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Dundee -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Dens Park 2nd March, 2021 - Kick-Off 7:00pm Covid restrictions - No Fans

Third time lucky This fixture is looking like it might beat the pandemic, snow, ice and water and is scheduled to be played on Wednesday evening with a 6:30pm kick-off. That is unless the strong winds force another postponement. The original preview is still mostly relevant apart from a couple of fairly serious injuries to a couple of Caley Thistle players. First the good news: We have signed Anthony McDonald on loan from Hearts and there is no pitch inspection planned......yet. Now the bad news: Anthony McDonald is injured and possibly out for most of the season with suspected knee cartilage/ligament damage. Aaron Doran has a torn thigh muscle. Both were injured in separate incidents during training on the artificial surface at the indoor facility and both will be out for a lengthy spell. With Kai Kennedy now at Raith Rovers, the new injuries leave us short on suppliers for the strikers. Maybe David Carson will be fit enough to start, but like most of the squad, match sharpness will be an issue. Plenty room for the young team to get back into the starting XI and give Robbo some food for thought. James Keatings was a casualty after 20 minutes of the Arbroath game, so he might be missing as well. It might be easier to check and see who is not fit...... Queen of the South are a different beast from the team we swept aside 3-0 at Palmerston back on the 4th December. Players like Dapo Awokoya-Mebude, Isaiah Jones, Ayo Obileye and Connor Shields are making the Doonhamers tick along nicely and have added a goal threat to the Queens attack. Not household names, but certainly giving the Dumfries side a lift, especially with goal machine Stephen Dobbie missing a few games through injury. Of course, Mebude might have a problem should his partying be deemed naughty. He might have to sit this one out. Up to the officials to sort that one out. Queens come North on the back of contrasting results. A 2-1 win over Morton, a defeat at Alloa by the same score and an excellent draw against Hearts where it took a 90th minute penalty for the Jambo's to rescue a point. We enter this game after a 1-1 draw at Gayfield followed by two postponements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW PPV £10, (cheap at half the price) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previously: Queens of the ice age frozen off...***GAME OFF*** (30th January) Another rearranged game due to go ahead on Saturday afternoon with Queen of the South the visitors. Should snow, ice, rain, covid or road blockages not stop this one, it is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV. Pixie Lott for a £10er. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves as the words that we all dread have been uttered by the club. "There will be a pitch inspection at 9am tomorrow morning ahead of the match against Queen of the South". Now there's a surprise! It could be an opportunity for us to bounce back after a disappointing draw against the ten men of Morton. Easier said than done given our lack of game time over the last month. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Queen of the South back to Jan 13th 2018 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) At Cappielow we were without Brad Mckay and more importantly striker Miles Storey. With Kai Kennedy off to Raith Rovers, we were bereft of the guile needed to prize open a stubborn defence, and when we did, a lack of composure ensured we would not run away with the game despite the Ton being a man short for over half of the match. All this has not best pleased Robbo who has let them know in no uncertain terms that it's simply not good enough to just turn up and claim the points. You tell them John... Queens are on a bit of a roll since we last played them on December 4th. They took a thrashing at Tynecastle the week after (6-1) then lost to Morton and Dundee. However, since then they beat Raith Rovers 0-2 on 29th December, they have been on the up. Victories over Ayr United, Queens Park and Morton along with a draw against Arbroath have lifted them above Inverness in the table although we do have three games in hand. In fact we have games in hand over everyone, but that does not equate to points in the bag; think Morton in midweek. Connor Shields is the man on form just now and Queens now seem to have enough talent on board to ease away from the relegation area. Shields has nine goals this season, and more worrying for us seven in the last six games since Xmas. Team news not forthcoming but Robbo hinted at some changes after the slackness at Cappielow. I'll keep it short as there is no guarantee the game will go ahead, so look out early morning for any news from ICT FC.

As Robert the Bruce said.... If at first you don't succeed..... It's the second time of asking and we are due to play Arbroath at Gayfield on Wednesday night with a 7:45pm kick-off. This game was re-scheduled from 2nd January due to a frozen pitch on that occasion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PPV from Arbroath FC TV @ £12 Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To be perfectly honest, our season is in absolute disarray at the moment with re-scheduled games in abundance. Add in Scottish Cup ties that were postponed, then put on hold, this campaign is a disaster for the Caley Jags. On top of that, our inability to attract players North during the pandemic is a cause for concern when all around us are strengthening their squads. It has certainly raised a few eyebrows and we could be in more danger of staving off relegation than pushing for a top four finish. One bright note is that Scott Allardice has signed on for another couple of years. He has been one of our better bargains and is well worth the contract. Last time out we drew 2-2 at Morton. That may have been seen as a decent result, but when you consider that we threw away a 2-1 lead against ten men for fifty minutes then it simply was not good enough. A point not lost on manager John Robertson who was unusually despondent after the game. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Arbroath. Click on scores to open out further options. 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (H) 7 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 3 - 1 (A) We did manage to play Arbroath earlier in the season and eased to a 3-1 win in the Highlands. Dan Mackay, Scott Allardice and Nikolay Todorov were the scorers. Allardice's goal was his first for the Caley Jags and what a thumper it was. Kris Doolan scored the opener for Arbroath while Pixellot were following the linesmans head. The Red Lichties last outing was a bonus for them as they beat the very same Morton that we failed to beat at Cappielow. Loan signing Jack Hamilton opened his Smokies account after coming in from Livingston. That result lifted Arbroath off the foot of the table. Incidentally, that was Hamilton's 11th goal of the season, a man worth watching. He had previously been on loan at East Fife and did well up here in the League Cup group stages with the Fifers. Lichties two games before the win at Morton were draws with Dundee and Queen of the South.

Queens of the ice age frozen off. ***POSTPONED*** Another rearranged game due to go ahead on Saturday afternoon with Queen of the South the visitors. Should snow, ice, covid or road blockages not stop this one, it is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV - Pixie Lott for a £10er. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves as the words that we all dread have been uttered by the club. "There will be a pitch inspection at 9am tomorrow morning ahead of the match against Queen of the South". Now there's a surprise! It could be an opportunity for us to bounce back after a disappointing draw against the ten men of Morton. Easier said than done given our lack of game time over the last month. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Queen of the South back to Jan 13th 2018 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) At Cappielow we were without Brad Mckay and more importantly striker Miles Storey. With Kai Kennedy off to Raith Rovers, we were bereft of the guile needed to prize open a stubborn defence, and when we did, a lack of composure ensured we would not run away with the game despite the Ton being a man short for over half of the match. All this has not best pleased Robbo who has let them know in no uncertain terms that it's simply not good enough to just turn up and claim the points. You tell them John... Queens are on a bit of a roll since we last played them on December 4th. They took a thrashing at Tynecastle the week after (6-1) then lost to Morton and Dundee. However, since then they beat Raith Rovers 0-2 on 29th December, they have been on the up. Victories over Ayr United, Queens Park and Morton along with a draw against Arbroath have lifted them above Inverness in the table although we do have three games in hand. In fact we have games in hand over everyone, but that does not equate to points in the bag; think Morton in midweek. Connor Shields is the man on form just now and Queens now seem to have enough talent on board to ease away from the relegation area. Shields has nine goals this season, and more worrying for us seven in the last six games since Xmas. Team news not forthcoming but Robbo hinted at some changes after the slackness at Cappielow. I'll keep it short as there is no guarantee the game will go ahead, so look out early morning for any news from ICT FC.

Weather & Covid permitting... Another one bites the dust...... Frozen area of pitch. Inverness are due to play Alloa Athletic this weekend, covid and weather permitting. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday 23rd January. Should it go ahead that will be our first game since 29th December when Dunfermline Athletic came North. There is of course no guarantee's these days with Scotland in lockdown and snow threatening to disrupt sporting events across the country. The aforementioned Dunfermline game ended all square at one apiece. Kerr McInroy rifled the Pars ahead before a second half spectacular twenty-five yarder from Miles Storey earned Inverness a point. Our previous game to that one was an away defeat to the very team we face on Saturday. It ended 2-1 for Alloa despite Inverness taking an early lead through Brad McKay. Unable to build on that, the Wasps sussed us out and once Innes Murray scored with a superb free kick there would only be one winner. The winning goal was gift wrapped by Mark Ridgers. It was an early Christmas present for Robbie Thomson, when from his volley a routine save turned into a blooper when the ball squirmed from his grasp and into the net. Since then we have lost the services of young Kai Kennedy after his loan deal expired. He has since joined Raith Rovers. On top of that Aaron Doran was rendered unavailable after suffering concussion against Dunfermline. However, our inactivity might see Doran declared fit to face Alloa. The Wasps have been pumped by Raith Rovers (2-5), Dundee (3-1) and Hearts (1-3)since our last meeting. They picked up their only point with a 1-1 draw at home to Morton. Defeat against Hearts had a price tag, Lucas Williamson was red carded late in the game and will miss the game against us. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manager John Robertson opened up about his own struggles throughout the pandemic and gave everyone food for thought. If someone as effervescent as Robbo is plumbing the depths then we all need to be careful and look out for each other. There has been plenty of reaction to Robbo's thoughts and everyone here at CTO wishes him all the best in what he describes himself as "the hardest year to manage... Things have been so tough during the pandemic that the Caley Thistle boss has even considered walking away from football Taken from a press interview, Robbo said: “It’s been the hardest year to manage: “I’m sure other managers would say the same. My concern is my players’ health and wellbeing. It’s been difficult. “As a manager, you deal with a lot — fallouts with their partners, financial problems, their cars breaking down. A million and one things. “Add all that together and throw in a pandemic that is claiming lives and it’s very difficult. “We’ve had players here who haven’t seen their families for ten months. “I haven’t seen my own children for ten months, or my granddaughter, who was born in November. “We all accept that and get on with it, but it has been very difficult. “I’ve been very down at times. I’ve struggled with my mental health because I’ve had all these added pressures to deal with. “As a manager, I do my best to try and help my players, but who helps me? “I’ve got to go home and chat to my wife about it, but who manages the managers? “I’m lucky I’ve a great relationship with the board and the chief executive and we have chats. “But there have been half a dozen times since March where I’ve felt really low. “Sometimes I have questioned whether I want to keep going because it’s just been so hard seeing what’s happening in the world at the moment. “It doesn’t last very long, you go again. “But I’d be a liar to say it has not affected me.” Championship fixtures this weekend Arbroath 1-1 Dundee (Friday) Dunfermline v Ayr United Hearts v Raith Rovers ICT FC v Alloa Athletic Queen of the South v Morton ***Latest Team News*** With our winter holidays since 29th December, I expect to see duracell bunny David Carson getting close to some game time and the same should apply to defender Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran could be good to go after his enforced down time through concussion. Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney will need more time off to fully recover. Robbo has hinted that there are a couple of guys struggling to make this one: "“We’ve got a couple of niggles, the boys have been training very hard. We’ve got a couple of players that we’ll look at on Friday, they may make it but we may not take the chance with the amount of games coming up.” Peter Grant will be without the suspended Lucas Williamson. Kevin Cawley Alan Trouten and Liam Buchanan all offer a goal threat and Innes Murray showed what he can do with a dead ball. Neil Parry was the top shot stopper last season and is a difficult man to get the better of. All in, a tough game on our hands against a team that know how to beat us; hosts beware!

Inverness CT -V- Queen of the South ***Match moved from January 12th Caledonian Stadium, Inverness Saturday 30th January @ 3:00pm Championship Football Covid restrictions apply Live Streaming available

Wasps Waiting for their Jags Its a visit to Clackmannanshire for the Caley Jags on Saturday as they take on the Wasps at the Indodrill Stadium; that's Recreation Park to you and me. The game kicks off at 3:00pm and unfortunately covid restrictions mean there will be no crowd in attendance. The good news though is the game can be streamed live from Alloa FC on PPV for £12, details of which are in the Alloa tweet below. Beats Xmas shopping so get yourself registered and log in for the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW FROM ICTFC Alloa PPV INFO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness dropped two points last week as Dundee scored late to earn a point at the Caledonian Stadium. It was a see-saw game where Dundee took a first half lead through Liam Fontaine before two goals in quick succession from Robbie Deas, his first in blue, and James Keatings, changed the game. It was no more than Inverness deserved at that point but Jordan McGhee popped up with the equaliser for a share of the points. It was a decent performance in front of a covid restricted 300 fans against a side who are beginning to gel after a slow start to the campaign. There's no doubting the quality of McPake's individuals, but individuals do not maketh a team. However, I expect Dundee to make the top four come the end of the season, and on last weeks evidence it looks likely that we will join them. Alloa beat Arbroath last week at the bottom end of the table to lift them above the Lichties. The only goal of the game came from Stephan Scougall ten minutes from the end. They also played in midweek and almost pulled off a shock result against Hibernian in the League Cup but they fell just short of causing an upset. It was looking like a capital double for the Wasps in the League Cup but they couldn't quite hold on. They had led through a first half own goal, the ball bouncing off Hanlon. That was a lead they held until the hour when Hibs scored twice. Doidge with the first then another own goal from Alloa's Jamieson in the 83rd minute was enough to put Hibs into the semi-finals where they will face St Johnstone. Livi will play Rangers conquerors St Mirren in the other semi. Great effort from Alloa though and given the result against Arbroath, it can be seen as a positive week and a possible springboard for the season. Philosophical as ever........ Other Championship games this weekend, all Saturday afternoon. Arbroath v Ayr United Dundee FC v Dunfermline Morton FC v Queen of the South Hearts have a Scottish Cup Final to play against Celtic on Sunday at 2:15pm. Mon the Championship side. We are all Hearts! The Highlanders injury crisis is thankfully on the wane with only longer term casualties Kevin McHattie, Lewis Toshney and David Carson still receiving treatment. Carson is nearest to recovery and has started training. Shane Sutherland took a knock last week and news on his progress is awaited. Wallace Duffy is on the mend but this weekend might be too soon for him after his recent knee injury. No matter anyway as the young players have taken to this Championship football malarkey like a duck to water. So much so that the likes of Sean Welsh, James Vincent, Aaron Doran and Nikolay Todorov have to be content with starting from the bench in last couple of games. Robbie Deas will meet up with some of his Alloa buddies from last season after his move to the Caley Jags over the summer break. Alloa boss Peter Grant might have some weary legs to contend with after the battling performance against Hibs in midweek. They were without Scott Taggart and Ray Grant against Hibs. After an incredible 8,490 consecutive minutes playing for Alloa, Taggart's run ended in November and he is now in crutches and will be out for a few weeks. Murder! Grant has a hamstring injury. Kevin Cawley and the experienced Alan Trouten will be the ones to watch up front and Neil Parry will be a safe pair of hands between the sticks. The Wasps did lose one Kevin since last season. No, not Kevin the carrot, but striker Kevin O'Hara who is now at East End Park and will be a big miss. They are undoubtedly weaker since last term with players moving on but should not be underestimated as Hearts found out in the League Cup with Hibs almost going the same way. Always a difficult fixture to take all three points and this one will be no different, nothing but 100% will be good enough for the three points, but it's a great opportunity to put some pressure on the clubs above with Raith Rovers idle and Dundee and the Pars clashing at Dens Park. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RIG also has this preview ahead of tomorrows game. It's more upbeat and word on the streets, down with the kids and all that sort of stuff. The lack of activity on the site ahead of the visit of the big man in red has prompted this start... Erm, we have a game tomorrow right? Or is not being able to go to games just killing interest in football at the minute? After playing Alloa a record 28 times last season this is the first of a mere 3 fixtures against them in this campaign. Fairly makes you pine for a pie in a roll. Despite playing well last season Alloa were often found languishing towards the bottom of the league and things are much the same this season. Except Alloa aren't playing well. They lost some important players at the end of last season like Kevin O'Hara, Robbie Deas, Iain Flannigan and Scott Banks. No wonder they aren't doing as well! Games between the two sides have been pretty entertaining in the last couple of seasons including an enthralling Scottish Cup tie which we won with a late Charlie Trafford header. Wait, Trafford...header...winning goal...nope that's what it says. Anyway, yours truly lost his mind with that goal after one too many fruit ciders and can be seen falling over the advertising boards at the end of this video Alloa use the Pixellot camera system for their games, as I understand it, but they don't seem to have been plagued by the same problems at Inverness for whatever reason. So perhaps you can be a bit more confident if you choose to part with a mere £12 to watch us "swat" the wasps aside or might we be "stung" by the home side? https://live.alloaathletic.co.uk/event/5fc50c9c9e8ec810c40e6cb3 Don't forget your weekly dose of Wyness Shuffle. The guys are doing a tremendous job putting these Podcasts together for you, so have a listen. Here's what the last one was about Find the Whistleblower The Shuffle is back… with Roddy MacGregor, Charlie Christie, the 300, views from Dundee, all the autumn action analysis, Initiation Songs, the Nightmare XI plus a look forward to December’s Xmas crackers.

Friday night on council TV We're on the telly on Friday night for a 7:45pm kick-off at Palmerston Park, Dumfries, where Queen of the South will host matchday six for both clubs in a covid restricted game which will feature on BBC Scotland. Steven McLean will be the man in charge for this one. Queen of the South were the last side to visit the Caledonian Stadium back in March before covid19 came along and changed our lives. On that occasion Inverness ran out 3-1 winners to remain second in the table behind Dundee United. Here's the action from that miserable Tuesday night, the game played out in a bit of a monsoon. Both sides were idle last weekend as the next phase of the League Cup was played out. I notice that the village pub team from the quaint market town of Dingwall had the temerity to end Celtic's 35 match unbeaten run in domestic cup competitions and put more pressure on Neil Lennon. Shame Anyway, big team big cup, wee team wee cup and all that sort of stuff..... Meanwhile, back in the Championship, the quest for promotion goes on as we head for Palmerston on a relative high after an encouraging win over table topping Raith Rovers, a game that saw a few fans viewing the game from inside the stadium with strict covid protocols in operation. It's a start, let's hope this trend continues across the country. We were never stretched by Rovers and scored in each half. Miles Storey should have opened the scoring but for the woodwork intervening, twice. He did however tee up James Keatings for the first and Scott Allardice later in the game as he slotted in the second to seal the points and push Inverness towards the middle of the table. Queens picked up their first win of the campaign whilst we were beating Raith as they deservedly beat Alloa Athletic 2-0 with goals either side of the interval from Gregor Buchanan and a superb Joe McKee free kick. That result has put Alloa at the foot of the table. League table after five games and other Championship fixtures this weekend (Saturday) Alloa Ath v Ayr United Dundee v Arbroath Morton v Hearts Rovers v Dunfermline With an alarming amount of injuries to contend with, the recent international break and the League Cup knockout stages have come along at the right time for Robbo and his injury hit squad. It will allow those that have been nursing knocks and strains more recovery time and put those out longer term closer to a return to action. John Robertson might have some better news regarding his injury list and hopefully David Carson, Kevin McHattie, and Lewis Toshney might be a step nearer the pitch, with Sean Welsh, Miles Storey, Shane Sutherland, James Vincent, James Keatings and Aaron Doran all putting more mileage into their legs. Allan Johnston, like most managers in the Championship is also working on a shoestring and has taken players in he hopes will do the job for him. He still has the prolific Stephen Dobbie on the books but Kevin Holt has left the club. Attacking midfielder Calvin McGrory, versatile midfielder Nortei Nortey, Niyah Joseph, Euan East, defender James Maxwell, Kieran McKechnie, Harry Robinson and keeper Rohan Ferguson are all new at Palmerston, many of these secured on loan deals such was the haste that many clubs had to operate on to build a squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL MATCH PREVIEW FROM ICTFC GREG TANSEY THUNDERSTRUCK AC/DC THUNDERSTRUCK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Danny Boy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RIG also looks ahead to this one: After a weekend off we are back in action in a couple of nights with a long trip to Queen of the South. One of the best away day trips has been ruined because of COVID-19 and the SPFL moving it to a Friday night for coverage on a TV channel that almost no one watches but don't let that get you down and tune in to the BBC Scotland channel from 19:30 on Friday to see us take on the Doonhamers. A really impressive win over early season "surprise" package Raith Rovers coupled with a number of players coming back from injury means confidence will surely be high ahead of this one. Queens are a shambles of a team thrown together last minute in a similar manner as we were at the start of the 17/18 season. That said, they've not performed that badly so it's not going to be an easy game but hopefully it's one we can win and keep up our remarkable run of results in Dumfries where we haven't lost since 2004! The last time we lost there Busted, one of the great UK heavy metal bands of the early noughties, were number one. No need for streaming info although after 30 seconds of listening to Leanne Crichton and Jonathan Sutherland you may even be desperate enough for our commentator to take over... The Wyness Shuffle guys have been busy knocking out another Podcast for you. Give it a listen, it'll pass an hour and a half for you. Review of recent fixtures with analysis from Charlie Christie Look ahead to forthcoming games including Dundee preview with Dee fan Gary Cocker Chatting to 2 of the "300" who got into the ground for the first game this season with fans Interview with Roddy MacGregor Initiation Songs Another Nightmare XI entrant Well why not reinforce your collection of porcelain with a classy mug adorned with "The Wyness Shuffle" featuring artwork from the superb Sophie Robb Use it for tea coffee, Hot Todorovs or some pencils! Look no further for your Stocking Filler Got a story to tell, speak to Chris

Willie Wonka and the Goalden Tickets Raith Rovers are the visitors this weekend for Matchday 5 in the Championship, and it will be the first game at the Caledonian Stadium to allow fans in during the covid pandemic, albeit restricted to around 300 tier one season ticket holders. It's a step in the right direction for football and hopefully it will be a successful occasion on and off the park. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm on Saturday November 21st, a date for the diary. It might be a bit like Willie Wonka, but from little acorns and all that stuff... The good news for streaming fans is that last weeks offering for the East Fife game was a marked improvement from the first couple of Pixie Lott efforts. This time a camera operator was apparently in place and aided by a lack of sun from the west, the live pictures came across much better without any following of the lineman's follicly challenged head. So credit where it's due, well done to whoever took note of the many unhappy viewers from previous games although it would have been nice if they could have let us know what was happening and that they were going to do something about it. Anyway, sorted for now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matchday Protocol Video Fans return Ballot £10 PPV option for this game £10 Ian Broadfoot - Milestones & Memories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two sides met eleven days ago in the League Cup group stages at Stark's Park Kirkaldy. It was an entertaining game which finished 3-3 with Raith taking the bonus point after winning the penalty shoot-out 3-2. Manny Duku was a menace throughout and scored the opening goal before Shane Sutherland levelled for Inverness. A Danny Devine own goal put Raith back in front after Ethan Ross broke on the left before cutting the ball into the box and off the unfortunate Danny boy. Two quick goals for us from James Keatings (pen) and Roddy MacGregor, his first for the club, put us in the driving seat but Duku sent the tie to penalties in time added on. It was a good work out for both sides who will no doubt have some different personnel this weekend. Brad Mckay and James Vincent were both injured at Raith to add to out lengthy list of casualties. We played East Fife last weekend in the same competition and laboured to a 1-0 win in true Scotland style. We had Cammy Mackay to thank for that as he saved a penalty in stoppage time from Jack Hamilton. Shane Sutherland gave us the lead in the second half with a powerful header. Good points to come out of the game were a debut for Harry Nicolson and Miles Storey came off the bench on his return after injury. Also Cammy Mackay was in brilliant form with a super save earlier in the first half and ended his day with that superb penalty save. Rovers had a Fife derby to contend with and they also made life difficult for themselves but they saw off Cowdenbeath 1-0 with Manny Duku again on the scoresheet. I'm sure both sides will be stronger for this game with Dylan Tait back for Rovers and Lars Lokotsch available again. Jamie MacDonald will probably be between the sticks although Robbie Thomson did well against us and defender Kieran MacDonald could also return. That's seven goals already for Duku and he will need to be shackled if we are to take anything from this game. Here's a few words from Kai Kennedy John Robertson saw Miles Story return against East Fife and was able to rest one or two others with Aaron Doran and James Keatings coming on from the bench. Sean Welsh has missed a couple of games recently, let's hope he's just resting his fragile body as he's required for crucial games. Anyway, Robbo just wants to see this game out so we can regroup and hopefully get more players fully fit before the next round of Championship games on December 5th for us when we visit Palmerston on the Friday night. David Carson, Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie have been longer term casualties and time will be a great healer for them. Other Championship games this weekend & Table prior to Dunfermline v Hearts Dunfermline 2 - 0 Hearts (Friday night 7:45) Arbroath Fc -V- Morton Ayr United -V- Dundee Fc Queen Sth -V- Alloa Ath *** LATEST TEAM NEWS*** From the Official Preview: John Robertson said “I don’t think Wallace Duffy will make it, he’s still injured from last week.” “We’ve got players back in training this week, James Vincent has started to train, Sean Welsh has started to train but he’s still a bit tender, Miles Storey has done a bit more training, David Carson has started his running programme.” “The squad will be virtually the same as last week with the players with the possibility of one or two senior lads maybe on the bench. They’re still miles off it unfortunately due injury and fitness but it may well be that they can do something for us off the bench.” So there you have straight from the horses mouth. Latest from Raith with Paul Smith looking ahead to this game