement a part-time squad with full-time loan signings. That makes August a tricky month, with clubs reluctant to loan players out before the transfer window closes. However, that process has stepped up this week with the loan additions of midfielder Liam Burt from Rangers and forward Dario Zanatta from Hearts. All accounts suggest that Alloa are playing a stuffy, narrow 4-4-1-1, with experienced lower league journeyman Alan Trouten in support of Greig Spence up top. At the back, captain Andy Graham has decent experience at this level and his partnership with Bulgarian Zdravko Karadachki has impressed so far this season. We also seem to be playing a narrow 4-4-2, with a settled back 4 that sees Shaun Rooney pushing up high on the right when we’re in possession. Tom Walsh has made a bright start to the season on the left of midfield, while Liam Polworth and Joe Chalmers are fixtures in Robbo’s starting line-ups. That leaves 3 places up for grabs with Charlie Trafford and Sean Welsh competing for the remaining berth in the centre of midfield, and Nathan Austin, George Oakley and Jordan White all in contention to play up front. It’s difficult to see where Aaron Doran fits into this system and Robbo has made it clear that he sees Daniel MacKay as an impact sub at this time. Angus Beith remains injured and Zak Elbouzedi was absent from the bench for our last match.
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