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Found 19 results

  1. Handicap Hurdles And they're off. With a fifteen point deduction because of Administration, we started our League1 campaign again at Dumbarton under the guidance of Scott Kellacher and Billy Mckay for the first time. Danny Devine and Charlie Gilmour were missing which would make Scott Kellacher's team selection more difficult. The Son's were along similar lines to last weeks excellent win at Arbroath. It would be an uphill battle after James Hilton fired the Sons ahead but Jake Davidson headed us level after half an hour and that's how it was at the break. Ryan Blair restored the Sons lead and Hilton added a third to push the Sons 15 points ahead of Inverness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not much to shout about in the opening exchanges until James Hilton smacked in the opening goal from the edge of the box to put the hosts ahead quarter of an hour into the game. Inverness responded with player coach Billy Mckay firing over the bar. On the half hour and it was all square. Jake Davidson scored following a corner with a close range header, Paul Allan with the assist. The visitors upped the pressure on the home goal and Billy Mckay headed over before Adam MacKinnon's header was saved by Brett Long in the home goal. MacKinnon fired wide moments later. Mathew Shiels brought Musa Dibaga into action as the keeper saved comfortably. Five minutes before the break a neat move from a corner ended with the Sons defence having to block from Robbie Thompson as he offloaded. Hilton missed the target with a header just before the break as the ball bounced wide. All to play for in the second period. HALF TIME: 1-1No changes at the interval. Brett Long saved from Mckay's low shot five minutes after the restart and the defenders mopped up the loose ball. Dibaga again denied Hilton just before the hour. Ryan Blair edged the hosts ahead after a corner was recycled. Blair finished with a curling shot behind the keeper. Hilton had been causing problems and he notched his second of the game and Dumbarton's third after driving forward and shooting into the bottom corner. A late flurry of activity saw Remi Savage head over from a corner and Sons sub Mumbongo shooting wide on the run. The last action had Long saving from Nolan as time ran away. FULL TIME: 3-1 Scott Kellacher's first game in charge ended in defeat at the Rock. Not the start we had hoped for but it was a big ask with Devine and Gilmour missing. Great Summary on CTO by Mantis: Massive disappointment in the end. So much positivity in the bar and in the stand, and the team were excellent first half. Hilton’s goal was pretty much Dumbarton’s only attacking effort of the half, completely against the run of play, but what a worldie giving Musa no chance, although he was allowed too much room to turn. The Sons started the second half much better and I always felt that if they scored first, they would win. One or two experienced pros such as Wallace and Carlo. They stuck to the basics, defended well without trying to be fancy, and hit us on the break. A couple of unforced errors cost us. ICT heads dropped at 2-1 and we never looked like coming back. Fantastic support today and great applause for the team at the end. Rather weird coming to a team with such a poor support when you are used to Championship crowds like Partick and the Pars. Hardly heard a sound when they scored. Big uphill task now. Annan beat QotS 1-0 in the late game on BBC Alba Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 11 3 17 2 Stenhousemuir 11 2 17 3 Alloa Athletic 11 1 17 4 Montrose 11 3 16 5 Kelty Hearts 11 6 15 6 Arbroath 11 -1 15 7 Queen of Sth 11 -3 14 8 Annan Athletic 11 -8 13 9 Dumbarton 11 -1 12 10 Inverness CT 11 -2 -3 Date: 26/10/2024 Venue: Marbill Coaches Stadium, Dumbarton Attendance: 0872 Referee: Graham Grainger Dumbarton: 3 Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup: Long; Miller, Durnan, Brown, Blair, Pignatiello (Orsi 81), Wilson (McGuffie 81), Niang, Hilton (Wallace 77), Ruth (Mumbongo 81), Shiels (Gray 55) Subs (not used): O'Neil; Young, Lynas, Clark Scorers: Hilton (14, 72), Blair (63) Booked: Wilson (80) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher (Head Coach) Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson, Ewan, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, R Thompson (MacLeod 76), Allan, MacKinnon (Strachan ), Bray (C Mackay 77), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; S Thompson, Scorers: Davidson (28) Booked: Nolan (21), Savage (56) Sent Off: none a
  2. Life in Administration Starts on Saturday at Dumbarton Stadium in the Scottish League 1 with Inverness now deducted fifteen points which puts us twelve points below our hosts this weekend. Unfortunately, five players have been released along with the management team of Duncan Ferguson, Gary Bollan and Stuart Garden. So far, we have retained the bulk of our squad including our senior players with Scott Kellacher taking on the head coaching role assisted by none other than Billy Mckay. They will also be given further assistance from Charlie Christie and the rest of the youth squad trainers. So, it's almost as you were without our management team and a 15 point deduction. The downside so far is the dismissal of four contracted players and loan keeper Jack Newman. More details later in the preview. Good luck to those released through no fault of their own. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Administration Info on ICTFC Match/Ticket/Travel/Info 5 Players let go (1 loan) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour. Next up was a home game against Stenhousemuir. Quite frankly this was a dull game with neither side able to score although Musa Dibaga did make a wonderful penalty save in the first half. Relegated Arbroath was our final game of the opening round of fixtures and despite creating enough chances, we came away from Gayfield with our second defeat of the League1 campaign. Away from League duty last weekend, we put up a good fight against Livingston in the Challenge Cup at Almondvale but lost out 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after it finished 2-2 over the ninety minutes. Paul Allan and Charlie Gilmour were our scorers during the ninety minutes. Our first game in the second round of fixtures turned out to be Duncan Ferguson's last stand. It ended in like his first game in charge, a win as we defeated Annan 1-0 at home. Administration and management removal followed by five players being released. First game after Admin is at Dumbarton this week... Dumbarton: D D D D D D L L L / W Dumbarton started the season with six draws on the trot followed by three defeats. It was only last week that they recorded their first league win of the season in their tenth League fixture with an excellent 1-3 away win at Gayfield. Arbroath had opened the scoring through Tam O'Brien after ten minutes but Carlo Pignatiello replied ten minutes later. A Dylan Smith og and a last minute goal from Finlay Gray ended the scoring as the Sons celebrated their first win in style..... just in time for our visit, meh! Our first game of the League1 campaign was against Dumbarton at the Caledonian Stadium on the back of disappointing League Cup group stages for both sides. It was also the game where Johndo was remembered in the sixth minute. I wonder what Johndo would make of all this. As already said on CTO, plenty of scope for his CTO Xmas pantomime with villains in abundance and a hero in Alan Salvage. Game of two halves: 1-1 A rousing round of applause rang out from the crowd on the sixth minute in appreciation of the dedication of John Mackenzie, AKA the Immortal Howden Ender who sadly passed away last week. A fitting tribute as cheering and clapping broke out around the ground and one in which he would have loved to have led the way. Rest in Peace my well travelled friend. You would have enjoyed the first half. The second I'm sure you would have had some choice words for in your after match summary. It was the proverbial game of two halves. Inverness were miles ahead in the first half and rubbish after the break. Plenty of possession and slick movement with new signings Flynn Duffy and Adam Mackinnon prominent in attacking moves. Charlie Gilmour brought out a tremendous reflex save from keeper Long, however most of the good work petered out when we got into the final third but we took the lead on the stroke of half time when Danny Devine sneaked in behind the defence to nod in unchallenged at the back post from a corner. Hey ho we all thought, lifes not so bad after all. Wrong!!! We allowed Dumbarton to dominate the next half hour and they deservedly levelled through Carlo Pignatiello as we seemed to go back into our shell. Niang was booked a second time for persistent fouling and reluctantly left the field when he was red carded. Billy Mckay had cracked one off the bar and Charlie Gilmour and Remi Savage were denied by the keeper but it was a bit of an anti climax after a promising first half. Jack Newman also had to make a good save five minutes from the end to keep the score level when he denied Mumbongo. Here's the fixtures for this weekend and this is how the table looks after we were deducted 15 points. Meh! Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 10 2 17 2 Montrose 10 5 16 3 Kelty Hearts 10 7 15 4 Cove Rangers 10 1 14 5 Stenhousemuir 10 1 14 6 Queen of Sth 10 -2 14 7 Arbroath 10 -2 12 8 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 9 Dumbarton 10 -3 9 10 Inverness CT 10 0 -3 Latest Team News With administration comes redundancies. First to go was Duncan Ferguson and his coaching staff of Gary Bollan and Stuart Garden. Four players were released although the bulk of the experienced players were retained. No surprise that Cameron Ferguson was released. Bit part striker Adam Brooks was also released along with the promising left back Flynn Duffy who has been recovering from a punctured lung after looking lively in the five games he did play. Wallace Duffy was the most experienced player to be released after coming back into the squad since being ignored at the end of last season, in total making 113 appearances and scoring five goals. Big comedown for Wallace having been our MotM in the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic in 2023. I'm sure we all appreciated the efforts of those released although like every team, we have our boo boys who picked on the unfortunate. In this instance young Cameron was the brunt of most ill feeling which probably stunted his development whilst here although one wonders would he have been here had his father not been the manager. Some may say that the release of the management team is a step in the right direction as many questioned our style of play since Ferguson arrived. It looked like a case of keep the ball at all costs and don't be rushing up the park. We were set up to hold what we had with little directness. That led to too many draws and late defeats as we regressed. That aside, he can't be faulted for his gesture of not drawing a wage and I wish him and his team good fortune for the future. Duncan Ferguson gone. Gary Bollan gone Stuart Garden gone Players out Cameron Ferguson (12 appearances, not ready at this level) Adam Brooks (7 goals in 41 appearances) Flynn Duffy (recovered from a punctured lung) Wallace Duffy (113 apps, 5 goals) Jack Newman (loan ended back to Dundee United...maybe) On the plus side, Scott Kellacher has been promoted to Head Coach with Billy Mckay as his assistant player coach. Charlie Christie appears to be assisting as well, possibly overseeing/helping with the coaching along with the rest of the clubs youth coaches. Good luck Scott and Billy, all the best and all at CTO will get behind you and the boys as we attempt to play.... Against All Odds as Charles Bannerman once said. (No truth in the rumour that his next book will be entitled Against All Frauds) Given the circumstances, I imagine we will be along similar lines to last time out without Wallace Duffy in the starting XI. It will be interesting to see how we set our stall out under Scott and Billy. Good luck guys. Dumbarton's last Starting XI in the win at Arbroath. Carlo Pignatiello scored in the first fixture at the Caledonian Stadium and he scored last week in the 3-1 win over Arbroath. Pignatiello, Ruth and Durnan have all scored three League goals. Dumbarton have the leakiest defence conceding 17 goals whereas we have only conceded 7 times. The Sons are third top scorers with 14 goals, twice as many as our shot shy players.
  3. EMBARRASSING STUFF AS BILLY NETS 101 This result took the shine off of Billy Mckay's record breaking feat as he equalled the 101 goal record of Dennis Wyness. A combination of great striking from the Wallace boys, poor finishing from Inverness, the crossbar and in general, pre-season blues saw Dumbarton deservedly win this tie. Dress it up any way you want, but this was not good enough against a League Two side. Congratulations to Dumbarton and get the finger out to Billy Dodds and his squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some good early play from the visitors went unrewarded with Austin Samuels and Billy Mckay missing half chances. Mckay had a 'goal' chalked off after 20 minutes, Duffy infringing in the build up. The hosts took the lead on the half hour. A headed clearance from Duffy was met by Ryan Wallace and he volleyed home the opening goal to give the Sons the advantage. Great strike! Inverness knocked on the Sons door for the rest of the half but to no avail. Hilton replaced Pignatiello five minutes before the break after he pulled up. Not a great first half for the visitors who will need to up their game for the second half and it was difficult to tell which was the Championship side at the interval. HALF TIME: 1-0 David Carson prodded a Shaw cross goalwards at the start of the second period but it came off the crossbar. However it was disaster for Inverness when Tony Wallace scored a second for Dumbarton with a close range header five minutes after the interval. Duffy was next to hit the woodwork as his diving header smacked the bar. Charlie Gilmour brought out a great save from Broun as Inverness looked to get back into the game, the keeper saving in the top corner. Billy Mckay gave Inverness faint hope with a record equalling goal. However the gloss was taken off his achievement by the poor performance of the team as Dumbarton saw out the game to sour Billy's fantastic goal scoring record which he will make his own in the coming season. FULL TIME: 2-1 A dismal night for the away support as we were second best across the park. From CTO: Same as the last few seasons. No one with authority on the pitch. Lots of energy, but running around like headless chickens. As often as not, a forward pass goes to someone running back towards you, and he comes back 20 or 30 yards before passing the ball, sideways or further backwards. Opponents always seem to be smarter, better placed, make better interceptions, and above all, finish better. Sure we hit the bar and all that - but we weren't unlucky, it was poor finishing. Very depressing. Date: 18/07/2023 Venue: Dumbarton Football Stadium Attendance: 507 Referee: Chris Fordyce Dumbarton: 2 Manager: Steve Farrell Lineup: Broun; Lynas, Crighton, Durnan, Wylde, Pignatiello (Hilton 40, Young 72), Blair, MacLean, Wilson, T Wallace (Ruth 72), R Wallace (Vata 79) Subs (not used): Long; Scorers: R Wallace (27), T Wallace (50) Booked: Blair (33), T Wallace (55) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson (Nicolson 72), Duffy, Devine, Harper, Carson, Welsh (MacGregor 67), Gilmour (Brooks 62), Shaw (Doran 72), Samuels (Bray 72), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Thompson, Hyde Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  4. Group E - Game Two We face a midweek trip to Dumbarton Football Stadium for both clubs' second fixture in this seasons ViaPlay League Cup. Tuesday night at 7:45pm is the scheduled kick-off time for this group E fixture. Contrasting results in the opening games with Inverness easing past Bonnyrigg Rose 2-1 thanks to a stunning brace from Aaron Doran. A late header from Keiran McGachie gave the Rose the reward their endeavour deserved but it was Inverness that took the points. The Sons were hit with two late strikes from Airdrie in the last five minutes of their game. Nikolay Todorov and Lewis McGregor were the late saviours for the Diamonds at the Excelsior Stadium. In the other Group E game on Tuesday night, Bonnyrigg host Dundee at New Dundas Park. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ticket/Match/Streaming info Tuesday night we face Dumbarton away from home Tickets available online now or cash turnstile on Tuesday Dumbarton Stadium Bar open from 6.15pm Live Stream Info Supporters Bus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Memory Lane: We eventually got the better of Dumbarton in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final at MacDiarmid Park in Perth. It took a late strike from Carl Tremarco in the 93rd minute to ensure the Cup came North after Dumbarton had coped well with our efforts for ninety minutes. Tremarco stole in at the back post to bury a low cross from a young substitute called Mackay. Daniel Mackay was that lad. Tom Walsh was in the Sons line-up that day and he went on to play for us over two spells until his unfortunate knee injury. Dimitris Froxylias the enigmatic Cypriot played in the final and he was capable of producing the unexpected. Stuart Carsewell played and David Wilson was an unused sub for the Sons that day. Mark Ridgers and Aaron Doran are our only survivors from that game. Last 10 Competitive Meetings - None since 2018 1 - 0 (A) 5 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (N) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) Latest Team News Inverness tinkered with their selection in the opening fixture against Bonnyrigg. Whilst the scoreline remained close throughout, we were fairly dominant and should have been out of site before the last minute goal for the Rose. Some things worked and other things need worked on. It's still basically pre-season for us so we will not know our most suitable team selection at present, but that will come with more game time. The weather did not help on Saturday as a couple of monsoons dampened the atmosphere, but hey ho, we got the points. One or two still to make an appearance so I'll leave it for Billy Dodds to sort out. Good to see Roddy MacGregor get some game time at the weekend. Can Aaron Doran keep this up>>> Dumbarton: What can we expect? The Sons will be playing in League Two this season. They finished last season in second place behind Stirling Albion but failed to progress via the play-offs. They suffered a 6-0 defeat to Annan Athletic in their first leg game and that put paid to any hopes of promotion . The return leg was a no scoring draw. They lost 2-0 at Airdrie in their opening Group E fixture but it took two very late goals to win the game. Former Caley Jag Nikolay Todorov was on the scoresheet for Airdrie. Steve Farrell had this starting XI against Airdrie Long; Lynas, Durnan, Blair, Wilson, MacLean, Pignatiello, Hilton, Ruth, Crighton, Young Subs: Broun; Wylde, R Wallace, Byrne, T Wallace, Vata Pre-Season for Dumbarton 1 July 2023 Dumbarton 2 - 3 Hebburn Town (Hilton and MacLean with the goals) 4 July 2023 Dumbarton 0-3 St Mirren 8 July 2023 Workington 0-4 Dumbarton (MacLean, Blair, Byrne, Vata with the goals)
  5. Goals from Wyness, Bayne and McAllister saw off Dumbarton and allowed Caley Thistle to advance to the 3rd Round of the CIS cup. Wednesday 23rd August 2006 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Inverness INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC 3 (Wyness 6, Bayne 54, McAllister 72) Team: Brown, Tokely (McBain 78), McCaffery, Munro, Golabek, Wilson, Hart (Keogh 61), Duncan, Morgan, Bayne, Wyness (McAllister 67) Subs: Rankin, Fraser DUMBARTON FC 1 (Dobbie 30) Team: Grindlay, Geggins (Boyle 47), Craig, Brittain (McKeever 89), Canning, Dillon, Bagan, Gentle, Borris, McNaught, Dobbie (Quitongo 82) Subs: McCann, Shaw Referee Calum Murray Attendance 1085 Man of the Match Graham Bayne Caley Thistle moved into the third round of the CIS Cup with this 3-1 win but it was not all plain sailing. Aberdeen’s defeat at the hands of Queen’s Park the night before was a lesson to all that lower division opponents must be taken seriously – but there was never any chance that Dumbarton would be treated lightly. In the event they put up a good fight until the home side’s third goal went in 20 minutes from time. Barry Wilson returned to the ICT starting line-up after missing the Celtic match and Craig Dargo dropped out through injury. Graham Bayne partnered Dennis Wyness up front and there were also starts for Stuart McCaffrey, Stuart Golabek, Richie Hart, Russell Duncan and Alan Morgan. Dumbarton featured ex ICT favourite David Bagan and new loan signing Stephen Dobbie from St Johnstone. Caley Thistle started well and took the lead in just five minutes. An Alan Morgan corner on the right was mishandled by ‘keeper Stephen Grindlay and Dennis Wyness took it on the turn from close range – he found the net via a touch from defender Mark Canning. ICT pressure continued but nothing quite came off. Dumbarton crept back into it and in 28 minutes a Bagan rising shot from 18 yards was touched for a corner. A minute later Dobbie raced past the home defence amidst futile offside claims and fired an angled shot past Mark Brown from the left side of the box. Dumbarton pushed for a second and in 32 minutes Chris Gentile slid onto a ball eight yards out but it crept past the post. Caley Thistle had chances close to the half time whistle with a Wyness overhead shot cleared, a Graham Bayne effort blocked then a Ross Tokely header turned for a corner. Half Time: 1-1 The home side regained the lead in 53 minutes when a Wilson free kick into the box was headed low past Grindlay by Bayne. Russell Duncan hit over the bar on the hour mark then, after further Caley Thistle pressure, substitute Rory McAllister scored the goal of the match in 70 minutes. Liam Keogh intercepted a half clearance then found McAllister 25 yards out – with no hesitation the striker lobbed it past Grindlay for only his second senior goal. There was no way back for a tiring Dumbarton side but they did manage to prevent further damage. Bayne hit over the bar in 74 minutes then with five minutes left a confident McAllister tried a first time shot from six yards but he was off balance and it also cleared the bar. In the final minute ‘Man of the Match’ Graham Bayne headed goalwards but it was blocked and his follow up shot went wide right. A good evening’s work – a potential banana skin avoided and a place earned in the third round of the cup.
  6. IrnBru cheer for Inverness Inverness lifted the IrnBru Cup at McDiarmid Park Perth after a narrow 1-0 win over Dumbarton. It took a stoppage time goal from Carl Tremarco to settle the tie with Dumbarton putting up stiff resistance before substitute Daniel Mackay fired a challenging low cross into the box. Carl added the finishing touch to take the silverware North. This was Dumbarton's first crack at a national trophy for 121 years. Alas for them, it might take a bit longer to get their hands on a Cup, but it was not for the want of trying. Most of the hype in the build up was centered around the Rock with the Dumbarton marketing team winning hands down and that ensured a good following when the circus came to Perth. The Highland reserved approach tempted the regular followers along to watch Inverness in their fourth Challenge cup final, Robbo's second in charge. The merryment prior to kick off was held in hostelries in the Fair City and the Tulloch Institute hosted a pre-match gig which was well patronised by both sets of supporters in jovial mood with plenty of shouting juice passing over the lips. To the game.............. There's not a lot to be said for the first 92 minutes other than a missed penalty taken by Iain Vigurs late in the match and a shrewd substitution by Robbo bringing on superkid Daniel Mackay. The game itself seemed to pass everybody bye. There was little to choose between the sides in a dour first half where chances were at a premium and defences were well on top. The second period was a slight improvement and the impetus was trending towards Inverness when we were awarded that penalty after a clear McGlaughlin handball in the box from a Polworth cross. The penalty was easily saved with Vigurs hitting a dolly back to the keeper and murmurs spread throughout the Stands. Up stepped young Danny. He received the ball on the right side after Chalmers and Vigurs had passed forward. Promising so far but still plenty to do. Danny made a couple of yards for himself as he jinked past the defender and rifled a low ball into the box. The pace of the delivery caught everyone out and it reached the back post where Scottish Cup Final red carder Carl Tremarco popped up to smash the ball high into the net from three yards. You could see what it meant to Carl, and for that matter the whole team and travelling support who breathed a sigh of relief as the celebrations began. Dumbarton were crushed by that late goal and we might have added a second or third but one was sufficient to lift the trophy. Full Time 0-1 Don't let anybody tell you these guys don't want to win the Challenge Cup. It meant a lot to the players, fans and manager Robbo who has now won the trophy for a second time. He put his trust in young Danny and it paid off after he drove down south to collect him and ensure he made the game. Mackay had played, and scored in an international youth game at York against England on the Friday That's dedication for you. Inverness were best served by MotM Coll Donaldson, goal scorer Carl Tremarco and Gary Warren who at last got his hands on a Cup having missed the last couple through injury/suspension. And special mention to Daniel Mackay, that lad has a bright future ahead of him. To Dumbarton. Hard to take but thems the breaks. They thought they were taking the game to extra-time and possibly penalties, that may well have been their game plan, but sleep well knowing you all did your club proud. Unfortunately for you, there can only be one winner in a Cup Final and it's Inverness Caledonian Thistle who sip the IrnBru. Cheers! Summed up nicely by Celtic 1 Caley 3 on the forum...... The criticism on here is partly a disrespect to Dumbarton. They are a part time team who waited over 100 years to reach another cup final. They proved extremely resilient yesterday and were much more dangerous than us in the first half. Luckily our possession football paid off in the second half although only just. That said, cup finals are often cagey affairs whether world cup or champions league. That said, we needed a positive result this year and we now move forward to retain our status in the Championship before going again next year. The players will have learned a lot from their experience this year. We need to hang on to Donaldson and Mackay though. Warren has now learnt to avoid being banned for a cup final and quite rightly now has a winners medal with us. ictchris was in a positive mood:- Cup finals are games for winning. You have to win, that’s it. We won, thrillingly so. The performance was typical of this season in its limitations and positives. It says a lot that a 16 year old got into better positions, created more chances and threatened their goal more than than our three starting forwards did the entire match. Be interesting to see how we play Mackay for the rest of the season. I don’t think we can start him but he should be among the first ports of call from the bench. The management will have to take a call on how well he can cope with first team football physically - guys like Harry Cochrane are playing every week at his age. Overall though, it was a great day, good to get some good feeling back in the club after some diabolical seasons. And finally, our resident seer Immortal Howden Ender was in a feelgood mood; he must have seen that coming, surely? Well I enjoyed yet another memorable ICT away day. Those who I expected to see I met and saw. Nowt wrong with the atmosphere. As fer the game it was poor but both teams set up defensively. Loads of positives to me. Ridgers has cemented his place and really is a solid keeper. Donaldson was immense, Tremarco is the Duracell Bunny, Polworth ran his socks off as did Oakley and we appear to have unearthed a wee cracker in MacKay - simply has to be signed up - with sell on clauses - and given some real game time. We never looked troubled, defensively we kept it tight and shaped, thought we played some pretty stuff a times BUT as all season lacked the killer touch in the last third and lack of a proficient striker. We deserved to win. Our heads could have gone down after that deplorable penalty kick but we kept to the age old adage of keeping going to the final whistle. Respect to the team and the loyal away support. Just need to get out of the play off spot and start planning for next season. Cant believe that so many are whingeing. To me it was a last gasp winner, just as stimulating and enjoyable as the Vincent clincher at Hampden - and giving most fans a well deserved, albeit wholly unexpected cup winning experience in the worst season in years. We are still alive and kicking and the only way is up dudes. Have a nice day Well said guys and wise words from our prophetic sage and soothsayer. (bookings can be made via the website) How we won the Cup. Date: 24/03/2018 Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth Attendance: 4602 Referee: Andrew Dallas Dumbarton: 0 Lineup: Gallagher, Smith, Dowie, Barr, McGlaughlin, Gallagher (Stewart 74), Carsewell, Hutton, Walsh (Burt 81), Handling, Russell (Froxylias 68) Subs (not used): Wilson, Gallagher, Hill, Ewings, Scorers: none Booked: Dowie, McGlaughlin, Gallagher Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers, Seedorf, Warren, Donaldson, Tremarco, Mulraney (Doran 70), Polworth, Vigurs, Chalmers, Bell ( D Mackay 78), Oakley Subs (not used): Esson, Calder, Elbouzedi, Trafford, Brown. Scorers: Tremarco (93) Booked: Donaldson, Tremarco Sent Off: none a
  7. Mission Accomplished A tremendous effort from Inverness as they won their fifth game in a row to put pressure on Dunfermline ahead of the game on Saturday, where a bumper crowd will be expected to see if Inverness can keep the dream alive. Iain Vigurs scored the only goal of the game to take all three points North. He will be a big miss over the next couple of games as bookings catch up with him Dumbarton forked off the water and it was game on at the Your Radio 103FM Stadium, or to put it another way, The Rock. Tuesday nights game was put on hold for another day as surface water led to the game being postponed for 24 hours. Coll Donaldson returned to the starting XI after suspension with Collin Seedorf dropping to the bench alongside Carl Tremarco, Charlie Trafford and Jake Mulraney. Stevie Aitken reinstated Dimitris Froxylias from the bench............... Riccardo Calder had to make a timely tackle to thwart Mark Stewart as he raced through on goal in the early exchanges and at the other end Iain Vigurs played in hat-trick hero Nathan Austin who saw his effort saved by Gallacher. Minutes later Calder found Vigurs in the box but he shot over. Tom Walsh blew a good chance for the Sons with a header but he put it just wide. Bright start by both sides and Dumbarton looked more intent than they were at the weekend taking the game to the visitors at every opportunity in the first quarter. Gary Warren had to be replaced midway through the first half after going down off the ball and Collin Seedorf entered the fray. Just after the half hour Vigurs went close after being set up in the box by George Oakley but the score remained blank. Polworth took out Dougie Hill as he blocked a shot from the Inverness man. Ouch! Seedorf did likewise at the other end as Stewart threatened to offload. Despite Inverness ramping up the pressure on the home goal, few clear chances were created and it's all square at the break. As expected, this was a much tougher experience than the rout at Inverness. Half Time 0-0 Aaron Doran had the first chance of the second half after Polworth fed him but he shot over the bar. Iain Vigurs broke the deadlock after Gallacher failed to deal effectively with a Calder cross and the midfielder slashed the ball low into the net from the edge of the box ten minutes after the break. Calder fired over soon after and Doran saw the keeper gather his attempt as the visitors looked to get some breathing space. Dumbarton had to exchange keeper Gallacher after he appeared to go over his ankle and he was replaced by Jamie Ewings with sixty-seven minutes gone. Inverness took the opportunity to swap Doran for Carl Tremarco at the same time. Inverness won a spate of corners to no avail. Connor Bell replaced Nathan Austin and Ewings saved a twenty yard effort from Polworth as the game entered time added on. Donaldson saw an effort blocked out for a corner but at the other end Brad Mckay had to look lively to stop Dumbarton bursting through. Inverness got what they wanted though and the game ended with the visitors taking all three points North. Full Time 0-1 It might have been more comfortable for the guys on the park, but it was certainly much tighter than the game in the Highlands. A single goal lead is never easy to manage and the balance between looking for a cushion or shutting up shop is a fine one. We did just that and could easily have extended our lead but it was imperative that we kept Dumbarton out at the other end. Mission accomplished and the game on Saturday is now a massive one. Three wins to get into the play-offs, who would have thought. Comedy genius was provided by the stewards who felt the need to make Gary Warren drink out of a cup instead of a bottle. Gary had come to sit in the stand to watch the second half after going off injured. However, he got a telling off from the steward for having a bottle of water and has been required to put it in a plastic cup. Tut tut Gary, you really should have known better. Always a bother with water at Dumbarton. Robbo talks after the narrow win at Dumbarton Date: 18/04/2018 Venue: Your Radio 103FM Dumbarton Attendance: 0392 Referee: Don Robertson Dumbarton: 0 Lineup: Gallacher; (Ewings 67), McLaughlin (Hutton 74), Dowie, G Gallagher, Carswell, Stewart, (Gallagher 62), Walsh, Hill, Froxylias, Burt, Barr. Subs (not used): D Wilson, Handling, Nisbet, Stirling. Scorers: none Booked: Hill (47), Hutton (76) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Ridgers; Mckay, Warren (Seedorf 25), Donaldson, Calder, Chalmers, Vigurs, Polworth, Doran (Tremarco 67), Austin (Bell 88), Oakley. Subs (not used): Esson, Mulraney, Elbouzedi, Trafford. Scorers: Vigurs (56) Booked: Mckay (57), Donaldson (87) Sent Off: none a
  8. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dumbarton -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW Wed 18th April @ 7:45pm, The YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium, Dumbarton Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound (MW) BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  9. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Dumbarton PREVIEW Sat 14th April @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  10. Nothing has changed (apart from date) Despite a crushing win at the weekend, nothing has changed in our quest for a play-off place. Win our remaining games and it's achievable. One slip up and it's then out of our own hands. Game now goes ahead on Wednesday evening due to pitch having surface water. Forking Pitch was wet apparently. We went nap at the weekend over Tuesday's Wednesday's opponents with Nathan Austin notching a hat-trick into the bargain. Aaron Doran had scored a thumping equaliser after Grant Gallagher had scored a tremendous opener for the Sons. Iain Vigurs added the other goal to round off the scoring on a day when Liam Polworth, George Oakley and Vigurs would have claimed MotM but for Austin's timely treble. That was the first by an Inverness player since trebles for Iain Vigurs and Scott Boden a year ago in the League Cup group stages. Billy Mckay scored our last League one in a 4-3 win over Motherwell in 2013, his second of that season as he also did the treble in a 4-4 draw at Tannadice. We were without Coll Donaldson, Carl Tremarco and Charlie Trafford for the last game due to suspension but they are all available for this one. No doubt Robbo will continue to rotate the players anyway with bigger games coming up in the final three although they are all important if we want to get into the play-off slot. Dumbarton will freshen up as they look to stay competitive with the relegation play-off looming. The Sons have now confirmed their relegation play-off place after results went against them last night whilst they were forking their pitch. They had Froxylias on the bench at the weekend and he could be a threat should he get a start. David Smith, Sam Wardrop and Liam Dick will all miss-out tonight, as will Stuart Carswell. Tom Walsh is set to serve a suspension this Saturday against Falkirk but is added to tonight's squad. tm4tj prediction:- Assuming we have the same urge to have a go then I see no reason we can't take all three points to keep the pressure on Dunfermline and Dundee United above us. Dumbarton will have done their homework and we will find it tougher down there, but we should have enough ammunition to see them off. If not, then we don't deserve our late flirt with the play-off places. Supporters Notes: Gates open tonight at 6.30pm. DFC season tickets are valid and gate prices are £20 for adults, £12 concessions. Parent and Child - £28. Here's a wee reminder of how it went on Saturday............... Here's something I spotted on the Dumbarton page. Whodunnit? Nathan Austin, in the Stadium with a Hat-Trick
  11. Austin Hat-Trick Inverness went goal crazy against a Dumbarton side they failed to trouble for ninety three minutes in the IrnBru Cup Final a couple of weeks ago. This time we showed no mercy and but for some wayward finishing could have scored more, but we can't be vexed at five surely. Dumbarton, to their credit came to play, unlike the final where they did their best to stop us playing. However, after opening the scoring through Grant Gallagher in the 13th minute, Inverness stepped up the pace and blew the Sons away scoring five going on eight. Aaron Doran replied four minutes later with a superb long range effort flying high into the unguarded area of the net. Four minutes before the break Nathan Austin scored his first of three. Five minutes after the break he added his second and Dumbarton heads went down. The influential Iain Vigurs added a fourth before Austin grabbed the match ball finishing off after a Liam Polworth burst into the box. Look what Fash took home with him after the game. John Robertson was forced into making three changes from the last game with Charlie Trafford, Coll Donaldson and Carl IrnBru Tremarco all suspended. In came Riccardo Calder, Collin Seedorf and Aaron Doran with Brad Mckay and Gary Warren taking up the slack in central defence. Dumbarton did their best to field a team of Gallagher's, three of them starting with the talismanic Froxylias on the bench. We fell behind when Calder dived into a tackle wide right but Andrew Stirling was always first to the ball and he skipped round the mis-timed tackle to cut a dangerous ball into the box where Grant Gallagher smashed it high behind a helpless Mark Ridgers. Excellent goal for the Sons, but all it did was wake up Inverness. Four minutes later and Doran crashed a swerving shot from all of thirty yards high into the net. What a strike from the wee man, goal as soon as it left his boot. Polworth almost matched it soon after as the ball sat up but his volley just dipped wide of the mark. His next contribution proved more fruitful as he lifted a ball wide to Doran who saw the run of Austin to the near post. He picked him out effortlessly and Nathan stepped round the keeper to tap in for an excellent finish to a tidy move. Half Time 2-1 Polly's next moment was less productive. After he broke down a clearance from defence, Polworth danced across the box delaying the finish a couple of times before cutting the ball cutely back across the keeper. Unfortunately he cut it back wide of the post as well when it looked easier to score. Gives the boo boys something to moan about I suppose. Great effort from Liam though. His assist rate is second to none though and after bursting into the box he chipped the ball goalwards where Austin was on hand to finish the task. Iain Vigurs showed his midfield companion how to cut the ball behind the keeper in a tight spot from close range as he did just that, Polworth again involved in the goal Austin grabbed his hat-trick after some neat play down the left, the striker guiding a low cross into the net after Calder drove forward, another good team goal finished by a player on song. Connor Bell had a couple of efforts late in the game which could have produced more after the tireless George Oakley did the spade work, but his wee leggies would not get him to the ball soon enough and when Mulraney met the loose ball Gallagher parried away his shot. Full Time 5-1 Biggest win for some time in a league game, probably since scoring six at Kilmarnock in 2011 (double hat-tricks that day from A Shinnie and Tade). First league hat-trick for a long time too, Billy Mckay bagging one against Motherwell in 2013. The statisticians will no doubt have more but it's good to get a couple of monkeys of the back on the same day. Great performance from Nathan Austin who is my MotM, but some unselfish work by others allowing him to flourish in front of goal. Notable grafters were Liam Polworth, Iain Vigurs, George Oakley and Aaron Doran who scored a beaut. All to do again on Tuesday night at Dumbarton where I doubt the home defence will be so generous. Ooooops, nearly forgot, congratulations to St Mirren who are on their way into the Premiership after clinching the title with a draw against Livingston who have secured their play-off place as well. Congrats all round and we hope to join you there. Here's the action from the game............ Johndo made the game and here are the marks from our Chorley scribe with his infamous Smileymometer..... Ridgers ??? Must have appreciated the rest. No chance with the goal which was a screamer Seedorf ??? some nice touches, especially one showboat that Clarence would have been proud of. But a right back or wing back he is not. And I suspect that his attacking capability is stifled. Warren ???Solid but he is no playmaker McKay ??? Again solid but again not a playmaker and clear why we missed Donaldson. Fortunately Gary and Brad usually had Polly or Vigurs in space. Calder ??? Not a defender either and dived in completely in the run up to the Sons opener. Unlike Seedorf he has attacking flair and was always ready to take on the defender and hit the line in an old winger style that I still appreciated Polworth ??? Gawd does that poor lad get some stick or what ? He ran and ran and ran, some of his touches were sublime. He has got bad press for two second half errors. From my perspective if he had completed the final touch on both occasions it would have been a goal of the season contender and he would have walked off with the MOM. Chalmers ??? The man with the sweet left foot also appears to be the boo boys target. He basically sat and covered for Vigurs and Polly.I would have said that he was quietly effective. Vigurs ???? Provided a master class for an hour, pinging balls accurately all over the pitch. I thought he could have been carded for one horrendous follow through tackle in the first half and he clearly tired at the end Doran ??? Has lost a bit of pace but he is another with a high skill ability. Cracker of a goal. Oakley ??? I thought he had a lazy, lacklustre first half but a real old centre forward second half display. Appears to Be the boo boys favourite as he made more errors than Polly. But he would have been in my top three Austin ???? Well we have been asking for a goal scorer and he certainly fitted the role. Good turn of pace of the mark and good finisher to boot. I was surprised the he was hooked but I was told that it was a mistake and it was supposed to be Seedorf. Amateurish if correct. As DD alluded to Elbouzedhi looked sharp and I would like to see more. Disappointed that Robbo sent on Bell and not young McKay. Some of the refereeing decisions were bizarre. Good crowd and the Young Team were a credit. My first home game of the season and I can't understand what everybody has been complaining about ? Date: 14/04/2018 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2355 Referee: Gavin duncan Inverness CT: 5 Lineup: Ridgers; Seedorf, B Mckay, Warren, Calder, Doran (Elbouzedi 64), Polworth, Vigurs (Mulraney 71), Chalmers, Oakley, Austin (Bell 69). Subs (not used): Esson, D Mackay, Brown, Harper Scorers: Doran (17), Austin (41, 50, 66), Vigurs (63) Booked: B Mckay (22) Sent Off: none Dumbarton: 1 Lineup: Gallagher; Gallagher (Hill 75), Barr, Dowie, McGlaughlin, Nisbet, Wilson (Burt 58) , Hutton, Stirling, Handling, Gallagher (Stewart 67) Subs (not used): Walsh, Ewings, Froxylias. Scorers: G Gallagher (13) Booked: Barr (62), Stewart (76), Hutton (90) Sent Off: none a
  12. Dumbarton Double Header It's part one of the Dumbarton Double Header as we take on the Sons with a place in the top play-off hanging by a thread, and a very thin one at that. After a late win over Falkirk we can still make the top-end promotion push, but as it was prior to the Bairns game, it's a tall order. It sounds simple enough. Win all your games and a play-off place is guaranteed. Try putting that into practice and it becomes a lot more difficult. The best we can do as fans is take it one game at a time and see where that takes us. The team are going the right way about it at the moment, seven games unbeaten including a Challenge Cup Final win over Saturday's opponents, Dumbarton. That's five wins and two draws (St Mirren & Dundee United). We are on our best run of the season with three wins on the bounce (Brechin, QotS, Falkirk). A Jake Mulraney goal was enough to give us a hard earned victory over Falkirk in midweek. Mark Ridgers was called into serious action as the seconds ticked away making a tremendous save to ensure we kept ahead. Dumbarton suffered on Tuesday night when Morton scored a very very late winner to edge the game 3-2. One of Morton's scorers was none other that John Baird. Who would have thought that. Danny Handling had scored the opener for the Sons before Morton went ahead. An og with three minutes to go looked to have given Dumbarton a point until Jack Iredale slotted home in the 94th minute. That leaves Dumbarton fighting to escape the relegation play-off. The second part of the double-header will be played out at Dumbarton on Tuesday 17th April with a 7:45pm kick off. John Robertson has been rotating the squad recently with our hectic schedule and that has worked ok so far. Charlie Trafford is suspended for this weekend which is a pity as the big midfielder has been on a good run of form since getting his chance recently and adds a bit of steel to the midfield. Carl Tremarco and Coll Donaldson have also fallen foul of the beaks and are also set to miss this one. We should have plenty of cover though with a full squad otherwise. Defender Brad Mckay and young keeper Cammy Mackay have both accepted extended contracts to remain at Inverness until 2020. Stevie Aitken has worked wonders to get Dumbarton to where they are just now and took them to the IrnBru Cup final a couple of weeks ago. Not bad for a part time club. Last time out against Morton, this was the Sons line-up: Gallacher; Dick, Barr, Dowie, McLaughlin, Hutton, Wilson, Stirling, Handling, Walsh, Gallagher. On the bench were: Ewings, Gallagher, Stewart, Hill, Froxylias, Nisbeat, Burt. tm4tj prediction:- If we have any aspirations about going up then these are the games we need to be winning, and winning well at that. Dumbarton showed in the Cup Final that they are a difficult team to break down and we have shown over the season that we are not always best at breaking down teams that are well disciplined and organised. Could be a testing afternoon. The introduction of Mulraney against Falkirk proved to be the difference between the sides with his pace a huge asset. Maybe he will be due a start as the player rotation goes round again. Home win, but a tight affair methinks.
  13. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Dumbarton PREVIEW Sat March 24th 2018 @ 4:15PM, McDiarmid Park, Perth Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound & BBC ALBA[UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  14. IrnBru Cup Final It's the IrnBru Cup Final this weekend as both Inverness and Dumbarton travel to the Fair City of Perth, to McDiarmid Park to be precise, to contest the 2018 Challenge Cup final. The game kicks off at 16:15 with TV coverage on BBC Alba, so get your Gaelic phrase book out if you can't get to the game and settle down with a glass of the rusty nectar, maybe fortified with your favourite tipple. We have won this competition before at the very same venue in 2003/2004 season when we overcame Airdrie United 2-0 to lift the then Bells Cup thanks to late strikes from David Bingham and Steve Hislop. We have also lost the final twice. Alloa winning a high scoring game on penalties (5-4) after a 4-4 draw at the Excelsior Stadium. In 2010 we surrendered a two goal lead at McDiarmid Park when Dundee came back to win 3-2 in the Alba Challenge Cup. We got to the final this season after wins over Aberdeen u20 (2-4), Peterhead (3-0), Falkirk (1-0) and Crusaders (3-2) after the proverbial game of two halves. Dumbarton have had equally tough games and have reached their first major final in 121 years. They have beaten Rangers u20 (2-1), Connah's Quay (2-1), Stranraer (2-1), Raith Rovers (2-0) and Welsh side The New Saints (2-1). Previous encounters this season in the Championship are one win apiece. Dumbarton won the fixture at The Rock, coming from behind to win 2-1. Connor Bell had given us an early lead but Dimitris Froxylias levelled just after the break. Sam Wardrop scored the winner around the hour mark and we failed to find an equaliser with Gary Warren being red carded with twenty minutes left. Inverness gained revenge with a narrow win in the Highlands in mid December by 1-0, Carl Tremarco the scorer. Neither club has performed consistently in the Championship and their respective league positions reflect that. Inverness are currently eighth and Dumbarton ninth and either club could be drawn into the play-off at the bottom. However, we will put league form aside and concentrate on the IrnBru Cup final this weekend. Team News Inverness will be without Brad Mckay (suspended) and Nathan Austin (cup-tied) Good news is that Coll Donaldson should be fit enough to start after sitting on the bench last week. Dumbarton boss Stevie Aitken has reservations over Dimitri Froxylias who has been called up to play for Cyprus the day before the Cup Final. He will be flying back to Glasgow after the game and Aitken will be hoping his Cyprus call up will not affect his performance. The Sons also have four players cup-tied. Liam Dick, Andy Stirling, Kevin Nisbet and Aidan Wilson are all out. No prediction from me for this one. Suffice to say it won't be easy and let's hope both sets of fans enjoy their day out. More detail can be found on the Official Preview and you can keep up to date with all the latest news from the Official Twitter Account for ICTFC If you can't make the game, TV coverage is exclusively live on BBC ALBA. Coverage begins at 4.00pm. If you can make the game, tickets will be onsale from 2.30pm at the McDiarmid Park ticket office: £15 for adults £10 for over 65s & students £5 for juveniles aged 13-16 Free for U12s
  15. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Dumbarton 16th Dec @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  16. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dumbarton -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 23rd September @ 3PM, Dumbarton Stadium, Dumbarton Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  17. More agony for the travelling support Immortal Howden Ender was one of our well travelled fans for this encounter at the Rock and he was less than impressed with the fare on display from his beloved Caley Jags. Many fans have seen it all, League Championships, Scottish Cup wins and European football. Sadly, it looks like relegation is the next step in the decline of our club. Despite going ahead in the eighth minute through Bell, we were unable to build on that and second half goals from Froxylias and Wardrop made it a long journey home for all the suffering fans. Wasted Journey Well perhaps the omens were there long before we kicked off. Glasgow city centre awash with Old Firm neds, the nice wee train journey to the Rock cancelled due to engineering works and roadworks bringing traffic chaos to the Erskine Bridge. Underground to the West End and an empty student pub. Uber to Dumbarton and quaffing in the Stags Head watching part time Old Firmers watching the game. And then a walk down to a ground that resembles a Sunday League setting and then watching 90 minutes of Sunday League fare. At the time I was quite happy with the first half performance. A superb Polworth through ball splits the defence and Bell finished well in the 8th minute and we were in charge for the majority of the first 45 minutes. Again I have to comment on the lack of enthusiasm and celebration to herald that early goal. We looked neat enough but it was tippy tappy stuff with most balls going either sideways or back. OFW did appear to ooze more confidence to those in front of them and those brave few sitting in the stands. And if Bell had notched a second when through on goal 1:1 and we had gone 2-0 up – well who knows. Trafford and Oakley both had half chances, OFW had little to do and it really should have been 2 or 3-0. There was a sense of a standing ovation, albeit muted, as the boys trooped off at half time. And very quickly after the restart it became clearer what had happened. Stevie Aitken had given us far too much respect. He had decided to sit his team deep, allow us the ball in our own half and defend deep. The elements were also in our favour in the first half as well. Dumbarton lined up like a pack of dogs looking for the fox. From then on they defended, allowed us the luxury of possession in our own half but they pressed and pressed and looked to break at every opportunity. Froxylias basically ran the show. It took them a mere 2 minutes to equalise and we never looked like getting back. Froxylias fired home in the 47th. Froxylias bent a curling free kick at our goal in the 63rd minute, OFW made a good stop, albeit over dramatically and Wardrop reacted, knocked in the rebound whilst our defenders watched. OFW looked as if he had pulled his groin or his knee and he never took any further kicks and threw the ball out if necessitated. I suspect that he will be missing in action for a few weeks. And why oh feckin why did Robbo appear to leave the playmaker role to Donaldson? Why didn’t Vigurs drop back? Is Gary Warren collecting yellow cards? Hope I get him in Top Trumps. If he dived then that was ridiculous. I thought that he was practically in with a chance of a goal. Judging by his muted reaction he was guilty. That all happened in the 79th minute and Robbo had not even appeared to have considered a substitution at that stage. How Oakley stayed on after the hour stupefies me. And then to add insult to injury the decision is made to hook Tremarco and take on Mulraney. A certain poster on here gave Mulraney some gentle stick and his reaction almost led me to go on the park and give him a slap. He clearly does not want to be here. Tremarco himself also looked bemused as he trooped off. And then we leave it to the 87th minute to bring on Baird for Oakley. And we keep on hoofing to the skyscraper front three of Bell, Baird and Mulraney !! And remember the name Colin Steven. Another in a long list of embarrassing, amateur referees. He lost control and came up with a bevvy of ridiculous decisions – albeit both ways. And then it was back to the Stags Head, on to the Uber, on to the Underground, on to Central Station and home to Chorley. Travel cost me around £75 and I will NOT be spending that type of amount to watch absolute dross. I have booked for Livi and Dumfries. I am going there for the pre-match and post-match activities and I will not be considering any other games unless the team show a distinct improvement or even if they showed some enthusiasm and fight. Those two ingredients are sadly lacking. OFW - Nice to see him back. Back four looked more confident. Spectator for most of the first half. No chance with either goal but may have over-dramatised the free kick save. McKay – Back at full back. To be honest I hardly noticed him which probably says it all. Warren – Sorry but has become a luxury and his lack of discipline is shocking. And he was mighty quiet for a captain. He basically looked cheesed off. Donaldson – Who the feck gave him the playmaking. Libero role. Dzebi-Zade would have done a better job. Chalmers – Sweet left foot was noted once and then it was a case of Sweet Feck all. Polworth – Roving role again. At least he gave 100% and looked most likely to produce something. Great through ball to Bell for the goal. Vigurs – Some lovely touches but plays throughout in an area ten yards either side of the half way line. If we could afford such a luxury and have a couple of beavers beside him – well. Trafford – Dougal’s comment about fitness and diet may come in to play. He looks the part but dies after the hour. Mind you he runs for Vigurs. Tremarco – As with OFW it was nice to see him back but not as an offensive , wide player. Needs to either go back to left wing back or even central defence. And why he was not allowed to play for 90 minutes to enhance match fitness beggars belief. BELL – Starved of any delivery in the second half. No support up front. Worked his socks off and should have got a first half brace. OAKLEY – Inept and provided zilch basically. Already mentioned Robbo’s selection and tactical boo-boos. However, we did have the quote of the season so far. Robbo talking about the poor marking from his defenders said “We’ve worked in training all week about marking men in the box – I’ve never seen space score a goal in my life Here's the longer version from Sons TV. Date: 23/09/17 Venue: Your Radio 103FM Stadium Attendance: ??? Referee: Colin Steven Dumbarton: 2 Lineup: Gallacher; Wardrop, Hill, Barr, McLaughlin, Hutton, Froxylias, Dowie, Walsh (Wilson, 79), Stewart (Gallagher, 88), Nade (Morrison, 71) Subs (not used): Smith, Johnston, Roy, Ewings Scorers: Froxylias (47), Wardrop (63) Booked: Walsh (9), Barr (51), Hill (77), Wilson (91) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams; Mckay, Donaldson, Warren, Chalmers, Polworth, Trafford, Vigurs, Tremarco (Mulraney, 77), Bell, Oakley (Baird, 86) Subs (not used): Ridgers, Mackay, Zschusschen, Cooper, Elsdon Scorers: Bell (8) Booked: Warren (61), Vigurs (84) Sent Off: Warren (79) a
  18. Rock Tour A difficult season so far and it could continue for a while yet as Inverness struggle to come to terms with life in the Championship. We face another daunting task this weekend with a journey into the unknown. A visit to Dumbarton to face a side we have had no league business with although we did enjoy some success in a couple of League Cup games. Immortal Howden Ender has been doing his homework and has penned this Preview for you ahead of the game on Saturday, which will kick off at 15:00. ARE YOU GOING to the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium ?!! That is a bit of a mouthful and a come down from Boghead, or even the Bet Butler Stadium. And since the demise of Boghead and the new stadium build in 2000 it has also been dubbed the Strathclyde Homes Stadium, the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium, the Dumbarton Football Stadium (twice), the Bet Butler Stadium and this season The YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium. Who said sponsorship deals were taking over football. At least my “home” club adds a sense of humour. The yokels refer to it as the Rock and the fans are known as the Sons. “Sons of the Rock” sounds more like a Biker Gang or a New Age Religious Sect. Still it is a club steeped in history, having been formed in 1872. The stay at Boghead lasted 121 years and is an unequalled record for a club staying at the same ground. And they too have won the Scottish Cup – in 1883 !! It is a picturesque if not barren stadium. The present capacity is 2020. Away fans are situated in sections 1 and 2, at one end of the new stand. Around 500 fans can be accommodated in this area. Castle Rock dominates the Dumbarton skyline, and with the ground sitting just beneath, it is fairly easy to find your bearings. Follow the A814 into Dumbarton and just after you go under a railway bridge, you will see a sign pointing left for Dumbarton Castle. Turn left here (Victoria Street) and the ground is down the bottom of this road on the right. There is a fair sized car park at the ground. BUT it might be more difficult to get to this weekend as engineering works have closed down the Glasgow Line and there are major roadworks approaching the Erskine Bridge. There is a bar located at the ground but this is for home fans only. Popular with away supporters is the nearby Rock Bowling Club. This is situated a little further down the road from the ground, opposite the entrance to the castle. A bit further away is the Stags Head, which is situated opposite the entrance to East Dumbarton station. It is a good sized bar, with TV's and a pool table. ICT and Dumbarton have NEVER played each other in a league match before – so you could say it is another historic moment for ICT. But some of you may have been to Boghead. ICT played Clydebank there in December 1997. At that time Clydebank were ground sharing. 326 hardy souls watched a 1-1 draw. The referee was carried off on the half hour and Daisy Ross notched a late, late equaliser. We have played and beaten Dumbarton, in Sneck, in League Cup encounters. In the 2-0 win in 2003 the scorers were Wyness and Ritchie. The scorers in the 3-1 2007 win were Wyness, Bayne and McAllister. You may also have watched Kilnockie FC play at Boghead. The 2002 blockbuster film “A Shot at Glory” was filmed at Boghead, starring Robert Duvall as the manager and Ally McCoist playing an ex-Celtic legend !! Anyway back to the here and now. The Sons had a worse League Cup than us but have fared better in the league. They only have 6 points out of 6 and two above us. However they have only been beaten twice, a 4-0 home thumping by Dunfermline skewing their statistics. Defensively they look solid. Apart from the Pars debacle they have had one clean sheet and conceded only 1 goal in the other four ties. Their last game was a 2-1 win against Brechin but that was aided by a Brechin sending off in the 71st minute and two goals in the last ten minutes. Sons fans are excited about midfielder Dimitri Froxylias and they may well opt for the journeyman plodder Christian Nade up front against our suspect central defence. Lets hope Greg Morrison, on loan from Tinkerville does not do any damage. As for ourselves Robbo is threatening to ring the changes. To be honest I doubt if anyone will call the starting X1 and sadly I don’t think that Robbo has a Scooby either. Chopping and changing should not be happening seven games in to the season. I would go with: OFW or Esson Raven? Warren Tremarco Calder Mulraney Trafford Vigurs Bell Polworth Baird. Latest team news from Inverness is that David Raven could miss out with a virus. Owain Fon Williams played in a bounce game against Brora in midweek and survived with a clean sheet to boot in a 2-0 win. Usual long term casualties in Aaron Doran and El Bouzedi. Riccardo Calder missed out last week as did Big Susan. Robbo will be looking for more effort from fringe players after slamming them openly for not producing enough when given the chance. Mulraney and Oakley to name a couple were targeted by the fuming gaffer. Over to you guys. Another detailed Preview can be read here on the official website for ICTFC.
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