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  1. Butcher's meet not enough for sad Caley Jags In the presence of the great man himself, Inverness and Ayr locked horns at the relegation end of the table. A far cry from the euphoric scenes when Inverness were in seventh heaven after winning the First Division back in 2010. This game took on a more sinister roll after Dunfermline trashed Dundee United 3-1 last night to move four points above Inverness in the table. A win for either side here could prove pivotal come the business end of the season. Defeat may start the downward spiral for either side as they could become detatched from the peleton above. Inverness had to put the Battery Farm debacle behind them and concentrate on the job in hand on the park. At the end of the day the only word I have after this display is despondency. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful afternoon for a kick about in the Highlands was ruined by a rubbish game of football. Inverness were down to the bare bones with only six subs, mainly the walking wounded on the bench. The visitors had Frankie Musonda as captain and a strong starting XI with an equally strong bench that included Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Aiden McGeady. Inverness as they do started brightly. A long free kick from Savage caused problems in the first minute before being cleared and a couple of minutes later keeper Clarke let a shot squirm under him and narrowly missed going in at his far post. However, our usual ten minute flurry only lasted until that ball slipped past the post. Ayr dominated the half thereafter and took an early lead through a poked effort from Stanger on the line or possibly an own goal from Anderson after we failed to clear our lines on Ayr's left flank and gave the ball away too easily. The industrious Alex Samuel had our best moment when he guided a volley just over the bar. Alas, we were absolutely honking for the rest of the half, unable to string one pass together and constantly gave the ball away. Fortunately on the stroke of half time we were thrown a lifeline from the spot. Fair play to Billy Mckay for grabbing the ball and slamming it into the net for an undeserved but welcome equaliser. Given the abuse he and his son took after he missed his penalty against the Pars, this was a sweet moment for a legend. After the interval nothing changed. We continued to fail to create anything and Ayr continued to look the more likely to score again. There wasn't a lack of effort. However a lack of tactical nous and quality were in abundance. Ayr always looked like breaking clear and we always looked pedantic and predictable and turned backwards at every opportunity. Is that a lack of confidence or a lack of quality. Probably both. Predictable Ayr took all three points when Bryden knocked home in front of the Ayr fans to complete our demise. Although there was still half an hour to go, nobody in the home support could see us scoring and they amused themselves by taunting security and anyone else that would listen. Mark Ridgers kept us close with a big save ten minutes from the end as we feared the worst. Cammy Harper did eventually fire a great ball across the box near the end but there were no takers as it flashed across the goal a yard from the line. Therein lies the difference. When Ayr did that in the fifth minute, Stanger scored from practically on the goalline. As it was, we played out the final half hour without otherwise threatening and Ayr took all three points back home. FULL TIME: 1-2 Having sat through one of the worst games for many a year there is little to hope for now apart from Arbroath to keep losing because we certainly appear to find it difficult to win. We have no game changers in our squad and our manager is playing the wrong type of anti-football to help our cause. Big Dunc thought we were the better team. Pleeeeeaaase, give me a break! We were second to everything and Ayr were always one step ahead of us after the first three minutes. SHOCKER springs to mind. Highlights from Ayr United as we appear to be too embarrassed to put our own highlights up We lost didn't we>>> Date: 16/03/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1979 Referee: Iain Snedden Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carragher (Doran 69), Devine, Savage, Duffy, Kerr, Lawal (Pepple 69), Anderson, Harper, Alex Samuel, B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Brooks, Austin Samuels Scorers: B Mckay (45+3 pen) Booked: Carragher (11), Pepple (87) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 2 Manager: Scott Brown Lineup: Clarke; McAllister, Musonda, Stanger, Sanders, Syla, McHugh, Bryden (Amartey 70), Dowds, Willoughby (Murphy 62), McKenzie Subs (not used): Albinson; McGinty, McGinley, Tomlinson, Dempsey, McGeady, Chalmers Scorers: Stanger (5) Bryden (61) Booked: Murphy (68) Sent Off: none a
  2.   Ayr we go again   Unfortunately it's another home game this Saturday as fellow languishers Ayr United make the long trek North to face home strugglers Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ayr are one of only two teams we have beaten at home in the Championship this season. However, in the presence of one of our highest profile managers ever, it would be rude not to think about the possibility of a seven goal barrage. Terry Butcher is in the area doing a gig with Richard Gough and will pop along to the stadium for a look at the current side. It has to be said that they are not a patch on what Tel Boy built before being lured to Leith for a custard cream, a team we beat 2-0 in our next match. However, that is history and the mess we find ourselves in now is a sad indictment of the times we live in now under the present regime. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Battery Farm - Rejected ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 11 11 3 42 27 +15 Away 27 13 6 8 50 33 +17 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 52 24 17 11 92 60 +32 We have always had the edge over Ayr United and the H2H shows that. Even recent form has us on top, and that is not always the same for all of our recent opponents. Only three defeats at home. Our prime objective this weekend is a win and would be a bonus but avoiding defeat is an absolute priority. Maybe even scoring a goal might ease the pain... Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 3 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) Inverness ease away from the bottom:  3 - 1  Inverness added Sean Welsh to the ever expanding longer term injury list suffering from a recurring back injury, but Luis Longstaff was fit enough to make the bench. Ayr United had Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Anton Dowds as a triple threat up front. Despite this, Inverness cruised home without having to get out of second gear. Three goals inside the last ten minutes of the first half ended the game as a contest. Two from David Wotherspoon and a penalty from Billy Mckay. Ayr got a consolation penalty in a poor second half, but it was an important three points for the Caley Jags and Big Dunc. As comfortable as it was it was still a poor second half where we should have gone on to put Ayr to the sword. As it was, the result was huge in the context of our season and we can overlook the turgid performance in the light of three excellent points and a step up the table to eighth place with games in hand over some teams. FULL TIME: 3-1. Interesting to note that we only had five of the team that started against Ayr back on November 11th available for selection last week with Carson & Wotherspoon away and the rest injured. Still here: Mark Ridgers, Cameron Harper, Danny Devine, Max Anderson, Billy Mckay (subs C Mackay, Wallace Duffy) Gone/Unavailable: Morgan Boyes, Nikola Ujdur, David Wotherspoon, David Carson, Charlie Gilmour, Nathan Shaw (subs Delaney, Thompson, Hyde, Sheridan, Longstaff, Lodovica, Brooks) Last Time Out Inverness failed again at home last Saturday against one of the two teams they had already beaten at home this season. The other being this weeks opponent Ayr United. The Airdrie game ended scoreless, and that was no surprise to those at the stadium. Plenty of effort, plenty of passes, however our Achiles Heel of creating and scoring chances has haunted us for most of the season. Last Five: D D D W D  Ayr United were idle last weekend. Their last game was a 2-0 defeat at East End Park on 2ndMarch. Two goals just before the interval by Chris Hamilton and a first for loan signing Chris Kane was the difference between the sides.Scott Brown's best result was a stunning 4-3 win over Partick Thistle (McAllister, Willoughbyx2 and McHugh were the scorers in a see-saw game). However, Ayr have shipped a massive fifty goals in the League and that's something that we need to capitalise on. They have also scored thirty-eight times, so it's important to keep our fourth clean sheet in a row to give us a platform to build on. Last Five: L W L W L  Table ahead of Friday nights big game Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dunfermline v Dundee United Friday night @ 7:45 1. Dundee Utd 28 17 7 4 55 17 58 2. Raith Rovers 28 17 6 5 49 36 57 3. Partick Thistle 28 10 10 8 53 48 40 4. Morton 27 10 7 10 34 31 37 5. Airdrieonians 27 10 6 11 28 30 36 6. Queens Park 28 8 8 12 41 47 32 7. Dunfermline 28 8 8 12 30 38 32 8. Ayr United 27 9 5 13 38 50 32 9. Inverness CT 28 7 10 11 32 32 31 10. Arbroath 27 6 5 16 28 59 23 SATURDAY 16TH MARCH    Airdrie v Arbroath Inverness CT v Ayr United      Partick v Morton Queen's v Rovers  Latest Team News Inverness: Still have massive injury worries ahead of this one with most on the bench still nursing knocks. Long term: Gilmour, Longstaff, Chilokoa-Mullen, Big Harry & Lewis Nicolson. Out: McAllister (4-6 weeks), Macgregor, Shaw, Ujdur (2 weeks). Struggling: Carragher, Boyes... Have I missed any   Ayr United: One glaring alteration at Ayr United since they were last here is their manager. Former Hibs and Celtic midfielder Scott Brown is now in charge after Lee Bullen was relieved of his duties on the 15th of January a few days after we had beaten the honest men 3-1 at Somerset Park. He was replaced by Brown some ten days later. Brown has 3 wins to his credit since then from seven games ( QP, Airdrie, Partick), losing to Dundee United, Rangers (cup), Raith Rovers and last time out at Dunfermline. Ayr's January sales deals. In: Nathan McGinley, defender (Motherwell) Loan in: Jack Sanders, defender (Kilmarnock); Josh Clarke, goalkeeper (Celtic); Harry McHugh, midfielder (Wigan Athletic); Kurt Willoughby, forward (Oldham Athletic). Logan Chalmers was a big threat last time we met and with players like Murphy and McGeady on their books plenty of experience at a higher level. On loan forward Kurt Willoughby looks handy. Ayr team @ EEP   Clarke   McAllister (Tomlinson 90+1)  Sanders   McGinty   Musonda   Bryden (Chalmers 45)  Dempsey (Smith 76)   McHugh   Murphy (Syla 76)   Dowds   McKenzie (Willoughby 56)   Subs Not Used: Albinson; McGeady, Stanger, McGinley   Good to see that bullying in the workplace is alive and kicking in the Highland Council.  
  3. Diamondonians Promoted Airdrie are sitting in fifth place in the table, just below the play-off places with former Caley Jag Nikolay Todorov getting amongst the goals and he will provide a big test for our central defence. We have found Airdrie a difficult proposition at times this season but we did win the last home encounter against them. Our off-field problems are out in the open now after a meeting with fans on Wednesday evening. See the responses below from the CTO forum page 16 onwards. Suffice to say it is worth a lot of money and it does have a massive part to play in the future of our club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Battery Farm - CTO Topic Chairmans Response after meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 9 5 0 4 14 12 +2 Away 8 2 2 4 9 17 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 17 7 2 8 23 29 -6 Only this season's games are relevant as prior to the 2-3 defeat in the League Cup group stages, our previous game against Airdrie was in 2002 when a Martin Bavidge strike was the only goal of the game. Not only that, it keeps our record thrashing of 0 - 6 out of sight as though it never happened. (just for the record, Owen Coyle scored a hat-trick, Neil McFarlane planted a header behind Nicky Walker, Lee Gardiner drove in from the edge of the box and Paul Armstrong ended the rout five minutes before the end. Gubbed!) This season's Competitive Meetings 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) Not much success for us this season against the Diamonds although we did win the last home game against them thanks to a superb finish from the long gone Spoony: FULL TIME: 1 - 0. The fabulous execution of his goal was a great introduction for David Wotherspoon but for me the Man of the Match and new version of Bobby Mann was Nikola Ujdur. The Aussie defender is solid, strolled through the game unflustered and can pick a pass. Good graft in midfield but Sheridan and Big Harry need some work done. Shaw picked up a booking at the end when Big Dunc sent him back onto the pitch to get treatment. Last Time Out Inverness extended their unbeaten run to four games (3xD & 1xW) with an excellent result at Cappielow that ended Morton's 14 game Championship undefeated run. Clinical strikes from Billy Mckay, his 110th goal for the club, and a first from Sean McAllister (video below) ensured we grabbed all three points in a crucial game at the bottom end of the table given Arbroath's unexpected win over Raith Rovers the night before. Last Five: L D D D W Airdrieonians played twice this week. A 1-1 draw last Saturday at home to Queens Park was followed in midweek by a stunning 2-0 win at East End Park. Mason Hancock scored the leveler against QP with two former Dunfermline players Nikolay Todorov and Gabby McGill (video below) sinking their old team. Manager Rhys McCabe said on BBC Sport: "We knew coming here it was about playing the percentages really well, doing the basics really well. We never really felt in danger towards the latter stages of the game." Last Five: L L W D W Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Only four games this weekend as Morton are on Scottish Cup duty 1. Dundee Utd 27 16 7 4 51 17 55 2. Raith Rovers 26 15 6 5 46 36 51 3. Partick Thistle 26 10 9 7 51 45 39 4. Morton 27 10 7 10 34 31 37 5. Airdrieonians 26 10 5 11 28 30 35 6. Dunfermline 27 8 8 11 30 36 32 7. Ayr United 27 9 5 13 38 50 32 8. Queens Park 27 8 7 12 39 45 31 9. Inverness CT 27 7 9 11 32 32 30 10. Arbroath 26 6 5 15 28 55 23 SATURDAY 9TH MARCH Dundee Utd v Arbroath fc Inverness CT v Airdrieonians Queen's Park v Partick Thistle Raith Rovers v Dunfermline Latest Team News Inverness beat the injury woes last weekend to take all three points at Morton. New loan signing Samson Lawal from Livingston remained on the bench. We have a number of long term casualties in Charlie Gilmour, Luis Longstaff, Chilokoa-Mullen, Harry Lodovica and Lewis Nicolson. Roddy MacGregor, Nathan Shaw and Morgan Boyes were shorter term injuries. Austin Samuels has yet to be unleashed after his return to the bench and the similarly named Alex Samuel has been through the wars but has continued to feature despite a broken hand and numerous stitches about his body. He's a warrior. A number of players have also been carrying injuries so we will have to wait and see what Big Dunc is saying. Dunc's Update: Sean McAllister out for at least a couple of weeks (thigh). Boyes and Ujdur might make the bench. Dunc's loon (Cameron) might be a signing option. And surprise surprise, even our trialists are picking up knocks aren't they! Airdrie had a good week picking up four points. Calum Gallagher and Nikolay Todorov are their top scorers this season so far with seven goals each. Despite that, they are the lowest scoring side in the Championship with only 28 goals, four less than Inverness. Defences are similar with Airdrie two goals better off although they have played one game less than us. Airdrie team v Pars: Rae Megwa Watson Fordyce Hancock McCabe Telfer Frizzell McStravick (McMaster 72) McGill (Donnell 66) Todorov (Gallagher 72) Subs Not Used: Hutton; Lyall, Dunlop, O'Connor, Taylor-Sinclair
  4. Devine intervention after Billy's penalty shocker A hugely depleted Inverness squad were cobbled together to face Dunfermline Athletic in a crucial wrong end of the table clash tonight. We had the possibility of jumping up to fifth had results all gone our way tonight as long as we did our job on the park. A long shot given our home form this season, but nonetheless still a possibility. That never aged well. The table is crying out for a team to go on a good run and challenge those that have had it too easy so far this season. Chris Kane missed out for the visitors which was a bonus for us. Alex Samuel, Billy Mckay and Wallace Duffy all started for Inverness which left us with no midfielders or defenders on the bench. A calm but chilly night greeted the teams at the Caledonian Stadium. It was all downhill after that. From the moment Billy Mckay saw his bland penalty dollied into Mehmet's arms in the first half, this game had 0-0 written all over it. And so it came to pass. It might have been an away win had we not conjured up two incredible goalmouth clearances in the first half. One a brave headed clearance from possibly McAllister that required some smelling salts to get him back on his feet and the second a sublime sliding clearance almost on the line by Danny. A sort of Devine intervention of the highest order after Jakubiak had rounded Ridgers to slot the ball into the seemingly empty net. Enter Danny with impeccable timing to thwart the burly striker. The second half deteriorated into an error ridden farce with neither side capable of stringing two passes together and a no scoring draw was more than the football on display merited. There was a couple of minutes when the ball never touched the ground as it was continuously kicked and headed vertically. Both sets of fans wondering if there were any footballers on the park or was this a new anti sport designed to close football stadiums for good. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Apart from the penalty save, both keepers could have sat in the Innes Bar and had a pint, such was the lack of penalty box entertainment. Wallace Duffy took a nasty injury to his arm but he remained on the park after treatment. However he might be missing next weekend after this. Also struggling at the end was Nathan Shaw who might have a hamstring problem. Unsavoury abuse being thrown around at the stadium towards one of our players' son. Not acceptable in the least. Highlights might be a tad misleading... Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts We've had better seasons... 1. Dundee Utd 25 15 6 4 49 16 51 2. Raith Rovers 25 15 6 4 44 33 51 3. Partick Thistle 25 10 8 7 50 44 38 4. Morton 25 10 7 8 34 28 37 5. Ayr United 26 9 5 12 38 48 32 6. Airdrieonians 24 9 4 11 25 29 31 7. Queens Park 26 8 6 12 38 44 30 8. Dunfermline 25 7 8 10 28 34 29 9. Inverness CT 26 6 9 11 30 32 27 10. Arbroath 25 5 5 15 25 53 20 Date: 27/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1958 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Duffy, Carragher, Devine, Savage, Shaw (Doran 78) McAllister, Harper, Alex Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 90) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Carragher (60), Devine (88) Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 0 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Mehmet; Edwards, Hamilton, Fagan-Walcott, Todd (Moffat 74), Otoo, McCann (Holmes 28), Summers (O'Halloran 45), Welch-Hayes, Allan (Chalmers 45), Jakubiak, Subs (not used): Little; Sutherland, Fenton, Benjamin Scorers: none Booked: Allan (30), Henderson (66) Sent Off: none a
  5.   Every Point is a Prisoner   Apart from the top three teams, every point gained is crucial in the Championship, especially at the end of the table we find ourselves rooted to. Like us, Dunfermline hit a sticky patch but look to be over the worst and came away from Firhill with all three points on Friday night after nine winless games. We salvaged a draw in stoppage time at Arbroath. No rest for the wicked though, so it's back to action against our fellow strugglers on Tuesday night at 7:45pm. Ferguson has wholesale injuries to contend with for this one. It might be quicker to say who is fit. What could possibly go wrong! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Pars Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 9 5 31 22 +9 Away 25 9 11 5 30 27 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 51 19 21 11 64 53 +11 Overall, we have had the beating of Dunfermline over the years since we first crossed swords with them back in August 1999 where our first taste of Championship (Division 1) football ended in a 4-0 defeat at East End Park in front of 4865 fans. You can read the report on that game HERE. Five out of the last ten meetings have ended in draws with two wins apiece. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Pars 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A)  Our last home win over Dunfermline:  2 - 0 Looking promising...Inverness took a massive step towards a play off place by defeating Dunfermline Athletic for the first time this season. An encouraging but goalless first half where Reece McAlear had hit the post was replaced by a two goal second half with chances at both ends. The deadlock was broken by a man who only scores screamers. Reece McAlear lashed the ball across the keeper and into the top right corner of the goal from a difficult position wide on the inside right area. What a strike that was but it only woke the Pars up from their lethargy and they had three or four great opportunities before substitute Austin Samuels sealed the points after he sprinted on to a through ball from Aaron Doran to slot neatly behind Mehmet in goal. Comfortable thereafter for the remainder of the game and an excellent three points to strengthen our hold on third place with Raith, Arbroath and Partick all dropping points.  Last Time Out A week after we let slip a two goal advantage over Partick Thistle, we salvaged a point at Gayfield with a 94th minute goal from Cammy Harper after loanee Adam Mackinnon had put Arbroath ahead ten minutes from the end. To be honest, we spurned far too many good opportunities, enough to win three games, but credit to the players for snatching a point at the death. Always a difficult venue, made moreso by a lengthy injury list that saw us without around ten players (Longstaff, Mullen, Ujdur, Boyes, Duffy, MacGregor, Lodovica, Nicolson) and a suspended Max Anderson who will miss the Dunfermline game as well. That left us with a sparse bench of only four outfield players, and not all of them were fully fit. Last five Championship games:  L W L D D  Dunfermline threw a relegation spanner in the works last Friday a week after they also drew with Arbroath to complete this wee quadrangle of fixtures. However, they landed us all in the kacke by defrauding Partick 3-1 at Firhill where shockingly poor refereeing decisions affected the result in Dunfermline's favour. Brian Graham should have had a hat-trick but officially is only credited with scoring once. Goals from Walcott, Todd and Benjamin turned this game on it's head, much to the chagrin of bottom clubs Arbroath and Inverness. Last five Championship games: D L L D W  Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Full fixture list on Tuesday night 1. Dundee Utd 24 15 6 3 49 14 51 2. Raith Rovers 24 15 5 4 44 33 50 3. Partick Thistle 24 10 8 6 47 40 38 4. Morton 24 10 6 8 34 28 36 5. Ayr United 25 8 5 12 34 45 29 6. Dunfermline 24 7 7 10 28 34 28 7. Airdrieonians 23 8 4 11 23 29 28 8. Queens Park 25 7 6 12 32 44 27 9. Inverness CT 25 6 8 11 30 32 26 10. Arbroath 24 5 5 14 25 47 20 Tuesday night 27th Feb all at 7:45pm Ayr United v Partick Thistle Dundee United v Airdrieonians Inverness CT v Dunfermline Queen's Park v Arbroath Rovers v Morton Latest Team News Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen is out for the season with a stress fracture in his back. We already have long term issues with Longstaff, Lodovica and Nicolson. Added to that list is Ujdur, Boyes, MacGregor, Duffy and now Charlie Gilmour who limped off injured to be substituted after an hour and is out with a knee injury. Alex Samuel managed to play the full game with his hand strapped and also picked up stitches after the tackle from Adam Mackinnon. Nathan Shaw was also a doubt on Saturday but played all 95 minutes as well. The good news is that Max Anderson is not injured. The bad news is that Max Anderson is suspended. Of our injured squad, Wallace Duffy and Alex Samuel look the most likely to make an appearance. Expect a another sparse bench tonight. We're injured, aren't we>>>   The addition of Chris Kane to the Pars squad was a great bit of business for them in the January sales. Here's all of their new additions, all loans: Chris Kane, forward (St Johnstone); Xavier Benjamin, defender (Cardiff City); Malachi Fagan-Walcott, defender (Cardiff City); Brad Holmes, forward (Blackpool). Pars team at Partick on Friday night Mehmet   Benjamin (Welch-Hayes 80)   Hamilton   Fagan-Walcott   Todd (Moffat 67)   Otoo   Allan   Edwards   Holmes (Jakubiak 61)   Kane   McCann   Subs Not Used: Little; Chalmers, Sutherland, Summers,     
  6. KerrPlonkers Inverness boss Duncan Ferguson was without Luis Longstaff, Wallace Duffy and striker Alex Samuel through injury although Austin Samuels was on the bench alongside Nikola Ujdur, Danny Devine, Aaron Doran and Roddy MacGregor amongst others. On paper it was a team bereft of attacking options. (what's new I hear you say). McMillan and Diack missed out for Partick Thistle but plenty of other threats on the park including Graham, Lawless, McInroy and Fitzpatrick. Cammy Kerr opened the scoring half an hour in to open his own account at Inverness, a welcome goal for the home fans, albeit at the South Stand end of the stadium. Be patient I hear you say and we were rewarded with a North Stand goal from Remi Savage ten minutes after the interval. Another ten minutes later and Fitzpatrick shot in from twelve yards to throw Partick a lifeline. Brian Graham converted a penalty but Nathan Shaw restored our advantage two minutes later. Unfortunately, the man we love to hate, Brian Graham, slammed in a volley after some head tennis to end the scoring and Max Anderson saw red in time added on. Meh, some game but a disappointing outcome despite the goals at the home end. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The visitors set the ball rolling and the hosts looked spritely in the opening exchanges with Billy Mckay having an effort blocked. However Partick looked dangerous going forward and Brian Graham had a couple of efforts after quarter of an hour, Ridgers doing well to deny Brian Graham's first effort, the second one was headed off target by the big striker. The corner count and possession had all but levelled off after twenty-five minites with clear opportunities difficult to come by. Having just said that, Cammy Kerr opened the scoring just before the half hour with a strike from distance into the bottom corner. Five minutes later Nathan Shaw fed Mckay on the edge of the box but the striker shot over. Charlie Gilmour was next to have a go but he missed the target as well. As half time approached Jamie Sneddon saved well from on-loan Everton youngster Sean McAllister as he shot goalwards after good play by Mckay. HALF TIME: 1-0 After the break Partick went on to the front foot and Kerr McInroy went close from outside the box after a Partick corner. Doran and Devine replaced McAllister and Mullen and three minutes later a Doran corner was headed in by Savage to double our lead. Aidan Fitzpatrick pulled one back for Partick, shooting home from twelve yards. Another twelve yard effort drew Partick level. This time from the spot after Nathan Shaw had fouled Robinson in the box. Brian Graham made no mistake. Shaw made amends two minutes later shooting home from inside the box. Alas, the scourge of Inverness, Graham, levelled again four minutes from the end as he volleyed into the top corner. FULL TIME: 3-3 BishBashBosh said on CTO: Highlight of first half was a pass back to Ridgers, I think he hit his clearance into their player and ball spun into air on our bye line. Ridgers is now facing the north stand and attempts a hoof of the ball over the stand. Total fresh air kick resulting in him then heading the ball out for a corner. You couldn’t make it up. Anderson red card was straight out of the ref pocket, no second to think. Anderson first touch for a pro footballer was so poor today, the ball rising into the air as he tried to control it many times. That was what happened for the sending off as he raised his boot into the players head to get the ball. The Partick guy went down clutching his head. Once the red was shown he miraculously recovered and didn’t require hospital treatment. Robert on CTO: We started on the front foot, with none of the back and fro passing that’s dominated our recent performances. Kerr’s goal was a cracker, calmly taken after a great pass by McAllister, and we deservedly led at the break although we had some nervous moments. Partick came out flying in the second half and our second was against the run of play, and we were then let down by poor defending for their first and getting caught napping at a free kick and conceding the penalty. I thought we were done for then, but credit to the players for lifting themselves and taking the lead again, and we should have gone 4-2 up but Pepple went alone when he should have played Harper in. We then conceded, meaning its twelve points we’ve lost late in games. Satan won the quote of the day: I am glad we've strengthened at the back Highlights from ICT>>> We scored goals didn't we>>> Date: 17/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2215 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Carragher, Chilokoa-Mullen (Devine 51), Savage, Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, McAllister (Doran 51, Ujdur 90+3), B Mckay (Pepple 68) Subs (not used): C Mackay; MacGregor, Samuels, Brooks Scorers: Kerr (27), Savage (54), Shaw (79) Booked: Shaw (45) Sent Off: Anderson (90+2) Partick Thistle: 3 Manager: Kris Doolan Lineup: Sneddon; Williams (Adeloye 84), Muirhead, Neilson, Milne (O'Reilly 88), Lawless, McInroy (Robinson 68), Bannigan, McBeth, FitzPatrick, Graham Subs (not used): Stewart; Mitchell, Ngwenya, Alston, Stanway, MacKenzie Scorers: Fitzpatrick (64), Graham (77 pen, 86) Booked: Fitzpatrick (65), McBeth (88) Sent Off: none a
  7. Jags on Jags Third place Partick Thistle come calling at the Caledonian Stadium this Saturday for a game scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm. The sides can't be separated so far this season with both fixtures ending all square. Partick will be looking to hang on to the coat tails of the top two who face each other on Friday night whilst we are in desperate need of points to avoid being sucked into the hub of the relegation play-offs. Both sides exited the Scottish Cup last weekend against Premiership opposition, but it's back to the grind on Saturday with a tough encounter expected. Off the field, the Battery Farm project is still a cause for concern with the local council doing a U-turn. You couldn't make this up, what an omnishambles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ H2H v Partick Thistle Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 26 12 7 7 39 33 +6 Away 25 6 7 12 26 40 -14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 51 18 14 19 65 73 -8 Home team is normally the best indicator in these fixtures. We suffered a couple of heavy away defeats a year or two ago but other than that most of these fixtures have been close affairs and usually favour the home side. Both games this season ended all square, although it's fair to say that Inverness shaded the play but our lack of penetration in the final third is a continuing problem. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick Thistle 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) FULL TIME: 0 - 0. Thistle be the day: This will be the day that Duncan Ferguson made his bow to the Caley Jags fans. The weather might have dampened the atmosherics, but inside the stadium it was a warm welcome for Big Dunc. He was without the long term absentees (MacGregor & Nicolson) plus more recent victims in Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy. After the first win last week, it was an unchanged starting XI that took to the sodden turf. Partick had our olde foe Brian Graham up front. Enough said. Neither side can complain about a point apiece but Partick will now know that they can not expect to pick up easy points against us. In fact had Gilmour placed his shot within the bounds of the posts then we could have taken all three points. Meh! Another step in the right direction for Inverness who matched high scoring Partick Thistle all over the park. Best for Inverness were the tricky Longstaff, the unflustered Ujdur and the driving force of Gilmour, with Ridgers doing his bit at the end. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Big game on Friday night: Raith v Dundee United 1. Dundee Utd 22 14 6 2 45 11 48 2. Raith Rovers 22 13 5 4 40 31 44 3. Partick Thistle 22 10 7 5 43 34 37 4. Morton 22 9 5 8 32 27 32 5. Airdrieonians 21 8 4 9 20 24 28 6. Queens Park 23 7 5 11 31 41 26 7. Ayr United 23 7 5 11 30 41 26 8. Inverness CT 23 6 6 11 26 28 24 9. Dunfermline 22 6 6 10 24 32 24 10. Arbroath 22 5 3 14 23 45 18 FRIDAY 16TH FEBRUARY Raith Rovers v Dundee Utd SATURDAY 17TH FEBRUARY Airdrieonians v Ayr United Dunfermline v Arbroath Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Queen's Pk v Morton Last Time Out Both sides fell at the 5th round stage of the Scottish Cup. We went down 3-1 to a seasoned Premiership side in Hibs. Defensive blunders, a deflected goal and a bit of extra quality saw Hibs through to face Rangers in the next round. The goal of the game came from Aaron Doran in stoppage time. A mere consolation, but a cracker nonetheless. <<click watch on X to start video>> No disgrace really, but the disappointing aspect of this defeat, as is the case most weeks, is our inability to break down a defence and get a shot on target. However, with Alex Samuel injured, we lost our only form of aggression up front, and with it, any hope of causing an upset. Partick had cheered us all up when they knocked County out of the Cup in the previous round, however, surprisingly they found Livingston to be much more resilient and went down 2-3 after extra time. McInroy and Fitzpatrick had put the Harry Wragg's two ahead on the hour before Livi produced a match winning comeback to win in extra time thanks to Kris Doolan's untimely substitutions. Latest Team News Inverness will be without Luis Longstaff for a couple of months with a knee injury. Alex Samuel missed out last week with a fractured hand and misses out again. Morgan Boyes fell out with a post against Hibs and will be out. The post escaped without injury and will be back in action on Saturday.Danny Devine and Nikola Ujdur have had limited training this week. Here's Bim>>> Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan lamented making the two substitutions in the five minute spell between Partick going 2-0 ahead and Joel Nouble starting the Livi comeback in the 66th minute. My Bad he said Speaking on BBC Sport: "I'm gutted. We put so much into it, but to be 2-0 up and lose is tough. We pushed them the full way. I take responsibility, I made two subs quickly, took off two key players. Maybe they should have stayed on the pitch. "We caused them problems, but we just couldn't deal with their physicality at the end of the game. It's heartbreaking when it comes down the last 20 seconds and you lose a goal, but there are positives to take." Team v Livi in Cup: Sneddon McMillan Williams 71) Muirhead (McKenzie 100) Neilson Milne Bannigan Stanway Lawless (Diack 64) McInroy (Alston 87) Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 87) Graham (Adeloye 64) Subs not used: Mitchell; Stewart; Lyon
  8. Second half collapse Premiership Hibernian were between Inverness and a place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. The last time these sides lifted the Scottish Cup was in 2015 & 2016. We dipped our toes in the final last season losing out to Celtic and Hibs lost out to St Johnstone two years earlier. Neither side are taking their respective League tables by storm, so the break for a Scottish Cup encounter might do both sides some good. We had never beaten Hibs in four Cup encounters, including a replay. Alex Samuel was a major doubt with a fractured hand and was missing along with Danny Devine and Luis Longstaff who twisted his knee in training. Here's what happened this time... Having matched Hibs for almost an hour a massive deflection enabled Maolida to open the scoring. Slack defensive play set Martin Boyle on his way to double Hibs advantage before a late goal set up by Boyle saw Youan tap in. Game over but Aaron Doran notched an injury time consolation for Inverness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A North East wind chilled the stadium as kick-off approached but the home support were out in force with a large away crowd also in attendance. A fairly even first half where chances were at a premium with Hibs creating the better opportunites but neither keeper overly troubled. After the interval Hibs eased ahead when a shot from Maolida took a massive deflection to end up high in the net. Tough luck for the hosts but they were the architects of their own downfall at the first and second goals when we failed to clear our lines before Maolida's deflected shot and Boyle scored a second after an attempted clearance by Boyes. Boyle set up Youan for a tap in third. Credit to Aaron Doran for pulling one back with a superb volley but the game was long gone by then. Cammy Kerr hit the top of the crossbar with a looped header at 1-0 but in truth we saw too little action in the opposition box and paid the consequences of that. FULL TIME: 1-3 From BBC Sport: Inverness CT manager Duncan Ferguson: "We obviously knew it was going to be a tough game. "There wasn't much in it at half time and then we gave away a couple of poor goals. I was happy with the performance, but it was a mountain to climb after those two goals." Hibs head coach Nick Montgomery: "It was a comfortable victory in the end. Not an easy place to come, always a difficult cup tie and playing against an underdog. "But I thought the boys executed the game very well and I thought we more than deserved to get through. We created a lot of opportunities at the end, we probably could have had a couple more and I think they had one shot on target and it was a fantastic finish by the boy." We lost didn't we Robert on CTO: No complaints from me about the result. Ridgers kept us in it in the first half, although I thought we competed well and deserved the 0-0 score line. The shot for the first goal took a wicked deflection or otherwise Ridgers would have had a comfortable save. McAllister lost possession in the build up after doing the hard work in winning the ball. Boyes was at fault for the second whilst we seemed to switch off a bit expecting a flag for the third but the player who picked the ball up was onside. Doran’s goal was a cracker, but far too little far too late. I’m not sure about the defensive substitutions as the defence was coping well on the whole. I can only guess that Chilokoa-Mullen and Savage are not fully match fit yet as both have been subbed in all three matches they’ve started for us. Hibs fans at the Caledonian Stadium>>> Date: 10/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 3837 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Cilokopa-Mullen (Ujdur 70), Carragher (MacGregor 90+1), Savage (Boyes 70), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, McAllister (Doran 70), B Mckay (Pepple 63) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels Scorers: Doran (90+5) Booked: Carragher (28) Sent Off: none Hibernian: 3 Manager: Nick Montgomery Lineup: Marshall; Miller (Cadden 83), Fish, Triantis, Obita, Newell, Amos (Levitt 45), Boyle, Moiah-Welsh (Marcondes 74), Mayenda (Youan 45), Maolida (Le Fondre 62) Subs (not used): Wollacot; Hanlon, Stevenson, Vente Scorers: Maolida (55), Boyle (79), Youan (89) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  9. Cup Action With both clubs underperforming this season, this is maybe a welcome break from the weekly chores. Neither club are where they would like to be. Both sides are 7th in their respective League Tables. Hibs are marooned in no mans land in the Premiership and Inverness are languishing in the doldrums, perilously close to the relegation play-off slot in the Championship. Hibs played twice this week and took a beating both times from St Mirren followed by Celtic in midweek as the Premiership played catch-up after the Winter break. We faltered badly at home to Queens Park as mass squad changes disrupted the continuity in the side, although playing at home seems to affect us anyway. It could be a long day this Saturday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Remember This May 2015 Then This May 2015 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 33 16 +17 Away 15 5 4 6 16 20 -4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 33 15 7 11 49 36 +13 Despite our demise, we still hold the upper hand over Hibs, especially at home despite losing the last two which were both Scottish Cup ties. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 5 (H) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (H) We have never beaten Hibs in the Scottish Cup, losing the last two at home. The first Cup meeting at Easter Road in 2008 saw us go down 0 - 3 to a Dean Shiels hat-trick. The last four games between these sides have ended in a home win and today was no different. Reputed Caley Thistle target Dean Shiels scored all three goals in a deserved victory for the Hibees and probably killed any chance Caley Thistle have of getting him to come to the Caledonian Stadium as new boss Mixu Paatelainen will likely be less than enthusiastic about letting him go now. Dean Shiels was the hat-trick hero for Hibs as they eased into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at Caley Thistle’s expense. The player – seemingly frozen out under previous manager John Collins – returned to the starting line-up for new manager Mixu Paatelainen and virtually guaranteed his Easter Road future as he handed the gaffer his best possible start. Hibs have won the Scottish Cup three times, the last one being the year after Inverness beat Falkirk 2-1 to lift the trophy in 2015, Hibs first win came in 1887 when they beat Dumbarton 2-1 followed by 1-0 victory over Celtic in 1902. Hibs have been runners-up 10 times with Inverness losing out once. From Wikipedia>>> 1887: The 1887 Scottish Cup Final was the 14th final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 1886–87 Scottish Cup. The match was played at the second Hampden Park in Crosshill (today part of Glasgow) on 12 February 1887 and was watched by a crowd of 15,000 spectators. The final was contested by the 1883 winners Dumbarton and Hibernian who had never won the competition before. 1902: The 1902 Scottish Cup Final was played on 26 April 1902 at Celtic Park in Glasgow and was the deciding match of the 29th season of the Scottish Cup. The match had been scheduled to be played at Ibrox Park on 12 April, but the first Ibrox disaster occurred the week earlier during the annual Scotland v England game. This meant that the final was delayed by two weeks and moved to Celtic Park, although Celtic were one of the finalists. Hibernian won the match 1–0, with a 75th-minute goal from Andy McGeachan. This was Hibernian's last Scottish Cup triumph for 114 years, until they won it again in 2016 by beating Rangers 3–2. Att: 16,000 2015: The 2015 Scottish Cup Final was the 130th final of the Scottish Cup. The match took place at Hampden Park on 30 May 2015 and was contested by Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ten-man Inverness won the final 2–1 thanks to a late James Vincent goal. Marley Watkins scored the first with Peter Grant replying for the Bairns after Carl Tremarco had been sent off. Att: 37,149. 2016: The 2016 Scottish Cup Final was the 131st final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 2015–16 Scottish Cup. The match took place at Hampden Park on 21 May 2016 and was contested by Scottish Championship teams Rangers and Hibernian. It was the first final to be contested by two teams from outside the top tier of the Scottish football league system. Hibernian ended a run of 114 years from last winning the competition, beating Rangers 3–2 with a stoppage time goal from club captain David Gray. Att: 50,701 We are of course beaten finalists from last season losing 3-1 to Celtic. Inverness at the wrong end of the Championship table with Hibs in the middle of nowhere. Remember, nothing is easy, but anything is possible>>> Latest Team News We will need to wait for Duncan Ferguson to announce his plans. We barely know half the squad; not sure if Duncan does either since the transfer window shut. A major worry is on loan striker Alex Samuel who has broken his hand and faces the possibility of being out for a few weeks. Doctors are looking to see if he can get away with a lighter cast, but that's in the balance right now. Luis Longstaff is out after twisting a knee in training. As shown against Queens Park, we struggled badly to break down a team prepared to sit in and wait for their one opportunity. However, with Premiership opposition comes the hope that they will fancy their chances and come North to have a go and that might suit us better. Players at Nick Montgomery's disposal for the midweek defeat to Celtic. David Marshall; Miller, Fish, Triantis, Obita, Newell, Boyle, Moriah-Welsh, Levitt, Youan, Vente Substitutes: Wollacott, Mayenda, Amos, Stevenson, Maolida, Le Fondre, Veiga Vieira Tavares, Molotnikov, Megwa No1 keeper is David Marshall of Scotland penalty save claim. Martin Boyle is the pacey threat up front, but to be honest there will be threats all over the park as you would expect from an established Premiership side.
  10. Spiders close the gap The January transfer window saw seven new players come to the Caledonian Stadium and around ten players try their hand elsewhere. Big outs were Carson, Welsh and Wotherspoon. Cammy Kerr is a known quantity in and Alex Samuel has already notched four goals in two games. The other newbies are promising prospects and only time will tell if they are ready to sample the Championship. Latest signings 'Bim' Pepple and Sean McAllister were on the home bench. Queens had three changes from last week with Sean Welsh suspended Danny Wilson had not materialised for the visitors but they had former Rothes player Callum Happell on the bench with Crole and Scott. Dom Thomas and Ruari Paton were the ones to watch for the visitors. No goals in a turgid first half but plenty of possession without working the keeper too hard. Dom Thomas opened the scoring just after the interval and that's how it ended. We have signed plenty of players, but we don't have a team yet. The only consolation is we actually went up a place in the table as Morton hammered Dunfermline 5-0 at EEP. However, both Dunfermline and Queens Park have games in hand over us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A brisk and blustery afternoon like something from Winnie the Pooh greeted the players as the game got underway with news from Somerset Park that Ayr United opened the scoring against League leaders Dundee United within two minutes. Not much happening early doors in the Highlands as the teams got to grips with conditions and team mates names. Alex Bannon headed wide after fifteen minutes for the Spiders. Chilokoa-Mullen saw a yellow after twenty minutes and Ridgers was brought into action from Ruari Paton's free kick. Alex Samuel shot wide but it was poor value for money so far and Cammy Kerr also dragged his shot wide five minutes later. The attempts were starting to rack up now and Charlie Gilmour was next to miss the target before Max Anderson saw Ferrie save his effort. Shaw was denied on the break and from the recycled ball Samuel shot wide. Plenty of possession from the hosts but no breakthrough at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break but we came out quicker and Billy Mckay was denied by Ferrie before Nathan Shaw had an effort blocked. Alas, it was a false dawn as Dom Thomas opened the scoring for the Spiders five minutes after the interval. Alex Samuel will be disappointed not to have levelled the game five minutes later with a close range header but Ferrie saved to keep the visitors ahead. Sean McAllister came on for his debut as he replaced Anderson ten minutes after the interval. Cammy Kerr cut inside from the right and offloaded but Ferrie kept the ball out and Inverness won a corner. Ujdur headed over as the home side looked to get back into the game, and Ridgers was back in action to save from Ruari Paton with fifteen minutes left. In stoppage time and another effort from Gilmour misses the top corner. Harper fired a free kick over at the death and that was it. Over and out! FULL TIME: 0-1 Same sh!t different day - Reaction on CTO: Went to the game with optimistism, Anticipation and confidence... left with a feeling of De ja vu. That was a tough watch, as has been the case so often. I thought we started poorly but then largely dominated the first half but couldn’t score. We were too tippy tappy yet again in the final third when shots were on. We came out strongly in the second half but conceded against the run of play and never looked like getting back in it after then. For comparison Dodds in the Championship averaged 1.5 points per game, Ferguson is on 1.35. I think I would have been better going shopping .........You've taken that too far Highlights??? We lost didn't we>>> Date: 03/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1962 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Devine, Chilokoa-Mullen (Ujdur 51), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson (McAllister 56), Savage (Longstaff 74), Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Boyes, Doran, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Chilokoa-Mullen (19), Ujdur (88) Sent Off: none Queens Park: 1 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Ferrie; Tizzard, Bannon, Thomson, Robson, Bruce (Carse 60), Turner, McKinstry (Scott 60), McPherson (Longridge 68), Thomas, Paton (Crole 90+6) Subs (not used): Kane; Williamson, Reid, Mauchin, Haspell Scorers: Thomas (50) Booked: Tizzard (53), Scott (71) Sent Off: none a
  11. Happy Gilmour Inverness met Broomhill FC for the first time ever in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup at a defrosted Caledonian Stadium. We put Cowdenbeath out of the Cup in the last round, but Broomhill have been busier putting Cumbernauld Colts, Beith Juniors, and Cumnock out, scoring three times on each occasion. This week we dipped our toe into the January sales and borrowed striker Alex Samuel from Dingwall yesterday and he started up front with Billy Mckay on the bench. Aaron Doran also got a rare start and Cammy Mackay took the gloves for this one. Captain for the day Charlie Gilmour opened the scoring just on half time with a low strike from the edge of the box as we mounted a bit of a flurry as the interval approached. After the break, Samuel had a penalty saved as Broomhill were reduced to ten but he got his goal after the hour. Adam Brooks curled in a third with twenty minutes left and he added another two minutes from time with a cheeky back heel. Into the fifth round we go. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Image from Caleyjags.com as Duffy deflects Dorans shot. <<< Wallace Duffy had the first effort in the seventh minute but it went narrowly wide as Inverness, predictably dominated the early possession. Duffy had already contributed to an offside goal when he deflected Aaron Doran's shot into the net a minute earlier. However, twenty-five minutes gone and our lack of penetration is a worry as Broomhill saw a bit more of the ball. On the half hour Boyes fed debutant Alex Samuel but his powerful shot cleared the bar. A timely reminder for the hosts saw Darren Miller bring Cammy Mackay into action as he saved Miller's shot from distance. Up the other end and Doran dragged an effort wide after Charlie Gilmour fed him on the edge of the box. Just before the break we had our first attempt on target when Scullion saved from Duffy at the expense of a corner. After the corner Max Anderson brought out another save from Scullion and Samuel's effort on the rebound resulted in another corner with Scullion blocking bravely. From there Gilmour broke the deadlock to put Inverness ahead with a low strike from the edge of the box, only his second goal for the Caley Jags. HALF TIME: 1-0 Five minutes after the break and it all happened. Michael Miller brought down Aaron Doran in the box, penalty given, Miller red carded and then Alex Samuel saw his penalty saved by Scullion. (he was probably feeling low as news filtered through that Partick Thistle were 3-0 up in Dingwall). He would not be denied a debut goal though and on the hour he turned the ball in to put us two ahead. Nikola Ujdur headed wide from a corner as Inverness continued to dominate. Substitute Adam Brook scored a super curling third but Cammy Mackay had to deny Darren Miller at the other end. Brooks scored another two minutes before the end to round off the scoring and put us into the hat for the next round draw. FULL TIME: 4-0 Robert on CTO: We got the job done, which was the main thing seeing what happened in some other games. I thought we started well and were trying to utilise the pace of Samuel, but after the early disallowed goal by Doran, we reverted to slow build up play and taking passes when shots were on for most of the first half. Gilmour’s goal was needed as otherwise the first half would have been one of our worst 45s this season. We showed a bit more urgency at the start of the second half and should have been 2 up with the penalty. I felt the red was a bit harsh but he was wresting with Doran for about 10 yards! Samuel’s kick was saved comfortably but he made amends a short time later with Carragher getting the assist. We failed to capitalise until the late double from Brooks added gloss to the score line. MacKay also pulled off one fine save to maintain the clean sheet. We started as a 3 5 2 with Duffy and Longstaff as wing backs, with all of Anderson, Carson and Gilmour in central midfield. We switched to 4 at the back late on after Ujdur went off, with Longstaff at left back. He did ok, but I felt Duffy was the more dangerous of the wide players. Carson had a quiet first half but made some decent passes after the break. It was good to see Doran and MacGregor get game time, along with Samuel and Brooks being amongst the goals. So job done with a good result after a largely unconvincing performance. Date: 20/01/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0983 Referee: Craig Napier Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: C Mackay; Duffy, Ujdur (Thompson 75), Carragher, Boyes, Carson (MacGregor 75), Gilmour, Anderson (Shaw 69), Longstaff, Doran (Brooks 57), Alex Samuel (B Mckay 70) Subs (not used): Ridgers; Davidson, Harper, Devine Scorers: Gilmour (45+1), Samuel (62), Brooks (73, 88) Booked: none Sent Off: none Broomhill FC: 0 Manager: Stephen Swift Lineup: Scullion; McNight, M Miller, Moy (McPhie 70), Ellis, Roberts (Smith 68), Kennedy (O'Donnell 53), Murphy, McCrystal (Higgins 53), Grehan (Hunter 63), D Miller Subs (not used): Barr; Ben Wright, Max Wright, Chalmers Scorers: none Booked: Scullion (20), Grehan (24), McKnight (86) Sent Off: Michael Miller (50) a
  12. Scottish Cup 4th Round It's a break from League action this weekend should the weather allow after a week of heavy snow and Arctic like conditions across the North of Scotland. The club have been busy clearing the pitch on Friday with six inches of snow on top of the covers. The visitors, should we get the green light, are Broomhill. No no no, not Broomhill at Nethybridge, but Broomhill FC from the Scottish Lowland League who play their home games at Dumbarton Football Stadium. They come from the same League as Cowdenbeath who we played in the last round and found it difficult to break them down until the introduction of Wotherspoon and Billy Mckay, so expect the same again with our rather depleted squad. Fourth Round Pitch Inspection. There will be a pitch inspection at Caledonian Stadium tomorrow at 10am. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pitch Inspection 10:00am Match/Ticket Info Offski ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <<<Well done Rhys Beaton: First down to help at the Stadium It was all hands to the pumps on Friday after the massive dump of snow this week left the pitch covered. With the hard frost since the beginning of the week it was the best thing for it to leave the snow on top of the covers to protect the grass beneath, let's hope the big thaw does not end up flooding the pitch. Mantis gave us a qick résumé on Broomhill: This is the team that played out of Alloa as BSC Glasgow, before becoming Open Goal Broomhill (or “Podcast FC”) when they were taken over by Si Ferry, but that partnership was dissolved and they are now simply Broomhill FC. Broomhill Sports Club originally ran youth football teams back to 2004 and the senior team has been kicking around the LL in its various guises since 2014. Last Round: We thrashed struggled to overcome the miners of Cowdenbeath until the late introducton of David Wotherspoon and Billy Mckay that saw us squeeze into the next round. Of course Spoony is now off to Tannadice and Billy is carrying a knee injury so that leaves us with, erm, nothing. Here's the Broomhill Match Report from their own website Match Report | Cumnock Juniors 0 – Broomhill 3 | 26/11/2023 | Townhead Park by David McIntyre Broomhill scored three goals without reply to fire themselves into the Fourth Round of the Scottish Cup. It was another successful away fixture for the Broom in the Scottish Cup as they headed off to Townhead Park, home of Cumnock Juniors from the West of Scotland Football League. The match started at lightning pace as both teams looked to get an early foothold in the game. Broomhill were boosted with the return of some of their injured players, giving manager Stephen Swift more options to change the game. Cumnock Juniors grew into the match and had been doing better with their possession. Although Cumnock had more possession they failed to create many goal-scoring opportunities to trouble Luke Scullion. In the 29th minute, Broomhill took the lead after Ally McColm rifled a low shot into the bottom corner. The goal was created with lovely play down the left-hand side of the pitch involving four players. After the goal, Broomhill took control of the match and continued to pressure Cumnock’s defence. The second half could not have started any better, with Corey O’Donnell doubling Broomhill’s advantage. Martin Grehan assisted the goal with a lovely touch to set up O’Donnell with a 1v1 with the keeper which the striker deftly dispatched. The second goal was huge, as it allowed Broomhill to play more freely. Every time they attacked, there was a sense of enthusiasm as they moved up the pitch. The two goal scorers were involved in the third after O’Donnell’s initial shot was parried into the path of McColm to fire into the back of the net and fire Broomhill into the next round. We have a great History......in the past Don't we. Latest Team News Devine, Harper, Mckay all carrying niggles, Samuels out, Harry out, MacGregor not mentioned. Basically we are down to the bare bones of players likely to be involved in first team games. By my calculations we only have around 15 outfield players fit, plus two capable youths (Bray, Thompson) and four still injured although Roddy seems to flit between still injured or on the bench. Basically, if you have a pulse, you're in the squad. And just like magic, we have taken striker Alex Samuels on loan for the rest of the season from Ross County. Hope they gave him a shovel... Broomhill manager Stepen Swift saw his side knock Cumnock Juniors out in the last round at Townhead Park with this comfortable away win. Broomhill went 4-3-3 against Cumnock Att: 322 - Goals: McColm (30, 65) O'Donnell (49) Scullion McKnight Smith Moy (Hunter 70) Ellis Miller Murphy Chalmers O'Donnell Grehan McColm (Max Wright 69) Subs Not Used: Barr (gk), Ben Wright, Robinson, Omar
  13. Late winner for United A lot happened ahead of this one. David Wotherspoon will sign for United shortly and didn't feature for either side tonight. New signing, centre back James Carragher started. Released today, Sean Welsh has left Inverness with immediate effect and will be moving to Queens Park having played a total of 143 games, scoring 16 goals. Defender Zak Delaney has also left. Harry Hennem has departed as well. Lewis Hyde has gone to Brora on loan for the rest of the season. United added Alex Greive from St Mirren to their squad this week and he starts tonight. Craig Sibbald is suspended after his 88th minute red card against Morton. Archie Meekison made the bench but Declan Gallagher and Ross Docherty will miss out. Louis Moult who was a doubt missed out altogether. A late Tony Watt tap-in ruined all of Inverness' good work and United take the three points to go back on top of the table overnight at least. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness set the ball rolling kicking towards the South Stand housing the United fans. It was a more than cagey opening fifteen with Inverness in no hurry to leave their own half of the pitch, opting for the sideways movement instead which made for a ponderous start to the game. Midway through the first half and surely one of the most boring games ever televised with Inverness going sideways and United unable to break the hosts down. On cue, twenty-five minutes in, a wee foray forward for Inverness ended with Billy Mckay winning a corner after his effort was deflected wide. A second corner led to the ball being headed clear off the United line by Jordan Tillson when Danny Devine met Cammy Harper's corner, the keeper well beaten. A David Carson ball into the box found Luis Longstaff but he was shut down by the time he got his shot away and the chance was gone. Glen Middleton took a knock as the ball was crossed in but continued after lengthy treatment. Another ball into the box fell to Mckay but the sting was taken out of the strike enough for Walton to gather the blocked shot. Tony Watt was looking for a penalty as he landed on the turf but Alan Muir was not interested and giving a goal kick as the ball bounced over the line. Good Inverness pressure just before the break but it ended all square at the interval with the hosts seeing the better of the possession and United offering nothing so far. HALF TIME: 0-0 Rain met the sides after the break and five minutes in Watt headed over at the far side of the box. A well worked move saw Carson find Max Anderson in the box and his low effort was well saved by Walton, Charlie Gilmour's follow up shot from the recycled ball was sliced well wide. United were showing a bit more intent after the interval although in truth play was still a tad untidy. United had their best opportunity of the game as they worked an opening for substitute Archie Meekison but Ridgers was able to hold his low volley well on the greasy surface. Possession had evened out now with fifteen minutes left. Out of nothing with Inverness failing to retain the ball for any length of time a deflected cross from the left made it's way to Watt for a tap in. Minutes later substitute Cillian Sheridan failed to connect with a Harper cross when he looked favourite to get his head on the ball. Inverness were denied what looked like a penalty as Grimshaw handled in his own box. A late flurry from Inverness came to nothing and it was a disappointing result at the end of the night where United were there for the taking. FULL TIME: 0-1 Inverness manager Duncan Ferguson told BBC Scotland: "I thought the first half we were the better team. "We could have maybe gone one-up. In the second half we didn't do as well, Dundee United pushed the play without really creating anything."I think everybody saw in the stadium the big moment - but the referee never made the decision." Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "I think there will be people writing into the BBC looking for their licence fee back after that performance. "It was a really poor game of football. I am not making excuses but we have a lot of players struggling with knocks. I think we are very lucky to have won the game. "I am not going to stand here and say we deserved it but throughout the course of the league campaign you are going to get games like that. "It was not pretty but sometimes the result is worth more than the performance and I think tonight was one of those. It is a huge three points." On the handball claim at the end, Goodwin added: "We were denied a stonewall penalty last weekend but tonight we probably got away with one." Date: 12/01/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2662 Referee: Alan Muir Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Carragher (Sheridan 90), Boyes, Longstaff (Doran 93), Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Shaw, B Mckay (Brooks 79) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Davidson, Duffy, Ujdur, Thompson, MacGregor, Scorers: none Booked: Boyes (57) Sent Off: none Dundee United: 1 Manager: Jim Goodwin; Lineup: Walton; Grimshaw, Graham, Holt, McMann, Fotheringham, Greive (Meekison 69), Tillson (Glass 88), Middleton, Watt, Mochrie Subs (not used): Newman; Denham, Freeman, Duffy, MacLeod, Cudjoe, Petrie Scorers: Watt (87) Booked: Tillson (61), Watt (94) Sent Off: none a
  14. Wotherspoon Derby With David Wotherspoon jumping ship for the glamour of a big club prepared to buy themselves out of trouble at all costs, Big Dunc has the TV reality task of stopping Jim Goodwin's almost all conquering Dundee United. They have slipped up a little of late and Morton beat them last weekend, so they are far from invincible, but then again, we are not world beaters yet, despite a convincing Wotherspoonless win at Ayr last Saturday. The game is a 7:45pm kick-off on Friday night at the Caledonian Stadium or a seat in your own house with the BBC Scotland channel turned on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info James Carragher Sean Welsh has left the Building Zak Delaney follows him out the door Harry Hennem's next out the door Lewis Hyde ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Arabs Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 34 10 10 14 35 44 -9 Away 29 7 11 11 37 43 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 63 17 21 25 72 87 -15 United hold the upper hand overall but Inverness competed well in the two games played this season. A 1-0 defeat in the Doddsball era and a 1-1 draw in the last encounter at Tannadice as Big Dunc returned North of the border. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee United 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 0 - 3 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) Point on the Road: 1 - 1 Dunc's return to Tannadice would be hindered by some key players missing. Welsh and Longstaff failed to recover but Boyes and Wotherspoon were in the starting XI. Sheridan was on the bench which looked a bit devoid of flair. United had a strong line-up with Ross County loanee Jordan Tillson replacing the injured Docherty. A big crowd of over 7500 were on hand with 270 visiting fans making the journey in eternal hope. Inverness opened the scoring through Shaw, but Holt levelled the game quickly. United had the possession but Big Dunc went back up the A9 with a hard earned point. Tremendous point on the road. It was a backs to the wall performance at times but our defence was up to the task of slowing down the top scorers in the Championship. Mark Ridgers was in superb form with his back five blunting the top scorers. Full marks to Ferguson for adapting the shape with key players missing at a difficult venue. Two brilliant goals and a point on the road at the league leaders den.The Big Dunc revolution gathers pace. Last Time out A Morgan Boyes brace in the second half and a first half gift for Billy Mckay from Ayr keeper Albinston saw Inverness get their first win in six outings at Somerset Park despite the best efforts of the eager Logan Chalmers who notched the Ayr goal and generally tormented us for most of the game. However we challenged well and got our rewards in an entertaining game to run out worthy winners and jump Ayr in the table. Last Five Games: L D D L W A George Oakley hat-trick was enough to beat the Arabs at Tannadice last weekend. 2-0 down, United fought back through Fotheringham and Moult before the break and thought they had done enough to earn a point, but Oakley thought otherwise and cracked a tremendous long range effort in off the post to win it for the visitors with two minutes left. Sandwiched in between the defeats to Raith Rovers and Morton are 3-0 wins over Arbroath and Partick Thistle and a goalless draw against Queens Park Last Five Games: L D W W L We play tonight at the Caledonian Stadium. Been chilly all week but the covers have been down since Monday with the forecast of frost all week. Arbroath v Ayr below us is one to keep an eye on and look out for Queens Park after Callum Davidson has been appointed as manager this week. Morton are the form team just now and will be looking to get into the top four soon. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Raith Rovers 20 13 5 2 37 26 44 2. Dundee Utd 19 12 5 2 42 10 41 3. Partick Thistle 20 10 5 5 41 32 35 4. Airdrieonians 20 8 3 9 19 23 27 5. Morton 19 7 4 8 23 26 25 6. Dunfermline 19 6 5 8 24 24 23 7. Inverness CT 20 5 6 9 23 24 21 8. Ayr United 19 5 4 10 25 38 19 9. Queens Park 19 4 5 10 24 38 17 10. Arbroath 19 5 2 12 23 40 17 Latest Team News Wotherspoon has jumped ship but won't feature for either side on Friday night. James Carragher, a centre back, will be included in our squad? Sean Welsh has left Inverness with immediate effect and will be moving South having played a total of 143 games, scoring 16 goals. Defender Zak Delaney has also left. Harry Hennem has departed as well. Lewis Hyde has gone to Brora on loan for the rest of the season. Not many sound bytes coming out of the Caledonian Stadium this week. Will update when/if we hear any team news. The Arabs have added New Zealand forward Alex Greive from St Mirren to their squad this week. Craig Sibbald will be suspended after his 88th minute red card against Morton. Archie Meekison should make the United squad but Declan Gallagher and Ross Docherty will miss out. Lewis Moult is also a doubt. Dundee United team v Morton Walton Grimshaw Graham Holt McMann Sibbald Tillson (Glass 45) Fotheringham (Cudjoe 86) Watt Middleton Moult (Mochrie 45) Subs Not Used: Newman; Petrie, Denham, Freeman, Duffy, MacLeod
  15. Stalemate in the Highlands Inverness were along familiar lines of late with Welsh, Carson and Macgregor on the bench. Morton were without the suspended George Oakley, with long throw specialist Lewis Strapp in there for a reason other than just defending. Steven Boyd started for Morton. Alas there was no goals to cheer in a dismal affair as the last game of the year ended a point apiece. Have a good & safe New Year ********************** A chilly afternoon up North saw Inverness look for an early breakthrough with Max Anderson and David Wotherspoon having early efforts blocked en route to goal. Wotherspoon had another one blocked from close range twenty minutes in, however clear opportunities were at a premium. Five minutes before the break Charlie Gilmour had a pop from distance but Mullen was able to save comfortably. Disaster for Inverness minutes later as chief playmaker Wotherspoon went off injured to be replaced by Luis Longstaff. A poor first forty-five ended goalless. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break and five minutes into the second half Nikola Ujdur put Billy Mckay through but his effort from a tight angle enabled Mullen to deny him. Gilmour shot over as the tempo increased and Robbie Muirhead shot just wide at the other end when he might have done better. Substitute Lewis McGrattan won a corner with a blocked shot but it came to nothing as both sides made more changes. Claims for a late penalty went unanswered as Danny Devine went down in the box. David Carson missed a late chance to win it and that was your lot for 2023. FULL TIME: 0-0 Stalemate in the Highlands in a poor game to end the year with David Wotherspoon possibly having made his last appearance for the Caley Jags coming off injured before the break. Meh! A selection of comments on CTO: Shocking performance. Could have played for weeks and not scored, Some players were awful, Shaw needs to be dropped and Gilmore needs shooting practice. The subs that came on showed how poor our squad is. As Ferguson says we're def.in a relegation battle. Dreadful, dreadful stuff. One of the worst football matches I've ever suffered. We are going to be worryingly looking over our shoulder if this is the level of output until May. Scrappy game in which we tried to walk ball into net.We need to take more chances and shoot for goal. I think we needed more balls in from the wings and great to see Carson come on. Good we kept the back door closed, just a pity we were no sharper up front. Neither side shone today and if we don't up the tempo and get sharper at passing the best we can hope for is to stay in this league. Hopefully we will see positive moves in January tansfer market. Just about the worst game I have ever had the misfortune to attend. Embarrassing lack of quality, no excitement whatsoever, freezing cold, no wonder attendances are falling away. We really are a grim watch these days. Mind-numbing stuff! Sideways passing, then backwards, followed by some more sideways passing. Zero entertainment! Was Derek Adams right? We drew didn't we>>> Date: 30/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2114 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson (Carson 73), Ujdur, Devine, Boyes, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Longstaff 40), B Mckay (Brooks 71) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Macgregor, Thompson, Welsh, Sheridan Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Mullen; French (O'Connor 74), Broadfoot, Baird, Strapp, Blues (Bearne 84), Power (Gillespie 72), Crawford, Wilson, Boyd (McGrattan 61), Muirhead Subs (not used): MacDonald; O'Boy Scorers: none Booked: Muirhead (55) Sent Off: none a
  16. Looking Down With both sides losing in midweek, this game took on more significance for Big Dunc's side and Jim McIntyre was also looking to get away from the bottom of the table after he replaced Dick Campbell. David Wotherspoon was fit enough to start and good to see Keith Bray return to the squad alongside Robbie Thompson. Arbroath came North with only four on the bench with Michael McKenna and Ricky Little still out injured and O'Brien suspended. As it turned out we are now looking down the table instead of up after back to back defeats to the two teams who were below us only four days ago as Arbroath won 2-1. That was new manager Jim McIntyre's first win and it moves Arbroath off the bottom of the table. one point behind Inverness. All the goals came in the first half from Jay Bird, Billy Mckay and two minutes later David Gold. Looks like a few will be going cheap in the January sales. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was another miserable day in the Highlands as the teams took to the field with swirling wind and rain plentiful. Nathan Shaw had an early effort saved by Gaston after a give and take with David Wotherspoon and Arbroath came back with David Gold inside the box but he shot over from twelve yards. Leighton McIntosh missed the target following a corner as the visitors pushed forward in the early exchanges. Arbroath took the lead after half an hour when after a throw in, a deflected cross landed nicely for Jay Bird in the box and he rifled a shot behind Ridgers. Wotherspoon almost levelled a minute later but his shot was just wide, followed by Jake Davidson doing likewise. Five minutes before the break Billy Mckay squared the game from a Cammy Harper cross that evaded the defender before Billy volleyed home the bouncing ball from twelve yards. Having done the hard work to get level Arbroath took the lead again when Gold headed in from a corner. Slack defending again costing us at the back. Ridgers made a good stop just on the break as we continued to offer opportunites at the back, the keeper saving a shot from distance by Bird. Defensive lapses our downfall. I'm sure Big Dunc will be having a word in their ear over their half time cuppa. HALF TIME: 1-2 Defender Nikola Ujdur was replaced by Luis Longstaff at the interval as Dunc rang the changes. Ridgers saved a header from Gold on the line at the start of the second half as Arbroath continued to create and an Inverness burst forward was ended when Mckay fouled Gaston, or was it Gaston conning the refereee. Longstaff saw a header blocked after a corner. Spoony shot over from a free kick as we tried to get back on level terms with half an hour remaining. Davidson failed to get the ball under control and shot over as we increased the intensity. Some last ditch defending in the visitors box denied Inverness an equaliser from Davidsons cross. Charlie Gilmour missed a good opportunity when he headed wide and it all became a bit rushed without creating the clear cut opportunity required. Massively disappointing result that has dragged us right down into the mire. FULL TIME: 1-2 For cod's sake! Inverness slumped to an embarrassing defeat as Arbroath stunned Ferguson's flops at the Caledonian Stadium. Arbroath with big players out and only three outfield players on the bench proved too good for an overrated Inverness bunch of haddies who were easily beaten by the Smokies. More match reaction to follow>>> Dunc disappointed>>> But not as disappointed as Deek>>> Date: 16/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1842 Referee: Iain Sneddon Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson (Brooks 90), Ujdur (Longstaff 45), Devine, Boyes, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Sheridan 90), B Mckay (Lodovica 90), Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Thompson, Bray, Welsh Scorers: B Mckay (39) Booked: Ujdur (21) Sent Off: none Arbroath: 2 Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Gaston; Steel, Stewart, Norey, Hamilton, Lyon (Jacobs 61), Gold (Stowe 71), Hylton, Slater, McKintosh, Bird (Dunnwald-Turan 75) Subs (not used): Adams; Scorers: Bird (29), Gold (42) Booked: Gold (17), Bird (35), Stowe (82) Sent Off: none a
  17. Smokies for Xmas After our midweek demise at Cappielow, this game takes on a more meaningful role as we languish just four points off the bottom but have played a game more than Arbroath. A rude awakening brought Big Dunc's revolution to a grinding halt against Morton as we struggled to gain a foothold in a towsy encounter on a midden of a pitch. Dunc acknowleged we underperformed and the fans will be looking for an upturn in fortunes at home to Jim McIntyre's Arbroath after Dick got the seven year itch. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Arbroath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 17 4 3 59 19 +40 Away 24 11 6 7 35 29 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 28 10 10 94 48 +46 First meeting this season was Duncs first game in charge: The fans were looking forward to this one with a mixture of fear, trepidation, apprehension, pessimism, optimism and excitement in equal proportions. Dunc has certainly got the fans talking again and there's a feelgood factor lurking just round the corner. Rome wasn't built in a day, however Ferguson was not the foreman. Time will tell if this will be a successful appointment, but he has the full backing of the fans at the moment. Arbroath were off the back of a four game winning run. We were on downward spiral since the start of the season, the reason why Dunc is here now. As it happened, we escaped with all three points... Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) Dunc's reign of apprehension got off to a promising start at Gayfield as Inverness opened the scoring in the tenth minute through Luis Longstaff who scrambled the ball into the net after a Nikola Ujdur header was not dealt with by keeper Gaston. Longstaff then turned provider as Aaron Doran turned his driven cross into the net after half an hour. Other chances came and went: Nathan Shaw not catching his shot plumb from the edge of the box making it comfortable for Gaston to flop on the ball and save and Billy Mckay not making the most of a great break forward, his low shot a bit of a dolly for the keeper to block. HALF TIME 0-2 Billy Mckay added a third just after the interval lobbing Gaston perfectly with an assist from his own keeper Mark Ridgers. At 3-0 Shaw again might have done better when one on one with Gaston but he chose the wrong option and took himself too wide and the chance was gone. Arbroath came back into it with strikes from Ross Stewart and Michael McKenna to set up a grandstand finish. Stewart's goal was as massive a fluke as you will see. Ujdur attempted to thunder the ball clear on the edge of his own box. Unfortunately Stewart anticipated this and turned his back on the defender expecting him and ball to go flying forward. Alas it looks like it cannoned off his arse and it floated over the despairing flail of Mark Ridgers and into the net. Unbelievable, you couldn't write it, however, I just did. McKenna's goal favoured the hosts as it bobbled off a couple of bodies before he despatched it behind Ridgers off his near post with a tidy finish. With much biting of fingernails, Dunc got off to a winning start after a lengthy period of time added on and that means that we are no longer bottom of the table (just). Phew! FULL TIME: 2-3 Last Time Out Big Duncs Revolution came unstuck at a sticky Cappielow in midweek as we dished out Xmas presents early. Defensive sloppiness gifted George Oakley an opportunity which he gleefully accepted as he lobbed Ridgers with aplomb after twenty minutes. We struggled to string many passes together which saw us struggle to create much. The second half we were non existant for long spells as Morton were in our faces most of the half. No surprise when Jack Baird hammered in from six yards as we made the schoolboy error of chasing the ball leaving him in acres of space at the far post to kill the game. We did get a minor consolation with a close range header through Adam Brooks, but overall we were not really up for the battle as much as Morton were. Last Five: W D L W L Late goal specialists Raith Rovers conjured a 95th-minute winner to move top of the Scottish Championship and leave Arbroath stuck at the bottom. Aiden Connolly had the visitors in front on 19 minutes, pouncing after Sam Stanton's header was blocked. However, Arbroath levelled soon after with a Jermaine Hylton penalty after Liam Dick fouled Leighton McIntosh. Just as the hosts looked set to rise off the bottom with their first point in seven games, Lewis Vaughan struck. The striker sent a stunning finish into the top corner with the last kick of the game to seal a fourth straight league win and put Raith two points above Dundee United having played a game more. (This report from BBC Sport) Last five: L L L L L Big game at Tannadice as Raith Rovers visit Dundee United on Saturday With Arbroath losing to Raith Rovers in midweek, they are still rooted to the foot of the table on 12 points but they have a game in hand over Inverness on 16 points. We blew the chance to open up a more comfortable gap on the teams below and defeat on Saturday would put us right back into the mix for relegation. The other two teams below Inverness also meet each other on Saturday and that's another one to keep an eye on. Any team that can put a three or four game winning streak together will do themselves a masive favour. Latest Team News Dunc should be back in the dugout this weekend after his misdemeanours. Roddy MacGregor made the squad at Cappielow but was an unused sub. Wallace Duffy missed that one with a calf injury. Long term absentees still missing are Nicolson, Samuels and Doran with David Carson still on maternity leave. David Wotherspoon has rolled his ankle and will be assessed nearer kick-off. Big Harry is also a doubt. Jim McIntyre is the new manager at Arbroath after Dick Campbells reign came to an end after seven years. Must have been itchy. Smokies line up v Rovers in midweek Gaston Stewart Steele O'Brien Hamilton McIntosh Gold Jacobs (Norey 68) Slater (Lyon 85) Hylton Bird (Dünnwald-Turan 78) Subs not used: Adams: Stowe.
  18. Just Like Buses None for 23 years then two in a row as Raith came from behind to win with a time added on penalty converted by Jamie Gullan. Billy Mckay had opened the scoring with a header on the hour but a late surge by Rovers won it. Lewis Vaughan four minutes from the end then the penalty to take the win at the death scored by Jamie Gullan. We should have had a penalty of our own after that, but Mr Williams chose to ignore it. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and that one hurt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Second top with only one defeat, Raith had been flying high before this one. Big Dunc has turned the fortunes around of a once jaded looking Caley Jags, unbeaten in seven. Something was going to give and it did, Dunc's streak came to an end. Ferguson was without the usual long term injured and David Carson was expecting . Harper and Boyes were struggling through the week but made the starting XI. Raith Rovers defender Ross Millen missed this one through suspension and Liam Dick had been missing lately through injury but was fit enough to start this one. The games at Ayr, Dunfermline and Morton were all frozen off. Only Inverness and Maryhill escaped the big freeze ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Temperatures were hovering around freezing as the game kicked off in bright sunshine. The visitors were first to settle and enjoyed the early pressure with Inverness comfortably mopping up most attacks. However we failed to find an outlet with a lot of misplaced passes from defence and the midfield were struggling to get to grips with the game. Closest to a goal in the first half was when the ball bounced off a surprised Ridgers' shins onto the post and he cleared it at the second fumble. In truth we were equally as poor as we were the week before against Cowdenbeath. Slow out of the blocks, sluggish all over the park and misplacing passes like nobody's business. Little surprise it was goalless at the break. HALF TIME: 0-0 The second half was played at a better pace and we were more in Raith's face. Raith managed a shot and couple of headers from Hamilton as they still looked the most likely to score, but neither keeper was overly troubled. On the hour we broke well down the left before we found ourselves outside the box on the right side. Wotherspoon lifted a cross into the box and Billy Mckay did well to make it his ball and headed low into the bottom corner of the net. With twenty minutes left Longstaff should have done better after a sweeping move down the left saw Shaw find him at the far side of the box. It all happened in slow motion thereafter and Longstaff's weak shot was easily saved by Dobrowski. Longstaff then turned provider but Anderson's effort from the cut back cannoned back off the crossbar. That would have given us a decent cushion. Alas it all went pear shaped in the final ten minutes. We began to look nervy in defence and sat deeper and deeper. Ujdur and Wotherspoon missed the target when we did go forward but we paid the penalty with five minutes left when Vaughan turned in the box to drill home through a ruck of players. Worse was to come deep into stoppage time when Longstaff brought down Sam Stanton. Game over as Gullan smashed the ball high into the net to win the game. Longstaff again was involved in the final effort of the game after Sheridan was getting the shirt pulled off his back, but the ball fell just behind him and a decent opportunity just became another clearance and that was it. FULL TIME: 1-2 That was a sore one after putting in a much better second half performance. Maybe Dunc will sort out why we are so ponderous at times compared to other sides, even Cowdenbeath broke quicker than we did. Poor first half again followed by a great header from Billy and one off the bar from Anderson. Then we regressed. Danny Devine going off injured didn't help and taking Mckay and Wotherspoon off doesn't seem like such a good idea now. Hey ho! We could have broken up play in time added on by using our last two substitutes. Instead we gifted a penalty and lost the game. Meh! Best for Inverness were Mckay, Wotherspoon and Ujdur and maybe Longstaff if he had a bit more belief in himself. The rest need to go back to basic passing. Our throw ins are as bad as ever and whilst I'm at it, we have no outlet when defending a corner. Stick someone on the halfway line Dunc. Closest to a goal in the first half was when the ball bounced off a surprised Ridgers' shins onto the post and he cleared it at the second fumble. Plenty of talk after the game about this scramled effort early in the game. I thought at the time it was fortunate but the whole ball did not cross the line. What is it with us and the woodwork just now? Video shows the ball never crossed the line. Close though! How about this tug on Sheridan after Raith's penalty. Shouldn't have been too difficult for Mr Williams to see from only twenty yards away. Consistently poor refereeing throughout this game. Where do we find these guys? Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee Utd 13 9 4 0 33 6 31 2. Raith Rovers 13 9 3 1 22 14 30 3. Partick Thistle 14 7 4 3 28 21 25 4. Dunfermline 13 5 3 5 16 14 18 5. Airdrieonians 14 5 2 7 13 19 17 6. Ayr United 13 4 2 7 17 25 14 7. Inverness CT 13 3 4 6 13 15 13 8. Queens Park 13 3 4 6 18 27 13 9. Arbroath 12 4 0 8 16 25 12 10. Morton 12 2 2 8 12 22 8 Robert was philosophical on CTO: That’s a sore one to take but in reality we were outplayed until we took the lead against the run of play. If Raith had had their shooting boots on, they’d have been out of sight by half time. We were much better in the second half, but the goal was a surprise when it came. We then had our best spell and created several chances, coming very close when Anderson (by then playing in a more advanced role) cannoned one off the post. Then the late equaliser meant we looked like getting a point (which we’d all have taken at half time) but the stoppage time penalty was a sickener. Losing Devine meant a change of shape to 4 at the back, but I felt we played better with two wide players than we had with Duffy and Harper being wing backs. I’m not blaming the changes as Mckay and Wotherspoon had worked their socks off, and it seems to be the norm that they give us 100% for 70 minutes before being taken off. It is maybe the reality check we need, as our results have been better than our performances. If we had to lose our unbeaten run, I’d rather it was today than in any of the next three against the teams below us, Queens Park, Morton and Arbroath. Date: 02/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2143 Referee: Duncan Williams Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers, Duffy, Ujdur, Devine (Longstaff 63), Boyes, Gilmour, Anderson, Wotherspoon (Welsh 80), Harper, Shaw, B Mckay (Sheridan 79) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Davidson, Delaney, Thompson, Lodovica, Brooks, Scorers: Vaughan (86), Gullan (90+4 pen) Booked: Devine (34), Gilmour (83) Sent Off: none Raith Rovers: 2 Manager: Ian Murray Lineup: Dabrowski; Dick, Corr (McGill 84), O'Reilly, Connolly (Smith 73), Mullin, Easton, Stanton, Byrne, Vaughan (Hannah 90+2), Hamilton (Gullan 73) Subs (not used): Thomson; Masson Scorers: B Mckay (61) Booked: Corr (75), Gullan (90+4) Sent Off: none a
  19. Rovers Return Ian Murray brings the new improved version of Raith Rovers North on Saturday; only one defeat in the Championship this season. They take on Big Dunc's marauders, unbeaten in seven games since he took over from Billy Dodds' plodders. The transformation has been stark in just two months. (apart from all conquering Nairn County in the NoS Cup). Rovers got the monkey off their back on 16th September when they ended an almost twenty-three year wait to taste victory against the Caley Jags over 90 minutes. Meh! Anyway, big Dunc has previous against Raith Rovers, let's hope it's a more amicable outcome this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup v Broomhill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Raith Rovers Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 14 5 2 40 15 +25 Away 18 9 5 4 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 23 10 6 74 37 +37 Only six defeats against Raith after they had dominated the opening few fixtures against us. Only two defeats in the Highlands. For +40, against -15. What could possibly go wrong? Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Raith Rovers 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) That great run had to come to an end some time. 0 - 1 Record Breakers: Never had there been a better time for Raith Rovers to break the Caley Jags hoodoo! Inverness, without a win in their last eight games, and Billy Dodds and the management team under fire. A 23 year run of games without a win for Raith Rovers was brought to an end today when Jamie Gullan smashed home from 15 yards with five minutes left. It was harsh on Inverness who dominated for long spells earlier in the game, but it leaves the management with some tough decisions to make. There will be dancing on the streets of Raith tonight! Pars beat Arbroath 3-0 since this table - Ayr United v Arbroath OFF Frozen pitch That means the Pars are 4th on 18 pts. - Morton v Dundee Utd OFF Frozen Pitch Last Time Out We struggled to perform to a high standard in our cup tie with Cowdenbeath using a 50/50 squad. After eighty minutes, the earlier introduction of Wotherspoon and Mckay proved crucial as they scored two excellent strikes to see us into the next round where we will face Broomhill at home in January. Raith did win the first meeting between the clubs this season, but it was closer than many thought it might have been, even with a side down on their luck. Jamie Gullan it was that rammed in the only goal of the game. Last five Championship results D W D W D Raith Rovers had a tremendous result in the cup at East End Park as they brushed aside the Pars 3-0. Jack Hamilton opened the scoring early in the first half and Sam Stanton and Lewis Vaughan ensured there would be no comeback from Dunfermline this time, not even thewoodwork could help them. Last five Championship results D W W D W Latest Team News Longer term players still missing and we can add David Carson who is pregnant , Cammy Harper and Morgan Boyes who have injuries to shake off. Roddy MacGregor is back in training, so that's a bonus. Samuels and Doran nowhere near fitness. Jake Davidson got a few minutes last week. Ian Murray is building a good squad at Stark's Park. Lewis Vaughan is top scorer with six goals followed by Callum Smith and Dylan Easton on five apiece. Ross Millen will miss this one through suspension and Liam Dick has been missing through injury. Team v Dunfermline in Scottish Cup win Dabrowski Millen Brown O'Reilly Connolly Mullin Easton Stanton Smith (McGill 86) Vaughan Hamilton (Gullan 78) Subs not used: Thomson; Hannah, Corr.
  20. Brazil Come North A wee break from the rigours of Championship football this weekend as Brazil head North to take on Caley Thistle in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup. No no no, not that ones, but it's the Blue Brazil who will be at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off. Unfortunately, Cowdenbeath slipped out of the big boys Leagues in 2022 after a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Bonnyrigg Rose and find themselves plying their trade in the fifth tier of Scottish Football, the Lowland Football League. Our last regular games with Cowdenbeath ended in 1997 when they beat Inverness 2-1 at Central Park. The biggest home attendance at Central Park was 25,586 vs Rangers on 21 September 1949. (must have been waiting for the stock car racing to start) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Cowdenbeath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 7 4 1 2 11 10 +1 Away 8 4 2 2 17 12 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 15 8 3 4 28 22 +6 We have only played Cowdenbeath three times since our early days in 1997. The last three games have all been in League Cup encounters. Worryingly, the last one was a no scoring draw over 90 minutes. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Cowdenbeath 0 - 0 (H) 5 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) 1 - 3 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 0 (A) In our final league encounter with the Blue Brazil we were beaten 1 - 2 in Fife: An enthusiastic Cowdenbeath side deservedly ended the champions long unbeaten run. The home side dominated the first half as the visitors experimented with their formation. In 13 minutes Craig Sinclair headed home after a Willie Stewart corner and 4 minutes later a static defence allowed Martin Scott to hit high into the roof of the net from close range. It could have been three just before half-time but Jim Calder made a good diving save from a Nolan shot. The second half started the same way but the visitors gradually came back. They dominated the last half hour but only managed one goal. In 69 minutes a long Iain MacArthur throw was back-headed by Mike Teasdale and Paul Cherry headed home. In 84 minutes Iain Stewart tried to chip Godfrey but failed and in the dying seconds a Paul Cherry header was cleared off the line. Godfrey Munro Ritchie Meldrum Humphreys Winter Scott Sinclair Nolan Coulston Stewart Manson - Charlie Christie Millar - Davie Ross Hamilton - Barry Wilson Jim Calder Mike Noble Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur Paul Cherry Ross Tokely Mike Teasdale Marco De Barros Iain Stewart Brian Thomson Wayne Addicoat Last Time Out We rode our luck in Fife last weekend but managed to escape with a point from East End Park. Incredibly the Pars hit the woodwork seven times before they equalised on the eighth strike in the last three minutes, the ball connoning off the post into the net from Lewis McCann. Danny Devine scored like an opportunist striker at the end of the first half as MotM woodwork kept the ball out of the net with seven incredible blocks and an assist. Cowdenbeath's last game saw them scud Lanark United 6-0 in the South Challenge Cup. Scorers in a decent performance were Matty McDonald (34), Josh Jack (37), Mikey Cunningham (38 pen), MacPherson (45) HT: 4-0 Jack (50), Berry (67) Cowdenbeath FC 6 Lanark United 0 Date: 18th November 2023 Kick off: 3:00pm Competition: South Challenge Cup Referee: Venue: Central Park Attendance: We are, of course, beaten finalists from last season. Record scorer Billy Mckay is our all time top scorer in the Scottish Cup. He bagged five in last season's event, including two at Livingston and two against Falkirk in the semi final bringing his total up to 12, one ahead of Sir Dennis Wyness. Iain Stewart, our master lobster comes third with six lobs. Cowdenbeath got into the next round of the Scottish Cup after defeating Kilwinning Rangers 1-0 at Buffs Park. Super sub Mikey Cunningham came off the bench to score a late goal which saw Cowdenbeath through to the third round of the Scottish Cup, which is why they are here on Saturday. COWDENBEATH: Hepburn; Butterworth, Walker, Jordan, McNab, Chalmers, Jack (Cunningham 64), MacDonald, MacPherson, McLaughlin, Docherty (Berry 88). Subs not used – Blair, Garcia, D Duncan and Smith. ATTENDANCE: 527 Latest Team News Sean Welsh got a bit of the action at East End Park after another extensive injury lay-off. Luis Longstaff was another still looking to get up to speed after a couple of weeks out and Nikola Ujdur was subbed off in the second half. One or two still carrying niggles and this might be the right time to rest some with bigger fish to fry, but first and foremost we need to get ourselves into the hat for the 4th round draw. Max Anderson is cup-tied. 4 or 5 changes according to Dunc>>> Cowdenbeath will be looking forward to this and I would expect a similar set up to their game against Lanark.
  21. Dunc on the Up Inverness added Sean Welsh to the ever expanding longer term injury list suffering from a recurring back injury, but Luis Longstaff was fit enough to make the bench. Ayr United had Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Anton Dowds as a triple threat up front. Despite this, Inverness cruised home without having to get out of second gear. Three goals inside the last ten minutes of the first half ended the game as a contest. Two from David Wotherspoon and a penalty from Billy Mckay. Ayr got a consolation penalty in a poor second half, but it was an important three points for the Caley Jags and Big Dunc ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright and calm afternoon saw the teams take to the pitch with a growing army of disciples watching from the stands. As kick-off approached, a shrill whistle from the referee saw the crowd fall impeccably silent to commemorate those that made the ultimate sacrifice during the conflicts...... lest we forget. An early injury to birthday boy Cammy Harper was a worry for Duncan Ferguson but that wasn't enough to keep Cammy from his own party. In truth we gave a mediocre Ayr United too much respect. That was until David Wotherspoon tapped in from one yard after we opened the Ayr defence inside their own box. He added a second with the aid of a deflection as we looked to kill the game and the icing was on the cake when Billy Mckay buried a penalty after Reading tripped Charlie Gilmour in the box in the final act of the first half. HALF TIME: 3-0 The second half was the epitome of an anti-climax. After the opening ten minutes of the second period when we toyed with Ayr and looked likely to run up a Rugby score, neither keeper was over exerted and the game deteriorated as a spectacle. With Ayr looking unlikely to breach our defence they were awarded a stonewall penalty when Rose was brought down by Ridgers as he raced onto a ball into the box. Murphy drilled home the resultant spot kick. In fairness to both sides, the damage was done in the last few minutes of the first half which took any urgency out of the game, especially for Inverness. FULL TIME: 3-1 As comfortable as it was it was still a poor second half where we should have gone on to put Ayr to the sword. As it was, the result was huge in the context of our season and we can overlook the turgid performance in the light of three excellent points and a step up the table to eighth place with games in hand over some teams. More Match Reaction to Follow>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Big Dunc is on the march 1. Dundee Utd 13 9 4 0 33 6 31 2. Raith Rovers 12 8 3 1 20 13 27 3. Partick Thistle 13 6 4 3 26 20 22 4. Airdrieonians 13 5 2 6 12 17 17 5. Dunfermline 11 4 2 5 12 13 14 6. Ayr United 13 4 2 7 17 25 14 7. Queens Park 13 3 4 6 18 27 13 8. Inverness CT 11 3 3 5 11 12 12 9. Arbroath 11 4 0 7 16 22 12 10. Morton 12 2 2 8 12 22 8 Robert on CTO: The first half hour was pretty even but we had an explosive 15 minutes before half time which settled the game. Wotherspoon is proving a real asset and I hope we extend his contract beyond January. Mckay did brilliantly to start the build up to the first goal. Wotherspoon squeezed his second in from a very tight angle and Mckay buried the penalty. None of us saw that all coming after 30 minutes. We were pinned back for most of the second half and Ayr’s penalty made it slightly nervy but we saw it out. My only complaint is that we invited Ayr on to us too much in the second half. However, Ridgers did not have much to do. We lost Anderson at half time, presumably to injury, but hopefully a precautionary change. The picks for me were Wotherspoon, Mckay and Boyes. Credit also to Harper who nullified Chalmers to the point we didn’t see Chalmers after the break. 11 points out of 15 and up to 8th. If we can win at Dunfermline in our first game in hand next week we will be 5th. Well done guys! Date: 11/11/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2259 Referee: Iain Snedden Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Ujdur, Boyes, Devine, Harper Carson (Duffy 57), Gilmour, Anderson (Longstaff 45), Wotherspoon (Brooks 89), Shaw, Mckay (Sheridan 78) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Thompson, Delaney, Lodovica Scorers: Wotherspoon (32, 43), B Mckay (45+2 pen) Booked: Anderson (27), Brooks(90+2) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 1 Manager: Lee Bullen Lineup: Mutch; McAllister, Stanger (F Ecremont 12), McGinty, Reading, Chalmers (Rose 45), Syla, Senga (Amartey 69), Murphy, McKenzie (McGeady 79), Dowds (Young 69) Subs (not used): O Ecremont; Smith, Bryden, Scorers: Murphy (61 pen) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  22. Ayr Do for Dunc Ayr United are next up for big Dunc as his salvage operation gathers pace after a great away point at Tannadice last week. We're not quite at the Big Dunc's revolution stage, more of an evolution but we are heading in the right direction after a poor start to the season. Ayr come up North on Saturday for a 3:00pm start sitting in fifth place on goal difference with 14 points looking to get back into the top four. We could strike a crucial blow to their aspirations should we come out on top as we are five points behind them with two games in hand. It's a six pointer this early in the season! Big talking point this week in the Highlands is the departure of Sporting Director John Robertson as he leaves to "pursue other opportunities". All the best to Robbo in his new venture and one can't help but imagine that might free up some wages for a player or two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match Ticket Info & Lest we Forget John Robertson Leaving ICTFC Cowdenbeath Cup Date Confirmed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue for H2H v Ayr Utd Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 11 3 39 26 +13 Away 26 12 6 8 47 32 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 22 17 11 86 58 +28 Only eleven defeats overall versus Ayr United but they held the upper hand over the last two encounters both home and away. We have had some tremendous games against the Honest Men over the years with five, six and even seven goal games an occasional feature of these clashes in bygone days. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr Utd 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (H) Ayr took the points in the first encounter this season at Somerset Park 0 - 1>>> Pointless: Notable absentees for Ayr were last seasons Championship top scorer Dipo Akinyemi who has gone to York City and long time servant Michael Moffat who spent eleven years over two spells at Somerset Park scoring 77 goals in 263 appearances. Dodds was without Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson with knee injuries. Sean Welsh has a groin injury and also missed out again as did Austin Samuels and Max Ram. Adam Brooks returned to the bench and Danny Devine replaced the missing Wallace Duffy. New sensation Keith Bray started with Inverness down to only six on the bench. Injuries starting early this season already it would seem with six missing.. Ayr got off to the perfect start after just eight minutes when Francis Amartey, Dempsey and Sam Ashford combined for Amartey to slot home the opening goal. Mark Ridgers saved on his line from Nick McAllister as Ayr looked to double their lead. Keith Bray was blocked going into the box and from the follow up Albinson saved from David Carson at the expense of a corner. Plenty of half chances for both sides to score in the first half with Devine going close for the visitors but Albinson tipped over. Longstaff also went close on the break but his shot bounced just wide. Billy Dodds fell foul of the referee on the interval and had to watch the remainder of the game from the stands. (See how he likes it!) HALF TIME: 1-0 Longstaff saw his header saved ten minutes after the interval as Inverness looked to get back into the game. A spate of substitutions on the hour for Ayr and Harry Lodovica replaced Bray for the visitors before a Jake Davidson cross found Nathan Shaw, but his effort came back off the post. With twenty minutes remaining Shaw was blocked in the box as we chased for a leveller. Substitute Aiden McGeady shot wide approaching the final ten minutes and Cammy Harper failed to hit the target at the other end. Aaron Doran fired a free kick wide from a tight angle and McGeady missed again as time was running away from us. Ridgers tipped over from Pendelbury in the 90th minute and the as so often, the game slipped away from us to leave us bottom of the table with Arbroath. FULL TIME: 1-0 Another defeat leaves Inverness pointless at the foot of the table with Arbroath as Ayr got their first win of the campaign thanks to an early goal from Francis Amartey. Not for the want of trying, but Inverness could not find an equaliser and that will pile more misery on under fire boss Billy Dodds. Our injury situation seems never-ending and we could only muster six on the bench. Dodds watched from the stand in the second half and will now know why we are concerned... The natives are no happy on CTO with many asking for a total clearout from top to bottom, questioning the length of contract offered to Billy Dodds. The buck stops at the very top and that is a massive concern for all. Top scorer Billy Mckay was a forlorn figure and was not best pleased at being subbed. Something is wrong that's not right. Sort it now before we leave this league at the wrong end of the table. Thankfully things have changed somewhat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Time Out Big Dunc fashioned us into a squad prepared to dig deep at Tannadice and it paid off as we came away with a credible draw against the League Leaders. A wonderful team goal manufactured from inside our own box all the way down the left wing before Harper crossed for Shaw to drill home from fifteen yards. Total football, great goal! The Arabs levelled five minutes later when Holt thundered in a bullet header to share the spoils. Some outstanding performers on the day with Ridgers making crucial saves, defenders putting their bodies on the line, midfielders helping out at the front and the back whilst remaining creative, and strikers.... erm still missing plenty, but also tracking back to help out. Last Five Results: L W D W D Ayr United are without a win in their last three games and were pegged back by Queens Park last Saturday in a 2-2 draw. Two first half strikes from Anton Dowds had Ayr cruising, but Bannon scored after the break and five minutes into time added on Paton claimed a point for the Spiders in a dramatic finale with his sixth cincher goal of the season. Last Five Results: W W L D D <<< There's your top scorers in the Championship ahead of Friday nights encounter between Dunfermline Athletic and Dundee United. Brian Graham has almost scored as many goals as the Caley Jags have in the Championship (8). That's something that Ferguson needs to address if we are to climb the table into a challenging position (at the top end). Nathan Shaw is our top scorer this season with three Championship goals to his name. Despite netting his 102nd goal with a penalty in the 3-2 loss to Airdrie in the League Cup group stages, Billy has only netted once in the Championship since then at Arbroath some five games ago. He has three goals in total, two in the League Cup group stages. That's not a great return from your top striker. Latest Team News We are still without any of our half dozen longer term injured players. Sean Welsh missed out again last week and will join the long term club. Luis Longstaff and Jake Davidson were also injured at Tannadice. Wallace Duffy returned from the bench to replace an injured David Carson who is a doubt this week. Danny Devine and Morgan Boyes started at Tannadice after being out for a couple of games. According to our stats, Mark Ridgers should make his 250th appearance for his home town team. Another clean sheet would be fitting and most welcome. Ayr did settled down after an inconsistent start and still have Logan Chalmers. We know what he is capable of. Anton Dowds netted twice last week and he is their top scorer with 5 strikes. Former Motherwell player Jamie Murphy and ex-ICT loanee Chalmers have four goals apiece. Ayr team v Queens Pk: Dowds Mutch Ahui McGinty Stanger Reading Chalmers (Senga 75) Young Syla (Smith 45) Murphy (McGeady 79) Rose (Bryden 64) Dowds (Amartey 75) Subs not used: O & F Ecremont, McKenzie, McAllister Apparently their bench was full of Ecremont. Well, that's what I thought he said Lest We Forget: With this game being played on Remembrance Day, the club will be offering Free Entry to UK Forces personnel, past and present. One Adult & One Child per application. (home or away support) FORCES GO FREE
  23. First Home Win Duncan ferguson was looking for his first home Championship success as the Diamond's visited the Caledonian Stadium. He would be without some key players. Unfortunately Welsh, Duffy, Doran, MacGregor, Nicolson, and Samuels were all out with Devine, Boyes, Ujdur, Harper and Carson all struggling to make this one. New signings David Wotherspoon and Cillian Sheridan were in the squad. As it was, Carson, Ujdur, Devine, Harper and Wotherspoon all started with Boyes and Sheridan on the bench. Airdrie had Gallagher and Todorov up front with Player Manager Rhys McCabe on from the start. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Decent afternoon for a game of football and Airdrie took advantage of the good conditions to control the early possession although they never troubled Ridgers, one shot clearing the North Stand into the car park. The next one went five yards over the bar. The best Inverness could offer was a blocked shot on the edge of the box after our best move of the game. We came more into the mix and David Wotherspoon spooned a shot over the bar from five yards after Keeper Josh Rae had saved from Billy Mckay. He really should have scored but he made amends five minutes before the break with a tremendously calm finish. He showed real class unlike the open goal he missed earlier. The move began on the left with Longstaff then when it came to Wotherspoon in midfield he flicked it deftly to the right side where Gilmour fed Shaw. He drove down the wing before cutting the ball back to Spoony who turned in the box to roll the ball into the unguarded corner of the net from twelve yards after making the space for himself. Class! HALF TIME: 1-0 After the interval Airdrie retained the ball better but we threatened when Gilmour went down after a challenge in the box. Shaw picked up the loose ball but his shot was charged down as he tried to pick out the top corner from the edge of the box. A spate of substitutions disrupted the flow of the game and the visitors made a late push to salvage a point. However, we defended well despite half of our back four being substituted with Ujdur dominant. The big defender made a couple of crucial blocks, one in particular as Frizzell pulled the trigger, the ball deflecting over the bar. Despite the late pressure from Airdrie, Ridgers was not overly exerted although he made a couple of crucial catches and punches clear to hold on to the clean sheet and more importantly all three points. FULL TIME: 1-0 The fabulous execution of his goal was a great introduction for David Wotherspoon but for me the Man of the Match and new version of Bobby Mann was Nikola Ujdur. The Aussie defender is solid, strolled through the game unflustered and can pick a pass. Good graft in midfield but Sheridan and Big Harry need some work done. Shaw picked up a booking at the end when Big Dunc sent him back onto the pitch to get treatment Robert on CTO: This is what Saturday evenings should feel like! The second half was a hard watch at times, but we got the job done. Ridgers dealt with everything and a few timely blocks and some poor finishing helped too. The first half was quite even and we scored at the right time as Airdrie seemed to be getting on top. It was a great, calm finish by Wotherspoon which more than made up for the one he skied earlier (in his defence I thought it came on to him very quickly). I also thought the referee did us a big favour early in the second half. On a different day Anderson would have been penalised and a penalty awarded. However I thought we should have got one shortly after too. It’s nice not to be gifting goals although we did have some squeaky bum moments in defence, with Airdrie’s right wing back causing a lot of problems. Mckay and Wotherspoon worked their socks off. Longstaff and Shaw tried to push forward but also helped the full backs well. Anderson and Gilmour are developing a good partnership. But the biggest credit must go to our walking wounded. Last night all of our starting defenders were on the injury list, and Carson and Devine cannot have been fully fit when they were subbed in the second half. Udjur was not quite as composed today but did what he had to, whilst Harper had a bit of a torrid time defensively at times but credit them both for getting through the game. Sheridan could prove an asset when he is fully match sharp, with one defensive tackle standing out for me today. Lodovica and Brooks still do not convince me though. We may lose ground on Tuesday when some of our opponents play and Saturday will be a big test at Tannadice. But let’s enjoy the moment. It’s long time since we’ve had a home win to kick start a Saturday evening. OCG: Eye bleeding at times but we were able to grind out a win! We need points at moment and pretty football can wait. Good to see us becoming a bit more streetwise under Ferguson eg keeping ball in corner as long as we could in last couple of minutes. Full Highlights from ICTFC Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee Utd 10 7 3 0 28 4 24 2. Raith Rovers 9 6 2 1 14 9 20 3. Partick Thistle 10 4 3 3 19 16 15 4. Airdrieonians 10 4 1 5 9 14 13 5. Arbroath 9 4 0 5 15 17 12 6. Ayr United 10 4 0 6 12 18 12 7. Queens Park 11 3 3 5 14 22 12 8. Dunfermline 9 3 2 4 9 10 11 9. Inverness CT 9 2 2 5 7 10 8 10. Morton 9 2 2 5 9 16 8 Date: 28/10/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2218 Referee: Calum Scott Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson (Davidson 78), Ujdur, Devine (Delaney 78), Harper, Longstaff (Brooks 62), Gilmour, Anderson, Wotherspoon (Sheridan 68), Shaw, B Mckay (Lodovica 67) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Boyes, Thompson, Scorers: Wotherspoon (37) Booked: Lodovica (90+1), Shaw (90+3) Sent Off: none Airdrieonians: 0 Manager: Rhys McCabe Lineup: Rae; Megwa, McCabe (Aiken 67), Watson, Fordyce, Hancock, Frizzell, McStravick (McGregor 69), Telfer, Todorov, Gallagher (McGill 77) Subs (not used): Hutton; Taylor-Sinclair, O'Connor, McMaster, Dunlop Scorers: none Booked: Frizzell (53) Hancock (90+1) Sent Off: none a
  24. Injuries R Us With last weeks game falling foul to the weather, it might have been a blessing in disguise with one or two struggling to have made the postponed game against Morton. An extra weeks recovery might mean that we will be better equipped to face a sprightly Airdrie side who have consolidated themselves in the top half of the Championship. Game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium this Saturday and we might get a glimpse of new signings David Wotherspoon and Cillian Sheridan. Unfortunately Welsh, Doran, Boyes, MacGregor, Nicolson and Samuels are all out with Devine, Ujdur, Harper, Duffy and Carson all struggling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match Info/Tickets David Wotherspoon Cillian Sheridan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 8 4 0 4 13 12 +1 Away 7 2 2 3 9 15 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 15 6 2 7 22 27 -5 Only the last couple of fixtures have any relevance. The 1-0 home win was in March 2002 when Ross Tokely played and Martin Bavidge scored the winner........ Wait a minute: Ross Tokely is still playing and scoring winners 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 6 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 4 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 2 (H) March 2002: Steve Paterson's 300th game in charge produced a very welcome 1 - 0 victory which stopped a slide down the league. Ian Broadfoot reports: Caley Thistle lay fourth last Saturday but slipped to seventh in midweek without kicking a ball. This win resulted in a climb to fifth. The first half was a nervous period with Caley Thistle trying hard but achieving little. Airdrie's best chance came in the first minute when they were awarded a free kick 20 yards out. Mark Roberts drove the ball goalwards and Nicky Walker dived to make a good save. In 13 minutes a high David Bagan cross proved troublesome to Airdrie keeper Allan Ferguson but he tipped it over. Five minutes later a Barry Robson corner from the right reached Grant Munro beyond the back post but he could only bundle the ball over for a goal kick. Stuart Taylor created a chance for himself at the other end in 29 minutes but he wasted it with a scuff past the post. In 33 minutes the home sides best first half chance fell to Dennis Wyness after good interplay with Charlie Christie but the striker hit it over from 10 yards. A minute later Owen Coyle reached a corner at the back post but left it to Taylor but he mishit to concede a goal kick. The tempo of the match changed in 50 minutes when Robson sent over a cross from the left and Martin Bavidge scored at the back post despite Ferguson getting a touch. This lifted Caley Thistle and calmed a few nerves. They kept on top after that but could not score a second goal. Robson strode through the Airdrie defence just after the goal but his shot deflected off Alan McManus. On the hour mark Ferguson raced out of goal to the touchline to just beat Bavidge to the ball. Ferguson saved Airdrie again in 76 minutes when he dived at the feet of Wyness as he stretched to reach a Bavidge curling ball but it went harmlessly for a goal kick. The nerves returned in the last few minutes as Caley Thistle worked hard to preserve their lead. With three minutes left Airdrie nearly stole an equaliser when a seemingly harmless Taylor header beat Walker but came back off the post into the relieved keepers arms. Despite a seemingly endless three minutes of added time Caley Thistle held on to win. Championship Fixtures FRIDAY 27th OCTOBER Dundee Utd v Arbroath Fc Queens Pk v Partick Th SATURDAY 28th OCTOBER Ayr Utd v Morton Inverness CT v Airdrieonians Raith Rovers v Dunfermline Last Time Out Inverness were held to a no scoring draw at home to Partick Thistle. A game of few clear chances with Partick squandering the best a few minutes from the end. Still, the clean sheet was welcome. We have already played Airdrie twice this season during our defensive blunder sessions. Airdrie took full advantage winning both games. 3-2 in the Highlands on League Cup duty and 2-1 at the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium in our 3rd Championship game of the season. Nathan Shaw's second half goal was too little too late after a Cammy Harper og inside the first minute and top scorer Gallagher on the half hour did the early damage in that one. Last Five: D L L W D Airdrie also played out a draw in their last game which went ahead on Friday night in a downpour. It ended 1-1 with Queens Park after Airdrie had taken a first half lead when an error in midfield by Queens Park allowed Callum Gallagher to run through to finish with aplomb. Queens got their point when keeper Josh Rae presented Jack Turner with his opportunity which he gladly took. Last Five: L W W L D Latest Team News This was prepared for the Morton game that was postponed. Having played in the North of Scotland Cup semi-final at Nairn, Duncan Ferguson will now be without at least two of those that were beaten by Nairn. It was mainly a second string squad with some returning from injury. However, Danny Devine came off with a swollen knee and Sean Welsh now has a back injury. Add Boyes with an eye infection, Aaron Doran with a hamstring, Wallace Duffy with who knows what and longer term Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson then Ferguson does not have his troubles to seek. The good news is David Wotherspoon could be ready after playing 45 minutes on Wednesday night. Jay Emmanuel Stewart (JET) has been on trial this week. So, hopefully the extra week will see one or two be in a better place injury wise and Wotherspoon has had another week in his legs to get back up to speed. Cillian Sheridan has become the latest player to sign on until January. He's been around a bit but could still do a job for us surely. Big misses for us will be Sean Welsh, Morgan Boyes and if Ujdur, Harper and Carson fail to make it then we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel again. Aaron Doran (hamstring) and Austin Samuels (knee) have joined the long term casualy list with Roddy and Lewis. So injuries are us once more. Dunc is hopeful one or two might be fit enough but it's a waiting game after three weeks of inactivity. Airdrie v Queens Pk team lines:- Rae Megwa Watson Fordyce Hancock Frizzell McMaster Aiken (Telfer 62) McStravick Gallagher (Todorov 62) McGregor (O'Connor 78) Subs not used: Hutton; McCabe, Dunlop, McGill, Cassidy, Spalding. Airdrie have been playing some slick stuff of late and this will be a tough one, even with a full squad. Callum Gallagher is top scorer with six goals. Former Caley Jag striker Nikolay Todorov has scored a couple this season but does not always start.
  25. Thistle be the day This will be the day that Duncan Ferguson made his bow to the Caley Jags fans. The weather might have dampened the atmosherics, but inside the stadium it was a warm welcome for Big Dunc. He was without the long term absentees (MacGregor & Nicolson) plus more recent victims in Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy. After the first win last week, it was an unchanged starting XI that took to the sodden turf. Partick had our olde foe Brian Graham up front. Enough said ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Heavy overnight rain made for wet conditions on the park and around the Highlands. Both sides made heavy weather (no pun intended) of a tedious first half where neither keeper had to earn their corn. Partick started liveliest without threatening before we got to grips with the game. Ujdur headed tamely wide from a Harper corner as he couldn't get any purchase on the ball. Shaw made a clumsy touch from a Gilmour cross from the left side and the chance was gone as Sneddon snapped up the loose ball. A loose ball forward allowed Partick a shooting opportunity but Ridgers gathered comfortably. After the break the visitors cut along the byeline and it ended with Fitzpatrick rolling the ball onto the post before being cleared. Doran was looking for a penalty after being upended in the box but nothing given. From an Inverness corner, Partick broke forward at pace and it ended with Ridgers saving a low twenty-five yard drive from Graham. Shaw made a tremendous tackle to win back the ball before Gilmour was eventually set up for a shot but he dragged his low effort a yard wide. Billy Mckay turned on the edge of the box but his curled effort drifted over the bar with Gilmour looking for a return pass as he ran into the box. Milne rode a couple of challenges before slicing his parting shot wide from eighteen yards. Best chance of the game fell to the visitors three minutes before the end after Ridgers parried a swerving shot from McInroy. It fell to Adeloye but he blazed his hooked effort well over the bar from five yards. Inverness mainly looked comfortable without overly troubling keeper Sneddon and it ended all square in a very wet Highlands. FULL TIME: 0-0 Neither side can complain about a point apiece but Partick will now know that they can not expect to pick up easy points against us. In fact had Gilmour placed his shot within the bounds of the posts then we could have taken all three points. Meh! Another step in the right direction for Inverness who matched high scoring Partick Thistle all over the park. Best for Inverness were the tricky Longstaff, the unflustered Ujdur and the driving force of Gilmour, with Ridgers doing his bit at the end Date: 07/10/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2374 Referee: Dan McFarlane Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Ujdur, Boyes, Harper, Longstaff, Gilmour, Anderson, Shaw (Brooks 86), Doran (Samuels 65) B Mckay (Lodovica 86) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Davidson, Delaney, Hyde, Bray, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Partick Thistle: 0 Manager: Kris Doolan Lineup: Sneddon; Ngwenya, Muirhead, Neilson, Milne, McInroy, Robinson, Bannigan, Lawless, Graham (Macdonald 74), Fitzpatrick (Adeloye 73) Subs (not used): McGinley, Alston, Williamson, Stanway, Mitchell, Williams Scorers: none Booked: Bannigan (72) Sent Off: none a
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