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Horner saves blushes Inverness came from behind twice to snatch a 2-2 draw against Dundee United after two former Caley Jags players had put United ahead. John Rankin smashed in the opener as the Arabs went in at the break a goal up. We levelled right at the start of the second half when Liam Polworth side footed a volley into the net. Billy Mckay capitalised on an Owain Fon Williams error late on, but Lewis Horner bundled in the equaliser in stoppage time to end the scoring. A mild but damp December afternoon greeted the players as the game kicked off with Xmas shopping looking like the winner. Yogi continued without David Raven at right back, but the bigger surprise was that Josh Meekings missed out through injury, as did Ross Draper. Lewis Horner was the man chosen to fill the position and he had a torrid time of it, but it was he who would have the last laugh as he netted the equaliser. Dundee United fielded two former Inverness favourites, and they would play a big part in the outcome. John Rankin was recalled to the starting X1 along with Scott Fraser and Chris Erskine. A brisk start for the bottom club and Billy Mckay almost scored in the first minute had he connected with a cross, and a couple of minutes later we had Owain Fon Williams to thank for blocking a Mckay effort from inside the box. We forced four corners in quick succession, all to no avail despite dangerous looking crosses into the box, but no takers in blue shirts were to be found. Lewis Horner was having a tough time of it down the United left flank. He was doing plenty of ball watching and lost his man a few times which was causing a bit of concern in the North Stand. Practically every United attack was coming through that channel and Horner was left exposed a few times. Iain Vigurs brought out a save from the keeper although it looked as though his header was going just wide anyway. We chose the wrong option plenty of times in the first half and did our best to help out United with a series of misplaced passes, electing to pick out players in tangerine despite our players clearly dressed in blue. Storey brought out another save when he tried to float in a shot from the left but it was dealt with comfortably. With twenty five minutes gone United once more capitalised on poor defending down their left wing. Scott Fraser wriggled clear on the bye line and his cut back was met by John Rankin who lashed the ball high into the net from twelve yards giving the keeper no chance. We had a shot charged down in a penalty box scrambulation, the ball just never fell kindly enough for us. Next, Devine found himself well forward as we neared the break but his shot whistled just wide. The miss of the match came a minute before the break as James Vincent looked set to head home, but he headed wide when it looked easier to score from Polworth's cross. Half Time 0-1 Hughes would have read the riot act at the interval and it worked as we were level within thirty seconds of the restart. Danny Williams did well down the left and he picked out Polworth with his cross and he duly guided the ball into the net from ten yards. That should have been the cue for us to kick on, but after a brief flurry we reverted to type and started passing the ball sideways and backwards again. Iain Vigurs had a shot wide and at the other end Scott Fraser made Fon Williams work to keep the ball out. The game went through an untidy phase with neither side creating much although Gary Warren saw a header miss to the right as the ball flashed across the goal, but United were starting to come more into the game as an attacking threat. Rankin had a shot saved and Fraser shot just over from outside the box. But it's Xmas time and presents are all the rage at the Caledonian Stadium. A speculative cross from the left should have been tidied up by Fon Williams but he dropped the ball at the feet of the wrong man and Billy Mckay turned villain as he scored against his old club. Gary Warren crashed a close range header off the bar as we tried to recover from this blow, and it looked all over for Inverness but we woke from our slumber once more to press for a second equaliser and another villain, Lewis Horner, turned saviour as he bundled a Williams cross just over the line. We almost had the audacity to score a winner, but despite a late flurry of activity the game ended all square. Full Time 2-2 We snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat but it wasn't our most impressive of performances. Too many sloppy passes ruined our first forty-five and it was no surprise that Rankin blasted United ahead after getting the opening down the left wing. Horner was being horribly exposed and the big surprise was that he came out for the second half. He did however stick to his task and got some joy with the equaliser. A disappointing result and performance really against a struggling side, but at the end of the day it was a relief to snatch a draw. This was a tremendous opportunity to crawl into the top-six, but we blew it big style and this result has dropped us down the table to ninth place. All the teams from second to twelfth are capable of beating each other and this result just shows that you can take nothing for granted in this league. My MotM goes to Gary Warren who had a couple of crunching tackles and tried his best to get a goal. Helping him out were Greg Tansey and, erm, well, that's about it. Not enough passmarks for anyone else to get a mention. Date: 19/12/15 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2981 Referee: Craig Thomson Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon Williams, Horner, Warren, Devine, Williams, Tansey, Wedderburn (Tremarco 86), Polworth, Vincent (Sho-Silva 90), Vigurs (Mbuyi-Mutombo 68), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, Lopez, Foran Scorers: Polworth (46), Horner (90) Booked: Warren (25) Sent Off: none Dundee Utd: 2 Lineup: Szromnik, Durnan, Morris, Gunning, McGowan, Demel (Souttar 77), Rankin, Dixon, Fraser (Spittal 89), McKay (Dillon 89), Erskine Subs (not used): Zwick, Murray, Spark, Bodul Scorers: Rankin (26), Mckay (81) Booked: Durnan (5), Dixon (77) Sent Off: none

Return of the Mac. Basement boys Dundee United will be our last visitors before Santa comes along. The Tayside strugglers are propping up the league and thus far have made themselves favourites for the automatic relegation slot, although there is plenty of time to overhaul that eight point gap to second bottom Kilmarnock before next May. The clubs met back at Tannadice in September and bludgeoned their way to a 1-1 draw with Billy Mckay scoring for the Arabs after his return to Scottish football. Josh Meekings squared the game in the second half and a point each was just about right. Jackie McNamara was still in charge but things were not going well for the ex-Celtic player. That result left them on five points from eight games and second bottom of the league. Fast forward to the present, and they have hit rock bottom, sacked their manager and slipping into the Championship at an alarming rate. In the ten games since our last meeting, United have gained a mere four points out of a possible thirty. That's relegation form in any league. Their only win in that run was against Ross County, a draw with ten man Kilmarnock their only other positive result. Looks like new manager Mixu Paatelainen has plenty of work to do if he wants to avoid relegation being stamped on his CV. We have not had a lot to crow about either, but the return from injury of some influential players has seen us gather thirteen points over the same period. Four wins in that run of games, the Aberdeen one being the pick of the bunch. Also worth mentioning a 2-1 derby defeat of Ross County and despite our dismal start and erratic form we find ourselves eleven points above United in seventh place and knocking on the top-six door. Inverness have been able to field Richie Foran in development matches, although he got a smack on his face in the last one and left the field for treatment. Jordan Roberts also took part and that is good news for us. Ross Draper is struggling for fitness and will be assessed later. Definitely out are Aaron Doran and Dean Brill with Roberts and Foran likely to miss out. More good news, Miles Storey is fit enough to be included in the squad and John Hughes is looking to extend the young strikers stay at Inverness along with Tobi Sho Silva. Dundee United will be without Paul Paton, Ryan Dow until New Year and Florent Sinama Pongolle is out for a month. Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima has still not completed his work permit tests based on his understanding of the English language. Not sure how much English he will need to get by in Dundee. United have struggled since losing Gary Mackay-Stevens, Stuart Armstrong and Nadir Ciftci, three players who could change a game. tm4tj Prediction:- Well, everybody else is taking plenty of points from the Arabs so anything less than that will be seen as a disappointment. Miles Storey will be vital to our success and the striker should start. The ongoing question of who plays at right back is one for Yogi to decide, but general opinion seems to be that David Raven should be there if fit. Plenty of choices now for the manager to ponder over and that's a bonus. Billy Mckay is worth keeping a close eye on, rumour has it he has an eye for goals. Home win for me, let's not make the mistake of underestimating a team down on their uppers.