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Pointless at Palmerston Luis Longstaff missed out for the visitors after picking up an injury at Annan on Saturday. Queens had Adam Brooks up front after the player had to leave Inverness since administration. It was a lively start to the game in Dumfries. It was three in three for Alfie Bavidge as his early goal put the visitors ahead. However the lead only lasted two minutes as former player Inverness striker Adam Brooks levelled in the tenth minute. Nip and tuck thereafter in an entertaining first half with the hosts shading the possession and the opportunities but it was all square at the break and all to play for in the second half. Brooks added his second of the night ten minutes after the break. Chances went abegging at both ends of the park before Keith Bray equalised with fifteen minutes remaining. Alas substitute Jordan Allan was on hand to knock in the winner following a corner to keep all three points in Dumfries. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FULL TIME: 3-2 An all action encounter with five goals and the home side edging it 3-2. An Adam Brooks double and a Jordan Allan strike won the points after Alfie Bavidge had opened the scoring after ten minutes. Keith Bray had made it 2-2 before substitute Allan forced in the winner with ten minutes remaining. A tough result to take after our second long haul in three days. It's a long way home if there's no points in the bag. Meh! Full report to follow Date: 21/01/2025 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 0775 Referee: Gavin Duncan Queen of the South: 3 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; Hewit, Douglas, Hannah, MacIntyre, Doherty (Jack Bryden 71), Luissint, Cochrane, Lyon, Dickenson, Brooks (Allan 77) Subs (not used): Thomson; McKechnie, O'Donnell, Walker, McLinden, McIntosh, Fraser Brydon Scorers: Brooks (12, 53), Allan (79) Booked: Hannah (41), Hewit (64), Luissint (74), Dickinson (76) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Stewart (R Thompson 87), Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 86), Mackinnon, B Mckay (Cairns 86), Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, C Mackay Scorers: Bavidge (10), Bray (74) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

On the Road Again As Canned Heat once said to me, we are 'on the road again'. It's the second of three away games in a row as we head to Palmerston three days after beating Annan Athletic at Galabank. After this and weather permitting, we are off to Alloa this Saturday. That's a tough schedule for Scott Kellacher and his young side, but they have shown that they are well capable of competing at this level despite administration and all the hurdles that come with it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 13 3 6 39 26 +13 Away 20 8 7 5 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 42 21 10 11 73 48 +25 We generally have the upper hand over the Doonhamers although many of these encounters are fairly tight affairs. We lost our last game at Palmerston which was in the Championship in 2022 by 2-1. Absolutely Buffered! After a sloppy opening from the visitors who appeared bus-lagged, Queens opened the scoring through Josh Todd who took advantage of a poor defensive clearance to finish tidily. Logan Chalmers did likewise after Queens gave away the ball in midfield, his finish was stunning. Queens went back in front before the break, goal was scored by buffering. A great finish by East I am told. Half Time 2-1 and there was no further scoring after the break. Our aim was to get enough points to clinch third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. We failed to achieve that, on to the next game. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. On to Palmerston on Tuesday night (21st January). Here's the table ahead of our game tonight, the only League1 game before Saturday Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 21 9 32 3 Kelty 21 9 31 4 Alloa Ath 21 4 29 5 Cove 20 5 28 6 Queens 20 -4 26 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 21 -19 20 9 Caley Jags 20 2 16 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Inverness CT Latest Team News Concerns over Luis Longstaff who came off injured at Annan. Luis is proving to be a valuable player this season with his trickery out wide and has been an important player in recent weeks. Other than that we are not aware of any other new injuries other than the longer term ones. Scott Kellacher talking to the media: On Charlie Reilly’s status “That deal has finished; the loan has expired and unfortunately, he is not under 20 so that rules out bringing him back. It was a shame because he’s a very good footballer, we’d have loved to have him back but if we are to take any players now they must be under 20.” On the other hand we have Alfie Bavidge “Alfie has been a breath of fresh air since coming in. He wants to score goals, wants to be in the right place, he anticipates things and he could’ve had a few more on Saturday if it wasn’t for their keeper pulling off some great saves.” Team News: “We’ve got a few struggling; we’ve got a few injury doubts. They’ll be assessed today [Monday], and we’ll see where they’re at after that. We’ve got a few but we’ll try and get through it, manage them and see how they are.” Longstaff will no doubt be the major concern. Queen of the South Queens were knocked out of the Scottish Cup 3-1 by St Mirren on Saturday at Palmerston with this squad on the left. Brennan Dickenson scored a superb volley after the interval to pull it back to 2-1 before St Mirren bagged a late third. Queens last six League1 games: L W L D W D Defeat at Arbroath was followed by a win over Stenhousemuir but again a loss at Kelty followed. A home draw against Annan Athletic then a win over Cove Rangers before drawing with Alloa Athletic. Last Saturday was the Cup defeat against St Mirren where they gave the Premiership side as good as they got but just fell short.

3-0 on the Road Wullie Gibson has a couple of absentees in defence with Rhys Breen and Scott Hooper out, but left back Rico Quitongo will be added to the squad for todays game. Unfortunately, Tommy Goss will require more detailed surgery after his pre-op showed more work required to tidy up his knee injury and striker Aiden Smith is suspended. Scott Kellacher once again went with Alfie Bavidge up front with Billy Mckay. Alfie Stewart started on the bench. With seven points separating the clubs before kick-off, this was a vital game to avoid defeat if we wanted to reel in Annan and aspire to climb out of the relegation zone. A dull first half was interrupted by a goal and it was no surprise that it took forty minutes to open the scoring. Alfie Bavidge with his second goal in his second game made it 0-1 at the interval. Keith Bray doubled our advantage just after the break with a header and a late penalty won by Alfie and scored by Billy Mckay ended the scoring and brought us three points closer to Annan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paul Allan had an early opportunity but he missed the target and Luis Longstaff brought out the first save of the game when Jamie Smith denied him from distance after a couple of minutes. It wasn't long before Musa Dibaga got a touch on the ball saving from Charlie Maxwell as Annan responded. Not much to shout about in the opening exchanges as Paul McGowan shot over approaching midway in the first half. Player manager Wullie Gibson earned his wages with a couple of great challenges and blocks to deny Paul Allen's effort from crossing the line. Around the half hour, Inverness missed a clutch of chances with Allen, Billy Mckay, Adam Mackinnon and Danny Devine all off target. Luca Ross was denied by Dibaga as Annan came out of their half before the interval but two minutes later the Caley Jags took the lead, and once again it was loan signing Alfie Bavidge that broke the deadlock after Longstaff sent in an inviting cross having made space for himself on the left wing, Alfie heading in from close range at the back post. Two in two for young Bavidge. He tried his luck with another couple of speculative efforts just before the break but never made the keeper work. HALF TIME: 0-1 The Longstaff - Bavidge combination forced keeper Smith into action just after the restart with Smith saving Alfie's header. Four minutes after the interval the visitors doubled their lead when Keith Bray headed home Paul Allan's corner kick into the bottom corner. The Dunfermline loanee's corner kicks are becoming the stuff of legend. It had been a great start to the second half from the Caley Jags and Allen fired over before Bavidge was again denied by Smith with an excellent save. Dibaga kept out an effort from Quitongo ten minutes from the end but it was the visitors that were in control. The result was put beyond any doubt with three minutes remaining when Billy Mckay scored from the spot after Bavidge was tripped whilst skinning the defender. Billy drilling his spot kick down the middle when the keeper moved to his left. Game over! What a result on the road and just what we needed as we clawed our way to within touching distance of Annan in eighth place. Alfie Bavidge has made a huge impact since coming in on loan and that's Billy Mckay's first goal since August 31st when he scored the winner against Queen of the South. That's his 114th goal for the Caley Jags and great to see him back on the scoresheet. FULL TIME: 0-3 The 3 B's Bavidge Bray Billy Annan 0-3 ICTFC (only game today) Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 21 9 32 3 Kelty 21 9 31 4 Alloa Ath 21 4 29 5 Cove 20 5 28 6 Queens 20 -4 26 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 21 -19 20 9 Caley Jags 20 2 16 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Here's Wullie with his take on the game from Annan's perspective Date: 18/01/2025 Venue: Galabank Stadium, Annan Attendance: 0438 Referee: Craig Napier Annan Athletic: 0 Manager: Wullie Gibson Lineup: Jamie Smith; Dixon, T Muir, Gibson, R Muir (Quitongo 51), McGowan, P Smith (K Fleming 62), Ross, Todd (Carmichael 77), Maxwell, Stevenson Subs (not used): G Fleming; Bell Scorers: none Booked: T Muir (68), J Stevenson (74) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff (MacLeod 79), Gilmour, Allan, Mackinnon (Stewart 71), Bavidge (Cairns 88), B Mckay (R Thompson 88) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Gardiner, C Mackay Scorers: Bavidge (40), Bray (49), B Mckay (pen 87) Booked: MacKinnon (16) Sent Off: none a

One Week On Inverness travel to Galabank Stadium Annan for this rescheduled game which was a casualty of the winter weather last weekend. With both clubs dumped out of the Scottish Cup, this free weekend comes in handy to take up the slack after last weeks postponement and it negates the need for an arduous midweek trip to the other end of the world in mid winter. It's the fourth meeting between the sides this season with Annan holding the upper hand so far with two wins, with one of those being an away tie in the League Cup. Incidentally, we won the last encounter which was Duncan Ferguson's last game in charge before administrators took over the running of the club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info Queen of the South next game ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's our report of Big Dunc's Last Stand: 1-0 - With Administration pending at the start of next week, this game might be the last time we will see the famous Inverness Caledonian Thistle in it's present form. Administration does not come alone. Redundancies and heartbreak goes hand in hand with it and that is the price paid for years of neglect. We had already lost twice to Annan this season, once in the League Cup and once on League business when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference at Galabank but he was missing out this time. Paul McGowan and Wullie Gibson added their experience to the Annan starting XI. Danny Devine returned to the team but Charlie Gilmour, Adam Brooks and Charlie Reilly were missing. After a slow start, Danny Devine headed Inverness in front in the twenty-first minute. That's how it was at the interval with chances difficult to come by. The second half was similar with Devine coming closest to adding a second but his header was just the wrong side of the post and it ended 1-0 with the creditors closing in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright and breezy afternoon greeted the players on a somewhat sombre afternoon for the Caley Jags with the stench of administration lingering around the stadium. Annan looked spritely in the opening few minutes firing wide on a couple of occasions before Inverness ventured forward. Duncan Ferguson was yellow carded after discussing a penalty claim with the referee when Billy Mckay appeared to be barged off the ball inside the penalty area. After a couple of poor balls into the box Paul Allan provided Danny Devine with the perfect opportunity and Danny duly headed the Caley Jags in front after twenty minutes to lift the mood. Keith Bray was put through on goal on the right side of the box but keeper Smith spread himself to block well. HALF TIME: 1-0 The second period was less than entertaining with a bit too much faffing around outside the box and down the wings with directness the last thing on the minds of the players. Bray had a volley comfortably saved and Devine went very close following a free kick angled into the box by Paul Allan, Danny's header just bouncing past the wrong side of the keepers left hand post with Smith beaten. We did have a few attempts from around the edge of the box but they all went well wide of the target. Meanwhile Annan never troubled Musa Dibaga and two poor teams played out the final forty-five without adding to the scoreline. FULL TIME 1-0 INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W ? Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. Only a handful of League games across the SPFL Leagues this weekend and we are the only League1 game tomorrow. We also play Queen of the South away on Tuesday night (21st January) Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 21 9 32 3 Kelty Hearts 21 9 31 4 Alloa Ath 21 4 29 5 Cove 20 5 28 6 Queen of Sth 20 -4 26 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 20 -16 20 9 Inverness CT 19 -1 13 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Inverness CT Latest Team News Nothing new coming out of our camp. One or two niggles but we expect the team to be along similar lines to the Dumbarton game. On the Transfer Window, Kellacher had this to say to the press: “There’s nothing going about at the minute, I’ve heard bits and bobs about clubs being interested and that’s what you’re going to get when boys are doing well. You want boys to be playing well every week and we’re getting results and that’s the main thing. As far as we’re aware, nothing will be happening in the short term.” Annan Team News Annan have signed midfielder Dan Carmichael from Dalbeattie Star since they fielded this side in a 1-1 draw against Stenhousemuir a couple of weeks ago. Tam Muir headed in the equaliser after Buchanan had given the Warriors the advantage just after the interval. Annan keeper Jamie Smith saved a penalty and there was a red card for Aidan Smith for his involvement leading up to the spot kick and he will miss out this weekend. Luca Smith's loan deal has been extended for the season. Last Six League Games: L D W L D D Only one win over the last six League1 games. That was a crushing 1-5 win at Dumbarton. Losses were against Montrose and Arbroath and also a surprise 2-0 Scottish Cup defeat at Fraserburgh. The draws were against Cove and away to Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir a fortnight ago.

What's it all about Alfie Inverness bolstered their squad with a couple of Alfie's on loan from Aberdeen, Bavidge and Stewart. Jack Walker also returned from Nairn County ahead of the visit of fellow Administration side Dumbarton, in what has been described as a six-pointer and it's only the 4th of January. The covers were removed in double quick time thanks to around fifty volunteers who turned up to help get the pitch ready for today's game after a week of frost on a brisk Saturday morning with the sun splitting the sky. It turned into a bitterly cold afternoon but new signing Alfie Bavidge warmed the home fans palms when he opened the scoring after fifteen minutes. The Sons had to replace keeper Brett Long before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. Replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a tremendous save just on the interval but he had no chance with a powerful drive from Charlie Gilmour who doubled the lead twenty minutes from the end. The Sons battled hard and Finlay Gray struck the post but Inverness took the points to narrow the gap on Annan Athletic to seven points with a game in hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Alfie Bavidge running the channels up front alongside Billy Mckay and often Adam MacKinnon backing them up it was no surprise that Inverness were on the front foot in the early exchanges. It was no surprise that the hosts opened the scoring after fifteen minutes when a superb ball down the right wing from Luis Longstaff curled invitingly into the feet of Adam MacKinnon who had made the run forward. He went to the byeline before swinging in a dangerous first time ball into the Sons six yard box which they failed to deal with effectively. Alfie won't score an easier goal this season as the ball broke to him inside the box and he swept it into the net for a debut goal. Lovely moment for the young striker. His next attempt minutes later was not so profitable as a wild swing saw him slice the ball out for a throw in fifty yards wide. We'll ignore that one. There followed a bit of a lull with Inverness dominating play and Dumbarton looking to keep the damage to a minimum. They almost conceded a second when Billy Mckay was threaded through on the left side, however after skipping wide of Brett Long, the keeper recovered sufficiently to get a touch on Mckay's effort from the tightest of angles, the ball running across the face of the goal and out for a corner. The Sons then had to replace keeper Long ten minutes before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. MacKinnon tested the sub keeper with a low shot from the edge of the box and the replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a stunning save just on the interval diving high to his left to deny a thunderous Luis Longstaff volley from the edge of the box as he tipped the ball out for a corner which never happened. HALF TIME: 1-0 Dumbarton looked a bit more aggressive after the break and Ethan Brown's blocked shot brought about appeals for a penalty, but to no avail. Mckay had an effort saved as the hosts continued to dominate and with twenty-minutes remaining Charlie Gilmour side footed in a second goal after a short corner routine saw MacKinnon cut the ball back to Gilmour fifteen yards out and he first timed a side footer high into the net with power. That goal stung Dumbarton into action and they eventually managed to create a couple of opportunities of their own. Dibaga blocked well from Gray as he sprinted clear on the left side of the box. From the corner, Clark's header grazed the top of the bar although there may have been an infringement in the build up. Either way, a goal kick or free kick was given. Gray was then unlucky with twenty minutes remaining when he was put through on the left side again, this time he beat Dibaga at his near post but the ball rebounded to safety off the base of the post. Devine headed wide late on and a couple of promising moves broke down on the edge of the visitors box as Inverness then saw out the game in control. The only downside was an injury to Longstaff who was replaced by Alfie Stewart for his debut. FULL TIME: 2-0 A thoroughly deserved win after last weeks disappointing result against Cove Rangers. New signing Alfie Bavidge was rightly awarded the MotM, not just for his debut goal, but he was a constant threat, tirelessly running the channels like his olde man did back in the day and with plenty of pace and a good first touch. He also seemed to give Billy Mckay an extra spring in his step and he was unlucky not to score. He will certainly be an asset for the Caley Jags in 2025 and Alfie Stewart got a few minutes under his belt as well. Good start to the year for us and hopefully the springboard to go on a wee run and get back into the pack. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 20 9 31 3 Kelty Hearts 20 9 30 4 Cove 20 5 28 5 Alloa Ath 20 4 28 6 Queen of St 19 -4 25 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 20 -16 20 9 Inverness CT 19 -1 13 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Date: 04/01/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1894 Referee: Dan McFarlane Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff (Stewart 75), Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Cairns 85), B Mckay, Bavidge (C Mackay 94) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, J Walker, MacLeod, R Thompson Scorers: Bavidge (15), Gilmour (77) Booked: none Sent Off: none Dumbarton: 0 Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup: Long (O'Neil 37); Pignatiello, Lynas (Durnan 68), Brown, Clark, Wilson (Hilton 68), Niang, Gray (Mumbongo 85), Blair, Shiels (McGuffie 85), Orsi Subs (not used): Young, Wallace, Doyle, Nicol. Scorers: none Booked: Shiels (60), McGuffie (88) Sent Off: none a

Big Loss to Round off a Miserable 2024 Last game of Annus Horribilis had Cove Rangers as visitors to the Highlands on a damp but mild afternoon at the Caledonian Stadium. Robbie Thompson returned to the squad after suspension. Charlie Reilly and Jake Davidson were the main players missing. Paul Hartley in his 200th game in charge of Cove covering two spells was without Will Gillingham, Liam Parker and Blair Yule but Mitch Megginson returned after injury and Findlay Marshall and Declan Glass also started. This fourth meeting of the season between the clubs ended in a disappointing defeat. Declan Glass had opened the scoring in just five minutes after Dibaga had knocked away a shot from Megginson and on the rebound, Emslie. Megginson helped himself to number two after a corner. Remi Savage halved the deficit before the interval. Arron Darge headed Cove two ahead just after the interval, his second in two games. A late Emslie strike was the icing on the cake for Cove. Too little too late despite a late flurry from the hosts made all the more disappointing with the news that Dumbarton won whilst our goal difference took a hammering and Annan picked up a point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An early setback for the hosts in the fifth minute when Glass scored on the rebound after Megginson's and then Emslie's shot broke to him from Dibaga. Glass had a second effort saved by the keeper a few minutes later as Cove dominated the early exchanges. James Nolan fired over before Megginson forced Dibaga into action again winning a corner. From that corner Megginson added a second goal heading in from the corner of the six yard box, his eighth strike in the League campaign. An uphill struggle after only twenty minutes with Cove dominating proceedings and Inverness unable to create anything of note. Out of the blue, we scrambled a goal back through Remi Savage following a Paul Allan free kick. Just what we needed to kick-start our afternoon. However, the ever dangerous Megginson was denied by Dibaga a couple of minutes later some five minutes before the break. The hosts were trying to salvage their poor first forty-five and Billy Mckay had an effort saved by Nick Suman as possession almost levelled out after Cove's blistering start but Dibaga had been the busier of the two keepers in a disappointing half for the home fans. HALF TIME: 1-2 Ethan Cairns replaced Mathew Strachan at the interval but we fell further behind minutes after the restart when Darge headed home following a free kick. Mckay was denied two minutes later from close range from Luis Longstaff's free kick. Suman saved from Cairns, tipping over the bar after an hour and Connor Scully shot just wide from a free kick with Danny Devine being booked for his troubles. Allan missed the target as Inverness looked to get a lifeline with twenty minutes left. Cove still looked more dangerous and Glass saw an effort saved by Dibaga after being put through by Megginson. Into the final ten minutes and Inverness were finding it difficult to break Cove down and create anything meaningful whilst Darge fancied another but headed off target. Keith Bray saw his shot saved by the keeper from distance and substitute Robbie Thompson headed wide. Adam Emslie rounded off the scoring as we chased a late consolation, slotting in from the edge of the box in some style. FULL TIME: 1-4 Well that was a kick in the teeth for the Caley Jags who were well beaten by Cove. A random summary on CTO: A game of 2 halves and we were sh!te in both Perhaps too much Christmas pud was had by those in red and blue! Couldn't keep possession - either pushed off the ball far too easily or passing to an opponent. Cove came prepared and soaked up everything we threw at them with ease, and with similar ease strolled through our defence whenever they fancied a shot at goal. They wanted it so much more than we did and could have won by a much bigger margin. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 19 10 34 2 Stenny 19 9 30 3 Kelty 19 9 29 4 Cove R 19 6 28 5 Alloa Ath 19 2 25 6 Montrose 19 -2 23 7 Queen of Sth 18 -5 22 8 Annan Ath 19 -16 19 9 Inverness CT 18 -3 10 10 Dumbarton 19 -10 07 Date: 28/12/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1974 Referee: Iain Snedden Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan (R Thompson 85), Devine, Savage, Strachan (Cairns 46), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Longstaff, MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Patterson; S Thompson, L Walker, Gardiner, MacLeod, C Mackay Scorers: Savage (37) Booked: Devine (65) Sent Off: none Cove Rangers: 4 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Suman; Lobban, Doyle, Darge, Harrington, Fyvie, Marshall, Scully, Glass, Megginson (Gaffney 81), Emslie Subs (not used): Demus; Murray, McAllister, McGrath Scorers: Glass (5), Megginson (18), Darge (49), Emslie (90+2) Booked: Harrington (81) Sent Off: none a

Happy New Year I hope we will all have a great New Year and are looking forward to getting back to business as usual. For Inverness Caledonian Thistle that will be a case of steadying the ship, not dropping any further in terms of league positions, sorting out the massive black hole where the finances disappeared into, hopefully a new buyer with the interest of the club and the community at heart and the process of building bridges with the local business community and fanbase can be reborn and flourish. Alan Salvage, as we know him on here, has gone a long way to restoring the good name of the Caley Jags. There is, however, still a long way to go. Duncball, relegation, reign of tyranny, oligarchy, lies, deceit destruction and administration. This last season has seen our darkest moments on and off the park and one that showed that Immortality is real as one of our legendary supporters moved on to a spiritual level to oversee our resurrection from the ashes of administration. It's been a difficult time for the club and it's supporters who now have one of their own, Scott Kellacher trying his utmost to repair the damage done over the years of mismanagement. So far it's been a steadying process and recent results have been encouraging as he adopts a more positive approach to the beautiful game, something that has not gone unnoticed amongst the fanbase who are seeing the improvements from a year of Duncball; all possession, relegation and limited entertainment. On Saturday, we face Cove Rangers at the Caledonian Stadium in the last game of our Annus Seasonal Horribilis. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick off before Dumbarton first foot us on 4th of January 2025 bringing coal, shortbread, their own administration and a wee dram. To be honest, I'd rather have the three points instead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters/ Bus Info Half Season Tickets Administration Topic on CTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 10 of 11 Competitive Meetings 0 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 6 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 3 - 2 (H) INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W That's our League1 season so far, almost half way through the campaign for us. Scott Kellacher came in at matchday 11. His winning streak bookended by the losses at Dumbarton and the loss at home to Arbroath before last weeks stirring late drama at Stenhousemuir where Charlie Gilmour was credited with the goal after full time. We have played Cove Rangers three times this season and it's one win apiece and a draw. Cove's win was a Scottish Cup tie. Drab Draw: 1-1 Inverness hosted Cove Rangers and were without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and former Cove players Luis Longstaff and Charlie Gilmour had returned to the squad with Gilmour and Longstaff starting. Cove had won their last two outings and put three past Kelty Hearts last weekend with Mitch Megginson always a threat up front. Adam Emslie tapped in at the back post to open the scoring after twenty minutes. Substitute James Nolan levelled five minutes after the restart following a corner. A replacement official was required to complete the game and despite fifteen minutes added on, there was no further scoring. Caley Jags Get Vital Win: 1-2 Top versus bottom ended in victory for the Caley Jags who climb into positive numbers at the foot of the table. Cove had made one change from the win at Dumbarton as they looked for their fifth win on the trot. Findlay Marshall replaced Arron Darge. For Inverness, graduate Sam Reid took his place on the bench with Lewis Nicolson missing. On the field, Charlie Gilmour returned to midfield to bolster the squad with Connal Ewan out injured and boss Scott Kellacher would be looking to get into positive numbers with his positive team talks. However, it only took Cove ten minutes to get in front through top scorer Mitch Megginson. Megginson failed to convert a first half penalty with Dibaga saving and two minutes later it was all square when Adam MacKinnon drilled high into the net. With 25 minutes left, Keith Bray popped up with a much needed and deserved winner. This was a great result played out at Cove, sharpened at Inverness but made in the Isle of Lewis. Cup of no Cheer: 0-2 Jake Davidson, Keith Bray, Charlie Reilly, Connell Ewan and Lewis Nicolson were all missing for the The Caley Jags on Scottish Cup 3rd Round action at Balmoral Stadium, Cove. Fraser Fyvie was out for Cove. No scoring in the first half, not for the want of trying, but two very late goals, one from the spot after a dubious handball attributed to Danny Devine put Cove into the draw for the 4th Round. Substitutes Glass with the penalty and McGrath with a strike into the bottom corner sent the Caley Jags tumbling out of the cup after it was looking good for soooo long. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 18 7 31 2 Kelty 18 11 29 3 Stenny 18 7 27 4 Alloa Ath 18 4 25 5 Cove 18 3 25 6 Montrose 18 1 23 7 Queen of S 17 -5 21 8 Annan Ath 18 -16 18 9 Caley Jags 17 0 10 10 Dumbarton 18 -12 04 Latest Team News Inverness have limited options as is the norm these days since administration. No new injury worries that we are aware of and Robbie Thompson will be available after his suspension last week. Charlie Reilly will hopefully be getting closer to a return. Jake Davidson will miss out. Kellacher is reported to have one or two niggles within the squad, we'll have to wait and see what transpires. Cove Rangers Last Six League games: L L L D D W A poor recent run by Cove saw them drop from the top spot but they had a good win last week as they beat Alloa Athletic 2-0 in front of a mere 323 fans at Balmoral Stadium to get back on track. This was their squad for that encounter. Arron Darge scored his first goal for Cove with a header after twenty minutes. Substitute Myles Gaffney sealed the points in the second half with a couple of minutes to spare. Everyone is beating each other as Arbroath sneak their way to the top of the table. Cove are sitting in fifth place only six points off the pace. Ones to watch: Mitch Megginson (7 League ), Adam Emslie (4 ), Findlay Marshall (3 ) Connor Scully and Fraser Fyvie along with Emslie are able providers. Striker Mitch Megginson should be fit to return having missed the Alloa game, but Liam Parker and Blair Yule are still unavailable. Saturday will be manager Paul Hartley's 200th game in charge and it coincides with his 500th game in football management overall. Hartley is confident his team will be well prepared to mount a serious challenge for promotion in the New Year.

Stormy at Stenny It was a wild wet and windy weekend at the foot of the Ochil's as troubled Inverness took to the park for the tenth meeting between the sides. Matty Aitken and Buchanan were out for the hosts with Corey O'Donnell starting up top and Bannon covering for Buchanan. On top of the visitors injury list, Robbie Thompson was suspended with Keith Bray starting and Ethan Cairns making the bench. A great save from big Musa denied Yates early in the first half but it remained goalless at the break in an even contest. Inverness forced the pace after the interval and Paul Allan did it again (we think) with four minutes of normal time remaining. There may have been a touch in the box but at the moment Allan is the hero. After the game it was confirmed that it was Charlie Gilmour that got the final touch. Still, another great ball in from Paul Allan. An important win with Dumbarton also winning at Montrose. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was massive early save from Musa Dibaga and his bar as he tipped a wicked shot by top scorer Matty Yates from half a mile out onto the bar and behind for a corner. Oooooft! Paul Allan responded but missed the target before Dibaga then had to save an effort from Michael Anderson off Ross Meechan's cross. The hosts were pushing Inverness back at every opportunity and O'Reilly saw an effort blocked in the next attack. An Inverness 'goal' was ruled out for offside as we settled into the match. Charlie Gilmour headed wide from Allan's flighted free kick into the box midway through the half. The tide was turning somewhat and Billy Mckay had a header saved in the bottom corner by Jamieson before Adam MacKinnon was also denied by the keeper when his shot was deflected towards the keepers gloves. Ten minutes before the break Remi Savage knocked on Allan's free kick but Gilmour shot over. In the final few minutes of the half Stenny made a late push for an opener and James Berry was denied by the Inverness keeper before James Nolan brought Jamieson back into action. Yates had the final say of the half but Dibaga was equal to it and that was the last action of the first forty-five. HALF TIME: 0-0 After a fairly even first half the visitors started the second on the offensive and Keith Bray and Luis Longstaff missed the target in the opening exchanges. Longstaff headed goalwards but Jamieson was able to gather relatively comfortably. MacKinnon and Gilmour were next up to have a go but again Jamieson was alert enough to deny the visitors. With half an hour remaining the game was still up for grabs. A thirty-five yarder from Allan was tipped behind for a corner off the woodwork as the pressure mounted on the home goal and he almost did it again direct from the corner, alas his ball in struck the post. MacKinnon was next to be denied as he shot from outside the box, the keeper again in the right place. Mathew Strachan ventured forward, but he too missed the target from distance, as did Mckay from a Longstaff delivery. He's done it again. Paul Allan swung his corner in and the ball ended up in the net. There may have been another touch in the box, but at the moment, Allan has been credited with the goal and that's how it ended after four minutes of time added on. However the goal has now been awarded to Charlie Gilmour. As long as it's in the net, that's all that matters. FULL TIME: 0-1 Merry Xmas Yngwie on CTO: We were the better side and dominated the second half in particular, with the wind behind us, but as is often the case we lacked any cutting edge in the final third. When we did have clear chances or tried shooting from outside the box, the finishing was often woeful. And it’s increasingly clear that we need a striker to challenge/replace Billy, sorry. The pluses for us were that the defence did its job, Savage won everything, Mousa made a great save tipping a long distance free kick onto the bar, and in midfield MacKinnon and Allan did a lot of impressive stuff. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 18 7 31 2 Kelty Hearts 18 11 29 3 Stenny 18 7 27 4 Alloa Ath 18 4 25 5 Cove R 18 3 25 6 Montrose 18 1 23 7 Queen of Sth 17 -5 21 8 Annan Ath 18 -16 18 9 Inverness CT 17 0 10 10 Dumbarton 18 -12 04 Date: 21/12/2024 Venue: Ochilview Park Attendance: 0719 Referee: Graham Grainger Stenhousemuir: 0 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: Jamieson; Meechan, Banner, Steele, Bilham, Berry, Wedderburn (Cameron 89), Anderson, O'Reilly (Alston 67), O'Donnell, Yates (Taylor 79) Subs (not used): Kyle; Scorers: none Booked: Yates (61) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan, Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Longstaff, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Cairns 90+4) Subs (not used): Patterson; L Walker, S Thompson, Gardiner, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: Gilmour (86) Booked: Devine (62) Sent Off: none a

A view of the Ochil's for Xmas An away day to Ochilview Park lies in wait for the Caley 'IOU' Jags on Saturday. With the creditors looming, the club still running at -£10K per week and Administrators already running up a bill of over a quarter of a million pounds, are we a viable proposition or are we running on borrowed time? The financial mess left in the wake of the ill fated previous regime uncovered by the forensic sweep over club accounts is staggering. It's embarrassing to be honest and shameful that the list of creditors still owed money has over 140 names on it. These range from a few £'s to £1.6m in the case of former Chairman Ross Morrison. In total the Caley Jags IOU total is standing at over £3.8m and rising daily. Morrison, Allan Munro and David Cameron alone are down £2,721,751. That's not a lot if you say it quickly. How low can we stoop. I hope they all paused for thought when they donned their red poppy in November, the food suppliers are owed over £26K! There's also a geezer called Scot Gardiner who is looking for £70K and O2 are £1.64p short. WTaF. Meanwhile, on the Park Inverness have to pick themselves up after tasting defeat at home to Arbroath last weekend. The dismissal of Robbie Thompson means that he will miss out along with the injured Jake Davidson, Lewis Nicolson, Charlie Reilly and Connall Ewan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue (only 9 meetings) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 9 6 2 1 21 8 +13 Not many games against the Warriors over the years. Prior to the earlier fixture this season that ended 0-0, our next most recent game was a League cup encounter in 2012 that ended 1-1 at Ochilview. Our one defeat was back in 1997 at Ochilview. Match report by Ian Broadfoot can be read below. The rest of our meetings took place between 1996 -1998. All 9 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 3 (A) 5 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Stenhousemuir 3-2 Inverness: Aug30th 1997. The game started at a fast pace and the home side thought they had scored in 4 minutes when an Innes effort was cleared off the line. In 7 minutes an excellent McCulloch 20 yard shot was painfully blocked by a defender and it fell harmlessly into the arms of Alexander. Wilson had a great chance in the 11th minute - he was clean through after a good pass from Thomson but he dithered too long. Stenhousemuir took the lead in 18 minutes when a Roseburgh cross from the left was knocked in by Farrell from close range. The visitors fought back and in 26 minutes a Wilson corner led to an Alexander save from Cherry and a Teasdale header off the bar. The Warriors took control and came close in 29 minutes when a 25 yard blast from Fisher flew low past the post. On 45 minutes Fisher collected a pass 30 yards out, calmly drew Fridge and slotted the ball home. On 47 minutes the visitors came back into the game when Wilson was brought down and Thomson hammered home the penalty. The revival lasted for 3 minutes. MacArthur was judged to have handled in the box to the amazement of all who saw the ball hit his shoulder. The soft penalty was converted by Roseburgh. In 73 minutes Henderson had the miss of the season. He was one yard out when the ball came across the face of the goal but he failed to connect. In the 85th minute a 25 yard McCulloch strike was tipped over by Alexander. Ross took the corner and Addicoat forced the ball over the line with his chest to make it 3-2. Caley Thistle chased the equaliser in the last 5 minutes but could not penetrate the well organised home defence and overall the final score of 3-2 flattered the Inverness side. Starting XI in bold Alexander Sprott Roseburgh pen (Campbell 84) Armstrong Innes Law Farrell Fisher Little Brown Henderson Les Fridge Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur (Ross 75) Paul Cherry Vetle Andersen Mark McCulloch Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Barry Wilson (Addicoat 75) Iain Stewart pen Brian Thomson INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W L That's our League1 season so far. Scott Kellacher came in at matchday 11. His winning streak bookended by the losses at Dumbarton and the loss at home to Arbroath last week. The earlier fixture against the Warriors ended in a Bore Draw (0-0) Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existent for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval. Half Time: 0-0 The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way. Full Time: 0-0 Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display..... That was Duncball for you! Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 17 3 28 2 Stenny 17 8 27 3 Kelty Hearts 17 9 26 4 Alloa Ath 17 6 25 5 Montrose 17 2 23 6 Cove 17 1 22 7 Queen S 16 -3 21 8 Annan Ath 17 -12 18 9 Inverness CT 16 -1 07 10 Dumbarton 17 -13 01 Stenhousemuir Last Six League1 Games: L D W W W L The Warrior's form over the last six League games is a mirror image of our own. One of the big differences is they have scored plenty goals. 4-0, 3-0 and 1-0 wins over Dumbarton, Cove and Montrose are sandwiched between defeats at and Queen of the South and Arbroath with a draw against Annan five games ago. This was their line-up in the 2-1 defeat at Palmerston last week. Reece Lyon put Queens ahead early in the first half. And look who added a second, none other than Adam Brooks with a sharp first time hit from a low cross into the box. Connor O'Donnell reduced the deficit on the hour but despite Queens keeper being the busiest, it ended in a loss in Dumfries. Unfortunately, Matty Aitken will be unavailable after suffering a kidney injury at Dumfries and has been receiving hospital treatment. Greg Buchanan is over the bookings threshold but should be available for this one. Matty Yates is top scorer with five and Blair Alston has four. Danny Devine is still our top 'striker' with three goals. Nat Wedderburn is still at Stenny. Latest Inverness CT Team News A disappointing defeat last week at home to Arbroath was not helped by the sending off of Robbie Thompson who will miss this clash at Ochilview. No news again from the Inverness camp but as we have heard nothing, can we assume we will be along similar lines with Keith Bray starting in place of Thompson. Talk of a new young striker in the New Year, but we need the goals now as Billy seems to have run dry. Missing last week were Davidson, Reilly, Ewan, Nicolson and Cairns. No news from the gaffers this week again

The Curse Strikes Inverness and Arbroath met at the Caledonian Stadium as the Christmas shopping got into full swing. With the frost lifting, it was a chilled afternoon for this fixture with Inverness missing four longer term casualties in Jake Davidson, and Lewis Nicolson along with loan players Connall Ewan and striker Charlie Reilly . Ethan Cairns was also missing. Corey Patterson came in as an emergency loan due to an injury to Szymon Rebilas. Arbroath, like Inverness, were one of the form teams in League1 prior to kick off and talk of the Manager of the Month curse was rife. As it happened, the Curse saw Robbie Thompson sent off before the interval and second half goals from Dylan Smith & Gavin Reilly won the points for the Smokies. In truth it wasn't a great performance today, but we can't complain after the recent run we had been on. It was a result that puts Arbroath top of the table, not a bad week for them, and their assistant gaffer who had a Golden baby boy introduced to the world. Congratulations David Gold and fiance Claire. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A quick start from the hosts offered them what looked like a decent chance when a ball from the left was met by a couple of attackers near the edge of the six yard box, alas we seemed to try and walk the ball into the net rather than attempt a first time strike and the fleeting moment passed us by. The fleet footed Luis Longstaff tried to replicate his goal against Montrose from the previous week as he cut in from the left across the face of the box. It was perfect up until his parting shot which he dragged wide on this occasion in the tenth minute. After the initial surge, the game lapsed into mediocrity, littered with fouls and errors from both sides with Arbroath not in any hurry to venture forward. Robbie Thompson was booked for a soft infringement on Ryan Dow. That would come back to bite him on the arse before the interval. On the half hour and following a corner, Adam MacKinnon saw his fierce volley deflected just wide. Five minutes later, the already booked Robbie Thompson was sent off after he tripped Fraser Taylor who had picked up the ball about 30 yards from his own goal and was preparing to surge forward, albeit some 70 yards from Dibaga in the Inverness goal. A needless foul with plenty of bodies between Taylor and Dibaga and a simple clip on the heels was enough for the incompetent Colin Steven to produce a second yellow followed quickly by a red. Thompson slowly took the walk of shame and hopefully he will etch this in his brain for future reference. The sending off was all the impetus that Arbroath needed for the start of the second half and they showed that intent on the interval when after a wee flurry of attacks since the red card, Dow shot over into the North stand. HALF TIME: 0-0 The writing was on the wall from kick-off in the second forty-five and it was no surprise when Ross County loanee Dylan Smith headed high into the net in the fifty-second minute. We had been under the cosh in the opening gambits of the second half failing to clear our lines once too often. That stopped us feeling sorry for ourselves and we tried to make a game of it thereafter, but it was difficult to see where a goal was coming from apart from at the other end when Arbroath looked more direct going forward. Fraser Taylor should have put the game beyond us when Arbroath cut us open but his shot from the centre of the box was blocked by Dibaga who spread himself well on the hour. James Nolan fired a rebound just over after a shot had been blocked in the box and he met it around twenty yards out on the right side of centre. He also shot high and wide into the North Stand when on a promising burst forward and Charlie Gilmour fired a vicious shot over as we realised we were still within range of the Smokies. Our best chance of the game ended without making Smokies keeper McAdams work. A long diagonal ball from Nolan on the right side was well controlled by MacKinnon about eight yards from goal, but instead of bursting the net he stretched out a gangly leg early and his shot sailed harmlessly over the bar. Dow might have done better in the dying embers but he Dibaga denied him. However, we were caught up the park when Nolan fluffed his pass back to his keeper allowing Gavin Reilly to drive forward before calmly clipping the ball past Dibaga and watch it roll slowly into the empty net from twenty yards in stoppage time. Game Over! That was a stand emptying moment if ever I saw one. FULL TIME: 0-2 Our big highlight apart from MacKinnon's miss with fifteen to go was an Arbroath player having to pay to get back into the ground after Luis Longstaff left him for dead around the halfway line. Made me laugh anyway. A disappointing result and an untidy game to boot. We spurned what looked like a great opportunity in the first couple of minutes where nobody was willing to put their laces through the ball and the chance petered out. Some second half wasted opportunities but that would have papered over the cracks where we looked like we didn't believe in ourselves. Arbroath were equally poor but once we were reduced to ten the writing was on the wall. Only a matter of time. The second goal was immaterial as we never looked like scoring and it came as a result of an error from a pass back that gifted Reilly the ball to allow him to run on unchallenged in stoppage time. Dibaga made a couple of good stops when Arbroath should have put the game beyond us, unlike McAdams who could have sat in the stand. Dust ourselves down and we go again next week at Stenhousemuir. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 16 4 28 2 Stenny 17 8 27 3 Alloa Ath 17 6 25 4 Kelty Hearts 16 8 23 5 Montrose 17 2 23 6 Cove 17 1 22 7 Queens 16 -3 21 8 Annan Ath 17 -12 18 9 Inverness CT 16 -1 7 10 Dumbarton 17 -13 1 Date: 14/12/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1531 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Bray 68), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson , MacKinnon (Gardiner 82), B Mckay Subs (not used): Corey Patterson; S Thompson, L Walker, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: none Booked: R Thompson (18+35), Longstaff (93) Sent Off: R Thompson (35) Arbroath: 2 Manager: Colin Hamilton & David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Smith, Watson, O'Brien, Wilkie, Murray (Spalding 58), Flynn, Taylor (Reilly 76), Stewart, Gallagher (Slater 76), Dow Subs (not used): McConnell; Coulson, Bisland, Sinclair, Callaghan Scorers: Smith (52), Reilly (90+3) Booked: Murray (13) Sent Off: none a

Smokies pre-Xmas fare Arbroath are next up for Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday as long as we can beat the frost. It's a 3:00pm kick-off as Scott Kellacher looks for his fourth win on the bounce in League1. Arbroath have edged their way up to third in the table, just two points off the pace with a game in hand over the top two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info ***Supporters Trust AGM*** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ahead of kick-off and in Bar94, the Supporters Trust will hold their AGM Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Ltd Notice of Annual General Meeting On Saturday 14th December 2024 at midday At Bar 94 – Inverness Caledonian Stadium The Annual General Meeting of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Limited will take place at Bar 94 in Inverness at the Inverness Caledonian Stadium at 12.00pm on Saturday 14th December 2024 Please note – if you are unable to attend and you would like to nominate a proxy on your behalf - please forward the details to [email protected] Also note :- The formal AGM meeting is expected to finish at 12.30 Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 18 5 4 62 22 +40 Away 26 11 7 8 36 31 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 53 29 12 12 98 53 +45 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) We have played Arbroath twice this season. The first encounter was a no scoring draw in the league cup group stage where Arbroath won the bonus point after a penalty shoot-out. The League game played at Gayfield ended in a 1-0 win for the hosts when Gavin Reilly scored the only goal. Namesake Charlie Reilly who has on the treatment table since he joined us on loan from Dundee after debuting for the Caley Jags in that game. Another Blank: 1-0 Massive financial hurdles were put to one side as we went down to the Greenversity Stadium, or Gayfield as we all know it, for this Scottish League 1 fixture against Arbroath. With both sides getting off to a cautious start in the league this fixture between last seasons relegated pair might give an indication if either of them are capable of challenging for a play-off place at the top end of the table or will it be a few seasons in the doldrums, or administration or worse. Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns were missing. Charlie Reilly came in on loan from Dundee this week met his new team mates today for the first time and Started up front with Billy Mckay. Arbroath were without Scott Stewart and Tam O'Brien with co-manager David Gold and Ross County's young on loan defender Dylan Smith in their starting XI. The other co-manager Colin Hamilton, Ali Spalding and Calum Gallagher were all on the injured list. After a goalless first half where Inverness were looking the more likely, Reilly opened the scoring. Unfortunately it was Gavin Reilly for Arbroath. Another Saturday, another game slips away. INVERNESS CT: Our Season so far... D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W That is how our season has gone so far. Scott Kellacher has won his last three League games since he started five league games ago with a 3-1 defeat at Dumbarton and he will be looking for a fourth on the trot against Arbroath. That run in November where we picked up seven points from a possible nine earned him the League1 manager of the month trophy. Let's not get too carried away with that, as cast your mind back to last November when none other than Duncan Ferguson won the same November accolade. Nonetheless, congratulations to Scott for picking up this award and let's hope the curse of the MotM does not strike on Saturday. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 16 9 27 2 Wasps 16 7 25 3 Smokies 15 2 25 4 Jambos 15 8 22 5 Toonsers 16 1 21 6 Gable E's 16 1 20 7 Queen's 15 -4 18 8 B&G's 16 -16 15 9 Caley Jags 15 1 07 10 Sons 16 -9 01 LATEST TEAM NEWS Read Scott Kellacher's thoughts HERE. Remi Savage returned last week and Keith Bray made the bench. However, Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson are all longer term casualties. No new team news available at present. Arbroath fielded this team last week in a 2-1 win over Queen of the South thanks to a late strike from Calum Gallagher. Douglas had put Queen of the South ahead with the proverbial screamer twenty minutes from the end. A couple minutes and a couple of inspired subs later and one of them Innes Murray fired in his own screamer. Two minutes later the two subs combined for Murray to cross for Gallagher to secure all three points. Arbroath were one of the bookies favourites before the season started and after a slow start they are now knocking on the door at the top end. L W W D W W Last six League1 results Highlights in this sequence were wins over Annan, Stenhousemuir, Cove & Queen of the South. A draw with Montrose and a disappointing 1-3 defeat at home to Dumbarton.

It's behind you... Inverness were without Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan, and Lewis Nicolson. Remi Savage started after being injured last week and Keith Bray made the bench. Former Inverness players Michael Gardyne and Matheus Machado started for Montrose. With points at a premium, and despite the Caley Jags creating plenty with Cammy Gill the busier keeper, it was Montrose that went in at the break two goals up. Graeme Webster headed in Michael Gardyne's free kick to open the scoring before Blair Lyons added a second ten minutes before the break. The second half started in the same vein with Inverness pushing to get a goal back but squandering opportunities that came their way. We bucked the trend after the hour when Luis Longstaff drilled in from outside the box. Montrose were reduced to ten men when Steeve's was red carded and a late Paul Allan double saved the day in true pantomime fashion as he scored direct from a corner to take all three points back up the A9. Oh no he didn't.......Oh yes he did ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remi Savage took his place in defence but Keith Bray only made it onto the bench. Academy player Ben Gardiner was called into the squad for the first time. James Nolan shot wide early on and Adam MacKinnon brought out a save from Cammy Gill. That would be the order of the day as chances came and went. However, not so for Montrose who took the lead just before the half hour through Webster who headed in a Gardyne free kick. They doubled the lead ten minutes before the break when Lyons fired high into the net from the centre of the box. That apart, the half consisted of missed chances and saves by Cammy Gill who denied Billy Mckay and Adam MacKinnon amongst others. Half Time: 2-0 The second half was similar to the first with Inverness probing, missing and Gill saving. However he could do nothing to stop Longstaff drilling into the bottom corner after the hour. Game on, and moreso ten minutes later when Steeves received a straight red card. Billy Mckay and Adam Mackinnon were notably denied by keeper Gill and it was all hands to the pumps for for Montrose now but they were powerless to stop Paul Allan slotting in an equaliser in the 88th minute. No more than Inverness deserved for their attacking endeavour. However, we weren't finished and absolute limbs in the 94th minute when Paul Allan's shot come cross from a corner ended up in the net for the visitors to snatch a deserved win and three valuable points. Full Time 2-3 (phew) A dramatic ending to the game with Paul Allan snatching the win and up until that moment probably the MotM award from Cammy Gill who broke Inverness hearts on at least a dozen occasions throughout the game. When Paul's dipping corner ended up in the net, the MotM award was diverted to the Inverness match winner with Gill holding his head in disbelief. What a comeback. I doubt this would have happened under Duncan Ferguson's tenure. With his negative approach we would have been more likely to take on another couple of defenders and retain possession. Not for Scott Kellacher who continued to drive his team forward and deservedly got all three points at the death. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 16 9 27 2 Alloa Ath 16 7 25 3 Arbroath 15 2 25 4 Kelty Hearts 15 8 22 5 Cove 16 1 21 6 Montrose 16 1 20 7 Queen of Sth 15 -4 18 8 Annan Ath 16 -16 15 9 Inverness CT 15 1 7 10 Dumbarton 16 -9 1 A chuffed Scott Kellacher Is he having a laugh... Date: 07/2/2024 Venue: Links Park, Montrose Attendance: 0502 Referee: Lloyd Wilson Montrose: 2 Manager: Stuart Petrie Lineup: Gill; Dillon, Quinn, Mckenzie (Steeves 49), Bertie, Masson (Maciver-Redwood 70), Gardyne, Webster (Shrive 76), Machado, Hester (Brown 60), Lyons (Hannah 76) Subs (not used): Mathews; Balfour, Watson Scorers: Webster (27), Lyons (38) Booked: Lyons (32), Masson (40), Brown (88) Sent Off: Steeves (74) Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Cairns 76), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson (Bray 72), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; S Thompson, C Mackay, L Walker, MacLeod, Gardiner Scorers: Longstaff (64), Allan (88, 90+4) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Links Park Test It's another away game for the Caley Jags as they head to Links Park, Montrose for another tough fixture on the road in our quest to get closer to the teams above us. We tumbled out of the Cup last weekend at Cove whilst Montrose earned a trip to Hampden, the prize for beating Peterhead 2-3 at Balmoor Stadium. Scott Kellacher has mounting injury concerns with Defender Remi Savage the latest to be added to the list that already has the names of Jake Davidson, Keith Bray, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 3 Competitive Meetings are the only relevant ones May (play offs & League1 fixture) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) This seasons fixture at the Caledonian Stadium ended all square. New Start Same Problems: The first game after the olde CEO was prized from his oligarchy bubble saw a decent crowd turn out in appreciation of the efforts of Alan Savage to right the wrongs. It won't happen overnight, but the first steps have been taken to put some life back into the ailing Caley Jags. On the park, Musa Dibaga replaced the injured Jack Newman in goal with emergency loan keeper from Clach Martin MacKinnon on the bench. Keith Bray kept his place with Adam Brooks on the bench. Montrose were the visitors and they are a more settled side although Michael Gardyne was suspended with former Inverness youth player Matheus Machado starting. Both teams were looking for their first win of the League campaign. Kane Hester scored after twenty minutes but on the interval Montrose were reduced to ten men when Sean Dillon was sent off. After the break it was one way traffic against the ten men and no surprise when Adam MacKinnon equalised. However the winning goal eluded us and it was a point apiece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was an overcast, breezy and somewhat chilly afternoon with an Autumnal feel about it as the teams emerged from the tunnel, Inverness in their new strip, the visitors in white tops with black shorts. Prior to kick off Captain Billy Mckay was presented with a wee memento on reaching 300 appearances for the Caley Jags, not to mention his 112 goals for the club. The first action saw Keith Bray's shot deflected at the expense of a corner when he spun on the edge of the box and tried to get his shot away in the seventh minute. Twenty minutes in and what a finish for the opening goal. Former Elgin player Kane Hester opened the scoring with a tremendous strike into the top corner from a tight angle after his mis-control seemed to deceive Danny Devine to give the visitors the early advantage. Machado was booked a minute later. Billy Mckay came close to levelling the scores after half an hour when Cammy Gill turned his shot across the keeper onto the post with his fingertips. It was a half littered with fouls and Luis Longstaff shot over ten minutes before the break. Sean Dillon headed over at the other end before he received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Billy Mckay. How dare he on his 300th appearance! That was on the interval to leave the visitors to face the second half a man short but a goal to the good. HALF TIME: 0-1 Mathew Strachan replaced Flynn Duffy at the start of the second half and Gill denied Longstaff shortly after. The other Duffy was hooked for Callum MacLeod ten minutes into the half and Mckay was again foiled by Gill as he shot from inside the box. It was turning into a procession towards Cammy Gill and Longstaff and Gilmour had a go before Adam Mackinnon equalised just after the hour, drilling home from outside the box. He almost scored a second moments later. Mckay would not find that elusive strike as Gill saved again and Gilmour was blocked before Davidson should have done better at the back post. MacKinnon had another couple of attempts ten minutes from the end and Mckay was denied for the 300th time by the keeper in the top corner. We plugged away until the end but try as we did, the winning goal eluded us and it ended all square. FULL TIME: 1-1 Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 15 5 24 2 Kelty Hearts 14 10 22 3 Alloa Ath 15 5 22 4 Arbroath 14 1 22 5 Montrose 15 2 20 6 Cove 15 1 20 7 Queen of Sth 14 -3 18 8 Annan Ath 15 -16 14 9 Inverness CT 14 0 4 10 Dumbarton 15 -5 1 Montrose squad last time out at Peterhead. I see that Michael Gardyne is still there along with Kane Hester and Matheus Machado. Plenty experience between the sticks in Cammy Gill and Sean Dillon in defence. Montrose last six League games: W L L D L W Highlights: Wins at Kelty (2-0) & at home to Annan (2-1) Lowlights: Defeat at home Cove (0-2), QotS away (1-0), Stenny away (1-0) Meh result: Arbroath at home (1-1) Last Week: 2-3 win at Peterhead in the Scottish Cup Latest Team News from Inverness CT INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W That is how our season has gone so far. Scott Kellacher won his last two League games and will be desperate for a third. Remi Savage and Keith Bray might make the squad this weekend but it's touch and go. Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson are all longer term casualties.

Storm Bert Incoming? ***BERT CAME IN GAME OFF*** We are scheduled to take on Queen of the South at Palmerston this Saturday afternoon should Bert allow a window of calm to let the game go ahead. Two wins on the trot for Scott Kellacher and his administration hit squad have given the Caley Jags a glimmer of hope of avoiding relegation to League2. I'm sure Scott would rather that we played this weekend to keep us on a roll, but Bert might put a stop to that. The sad news that Dumbarton have also entered administration has given us further incentive to maintain our form and focus on gaining another place in the table. It's not the way we would like to escape relegation, but the antiquated rules in operation hit those that can ill afford them and that's the sad state of the game outside of the top table. Anyway, should the weather relent, then Palmerston it is for us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info & Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W 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 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 and fifteen points being wiped off our total. First game after Admin was at Dumbarton with Scott Kellacher as head coach and Billy Mckay his assistant on and off the park. Alas it ended in a 3-1 defeat after a promising first hour. Kelty Hearts came North next and went away with a point in a 1-1 draw. Kell's got his first win in week (unlucky for some)13, a deserved 2-1 win at top of the table Cove Rangers. Alloa were up next at Inverness in matchday 14 and another 1-0 win thanks to a second half strike from Charlie Gilmour. Our first win of the season was in the Duncan Ferguson era on Matchday5: A first half goal from Billy Mckay in a turgid encounter was enough to secure all three points. A bit of pinball around the visitors goal ended with Billy scoring from close range. Referee Gavin Duncan was the focal point of many a strange decision as he ignored two big penalty claims for the hosts, and a brilliant goalline clearance from an Adam Brooks effort kept Queens in with a chance. Despite a late flurry from Queens we held on for our first win of the League 1 campaign. The downside of these industrial challenges today was that both Duffy's left the field injured, Flynn on a stretcher. Duncan Ferguson was also red carded for continually questioning the referee's decisions. One in particular when Brooks was booked for simulation instead of being awarded a penalty. Baffling incompetence from the ref! On the plus side, the pitch looked in fantastic condition. The points were more important than the performance. However, it was encouraging to kick-start our season today and put us only three points off the pace in the table. Billy Mckay beavered away on scraps and got his reward in the first half and Brooks was unfortunate a couple of times. Musa Dibaga did not have too much to deal with, but he seemed to read situations well and took the pressure off the defence with some good catches under pressure, especially when Queens were hurling massive throw-ins into our penalty box in the final quarter of the game. Devine and Savage were solid in the heart of the defence but it was disappointing to lose both full backs to injury. That goal was Billy Mckay's last goal for the Caley Jags and his 113th for the club. Time for some more now the shackles are off. This is how the table looked after Matchday5 Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 5 5 9 2 Stenhousemuir 5 3 9 3 Alloa Athletic 5 2 9 4 Queen of Sth 5 1 7 5 Inverness CT 5 0 6 6 Montrose 5 0 6 7 Annan Athletic 5 -4 6 8 Dumbarton 5 0 5 9 Cove Rangers 5 -3 4 10 Arbroath 5 -4 3 Here's the scheduled fixtures and the current table after Admin for Inverness & Dumbarton Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 14 10 22 2 Arbroath 14 1 22 3 Alloa Athletic 14 5 21 4 Stenny 14 2 21 5 Cove Rangers 14 4 20 6 Queen of Sth 14 -3 18 7 Montrose 14 1 17 8 Annan Ath 14 -15 14 9 Inverness CT 14 0 4 10 Dumbarton 14 -5 0 Queen of the South's tale of the tape at Palmerston (7 games). Home wins: 5 v Cove Rangers 2-1, Annan Athletic 2-0, Arbroath 2-1, Montrose 1-0, Dumbarton 2-1. Home loss: 1 A 5-1 hammering from Kelty Hearts on 5th October. Home draw: 1 A 1-1 Draw with Alloa Athletic on 9th November This was Queens last starting XI in a 2-1 defeat at Dumbarton last week. Michael Ruth opened the scoring in the second half but ten minutes later Queens thought they had secured a point when Kyle Doherty netted. Alas for them, and us, Tony Wallace won the points with a 95th minute winner. McKechnie and Hewitt both have three League goals, as has our own Danny Devine. Queens have scored 12 League goals, the same as Inverness. The main difference though is 11 of those have come at home.

Wasps Stung Inverness were looking to push on up the table but leaders Alloa were looking to remain unbeaten away from home in League1. Something was going to give. Robbie Thomson replaced the injured Keith Bray (shoulder) in the only change from last week. Sammon and Cawley were again starting on the bench for Alloa. Inverness dominated most of the game with both keepers having to make a crucial save. With twenty minutes left, Charlie Gilmour slotted in the only goal after great work by Adam MacKinnon down the left. No more than we deserved to be honest and another vital three points, much appreciated by the home fans. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly and showery afternoon greeted the teams as they kicked off in this top versus bottom encounter. A slow start from both sides with Jake Davidson and Adam MacKinnon firing the first warning shots of the afternoon. Davidson's afternoon was cut short after quarter of an hour when he burst forward into the box. Unfortunately keeper Morrison came out to meet him at the corner of the six yard box and Jake came off second best as they clashed. Jake's day was over and Mathew Strachan was called into the game to go to left back with James Nolan switching wings to cover the right back berth. Billy Mckay almost sneaked in the opening goal as he pounced on a ball into the box from Paul Allen's free kick, Morrison denying the striker diving low to his right. Robbie Thompson did well but his final shot was dragged wide as the hosts looked the likeliest to open the scoring. Alloa eventually woke up just before the break and picked up a couple of yellow cards but Musa Dibaga remained untroubled at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 Alloa probably got a rocket at the interval for their lacklustre approach and looked sharper in the second period. Dibaga saved from Luke Rankin and Callum Waters shot wide but it was at the other end where a goal almost came when Morrison saved from Billy Mckay. A wake up call for the hosts when Donnelly headed onto the post with Dibaga scrambling across goal to try and cover his line. On the hour Adam MacKinnon hit the post at the other end and Paul Allen fired the rebound wide as he shot across the keeper and wide of the post. Danny Devine had a header saved before the winning goal was scored. A recycled ball was taken wide of the box by MacKinnon on the left flank. He did well to pick out Charlie Gilmour who buried his low cut back behind Morrison to the relief of the North Stand. Big Musa saved from Kevin Cawley as Alloa made a late surge to try and get something from the game but a confident Musa and his defence stood firm to a man to ensure the Caley Jags picked up successive wins against the teams at the top. FULL TIME: 1-0 Two wins on the trot for Billy and Kells and not only wins but a dash of panache at times as well. Unfortunate not to score more and fairly comfortable most of the game. Only downside was an injury to Jake Davidson as he was challenged on his own through ball by keeper Morrison. He was replaced by Strachan with Nolan moving to the right side where he combined well with the busy Longstaff. More match reaction>>> Scott Kellacher says his Caley Thistle players stood up and were counted as they defeated Alloa Athletic 1-0 for a second successive victory. “You can see from the boys’ performances that’s what we’re looking to portray on the pitch. “I am delighted for everyone at the club including the staff working behind the scenes. We’re all in this together. “We’re going in the right direction in terms of players, fans, staff and everyone coming together. “When you work as hard as we do, around the stadium or on the pitch, with the fans getting behind us, you can see how much it helps.” Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after matchday 14. Off to Dumfries next Saturday 1. Kelty Hearts 14 6 4 4 23 13 22 2. Arbroath 14 6 4 4 17 16 22 3. Alloa Athletic 14 5 6 3 17 12 21 4. Stenhousemuir 14 6 3 5 17 15 21 5. Cove Rangers 14 6 2 6 23 19 20 6. Q.O.S. 14 5 3 6 12 15 18 7. Montrose 14 4 5 5 12 11 17 8. Dumbarton 14 3 6 5 19 24 15 9. Annan Athletic 14 4 2 8 9 24 14 10. Inverness CT 14 4 7 3 12 12 4 Date: 16/11/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1578 Referee: Colin Whyte Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson (Strachan 16), Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon, R Thomson (MacLeod 66), B Mckay (Cairns (90+4)) Subs (not used): Rebilas: S Thomson, Reid, L Walker, C Mackay Scorers: Gilmour (70) Booked: Gilmour (55), Devine (B Mckay), (Nolan 90+3) Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 0 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Taggart, Mckay, Neill, Waters, Virtanen (Hetherington 58), Scougall (Sammon 82), Buchanan (Cawley 58), Donnelly, O'Donnell (McDonnell 82), Rankin Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Thomson, Nevan, Honeyman Scorers: none Booked: Waters (42), Scougall (44) Sent Off: none a

Top v Bottom Again For the second week in a row Inverness face table toppers. This time it's Alloa Athletic after our win over last weeks toppers at Cove. Now into plus figures, the Caley Jags can focus on the teams directly above them in the knowledge that they can compete with the best in this league after the shackles have been taken off, the legacy from the Duncball era no longer restricting them on the park. It won't all be plain sailing, but those that witnessed the second half at Cove have said this was the best performance for a couple of years. A word of warning, Alloa come North unbeaten away from home on League1 business. For us, it's onwards and upwards as they say at the bottom end of the table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info Battery Farm Appeal Thrown Out Bar94 Drop Off Point ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Going to the game today? Then drop your donation into Bar94 12:00 - 2:30pm to help the Community Development Trust to provide as many Festive Hampers as possible. The CDT holds free Christmas Lunches at the Stadium for elderly fans and delivers hampers to vulnerable and deserving fans in the lead up to Christmas. Please donate if you can to help make someones Xmas that little bit better. Click HERE for more detail. Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 8 10 2 36 22 +14 Away 23 11 6 6 47 24 +23 Neutral 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 Total 44 19 17 8 87 50 +37 Looking at the stats, a draw seems to be the favoured result over the last three encounters with goals in every game. Overall, in a previous life the Caley Jags used to get the better of the Wasps but times have changed. They seem to be a more resilient side at the moment and wins breed confidence, that's why they find themselves leading the pack in the chase for promotion to the Championship. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 3 - 0 (H) The last encounter at Recreation Park ended all square when we threw away a two goal advantage after the introduction of seasoned campaigner Conor Sammon. Wasps Buzzing: 2-2 Inverness were without Charlie Gilmour, Flynn Duffy, Paul Allan, Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson for the trip to Alloa although Jack Newman, Luis Longstaff and Keith Bray have returned to the squad after injury. Alloa have plenty experience in their ranks, notably Conor Sammon and Kevin Cawley and went in to this encounter off the back of a superb win over Partick Thistle last weekend in the Challenge Cup. Sammon started on the bench with Cawley joined by Luke Donnelly up front. Danny Devine gave Inverness an early lead with a tremendous birthday boy volley into the corner. Calum Macleod added a second but a few minutes later we were level when substitute Sammon and Luke Donnelly scored for the Wasps and despite a frantic last twenty minutes, that's how it ended. Our Season so Far on the park INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D 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 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 and fifteen points being wiped off our total. First game after Admin was at Dumbarton with Scott Kellacher as head coach and Billy Mckay his assistant on and off the park. Alas it ended in a 3-1 defeat after a promising first hour. Kelty Hearts came North next and went away with a point in a 1-1 draw. Kell's got his first win in week (unlucky for some)13, a deserved 2-1 win at top of the table Cove Rangers. Alloa up next at Inverness in matchday 14... ALLOA Athletic: D D W W D D WD L / W L W D Alloa had an eight game unbeaten start to League1. They began the League campaign with draws at home to Queen of the South and away to Dumbarton followed by a home win over Stenhousemuir and another win away to Annan at the same ground we lost 1-0. They drew 0-0 at Gayfield and the following week was Challenge Cup action and Alloa pulled off a shock 1-3 win over Partick Thistle who had opened the scoring through our olde 'friend' Brian Graham. However, three second half goals from Kevin Cawley (65', 76') and Scott Taggart (90'+5 pen) gave the Wasps a tremendous result and a home tie against Arbroath in the next round which they also won (1-0). That was Cawley's 79th & 80th goals for Alloa. Our first meeting with the Wasps ended 2-2 after we were two up. Meh! A win over Kelty followed by a draw at Montrose before Cove dished out their first defeat. However they followed that with a win away to Stenhousemuir before Arbroath gained revenge for the Challenge Cup defeat winning 1-0 for Alloa's second League defeat. November saw them hammer Annan 5-0 before drawing with Queens. In midweek they bowed out of the Challenge cup going down 1-0 at Championship side Dunfermline. League1 Fixtures all 3:00pm this Saturday Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 13 6 21 2 Cove Rangers 13 5 20 3 Kelty Hearts 13 8 19 4 Arbroath 13 0 19 5 Stenny 13 1 18 6 Queen of Sth 13 -2 18 7 Montrose 13 2 17 8 Annan Ath 13 -13 14 9 Dumbarton 13 -6 12 10 Inverness CT 13 -1 +1 Latest Team News With Scott Kellacher getting the first win under his belt at Cove, hopes are high for another upset at home against Alloa who currently top the table. Charlie Gilmour returned at Cove and our goals were made in the Western Isles thanks to Adam MacKinnon and Keith Bray. Connall Ewan and Lewis Nicolson missed out last week. Former Caley Jags keeper Michael Fraser has been offering advice to cult keeper Musa Dibaga since Goalie Coach Stuart Garden was dismissed in administration. Will post official team news when the club upload it. Alloa's team versus Dunfermline in the Challenge Cup in midweek is shown below. I notice that the keeper was a busy man starting and on the bench. A first half strike from McCann was enough to put the Pars into the semi-final. Noted that Sammon and Cawley started on the bench and keeper PJ Morrison was missing since we last played them, presumably Ogayi getting some game time. Connor Sammon, Luke Donnelly and Luke Rankin all have four League goals. Incidentally, defender Danny Devine tops our League1 scoring chart with three goals. Remember: After the game, our sponsors Dog Falls Brewing Co will be presenting the MotM in Bar94 where all are welcome to attend with players and management in attendance. The bar will remain open until 6:00pm Dog Falls is an award-winning nano brewery in the heart of the Highlands, cranking out fresh, bold & distinctive beers according to one simple observation: Flavour Reigns Supreme. We brew beer that brings people together, beer that captures a moment, and beer that transcends the ordinary.

Kells Home Draw Kelty came North on the back of two defeats on the trot looking to get back on track. Inverness were looking to get out of the minus points total and back into the land of the living with Scott Kellacher and his positive vibes at the helm in his first home game in charge. Danny Devine returned after suspension for the hosts with Tam O'Ware doing likewise for the visitors. Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns made long awaited returns to the bench but Charlie Gilmour is still missing. Pre-match entertainment was in full swing in Bar94 with raffles, auctions, merriment and Dog Falls refreshments lubricating the vocal cords as the Supporters Trust heralded the new partnership with the Dog Falls Brewing Co. An early Luis Longstaff strike was cancelled out by a Ross Cunningham 25 yard free kick after fifteen minutes and that endeth the scoring. Danny Devine hit a post from close range and Keith Bray saw his effort brilliantly saved by Adams just before the break. No further scoring after the interval and it ended all square in the Highland Capital. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly morning gave way to glimpses of sunshine as the day headed towards kick-off on a reasonable afternoon for a kick about with a stiff breeze the only downside, but it dropped before a ball was kicked as we started in a hurry with Luis Longstaff drilling home from a tight angle in the fourth minute following a corner. We let Kelty back into the game after quarter of an hour when Danny Devine gifted the ball to the eager Kelty forwards who drove towards our box only for Connell Ewan to abruptly stop Luke McCarvel in his tracks and earn a caution for his last ditch tackle. Ross Cunningham stepped up and curled a beauty into the top corner from outside the box. In as soon as it left his foot. Doh! Kelty were in control of proceedings in the middle of the half but Inverness ended the half knocking on the door. Clear chances had been hard to come by and a Billy Mckay snap shot on the turn was easily dealt with by Adams in the visitors goal. Ten minutes before the break and Devine was unfortunate to see his hooked shot bounce off the keepers post and back into Adams' arms as he watched helplessly. Keith Bray was then denied by a tremendous save from the keeper who should buy a few lottery tickets tonight. Great save though. Half time followed soon after with Inverness dominant again. HALF TIME: 1-1 Paul Allan had a go but his shot was weak and swallowed up by Adams and Adam MacKinnon leaned back and shot over after a promising move cut open the Kelty defence. Musa Dibaga was forced to dive late to keep out a low curling effort from Mercer as bodies crossed the keepers path to make his task more difficult. Bray did have the ball in the net fifteen minutes from the end but it was ruled out for an infringement on the keeper as we pushed the visitors onto the back foot. Billy Mckay spurned a great headed chance from a super ball into the front post from the industrious Jake Davidson with fifteen minutes remaining. Good to see Ethan Cairns get on the park, albeit only for a few minutes as time ran away from us. FULL TIME: 1-1 Points dropped after a blistering start and then the dreaded defensive error to create the opportunity for the equaliser. Cairns got a few minutes under his belt and Lewis Nicolson took his place on the bench. Charlie Gilmour was missed for a bit of steel in the middle but otherwise a game we could easily have taken all three points although Kelty might disagree, despite Adams and his post dealing with more challenging efforts than Dibaga had to. I thought Davidson was a driving force on the right side. Our biggest downfall was the lack of shots offloaded from good positions, especially in the second half where we tended to end up playing wide instead of having a pop. Paul Allan was named Bar94 MotM after a busy performance. More reaction to follow>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Only 14 points behind now 1. Cove Rangers 12 6 2 4 21 15 20 2. Alloa Athletic 12 5 5 2 16 10 20 3. Arbroath 12 5 3 4 14 14 18 4. Stenhousemuir 12 5 2 5 15 14 17 5. Q.O.S. 12 5 2 5 10 12 17 6. Kelty Hearts 12 4 4 4 19 13 16 7. Montrose 12 4 4 4 11 9 16 8. Annan Athletic 12 4 1 7 8 21 13 9. Dumbarton 12 2 6 4 17 21 12 10. Inverness CT 12 2 7 3 9 11 -2 Week 12 results Results from the weekend that have put Cove Rangers at the top of the table with Alloa Athletic on 20 points. Unfortunately for us, Cove Rangers have hit a bit of form since they rubbed shoulders with us at the lower end of the table a few weeks ago. Since drawing with us back in the last week of September, Cove were beaten 2-4 by Arbroath, but since then have three 2-0 wins in a row and last week they pumped Dumbarton 3-0 at the Rock. 15 points that has rocketed them to top spot. We play Cove away next week with the teams at Polar ends of the table right now. Date: 02/11/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1502 Referee: Ryan Lee Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Ewan (R Thompson 36), Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray (Cairns 87), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Nicolson, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: Longstaff (4) Booked: Ewan (13), Devine (49) Sent Off: none Kelty Hearts: 1 Manager: Michael Tidser (player manager) Lineup: Adams; Mercer (Thomas 75), O'Ware, Harding, Paterson, McCarvel (Flatman 75), Allan, Moore (Williamson 46), Tidser (Trialist 90+2), Johnston, Cunningham (Owens 87) Subs (not used): Adamson; Bryce, Cole, Hobbs Scorers: Cunningham (14) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

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

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.

There's Life Jim but not as we know it With Administration pending at the start of next week, this game might be the last time we will see the famous Inverness Caledonian Thistle in it's present form. Administration does not come alone. Redundancies and heartbreak goes hand in hand with it and that is the price paid for years of neglect. We had already lost twice to Annan this season, once in the League Cup and once on League business when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference at Galabank but he was missing out this time. Paul McGowan and Wullie Gibson added their experience to the Annan starting XI. Danny Devine returned to the team but Charlie Gilmour, Adam Brooks and Charlie Reilly were missing. After a slow start, Danny Devine headed Inverness in front in the twenty-first minute. That's how it was at the interval with chances difficult to come by. The second half was similar with Devine coming closest to adding a second but his header was just the wrong side of the post and it ended 1-0 with the creditors closing in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright and breezy afternoon greeted the players on a somewhat sombre afternoon for the Caley Jags with the stench of administration lingering around the stadium. Annan looked spritely in the opening few minutes firing wide on a couple of occasions before Inverness ventured forward. Duncan Ferguson was yellow carded after discussing a penalty claim with the referee when Billy Mckay appeared to be barged off the ball inside the penalty area. After a couple of poor balls into the box Paul Allan provided Danny Devine with the perfect opportunity and Danny duly headed the Caley Jags in front after twenty minutes to lift the mood. Keith Bray was put through on goal on the right side of the box but keeper Smith spread himself to block well. HALF TIME: 1-0 The second period was less than entertaining with a bit too much faffing around outside the box and down the wings with directness the last thing on the minds of the players. Bray had a volley comfortably saved and Devine went very close following a free kick angled into the box by Paul Allan, Danny's header just bouncing past the wrong side of the keepers left hand post with Smith beaten. We did have a few attempts from around the edge of the box but they all went well wide of the target. Meanwhile Annan never troubled Musa Dibaga and two poor teams played out the final forty-five without adding to the scoreline. FULL TIME 1-0 I suppose the result was more important than the performance, which was just as well as both sides were honking. However we have bigger fish to fry on Monday as the grim reaper comes calling with bad news. We may have seen the last of some of these players as the high earners might be culled as our cloth gets cut by the Administrators. Billy Mckay did get a rousing round of applause when he was substituted five minutes before the end and the rest were warmly applauded as they left the field at the end of play. Match reaction from CTO Good summary from Robert: I thought we deserved the win, but once again we made hard work of it in the second half. We dominated the first half and should have had more than one goal. One definite penalty was not given, possibly two (I wasn’t sure if the other incident was in or just outside the box). Devine took his goal well and led the back line with, as others have said, MacKinnon also having a good game. Allan also looked good to me. We allowed ourselves to get hemmed in after the break but Annan were fortunately toothless. With the 15 point penalty, next week’s game at Dumbarton becomes a real six pointer as we try to get ourselves back into the pack. Well done to all who played a part today. It must be tough with all the uncertainties at present. Robbo 1985: Danny Devine was awarded the sponsors man of the match and credit to him for popping up with another crucial goal and putting on another very good defensive display. For me though, Adam MacKinnon stood head and shoulders above every other player on the park today. Broke up play, drove us forward, distributed the ball well, had some shots on goal and worked his absolute socks off. A fantastic individual performance but well done to all the players and staff today for digging in to get the result. Alan: A deserved victory over a poor Annan side who didn't manage one shot on target during the 90 minutes. it wasn't the most exciting game but I'll take 1-0 wins in every every match between now and the end of the season. A wins a win Alloa top the table after a 78th minute winner at Stenhousemuir. Other winners today were Inverness, Dumbarton, Cove & Montrose. 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 Inverness CT 10 0 12 8 Arbroath 10 -2 12 9 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 10 Dumbarton 10 -3 9 Danny Devine got his MotM award after the game in Bar94. Date: 19/10/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1501 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Duffy (Macleod 46), Devine, Savage, Nolan (Ewan 92), Longstaff (Thompson 84), Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray, B Mckay (Ferguson 84) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, C Mackay Scorers: Devine (21) Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (20), MacLeod 75) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 0 Manager: Wullie Gibson (player manager) Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Todd, Dixon (Ross 81), Breen, Kilsby, (Quitongo 31), Zaid (Quigg 81), A Smith, McGowan, K Fleming, Stevenson, Subs (not used): Aitchison; Muir, Barnes Maxwell, Lennon Scorers: none Booked: Dixon (42), Stevenson (46), Quitongo (74) Sent Off: none a

Meanwhile, on the pitch With the noose of administration tightening around the Caley Jags' neck, the team on the park will head down to Gayfield on Saturday looking to put off-field issues behind them as they take on a rejuvenated Arbroath at 3:00pm. Flynn Duffy appears to be the main one missing out again although Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns may also still be absent. Loan signing Charlie Reilly will meet up with the squad at Arbroath and will be in contention for a place in the squad on Saturday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info £££SAVE ICTFC FUND£££ OPEN MEETING ON MONDAY 7th Finances & Threat of Admin Panos Thomas Resignation There's a lot to take in in the above links Have a read on CTO for fans reactions Charlie Reilly on Loan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v ARBROATH Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 18 5 4 62 22 +40 Away 25 11 7 7 36 30 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 52 29 12 11 98 52 +46 Historically we hold a big advantage over Arbroath. However, most of that was built up in a previous life when we dished out the odd seven goal thrashing. Changed days now and many of the more recent games are close affairs. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) It's a long time since our first encounter with Arbroath back in August 13th 1994 when Alan Hercher scored that hat-trick as we started off on the bottom rung of Scottish Football. He would be turning in his grave if he knew what they have done to our club now. 30 years of memories; Scottish Premier League Football, a Scottish Cup win and European Football, all undone by total mismanagement on a scale unheard of around here. Hang your heads in shame!... Ian Broadfoot reported on this historic occasion: Caledonian Thistle's Scottish League debut resulted in a tremendous performance and a fine victory. Alan Hercher was the hat-trick hero as Caley Thistle got their League campaign off to a flying start. Three first half goals by Hercher set the scene for a dramatic opening League 3 encounter. In the opening minutes Caley Thistle 'keeper Mark McRitchie had to look sharp to save a 15 yard drive from John Reilly. In 13 minutes Mark McAllister won a corner and Alan Hercher headed in Graeme Bennett's kick to score Caley Thistle's first ever Scottish League goal. It was not long before he also scored the second and third! Before that Arbroath came close on two occasions -the first when a John Brock header went inches past the post and the second when a 25 yard free kick almost found the net. John Scott and Mike Andrew had chances for the home side before Alan Hercher again wrote his name into the record books. In 31 minutes he shot home his second goal through a ruck of players then headed home another corner in 33 minutes. Half Time: 3-0 In the second half Arbroath came back into it and scored through Brock and Reilly - Caley Thistle bounced back and scored twice more. In 71 minutes Paul McKenzie latched onto a long McRitchie clearance and lobbed over the keeper then Wilson Robertson completed the scoring six minutes later with a high ball from 22 yards. Full Time: 5-2 This rounded off an exciting match and an historic occasion for both the club and Inverness. ##################################### Season so Far INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D 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. ARBROATH FC: L D L D D L W W Arbroath were propping up the League at the start of the season but have slowly lifted themselves up to mid-table with wins in their last two games over Annan at home and Cove Rangers away. Their three defeats came from Stenhousemuir (2-1) on day one, Kelty Hearts (0-3) on day three and Queen of the South (2-1) on Matchday six. The draws came against Montrose, Dumbarton and Alloa in that order. They also dumped Montrose out of the Challenge Cup with a resounding 3-0 win at Gayfield There's nothing to separate the sides on the park, but will the off-field struggles affect the players. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Queen of South 8 4 14 2 Alloa Athletic 8 3 14 3 Montrose 8 4 13 4 Kelty Hearts 8 5 12 5 Stenhousemuir 8 0 11 6 Inverness CT 8 0 9 7 Arbroath 8 -1 9 8 Cove Rangers 8 -3 8 9 Annan Athletic 8 -9 7 10 Dumbarton 8 -3 6 LATEST TEAM NEWS The Smokies had this squad representing them in their televised clash against Cove Rangers last weekend. Just to be sure, there's pics of all their Starting XI for good measure. They came away with their second win in a row and bagged four goals in an excellent 4-2 win. Scott Stewart, Innes Murray. Ali Spalding and Jack Wilkie were the scorers Ryan Dow is top scorer with three League goals. Scott Stewart has bagged two. Arbroath have scored 10 goals in the League but have conceded 11. In contrast, we have only conceded 6 but have only scored 6. Something is going to give. INVERNESS Flynn Duffy and Lewis Nicolson definitely out and no news of Ethan Cairns. Charlie Reilly will manifest at Arbroath. He made five appearances for them last season so will know his way to the stadium. Wonderful gesture by Duncan Ferguson to do the job for nothing at the moment to help our plight. Some might say that's what he is worth, however hats off to him for doing it.

Warriors up for the Battle The second home League1 game in a row has Stenhousemuir visiting for the first time since 1998 when we won 2-1. Mike Teasdale scored both goals as we came from behind to win that relegation battle after Ian Little had opened the scoring early in the first half. It's a standard 3:00pm kick-off this Saturday afternoon apart from Cove v the Smokies which can be seen on BBC Alba at half past five. The revamped 94' Bar will be open at mid-day for both sets of fans with Supporters Trust members and helpers at your service and if you are free around 10:30am on Saturday morning, pop over and help with the tidy up around the Stadium. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Livingston Date Ch Cup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 3 3 0 0 11 3 +8 Away 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 8 6 1 1 21 8 +13 Brian Thomson We have only met Stenhousemuir eight times in total, winning six and losing once, a 3-2 reverse at Ochilview in August 1997. Our top scorer of all time against Stenny is Brian Thomson who has scored seven times in all competitions including a hat-trick in a league cup encounter in 1997 at the Caledonian Stadium. Get yer boots on Brian, we need someone to put the ball in the net. Alas, Brian can't make it, he's washing his hair this weekend. Signed from Huntly - Position: Forward Previously with Fraserburgh, Motherwell, Peterhead & Arbroath Debut Played: 16 Dec 1995 - Last Game: 2 May 1998 Third Division Championship medal 1996/97; Joint top Second Division goalscorer 1997/98 (20 goals) Scored a barrowload, including the vital goal v Stenhousemuir which gained access to Rangers in the Scottish Cup in 1996 and he was a star in that quarter final at Tannadice as well. He made a stunning debut v Ross County in the Inverness Cup Final in December 1995. First Goal: January 13th, 1996 - Alloa Athletic 0 - 2 Caley Thistle (Div 3 "The first goal came in 30 minutes - a header by Brian Thomson after a cross from Richard Hastings) Born: June 19th, 1966 (Fraserburgh) Height: 1.83m Position: inside forward Signed: July 1st, 1995 Left Club: May 31st, 1998 Career Stats: 93 appearances, 34 goals Full Debut: December 16th, 1995 - Cowdenbeath 0 - 0 Inverness CT (League - ) First Goal: January 13th, 1996 - Alloa Athletic 0 - 2 Inverness CT (League - ) Also Played For: Arbroath, Buckie Thistle, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Motherwell, Peterhead Season so Far INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D 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 with his first goal for the club. The optimist said it's only one defeat in seven games. The pessimist said FFS, we've only won one game out of seven. Billy Dodds said folk have been sacked for less... Stenhousemuir: W L L W W L D Having been promoted as Champions in season 23/24, the Warriors opened their account in League1 with a 2-1 home win over Arbroath but lost the following week at Kelty (2-0). Another loss followed at Alloa (1-0) before a 3-2 home win over Cove Rangers. The highlight of their season so far was a 5-1 thrashing of Annan Athletic at Ochilview. Bilham, Anderson and a Blair Alston hat-trick did the damage as Stenny took their chances whilst Annan only took one of their many opportunities. Montrose brought them back down to earth in the next League game with a 3-0 win at Links Park. Last week a no scoring home draw where Queen of the South dominated the game as Darren Jamieson earned the Warriors another vital point. They also knocked Falkirk out of the Challenge Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Jamieson was again a standout for Stenhousemuir denying Falkirk half a dozen times. Blair Alston is their top scorer in the League with three goals followed by midfielder Michael Anderson on two. Former Hearts defender Gary Naysmith is the Warriors manager. It's difficult to assess the teams this early in the season with everyone capable of pulling off wins over all the other challengers.... except for us with our waltzing slowwww slowwww slowwww slowwww slowwww approach to the game which must be easy to set up against and our lack of penetration in the final third. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of this weekends game with Stenny two points above Inverness. 1. Alloa Athletic 7 3 4 0 8 5 13 2. Montrose 7 3 3 1 7 3 12 3. Q.O.S. 7 3 2 2 6 4 11 4. Stenhousemuir 7 3 1 3 10 10 10 5. Kelty Hearts 7 2 3 2 9 7 9 6. Inverness CT 7 1 5 1 6 6 8 7. Cove Rangers 7 2 2 3 10 11 8 8. Annan Athletic 7 2 1 4 6 12 7 9. Dumbarton 7 0 6 1 10 11 6 10. Arbroath 7 1 3 3 6 9 6 Saturday 28 September 2024 Inverness CT v Stenhousemuir Kelty Hearts v Annan Athletic Montrose v Alloa Athletic Queen Sth v Dumbarton (BBC Alba) Cove v Arbroath (17:30) Latest Team News Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns are still out and Keith Bray has not trained all week. We remain toothless up front with Billy in a withdrawn role and little other attacking options available. Striker for the weekend anyone? Here's Dunc talking about his young team, strikers (or lack of), grass, defence and goals; the hardest part of the game isn't it>>> <<<This was the Stenhousemuire starting XI that Gary Naysmith went with in the home draw against Queen of the South. Nat Wedderburn was a sixth minute sub for the Warriors as Kyle Jacobs went off injured. With six yellow cards last week, looks like the Warriors will be up for the battle. Last week was an open game with Queens more than matching their hosts who were thankful for keeper Jamieson pulling off a handful of great stops. Assistant manager Brown Ferguson bemoaned a number of injuries during this game and was pleased with the battling point against a full time team in QotS. Alston, Taylor, Steele, O'Reilly and Jacobs were all substituted against Queens. Maybe Alston for his own good having just been booked in the closing stages of the game. Ayr United midfielder Scott Tomlinson has recently signed on loan for the season at Ochilview.