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  1. Great Effort by Young Team Accies took an early advantage of the young squad Inverness had assembled and opened the scoring after only three minutes through an own goal. The young team responded well when Calum Mackay did brilliantly down the left and his cross made it's way to Keith Bray but his diving header was tipped round the post by Jamie Smith. Minutes later Mackay went through on goal but his shot caught the side netting. Tiehi and One replied for Accies with Ridgers gathering Tiehi's effort and One heading wide before a deflected shot from Winter earned a corner for Accies. Aaron Nicolson shot just wide midway through the half. Accies doubled their lead when Reegan Mimnaugh turned in Andy Winter's low cross. Mackay and Nicolson came close again. Just before the interval Mark Ridgers denied Gabe Forsyth from 25 yards. 2-0 at the interval with the young guys performing brilliantly and Jamie Smith the busier keeper, but Accies with the all important goals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just after the hour Ryan One did well down the Accies left and his shot was parried by Ridgers and Caley Thistle get clear. Inverness made a couple of changes with twenty minutes left. Alistair Nixon & Calum MacLeod on, Ryan Barrett & Duncan Proudfoot off. 83rd minute Daniel MacDougall & Lewis Mackie on, Jack Walker & Aaron Nicolson off. 87th minute Danny Gillan on, Mark Ridgers off. Accies ended the game with ten players that had come through their own Academy as the game ran away from the Inverness XI who had acquitted themselves very well. Match reaction to follow>>> Fantastic effort from Ryan Esson's young charges, they can be really proud of their performance. Date: 10/12/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 488 Referee: Duncan Williams Hamilton: 2 Manager: John Rankin Lineup: J Smith, Doyle, McGinn Owens, Shiels, Winter (Morgan 84), Mimnaugh (Latona 66), De Bolle (Newbury 71), One, Tiehi (Black 84), Forsyth Subs (not used): Fulton; O'Reilly, Ryan, Zanatta, L Smith Scorers: Nixon (4 og), Mimnaugh (33) Booked: Tiehi (10) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Ryan Esson (u18's coach) Lineup: Ridgers (Gillan 87); Nixon, Barrett (A Nixon 72), Walker (MacDougal 84), Carnihan, Strachan, Proudfoot (Macleod 72), Bain, C Mackay, Bray, A Nicolson (Mackie 84) Subs (not used): All five used Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  2. until
    Inverness CT -V- Hamilton Academical
  3. Entertaining draw Accies took an early lead through Josh Mullin after a defensive blunder by Reece McAlear. Great finish from the Accies player though as he arrowed the ball high into the net from twenty yards. We levelled when Sam Pearson scored his first goal for the club on the half hour and that's how it stayed at the break, although David Moyo almost got a touch on a low ball fizzed into the box just on the whistle. No further scoring after the break despite plenty of opportunities at both ends and Joe Hardy almost snatched it at the end with the last kick of the ball. Good point, but ten games without a win now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness were looking to halt their alarming slump and Accies were trying to close the gap towards the top five. A television audience would see it all unfold. Would the visitors show the reason for their dramatic slump and will Accies show that they are over their poor start to the season. All will be revealed. Usual long term absentees for Inverness in Allardice and MacGregor (if found please return to the Caledonian Stadium), with Ridgers, Duffy Chalmers and Carson added to the missing list. Devine made a surprise return with Tom Walsh on the bench alongside with Ryan Esson as cover for the keeper. Accies were without keeper Joe Hilton, defender Jamie Hamilton and midfielder Lewis Smith. Ryan Fulton put the gloves on with Joe Hilton missing. Inverness set the ball rolling and Accies almost benefited from a blunder by Kirk Broadfoot inside a minute. Kai Kennedy burst forward but thankfully Danny Devine made up the ground to block his route, the ball rebounding for a goal kick to the visitors. The first effort came from Accies when Kennedy raced down the left before picking out Josh Mullin with his cross but he headed just over the bar. All the early pressure was coming from Hamilton as they pressed the Inverness defence on the artificial surface and they took the lead in the thirteenth minute when McAlear fluffed his clearance. Mullin took full advantage and fired a shot from the corner of the box high into the net to give Cammy Mackay no chance. Inverness were finding it difficult to create anything in the opening twenty minutes as we headed towards ten without a win. In our first attack with intent, Sam Pearson picked up a rebound from keeper Fulton to slot home after the goalie had denied Aaron Doran from eight yards. Accies responded again and Mackay saved well from a stinging shot by Spence from the edge of the box. Big shout for a penalty as Robbie Deas looked to be pushed to the ground inside the box as he tried to get to an Aaron Doran free kick, but Alan Muir was not interested. Pearson's trickery brought Inverness a free kick in a dangerous position on the right, but the free kick was wasted five minutes before the interval. HALF TIME: 1-1 No changes at the break for either side and Accies continued on the front foot. Cammy Mackay made an excellent punched clearance from a dangerous inswinging corner as the hosts pushed forward. Billy Mckay forced Fulton into a super save as he was fed through on to the edge of the box, the keeper diving to his right to push the ball round the post for a corner as the Caley Jags ventured forth. Harper replaced Devine on the hour in Danny's first game back after a month out through injury and soon after Shane Sutherland replaced Aaron Doran. Cammy Mackay was in the right place to pluck a volley out of the air and his kick forward sent Billy Mckay through on goal but his shot was clawed away by Fulton with his fingertips. Another inch or two and it was in. Sutherland fed Pearson inside the box but his shot was weak and it went wide of the mark. The game had really opened out and the ball was flying back and fore with Mullin unfortunate to see a snapshot bounce away from the base of the post after a scrambulation in the visitors box. Anyone's game with fifteen minutes to go and a frantic finish to the game already in progress. Good spell for the Caley Jags ended when a speculative shot from Andy Ryan found Moyo coming in at the back post but Mackay spread himself well to block the shot from six yards. McAlear might have done better with a shot from the edge of the box as play swung to the other end, but the keeper saved comfortably. Four minutes of time added on came and went and Fulton saved Accies with his legs as Joe Hardy shot from a tight angle. That was the last action of a highly entertaining game as Inverness go ten games without a win. FULL TIME: 1-1 Despite plenty of opportunities created from both sides a draw was probably a fair result with both managers thinking they could have won this game. Some great goalkeeping on display at both ends given that both keepers are not first choice, so credit to them for stepping in and playing so well. Lewis Hyde never looked out of place either. Nine games left to salvage our season, that's a possible 36 points. To put it into perspective and give it some context, our last nine games gained us only six points From BBC Sport Hamilton head coach Stuart Taylor: "It was always going to be a difficult game, Inverness are an organised side and defensively very strong so it was important we kept a hold of the ball and tried to probe opportunities. We did that but we just need to be a little more ruthless and take our chances." Inverness CT manager Billy Dodds: "I felt as though we had chances to win it but I think Hamilton will be saying exactly the same. We made Ryan Fulton work with great chances rather than not being clinical enough. "There is always pressure. Pressure is game to game in this division when it comes to the crux of it. Tonight my players showed they are desperate to win games and we are close to going on a run again." Date: 25/02/2022 Venue: Fountain of Youth, Hamilton Attendance: 1187 Referee: Alan Muir Hamilton: 1 Manager: Stuart Taylor (head coach) Lineup: Fulton; Lawson, Popescu, O’Reilly, MacDonald, Mimnaugh (Ryan 78), Mullin, Spence (Martin 69), Redfern (Brown 69), Kennedy (Winter 85), Moyo Subs (not used): J Smith; Easton, Hughes, Shiels, Nicolson Scorers: Mullin(13) Booked: O'Reilly (23) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Hyde, Broadfoot, Devine (Harper 62), Deas, Pearson (Hardy 78), Welsh, McAlear, Doran (Sutherland 68), Samuels, B Mckay Subs (not used): Esson; L Nicolson, Walsh Scorers: Pearson (31), Deas(75) Booked: McAlear (30) Sent Off: none a
  4. Xmas is coming We face Hamilton Accies on Saturday in the Championship, fresh from our mauling of Morton last weekend, but can we sustain that level of intensity as we enter the heavy winter schedule? The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with live streaming available from ICTV at £15 if you are unable to get to the stadium. We are due Accies a doing after our lousy performance down there on 2nd October against ten men for over an hour. Let's hope we can continue to build on our performance from last weekend. If not, Raith, Arbroath, Killie and Partick are waiting in the wings... OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH INFO*TICKETS*STREAMING Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 13 4 4 5 20 17 +3 Away 10 6 1 3 16 12 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 23 10 5 8 36 29 +7 First Competitive Meeting Jan 25th, 1997 Scottish Cup (Rd 3) (H) 1 - 3 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 2nd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 2 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The first meeting of the clubs this season saw Inverness fail to beat ten man Accies at NDP despite the hosts playing over half the game a man short. Lewis Smith and Andy Ryan had put Accies two up inside twenty-six minutes before Reegan Mimnaugh was red carded after half an hour. We huffed and puffed for the next hour before eventually getting an injury time consolation by he who shall not be named, but it was too little too late to retrieve the situation. That was our first League defeat of the season at the Fountain of Youth, but it left us three points clear of Kilmarnock in second place at the beginning of October. Since then we have gained a further fifteen points and remain top, but with Raith Rovers and Arbroath breathing down our neck. Accies have added nine points since that first meeting and are heading the bottom half of the table in a League where anyone can beat the rest on their day. Other fixtures this weekend Arbroath v Morton Kilmarnock v Dunfermline Partick v Rovers Queens v Ayr Utd Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Inverness CT 17 10 4 3 25 12 34 2. Raith Rovers 17 9 6 2 27 16 33 3. Arbroath 17 8 7 2 28 13 31 4. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 5. Partick Thistle 17 8 4 5 29 16 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 17 4 5 8 15 30 17 7. Ayr United 17 3 6 8 16 29 15 8. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 9. Q.O.S. 17 3 5 9 16 26 14 10. Morton 17 2 7 8 15 28 13 Last Time Out We trounced a hapless Morton 6-1 at Cappiellow. Doran, Sutherland (2), Mckay, McAlear with a screamer and Jamieson scored the goals in a one sided affair. Ugwu replied for Morton just on the break from the spot. Accies drew 1-1 at Somerset Park with Ayr United in a highly competitive encounter. They opened the scoring through Lewis Smith five minutes before the interval but Tomi Adeloye headed Ayr level three minutes after the break and that's how it ended. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will require more time to rest up. Other than that we should have a fairly healthy squad although Roddy MacGregor was also missing last week. View full article
  5. Xmas is coming We face Hamilton Accies on Saturday in the Championship, fresh from our mauling of Morton last weekend, but can we sustain that level of intensity as we enter the heavy winter schedule? The game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium with live streaming available from ICTV at £15 if you are unable to get to the stadium. We are due Accies a doing after our lousy performance down there on 2nd October against ten men for over an hour. Let's hope we can continue to build on our performance from last weekend. If not, Raith, Arbroath, Killie and Partick are waiting in the wings... OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH INFO*TICKETS*STREAMING Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 13 4 4 5 20 17 +3 Away 10 6 1 3 16 12 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 23 10 5 8 36 29 +7 First Competitive Meeting Jan 25th, 1997 Scottish Cup (Rd 3) (H) 1 - 3 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Oct 2nd, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 2 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 3 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The first meeting of the clubs this season saw Inverness fail to beat ten man Accies at NDP despite the hosts playing over half the game a man short. Lewis Smith and Andy Ryan had put Accies two up inside twenty-six minutes before Reegan Mimnaugh was red carded after half an hour. We huffed and puffed for the next hour before eventually getting an injury time consolation by he who shall not be named, but it was too little too late to retrieve the situation. That was our first League defeat of the season at the Fountain of Youth, but it left us three points clear of Kilmarnock in second place at the beginning of October. Since then we have gained a further fifteen points and remain top, but with Raith Rovers and Arbroath breathing down our neck. Accies have added nine points since that first meeting and are heading the bottom half of the table in a League where anyone can beat the rest on their day. Other fixtures this weekend Arbroath v Morton Kilmarnock v Dunfermline Partick v Rovers Queens v Ayr Utd Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Inverness CT 17 10 4 3 25 12 34 2. Raith Rovers 17 9 6 2 27 16 33 3. Arbroath 17 8 7 2 28 13 31 4. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 5. Partick Thistle 17 8 4 5 29 16 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 17 4 5 8 15 30 17 7. Ayr United 17 3 6 8 16 29 15 8. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 9. Q.O.S. 17 3 5 9 16 26 14 10. Morton 17 2 7 8 15 28 13 Last Time Out We trounced a hapless Morton 6-1 at Cappiellow. Doran, Sutherland (2), Mckay, McAlear with a screamer and Jamieson scored the goals in a one sided affair. Ugwu replied for Morton just on the break from the spot. Accies drew 1-1 at Somerset Park with Ayr United in a highly competitive encounter. They opened the scoring through Lewis Smith five minutes before the interval but Tomi Adeloye headed Ayr level three minutes after the break and that's how it ended. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will require more time to rest up. Other than that we should have a fairly healthy squad although Roddy MacGregor was also missing last week.
  6. Academicals teach us a lesson Accies did inflict the first reverse for Inverness, as the Caley Jags drowned at the fountain of youth, and they did it with ten men for over an hour after Reegan Mimnaugh was sent off for a second bookable offence. They opened the scoring when Lewis Smith thumped the ball into the net after only five minutes. Andy Ryan added a second as Inverness crumbled and failed to trouble the home keeper. 2-0 at the break and Inverness bossed possession after the interval but never made Fulton work for his money. Harper hit the bar as the pressure mounted and Michael Gardyne scored a late consolation in injury time, but it was too little too late. With Raith beating Killie and Arbroath drawing, no major damage was done with Raith and Partick the big winners this weekend. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With only one win this season, Accies were looking to topple leaders Caley Thistle at the Fountain of Youth and get their season started. Inverness were hoping to keep their great start to the season going and stay ahead of Kilmarnock and Arbroath after a battling win over Queen of the South last weekend. Billy Dodds kept his injuries close to his chest with Aaron Doran and David Carson ruled out and Wallace Duffy and Cameron Harper filling the full back berths. Danny Devine was also absent and we were down to only six on the bench with no defensive cover. Stuart Taylor had David Moyo returning on the bench after injury. Accies took an early lead through a thumping 12 yard shot from Lewis Smith with Mark Ridgers unable to react as the ball flashed past him. Lewis smith smashes the ball home They doubled their lead when Andy Ryan drilled a ball from the edge of the box past the outstretched arms of the keeper. Inverness were thrown a lifeline when Mimnaugh was red carded for a second booking with half an hour gone. It was all we had to grasp onto after an utterly abysmal first half where we created nothing. Half Time: 2-0 Billy McKay replaced the inept Manny Duku at the break, in truth, more than Duku was struggling to perform. As the second half progressed, it was apparent that Inverness were clueless and hapless when it came to creating chances, and with only fifteen minutes left this game was slipping away without troubling Fulton in the Accies goal. Cammy Harper smacked the crossbar from twelve yards in our best opportunity as we dominated possession, but Accies had the most important statistic, a two goal lead. Plenty of action in the final third, but little action in the penalty box, what there was ended up being wasted as our shot shy forwards fired blanks. That was until this happened... Michael Gardyne scored a beauty of a curler after the ninety minutes but would it be too little too late as Inverness laid siege to the home goal. Alas, it was too little too late and Accies got the three points and Inverness got what they deserved, zilch. Gardyne was our most likely player with a decent cameo from MacGregor, but after that it was difficult to pick out anyone who shone above mediocrity. From CTO RIG: Deserved win for Accies. We were rotten for too much of that game to deserve anything. Nice finishes for both of their goals but really poor defending from our point of view. After the sending off it was almost all ICT but we created pretty much nothing of note. Half hearted penalty appeals in the second half and a wonderful strike from Gardyne, easily our best player, were all we had to show for our possession. Accies defended well and easily coped with our timid attempts to get back into the game. We had to lose sometime but I am very disappointed at how poor we were today. More match reaction from BBC Sport Inverness manager Billy Dodds: "We gave away really poor goals. We had a few chances, but we didn't do enough, we didn't bombard them. "When you see the results at full-time, it's disappointing. There was an opportunity that's spurned." Hamilton boss Stuart Taylor: "I'm really happy with the performance. It was tough going over an hour down to ten men, but I thought we defended extremely well." "I'm disappointed for them to lose the goal in the last couple of minutes, but I'm also delighted for them." Dodds trying to understand it all Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 8 6 1 1 10 4 6 19 2. Kilmarnock 8 5 1 2 9 4 5 16 3. Arbroath 8 4 3 1 16 6 10 15 4. Raith Rovers 8 4 2 2 14 10 4 14 5. Partick Thistle 8 4 0 4 17 13 4 12 6. Queen of the South 8 3 0 5 9 12 -3 9 7. Ayr United 8 2 2 4 7 12 -5 8 8. Hamilton Academical 8 2 2 4 8 15 -7 8 9. Morton 8 1 3 4 7 12 -5 6 10. Dunfermline 8 0 4 4 4 13 -9 4 Date: 02/10/21 Venue: New Douglas Park, Hamilton Attendance: 1088 Referee: Euan Anderson Hamilton Accies: 2 Manager: Stuart Taylor Lineup: Fulton; Virtanen, Popescu, Macdonald, Ryan (Moyo 76) Smith, Want (Easton 80), Mullin, Mimnaugh, Matheson, Redfern (Hughes 69) Subs (not used): Hilton; Hamilton, Munro, McGowan Scorers: Smith (5), Ryan (26) Booked: Mimnaugh (7, 30), Redfern (20), Want (45+6), Fulton (79), Hughes (82), Sent Off: Mimnaugh (30) Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers, Duffy (McDonald 66), Broadfoot, Deas, Harper, Gardyne, Welsh, Allardice, Walsh (Sutherland 30), MacGregor, Duku (Mckay 45) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Jamieson, McAlear Scorers: Gardyne (90+2) Booked: Duku (21) Welsh (32) Sent Off: none a
  7. Frankly Awesome Storm Frank did his best to disrupt this game but the plastic pitch at New Douglas Park stood up to the test and it was game on at a dreich NDP, and Inverness won a thriller 4-3. Eamonn Brophy made his first start of the season for Hamilton at the expense of Carlton Morris. Morris was joined on the bench by Daniel Redmond, Christian Nade and Steven Boyd amongst others. Inverness fielded David Raven once more with Carl Tremarco returning at left back. Still no sign of Josh Meekings. Jordan Roberts was on the bench along with Iain Vigurs, Dani Lopez and Danny Williams. As at Pittodrie, Miles Storey missed a one on one with McGovern coming out on top after nine minutes, deflecting the ball with his legs to keep the score level. Carl Tremarco lifted a ball over to Storey but his shot misses from the angle across the goal. Inverness were getting on top and won a free kick around thirty yards out. Greg Tansey took it and with Michael McGovern not covering himself in glory, the ball ended up high in the centre of the net. Half an hour gone and Frank opens up again, dampening the atmosphere, the players responding by taking shelter on the pitch. Devine broke the monotony, but his header from a corner goes just wide and five minutes before the break David Raven forced McGovern into making a save from close range. Half Time 0-1 So far so good, but can we manage to avoid the late goal syndrome that has afflicted us all season? 154 away fans made the journey in this weather. Absolute nutters to be honest. It's horrendous out there, let's hope they get rewarded for their nuttery. Five minutes into the second period and our new sensation Liam Polworth gave them more hope as he notched our second goal of the game, his third in a row. Raven sent him on his way and he made a bee line for the opposition box before rifling a shot low into the bottom corner. Miles Storey was giving the Accies back line a hard time with his powerful running, causing concern every time he sprints after the ball, and that's enough for some of the Hamilton fans as they leave the building. Carlton Morris replaced Louis Longridge as Accies looked to change things around, but Inverness were content to use the Miles Storey outlet to stretch the home defence. Fon Williams was eventually asked to work saving from Crawford after 65 minutes but they would not be denied moments later as Morris flicks home from six yards to reduce the deficit. Miles Storey caused more panic but was unable to find the net soon after as Inverness fans feel the pressure that comes with losing a two goal lead. Accies were now dominating the game and we were looking like frightened rabbits as the home side went searching for a leveller, Christian Nade coming on for Brophy. The inevitable happened though and ten minutes from the end Ziggy Gordon scored the equaliser with a header. Deja Vu. That was just the start of it though and a frenetic finish to the game would ensue. It looked as though Accies might now go on and win the game, but Tansey got the opportunity of another free kick in the 88th minute and some twenty five yards out. His first one was bludgeoned towards the goal, this one was curled brilliantly over the wall using the elements to fair gain and the ball whistled into the top corner, McGovern could do little about it. But, late goals R us and one minute later Nade was knocking the ball beyond Owain Fon Williams at the other end with his head from a corner. This sparked a mass argument in the Inverness defence amongst themselves, plenty of finger pointing as win bonuses looked to be disappearing once more. However, there was one more twist in the tale during the three minutes of stoppage time. Ross Draper fed Liam Polworth and our new superhero lashed an unstoppable shot across the keeper into the top corner. McGovern had little chance with Tansey's second free kick, he had not an earthly with this one. What a strike from 25 yards, the ball rocketed into the net. Scenes of joy in the away end as we finally ended a game on a high and the long knives were put back in the drawer for another while. Full Time, an incredible 3-4 Storm Frank turned this into some game and no doubt had a hand in some of the spectacular goals on show. I doubt you will see four better strikes in the same game. At one point we were facing throwing away a two goal lead for the second time in a week. Then we faced the prospect of another late, late, goal scuppering us. But, we never gave up and the winning goal was simply unbelievable. Full credit to all the players, Tansey and Polworth outstanding, but the real heroes were the 154 away fans who made the journey amid scenes of biblical proportions. Alternative Maryill, one of our more obsevant fans had this to say about our midfield battlers after yesterdays game. There was plenty to be encouraged by in addition to the final score. The midfield trio Tansey, Polworth and Draper was immense, key to us absolutely controlling the first hour of the game. After being one of our best and most important players last season, Tansey had seemed quieter and less confident in the early part of this season, but on the evidence of yesterday, he is starting to get back to his best. Draper drove us forward, as he apparently did against Aberdeen; we're simply a far better side with him in the team, and we need to get him tied to a new contract asap. And of course, the revelation of St Liam continues. For a good three months now, he has been the bright spot in the team: relentlessly industrious, and positive and dynamic in his passing and the runs he makes, where too many others have been timid and conservative. Yesterday's two goals encapsulated all these qualities and rewarded Polworth for what he brings to the team. The one concern, of course, is that if his ability and influence continue to develop at the pace they have done in the first half of this season, then he might be the next player to follow Christie out the door. Wedderburn also had a good game yesterday, commanding the area in front of the central defence and bringing the three aforementioned players into the game. Vincent, on the other hand, still looks like he doesn't quite know where he should be playing. Date: 30/12/15 Venue: New Douglas Park, Hamilton Attendance: 1555 Referee: Euan Anderson Hamilton: 3 Lineup: McGovern, Gordon, Kurakins, Gillespie, Imrie (Redmond 90), Crawford, Longridge (Morris 58), MacKinnon, Brophy (Nade 81), Tena, Tagliapietra Subs (not used): Martin, Sendles-White, Docherty, Boyd Scorers: Morris (66), Gordon (81), Nade (89) Booked: Gillespie (24), Imrie (87) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 4 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Raven, Tremarco, Vincent, Warren, Draper, Devine, Wedderburn (Williams 87), Tansey, Polworth, Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Lopez, Roberts, Sho-Silva, Vigurs, Mbuyi-Mutombo Scorers: Tansey (18, 88), Polworth (51,93) Booked: Draper (25), Raven (70), Tansey (83) Sent Off: none
  8. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Hamilton PREVIEW 6th May 2017 @ 12:15PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound Live Commentary [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) ONE Football - APP also available for iPhone/Android/Windows phones Sporting Life BBC VIDEO CaleyJagsTV (LIVE for overseas viewers, On Demand for Worldwide Users after UK holdback period) : payment required. SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  9. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Hamilton Acc -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 31/01/17 @ 7:45PM, New Douglas Park, Hamilton Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  10. Return of the Mac fails to inspire embarrassing Caley Jags. Prodigal son Billy Mckay returned to Inverness as Richie Foran pulled off a signing coup to set the fans buzzing prior to this fixture and he went straight into the starting XI. Aaron Doran, Josh Meekings and Billy King all missed out for the visitors as Massimo Donati and captain Michael Devlin returned after suspension for the hosts. However, it took Accies only ten minutes to open the scoring when Alex D'Acol scored from a corner with the Inverness defence looking sheepishly at each other. Greg Tansey spurned an opportunity to level the score from the spot but Gary Woods saved. Grant Gillespie scored two minutes into the second half with Fon Williams not looking too clever. Rakish Bingham lashed in a third after more shoddy Inverness play. Shoes have come off for less serious predicaments. It's time for some tough talking at the Caledonian Stadium. Old Caley Girl witnessed this one and it's suffice to say that she was less than impressed with the display from the Caley Jags, despite the introduction of new signing Billy Mckay. Here's her report from the SuperSeal Stadium................ The Caleyaway faithful turned up at New Douglas Park with renewed hope following the morale boosting return of the prodigal son Billy McKay. However, this optimism was to prove short lived and misplaced with a Tuesday night horror show from ICT. Its 8 years since the infamous shoes off protest and to be quite honest if there had been another display of shoes this week it would not have been undeserved. It was clear from the off that Hamilton were well aware how important this game was and it didn’t take us long to see which team was up for the fight and which wasn’t. Ali Crawford had the first chance of the game but shot over the bar and Billy Mckay had a good chance a few minutes later but shot wide. However, just a few minutes later Hamilton were ahead with D’Acol heading home from close range from a Crawford corner. With 26 minutes played ICT were thrown a potential lifeline with Darian MacKinnon fouling Billy Mckay in the box and a penalty was awarded. There was a collective sigh of relief when our usually reliable penalty taker Greg Tansey stepped up, but this proved short lived. He fired the ball towards the right hand corner but Woods went the right way and saved. At that point the writing was on the wall that it wasn’t going to be a good night for us. To be fair to Tansey, Woods did very well in saving his shot but that wasn’t much comfort to the travelling fans. At this point the heads went down and we resorted to punt after punt that rarely got anywhere near Anier or Mckay. Tansey and Vigurs collected first half yellows and Crawford went off injured in 32 mins. Half Time 1 – 0 If we thought things were going to improve second half we were sadly mistaken. Two minutes after the restart Hamilton were 2 ahead, Grant Gillespie firing the ball into the right hand corner of the net. In 58 minutes Draper was replaced by Cole and a few moments later Hamilton were three ahead, Bingham shooting from outside the box into the top right hand top of the net. Ebbe replaced Anier in 75 minutes but this was a shambolic display from ICT. I can’t remember anything of note in any way positive in the second half from an ICT perspective at all. Full Time 3 – 0 With the midfield missing in action and unable to get the ball effectively to the strikers and the defence having a collectively poor night then this had only one outcome. In fact I’d suggest it was the worst display I personally have seen from an ICT team in years. The players looked disorganised and tactics seemed non-existent, headless chickens at times. Another worry, apart from now being adrift at the bottom of the league, is that Hamilton look more than capable of being up for a scrap but we seem to be falling more apart as the games are played. Richie Foran sounded emotional in his post-match interview and was scathing of the players but at last seems to have admitted to himself that we are in a relegation battle. With a four year deal a change of manager is not an option so we just have to hope that somehow Foran and his players can pull off a miracle and get us out of this mess. On this performance the jury is out that they can. OCG MotM – Ok, not sure anyone deserved this award at all but if I have to pick a player I’d have to go with Billy Mckay, who must wonder what he has done coming back to this shambles of a set up. My MotM tho is going to the guys and girls of Caleyaway, all 139 of those present on Tuesday night, who deserve much much better than they spent good money to watch. Here's the SPFL video from the SuperSeal Stadium. Parental guidance is advised as it's another horror show from the Caley Jaggies. Date: 31/01/17 Venue: New Douglas Park, Hamilton Attendance: 1745 Referee: Euan Anderson Hamilton Acc: 3 Lineup: Woods, Devlin, Gillespie, Imrie, D'Acol (Brophy 78), Redmond, Crawford (Adams 32), Bingham (Boyd 72), Mackinnon, Donati, McMann Subs (not used): Matthews, Seaborne, Watson, Cunningham Scorers: D'Acol (10), Gillespie (47), Bingham (61) Booked: Devlin (26), Redmond (31), Mackinnon (54) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Warren, Brad Mckay, Tremarco, Draper (Cole 58), Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs, Anier (Ebbe 74), Billy Mckay Subs (not used): Esson, McCart, Mulraney, Fisher, Boden Scorers: none Booked: Vigurs (29), Tansey (38) Sent Off: none a
  11. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  12. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Hamilton PREVIEW 10th Dec @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  13. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  14. Cole Goal Earns Point Larnell Cole scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Hamilton as Accies once more surrendered the lead in an entertaining encounter in the Highlands. This point was enough to lift us off the foot of the table for now as Partick Thistle take over at the bottom. Injuries and suspension robbed Inverness of their standard back line but Brad Mckay and Lewis Horner stepped in to a makeshift back four with Gary Warren suspended and David Raven injured. Mckay was not 100% fit, but that did not deter him from taking to the field to bolster our fragile defence. Fon Williams also took to the field nursing back pain and that was evident as Accies opened the scoring. Accies were coming North with high hopes of a result given their decent record in Inverness in recent times, having won on their last two visits. When Jake Mulraney gave away a free kick wide of our eighteen yard box, there seemed little imminent danger as Ali Crawford sized up his options. I'm not totally convinced his choice was a shot, or was it a low ball to the keepers near post but the end product was a goal as the ball deceived Fon Williams to bounce just inside his near post when a cross looked on the cards. It had been a bright opening quarter as we buzzed around the Accies half with Larnell Cole and Jake Mulraney scampering forward at pace. Lonsana Doumbouya was getting well involved and causing havoc in the Accies rearguard and things looked promising up till this point. Fon Williams stuck up an apologetic glove to the unimpressed fans behind the goal as Accies celebrated this early Xmas gift. Still, plenty of time to get back into the game and we surged forward at will, but as per norm, found Accies a tough nut to crack. A deep cross from Lewis Horner caused problems in the visitors goalmouth and when Doumbouya nodded goalwards, it was knocked clear by the hand of defender Dan Seaborne. Penalty was the obvious choice, but we are talking about Scottish referee's here and play continued without anything given. Rather odd considering Mr Aitken had a good view of the incident. Doumbouya was giving the defenders more hassle and he headed a through ball down towards Iain Vigurs. The ball broke kindly to Mulraney but a despairing lunge by a defender blocked what would have been a certain goal. Greg Tansey twisted and turned his way into the box on the end of a ball forward, but as defenders fell around him, he took one turn too many and the chance was lost as former County keepr Gary Woods narrowed the angle to make a tremendous block and deny the twinkle toed midfielder. I felt he could easily have scored with one touch less as he looked for the immaculate finish. We cut open Accies again as Ross Draper was brilliantly set up by Doumbouya and a busier than usual Iain Vigurs, but he lashed his effort from the edge of the box just over the bar when it looked easier to score. Plenty to enthuse over in a busy first half, but no goals for us as the visitors went in at the break a goal to the good despite Inverness dominating the game. Half Time 0-1 Just after the interval D'Acol brought out a smart save by Fon Williams, low to his left and Doumbouya headed just wide at the other end. We started to up the pace even more after the break and six minutes in we were rewarded with a spanking goal from Larnell Cole, his first for us. Mulraney and Vigurs combined well as they entered the box before Cole stepped in to lash the ball high into the net from seventeen yards, ably assisted by the underside of the bar. Fabulous goal and great reward for the young loan star. That goal opened the game out once more and Accies tried to get their noses in front again. It took a flying save from Fon Williams to prevent them from doing so as a tackle come shot was heading for the top corner before the keepers timely intervention. It was end to end stuff now as the action picked up and Tansey was foiled again, this time it looked as though his goalbound shot struck the back of his own players legs and the ball was hacked clear by a relieved defence. Ali Crawford saw an effort similar to Draper's one curl just over as both teams looked for a winner, but try as they might it never came. Fon Williams made a meal of a long range free kick, pushing the ball out when it looked easier to gather it, but hey ho, he kept the ball out this time. and as the Hamilton corner count increased the game ended with no further scoring. Full Time 1-1 Both sides will feel they could have won this game and fair play to Hamilton for coming out of their shell and having a go to make it an enjoyable spectacle for the fans. Good to see that Fon Williams has a sense of humour after his suspect positioning for the Accies goal. Another free kick in a similar location saw a stinging comment from one fan who shouted, "mind your near post this time". Despite the occasion, he found time to give the thumbs up to quell any fears we all had. Happy days. To be fair to the keeper, he had been struggling all week to make the game and it was touch and go whether we would actually have a keeper at all with Esson also unable to kick properly. Ross Draper courted a red card after his booking earlier in the game. We all held our breath as he made a couple of robust challenges. Careful Ross, Careful. tm4tj MotM is going to Larnell Cole, not just for his tremendous goal but his work rate was good and he got involved in plenty of attacks. This was a vast improvement from the grim performance at Perth and with news that Liam Polworth, Alex Fisher and Scott Boden are nearing full fitness then things will hopefully pick up. Gary Warren should be back from suspension so we might have a full bench next week. Anyway, good to come back and get a point, a point that lifts us off the bottom. Date: 10/12/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2473 Referee: Greg Aitken Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, Meekings, Draper, Vigurs, Mulraney, Tansey, Horner (King 86), Mckay, Doumbouya, Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Doran, Sutherland, Gilchrist, Robertson, Maclennan. Scorers: Cole (51) Booked: Draper (35), McKay (85), King (89) Sent Off: none Hamilton Acc: 1 Lineup: Woods, Seaborne, Gillespie, Imrie, Docherty, D'Acol (Redmond 67), Crawford, Longridge (Bingham 67), Mackinnon, McMann, Sarris. Subs (not used): Thomson, Brophy, Donati, Cunningham, Hughes Scorers: Crawford (16) Booked: Imrie (57), Gillespie (73), McMann (75) Sent Off: none a
  15. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Hamilton Ac. -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 1st Oct, 2016 @ 3PM, Superseal Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  16. Liam's late show again Liam Polworth extended Caley Thistle's unbeaten run to five games with a superb injury time leveler against Hamilton Accies. The home side had taken the lead in the eighteenth minute after Alexandre D'Acol scored from a rebound. Hamilton enjoyed the lions share of possession, but Inverness were able to fashion an equal share of the chances, however a point looked unlikely until Poly pounced in the 93rd minute. Foran benched Jake Mulraney, handing luxury man Iain Vigurs a start with Lonsana Doumbouya given the striker role. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Immortal Howden Ender has this report for us. For the benefit of those with a humour bypass, some of this may be tongue in cheek. Junior Strictly Come Dancing or Green Street? Are they simply getting nervous at the thought of IHE watching from the stands? It certainly was nowhere near as bad as Tynecastle, although Hearts may well have hit five against us and we were fortunate that their last touch was very poor and their shooting was rushed and mainly way off target. The statistics will suggest that this was a close affair but I feel that we did NOT deserve to take anything from this and that was a real “smash and grab” in injury time. But playing poor away from home, coming away with a point and stretching the unbeaten run to five games. Well you shouldn’t complain but I have enjoyed better games down the park on a Sunday morning. I wonder if other away teams lament the Hamilton experience. Due to the unfriendliness of local hostelries we enjoyed our pre-match bevvy in the Auctioneers in down down Glesga prior to catching the 14.20 train from Central Station. Then a wee trudge through a shittty alleyway and in to a practically empty stadium. Attendance was given at 1611 but it did not even look like that. Only two stands in use. The Main Stand had three sections full and the rest sparsely populated. We must have had 200-300 but we were spread out all over the place and there was little atmosphere to enthuse about. The only craic was the exchanges between our Young Team and their Hamilton counterparts. I don’t think that I will have to use much space to report on the actual game. We looked the part for the first ten minutes but it was tippy-tappy stuff. Then we faded and let Hamilton take control. It looked like a Warren error that allowed D’Acol to put the Accies ahead in the 18th minute. Their young kids basically looked like they had more energy and commitment until we went for broke in the last ten minutes when Accies also looked as if they had run out of steam and settled for a 1-0 win. It sounds as if that is the story of their season. Not sure why Foran decided to start Vigurs instead of Mulraney. He then took Mulraney on to play wide left whilst Hamilton's right flank looked as unsteady as one of the nearby slum tenements. Draper appeared to be in more of a centre forward role and it appeared that a lot of balls were being launched at him instead of Doumbouya. Again the match stats state that we had 7 attempts on target. Well we were looking dangerous only from dead ball situations. Mckay and Warren (twice) had half efforts in the first half. Draper had a great header saved by the substitute keeper, Scott Harrison late on, and then of course Polworth's drive deep into injury time. I suppose that people will say that Foran got the substitutes right but I don’t. Our main saviour was the amount of injury time which resulted from two stoppages for the keeper, time wasting by the Hamilton substitutions and Hamilton sitting back and us going for broke. We could even have snatched three points if Doumbouya had put the last minute header on target. It was nice to see Dougie Imrie prostrate and distraught at the end. I have to add that Hamilton’s youth Academy appears to continue to bring up talented youngsters. I would love to know their recipe for success. Docherty looks a winner and he and Crawford bossed the midfield which turned the whole game in their favour. Imrie to be fair did look illustrious and effective. But I feel that we missed a trick by not targeting the young lad, at left back, making his first appearance. I also thought that Sarris dominated and bullied Doumbouya. I can’t even be bothered doing a Smileymometer as I think that I have summed up the performance previously. Fon Williams did nothing wrong. McKay looked less reassured. Warren and Meekings looked shaky at times but probably not helped by Hamilton totally bossing the midfield. Tremarco continues to be consistent and gets my MotM. Cant believe that we continue to play Polworth wide right and he proved that by coming through the middle for the late goal. I only noticed Tansey for the first time when he went off injured. Same could be said of Vigurs!! King had an off day. Draper had to slot in to three different roles but he looks wholly suited to the front hole role. The surface did not appear to bother him and he looked like our real driving influence. Sorry but I am still not enthralled by Doumbouya. I felt that he let Sarris bully him. Get him down the Gym and on the weights and a wee bit of sprint training as well. But again what service and support did he get. I have already decried taking Mulraney on to the left and when we switched we began to look dangerous. Boden simply looked disinterested and added nothing. Cole is clearly “green” but got involved, appears to have a good touch and pace. Then I bet Doran is one cheesed off punter forced to watch that for 97 minutes. So in essence the first 93 minutes were shocking but the last 4 were promising. As fer Mr Cook – well we would have been better with Mary feckin Berry in the centre. He upheld the current reputation of Scottish officialdom. Talking about bullying earlier on, a wee mention for the so called Hamilton Youth Team. What a feckin firm. They joined us at the trudge back down the alleyway to the Station. They spouted filth at families and disabled supporters. They passed by us and ignored our shouts of abuse encouragement. Some of them were 11 or 12 years old. They did not retaliate. They then grouped at the end of the alley in clear sight of the Polis and entered in to the dancing and come on gesturing. It looked more like Junior Strictly Come Dancing than Green Street. However, please don't try this at home children. Match footage from SPFL Website Post match Richie added – “I thought we had the better chances, their keeper pulled off one or two decent saves, we had one cleared off the line so on chances alone I think we deserved a point. On overall play, I thought they were the better team.” Not sure if he was at the same game. Video from Caley Jags TV Hamilton:- 1 (D'Acol 18) Matthews (Thomson 81), Seabourne, Gillespie, Imrie, Docherty, D'Acol (Bingham 65), Crawford, Longridge (Want 85), Mackinnon, McMann, Sarris. Subs not used: Redmond, Roy, Tierney, Hughes. Inverness CT:- 1 (Polworth 90+3) Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Cole 75), Tansey (Boden 50), King (Mulraney 59), Mckay, Doumbouya. Subs not used: Mackay (GK), Doran, Horner, Fisher. Referee: Barry Cook. Attendance: 1611.
  17. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who watched the game on TV or listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  18. Welcome to the Jungle. Unbeaten in four now and Richie Foran takes his squad off to Cadzow, a war torn Eastern Block concrete jungle parallel town in South Lanarkshire, now known as Hamilton, to face The Accies on the plastic pitch where fleet footedness might be the order of the day. It's been a decent September for Foran as he has turned the fortunes of his team around with a win and two draws, following on from a victory over St Johnstone at the end of August. That was in stark contrast to four consecutive defeats that saw Inverness stuck at the foot of the Premiership, a 5-1 thrashing at Tynecastle, and out of the League Cup at the hands of Alloa. September must surely give Richie a chance at winning the Manager of the Month award, albeit an award that historically signals the start of a run of poor results. Maybe we should leave that out and just concentrate on moving up. Stat Attack:- Inverness have won their last six games at New Douglas Park. Last season it was two wins apiece, all wins coming at away games including a stunning 3-4 win at Hamilton where long range efforts were the order of the day in somewhat blustery conditions. Biggest ever win was a 6-1 thrashing in the Scottish cup when Inverness ran riot after falling behind to an early goal. That was fourteen years ago. Five years earlier, Hamilton had come North and knocked Inverness out of the Scottish Cup 3-1. It was a brace from Paul Ritchie that made the difference. I'll hand you over to Immortal Howden Ender for his pre-match banter where he has been checking out Saturday's opponents and casting his eye over the architectural beauty of Cadzow. There's a preview in there somewhere if you work your way through the old gits memoirs. He could be preparing to write his autobiography, Life after HMS Sneck. Yes indeed the trip to New Douglas Park (it will never be the feckin SuperSeal Stadium) has usually been a fruitful experience for ICT and hopefully we will be leaving with another three points and moving in to the Top Six, hardly expected after our horrific start to the season. We appear to thrive on synthetic surfaces (apart from Ross Draper that is) and it may well suit the current squad of pacy players even better than previous. We have not lost a point there since January 2009. During that time we have won the last six fixtures since, scoring 15 goals and conceding only 5. At the TCS it is practically a reversal of fortune and I never realised that Hamilton were such a bogey team in Sneck. I have also realised that Hamilton must be the one team who I have never seen us get beaten by. Three of those goals conceded away happened in the game on December 30th 2015. But in a real end to end affair we sneaked a 4-3 victory. Two free kicks by Greg Tansey and a late Polworth winner sent our hardy support home prematurely celebrating the New Year. The other game that lives in the memory was the “Farewell to Brewster” defeat in January 2009 when we serenaded (and sacked) him with the famed shoe song !! As the Sun reported: “The shoes one day. The boot the next. Craig Brewster fell victim to fan power as he was kicked out of Inverness Caley Thistle. Fed up supporters had chanted ‘Shoes Off If You Hate Brewster’ as they lost at Hamilton. The club’s seventh straight league defeat left then stranded at the foot of the SPL. It also left them walking a relegation tightrope five years after a spectacular sprint into the top flight. Brewster has paid the price as Caley faced the biggest on-field crisis in their 15-year history.” I can remember that we pegged Hamilton back in the last 20 minutes and came close to equalising three times. My heart was in my mouth and I kept on saying to maself, "Fer fecks sake Caley, give us a break mun, DON'T feckin score and spoil our day, right eenuff " The 4-3 was not the only high scoring match in the history of ICT and Hamilton. I was fortunate to be on holiday on 22/02/2003 when we met Hamilton in the Scottish Cup in Inverness and ended with a resounding 6-1 victory. Braces from Wyness and Robson were added to by Ritchie and McCaffrey. Bobby Mann went off injured early doors and was replaced by a young Grant Munro. And then we went ballistic again against Celtic but fell to the Argentine influenced Dundee in the semi-final at Hampden Park. And I would never have guessed at that time, how many times we would be heading to Mount Vernon. Eight points out of the last 12, including draws against the current top two has been a breath of fresh air. Add to that an apparent attacking philosophy of the “under fire” novice manager, a growing sign of togetherness and squad options that ensures everybody is fighting for their places can only be healthy. Hamilton are only three points behind us but we are only three points off third place. This may not be your classic six-pointer but there is a lot at stake. At first glance Hamilton’s draw with St Jones Town, after taking the lead, looks worrying. However the Perth Pack may have suffered from a gruelling cup tie less than 72 hours previous and they rang the changes at Hamilton. This included the non-appearance of Steven McLean who apparently will not play on synthetic purposes. Always preferred a bit of pure, mature grass maself. Hamilton suffer as badly as us in transfer windows. They tend to look to youth rather than spending and that appears to have kept them afloat in the Premiership. They still have a number of decent players like Grant Gillespie, Darian MacKinnon and Ali Crawford (being touted for a Scotland cap) and then there is the Peter Pan of Neds - Dougie Imrie - who always appears to go up a gear against us. Add to that the youth of Eamonn Brophy and new Under 21 player Greg Docherty, who has already got 50 games under his belt. The problem appears to be that they simply do not know their first XI. Canning is a novice and tactically is suspect. Midfielder Darren Lyon could be out for five or six weeks. Gary Woods, Jesus Garcia Tena and Craig Watson are all out, but captain Michael Devlin could return. As far as our starting XI goes I suspect that it will simply be same again. I feel that Foran has made it clear that everyone is playing for their place and a 4-4-1-1 will suit as away from home. At the moment we have a goalie on top form, a solid back four playing together, two fine holding players with Tansey as the creator, two wide players with pace, possibly the player of the month in the hole and Doumbouya's goal will probably keep him ahead of Fisher. Doran must be close to starting but I don't feel that Richie could justify dropping either Mulraney or King. I wonder what Scott Boden is thinking about all of this? David Raven and Kev McNaughton are our only absentees. Ryan Esson has been struggling with an elbow injury, but Lewis Horner could be fit enough to cover any defensive mishaps. But should we even start Draper after what happened at Killie last season? Some people are simply not matched to playing on synthetic surfaces. Draper's playing style, running from deep and the loping stride are wide open to injury. Perhaps like McLean from St Jones Town we should take the risk of resting him and playing either Fisher or Boden ; Boden being a better match for Doumbouya. And if ya think our Young Team are mischievous, then their counterparts – The Hamilton Young Fannies – appear to be getting a ten times worse reputation. Last time we were there they were “challenging” some Canadian school sports team - mixed genders, probably about 12 or 13, and their teachers – who were probably having a day out !! By the way the Canadians were the Winnipeg ICT Supporters Club on tour. Good job the neds did not cross over cos they would have been ice hockey sticked to puck. And last but clearly not least. What watering hole will be allowed into. On my previous trips to Hamilton we have faced Home Supporters Only greetings. So basically Hamilton is a shithole where you need to spend the least amount of time possible. So it is a case of grabbing a few beers and double voddies in Glesga, grabbing a train which thankfully stops beside the Stadium, grab a few goals, three points and back on the train as soon as possible. Kinda spoils the idea of the Away Day experience though. At least Superseal, the sponsors, are a Home Improvement Company. I might ask if my uncle can get a job as he would be an asset in that type of environment. He is a bulldozer driver. Disclaimer:- This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental............. But these videos from Caley Jags TV are the real thing.
  19. Devine nets winner Inverness ground out a result at Hamilton thanks to a Danny Devine goal before the break. It was a rather dour encounter and one where Darian Mackinnon earned himself two yellow cards in ten seconds..............is that a record. The least said about this game the better with fans less than impressed by the quality of play on display. John Hughes left out Jordan Roberts and Andrea Mutombo, with Iain Vigurs and Danny Williams starting. It may just be me, but I find it odd that a player not wanting to stay at Inverness gets a start ahead of guys who would give an arm and a leg to play. David Raven was of course left on the bench. No surprise there. RIG was at this game and here's his report. Really poor end of season affair lightened up by MacKinnon being a colossal ned and scrapping with his coaching staff as he was bundled off the pitch and one of the ICT fans charging across the stand to celebrate the Williams 'goal' before realising it had been chalked off For some reason, after turning in a wonderful performance against Partick, we seem to have returned to our timid, non threatening, slow passing game. Whereas Draper and others had been snapping at the heels of Partick players winning the ball and providing great support further forward for the likes of Storey we seemed significantly less inclined to attack with anyone other than Storey, Williams and Polworth. Draper and Tansey were lined up exceptionally deep with Meekings and Tremarco seldom supporting on the flanks. It was like we had put the brakes on for this one despite 7th place and some potentially important prize money up for grabs. The best move of the game for us came when Storey scampered free on the left flank and crossed for Williams who finished well but had apparently just drifted offside. Hard to tell from where we were. A quick free kick from Vigurs released Devine and he tackled the ball into the net. Decent finish for a defender. Hamilton had largely been restricted to shots from range with a couple looking like they flew pretty close to OFW goal. Half Time 0-1 Second half was sadly a very timid affair from us in attacking sense best exemplified when Williams had the ball on the right flank and the ICT players alongside him stood completely still. There was little movement off the ball to create space for either a pass or for the player who had the ball. We seemed happy to knock the ball around and protect the one goal lead. Draper (I think) did find Polworth with a superb through ball but he shot right at McGovern. MacKinnon, perhaps the biggest ned in Scottish football, was sent off for clashing with Vigurs. Looked like he threw an elbow in the direction of Vigurs after a challenge which strangely brought only a yellow card before he then mouthed off at the ref and was shown a second yellow. As he went off he clashed with the Accies coaching staff and was restrained before appearing to launch himself at whoever was holding him back. Bizarre. For most of the latter part of the second half we were defending deeper and deeper as we clung on to the lead. Hamiltons best chance came when a clever and quick free kick nearly caught us out but somehow the final shot from an Accies player, from about 3 yards out, was ballooned into the retail park. Full Time 0-1 Not going to complain too much about a win but having seen what the team can do when it is set up correctly it seems bizarre to put the brakes on and reign the side back. Date: 11/05/16 Venue: New Douglas Park, Hamilton Attendance: 1516 Referee: Stephen Finnie Hamilton Ac: 0 Lineup: McGovern, Gordon, Kurakins, Devlin, Gillespie, Kurtaj (Docherty 56), Morris, MacKinnon, Brophy, Garcia Tena (Redmond 63), Boyd (Hughes 78) Subs (not used): Martin, D'Acol, Tierney, Cunningham Scorers: none Booked: MacKinnon (74), Gillespie (82) Sent Off: MacKinnon (74) Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Draper, Devine, Tansey, D.Williams (Foran 92), Polworth, Vigurs, Storey (Roberts 87) Subs (not used): Esson, Raven, R Williams, Horner, Mbuyi-Mutombo Scorers: Devine (41) Booked: Warren (57), Polworth (85) Sent Off: none a
  20. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Hamilton Ac -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 11th May @ 7:45pm, New Douglas Park, Hamilton Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  21. Video clips added and link to audioboom.
  22. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Hamilton PREVIEW 12th Mar @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  23. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Hamilton Ac. -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 30th December @ 3PM, New Douglas Park, Hamilton Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound LIVE Commentary [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  24. Mid Table Congestion. It's a mid-table battle to end the year at Hamilton as Inverness head to New Douglas Park to take on the Accies as both clubs strive to get into the top half of the table. Inverness fought hard for their point at Pittodrie on Boxing Day and will be a tad disappointed at only coming away with the draw after surrendering a two goal lead. It was great to have an almost full strength X1 available at Aberdeen with only Josh Meekings being the obvious exception. Hamilton lost to second bottom Kilmarnock on the same day and that result saw us jump above them in the league on goal difference. Accies are on a shocking run just now with only one win out of their last ten games, that being a defeat of bottom club Dundee United. They have now lost their last three games, conceding eight goals and scoring one. However, they did win in Inverness back in August, inflicting a 2-0 defeat on us in the Highlands. We have not made the most of some of our visits to NDP and often come away empty handed. In saying that, we have won our last four games there. Back in August on matchday five, Hamilton came North and goals from Carlton Morris and Louis Longridge won the game for them. That result put Accies fourth in the table and we were bottom equal with just two points after five games. We are starting to get a more settled side on the park now while Accies slide down the table and John Hughes will be looking to get something from this game. There's little to choose between the sides. We have scored one more goal but have conceded three less, hence we sit above them in the table. Recent form hints that we should be favourites to win this one, but that's never a good status for us. Inverness will be able to call upon Iain Vigurs after suspension, But Josh Meekings is still struggling with an injury after he missed the game at Pittodrie. Also out are long term victims, Aaron Doran, Dean Brill and Richie Foran. Jordan Roberts is fit enough to claim a spot on the bench and will be like a new signing when he is unleashed on the unsuspecting SPFL. Hamilton have no new injury worries although Michael Devlin and Darren Lyon are not ready to return, but Daniel Redmond played his first game this season last weekend in the defeat by Kilmarnock when he came on as a substitute in the 81st minute. tm4tj Prediction:- I suppose I was a bit scathing in the lead up to the Aberdeen game, but with players returning, we are starting to see a better all round balance to the side. Ross Draper was excellent at Pittodrie as was Miles Storey who ran himself to a standstill. With David Raven also returning at right back, we will be healthier defensively. If we can nick a goal or two then Dougie Imrie and Co will be staring at four defeats in a row. Here's hoping.
  25. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Hamilton PREVIEW 22nd August @ 3:00PM Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Open All Mics (BBC) [UK/VPN Only] TEXT Sporting Life ESPN BBC SKY VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
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