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Wood you believe it? Big Dunc was looking to remain unbeaten in six, but Inverness were without half a dozen long term injured players including more recent casualties, Jake Davidson, Austin Samuels and Aaron Doran. Captain Sean Welsh was on the bench after a recent back injury. Dunfermline have their own long term absentees but had Deniz Mehmet back between the sticks after his head knock last week and Machael O'Halloran was fit enough to make the bench, with Alex Jakubiak and Craig Wighton as strong back-ups. Best early moments saw Dunfermline hit the post four times inside a couple of minutes but fortune favoured the visitors. Make that six hits on the Inverness woodwork, but Danny Devine showed them all how to hit the net two minutes before the break as tempers flared at the end of the half. More woodwork in the second half and Dunfermline salvaged a point with three minutes left through McCann...... in off the post! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Floodlights on from the start as the visitors set the ball rolling at 15:00 on a rather grey day. First corner of the game to the Pars but it came to nothing as did the Caley Jags' first corner minutes later. Lewis McCann had the first serious attempt but his header was poor and it bounced into the ground without troubling Ridgers. Nathan Shaw was blocked at one and immediately Danny Devine thwarted Matty Todd at the other end as he tried to break through on goal. Owen Moffat dipped a shot over after twenty minutes with Ridgers watching closely. The Pars hit both posts when McCann turned and shot and the ball bounced perilously close to the line before being cleared after hitting the other post. Moments later Hosler slid in and hit the post once more and the rebound came off Devine to hit the post again. After an Inverness corner, Billy Mckay had a low effort blocked in a crowded box. Ridgers saved from Ritchie-Hosler, then on the half hour Cammy Harper missed what is generally described as an open goal at the back post after a Mckay sclaff found it's way to him but he sliced wide. Wood you believe it! Incredibly the Pars hit the woodwork another twice after Morgan Boyes played a loose pass back. McCann hit the inside of the post then Moffat's effort came off the bar from the rebound. From another home corner a Boyes header went agonisingly close to opening the scoring. Danny Devine showed his strikers how to do it a couple of minutes before half time as he drilled into the net. Amazingly, the visitors made it to the interval without conceding, the posts, however, were battered and bruised as were Gilmour, Harper, Chalmers and Hamilton after a clash with yellow cards dished out in a frantic ending to the half. HALF TIME: 0-1 If anything the rain was heavier as the second half kicked off with no alterations to either side and Inverness making some early headway to no avail. Harper fired a cross into the box which David Wotherspoon almost connected properly with but it went wide. Touch wood, but it was a much more positive start to the second half for the visitors. Harper did well to clear away a dangerous McCann cross with substitute Jakubiak lurking with intent. Inverness survived another cafuffle in the box involving Jakubiak again and minutes later he was looking for a penalty under a Devine intervention. A seventh strike off the woodwork saved the visitors again from a thunderous Otoo effort from distance. Lewis McCann levelled the game with three minutes left. Unfortunately the post helped the Pars this time as McCann's effort went in via the post. FULL TIME: 1-1 An incredible game with Woodwork named as MotM with seven tremendous saves and one assist at the end as the Pars got the reward their endeavour deserved. Great finish from Danny Devine for the opening goal, scoring like a Pro. Nobody could grudge Dunfermline their leveller although it came at a time when we looked most comfortable and likely to see out the game for all three points. It's a funny olde game as they used to say. Date: 18/11/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 5034 Referee: Euan Anderson Dunfermline: 1 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Mehmet; Fisher, Hamilton, Otoo, Ritchie-Hosler (O'Halloran 70), Allan, Todd (Jakubiak 60), Chalmers, Edwards, McCann, Moffat (Wighton 70) Subs (not used): Sharp; Little; Fenton, Comrie Scorers: McCann (88) Booked: Chalmers (45), Hamilton (45+3) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Ujdur (Duffy 65), Devine, Boyes, Harper, Gilmour, Anderson, Wotherspoon (Welsh 84), Shaw, B Mckay (Longstaff 65) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Lodovica, Thompson, Brooks, Sheridan Scorers: Devine (43) Booked: Gilmour (45+2), Harper (45+3), Duffy (74) Sent Off: none a

Talkin bout a revolution A trip to Dunfermline beckons this Saturday as Dunc's revolution picks up pace. Unbeaten since his arrival, the Caley Jags take on 5th place Dunfermline Athletic in another tough encounter. A win for Inverness would see Dunc's men climb above the Pars but it's big ask. This will be your only Championship fix this weekend, so the opportunity is there for one of these sides to make up some ground on those above them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Info Supporters Bus Full Cowdenbeath Cup Tie Battery Farm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 9 5 31 22 +9 Away 24 9 10 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 50 19 20 11 63 52 +11 Our home and away encounters with the Pars show similar statistics with only five defeats at East End Park. Last season Dunfermline were heading back into the Championship after a season in League 1 where they bounced back up as Champions. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dunfermline 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) 2 - 0 (H) More points thrown away: Full report (Jan 2022) 1 - 1 Inverness wasted an opportunity to put pressure on the top of the table after squandering a first half lead through Shane Sutherland. Steven Lawless levelled from the spot in the second half with ten minutes remaining after David Carson was adjudged to have blocked a cross with a flailing arm. Another drab performance after a first half full of promise. No surprise really given recent performances, but frustrating nonetheless. A very disappointing second half from Inverness after a first half that was full of promise. Maybe Danny Devine going off injured just before the interval decided our tactic for the second half, or maybe Dunfermline just realised they could get something from the game. That point lifts them off the foot of the table for now, our point puts us in second position when we really should have been knocking on Arbroaths door at the top. Whatever the reason, the fans are getting somewhat disgruntled as we are without a win in five games now. It does seem like a long time ago that we absolutely thrashed Morton 6-1 on 11th December. Only four points from our last five games, or four points from a possible fifteen. That's not the form of a team going for promotion. Sort it! Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dunfermline v Inverness CT is the only Championship fixture tomorrow 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 Last Time Out Inverness romped home agsinst Ayr United after scoring three first half goals in a ten minute spell before the break. David Wotherspoon scored twice and Billy Mckay crashed in a penalty in a dominant first half. The second half was an anti-climax with Ayr scoring a penalty of their own through Jamie Murphy. The points were more important than the performance and it pulled Inverness clear of the bottom team Morton. Last Five Games: W D W D W In the first meeting between the clubs this season it ended all square in the Highlands in September. Nathan Shaw's early goal cancelled out ten minutes before the end by a Chris Hamilton header. FULL TIME: 1-1 The two new loan payers aquitted themselves well without setting the pulses racing. The defence did appear to be more rigid although we were found wanting at the equaliser. Nathan Shaw was the most likely to cause problems and so it proved. Poor decision by Ridgers to decide to flap at thin air for the goal but made amends to earn our point with a tremendous save later. Pars were much more direct than us and you couldn't grudge them their point. However that point still leaves us floundering at the foot of the table with one point from a possible twelve. Dunfermline's last game saw them go down narrowly to a late goal from Chris Mochrie as Dundee United continued unbeaten at the top of the table. United lead in the first half through Fotheringham before Owen Moffat levelled the game ten minutes after the interval. Mochrie hit the winner with just five minutes left on the clock. Last Five Games: L L L W L Latest Team News Half a dozen still missing with Boyes picking up an injury but Dunc is hopeful he will make the squad. So not much change from last week in terms of squad numbers and big Dunc still grappling with the players names Dunfermline manager James McPake had keeper Mehmet and striker Michael O'Halloran taken off injured last Friday against United. Alex Jakubiak replaced Craig Wighton after the hour and he looked threatening. Joe Chalmers is still at East End Park. Pars team in 1-2 loss to the Arabs Mehmet (Sharp 45) Fisher Hamilton Otoo Comrie (Hosler 75) Allan Chalmers Edwards O'Halloran (McCann 22) Moffat (Todd 55) Wighton (Jakubiak 60) Subs Not Used: Fenton, Little And finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution, oh, no

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

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

All conquering Arab's await It's a massive test for Big Dunc's battlers as we head to Tannadice this Saturday for a game against runaway League leaders and promotion favourites Dundee United. I'm sure he will be remembered fondly by the Arab's faithful. Dunc made 88 appearances for United and a £4million pound transfer profit when he joined Rangers before a 'clash' of heads saw him spend some time at her Majesty's pleasure in 1994. 3:00pm is the scheduled kick-off time for this one and it will be a foolish man who will put money on an away win. We are, however, often better without the favourites tag although this one might be a bridge too far as Jim Goodwins unbeaten team are sweeping all aside mercilessly. They won the first fixture at the Caledonian Stadium 1-0 back in September, just after the end of Doddsball when we were managerless. We are more solid at the back now with Ujdur, Devine and Boyes to choose from but still a bit toothless up front although David Wotherspoon showed on his debut what a bit of class will do for you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/ticket/travel info Forces go Free ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue: H2H v Dundee Utd Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 34 10 10 14 35 44 -9 Away 28 7 10 11 36 42 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 62 17 20 25 71 86 -15 As expected, United have the edge in these fixtures, especially over the last 10 fixtures. Last 10 Competitive Meetings: 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) 1 - 1 (H) The last time we won at Tannadice was in March 2019 in a Scottish Cup Quarter Final tie. KARMA BIG STYLE: Full report 2 - 1. Inverness opened the scoring when Joe Chalmers cut onto his left foot and curled the ball into the roof of the net from sixteen yards for a sublime goal. Chalmers almost added a second but he volleyed onto the bar from six yards when the ball found him unmarked. The first half ended at 1-0 with Ridgers a virtual spectator. Substitute Paul McMullan blatantly cheated to earn a penalty and Nicky Clark slotted his second in two games. In a dramatic finish, Nathan Austin had a marginal offside decision go against him as he superbly headed home a Polworth free kick, however, Aaron Doran nodded home after a fantastic knock on from Jordan White to win the tie in the second minute of time added on. Aaron Doran was MotM, and not just for his goal, his all round game showed he was a menace to United from the start. To be honest you couldn't fault anyone in a total team performance. Jordan White has become a fans favourite after a stuttering start at Inverness and he showed yesterday how important he is to our game plan. Chalmers was incredible as well and Liam Polworth showed his value with some great through balls. Unsung heroes all over the park and none moreso that Charlie Trafford who was immense in the engine room. Hampden here we come! In the first encounter this season: 0 - 1 Late Strike Ruins the Day: Another very late goal ruined what had been a reasonably resolute performance by managerless Inverness. However, the end result remains the same and we went down to an avoidable sclaff in time added on when substitute Chris Mochrie poked the ball home after Ridgers had cleared a bouncing effort away from the top corner only for the United players to react quickest to prod the ball into the bottom corner with the aid of a deflection. Meh! It doesn't rain but it pours... Last Time Out Inverness recorded their first home win of the Championship Season after Big Dunc led the team to a narrow 1-0 victory over Airdrieonians. The winner came when David Wotherspoon showed quick feet and composure on his debut to stroke home eight minutes before the break. Not a vintage performance but we restricted Airdrie to very little as we kept the visitors out to record a clean sheet and three points in the bag, albeit withstanding a late push from the visitors as they tried to salvage a point. Last Five: L L W D W Dundee United beat Airdrie at the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium on Tuesday night having hammered Arbroath 6-0 last Friday night. Kai Fotheringham scored twice against the Diamonds to put the Arabs on 27 points at the top of the table. Louis Moult scored a brace against Arbroath as United flexed their muscle. Docherty Fotheringham, Watt and Cudjoe were also on the mark. That's eight goals for Moult, the former Motherwell striker. Kevin Holt has 7 with Kai Fotheringham on 6. Cudjoe has 4 goals attributed to him and thats a pretty potent strike force, four scorers in the top ten Championship goalscorers. Moult was an unused sub against Airdrie. Last five: W D W W W Dunfermline beat Morton 2-1 last night to keep Morton below us in the table ahead of today's games. Latest Team News Inverness will be without the usual long term casualties (MacGregor, Nicolson, Doran, Welsh, Duffy, Samuels). Wotherspoon debuted last week as did Cillian Sheridan who looks like he will need to get up to speed before we see any benefits from him. Luis Longstaff, one of our most promising player of late, was subbed off injured last week and is a doubt. Aye eye, Morgan Boyes might feature......... I'll take that as a yes. Dundee loan player Max Anderson will relish this task and I'm sure he will be a target for the 'Shed' boo boys. Ear plugs at the ready Max! Here's Dunc, learning quickly from the ICT managers handbook: Tell them nothing>>> Jim Goodwin has a wealth of funds and a Premiership squad to play around with>>> He will be without Ross Docherty for this one though as the midfielder faces a couple of weeks out with a groin strain. United team in 0-2 win at Airdrie on Tuesday night, Walton Grimshaw Gallagher Holt McMann Sibbald Docherty (Tillson 20) Fotheringham (Cudjoe 83) Glass (Mochrie 76) Middleton Watt Subs not used: Newman (gk); Denham, Graham, Moult, Freeman, Stirton Here's a date for your diary..... almost We enter the Scottish Cup with a third round home draw against Cowdenbeath. The game will be played on the weekend of the 25th of November but the date and time have still to be confirmed.

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

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.

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)

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

Dunc's Homecoming It's Duncan Ferguson's first home game on Saturday against a team expected to be challenging at the top end of the table come the end of the season. Partick Thistle will be a stern test for Dunc's revitalised troops who have been re-energised by the new Gaffer's unexpected arrival at the Caledonian Stadium. He got off to a flier last weekend but the adrenaline started to wear off before the end of the game and Arbroath staged a comeback from 3-0 down before we held out for a 3-2 win on the road, our first success in this years Championship. It's a big ask to expect miracles against well established Championship challengers, but that's the task on Saturday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info North of Scotland Cup v Nairn Community development Summer report ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Time Out Inverness earned their first three points of the season last week against Arbroath in a five goal nailbiter. Dunc's reign got off to a great start with an early goal from Luis Longstaff. It was added to before the break when Longstaff turned provider for Aaron Doran to thump home his low driven cross after half an hour. Billy Mckay lobbed keeper Gaston just after the break from a Mark Ridgers kick out. Route one is alive and kicking. Arbroath got a lifeline with a freak goal when a clearance rebounded off Ross Stewart and deftly chipped over the flailing keepers hands and into the net from eighteen yards. Meh! Michael McKenna reduced the leeway to one when he arrowed home aftrer a bit of pinball on the edge of the box. We dug deep though and withstood a late barrage to secure the win for a jubilant away support and an equally enthusiastic new manager. Current Form last five games: L D L L W That leaves Inverness bottom equal with Morton on four points. Our scoring record is poor with only 6 goals scored but despite the mistakes, we haveonly conceded 10. Here's the goals from last week>>> Partick Thistle recovered from a 3-0 defeat to Arbroath the previous week to thump Dunfermline 3-0. Scott Robinson scored in the first half before our old friend Brian Graham scored five minutes after the break. Kerr McInroy added a third. This game had a raft of opportunities for both sides but it was the Firhill side that had the cutting edge in front of goal. Current Form last five games: W W W L W Good start by Partick has them tucked in behind Dundee United & Raith Rovers in 3rd place with 13 points. Partick are top scorers in the league with 17 goals having conceded 9. Latest Team News Ferguson will be without the long term absentees (MacGregor & Nicolson) plus more recent victims in Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and possibly Wallace Duffy. Partick Thistle Kris Doolan XI v Dunfermline Sneddon Ngwenya Muirhead Neilson Milne McInroy Robinson (Alston 79) Bannigan (Williamson 79) Lawless Graham (Adeloye 67) Fitzpatrick (McDonald 73) Subs not used: Diack, McGinley, Alston, Stanway, McKenzie, One for the Diary>>> ***Game Changer*** Due to a weather warning this game versus East Fife will now be played at Millburn Academy, with a 12.30pm kick-off.

Dawn of a New Era Big Dunc takes charge of his first game at Inverness with a visit to Gayfield to take on Dick Campbell's Arbroath. Kick-off is at 3:00 on Saturday with Inverness looking for a change in fortunes after a disasterous run of games saw Billy Dodds sacked after the defeat to Dundee United, with just one point from six League games and out of the League Cup and Challenge Cup. Success won't happen overnight and the Caley Jags fans might have to wait a bit for a turnaround in results, but it won't be for a lack of passion or enthusiasm for the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duncan Ferguson Match/Ticket Info Supporters Bus £20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 17 4 3 59 19 +40 Away 23 10 6 7 32 27 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 47 27 10 10 91 46 +45 We hold a big advantage over Arbroath in the H2H's but it's tighter in the away fixture. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 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) 0 - 1 (H) In our last Championship game at Arbroath - Smokies Smoked 4 - 1: Both clubs had big wins in the first games of 2023 and it was Inverness that continued in style with a 4-1 win at Gayfield. Billy Mckay, who scored a hat-trick last week, opened the scoring at the back post in the ninth minute but Ben El-Mhanni levelled fifteen minutes later when he slotted into the bottom corner. Jay Henderson put us ahead just before the break as he lifted a shot high into the net from inside the box. Twenty minutes into the second half Dan Mackay shot into the bottom corner to double our advantage. Substitute Lewis Nicolson concluded the scoring in the 86th minute with a header from sub Steven Boyd's cross. Great win on the road for the Caley Jags that moves us into sixth place in the table, eleven points behind table toppers Queens Park. Great start to 2023 for the Caley Jags with two big wins on the bounce. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee Utd 6 4 2 0 12 2 14 2. Raith Rovers 6 4 1 1 10 7 13 3. Arbroath 7 4 0 3 13 8 12 4. Dunfermline 6 3 2 1 9 5 11 5. Partick Thistle 6 3 1 2 14 9 10 6. Airdrieonians 6 3 0 3 6 10 9 7. Queens Park 7 3 0 4 10 15 9 8. Ayr United 6 2 0 4 8 14 6 9. Morton 6 1 1 4 8 15 4 10. Inverness CT 6 0 1 5 3 8 1 Saturday 30th September Arbroath v Inverness CT Ayr United v Raith Rovers Dundee Utd v Queen's Park Morton v Airdrie Partick Thistle v Dunfermline Current Form Inverness start a new era tomorrow after a winless start to their Championshp campaign. However, it's a clean slate with Big Dunc at the helm although he will still have the same tools to work with. Roddy MacGregor, Lewis Nicolson, and Sean Welsh have missed out over the last month and Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy were added to the injury list last time out. We did field a Caley Jags XI in the North of Scotland cup win over Rothes with Keith Bray getting the only goal of the game.`That side was a mix of youth and fringe players with three or four first team choices making up the side. Difficult to know what players Ferguson will be looking to, but I doubt it will be a massive shift from the Dodds era this early in his role. Caley Jags so far: L L L D L L Arbroath have got their act together after a poor start to their Championship. Three straight losses have been replaced by three straight wins. Their last game was an emphatic 3-0 win at Firhill. Jermaine Hylton scored either side of a strike from Thomas O'Brien to pull them up to third in the table. Smokies so far: L L L W W W W Latest Team News: Dick Campbell had this team out against Partick Thistle: Gaston Norey Steele O'Brien (Stowe 90) Stewart Slater (Jacobs 88) Gold Dow (Candé Baldé 84) McKenna Hylton (McIntosh 84) Dünnwald-Turan (Bird 45) Adams; Lyon

The Post Dodds Era Kicks-Off Life without Billy Dodds starts on Saturday, and it couldn't be tougher with Champions elect Dundee United visiting the Caledonian Stadium for a 3:00pm Cinch Championship encounter to round off a week of turmoil down the Longman. It was a no brainer really. The Board terminated the contract of Billy Dodds, and by association, Barry Wilson was struck off as well. No wins in our opening five games and only one point from fifteen had Inverness languishing at the foot of the table on our own. DoddsBall was in full swing. It was a sacking in the making after Dodds got a stay of execution with a Cup Final against Celtic at the end of last season. The big mystery was why was Dodds given a two year extension and who rubber-stamped his contract? The other mystery is where does John Robertson's loyalties lie and who pays his wages as he is more often than not seen at the Global Energy Stadium in Dingwall? Two down and more to go is the current theme coming from the support, so who is next? John Robertson and Charlie Christie will oversee this fixture on Saturday and until a new managemnt team is appointed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Billy Dodds & Barry Wilson Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue: H2H v Dundee Utd Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 33 10 10 13 35 43 -8 Away 28 7 10 11 36 42 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 61 17 20 24 71 85 -14 United do have the edge over us but we have had our moments. A 4 - 0 thrashing of United at Tannadice in 2010 will live long in the memory banks. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee Utd going back to Oct 20th 2018: Only one win over the last ten games!!! 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 0 - 3 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) The last meeting between the sides at the Caledonian Stadium was in November 2019 and the home fans were left scunnered in a 0 - 3 defeat. SCUNNERED: Dundee United cruised to victory in the Highlands as disparity on the park mirrored that off the park. United were worthy winners as Inverness struggled to find any momentum and it was left to desperation and Mark Ridgers to keep the score down. Shaun Rooney deflected a forced Paul McMullan cross/shot into the net. A reaction save from Siegrist blocked a James Keatings effort before the break but that was as good as it got for the hosts. Nicky Clark stroked in the second as we unravelled and a cheap penalty saw Lawrence Shankland complete the scoring, but not the agony as we failed to trouble the United keeper with a series of fluffed attempts whilst United looked more likely to increase their lead. A poor day at the office that had the home fans shaking heads long before the end as we lose ground on the three teams above us. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Ayr thrashing Queens Park 5-2 tonight 1. Raith Rovers 5 4 1 0 10 6 13 2. Dundee Utd 5 3 2 0 11 2 11 3. Partick Thistle 5 3 1 1 14 6 10 4. Arbroath 6 3 0 3 10 8 9 5. Queens Park 6 3 0 3 8 10 9 6. Dunfermline 5 2 2 1 6 4 8 7. Airdrieonians 5 2 0 3 5 10 6 8. Morton 5 1 1 3 7 12 4 9. Ayr United 5 1 0 4 3 12 3 10. Inverness CT 5 0 1 4 3 7 1 Friday 22nd September Queen's Pk 2-5 Ayr United Saturday 23rd September Airdrie v Raith Rvrs Dunfermline v Morton Inverness v Dundee Utd Partick v Arbroath Last Time Out We didn't know it at the time, but It turned out to be Billy Dodds last game in charge. Ironically, it happened to be our best performance of the season. However, the result remained the same, and we lost a 23 year unbeaten record to Raith Rovers who find themselves top of the league ahead of this weekends fixtures. An aesthetically pleasing first half gave way to a less impressive second forty-five before we succumbed to a late sucker punch when Jamie Gullan hammered home after a defensive lapse. Hard one to take but that's what happens when you're down. Championship form so far: L L L D L One Point from fifteen The Arabs are everyones favourites for the title, but they dropped two points last week when Morton came back to earn a point shortly after Mathew Cudjoe had been sent off. Robbie Muirhead capitalised on a defensive error on the hour after Louis Moult had given United a first half lead with his fifth strike of the season. Championship form so far: W D W W D Eleven Points from fifteen Latest Team News The Robertson/Christie combo will be without MacGregor, Nicolson and Welsh who have been out for a few weeks and nothing has changed there. However, we are in limbo, therefore who knows if Robbo and Charlie will rock the boat too much. It's a difficult enough task to pick up a team low on confidence, even moreso when the title favourites come calling. Harry Lodovica will be available for selection after his red card at Arbroath. Here's Ryan's Dad>>> Dundee United (Manager Jim Goodwin) In: Declan Gallagher, defender (St Mirren); Louis Moult, forward (Burton Albion); Ross Docherty, midfielder (Partick Thistle); Kevin Holt, defender (Partick Thistle); Liam Grimshaw, midfielder (Morton). Loan in: Jordan Tillson, midfielder (Ross County); Jack Walton, goalkeeper (Luton); Oliver Denham, defender (Cardiff City). Out: A number of players were deemed surplus to requirements at Tannadice as United up their game in their bid to bounce back into the Premiership. Charlie Mulgrew retired and the exprienced Steven Fletcher and Peter Pawlett are away amongst others. Louis Moult is a proven goascorer and will need close attention. Glen Middleton is a handful as well and an able provider. To be fair, as expected, United appear to have the strongest squad on paper. Dundee United Team v Morton last week 1-1: Walton Grimshaw (Meekison 84) Gallagher Holt McMann Tillson Glass (Sibbald 69) Middleton Watt (Fotheringham 68) Anim Cudjoe (58) Moult Subs not used: Newman; Freeman, Stirton, Graham, Mochrie, Denholm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget, there's still an open meeting at the Innes Bar to discuss our current plight amongst other things. Dodds no more. But there's still Gardiner, Robertson and more to discuss. Come along and have your say. Innes Bar (Beer Garden) 61 Innes Street Inverness IV1 1NR TIME: 12:00-2:15

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! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Billy Dodds was without MacGregor, Nicolson, Welsh, Duffy and the suspended Lodovica. Robbie Thompson started and Anderson, Devine and Billy Mckay returnrned to the starting XI. Rovers looked to have a strong line-up and were looking to consolidate at the top end of the table. Inverness dominated the first half with Raith keeper Dabrowski making three or four great saves to deny Anderson, Boyes and Gilmour with Billy Mckay also being blocked close to goal. Danny Devine did have the ball in the net, but his header was adjudged to be offside. HALF TIME: 0-0. Almost a goal at the start of the second half but Raith survived the scare. Raith grew into the game after the break and Ridgers was eventually called into action with a double block, scooping the ball away from danger. The inevetable happened with three minutes of normal time left when Gullan thumped the ball home after a poor clearance fell to him. Carson was then turned and Gullan hammered home to end the hoodoo. That got the monkey off their backs. Adam Brooks had an opportunity to level the game in time added on but never got enough purchase on the ball and MotM Dabrowski saved comfortably FULL TIME: 1-0 Despite a promising first half where Raith would have had no complaints had we gone in at the interval three ahead, the hosts stuck at it and sneaked a goal in the last few minutes to put them top of the league on their own. A much improved performance from the visitors where the defence did not look like conceding.... and then it happened. More details to follow>>> Highlights from RRFC Date: 16/09/2023 Venue: Stark's Park, Kirkaldy Attendance: 2846 Referee: Chris Graham Raith Rovers: 1 Manager: Ian Murray Lineup: Dabrowski; Millen, Watson, Murray, Dick, Vaughan (Mullin 64), Smith (Easton 64), Stanton (Gullan 85), Brown, Hamilton, Byrne Subs (not used): McNeil; Connolly, Arnott, Hannah, Masson, Scorers: Gullan (87) Booked: Dick (62) Watson (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Boyes, Harper, Longstaff, Anderson, Gilmour (Brooks 87), Shaw, Thompson (Bray 71), B Mckay (Samuels 82) Subs (not used): Mackay; Davidson, Delaney, Hyde, Doran Scorers: none Booked: Gilmour (8), Devine (84) Sent Off: none a

They'll be dancing on the streets After more than twenty years of trying to beat the Caley Jags, Raith Rovers will never get a better chance to win a game against us than this weekend at Starks Park. The last time we lost, Steps were top of the charts with 'Stomp'. The untennable word is ready to hit the press as Inverness continue their downward spiral after eight big boy games in a row without a win and only one draw to show for it. No excuses anymore, we have underperformed everywhere we go and the current regime are taking this club down to the gutter. Billy Dodds is under fire and rightly so as football is a results driven business. He might be the fall guy here though and none of his seniors at the club is smelling of roses at the moment. Robbo can be seen elsewhere on Saturdays while his team suffer another embarrassing defeat. Scot Gardiner is dishing out jobs for the boys and the stench of failure is unbearable. When will it stop? When will the Chairman wake up and smell the stench? One point from a possible twelve is relegation form. Better managers have been sacked for less. How long do we wait??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Supporters Bus £20 Supporters Trust ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supporters Trust have called for an open meeting to discuss the Matchday Experience Survey and the demise of our club amongst other things. The natives are restless and the long knives have been drawn for a while now with most fans not liking the direction we are moving towards. One point from a possible twelve makes us relegation candidates and management decisions are being questioned by a disgruntled support who feel many of these decisions are not in the best interest of this club. Come along and let the voice of the support be heard on Saturday 23rd September before the Dundee United game,12:00 – 14:15 @ The Innes Bar (Beer Garden), 61 Innes St, Inverness IV1 1NR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Raith Rovers Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 14 5 2 40 15 +25 Away 17 9 5 3 34 21 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 38 23 10 5 74 36 +38 We first met Raith in 1999 and went down 2-0. Report by Ian Broadfoot: Caley Thistle lost this game because of a dismal first half performance. They came out fighting in the second half and matched Raith well but produced no goals. Raith took the lead in the ninth minute after a Jay Stein corner from the right - Marvin Andrews rose above Mann to head downwards and into the net. In 24 minutes the second goal came courtesy of an error. Mann was too slow passing back to Fridge and Didier Agathe stepped in and he ran on and volleyed past Fridge from 20 yards. Caley Thistle hit on the occasional breakaway but to little effect. A disappointing afternoon for the home support despite a spirited fight back. Caley Thistle now slip to second bottom of Division 1. Sounds familiar!!! Fast forward to October 28th 2000. Five defeats and a draw later for the Caley Jags, Raith Rovers would win their last fixture against us over 90 minutes. Unbelievably that is 23 years next month. That unbeaten run is under serious threat as under fire Billy Dodds takes his hapless cloggers down to Kirkaldy. I fear there will be dancing on the streets of Raith after this one. Prove me wrong! Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Raith Rovers 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) 1 - 0 (A) Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Ayr United v Partick Thistle (Friday night 19:45) 1. Dundee Utd 4 3 1 0 10 1 10 2. Raith Rovers 4 3 1 0 9 6 10 3. Queens Park 5 3 0 2 8 8 9 4. Partick Thistle 4 2 1 1 10 6 7 5. Airdrieonians 4 2 0 2 5 6 6 6. Arbroath 5 2 0 3 6 8 6 7. Dunfermline 4 1 2 1 4 4 5 8. Morton 4 1 0 3 6 11 3 9. Ayr United 4 1 0 3 3 8 3 10. Inverness CT 4 0 1 3 3 6 1 FRIDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER Ayr United v Partick Thistle SATURDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER Arbroath FC v Airdrieonians United v Morton Queens Park v Dunfermline Raith Rovers v Inverness CT Last Championship game v Pars Our last Championship game saw us gain our first point of the season. However one point from a possible twelve is nothing to crow about. We took an early lead throgh a Nathan Shaw strike with the keeper not covering himself in glory. Alas the confidence is not there and Dunfermline thoroughly deserved their point and probably were unlucky not to take all three but for a great late save from Mark Ridgers. However the defence will be disappointed with the goal we lost as the errors continue to mount up. Current League Form L L L D F3 A6 Latest Team News Billy Dodds will be without MacGregor, Nicolson, Welsh and the suspended Harry Lodovica. We had made eight changes to the starting XI last week against Arbroath, therefore I would expect Billy Mckay, Danny Devine and Max Anderson to be back in the side (should Max be fit). Wallace Duffy was replaced just before the interval last week and is a doubt with a hamstring niggle. Mark Ridgers will surely be back between the sticks, although in his last appearance he was a bit suspect at the Dunfermline goal along with two or three of his defenders. Nikola Ujdur might be over here by next week according to Dodds, i'll no hold my breath... A less than ebullient Billy Dodds What's new at Stark's Park In: Jack Hamilton, forward (Livingston); Keith Watson, defender (Ross County); Kevin Dabrowski, goalkeeper (Hibs); Euan Murray, defender (Hartlepool United); Josh Mullin, midfielder (Ayr United); Dylan Corr, defender (Celtic); Scott McGill, midfielder (Hearts, loan to permanent); Callum Smith, forward (Airdrie). Loan in: Shaun Byrne, midfielder (Dundee). Out: Jamie MacDonald, goalkeeper (Morton); Brad Spencer, midfielder (Falkirk); Tom Lang, defender (Falkirk); Ryan Nolan, defender (Hercules); Connor McBride, midfielder (Gateshead); Greig Young, defender (Dumbarton); Luke Mahady, forward (Bonnyrigg Rose). Loan ended: Isma Goncalves, forward (Livingston); William Akio, midfielder (Ross County); Kieran Ngwenya (Aberdeen). Loan out: Andy McNeil, goalkeeper (Edinburgh City); Kieran Mitchell, forward (East Fife). Last Championship game for Raith Rovers Ian Murray's Raith beat ten man Queens Park 3-2 after coming from behind with two late goals by substitute Lewis Vaughan in the last five minutes. Raith had opened the scoring in the eighth minute through Callum Smith's header. Queens then had William Tizzard sent off before the interval. They hit back after the hour with goals from Turner and Thomas before Vaughan's late brace secured the points that keeps Raith level at the top with Dundee United. Current League Form: D W W W F9 A6 Raith lineup v Queens Park Dabrowski Millen Watson Murray (Ross 84) McGill (Dick 75) Brown Mullin (Easton 75) Byrne Stanton (Vaughan 62) Smith Hamilton (Gullan 45) Subs not used: Thompson; Dick Arnott, Masson A game at the Gleaner Arena, or as we all know it, Boroughbriggs. Good luck to our u18's as they take on Elgin City in the Scottish Youth Cup.

Finger Out Time With the fans restless, it's time for the Caley Jags to get their season started and get some points on the board. Many fans have lost any lingering faith in the current regime from the top to the bottom and would like to see change. Yes, it's only three games into the season, but the signs are there for all to see. A lack of direction on and off the park is worrying. Who replaced Robbie Deas? The answer is nobody. Hence our defence is riddled with errors at the moment. Deas leaving has been known for at least six months yet we have done nothing about it. Why? We have been scraping the bottom of the transfer barrel for a while now and performances on the park have reached an unacceptable level. The fans are disgruntled, the manager is getting some heavy flak, the Sporting Director is seen more at Dingwall at the weekends commentating on other sides whilst his own team are floundering, the CEO is taking us down a perilous route with no light at the end of the tunnel after a series of money making ventures have failed. We were well warned, now it's time for the Chairman to speak out before it's too late. We face Dunfermline on Saturday in what many believe could be a season defining encounter. Win and we will paper over the cracks for a while, lose and the only real option is wholesale change from the very top. As Richard Osman would say, we are pointless. The Pars have claimed four points from their opening fixtures; it's time to close that gap. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match & Ticket Info Max Anderson Morgan Boyes Nikola Ujdur ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Dunfermline Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 8 5 30 21 +9 Away 24 9 10 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 49 19 19 11 62 51 +11 We missed the Pars last season as they were busy getting themselves promoted from League 1 along with Airdrie. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dunfermline 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) The last time we met was a 2-0 win for Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium at the end of season 2021/2022 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. Last Time Out Despite Billy Dodds oddly claiming we started well against Airdrie, we went a goal down after 35 seconds. And just to rub it in, it was an own goal as Cammy Harper prodded a deflected cross past Mark Ridgers before the sugar had been added to the coffee. The second goal was another defensive masterclass (NOT) as Devine was caught unawares when Davidson tried to play a short ball to him. Top scorer Calum Ferguson needed no second invitation to bury it behind Ridgers and once more leave us chasing the game. Not even with Airdrie being reduced to 10 men could we get anything. Our MotM Nathan Shaw pulled a goal back in the second half but we were unable to complete the comeback thanks to a combination of keeper Josh Rae, the woodwork and some rank rotten finishing. That was on the back of defeats to Queens Park and Ayr United. Meh! The Pars lost their big Fife derby match with Raith Rovers thanks to a Sam Stanton first half goal. It was a tight affair with Rovers just shading it. Rhys Breen and Ewan Otoo went close after the break for the Pars and Stanton almost added a second in front of over 7500 fans but the hosts fell just short. Dunfermline opened their campaign coming from behind to beat Airdrie 2-1 (Otoo & Allan) and followed that up with an encouraging 1-1 draw at Tannadice. Wighton had put the Pars ahead and it took United until the 95th minute to make their point. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Queens Park 4 3 0 1 6 5 1 9 2. Dundee Utd 3 2 1 0 8 1 7 7 3. Raith Rovers 3 2 1 0 6 4 2 7 4. Airdrieonians 3 2 0 1 5 4 1 6 5. Partick Thistle 3 1 1 1 6 5 1 4 6. Dunfermline 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 7. Morton 3 1 0 2 5 7 -2 3 8. Arbroath 4 1 0 3 4 7 -3 3 9. Ayr United 3 1 0 2 2 6 -4 3 10. Inverness CT 3 0 0 3 2 5 -3 0 Championship Fixtures Saturday 2nd September Inverness CT v Dunfermline Arbroath v Ayr Utd United v Airdrie Morton v Partick Rovers v Queen's Results so far Inverness 1-2 Queens Pk Ayr United 1-0 Inverness Airdrie 2-1 Inverness Dunfermline 2-1 Airdrieonians Dundee Utd 1-1 Dunfermline Dunfermline 0-1 Raith Rovers Latest Team News Inverness moved into the transfer market to try and arrest our slump and have secured a season long loan for Max Anderson from Dundee. Does this tell us that MacGregor and Welsh might be out for some time or that Glimour and co are not up to the task? Welsh and MacGregor missed out at Airdrie again along with long term Lewis Nicolson. Aaron Doran also missed the Airdrie game. Not sure what's up there as he played in the Inverness Cup game against Clach and looked sharp. Apparently we are actively trying to source a defender to plug the gaps........... And, ask and ye shall get. We have signed defender Morgan Boyes on a season long loan from Livingston and he will be available for selection for the Pars game tomorrow. We have also signed Nikola Ujdur, an Australian defender, on a two year deal. Sean Welsh is still out so I would expext Max Anderson to be in with a shout of starting this one. Here's our latest Max Dunfermline have some new faces. We won't concern ourselves with who they don't have, but here are their latest signings: In: Michael O'Halloran, forward (St Johnstone); Kane Ritchie-Hosler, midfielder (Rangers, loan to permanent); Ewan Otoo, defender (Celtic, loan to permanent); Sam Fisher, defender (Dundee). Loan in: Harry Sharp, goalkeeper (Dundee); Ben Summers, midfielder (Celtic). Joe Chalmers is still at East End Park and Michael O'Halloren and Craig Wighton are an experienced partnership up front. Pars Team v Raith Rovers last week Sharp Fisher Benedictus Breen (Sutherland 86) Comrie Chalmers Otoo McCann Edwards Wighton O'Halloran (Summers 63) Subs not used: Little; Hamilton, Allan, Fenton, Tod

Diamond geezers do it again Inverness were without Aaron Doran and Sean Welsh but Danny Devine returned to the defence and Keith Bray started. Hat-Trick Harry was on the bench with young Adam Brooks. Airdrie had new signing Gavin Gallagher on the bench alongside Nikolay Todorov but Colin Telfer missed out with player manager Rhys McCabe. Top scorer Calum Gallagher is the man to keep an eye on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WTF! Inverness went behind in the first minute when Cammy Harper scored an own goal. So much for cutting out errors at the back. We chased the game thereafter without creating too much and Calum Gallagher doubled our deficit after half an hour to make our task even more onerous. Austin Samuels hit woodwork and another shambles of a half closed at 2-0 for the hosts with Frizzell booked on the whistle. Depressing stuff from the visitors with no cutting edge. Five minutes after the break Airdrie were reduced to ten men when Adam Frizzell received his second yellow card. Nathan Shaw scored to half the deficit with twenty minutes remaining. We threw everything at Airdrie but Rae was equal to all our efforts and we slumped to our sixth defeat in a row. What now Billy? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WTF! Inverness go behind inside the first minute when Cammy Harper tries to cut out a deflected cross from Lewis McGregor but knocks it into his own net under challenge instead. So much for cutting out errors at the back. Wallace Duffy responded in the third minute but his drive went high and wide and sinner Harper put a good cross into the box but Keeper Josh Rae did well to gather confidently. The hosts were looking for a penalty when Aiken went down in the box and Gallagher fired wide. Nothing given. Keith Bray got on the end of a Nathan Shaw cross but his effort was blocked as we looked to get back on level terms. Just after the half hour Bray was close to getting on the end of a David Carson through ball. Surprise surprise! Chasing the game from thirty-five seconds in, we lost a second goal when Calum Gallagher shot into the bottom corner from inside the box, Danny Devine culpable this time, although the pass from Jake Davidson caught him unawares. Is there no end to our error strewn defending? Austin Samuels hit woodwork, Taylor-Sinclair had blocked his effort onto the post as we struggled to get a foothold in this game with half-time approaching. A great run from Gallagher almost added a third and Samuels was booked as his frustration showed five minutes before the interval. Charlie Gilmour curled over after Rae's clearance fell to him and Shaw missed the target as we desperately searched for a way back. HALF TIME: 2-0 Luis Longstaff replaced Jake Davidson at the break and Billy Mckay was denied by Rae at his near post five minutes into the second period from Longstaff's cross. From the resultant corner Devine's header came off the post and was saved by the keeper then Moments later Frizzell was red carded for his second bookable offence, a late challenge on Bray, having been booked in time added on at the end of the first half. Mckay went close again but was blocked as Inverness looked to take advantage of their superior numbers. Airdrie re-jigged after the sending off with Todorov and O'Connor entering the field. McGregor brought Mark Ridgers into action and likewise at the other end with Shaw on target. Shaw did pull a goal back from close range after seventy minutes when Longstaff's shot came back off the post as we went for broke. Ridgers cut out a cross from Aiken as he broke forward with ten minutes left. Airdrie were living dangerously and Shaw went close again with five minutes left on the clock and he was denied by Rae a minute later. In time added on Sub Robbie Thompson was denied by Rae as he kept Airdrie ahead. Despite a big effort in the second half it ended with Airdrie taking all three points. FULL TIME: 2-1 Chasing the game after more defensive blunders, we squandered numerous opportunities to get back into it before Shaw scored. Alas, Rae was in good form and a combination of him and poor finishing means we are now bottom of the league on our own after six successive defeats, (three in the league), and the errors keep coming. All this against ten men for near 40 minutes. The long knives are well and truly drawn... Date: 26/08/2023 Venue: Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie Attendance: **** Referee: Dan McFarlane Airdrieonians: 2 Manager: Rhys McCabe Lineup: Rae; Ballantyne, Watson, Fordyce, Taylor-Sinclair, Frizzell, McMaster, Aiken, McGregor (Hancock 82), McGill (O'Connor 58), C Gallagher (Todorov 58) Subs (not used): Hutton; McCabe, Dunlop, Cassidy, G Gallagher Scorers: Harper (35sec og), C Gallagher (32) Booked: Frizzell (40+2, 50), McMaster (90+3) Sent Off: Frizzell (50) Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson (Longstaff 45), Duffy, Devine, Harper, Samuels (Brooks (59)), Carson (Delaney 72), Bray (Thompson 83), Gilmour, Shaw, B Mckay (Lodovica 72) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde Scorers: Shaw (70) Booked: Gilmour (28), Samuels (40), B Mckay (66) Sent Off: none a

Diamonds Away It's another tough away day for the Caley Jags as they head to the Excelsior Stadium for a Championship encounter against promoted Airdrieonians, a side that have already beaten us in the League Cup game at the Caledonian Stadium by the odd goal in five. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday as Inverness look for their first points of the season and The Diamonds looking to consolidate their good start to life in the Championship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/ticket/Bus info £20 Inverness Cup Final Success Max Ram Supporters are reminded that roadworks in the vicinity of the stadium, alongside the partial closure of Petersburn Road, are causing significant delays. Please plan accordingly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ League Cup game at the Caledonian Stadium this season is the only relevant game between these sides in 21 years: 2 - 3 The only highlights for us was a stunning strike from Charlie Gilmour after we gifted Airdrie a two goal start and Billy Mckay's record breaking 102nd goal, a penalty he won then converted. Airdrie benefitted from slack defending, something that has typified our poor start to the season, and scored twice in the first half through Ballantyne and Telfer. Having drawn level our old chum Nikolay Todorov struck the winning blow after more defensive frailties in the final minute. Meh! We also lost the services of young defender Lewis Nicolson that day after he appeared to catch his studs in the turf early in the game. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Queens Park 3 3 0 0 5 2 9 2. Dundee Utd 2 1 1 0 5 1 4 3. Raith Rovers 2 1 1 0 5 4 4 4. Dunfermline 2 1 1 0 3 2 4 5. Morton 2 1 0 1 5 4 3 6. Airdrieonians 2 1 0 1 3 3 3 7. Ayr United 2 1 0 1 2 3 3 8. Partick Thistle 2 0 1 1 3 4 1 9. Inverness CT 2 0 0 2 1 3 0 10. Arbroath 3 0 0 3 1 7 0 Championship Fixtures Saturday 25th August 3:00pm Airdrieonians v Inverness CT Ayr United v Dundee United Dunfermline v Raith Rovers Morton v Arbroath Partick Thistle v Queen's Park Last Time Out Inverness went down 1-0 at Ayr. A tight game but another defeat, five in a row now. Francis Amartey made the difference with a first half goal and Nathan Shaw hit the post with just the keeper to beat. Our previous fixture was a 1-2 defeat to last seasons bogey boys Queens Park. It was a case of too little too late against the Spiders who took advantage of defensive errors to coast into a two goal lead before Jake Davidson headed in near the final whistle. Dom Thomas and Tommy Robson were the scorers for Queens Park. That opening defeats leave us bottom of the table with Arbroath. We did win something though. We lifted the Inverness Cup in a 4-1 win over Clachnacuddin on Tuesday night. A first half hat-trick from big Harry Lodovica did the damage with youngster Lewis Mackie rounding off the scoring in the second half. Former Inverness youth Calum Ferguson scored the Clach goal in what turned out to be a useful exercise for both clubs. Airdrie ran Ross County close in the League Cup before going out 4-3 after extra time. County looked like putting Airdrie to the sword early on with two goals from Kyle Turner and Jordan White inside seven minutes. Gallagher pulled one back before the break but County restored their two goal advantage two minutes later through Simon Murray. Gallagher scored a late penalty to send the tie to an unlikely extra-time but County won it when Eamonn Brophy scored the winner. In their opening day fixture Airdrie went down 2-1 at Dunfermline (Craig Watson had put Airdrie ahead ) but bounced back to beat Partick Thistle in the next game, McGill and Gallagher the scorers. Latest Team News Inverness still have a few injury doubts. Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson are out longer term. Sean Welsh and Danny Devine have missed the last couple of games but Austin Samuels and Adam Brooks played for an hour in the Inverness Cup win over Clachnacuddin on Tuesday night. Harry Lodovica got a confidence boosting hat-trick against Clach and Wallace Duffy and Aaron Doran came through unscathed. Defender Max Ram has left the Caley Jags to join English National League North side Gloucester City AFC. Max joined us from Wycombe Wanderers last summer and made 14 appearances for the club, scoring once. Welsh still having problems with his groin so he will miss out again. Keith Bray has been the big success story so far, so hopefully he will get some game time and maybe Harry will see some action after his cup final treble. Airdrieonians have lost Justin Devenny since we last played them a month ago. The 19 year old Northern Irishman has joined Crystal Palace. Player Manager Rhys McCabe left Firhill on a stretcher and is out for a couple of months at least with a knee injury. Calum Gallagher is the top scorer this season with three goals and former Caley Jag Nikolay Todorov and Josh O'Connor have two apiece. Airdrie have signed a midfielder today (Friday) in former Rangers and St Mirren youth Gavin Gallagher.

Ayr Away Matchday two will see us head to Somerset Park Ayr for a tough game against the Honest Men. It's a standard 3:00pm kick-off and both clubs will be looking for better results after drawing blanks in the opening day fixtures when Ayr went down 3-1 at Morton and we lost 2-1 at the Caledonian Stadium to Queens Park. Like us, Ayr have brought in five new faces for this campaign and lost some familiar faces. Notable outs are the Championship's 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match /Ticket/Bus Info (£20) 3 For the Future Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ayr United have advised that there will be no cash gates in operation and tickets must be purchased online. ICT supporters can purchase tickets HERE (West Stand only) Adult – £22 Concession – £15 (Over 65s and Students) Juvenile – £15 (13-17-years-old) Child – £6 (Under 13s) Venue - H2H v Ayr United Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 11 3 39 26 +13 Away 25 12 6 7 47 31 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 49 22 17 10 86 57 +29 Last seasons Competitive Meetings: Ayr finished 2nd last season, we finished 6th. 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Two away wins last season but the final game ended our interest in promotion: The final game of the regular season would decide who went into the play-offs and who ended their league campaign now. It couldn't be tighter across the Championship on Winner Takes All Weekend. David Carson was a surprise omission from the starting XI after his Cup suspension with Wallace Duffy retaining his place at right back. Billy Mckay was hoping to be a record breaker as he searched for his 101st goal for the Caley Jags. Only a win would be good enough for Inverness who could finish third or sixth, depending on results elsewhere. A win would end speculation and put Inverness in the play-offs. As it turned out we ended the season in sixth place and Ayr, Queen's Park and Partick Thistle will battle it out in the play-offs for a Premiership place alongside Champions Dundee. Ayr United never read the script properly and deservedly took the plaudits in a 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium. A first half goal from Josh Mullin who looked close to being offside and Nathan Shaw in a crowded box with ten minutes left looked to be enough for the Honest Men. However Mark McKenzie ensured it would be Ayr's night with an 88th minute strike to shatter our hopes after such a strong finish to the season. Alas we fell at the last hurdle and now have a month to wait for a Scottish Cup Final appearance. SATURDAY 12th AUGUST 3:00pm Airdrie v Partick Ayr United v Inverness CT Dundee Utd v Dunfermline Queen's Pk v Arbroath FC Raith v Morton Team News Inverness CT will be without Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson for the first few months with knee injuries. Sean Welsh has a groin injury and will miss out again. Adam Brooks missed the Queens Park game whilst Danny Devine remained on the bench after injury. New sensation Keith Bray has a bright future ahead of him and will be difficult to keep out of the starting XI given his performances off the bench recently and Billy Mckay will be eager to add to his record breaking exploits at Inverness. We have frailties in defence and errors are costing us big time at the moment so we'll have to see if Billy Dodds will address those issues as rumours abound on new recruits. Here's our latest signings from the Academy Sam Nixon, Calum MacLeod and Jack Walker have all signed 2-year full-time Apprenticeship contracts with the club. Good luck to these guys as they sign their first professional contract. Ayr United have done some shrewd business in the summer, Aiden McGeady and Jamie Murphy signing on, but have also lost some quality; Akinyemi, Moffat, Mullin and keeper McAdams departing. McAllister and Murdoch both took knocks at Cappielow but are hopeful making the squad. Here's Lee Bullen with the Billy Dodds script after the game at Morton:- Ins & Outs @ Ayr In: Jamie Murphy, forward (St Johnstone); George Stanger, defender (Alloa Athletic); Olly Pendlebury, midfielder (Aldershot Town); Francis Amartey, forward (Aldershot Town); Robbie Mutch, goalkeeper (Edinburgh). Loan in: Elicha Ahui, defender (Lincoln City). Out: Dipo Akinyemi, forward (York City, undisclosed); Daire O'Connor, midfielder (Glentoran); Josh Mullin, midfielder (Raith Rovers); Jordan Houston, defender (Queen of the South); Michael Hewitt, midfielder (Hamilton Academical); James Dolan, midfielder (Stranraer); Kinlay Bilham, defender (Stenhousemuir); Michael Moffat, forward (Glenafton Athletic, loan to permanent); Jayden Mitchell-Lawson, midfielder; Chris Maguire, forward; Aidan McAdams, goalkeeper; Alex Jeanes, defender and David Bangala has also left the club, he had been on loan at Cove Rangers. Loan ended: Alex Kirk, defender (Arsenal); Reece McAlear, midfielder (Tranmere Rovers). Loan out: Lyall Holding, defender (Glenafton Athletic). Ayr United team in 3-1 defeat at Cappielow: Albinson McAllister (Ahui 45) Musonda McGinty Reading Amartey (Rose 70) Dempsey Murdoch (Pendelbury 40) Murphy McKenzie (Ashford 81) Bryden (McGeady 70) Subs not used: Mutch; Smith, Ecrepont, Tomlinson.

WINNER TAKES ALL WEEKEND We have had Helicopter Weekend, it's now time for Winner Takes All Weekend. It all boils down to the last game of the regular Championship season at both ends of the table, unless of course you are Raith Rovers, the only club with nothing left to play for. Promotion will be confirmed on Friday night when Queens Park host Dundee. Jostling for a play off place will end and someone will be relegated. But who will it be, that is the $64,000 dollar question? After the excitement of last weekend at Hampden Park, it would be extremely disappointing should we miss out on the play-offs after a tremendous late run from the Caley Jags has put us within touching distance of a few extra games for promotion. It's a massive ask after the schedule the team has faced in April, but we are the form side at the moment with most of our key players back in the squad. Only victory over Ayr United will be good enough. A draw keeps Ayr above us on goal difference. Huge game, let's get behind the boys and roar them into the play-offs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATCH/TICKET INFO OFFICIAL PotY VOTE CUP FINAL DATE CUP FINAL FARCE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It really is a must win game on Friday night at 7:45pm. Anything but a win and we are out of the play-offs. It's as simple as that. Get behind the guys for this game, it's massive. Ayr will have a sizeable travelling support, let's give some noise to the Caley Thistle Boys This Season v Ayr Two wins and a draw. First game at Somerset Park was 1 - 0 for the Caley Jags. Despite Ayr dominating possession, Cammy Harper glanced in the only goal of the game a couple of minutes after the interval. Return fixture in the Highlands ended all square at 2 - 2. Inverness came from behind twice to earn a draw. Mark McKenzie opened the scoring early before Nathan Shaw levelled. Akinyemi looked to have given Ayr all three points with a late strike but Shaw did it again with an even later strike to save the day. The last one at the beginning of March saw Inverness take all three points with a 2 - 1 win after Akinyemi had put Ayr ahead only for Sean Welsh and Jay Henderson to win the game for the visitors. Not a lot between the sides, but so far we have found a way to win two of the three encounters. Venue - H2H v Ayr United Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 11 2 38 24 +14 Away 25 12 6 7 47 31 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 22 17 9 85 55 +30 Historically we hold a big advantage in H2H's with Ayr United since we first met back in 1999 at Somerset Park. That one ended 0 - 1 to Ayr with Glynn Hurst the scorer in the 90th minute: Caley Thistle came within a minute of gaining their first league point of the season but a Glynn Hurst goal denied them. They spent virtually the whole game defending against a spirited Ayr attack, Micky Reynolds and Glynn Hurst in particular caused many problems. Just when it looked as if Caley Thistle were going to hold out Hurst struck. Danny Lennon sent over a lob from left to right, Hurst chested it down then shot home from a difficult angle. Fridge got a touch but it was not enough. Ayr achieved the victory they deserved and Caley Thistle remain pointless. Report by Ian Broadfoot Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Some memorable games have been had between the sides. Who can forget the incredible Scottish Cup Tie in 2001, 4 - 3 at the Caledonian Stadium, or the Dennis Wyness hat-trick inspired 7 - 3 win in December 2000, also in the Highlands. My pick was the Championship winning side demolishing Ayr 7 - 0 in April 2010 at Somerset Park. Best day out ever: Caley Thistle went out and had fun today... 7 goals from 7 different scorers meant ICT recorded the biggest victory in the SFL for the season as the large travelling support partied in style. Apparently, there was a match yesterday that briefly interrupted a day long travelling party. A thousand or so highlanders settled(!) down at 3pm. to be treated to as fluent a display of celebration football as you are ever likely to see, and it was important that they did get there at 3pm, because the game was effectively over by quarter past. Ayr United played their part by providing one of the best playing surfaces that I've seen at this end of a season and leaving their defence somewhere else in Ayrshire. They also gave our fans a huge terracing playground that was utilised to the full. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Friday nights title decider and relegation crunch. 1. Dundee 35 16 12 7 61 37 60 2. Queens Park 35 17 7 11 60 47 58 3. Partick Thistle 35 16 8 11 63 43 56 4. Ayr United 35 15 10 10 59 42 55 5. Inverness CT 35 15 10 10 51 45 55 6. Morton 35 14 12 9 51 42 54 7. Raith Rovers 35 11 9 15 44 47 42 8. Arbroath 35 6 15 14 29 47 33 9. Cove Rangers 35 7 10 18 37 73 31 10. Hamilton Ac. 35 7 9 19 31 63 30 Friday night 7:45pm Arbroath v Accies Cove Ran v Morton Inverness CT v Ayr United Queen's v Dundee Rovers v Partick Last Time Out Forget the Cup, that's different gravy. Our last Championship game was a hard fought draw against Dundee. Lyall Cameron had given the visitors the lead on the hour before substitute Austin Samuels salvaged a point for us fifteen minutes later. It's been an electrifying month for Billy Dodds and the players. Six wins and a draw which includes the semi-final win over Falkirk. Championship wins starting at Cappielow, then beating Raith Rovers, Arbroath, away to Cove and Hamilton before the draw with Dundee in the Highlands. April results in Championship. W W W W D Ayr have also clawed their way back into contention after an April crisis with a series of draws that saw them drop below Inverness before they beat Raith Rovers 1-0 whilst we were at Hampden thanks to a Frankie Musonda header. Last six results for Ayr starting with a win at Cove and ending with that win against Raith Rovers. Sandwiched in between were a loss to Arbroath followed by draws with Morton, Partick and Queens Park. WL D D D W Latest Team News We had pretty much a full squad at Hampden although we were without the suspended David Carson and cup-tied Lewis Nicolson. Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh will miss the rest of the season. Good luck to Billy Mckay who is on 100 Caley Jags goals, just one short of Sir Dennis Wyness the all time record scorer on 101. What better time to do it Billy... Ayr United had this starting XI against Raith Rovers: Albinson Hewit Musonda McGinty Reading Mullin McAlear Murdoch Ashford Maguire Akinyemi Subs: McAdams; O'Connor, Mitchell-Lawson, McKenzie, Bryden, Smith, Jenkins Dipo Akinyemi is the major goal threat with 20 goals and 8 assists and he is not afraid to offload with 94 shots. Josh Mullin and Ben Dempsey are both on 7 goals. Frankie Musonda will be a threat at set pieces with his power in the air. Sam Ashford is a willing runner and provider and is also not afraid to shoot on site. This season has seen Lee Bullen's Ayr United achieve their highest points total in over 20 years. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you voted in the official Player of the Year/Goal of the Year Poll??? Here's the choice of Goals>>> Vote HERE

Crunch Time Big game in the Highlands on Saturday as Champions in waiting Dundee head North to the Caledonian Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off, and a big following is expected as the Dark Blues look to get the automatic promotion slot ahead of the imploding Queens Park and the unlikely trio of Ayr United, Morton and Inverness who are making a late bid for the top four. There will be a minutes applause ahead of kick-off in memory of former groundsman Tommy Cumming who passed away on 20th April. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tommy Cumming RIP Match/Ticket info Your Cub Needs You Scottish Cup Tickets/Travel AGM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 7 8 2 27 16 +11 Away 21 7 9 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 Total 40 14 17 9 58 46 +12 Overall we still hold the advantage over Dundee in the forty games played. All square in the meetings so far this season, but Dundee won on their last visit to the Caledonian Stadium Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (A) McMullan strikes: 0 - 1 Dec3rd: Dundee came North as one of the form teams in the championship over the last half dozen games. Naughty boy Paul McGowan was not in the squad. Inverness were still without 75% of their first picks but Daniel Mackay made his comeback last week and Ryan Barrett made his debut against Stirling in the Cup. Paul McMullan opened the scoring midway through the first half after cutting in from the left before curling past Cammy Mackay. Almost a second as the ball deflected onto the bar before Mackay picked up the rebound after the half hour. George Oakley missed what appeared to be a sitter from eight yards as half time approached as Aaron Doran swung in an inviting cross. With no further scoring in the second half, Dundee took the three points and Inverness remain in sixth place, but starting to slip off the pace. Last Time Out The games have been coming thick and fast for the Caley Jags in April. However we have stood firm and handled the pressure well so far. It began well with a 2-1 win at Morton on 1st April. Raith Rovers were despatched 2-0 a week later. A midweek win saw Arbroath go down by the same score before we came from behind to beat a determined Cove Rangers 2-1 at Balmoral Stadium. Then our nemesis, Hamilton Accies. We had to come from behind again with goals from Nathan Shaw and an 88th minute strike from Billy Mckay to earn the points. Billy is now on 98 goals chasing the all time record of 101 by Dennis Wyness. W W W W W W Dundee had to come from 3-1 down at home to Morton to snatch a 94th minute equaliser. Kwame Thomas was the man responsible for rescuing a point when defeat was staring them in the face with twenty minutes left. Luke Hannant levelled the game in the first half but Morton established a two goal lead before Thomas saved the day with two late strikes. D W W D W D Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of crunch game tonight - Ayr United v Queens Park 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Inverness CT 34 15 9 10 50 44 54 4. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 5. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 34 7 8 19 29 61 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 Friday 21st April Ayr Utd v Queens Saturday 22nd April Arbroath v Cove Ran Accies v Partick Inverness CT v Dundee FC Morton v Raith Rvr Latest Team News Jay Henderson will return after suspension. He certainly carries a threat and has linked up well with Nathan Shaw recently. Duffy, MacGregor and Ram all missed out at Hamilton. Hopefully no new injuries but it's been a tough schedule in recent weeks and there will be some weary legs around the Caledonian Stadium. Pretty much confirmed that Sutherland and Walsh will probably see no action this season. Dundee starting XI v Morton last week Legzdins Mulligan Sweeney Ashcroft Marshall McCowan Maguire Cameron Hannant Jakubiak Robinson Full bench as well: Kerr, Byrne, Thomas, McMullan, Lawlor, Williamson, Fisher, Clampin, Reedy Here's hoping they can keep McMullan on the bench. He has been a thorn in our side in recent years and scored a good goal in the win at the Caledonian Stadium back in December.

He Scores When He Wants A long trip on a Tuesday night to face your bogey team is not ideal, especially when it gets to the business end of the season. That's what faced the Caley Jags as we looked to win our sixth game on the bounce against struggling Hamilton Accies who have already beaten us four times this season. Inverness could go third, but Accies would be hoping to put some distance between themselves and bottom side Cove Rangers. As it turned out it remained goalless at the interval with Deas seeing a header saved by Fulton just before the break. Connor Smith scored direct from a free kick after the interval but Nathan Shaw equalised three minutes later. Billy Mckay won all three points with a poachers goal in off the post with three minutes left and that's how it ended. Phew! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful evening greeted the sides at the ZLX Stadium for the third last game of the regular season. Billy Dodds had three changes from the side that won at Cove. Deas, Doran and Boyd started with Harper, Samuels and Dan Mackay dropping onto the bench. Fergus Owens missed out for Accies with De Bolle and Winter dropping to the bench. Mimnaugh and JP Tiehi started. Steven Boyd and Billy Mckay combined well early on with Mckay forcing Ryan Fulton into a save as he palmed his shot away. Zak Delaney fired over the bar from the left side as the visitors probed for an opening when Sean Welsh played him in. Billy Mckay was prominent around the hosts box and he intercepted a pass from Ryan McGowan. He managed to get a shot away from a tight angle after rounding the keeper but he could only find the side netting. Accies responded and Connor Smith tried to find the top corner but his curling effort was just a coat of paint too wide. Just before the break Robbie Deas was unfortunate with a header as Fulton saved low down to deny the Caley Jags defender after a Nathan Shaw corner, and Ridgers saved in the last action of the first forty-five. HALF TIME: 0-0 Aaron Doran brought Fulton into action five minutes after the restart as he met Delaney's cross in the box, the keeper saving well in the bottom corner. Ridgers saved with his legs from Seal as the action went to both ends and Doran shot wide. Boyd followed suit as well, missing the target and did similar again with twenty minutes left. Accies opened the scoring through Connor Smith from a dubious free kick. Nothing wrong with his execution though from 25 yards which was clinical into the top corner. Their success only lasted three minutes when Nathan Shaw scored from close range. Substitute Dario Zanatta went close as we entered the final fifteen minutes. It got even better for the visitors in the 88th minute when Billy Mckay scored a typical 'he scores when he wants' goal. In off the post. That's how it all ended as the late run goes on. FULL TIME: 1-1 What a result for Inverness after going a goal behind with twenty minutes left. Nathan Shaw's contribution has been invaluable of late and Billy Mckay should be knighted and given the freedom of the Highlands. That's his 98th goal for Inverness CT. Up to third in the table for now after six wins on the bounce. Great night for the 165 Caley Jags fans. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Gosh, the table looks better now 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Inverness CT 34 15 9 10 50 44 54 4. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 5. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 34 7 8 19 29 61 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 Pic from Johndo of the goal celebration>>> Date: 18/04/2023 Venue: New Douglas Park Attendance: 1316 Referee: Graham Grainger Hamilton Accies: 1 Manager: John Rankin Lineup: Fulton; Sparrow, McGowan, O'Reilly, Tumilty (Winter 69), Martin, Lawson, Mimnaugh (De Bolle 62) C Smith, Tiehi (Zanatta 68), Ashley-Seal Subs (not used): J Smith; McGinn, Spence, Easton, Stephenson, L Smith Scorers: C Smith (72) Booked: Martin (45), O'Reilly (59) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Deas, Delaney, Boyd (Samuels 73), Welsh (Woods 89), Allardice, Shaw, Doran (D Mackay 73), B Mckay (Harper 90) Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Hyde Scorers: Shaw (75), B Mckay (88) Booked: Devine (24) Sent Off: none a

Oh No, Accies Again! Inverness make the long trek to Hamilton on Tuesday night for a rescheduled 7:45pm Championship fixture at New Douglas Park. Yes, I know, we do have to play them, but I promise this is the last time this season. We have failed to beat Accies in the three previous Championship games this season and they also knocked a young Caley Jags side out of the Challenge Cup at the height of our injury crisis. They simply have had our number this season, however we are a different beast at the moment having won five games on the bounce. The law of averages says we must beat them sometime. Doesn't it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info Scottish Cup Tickets AGM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Accies Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 5 4 8 25 23 +2 Away 13 6 2 5 18 17 +1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 30 11 6 13 43 40 +3 Strangely enough, we have fared better away from home against Accies. However, as below, our statistics over the last ten meetings don't make good reading. Seven defeats and only two wins Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Accies 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) Accies Have Us Sussed: Feb21st 2023: 1 - 2 The second game between these sides in three days produced yet another three points for bottom club Accies and a red card for Billy Mckay to rub salt into our wounds. Accies took the lead when a Lawson short corner fed Connor Smith who crossed in for Daniel O'Reilly to powerfully head home. Billy Mckay had a header blocked away for a corner as the pressure ramped up heading towards the interval and it paid off in the 43rd minute when Allardice drilled home from the edge of the box to level the game after a Carson cross was half cleared. Still time for Winter and JPT to combine but the latter shot wide. A deserved goal for the Caley Jags who have pushed hard to get back on level terms. Similar to Saturday, Connor Smith made no mistake from the spot after Dan Mackay brought down Rhegan Tumilty after the previous claim for handball was waived away. Billy Mckay shot wide as Inverness looked to come back again and Henderson had an effort blocked in the last minute of normal time. Billy got a yellow instead of a penalty then a second yellow followed and that just about summed up our three days of the Jackass. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Accies game on Tuesday night. 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 4. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 5. Inverness CT 33 14 9 10 48 43 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 33 7 8 18 28 59 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 Tuesday 18th April Hamilton v Inverness Ct Friday 21st April Ayr United v Queen's Pk Last Time Out Inverness made hard work of overcoming injury hit Cove Rangers at the weekend. Iain Vigurs gave Bottom club Cove the lead with a low curling free kick after the interval. Ten minutes later Billy Mckay drove home from the spot to level the game and the comeback was complete a further four minutes later when Cammy Harper fired in from the edge of the box to make it five wins on the bounce. Not as easy a game as recent form would suggest, but another three points in the bag. W W W W W Hamilton went down to Queens Park on the Friday night when Grant Savoury scored with fifteen minutes left. Jake Davidson hit the post as Queens Park held on comfortably to leave Accies two points off the bottom. L W D L L Accies have won all three Championship encounters. Here's a thing. Had we won those three games then we would be sitting top of the table and Accies would be all but relegated by now. Just let that sink in how important these games have been for both clubs. Latest Team News Current injuries aside we have Jay Henderson unavailable for the second game of his two match ban. Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor and Max Ram missed out again but Danny Devine got some game time at Cove whilst Robbie Deas was rested for the first 75 minutes before replacing Devine. Sutherland and Walsh look like they will be missing the whole season at this rate. Unless we have picked up any new injuries, then I suspect we will be along similar lines to the Cove game. Hamilton Starting XI in the 2-0 loss to Morton Fulton Sparrow McGowan O'Reilly Tumilty Lawson Winter Martin De Bolle Smith Ashley-Seal

Crucial Three Points Whilst we have not had our own troubles to seek on the injury front, Cove Rangers were facing a similar crisis to what we went through as the relegation battle continues. With Accies losing to Queens Park last night, Cove had the opportunity to get off the bottom of the table should they win today. We were looking for a win to keep in the hunt for a play-off place and keep the pressure on those above us. Inverness were without the suspended Jay Henderson with Danny Devine starting in place of Robbie Deas who was on the bench for a rest. Neither side had a full bench and Iain Vigurs started for Cove. After a goalless first forty-five of anti football Inverness came from behind in the second period through a Billy Mckay penalty and Cammy Harper who drilled home the winner with twenty minutes left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first chance fell to Scott Ross but he headed wide from an Iain Vigurs corner. A minute later Billy Mckay was flagged offside as he netted after meeting Nathan Shaw's pass in the box. Cammy Harper saw Kyle Gourlay tip a free kick onto the top of the bar and behind for a corner. However it was mostly grim stuff with so much at stake for both clubs and it was no surprise it remained goalless at the interval. HT: 0-0 Iain Vigurs opened the scoring in the 56th minute with a trademark free kick but Billy Mckay levelled from the spot after Doran was tripped by Morgyn Neill. Cammy Harper then put the Caley Jags in front with twenty minutes left, shooting home from the edge of the box. Ridgers denied Ross as he headed goalwards from a corner but Inverness held on to record their fifth win in a row. Booooom! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FULL TIME: 1-2 A tough Saturday afternoon across the Championship, but at the end of the day Inverness were the only winners as others faltered. It's still in our own hands over the final three games. Billy Mckay is now just five goals short of our all time record set by Dennis Wyness (102) Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 4. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 5. Inverness CT 33 14 9 10 48 43 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 33 7 8 18 28 59 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 *COVE RANGERS 1-2 INVERNESS CT* DUNDEE 3-3 MORTON PARTICK 1-1 AYR Utd ROVERS 1-1 ARBROATH Date: 15/04/2023 Venue: Balmoral Stadium Attendance: 959 Referee: Gavin Duncan Cove Rangers: 1 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Gourlay; Scully (Glass 90), Reynolds, Ross, Neill, O'Halloran, Longstaff (Dunne 76), Vigurs, Longridge, McIntosh, Megginson (Weston 76) Subs (not used): Demus; Naismith Scorers: Vigurs (56) Booked: Neill (16) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine (Deas 75), Delaney, Harper, D Mackay (Doran 59), Welsh, Allardice, Shaw, Samuels (Boyd 70), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Hyde, Woods Scorers: B Mckay (67 pen), Harper (71) Booked: Devine (55) Sent Off: none a

Easy or No Easy? Game four of a frantic April which will culminate in a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park on the 29th. So far so good with three wins in April and four on the bounce. You could be forgiven for thinking this will be an easy win, but given Cove's recent form that is what the bookies will be suggesting after only two draws in their last nine games. Over two months without a win, on February 4th, 1-0 against Partick Thistle. They have been known to concede multiple goals at times, in fact we have put 11 past them this season in the Championship. However, it might be prudent of us to be cautious as it would be foolish to throw away our good work with an under par effort at Cove. We won our fifth game on the bounce back in October at Cove. Can we do it again? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus info Semi-Final Tickets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 5 4 1 0 16 5 +11 Away 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 7 5 1 1 18 8 +10 Only the seven games played, but a big advantage to the Caley Jags at the moment. All Competitive Meetings 6 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (H) Cove Cruise, July 2021: 1 - 3 Inverness' dismal run of League Cup results continued with defeat at Cove. Our only crumb of comfort...A penalty to Inverness in the 90th minute offered little consolation for the Caley Jags but Duku duly converted from the spot. Cove kept at Bay, Oct 2022: 1 - 0 Our first visit to Balmoral Park on League business ended with a hard fought win, our fifth on the bounce. Inverness opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Steven Boyd, his first of the season. However Roddy MacGregor was helped off the pitch after being injured in the build up to that goal. Allardice stayed in the dressing room at the interval to be replaced by Lewis Hyde. Ridgers did well to deny Cove after the break and right at the end Cove were reduced to ten men as McIntosh was sent off. Still joint top as Partick also win with Dundee and Morton leading the chasing pack. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Friday night game 1. Dundee 32 16 9 7 57 33 57 2. Queens Park 32 16 6 10 58 45 54 3. Partick Thistle 32 15 6 11 58 40 51 4. Ayr United 32 14 8 10 57 41 50 5. Inverness CT 32 13 9 10 46 42 48 6. Morton 32 12 11 9 45 38 47 7. Raith Rovers 32 11 8 13 43 44 41 8. Arbroath 32 6 14 12 28 43 32 9. Hamilton Ac. 32 7 8 17 28 58 29 10. Cove Rangers 32 6 9 17 35 71 27 Fiday 14th April (7:45pm) Queen's v Accies Saturday 15th April (3:00pm) Cove Rangers v Caley Jags Dundee v Morton Partick v Ayr Utd Rovers v Arbroath Last Time Out We kept the Raith Rovers hoodo going last weekend then followed that up with another convincing 2-0 home win on Tuesday against Arbroath. Second half goals from the form guys Nathan Shaw and a Scott Allardice (pen) put us in control. However, Jay Henderson was red carded with ten minutes left and will miss the game at Cove. I suppose if you could pick a game to miss, then this would be your choice. L W W W W Cove took a much needed away point in the relegation battle with Hamilton Accies. Luis Longstaff had given Cove the advantage in the second half but Connor Smith squared matters five minutes later. That's a point more than we have managed against Accies all season. That's a concern for us as Cove dig their heels in as they try the great escape. Their previous home game was a 5-0 thrashing from Partick Thistle. L L L L D Latest Team News Jay Henderson is suspended. Danny Devine has sat on the bench over the last two games after a recent injury. Max Ram, Roddy MacGregor and Wallace Duffy have all been missing in recent weeks along with season long casualties Sutherland and Walsh. Here's Bazza to tell you what's happening>>> Cove Rangers starting XI v Hamilton Fox Logan Ross Reynolds Longridge Longstaff Yule Scully Dunne Megginson O'Halloran That's a potentially potent strikeforce with Mitch Megginson who likes a goal against us and Michael O'Halloran the former St Johnstone and Rangers player. Plenty experience in defence as well with Shay Logan, Mark Reynolds and Luis Longstaff. Let's not forget that Iain Vigurs is still around as well. Not as easy a game as some might have you believe, we may have to be patient again.

Four in a row Two of the Championship form teams clashed at the Caledonian Stadium with both clubs on good runs, Arbroath unbeaten in seven games and Inverness just the one defeat over the last seven. Both clubs needing the win for different reasons, and both clubs capable of taking the points. After a dismal first half goals from Nathan Shaw and a Scott Allardice penalty settled the points in our favour. The downside was a red card for Jay Henderson A beautiful afternoon gave way to an overcast but calm evening ahead of kick-off. One minute into the game and keeper Derek Gaston was called into action to punch away a shot and Sean Welsh shot wide from a free kick just after as the Caley Jags showed their intent in the opening minutes. Lewis Banks brought Mark Ridgers into the game as he saved his low angled shot after seven minutes. João Baldé had an effort saved by Ridgers midway through the half then picked up a booking minutes later. There was a distinct lack of goalmouth action in the first quarter of the game. Strange given what's at stake for both clubs. Just on the interval Tam O'Brien headed wide from a corner and that brought a poor first half to an end. HALF TIME 0-0 Ten minutes after the break they did it again. Nathan Shaw scored after the Caley Jags broke forward from their own box. Three or four passes later and the final ball through from Jay Henderson saw Shaw scoring at the near post to give the hosts the advantage, his eighth of the season. Billy Mckay headed a Shaw cross over on the hour. Sean Welsh fired one over the bar from twenty-five yards and in the 77th minute Henderson won a spot kick after being brought down in the box. Scott Allardice crashed home from twelve yards to double our advantage. Henderson's joy was short-lived as he was sent off for a clumsy challenge on McKenna a couple of minutes later. Ridgers saved from Bobby Linn but Arbroath were unable to penetrate the home defence and it ended 2-0 to the Caley Jags. FULL TIME 2-0 The win puts Inverness within two points of fourth place Ayr United. A rubbish first half followed by a two goal second half to take the points. That will do at this stage of the season, grinding out results for another four games... Cove up next on Saturday, bring it on Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Updated table after tonight's results 1. Dundee 32 16 9 7 57 33 57 2. Queens Park 32 16 6 10 58 45 54 3. Partick Thistle 32 15 6 11 58 40 51 4. Ayr United 32 14 8 10 57 41 50 5. Inverness CT 32 13 9 10 46 42 48 6. Morton 32 12 11 9 45 38 47 7. Raith Rovers 32 11 8 13 43 44 41 8. Arbroath 32 6 14 12 28 43 32 9. Hamilton Ac. 32 7 8 17 28 58 29 10. Cove Rangers 32 6 9 17 35 71 27 Other games tonight Dundee 3-1 Rovers Morton 2-0 Accies Inverness CT 2-0 Arbroath FC Date: 11/04/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2038 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Deas, Delaney, Harper, Henderson, Welsh, Allardice, Shaw (Boyd 82), Samuels (D Mackay 74), B Mckay (Woods 66) Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Devine, Hyde, Doran Scorers: Shaw (53), Allardice (78 pen) Booked: Shaw (32) Sent Off: Henderson (79) Arbroath : 0 Manager: Dick Campbell Lineup: Gaston; Banks, Little, O'Brien, Hetherington, Baldé (Tait 45), Gold (Olusanya 65), Stewart (Linn 65), McKenna, Dow (El-Mhanni 65), Hilson (Komolafe 82) Subs (not used): Gill; Jacobs, Allan, Adarkwa Scorers: none Booked: Baldé (21) Sent Off: none a