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By George! We are off and running The first ever fixture between the sides ended with a 1-0 win for the visitors. It took a late strike from George Oakley to separate the sides as the Inverness pressure eventually paid off. Billy Mckay hit the post with a header in the second half and keeper Darren Jamieson pulled off a string of saves to deny the eager Inverness side. Agyeman came close in the first half when Delaney cleared away from goal but that was as close as it got for the hosts with Ridgers making some routine stops. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Billy Mckay got season 22/23 underway and was soon working Jamieson in the home goal, the keeper tipping his effort over the bar in the eighth minute. Max Ram's debut ended prematurely as he was injured and replaced by another debutant in Zak Delaney. He was called into action moments later to clear Agyeman's effort off the line. What an introduction for the Irish defender. In the seventeenth minute a great ball from Doran picks out Mckay going through on goal. He gets his effort away but it is blocked. Likewise, Aaron Doran and Roddy MacGregor also saw efforts blocked by the under pressure home defence. Lewis Martin had a couple of attempts as the interval approached, one saved by Ridgers, the other fired over, both from a narrow angle and at the other end Austin Samuels fired over the bar. Doran shot over from a direct free kick just before the break, and MacGregor shot wide as we ended the half with a wee flourish, however it ended goalless at the interval. Half Time: 0-0 Kelty's best spell came just after the break and when Agyeman broke forward on the right. He found Reilly who in turn fed Higginbotham who brought out a diving save from Ridgers who palmed the ball away, and the defence were first to react to clear the loose ball. This was soon followed by Reilly getting a free header on target, but again Ridgers matched the effort to tip the ball over the bar. Minutes later Forster headed wide from a great position. Agyeman also shot wide from an even better position when he should have made the keeper work. Doran then volleyed a tremendous dipping shot from thirty yards that Jamieson tipped over. Inverness had upped the tempo and a Cammy Harper cross was headed onto the base of the post by Billy Mckay. A series of half chances saw the visitors build the pressure on the home goal and it paid off on the last minute when substitute George Oakley beat the offside trap to slot the ball into the net from fifteen yards. great wat to get your account started for the season. As expected, it was a hard fought encounter against a well organised team who will do well in league one. Good to get the win in a competition we have not done well in over the last few seasons. Six new players all getting some game time and no shows from Danny Devine or Sean Welsh. Ridgers was solid in goal and Allardice, Harper and Boyd performed admirably. Billy Mckay was unfortunate not to grab a couple of goals, but they will come. Overview from Yngwie on CTO: We were slightly better than a solid but unspectacular side, certainly in terms of possession. But it was Kelty who actually had most of the good chances, especially in the early stages of the 2nd half, and they really should have been in front but thanks to some good saves and poor finishing it stayed level. As the 2nd half progressed we look far more likely to score, Billy came closest with the glancing header which came back off the post, and in the last minute I was mightily relieved to see no flag raised as Oakley was played through on goal, after we had been caught offside countless times during the match. Good result in the end, a win’s a win, but we are certainly not firing on all cylinders yet going forward with a distinct lack of good final ball or shot. Date: 09/07/2022 Venue: New Central Park, Kelty Attendance: 601 Referee: Barry Cook Kelty Hearts: 0 Manager: John Potter Lineup: Jamieson; Martin, Forster, O'Ware, Peggie, McNab, Tidser (Owens 80), Reilly, Barjonas, Higginbotham, Agyeman (Strang 74) Subs (not used): Hill, Brown, Cameron, Campbell Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Ram (Delaney 14), Deas, Harper, Samuels (Shaw 79), Allardice, MacGregor, Doran (D Mackay 63), Boyd (Oakley 80), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde Scorers: Oakley (88) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Hey big spenders We're back! The season begins on Saturday with the group stages of the League Cup. This season it's known as the Premier Sports Cup and Inverness travel to the artificial surface of New Central Park, Bath Street, to take on newly promoted Kelty Hearts in a Group G encounter. The 'Maroons' have a good mix of seasoned professionals and some exciting emerging talent and that saw them promoted to League One last season as Champions with five games of the season still to play. Tempted by the generous wage income were seasoned campaigners like Kallum Higginbotham, Joe Cardle, Michael Tidser Thomas O'Ware and of course former Inverness striker Nathan Austin. All players who could perform at a higher level. The usual merry-go-round of players saw many leave Inverness for pastures new, with some new faces coming in to bulk out the squad. Out went loan players Reece McAlear, Logan Chalmers, Joe Hardy with Kirk Broadfoot returning to the central belt. Former Inverness and Clach defender Harry Nicolson has joined League of Ireland club Finn Harps. In come Stephen Boyd, Nathan Shaw, Zak Delaney and the man with the cool name, Max Ram. George Oakley has returned to Inverness after a three year hiatus. They will meet up with those still on contracts which will be the core of our squad. Shane Sutherland is out long term after his knee injury during the play-offs. Tom Walsh is another who will miss the start of the season. We also have an excellent youth academy with a number of players ready to break into the first team squad. Eric has been doing his homework: Kelty Hearts open the season with newly appointed manager John Potter, a one time Dunfermline, Clyde and St Mirren player who since retiring has been in a coaching role under Jack Ross at St Mirren, Sunderland and Hibs. He replaces Kevin Thomson, who resigned after Kelty lifted the Scottish League 2 title. The 42-year-old Potter had 20 games in charge of Dunfermline in season 2014-15 and later assisted Jack Ross at Sunderland and Hibernian. More recently, he coached at Queen's Park, who won promotion to the Championship via the play-offs. They have added to the defence with the signing of Lewis Martin from Dunfermline on a free transfer. Up front ex ICT player Nathan Austin is in the squad, Nathan joined ICT Jan 2018 until summer of 2019 but had limited appearances due to injury. Experience in the forward line include Joe Cardle (35) of numerous clubs including rivals County season 2014/15. Also 33 year old Kallum Higginbotham who spent last season with Real Kashmir in India, and previously with Dunfermline. Latest Team News Daniel Mackay is the latest player to do the olde Peters & Lee as he has returned North on a season long loan from Hibs. That will be a welcome addition to the squad along with George Oakley, two players that we know will fit in with our work ethics and already know the routine up here. With Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh missing the start of the season, these will be ready made replacements to add to the other new summer signings. Scott Allardice will be like a new signing after he made his comeback in the play-off games at the end of last season. We still have the core of our defence with Duffy, Devine, Deas and Harper all available. Welcome home, welcome Come on in, and close the door You've been gone, too long Welcome, you're home once more TICKET INFO Tickets available now in advance via Fanbase and Pay at the Gate will be available from Central Park on Saturday. Kelty have said that there is no segregation in place for these matches Adults: £12 Concessions: £8 Under 16s: £4

Kelty Hearts -V- Inverness CT Ticket Info : https://ictfc.com/ticket-info-kelty-hearts-a-09-07-2022 Supporters Bus Info : Venue Info : https://keltyhearts.co.uk/new-central-park/