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Absolutely Buffered! After a sloppy opening from the visitors who appeared bus-lagged, Queens opened the scoring through Josh Todd who took advantage of a poor defensive clearance to finish tidily. Logan Chalmers did likewise after Queens gave away the ball in midfield, his finish was stunning. Queens went back in front before the break, goal was scored by buffering. A great finish by East I am told. Half Time 2-1 and there was no further scoring after the break although a few chances went abegging at both ends. Our aim was to get enough points to clinch third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. We failed to achieve that, on to the next game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kirk Broadfoot was rested completely and Billy Mckay was on the bench with Joe Hardy starting. Queens had a few changes from the team that got pumped by Arbroath, although the result flattered Arbroath somewhat. An early scramble in the visitors box after a corner ended with the ball being blocked but a minute later Queens took an early lead after a slack clearance from Shane Sutherland was fed forward and stroked into the net by Josh Todd after he waltzed into the box in the sixth minute. A really sloppy start to this game from the visitors. Fortunately, Queens returned the favour in the seventeenth minute when Logan Chalmers got the ball in midfield, but wide on the left. He strode forward and his left peg did the job once more from distance with another stunning strike. Unfortunately for me, and most others, the stream from Palmerston was as reliable as both defences tonight and buffering was proving to be more irritating than Michael Gardyne. Buffering put Queens back in front, Euan East, (I am told), with a shot into the top corner. Sean Welsh had a shot saved before the break as we tried to respond but even the interval was plagued by buffering. Get yourselves down a division with this Mickey Mouse show. HALF TIME: 2-1 A second half full of buffering and misplaced passes saw Sean Welsh take a knock ten minutes in after being hit by the buffers. Todd shot over as the game continued on the park. It's maybe just as well we couldn't witness most of this as it appears we have been rank rotten so far against the team heading for league one. Ten minutes left and we fired a free kick high over, one wonders why the man with the magic left peg never took it. Moments later he went really close with a curling effort that just cleared the corner of the bar. Duffy drilled one wide after a good run forward and Billy Mckay trundled a ten yard effort towards goal which Rae saved easily. Danny Devine ended the game with a cut on his head after averting a goal and ending up inside the net off the post, and Innes Cameron missed a one on one which would have wrapped up the points for Queens. Apparently they did win anyway as the live stream gave up the ghost completely in injury time. Messy stuff all round on a frustrating night on and off the pitch. FULL TIME: 2-1 Match reaction to follow... Highlights 😂 Date: 19/04/2022 Venue: Palmerston, Dumfries Attendance: 0631 Referee: Mathew MacDermid Queen of the South: 2 Manager: Willie Gibson (caretaker) Lineup: Rae; Gibson, O'Connor, East, Cooper, Todd, McGrory (Gordon 78), Cochrane, Connelly, Cameron (Paton 84), Soares Junior Subs (not used): Cowie; Joseph, Roy, Debayo, McKechnie, Nditi, Folarin Scorers: Todd (6), East (40) Booked: Connelly (51), Cameron (61) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Devine, Deas (Harper 63), Doran (Walsh 73), Welsh (MacGregor 77), McAlear, Chalmers, Sutherland (Samuels 63), Hardy (Mckay 63) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Hyde Scorers: Chalmers (17) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Qualified We make the long journey to Dumfries on Tuesday night safe in the knowledge that we have qualified for a play-off place at the top end of the table. Unfortunately for Queen of the South they are all but relegated, and only three wins from their final three games can offer them some hope of a miracle that will save them from the drop. Tuesday night at 7:45pm is the scheduled start for this re-arranged fixture. Our goal will be to get enough points to remain in third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING INFO NO SUPPORTERS BUS TO DUMFRIES DUE TO COVID! Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 3 6 38 26 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 20 10 10 71 46 +25 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Queens 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The stats are heavily on our side although over the last five meetings queens have faired slightly better with a win and two draws. Last five Championship games Queens: LLLLL ICT FC: WWWDW CTO Report 25th Sept: Gardyne volleys us to the top... 2-1Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Report 19th Nov: He scores when he wants... 1-2The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. CTO Report 15th Jan: Comedy of Errors: 2-2 Inverness once more failed to take advantage of the given situation by producing another abject display at home against a club staring at relegation. This time it was Queen of the South that showed up our lack of quality and Lee Connelly scored the opener in the first half with Willie Collum waiving away appeals for offside. Same old same old from Inverness in a dire first half. We looked to have got out of jail when the Queens defenders made a hash of clearing a long kick out from Mark Ridgers and Billy Mckay accepted the comical defending to prod the ball home. If ever a man needed a goal it was Tom Walsh who has been totally ineffective this season, but score he did after being sent into the box by Mckay before drilling the ball behind Josh Rae. Phew we all thought, thank feck for that! Alas we shot ourselves in the foot, or more accurately David Carson shot us in the foot as he teed up substitute Ally Roy who had only been on the park for one minute. Surprisingly we actually jumped back into second place thanks to other results, but it's a complete mystery how we have done this given the dross we are subject to at the moment. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Queen of the South v Inverness CT - Tuesday Night 7:45pm 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 33 14 11 8 47 32 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. 33 6 8 19 31 51 26 Friday Night 7:45pm could decide who gets promoted ***Killie v Arbroath*** Last Time Out Inverness secured a play-off place with a deserved 2-1 win over a disappointing Kilmarnock on Friday night. Killie had taken the lead through Ash Taylor with a deft finish from a Kirk Broadfoot assist, after he miscued a header. Billy Mckay levelled with fifteen minutes to go and Logan Chalmers completed the comeback with a clinical finish; a low drive from 10 yards, his fourth goal in four games. That's some left peg lad. Queens plunged themselves perilously close to relegation when they were crushed 5-1 at Palmerston after having taken an early lead through Ally Roy. Arbroath overturned that before half time before running away with the game. The game before that Queens were unfortunate to go down 1-0 to Partick Thistle after dominating the game. Difficult to tell which side was going for promotion and which was facing the drop. Let that be a warning to the Caley Jags. Latest Team News Fairly clean bill of health for Dodds with only Allardice out long term. Lee Connelly has scored in each of the three games against us this season. Goes without saying that we need to keep an eye on him. C'mon the Caley Jags, do this for Big Stew

He scores when he wants... The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross and almost completed his hat-trick but for the woodwork. However, Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. Fortunately Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who lost to Arbroath on Saturday. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Two of the worst performing sides in Scotland over the last half-dozen games were hoping to put on a show for a TV audience eagerly awaiting the outcome at both ends of the table. No wins in five (six for Queens) is relegation form in any language, what could possibly go right, or wrong... Shane Sutherland and Roddy MacGregor returned to the starting line-up tonight along with Reece McAlear, but Sean Welsh, Tom Walsh, Wallace Duffy and Michael Gardyne were missing, stoking the flames of the rumour fires even further. But fear not, Manny Duku was on the bench... Good opening spell for Inverness saw an early strike from Allardice charged down and in the sixth minute Billy Mckay beat the offside trap but his shot from the left side was beaten away with the rebound eluding the incoming attack. A tremendous block by David Carson denied the ever dangerous Innes Cameron inside the six yard box as Queens pushed forward twelve minutes in. Penalty to Inverness after 18 minutes when Roddy MacGregor was taken down in the box by an industrial challenge from Nditi. He scores when he wants from the spot buried the spot kick with ease to put the visitors ahead. Shane Sutherland brought a save out of keeper Brynn as he shot low to his left from distance and a superb interchange between Mckay and MacGregor almost resulted in a freebie but for a timely intervention by the defence. A wonderful glanced header from Devine off a corner narrowly escaped nestling in the bottom corner as Inverness dominated proceedings. On the break, Comrie forced Ridgers to shepherd the ball wide as he tried a snapshot from distance. When Allardice curled a shot wide the referee brought the half to a close with Inverness well on top. Half Time: 0-1 Former Inverness player Alex Cooper was a half time sub for Queens as Allan Johnston rejigged his side but it was Sutherland that blazed wildly over as the visitors looked for a second. It duly came when Carson angled a ball into the box and once again Billy Mckay did what he does best with a low angled header behind Brynn. Well worked goal and well deserved. A corner on the right was cut back to the eighteen yard line and Allardice was unlucky to head just wide with Mckay looking for scraps. Lee Connelly threw Queens a lifeline when he hammered a loose ball in the box high into the net. Game on. Three corners came and went for the visitors but Queens sensed something might happen at the other end as Inverness arses tightened. On a break forward Mckay almost grabbed his hat-trick but was denied by the crossbar with the rebound not falling kindly for Deas or Allardice. After Mckay was denied a free kick, Harry Cochrane brought out a super save from Ridgers when he tipped a dipping shot over the bar for a fruitless corner. Time ran out for Queens as Inverness saw out the game relatively comfortably to pick up a well deserved three points. Full Time: 1-2 Entertaining game in part with Inverness thoroughly deserving of all three points against a team still trying to find it's feet. First win in six games for the Caley Jags and good to see Billy Mckay on the scoresheet and he was unlucky not to get his hat-trick. MotM for many was Scott Allardice with special mention for Mckay and MacGregor and pleasing to see Carson and Sutherland getting more gametime after injury. The goals from last night He scores when he wants Dodds happier now Date: 19/11/2021 Venue: Palmerston, Dumfries Attendance: 1200 Referee: Don Robertson Queen of the South: 1 Manager: Allan Johnston Lineup: Brynn; McKay, Nditi, Debayo (Cochrane 62), Johnston, McGrory (Cooper 45), Gibson, Liddle (Roy 62), Paton, Connelly, Cameron Subs (not used): Rae; Todd, Joseph, Junior Scorers: Connelly(75) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Doran (Harper 88), McAlear, Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland, Mckay (Duku 90) Subs (not used): C Mackay; McDonald, Jamieson Scorers: Mckay (19, 50) Booked: Carson (55) Sent Off: none a

On the Telly...   Not sure if it's a good thing that we are on the telly on Friday night for all to see given our recent tepid performances, but we travel to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South at Palmerston for a 19:45 kick-off. Unfortunately any confidence we built up over the first nine games has dissipated in the Autumn mist and our form is now on a par with Queens who are second bottom of the table. Only Ayr united are worse over the last five games, and we failed to beat them as well. Our demise has been excruciatingly rapid over the last few weeks where we have gone from five points ahead to four points and two places behind leaders Kilmarnock in the space of five games where we have only managed to accumulate three points out of a possible fifteen with zero wins. This is certainly not the form of a team looking for at least a play-off place, unless of course it's at the wrong end of the table. OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH & TICKET INFO SUPPORTERS BUS 07462 218717   Venue - Head2Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 2 6 36 24 +12 Away 18 7 7 4 31 19 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 38 19 9 10 67 43 +24 First Competitive Meeting Dec 17th, 1994 Scottish Cup (Rd 1) (H) 1 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Sep 25th, 2021 League (Championship) (H) 2 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) Saturday Fixtures Dunfermline v Ayr United Kilmarnock v Arbroath Partick v Accies Rovers v  Morton     Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Kilmarnock 14 9 2 3 20 8 12 29 2. Raith Rovers 14 7 5 2 24 15 9 26 3. Inverness CT 14 7 4 3 16 10 6 25 4. Partick Thistle 14 7 3 4 28 14 14 24 5. Arbroath 14 6 6 2 25 13 12 24 6. Ayr United 14 3 4 7 13 23 -10 13 7. Hamilton Academical 14 3 4 7 13 28 -15 13 8. Morton 14 2 6 6 11 18 -7 12 9. Queen of the South 14 3 3 8 12 21 -9 12 10. Dunfermline 14 1 7 6 12 24 -12 10 The first meeting this season ended in a narrow 2-1 victory for Inverness in the Highlands after goals from Welsh and Gardyne overcame Queens who scored through Lee Connelly. Last time in Dumfries it ended all square at 1-1. Both sides have three draws and two defeats in their last five championship games. Latest Team News Must be a copy'n' paste on the official preview as that's all we get these days. “There’s always a couple of little niggles, I don’t want to give anything away with it being live on TV. We’ve given them right up until the last minute but apart from that I’ve got a healthy squad to choose from.”  What that probably means is that we have four or five missing, and the usual 'made of rice paper' players injured again and a four man bench. Good to see Carson back last week, let's hope he has no reaction from his first game in weeks and hopefully maybe some news about Shane Sutherland. QOTS (away v Arbroath 1-1): Brynn, McKay, Nditi, Debayo, Johnston, McGrory, Gibson, Liddle (Todd 78′), Paton, Connelly (Roy 58′), Cameron Same old story from Dodds <<yawn>>  

Dumfries Cruise Inverness deservedly opened the scoring through Kai Kennedy in the 20th minute, his first goal for the club as he cut in from the left and scored low behind Leighfield from a tight angle, the ball coming off the keepers leg. Roddy MacGregor scored a second with a tremendous finish five minutes after the break to give Inverness a cushion. Miles Storey secured the points with a vicious left footed shot into the bottom corner from fifteen yards. Great three points for Inverness and consolidation in the middle of the table. Queen of the South were the last side we played back in March before covid19 came along and changed our lives. On that occasion Inverness ran out 3-1 winners. What happened on the night... John Robertson had slightly more choice than normal as injuries began to heal thanks to the International break and League Cup second round. Still without Kevin McHattie and Lewis Toshney, but the rest are on the mend and back training although not all back to match fitness. Inverness looked pretty in pink as they took to the artificial surface at Palmerston. TV on and tuned to BBC Scotland, James Keatings was first to show with a header that he should have done better with, but he missed the target from a great position. He was involved in the next opportunity when Deas made a great run forward to get on the end of it, but his effort was blocked by Leighfield as he slid in and from that save, Sutherland dribbled across the box but he smothered his shot and it was cleared. McKee got an effort away as Queens got forward but it was deflected for a fruitless corner for the hosts. Twenty minutes gone and the brilliant Kai Kennedy opened the scoring for Inverness when he dribbled down the left, cut along the byeline and drove the ball low into the net from an acute angle. First goal for Inverness and what a goal! Kennedy and Keatings had shots that troubled the Queens defence as Inverness pressed for a second. Dobbie broke on the left a las Kennedy but Shields effort was just wide of the post from close range. Queens were on a roll just now and another couple of efforts went close. Attempts at both ends thereafter but both keepers were mainly untroubled before the interval although Dobbie was starting to pull a few strings. Deas and Devine were intercepting most Queens forays forward and at the interval it remained 1-0 for the visitors. Half Time 0-1 No changes at the break and five minutes into the half Roddy MacGregor doubled the lead for the visitors. A great ball forward was headed on by Shane Sutherland to Brad Mckay who cut the ball across the edge of the box where Roddy met it perfectly to side foot the ball into the top corner. What a tremendous goal for the Caley Jags and young Roddy. There were opportunities for both sides, but the keepers were underworked until Inverness stretched their muscles again. Storey passed up on a great opportunity when he broke clear down the left but was forced wider than he would have liked. His shot hit the side netting when a bit of composure would have seen him score but he would not be denied. Miles Storey scored a superb third to seal the points as he turned and slotted into the bottom corner with some venom ten minutes from time. No more than Inverness deserved after a long throw in by Brad Mckay found Miles in the box. Miles better as they say around here. On a night when the clubs saluted Diego Maradona, young Roddy MacGregor wrote a whole new book of skills and capped it all with a tremendous goal. Kai Kennedy was another who impressed again and in truth, there were no flaws in the side tonight. Solid in defence, and playing with some style. The future is bright, the future is pink. Great result for Inverness who move on to 10 points. OFFICIAL REPORT What the managers said on BBC Sport Queen of the South manager Allan Johnston: "First half I thought we didn't start well at all. Then when we started to actually pass the ball, we created a number of chances, but we obviously weren't clinical. We just never had that spark tonight. We didn't do enough to get anything out of the game." Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "We're delighted. After such a good performance at home to Raith Rovers, you're worried especially with a young squad that you don't maintain those standards. Our squad's coming back slowly, and we just need to pick up points and keep it going." Congratulations to Mark Ridgers. He does like a clean sheet. That's 50 clean sheets in 133 appearances for the Caley Jags keeper and he tweeted this: Delighted to reach 50 and looking forward to many more!! Great result and performance again from the boys! Hopefully be home for sun rise now. Highlights from BBC/SPFL Date: 04/12/2020 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 000 Referee: Steven McLean Queen of the South: 0 Lineup: Leighfield; Maxwell, Obileye, Buchanan, McKee, Fitzpatrick (McCabe 84), Pybus, Shields, Dobbie, Joseph (East 56) Gibson (Nortey 82) Subs (not used): Ferguson, McKecknie, McGrory, Goss. Scorers: none Booked: Fitzpatrick (58) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Deas, Devine, Harper, Kennedy (Doran 78), Allardice, MacGregor, Sutherland (Todorov 84), Keatings (Welsh 72), Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Vincent, D Mackay. Scorers: Kennedy (21), MacGregor (50). Storey (80) Booked: Welsh (90+2) Sent Off: none a

Friday night on council TV We're on the telly on Friday night for a 7:45pm kick-off at Palmerston Park, Dumfries, where Queen of the South will host matchday six for both clubs in a covid restricted game which will feature on BBC Scotland. Steven McLean will be the man in charge for this one. Queen of the South were the last side to visit the Caledonian Stadium back in March before covid19 came along and changed our lives. On that occasion Inverness ran out 3-1 winners to remain second in the table behind Dundee United. Here's the action from that miserable Tuesday night, the game played out in a bit of a monsoon. Both sides were idle last weekend as the next phase of the League Cup was played out. I notice that the village pub team from the quaint market town of Dingwall had the temerity to end Celtic's 35 match unbeaten run in domestic cup competitions and put more pressure on Neil Lennon. Shame Anyway, big team big cup, wee team wee cup and all that sort of stuff..... Meanwhile, back in the Championship, the quest for promotion goes on as we head for Palmerston on a relative high after an encouraging win over table topping Raith Rovers, a game that saw a few fans viewing the game from inside the stadium with strict covid protocols in operation. It's a start, let's hope this trend continues across the country. We were never stretched by Rovers and scored in each half. Miles Storey should have opened the scoring but for the woodwork intervening, twice. He did however tee up James Keatings for the first and Scott Allardice later in the game as he slotted in the second to seal the points and push Inverness towards the middle of the table. Queens picked up their first win of the campaign whilst we were beating Raith as they deservedly beat Alloa Athletic 2-0 with goals either side of the interval from Gregor Buchanan and a superb Joe McKee free kick. That result has put Alloa at the foot of the table. League table after five games and other Championship fixtures this weekend (Saturday) Alloa Ath v Ayr United Dundee v Arbroath Morton v Hearts Rovers v Dunfermline With an alarming amount of injuries to contend with, the recent international break and the League Cup knockout stages have come along at the right time for Robbo and his injury hit squad. It will allow those that have been nursing knocks and strains more recovery time and put those out longer term closer to a return to action. John Robertson might have some better news regarding his injury list and hopefully David Carson, Kevin McHattie, and Lewis Toshney might be a step nearer the pitch, with Sean Welsh, Miles Storey, Shane Sutherland, James Vincent, James Keatings and Aaron Doran all putting more mileage into their legs. Allan Johnston, like most managers in the Championship is also working on a shoestring and has taken players in he hopes will do the job for him. He still has the prolific Stephen Dobbie on the books but Kevin Holt has left the club. Attacking midfielder Calvin McGrory, versatile midfielder Nortei Nortey, Niyah Joseph, Euan East, defender James Maxwell, Kieran McKechnie, Harry Robinson and keeper Rohan Ferguson are all new at Palmerston, many of these secured on loan deals such was the haste that many clubs had to operate on to build a squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL MATCH PREVIEW FROM ICTFC GREG TANSEY THUNDERSTRUCK AC/DC THUNDERSTRUCK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Danny Boy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RIG also looks ahead to this one: After a weekend off we are back in action in a couple of nights with a long trip to Queen of the South. One of the best away day trips has been ruined because of COVID-19 and the SPFL moving it to a Friday night for coverage on a TV channel that almost no one watches but don't let that get you down and tune in to the BBC Scotland channel from 19:30 on Friday to see us take on the Doonhamers. A really impressive win over early season "surprise" package Raith Rovers coupled with a number of players coming back from injury means confidence will surely be high ahead of this one. Queens are a shambles of a team thrown together last minute in a similar manner as we were at the start of the 17/18 season. That said, they've not performed that badly so it's not going to be an easy game but hopefully it's one we can win and keep up our remarkable run of results in Dumfries where we haven't lost since 2004! The last time we lost there Busted, one of the great UK heavy metal bands of the early noughties, were number one. No need for streaming info although after 30 seconds of listening to Leanne Crichton and Jonathan Sutherland you may even be desperate enough for our commentator to take over... The Wyness Shuffle guys have been busy knocking out another Podcast for you. Give it a listen, it'll pass an hour and a half for you. Review of recent fixtures with analysis from Charlie Christie Look ahead to forthcoming games including Dundee preview with Dee fan Gary Cocker Chatting to 2 of the "300" who got into the ground for the first game this season with fans Interview with Roddy MacGregor Initiation Songs Another Nightmare XI entrant Well why not reinforce your collection of porcelain with a classy mug adorned with "The Wyness Shuffle" featuring artwork from the superb Sophie Robb Use it for tea coffee, Hot Todorovs or some pencils! Look no further for your Stocking Filler Got a story to tell, speak to Chris

Queen of the South -V- Inverness CT Palmerston Park, Dumfries Friday night 7:45pm Championship Football Covid restrictions apply Live on BBC TV Live Streaming available

Hot Toddy warms the 39. Inverness made four changes from the defeat at Greenock as Aaron Doran, Nikolay Todorov, Charlie Trafford and Roddy MacGregor came into the side. Miles Storey, Jordan White, and James Vincent made way with James Keatings sitting this one out on the artificial surface. Queens made one change with Abdul Osman getting his first start, replacing Lewis Kidd in the starting XI. With just over 1200 fans in the stadium and thirty-nine in the away end, it was the hosts that started strongly and Mark Ridgers was forced to deny Stephen Dobbie from a tight angle in the first couple of minutes. David Carson replied for Inverness in the fourth minute but McCrorie saved well in the bottom left corner, and Dobbie once more was dangerous as he shot over after a set piece. It's a frantic start from both sides and Roddy MacGregor shot narrowly over the top right corner. Russell Osman couldn't keep the ball down following a corner as the opportunities continued for both sides. It'll be a miracle if this game remains goalless as Jack Hamilton shoots over. Visiting captain Carl Tremarco took a knock after twenty minutes but continued after treatment. Approaching the half hour and a Nikolay Todorov header was comfortably gathered by McCrorie in the home goal. Hot Toddy.......... Inverness drew first blood when Aaron Doran scored low to the left with a curled effort from the edge of the box after some neat interplay involving Donaldson, MacGregor, Curry and MacGregor again with the penultimate touch before Doran swept the ball beyond the keepers right hand. Just before the break a good run from David Carson brought Inverness a corner but Queens kept the deficit to one goal as the half time whistle sounded. Half Time 0-1 Connor Murray replaced Michael Paton at the start of the second half and within a couple of minutes Dobbie had dragged a shot wide at the back post after good work by El Bakhtaoui. The hosts were looking to to get back on level terms and Kevin Holt had two efforts within a minute that both missed the target. As the pressure mounted on the Inverness defence, Dobbie fired one across the face of the goals that went inches wide. Mark Ridgers denied Jack Hamilton with a superb fingertip save to keep Inverness ahead. The Caley Jags broke the current trend and McCrorie saved from Curry after Roddy MacGregor fed him. Shaun Rooney was the first into the refs book around the hour and Miles Storey entered the fray at the expense of Mitch Curry. McCrorie saved an effort from Carson as Inverness responded to the Queens pressure at the start of the second period and at the other end Dobbie headed over. Scorer Aaron Doran was replaced by Tom Walsh with just over twenty minutes left but it was the hosts that continued to press for the equaliser as Dobbie tried his luck from range, volleying wide. With five minutes left Dobbie sliced one wide and El Bakhtaoui saw an effort saved by Ridgers in the last minute of normal time. Tom Walsh almost added a second for Inverness but McCrorie was equal to it although he had no chance moments later when Nikolay Todorov crashed home a James Vincent feed to end the game and ensure Inverness had an enjoyable journey back up the A9. What a great result after the indifferent form shown against Morton on Saturday. That sets it up nicely for the game on Saturday against Dundee United. Other results tonight Alloa Athletic 0-3 Dundee Dundee Utd 1-0 Partick Thistle Dunfermline 2-0 Arbroath Morton 2-3 Ayr united Match reaction and video........ Caley Stan summed up and threw down the gauntlet to the North Stand............ And we made more noise than the Bridge End on a good day!!! Another good battling performance. We didn't ever have control of the game apart from a couple of spells either side of the opening goal but we were a threat on the break throughout. Trafford played well and Carson was excellent alongside him. Flashes of brilliance from McGregor, but he struggled with the physicality of the game at times. Really well taken goals, Toddy lashed his home with the last kick if the ball. The goals...... Managers reaction from BBC Sport Queen of the South manager Allan Johnston: "We started well first half then Inverness get a goal which is a bit sloppy from our point of view. I thought second half we were on the front foot for the majority of it and probably should have got an equaliser. But the first goal in this league is vital." Inverness CT manager John Robertson: "We had to be lively because Queen's were bubbling after their win here against United. I thought second half Queen's pushed on to us but we defended really well and we looked a threat on the break. We took the chances at one end and didn't make any mistakes at the other." Here he is, Robbo in person..... Date: 29/10/2019 Venue: Palmerston, Dumfries Attendance: 1221 Referee: Steven Kirkland Queen of the South: 0 Lineup: McCrorie; Mercer, Brownlie, Kilday, Holt, Pybus, Paton (Murray 45), Osman, El Bakhtaoui, Dobbie, Hamilton (Oliver 74). Subs (not used): Burns; Murray, McCarthy, Lyon, Semple, Gourlay. Scorers: none Booked: Mercer (67) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Doran (Walsh 68), Carson, Trafford, MacGregor (Vincent 78), Curry (Storey 60), Todorov. Subs (not used): C Mackay; B Mckay, McHattie, Walsh, White. Scorers: Doran (30), Todorov (90+3) Booked: Rooney (60), Tremarco (82) Sent Off: none a

It's Dobbie Time Inverness face another daunting long distance trip three days after struggling at Greenock. This time it's off to Dumfries to take on a side on a bit of a resurgence after a poor start to the season. Queen of the South await the arrival of the Caley Jags at Palmerston, the game kicking off at 7:45pm on Tuesday night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ICT SUPPORTERS TRAVEL CLUB The ICT Supporters Travel Club are running a bus to the game Book on their Facebook page HERE or on 07462218717 Entry is by ticket only. Tickets should be purchased from the ticket offices before arriving at the turnstiles. The ticket office within the QOS Arena will be open from 5.30 pm with the BDS Stand Away section ticket office opening an hour later. Please note that the BDS Stand ticket office is CASH ONLY. If you wish to purchase your ticket by card then you should use the Arena ticket office. Ticket prices are as follows:- Adults: £18 OAP/Concessions/ Students/ 16-21 year olds: £10 Under 16’s: £5 - Pre-School Kids: FREE Accessible tickets are available at £8, £5 and £3. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We lost out at Greenock after Morton's Bob McHugh scored couple of goals with assists from our own defence. The first looking suspiciously offside from a hoof forward, the second Coll Donaldson will not want to see again. A Mitch Curry goal was sandwiched between these goals but despite dominating most of the game we never created enough clear chances to say we deserved victory. A worrying trend that has followed us for a few seasons now. Queens will be disappointed to have thrown away a two goal lead at the weekend as Alloa came back to take a point at Recreation Park. Two quickfire goals in a minute saw the Doonhamers lead at the break. Who else but Stephen Dobbie, followed a minute later by Jack Hamilton. Alloa returned the favour in exactly the same manner in the second half with Alan Trouten and Kevin O'Hara scoring in the 64th and 65th minute. Like ourselves, Queen of the South would rue missed opportunities. They have been in good form recently though, a 4-0 mauling of Dundee United the highlight. Since losing 2-0 to Inverness in the Highlands, they have drawn with Dundee, beaten Patrick Thistle in McCall's return to Firhill, thrashed United and drawn at Alloa. Incidentally, Queens were knocked out of the Challenge Cup by our next opponents in the quarter final, Clyde. In contrast, since that game on September 21st, we have taken only one point from the bottom three clubs with our highlight being the 2-0 win at Somerset Park. We also dished out a flattering 3-0 defeat to Alloa the week before we struggled to take a point off them in the Challenge Cup. It really is a mixed bag and difficult for the supporters to see any indication that we will challenge for the title with such indifferent form. Sean Welsh appears to be the only long term absentee but Aaron Doran was not involved last week and might be unlikely to be risked at Palmerston either on the artificial surface. Robbo has decisions to make. Our solid defence has become something of a 12th man for the opposition lately. Maybe it's time for Brad Mckay and Kevin McHattie to get a start and put some pressure on those who think it's ok just to turn up every week and get a game. Up front we need someone who is clinical. Mitch Curry has done well with limited game time, maybe he could lead the line and avoid us having to lump hopeless balls forward only for defences to mop up everything. One things for sure, it's not working great the way it is. Tom Walsh should be in line for a return to starting action after his injury lay off, he was a sub at Morton. Miles Storey must be doing something in training as he keeps getting picked, lets hope he can use his talent in a match one day. Midfield is where we are struggling to dominate teams and Robbo needs to find his best option to make the most of what's at his disposal. Maybe, Walsh, Carson, Vincent, MacGregor or maybe even throw in Trafford. Hopefully James Keatings will start and add some quality to assist the main striker. Nothing coming from Palmerston regarding injuries so we'll assume everything is OK down Dumfries way. Here's their last XI and they normally go with a 4-1-3-2 formation:- McCrorie; Mercer, Brownlie, Kilday, Holt, Pybus, Kidd, El Bakhtaoui, Paton, Hamilton, Dobbie. That's the same team that whipped United. Other fixtures on Tuesday night, all 7:45pm Kick Off Alloa Athletic v Dundee Dundee United v Partick Thistle Dunfermline v Arbroath Morton v Ayr United Referee for Palmerston - Steven Kirkland Assistants - Joseph Lawson & Kevin Lindsay. Might as well boo them now.

Doonhamers Hammered Doon John Robertson was without the injured Tom Walsh, Anthony McDonald and Kevin McHattie. The bench was thin, with youngsters Millar Gamble and Fraser Russell in the squad. A win for Inverness could put us back into the top four. Queen of the South went into this one on the back of six straight Championship defeats, and that was reflected in the poor crowd and you could see why they had been struggling of late. They fell behind after only seven minutes when Aaron Doran intercepted and scored. B Mckay muscled in at a corner to get the second goal after twenty minutes. Queens had a go after the break and Mark Ridgers had to be at his best to deny Dobbie and Dykes as the hosts threatened to get back into the game. The big keeper pulled off a hatful of brilliant saves to keep Queens at bay as we seemed content to hold what we had. Jordan White almost made it three but was denied by Leighfield in goal with five minutes left and the game just ran away from Queens as it finished 0-2 for Inverness. With Dunfermline also winning, we remain fifth in the league. RIG was in the away day crowd and here are his thoughts on the game............ Easy win yesterday. Despite Queens being on a bad run I still expected us to stumble a bit here so it was a nice surprise to see us easily secure the three points save for a pretty shoddy opening to the second half. Very well taken goal by Doran to open the scoring. I see some reports have stated it was a poor backpass but I thought it was an overhit through ball from one of our players (clearly I wasn't paying that much attention). Anyway, Doran did well to get onto it and round the keeper before finishing well from a pretty tight angle. I thought he might have taken it too wide but he did well to squeeze it in (ooooer). Mckay got the second when he met a corner and found the net via a big deflection off his marker. We should have had a third goal when Polworth saw his shot turned wide and then from his corner McCart (I think) headed against the bar and White shot over. Queens seldom threatened but they were much better after the break and we were fortunate not to concede at least one goal with Ridgers denying Dobbie, Dykes and then Dobbie again as we struggled to get going again. Gone was the nice crisp passing play replaced by hurried balls lumped forward to no one in particular. Only Doran seemed to have the intelligence to try and get the ball down on the ground and start knocking it about again. Once we did that we started to gain a foothold and should have extended our lead when Welsh and the Polworth again shot wide from distance. Great performances from the likes of Doran, Polworth, McCart and Tremarco. Ridgers didn't have too much to do in the first half but made three terrific saves to maintain our two goal lead in the second. Had one of those gone in who knows what might have happened. Caley Stan pretty much agreed with RIG.............. That was very comfortable in the end, a strange feeling. We came flying out of the blocks and maintained a really high intensity for the whole of the first half - Queens had chances on the break but we could easily have put the game to bed before half time. They had a period of pressure after half-time, Dobbie got a few shots away and Ridgers made a number of decent saves. Then came the most pleasing aspect of the performance, the thing that's been missing from our season - we kept the head and saw the game out calmly. Some more positives: - Doran, Polworth and Welsh really trust each other with the ball, they're happy to play it to each other in difficult areas and we're so much more creative as a result. - Trafford and White, two of our most maligned players, are looking increasingly comfortable in their roles, they're playing out of their skins and the fans are responding. Trafford actually looks alright next to Welsh's calming influence. - Rooney came on and played where Chalmers was - it's clear that he's an option up there. Here's the long awaited footage from QotS TV............. Here's Robbo..................... And an under pressure Gary Naysmith...................... Date: 09/03/2019 Venue: Palmerston Attendance: 1066 Referee: David Munro Queen of the South: 0 Lineup: Martin (Leighfield 45), Mercer, Fordyce, Brownlie, Doyle, Stirling, Jacobs, Aird (Murray 76), Wilson (McGrath 76), Dobbie, Dykes Subs (not used): Williams, Maguire. Scorers: none Booked: Aird (43), Wilson (76), Doyle (83). Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, Tremarco, Trafford (Rooney 84), Polworth, Welsh, Chalmers, Doran (McCauley 82), White. Subs (not used): C Mackay, Austin, Gamble, Russell. Scorers: Doran (7), B Mckay (20) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Push for Promotion After the euphoria of a tremendous performance and result in the Scottish Cup win over Dundee United, it's back to the weekly chore of the Championship with a visit to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South. Yes folks, the push for promotion starts right here, right now, as we now find ourselves outside the play-off spot as we enter the final round of fixtures in the Championship. Plenty of action off the field at the Caledonian Stadium with CEO Yvonne Crook departing and our financial plight in the public domain. You can debate that and more on Caley Thistle Online. But we'll stick to the onfield activities just now with some crucial games coming up. Turnstile numbers for visiting fans, section of the ground BDS Digital (East) Stand section 6 has been set aside for away supporters. Turnstile 3 will be in use. Shared catering outlet and toilets in the BDS stand will be available for use. Catering is also available in the Arena café where a full menu is available before kick-off. The bar under the Gates Stand will also be open for refreshments. Please note that the BDS Stand ticket office is a CASH ONLY office. Should spectators wish to pay by card then they should purchase their tickets at the Arena ticket office. Adults - £18, Concessions - £10, Under 16 - £5, Adult Accessible - £8, Concession Accessible - £5, U16 Accessible - £3 It's our final game against Queen of the South for this season and there has been two draws and a win for Queens in the last one at Inverness. The most remarkable game was the 3-3 draw at Palmerston back in November. Lyndon Dykes, Stephen Dobbie and Josh Todd had Queens cigaring it. However, in a 10 minute burst, Inverness snatched a point and could have won it at the death. Goals from Jamie McCart, Nathan Austin and a Sean Welsh penalty squared the game and that was enough for a point. Speaking on the Doonhamers website, Gary Naysmith had this to say "We’ve lost six on the bounce now and that cold statistic doesn’t make good reading but it’s only part of the story because we’ve played well in nearly all of the games. I would be very concerned indeed if the performance levels were poor, but they’re not. The effort and the commitment in the games cannot be questioned. The players put in a really good shift again last weekend but the reoccurring problem is that we are not scoring goals when we are on top." Sounds familiar Gary! The table now shows that Dunfermline are in the final play-off spot after they beat Queens last week whilst we were on cup duty, albeit having played a game more, but it's points in the bag for the Pars. That's four wins on the trot for Dunfermline and they are one of the form teams in the League right now. Queens are the poorest side after six championship defeats in a row. The goals for and against for both clubs are similar, but with Stephen Dobbie in your side, those stats can change quickly. Our last game was the epic tie at Tannadice where we overcame United and a spot of diving to get into the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup where we will face the winners of the Hearts v Partick Thistle replay. Joe Chalmers scored our first with a sublime curling strike into the top corner and Aaron Doran won the game in time added on to stun the big home crowd. It was no more than we deserved though. How I wish we could take our cup passion into the Championship games. John Robertson has doubts over Tom Walsh and Anthony McDonald. Both missed the Arabs game through injury. Gary Naysmith will be without Josh Todd and Nicky Low. Both are out through injury. Robbo and Aaron talking ahead of the visit to Palmerston......... If you like a wee flutter, our partnership with FansBet can offer you something. Just click on FansBet to get started. "Remember to select CaleyThistleOnline when you register and you’ll be helping us support ICT fan causes." FansBet are partners with Supporters Direct Scotland and already have many impressive stories of giving back to and empowering fans, ranging from funding away travel, share purchases, backing safe standing projects and many more. You can read some of FansBet’s Giving Back stories on their blog at https://blog.fansbet.com/fansbet-giving-back/partners/fan/ Always remember to adopt safe gambling and responsible policies.

Comeback keeps the run going. If Carlsberg did draws, they would probably do them like this................ Inverness left it late and were almost beaten by a Doonhamers side who were three up before we woke up. Lyndon Dykes bundled home on the half hour to give Queen of the South the lead at the interval. They doubled their advantage early in the second half when Dykes fed Stephen Dobbie in on goal for the striker to round Ridgers and slide the ball home. Josh Todd added a third, curling a shot wide of Ridgers as Inverness capitulated. A late fight back saw Jamie McCart and Nathan Austin (or maybe Tom Walsh) score and Sean Welsh converted a late penalty. We almost had the audacity to win the game but Austin was thwarted in the box, and it ended all square at 3-3. Inverness went with the same starting line-up that won all three points at Firhill with George Oakley spearheading the attack, Jordan White was on the bench. No Daniel Mackay to be seen, so we still only had five on the bench including young Roddy MacGregor. Queens had Alan Martin out with young Jack Leighfield replacing the experienced keeper. Stephen Dobbie and Lybdon Dykes were the attacking threat with last weeks goalscorer Connor Murray starting on the bench. As per norm, RIG was in attendance............ As has already been said we only showed up for the last 30 minutes with the game seemingly out of sight. A lot of our players were claiming handball for the first goal with Ridgers seeming to suggest that Dykes bundled it over the line with his hand. Whilst it would be a shame if that's what happened our defending was so abysmal leading up to that goal we probably deserved to concede a goal anyway. The second strike wasn't much better from our point of view. Trafford (I think) lost the ball in the middle and it was quickly launched forward to Dobbie who stole into a massive gap at the back with our players out of position. Ridgers half came, half stayed and Dobbie took advantage of his indecision to slide the ball past him and it was three not long after as we again failed at defending and couldn't clear the ball which was picked up by Todd and he dispatched a beautiful curling shot past Ridgers. Game over as far as I was concerned. But seemingly from nowhere we got back into it when McCart rose highest to head home a free kick and this was followed not long after by Walsh who sent a ball into the box which evaded everyone and nestled in the net. The Queens keeper, having barely been tested all game, was looking exceptionally suspect. The third duly arrived via a Welsh spot kick after he himself had been brought down. Not sure what it was awarded for but the fact that very few QotS players challenged the decision suggests it was a fair decision. We almost won it with perhaps the move of the match as we quickly broke from the back, Welsh, Polworth, MacGregor and White linked to play in Austin but his toepoke of a shot was well saved by Leighfield, his first act of competent keeping at a crucial time in the game. The change to 4 - 4 - 2 saw us make much more use of the wings and removing the possession haemorrhage that was Trafford in the middle left us with a much more effective partnership in the form of Polworth and Welsh. Queens should have been out of sight truth being told but we did exceptionally well to battle back to grab a point. Made the journey home a lot more bearable. Alt Maryhill enjoyed his day out............ That was good crack. Got to admit that I assumed that our chickens were coming home to roost after a few decent results despite dodgy performances recently. We were clearly second best against Dundee Utd, Alloa and in the first half against Partick, and yesterday Queens again played the better football in the first half, and then absolutely tore us apart for about 20 mins at the start of the second. Up until he scored, Dykes didn't impress me all that much, but after that I thought he was superb. When Dobbie finally got his goal against us, I assumed that the unbeaten run was coming to an end, and deservedly so. Ridgers, uncharacteristically, looked shaky, Charlie Trafford's touch and distribution in the middle of the park were miles off (again) and the team as a whole looked like it was scared of taking any risks. It only changed once Trafford and Oakley went off and we went to 4-4-2, and when Walsh and Polworth seemed to start playing without fear after it went to 3-0. Both were superb, and hopefully they'll take that into the Falkirk and Ayr games, as we can't keep starting games so hesitantly and still expect to get results. Great to see young Roddy MacGregor get a run at the end, and he almost helped to set up a winner for Austin at the death after some superb interplay with Polworth cutting through Queens in the middle of the park. Definitely looks a player. John Robertson speaking to BBC Sport:- "For 70 minutes Queen of the South should have been six or seven nothing up. "They were the best team, they outfought us, they outplayed us, they outrun us, they bullied us, they played some magnificent football. "We got a goal out of nothing, and then we get another quick goal and you think we might have a wee chance here, and then we get a penalty." Highlights from the amazing comeback to snatch a point..........then almost win it! Gary Naysmith bewildered.......... Andy Sirling has his say............. Date: 17/11/2018 Venue: Palmerston Attendance: 1233 Referee: Greg Aitken Queen of the South: 3 Lineup: Leighfield; Doyle, Fordyce, Marshall, Semple, Harkins (Murray 86), Jacobs, Todd, Stirling (Norman 82), Dobbie, Dykes. Subs (not used): Gibson; Mercer, Bell, Frizzell, Irving. Scorers: Dykes (31), Dobbie (51), Todd (61) Booked: Stirling (79) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; B Mckay, Donaldson, McCart, Chalmers, Walsh, Polworth, Trafford (Austin 58), Welsh, Doran (McGregor 87), Oakley (White 57 ) Subs (not used): Hoban; Harper. Scorers: McCart (71), Walsh (74), Welsh (pen 81) Booked: Trafford (42), Welsh (65), Donaldson (79) Sent Off: none a

Palmerston pilgrimage It's the long trek to Palmerston this week, all 234 miles of it, to take on hot-shot Stephen Dobbie and his Queen of the South team mates, where our mission will be to return with our unbeaten run intact. That's no easy task at the moment with Queens sitting mid-table, four points behind Inverness, having taken a point of table topping Ayr United last weekend in the battle of the strikers. Tickets must be purchased from the away ticket office at Palmerston, not at the gate. The ICT Supporters Travel Club are running a bus to this game, book through their Facebook page HERE or by texting your name to 07462218717. The Bus leaves from the Caley Social Club at 8:30am and from the Caledonian Stadium at 8:45am. We broke our sequence of draws last time out, thankfully, with a win over Partick at Firhill. Two main contributors in that result were Tom Walsh who scored a spectacular goal after cutting in from the left to curl a beauty across the keeper into the top corner, a goal fit to win any game. That feat was matched by a superb double penalty save by Mark Ridgers minutes later to ensure he kept a clean sheet and importantly take all three points back up the A9. Fantastic ability from Mark, carrying on from the brilliant 'viral' save against County in the Highland derby. Queens came from behind in the strikers dual to grab a point at Ayr. But neither Shankland or Dobbie were on target in this one, Dobbie going closest with a strike off the post. It was Michael Rose who headed Ayr in front but Connor Murray scored with his first touch ten minutes from the end to ensure Queens were the first side to deny Ayr all three points at home this season. We showed how thin our squad is last week after removing Riccardo Calder from the payroll. With Shaun Rooney and Carl Tremarco injured we were down to five on the bench with three of them being youths, none of which was Daniel Mackay who was missing presumed injured as he never featured in the u18's 9-2 routing of East Fife either. However, it's encouraging to note that the youngsters are having a tremendous season and goals are being scored freely, Roddy Kennedy bagging four and Roddy MacGregor a brace in that u18's game. Whilst Stephen Dobbie is the man that get's all the headlines for Queens, there are other players who can perform well, but their secret ingredient is they all work hard for each other and in Alan Martin they have an experienced keeper. Only Ayr and Ross County have scored more goals than the Doonhamers. Dobbie has scored an amazing 25 goals in 21 appearances with 13 of those coming in the Championship including two hat-tricks and a quadruple against Ayr United. Touch wood, but he has only scored once in his last six games since he hit a treble against Alloa at the beginning of October. The first meeting between the clubs this season ended in stalemate with Dobbie failing to score but he did batter one off the crossbar. It was his veteran team mate Gary Harkins who was the star of the show that day though. Harkins strolled through the game and showed our fragile midfield how to control the pace of a game and stamp your authority all over the match. Tremendous display from Harkins and he was my Man of the Match back at the end of September. Hopefully we have learned from that. Here's a great quote from Robbo off the official preview that puts everything into perspective:- “The unbeaten run is very special, you look at the previous managers here, Terry Butcher achieved 21 matches in this league, Steve Paterson achieved 22 in the third Division, and to break that is very special. The players deserve enormous credit, it’s been tremendous and they’ve all played their part." Maybe it's time to give the wee man the credit he is due. Queens fans will be disappointed to note that Shaun Rooney will not be playing after being injured against Ross County a couple of weeks ago. Carl Tremarco also missed out last week and we deployed a makeshift back line with Riccardo Calder having been given his marching orders. That meant moving Brad Mckay to right back, drafting Jamie McCart in beside Coll Donaldson and pulling back Joe Chalmers to the left wing back role. It worked well enough at Partick, and I would imagine it will be along similar lines should Tremarco fail to be fit enough to start. Queens last line up can be seen on the Official Preview

Coll Donaldson, ♬♫?♬♫? With a hectic schedule for the Caley Jags, John Robertson made three changes from the side that dumped Brechin City 4-0 on Tuesday night. Riccardo Calder, Collin Seedorf and Connor Bell all dropped to the bench to make way for the relatively fresh legs of Gary Warren, Carl Tremarco and Nathan Austin. Gary Warren fresh legs, who knew? With the games coming one on top of the other, Robbo has little option other than to try and keep energy levels high by rotating his weary players. Coll Donaldson had been a doubt but he was deemed fit enough to start the game. Gary Naysmith was fooling nobody with his smokescreen about Stephen Dobbie missing out and the prolific striker started ahead of Derek Lyle. Dan Carmichael replaced Dom Thomas. A crowd of 1140 saw a great start for the visitors when Coll Donaldson crossed into the box where Nathan Austin chested down, turned his marker and drilled home in the ninth minute, his first goal for Inverness. Just the start we were looking for and a superb goal for Fash to open his account with. Carl Tremarco came to the rescue just after the goal when he headed a Darren Brownlie effort away from goal and as Queens pressed for an equaliser Mark Ridgers saved a Thomson shot from distance. He saved again as a Stephen Dobbie close range header was netbound. Just when you thought a Queens goal was coming, George Oakley doubled the visitors advantage when he glanced home a Liam Polworth cross on the half hour for his tenth goal of the season and he almost got his eleventh five minutes later but his effort was saved. Gary Naysmith took some action at the break and replaced former Inverness man John Rankin with Lyndon Dykes. Five minutes into the second half and Austin had a close range effort saved, and at the other end Brownlie shot wide and Ridgers saved from Dobbie. Inverness were containing the home side well in this half and with twenty minutes to go young Daniel Mackay replaced the tiring Nathan Austin as Dobbie brought Ridgers into action once more with another long range shot, the keeper equal to it though. With 75 minutes gone, Iain Vigurs won a free kick as Aaron Doran replaced midweek scorer Joe Chalmers for the final fifteen minutes and we get an immediate lift as the wee man fires a long range shot just over with news reaching the stands that Dumbarton are doing their best to help out by leading United 3-2. Aww bless. No hard feelings then. Dykes brings Ridgers back into action as he shoots from the angle but the in form keeper deals well with it. Caley Away fans chanted solid for Coll Donaldson, the big stopper has had an immense season since joining from Tannadice, no doubt a reference to his old side stumbling once more as his new found confidence oozed from him. In a relatively quiet second period, Liam Polworth ventured forth and his effort was close but just missed the top corner, Donaldson's name still ringing out and Daniel Mackay went even closer in the final minute. Great result for Inverness which pulls them ever closer to the promised land, but still plenty of work to do. Dumbarton did pull off a result over United and Livi beat Morton, Dunfermline spoiling the day by beating Falkirk though. Still, we did what we had to do and we did it with something to spare. Date: 07/04/2018 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 1140 Referee: Euan Anderson Queen of the South: 0 Lineup: Marshall; Fordyce, Brownlie, Cameron, Rankin (Dykes 45), Dobbie, Thomson, Jacobs (Lyle 73), Todd, Leighfield, Carmichael (Thomas 63) Subs (not used): Todorov, Murray, Mercer, Gourlay Scorers: none Booked: Brownlie (14), Carmichael (29) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Ridgers; McKay, Donaldson, Warren, Tremarco, Chalmers (Doran 75), Polworth, Vigurs, Trafford, Austin (Mackay 69), Oakley. Subs (not used): Esson, Mulraney, Seedorf, Bell. Scorers: Austin (9), Oakley (30) Booked: Vigurs (34) Sent Off: none a

Time to reel them in It's the long trek to Palmerston on Saturday as we take on Queen of the South in Dumfries. Our last venture down there turned into a nightmare journey, let's hope it all goes a bit smoother this time. We still have an outside chance to get into the play-off position albeit a slim one, but we have to make our move now as we are running out of games and will need an incredible selection of results to help get us there. However, it's in our own hands at the moment and it's time to get back into contention. There is no margin for error anymore, defeat will all but end our hopes. In midweek, we had an easy night as we put four past relegated Brechin City. Two from Joe Chalmers and one each from Coll Donaldson and George Oakley. In fairness, the team went about their business in a professional manner and deserved the win, our third 4-0 win over Brechin this season. It was a tighter affair as queens entertained Falkirk who pegged back their hosts with a late Louis Longridge goal. Queens had gone behind when Andrew Nelson opened the scoring, but they looked like taking all three points after strikes from Joe Thomson and Darren Brownlee put them ahead until Falkirk leveled in the 87th minute. Gary Naysmith speaking after the midweek game said "Tuesday's game against Falkirk epitomised our season really. In almost every game we have played this season, we have done really well in certain stages of each match but not for the complete 90 minutes and Tuesday's match was very similar. I thought we were off the pace for the first 30 minutes or so and then we finished the first half well". We have played each other three times this season and Queens have yet to win. Two no scoring draws and a 3-1 win in the Highlands so far. Iain Vigurs, Joe Chalmers and Aaron Doran scored for Inverness with a late Owen Bell counter for Queens. The Doonhamers are one of the highest scoring sides in the league with 50 goals. They have balanced that by conceding 50 goals. Despite the doom and gloom coming from the Queen of the South fans, they still sit above us in the league although they would be the first club we can climb above should results go our way in the next few weeks. Prolific striker Stephen Dobbie looks like he won't feature for Queens although a recent scan on his knee showed no worse than bruising. Other possible absentees are Ross Fergusson, Owen Bell and keeper Alan Martin. Lyndon Dykes will return after suspension. Coll Donaldson came off against Brechin and could be set to miss out. For those attending the game:- Visiting supporters should note that they will be located in section six of the Rosefield Salvage Stand and that they should enter via turnstile three. Entry is by ticket only. The home ticket office will be open for use of both home and away supporters and is situated adjacent to Rosefield Stand turnstile numbers one and two. In addition, supporters who choose to park in the Arena car park have access to a ticket office within the Arena. Ticket prices are: Adult £16, OAP's £9, U-16's £5, Adult accessible £8, Concession accessible £5, U16 accessible £3.

Snore Draw ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... Inverness were late to bed the night before the game after a serious road accident delayed them by some ten hours. John Robertson had asked if the game could be postponed but our pleas fell on deaf ears. A crowd of 1293 were on hand to witness a goalless first half although it was not without incident. It was much the same fare in the second forty-five but at the end it was a point apiece. The nearest we came to scoring was a late penalty claim that was turned down by the match official when Charlie Trafford appeared to be fouled in the box. Unfortunately, it's a result that drops us down a place as Dumbarton shocked leaders St Mirren in Paisley to win 1-0 and jump above Inverness. Full report to follow..................... Robbo reaction...... Gary Naysmith reflects on the game......... Date: 02/12/2017 Venue: Palmerston Attendance: 1293 Referee: Barry Cook Queen of the South: 0 Lineup: Martin; Mercer, Kerr, Brownlie, Marshall, Dykes, Jacobs, Rankin, Stirling (McFadden 68) Kane (Lyle 76), Dobbie (Rooney 88) Subs (not used): Tapping, Bell, Leighfield, Akubuine Scorers: none Booked: Brownlie (90+1) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Ridgers; Raven, Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Polworth, Vigurs, Chalmers (Calder 85), Mulraney, Baird (Trafford), Bell (Oakley) Subs (not used): Cooper, Warren, Seedorf, Mackay Scorers: none Booked: Vigurs (36), Donaldson (56), Trafford (68), Mulraney (71) Sent Off: none a

Caley Jags Head South Inverness make the long trek to Dumfries this weekend to take on Queen of the South in the Championship. Queens have made steady progress under Gary Naysmith with some great results this season, but they have also faltered when better results were expected, going down at home to Livingston a couple of weeks ago. They have scored 23 goals and conceded 19 from their opening 14 games, winning 6 losing 4 and drawing 4. They did of course get the better of a no scoring draw in Inverness at the start of our record breaking run of clean sheets. They are six points above us in 5th place. Our last visit to Palmerston was in April 2010 when we won 3-1. We were one down after ten minutes but Adam Rooney levelled before the break. Grant Munro headed us in front and Rooney completed the scoring a couple of minutes from the end. We went on to win the League that season and were promoted back into the Premier League. Ahh yes, those were the days. Last time out we convincingly beat Brechin City 4-0 in midweek. That was after the disappointment of the St Mirren defeat that ended our run of seven consecutive clean sheets. John Baird scored the second against Brechin and the whole team celebrated this phenomenon. Brad Mckay had opened the scoring and Connor Bell and George Oakley rounded off a good evening for us. Queens last outing saw them come from behind twice, with a late og helping them earn a point at Dumbarton who are proving to be a difficult side to put away. Top scorer Stephen Dobbie had scored a penalty earlier in the game to level the scoring. This is what the former Hearts and Scotland player Gary Naysmith thought of the Dumbarton game. Brad Mckay put Gary Warren back to the bench after his one match suspension and I would imagine Charlie Trafford will get the same treatment as Iain Vigurs returns from his one match ban. Aaron Doran won't be risked on the artificial turf and Zak Elbouzedi will sit this one out as well. Callum Fordyce will miss this game for Queens after a hamstring injury picked up on Tuesday night at Dumbarton. Naysmith has options of Andrew Stirling and Chris Kane coming in for allegedly tired oldies like James McFadden and Derek Lyle. John Rankin will be in the visitors squad, with Stepehen Dobbie the joint top scorer in the league one to watch. Connor Murray is a doubt but Dan Carmichael is a non starter. Kyle Jacobs is back after suspension. More detail on the Official Site tm4tj prediction:- We will provide stiffer opposition for Queens this time out. Our last mission against them was to stop conceding goals. We accomplished that and went on a run, the rest is history. However, with Ian Vigurs back, the quality from midfield will provide goal scoring opportunities although at the other end Stephen Dobbie will be a major threat. I'm taking us to draw at worst, win at best. It will be tight, but I believe we now have enough quality and confidence to compete with the best in this division. Our reporter for this game will the intrepid Immortal Howden Ender for whom this will be seen as a home game for him as he makes the short trip from Chorley FM to Dumfries. Enjoy yer trip ya olde git. ***LATEST NEWS*** The Inverness team bus was delayed for hours on Friday evening after a serious road accident on the A9 at Killiecrankie, not arriving at their destination until 03:00. Thoughts are with those injured at this time. More details On BBC website.