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Sloppy Stuff in Greenock Wallace Duffy missed out with a calf injury with Jake Davidson getting a rare start and the paternal David Carson was still on maternity leave. Good to see Roddy Macgregor was on the bench following another lengthy layoff through injury alongside Sean Welsh and Nathan Shaw. Morton had three players that were on our books recently. Defender Kirk Broadfoot, wide player Stephen Boyd and striker George Oakley. And it was that man Oakley that gave Morton the lead after errors in defence. Jack Baird smashed in a second ten minutes from time. Adam Brooks added a late consolation, but it was too little too late in Greenock as the revolution ground to a halt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An indifferent and untidy start on what looked like a difficult surface saw David Wotherspoon cut in from the left but his parting shot was high and wide. Ridgers was forced into a save direct from a Robbie Muirhead free kick on fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes in and sloppy defending offered George Oakley an opportunity to lob Ridgers and that's exactly what he did. Wotherspoon shot wide after a free kick was half cleared to the edge of the box and he missed the target again as Inverness probed for an opening. A good move forward on the left saw Wotherspoon graze the outside of the post ten minutes before the break. Ridgers produced a great save just before the break to deny Kirk Broadfoot from eight yards at the expense of a corner. At the other end keeper Ryan Mullen made an equally acrobatic save to deny Billy Mckay from the edge of the box just on the stroke of half time. HALF TIME:1-0 Early Inverness pressure after the break ended when Ridgers had to push a low shot from Cameron Blues away and gather it at the second attempt. A curling free kick from out wide from Wothewrspoon was tipped behind for a corner. Morton were up for this and substitute Allan Power volleyed just wide then Muirhead hit the post with fifteen minutes left. Inverness were on the ropes now and a triple substitution followed. Worse followed ten minutes from the end when Jack Baird lashed in a loose ball on the six yard box after a long throw in from Lewis Strapp. Sloppy stuff again with nobody picking up players at the far post. Adam Brooks scored a very late consolation for the visitors but it was too little too late for a dis-spirited Inverness. FULL TIME: 2-1 More match detail to follow>>> We lost didn't we>>> Date: 12/12/2023 Venue: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1315 Referee: Lloyd Wilson Morton: 2 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Mullen; Strapp (O'Connor 83), Baird, Broadfoot, Wilson, Gillespie (Power 57), Blues (McGrattan 57),Crawford (Bearne 83), Muirhead, French, Oakley (Boyd ) Subs (not used): Murdoch; O'Boy Scorers: Oakley (20), Baird (80) Booked: Muirhead (26), Blues (29), Mullen (90+2), O'Connor (90+3), (McGrattan 90+7) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson, Ujdur (Lodovica ), Devine, Boyes, Longstaff (Shaw 76), Gilmour (Welsh 76), Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Brooks ), B Mckay (Sheridan 76) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Thompson, MacGregor Scorers: none Booked: Wotherspoon (22), Shaw (83) Sent Off: none a

  Chance to go fifth   This fixture was rearranged since the game on 21st October was postponed due to incoming weather conditions. At the time it was regarded as a blessing in disguise as it would give Big Dunc more time to settle into his role. Well than panned out well as he has just been named Novembers Manager of the Month and David Wotherspoon the Player of the Month. What a coup that has been, get Spoony signed up now before the big money clubs come sniffing in the January sales. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/ Supporters bus Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 5 4 48 20 +28 Away 19 11 3 5 37 24 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 23 8 9 85 44 +41 History shows that we have the beating of Morton both home and away. However games are not won based on history and the Championship is as tight as ever below the top four teams with anyone capable of winning on the day. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) Last time at Cappielow we escaped with all three points: 2 - 1 Vital three points at Morton:  Danny Devine was missing again along with Roddy MacGregor and Walllace Duffy for this vital clash at Cappielow which could define our season. That left us with a sparse bench. For Morton, Brian Schwake was given the gloves despite his blunder against Arbroath and condemnation from his gaffer. Scott Allardice opened the scoring with a tremendous half-volley, drilling a precision shot low into the bottom corner from outside the box. David Carson popped up with the winner in the 88th minute to take a valuable three points North. Nathan Shaw did well to win the ball in his own half before sending a long diagonal ball forward that was helped onto Carson by Boyd for the wee man to finish well from inside the box after a great run forward. That win moves us to within a point of fifth placed Morton. George Oakley started up front against his old club. From an injury point of view it all sounds a bit familiar although since the original scheduled fixture we appear to be in a better place now Last Time Out Big Dunc ended up in the stands as his side recorded there biggest win of the season, and not before time. Our previously shot shy side came from behind to dismantle Queens Park, a side we had failed to beat on the park last season. Turner put Queens ahead after ten minutes but thereafter we were mostly in control and ended up cruising to a 4-1 win at Hampden Park. Max Anderson and Nikola Ujdur scored their first goals for the club either side of the interval before we turned on the after burners to cruise to a comfortable win with goals from our new deadly partnership of Spoony & Bill who netted from the spot. Only the one defeat in the last five for the Caley Jags as the revolution gathers pace. D W D L W  Here's Spoonyyyyyyy>>>   Dougie Imrie's struggling side beat Arbroath in the big basement battle on Saturday but they still remain in bottom place, but only one point adrift of Arbroath. McGrattan put the 'Ton ahead near the break only for the Smokies to level on the hour through David Gold. However former Caley Jag George Oakley scored the winner late in the game for Morton's first win in five. W L L L W  Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Fixtures in midweek: Morton v ICTFC (Tues) Arbroath v Raith Rovers (Wed) 1. Dundee Utd 14 10 4 0 34 6 34 2. Raith Rovers 14 10 3 1 26 17 33 3. Partick Thistle 15 7 4 4 31 25 25 4. Dunfermline 14 6 3 5 18 15 21 5. Airdrieonians 15 5 2 8 14 21 17 6. Inverness CT 14 4 4 6 17 16 16 7. Ayr United 14 4 2 8 17 26 14 8. Queens Park 14 3 4 7 19 31 13 9. Arbroath 13 4 0 9 17 27 12 10. Morton 13 3 2 8 14 23 11 Latest Team News Big Dunc himself might have to keep away from the touchline after his red card at the weekend. No improvements on the injury front with Nicolson, Doran, MacGregor and Samuels all out and Carson on paternity leave. Wallace Duffy limped off at the weekend and misses out and Harper, Ujdur and Boyes still playing within themselves regarding injuries. Dunc ahead of Morton clash>>>   Morton now have three former Inverness players in their ranks. Striker George Oakley, wide player Steven Boyd and ageing defender Kirk Broadfoot. Defender Lewis Strapp has re-joined the Greenock club on a short term deal until the end of January. Morton had these players missing at the weekend: Goalkeepers Jamie MacDonald and Jack Harkness, defender Calum Waters, midfielder Alan Power and striker Jai Quitongo. Morton team in 2-1 win over Arbroath   Mullen   Blues   Baird   Broadfoot  (O'Connor 76)  Wilson   Gillespie (Strapp 65)   Crawford   McGrattan (Boyd 75)   Muirhead   Bearne (French 65)   Oakley   Subs Not Used: O'Boy, Murdoch    

MATCH POSTPONED Ton of Trouble Inverness face a basement battle with fellow strugglers Morton at Cappielow on Saturday. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick-off if storm Babet allows. It's also a coming together of our new manager and the one who thought he was top of the list for the vacant job, Dougie Imrie, the bookies favourite and who was in the running until Duncan Ferguson was announced. Could make for an interesting afternoon with the prospect of new signing David Wotherspoon getting a start. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATCH POSTPONED Match Info/Tickets Supporters Bus David Wotherspoon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 5 4 48 20 +28 Away 19 11 3 5 37 24 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 23 8 9 85 44 +41 Last time at Cappielow we escaped with all three points: 2 - 1 Vital three points at Morton: Danny Devine was missing again along with Roddy MacGregor and Walllace Duffy for this vital clash at Cappielow which could define our season. That left us with a sparse bench. For Morton, Brian Schwake was given the gloves despite his blunder against Arbroath and condemnation from his gaffer. Scott Allardice opened the scoring with a tremendous half-volley, drilling a precision shot low into the bottom corner from outside the box. David Carson popped up with the winner in the 88th minute to take a valuable three points North. Nathan Shaw did well to win the ball in his own half before sending a long diagonal ball forward that was helped onto Carson by Boyd for the wee man to finish well from inside the box after a great run forward. That win moves us to within a point of fifth placed Morton. George Oakley started up front against his old club. From an injury point of view it all sounds a bit familiar. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 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. Morton drew a blank with Queens Park on the same day as we drew with Partick Thistle despite a depleted squad due to flooding around Greenock An Inverness XI went out of the NoS Cup against Nairn County on Wednesday night. 2-2 after 90 minutes it went straight to a penalty shoot-out where Nairn's perfect 7 proved too good for Inverness when Zac Delaney saw his spot kick saved by MotM Nairn keeper Dylan MacLean. The other star on the night was the legend that is Ross Tokely who opened the scoring on half time. He assisted Steven Mackay to double Nairn's advantage then scored one of Nairn's penalties to round off a great night for the 44 year old veteran. Harry Lodovica was the man responsible for taking the game to a shoot-out with two well taken strikes. Alas, it was Nairn that stroked in all seven of their penalties to progress to the final where they will take on Ross County who beat Brora Rangers 3-0 in the other semi. Good luck to the Wee County! Latest Team News 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. Dougie Imrie's last line-up in the Championship, albeit a depleted one with only three subs>>> Morton XI v Queens Park: MacDonald Blues French Baird Waters Gillespie (McGrattan 72) Power Muirhead (Boyd 71) Crawford Wilson Oakley Subs not used: Ryan Mullen (gk)

Morton Madness An injury hit Inverness side went to Cappielow with expectations low and they didn't disappoint. Muirhead opened the scoring against the run of play in the fifth minute after Ridgers allowed a shot to go through him. A second soon followed after a soft penalty award when Ambrose went to ground in the box. Gillespie scored from the rebounded penalty. Worse was to follow when David Carson inexplicably headed a corner behind Ridgers under no pressure. Blues added a fourth with twenty minutes left despite Inverness dominating the ball. Defeat by a wekened team against the form team on a run is bearable, what is more difficult to grasp is the substitution of your keeper at half-time and the silence that followed it. More to come over the next week or two methinks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Much had been made of the injured Caley Jags players as Inverness went down to Greenock to face one of the form teams over the last five games. However had Doddsy pulled a fast one as Wallace Duffy came back into the defence with Austin Samuels managing a seat on the bench after weeks out? Morton had new signing Efe Ambrose in defence and the dangerous Quitongo and Muirhead up front. Wet and blustery was the outlook as Inverness got the game underway with fresh optimism. That would soon disappear in Morton's first attack. Disaster for Inverness after a bright opening as Robbie Muirhead looked to have opened the scoring after a blunder from Mark Ridgers allowed the ball to squirm under him. He clawed it back but it appeared to be over the line before Cameron Blues followed up to stab the ball into the net. Efe Ambrose went down in the box under a challenge from Max Ram. Colin Steven pointed straight to the spot much to the surprise of everyone including Ambrose. Ridgers blocked the spot kick from Gillespie but he scrambled in from close range when it looked like we were about to clear it. Almost a third after some miscommunication and tentative defending from the makeshift defence but we managed to swipe it clear before Muirhead got his shot away although he will maybe wonder why he never headed it in the first instance. Boyd was looking lively but his shooting was wayward as he fired over from a good position. Muirhead found himself running into the box on the inside right area and got his shot away across Ridgers, however the keeper managed to stop this one at full stretch at the second attempt. Billy Mckay won a corner when his close range shot was charged down by Ambrose as Inverness looked to reply before the interval. It's another shambles at the back as David Carson stooped to head a corner into his own net five minutes before the break. Not sure we deserved to be three down, but every mistake has been punished. HALF TIME: 3-0 Dodds hooked Ridgers at half time. Lets just say he didnt look injured. Another bright start to the second half for the visitors and a Billy Mckay snapshot from the edge of the box just cleared the bar. Around the hour a great turn and run by Boyd ended with his shooting letting him down again as the ball cleared the bar once more. Billy Mckay found the side netting after being slid through by Nathan Shaw as Inverness dominated the second half. However it was the hosts that extended their lead. Cameron Blues ran onto a ball forward and slotted it behind the keeper for number four. Boyd was at least trying and he managed to get one on target but Schwake saved low down. Shaw had done well when he came on and whistled a powerful shot just wide in the dying moments. FULL TIME: 4-0 A not unexpected defeat although the margin of it was disappointing. Our lack of a cutting edge was obvious. We could have played for a fortnight and not scored, that's a worry. Morton got the early breaks with the goals and were solid defensively and thoroughly deserved the points. We need to lick our wounds and regroup. Lowlights from Ton TV Dodds when asked about the Mark Ridgers substitution on BBC Sport snapped back "that will remain private" That's no a happy face Billy... From BBC Sport Morton manager Dougie Imrie: "I'm delighted. We want to make Cappielow a fortress. I'm so proud of my boys and everything they've given, so hopefully we keep that going." Inverness manager Billy Dodds: "We were well beaten. If you defend the way we did and you don't take chances when you put the ball in the box you're not going to win any games." Good overview from Doofers Dad on CTO: The combination of defensive errors was a bit freakish, but missing Deas and Devine we can expect to be vulnerable at the back, especially with Allardice missing as well. If we are vulnerable at the back, we have to be more incisive and clinical up top, and that is where we struggle at the moment. We have only scored 4 goals in our last 6 games. We huffed and puffed tonight with good possession but very rarely threatened. Often when it looked like we might threaten, we turned back and played a safe ball which only served to allow Morton's defence to get back in position. And when we did shoot, our shooting was woeful with only 2 shots on target and their keeper never seriously tested. You don't win games by keeping possession, you win them by scoring goals. Yngwie waited a day before making this observation: The morning after the night before. I had fully expected us to lose, with such a depleted squad and makeshift team, against a form side. The scale of the defeat was really down to uncharacteristic individual errors, mainly at the back, but not helped by some poor finishing too. However, the thing that troubles me is the now very public rift between Dodds and Ridgers. We know from recent experience that an unhappy dressing room doesn’t win matches, and it can take a long time to heal. Concerning. Date: 28/10/2022 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 1516 Referee: Colin Steven Morton: 4 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Schwake; Grimshaw, Ambrose, Baird, Strapp, Blues, Crawford, Gillespie (Pignatiello 85), McGrattan (King 82), Quitongo (Kabia 56), Muirhead Subs (not used): Hynes, McGregor Scorers: Muirhead (6), Gillespie (12 pen), Carson (og 41), Blues (72) Booked: Blues (37), McGrattan (65) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers (C Mackay 45); Carson, Duffy, Ram, Delaney, Boyd, Welsh (Hyde 80), Harper, Doran (Shaw 66), Oakley, B Mckay Subs (not used): Callum Mackay, Strachan, Samuels Scorers: none Booked: Delaney (58) Sent Off: none a

We're on the Telly again One of the last traditional grounds this Friday night as we visit Greenock to take on Morton in the cinch Championship. This game kicks off at 7:45pm. If you are unable to attend the match, don't worry, BBC Scotland have got your back and have chosen it as your preferred Friday night viewing. Maybe the Beeb have a sort of sadistic tendency and look forward to more pain being inflicted upon us as we struggle to get eleven fit players on the park. The olde magic sponge has lost it's magic and Robbie Deas is beyond that having suffered a broken shin bone against Raith Rovers to become the latest victim of the Caley Jags Crippling Curse. We wish him well in his recovery. MATCH/TICKET/BUS/INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462218717 2:30PM Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 4 4 46 18 +28 Away 17 10 3 4 35 19 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 37 22 7 8 81 37 +44 We have the edge over Morton, but honours are even over the last six meetings. The worrying trend recently has been losing home games. That 6-1 thrashing we dished out at Cappielow feels like a long time ago now. However, with injuries dominating our headlines just now, we will do well to get out of this with anything. It could be a long night on Friday. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) Earlier this season we went down 0 - 1 to Morton at the Caledonian Stadium, a Grant Gillespie penalty in the 85th minute doing the damage. Bar a brief appearance against Dundee, that was Austin Samuels' last game for us after going off injured in the 24th minute. More rubbish than the streets of Edinburgh: The fans turned up looking for a reaction after the feeble attempt at Firhill last Friday. They would leave disappointed after 95 minutes with lots of questions unanswered as they slumped to a second defeat in a row to a bang average Morton side who had previously only ever won three games at the Caledonian Stadium in nineteen encounters. Goalless at the break, Grant Gillespie slotted home a penalty with five minutes remaining after Duffy handled in the box. Woeful stuff from Billy Dodds and his hapless team. Simply another inept performance from the Caley Jags who are now six points behind early leaders Ayr United. Ayr United beat Partick Thistle 4-2 on Tuesday night and that leaves the table looking like this, It's all very tight at the top end of the table. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Ayr United 12 6 3 3 26 17 21 2. Inverness CT 12 6 3 3 15 11 21 3. Partick Thistle 12 6 2 4 25 21 20 4. Queens Park 12 6 2 4 19 19 20 5. Dundee 12 5 3 4 19 16 18 6. Morton 12 5 3 4 15 13 18 7. Raith Rovers 12 5 1 6 13 13 16 8. Cove Rangers 12 3 3 6 16 20 12 9. Arbroath 12 2 4 6 8 15 10 10. Hamilton Ac. 12 2 4 6 9 20 10 FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER Morton v Inverness Queen's v Dundee SATURDAY 29TH OCTOBER Arbroath v Ayr Utd Hamilton v Cove R Rovers v Partick Last Time Out Injury ravaged Inverness were held to a draw by Raith Rovers who must have thought they would break their hoodoo. Over twenty years since they have beaten us over ninety minutes. Robbie Deas was magnificent leading the back four by example and scored a wonderful headed goal off Zak Delaney's inviting dipping cross. Unfortunateley he was injured late in the game and we have now been told the extent of that. He has broken his right leg. That took the shine off a great defensive effort with Mark Ridgers also denying Raith with four vital saves. Morton earned a good away point at Dens Park as the Dark Blues ended the game with ten men. Dundee's Josh Mulligan was red carded with ten minutes remaining after two late bookings in a four minute spell. Morton are unbeaten in their last four games since being hammered 5-1 by Partick Thistle with three wins prior to the draw at Dundee. They also dished out a five goal thrashing of their own over Accies who beat us recently. Latest Team News Well, what can we say that's not already been said. Multiple injuries that will see us struggle to be competitive for the forseeable future. Most serious are Deas (broken right leg), Sutherland (ACL), Walsh (ACL), Roddy MacGregor (ankle), Devine (knee), Dan Mackay (knee, extent not known). Add Allardice, Duffy and Samuels who are hopefully getting close. Max Ram and Sean Welsh are just back after injury and game time is all part of their rehab. Let's see what Billy Dodds has to say about any players likely to be ready for Friday night. Eck's Morton menu: Morton have announced the signing of former Celtic, Hibs, Livingstone and St Johnston defender Efe Ambrose today (Wednesday) ahead of the clash with Inverness. 34 year old Ambrose has been capped 51 times for Nigeria in a glittering career. Imrie is building a solid squad at Cappielow and they have one of the best left backs in the Championship in Lewis Strapp. Up front Robbie Muirhead and Jai Quitongo will cause probems and on loan Irishman Jaze Kabia will be out to prove he's ready for a start. Scant reading this time round. Manager Dougie Imrie has punted a couple of players out on short term loan until the end of December, Reece Lyon midfielder and Michael Garrity 20-year-old left winger. Incoming to the squad since our last encounter was Liam Grimshaw a right back, whose pedigree includes Manchester United Youth through to U21 Squads. In Scotland he spent the last 5 seasons on Motherwell FCs books but left in the summer and came in as a free agent. Here's Dougie talking after the Dundee game. One for the diary. We have been drawn to face Stirling Albion at home in the 3rd Round of the 2022/23 ScottishCup. 3rd round ties to take place on weekend of Saturday 26th November. We have played Stirling Albion twice previously in the Scottish Cup. The first encounter was a 6-1 win at Forthbank in 2007. The second game required a replay in 2016 when we won 2-0 in Inverness after a no scoring draw in Stirling.

Job Done Inverness opened the scoring half an hour in through Roddy MacGregor with a low shot into the bottom corner from twenty-two yards. It was a half of few chances. The second half was similar to the first with chances at a premium, Tom Walsh maybe could have done better on the break but overall Inverness did enough to secure third place with both Partick and Raith also winning. Partick should remain fourth with a superior goal difference to Raith. Morton find themselves safe but Queen of the South are officially relegated with Ayr and Dunfermline battling for the drop zone play-off place. Congratulations to Cove Rangers who will be in the Championship next season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Who would get the job done today? We fluffed our lines in midweek once more against a bottom side as we went down 2-1 at Palmerston. Morton have eased themselves away to the top edge of the relegation zone and are virtually safe, but, like us, will be looking for points to ensure they get the job done without relying on others. Kilmarnock are now confirmed as Champions and Arbroath await the winners of third/fourth place play-off. Billy Dodds was without recent scoring sensation Logan Chalmers (five in five), Shane Sutherland and Danny Devine who took a head knock at Palmerston. Long throw specialist and tenacious left back Lewis Strapp returned to the Morton starting XI after injury with Gozi Ugwu and Gavin Reilly the big dangers up front. Billy Mckay got the game underway and with less than sixty seconds on the clock, captain Sean Welsh gave away a free kick in a dangerous position and was yellow carded. Cameron Blues free kick was on target but gathered comfortably low down by Mark Ridgers. Both teams probed for an opening in the first ten minutes and Aaron Doran almost got a good connection with his head on a curling ball into the box from David Carson, the ball bouncing wide for a goal kick. Doran then fed Austin Samuels into the box with a perfectly weighted ball but the striker wasted a great opportunity with an extra touch that ruined his prospects. Ridgers pushed away a ball that bounced through on goal with Ugwu almost getting his head on it. An excellent deep corner from Doran caused some concern in the Morton box but the hosts were able to clear their lines midway through the first half. A long ball forward saw Robbie Deas lash a left foot shot wide from the left side of the box. From a throw in on the right Inverness opened the scoring. Roddy MacGregor was given all the space he needed to stroll across the front edge of the box before drilling a low shot into the bottom right corner of Hamilton's net from twenty-two yards. Great curling strike! Morton responded with a couple of corners and Ridgers punched clear under pressure. A great burst forward by David Carson ended with Billy Mckay lobbing the keeper. Unfortunately he lobbed it over the bar as well onto the roof of the net. Morton fashioned their third fourth and fifth corner of the game after some sloppy defending but were unable to capitalise as the interval arrived. Half Time: 0-1 Morton wasted an early free kick opportunity and from that Inverness broke forward through substitute Tom Walsh, but he ended up toe poking the ball goalwards and Wilson blocked as Walsh ran out of steam. Morton were awarded yet another free kick approaching thirty yards from goal and Muirhead just missed the target with a dipping effort. One hour gone and Morton were starting to apply a bit of pressure as Dougie Imrie was carded, presumably for some naughty vocals. Tom Walsh volleyed into the arms of Jack Hamilton with the Inverness player slightly off balance and at the other end some last ditch defending cleared the visitors lines. A scrappy period of play with twenty minutes left littered with loose passes and petty fouls ended with Hamilton having to make a good save from a Robbie Deas header off Reece McAlear's curling free kick. Lewis Strapp's long throw-ins were a constant menace to the visiting defence but with ten minutes left they were still coping well with that threat. Mckay saw a shot deflected just over as Inverness saw out the game comfortably to secure third place. A needless late free kick for Morton saw Mark Ridgers save an Ugwu header and that was the last action as the game ground to a halt. Full Time: 0-1 Highlights from TON TV Welcome back Roddy Here's a bonus roundup from Johndo, the Chorley One Well as has been stated in other posts this was not exactly in the spectacle category but it was a grand day out as the sun beamed down on Costa Del Greenock and the vociferous band of Invernessian's congregated in the beach bar known as the Norseman and did not stop carousing until getting back on their transportation back to the big City. That bunch outsung the locals whereas the team only prospered by a single goal victory although the final margin really should have been more. Played some pretty patterns at times but slightly spoiled by the final ball or the final attempt on goal. The possession ratio of 54 / 46 % in our favour would have been greater if we had not settled for the 1-0 win with 15 minutes to go. That is my only real criticism of Dodds, as I certainly cringed at the "defend at all costs" attitude when a second goal was clearly on the cards. Our defence who had looked solid and rarely tested looked nervous and that fed on to the following support. Taking the ball into the corner with 2-3 minutes to got was a tad embarrassing. Still all is well that ends well. RIDGERS **** Clearly our Numero Uno. He just appears to bring that extra confidence to those in front of him. CARSON *** Well I have said it before but I still do not think that he is a full back. Gives 100% but prone to mistakes although thankfully only a few minor flaws at Cappielow. DUFFY *** Did well in central defence although he did appear to be getting a fair amount of "help" from his more experienced partner. BROADFOOT **** I often feel that he does not get the credit that he deserves. He may amble and look "slow" at times but his reading of the game is considerably more developed that any other pinkster. DEAS *** Does the job at full back but always looks more settled as a centre back. Height also adds to our defensive prowess. WELSH *** Must have been looking to take over the leading position in regard to the timing of a yellow card. The tackle did not look over the top but the referee could have been swayed by the Morton appeals. Did his usual midfield maestro job thereafter. McAlear *** I have been impressed by him previously but I suppose that we all have bad days at the office. Made numerous mistakes, especially in the second half, thankfully most in an attacking sense. DORAN **** What a shame that he looks as if his season is over. Very impressive in the first 45 and looked the most likely to set up a goal. Looked like a groin strain unless he had an embarrassing itch. MCGREGOR **** I proudly joined into the "He's one of our own" chant that resounded around Cappielow. He understandably tired in the end but lasted the 90. He just brings that extra energy and fizz so Welcome Back Roddy. Mckay *** Always a threat and suffered by being the lone forward - although the hoof tactic was rarely utilised as Billy had the guile of a more football playing midfield providing the ammo. He was often left 2-1 or 3-1 although he will probably be the first to admit that he should have got himself on the score card. SAMUELS *** Again had a bad day at the office. I was not sure exactly what his role was and I suspect that he didn't either. As for the substitutions, WALSH evidently came on earlier than expected. Unfortunately he needs a "confidence transplant". There were times that the Walsh of old would have driven forward but lets hope that he is refreshed for the play-offs. HARPER impressed in his 25 minutes. He simply provided the width on the left that was sadly missing beforehand. So it was another lovely Away Day - from the refurbished Horseshoe to the dilapidated Norseman to the Paisley Piazza, enjoyed with Govan Jaggie and GJ junior. And nobody from the Greenock gangland came anywhere near the Senior Citizen Crew. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts TABLE WITH ONE GAME LEFT 1. Kilmarnock 35 20 6 9 49 26 66 2. Arbroath 35 16 14 5 51 28 62 3. Inverness CT 35 15 11 9 49 34 56 4. Partick Thistle 35 14 10 11 45 37 52 5. Raith Rovers 35 12 13 10 43 43 49 6. Hamilton Ac. 35 10 12 13 38 49 42 7. Morton 35 9 13 13 36 44 40 8. Ayr United (home to Partick) 35 8 12 15 36 51 36 9. Dunfermline (home to Queens) 35 7 14 14 35 51 35 10. Q.O.S. 35 7 9 19 34 53 30 ***Dates for your diary*** CINCH PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS Tuesday May 3 Quarter-final, 1st leg Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.05pm Friday May 6 Quarter-final, 2nd leg Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm Date: 23/04/2022 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 1717 Referee: Alan Muir Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie (60) Lineup: Hamilton; Ledger (Hynes 59), McEntee, McLean, Strapp, Blues, Muirhead (McGrattan 81) Brandon (Lyon 59),Wilson (Easdale 81),Ugwu, Reilly (Oliver 85) Subs (not used): Bysouth; Jacobs, Russell, King Scorers: none Booked: Wilson (16) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Broadfoot, Deas, Samuels (Harper 66), Welsh, McAlear, MacGregor, Doran (Walsh 49), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Hardy Scorers: MacGregor (29) Booked: Welsh (1), Samuels (40), Duffy (59) Sent Off: none a

Points still required. Penultimate game before the play offs and it's another away day as we head to Greenock to take on Morton this Saturday. 3:00pm kick off at Cappielow and we still need three points to ensure third place in the table unless Partick lose as well. Anything is possible in this league. In fairness to Dodds and his team, we are more than capable of getting to the final of the play-offs, but inconsistency could be our downfall. Depends what team turns up on the day. I won't be too despondent should we fail to win at Cappielow, but come the play-offs, we must be at our best. Attitude, aptitude and commitment will be crucial to the outcome of our season. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING/INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462 218717 Morton bus now leaving Caley Club at 9.15, stadium 9.30 Venue - Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 12 4 3 46 17 +29 Away 16 9 3 4 34 19 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 35 21 7 7 80 36 +44 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) An out of character 6-1 humping of Morton has been the highlight of our season, apart from that, the other two league games against Morton have been rubbish. They also knocked us out of the Scottish Cup after two draws and a penalty shoot-out. CTO Oct16th: Caley Jags open up a gap: Inverness extended their lead at the top of the Championship as the Pars got a late leveller against Killie. The hosts opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Billy Mckay with the credit for the assist going to Mark Ridgers from his quick goal kick. Inverness stepped up a gear after the interval and Michael Gardyne scored the second early in the second half as he crashed a loose ball in the box high into the net. That was enough to see off Morton who battled hard throughout but fell short. It could have been a different story had the visitors made more of their own opportunities. Five points clear after the first quarter: Who knew? CTO Dec11th: Gubbed, at last: Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener when his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom! CTO Feb5th: Absolute dross: What a shitfest of a game. We were an absolute shambles from the start and Morton were all over us like a rash. Lewis Strapp scored the only goal of the game after Chalmers failed to cover in midfield. When the loose ball was knocked forward, defender Strapp got to it first and poked it through Mark Ridgers legs. Pathetic stuff from Inverness and we did nothing about trying to change the way the game was going. A shot from Pearson the only thing of note over ninety minutes of a stop start game that would not have looked out of place at the Bught Park. We were clueless for 95 minutes and deserved nothing. No surprise really given our recent performances, but totally depressing stuff to watch. Both cup games were dire 1-1 draws with Morton winning the shoot-out. Incidentally, that 6-1 win at Cappielow signalled the start of our dismal eleven game streak of no wins, gaining only six points from a possible thirty-three. Thankfully Raith Rovers went on a similar run at the same time and Partick blew hot and cold, mostly cold so that's why we are where we are today. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts ***KILLIE V ARBROATH - FRIDAY NIGHT*** 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 34 14 11 9 48 34 53 4. Partick Thistle 34 13 10 11 44 37 49 5. Raith Rovers 34 11 13 10 41 43 46 6. Hamilton Ac. 34 10 12 12 38 47 42 7. Morton 34 9 13 12 36 43 40 8. Ayr United 34 8 11 15 35 50 35 9. Dunfermline 34 7 14 13 35 50 35 10. Q.O.S. 34 7 8 19 33 52 29 Apr 23rd 2022 Queens v Ayr United Partick v Dunfermline Morton v Caley J Accies v Rovers Last Time Out We fluffed our lines once more against a bottom side as we went down 2-1 at Palmerston against a Queen of the South side heading for a lower division unless you believe in miracles. Josh Todd gave Queens an early advantage before Logan Chalmers scored his fifth spectacular goal in as many games. However we looked weary and Queens regained the lead five minutes before the break through Euan East. That's how it ended as we struggled to rise above mediocrity with Queens having the greater desire. Morton have eased themselves away to the top edge of the relegation zone and are virtually safe, but, like us, will be looking for points to ensure they get the job done without relying on others. They blew that opportunity after going down 1-0 at home to nearest rivals Hamilton Accies last time out who now find themselves safe. It was an early David Moyo goal that did the damage and left Morton still needing a couple of points. Latest Team News We rested some in midweek although you could have been excused for thinking that all were having a break. Allardice is a long term casualty and Broadfoot was rested completely after feeling an olde war wound. Sean Welsh and Danny Devine were in the wars, Devine cutting his head in a clash with the woodwork. I believe the post is ok and Danny was patched up. We have never been great at resting players, our squad is too thin to do that comfortably, so maybe we should just go for it and put this to bed. Read more in the OFFICIAL PREVIEW Morton have no new alterations since we last played them with Dougie Imrie at the helm.

Gubbed, at last... Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener as his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Inverness CT 17 10 4 3 25 12 34 2. Raith Rovers 17 9 6 2 27 16 33 3. Arbroath 17 8 7 2 28 13 31 4. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 5. Partick Thistle 17 8 4 5 29 16 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 17 4 5 8 15 30 17 7. Ayr United 17 3 6 8 16 29 15 8. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 9. Q.O.S. 17 3 5 9 16 26 14 10. Morton 17 2 7 8 15 28 13 Inverness were without injured captain Sean Welsh and fellow midfielder Roddy MacGregor, but Aaron Doran made the starting XI and Manny Duku and Wallace Duffy were on the bench. Morton went with the same again, buoyed by the cup success in midweek. As the scoreline suggests, this was a bit of a procession. Inverness were much more energised than the cup encounters and went about their business with an air of authority. Crisp passing and movement were the order of the day as we we tore Morton a new one before the break. The opener was maybe fortuitous, a Doran deep cross coming back off the woodwork and bouncing off a flying Jack Hamilton before bouncing into the net. Own goal has been mentioned, but you have to be in it to win it and I'm giving it to Doran. Number two saw Tom Walsh head into the box to feed Billy Mckay who's shot was blocked by the keeper, but Shane Sutherland followed up to stroke the ball into the net. Billy notched the third as he cut inside the box after a great ball from Robbie Deas. Stepped inside his marker on the right foot then rolled the ball left footed into the net off the post for 3-0 before the break. Time for Ugwu to net a contentious penalty to offer Ton some hope for the second half. However, Reece McAlear benefitted from a sloppy clearance and he bludgeoned a shot into the roof of the net from twenty-five yards to restore our three goal advantage. His first senior goal, and how! The wind was well and truly out of the Morton sails by now and the one way traffic continued. A long ball forward was headed on by Shane. He picked up the loose ball himself, rode a tackle and slotted into the net for number five. The sixth and final goal was scored by Lewis Jamieson after he waltzed into the box before drilling low across the keeper. No more than Inverness deserved as some of the interplay was as dazzling as Morton were dire. CTO MotM voters have Aaron Doran as first choice followed closely by Reece McAlear and Scott Allardice. Tremendous performances all over the park from those in pink. Not easy to single anyone out as they all excelled. This performance was far removed from the drab offerings of the Scottish Cup games and no more than Inverness deserved. Maybe fortune favoured us with the opening goal as Doran's deep cross seemed to come off the post, then the keeper before finding the net. However there was nothing fortunate about the rest as we tore Morton a new one. Pick of the goals came from Reece McAlear. What a thunderous strike to open your account, and Lewis Jamieson who danced his way into the box before drilling home. Great stuff, that'll teach them to put us into shipping containers. Telt! Six of the best! A smiling Dodds Date: 11/12/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1192 Referee: John Beaton Morton: 1 Manager: Derek Anderson (interim manager) Lineup: Hamilton; Strapp, Lithgow, Lyon (Easdale 81), Hynes, Russell, Oksanen, Muirhead (McGregor 68), Oliver, Reilly (Blues 56), Ugwu Subs (not used): Ledger, Jacobs, Blues, McGrattan, King Scorers: Ugwu (45+1 pen) Booked: Oskanen (17) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 6 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran (Harper 58), McAlear, Allardice, Walsh, Sutherland, B Mckay (Duku 66), (Jamieson 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, McDonald Scorers: Doran (15), Sutherland (33), Mckay (43), McAlear (51), Sutherland (60), Jamieson (78) Booked: Carson (45) Sent Off: none a

Cup of woe Morton took a first half lead just before the break when Robbie Muirhead shot home from outside the box into the bottom corner. Parity was restored a minute into the second half when a Doran free kick ended in the net, possibly aided by the head of Danny Devine or a Morton body. No further scoring sent the game to a penalty shoot-out. Plenty of good penalties on show and with Devine failing to score, Oliver put away the decisive ninth penalty to win the tie. That's our third penalty shoot-out failure this season; meh! Doran 1 - Reilly 1 McAlear 2 - Lyon 2 Allardice 3 - Ugwu 3 Jamieson 4 - Muirhead 4 Devine 4 - Oliver 5 Morton through 5-4 to face Motherwell. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ This was the first of a double header against the 'Ton as we play them again on Saturday in the Championship. No doubt that is more important for both clubs, especially given our good result against Killie, and for different reasons given Morton's result against Ayr in the bottom half of the table, but a wee Cup run always cheers up the fans. With Gus MacPherson being relieved of his duties, the team will be led in the interim by Head of Youth Academy, Derek Anderson, supported by Assistant Manager Andy Millen and Reserve Team Coach, John Sutton. Storm Barra was beginning to kick in and travel conditions were getting chaotic throughout the day with the threat of a call-off lingering like a bad smell. Despite this, make it we did to Cappielow with an unchanged side and Manny Duku made the bench. Unfortunately for us, we failed to capitalise on another game that we largely dominated. Other than the goals, Shane Sutherland came close with a header but Hamilton pulled off an instinctive save from 5 yards to deny Caley Jags. Highlights from Scottish Cup facebook page Date: 07/12/2021 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 700 Referee: David Dickinson Morton: 1 Manager: Derek Anderson (Interim manager) Lineup: Hamilton; Strapp, Lithgow, Lyon, Hynes, Russell, Oksanen, Muirhead, Oliver, Reilly, Ugwu Subs (not used): Bysouth; Ledger, Jacobs, Blues, McGrattan, Easdale, McGregor, King Scorers: Muirhead (42) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran, Welsh (Walsh 30), Allardice, MacGregor (McAlear 61), Sutherland, Mckay (Jamieson 72) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, McDonald, Duku Scorers: Devine(47) Booked: Broadfoot (76) Sent Off: none a

Back to the Championship    As if we have not played Morton often enough over the last few weeks we have to play them again on Saturday, the fourth meeting already this season. However, this is infinitely more important than the last couple of 1-1 draws. It's back to the Championship on Saturday and a chance to atone for dropping out of the Scottish Cup to Morton after a penalty shoot-out defeat.  Tuesday's replay ended level after ninety minutes with Muirhead and Devine scoring within the ninety minutes. However, after Danny saw his spot kick saved, Gary Oliver netted his to send Morton through to face Motherwell in the next round and left Inverness to concentrate solely on the Championship. That game was the result of a previous draw in Inverness, Mckay and Reilly sending the tie to a replay. The first meeting this season was a Championship encounter at the Caledonian Stadium with Inverness getting the better of a stubborn Morton, easing to a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Billy Mckay and Mi***** Ga*****. Match-Ticket-Bus-Streaming-Info Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 12 4 2 46 16 +30 Away 15 8 3 4 28 18 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 33 20 7 6 74 34 +40   Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Inverness CT 16 9 4 3 19 11 31 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 6 2 26 16 30 3. Kilmarnock 16 9 2 5 20 10 29 4. Partick Thistle 16 8 4 4 29 14 28 5. Arbroath 16 7 7 2 26 13 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 16 4 4 8 14 29 16 7. Ayr United 16 3 5 8 15 28 14 8. Morton 16 2 7 7 14 22 13 9. Dunfermline 16 2 7 7 15 25 13 10. Q.O.S. 16 3 4 9 13 23 13 As the table shows, we are at opposite ends, but based on the cup games there's little to choose between the sides. Thanks to results after our 1-0 win over Killie on the Friday night, we now sit on top of the pile with some interesting encounters coming up this weekend. Friday 10th December Ayr United v Hamilton Saturday 11th December Dunfermline v Queens Partick Thistle v Arbroath Raith Rovers v Killie fc They say familiarity breeds contempt, it also affords the opportunity for both clubs to cancel each other out. That's what has happened over the last couple of games against Morton and it's going to take a bit of inventive creativity to unlock either defence, or perish the thought, a blunder in defence. Whatever the case, let's hope for a bit more energy across the pitch.  And hopefully Morton have brought the away changing room up to standard after Billy Dodds made public his concern over the state of them in his condemnation of their fit for purpose suitability. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will be out for a couple of weeks after coming off early in the Cup replay, so there's a change already. Aaron Doran will possibly miss out as he has been struggling to recover. Manny Duku was on the bench on Tuesday, maybe we will see a return of the awkward gangly style that confuses him as much as the defenders.    

Replay It's a Scottish Cup replay at Cappielow on Tuesday night as Inverness take on Morton to see who travels to Motherwell in the next round. The first game ended at 1-1 in the Highlands with strikes from Billy Mckay and Gavin Reilly taking the game to a replay, probably something neither club will relish. Since then an Inverness XI went out of the Challenge Cup to Raith Rovers on penalties. That was largely a squad littered with fringe players ahead of the big fish which was played out on Friday night. That game went well when Sean Welsh scored a screamer as Inverness beat Kilmarnock in a televised game to go to the top of the table. Whilst Inverness were slinking out of the Challenge Cup, Morton were also departing that competition as they went down 2-1 to Queen of the South at Palmerston. On Saturday, Morton drew 2-2 with Ayr United with Reilly and Oksanen scoring to tie the game. League form indicates that Inverness should be favourites to go into the next round, but on the evidence of the original tie, Morton were the ones forcing the pace of the game and deserved a second bite at the cherry. This is the first of a double header against the 'Ton as we play them again on Saturday in the Championship. That is surely more important for both clubs, especially given our good result against Killie, and for different reasons given Morton's result against Ayr in the bottom half of the table. MATCH INFO & TV STREAMING Latest Team News Reading between the lines, I think it's fair to say that Mr Gardyne has probably left the building. His footballing skills will be missed, but his team bonding efforts were uncalled for and disruptive. Would be good if we could draw a line under this and a statement from the club would be appreciated. Hopefully we have no more niggles to worry about although Manny Duku and Wallace Duffy were not in the squad for the Killie game although Duku has returned to training. However, will we be putting all our eggs in one basket, or will we put our fingers in more than one pie. That my friends is the burning question. Morton; well we should not be too concerned by what they do, but what we do ourselves, so let's not get too hung up about them. Here's their last starting XI v Ayr United: Hamilton; Strapp, McEntee, Ledger, Hynes, Russell, Oksanen, Blues, Muirhead, Reilly, Ugwu However, one glaring change from the first game is that Gus McPherson has been removed. Official Statement from Greenock Morton: The club can today confirm that following Saturday’s news of Gus MacPherson being relieved of his duties, the team will be led in the interim by Head of Youth Academy, Derek Anderson, supported by Assistant Manager Andy Millen and Reserve Team Coach, John Sutton. Or if you prefer it in Pink!

Big week starts tonight The race for a play-off place is entering the final laps now with just five games left for the Caley Jags to try and overhaul one of the clubs above us in the table. Off to Greenock on Tuesday night for a 7:00pm start to face Morton who beat us in Inverness last time we met. In reality, the best we can hope for is overhauling one team before the end of the season and take our chances against the rest if we make the play-offs. Whilst we were on Cup duty last weekend beating the village team from Dingwall, we were looking for Hearts to do us a turn by beating Dunfermline at Tynecastle on the Saturday. They failed to do this in a 0-0 draw and that result has knocked Inverness just out of the coveted top four slots. Fair play from the Pars I suppose who recovered well from the 5-1 hammering they took off Raith Rovers last time out and now sit one point above Inverness. Our next two games will shape our season and are crucial to our success this campaign. Away to Morton followed by a trip to face Queen of the South at Palmerston. Aye, there are no easy games left, it's then Dundee at home, Hearts away and our final game is a home tie with Ayr United. STREAMING £14 from Ton TV OFFICIAL PREVIEW We have dropped five points to Morton this season already. A draw at Cappielow against ten men for over half the game was a low point, especially as we threw away a lead. Worse followed at the Caledonian Stadium when Morton's Aidan Nesbitt scored the only goal as we struggled to make headway and Morton got their first win in ten games. However, since then we are unbeaten in six games, winning the last five including the two cup games. Mark Ridgers made his 150th appearance for the club in the Cup game at Dingwall and he is on a run of three clean Championship sheets in a row. Another one would not go amiss. However, a word of caution. It's all very well owning the bragging rights after the Highland derby, but the big prize this season is promotion, and while that's still achievable it would be criminal to undo the good work of the last few weeks and rest on our laurels, albeit it is rather satisfying. Ayr United v Dundee also tonight at 7:00pm Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Morton 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Morton were in cup action at the weekend and had to go all the way before edging past East Fife 1-2 after extra time. They were heading out of the cup until Sean McGinty equalised in the 91st minute before substitute Robbie Muirhead settled the tie with eight minutes of extra time left. Kevin Smith had given the Fifers the lead on the hour and made Morton work hard for their place in the fourth round draw, as they did to Inverness early in the season in a league cup encounter. The Ton were also looking for a wee favour on Saturday when Arbroath hosted Alloa Athletic but the Wasps were unable to help out and went down 2-1. Not a great result for Morton who are now level on points with Arbroath and only hold a one goal advantage over the Smokies. So, for different reasons points at Cappielow will be a prized possession for both clubs as games run out in pursuit of their goals. Our cup exploits have earned us an away tie at Paisley in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on the weekend of 17th/18th April. That means the League game against Dundee has been re-scheduled for 20th April @ 7:00pm Fabulous goals from Nikolay Todorov, Daniel Mackay and Shane Sutherland were enough to see of County in the cup who opened the scoring through Billy Mckay. St Mirren will offer a much sterner test than County's defence and this will be a difficult tie with the winner heading for a tie at Kilmarnock or Montrose. Morton's extra time win over the wee Fifers earned them an away tie at Motherwell in the fifth round. ***Latest Team News*** Scott Allan has played around an hour and a half now over two games and we have yet to see the best of him as his match sharpness returns. Aaron Doran is reputed to be close to a return but Anthony Macdonald will do well to get any game time this season. Almost a full squad, that's as good as it get's this season. Gus MacPherson is in charge of his sixth game since taking over at Greenock. He began when Morton were sixth in the table a month ago. Strangely enough that was the day after Morton beat Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium where top scorer Aidan Nesbitt got the only goal of the game. He is on four goals at the moment. MacPherson has secured a loan deal for Steven McGinn from St Mirren as they look to avoid a fourth Championship defeat in a row since beating Inverness.

Morton -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Cappielow Park, Greenock Tuesday 6th April 2021 @ 19:00pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans

Ten man Ton grab a point An early goal from Sean McGinty was cancelled out in the fourth minute by a Shane Sutherland strike. Daniel Mackay put the visitors ahead after fifteen minutes. Morton were reduced to ten men with half an hour gone after Rabin Omar stopped a break forward and picked up a second yellow. That seemed to spur Morton on and they had a 'goal' chalked off for climbing ten minutes before the break. no surprise when Morton grabbed a share of the points when Cameron Blue knocked home after sterling work by Gary Oliver. No more scoring and a couple of points missed out on by Inverness against ten men for over half a game. After a prolonged break for various reasons, the Caley Jags played their first game since drawing with Dunfermline on 29th December 2020. The enforced lay-off meant that our match sharpness would be questioned by a Morton side that have played three games since then, drawing twice and losing their last outing at Palmerston. It was an early kick-off at Cappielow, 6:30pm with live streaming available from Morton TV. Miles Storey was one of the players who failed to make it and Brad Mckay was nowhere to be seen either. Daniel Mackay getting a rare start and Wallace Duffy returning to right back with Brad out. David Carson was on the bench along with regulars James Keatings, Nikolay Todorov and Roddy Macgregor. Anton McElhone had Orsi, Salkeld, Lyon and McAlister on the bench with McGuffie, Oliver and Omar stating tonight. The winter weather looked to have taken it's toll on the Cappielow turf, some areas looking heavy before a ball was kicked in earnest. We didn't have long to wait for the opening goal as Sean McGinty fired high into the net with only three minutes on the clock. The visitors replied immediately, if not sooner when Shane Sutherland slotted home a minute later. Daniel Mackay then put Inverness ahead with a fine finish after a through ball from Aaron Doran, easing round the keeper to score neatly. Disaster for Ton after twenty-eight minutes when Rabin Omar stopped Sutherland bursting forward in the middle of the park and picked up his second yellow card of the night. He was sent packing for his troubles. That seemed to inject some urgency into the hosts and from a corner Morton McGinty had the ball in the net again but climbing was deemed to have occurred and the Inverness defence breathed a sigh of relief. Robbie Deas saw a shot saved as the Caley Jags looked for a cushion before the break, and just before the interval it was Morton that were sighing as Inverness had a 'goal' ruled out as well. Half Time 1-2 No changes at the break and five minutes in Morton survived a penalty claim when it looked like an arm was used to bring the ball under control in the box. Referee Stuart saw it as accidental after a long hard look at the incident. With heavy drizzle dampening the occasion errors were always going to be a danger. A long throw in from Strapp was returned to him and he launched a fierce shot that fizzed over the bar. An Inverness corner caused some concern in the home box but it was scrambled clear by the defence before Sutherland found himself shooting from an offside position. Morton almost levelled from a set piece when a Nesbitt free kick to the back post was knocked back almost onto the goal line, and with our defence ball watching Ledger tried to force it home. It was scrambled clear and when we eventually made our way to the far end Sean Welsh rasped a long range shot over the bar. Both keepers made routine saves thereafter before Sutherland made a hash of striking goalwards from a good position on the right side. Plenty of life still in Morton as we looked uncomfortable dealing with balls into the box. No sooner said than done! A good burst forward by Gary Oliver saw Cameron Blues knock the ball home from his cross eight yards out. Twelve minutes to go and a dribbler of a shot from Sutherland is cleared from the Morton line and substitute James Keatings' follow up volley is cleared. Morton are working so hard it's difficult to know if they have actually had a man sent off. A lung bursting run from Lyon allowed Strapp to cause more havoc in our defence as Morton looked to get a winner with five minutes of the ninety left. A late corner saw another one given as the clock passed ninety minutes but Morton clear well before Todorov appeared to miss a tap in as the ball bounced past him. McAdams did well to tip a deflected cross come shot away for a corner which ended the contest in a draw after more climbing at the back post was penalised. Full Time 2-2 A couple of points dropped against the ten men as we managed to get on a pitch for the first time in a month. Good to get amongst the goals but we looked vulnerable when Morton came forward. Maybe conditions and the lay off played a part but there's no rest for the wicked as Queen of the South come North at the weekend Here's what was said on BBC Sport Morton manager Anton McElhone: "Tremendous performance from the guys. It shows the determination, hunger and desire. "We knew that on the transition we could catch them out and the run from Cameron Blues was excellent. We are trying to strengthen; we've got a few more days and we are trying to do stuff." Inverness CT scorer Daniel MacKay: "It was good to get back in the team and get the goal - it was a brilliant ball through from Aaron Doran. "But it's about the result and from it nearly being a really good three points, to it just being the one point is disappointing." Match highlights can be seen here Date: 27/01/2001 Venue: Cappielow, Greenock Attendance: 000 Referee: Peter Stuart Morton: 2 Manager: Anton McElhone Lineup: McAdams; Ledger, Fjortoft, McGinty, Nesbitt, Oliver (Salkeld 79), McGuffie (Millar 63), Strapp, Blues (Lyon 73), Colville, Omar Subs (not used): McLean, McAlister, Muirhead, Orsi. Scorers: McGinty (3), Blues (66) Booked: Omar (19), Oliver (74) Sent Off: Omar (28) Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Deas, Devine, Harper, Doran (Keatings 70), Welsh, Allardice (Todorov 70) Vincent, Sutherland, D Mackay (MacGregor 83) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Nicolson, Hyde, Carson. Scorers: Sutherland (4), D Mackay (15) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

If at first you don't succeed It's the second time of trying to get this match played (postponed from Boxing Day) and that will be the same for another handful of games as a combination of snow, ice, Scottish Cup and covid19 have decimated our campaign. We will be playing catch-up for the foreseeable future with postponed Championship games against Arbroath, Queen of the South, Raith Rovers and Alloa to come, not to mention cup games against Buckie Thistle and possibly Ross County. Our last game was a 1-1 draw with Dunfermline on 29th December. Almost one month ago. Morton drew at Ayr that day and the same 1-1 scoreline at Alloa four days later. They have drawn with the Pars since(0-0) then and went down 2-1 at Dumfries last Saturday. Not the most profitable period for Morton, but at least they have been active. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Live Streaming from Ton TV £14 Kick Off 6:30 - Cappielow Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 10 Competitive Meetings 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 0 - 2 (H) Latest Team News Kai Kennedy is now at Raith Rovers and he will be a big miss. Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie are not ready for action after long term injuries. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of new niggly injuries that may require rest with a busy schedule coming up. I wonder if Wallace Duffy, Aaron Doran and David Carson might have benefitted from the enforced lay off and will be looking to get involved with the squad. Places up for grabs now, it's up to those given the opportunity to impress to make the most of it and stake a claim for a regular start. Morton Manager: Anton McElhone Morton team v QotS: McAdams, Ledger, Fjortoft, McGinty, Strapp (Oliver 78′), McAlister, Lyon, Salkeld, Colville, Nesbitt, Orsi. Championship table ahead of tonight's game at Cappielow After losing to Raith Rovers on Saturday, the Jambos gained ample revenge by pumping Raith 4-0 at Stark's Park last night. Regan Hendry of Rovers was sent off five minutes before the break with Hearts already two up. New striker Armand Gnanduillet added a late double. The Dundee v Ayr United game was frozen out. Given the amount of Previews wasted recently, that's all your getting but a tweet from Cappielow at 11:05 AM · Jan 27, 2021 sounds promising. ***In light of enquiries; tonight's match against @ICTFC is on. KO 6.30pm*** What could possibly go wrong

Greenock Morton -V- Inverness CT Cappielow Park, Greenock Wednesday 27th January @ 18:30 Championship Football Covid restrictions apply Live Streaming available

No Post Turkey Trot @ Cappielow ***GAME OFF*** Waterlogged pitch After a pitch inspection at 09:45 this morning the game at Cappielow has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch. The game has still to be re-scheduled but will now be after New Year given the fixture is already in place for the 29th December against Dunfermline Athletic at the Caledonian Stadium. After an inexplicable collapse last week at Alloa, Inverness face an even tougher task on Boxing Day as they head for Greenock to take on form side Morton, who have jumped up to third in the table after excellent back to back wins over Queen of the South and Dunfermline Athletic. The game will kick off @3:00pm with covid restrictions in place meaning no fans in attendance at a down to earth rustic Cappielow. After a deserved win at East End Park for the Ton, they backed that up by beating struggling Queen of the South 2-0 on Saturday. Kalvin Orsi scored his first two goals of the season; a close range shot and a second half header from similar distance. The added bonus for the Greenock side is that interim manager Anton McElhone has been given the job at Cappielow until the end of the season after David Hopkins' departure. ********************************************* ‘TonTV Streaming Information Saturday’s game will be available to watch live for £14 on ‘TonTV. Supporters are asked to purchase in advance where possible to avoid any excessive online traffic before the coverage starts at 2.45pm. ********************************************* As all around us were dropping points, we failed to capitalise and capitulated worryingly at recreation Park. Most of that was of our own doing apart from a stunning free kick from Innes Murray, worth another look to be honest. After Brad Mckay had lashed in an early goal from close range we struggled to impose ourselves on the match and as Alloa grew in confidence, we regressed. Too many needless free kicks around the box led to the spectacular opener from Murray which Ridgers could do nothing about. However, he won't want to see the second goal as a simple collection squirmed out of his grasp and into the net. Oops, butterfingers was the cry heard in living rooms around the North. The disappointing aspect of this defeat was confirmed at 5:00pm as all other results would have been exactly as we would have wanted had we done our own job and won. Credit to Alloa, zilch for us. Boom! Worth noting that the village team from Dingwall are all heart in the lead up to Christmas and have offered a jobless man work for the next few months. It's a heartwarming festive tale that will see John Hughes try to scrape Dross County (damn you predictive text) off the bottom of the Premiership before the end of the season. Aye, good luck with that Yogi, some guid honest laddies there. Championship games on Boxing day, all 3:00pm kick-offs. Alloa Ath v Raith Rovers Dunfermline v Arbroath Hearts v Ayr United Queens v Dundee Morton v Inverness CT John Robertson had gone with an unchanged side for the third week in a row at Alloa. Maybe it's time to freshen up with Sean Welsh, Nikolay Todorov and Aaron Doran all starting from the bench and David Carson getting closer to match fitness. Certainly it seemed that we ran out of ideas quickly at Alloa and could not inject any urgency after the Waspies started buzzing. We were one paced and one dimensional which was a massive reality check given that the part timers had played a gruelling midweek cup tie against Hibs prior to our visit. Difficult to spot the full timers on that evidence. Robbo has said that Wallace Duffy is ready for selection and changes will be made with a hectic three game schedule coming up. Morton had this team against Queen of the South: McAdams; Ledger, McLean, McGinty, Strapp, Lyon, McAlister (Omar 69′), Salkeld (Nesbitt 66′), Muirhead, McPake (Oliver 77′), Orsi. OFFICIAL PREVIEW FROM ICTFC Robbo Shuffling

Another chance missed. Inverness slumped to an extremely disappointing defeat at Cappielow as Bob McHugh scored a double to keep Morton's decent home form going and prevented Inverness from making any headway after Ayr United lost to Dundee last night. Mitch Curry levelled the game midway through the first half but a Coll Donaldson error allowed McHugh to steal an unlikely three points for Morton. Despite dominating possession, we were unable to create enough clear openings and went back up the A9 empty handed. Caley Stan was surprisingly philosophical about the event........... I thought we were ok yesterday but we suffered from the fact that Morton, having scored the early goal, were never tempted to open up at any point. We'll never know if the opening goal was offside unless someone else was filming it but the defence has attempted to play him off and he's taken the goal really well. That happens. Terrible mistake from Donaldson for the second - the kind of mistake that he's always got in him - I wonder if Robbo is tempted to bring Brad in on Tuesday as a wake-up call (WAKE UP COLL!). We've got lots of options in the forward areas now, and Robbo started with a surprising combination. Deprived of space, they took a lot of shots from distance and tight angles, struggling to create clear-cut chances. When the subs were made, the shape didn't change but we were on top in the game and the four of them were already playing very high so I'm not sure what else Robbo could do. I felt throughout the second-half that we were more likely to score. We've blown a great chance to cement ourselves in the top 4, but this league is very tight and we could still find ourselves top of it on Saturday night. Date: 26/10/2019 Venue: Cappielow Attendance: 1408 Referee: Euan Anderson Morton: 2 Lineup: Ramsbottom; Welsh (Millar 65), Baird, Grant, Strapp, Jacobs McAlister, Salkeld (Muirhead 79), Lyon, Colville (King 86), McHugh Subs (not used): Rogers, McLean, Nesbitt, Sutton Scorers: McHugh (6, 81) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Storey (MacGregor 84) Carson, Vincent, Curry (Walsh 71), Keatings, White (Todorov 70) Subs (not used): C Mackay, B Mckay, McHatte, Trafford. Scorers: Curry (27) Booked: Todorov (86), Carson (90+4) Sent Off: none a

Cappielow, the final frontier. Morton host Inverness this Saturday as we look to keep in touch at the top end of the table after last week's disappointing home draw against lowly Alloa. The Championship game at Cappielow kicks off at 3:00pm in one of the last few bastions of medieval stadiums left in Scotland. It has a wee Dublin end and a Cowshed and some old floodlights from Love Street. Olde and quaint, but delightful nonetheless. Cappielow has been home to Greenock Morton since 1879 and has a present capacity of 11,589. That makes it the tenth largest football stadium in Scotland. The ground record was set in 1922 against Celtic when an alleged 25,000 were in attendance. That game was a league decider and it ended in a riot. Nothing new then! Match report from The Scotsman, May 1st 1922 A late goal at Greenock saved the situation for Celtic, who found the Scottish cup holders lively company. It was a keen game in the first half, with Morton predominating, and the first goal scored, by Alf Brown, was well merited. Dodds and McNair were very shaky against a virile Greenock attack, and French and McNab were unlucky not to count. Celtic's left wing did good work, but their shooting did not seriously trouble Edwards, who was grandly supported by McIntyre and Wright. Morton continued aggressive in the second half, and looked like holding their lead, but Celtic came away near the close, and amid excitement McAtee obtained the equalising goal. The local club put up a great fight, and on the whole were the superior combination. The attendance was estimated at 20,000. Many of the Celtic supporters carried banners, and at half-time there was an ugly scene on the ground, free fights being engaged in. The playing pitch was invaded, flags were seized by the police, and a number of people were arrested. Happily order was quickly restored, and the match proceeded. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ICT Supporters Travel Club are running a bus to Cappielow Book on their Facebook page HERE or on 07462218717 ADMISSION PRICES @ Cappielow Adult: £20 Concessions (Over 65s, Students, 18-20 yrs): £15 Child (12-17): £10 Under 12s: £1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last week we were at our frustrating best as we threw away a great opportunity to top the division after a late Jordan White header looked to have sealed the points. However we undid all the hard work of getting ahead by giving the Wasps the chance to earn a point after uncertainty in defence saw Jamie McCart give away a needless throw-in. The ball found Alan Trouten unmarked to gain Alloa a point. They had taken the lead five minutes in after a tidy move saw Liam Buchanan execute an equally tidy finish. Carl Tremarco scored a stunning contender as he fired an angled shot off the bar to square matters. Overall, it was a disappointing result given every other result could not have been hand picked better. Tremarcoooooooo! Oh yessss, what a goal Tommy! Table prior to Ayr v Dundee game..........................................Other Championship games this weekend:- Ayr United 1-2 Dundee (Friday) Alloa Athletic v Queen of the South Dundee United v Dunfermline Morton v Inverness CT Partick Thistle v Arbroath James Keatings returned to action last week with a 15 minute substitute appearance. He smacked the bar in injury time with a curling and dipping free kick and we will need his creativity to break down any resistance. Mitch Curry also made his league reappearance after 11 weeks out and Brad Mckay returned to sit on the bench. The pleasing aspect of having injured players return is tempered by the fact that Sean Welsh is out long term and Tom Walsh and Nikolay Todorov have missed the last few games. Robbo has no new injury surprises for us as we look to get back on track, Sean Welsh the only casualty left. It has been reported that Tom Walsh and Nikolay Todorov are also back in full training so expect these returnees to be introduced as required over the next few games. Coll Donaldson and Jamie McCart need to reacquaint themselves with solid defending, correct decision making and get fully focused on the job in hand. Properties that we all know they posses but need to display every week. James Vincent should discard his sideways pills and start creating for the front men and Miles Storey should concentrate on his visible talents, pace and power. If we can also get Aaron Doran to be more direct then we could be a force to be reckoned with and the strikers will benefit from some decent service instead of working off scraps. The return of James Keatings could be the spark needed to ignite the strikers. No reports of any more injuries at Morton. Look out for Bob McHugh. The former Motherwell and Falkirk player is top scorer and has netted six times this season. Officials for tomorrows game:- Referee: Euan Anderson Assistant one: Stuart Stevenson Assistant two: Ryan Kennedy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was saddened to learn of the passing of John Fleming this week. I knew John personally through his work at BT and as an aside he would be a referee in his spare time. John went on to become SFA head of refereeing operations. Here's a fitting tribute to the referee and the dedicated family man. RIP John. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brad's back..... If you like a wee flutter, our partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.

Play Off on hold.... A makeshift Inverness XI went ahead after eighteen minutes when Anthony McDonald scored a superb solo goal as he cut into the box, curling in off the post. Reece Lyon responded for Morton before the half hour. Brad Mckay then conceded a penalty after fouling Gregor Buchanan and Greg Kiltie scored from the spot just before the break. 2-1 at the interval with Cammy Mackay being the busier keeper. Morton looked to preserve their lead but were undone with a couple of minutes to go as substitute Darren McCauley drove the ball home. This result puts Inverness in pole position for the play-offs but mathematically they can still be caught. John Robertson was forced into a number of changes as injuries hit the squad hard after the Cup tie with Hearts. Out went Mark the finger Ridgers and Carl Tremarco, in came Cammy Mackay and Kevin McHattie. Coll Donaldson was still injured since the Ayr game and with a bit of shuffling, Anthony McDonald was back in the starting XI. Jonatan Johansson was able to field Michael Tidser from the start after he missed the Alloa game, but it might be one of his last as he has signed a pre-contract agreement with relegation rivals Falkirk who Morton play at the weekend. Awkward! Liam Polworth set the ball rolling on a night that Inverness could possibly secure a play-off place whilst Morton were looking to steer clear of the relegation battle and it was the hosts that made most of the early running, with Michael Tidser dinking an effort just wide after a short corner. Deputising keeper Cammy Mackay had to look smart to save from Gary Oliver as Morton continued to press for an opener and Tidser dragged a shot wide. Oliver flicked one just over the bar as the pressure built on the visitors defence but after 18 minutes Anthony McDonald scored a superb solo goal, cutting in from the right and sending a shot into the net via the post. Reece Lyon tested Mackay and shortly after he was rewarded as he picked up a headed clearance and rifled a low shot into the bottom corner. Inverness responded with Polworth firing over and Shaun Rooney trying from distance but going wide. With the break approaching, Brad Mckay was adjudged to have pulled Buchanan in the box and Kiltie made no mistake from the spot, Mackay going the wrong way, to put Morton ahead just before the break. Half Time 2-1 Kiltie almost added a third for Morton just after the break but his dinked effort was cleared of the line by Rooney. Just after the hour White missed a sitter as he headed over from six yards, the striker holding his head in his hands. He would head wide a few minutes later as Inverness began to dominate without overly exerting the keeper. It was a half of few clear opportunities as Morton looked to hold what they had and they camped close to their 18 yard line. Robertson went for broke with just over ten minutes left with his final two substitutes, Darren McCauley and Nathan Austin, and it eventually paid of when Liam Polworth sent a ball to the far post for McCauley to smash the ball home on the run and on the half volley. Another great goal and a hard earned point as the game fizzled out. Timely substitutions for Inverness and that point may well be enough to secure a play-off place with our goal difference twelve better than Dunfermline with both clubs having three games left. Cammy Mackay can be pleased with his contribution tonight making a couple of fine saves early on to give him a boost. Given our injury list prior to this game then that's a decent point away from home against a club battling hard for every point as they try to recover their league position. Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "The penalty's a strange one because the referee had warned Gregor Buchanan twice about holding on to Brad McKay and yet he gives the penalty the other way. The same's happened in the other box and that's where managers and coaches get annoyed about the consistency levels. "I think we got the point that we deserved for our passing and play and keeping it going. Both teams deserved something. It's a good point for us and it could be a valuable point for Morton as well." Greenock Morton manager Jonatan Johansson: "It's a very sore one and I feel for the players. I thought they fought excellently. There's no point feeling sorry for yourselves. We've got a massive game on Saturday against Falkirk. Robbo's at the wheel.................. Goal footage from Caley Jags TV............ Date: 16/04/2019 Venue: Cappielow Attendance: 1315 Referee: David Lowe Morton: 2 Lineup: McCrorie; Kilday, Buchanan, McAlister, Tumilty, Lyon, Tidser, Telfer, Iredale, Oliver ( Millar 71), Kiltie (Dallas 86) Subs (not used): Gaston; Dykes, O'Connell, McKeown, McGrattan, Scorers: Lyon (27), Kiltie (pen 42) Booked: Tumilty (52), Lyon (84) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: C Mackay; Rooney, B Mckay, McCart, McHattie, Chalmers, Trafford (Austin 78 ), Polworth, McDonald (Walsh 60), Doran (McCauley 78 ), White. Subs (not used): Fon Williams; Harper, Brown, MacGregor, , Scorers: McDonald (18) McCauley (88) Booked: B Mckay (42), McHattie (84) Sent Off: none a

Back down to earth Well almost back down to earth: Greenock awaits. After the hullabaloo of the last couple of weeks it's back to reality, and for those that still have the stomach for it, a trip to Cappielow beckons on Tuesday night. From Hampden to Cappielow in three days. The last bastion of the days of yore are calling the Caley Jags down to Greenock where we could secure a promotion play-off slot by defeating Morton. The ICT Supporters Club are running a bus to this game and you can book on the facebook page HERE or call/text 07462 218717. The bus will leave the Caley Club at 13:30 and the Stadium at 13:45 Prices at Cappielow:- Adults £20 Concession £15 (olde gits, student gits & just gits (18-20)) Child £5 (12-17) Under 12 £1 Free if you are not born yet! With the Scottish Cup put to bed for another season, (ach it's a Mickey Mouse cup anyway ), it's back to the weekly chore. However, it's not so much a chore for Morton who find themselves dragged into the relegation battle as Alloa's run of four wins on the trot has kept everyone on their toes at the bottom end of the table. Even Dunfermline are starting to look over their shoulder at what's going on below them. That will make Morton difficult opponents on Tuesday night. Our last Championship game was a hard fought three points at Somerset Park the week before the Cup game at Hampden. Brad Mckay was on hand to put the ball into the net and we held on for the win. The next game was something of an anti-climax as we ran out of steam against a solid Hearts. All going to plan at the break, that quickly altered as they stepped on the gas and ran out comfortable winners in the end, despite a couple of valiant efforts from Chalmers and McCart who appeared to have been wrongly denied a goal. Meh! Morton drew 1-1 at Palmerston when we were nearby at Ayr, Charlie Telfer getting a second half goal to level the game. They were on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat from resurgent Alloa who stung the Ton at Cappielow last Tuesday. Kiltie had put Morton ahead from the spot but Alloa were quick to reply through Andy Graham. Jack Hamilton on loan from Livingston scored the winner for the Wasps ten minutes before the end to pull Morton into the mire. They had a day of rest on Saturday, no doubt watching us on the telly. Morton manager Jonatan Johansson on BBC Sport after the Alloa game: "We've had our chances to climb out of it and now we're right in it. Too many games this season we've been soft with simple clearances and set pieces; we need to defend better. "The spirit and desire is there, but since the New Year we've just not been good enough. It'll be a long week now but it's something we have to deal with." Inverness have taken seven points from Morton this season starting with a 1-1 draw back in October. We have since won the next two encounters, 2-1 away and 1-0 at home at the end of February, Carl Tremarco getting the decisive goal in that one. A draw on Tuesday night could be enough to clinch a play-off position but a win would ensure Dunfermline could not overtake us this time. Team News We are back down to the bare bones again after suffering more injuries. Mark Ridgers will be replaced by Cammy Mackay after dislocating a finger against Heart's, oooyahhhh. Mark himself managed to tweet this using his other hand........... "Tough one on Saturday not the result we were after, hopefully now get that play off spot and push for promotion #ICTFC ?? fingers crossed won’t be out too long". Coll Donaldson missed the Semi-Final through suspension, but also picked up an injury at Ayr and is a major doubt with a back spasm. Carl Tremarco had to be replaced at Hampden in the second half after he got a boot on the knee and will be a doubt. Sean Welsh is out for the season. Jamie McCart was struggling to make Hampden but managed to play whole game. Trust me, we have some tired legs out there, which could see some changes for this game. Anthony McDonald will be eligible to return after missing the Hearts game and some youth players will make up the squad. And apparently, Owain fon Williams has a groin problem. I'm not sure if there's any truth that it is being caused by his wallet Jonatan Johansson has his own injury worries to contend with. Denny Johnstone, Rory McKeown, Michael Tidser, Bob McHugh and Kerr Waddell all missed the Alloa game through injury.