Search the Community

Inching towards safety Despite dominating the opening exchanges and Alfie Stewart arrowing in a sublime strike, the Caley Jags failed to capitalise on their early dominance and had to settle for a point in the end when Scott Taggart nicked a header/cross into the bottom corner early in the second half to earn the visitors their share of the spoils. It was a disappointing and frustrating result given the same happened a week ago against Annan. Stewart hit the woodwork just before Alloa equalised. Billy Mckay had a penalty saved on the hour as was his follow up, and from that point on it looked like it would be another fruitless day. Keith Bray cracked the bar when a goal looked simpler. It almost got worse late in the game when Sammon leapt to gain a free kick on the edge of the box. Worse was to follow as it was Savage and the referee that he conned and Remi was sent off for a second 'bookable' offence. As it was, they ended up lashing a shot against the bar following the free kick with Rice blocking the rebound and eventually they were deemed offside. That would have taken the biscuit but it ended thereafter a point apiece. A better result for a poor Alloa side and a point further away from Annan for the Caley Jags. A word for Rice, good display by the promising young keeper who produced a really good save in the first half from a powerful Scott Taggert strike. However, another frustrating game and more winnable points dropped. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Big Musa away this weekend, young Celtic B keeper Aidan Rice was between the sticks on an emergency loan after Musa Dibaga’s Gambian call-up. Longstaff, Bavidge and MacLeod all missed out again. Alloa suffered an early setback having to replace Calum Waters in the third minute. Maybe that unsettled them as we dominated the opening exchanges and got a well worked opening goal after we moved the ball smartly down the right wing before Billy Mckay chipped the ball to the left side of the box where Alfie Stewart took a touch before drilling a shot across the keeper into the bottom corner. That ball was in as soon as it left his left peg without touching a blade of grass until after it hit the back of the net. Boom! We were in total control of proceedings for around half an hour with numerous efforts blocked or off target before Aidan Rice earned his corn saving a thunderous strike from Scott Taggart's twenty-five yard effort, diving high to his left to keep the ball out in what was the visitors first serious foray forward. From this point until the interval we seemed to lose our way slightly and it was now the visitors that were winning the midfield battle, getting second balls and picking up loose passes as we regressed. Luke Rankin had an effort saved by Rice five minutes before the interval, but this one was more straightforward than his previous save. Remi Savage picked up a booking as we had pushed forward to the left of Alloa's goals. For some reason he ended up with a yellow card for possibly a shove on the bye line as he tried to keep the ball in play. Nothing in it really but it would come back to bite him on the arse later. HALF TIME: 1-0 We started the second half on the front foot and Stewart hit the keepers right post from a position similar to his opening goal at the other end of the park. Here we go we all thought and rubbed our hands in anticipation, or was it getting colder. Two minutes later Alloa levelled the game after a ball cleared from our box to the left side was crossed back in by Kurtis Roberts for Scott Taggart to get the merest of glances on the ball, and like Stewart's goal, whether it was an attempt at goal or an attempt to head the ball into the box, it was in as soon as it spun off his head with the keeper stranded at the other side of his goal. We upped the pressure on the visitors goal but too many blocked attempts and misses followed before we were awarded a penalty when Ben Brannan was upended in the box as he honed in on goal. Billy Mckay took responsibility of taking the spot kick and unfortunately Billy can't buy a goal just now. Morrison did well to deny Billy, not once, but twice as he blocked the rebound attempt as well. His third penalty save of the season. Twenty minutes later we should have been ahead but after great work Keith Bray took the more difficult option of smacking the ball off the crossbar when he should have been bulging the net. The introduction of Conor Sammon was instrumental in the red card for Savage. Sammon was fishtailing his way across the front of the box before when he went over an outstretched leg. Referee desperate Dan saw it as a second booking and sent Savage off. We weathered the free kick but five minutes later Alloa thought they had stolen the points after they crashed a shot of our bar before Rice blocked on the line, the loose ball being poked into the net. That would have been hard to take but fortunately the far side lineman flagged for offside we think. A bit of a frantic ending to a game we should have cantered through, but given the circumstances, we are a point better off than we were last week and with Annan losing, a point further away from them with a vastly superior goal difference. FULL TIME: 1-1 FT: Cove 0-0 Stenny in late game. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 30 17 54 2 Cove 30 18 49 3 Stenny 30 12 49 4 Alloa Ath 30 5 41 5 Queen of Sth 30 -5 39 6 Kelty Hearts 30 0 37 7 Montrose 30 -5 36 8 Inverness CT 30 4 33 9 Annan Ath 30 -25 30 10 Dumbarton 30 -21 10 Share of the points between the Caley Jags and the Wasps under the Kessock Bridge. Five points dropped in the last two games which could have secured our safety. It's going to the wire... The lack of firepower through injuries to Longstaff and Bavidge is hurting us just now with Longstaff unlikely to feature again this season and young Alfie's season in the balance with a second scan required to assess the extent of his injury. It's going to be a bumpy ride over the next six games with two difficult away games coming up next at Palmerston and Cove. Red carded Remi Savage will miss the game against Queen of the South. It doesn't rain but it pours. FULL HIGHLIGHTS Date: 22/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1655 Referee: Dan McFarlane Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Rice; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan (Ewan 87), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon, Stewart, B Mckay (R Thompson 91) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, J Walker, S Thompson, Cairns Scorers: Stewart (8) Booked: Savage (41, 86) Sent Off: Savage (86) Alloa Athletic: 1 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Taggart, McKay (Dewar 46), Devine, Waters (MacKenzie 3), Roberts, Scougall (Sammon 83), O'Donnell, Donnelly (Cawley 82), Honeyman (Buchanan 63), Rankin Subs (not used): Ogayi; Mullen, Neill, Thomson Scorers: Taggart (52) Booked: Roberts (36), MacKenzie (54), Dewar (90+4) Sent Off: none a

Another week of turmoil In a week where we started with hope and optimism we suffered defeat at home to Annan Athletic and then the Administration movement went from static to plumbing the depths before a powwow brought it back to status quo. We needed to fill the gap left by Musa Dibaga's sojourn to Gambia for World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Ivory Coast and have done that with an emergency loan in Celtic's youth keeper, 18 year old Aidan Rice. We hope it will end on a lighter note with the game against Alloa to look forward to this Saturday, (without Longstaff and Bavidge). The joys of Admin in League1. We will stick to the on field events on here and will provide links below to certain Admin Statements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/£5offer/Info Aidan Rice GK Administrators Statement March17th Allan Mackenzie Pow Wow March19th CTO Topic on Admin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you haven't got any friends, borrow some! Venue: H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 9 10 2 37 22 +15 Away 24 12 6 6 49 25 +24 Neutral 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 Total 46 21 17 8 90 51 +39 Twenty-one home games versus Alloa since 1994 when they came North and played out a 2-2 draw at Telford Street in front of 1,150 fans. None other than Hugh Dallas was the referee Caledonian Thistle (as we were called back in the day) were in the lead for a long time in this game, had territorial advantage for most of it but in the end were fortunate to earn a draw. They had chances in the early minutes through McCraw and Lisle but Jim Butter saved well. In 18 minutes Charlie Christie collected a Martin Lisle pass and weaved past McCormack before scoring with a blistering 20 yard drive. In 67 minutes Barrie Moffat equalised after a McAvoy cross and in 78 minutes Neil Bennett put Alloa in front. Caley Thistle fought back with efforts from McKenzie and MacMillan but it took until the 86th minute before they equalised. Keith McCulloch handled in the box and Mike Andrew scored from the resultant penalty. Report by Ian Broadfoot Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Alloa 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) We are unbeaten against Alloa this season and could have won all three given that we were 2-0 up in the first encounter during the Duncball era. Having gone two ahead through goals from Devine and MacLeod we were pulled level just six minutes later when Sammon and Donnelly quickly restored parity. Danny Devine lashed in the opening goal from twenty-two yards in the seventh minute to give the visitors the perfect start. After the interval MacLeod gave us some short lived breathing space following a swift break forward as he drilled the ball across the keeper into the bottom corner, however Conor Sammon quickly pulled a goal back with a great header three minutes later into the top corner finishing a well built move from back to front. Moments later it was all square when Donnelly looped a ball behind Dibaga after a long throw from Taggart and a touch from Sammon. Having been well in control we were now under the cosh but despite some hairy moments towards the end it finished all square. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and was re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan up North on Saturday in a six-pointer and it was a disappointing defeat after Annan parked the bus after scoring in the third minute. Scott Kellacher will still be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the last three. Kellacher said in midweek to the press: “Alfie won’t be involved this weekend. The scan came back a wee bit unclear so he is waiting to do another scan. “He has to rest for probably the next 10 days to see if it settles down, and then they will try to get another image of it. Then we’ll know where we go from there. “We also have two or three wee niggles, but hopefully we’ll be clear after tomorrow.” Hopefully MacLeod will return after injury as we were a bit thin on the bench last week against Annan. This will be a tough game with Alloa still on course for a play-off place at the top end and Inverness still trying to avoid a play-off place at the bottom end. Our task will be made more difficult because of injuries to Longstaff and goal machine Alfie Bavidge. However, we showed that we can cope without these players in the entertaining win over Stenhousemuir, but the flip side was our inability to break down Annan last week where a bit of composure might have gone a long way to keeping Annan at arms length. I've been well impressed with Ben Brannan in his couple of games with us. He will be an important player with his driving runs forward and long throws and he's not scared to have a pop. Our defence will need to keep a 'Luke' out for Alloa's main scorers as they are amongst the higher scoring sides in the table with 43 goals. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 29 17 53 2 Cove R 29 18 48 3 Stenny 29 12 48 4 Alloa Ath 29 5 40 5 Queen of Sth 29 -5 38 6 Kelty Hearts 29 0 36 7 Montrose 29 -7 33 8 Inverness CT 29 4 32 9 Annan Ath 29 -23 30 10 Dumbarton 29 -21 09 Last Six: D W W W L L Alloa started their last six with a 2-2 draw at Montrose. Wins at Kelty (0-2), home to Annan (4-3) and Cove (2-1) before losing their last two (2-3) at home to leaders Arbroath and a 3-2 defeat at Palmerston last week. Despite the recent defeats they remain in the fourth play-off position eight points above Inverness. Luke Rankin tops their scoring charts with 8 goals followed by Luke Donnelly on 7 and Connor Sammon with 5. Starting XI v QotS last week This will be the 47th meeting between Caley Jags and the Wasps, also known as Alloha Athletic, One game was played at a neutral venue and that was the 1999 Challenge Cup Final played at the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie with an Attendance of 4,043. Alloa came out on top after an entertaining encounter, winning 5-4 on penalties after a 4-4 draw. Bummer for Paul Sheerin who scored a hat-trick including two penalties but failed to score his spot kick in the shoot out. Meh! Bitter disappointment for Caley Thistle as they lost their first ever senior cup final on penalties. They came from behind three times in normal play then again in extra time to take the game to a penalty decider. Alloa took the lead in 20 minutes when Gary Clark hit a low ball past Les Fridge from 15 yards. Barry Wilson equalised in 29 minutes with a neat chip over the keeper. A defensive error let in Mark Wilson to score Alloa's second in 33 minutes but Paul Sheerin equalised from the penalty spot just after half time. This lasted 2 minutes before Martin Cameron made it 3-2 with a 15 yard angled volley. Another penalty goal by Sheerin made it 3-3 in 56 minutes. 14 minutes into extra time Alloa again took the lead when Martin Cameron beat the defence and ran on to score. Paul Sheerin completed his hat trick 8 minutes from time with a 16 yard shot. It was 4-4 on penalties after the regulation 5 attempts each. Alloa keeper Mark Cairns was the hero when he scored to make it 5-4 then saved Mike Teasdale's penalty. The Cup was on its way to Alloa after an exciting match. Alloa Penalties (Irvine, Boyle, Cameron, Little, Cairns) Beaton miss. Inverness Pens (McCulloch, Tokely, Byers, Wilson) Sheerin, Teasdale saved. Match report written by Ian Broadfoot

Time wasters wasting our time Was this going to be the game that breaks the Donkey's back? A home win would put Inverness in the driving seat whilst a win for Annan would revive their ailing hopes of avoiding the relegation play-off slot. Inverness were without Luis Longstaff, Alfie Bavidge and Calum Macleod, not forgetting long term casualties in Lewis Nicolson and Jake Davidson. Annan had their own injury issues with Tommy Goss. Undaunted they opened the scoring in the third minute, a deflected effort from Paul Smith. Virtually their only attempt over the ninety minutes. We, on the other hand were usurped by their tedious time wasting eleven behind the ball tactics and couldn't hit a coo on the arse with a big stick. Sean Murdoch, the referee, using the term loosely, was so far out of his depth it was unreal. A couple of penalty claims ignored and allowing the time wasting was his speciality. Paul Allan hit the post at the end of the first half and Jamie Smith made a handful of saves. Not a great day at the office as the temperature dropped before the end and the Donkey's took all three points. Meh! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful morning in the Sneck with the sun still shining by kick-off and kids for a £ raising the pitch of the North Stand an octave or two. It should have made for a great afternoons entertainment. Alas it went awry after only three minutes and went from bad to worse given our inability to break down the worst defence in League1. After only three minutes a corner into the box was punched clear by Dibaga. It was scooped into the air but not dealt with well by the defence and Paul Smith was teed up to rifle the ball low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with a snapshot and possibly a slight deflection. Still, we all thought we have about ninety minutes to get something from this game. Wrong! We have no seen a brand of football quite like this since Hamilton used to bore us out of points a few years ago. Time wasting of the highest quality aided by the goalkeeper, the post, bad luck and diabolical finishing were our downfall on a day when much more was expected of us. Alfie Stewart met a ball in a similar position at the opposite end of the park but Jamie Smith got down well to save low to his left. Another effort on the six yard line was scrambled clear on the line as bodies got in the way of Stewart's volley. Remi Savage appeared to be flattened in the box and just on half time Paul Allan beat the keeper but hit the post from eight yards after good work down the left by Nolan and MacKinnon. HALF TIME: 0-1 Annan had done nothing but time waste since the third minute, ably assisted by an incompetent referee and a powder puff strikeforce. The second half was no different. Nolan curled an effort from twenty-five yards but Smith was equal to it to tip the ball over the bar in spectacular fashion for a corner. A minute later we 'scored' but it was chalked off for an alleged foul in the box. What an opportunity we spurned with twenty minutes left. Keith Bray beat the keeper to a great ball through the middle. Smith blocked with his hand and the ball landed nicely for Billy Mckay who skipped round the stranded keeper on the edge of the box and shot from sixteen yards. Unfortunately he picked out the only defender who was standing on the line and the chance was gone. A striker low on scoring confidence and it showed. Allan picked out a driving run from Keith Bray five minutes from the end but his header was sent wide as he lunged at the curling cross. Another goalden opportunity wasted. Annan could have added a second from their second attack of game in the 93rd minute but after a quick sucker punch break forward the shot from Josh Todd curled a couple of yards wide. Peter Watson was apparently the Annan bruiser trialist and he put himself about to good effect as we were bullied off the ball in a frustrating encounter. Annan did what they had to do because they couldn't match us in terms of quality and for reasons already stated they took the points and we had egg on our faces. Ragin'. Absolutely... FULL TIME: 0-1 After the euphoria of the Stenhousemuir game on Tuesday night this was a bitter disappointment although given the players available it was maybe not a surprise. Annan's anti football tactics didn't help and a useless referee into the bargain all made for a frustrating but predictable afternoons non entertainment despite a decent crowd. By the end of the game, the weather matched the football and it was bl00dy freezing. Ragin' aye. Reality check from Robert on CTO: A disappointing afternoon. The early goal gave Annan something to defend, and a mixture of the woodwork, great saves and poor finishing cost us. I’d like to see the penalty incident again when Savage looked to be clearly fouled, along with the alleged foul that caused our “goal” to be disallowed. I’ve said before that we’d have bad days and setbacks, but we picked a bad day for this one. However, back on 26 October when we had -3 points and were 15 points adrift of 9th, we’d all have grabbed being 8th in mid March and in control of our own destiny. We need to put this behind us, regroup and focus on getting a win next week. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 29 17 53 2 Cove Rangers 29 18 48 3 Stenhousemuir 29 12 48 4 Alloa Athletic 29 5 40 5 Queen of Sth 29 -5 38 6 Kelty Hearts 29 0 36 7 Montrose 29 -7 33 8 Inverness CT 29 4 32 9 Annan Athletic 29 -23 30 10 Dumbarton 29 -21 09 Listen Oor Wullie Date: 15/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1703 Referee: Sean Murdoch Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan (R Thompson 83), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Stewart (Cairns 73), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Gardiner, Ewan, S Thompson, Walker, Keogh, Scorers: none Booked: Gilmour (90+5) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 1 Manager: Wullie Gibson Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Hooper, Trialist (Bisland 78), McGowan (Bell 79), Todd, A Smith, Kilsby, P Smith, Brown (Ross 62), Maxwell, Subs (not used): G Fleming; R Muir, Strachan Scorers: P Smith (3) Booked: McGowan (58), Todd (63), Gibson (90+5) Sent Off: none a

Six Pointer It's the proverbial six-pointer on Saturday with Annan Athletic the visitors for a 3:00pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium. We climbed out of the relegation zone last week picking up six points in our last two games and that has lifted us up to seventh place in the table with the prospect of more should results go our way. The dramatic win at Dumbarton last Saturday was followed by a swashbuckling 4-1 win over high flying Stenhousemuir in midweek. Luis Longstaff and Alfie Bavidge both have hamstring injuries, the extent of which are being checked out. Congratulations are due to our keeper Musa Dibaga who has been called up by his country, Gambia, for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Ivory Coast. Brilliant recognition for a man on form; a timely penalty save to add to his CV on Tuesday night against Stenhousemuir. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info Musa Dibaga Called Up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kids go for £1! Under 12s go for £1 this Saturday! Available from the Club Shop only. Open tomorrow 10am - 4pm and Sat 10am - KO. Offer available until 1pm on Matchday Max 2 tickets per adult & children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. 2025 Mar 15th League (League 1) - H - Jan 18th League (League1) 3 - 0 A 438 2024 Oct 19th League (League 1) 1 - 0 H 1,501 Aug 10th League (League 1) 0 - 1 A 386 Jul 13th League Cup (Group D) 0 - 1 A 427 2009 Aug 1st League Cup (Rd 1) 4 - 0 H 1,095 1998 Jan 24th Scottish Cup (Rd 3) 8 - 1 H 1,836 Only the six games between these two sides with four of them coming this season already. It started in January 1998 when we thrashed Annan 8-1 in a Scottish Cup tie. They must have annoyed us after they opened the scoring in the eighth minute. That's Ian Broadfoot's report below. Scorers Barry Wilson (14) Iain Stewart (17) Brian Thomson (20) Barry Robson (38) Brian Thomson (55) Stanley Leslie (o.g.) (74) Barry Wilson (84) Duncan Shearer (86) Montgomerie (8) The home side demolished a determined Annan side after an early fright. A loose ball found Norman Montgomery clear inside the Inverness half and he lobbed the ball over Jim Calder. Caley Thistle stormed upfield and scored 3 goals in a 6 minute spell. In 16 minutes Barry Wilson was set up by Iain Stewart just inside the area and he drove the ball low past Robert McColm. Three minutes later Brian Thomson slipped it to Stewart on the 18 yard line and he sent a low ball past the keeper. On the 20 minute mark Thomson was fouled just outside the box. He took the kick himself and sent it into the top corner. A fourth goal came in the 38th minute. Thomson and Stewart set up Barry Robson down the right and he headed straight for goal. Under strong pressure Robson hit it home. In 55 minutes Mark McCulloch cleared upfield from the half-way line and found Stewart who ran through the defence and slipped it to the side of the keeper as he unselfishly sent it across to Thomson who only had to tap it in. After 74 minutes it was 6-1. A Vetle Andersen cross from the left went in off the head of defender Stanley Leslie . 10 minutes later Wilson got the seventh with a low drive from 15 yards and with 4 minutes left substitute Duncan Shearer rose above the Annan defence on the penalty spot and headed in an Andersen cross to complete the 8-1 record score. Annan's bad tempered tackling was finally punished in 86 minutes when Stanley Leslie was sent off Caley Thistle now play Dundee United at Tannadice on February 14th. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W ? Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan up North on Saturday in a six-pointer... Scott Kellacher may still be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the last two and Alfie Bavidge might be joining him on the sidelines similarly. Calum MacLeod was also reported as having a slight thigh injury after a good performance against Stenhousemuir. Annan won the first two encounters this season, both at Galabank. The first was a League Cup game and the second a League1 game. Both went the way of the hosts by a single goal. We reversed that at the Caledonian Stadium by the same scoreline before a crucial 3-0 win at Galabank in the middle of January with goals from Alfie Bavidge, Keith Bray and Billy Mckay, his 114th and last strike for the club. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Cove 28 18 47 3 Stenny 28 12 47 4 Alloa Ath 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 28 0 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Inverness CT 28 5 32 8 Montrose 28 -7 32 9 Annan Ath 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 Last Six: W W L L L L <<<Annan's squad for last Saturday in the 0-2 defeat to Stenhousemuir. They began February well with good wins over Kelty (1-3) and Dumbarton (2-1). That was as good as it got with four straight defeats. Cove Rangers (3-1), Alloa Athletic (3-4), Arbroath (3-0) and last week (0-2) at home to the Warriors. After a promising start to the campaign Annan have dropped down to the relegation play off position. Having a poor defensive record has not helped their cause, shipping 54 league goals and only scoring 29 gives a goal difference of -24, and that's the worst in League1. They have had their fair share of injuries to contend with throughout the season, but then again we know a thing or two about that over the last few seasons. The matchday buses will get you to the game and back on time. Buses leave the Bus Station at 1300 and 1415, returning from the Stadium 10 minutes after the full time whistle and then at 1800. Concession passes are valid on all journeys, with the fare for non concessions being £2.40. Bar 94 will be open from 1200 before the game and until 1800 after the game

Moving on up This rearranged fixture took second place Stenhousemuir North to face the Caley Jags, fresh out of the relegation play-off slot after last weeks dramatic win over Dumbarton. Stenhousemuir were looking to keep the pressure on top of the table Arbroath whilst Inverness could climb another place with a win. The Warriors were on a five game winning run that included a win over League leaders Arbroath recently. Luis Longstaff missed out for the hosts with Ben Brannan getting his second start. Nat Wedderburn was in the Warriors squad and Corey O'Donnell was the hot property to keep an eye on with nine League goals to his name was on the bench. Mathew Aitken and Matty Yates were back in the starting XI. It ended in the Caley Jags biggest win of the season with early first half goals from Ben Brannan and Charlie Gilmour followed by two quick second half strikes from Keith Bray and Paul Allan, who also rattled the post with a superb strike in the first half. We tailed away towards the end and McLuckie was unlucky as he hit the bar with a good effort from outside the box and Musa Dibaga saved an injury time penalty from Blair Alston after a dubious trip on a Stenny player bursting into the left side of the box. That win moves us above Montrose and into seventh place. Great win, plenty of goals and climbing the table. What's not to like. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been a decent afternoon in the Highland capital and the weather had stayed fine into the evening, with just a gentle shower or two to moisten the pitch as the teams took to the park under the floodlights. All set for the game until we had a half hour delay to find a replacement referee after the first one broke! Scott Kellacher was looking for his side to get off to a fast start and he got exactly that in both halfs. With just three minutes on the clock after a 35 minute delay, the impressive Ben Brannan opened the scoring. We moved the ball sharply from the left side across the face of the box where Calum MacLeod laid it off to Brannan who made the run into the box on the right side. He never really broke stride before rifling the ball high into the net from ten yards for his first goal for the Caley Jags. The perfect start for the hosts. Alas, seven minutes later we were level when Euan O'Reilly got on the end of a ball into the box after a fast break forward that caught us on the hop as we pushed forward. It went from bad to worse just four minutes later when Alfie Bavidge had to leave the pitch with what looked like a thigh/hamstring injury. As he limped off he was replaced by Billy Mckay and we all feared the worst in the stands. Fear not said Charlie Gilmour as he put us back in front three minutes later when he fired in following a corner as he drilled in the second ball. It was a really positive display from the hosts as they took the game to their more fancied opponents and Adam MacKinnon was unfortunate not to score as his twenty-five yard drive just cleared the corner of the bar. Both sides were playing some slick football and as the hosts opened up the visitors defence five minutes before the break Paul Allan's curling effort clattered the post halfway up with keeper Jamieson rooted to the spot. Just on the interval, Musa Dibaga had to make a scrambled dive across his goal as O'Reilly shot from the centre of the box following another incisive burst forward from the Warriors. A better connection might have been rewarded with a goal. HALF TIME: 2-1 We stated the second half even faster than the first and within two minutes Keith Bray had diverted a superb driven cross from MacKinnon into the net from close range with his chest to make it 3-1. Well worked goal and more followed four minutes later when a slick move down the right ended with Paul Allan drilling home ably assisted by three or four willing helpers, Mckay with the killer ball. The wind was well and truly out of the Warriors sails by now as we controlled the next phase of the game with ease. With twenty minutes remaining the unfortunately named Bobby McLuckie was unlucky that Dibaga was in good form to push his drive round the post. He was even unMcLuckier minutes later with a tremendous effort that crashed back off Dibaga's crossbar as the visitors looked for a consolation goal. They almost achieved that with what might go down as a soft penalty award but Dibaga guessed right and smothered Blair Alston's spot-kick to his left and reached forward to grab the loose ball just in time. The stuff legends are made of. FULL TIME: 4-1 Best performance of the season against a pretty slick Stenhousemuir. Paul Allan was the sponsors MotM. To be honest we were not short of contenders. How about Remi Savage who doubled up as a twinkle toed left winger at times. Danny Devine who was solid at the heart of the defence against the athletic Yates, Aitken and O'Reilly. Big Musa with a couple of crucial saves and the penalty stop. For me, the performance of Ben Brannan was outstanding. He brings a new dimension to our game with his foraging forward, his loooong throws, precise curling crosses and biting tackles. He was my pick. The only downside was the injury to Alfie Bavidge. Let's hope his substitution was more precautionary than serious. With Cove cuffing Kelty Hearts 0-4, the table now looks like this with eight games left. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Cove Rangers 28 18 47 3 Stenhousemuir 28 12 47 4 Alloa Athletic 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 28 0 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Inverness CT 28 5 32 8 Montrose 28 -7 32 9 Annan Athletic 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 The Eagle was too incisive for the Warriors in an entertaining contest as the Caley Jags consolidated their new found league position with a confident and sometimes swashbuckling performance. Alfie Bavidge came off wounded, but he was not the first to come off injured. We needed a replacement referee before the game started and a thirty-five minute delay ensued as another one was unearthed. Seventh in the table now and the prospect of more to come. Date: 11/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: **** Referee: Tommi Kerr Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Bray, Gilmour, Allan (Stewart 69), MacLeod, MacKinnon (R Thompson 84), Bavidge (B Mckay 13) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, Strachan, Walker, Keogh, Cairns Scorers: Brannan (3), Gilmour (17), Bray (47), Allan (51) Booked: Allan (60) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 1 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Fisher, Bilham, O'Reilly (Alston 72), Anderson (Wedderburn 71), McGill (Jacobs 77), McLuckie, Aitken (O'Donnell 61), Yates Subs (not used): Morrison; Banner, Ewen, Tomlinson, Taylor Scorers: O'Reilly (10) Booked: Anderson (71) Sent Off: none a

Warriors head North Second top Stenhousemuir come North to face the Caley Jags in this re-arranged fixture on Tuesday night, 11th of March. Kick off is 7:45pm and you can get to the Stadium on the Footie Bus at 17:45 or 19:00 from the bus station in the centre of the City. Bar94 will open from 17:30. We are now into phase 4 of the League season and the only team we play twice in the run-in is Stenhousemuir. The only team we don't meet again is Dumbarton. After beating Dumbarton on Saturday and Stenhousemuir beating Annan, we have now crawled out of the relegation play-off zone for the first time since we entered administration. Great achievement by Scott Kellacher and his mostly young side and this has not gone unnoticed by the fans. Kellacher has gone on record as stating that the home games will be crucial over the next few weeks with five out of the nine games remaining played at the Caledonian Stadium starting with this one on Tuesday night. Of these five sides only Arbroath play on grass. That will be his focus as the season reaches boiling point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 10 7 2 1 22 8 +14 Only the ten competitive matches against Stenhousemuir and this is the third one this season. We first crossed swords with the Warriors in a Scottish Cup tie in 1996 when we recorded a narrow one goal win, going on to play Rangers in the next round. A tremendous victory for the Inverness side and a place in the last 8 of the cup. We 'scored' in 2 minutes through Thomson but Christie was offside. After that their defence had to withstand tremendous pressure. Mathieson was a real handful and he came close on 3 occasions - chances also fell to Brannigan, Sprott, Roseburgh, Aitken & Bannon. Caley Thistles only other first half chance was a shot from Thomson in 15 minutes but it went past. In the second half Caley Thistle took control and in 53 minutes Thomson was unlucky when his 25 yard shot was tipped over. In 60 minutes Stewart beat the offside trap but keeper McKenzie came off his line well. 2 minutes later a great shot from 18 yards by Christie was held by McKenzie. On 75 minutes Teasdale set off on a run down the right wing and sent a low cross to Brian Thomson just outside the penalty area - his shot into the corner was unstoppable. With a minute to go Stenhousemuir had the ball in the net but it was chalked off. Caley Thistle held out for a famous victory and the prospect of Rangers at home in the next round. ***We did of course play Rangers at Tannadice going down 3-0 in the Quarter Finals. Starting XI McKenzie Sprott Bannon Armstrong Brannigan Roseburgh Aitken Fisher Mathieson Hutchison Little Jim Calder Mike Noble Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur John Scott Graeme Bennett Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Alan Hercher Iain Stewart 75mins Brian Thomson Subs Haddow Hunter Scott Dave McGinlay Davie Ross Colin Mitchell 2024 Dec 21st League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 719 Sep 28th League (League 1) 0 - 0 H 1,601 2012 Sep 25th League Cup (Rd 3) p 1 - 1 A 705 1999 Jul 31st League Cup (Round 1) 3 - 1 A 534 1998 Apr 11th League 2 - 1 H 1,414 Feb 28th League 3 - 0 A 463 1997 Nov 8th League 4 - 1 H 1,669 Aug 30th League 2 - 3 A 400 Aug 2nd League Cup (Rd 1) 5 - 1 H 1,735 1996 Feb 17th Scottish Cup (Rd 4) 1 - 0 A 2,300 INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / ? Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games and that takes us back home to face Stenhousemuir on Tuesday night in the first of our final nine fixtures with another two home games to follow. Scott Kellacher will be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the game at Dumbarton. Ben Brannan came into the starting XI and did well, helping set up the late winner with his ball into Charlie Gilmour. Brannan went to right back which allowed Keith Bray to take up Longstaff's role. Kellacher has said we have one or two other niggles. Hardly surprising given the state of the surface at Dumbarton after heavy rain during the Arbroath fixture and only a couple of days to get the body back to manageable levels. Tuesday night fixtures: Cove v Kelty & ICT v Stenny Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Stenny 27 15 47 3 Cove 27 14 44 4 Alloa Ath 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 27 4 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Montrose 28 -7 32 8 Inverness CT 27 2 29 9 Annan Ath 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 Warriors Last Six: L W W W W W The best run in the League at the moment, winning their last five on the bounce. They started with a crushing 4-0 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. They bounced back winning the next five starting with a 3-0 win at Montrose. Next was a 2-1 home win over Queen of the South then a 2-0 home win in the top of the table clash against Arbroath. A 3-1 win at Dumbarton and a 2-0 win at Annan sets them up nicely for their third away fixture on the trot at the Caledonian Stadium. Corey O'Donnell is top scorer with nine League goals. Blair Alston has seven. It's been a good season so far for Stenhousemuir and in the first game at the Caledonian Stadium back in September it was a no scoring draw. We nicked the return fixture in December with a 1-0 win thanks to a late Charlie Gilmour strike when he nicked the goal off Paul Allan. Some unusual 'facts' on wikipedia: In 1890, the Warriors moved to Ochilview Park following spells at Tryst Park and Goschen Park. In the early 20th century the club had a brief spell of success, winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup twice in 1901 and 1902. In 1902–03, the club reached the Scottish Cup semi-final, losing 1–4 at home to Rangers. The 1921–22 season saw Stenhousemuir compete for the first time in senior Scottish League Football. In 1925–26, Stenhousemuir goalkeeper Joe Shortt was offered a £50 bribe to throw a match against Broxburn United, but he rejected the offer and the Warriors won the match 6–2. A bookmaker from the Bainsford district of Falkirk, was subsequently jailed for attempted match fixing. In 1928, the wooden grandstand at Ochilview Park burnt down in a fire , which led to a new stand being built in its place, although staircases reputedly had to be added later due to planning errors (was Scot Gardiner in charge). The 1936–37 season saw the club register a record victory – a 9–2 home win against Dundee United. More than a decade later in 1949–50, a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against East Fife drew a record crowd of 12,525 – the highest ever at Ochilview Park. On 7 November 1951, the first floodlit game between two Scottish senior teams occurred at Ochilview Park, a friendly match between Stenhousemuir and Hibernian. The floodlights had been paid for three years earlier by Tommy Douglas, a butcher in King Street, Stenhousemuir.

Still in the Zone An Inverness win could lift them out of the relegation zone for the first time since administration hit providing we did our bit. Scott Kellacher had emphasised how important our home form was going to be ahead of this vital clash and he went with an unchanged side. Michael Gardyne & Matheus Machado were not listed for the visitors and defender Aulay Martin was recalled from his loan at Junior side Montrose Roselea and went straight into the starting XI. We almost achieved our goal but our own performance left us chasing the game after a poor first half. Callum Sandilands opened the scoring for the visitors in an uninspiring opening forty-five but Keith Bray saved the day with a superb diving header ten minutes from the end. All square and a point closer to Annan who lost 3-0 at Arbroath. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An overcast but frost free morning gave way to glimpses of sunshine as kick-off approached. By 3:00 it was an almost pleasant afternoon with a breeze as the game got underway. First attempt of the afternoon saw a Billy Mckay shot blocked and then Charlie Gilmour fired over after a free kick. Not much to talk about ten minutes in but hot prospect Owen Stirton had a shot blocked after twenty minutes with neither side able to make much progress in the final third. With half an hour gone both keepers could have gone for a coffee such was the dearth of activity around the penalty boxes. Graig Wighton and Billy Mckay exchanged misses and with that comment came the kiss of death as young Callum Sandilands, on loan from Hearts, opened the scoring for the visitors, chipping home from inside the box. Not the scoreline Scott Kellacher was hoping for and it went from bad to worse when Luis Longstaff went off injured to be replaced by James Nolan. This fired Inverness into action and Mckay had another effort blocked, this time by Gill before Alfie Bavidge hit the bar from outside the box. Just before the break Musa Dibaga saved from Sandilands at the expense of a corner and at the other end Keith Bray fired wide. HALF TIME: 0-1 With our most creative player subbed off, this was now going to be a massive test of the character of Kellacher's side. Montrose had Graham Webster on from the start of the second half. Gilmour headed on a corner but Mckay knocked it wide five minutes into the second half and Danny Devine lofted a shot over as the hosts looked to get back on level terms. A Paul Allan header off James Nolan's cross was held by Cammy Gill and the pressure was mounting on the visitors defence with Adam MacKinnon having an attempt blocked and Gilmour heading wide. Mckay was denied again by Gill. Charlie Gilmour must have a head like a threepenny bit as he headed wide again and Ben Brannan made his debut replacing MacKinnon. With ten minutes of normal time left up popped Keith Bray with a diving header ably assisted by Remi Savage's ball and Danny Devine's first time cross. No more than we deserved for our second half dominance but a lack of efforts on target meant it ended all square in the Highlands. FULL TIME: 1-1 Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fifth goal of the season earned us a point after we came out of our shell in the second half to keep the pressure on those above us. Fair play to Kellacher for turning it around again in the second half, just need to sort out our first half listlessness. More match reaction to follow... Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 26 15 46 2 Stenhousemuir 26 13 44 3 Cove Rangers 26 12 41 4 Alloa Athletic 27 7 40 5 Queen of Sth 27 -4 35 6 Kelty Hearts 26 4 34 7 Montrose 27 -7 31 8 Annan Athletic 27 -22 27 9 Inverness CT 26 1 26 10 Dumbarton 26 -19 08 Date: 01/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1653 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Stewart (Cairns 86), Longstaff (Nolan 39), Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Brannan 70), B Mckay, Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, Keogh, Strachan, MacLeod, R Thompson Scorers: Bray (80) Booked: Gilmour (41) Sent Off: none Montrose FC: 1 Manager: Stewart Petrie Lineup: Gill; Freeman, Quinn, Waddell (Dillon 66), Steeves, Martin (Webster 46), Masson, Sandilands, Wighton (Brown 66), Stirton, Lyons (Watson 77) Subs (not used): Mathews; Bertie, McKenzie, Redwood Scorers: Sandilands (34) Booked: Steeves (89) Sent Off: none a

Gable Endies at Home Montrose are the visitors this weekend and if you can make it along early there's a Supporters Trust Meeting at 12:30 ahead of the game in Bar94 where they will endeavour to give you an update on the Administration process. The prospect of an entertaining game this Saturday with Inverness on the up and Montrose struggling of late and starting to tread water with one relegation play-off place still up for grabs. At present we hold the trumps for that with eleven games left to Alan Salvage our season.We drew the first encounter 1-1 but a stirring away performance in the second game saw us leave Montrose with a 3-2 victory at the beginning of December. They have their own Alfie Bavidge in Owen Stirton on loan from Dundee United and he has banged in six goals in just a handful of games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FANS MEETING 12:30 Full details are in the flyer below, but the meeting gives fans an opportunity to put questions to Charlie Christie, Scott Young or the Supporters Trust Board. Charlie and Scott will be giving updates on the club's situation and Charlie will be sharing some memories of the club's first 30 years. The meeting is open to all fans and we hope to see many of you there, and remember there is an extra bus being provided by Stagecoach at 12.00 noon from the Bus Station, allowing time to grab a pie or drink before the meeting starts. Concession passes are valid, with the single fare being £2.40. - - - - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info Supporters Trust Meeting Early Bus to Stadium ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 7 3 2 2 8 11 -3 Away 6 3 2 1 9 7 +2 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 13 6 4 3 17 18 -1 Thirteen meetings in total with just the three defeats so far spanning 30 years starting with a 3-1 defeat at Links Park in October 94 in a division Three encounter with Sergei Baltacha the manager. Montrose nearly scored very early in the game but Mark McRitchie saved well from Colin McGlashan. In the 22nd minute a Charlie Christie cross was only inches from Norman MacMillan's head. In the 32nd minute McRitchie again saved at full length from a McGlashan shot. One minute later MacMillan put the visitors in front when he latched on to a Mitchell through ball and shot home. Things went badly wrong in the second half for Caley Thistle when in 58 minutes Paul MacKenzie was sent off for a second bookable offence. It was an uphill struggle after that and it was no surprise when Montrose equalised through Grant in 68 minutes. As the visitors tired McGlashan put Montrose in front with a tremendous shot in 74 minutes and one minute from time McRonald made it three with an overhead kick. Our next meeting in February was even worse. We were hammered 4-0 at home when a Stuart Beedie brace, with Milne and Mark Haro all scoring second half goals without reply. We won the third game 1-0 through a last minute goal from Wilson Robertson but ended as we began with a 3-0 doing at home in April thanks to strikes from Neil McAvoy, Colin McGlashan and Shaun Smith. Montrose went on to gain promotion this season with a late run for the finishing line pipping Ross County for the second place finish. Caledonian Thistle ended the season in mid-table and Forfar Athletic were the Champions. Those were the days... Last 10 Competitive Meetings 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose up next and a win would be helpful and much appreciated with only 11 games left in our fixture list. Latest Team News from within: Scott Kellacher has not mentioned any fresh injury worries but is focussed on four of the next five games being at home for the run in with a total of six of our final games at the Caledonian Stadium against five teams who play on artificial surfaces. Good news if we can use that to our advantage. So, the big emphasis is on our home form. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 25 12 43 2 Cove Rangers 25 13 41 3 Stenny 25 11 41 4 Alloa Ath 26 6 37 5 Queen of Sth 26 -3 35 6 Kelty Hearts 25 3 31 7 Montrose 26 -7 30 8 Annan Ath 26 -19 27 9 Inverness CT 25 1 25 10 Dumbarton 25 -17 8 Last Six: D L D D W L At the end of January Montrose picked up an away point with a 2-2 draw at Annan, Stirton and Lyons scoring early goals. A home defeat to Stenhousemuir followed (0-3) with two draws on the bounce against Alloa (2-2) and Cove (1-1). The highlight of the last six was a rousing 2-3 win at Dumbarton with (Stirton x2 & Quinn scoring). Last week saw them well beaten at Home by QotS. <<<That was Stewart Petrie's squad for the win over Dumbarton. However, last week Machado started with Masson coming off the bench. Not a great run by Montrose and that has seen them sink perilously close to the relegation scrap. Owen Stirton is top scorer with six goals on loan from Dundee United. He seems to be the Gable Endies equivalent of our own Alfie Bavidge. Experienced arrival in the shape of Craig Wightman to back him up. Callum Sandilands is a promising young forward player in from Hearts. Matheus Machado is still at Montrose as is the imbecilic Michael Gardyne. Good footballer, bit of a tool though. January Sales: Loan in: Owen Stirton, forward (Dundee United); Callum Sandilands, forward (Heart of Midlothian); Craig Wighton, forward (Dunfermline Athletic); Kieran Freeman, defender (Raith Rovers). Kane Hester has signed on again at Elgin City and Defender Callum Hannah has gone back to Raith Rovers.

Kelty Hearts Broken The two previous encounters this season had ended all square but this Training Ground Derby at New Central Park went the way of the visitors thanks to a strike from Alfie Bavidge. Scott Kellacher had a full squad to pick from with James Nolan dropping down to join new signing Ben Brannan on the bench and Billy Mckay was up front with Alfie Bavidge. Charlie Mulgrew had a defender trialist on from the start who turned out to be Kirk Broadfoot but top Scorer Ross Cunningham missed out. After a goalless first half the Caley Jags upped the pace and Alfie Bavidge opened the scoring with twenty minutes remaining. A late scare as Kelty bounced a header off the crossbar following a corner but the visitors held on for the win in what turned out to be a great day for the Caley Jags with all others round about them losing. Happy days! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In less than ideal conditions and after a cagey opening it took ten minutes before Paul Allan had the first attempt in earnest when Luis Longstaff's ball in was met by the midfielder, his effort saved by Adams in goal. Kelty were perhaps shading the early exchanges and from hereon they dominated the first forty-five although the visitors had a couple of great opportunities to open the scoring. Lewis Moore saw Dibaga save his effort from outside the box and midway through the half he shot wide from inside the box. The Inverness defence were working hard to contain the eager Maroons, blocking a couple of efforts from outside the box and it remained goalless at the break. The second half saw the Caley Jags up their work rate and they took control of proceedings from the whistle. Adam MacKinnon had a long range shot saved and Alfie Bavidge missed the target as we rolled our sleeves up. Connor Allan went close with a shot from inside the box on the hour and Blaine McClure fired a free kick wide. However, it was the visitors who were now in pulling the strings. Billy Mckay and Charlie Gilmour went close as the pressure mounted on the hosts defence and they combined to set up Bavidge for a great team goal to open the scoring from close range, Alfie's fifth goal in seven appearances. A late surge from the hosts as they tried to salvage something from the game saw Scott Mercer head onto the bar following a corner with ten minutes remaining. Despite this late flurry and seven minutes of time added on, Inverness kept the Hearts out and closed the gap on Annan to just two points with a game in hand. 5th goal in 7 for Alfie, that's some return since he came in on loan. Mantis summed up on CTO: We were very poor first half although as Kell says we had the best two chances. Defensively, Devine and Savage were in total control and Kelty, minus Cunningham, never really looked like breaking us down. Will be interesting to see Kelty’s penalty claim on the highlights. Second half we started at a decent tempo with Bray and Longstaff causing a lot of problems down the right, and you could feel the pressure building. We spurned a few chances before finally scoring. We might have tied the game up as we then had to endure a nervy few minutes at the end, during which Devine and Savage were both booked. Meanwhile the Annan game, which was a few minutes ahead of us, ticked on past the 97 minute mark. Thought Billy was more effective in his deeper role than in recent weeks and very happy that nobody snapped up Charlie in the transfer window. He even avoided a booking this week… Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 25 13 41 2 Stenny 25 11 41 3 Arbroath 24 11 40 4 Alloa Ath 26 6 37 5 Queen of Sth 26 -3 35 6 Kelty Hearts 24 4 31 7 Montrose 26 -7 30 8 Annan Ath 26 -19 27 9 Inverness CT 25 1 25 10 Dumbarton 25 -17 08 Goals Scored by Alfie Bavidge Jan 4th, 2025 League (H) vs. Dumbarton 2 - 0 (15') Jan 18th, 2025 League (A) vs. Annan Athletic 3 - 0 (40') Jan 21st, 2025 League (A) vs. Queen of the South 2 - 3 (10') Feb 1st, 2025 League (H) vs. Queen of the South 1 - 0 (36') Feb 22nd, 2025 League (A) vs. Kelty Hearts 1 - 0 (73') Date: 22/02/2025 Venue: New Central Park, Kelty Attendance: 0641 Referee: Alastair Grieve Kelty Hearts: 0 Manager: Charlie Mulgrew Lineup: Adams; Mercer, Flatman, Trialist, Paterson, McClure, Lyon (McCarvel 61), C Allan, McIntyre (Thomas 81), Moore, McLeish (Johnston 75) Subs (not used): Adamson; Fellows, O'Ware, Bryce, Watson, Brown Scorers: none Booked: McClure (64), Mercer (78) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Stewart, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, Mackinnon, Bavidge, B Mckay (Cairns 90+4) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Walker, Ewan, Keogh, Nolan, MacLeod, R Thompson, Brannan Scorers: Bavidge (73) Booked: Devine (87), Savage (90+1) Sent Off: none a

**GAME OFF **GAME OFF** Top of the table Stenhousemuir are the visitors this weekend at the Caledonian Stadium for a 2:00pm start looking to keep themselves as the leaders of the pack. In contrast, the Caley Jags will be looking to bounce back after they were whitewashed 3-0 at second placed Arbroath last weekend as we lost a little ground on the teams above us. It's a tight division this year with Arbroath probably looking the likeliest to get their act together as witnessed by the way they easily disposed of the Caley Jags last Saturday. Despite a good run of results, it's a sharp learning curve for most at this time, including the fans, where expectations will need to be tempered during the healing process. Don't forget it's an early kick-off at 2:00pm With that in mind, revised bar and bus times in operation this week. Everything is an hour earlier than normal. Bar 94 will open at 1100 and close at 1700. The matchday buses will leave the Bus Station at 1200 and 1315 Return from the stadium 10 mins after the full time whistle and at 1700. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info Keith Bray to Dunfermline ***Early Kick Off 2:00pm*** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 10 7 2 1 22 8 +14 Only the ten competitive matches against Stenhousemuir and this is the third one this season. We first crossed swords with the Warriors in a Scottish Cup tie in 1996 when we recorded a narrow one goal win, going on to play Rangers in the next round. A tremendous victory for the Inverness side and a place in the last 8 of the cup. We 'scored' in 2 minutes through Thomson but Christie was offside. After that their defence had to withstand tremendous pressure. Mathieson was a real handful and he came close on 3 occasions - chances also fell to Brannigan, Sprott, Roseburgh, Aitken & Bannon. Caley Thistles only other first half chance was a shot from Thomson in 15 minutes but it went past. In the second half Caley Thistle took control and in 53 minutes Thomson was unlucky when his 25 yard shot was tipped over. In 60 minutes Stewart beat the offside trap but keeper McKenzie came off his line well. 2 minutes later a great shot from 18 yards by Christie was held by McKenzie. On 75 minutes Teasdale set off on a run down the right wing and sent a low cross to Brian Thomson just outside the penalty area - his shot into the corner was unstoppable. With a minute to go Stenhousemuir had the ball in the net but it was chalked off. Caley Thistle held out for a famous victory and the prospect of Rangers at home in the next round. ***We did of course play Rangers at Tannadice going down 3-0 in the Quarter Finals. Starting XI McKenzie Sprott Bannon Armstrong Brannigan Roseburgh Aitken Fisher Mathieson Hutchison Little Jim Calder Mike Noble Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur John Scott Graeme Bennett Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Alan Hercher Iain Stewart 75mins Brian Thomson Subs Haddow Hunter Scott Dave McGinlay Davie Ross Colin Mitchell 2024 Dec 21st League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 719 Sep 28th League (League 1) 0 - 0 H 1,601 2012 Sep 25th League Cup (Rd 3) p 1 - 1 A 705 1999 Jul 31st League Cup (Round 1) 3 - 1 A 534 1998 Apr 11th League 2 - 1 H 1,414 Feb 28th League 3 - 0 A 463 1997 Nov 8th League 4 - 1 H 1,669 Aug 30th League 2 - 3 A 400 Aug 2nd League Cup (Rd 1) 5 - 1 H 1,735 1996 Feb 17th Scottish Cup (Rd 4) 1 - 0 A 2,300 INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. Billy Mckay speaking to the Courier has said that Jake Davidson will miss the rest of the season after the extent of his knee injury was revealed to be more extensive than at first thought. Jake, who was shaping up well in midfield, was looking promising before his injury against Alloa Athletic in the middle of November and is now in re-hab after his operation. The only other injury concern appears to be Billy himself who was subbed off at Arbroath last weekend as a precaution having come on as a second half sub at the break. As far as signing anyone else: Billy said our hands are tied due to administration. We can only now get players in on loan as long as they are under 20 and the window closes at the end of the month. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 24 9 38 2 Arbroath 22 10 37 3 Cove Rangers 23 10 35 4 Queen of Sth 24 -3 32 5 Kelty Hearts 22 7 31 6 Alloa Athletic 24 3 31 7 Montrose 24 -5 27 8 Annan Ath 24 -16 27 9 Inverness CT 24 0 22 10 Dumbarton 23 -15 08 <<<That was the Warriors line up in the 2-1 win over Queen of the South last weekend. Warriors Last Six: W D D L W W They started their last six with a resounding 3-1 win at Alloa at the end of December. There followed draws with Annan Athletic and Kelty before being hammered 4-0 at home by Cove. In February they have had a 3-0 win at Montrose and a home win over QotS (2-1) in their last game ahead of the visit to Inverness. That back to back wins have put the Warriors heads above the parapet again with Arbroath handily placed behind them with two games in hand. They also went out of the Cup at East End Park with the Pars easing through 3-0 in the middle of January. Corey O'Donnell and Blair Alston are joint top scorers on six apiece with both scoring in the win over Queens last week. Matty Aitken is on 5 goals but has been out injured since before Xmas. Former Inverness player and man mountain Nat Wedderburn recently made his 150th appearance for Stenhousemuir. The Warriors come North looking to pillage three points from the Bridge and Castle but the Eagle will be doing his best to stop the looting and get the Admin Express back on track after the Smokies derailed us momentarily.

Revenge is Sweet Inverness gained revenge for a 3-2 defeat eleven days ago at Palmerston when Alfie Bavidge struck his fourth goal in five games with a neat finish from the left side of the penalty box after being fed through by Paul Allan following good work by the returning Luis Longstaff. It was a tight game against a robust Doonhamers side with on form Adam Brooks looking lively for Queens early on before the game settled down. Good pace and power from Bavidge to get on the end of the ball and slip it past keeper Ross Stewart. A slow burner of a second half with chances at a premium. There was a flurry of activity around Stewart before and after Brydon was sent off for persistent fouling and a second yellow card. Stewart made a couple of super saves late in the game as the hosts threatened to increase their advantage and he was in the right place to deny a slick flick from Longstaff when he met a cross from the right. An ultimately deserved win over a Queens side who adopted a 'they shall not pass at any cost' attitude throughout the game and no surprise they ended up with ten men. Unfortunately for us Annan pulled off a great win at Kelty but Montrose are now a target for the bottom three to aim at. Special mention for Michael Hewitt who managed to get play stopped for a head injury when we had possession but made a miraculous recovery to play a blinder for the remainder of the game.............. starting seconds later. The result was greater than the performance and we dug deep to get this win against an over enthusiastic Queens side who were prepared to use underhand tactics to try and derail our admin train. Great finish from Alfie Bavidge which won the points. Luis Longstaff was a popular choice for MotM after returning from injury. Chances were at a premium throughout the game. Dibaga blocked an early effort from Jordan Allan after twenty minutes before Bavidge struck. In the second half Alfie Stewart had an effort from twenty-five yards clawed away from the top corner and Longstaff was unlucky as he flicked towards goal from a front post ball in by Alfie B. Late in the game keeper Stewart kept out a prod forward from Paul Allan with an outstretched arm after good work down the left flank involving Billy Mckay sending Longstaff down the wing to cross to Allan. Like us eleven days ago, it's a long way home when there's no points in the bag... Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 23 8 35 2 Cove 22 10 34 3 Arbroath 21 7 34 4 Queen of Sth 23 -2 32 5 Kelty Hearts 22 7 31 6 Alloa Athletic 23 3 30 7 Montrose 22 -5 25 8 Annan Ath 23 -17 24 9 Caley Jags 23 3 22 10 Dumbarton 22 -14 08 Date: 01/02/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1726 Referee: Alastair Grieve Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Cairns (83)), Stewart (Mckay (73)), Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Ewan, Keogh, MacLeod, R Thompson, Scorers: Bavidge (36) Booked: MacKinnon (27), Gilmour (31), Bray (87) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 0 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; Douglas, MacIntyre, Hannah (J Brydon (56), Hewitt, Allan (Charters 37), Cochrane, Lyon, Walker (Smith 55), Dickenson, Brooks (F Bryden 70) Subs (not used): Johnson; McLinden, O'Donnell, Scorers: none Booked: Cochrane (20), Dickenson (27), Allen (28), Brydon (72, 81) Sent Off: Brydon (81) a

The Queens Head North It's an early chance for revenge after we were beaten in Dumfries nine days ago as Queen of the South visit the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon, having won 3-2 at Palmerston. They have climbed to third in the table with former Caley Jag Adam Brooks scoring for fun in recent games. Luis Longstaff has trained this week and if he shows no reaction he will be included in the squad. Queens could top the table on Saturday night should they win and other results go their way. Our target is a win over Queens with Annan failing to win and that would put the Caley Jags up to eighth. Plenty of incentives for both teams to do well and that should make for another entertaining encounter. Remember to try the new improved bus service for home games. For 3 pm kick offs, buses leave the Bus Station at 1 pm and 2.15 pm. Buses return from the Stadium 10 minutes after the full time whistle and again at 6 pm. Stagecoach operates these journeys as normal bus services, open to all passengers, and at no cost to either the club or the Supporters Trust. Passengers holding Under 22 or Senior Citizen and Disabled Concessionary Cards will travel free on the service. For other passengers the fare is £2.40 for a single journey. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hospitality/Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar Bus to game Sponsorship ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue for H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 13 3 6 39 26 +13 Away 21 8 7 6 36 25 +11 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 43 21 10 12 75 51 +24 Over the years we generally held the upper hand over the Doonhamers with home advantage showing a greater chance of taking all three points. Administration has it's knock on effect though and this will be a tougher ask than previous years. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 3 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) It's one win each so far this season. A 1-0 win back at the end of August with Billy Mckay notching a first half winner during the Ferguson era. The next game was re-scheduled, hence the two in nine days with Adam Brooks grabbing a brace. Alfie Bavidge and Keith Bray had pulled us level but substitute Jordan Allan nicked the winner ten minutes from the end. A long journey home with no points after putting so much into the game. Maybe we can repay them this weekend. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart his first. Up next a revenge mission at home to QotS. *There were plenty of positives to be taken from the defeat against Queen of the South in last midweek. Alfie Bavidge is on form with three from three and Keith Bray added his third League goal of the season. Luis Longstaff was a big miss at Palmerston having been injured at Annan last Saturday and missed out again at Alloa. Scott Kellacher on Luis Longstaff: “He’s back in contention, he’s trained a fair bit so we’ll see how he gets on. He got through training today [Thursday] so we’ll see how he is tomorrow [Friday] and take it from there. He’s been back training a couple of days so that has been ideal to get him back involved with the squad.” Full Preview from Scott Kellacher Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 22 5 32 3 Queen of Sth 22 -1 32 4 Cove 21 9 31 5 Kelty Hearts 21 9 31 6 Alloa Athletic 22 3 29 7 Montrose 21 -2 25 8 Annan Ath 22 -19 21 9 Inverness CT 22 2 19 10 Dumbarton 21 -14 07 L D W D W W Queens recent run of form has lifted them up to third in the table. A loss at Kelty was followed by a home draw against Annan Athletic then a win over Cove Rangers before drawing with Alloa Athletic. There was the Cup defeat against St Mirren where they gave the Premiership side as good as they got but just fell short and they picked themselves up to beat the Caley Jags in Dumfries in a five goal thriller. They then scored three again against Dumbarton. Adam Brooks has scored four in his last two games, five in the last six League matches and six League goals for the season. Meh! This was their starting XI against the Sons. With Harry Cochrane and Kyle Doherty out there were starts for Josh Walker and Lewis O'Donnell. Taylor Charters, a 23 year old midfielder, has joined on loan from Carlisle United this week for the remainder of the season and goalkeeper Murray Johnson has returned on loan from Hibs. Forward Leighton McIntosh has now left Queens.

What's it all about Alfie Inverness bolstered their squad with a couple of Alfie's on loan from Aberdeen, Bavidge and Stewart. Jack Walker also returned from Nairn County ahead of the visit of fellow Administration side Dumbarton, in what has been described as a six-pointer and it's only the 4th of January. The covers were removed in double quick time thanks to around fifty volunteers who turned up to help get the pitch ready for today's game after a week of frost on a brisk Saturday morning with the sun splitting the sky. It turned into a bitterly cold afternoon but new signing Alfie Bavidge warmed the home fans palms when he opened the scoring after fifteen minutes. The Sons had to replace keeper Brett Long before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. Replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a tremendous save just on the interval but he had no chance with a powerful drive from Charlie Gilmour who doubled the lead twenty minutes from the end. The Sons battled hard and Finlay Gray struck the post but Inverness took the points to narrow the gap on Annan Athletic to seven points with a game in hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Alfie Bavidge running the channels up front alongside Billy Mckay and often Adam MacKinnon backing them up it was no surprise that Inverness were on the front foot in the early exchanges. It was no surprise that the hosts opened the scoring after fifteen minutes when a superb ball down the right wing from Luis Longstaff curled invitingly into the feet of Adam MacKinnon who had made the run forward. He went to the byeline before swinging in a dangerous first time ball into the Sons six yard box which they failed to deal with effectively. Alfie won't score an easier goal this season as the ball broke to him inside the box and he swept it into the net for a debut goal. Lovely moment for the young striker. His next attempt minutes later was not so profitable as a wild swing saw him slice the ball out for a throw in fifty yards wide. We'll ignore that one. There followed a bit of a lull with Inverness dominating play and Dumbarton looking to keep the damage to a minimum. They almost conceded a second when Billy Mckay was threaded through on the left side, however after skipping wide of Brett Long, the keeper recovered sufficiently to get a touch on Mckay's effort from the tightest of angles, the ball running across the face of the goal and out for a corner. The Sons then had to replace keeper Long ten minutes before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. MacKinnon tested the sub keeper with a low shot from the edge of the box and the replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a stunning save just on the interval diving high to his left to deny a thunderous Luis Longstaff volley from the edge of the box as he tipped the ball out for a corner which never happened. HALF TIME: 1-0 Dumbarton looked a bit more aggressive after the break and Ethan Brown's blocked shot brought about appeals for a penalty, but to no avail. Mckay had an effort saved as the hosts continued to dominate and with twenty-minutes remaining Charlie Gilmour side footed in a second goal after a short corner routine saw MacKinnon cut the ball back to Gilmour fifteen yards out and he first timed a side footer high into the net with power. That goal stung Dumbarton into action and they eventually managed to create a couple of opportunities of their own. Dibaga blocked well from Gray as he sprinted clear on the left side of the box. From the corner, Clark's header grazed the top of the bar although there may have been an infringement in the build up. Either way, a goal kick or free kick was given. Gray was then unlucky with twenty minutes remaining when he was put through on the left side again, this time he beat Dibaga at his near post but the ball rebounded to safety off the base of the post. Devine headed wide late on and a couple of promising moves broke down on the edge of the visitors box as Inverness then saw out the game in control. The only downside was an injury to Longstaff who was replaced by Alfie Stewart for his debut. FULL TIME: 2-0 A thoroughly deserved win after last weeks disappointing result against Cove Rangers. New signing Alfie Bavidge was rightly awarded the MotM, not just for his debut goal, but he was a constant threat, tirelessly running the channels like his olde man did back in the day and with plenty of pace and a good first touch. He also seemed to give Billy Mckay an extra spring in his step and he was unlucky not to score. He will certainly be an asset for the Caley Jags in 2025 and Alfie Stewart got a few minutes under his belt as well. Good start to the year for us and hopefully the springboard to go on a wee run and get back into the pack. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 20 9 31 3 Kelty Hearts 20 9 30 4 Cove 20 5 28 5 Alloa Ath 20 4 28 6 Queen of St 19 -4 25 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 20 -16 20 9 Inverness CT 19 -1 13 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Date: 04/01/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1894 Referee: Dan McFarlane Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff (Stewart 75), Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Cairns 85), B Mckay, Bavidge (C Mackay 94) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, J Walker, MacLeod, R Thompson Scorers: Bavidge (15), Gilmour (77) Booked: none Sent Off: none Dumbarton: 0 Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup: Long (O'Neil 37); Pignatiello, Lynas (Durnan 68), Brown, Clark, Wilson (Hilton 68), Niang, Gray (Mumbongo 85), Blair, Shiels (McGuffie 85), Orsi Subs (not used): Young, Wallace, Doyle, Nicol. Scorers: none Booked: Shiels (60), McGuffie (88) Sent Off: none a

Big Loss to Round off a Miserable 2024 Last game of Annus Horribilis had Cove Rangers as visitors to the Highlands on a damp but mild afternoon at the Caledonian Stadium. Robbie Thompson returned to the squad after suspension. Charlie Reilly and Jake Davidson were the main players missing. Paul Hartley in his 200th game in charge of Cove covering two spells was without Will Gillingham, Liam Parker and Blair Yule but Mitch Megginson returned after injury and Findlay Marshall and Declan Glass also started. This fourth meeting of the season between the clubs ended in a disappointing defeat. Declan Glass had opened the scoring in just five minutes after Dibaga had knocked away a shot from Megginson and on the rebound, Emslie. Megginson helped himself to number two after a corner. Remi Savage halved the deficit before the interval. Arron Darge headed Cove two ahead just after the interval, his second in two games. A late Emslie strike was the icing on the cake for Cove. Too little too late despite a late flurry from the hosts made all the more disappointing with the news that Dumbarton won whilst our goal difference took a hammering and Annan picked up a point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An early setback for the hosts in the fifth minute when Glass scored on the rebound after Megginson's and then Emslie's shot broke to him from Dibaga. Glass had a second effort saved by the keeper a few minutes later as Cove dominated the early exchanges. James Nolan fired over before Megginson forced Dibaga into action again winning a corner. From that corner Megginson added a second goal heading in from the corner of the six yard box, his eighth strike in the League campaign. An uphill struggle after only twenty minutes with Cove dominating proceedings and Inverness unable to create anything of note. Out of the blue, we scrambled a goal back through Remi Savage following a Paul Allan free kick. Just what we needed to kick-start our afternoon. However, the ever dangerous Megginson was denied by Dibaga a couple of minutes later some five minutes before the break. The hosts were trying to salvage their poor first forty-five and Billy Mckay had an effort saved by Nick Suman as possession almost levelled out after Cove's blistering start but Dibaga had been the busier of the two keepers in a disappointing half for the home fans. HALF TIME: 1-2 Ethan Cairns replaced Mathew Strachan at the interval but we fell further behind minutes after the restart when Darge headed home following a free kick. Mckay was denied two minutes later from close range from Luis Longstaff's free kick. Suman saved from Cairns, tipping over the bar after an hour and Connor Scully shot just wide from a free kick with Danny Devine being booked for his troubles. Allan missed the target as Inverness looked to get a lifeline with twenty minutes left. Cove still looked more dangerous and Glass saw an effort saved by Dibaga after being put through by Megginson. Into the final ten minutes and Inverness were finding it difficult to break Cove down and create anything meaningful whilst Darge fancied another but headed off target. Keith Bray saw his shot saved by the keeper from distance and substitute Robbie Thompson headed wide. Adam Emslie rounded off the scoring as we chased a late consolation, slotting in from the edge of the box in some style. FULL TIME: 1-4 Well that was a kick in the teeth for the Caley Jags who were well beaten by Cove. A random summary on CTO: A game of 2 halves and we were sh!te in both Perhaps too much Christmas pud was had by those in red and blue! Couldn't keep possession - either pushed off the ball far too easily or passing to an opponent. Cove came prepared and soaked up everything we threw at them with ease, and with similar ease strolled through our defence whenever they fancied a shot at goal. They wanted it so much more than we did and could have won by a much bigger margin. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 19 10 34 2 Stenny 19 9 30 3 Kelty 19 9 29 4 Cove R 19 6 28 5 Alloa Ath 19 2 25 6 Montrose 19 -2 23 7 Queen of Sth 18 -5 22 8 Annan Ath 19 -16 19 9 Inverness CT 18 -3 10 10 Dumbarton 19 -10 07 Date: 28/12/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1974 Referee: Iain Snedden Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan (R Thompson 85), Devine, Savage, Strachan (Cairns 46), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Longstaff, MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Patterson; S Thompson, L Walker, Gardiner, MacLeod, C Mackay Scorers: Savage (37) Booked: Devine (65) Sent Off: none Cove Rangers: 4 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Suman; Lobban, Doyle, Darge, Harrington, Fyvie, Marshall, Scully, Glass, Megginson (Gaffney 81), Emslie Subs (not used): Demus; Murray, McAllister, McGrath Scorers: Glass (5), Megginson (18), Darge (49), Emslie (90+2) Booked: Harrington (81) Sent Off: none a

Happy New Year I hope we will all have a great New Year and are looking forward to getting back to business as usual. For Inverness Caledonian Thistle that will be a case of steadying the ship, not dropping any further in terms of league positions, sorting out the massive black hole where the finances disappeared into, hopefully a new buyer with the interest of the club and the community at heart and the process of building bridges with the local business community and fanbase can be reborn and flourish. Alan Salvage, as we know him on here, has gone a long way to restoring the good name of the Caley Jags. There is, however, still a long way to go. Duncball, relegation, reign of tyranny, oligarchy, lies, deceit destruction and administration. This last season has seen our darkest moments on and off the park and one that showed that Immortality is real as one of our legendary supporters moved on to a spiritual level to oversee our resurrection from the ashes of administration. It's been a difficult time for the club and it's supporters who now have one of their own, Scott Kellacher trying his utmost to repair the damage done over the years of mismanagement. So far it's been a steadying process and recent results have been encouraging as he adopts a more positive approach to the beautiful game, something that has not gone unnoticed amongst the fanbase who are seeing the improvements from a year of Duncball; all possession, relegation and limited entertainment. On Saturday, we face Cove Rangers at the Caledonian Stadium in the last game of our Annus Seasonal Horribilis. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick off before Dumbarton first foot us on 4th of January 2025 bringing coal, shortbread, their own administration and a wee dram. To be honest, I'd rather have the three points instead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters/ Bus Info Half Season Tickets Administration Topic on CTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 10 of 11 Competitive Meetings 0 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 6 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 3 - 2 (H) INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W That's our League1 season so far, almost half way through the campaign for us. Scott Kellacher came in at matchday 11. His winning streak bookended by the losses at Dumbarton and the loss at home to Arbroath before last weeks stirring late drama at Stenhousemuir where Charlie Gilmour was credited with the goal after full time. We have played Cove Rangers three times this season and it's one win apiece and a draw. Cove's win was a Scottish Cup tie. Drab Draw: 1-1 Inverness hosted Cove Rangers and were without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and former Cove players Luis Longstaff and Charlie Gilmour had returned to the squad with Gilmour and Longstaff starting. Cove had won their last two outings and put three past Kelty Hearts last weekend with Mitch Megginson always a threat up front. Adam Emslie tapped in at the back post to open the scoring after twenty minutes. Substitute James Nolan levelled five minutes after the restart following a corner. A replacement official was required to complete the game and despite fifteen minutes added on, there was no further scoring. Caley Jags Get Vital Win: 1-2 Top versus bottom ended in victory for the Caley Jags who climb into positive numbers at the foot of the table. Cove had made one change from the win at Dumbarton as they looked for their fifth win on the trot. Findlay Marshall replaced Arron Darge. For Inverness, graduate Sam Reid took his place on the bench with Lewis Nicolson missing. On the field, Charlie Gilmour returned to midfield to bolster the squad with Connal Ewan out injured and boss Scott Kellacher would be looking to get into positive numbers with his positive team talks. However, it only took Cove ten minutes to get in front through top scorer Mitch Megginson. Megginson failed to convert a first half penalty with Dibaga saving and two minutes later it was all square when Adam MacKinnon drilled high into the net. With 25 minutes left, Keith Bray popped up with a much needed and deserved winner. This was a great result played out at Cove, sharpened at Inverness but made in the Isle of Lewis. Cup of no Cheer: 0-2 Jake Davidson, Keith Bray, Charlie Reilly, Connell Ewan and Lewis Nicolson were all missing for the The Caley Jags on Scottish Cup 3rd Round action at Balmoral Stadium, Cove. Fraser Fyvie was out for Cove. No scoring in the first half, not for the want of trying, but two very late goals, one from the spot after a dubious handball attributed to Danny Devine put Cove into the draw for the 4th Round. Substitutes Glass with the penalty and McGrath with a strike into the bottom corner sent the Caley Jags tumbling out of the cup after it was looking good for soooo long. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 18 7 31 2 Kelty 18 11 29 3 Stenny 18 7 27 4 Alloa Ath 18 4 25 5 Cove 18 3 25 6 Montrose 18 1 23 7 Queen of S 17 -5 21 8 Annan Ath 18 -16 18 9 Caley Jags 17 0 10 10 Dumbarton 18 -12 04 Latest Team News Inverness have limited options as is the norm these days since administration. No new injury worries that we are aware of and Robbie Thompson will be available after his suspension last week. Charlie Reilly will hopefully be getting closer to a return. Jake Davidson will miss out. Kellacher is reported to have one or two niggles within the squad, we'll have to wait and see what transpires. Cove Rangers Last Six League games: L L L D D W A poor recent run by Cove saw them drop from the top spot but they had a good win last week as they beat Alloa Athletic 2-0 in front of a mere 323 fans at Balmoral Stadium to get back on track. This was their squad for that encounter. Arron Darge scored his first goal for Cove with a header after twenty minutes. Substitute Myles Gaffney sealed the points in the second half with a couple of minutes to spare. Everyone is beating each other as Arbroath sneak their way to the top of the table. Cove are sitting in fifth place only six points off the pace. Ones to watch: Mitch Megginson (7 League ), Adam Emslie (4 ), Findlay Marshall (3 ) Connor Scully and Fraser Fyvie along with Emslie are able providers. Striker Mitch Megginson should be fit to return having missed the Alloa game, but Liam Parker and Blair Yule are still unavailable. Saturday will be manager Paul Hartley's 200th game in charge and it coincides with his 500th game in football management overall. Hartley is confident his team will be well prepared to mount a serious challenge for promotion in the New Year.

The Curse Strikes Inverness and Arbroath met at the Caledonian Stadium as the Christmas shopping got into full swing. With the frost lifting, it was a chilled afternoon for this fixture with Inverness missing four longer term casualties in Jake Davidson, and Lewis Nicolson along with loan players Connall Ewan and striker Charlie Reilly . Ethan Cairns was also missing. Corey Patterson came in as an emergency loan due to an injury to Szymon Rebilas. Arbroath, like Inverness, were one of the form teams in League1 prior to kick off and talk of the Manager of the Month curse was rife. As it happened, the Curse saw Robbie Thompson sent off before the interval and second half goals from Dylan Smith & Gavin Reilly won the points for the Smokies. In truth it wasn't a great performance today, but we can't complain after the recent run we had been on. It was a result that puts Arbroath top of the table, not a bad week for them, and their assistant gaffer who had a Golden baby boy introduced to the world. Congratulations David Gold and fiance Claire. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A quick start from the hosts offered them what looked like a decent chance when a ball from the left was met by a couple of attackers near the edge of the six yard box, alas we seemed to try and walk the ball into the net rather than attempt a first time strike and the fleeting moment passed us by. The fleet footed Luis Longstaff tried to replicate his goal against Montrose from the previous week as he cut in from the left across the face of the box. It was perfect up until his parting shot which he dragged wide on this occasion in the tenth minute. After the initial surge, the game lapsed into mediocrity, littered with fouls and errors from both sides with Arbroath not in any hurry to venture forward. Robbie Thompson was booked for a soft infringement on Ryan Dow. That would come back to bite him on the arse before the interval. On the half hour and following a corner, Adam MacKinnon saw his fierce volley deflected just wide. Five minutes later, the already booked Robbie Thompson was sent off after he tripped Fraser Taylor who had picked up the ball about 30 yards from his own goal and was preparing to surge forward, albeit some 70 yards from Dibaga in the Inverness goal. A needless foul with plenty of bodies between Taylor and Dibaga and a simple clip on the heels was enough for the incompetent Colin Steven to produce a second yellow followed quickly by a red. Thompson slowly took the walk of shame and hopefully he will etch this in his brain for future reference. The sending off was all the impetus that Arbroath needed for the start of the second half and they showed that intent on the interval when after a wee flurry of attacks since the red card, Dow shot over into the North stand. HALF TIME: 0-0 The writing was on the wall from kick-off in the second forty-five and it was no surprise when Ross County loanee Dylan Smith headed high into the net in the fifty-second minute. We had been under the cosh in the opening gambits of the second half failing to clear our lines once too often. That stopped us feeling sorry for ourselves and we tried to make a game of it thereafter, but it was difficult to see where a goal was coming from apart from at the other end when Arbroath looked more direct going forward. Fraser Taylor should have put the game beyond us when Arbroath cut us open but his shot from the centre of the box was blocked by Dibaga who spread himself well on the hour. James Nolan fired a rebound just over after a shot had been blocked in the box and he met it around twenty yards out on the right side of centre. He also shot high and wide into the North Stand when on a promising burst forward and Charlie Gilmour fired a vicious shot over as we realised we were still within range of the Smokies. Our best chance of the game ended without making Smokies keeper McAdams work. A long diagonal ball from Nolan on the right side was well controlled by MacKinnon about eight yards from goal, but instead of bursting the net he stretched out a gangly leg early and his shot sailed harmlessly over the bar. Dow might have done better in the dying embers but he Dibaga denied him. However, we were caught up the park when Nolan fluffed his pass back to his keeper allowing Gavin Reilly to drive forward before calmly clipping the ball past Dibaga and watch it roll slowly into the empty net from twenty yards in stoppage time. Game Over! That was a stand emptying moment if ever I saw one. FULL TIME: 0-2 Our big highlight apart from MacKinnon's miss with fifteen to go was an Arbroath player having to pay to get back into the ground after Luis Longstaff left him for dead around the halfway line. Made me laugh anyway. A disappointing result and an untidy game to boot. We spurned what looked like a great opportunity in the first couple of minutes where nobody was willing to put their laces through the ball and the chance petered out. Some second half wasted opportunities but that would have papered over the cracks where we looked like we didn't believe in ourselves. Arbroath were equally poor but once we were reduced to ten the writing was on the wall. Only a matter of time. The second goal was immaterial as we never looked like scoring and it came as a result of an error from a pass back that gifted Reilly the ball to allow him to run on unchallenged in stoppage time. Dibaga made a couple of good stops when Arbroath should have put the game beyond us, unlike McAdams who could have sat in the stand. Dust ourselves down and we go again next week at Stenhousemuir. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 16 4 28 2 Stenny 17 8 27 3 Alloa Ath 17 6 25 4 Kelty Hearts 16 8 23 5 Montrose 17 2 23 6 Cove 17 1 22 7 Queens 16 -3 21 8 Annan Ath 17 -12 18 9 Inverness CT 16 -1 7 10 Dumbarton 17 -13 1 Date: 14/12/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1531 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Bray 68), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson , MacKinnon (Gardiner 82), B Mckay Subs (not used): Corey Patterson; S Thompson, L Walker, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: none Booked: R Thompson (18+35), Longstaff (93) Sent Off: R Thompson (35) Arbroath: 2 Manager: Colin Hamilton & David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Smith, Watson, O'Brien, Wilkie, Murray (Spalding 58), Flynn, Taylor (Reilly 76), Stewart, Gallagher (Slater 76), Dow Subs (not used): McConnell; Coulson, Bisland, Sinclair, Callaghan Scorers: Smith (52), Reilly (90+3) Booked: Murray (13) Sent Off: none a

Smokies pre-Xmas fare Arbroath are next up for Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday as long as we can beat the frost. It's a 3:00pm kick-off as Scott Kellacher looks for his fourth win on the bounce in League1. Arbroath have edged their way up to third in the table, just two points off the pace with a game in hand over the top two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info ***Supporters Trust AGM*** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ahead of kick-off and in Bar94, the Supporters Trust will hold their AGM Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Ltd Notice of Annual General Meeting On Saturday 14th December 2024 at midday At Bar 94 – Inverness Caledonian Stadium The Annual General Meeting of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Limited will take place at Bar 94 in Inverness at the Inverness Caledonian Stadium at 12.00pm on Saturday 14th December 2024 Please note – if you are unable to attend and you would like to nominate a proxy on your behalf - please forward the details to [email protected] Also note :- The formal AGM meeting is expected to finish at 12.30 Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 18 5 4 62 22 +40 Away 26 11 7 8 36 31 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 53 29 12 12 98 53 +45 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) We have played Arbroath twice this season. The first encounter was a no scoring draw in the league cup group stage where Arbroath won the bonus point after a penalty shoot-out. The League game played at Gayfield ended in a 1-0 win for the hosts when Gavin Reilly scored the only goal. Namesake Charlie Reilly who has on the treatment table since he joined us on loan from Dundee after debuting for the Caley Jags in that game. Another Blank: 1-0 Massive financial hurdles were put to one side as we went down to the Greenversity Stadium, or Gayfield as we all know it, for this Scottish League 1 fixture against Arbroath. With both sides getting off to a cautious start in the league this fixture between last seasons relegated pair might give an indication if either of them are capable of challenging for a play-off place at the top end of the table or will it be a few seasons in the doldrums, or administration or worse. Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns were missing. Charlie Reilly came in on loan from Dundee this week met his new team mates today for the first time and Started up front with Billy Mckay. Arbroath were without Scott Stewart and Tam O'Brien with co-manager David Gold and Ross County's young on loan defender Dylan Smith in their starting XI. The other co-manager Colin Hamilton, Ali Spalding and Calum Gallagher were all on the injured list. After a goalless first half where Inverness were looking the more likely, Reilly opened the scoring. Unfortunately it was Gavin Reilly for Arbroath. Another Saturday, another game slips away. INVERNESS CT: Our Season so far... D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W That is how our season has gone so far. Scott Kellacher has won his last three League games since he started five league games ago with a 3-1 defeat at Dumbarton and he will be looking for a fourth on the trot against Arbroath. That run in November where we picked up seven points from a possible nine earned him the League1 manager of the month trophy. Let's not get too carried away with that, as cast your mind back to last November when none other than Duncan Ferguson won the same November accolade. Nonetheless, congratulations to Scott for picking up this award and let's hope the curse of the MotM does not strike on Saturday. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 16 9 27 2 Wasps 16 7 25 3 Smokies 15 2 25 4 Jambos 15 8 22 5 Toonsers 16 1 21 6 Gable E's 16 1 20 7 Queen's 15 -4 18 8 B&G's 16 -16 15 9 Caley Jags 15 1 07 10 Sons 16 -9 01 LATEST TEAM NEWS Read Scott Kellacher's thoughts HERE. Remi Savage returned last week and Keith Bray made the bench. However, Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson are all longer term casualties. No new team news available at present. Arbroath fielded this team last week in a 2-1 win over Queen of the South thanks to a late strike from Calum Gallagher. Douglas had put Queen of the South ahead with the proverbial screamer twenty minutes from the end. A couple minutes and a couple of inspired subs later and one of them Innes Murray fired in his own screamer. Two minutes later the two subs combined for Murray to cross for Gallagher to secure all three points. Arbroath were one of the bookies favourites before the season started and after a slow start they are now knocking on the door at the top end. L W W D W W Last six League1 results Highlights in this sequence were wins over Annan, Stenhousemuir, Cove & Queen of the South. A draw with Montrose and a disappointing 1-3 defeat at home to Dumbarton.

Wasps Stung Inverness were looking to push on up the table but leaders Alloa were looking to remain unbeaten away from home in League1. Something was going to give. Robbie Thomson replaced the injured Keith Bray (shoulder) in the only change from last week. Sammon and Cawley were again starting on the bench for Alloa. Inverness dominated most of the game with both keepers having to make a crucial save. With twenty minutes left, Charlie Gilmour slotted in the only goal after great work by Adam MacKinnon down the left. No more than we deserved to be honest and another vital three points, much appreciated by the home fans. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly and showery afternoon greeted the teams as they kicked off in this top versus bottom encounter. A slow start from both sides with Jake Davidson and Adam MacKinnon firing the first warning shots of the afternoon. Davidson's afternoon was cut short after quarter of an hour when he burst forward into the box. Unfortunately keeper Morrison came out to meet him at the corner of the six yard box and Jake came off second best as they clashed. Jake's day was over and Mathew Strachan was called into the game to go to left back with James Nolan switching wings to cover the right back berth. Billy Mckay almost sneaked in the opening goal as he pounced on a ball into the box from Paul Allen's free kick, Morrison denying the striker diving low to his right. Robbie Thompson did well but his final shot was dragged wide as the hosts looked the likeliest to open the scoring. Alloa eventually woke up just before the break and picked up a couple of yellow cards but Musa Dibaga remained untroubled at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 Alloa probably got a rocket at the interval for their lacklustre approach and looked sharper in the second period. Dibaga saved from Luke Rankin and Callum Waters shot wide but it was at the other end where a goal almost came when Morrison saved from Billy Mckay. A wake up call for the hosts when Donnelly headed onto the post with Dibaga scrambling across goal to try and cover his line. On the hour Adam MacKinnon hit the post at the other end and Paul Allen fired the rebound wide as he shot across the keeper and wide of the post. Danny Devine had a header saved before the winning goal was scored. A recycled ball was taken wide of the box by MacKinnon on the left flank. He did well to pick out Charlie Gilmour who buried his low cut back behind Morrison to the relief of the North Stand. Big Musa saved from Kevin Cawley as Alloa made a late surge to try and get something from the game but a confident Musa and his defence stood firm to a man to ensure the Caley Jags picked up successive wins against the teams at the top. FULL TIME: 1-0 Two wins on the trot for Billy and Kells and not only wins but a dash of panache at times as well. Unfortunate not to score more and fairly comfortable most of the game. Only downside was an injury to Jake Davidson as he was challenged on his own through ball by keeper Morrison. He was replaced by Strachan with Nolan moving to the right side where he combined well with the busy Longstaff. More match reaction>>> Scott Kellacher says his Caley Thistle players stood up and were counted as they defeated Alloa Athletic 1-0 for a second successive victory. “You can see from the boys’ performances that’s what we’re looking to portray on the pitch. “I am delighted for everyone at the club including the staff working behind the scenes. We’re all in this together. “We’re going in the right direction in terms of players, fans, staff and everyone coming together. “When you work as hard as we do, around the stadium or on the pitch, with the fans getting behind us, you can see how much it helps.” Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after matchday 14. Off to Dumfries next Saturday 1. Kelty Hearts 14 6 4 4 23 13 22 2. Arbroath 14 6 4 4 17 16 22 3. Alloa Athletic 14 5 6 3 17 12 21 4. Stenhousemuir 14 6 3 5 17 15 21 5. Cove Rangers 14 6 2 6 23 19 20 6. Q.O.S. 14 5 3 6 12 15 18 7. Montrose 14 4 5 5 12 11 17 8. Dumbarton 14 3 6 5 19 24 15 9. Annan Athletic 14 4 2 8 9 24 14 10. Inverness CT 14 4 7 3 12 12 4 Date: 16/11/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1578 Referee: Colin Whyte Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson (Strachan 16), Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon, R Thomson (MacLeod 66), B Mckay (Cairns (90+4)) Subs (not used): Rebilas: S Thomson, Reid, L Walker, C Mackay Scorers: Gilmour (70) Booked: Gilmour (55), Devine (B Mckay), (Nolan 90+3) Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 0 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Taggart, Mckay, Neill, Waters, Virtanen (Hetherington 58), Scougall (Sammon 82), Buchanan (Cawley 58), Donnelly, O'Donnell (McDonnell 82), Rankin Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Thomson, Nevan, Honeyman Scorers: none Booked: Waters (42), Scougall (44) Sent Off: none a

Top v Bottom Again For the second week in a row Inverness face table toppers. This time it's Alloa Athletic after our win over last weeks toppers at Cove. Now into plus figures, the Caley Jags can focus on the teams directly above them in the knowledge that they can compete with the best in this league after the shackles have been taken off, the legacy from the Duncball era no longer restricting them on the park. It won't all be plain sailing, but those that witnessed the second half at Cove have said this was the best performance for a couple of years. A word of warning, Alloa come North unbeaten away from home on League1 business. For us, it's onwards and upwards as they say at the bottom end of the table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info Battery Farm Appeal Thrown Out Bar94 Drop Off Point ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Going to the game today? Then drop your donation into Bar94 12:00 - 2:30pm to help the Community Development Trust to provide as many Festive Hampers as possible. The CDT holds free Christmas Lunches at the Stadium for elderly fans and delivers hampers to vulnerable and deserving fans in the lead up to Christmas. Please donate if you can to help make someones Xmas that little bit better. Click HERE for more detail. Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 8 10 2 36 22 +14 Away 23 11 6 6 47 24 +23 Neutral 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 Total 44 19 17 8 87 50 +37 Looking at the stats, a draw seems to be the favoured result over the last three encounters with goals in every game. Overall, in a previous life the Caley Jags used to get the better of the Wasps but times have changed. They seem to be a more resilient side at the moment and wins breed confidence, that's why they find themselves leading the pack in the chase for promotion to the Championship. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) The last encounter at Recreation Park ended all square when we threw away a two goal advantage after the introduction of seasoned campaigner Conor Sammon. Wasps Buzzing: 2-2 Inverness were without Charlie Gilmour, Flynn Duffy, Paul Allan, Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson for the trip to Alloa although Jack Newman, Luis Longstaff and Keith Bray have returned to the squad after injury. Alloa have plenty experience in their ranks, notably Conor Sammon and Kevin Cawley and went in to this encounter off the back of a superb win over Partick Thistle last weekend in the Challenge Cup. Sammon started on the bench with Cawley joined by Luke Donnelly up front. Danny Devine gave Inverness an early lead with a tremendous birthday boy volley into the corner. Calum Macleod added a second but a few minutes later we were level when substitute Sammon and Luke Donnelly scored for the Wasps and despite a frantic last twenty minutes, that's how it ended. Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes. Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released and fifteen points being wiped off our total. First game after Admin was at Dumbarton with Scott Kellacher as head coach and Billy Mckay his assistant on and off the park. Alas it ended in a 3-1 defeat after a promising first hour. Kelty Hearts came North next and went away with a point in a 1-1 draw. Kell's got his first win in week (unlucky for some)13, a deserved 2-1 win at top of the table Cove Rangers. Alloa up next at Inverness in matchday 14... ALLOA Athletic: D D W W D D WD L / W L W D Alloa had an eight game unbeaten start to League1. They began the League campaign with draws at home to Queen of the South and away to Dumbarton followed by a home win over Stenhousemuir and another win away to Annan at the same ground we lost 1-0. They drew 0-0 at Gayfield and the following week was Challenge Cup action and Alloa pulled off a shock 1-3 win over Partick Thistle who had opened the scoring through our olde 'friend' Brian Graham. However, three second half goals from Kevin Cawley (65', 76') and Scott Taggart (90'+5 pen) gave the Wasps a tremendous result and a home tie against Arbroath in the next round which they also won (1-0). That was Cawley's 79th & 80th goals for Alloa. Our first meeting with the Wasps ended 2-2 after we were two up. Meh! A win over Kelty followed by a draw at Montrose before Cove dished out their first defeat. However they followed that with a win away to Stenhousemuir before Arbroath gained revenge for the Challenge Cup defeat winning 1-0 for Alloa's second League defeat. November saw them hammer Annan 5-0 before drawing with Queens. In midweek they bowed out of the Challenge cup going down 1-0 at Championship side Dunfermline. League1 Fixtures all 3:00pm this Saturday Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 13 6 21 2 Cove Rangers 13 5 20 3 Kelty Hearts 13 8 19 4 Arbroath 13 0 19 5 Stenny 13 1 18 6 Queen of Sth 13 -2 18 7 Montrose 13 2 17 8 Annan Ath 13 -13 14 9 Dumbarton 13 -6 12 10 Inverness CT 13 -1 +1 Latest Team News With Scott Kellacher getting the first win under his belt at Cove, hopes are high for another upset at home against Alloa who currently top the table. Charlie Gilmour returned at Cove and our goals were made in the Western Isles thanks to Adam MacKinnon and Keith Bray. Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson missed out last week. Former Caley Jags keeper Michael Fraser has been offering advice to cult keeper Musa Dibaga since Goalie Coach Stuart Garden was dismissed in administration. Will post official team news when the club upload it. Alloa's team versus Dunfermline in the Challenge Cup in midweek is shown below. I notice that the keeper was a busy man starting and on the bench. A first half strike from McCann was enough to put the Pars into the semi-final. Noted that Sammon and Cawley started on the bench and keeper PJ Morrison was missing since we last played them, presumably Ogayi getting some game time. Connor Sammon, Luke Donnelly and Luke Rankin all have four League goals. Incidentally, defender Danny Devine tops our League1 scoring chart with three goals. Remember: After the game, our sponsors Dog Falls Brewing Co will be presenting the MotM in Bar94 where all are welcome to attend with players and management in attendance. The bar will remain open until 6:00pm Dog Falls is an award-winning nano brewery in the heart of the Highlands, cranking out fresh, bold & distinctive beers according to one simple observation: Flavour Reigns Supreme. We brew beer that brings people together, beer that captures a moment, and beer that transcends the ordinary.

Kells Home Draw Kelty came North on the back of two defeats on the trot looking to get back on track. Inverness were looking to get out of the minus points total and back into the land of the living with Scott Kellacher and his positive vibes at the helm in his first home game in charge. Danny Devine returned after suspension for the hosts with Tam O'Ware doing likewise for the visitors. Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns made long awaited returns to the bench but Charlie Gilmour is still missing. Pre-match entertainment was in full swing in Bar94 with raffles, auctions, merriment and Dog Falls refreshments lubricating the vocal cords as the Supporters Trust heralded the new partnership with the Dog Falls Brewing Co. An early Luis Longstaff strike was cancelled out by a Ross Cunningham 25 yard free kick after fifteen minutes and that endeth the scoring. Danny Devine hit a post from close range and Keith Bray saw his effort brilliantly saved by Adams just before the break. No further scoring after the interval and it ended all square in the Highland Capital. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly morning gave way to glimpses of sunshine as the day headed towards kick-off on a reasonable afternoon for a kick about with a stiff breeze the only downside, but it dropped before a ball was kicked as we started in a hurry with Luis Longstaff drilling home from a tight angle in the fourth minute following a corner. We let Kelty back into the game after quarter of an hour when Danny Devine gifted the ball to the eager Kelty forwards who drove towards our box only for Connell Ewan to abruptly stop Luke McCarvel in his tracks and earn a caution for his last ditch tackle. Ross Cunningham stepped up and curled a beauty into the top corner from outside the box. In as soon as it left his foot. Doh! Kelty were in control of proceedings in the middle of the half but Inverness ended the half knocking on the door. Clear chances had been hard to come by and a Billy Mckay snap shot on the turn was easily dealt with by Adams in the visitors goal. Ten minutes before the break and Devine was unfortunate to see his hooked shot bounce off the keepers post and back into Adams' arms as he watched helplessly. Keith Bray was then denied by a tremendous save from the keeper who should buy a few lottery tickets tonight. Great save though. Half time followed soon after with Inverness dominant again. HALF TIME: 1-1 Paul Allan had a go but his shot was weak and swallowed up by Adams and Adam MacKinnon leaned back and shot over after a promising move cut open the Kelty defence. Musa Dibaga was forced to dive late to keep out a low curling effort from Mercer as bodies crossed the keepers path to make his task more difficult. Bray did have the ball in the net fifteen minutes from the end but it was ruled out for an infringement on the keeper as we pushed the visitors onto the back foot. Billy Mckay spurned a great headed chance from a super ball into the front post from the industrious Jake Davidson with fifteen minutes remaining. Good to see Ethan Cairns get on the park, albeit only for a few minutes as time ran away from us. FULL TIME: 1-1 Points dropped after a blistering start and then the dreaded defensive error to create the opportunity for the equaliser. Cairns got a few minutes under his belt and Lewis Nicolson took his place on the bench. Charlie Gilmour was missed for a bit of steel in the middle but otherwise a game we could easily have taken all three points although Kelty might disagree, despite Adams and his post dealing with more challenging efforts than Dibaga had to. I thought Davidson was a driving force on the right side. Our biggest downfall was the lack of shots offloaded from good positions, especially in the second half where we tended to end up playing wide instead of having a pop. Paul Allan was named Bar94 MotM after a busy performance. More reaction to follow>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Only 14 points behind now 1. Cove Rangers 12 6 2 4 21 15 20 2. Alloa Athletic 12 5 5 2 16 10 20 3. Arbroath 12 5 3 4 14 14 18 4. Stenhousemuir 12 5 2 5 15 14 17 5. Q.O.S. 12 5 2 5 10 12 17 6. Kelty Hearts 12 4 4 4 19 13 16 7. Montrose 12 4 4 4 11 9 16 8. Annan Athletic 12 4 1 7 8 21 13 9. Dumbarton 12 2 6 4 17 21 12 10. Inverness CT 12 2 7 3 9 11 -2 Week 12 results Results from the weekend that have put Cove Rangers at the top of the table with Alloa Athletic on 20 points. Unfortunately for us, Cove Rangers have hit a bit of form since they rubbed shoulders with us at the lower end of the table a few weeks ago. Since drawing with us back in the last week of September, Cove were beaten 2-4 by Arbroath, but since then have three 2-0 wins in a row and last week they pumped Dumbarton 3-0 at the Rock. 15 points that has rocketed them to top spot. We play Cove away next week with the teams at Polar ends of the table right now. Date: 02/11/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1502 Referee: Ryan Lee Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Ewan (R Thompson 36), Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray (Cairns 87), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Nicolson, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: Longstaff (4) Booked: Ewan (13), Devine (49) Sent Off: none Kelty Hearts: 1 Manager: Michael Tidser (player manager) Lineup: Adams; Mercer (Thomas 75), O'Ware, Harding, Paterson, McCarvel (Flatman 75), Allan, Moore (Williamson 46), Tidser (Trialist 90+2), Johnston, Cunningham (Owens 87) Subs (not used): Adamson; Bryce, Cole, Hobbs Scorers: Cunningham (14) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

The Training Ground Derby After our ill fated attempt to train in Fife, we host the Training Ground Derby on Saturday 2nd November against Kelty Hearts with Scott Kellacher being handed the reins to start his home reign in the rain no doubt. It's his first home game in charge after defeat at Dumbarton. Most will agree that we looked good for an hour but the second Sons goal took the wind out of our sails. However, with little time for Kell's to prep the team in what was a difficult week for the club off the park, then given time we should be seeing an improvement in the product on the park. We will need to be patient, but time is not on our side now and the deduction of fifteen points was a blow. Remember Dundee? Anything is possible, but it's a big ask. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd Draw Cap'n Danny Devine Caley @ Home with Billy & Kells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks to Dog Falls Brewing Company for stocking Bar 94 with a wonderful selection of refreshments. Check out their Online Shop to see what is on offer. Dog Falls is an award-winning nano brewery in the heart of the Highlands, cranking out fresh, bold & distinctive beers according to one simple observation: Flavour Reigns Supreme! We brew beer that brings people together, beer that captures a moment, and beer that transcends the ordinary. See the Supporters Trust poster at the bottom of the Preview for more information on the Fundraiser this Saturday at the Kelty Hearts home game in Bar94 in association with Dog Falls Brewing Co. Come along early and get some shouting juice down you ahead of kick-off at 3:00pm. Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes. Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released and fifteen points being wiped off our total. First game after Admin was at Dumbarton with Scott Kellacher as head coach and Billy Mckay his assistant on and off the park. Alas it ended in a 3-1 defeat after a promising first hour. Kelty Hearts come North next... KELTY HEARTS: D W W D D L L W W / L L After a great start to the season, Kelty suffered their first defeats in successive weeks losing 3-1 at home to Cove Rangers followed by defeat at Alloa (1-0). Two big wins on the trot, 3-0 over Annan and a crushing 5-1 thrashing of Queen of the South at Palmerston. But this League is nothing if not competitive and they have lost their first two fixtures of the second phase, losing 2-0 at home to Montrose and 2-1 at Stenny. Our first meeting this season was the Johndo Memorial Away day. A great day in memory of the Immortal Howden Ender. Unfortunately the football on display was near the end of the Duncball regime and it ended goalless. Mar00ned: Table toppers Kelty Hearts welcomed the Caley Jags to New Central Park, and this was not just for a training session. Musa Dibaga retained the gloves with Jack Newman possibly requiring surgery on his knee and Luis Longstaff is out for a month with a thigh injury. New signing Paul Allan was on the bench. Some 0-0 draws are not as dull as the scoreline might suggest. Well, unfortunately this was not the case here as both sides were reluctant to take the game to their opponents which resulted in a game as dull as dishwater. The visitors did look marginally more industrious, but it would be stretching the imagination somewhat to suggest that we should have won. Billy Mckay shot over from the edge of the box in our best/only moment of the first half. Musa made a couple of routine saves and one from a fierce shot but he was not overly exerted. Adams in the Kelty goal had even less to deal with although part of that was down to our inability to get shots on target. In truth, neither side deserved to win, and in the same vein, neither side deserved to lose, so stalemate it was and a point apiece. The table doesn't look great to be honest ahead of this weekends fixtures>>> Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 11 3 17 2 Stenhousemuir 11 2 17 3 Alloa Athletic 11 1 17 4 Montrose 11 3 16 5 Kelty Hearts 11 6 15 6 Arbroath 11 -1 15 7 Queen of Sth 11 -3 14 8 Annan Athletic 11 -8 13 9 Dumbarton 11 -1 12 10 Inverness CT 11 -2 -3 Ahoy there Captain Dan... Latest Team News Danny Devine should return after suspension and I wonder if Charlie Gilmour has hopefully been repaired after breaking his hand??? Other than that we should be along similar lines to last week with Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson still missing and Charlie Reilly out for around another month. Kelty had this team out away to Stenhousemuir last week which ended in a 2-1 defeat. Kelty are top equal scorers in League1 with 18 goals. They have conceded 12 times. Top scorer in League1 is Ross Cunningham with 7 goals. Scott Williamson has 4. Captain Tam O'Ware was red carded at Montrose and was suspended last week. Manager Michael Tidser was not best pleased after Tam dived in to get a second yellow, "he knows better than that and he knows my thoughts on it". The Supporters Trust is holding a Fundraiser on Saturday before and after the Kelty game in Bar 94, with all proceeds going to assist in covering the club's running costs. We are also encouraging all fans to come to the game and do their bit to help the management team and players start to recover the points deduction. Full details of events on the day are in this announcement on our website: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/post/ictst-back-the-team-and-fundraising-statement Highlights include an auction for Mark Ridgers' signed cup final gloves, that he has kindly donated to assist the club. A raffle will take place, along with a free prize draws. Saturday marks the official launch of our partnership with Dog Falls, the Inverness-based brewery, who are also supporting the raffle. We are very grateful to Dog Falls. Their products were very well received at the soft launch two weeks ago, so come along and try them yourselves on Saturday! The bar opens at 12:00, so please come down early. After the match, the bar will again be open and, as well as the Player of the Match presentation, the full first team will be joining us, so please join us then too.

There's Life Jim but not as we know it With Administration pending at the start of next week, this game might be the last time we will see the famous Inverness Caledonian Thistle in it's present form. Administration does not come alone. Redundancies and heartbreak goes hand in hand with it and that is the price paid for years of neglect. We had already lost twice to Annan this season, once in the League Cup and once on League business when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference at Galabank but he was missing out this time. Paul McGowan and Wullie Gibson added their experience to the Annan starting XI. Danny Devine returned to the team but Charlie Gilmour, Adam Brooks and Charlie Reilly were missing. After a slow start, Danny Devine headed Inverness in front in the twenty-first minute. That's how it was at the interval with chances difficult to come by. The second half was similar with Devine coming closest to adding a second but his header was just the wrong side of the post and it ended 1-0 with the creditors closing in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright and breezy afternoon greeted the players on a somewhat sombre afternoon for the Caley Jags with the stench of administration lingering around the stadium. Annan looked spritely in the opening few minutes firing wide on a couple of occasions before Inverness ventured forward. Duncan Ferguson was yellow carded after discussing a penalty claim with the referee when Billy Mckay appeared to be barged off the ball inside the penalty area. After a couple of poor balls into the box Paul Allan provided Danny Devine with the perfect opportunity and Danny duly headed the Caley Jags in front after twenty minutes to lift the mood. Keith Bray was put through on goal on the right side of the box but keeper Smith spread himself to block well. HALF TIME: 1-0 The second period was less than entertaining with a bit too much faffing around outside the box and down the wings with directness the last thing on the minds of the players. Bray had a volley comfortably saved and Devine went very close following a free kick angled into the box by Paul Allan, Danny's header just bouncing past the wrong side of the keepers left hand post with Smith beaten. We did have a few attempts from around the edge of the box but they all went well wide of the target. Meanwhile Annan never troubled Musa Dibaga and two poor teams played out the final forty-five without adding to the scoreline. FULL TIME 1-0 I suppose the result was more important than the performance, which was just as well as both sides were honking. However we have bigger fish to fry on Monday as the grim reaper comes calling with bad news. We may have seen the last of some of these players as the high earners might be culled as our cloth gets cut by the Administrators. Billy Mckay did get a rousing round of applause when he was substituted five minutes before the end and the rest were warmly applauded as they left the field at the end of play. Match reaction from CTO Good summary from Robert: I thought we deserved the win, but once again we made hard work of it in the second half. We dominated the first half and should have had more than one goal. One definite penalty was not given, possibly two (I wasn’t sure if the other incident was in or just outside the box). Devine took his goal well and led the back line with, as others have said, MacKinnon also having a good game. Allan also looked good to me. We allowed ourselves to get hemmed in after the break but Annan were fortunately toothless. With the 15 point penalty, next week’s game at Dumbarton becomes a real six pointer as we try to get ourselves back into the pack. Well done to all who played a part today. It must be tough with all the uncertainties at present. Robbo 1985: Danny Devine was awarded the sponsors man of the match and credit to him for popping up with another crucial goal and putting on another very good defensive display. For me though, Adam MacKinnon stood head and shoulders above every other player on the park today. Broke up play, drove us forward, distributed the ball well, had some shots on goal and worked his absolute socks off. A fantastic individual performance but well done to all the players and staff today for digging in to get the result. Alan: A deserved victory over a poor Annan side who didn't manage one shot on target during the 90 minutes. it wasn't the most exciting game but I'll take 1-0 wins in every every match between now and the end of the season. A wins a win Alloa top the table after a 78th minute winner at Stenhousemuir. Other winners today were Inverness, Dumbarton, Cove & Montrose. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 10 2 17 2 Montrose 10 5 16 3 Kelty Hearts 10 7 15 4 Cove Rangers 10 1 14 5 Stenhousemuir 10 1 14 6 Queen of Sth 10 -2 14 7 Inverness CT 10 0 12 8 Arbroath 10 -2 12 9 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 10 Dumbarton 10 -3 9 Danny Devine got his MotM award after the game in Bar94. Date: 19/10/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1501 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Duffy (Macleod 46), Devine, Savage, Nolan (Ewan 92), Longstaff (Thompson 84), Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray, B Mckay (Ferguson 84) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, C Mackay Scorers: Devine (21) Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (20), MacLeod 75) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 0 Manager: Wullie Gibson (player manager) Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Todd, Dixon (Ross 81), Breen, Kilsby, (Quitongo 31), Zaid (Quigg 81), A Smith, McGowan, K Fleming, Stevenson, Subs (not used): Aitchison; Muir, Barnes Maxwell, Lennon Scorers: none Booked: Dixon (42), Stevenson (46), Quitongo (74) Sent Off: none a

If we still have a team We are scheduled to play Annan Athletic on Saturday 19th October at 3:00pm as the second phase of League1 fixtures begin. Having played all nine of the teams we find ourselves second bottom of the table with only one win from our opening round of games, a 1-0 win over Queen of the South in the Highlands, who, incidentally are sitting one point off the top in fourth place. However, should administration hit us then a 15 point deduction would see us go bottom on minus 6 points. Worse would follow with top earners being removed from the club and all the other embargo's that go along with these situations. It's almost inevitable that we will drop into League two after 30 years of being in existence. As expected, Administration has now been confirmed this evening, Friday, 18th October 2024. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket & Bar94 Info Supporters Trust Fans Meeting ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMED Club Statement 29 18th OCT ICTFC GO FUND ME PAGE ALL OFFICIAL CLUB NEWS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Events off the Park have caught up with us after more than five seasons of tyrannical malfunction and despite some last ditch efforts to find a buyer to take on the club and their debt we find ourselves heading for Administration and redundancies and all that goes along with it unless there is one final twist to this sorry self inflicted saga. News coming out of the club is changing every few hours, so fingers crossed for a happy ending as we enter Administration on Monday. Bar 94 will be open after the match and will include a presentation to the Man of the Match. If popular, it will hopefully become a permanent additional facility for those attending the games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes. Annan Athletic: W W L L L D L L W After an encouraging start to the season that included two wins over Inverness, one in the League Cup and one in the League, they hit a bit of a slump losing five of the next six League games before beating Montrose 1-0 at home. They crashed out of the Challenge Cup last weekend as Queens Park beat them 1-4, Nikola Ujdur scoring in that one. Our League encounter in August ended in defeat at Galabank at the start of the League campaign. Too Little Too Late: Inverness added their two new signings to their squad which meant Keith Bray was benched with Wallace Duffy returning to the starting XI and Musa Dibaga as back up keeper on the bench. Annan had one change with Josh Dixon replacing Paul Smith in midfield. Jack Newman had the only notable save of the first forty-five denying Aidan Smith after ten minutes. Other than that it was Annan on top without overly threatening. After the interval Annan were awarded a penalty after fifty minutes and Tommy Goss duly scored from the spot. That was the difference between the sides as Annan took all three points despite a late charge from the visitors. Plenty of early posturing and the first action for the keepers saw Jack Newman save brilliantly from an Aidan Smith header in the tenth minute as Annan came close to the opening goal. Inverness' first effort followed soon after as Adam Brooks shot over from a tight angle. Annan were controlling the pace of the game in the first quarter and forced three corners to no avail. Smith again went close on the half hour when he shot just wide. Josh Dixon shot over from the edge of the box ten minutes before the break and Wallace Duffy picked up a yellow for abruptly stopping an Annan attack. Half Time: 0-0 Danny Devine gave away a penalty five minutes after the restart when he fouled Tommy Goss who got up to slot home the spot kick into the bottom corner. Luis Longstaff fired a free kick over the bar and Billy Mckay was denied by the keeper after a turn and run from Longstaff. Almost a tap in for Smith but for a great interception by the defence. Devine headed wide from a Charlie Gilmour free kick as we tried to get back on level terms. A double denial for Inverness as Gilmour's effort was well saved then Devine hit the underside of the bar from the recycled ball as we entered the final ten minutes. Bray shot wide as we pushed for an equaliser with Annan looking for the final whistle. Annan were by now hanging on by a thread and a couple of late corners for the visitors came and went before the final whistle ended the siege. Full Time: 1-0 Here are your fixtures for Saturday 19th October and this is how the table looks ahead of Saturday's fixtures Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 9 9 15 2 Stenhousemuir 9 2 14 3 Alloa Athletic 9 1 14 4 Queen of the Sth 9 0 14 5 Montrose 9 3 13 6 Arbroath 9 0 12 7 Cove Rangers 9 -1 11 8 Annan Athletic 9 -8 10 9 Inverness CT 9 -1 9 10 Dumbarton 9 -5 6 Latest Team News It's bad enough off the field of play, but we don't have our troubles to seek on the park either. Flynn Duffy, Ethan Cairns, Lewis Nicolson, Charlie Reilly and possibly Charlie Gilmour are all out. Danny Devine was missing at Livingston.

Bore Draw Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existant for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval. Half Time: 0-0 The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way. Full Time: 0-0 Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display. OCG on CTO: Well that was dire possibly even worse than last week. Does DF ever try to play football that suits the players he has? Does he even know that we need to win anymore? Most exciting bit was good natured banter with the Stennie keeper! Finding it harder and harder finding any positivity these days. Can you imagine what it will be like watching football like this when it's minus 3 and dark by full time!! More match reaction to follow Big Musa with a big hand <<caleyjags.com>> Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Queen of the South 8 4 14 2 Alloa Athletic 8 3 14 3 Montrose 8 4 13 4 Kelty Hearts 8 5 12 5 Stenhousemuir 8 0 11 6 Inverness CT 8 0 9 7 Arbroath 8 -1 9 8 Cove Rangers 8 -3 8 9 Annan Athletic 8 -9 7 10 Dumbarton 8 -3 6 Date: 28/09/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1601 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy, Davidson, Devine, Savage, Longstaff, Gilmour, MacLeod (Allan 69), Nolan, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Brooks 68) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ferguson, Ewan, C Mackay, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (56) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 0 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: D Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Bilham, Wedderburn (Alston 55), Berry, Ewen (Tomlinson 75), Aitken, Banner, Anderson, Yates (O'Reilly 88) Subs (not used): Trialist A (Hogarth), Trialist B (Cameron). Scorers: none Booked: Berry (45) Sent Off: none a