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  Mid Table Ton of Trouble   It's the struggle for mid table supremacy once more as Morton head North where they will fancy their chances against a team they have already beaten home and away this season. Saturday at 3:00pm is the scheduled start for this one with George Oakley likely to be in the Morton line-up having scored on his debut last week. We are gradually getting players back but it's not an instant fix with Allardice and Harper getting back up to speed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup Update (to follow) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 4 4 46 18 +28 Away 18 10 3 5 35 23 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 38 22 7 9 81 41 +40 One to forget: 0 - 4 Morton Madness:  An injury hit Inverness side went to Cappielow with expectations low and they didn't disappoint. Muirhead opened the scoring against the run of play in the fifth minute after Ridgers allowed a shot to go through him. A second soon followed after a soft penalty award when Ambrose went to ground in the box. Gillespie scored from the rebounded penalty. Worse was to follow when David Carson inexplicably headed a corner behind Ridgers under no pressure. Blues added a fourth with twenty minutes left despite Inverness dominating the ball. Defeat by a wekened team against the form team on a run is bearable, what is more difficult to grasp is the substitution of your keeper at half-time and the silence that followed it. More to come over the next week or two methinks.  Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) Until fairly recently, we had only ever lost once at home to Morton. How times change, and not for the better. The 4-0 thrashing at Cappielow was one of the low points of this season so far and a sign that all was not right behind closed doors. Add that to the 1-0 loss at the Caledonian Stadium and it's easy to believe that the downward spiral is incoming. Thankfully, we have perked up a bit since 2023 arrived but we are far from the finished article yet. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Queens Park 22 12 4 6 44 30 40 2. Ayr United 22 11 6 5 46 29 39 3. Dundee 21 11 5 5 36 25 38 4. Partick Thistle 22 10 3 9 42 37 33 5. Inverness CT 22 8 7 7 32 30 31 6. Morton 21 8 6 7 29 24 30 7. Raith Rovers 23 8 6 9 30 31 30 8. Cove Rangers 22 5 7 10 30 47 22 9. Arbroath 23 4 9 10 22 37 21 10. Hamilton Ac. 22 4 5 13 18 39 17   FRIDAY 3RD FEBRUARY Queens Pk v Ayr United SATURDAY 4TH FEBRUARY Accies v Dundee Arbroath v Raith Rvrs Caley Jags v Morton       Partick Thistle v Cove Rangers   Last Time Out Inverness were sort of knocked out of the Scottish Cup by an eager Queens Park on Tuesday night. However they may have been too eager and fielded an ineligible player in the shape of Euan Henderson. If the SFA are consistent, then Inverness will progress to face Livingston in a couple of weeks. That aside, we were poor against Queens who deservedly won the game on the park 2-0 with second half strikes from Thomas and Williamson. Our last League game was a 2-2 draw with a similarly resurgent Raith Rovers. We came from behind twice to earn our point through Jay Henderson and Billy Mckay. Vaughan and Connolly had given Raith the lead twice. We are unbeaten in the league since the turn of the year with two wins and two draws. Morton have slipped below Inverness in the table thanks to two draws and three defeats on the bounce (four if you include the Cup), the last one coming last Saturday at home to Arbroath but they have a game in hand. George Oakley took only four minutes to open his Morton account but the Smokies hit back with second half goals from Hamilton and long range effort from McKenna to deservedly take the points against a disappointing Greenock side. Morton's current winless run goes back seven games to November 26th when they beat Queen of the South 4-1 in the Scottish Cup. Morton have won both League matches against the Caley Jags this season. A 0 - 1 win in the Highlands was followed by an embarrassing 0 - 4 thrashing at Cappielow where the Ridgers Rift started as he was subbed at the interval with Inverness 3-0 down to a rampant Morton. Latest Team News Scott Allardice and Cammy Harper did get some game time over the last couple of weeks but it's fair to say that both are still feeling their way back to match sharpness.      Eric's Morton catch-up. 1st. February 2023 a statement from Greenock Morton FC states that Central defender Alan Lithgow has left the club by mutual consent. Since signing at the start of season 2021/22 the 34-year-old has made a total of 49 appearances for the club. He has since joined East Kilbride. Also having left the club are defender Darren Hynes transferred to Clyde FC and joining Airdrieonians was midfield player Lewis Macgregor. Kyle Jacobs, midfielder (Edinburgh, loan to permanent). Loan ended: Jaze Kabia, midfielder (Livingston). Joining Morton is one time product of the Celtic FC youth programme, midfielder Calvin Miller who had been without a club since leaving Chesterfield FC back in October 2022. On loan from Glentoran is Ally Roy a centre forward. Another centre forward and familiar name in Inverness is George Oakley who transferred on a free during the January transfer window and has already opened his Morton account after 4 minutes in the job.

Morton Madness An injury hit Inverness side went to Cappielow with expectations low and they didn't disappoint. Muirhead opened the scoring against the run of play in the fifth minute after Ridgers allowed a shot to go through him. A second soon followed after a soft penalty award when Ambrose went to ground in the box. Gillespie scored from the rebounded penalty. Worse was to follow when David Carson inexplicably headed a corner behind Ridgers under no pressure. Blues added a fourth with twenty minutes left despite Inverness dominating the ball. Defeat by a wekened team against the form team on a run is bearable, what is more difficult to grasp is the substitution of your keeper at half-time and the silence that followed it. More to come over the next week or two methinks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Much had been made of the injured Caley Jags players as Inverness went down to Greenock to face one of the form teams over the last five games. However had Doddsy pulled a fast one as Wallace Duffy came back into the defence with Austin Samuels managing a seat on the bench after weeks out? Morton had new signing Efe Ambrose in defence and the dangerous Quitongo and Muirhead up front. Wet and blustery was the outlook as Inverness got the game underway with fresh optimism. That would soon disappear in Morton's first attack. Disaster for Inverness after a bright opening as Robbie Muirhead looked to have opened the scoring after a blunder from Mark Ridgers allowed the ball to squirm under him. He clawed it back but it appeared to be over the line before Cameron Blues followed up to stab the ball into the net. Efe Ambrose went down in the box under a challenge from Max Ram. Colin Steven pointed straight to the spot much to the surprise of everyone including Ambrose. Ridgers blocked the spot kick from Gillespie but he scrambled in from close range when it looked like we were about to clear it. Almost a third after some miscommunication and tentative defending from the makeshift defence but we managed to swipe it clear before Muirhead got his shot away although he will maybe wonder why he never headed it in the first instance. Boyd was looking lively but his shooting was wayward as he fired over from a good position. Muirhead found himself running into the box on the inside right area and got his shot away across Ridgers, however the keeper managed to stop this one at full stretch at the second attempt. Billy Mckay won a corner when his close range shot was charged down by Ambrose as Inverness looked to reply before the interval. It's another shambles at the back as David Carson stooped to head a corner into his own net five minutes before the break. Not sure we deserved to be three down, but every mistake has been punished. HALF TIME: 3-0 Dodds hooked Ridgers at half time. Lets just say he didnt look injured. Another bright start to the second half for the visitors and a Billy Mckay snapshot from the edge of the box just cleared the bar. Around the hour a great turn and run by Boyd ended with his shooting letting him down again as the ball cleared the bar once more. Billy Mckay found the side netting after being slid through by Nathan Shaw as Inverness dominated the second half. However it was the hosts that extended their lead. Cameron Blues ran onto a ball forward and slotted it behind the keeper for number four. Boyd was at least trying and he managed to get one on target but Schwake saved low down. Shaw had done well when he came on and whistled a powerful shot just wide in the dying moments. FULL TIME: 4-0 A not unexpected defeat although the margin of it was disappointing. Our lack of a cutting edge was obvious. We could have played for a fortnight and not scored, that's a worry. Morton got the early breaks with the goals and were solid defensively and thoroughly deserved the points. We need to lick our wounds and regroup. Lowlights from Ton TV Dodds when asked about the Mark Ridgers substitution on BBC Sport snapped back "that will remain private" That's no a happy face Billy... From BBC Sport Morton manager Dougie Imrie: "I'm delighted. We want to make Cappielow a fortress. I'm so proud of my boys and everything they've given, so hopefully we keep that going." Inverness manager Billy Dodds: "We were well beaten. If you defend the way we did and you don't take chances when you put the ball in the box you're not going to win any games." Good overview from Doofers Dad on CTO: The combination of defensive errors was a bit freakish, but missing Deas and Devine we can expect to be vulnerable at the back, especially with Allardice missing as well. If we are vulnerable at the back, we have to be more incisive and clinical up top, and that is where we struggle at the moment. We have only scored 4 goals in our last 6 games. We huffed and puffed tonight with good possession but very rarely threatened. Often when it looked like we might threaten, we turned back and played a safe ball which only served to allow Morton's defence to get back in position. And when we did shoot, our shooting was woeful with only 2 shots on target and their keeper never seriously tested. You don't win games by keeping possession, you win them by scoring goals. Yngwie waited a day before making this observation: The morning after the night before. I had fully expected us to lose, with such a depleted squad and makeshift team, against a form side. The scale of the defeat was really down to uncharacteristic individual errors, mainly at the back, but not helped by some poor finishing too. However, the thing that troubles me is the now very public rift between Dodds and Ridgers. We know from recent experience that an unhappy dressing room doesn’t win matches, and it can take a long time to heal. Concerning. Date: 28/10/2022 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 1516 Referee: Colin Steven Morton: 4 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Schwake; Grimshaw, Ambrose, Baird, Strapp, Blues, Crawford, Gillespie (Pignatiello 85), McGrattan (King 82), Quitongo (Kabia 56), Muirhead Subs (not used): Hynes, McGregor Scorers: Muirhead (6), Gillespie (12 pen), Carson (og 41), Blues (72) Booked: Blues (37), McGrattan (65) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers (C Mackay 45); Carson, Duffy, Ram, Delaney, Boyd, Welsh (Hyde 80), Harper, Doran (Shaw 66), Oakley, B Mckay Subs (not used): Callum Mackay, Strachan, Samuels Scorers: none Booked: Delaney (58) Sent Off: none a

We're on the Telly again One of the last traditional grounds this Friday night as we visit Greenock to take on Morton in the cinch Championship. This game kicks off at 7:45pm. If you are unable to attend the match, don't worry, BBC Scotland have got your back and have chosen it as your preferred Friday night viewing. Maybe the Beeb have a sort of sadistic tendency and look forward to more pain being inflicted upon us as we struggle to get eleven fit players on the park. The olde magic sponge has lost it's magic and Robbie Deas is beyond that having suffered a broken shin bone against Raith Rovers to become the latest victim of the Caley Jags Crippling Curse. We wish him well in his recovery. MATCH/TICKET/BUS/INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462218717 2:30PM Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 4 4 46 18 +28 Away 17 10 3 4 35 19 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 37 22 7 8 81 37 +44 We have the edge over Morton, but honours are even over the last six meetings. The worrying trend recently has been losing home games. That 6-1 thrashing we dished out at Cappielow feels like a long time ago now. However, with injuries dominating our headlines just now, we will do well to get out of this with anything. It could be a long night on Friday. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) Earlier this season we went down 0 - 1 to Morton at the Caledonian Stadium, a Grant Gillespie penalty in the 85th minute doing the damage. Bar a brief appearance against Dundee, that was Austin Samuels' last game for us after going off injured in the 24th minute. More rubbish than the streets of Edinburgh: The fans turned up looking for a reaction after the feeble attempt at Firhill last Friday. They would leave disappointed after 95 minutes with lots of questions unanswered as they slumped to a second defeat in a row to a bang average Morton side who had previously only ever won three games at the Caledonian Stadium in nineteen encounters. Goalless at the break, Grant Gillespie slotted home a penalty with five minutes remaining after Duffy handled in the box. Woeful stuff from Billy Dodds and his hapless team. Simply another inept performance from the Caley Jags who are now six points behind early leaders Ayr United. Ayr United beat Partick Thistle 4-2 on Tuesday night and that leaves the table looking like this, It's all very tight at the top end of the table. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Ayr United 12 6 3 3 26 17 21 2. Inverness CT 12 6 3 3 15 11 21 3. Partick Thistle 12 6 2 4 25 21 20 4. Queens Park 12 6 2 4 19 19 20 5. Dundee 12 5 3 4 19 16 18 6. Morton 12 5 3 4 15 13 18 7. Raith Rovers 12 5 1 6 13 13 16 8. Cove Rangers 12 3 3 6 16 20 12 9. Arbroath 12 2 4 6 8 15 10 10. Hamilton Ac. 12 2 4 6 9 20 10 FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER Morton v Inverness Queen's v Dundee SATURDAY 29TH OCTOBER Arbroath v Ayr Utd Hamilton v Cove R Rovers v Partick Last Time Out Injury ravaged Inverness were held to a draw by Raith Rovers who must have thought they would break their hoodoo. Over twenty years since they have beaten us over ninety minutes. Robbie Deas was magnificent leading the back four by example and scored a wonderful headed goal off Zak Delaney's inviting dipping cross. Unfortunateley he was injured late in the game and we have now been told the extent of that. He has broken his right leg. That took the shine off a great defensive effort with Mark Ridgers also denying Raith with four vital saves. Morton earned a good away point at Dens Park as the Dark Blues ended the game with ten men. Dundee's Josh Mulligan was red carded with ten minutes remaining after two late bookings in a four minute spell. Morton are unbeaten in their last four games since being hammered 5-1 by Partick Thistle with three wins prior to the draw at Dundee. They also dished out a five goal thrashing of their own over Accies who beat us recently. Latest Team News Well, what can we say that's not already been said. Multiple injuries that will see us struggle to be competitive for the forseeable future. Most serious are Deas (broken right leg), Sutherland (ACL), Walsh (ACL), Roddy MacGregor (ankle), Devine (knee), Dan Mackay (knee, extent not known). Add Allardice, Duffy and Samuels who are hopefully getting close. Max Ram and Sean Welsh are just back after injury and game time is all part of their rehab. Let's see what Billy Dodds has to say about any players likely to be ready for Friday night. Eck's Morton menu: Morton have announced the signing of former Celtic, Hibs, Livingstone and St Johnston defender Efe Ambrose today (Wednesday) ahead of the clash with Inverness. 34 year old Ambrose has been capped 51 times for Nigeria in a glittering career. Imrie is building a solid squad at Cappielow and they have one of the best left backs in the Championship in Lewis Strapp. Up front Robbie Muirhead and Jai Quitongo will cause probems and on loan Irishman Jaze Kabia will be out to prove he's ready for a start. Scant reading this time round. Manager Dougie Imrie has punted a couple of players out on short term loan until the end of December, Reece Lyon midfielder and Michael Garrity 20-year-old left winger. Incoming to the squad since our last encounter was Liam Grimshaw a right back, whose pedigree includes Manchester United Youth through to U21 Squads. In Scotland he spent the last 5 seasons on Motherwell FCs books but left in the summer and came in as a free agent. Here's Dougie talking after the Dundee game. One for the diary. We have been drawn to face Stirling Albion at home in the 3rd Round of the 2022/23 ScottishCup. 3rd round ties to take place on weekend of Saturday 26th November. We have played Stirling Albion twice previously in the Scottish Cup. The first encounter was a 6-1 win at Forthbank in 2007. The second game required a replay in 2016 when we won 2-0 in Inverness after a no scoring draw in Stirling.

Greenock Morton -V- Inverness CT

More rubbish than the streets of Edinburgh The fans turned up looking for a reaction after the feeble attempt at Firhill last Friday. They would leave disappointed after 95 minutes with lots of questions unanswered as they slumped to a second defeat in a row to a bang average Morton side who had previously only ever won three games at the Caledonian Stadium in nineteen encounters. Goalless at the break, Grant Gillespie slotted home a penalty with five minutes remaining after Duffy handled in the box. Woeful stuff from Billy Dodds and his hapless team. Simply another inept performance from the Caley Jags who are now six points behind early leaders Ayr United. It could have been worse but for Mark Ridgers who saved well from Jaze Kabia's twenty yard volley and another great save from a Jai Quitongo effort. Steven Boyd had the first serious attempt in the tenth minute but it was comfortable for the Morton keeper and Austin Samuels shot high and wide as Inverness looked for an opening. However his game ended after 24 minutes through injury with Nathan Shaw replacing him. Roddy MacGregor had a close range effort saved and it was looking promising without being too critical, but in truth we were still too pedestrian with clear chances at a premium in the little goalmouth action there was on display, Morton looking more intent on not conceding than scoring one for themselves. Kabia produced the first bit of decent play followed a second later by the next, a great save in the top corner by Ridgers to deny Morton the lead five minutes before the break. Half Time: 0-0 An untidy opening to the second half came to a close when Ridgers did brilliantly again to deny Quitongo on the hour, tipping his 12 yard volley onto the bar and over for a corner, as we huffed and puffed without doing anything. Nothing noteworthy happened until Duffy handled, Gillespie scored and the fans were left frustrated once more as they could see all this coming a mile away. The decision was maybe a tad harsh as the ball was being knocked out of the box some 18 yards from goal and hit a flailing arm, but penalty was given. Hold on, the referee was Nick Walsh, maybe that explains it. A MacGregor header over and a Dan Mackay shot were all we could muster as the game petered out and another defeat it was. Full Time: 0-1 Well well well, where do we go from here. The two year olde question of where is our right back has not been addressed. Where has our desire gone is also a mystery. Where is our ability to take throw ins, (wait, we never ever had that), where is our ability to attack at pace. Gone are the days of swashbuckling moves late in the game to salvage something, we are now down to punting hopeful balls forward waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen. Below is a selection from the unhappy bunnies on the forum here on CaleyThistleOnline Match Reaction from CTO Well, that was horrendous. I really believe now that Dodds has no idea how to set up and inspire a team. There was no energy, no pace, no desire, no leadership, no tactics, unless you count the hopeful hoofball that the team likes to play. We keep hearing that their all happy campers but that is not what it appears like. You get the impression that something is upsetting the applecart. Battered by Partick mugged by Morton....and not a glove laid on either.... Was like watching a training exercise... no urgency, no creativity, no pace, no tactics, no inspiration, no imagination, no skill, and no heart! Looking at that team today, there's nothing there. There's nothing that says to me that this team can challenge for the title. And the winner is: Two blokes stranded on a desert island, with no way of contacting the outside world. "Caley Thistle got beaten again!" "How do you know?" "Back home, it's ten to five on a Saturday." Date: 27/08/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1924 Referee: Nick Walsh Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Deas, Harper, Samuels (Shaw 24) Allardice, MacGregor, Boyd, Oakley (D Mackay 67), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Delaney, Devine, C Mackay Scorers: none Booked: Allardice (38), B Mckay (50), Boyd (73) Sent Off: none Morton: 1 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Schwake; King (Strapp 67), O'Connor, Baird, Pignatiello (Hynes 81), Muirhead, Blues, Gillespie, Crawford, Kabia (McGrattan 80), Quitongo Subs (not used): Green, Lyon, Lithgow. Scorers: Gillespie (pen 85) Booked: Crawford (86), Gillespie (90+2) Quitongo (90+5) Sent Off: none a

Ton of trouble   After last weeks sobering experience at the hands of Partick Thistle, Dougie Imrie's Morton head North looking to pose more problems for Inverness. It's a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday with both clubs sitting on five points after four games, three behind early pace setters Ayr United. Our squad were somewhat depleted last weekend and there's no sign of much improvement on the injury front. We are a bit thin on defensive cover, especially down the right, but that's nothing new. We have only had a couple of years to sort that one out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TICKET INFO   Venue - H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 12 4 3 46 17 +29 Away 17 10 3 4 35 19 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 36 22 7 7 81 36 +45 Head 2 Head results show that we have lost only three times at home to Morton in nineteen games, although the most recent was a 1-0 defeat at the Caledonian Stadium last season. That was a hard one to get your head round considering we had thumped them 6-1 in the previous league game at Cappielow before Xmas, our biggest ever win over Morton. It also coincided with a massive dip in fortunes when we never won a game for an eternity, possibly costing us automatic promotion. Overall the stats are heavily in our favour with a plus 45 goal difference. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton. (click on scores to view more) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) Biggest Victories Dec 11th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 6 - 1 Aug 30th, 2019 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Nov 12th, 1999 League (A) 1 - 5 FRIDAY 26TH AUGUST Ayr United19:45Dundee SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST Hamilton v Arbroath Inverness v Morton     Partick v Rovers Queen's v Cove     The season so far Morton started their campaign at New Douglas Park with a 1-1 draw against Hamilton. That was followed by a 1-0 home win over Cove Rangers thanks to a Jai Quitongo strike then a defeat by Raith Rovers, going down 2-1 at Starks Park. Last week was a massive game for them with a no scoring draw against title favourites Dundee at Cappielow, Robbie Muirhead hitting the post with a late flick on target. After mediocre early draws culminating in a 4-1 beating of Cove, we got a rude awakening last Friday night when an error strewn defensive display saw us hammered 4-1 on the telly at Firhill. George Oakley got the definitive consolation goal, probably more than we deserved. We will need better if we want to get into the top four in what will be a tight division.  Dodds no happy after Partick Pumping... Latest Team News Sutherland and Walsh are long term absentees. Sean Welsh and Max Ram are recovering. Carson and Duffy are nursing injuries and Danny Devine missed out at Partick as he struggles for fitness. Prove me wrong Billy, but my money is team lines similar to Partick away!     Eric's Morton Movers (and there's plenty) Manager Dougie Imrie reshaped his squad after the summer break. Out go both keepers, Jack Hamilton in a move to Livingston and Joshua Bysouth currently without a club. Backs released: Jamie Brandon end of loan deal. Oisin McEntee end of loan from Newcastle FC Brian McLean moves to Clyde, and Mark Russell on a free move to Galway United. Imrie appears to have kept faith in the majority of his midfield. Kyle Jacobs sent out on loan to Edinburgh FC, Iain Wilson off to QOS and on loan Tom Allan returns to parent club Newcastle Up front only Robbie Muirhead remains from last seasons strike force. The following players have left: Gavin Reilly end of loan from Livingston. Gary Oliver joined Falkirk, Gozie Ugwu released no club and Alexander Easdale centre forward has retired at the tender age of 22 to take up a position in the family business. New faces at Cappielow. Between the sticks the manager has handed the No. 1 jersey to the American born Brian Schwake who at 21 years of age arrive on a season loan from Livingston. Back up keeper is a another young player in 19 year old Lawton Green, a New Zealander previously with Motherwell B. Centre backs Darragh O'Connor from Motherwell and Jack Baird last couple of seasons at Ayr United. Carlo Pignatiello a right back comes in from Livingston FC Robbie Crawford, midfielder from Partick Thistle, also in the middle of the park we have Grant Gillespie from Queens Park FC and he has been handed captaincy of the team. Up front on loan from Livingston is Jaze Kabia a right winger and in on a free from Queens Park is centre forward Jai Quitongo who is incidentally son of Jose Quitongo who had a long career with numerous clubs in Scotland.

Job Done Inverness opened the scoring half an hour in through Roddy MacGregor with a low shot into the bottom corner from twenty-two yards. It was a half of few chances. The second half was similar to the first with chances at a premium, Tom Walsh maybe could have done better on the break but overall Inverness did enough to secure third place with both Partick and Raith also winning. Partick should remain fourth with a superior goal difference to Raith. Morton find themselves safe but Queen of the South are officially relegated with Ayr and Dunfermline battling for the drop zone play-off place. Congratulations to Cove Rangers who will be in the Championship next season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Who would get the job done today? We fluffed our lines in midweek once more against a bottom side as we went down 2-1 at Palmerston. Morton have eased themselves away to the top edge of the relegation zone and are virtually safe, but, like us, will be looking for points to ensure they get the job done without relying on others. Kilmarnock are now confirmed as Champions and Arbroath await the winners of third/fourth place play-off. Billy Dodds was without recent scoring sensation Logan Chalmers (five in five), Shane Sutherland and Danny Devine who took a head knock at Palmerston. Long throw specialist and tenacious left back Lewis Strapp returned to the Morton starting XI after injury with Gozi Ugwu and Gavin Reilly the big dangers up front. Billy Mckay got the game underway and with less than sixty seconds on the clock, captain Sean Welsh gave away a free kick in a dangerous position and was yellow carded. Cameron Blues free kick was on target but gathered comfortably low down by Mark Ridgers. Both teams probed for an opening in the first ten minutes and Aaron Doran almost got a good connection with his head on a curling ball into the box from David Carson, the ball bouncing wide for a goal kick. Doran then fed Austin Samuels into the box with a perfectly weighted ball but the striker wasted a great opportunity with an extra touch that ruined his prospects. Ridgers pushed away a ball that bounced through on goal with Ugwu almost getting his head on it. An excellent deep corner from Doran caused some concern in the Morton box but the hosts were able to clear their lines midway through the first half. A long ball forward saw Robbie Deas lash a left foot shot wide from the left side of the box. From a throw in on the right Inverness opened the scoring. Roddy MacGregor was given all the space he needed to stroll across the front edge of the box before drilling a low shot into the bottom right corner of Hamilton's net from twenty-two yards. Great curling strike! Morton responded with a couple of corners and Ridgers punched clear under pressure. A great burst forward by David Carson ended with Billy Mckay lobbing the keeper. Unfortunately he lobbed it over the bar as well onto the roof of the net. Morton fashioned their third fourth and fifth corner of the game after some sloppy defending but were unable to capitalise as the interval arrived. Half Time: 0-1 Morton wasted an early free kick opportunity and from that Inverness broke forward through substitute Tom Walsh, but he ended up toe poking the ball goalwards and Wilson blocked as Walsh ran out of steam. Morton were awarded yet another free kick approaching thirty yards from goal and Muirhead just missed the target with a dipping effort. One hour gone and Morton were starting to apply a bit of pressure as Dougie Imrie was carded, presumably for some naughty vocals. Tom Walsh volleyed into the arms of Jack Hamilton with the Inverness player slightly off balance and at the other end some last ditch defending cleared the visitors lines. A scrappy period of play with twenty minutes left littered with loose passes and petty fouls ended with Hamilton having to make a good save from a Robbie Deas header off Reece McAlear's curling free kick. Lewis Strapp's long throw-ins were a constant menace to the visiting defence but with ten minutes left they were still coping well with that threat. Mckay saw a shot deflected just over as Inverness saw out the game comfortably to secure third place. A needless late free kick for Morton saw Mark Ridgers save an Ugwu header and that was the last action as the game ground to a halt. Full Time: 0-1 Highlights from TON TV Welcome back Roddy Here's a bonus roundup from Johndo, the Chorley One Well as has been stated in other posts this was not exactly in the spectacle category but it was a grand day out as the sun beamed down on Costa Del Greenock and the vociferous band of Invernessian's congregated in the beach bar known as the Norseman and did not stop carousing until getting back on their transportation back to the big City. That bunch outsung the locals whereas the team only prospered by a single goal victory although the final margin really should have been more. Played some pretty patterns at times but slightly spoiled by the final ball or the final attempt on goal. The possession ratio of 54 / 46 % in our favour would have been greater if we had not settled for the 1-0 win with 15 minutes to go. That is my only real criticism of Dodds, as I certainly cringed at the "defend at all costs" attitude when a second goal was clearly on the cards. Our defence who had looked solid and rarely tested looked nervous and that fed on to the following support. Taking the ball into the corner with 2-3 minutes to got was a tad embarrassing. Still all is well that ends well. RIDGERS **** Clearly our Numero Uno. He just appears to bring that extra confidence to those in front of him. CARSON *** Well I have said it before but I still do not think that he is a full back. Gives 100% but prone to mistakes although thankfully only a few minor flaws at Cappielow. DUFFY *** Did well in central defence although he did appear to be getting a fair amount of "help" from his more experienced partner. BROADFOOT **** I often feel that he does not get the credit that he deserves. He may amble and look "slow" at times but his reading of the game is considerably more developed that any other pinkster. DEAS *** Does the job at full back but always looks more settled as a centre back. Height also adds to our defensive prowess. WELSH *** Must have been looking to take over the leading position in regard to the timing of a yellow card. The tackle did not look over the top but the referee could have been swayed by the Morton appeals. Did his usual midfield maestro job thereafter. McAlear *** I have been impressed by him previously but I suppose that we all have bad days at the office. Made numerous mistakes, especially in the second half, thankfully most in an attacking sense. DORAN **** What a shame that he looks as if his season is over. Very impressive in the first 45 and looked the most likely to set up a goal. Looked like a groin strain unless he had an embarrassing itch. MCGREGOR **** I proudly joined into the "He's one of our own" chant that resounded around Cappielow. He understandably tired in the end but lasted the 90. He just brings that extra energy and fizz so Welcome Back Roddy. Mckay *** Always a threat and suffered by being the lone forward - although the hoof tactic was rarely utilised as Billy had the guile of a more football playing midfield providing the ammo. He was often left 2-1 or 3-1 although he will probably be the first to admit that he should have got himself on the score card. SAMUELS *** Again had a bad day at the office. I was not sure exactly what his role was and I suspect that he didn't either. As for the substitutions, WALSH evidently came on earlier than expected. Unfortunately he needs a "confidence transplant". There were times that the Walsh of old would have driven forward but lets hope that he is refreshed for the play-offs. HARPER impressed in his 25 minutes. He simply provided the width on the left that was sadly missing beforehand. So it was another lovely Away Day - from the refurbished Horseshoe to the dilapidated Norseman to the Paisley Piazza, enjoyed with Govan Jaggie and GJ junior. And nobody from the Greenock gangland came anywhere near the Senior Citizen Crew. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts TABLE WITH ONE GAME LEFT 1. Kilmarnock 35 20 6 9 49 26 66 2. Arbroath 35 16 14 5 51 28 62 3. Inverness CT 35 15 11 9 49 34 56 4. Partick Thistle 35 14 10 11 45 37 52 5. Raith Rovers 35 12 13 10 43 43 49 6. Hamilton Ac. 35 10 12 13 38 49 42 7. Morton 35 9 13 13 36 44 40 8. Ayr United (home to Partick) 35 8 12 15 36 51 36 9. Dunfermline (home to Queens) 35 7 14 14 35 51 35 10. Q.O.S. 35 7 9 19 34 53 30 ***Dates for your diary*** CINCH PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFFS Tuesday May 3 Quarter-final, 1st leg Partick Thistle v Inverness CT Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.05pm Friday May 6 Quarter-final, 2nd leg Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm Date: 23/04/2022 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 1717 Referee: Alan Muir Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie (60) Lineup: Hamilton; Ledger (Hynes 59), McEntee, McLean, Strapp, Blues, Muirhead (McGrattan 81) Brandon (Lyon 59),Wilson (Easdale 81),Ugwu, Reilly (Oliver 85) Subs (not used): Bysouth; Jacobs, Russell, King Scorers: none Booked: Wilson (16) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Broadfoot, Deas, Samuels (Harper 66), Welsh, McAlear, MacGregor, Doran (Walsh 49), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde, Hardy Scorers: MacGregor (29) Booked: Welsh (1), Samuels (40), Duffy (59) Sent Off: none a

Points still required. Penultimate game before the play offs and it's another away day as we head to Greenock to take on Morton this Saturday. 3:00pm kick off at Cappielow and we still need three points to ensure third place in the table unless Partick lose as well. Anything is possible in this league. In fairness to Dodds and his team, we are more than capable of getting to the final of the play-offs, but inconsistency could be our downfall. Depends what team turns up on the day. I won't be too despondent should we fail to win at Cappielow, but come the play-offs, we must be at our best. Attitude, aptitude and commitment will be crucial to the outcome of our season. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING/INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462 218717 Morton bus now leaving Caley Club at 9.15, stadium 9.30 Venue - Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 12 4 3 46 17 +29 Away 16 9 3 4 34 19 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 35 21 7 7 80 36 +44 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) An out of character 6-1 humping of Morton has been the highlight of our season, apart from that, the other two league games against Morton have been rubbish. They also knocked us out of the Scottish Cup after two draws and a penalty shoot-out. CTO Oct16th: Caley Jags open up a gap: Inverness extended their lead at the top of the Championship as the Pars got a late leveller against Killie. The hosts opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Billy Mckay with the credit for the assist going to Mark Ridgers from his quick goal kick. Inverness stepped up a gear after the interval and Michael Gardyne scored the second early in the second half as he crashed a loose ball in the box high into the net. That was enough to see off Morton who battled hard throughout but fell short. It could have been a different story had the visitors made more of their own opportunities. Five points clear after the first quarter: Who knew? CTO Dec11th: Gubbed, at last: Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener when his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom! CTO Feb5th: Absolute dross: What a shitfest of a game. We were an absolute shambles from the start and Morton were all over us like a rash. Lewis Strapp scored the only goal of the game after Chalmers failed to cover in midfield. When the loose ball was knocked forward, defender Strapp got to it first and poked it through Mark Ridgers legs. Pathetic stuff from Inverness and we did nothing about trying to change the way the game was going. A shot from Pearson the only thing of note over ninety minutes of a stop start game that would not have looked out of place at the Bught Park. We were clueless for 95 minutes and deserved nothing. No surprise really given our recent performances, but totally depressing stuff to watch. Both cup games were dire 1-1 draws with Morton winning the shoot-out. Incidentally, that 6-1 win at Cappielow signalled the start of our dismal eleven game streak of no wins, gaining only six points from a possible thirty-three. Thankfully Raith Rovers went on a similar run at the same time and Partick blew hot and cold, mostly cold so that's why we are where we are today. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts ***KILLIE V ARBROATH - FRIDAY NIGHT*** 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 34 14 11 9 48 34 53 4. Partick Thistle 34 13 10 11 44 37 49 5. Raith Rovers 34 11 13 10 41 43 46 6. Hamilton Ac. 34 10 12 12 38 47 42 7. Morton 34 9 13 12 36 43 40 8. Ayr United 34 8 11 15 35 50 35 9. Dunfermline 34 7 14 13 35 50 35 10. Q.O.S. 34 7 8 19 33 52 29 Apr 23rd 2022 Queens v Ayr United Partick v Dunfermline Morton v Caley J Accies v Rovers Last Time Out We fluffed our lines once more against a bottom side as we went down 2-1 at Palmerston against a Queen of the South side heading for a lower division unless you believe in miracles. Josh Todd gave Queens an early advantage before Logan Chalmers scored his fifth spectacular goal in as many games. However we looked weary and Queens regained the lead five minutes before the break through Euan East. That's how it ended as we struggled to rise above mediocrity with Queens having the greater desire. Morton have eased themselves away to the top edge of the relegation zone and are virtually safe, but, like us, will be looking for points to ensure they get the job done without relying on others. They blew that opportunity after going down 1-0 at home to nearest rivals Hamilton Accies last time out who now find themselves safe. It was an early David Moyo goal that did the damage and left Morton still needing a couple of points. Latest Team News We rested some in midweek although you could have been excused for thinking that all were having a break. Allardice is a long term casualty and Broadfoot was rested completely after feeling an olde war wound. Sean Welsh and Danny Devine were in the wars, Devine cutting his head in a clash with the woodwork. I believe the post is ok and Danny was patched up. We have never been great at resting players, our squad is too thin to do that comfortably, so maybe we should just go for it and put this to bed. Read more in the OFFICIAL PREVIEW Morton have no new alterations since we last played them with Dougie Imrie at the helm.

Absolute dross What a shitfest of a game. We were an absolute shambles from the start and Morton were all over us like a rash. Lewis Strapp scored the only goal of the game after Chalmers failed to cover in midfield. Kirk Broadfoot left the deflected ball forward to someone else, and to cap it all off when the loose ball entered the box, defender Strapp got to it first and poked it through Mark Ridgers legs. Pathetic stuff from Inverness and we did nothing about trying to change the way the game was going. A shot from Pearson the only thing of note over ninety minutes of a stop start game that would not have looked out of place at the Bught Park. We were clueless for 95 minutes and deserved nothing. No surprise really given our recent performances, but totally depressing stuff to watch. Happy Birthday Billy. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ The last team we beat came North but with a renewed vigour and a new manager in Dougie Imrie. Cast your mind back to December 11th 2021 and we absolutely routed Morton 6-1. Unfortunately it's been all downhill in the six seven games since then with Morton accruing ten points since then with Inverness only managing four. Scott Allardice, Danny Devine, Roddy MacGregor and Aaron Doran were all missing. We are down to the bare bones with only six on the bench from the permitted nine. What that means is that Inverness appear to be going with three at the back in a fairly attacking set-up. It was a wild day in the North with heavy rain/snow showers, bright sunshine and blustery conditions. Hypothermia anyone? Widely acknowledged as one of the worst performances ever, Billy Dudds and his bunch of haddies were beaten by a team we put six past a couple of months ago. It's impossible to put into words just how bad this was, but suffice to say, there are thousands of detrimental adjectives used on CTO to cover this, no stone left unturned. Sam Pearson had our best effort in the first half after cutting onto his right foot on the left side of the box, but Jack Hamilton was equal to the shot and kept it out with a decent save. I'd like to be able to report on a few more efforts, unfortunately that was it. Gutless, lacklustre, drivel, no passion, utter shambles, painful, turgid, apathetic, disgraceful............ the list is endless. Lewis Strapp scored the only goal when he found the ball at his feet inside the box and pushed it through the keepers legs. Summed up our day. It could have been worse had Ridgers not denied Ugwu late in the game with an excellent save. Many fans are now questioning the quality of not just the players, but the entire set-up, including Dudds and Robbo. To be honest, difficult to argue against any of the criticism given our demise. I was not convinced even after our excellent start to the season. I believe we just got lucky whilst other clubs were still sorting themselves out. But for that great start, we would be relegation certainties. Four points from a possible twenty-one tells it's own story, a story of complete and utter decimation, an omnishambles with a bleak future. Over to you Inverness, time to get some pride and passion back to the club. From BBC Sport Inverness head coach Billy Dodds: "It's our poorest performance of the season, which at this time in the season you really don't need. I thought we showed a mental weakness to go and scrap the game. When we realise what's at stake and where we could go again today - but we just keep going. "I'm up for it. I'm sure at some point we get a win and then we kick on. We have to get it going soon or we'll find ourselves out of the title race. We really need to change the mindset here in terms of players and what they are thinking going on the pitch. We need to get back to what we are good at and where we were at the start of the season." No shit Sherlock! Greenock Morton manager Dougie Imrie: "We knew how difficult it was going to be to come up here. Inverness have been doing fantastic this season - up in the top four. I knew with the boys I've got if they went out and stuck to the game plan we could potentially get something from this and eventually we have. "Another terrific three points. At this stage in the season three points are massive and that lifts us back up into seventh. The league form has been great but we've got to maintain that." Date: 05/02/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1808 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Broadfoot, Deas (L Nicolson 76), Pearson (Carson 75), Welsh, McAlear, Sutherland (Harper 72), Samuels, Mckay, Chalmers (Hardy 66) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde Scorers: none Booked: Mckay (51) Sent Off: none Morton:1 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Hamilton; Lithgow, McLean, McEntee, Strapp, Oliver (Muirhead 74), Blues, Lyon (Wilson 64), Brandon, Ugwu, Reilly (Jacobs 85) Subs (not used): Bysouth; Ledger, Russell, McGrattan, Easdale, King Scorers: Strapp (24) Booked: Wilson (71), Strapp (80) Sent Off: none a

Time to stop the rot The last team we beat are coming North but with a renewed vigour and a new manager in Dougie Imrie. Cast your mind back to December 11th 2021 and we absolutely routed Morton 6-1. Unfortunately it's been all downhill in the six games since then. Morton are here on Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off, but beware, this is not the same deflated Morton we stuffed in December. Our demise has been alarming to say the least. In the six games since we beat Morton we have picked up only four points from a possible eighteen. That's relegation form in any language and the rot needs to stop now before we slip out of the play-off zone and into mid table obscurity. OFFICIAL PREVIEW-MATCH INFO-TICKETS-STREAMING Venue - Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 12 4 2 46 16 +30 Away 16 9 3 4 34 19 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 21 7 6 80 35 +45 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) Inverness have taken six points from the two league games this season. The first encounter saw Inverness edge out Morton 2 - 0 in a low key game where Billy Mckay and Mich*** Gard*** scored the goals. The last meeting was our best ever away result at Cappielow. CTO summary from 6-1 win at Cappielow: Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener as his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom! That result left us top of the table on 34 points and Morton were bottom on 13 points. Doh! Seems like a distant memory now... The Head2Heads are stacked heavily in our favour, only two defeats at home from eighteen encounters in all competitions. However, those two defeats have come in the last two years, add to that Morton ended our interest in the Scottish Cup this season after a replay and penalties, then this is another potential struggle waiting to happen. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 22 11 8 3 35 16 41 2. Kilmarnock 22 12 4 6 28 15 40 3. Inverness CT 23 10 8 5 30 19 38 4. Raith Rovers 24 9 10 5 34 27 37 5. Partick Thistle 21 10 6 5 34 19 36 6. Hamilton Ac. 23 6 7 10 25 38 25 7. Dunfermline 23 4 10 9 22 37 22 8. Ayr United 23 5 7 11 20 36 22 9. Morton 22 4 9 9 26 33 21 10. Q.O.S. 23 4 7 12 24 38 19 Friday 4th Feb Arbroath v Kilmarnock SATURDAY 5TH FEB Ayr United v Dunfermline Caley Jags v Morton Partick v Queens Rovers v Hamilton Morton have a new gaffer in former Inverness player Dougie Imrie (38), brought in when Gus McPherson was sacked after they drew with Ayr United, ten days after we thumped them 6-1 at Cappielow. This is his first managerial role, having coached at Livingston earlier this year. As a wide midfielder, Imrie played for Morton in season 2013-14 scoring 11 times in 33 appearances. When Dougie went to Morton as the new manager they were a point adrift at the bottom of the Scottish Championship and heading for relegation. Here's Dougie's stats whilst at Inverness. Position: Left winger/attacking midfielder Signed: January 5th, 2008 First Manager: Craig Brewster Left Club: January 5th, 2010 Career Stats: 73 appearances, 10 goals Debut (as sub): February 9th, 2008 - St. Mirren 1 - 1 Inverness CT (League - ) Full Debut: February 16th, 2008 - 1 - 1 Dundee Utd (League - ) First Goal: April 19th, 2008 - Inverness CT 3 - 0 Kilmarnock (League - ) Also Played For: Clyde, Hamilton Academical, Morton, St. Mirren Latest Team News Inverness will be without long term casualties Scott Allardice and Danny Devine. Aaron Doran, Roddy MacGregor and Billy Mackay all missed the game at Rugby Park as well. Devine is back in training from next week. Doran is not ready to return but Billy Mckay will be back in the squad. Morton have added midfielder Iain Wilson from Dunfermline to their squad along with Jamie Brandon on loan from Hearts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scottish Youth Cup Draw The ICT Under 18s have been drawn away to Hearts U18s in the Semi Final of the Scottish Youth Cup. Semi-Final ties are scheduled to be played on Friday 4 March 2022

Gubbed, at last... Managerless bottom club Morton were gubbed. There's no other word for it. Caley Jags were rampant after a couple of drab draws in the Scottish Cup. I'll credit Aaron Doran with the opener as his cross to the back post ended up in the net as Hamilton tried to claw it clear. Sutherland got the second after a Billy Mckay shot was blocked at close range. Mckay got his own when he rolled the ball in off the post. Boss! Just on the interval Ugwu scored from the spot to offer Morton a lifeline. Reece McAlear scored a fekkin screamer, what can only be described as a piledriver. What a strike that was! The ever alert Sutherland added a fifth and it was no surprise when Jamieson dribbled his way into the box and slotted home the sixth. This has been coming for weeks, but today was maybe the day the Caley Jags believed in themselves. Boom! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Inverness CT 17 10 4 3 25 12 34 2. Raith Rovers 17 9 6 2 27 16 33 3. Arbroath 17 8 7 2 28 13 31 4. Kilmarnock 17 9 2 6 20 11 29 5. Partick Thistle 17 8 4 5 29 16 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 17 4 5 8 15 30 17 7. Ayr United 17 3 6 8 16 29 15 8. Dunfermline 17 2 8 7 18 28 14 9. Q.O.S. 17 3 5 9 16 26 14 10. Morton 17 2 7 8 15 28 13 Inverness were without injured captain Sean Welsh and fellow midfielder Roddy MacGregor, but Aaron Doran made the starting XI and Manny Duku and Wallace Duffy were on the bench. Morton went with the same again, buoyed by the cup success in midweek. As the scoreline suggests, this was a bit of a procession. Inverness were much more energised than the cup encounters and went about their business with an air of authority. Crisp passing and movement were the order of the day as we we tore Morton a new one before the break. The opener was maybe fortuitous, a Doran deep cross coming back off the woodwork and bouncing off a flying Jack Hamilton before bouncing into the net. Own goal has been mentioned, but you have to be in it to win it and I'm giving it to Doran. Number two saw Tom Walsh head into the box to feed Billy Mckay who's shot was blocked by the keeper, but Shane Sutherland followed up to stroke the ball into the net. Billy notched the third as he cut inside the box after a great ball from Robbie Deas. Stepped inside his marker on the right foot then rolled the ball left footed into the net off the post for 3-0 before the break. Time for Ugwu to net a contentious penalty to offer Ton some hope for the second half. However, Reece McAlear benefitted from a sloppy clearance and he bludgeoned a shot into the roof of the net from twenty-five yards to restore our three goal advantage. His first senior goal, and how! The wind was well and truly out of the Morton sails by now and the one way traffic continued. A long ball forward was headed on by Shane. He picked up the loose ball himself, rode a tackle and slotted into the net for number five. The sixth and final goal was scored by Lewis Jamieson after he waltzed into the box before drilling low across the keeper. No more than Inverness deserved as some of the interplay was as dazzling as Morton were dire. CTO MotM voters have Aaron Doran as first choice followed closely by Reece McAlear and Scott Allardice. Tremendous performances all over the park from those in pink. Not easy to single anyone out as they all excelled. This performance was far removed from the drab offerings of the Scottish Cup games and no more than Inverness deserved. Maybe fortune favoured us with the opening goal as Doran's deep cross seemed to come off the post, then the keeper before finding the net. However there was nothing fortunate about the rest as we tore Morton a new one. Pick of the goals came from Reece McAlear. What a thunderous strike to open your account, and Lewis Jamieson who danced his way into the box before drilling home. Great stuff, that'll teach them to put us into shipping containers. Telt! Six of the best! A smiling Dodds Date: 11/12/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1192 Referee: John Beaton Morton: 1 Manager: Derek Anderson (interim manager) Lineup: Hamilton; Strapp, Lithgow, Lyon (Easdale 81), Hynes, Russell, Oksanen, Muirhead (McGregor 68), Oliver, Reilly (Blues 56), Ugwu Subs (not used): Ledger, Jacobs, Blues, McGrattan, King Scorers: Ugwu (45+1 pen) Booked: Oskanen (17) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 6 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran (Harper 58), McAlear, Allardice, Walsh, Sutherland, B Mckay (Duku 66), (Jamieson 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, McDonald Scorers: Doran (15), Sutherland (33), Mckay (43), McAlear (51), Sutherland (60), Jamieson (78) Booked: Carson (45) Sent Off: none a

Cup of woe Morton took a first half lead just before the break when Robbie Muirhead shot home from outside the box into the bottom corner. Parity was restored a minute into the second half when a Doran free kick ended in the net, possibly aided by the head of Danny Devine or a Morton body. No further scoring sent the game to a penalty shoot-out. Plenty of good penalties on show and with Devine failing to score, Oliver put away the decisive ninth penalty to win the tie. That's our third penalty shoot-out failure this season; meh! Doran 1 - Reilly 1 McAlear 2 - Lyon 2 Allardice 3 - Ugwu 3 Jamieson 4 - Muirhead 4 Devine 4 - Oliver 5 Morton through 5-4 to face Motherwell. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ This was the first of a double header against the 'Ton as we play them again on Saturday in the Championship. No doubt that is more important for both clubs, especially given our good result against Killie, and for different reasons given Morton's result against Ayr in the bottom half of the table, but a wee Cup run always cheers up the fans. With Gus MacPherson being relieved of his duties, the team will be led in the interim by Head of Youth Academy, Derek Anderson, supported by Assistant Manager Andy Millen and Reserve Team Coach, John Sutton. Storm Barra was beginning to kick in and travel conditions were getting chaotic throughout the day with the threat of a call-off lingering like a bad smell. Despite this, make it we did to Cappielow with an unchanged side and Manny Duku made the bench. Unfortunately for us, we failed to capitalise on another game that we largely dominated. Other than the goals, Shane Sutherland came close with a header but Hamilton pulled off an instinctive save from 5 yards to deny Caley Jags. Highlights from Scottish Cup facebook page Date: 07/12/2021 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 700 Referee: David Dickinson Morton: 1 Manager: Derek Anderson (Interim manager) Lineup: Hamilton; Strapp, Lithgow, Lyon, Hynes, Russell, Oksanen, Muirhead, Oliver, Reilly, Ugwu Subs (not used): Bysouth; Ledger, Jacobs, Blues, McGrattan, Easdale, McGregor, King Scorers: Muirhead (42) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran, Welsh (Walsh 30), Allardice, MacGregor (McAlear 61), Sutherland, Mckay (Jamieson 72) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, McDonald, Duku Scorers: Devine(47) Booked: Broadfoot (76) Sent Off: none a

Back to the Championship    As if we have not played Morton often enough over the last few weeks we have to play them again on Saturday, the fourth meeting already this season. However, this is infinitely more important than the last couple of 1-1 draws. It's back to the Championship on Saturday and a chance to atone for dropping out of the Scottish Cup to Morton after a penalty shoot-out defeat.  Tuesday's replay ended level after ninety minutes with Muirhead and Devine scoring within the ninety minutes. However, after Danny saw his spot kick saved, Gary Oliver netted his to send Morton through to face Motherwell in the next round and left Inverness to concentrate solely on the Championship. That game was the result of a previous draw in Inverness, Mckay and Reilly sending the tie to a replay. The first meeting this season was a Championship encounter at the Caledonian Stadium with Inverness getting the better of a stubborn Morton, easing to a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Billy Mckay and Mi***** Ga*****. Match-Ticket-Bus-Streaming-Info Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 12 4 2 46 16 +30 Away 15 8 3 4 28 18 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 33 20 7 6 74 34 +40   Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Inverness CT 16 9 4 3 19 11 31 2. Raith Rovers 16 8 6 2 26 16 30 3. Kilmarnock 16 9 2 5 20 10 29 4. Partick Thistle 16 8 4 4 29 14 28 5. Arbroath 16 7 7 2 26 13 28 6. Hamilton Ac. 16 4 4 8 14 29 16 7. Ayr United 16 3 5 8 15 28 14 8. Morton 16 2 7 7 14 22 13 9. Dunfermline 16 2 7 7 15 25 13 10. Q.O.S. 16 3 4 9 13 23 13 As the table shows, we are at opposite ends, but based on the cup games there's little to choose between the sides. Thanks to results after our 1-0 win over Killie on the Friday night, we now sit on top of the pile with some interesting encounters coming up this weekend. Friday 10th December Ayr United v Hamilton Saturday 11th December Dunfermline v Queens Partick Thistle v Arbroath Raith Rovers v Killie fc They say familiarity breeds contempt, it also affords the opportunity for both clubs to cancel each other out. That's what has happened over the last couple of games against Morton and it's going to take a bit of inventive creativity to unlock either defence, or perish the thought, a blunder in defence. Whatever the case, let's hope for a bit more energy across the pitch.  And hopefully Morton have brought the away changing room up to standard after Billy Dodds made public his concern over the state of them in his condemnation of their fit for purpose suitability. Latest Team News Sean Welsh will be out for a couple of weeks after coming off early in the Cup replay, so there's a change already. Aaron Doran will possibly miss out as he has been struggling to recover. Manny Duku was on the bench on Tuesday, maybe we will see a return of the awkward gangly style that confuses him as much as the defenders.    

Replay It's a Scottish Cup replay at Cappielow on Tuesday night as Inverness take on Morton to see who travels to Motherwell in the next round. The first game ended at 1-1 in the Highlands with strikes from Billy Mckay and Gavin Reilly taking the game to a replay, probably something neither club will relish. Since then an Inverness XI went out of the Challenge Cup to Raith Rovers on penalties. That was largely a squad littered with fringe players ahead of the big fish which was played out on Friday night. That game went well when Sean Welsh scored a screamer as Inverness beat Kilmarnock in a televised game to go to the top of the table. Whilst Inverness were slinking out of the Challenge Cup, Morton were also departing that competition as they went down 2-1 to Queen of the South at Palmerston. On Saturday, Morton drew 2-2 with Ayr United with Reilly and Oksanen scoring to tie the game. League form indicates that Inverness should be favourites to go into the next round, but on the evidence of the original tie, Morton were the ones forcing the pace of the game and deserved a second bite at the cherry. This is the first of a double header against the 'Ton as we play them again on Saturday in the Championship. That is surely more important for both clubs, especially given our good result against Killie, and for different reasons given Morton's result against Ayr in the bottom half of the table. MATCH INFO & TV STREAMING Latest Team News Reading between the lines, I think it's fair to say that Mr Gardyne has probably left the building. His footballing skills will be missed, but his team bonding efforts were uncalled for and disruptive. Would be good if we could draw a line under this and a statement from the club would be appreciated. Hopefully we have no more niggles to worry about although Manny Duku and Wallace Duffy were not in the squad for the Killie game although Duku has returned to training. However, will we be putting all our eggs in one basket, or will we put our fingers in more than one pie. That my friends is the burning question. Morton; well we should not be too concerned by what they do, but what we do ourselves, so let's not get too hung up about them. Here's their last starting XI v Ayr United: Hamilton; Strapp, McEntee, Ledger, Hynes, Russell, Oksanen, Blues, Muirhead, Reilly, Ugwu However, one glaring change from the first game is that Gus McPherson has been removed. Official Statement from Greenock Morton: The club can today confirm that following Saturday’s news of Gus MacPherson being relieved of his duties, the team will be led in the interim by Head of Youth Academy, Derek Anderson, supported by Assistant Manager Andy Millen and Reserve Team Coach, John Sutton. Or if you prefer it in Pink!

Cup Tie It's off to Cappielow in midweek for a cup replay on Tuesday 7th December after these two sides served up a 1-1 draw at the Caledonian Stadium. Billy Mckay opened the scoring in the twelfth minute after what appeared to be a gift from keeper Hamilton, and as is our current trend we failed to capitalise on our good fortune and fell away in the second half which allowed Morton to snatch a deserved late equaliser after we returned the compliment and Gavin Reilly took the game to a replay. To be brutally honest, simply not good enough, too many players not producing the goods. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This was the third Scottish Cup clash between these sides with Morton looking for their first cup win over Inverness. The Caley Jags won the previous games 5-1 and 4-0. Poles apart in the Championship, but the Cup is a different kettle of fish. Adding more fuel to the fire, Michael Gardyne was missing, presumably having left the building? David Carson was at right back with wishy washy Welsh and Walsh on the bench. The hosts started the game in spritely fashion with Reece McAlear blazing a 15 yard volley over the bar from a corner kick. Moments later, Kirk Broadfoot made a hash of clearing the ball and when it was passed into the middle, Gary Oliver would have scored but for a 'Devine' intervention as the ball deflected off Danny and onto the post with Ridgers stranded. Aaron Doran shot from distance but it was plucked out of the air by Jack Hamilton with ease and Shane Sutherland saw a close range header clawed away by Hamilton with an instinctive save before McAlear again had another effort deflected just wide of the post by a defender. Therefore it was no surprise when Billy Mckay poached a goal from the fingertips of the keeper as he tried to gather a header back into the box from Sutherland. Could we put the tie to bed? Well, the answer was no, as has been a familiar trait of late. Ridgers blocked Ugwu on the right side of his six yard box as the big forward tried to shoot twenty minutes into the half and five minutes later he drilled a shot over the bar from the inside right position with Ridgers watching closely. Four minutes before the break a massive scrambulation in the Inverness box saw the ball blocked about half a dozen times before it was hoofed clear much to the relief of the North Stand. McAlear had at least two of these with possibly Devine again, Deas and pick any one from ten other bodies who threw themselves in front of the ball to keep Morton out as the interval neared. Almost hidden in the midden was another fluffed Broadfoot clearance. Strewth, wtf is going on. HALF TIME: 1-0 The start of the second half saw more bodies getting in the way of Morton scoring as we thwarted them again and again, the pressure easing when Reece Lyon curled his shot over from the edge of the box. Sutherland forced Hamilton into a decent, but relatively comfortable save as he tipped his header over the bar and a couple of minutes later Devine headed wide as we looked for a second goal. Ugwu dragged a shot wide when he forged his way towards the box as the visitors responded. After 81 minutes the visitors forced a replay as Broadfoot completed his hat-trick of blunders when he was muscled off a long clearance from Hamilton by Gavin Reilly who strode forward to drill the ball behind Ridgers. Foul was the obvious decision, apart from referee Colin Steven. Anyway, Broadfoot had been pushing his luck all afternoon and was found wanting when it really mattered. FULL TIME:1-1 Oh dear, another occasion where we let the lead slip from our grasp compounded by our own inability to put the ball into the net. Billy Mckay was probably the pick of the Inverness players with keeper Jack Hamilton doing his job sufficiently for the visitors. Looks like the Gardyne issue has been resolved with Carson at right back and Gardyne not in the building... the silence from the club is deafening. The Goals Full Highlights from ICTV Sort it Billy Date: 27/11/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 790 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran, Allardice, McAlear (Welsh 71), McGregor (Walsh 70), Sutherland, B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Harper, Jamieson, McDonald, Duku, Scorers: B Mckay (12) Booked: none Sent Off: none Morton: 1 Manager: Gus MacPherson Lineup: Hamilton; Ledger, McEntee, Lithgow, Strapp, Oliver, Blues (Reilly 75), McGrattan (King 68), Oksanen, Ugwu, Lyon, Subs (not used): Bysouth; Jacobs, Muirhead, Russell, Hynes, Easdale, Allan Scorers: Reilly (81) Booked: McGrattan (63) Sent Off: none a

Cup Action Its a break from the rigours of the Championship this weekend as Morton head North looking to progress in the Scottish Cup. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm and for those unable to get to the Caledonian Stadium, ICTV will be streaming the match for a tenner. Not a big change for either side though as these two Championship sides clash in the 3rd round. They have met in the Scottish Cup twice before with Inverness dishing out heavy defeats of 4-0 and 5-1. In other knockout competitions there has been two meetings with the Caley Jags winning them both. MATCH INFO & TICKETS LIVE STREAMING £10 OFFICIAL PREVIEW Venue Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 12 3 2 45 15 +30 Away 14 8 2 4 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 31 20 5 6 72 32 +40 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) In this season's encounter Inverness won 2-0 recently on league duty and will play Morton away in another couple of weeks at Cappielow. We have a great overall record against Morton with only two defeats in seventeen games, however, that defeat came as recently as March of this year and here is our match overview. Abysmal, a new low! A stormy evening saw no goals at the break. Todorov came closest when he hit the post just before the interval. Could it get worse? The answer was yes when Aidan Nesbitt drilled a low shot into the net from the edge of the box with Inverness unable to make any headway. With twenty minutes left you could see the game slowly drifting away from the hosts. Sutherland hit the woodwork again and Todorov's follow up 'goal' was ruled out. Last time out Inverness dominated Queen of the South and came away from Palmerston with all three points thanks to a Billy Mckay brace in a 2-1 win. That was our first win in six games, so nothing to crow about really, but the performance was much easier on the eye than recent offerings. Morton went down 2-1 at Starks Park after taking the lead through Ledger in the fifth minute but Raith took the points as Morton ended the game with ten men when Lithgow was sent off with 15 minutes remaining. Morton remain in the bottom two after some indifferent performances. Latest Team News The mystery and intrigue surrounding our squad is coming to a head and our injury list has never been forthcoming. Look out for either Carson or Gardyne starting and hopefully our other 'niggles' will start clearing up soon. Sean Welsh, Tom Walsh, Wallace Duffy and Michael Gardyne were missing against Queen of the South but Shane Sutherland and Roddy MacGregor made a welcome return to the starting XI Here's Morton's squad from the 2-1 defeat at Starks Park last week where they ended the game with ten men after Lithgow was red carded. Dodds and Dan time

Caley Jags open up a gap Inverness extended their lead at the top of the Championship as the Pars got a late leveller against Killie. The hosts opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Billy Mckay with the credit for the assist going to Mark Ridgers from his quick goal kick. Inverness stepped up a gear after the interval and Michael Gardyne scored the second early in the second half as he crashed a loose ball in the box high into the net. That was enough to see off Morton who battled hard throughout but fell short. It could have been a different story had the visitors made more of their own opportunities. Five points clear after the first quarter: Who knew? The Goals Inverness were looking to bounce back after their miserable performance against whipping boys Hamilton Accies who were ransacked 6-1 by Partick Thistle last night. The Caley Jags were without David Carson due to a family bereavement and Cammy Harper who took a knock at Elgin last Saturday. That left us a tad short for defenders. Reece McAlear came into midfield with Scott Allardice deputising at right back with hat-trick hero Billy Mckay partnering Shane Sutherland up front. Manny Duku was on the bench. Despite their lowly league status, the visitors were looking sharp in the early stages and Thomas Allan danced down the left wing and sent a cross into the box which hit the outside junction of post and crossbar with Mark Ridgers keeping a close eye on the ball. Reece McAlear drove wide with the aid of a deflection after good set up play down the Inverness left, the ball spinning out wide for a corner. Slack play at the other end saw Morton get the ball into the box and two attempts were blocked by last ditch tackles, Devine doing brilliantly to stop Gavin Reilly's effort from going on target from ten yards. Let off for the hosts. When Kyle Jacobs header went wide from a Morton corner, Ridgers spotted Billy Mckay lurking around the centre circle. His hastily taken goal kicked bounced off a defenders head and Billy anticipated superbly to stride forward before notching his 71st goal for the Caley Jags as he placed the ball into the net with his left peg low across the keeper. Michael Gardyne was instrumental in offering Mckay another shooting opportunity on the half hour but Billy dragged his shot wide of the goal. Shortly before the interval, Jimmy Knowles shot across the face of the goal after good build up play from the Ton across the park. Moments later Ridgers dealt with another effort from Knowles. Just before the whistle, a clash of heads led to an extended tea break as Michael Gardyne came back out after receiving treatment. Thomas Allan was not so fortunate and was replaced by Mark Russell. Half Time: 1-0 Despite his injured head being plastered over, he was alert enough to get onto the loose ball after Roddy MacGregor and Mckay were blocked inside the box, Michael stepping onto the ball to smash home the second goal and his fourth in four games. McAlear saw an effort saved before substitute Manny Duku should have opened his Championship account. He was fed through on the left side of goal by Gardyne, but caught the keepers legs with his angled shot which ran out for a corner. Likewise, Morton should have scored after a long range shot by Reece Lyon was pushed out by Ridgers, but the follow up header from Gary Oliver was knocked wide. Lewis Jamieson shot wide as Inverness kept the visitors options down to a minimum and by the end of the game it was another three points in the bag without over exerting ourselves. Morton did have their moments and should have scored, but thems the breaks. MotM performances from Michael Gardyne and Roddy MacGregor and another good display at the back from Danny Devine. From CTO Robert A deserved win, but on several occasions at 0-0 and 1-0 we did our best to let Morton get into the game by poor passing and some comic book defending. Ridgers’ kicking was not to his usual standards, but the one that counted was great vision and very accurate to set Mckay up for a cool finish into the corner. Gardyne pounced for the second after Mckay could have scored in the same move. We could, and possibly should, have got more against a poor defence, with Jamieson coming closest. CTO Doofers Dad The recent games against the bottom 3 have shown there are no easy games in this division, yet we are 5 points clear at the top. We must be doing something right. This season we seem to be managing to win games that are pretty finely balanced. The difference seems to be that the team are all working really hard for each other and when we have those "heart in the mouth" moments there is a real collective effort to clear the danger. Pressing hard and winning the ball back then gives us more chance of creating opportunities up front. Maintaining the level of intensity and the team spirit will be essential if we are going keep the challenge for promotion going. Doddsy's a Happy Bunny Match Highlights from ICTV Date: 16/10/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1900 Referee: Mike Roncone Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Allardice, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Gardyne, Welsh, McAlear (Doran 61), MacGregor, Sutherland (Duku 58), B Mckay (Jamieson 77) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, McDonald, Walsh Scorers: B Mckay (20), Gardyne (49) Booked: Allardice (36) MacGregor (76), Duku (90) Sent Off: none Morton: 0 Manager: Gus MacPherson Lineup: Hamilton; McEntee, Lithgow, Strapp, Blues, Jacobs, Oksanen, Allan (Russell 45), Oliver, Knowles (Muirhead 62), Reilly (Lyon 69) Subs (not used): King, Ledger, McLean, McGrattan Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Championship Resumes After the international break it's back to the Championship on Saturday as Morton come to the Caledonian Stadium looking to lift themselves up the table and clear of the bottom places. The game kicks-off at 3:00pm with Inverness hoping to put the defeat to Hamilton behind them. Head 2 Head v Morton Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 16 11 3 2 43 15 +28 Away 14 8 2 4 27 17 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 30 19 5 6 70 32 +38 First Competitive Meeting Sep 4th, 1999 League (H) 1 - 1 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Apr 6th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 4 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 4 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 5 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) Biggest Victories Aug 30th, 2019 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Nov 12th, 1999 League (A) 1 - 5 Highest Attendance Oct 31st, 2009 League (H) 3,021 Highest Home Attendance Oct 31st, 2009 League (H) 3,021 Here's the table ahead of tonight's TV game between Hamilton and Partick Thistle where the Jags routed Accies 1-6. Other fixtures tomorrow Ayr United v Queen of the South Dunfermline v Kilmarnock Raith Rovers v Arbroath Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 8 6 1 1 10 4 6 19 2. Kilmarnock 8 5 1 2 9 4 5 16 3. Arbroath 8 4 3 1 16 6 10 15 4. Raith Rovers 8 4 2 2 14 10 4 14 5. Partick Thistle 8 4 0 4 17 13 4 12 6. Queen of the South 8 3 0 5 9 12 -3 9 7. Ayr United 8 2 2 4 7 12 -5 8 8. Hamilton Academical 8 2 2 4 8 15 -7 8 9. Morton 8 1 3 4 7 12 -5 6 10. Dunfermline 8 0 4 4 4 13 -9 4 There's a big swing towards Inverness in these fixtures. Only two defeats at home versus Morton out of sixteen encounters. One of those was as recent as last season though, when we went down to the only goal of the game at the Caledonian Stadium. Aiden Nesbitt was the scorer of the goal and that result put Inverness second bottom of the table in March. Our last game was a rousing 4-2 Challenge Cup win at Borough Briggs where a Billy Mckay hat-trick saw us overcome a two goal deficit to go into the next round where we will play Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium at the end of November. Lewis Jamieson scored the fourth goal to round off the comeback. Arbroath scored a late goal to deny Morton all three points a couple of weeks ago in a Championship encounter. That would have been a decent result against team of the month Arbroath. Gary Oliver and Cameron Blues scored the goals for the Ton. However Michael McKenna's 87th minute penalty earned the Smokies a point. Last time out Morton edged past Montrose in the Challenge Cup on penalties (4-2) after a goalless draw. Latest Team News According to the Official Preview we still have a number of players carrying knocks. Probably David Carson and with Danny Devine and Cammy Harper being subbed early at Elgin last week then they might require resting for a bit longer, but Billy Dodds likes to keep his injury situation close to his chest so we will have to wait until just after 2:00pm tomorrow to find out Here's Roddy

HOT TODDY SCORES A PEACH This crucial week kicked off at Cappielow and despite the condition of the pitch Inverness managed to score twice in the first half. We benefitted from what looked like an infringement for a pass back seven minutes before the break. Scott Allardice lashed the ball high into the net after much confusion and two minutes later Nikolay Todorov turned in the box to lash the ball into the net after some defensive bloopers. Two up at the break but the next goal could be important and it was Muirhead that gave Morton some hope. However Todorov superbly volleyed home after chesting down the ball to restore our two goal cushion and Danny Mackay scored a tremendous fourth with a curling shot from the edge of the box. Back up to fourth for Inverness with Dundee also winning at Ayr. After the Scottish Cup heroics at Dingwall we went to Cappielow on a more serious mission, to capture three points in our bid for a play-off slot. Morton find themselves in desperate need of points at the other end of the table and something was going to give. Three league defeats on the trot for Morton, three league wins on the trot for Inverness, but Morton were the last side to beat Inverness. Gus MacPherson made four changes from the side that put East Fife out of the cup. In come Luca Colville, Steven McGinn, Gary Oliver and Robbie Muirhead. For Neil McCann, Wallace Duffy and James Keatings disappear without trace as he goes with the same line-up that put County out of the cup. Morton kicked off on a dry but chilly night in Greenock with Inverness playing in their pink away strip with a change before a ball was kicked as Roddy MacGregor replaced Sean Welsh in the starting XI. It was a scrappy opening to the game on a pitch that has seen better days after a testing winter. First opportunity to make a keeper work fell to Todorov from a Scott Allan free kick but it was headed well wide. Ridgers made a comfortable save fifteen minutes in but the pitch was making passing difficult. He made another save a couple of minutes later from a close range header pushing it out for a corner as Morton threatened. However, it was brutal stuff akin to a welfare league match at the Bught Park. Claims for a penalty were dismissed as an Inverness player went down in the box as the ball bobbled around. Storey ballooned a bouncing ball well over the bar from a decent position on the left side of the box as the surface dictated the pace of the game. Friday's goal hero Danny Mackay was fed through on goal by Scott Allan but his initial shot was weak and McAdams blocked it; when the rebound came back to him he lifted it over the bar from close range. Great opportunity missed. Morton then forced a couple of corners that came to nothing although Aidan Nesbitt was looking dangerous wide on the right. Mystery moment in the Morton box soon after as referee Reid picked up the cleared ball and carried it thirty yards back into the hosts penalty box via the linesman. Rumour has it it may have been a pass-back spotted by the line judge. Unperturbed Scott Allan touched it to Scott Allardice and he ended up lashing the ball high into the net from eight yards. Two minutes later another Scott Allan free kick caused havoc in the Morton box and when the ball was headed back in by Daniel Mackay and Colville fresh aired it, Nikolay Todorov swivelled and opened up his body before hammering it into the net from around 15 yards, the keeper rooted to the spot. Half Time: 0-2 The second half saw no changes and it was only two minutes in when Mark Ridgers had to make a crucial block when McGinty burst into the left side of the box. The resultant corner was perilously close to the goal line as well as Morton's urgency looked to get them a foothold in the game. Morton were pressing the Inverness midfield better in this half and the visitors were living dangerously at times as they forced a number of corners. It was little surprise when Morton pulled a goal back on the hour when Robbie Muirhead drilled a loose ball into the net from twelve yards, swiftly followed by two attacking substitutes with scorer Muirhead going off. Shane Sutherland replaced Scott Allan with twenty minutes left as we became increasingly desperate as our composure deserted us momentarily. He made an immediate impact after collecting the ball on the right before fighting a great ball into the box. Todorov scored a goal of the season contender as he chested the ball down from high and volleyed it into the net on the turn from fifteen yards before the ball hit the deck, the ball flashing high past the astounded keeper. What a fekkin strike from a hot Toddy! Danny Mackay got in on the act as he picked up another great ball from Sutherland before curling a beauty into the top of the net from the edge of the box. Another beauty. James Vincent was denied a fifth as McAdams did well to block the substitutes effort from inside the box and Toddy looked for his hat-trick diving low to try and head a cross goalwards. Full Time:1-4 The game was over as a contest and the points were heading North long before the final whistle with Morton lucky not to concede more. Great win for Inverness who keep the pressure on the top six and jump back up to fourth, but Morton are deep in trouble at the bottom. Dundee beat Ayr 3-0 on the night Match reaction and highlights to follow Date: 06/04/2021 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 0000 Referee: Steven Reid Morton FC: 1 Manager: Gus MacPherson Lineup: McAdams, Ledger (Orsi 62), McLean, McGinty, McGinn, Strapp, Colville, Hynes, Nisbett, Oliver (McGuffie 72), Muirhead (Sterling 63) Subs (not used): Fjortoft, Jacobs, Blues, Lyon Scorers: Muirhead (61) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, B Mackay, Devine, Deas, D Mackay (Harper 81), Allardice, Allan (Sutherland 69), MacGregor, Storey (Vincent 72), Todorov Subs (not used): C Mackay; Lyall, Welsh, McHattie Scorers: Allardice (38), Todorov (40, 71), D Mackay (81) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Abysmal, a new low! A stormy evening saw no goals at the break. Todorov came closest when he hit the post just before the interval. Could it get worse? The answer was yes when Aidan Nesbitt drilled a low shot into the net from the edge of the box with Inverness unable to make any headway. With twenty minutes left you could see the game slowly drifting away from the hosts. Sutherland hit the woodwork again and Todorov's follow up 'goal' was ruled out. Morton came North on the back of a poor run of form to meet a side with similar problems, hence both sides are languishing perilously close to the foot of the league. Something was going to give. Neil McCann was still looking for his first win in the Caley Jags dugout in this his fourth game in temporary control. He was without Miles Storey and Cameron Harper with Kevin McHattie making the bench alongside Aaron Doran. No sign of Storey or Lewis Toshney. The visitors were without defender Lewis Strapp, Robbie Muirhead and striker Kalvin Orsi. Anton McElhone shook his squad around but somewhat surprisingly Aidan Nesbitt was in the starting XI. A bitterly cold night saw the sides emerge to a stiff breeze with Morton shooting towards the Kessock Bridge end. And they were first to probe into the box when Sterling slipped past Brad Mckay but the defence mopped up. Sterling's pace looks like it will cause problems and he forced Mark Ridgers into a comfortable save in the early exchanges. A tentative opening quarter to the game saw the keepers underworked at either end of the park. Petty fouls and misplaced passes were the order of the day but Inverness were fortunate when Morton broke on the left but Sterling's header was glanced wide as the rain started to fall. Poor decision making saw most moves break down in the final third as the hosts probed for an opening with half an hour gone. The weather was not helping but it was easy to see how both sides were struggling in a stop start game. Ten minutes before the break a long ball forward by Sutherland found Roddy Macgregor chasing into the box and McAdams was brought into action at last as he saved Roddy's low shot from the right side of the box. Poor keeper must have been frozen prior to that. Four minutes before the break Nikolay Todorov hit the top of the post from close range at the far side of the box after determined play by Keatings created an opening for the big striker who got his shot away at the second attempt. The same player earned a yellow just before the interval when a long ball into the box appeared to be handled by Toddy. As it was the ball bounced over the bar and Toddy was booked. Half Time: 0-0 The stiff breeze had grown into a blustery swirling mini storm with relentless driving rain as the teams came out for the second half. Ridgers was early into action as Nesbitt drilled a low shot goalwards after good work by Sterling but the keeper saved comfortably. Aaron Doran made a welcome return to match action after injury as he replaced Keatings ten minutes into the second half. The much maligned Aidan Nesbitt opened the scoring with a low shot from a similar position to his effort five minutes earlier, the ball drilled low behind Ridgers and against the run of play the visitors were ahead with the Caley Jags ball watching. Wallace Duffy forced a corner with a good burst down the right but it came to nothing, as did most of our feeble efforts. In truth we were struggling badly against a mediocre Morton side who almost doubled their advantage from a corner, but the ball was headed just over with Ridgers spectating. Allardice picked up his sixth booking of the season as we entered the final ten minutes and Deas followed him into the book. As desperation set in Sutherland rifled a low shot straight at the keeper from twenty yards with the game slipping away from us. We almost snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat as Sutherland cracked the ball off the bar and when Toddy followed up and headed into the net his 'goal was ruled offside. Meh! Full Time: 0-1 What a shitfest of a game and result. Absolutely hapless and at the moment we are deserving everything we are getting, and that is zilch. We really look jaded. Forget looking up the table, we need to concentrate on the bottom. This is pretty much a low point after 26 years of giving it a go More reaction to follow.... Date: 09/03/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: Gavin Ross Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Devine, Deas, MacGregor, Carson (D Mackay 65), Allardice, Keatings (Doran 53), Sutherland, Todorov Subs (not used): Mackay; Nicolson, McHattie, Fyffe, Welsh Scorers: none Booked: B Mckay(38), Todorov (45+1), Carson (60) Allardice (81), Deas (83) Sent Off: none Morton: 1 Manager: Anton McElhone (interim) Lineup: McAdams; Ledger, Fjørtoft, McLean, McGinty, Jacobs, McGuffie, Colville (Omar 89), Lyon (Blues 84), Nesbitt (Salkeld 89), Sterling Subs (not used): Millar, Oliver, Johnson, Hynes Scorers: Nesbitt (56) Booked: Colville (27) Sent Off: none a