Search the Community

Nemesis Time On Saturday at 3:00pm it's nemesis time as we face Queens Park at Hampden Park. The Spiders have had the beating of us since getting back into the Championship in season 2022/2023. We did, ahem, put them out of the Scottish Cup last season by default on our way to the final, however we have always struggled against teams who are willing to hit fast on the break and Queens have been guilty of that. We, on the other hand, are somewhat ponderous and shot-shy, and that's something that needs addressed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket info Supporters bus Buses for rest of 2023: 9th Dec Queens Park leaving stadium 10.30 - 12th Dec Morton leaving stadium 2pm - 23rd Dec Partick leaving stadium at 10.00 - picking up Aviemore and Pitlochry. £20 a seat. Buses filling up fast so book early through Facebook or on 07462218717 to avoid disappointment. BACK THE TEAM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 13 4 5 4 16 16 0 Away 8 5 0 3 15 12 +3 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 21 9 5 7 31 28 +3 Queens have our card marked since they popped back up into the championship in 2022 to draw 1-1 at the Caledonian Stadium. That was as good as it got against the Spiders since then as we failed to record a win on the park in all six meetings since then. However, off the park we seem to be a bit smarter than the average Spider. Last 6 Competitive Meetings - Previous meetings were up until 2010 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) It was an opening day defeat at the Caledonian Stadium this season: 1 - 2 Here's the CTO report:- In a brisk opening to the game Wallace Duffy headed over from a corner in the second minute and at the other end Mark Ridgers was brought into action to deny Jack Thomson. Nathan Shaw also had an effort saved by Callan McKenna in the top corner. A good move forward ended with Charlie Fox blocking Charlie Gilmour after seventeen minutes and Billy Mckay went close but he dragged his effort wide of the mark. Queens were enjoying the majority of the possession and on the half hour they opened the scoring when Barry Hepburn fed Dom Thomas who scored into the top of the net. Inverness responded and Shaw saw McKenna save his free kick. Ridgers then saved from Jack Spong as Queens dominance continued. However we were still able to carve out chances and McKenna did well to deny Mckay just on the interval from a Jake Davidson cross. HALF TIME: 0-1 Austin Samuels shot high and wide at the start of the second half but it was Queens who added a second three minutes into the half through Tommy Robson, shooting into the bottom corner to leave us chasing the game. Thomas had an effort saved minutes later as Queens dominated play. Ridgers then saved from Louis Longridge at the expense of a corner kick as Queens Park threatened to run away with the game. Robson was then denied by the overworked Ridgers as QP looked to kill the game off. Substitute Keith Bray was denied by McKenna as we probed for a way back into the game. Samuels blazed another shot high and wide and that brought about the introduction of Harry Lodovica. With time slipping away Davidson scored with a close range header from a Cammy Harper cross. Alas it was too little too late for Inverness who went down to an opening day defeat. FULL TIME: 1-2 Last Time Out Ferguson tasted defeat at the eighth time of asking after we let a one goal lead slip away in time added on as Jamie Gullan smashed home a penalty for Raith Rovers. Billy Mckay had given Inverness the lead after the break when he stole in between two defenders to nod an inviting Wotherspoon cross down into the net, but Lewis Vaughan netted five minutes before the end to kick start the late surge. Disappointing to throw away this lead and Big Dunc must shoulder some of the blame for this as we sat back and invited Rovers to come at us. Learning curve for everyone. Last Five in the Championship: W D W D L Queens Park's last Championship game was on 11th of November. They too went down to a late show from Raith Rovers, they too lost a late lead, in the 89th minute, and they too went down to a time added on penalty scored by Ross Milllen, with only ten men. Extraordinary stuff from Rovers to be honest. They should buy a lottery ticket right away. Turner and Paton were the goalscorers for the Spiders in this one. No wins in their last nine games going back to a 1-0 win over Arbroath back on the19th of August. Incidentally that was the second win over Arbroath in a week, a 2-1 win the previous weekend. However, their last game was a 3-0 away defeat in the Scottish Cup to high flying Partick Thistle on 25th November. Last Five in the Championship: D D D D L Big game at the top end of the table on Friday night as Raith Rovers take on Partick Thistle. ***It ended 4-3 to Rovers to put them on top of the table for now. Congratulations to Novembers Championship Manager and Player of the Month. Big Dunc & Spoony Latest Team News Usual suspects missing in the longer term but the news that Roddy MacGregor is back training on the park is a bonus. Danny Devine limped off last week against Raith Rovers and David Carson is still out on parental leave. Shaw, Ujdur and Boyes are all nursing their own fitness and aches and strains. Ajax have appointed Queen's Park director of football Marijn Beuker to the same role at the Eredivisie club. The Dutchman joined Queen's Park in 2021, having previously been head of football development and strategy with AZ Alkmaar for eight years. Top scorer this season is Ruari Paton who is way out on his own with 11 goals. Nearest to him is Jack Turner with four. Team in 3-0 cup defeat to Partick Thistle. Ferrie McPherson Bannon Fox Robson (Bruce 69) Thomson Spong (Hepburn 68) Turner Thomas Paton McKinstry (Longridge 55) Subs Not Used: Kane; Healy, Tizzard, Reid, Jarrett, Mauchin

Rovers Return Ian Murray brings the new improved version of Raith Rovers North on Saturday; only one defeat in the Championship this season. They take on Big Dunc's marauders, unbeaten in seven games since he took over from Billy Dodds' plodders. The transformation has been stark in just two months. (apart from all conquering Nairn County in the NoS Cup). Rovers got the monkey off their back on 16th September when they ended an almost twenty-three year wait to taste victory against the Caley Jags over 90 minutes. Meh! Anyway, big Dunc has previous against Raith Rovers, let's hope it's a more amicable outcome this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup v Broomhill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Raith Rovers Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 14 5 2 40 15 +25 Away 18 9 5 4 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 23 10 6 74 37 +37 Only six defeats against Raith after they had dominated the opening few fixtures against us. Only two defeats in the Highlands. For +40, against -15. What could possibly go wrong? Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Raith Rovers 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) That great run had to come to an end some time. 0 - 1 Record Breakers: Never had there been a better time for Raith Rovers to break the Caley Jags hoodoo! Inverness, without a win in their last eight games, and Billy Dodds and the management team under fire. A 23 year run of games without a win for Raith Rovers was brought to an end today when Jamie Gullan smashed home from 15 yards with five minutes left. It was harsh on Inverness who dominated for long spells earlier in the game, but it leaves the management with some tough decisions to make. There will be dancing on the streets of Raith tonight! Pars beat Arbroath 3-0 since this table - Ayr United v Arbroath OFF Frozen pitch That means the Pars are 4th on 18 pts. - Morton v Dundee Utd OFF Frozen Pitch Last Time Out We struggled to perform to a high standard in our cup tie with Cowdenbeath using a 50/50 squad. After eighty minutes, the earlier introduction of Wotherspoon and Mckay proved crucial as they scored two excellent strikes to see us into the next round where we will face Broomhill at home in January. Raith did win the first meeting between the clubs this season, but it was closer than many thought it might have been, even with a side down on their luck. Jamie Gullan it was that rammed in the only goal of the game. Last five Championship results D W D W D Raith Rovers had a tremendous result in the cup at East End Park as they brushed aside the Pars 3-0. Jack Hamilton opened the scoring early in the first half and Sam Stanton and Lewis Vaughan ensured there would be no comeback from Dunfermline this time, not even thewoodwork could help them. Last five Championship results D W W D W Latest Team News Longer term players still missing and we can add David Carson who is pregnant , Cammy Harper and Morgan Boyes who have injuries to shake off. Roddy MacGregor is back in training, so that's a bonus. Samuels and Doran nowhere near fitness. Jake Davidson got a few minutes last week. Ian Murray is building a good squad at Stark's Park. Lewis Vaughan is top scorer with six goals followed by Callum Smith and Dylan Easton on five apiece. Ross Millen will miss this one through suspension and Liam Dick has been missing through injury. Team v Dunfermline in Scottish Cup win Dabrowski Millen Brown O'Reilly Connolly Mullin Easton Stanton Smith (McGill 86) Vaughan Hamilton (Gullan 78) Subs not used: Thomson; Hannah, Corr.

Talkin bout a revolution A trip to Dunfermline beckons this Saturday as Dunc's revolution picks up pace. Unbeaten since his arrival, the Caley Jags take on 5th place Dunfermline Athletic in another tough encounter. A win for Inverness would see Dunc's men climb above the Pars but it's big ask. This will be your only Championship fix this weekend, so the opportunity is there for one of these sides to make up some ground on those above them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Info Supporters Bus Full Cowdenbeath Cup Tie Battery Farm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 9 5 31 22 +9 Away 24 9 10 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 50 19 20 11 63 52 +11 Our home and away encounters with the Pars show similar statistics with only five defeats at East End Park. Last season Dunfermline were heading back into the Championship after a season in League 1 where they bounced back up as Champions. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dunfermline 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) More points thrown away: Full report (Jan 2022) 1 - 1 Inverness wasted an opportunity to put pressure on the top of the table after squandering a first half lead through Shane Sutherland. Steven Lawless levelled from the spot in the second half with ten minutes remaining after David Carson was adjudged to have blocked a cross with a flailing arm. Another drab performance after a first half full of promise. No surprise really given recent performances, but frustrating nonetheless. A very disappointing second half from Inverness after a first half that was full of promise. Maybe Danny Devine going off injured just before the interval decided our tactic for the second half, or maybe Dunfermline just realised they could get something from the game. That point lifts them off the foot of the table for now, our point puts us in second position when we really should have been knocking on Arbroaths door at the top. Whatever the reason, the fans are getting somewhat disgruntled as we are without a win in five games now. It does seem like a long time ago that we absolutely thrashed Morton 6-1 on 11th December. Only four points from our last five games, or four points from a possible fifteen. That's not the form of a team going for promotion. Sort it! Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dunfermline v Inverness CT is the only Championship fixture tomorrow 1. Dundee Utd 13 9 4 0 33 6 31 2. Raith Rovers 12 8 3 1 20 13 27 3. Partick Thistle 13 6 4 3 26 20 22 4. Airdrieonians 13 5 2 6 12 17 17 5. Dunfermline 11 4 2 5 12 13 14 6. Ayr United 13 4 2 7 17 25 14 7. Queens Park 13 3 4 6 18 27 13 8. Inverness CT 11 3 3 5 11 12 12 9. Arbroath 11 4 0 7 16 22 12 10. Morton 12 2 2 8 12 22 8 Last Time Out Inverness romped home agsinst Ayr United after scoring three first half goals in a ten minute spell before the break. David Wotherspoon scored twice and Billy Mckay crashed in a penalty in a dominant first half. The second half was an anti-climax with Ayr scoring a penalty of their own through Jamie Murphy. The points were more important than the performance and it pulled Inverness clear of the bottom team Morton. Last Five Games: W D W D W In the first meeting between the clubs this season it ended all square in the Highlands in September. Nathan Shaw's early goal cancelled out ten minutes before the end by a Chris Hamilton header. FULL TIME: 1-1 The two new loan payers aquitted themselves well without setting the pulses racing. The defence did appear to be more rigid although we were found wanting at the equaliser. Nathan Shaw was the most likely to cause problems and so it proved. Poor decision by Ridgers to decide to flap at thin air for the goal but made amends to earn our point with a tremendous save later. Pars were much more direct than us and you couldn't grudge them their point. However that point still leaves us floundering at the foot of the table with one point from a possible twelve. Dunfermline's last game saw them go down narrowly to a late goal from Chris Mochrie as Dundee United continued unbeaten at the top of the table. United lead in the first half through Fotheringham before Owen Moffat levelled the game ten minutes after the interval. Mochrie hit the winner with just five minutes left on the clock. Last Five Games: L L L W L Latest Team News Half a dozen still missing with Boyes picking up an injury but Dunc is hopeful he will make the squad. So not much change from last week in terms of squad numbers and big Dunc still grappling with the players names Dunfermline manager James McPake had keeper Mehmet and striker Michael O'Halloran taken off injured last Friday against United. Alex Jakubiak replaced Craig Wighton after the hour and he looked threatening. Joe Chalmers is still at East End Park. Pars team in 1-2 loss to the Arabs Mehmet (Sharp 45) Fisher Hamilton Otoo Comrie (Hosler 75) Allan Chalmers Edwards O'Halloran (McCann 22) Moffat (Todd 55) Wighton (Jakubiak 60) Subs Not Used: Fenton, Little And finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' 'bout a revolution, oh, no

Ayr Do for Dunc Ayr United are next up for big Dunc as his salvage operation gathers pace after a great away point at Tannadice last week. We're not quite at the Big Dunc's revolution stage, more of an evolution but we are heading in the right direction after a poor start to the season. Ayr come up North on Saturday for a 3:00pm start sitting in fifth place on goal difference with 14 points looking to get back into the top four. We could strike a crucial blow to their aspirations should we come out on top as we are five points behind them with two games in hand. It's a six pointer this early in the season! Big talking point this week in the Highlands is the departure of Sporting Director John Robertson as he leaves to "pursue other opportunities". All the best to Robbo in his new venture and one can't help but imagine that might free up some wages for a player or two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match Ticket Info & Lest we Forget John Robertson Leaving ICTFC Cowdenbeath Cup Date Confirmed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue for H2H v Ayr Utd Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 11 3 39 26 +13 Away 26 12 6 8 47 32 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 22 17 11 86 58 +28 Only eleven defeats overall versus Ayr United but they held the upper hand over the last two encounters both home and away. We have had some tremendous games against the Honest Men over the years with five, six and even seven goal games an occasional feature of these clashes in bygone days. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr Utd 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (H) Ayr took the points in the first encounter this season at Somerset Park 0 - 1>>> Pointless: Notable absentees for Ayr were last seasons Championship top scorer Dipo Akinyemi who has gone to York City and long time servant Michael Moffat who spent eleven years over two spells at Somerset Park scoring 77 goals in 263 appearances. Dodds was without Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson with knee injuries. Sean Welsh has a groin injury and also missed out again as did Austin Samuels and Max Ram. Adam Brooks returned to the bench and Danny Devine replaced the missing Wallace Duffy. New sensation Keith Bray started with Inverness down to only six on the bench. Injuries starting early this season already it would seem with six missing.. Ayr got off to the perfect start after just eight minutes when Francis Amartey, Dempsey and Sam Ashford combined for Amartey to slot home the opening goal. Mark Ridgers saved on his line from Nick McAllister as Ayr looked to double their lead. Keith Bray was blocked going into the box and from the follow up Albinson saved from David Carson at the expense of a corner. Plenty of half chances for both sides to score in the first half with Devine going close for the visitors but Albinson tipped over. Longstaff also went close on the break but his shot bounced just wide. Billy Dodds fell foul of the referee on the interval and had to watch the remainder of the game from the stands. (See how he likes it!) HALF TIME: 1-0 Longstaff saw his header saved ten minutes after the interval as Inverness looked to get back into the game. A spate of substitutions on the hour for Ayr and Harry Lodovica replaced Bray for the visitors before a Jake Davidson cross found Nathan Shaw, but his effort came back off the post. With twenty minutes remaining Shaw was blocked in the box as we chased for a leveller. Substitute Aiden McGeady shot wide approaching the final ten minutes and Cammy Harper failed to hit the target at the other end. Aaron Doran fired a free kick wide from a tight angle and McGeady missed again as time was running away from us. Ridgers tipped over from Pendelbury in the 90th minute and the as so often, the game slipped away from us to leave us bottom of the table with Arbroath. FULL TIME: 1-0 Another defeat leaves Inverness pointless at the foot of the table with Arbroath as Ayr got their first win of the campaign thanks to an early goal from Francis Amartey. Not for the want of trying, but Inverness could not find an equaliser and that will pile more misery on under fire boss Billy Dodds. Our injury situation seems never-ending and we could only muster six on the bench. Dodds watched from the stand in the second half and will now know why we are concerned... The natives are no happy on CTO with many asking for a total clearout from top to bottom, questioning the length of contract offered to Billy Dodds. The buck stops at the very top and that is a massive concern for all. Top scorer Billy Mckay was a forlorn figure and was not best pleased at being subbed. Something is wrong that's not right. Sort it now before we leave this league at the wrong end of the table. Thankfully things have changed somewhat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Time Out Big Dunc fashioned us into a squad prepared to dig deep at Tannadice and it paid off as we came away with a credible draw against the League Leaders. A wonderful team goal manufactured from inside our own box all the way down the left wing before Harper crossed for Shaw to drill home from fifteen yards. Total football, great goal! The Arabs levelled five minutes later when Holt thundered in a bullet header to share the spoils. Some outstanding performers on the day with Ridgers making crucial saves, defenders putting their bodies on the line, midfielders helping out at the front and the back whilst remaining creative, and strikers.... erm still missing plenty, but also tracking back to help out. Last Five Results: L W D W D Ayr United are without a win in their last three games and were pegged back by Queens Park last Saturday in a 2-2 draw. Two first half strikes from Anton Dowds had Ayr cruising, but Bannon scored after the break and five minutes into time added on Paton claimed a point for the Spiders in a dramatic finale with his sixth cincher goal of the season. Last Five Results: W W L D D <<< There's your top scorers in the Championship ahead of Friday nights encounter between Dunfermline Athletic and Dundee United. Brian Graham has almost scored as many goals as the Caley Jags have in the Championship (8). That's something that Ferguson needs to address if we are to climb the table into a challenging position (at the top end). Nathan Shaw is our top scorer this season with three Championship goals to his name. Despite netting his 102nd goal with a penalty in the 3-2 loss to Airdrie in the League Cup group stages, Billy has only netted once in the Championship since then at Arbroath some five games ago. He has three goals in total, two in the League Cup group stages. That's not a great return from your top striker. Latest Team News We are still without any of our half dozen longer term injured players. Sean Welsh missed out again last week and will join the long term club. Luis Longstaff and Jake Davidson were also injured at Tannadice. Wallace Duffy returned from the bench to replace an injured David Carson who is a doubt this week. Danny Devine and Morgan Boyes started at Tannadice after being out for a couple of games. According to our stats, Mark Ridgers should make his 250th appearance for his home town team. Another clean sheet would be fitting and most welcome. Ayr did settled down after an inconsistent start and still have Logan Chalmers. We know what he is capable of. Anton Dowds netted twice last week and he is their top scorer with 5 strikes. Former Motherwell player Jamie Murphy and ex-ICT loanee Chalmers have four goals apiece. Ayr team v Queens Pk: Dowds Mutch Ahui McGinty Stanger Reading Chalmers (Senga 75) Young Syla (Smith 45) Murphy (McGeady 79) Rose (Bryden 64) Dowds (Amartey 75) Subs not used: O & F Ecremont, McKenzie, McAllister Apparently their bench was full of Ecremont. Well, that's what I thought he said Lest We Forget: With this game being played on Remembrance Day, the club will be offering Free Entry to UK Forces personnel, past and present. One Adult & One Child per application. (home or away support) FORCES GO FREE

All conquering Arab's await It's a massive test for Big Dunc's battlers as we head to Tannadice this Saturday for a game against runaway League leaders and promotion favourites Dundee United. I'm sure he will be remembered fondly by the Arab's faithful. Dunc made 88 appearances for United and a £4million pound transfer profit when he joined Rangers before a 'clash' of heads saw him spend some time at her Majesty's pleasure in 1994. 3:00pm is the scheduled kick-off time for this one and it will be a foolish man who will put money on an away win. We are, however, often better without the favourites tag although this one might be a bridge too far as Jim Goodwins unbeaten team are sweeping all aside mercilessly. They won the first fixture at the Caledonian Stadium 1-0 back in September, just after the end of Doddsball when we were managerless. We are more solid at the back now with Ujdur, Devine and Boyes to choose from but still a bit toothless up front although David Wotherspoon showed on his debut what a bit of class will do for you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/ticket/travel info Forces go Free ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue: H2H v Dundee Utd Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 34 10 10 14 35 44 -9 Away 28 7 10 11 36 42 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 62 17 20 25 71 86 -15 As expected, United have the edge in these fixtures, especially over the last 10 fixtures. Last 10 Competitive Meetings: 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 0 - 3 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) The last time we won at Tannadice was in March 2019 in a Scottish Cup Quarter Final tie. KARMA BIG STYLE: Full report 2 - 1. Inverness opened the scoring when Joe Chalmers cut onto his left foot and curled the ball into the roof of the net from sixteen yards for a sublime goal. Chalmers almost added a second but he volleyed onto the bar from six yards when the ball found him unmarked. The first half ended at 1-0 with Ridgers a virtual spectator. Substitute Paul McMullan blatantly cheated to earn a penalty and Nicky Clark slotted his second in two games. In a dramatic finish, Nathan Austin had a marginal offside decision go against him as he superbly headed home a Polworth free kick, however, Aaron Doran nodded home after a fantastic knock on from Jordan White to win the tie in the second minute of time added on. Aaron Doran was MotM, and not just for his goal, his all round game showed he was a menace to United from the start. To be honest you couldn't fault anyone in a total team performance. Jordan White has become a fans favourite after a stuttering start at Inverness and he showed yesterday how important he is to our game plan. Chalmers was incredible as well and Liam Polworth showed his value with some great through balls. Unsung heroes all over the park and none moreso that Charlie Trafford who was immense in the engine room. Hampden here we come! In the first encounter this season: 0 - 1 Late Strike Ruins the Day: Another very late goal ruined what had been a reasonably resolute performance by managerless Inverness. However, the end result remains the same and we went down to an avoidable sclaff in time added on when substitute Chris Mochrie poked the ball home after Ridgers had cleared a bouncing effort away from the top corner only for the United players to react quickest to prod the ball into the bottom corner with the aid of a deflection. Meh! It doesn't rain but it pours... Last Time Out Inverness recorded their first home win of the Championship Season after Big Dunc led the team to a narrow 1-0 victory over Airdrieonians. The winner came when David Wotherspoon showed quick feet and composure on his debut to stroke home eight minutes before the break. Not a vintage performance but we restricted Airdrie to very little as we kept the visitors out to record a clean sheet and three points in the bag, albeit withstanding a late push from the visitors as they tried to salvage a point. Last Five: L L W D W Dundee United beat Airdrie at the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium on Tuesday night having hammered Arbroath 6-0 last Friday night. Kai Fotheringham scored twice against the Diamonds to put the Arabs on 27 points at the top of the table. Louis Moult scored a brace against Arbroath as United flexed their muscle. Docherty Fotheringham, Watt and Cudjoe were also on the mark. That's eight goals for Moult, the former Motherwell striker. Kevin Holt has 7 with Kai Fotheringham on 6. Cudjoe has 4 goals attributed to him and thats a pretty potent strike force, four scorers in the top ten Championship goalscorers. Moult was an unused sub against Airdrie. Last five: W D W W W Dunfermline beat Morton 2-1 last night to keep Morton below us in the table ahead of today's games. Latest Team News Inverness will be without the usual long term casualties (MacGregor, Nicolson, Doran, Welsh, Duffy, Samuels). Wotherspoon debuted last week as did Cillian Sheridan who looks like he will need to get up to speed before we see any benefits from him. Luis Longstaff, one of our most promising player of late, was subbed off injured last week and is a doubt. Aye eye, Morgan Boyes might feature......... I'll take that as a yes. Dundee loan player Max Anderson will relish this task and I'm sure he will be a target for the 'Shed' boo boys. Ear plugs at the ready Max! Here's Dunc, learning quickly from the ICT managers handbook: Tell them nothing>>> Jim Goodwin has a wealth of funds and a Premiership squad to play around with>>> He will be without Ross Docherty for this one though as the midfielder faces a couple of weeks out with a groin strain. United team in 0-2 win at Airdrie on Tuesday night, Walton Grimshaw Gallagher Holt McMann Sibbald Docherty (Tillson 20) Fotheringham (Cudjoe 83) Glass (Mochrie 76) Middleton Watt Subs not used: Newman (gk); Denham, Graham, Moult, Freeman, Stirton Here's a date for your diary..... almost We enter the Scottish Cup with a third round home draw against Cowdenbeath. The game will be played on the weekend of the 25th of November but the date and time have still to be confirmed.

Injuries R Us With last weeks game falling foul to the weather, it might have been a blessing in disguise with one or two struggling to have made the postponed game against Morton. An extra weeks recovery might mean that we will be better equipped to face a sprightly Airdrie side who have consolidated themselves in the top half of the Championship. Game kicks off at 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium this Saturday and we might get a glimpse of new signings David Wotherspoon and Cillian Sheridan. Unfortunately Welsh, Doran, Boyes, MacGregor, Nicolson and Samuels are all out with Devine, Ujdur, Harper, Duffy and Carson all struggling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match Info/Tickets David Wotherspoon Cillian Sheridan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 8 4 0 4 13 12 +1 Away 7 2 2 3 9 15 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 15 6 2 7 22 27 -5 Only the last couple of fixtures have any relevance. The 1-0 home win was in March 2002 when Ross Tokely played and Martin Bavidge scored the winner........ Wait a minute: Ross Tokely is still playing and scoring winners 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 3 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 6 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 4 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 2 (H) March 2002: Steve Paterson's 300th game in charge produced a very welcome 1 - 0 victory which stopped a slide down the league. Ian Broadfoot reports: Caley Thistle lay fourth last Saturday but slipped to seventh in midweek without kicking a ball. This win resulted in a climb to fifth. The first half was a nervous period with Caley Thistle trying hard but achieving little. Airdrie's best chance came in the first minute when they were awarded a free kick 20 yards out. Mark Roberts drove the ball goalwards and Nicky Walker dived to make a good save. In 13 minutes a high David Bagan cross proved troublesome to Airdrie keeper Allan Ferguson but he tipped it over. Five minutes later a Barry Robson corner from the right reached Grant Munro beyond the back post but he could only bundle the ball over for a goal kick. Stuart Taylor created a chance for himself at the other end in 29 minutes but he wasted it with a scuff past the post. In 33 minutes the home sides best first half chance fell to Dennis Wyness after good interplay with Charlie Christie but the striker hit it over from 10 yards. A minute later Owen Coyle reached a corner at the back post but left it to Taylor but he mishit to concede a goal kick. The tempo of the match changed in 50 minutes when Robson sent over a cross from the left and Martin Bavidge scored at the back post despite Ferguson getting a touch. This lifted Caley Thistle and calmed a few nerves. They kept on top after that but could not score a second goal. Robson strode through the Airdrie defence just after the goal but his shot deflected off Alan McManus. On the hour mark Ferguson raced out of goal to the touchline to just beat Bavidge to the ball. Ferguson saved Airdrie again in 76 minutes when he dived at the feet of Wyness as he stretched to reach a Bavidge curling ball but it went harmlessly for a goal kick. The nerves returned in the last few minutes as Caley Thistle worked hard to preserve their lead. With three minutes left Airdrie nearly stole an equaliser when a seemingly harmless Taylor header beat Walker but came back off the post into the relieved keepers arms. Despite a seemingly endless three minutes of added time Caley Thistle held on to win. Championship Fixtures FRIDAY 27th OCTOBER Dundee Utd v Arbroath Fc Queens Pk v Partick Th SATURDAY 28th OCTOBER Ayr Utd v Morton Inverness CT v Airdrieonians Raith Rovers v Dunfermline Last Time Out Inverness were held to a no scoring draw at home to Partick Thistle. A game of few clear chances with Partick squandering the best a few minutes from the end. Still, the clean sheet was welcome. We have already played Airdrie twice this season during our defensive blunder sessions. Airdrie took full advantage winning both games. 3-2 in the Highlands on League Cup duty and 2-1 at the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium in our 3rd Championship game of the season. Nathan Shaw's second half goal was too little too late after a Cammy Harper og inside the first minute and top scorer Gallagher on the half hour did the early damage in that one. Last Five: D L L W D Airdrie also played out a draw in their last game which went ahead on Friday night in a downpour. It ended 1-1 with Queens Park after Airdrie had taken a first half lead when an error in midfield by Queens Park allowed Callum Gallagher to run through to finish with aplomb. Queens got their point when keeper Josh Rae presented Jack Turner with his opportunity which he gladly took. Last Five: L W W L D Latest Team News This was prepared for the Morton game that was postponed. Having played in the North of Scotland Cup semi-final at Nairn, Duncan Ferguson will now be without at least two of those that were beaten by Nairn. It was mainly a second string squad with some returning from injury. However, Danny Devine came off with a swollen knee and Sean Welsh now has a back injury. Add Boyes with an eye infection, Aaron Doran with a hamstring, Wallace Duffy with who knows what and longer term Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson then Ferguson does not have his troubles to seek. The good news is David Wotherspoon could be ready after playing 45 minutes on Wednesday night. Jay Emmanuel Stewart (JET) has been on trial this week. So, hopefully the extra week will see one or two be in a better place injury wise and Wotherspoon has had another week in his legs to get back up to speed. Cillian Sheridan has become the latest player to sign on until January. He's been around a bit but could still do a job for us surely. Big misses for us will be Sean Welsh, Morgan Boyes and if Ujdur, Harper and Carson fail to make it then we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel again. Aaron Doran (hamstring) and Austin Samuels (knee) have joined the long term casualy list with Roddy and Lewis. So injuries are us once more. Dunc is hopeful one or two might be fit enough but it's a waiting game after three weeks of inactivity. Airdrie v Queens Pk team lines:- Rae Megwa Watson Fordyce Hancock Frizzell McMaster Aiken (Telfer 62) McStravick Gallagher (Todorov 62) McGregor (O'Connor 78) Subs not used: Hutton; McCabe, Dunlop, McGill, Cassidy, Spalding. Airdrie have been playing some slick stuff of late and this will be a tough one, even with a full squad. Callum Gallagher is top scorer with six goals. Former Caley Jag striker Nikolay Todorov has scored a couple this season but does not always start.

MATCH POSTPONED Ton of Trouble Inverness face a basement battle with fellow strugglers Morton at Cappielow on Saturday. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick-off if storm Babet allows. It's also a coming together of our new manager and the one who thought he was top of the list for the vacant job, Dougie Imrie, the bookies favourite and who was in the running until Duncan Ferguson was announced. Could make for an interesting afternoon with the prospect of new signing David Wotherspoon getting a start. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATCH POSTPONED Match Info/Tickets Supporters Bus David Wotherspoon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 5 4 48 20 +28 Away 19 11 3 5 37 24 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 23 8 9 85 44 +41 Last time at Cappielow we escaped with all three points: 2 - 1 Vital three points at Morton: Danny Devine was missing again along with Roddy MacGregor and Walllace Duffy for this vital clash at Cappielow which could define our season. That left us with a sparse bench. For Morton, Brian Schwake was given the gloves despite his blunder against Arbroath and condemnation from his gaffer. Scott Allardice opened the scoring with a tremendous half-volley, drilling a precision shot low into the bottom corner from outside the box. David Carson popped up with the winner in the 88th minute to take a valuable three points North. Nathan Shaw did well to win the ball in his own half before sending a long diagonal ball forward that was helped onto Carson by Boyd for the wee man to finish well from inside the box after a great run forward. That win moves us to within a point of fifth placed Morton. George Oakley started up front against his old club. From an injury point of view it all sounds a bit familiar. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) Last Time Out: Inverness were held to a no scoring draw at home to Partick Thistle. A game of few clear chances with Partick squandering the best a few minutes from the end. Still, the clean sheet was welcome. Morton drew a blank with Queens Park on the same day as we drew with Partick Thistle despite a depleted squad due to flooding around Greenock An Inverness XI went out of the NoS Cup against Nairn County on Wednesday night. 2-2 after 90 minutes it went straight to a penalty shoot-out where Nairn's perfect 7 proved too good for Inverness when Zac Delaney saw his spot kick saved by MotM Nairn keeper Dylan MacLean. The other star on the night was the legend that is Ross Tokely who opened the scoring on half time. He assisted Steven Mackay to double Nairn's advantage then scored one of Nairn's penalties to round off a great night for the 44 year old veteran. Harry Lodovica was the man responsible for taking the game to a shoot-out with two well taken strikes. Alas, it was Nairn that stroked in all seven of their penalties to progress to the final where they will take on Ross County who beat Brora Rangers 3-0 in the other semi. Good luck to the Wee County! Latest Team News Having played in the North of Scotland Cup semi-final at Nairn, Duncan Ferguson will now be without at least two of those that were beaten by Nairn. It was mainly a second string squad with some returning from injury. However, Danny Devine came off with a swollen knee and Sean Welsh now has a back injury. Add Boyes with an eye infection, Aaron Doran with a hamstring, Wallace Duffy with who knows what and longer term Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson then Ferguson does not have his troubles to seek. The good news is David Wotherspoon could be ready after playing 45 minutes on Wednesday night. Jay Emmanuel Stewart (JET) has been on trial this week. Dougie Imrie's last line-up in the Championship, albeit a depleted one with only three subs>>> Morton XI v Queens Park: MacDonald Blues French Baird Waters Gillespie (McGrattan 72) Power Muirhead (Boyd 71) Crawford Wilson Oakley Subs not used: Ryan Mullen (gk)

Dunc's Homecoming It's Duncan Ferguson's first home game on Saturday against a team expected to be challenging at the top end of the table come the end of the season. Partick Thistle will be a stern test for Dunc's revitalised troops who have been re-energised by the new Gaffer's unexpected arrival at the Caledonian Stadium. He got off to a flier last weekend but the adrenaline started to wear off before the end of the game and Arbroath staged a comeback from 3-0 down before we held out for a 3-2 win on the road, our first success in this years Championship. It's a big ask to expect miracles against well established Championship challengers, but that's the task on Saturday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info North of Scotland Cup v Nairn Community development Summer report ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Time Out Inverness earned their first three points of the season last week against Arbroath in a five goal nailbiter. Dunc's reign got off to a great start with an early goal from Luis Longstaff. It was added to before the break when Longstaff turned provider for Aaron Doran to thump home his low driven cross after half an hour. Billy Mckay lobbed keeper Gaston just after the break from a Mark Ridgers kick out. Route one is alive and kicking. Arbroath got a lifeline with a freak goal when a clearance rebounded off Ross Stewart and deftly chipped over the flailing keepers hands and into the net from eighteen yards. Meh! Michael McKenna reduced the leeway to one when he arrowed home aftrer a bit of pinball on the edge of the box. We dug deep though and withstood a late barrage to secure the win for a jubilant away support and an equally enthusiastic new manager. Current Form last five games: L D L L W That leaves Inverness bottom equal with Morton on four points. Our scoring record is poor with only 6 goals scored but despite the mistakes, we haveonly conceded 10. Here's the goals from last week>>> Partick Thistle recovered from a 3-0 defeat to Arbroath the previous week to thump Dunfermline 3-0. Scott Robinson scored in the first half before our old friend Brian Graham scored five minutes after the break. Kerr McInroy added a third. This game had a raft of opportunities for both sides but it was the Firhill side that had the cutting edge in front of goal. Current Form last five games: W W W L W Good start by Partick has them tucked in behind Dundee United & Raith Rovers in 3rd place with 13 points. Partick are top scorers in the league with 17 goals having conceded 9. Latest Team News Ferguson will be without the long term absentees (MacGregor & Nicolson) plus more recent victims in Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and possibly Wallace Duffy. Partick Thistle Kris Doolan XI v Dunfermline Sneddon Ngwenya Muirhead Neilson Milne McInroy Robinson (Alston 79) Bannigan (Williamson 79) Lawless Graham (Adeloye 67) Fitzpatrick (McDonald 73) Subs not used: Diack, McGinley, Alston, Stanway, McKenzie, One for the Diary>>> ***Game Changer*** Due to a weather warning this game versus East Fife will now be played at Millburn Academy, with a 12.30pm kick-off.

Dawn of a New Era Big Dunc takes charge of his first game at Inverness with a visit to Gayfield to take on Dick Campbell's Arbroath. Kick-off is at 3:00 on Saturday with Inverness looking for a change in fortunes after a disasterous run of games saw Billy Dodds sacked after the defeat to Dundee United, with just one point from six League games and out of the League Cup and Challenge Cup. Success won't happen overnight and the Caley Jags fans might have to wait a bit for a turnaround in results, but it won't be for a lack of passion or enthusiasm for the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duncan Ferguson Match/Ticket Info Supporters Bus £20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 17 4 3 59 19 +40 Away 23 10 6 7 32 27 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 47 27 10 10 91 46 +45 We hold a big advantage over Arbroath in the H2H's but it's tighter in the away fixture. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) In our last Championship game at Arbroath - Smokies Smoked 4 - 1: Both clubs had big wins in the first games of 2023 and it was Inverness that continued in style with a 4-1 win at Gayfield. Billy Mckay, who scored a hat-trick last week, opened the scoring at the back post in the ninth minute but Ben El-Mhanni levelled fifteen minutes later when he slotted into the bottom corner. Jay Henderson put us ahead just before the break as he lifted a shot high into the net from inside the box. Twenty minutes into the second half Dan Mackay shot into the bottom corner to double our advantage. Substitute Lewis Nicolson concluded the scoring in the 86th minute with a header from sub Steven Boyd's cross. Great win on the road for the Caley Jags that moves us into sixth place in the table, eleven points behind table toppers Queens Park. Great start to 2023 for the Caley Jags with two big wins on the bounce. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Dundee Utd 6 4 2 0 12 2 14 2. Raith Rovers 6 4 1 1 10 7 13 3. Arbroath 7 4 0 3 13 8 12 4. Dunfermline 6 3 2 1 9 5 11 5. Partick Thistle 6 3 1 2 14 9 10 6. Airdrieonians 6 3 0 3 6 10 9 7. Queens Park 7 3 0 4 10 15 9 8. Ayr United 6 2 0 4 8 14 6 9. Morton 6 1 1 4 8 15 4 10. Inverness CT 6 0 1 5 3 8 1 Saturday 30th September Arbroath v Inverness CT Ayr United v Raith Rovers Dundee Utd v Queen's Park Morton v Airdrie Partick Thistle v Dunfermline Current Form Inverness start a new era tomorrow after a winless start to their Championshp campaign. However, it's a clean slate with Big Dunc at the helm although he will still have the same tools to work with. Roddy MacGregor, Lewis Nicolson, and Sean Welsh have missed out over the last month and Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy were added to the injury list last time out. We did field a Caley Jags XI in the North of Scotland cup win over Rothes with Keith Bray getting the only goal of the game.`That side was a mix of youth and fringe players with three or four first team choices making up the side. Difficult to know what players Ferguson will be looking to, but I doubt it will be a massive shift from the Dodds era this early in his role. Caley Jags so far: L L L D L L Arbroath have got their act together after a poor start to their Championship. Three straight losses have been replaced by three straight wins. Their last game was an emphatic 3-0 win at Firhill. Jermaine Hylton scored either side of a strike from Thomas O'Brien to pull them up to third in the table. Smokies so far: L L L W W W W Latest Team News: Dick Campbell had this team out against Partick Thistle: Gaston Norey Steele O'Brien (Stowe 90) Stewart Slater (Jacobs 88) Gold Dow (Candé Baldé 84) McKenna Hylton (McIntosh 84) Dünnwald-Turan (Bird 45) Adams; Lyon

The Post Dodds Era Kicks-Off Life without Billy Dodds starts on Saturday, and it couldn't be tougher with Champions elect Dundee United visiting the Caledonian Stadium for a 3:00pm Cinch Championship encounter to round off a week of turmoil down the Longman. It was a no brainer really. The Board terminated the contract of Billy Dodds, and by association, Barry Wilson was struck off as well. No wins in our opening five games and only one point from fifteen had Inverness languishing at the foot of the table on our own. DoddsBall was in full swing. It was a sacking in the making after Dodds got a stay of execution with a Cup Final against Celtic at the end of last season. The big mystery was why was Dodds given a two year extension and who rubber-stamped his contract? The other mystery is where does John Robertson's loyalties lie and who pays his wages as he is more often than not seen at the Global Energy Stadium in Dingwall? Two down and more to go is the current theme coming from the support, so who is next? John Robertson and Charlie Christie will oversee this fixture on Saturday and until a new managemnt team is appointed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Billy Dodds & Barry Wilson Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue: H2H v Dundee Utd Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 33 10 10 13 35 43 -8 Away 28 7 10 11 36 42 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 61 17 20 24 71 85 -14 United do have the edge over us but we have had our moments. A 4 - 0 thrashing of United at Tannadice in 2010 will live long in the memory banks. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee Utd going back to Oct 20th 2018: Only one win over the last ten games!!! 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 0 - 3 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) The last meeting between the sides at the Caledonian Stadium was in November 2019 and the home fans were left scunnered in a 0 - 3 defeat. SCUNNERED: Dundee United cruised to victory in the Highlands as disparity on the park mirrored that off the park. United were worthy winners as Inverness struggled to find any momentum and it was left to desperation and Mark Ridgers to keep the score down. Shaun Rooney deflected a forced Paul McMullan cross/shot into the net. A reaction save from Siegrist blocked a James Keatings effort before the break but that was as good as it got for the hosts. Nicky Clark stroked in the second as we unravelled and a cheap penalty saw Lawrence Shankland complete the scoring, but not the agony as we failed to trouble the United keeper with a series of fluffed attempts whilst United looked more likely to increase their lead. A poor day at the office that had the home fans shaking heads long before the end as we lose ground on the three teams above us. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Ayr thrashing Queens Park 5-2 tonight 1. Raith Rovers 5 4 1 0 10 6 13 2. Dundee Utd 5 3 2 0 11 2 11 3. Partick Thistle 5 3 1 1 14 6 10 4. Arbroath 6 3 0 3 10 8 9 5. Queens Park 6 3 0 3 8 10 9 6. Dunfermline 5 2 2 1 6 4 8 7. Airdrieonians 5 2 0 3 5 10 6 8. Morton 5 1 1 3 7 12 4 9. Ayr United 5 1 0 4 3 12 3 10. Inverness CT 5 0 1 4 3 7 1 Friday 22nd September Queen's Pk 2-5 Ayr United Saturday 23rd September Airdrie v Raith Rvrs Dunfermline v Morton Inverness v Dundee Utd Partick v Arbroath Last Time Out We didn't know it at the time, but It turned out to be Billy Dodds last game in charge. Ironically, it happened to be our best performance of the season. However, the result remained the same, and we lost a 23 year unbeaten record to Raith Rovers who find themselves top of the league ahead of this weekends fixtures. An aesthetically pleasing first half gave way to a less impressive second forty-five before we succumbed to a late sucker punch when Jamie Gullan hammered home after a defensive lapse. Hard one to take but that's what happens when you're down. Championship form so far: L L L D L One Point from fifteen The Arabs are everyones favourites for the title, but they dropped two points last week when Morton came back to earn a point shortly after Mathew Cudjoe had been sent off. Robbie Muirhead capitalised on a defensive error on the hour after Louis Moult had given United a first half lead with his fifth strike of the season. Championship form so far: W D W W D Eleven Points from fifteen Latest Team News The Robertson/Christie combo will be without MacGregor, Nicolson and Welsh who have been out for a few weeks and nothing has changed there. However, we are in limbo, therefore who knows if Robbo and Charlie will rock the boat too much. It's a difficult enough task to pick up a team low on confidence, even moreso when the title favourites come calling. Harry Lodovica will be available for selection after his red card at Arbroath. Here's Ryan's Dad>>> Dundee United (Manager Jim Goodwin) In: Declan Gallagher, defender (St Mirren); Louis Moult, forward (Burton Albion); Ross Docherty, midfielder (Partick Thistle); Kevin Holt, defender (Partick Thistle); Liam Grimshaw, midfielder (Morton). Loan in: Jordan Tillson, midfielder (Ross County); Jack Walton, goalkeeper (Luton); Oliver Denham, defender (Cardiff City). Out: A number of players were deemed surplus to requirements at Tannadice as United up their game in their bid to bounce back into the Premiership. Charlie Mulgrew retired and the exprienced Steven Fletcher and Peter Pawlett are away amongst others. Louis Moult is a proven goascorer and will need close attention. Glen Middleton is a handful as well and an able provider. To be fair, as expected, United appear to have the strongest squad on paper. Dundee United Team v Morton last week 1-1: Walton Grimshaw (Meekison 84) Gallagher Holt McMann Tillson Glass (Sibbald 69) Middleton Watt (Fotheringham 68) Anim Cudjoe (58) Moult Subs not used: Newman; Freeman, Stirton, Graham, Mochrie, Denholm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget, there's still an open meeting at the Innes Bar to discuss our current plight amongst other things. Dodds no more. But there's still Gardiner, Robertson and more to discuss. Come along and have your say. Innes Bar (Beer Garden) 61 Innes Street Inverness IV1 1NR TIME: 12:00-2:15

They'll be dancing on the streets After more than twenty years of trying to beat the Caley Jags, Raith Rovers will never get a better chance to win a game against us than this weekend at Starks Park. The last time we lost, Steps were top of the charts with 'Stomp'. The untennable word is ready to hit the press as Inverness continue their downward spiral after eight big boy games in a row without a win and only one draw to show for it. No excuses anymore, we have underperformed everywhere we go and the current regime are taking this club down to the gutter. Billy Dodds is under fire and rightly so as football is a results driven business. He might be the fall guy here though and none of his seniors at the club is smelling of roses at the moment. Robbo can be seen elsewhere on Saturdays while his team suffer another embarrassing defeat. Scot Gardiner is dishing out jobs for the boys and the stench of failure is unbearable. When will it stop? When will the Chairman wake up and smell the stench? One point from a possible twelve is relegation form. Better managers have been sacked for less. How long do we wait??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Supporters Bus £20 Supporters Trust ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supporters Trust have called for an open meeting to discuss the Matchday Experience Survey and the demise of our club amongst other things. The natives are restless and the long knives have been drawn for a while now with most fans not liking the direction we are moving towards. One point from a possible twelve makes us relegation candidates and management decisions are being questioned by a disgruntled support who feel many of these decisions are not in the best interest of this club. Come along and let the voice of the support be heard on Saturday 23rd September before the Dundee United game,12:00 – 14:15 @ The Innes Bar (Beer Garden), 61 Innes St, Inverness IV1 1NR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Raith Rovers Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 14 5 2 40 15 +25 Away 17 9 5 3 34 21 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 38 23 10 5 74 36 +38 We first met Raith in 1999 and went down 2-0. Report by Ian Broadfoot: Caley Thistle lost this game because of a dismal first half performance. They came out fighting in the second half and matched Raith well but produced no goals. Raith took the lead in the ninth minute after a Jay Stein corner from the right - Marvin Andrews rose above Mann to head downwards and into the net. In 24 minutes the second goal came courtesy of an error. Mann was too slow passing back to Fridge and Didier Agathe stepped in and he ran on and volleyed past Fridge from 20 yards. Caley Thistle hit on the occasional breakaway but to little effect. A disappointing afternoon for the home support despite a spirited fight back. Caley Thistle now slip to second bottom of Division 1. Sounds familiar!!! Fast forward to October 28th 2000. Five defeats and a draw later for the Caley Jags, Raith Rovers would win their last fixture against us over 90 minutes. Unbelievably that is 23 years next month. That unbeaten run is under serious threat as under fire Billy Dodds takes his hapless cloggers down to Kirkaldy. I fear there will be dancing on the streets of Raith after this one. Prove me wrong! Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Raith Rovers 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Ayr United v Partick Thistle (Friday night 19:45) 1. Dundee Utd 4 3 1 0 10 1 10 2. Raith Rovers 4 3 1 0 9 6 10 3. Queens Park 5 3 0 2 8 8 9 4. Partick Thistle 4 2 1 1 10 6 7 5. Airdrieonians 4 2 0 2 5 6 6 6. Arbroath 5 2 0 3 6 8 6 7. Dunfermline 4 1 2 1 4 4 5 8. Morton 4 1 0 3 6 11 3 9. Ayr United 4 1 0 3 3 8 3 10. Inverness CT 4 0 1 3 3 6 1 FRIDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER Ayr United v Partick Thistle SATURDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER Arbroath FC v Airdrieonians United v Morton Queens Park v Dunfermline Raith Rovers v Inverness CT Last Championship game v Pars Our last Championship game saw us gain our first point of the season. However one point from a possible twelve is nothing to crow about. We took an early lead throgh a Nathan Shaw strike with the keeper not covering himself in glory. Alas the confidence is not there and Dunfermline thoroughly deserved their point and probably were unlucky not to take all three but for a great late save from Mark Ridgers. However the defence will be disappointed with the goal we lost as the errors continue to mount up. Current League Form L L L D F3 A6 Latest Team News Billy Dodds will be without MacGregor, Nicolson, Welsh and the suspended Harry Lodovica. We had made eight changes to the starting XI last week against Arbroath, therefore I would expect Billy Mckay, Danny Devine and Max Anderson to be back in the side (should Max be fit). Wallace Duffy was replaced just before the interval last week and is a doubt with a hamstring niggle. Mark Ridgers will surely be back between the sticks, although in his last appearance he was a bit suspect at the Dunfermline goal along with two or three of his defenders. Nikola Ujdur might be over here by next week according to Dodds, i'll no hold my breath... A less than ebullient Billy Dodds What's new at Stark's Park In: Jack Hamilton, forward (Livingston); Keith Watson, defender (Ross County); Kevin Dabrowski, goalkeeper (Hibs); Euan Murray, defender (Hartlepool United); Josh Mullin, midfielder (Ayr United); Dylan Corr, defender (Celtic); Scott McGill, midfielder (Hearts, loan to permanent); Callum Smith, forward (Airdrie). Loan in: Shaun Byrne, midfielder (Dundee). Out: Jamie MacDonald, goalkeeper (Morton); Brad Spencer, midfielder (Falkirk); Tom Lang, defender (Falkirk); Ryan Nolan, defender (Hercules); Connor McBride, midfielder (Gateshead); Greig Young, defender (Dumbarton); Luke Mahady, forward (Bonnyrigg Rose). Loan ended: Isma Goncalves, forward (Livingston); William Akio, midfielder (Ross County); Kieran Ngwenya (Aberdeen). Loan out: Andy McNeil, goalkeeper (Edinburgh City); Kieran Mitchell, forward (East Fife). Last Championship game for Raith Rovers Ian Murray's Raith beat ten man Queens Park 3-2 after coming from behind with two late goals by substitute Lewis Vaughan in the last five minutes. Raith had opened the scoring in the eighth minute through Callum Smith's header. Queens then had William Tizzard sent off before the interval. They hit back after the hour with goals from Turner and Thomas before Vaughan's late brace secured the points that keeps Raith level at the top with Dundee United. Current League Form: D W W W F9 A6 Raith lineup v Queens Park Dabrowski Millen Watson Murray (Ross 84) McGill (Dick 75) Brown Mullin (Easton 75) Byrne Stanton (Vaughan 62) Smith Hamilton (Gullan 45) Subs not used: Thompson; Dick Arnott, Masson A game at the Gleaner Arena, or as we all know it, Boroughbriggs. Good luck to our u18's as they take on Elgin City in the Scottish Youth Cup.

Finger Out Time With the fans restless, it's time for the Caley Jags to get their season started and get some points on the board. Many fans have lost any lingering faith in the current regime from the top to the bottom and would like to see change. Yes, it's only three games into the season, but the signs are there for all to see. A lack of direction on and off the park is worrying. Who replaced Robbie Deas? The answer is nobody. Hence our defence is riddled with errors at the moment. Deas leaving has been known for at least six months yet we have done nothing about it. Why? We have been scraping the bottom of the transfer barrel for a while now and performances on the park have reached an unacceptable level. The fans are disgruntled, the manager is getting some heavy flak, the Sporting Director is seen more at Dingwall at the weekends commentating on other sides whilst his own team are floundering, the CEO is taking us down a perilous route with no light at the end of the tunnel after a series of money making ventures have failed. We were well warned, now it's time for the Chairman to speak out before it's too late. We face Dunfermline on Saturday in what many believe could be a season defining encounter. Win and we will paper over the cracks for a while, lose and the only real option is wholesale change from the very top. As Richard Osman would say, we are pointless. The Pars have claimed four points from their opening fixtures; it's time to close that gap. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match & Ticket Info Max Anderson Morgan Boyes Nikola Ujdur ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Dunfermline Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 8 5 30 21 +9 Away 24 9 10 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 49 19 19 11 62 51 +11 We missed the Pars last season as they were busy getting themselves promoted from League 1 along with Airdrie. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dunfermline 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) The last time we met was a 2-0 win for Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium at the end of season 2021/2022 Inverness took a massive step towards a play off place by defeating Dunfermline Athletic for the first time this season. An encouraging but goalless first half where Reece McAlear had hit the post was replaced by a two goal second half with chances at both ends. The deadlock was broken by a man who only scores screamers. Reece McAlear lashed the ball across the keeper and into the top right corner of the goal from a difficult position wide on the inside right area. What a strike that was but it only woke the Pars up from their lethargy and they had three or four great opportunities before substitute Austin Samuels sealed the points after he sprinted on to a through ball from Aaron Doran to slot neatly behind Mehmet in goal. Comfortable thereafter for the remainder of the game and an excellent three points to strengthen our hold on third place. Last Time Out Despite Billy Dodds oddly claiming we started well against Airdrie, we went a goal down after 35 seconds. And just to rub it in, it was an own goal as Cammy Harper prodded a deflected cross past Mark Ridgers before the sugar had been added to the coffee. The second goal was another defensive masterclass (NOT) as Devine was caught unawares when Davidson tried to play a short ball to him. Top scorer Calum Ferguson needed no second invitation to bury it behind Ridgers and once more leave us chasing the game. Not even with Airdrie being reduced to 10 men could we get anything. Our MotM Nathan Shaw pulled a goal back in the second half but we were unable to complete the comeback thanks to a combination of keeper Josh Rae, the woodwork and some rank rotten finishing. That was on the back of defeats to Queens Park and Ayr United. Meh! The Pars lost their big Fife derby match with Raith Rovers thanks to a Sam Stanton first half goal. It was a tight affair with Rovers just shading it. Rhys Breen and Ewan Otoo went close after the break for the Pars and Stanton almost added a second in front of over 7500 fans but the hosts fell just short. Dunfermline opened their campaign coming from behind to beat Airdrie 2-1 (Otoo & Allan) and followed that up with an encouraging 1-1 draw at Tannadice. Wighton had put the Pars ahead and it took United until the 95th minute to make their point. Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Queens Park 4 3 0 1 6 5 1 9 2. Dundee Utd 3 2 1 0 8 1 7 7 3. Raith Rovers 3 2 1 0 6 4 2 7 4. Airdrieonians 3 2 0 1 5 4 1 6 5. Partick Thistle 3 1 1 1 6 5 1 4 6. Dunfermline 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 7. Morton 3 1 0 2 5 7 -2 3 8. Arbroath 4 1 0 3 4 7 -3 3 9. Ayr United 3 1 0 2 2 6 -4 3 10. Inverness CT 3 0 0 3 2 5 -3 0 Championship Fixtures Saturday 2nd September Inverness CT v Dunfermline Arbroath v Ayr Utd United v Airdrie Morton v Partick Rovers v Queen's Results so far Inverness 1-2 Queens Pk Ayr United 1-0 Inverness Airdrie 2-1 Inverness Dunfermline 2-1 Airdrieonians Dundee Utd 1-1 Dunfermline Dunfermline 0-1 Raith Rovers Latest Team News Inverness moved into the transfer market to try and arrest our slump and have secured a season long loan for Max Anderson from Dundee. Does this tell us that MacGregor and Welsh might be out for some time or that Glimour and co are not up to the task? Welsh and MacGregor missed out at Airdrie again along with long term Lewis Nicolson. Aaron Doran also missed the Airdrie game. Not sure what's up there as he played in the Inverness Cup game against Clach and looked sharp. Apparently we are actively trying to source a defender to plug the gaps........... And, ask and ye shall get. We have signed defender Morgan Boyes on a season long loan from Livingston and he will be available for selection for the Pars game tomorrow. We have also signed Nikola Ujdur, an Australian defender, on a two year deal. Sean Welsh is still out so I would expext Max Anderson to be in with a shout of starting this one. Here's our latest Max Dunfermline have some new faces. We won't concern ourselves with who they don't have, but here are their latest signings: In: Michael O'Halloran, forward (St Johnstone); Kane Ritchie-Hosler, midfielder (Rangers, loan to permanent); Ewan Otoo, defender (Celtic, loan to permanent); Sam Fisher, defender (Dundee). Loan in: Harry Sharp, goalkeeper (Dundee); Ben Summers, midfielder (Celtic). Joe Chalmers is still at East End Park and Michael O'Halloren and Craig Wighton are an experienced partnership up front. Pars Team v Raith Rovers last week Sharp Fisher Benedictus Breen (Sutherland 86) Comrie Chalmers Otoo McCann Edwards Wighton O'Halloran (Summers 63) Subs not used: Little; Hamilton, Allan, Fenton, Tod

Diamonds Away It's another tough away day for the Caley Jags as they head to the Excelsior Stadium for a Championship encounter against promoted Airdrieonians, a side that have already beaten us in the League Cup game at the Caledonian Stadium by the odd goal in five. It's scheduled for a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday as Inverness look for their first points of the season and The Diamonds looking to consolidate their good start to life in the Championship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/ticket/Bus info £20 Inverness Cup Final Success Max Ram Supporters are reminded that roadworks in the vicinity of the stadium, alongside the partial closure of Petersburn Road, are causing significant delays. Please plan accordingly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ League Cup game at the Caledonian Stadium this season is the only relevant game between these sides in 21 years: 2 - 3 The only highlights for us was a stunning strike from Charlie Gilmour after we gifted Airdrie a two goal start and Billy Mckay's record breaking 102nd goal, a penalty he won then converted. Airdrie benefitted from slack defending, something that has typified our poor start to the season, and scored twice in the first half through Ballantyne and Telfer. Having drawn level our old chum Nikolay Todorov struck the winning blow after more defensive frailties in the final minute. Meh! We also lost the services of young defender Lewis Nicolson that day after he appeared to catch his studs in the turf early in the game. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Queens Park 3 3 0 0 5 2 9 2. Dundee Utd 2 1 1 0 5 1 4 3. Raith Rovers 2 1 1 0 5 4 4 4. Dunfermline 2 1 1 0 3 2 4 5. Morton 2 1 0 1 5 4 3 6. Airdrieonians 2 1 0 1 3 3 3 7. Ayr United 2 1 0 1 2 3 3 8. Partick Thistle 2 0 1 1 3 4 1 9. Inverness CT 2 0 0 2 1 3 0 10. Arbroath 3 0 0 3 1 7 0 Championship Fixtures Saturday 25th August 3:00pm Airdrieonians v Inverness CT Ayr United v Dundee United Dunfermline v Raith Rovers Morton v Arbroath Partick Thistle v Queen's Park Last Time Out Inverness went down 1-0 at Ayr. A tight game but another defeat, five in a row now. Francis Amartey made the difference with a first half goal and Nathan Shaw hit the post with just the keeper to beat. Our previous fixture was a 1-2 defeat to last seasons bogey boys Queens Park. It was a case of too little too late against the Spiders who took advantage of defensive errors to coast into a two goal lead before Jake Davidson headed in near the final whistle. Dom Thomas and Tommy Robson were the scorers for Queens Park. That opening defeats leave us bottom of the table with Arbroath. We did win something though. We lifted the Inverness Cup in a 4-1 win over Clachnacuddin on Tuesday night. A first half hat-trick from big Harry Lodovica did the damage with youngster Lewis Mackie rounding off the scoring in the second half. Former Inverness youth Calum Ferguson scored the Clach goal in what turned out to be a useful exercise for both clubs. Airdrie ran Ross County close in the League Cup before going out 4-3 after extra time. County looked like putting Airdrie to the sword early on with two goals from Kyle Turner and Jordan White inside seven minutes. Gallagher pulled one back before the break but County restored their two goal advantage two minutes later through Simon Murray. Gallagher scored a late penalty to send the tie to an unlikely extra-time but County won it when Eamonn Brophy scored the winner. In their opening day fixture Airdrie went down 2-1 at Dunfermline (Craig Watson had put Airdrie ahead ) but bounced back to beat Partick Thistle in the next game, McGill and Gallagher the scorers. Latest Team News Inverness still have a few injury doubts. Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson are out longer term. Sean Welsh and Danny Devine have missed the last couple of games but Austin Samuels and Adam Brooks played for an hour in the Inverness Cup win over Clachnacuddin on Tuesday night. Harry Lodovica got a confidence boosting hat-trick against Clach and Wallace Duffy and Aaron Doran came through unscathed. Defender Max Ram has left the Caley Jags to join English National League North side Gloucester City AFC. Max joined us from Wycombe Wanderers last summer and made 14 appearances for the club, scoring once. Welsh still having problems with his groin so he will miss out again. Keith Bray has been the big success story so far, so hopefully he will get some game time and maybe Harry will see some action after his cup final treble. Airdrieonians have lost Justin Devenny since we last played them a month ago. The 19 year old Northern Irishman has joined Crystal Palace. Player Manager Rhys McCabe left Firhill on a stretcher and is out for a couple of months at least with a knee injury. Calum Gallagher is the top scorer this season with three goals and former Caley Jag Nikolay Todorov and Josh O'Connor have two apiece. Airdrie have signed a midfielder today (Friday) in former Rangers and St Mirren youth Gavin Gallagher.

Ayr Away Matchday two will see us head to Somerset Park Ayr for a tough game against the Honest Men. It's a standard 3:00pm kick-off and both clubs will be looking for better results after drawing blanks in the opening day fixtures when Ayr went down 3-1 at Morton and we lost 2-1 at the Caledonian Stadium to Queens Park. Like us, Ayr have brought in five new faces for this campaign and lost some familiar faces. Notable outs are the Championship's top scorer Dipo Akinyemi who has gone to York City and long time servant Michael Moffat who spent eleven years over two spells at Somerset Park scoring 77 goals in 263 appearances. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match /Ticket/Bus Info (£20) 3 For the Future Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ayr United have advised that there will be no cash gates in operation and tickets must be purchased online. ICT supporters can purchase tickets HERE (West Stand only) Adult – £22 Concession – £15 (Over 65s and Students) Juvenile – £15 (13-17-years-old) Child – £6 (Under 13s) Venue - H2H v Ayr United Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 11 3 39 26 +13 Away 25 12 6 7 47 31 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 49 22 17 10 86 57 +29 Last seasons Competitive Meetings: Ayr finished 2nd last season, we finished 6th. 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Two away wins last season but the final game ended our interest in promotion: The final game of the regular season would decide who went into the play-offs and who ended their league campaign now. It couldn't be tighter across the Championship on Winner Takes All Weekend. David Carson was a surprise omission from the starting XI after his Cup suspension with Wallace Duffy retaining his place at right back. Billy Mckay was hoping to be a record breaker as he searched for his 101st goal for the Caley Jags. Only a win would be good enough for Inverness who could finish third or sixth, depending on results elsewhere. A win would end speculation and put Inverness in the play-offs. As it turned out we ended the season in sixth place and Ayr, Queen's Park and Partick Thistle will battle it out in the play-offs for a Premiership place alongside Champions Dundee. Ayr United never read the script properly and deservedly took the plaudits in a 2-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium. A first half goal from Josh Mullin who looked close to being offside and Nathan Shaw in a crowded box with ten minutes left looked to be enough for the Honest Men. However Mark McKenzie ensured it would be Ayr's night with an 88th minute strike to shatter our hopes after such a strong finish to the season. Alas we fell at the last hurdle and now have a month to wait for a Scottish Cup Final appearance. SATURDAY 12th AUGUST 3:00pm Airdrie v Partick Ayr United v Inverness CT Dundee Utd v Dunfermline Queen's Pk v Arbroath FC Raith v Morton Team News Inverness CT will be without Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson for the first few months with knee injuries. Sean Welsh has a groin injury and will miss out again. Adam Brooks missed the Queens Park game whilst Danny Devine remained on the bench after injury. New sensation Keith Bray has a bright future ahead of him and will be difficult to keep out of the starting XI given his performances off the bench recently and Billy Mckay will be eager to add to his record breaking exploits at Inverness. We have frailties in defence and errors are costing us big time at the moment so we'll have to see if Billy Dodds will address those issues as rumours abound on new recruits. Here's our latest signings from the Academy Sam Nixon, Calum MacLeod and Jack Walker have all signed 2-year full-time Apprenticeship contracts with the club. Good luck to these guys as they sign their first professional contract. Ayr United have done some shrewd business in the summer, Aiden McGeady and Jamie Murphy signing on, but have also lost some quality; Akinyemi, Moffat, Mullin and keeper McAdams departing. McAllister and Murdoch both took knocks at Cappielow but are hopeful making the squad. Here's Lee Bullen with the Billy Dodds script after the game at Morton:- Ins & Outs @ Ayr In: Jamie Murphy, forward (St Johnstone); George Stanger, defender (Alloa Athletic); Olly Pendlebury, midfielder (Aldershot Town); Francis Amartey, forward (Aldershot Town); Robbie Mutch, goalkeeper (Edinburgh). Loan in: Elicha Ahui, defender (Lincoln City). Out: Dipo Akinyemi, forward (York City, undisclosed); Daire O'Connor, midfielder (Glentoran); Josh Mullin, midfielder (Raith Rovers); Jordan Houston, defender (Queen of the South); Michael Hewitt, midfielder (Hamilton Academical); James Dolan, midfielder (Stranraer); Kinlay Bilham, defender (Stenhousemuir); Michael Moffat, forward (Glenafton Athletic, loan to permanent); Jayden Mitchell-Lawson, midfielder; Chris Maguire, forward; Aidan McAdams, goalkeeper; Alex Jeanes, defender and David Bangala has also left the club, he had been on loan at Cove Rangers. Loan ended: Alex Kirk, defender (Arsenal); Reece McAlear, midfielder (Tranmere Rovers). Loan out: Lyall Holding, defender (Glenafton Athletic). Ayr United team in 3-1 defeat at Cappielow: Albinson McAllister (Ahui 45) Musonda McGinty Reading Amartey (Rose 70) Dempsey Murdoch (Pendelbury 40) Murphy McKenzie (Ashford 81) Bryden (McGeady 70) Subs not used: Mutch; Smith, Ecrepont, Tomlinson.

  Let's Do This!   The Championship kicks off on Friday night with title favourites Dundee United visiting Arbroath. For the rest of us mere mortals, it all begins on Saturday at 3:00pm and we are at the Caledonian Stadium to host Queens Park, a side we never got the better of last season. Five attempts to beat them on the park and our only 'success' came off the park in the Scottish Cup when Queens were turfed out of the competition for fielding an ineligible player. Thank you Euan Henderson, you saved last season from being a complete failure to just a failure! We start the season with five new players and our major departures were Scott Allardice and Robbie Deas. Loan players Dan Mackay and Jay Henderson were also returned to their parent clubs.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Harry Lodovica Mathew Strachan Harry Hennem Ethan Cairns OFFICIAL PREVIEW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     Last seasons Meetings including 0-2 Cup Loss at Home 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H)   FRIDAY 4TH AUGUST   Arbroath v Dundee Utd SATURDAY 5TH AUGUST Dunfermline v Airdrieonians Morton v Ayr Utd. Inverness CT v Queen's Park Partick v Rovers Team News Inverness signed five players during the summer. Defender Jake Davidson, midfielder Charlie Gilmour, forwards Adam Brooks, Luis Longstaff and Harry Lodovica, a work in progress, being the last signing. Unfortunately we have lost young left back Lewis Nicolson to what seems to be a fairly serious knee injury. Promising youngsters Ethan Cairns, Harry Hennem and Mathew Strachan have all been loaned out to Highland League sides until January ahead of the start of the Championship. Roddy MacGregor is going back under surgery for his knee and will be out for possibly three/four months. Lewis Nicolson is out with a knee injury. Danny Devine and Sean Welsh will be touch and go but Adam Brooks should return to the squad. Keith Bray looks likely to be the breakthrough kid this season. He showed up well in pre-season and League Cup encounters. Hear from Dodds ahead of the Queens Park game   Caley Jags No1   Where's Harry? Here he is>>>     Queens Park are a much changed side from the one that toyed with us last season. New head coach Robin Veldman comes in from Anderlecht. Simon Murray left last January and is now scoring over the Bridge, and the giant defender Stephen Eze is away. In: Sam Kane, goalkeeper (Rangers); Will Tizzard, defender (Southampton); Jack Spong, midfielder (Brighton); Jack Turner, midfielder (Southampton); Rocco Hickey-Fugaccia, forward (Livingston); Ruiri Paton, forward (Queen of the South). Loans in: Barry Hepburn, midfielder (Bayern Munich). Out: Owen Coyle, head coach; Jake Davidson of course who joined ICT,  defenders Lee Kilday, Callum Yeats, Stephen Eze, Liam McQuaid and Max Gillies; midfielders Liam Brown, Calum Biggar and Lewis Moore; forward Gregor Nicol, Loan ended: Marcel Oakley, defender (Birmingham City); Malachi Boateng, midfielder (Crystal Palace), Josh McPake, midfielder (Rangers); Connor Shields, forward (Motherwell); Euan Henderson, forward (Hearts). Queens Park lost out 1-2 to Queen of the South in their last League Cup game and like us they failed to progress to the next stage of the competition. They were reduced to ten men when Fox was red carded just after the interval. They did miss a late penalty through Ruari Paton and Aaron Healy scored a last minute consolation for QP who won only 4 points in their group games with one win and a draw. They had scored six goals for the loss of three. Ruari Paton was the top scorer with four goals against Elgin City in a 5-0 thrashing with Charlie Fox scoring the other. Dom Thomas is credited with a couple of assists and he likes to wind us up. A 0-0 draw with East Fife was followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat at Motherwell where QP gave a good account of themselves. Queens Park team v Queen of the South: McKenna   Longridge   Bannon   Fox    Robson   Thomson (Healy 78)   Spong   Turner (Tizzard 49)   Hepburn (Bruce 64)   Paton   Thomas (McLeish 78)       If you need something to cheer you up, watch all of record breaker Billy Mckay's 102 Inverness CT goals>>>  

WINNER TAKES ALL WEEKEND We have had Helicopter Weekend, it's now time for Winner Takes All Weekend. It all boils down to the last game of the regular Championship season at both ends of the table, unless of course you are Raith Rovers, the only club with nothing left to play for. Promotion will be confirmed on Friday night when Queens Park host Dundee. Jostling for a play off place will end and someone will be relegated. But who will it be, that is the $64,000 dollar question? After the excitement of last weekend at Hampden Park, it would be extremely disappointing should we miss out on the play-offs after a tremendous late run from the Caley Jags has put us within touching distance of a few extra games for promotion. It's a massive ask after the schedule the team has faced in April, but we are the form side at the moment with most of our key players back in the squad. Only victory over Ayr United will be good enough. A draw keeps Ayr above us on goal difference. Huge game, let's get behind the boys and roar them into the play-offs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATCH/TICKET INFO OFFICIAL PotY VOTE CUP FINAL DATE CUP FINAL FARCE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It really is a must win game on Friday night at 7:45pm. Anything but a win and we are out of the play-offs. It's as simple as that. Get behind the guys for this game, it's massive. Ayr will have a sizeable travelling support, let's give some noise to the Caley Thistle Boys This Season v Ayr Two wins and a draw. First game at Somerset Park was 1 - 0 for the Caley Jags. Despite Ayr dominating possession, Cammy Harper glanced in the only goal of the game a couple of minutes after the interval. Return fixture in the Highlands ended all square at 2 - 2. Inverness came from behind twice to earn a draw. Mark McKenzie opened the scoring early before Nathan Shaw levelled. Akinyemi looked to have given Ayr all three points with a late strike but Shaw did it again with an even later strike to save the day. The last one at the beginning of March saw Inverness take all three points with a 2 - 1 win after Akinyemi had put Ayr ahead only for Sean Welsh and Jay Henderson to win the game for the visitors. Not a lot between the sides, but so far we have found a way to win two of the three encounters. Venue - H2H v Ayr United Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 11 2 38 24 +14 Away 25 12 6 7 47 31 +16 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 48 22 17 9 85 55 +30 Historically we hold a big advantage in H2H's with Ayr United since we first met back in 1999 at Somerset Park. That one ended 0 - 1 to Ayr with Glynn Hurst the scorer in the 90th minute: Caley Thistle came within a minute of gaining their first league point of the season but a Glynn Hurst goal denied them. They spent virtually the whole game defending against a spirited Ayr attack, Micky Reynolds and Glynn Hurst in particular caused many problems. Just when it looked as if Caley Thistle were going to hold out Hurst struck. Danny Lennon sent over a lob from left to right, Hurst chested it down then shot home from a difficult angle. Fridge got a touch but it was not enough. Ayr achieved the victory they deserved and Caley Thistle remain pointless. Report by Ian Broadfoot Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Some memorable games have been had between the sides. Who can forget the incredible Scottish Cup Tie in 2001, 4 - 3 at the Caledonian Stadium, or the Dennis Wyness hat-trick inspired 7 - 3 win in December 2000, also in the Highlands. My pick was the Championship winning side demolishing Ayr 7 - 0 in April 2010 at Somerset Park. Best day out ever: Caley Thistle went out and had fun today... 7 goals from 7 different scorers meant ICT recorded the biggest victory in the SFL for the season as the large travelling support partied in style. Apparently, there was a match yesterday that briefly interrupted a day long travelling party. A thousand or so highlanders settled(!) down at 3pm. to be treated to as fluent a display of celebration football as you are ever likely to see, and it was important that they did get there at 3pm, because the game was effectively over by quarter past. Ayr United played their part by providing one of the best playing surfaces that I've seen at this end of a season and leaving their defence somewhere else in Ayrshire. They also gave our fans a huge terracing playground that was utilised to the full. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Friday nights title decider and relegation crunch. 1. Dundee 35 16 12 7 61 37 60 2. Queens Park 35 17 7 11 60 47 58 3. Partick Thistle 35 16 8 11 63 43 56 4. Ayr United 35 15 10 10 59 42 55 5. Inverness CT 35 15 10 10 51 45 55 6. Morton 35 14 12 9 51 42 54 7. Raith Rovers 35 11 9 15 44 47 42 8. Arbroath 35 6 15 14 29 47 33 9. Cove Rangers 35 7 10 18 37 73 31 10. Hamilton Ac. 35 7 9 19 31 63 30 Friday night 7:45pm Arbroath v Accies Cove Ran v Morton Inverness CT v Ayr United Queen's v Dundee Rovers v Partick Last Time Out Forget the Cup, that's different gravy. Our last Championship game was a hard fought draw against Dundee. Lyall Cameron had given the visitors the lead on the hour before substitute Austin Samuels salvaged a point for us fifteen minutes later. It's been an electrifying month for Billy Dodds and the players. Six wins and a draw which includes the semi-final win over Falkirk. Championship wins starting at Cappielow, then beating Raith Rovers, Arbroath, away to Cove and Hamilton before the draw with Dundee in the Highlands. April results in Championship. W W W W D Ayr have also clawed their way back into contention after an April crisis with a series of draws that saw them drop below Inverness before they beat Raith Rovers 1-0 whilst we were at Hampden thanks to a Frankie Musonda header. Last six results for Ayr starting with a win at Cove and ending with that win against Raith Rovers. Sandwiched in between were a loss to Arbroath followed by draws with Morton, Partick and Queens Park. WL D D D W Latest Team News We had pretty much a full squad at Hampden although we were without the suspended David Carson and cup-tied Lewis Nicolson. Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh will miss the rest of the season. Good luck to Billy Mckay who is on 100 Caley Jags goals, just one short of Sir Dennis Wyness the all time record scorer on 101. What better time to do it Billy... Ayr United had this starting XI against Raith Rovers: Albinson Hewit Musonda McGinty Reading Mullin McAlear Murdoch Ashford Maguire Akinyemi Subs: McAdams; O'Connor, Mitchell-Lawson, McKenzie, Bryden, Smith, Jenkins Dipo Akinyemi is the major goal threat with 20 goals and 8 assists and he is not afraid to offload with 94 shots. Josh Mullin and Ben Dempsey are both on 7 goals. Frankie Musonda will be a threat at set pieces with his power in the air. Sam Ashford is a willing runner and provider and is also not afraid to shoot on site. This season has seen Lee Bullen's Ayr United achieve their highest points total in over 20 years. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you voted in the official Player of the Year/Goal of the Year Poll??? Here's the choice of Goals>>> Vote HERE

Crunch Time Big game in the Highlands on Saturday as Champions in waiting Dundee head North to the Caledonian Stadium. It's a 3:00pm kick-off, and a big following is expected as the Dark Blues look to get the automatic promotion slot ahead of the imploding Queens Park and the unlikely trio of Ayr United, Morton and Inverness who are making a late bid for the top four. There will be a minutes applause ahead of kick-off in memory of former groundsman Tommy Cumming who passed away on 20th April. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tommy Cumming RIP Match/Ticket info Your Cub Needs You Scottish Cup Tickets/Travel AGM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 7 8 2 27 16 +11 Away 21 7 9 5 29 26 +3 Neutral 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 Total 40 14 17 9 58 46 +12 Overall we still hold the advantage over Dundee in the forty games played. All square in the meetings so far this season, but Dundee won on their last visit to the Caledonian Stadium Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (A) McMullan strikes: 0 - 1 Dec3rd: Dundee came North as one of the form teams in the championship over the last half dozen games. Naughty boy Paul McGowan was not in the squad. Inverness were still without 75% of their first picks but Daniel Mackay made his comeback last week and Ryan Barrett made his debut against Stirling in the Cup. Paul McMullan opened the scoring midway through the first half after cutting in from the left before curling past Cammy Mackay. Almost a second as the ball deflected onto the bar before Mackay picked up the rebound after the half hour. George Oakley missed what appeared to be a sitter from eight yards as half time approached as Aaron Doran swung in an inviting cross. With no further scoring in the second half, Dundee took the three points and Inverness remain in sixth place, but starting to slip off the pace. Last Time Out The games have been coming thick and fast for the Caley Jags in April. However we have stood firm and handled the pressure well so far. It began well with a 2-1 win at Morton on 1st April. Raith Rovers were despatched 2-0 a week later. A midweek win saw Arbroath go down by the same score before we came from behind to beat a determined Cove Rangers 2-1 at Balmoral Stadium. Then our nemesis, Hamilton Accies. We had to come from behind again with goals from Nathan Shaw and an 88th minute strike from Billy Mckay to earn the points. Billy is now on 98 goals chasing the all time record of 101 by Dennis Wyness. W W W W W W Dundee had to come from 3-1 down at home to Morton to snatch a 94th minute equaliser. Kwame Thomas was the man responsible for rescuing a point when defeat was staring them in the face with twenty minutes left. Luke Hannant levelled the game in the first half but Morton established a two goal lead before Thomas saved the day with two late strikes. D W W D W D Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of crunch game tonight - Ayr United v Queens Park 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Inverness CT 34 15 9 10 50 44 54 4. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 5. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 34 7 8 19 29 61 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 Friday 21st April Ayr Utd v Queens Saturday 22nd April Arbroath v Cove Ran Accies v Partick Inverness CT v Dundee FC Morton v Raith Rvr Latest Team News Jay Henderson will return after suspension. He certainly carries a threat and has linked up well with Nathan Shaw recently. Duffy, MacGregor and Ram all missed out at Hamilton. Hopefully no new injuries but it's been a tough schedule in recent weeks and there will be some weary legs around the Caledonian Stadium. Pretty much confirmed that Sutherland and Walsh will probably see no action this season. Dundee starting XI v Morton last week Legzdins Mulligan Sweeney Ashcroft Marshall McCowan Maguire Cameron Hannant Jakubiak Robinson Full bench as well: Kerr, Byrne, Thomas, McMullan, Lawlor, Williamson, Fisher, Clampin, Reedy Here's hoping they can keep McMullan on the bench. He has been a thorn in our side in recent years and scored a good goal in the win at the Caledonian Stadium back in December.

Oh No, Accies Again! Inverness make the long trek to Hamilton on Tuesday night for a rescheduled 7:45pm Championship fixture at New Douglas Park. Yes, I know, we do have to play them, but I promise this is the last time this season. We have failed to beat Accies in the three previous Championship games this season and they also knocked a young Caley Jags side out of the Challenge Cup at the height of our injury crisis. They simply have had our number this season, however we are a different beast at the moment having won five games on the bounce. The law of averages says we must beat them sometime. Doesn't it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info Scottish Cup Tickets AGM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Accies Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 5 4 8 25 23 +2 Away 13 6 2 5 18 17 +1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 30 11 6 13 43 40 +3 Strangely enough, we have fared better away from home against Accies. However, as below, our statistics over the last ten meetings don't make good reading. Seven defeats and only two wins Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Accies 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 4 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 3 (A) Accies Have Us Sussed: Feb21st 2023: 1 - 2 The second game between these sides in three days produced yet another three points for bottom club Accies and a red card for Billy Mckay to rub salt into our wounds. Accies took the lead when a Lawson short corner fed Connor Smith who crossed in for Daniel O'Reilly to powerfully head home. Billy Mckay had a header blocked away for a corner as the pressure ramped up heading towards the interval and it paid off in the 43rd minute when Allardice drilled home from the edge of the box to level the game after a Carson cross was half cleared. Still time for Winter and JPT to combine but the latter shot wide. A deserved goal for the Caley Jags who have pushed hard to get back on level terms. Similar to Saturday, Connor Smith made no mistake from the spot after Dan Mackay brought down Rhegan Tumilty after the previous claim for handball was waived away. Billy Mckay shot wide as Inverness looked to come back again and Henderson had an effort blocked in the last minute of normal time. Billy got a yellow instead of a penalty then a second yellow followed and that just about summed up our three days of the Jackass. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Accies game on Tuesday night. 1. Dundee 33 16 10 7 60 36 58 2. Queens Park 33 17 6 10 59 45 57 3. Partick Thistle 33 15 7 11 59 41 52 4. Ayr United 33 14 9 10 58 42 51 5. Inverness CT 33 14 9 10 48 43 51 6. Morton 33 12 12 9 48 41 48 7. Raith Rovers 33 11 9 13 44 45 42 8. Arbroath 33 6 15 12 29 44 33 9. Hamilton Ac. 33 7 8 18 28 59 29 10. Cove Rangers 33 6 9 18 36 73 27 Tuesday 18th April Hamilton v Inverness Ct Friday 21st April Ayr United v Queen's Pk Last Time Out Inverness made hard work of overcoming injury hit Cove Rangers at the weekend. Iain Vigurs gave Bottom club Cove the lead with a low curling free kick after the interval. Ten minutes later Billy Mckay drove home from the spot to level the game and the comeback was complete a further four minutes later when Cammy Harper fired in from the edge of the box to make it five wins on the bounce. Not as easy a game as recent form would suggest, but another three points in the bag. W W W W W Hamilton went down to Queens Park on the Friday night when Grant Savoury scored with fifteen minutes left. Jake Davidson hit the post as Queens Park held on comfortably to leave Accies two points off the bottom. L W D L L Accies have won all three Championship encounters. Here's a thing. Had we won those three games then we would be sitting top of the table and Accies would be all but relegated by now. Just let that sink in how important these games have been for both clubs. Latest Team News Current injuries aside we have Jay Henderson unavailable for the second game of his two match ban. Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor and Max Ram missed out again but Danny Devine got some game time at Cove whilst Robbie Deas was rested for the first 75 minutes before replacing Devine. Sutherland and Walsh look like they will be missing the whole season at this rate. Unless we have picked up any new injuries, then I suspect we will be along similar lines to the Cove game. Hamilton Starting XI in the 2-0 loss to Morton Fulton Sparrow McGowan O'Reilly Tumilty Lawson Winter Martin De Bolle Smith Ashley-Seal

Easy or No Easy? Game four of a frantic April which will culminate in a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park on the 29th. So far so good with three wins in April and four on the bounce. You could be forgiven for thinking this will be an easy win, but given Cove's recent form that is what the bookies will be suggesting after only two draws in their last nine games. Over two months without a win, on February 4th, 1-0 against Partick Thistle. They have been known to concede multiple goals at times, in fact we have put 11 past them this season in the Championship. However, it might be prudent of us to be cautious as it would be foolish to throw away our good work with an under par effort at Cove. We won our fifth game on the bounce back in October at Cove. Can we do it again? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus info Semi-Final Tickets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 5 4 1 0 16 5 +11 Away 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 7 5 1 1 18 8 +10 Only the seven games played, but a big advantage to the Caley Jags at the moment. All Competitive Meetings 6 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 3 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (H) Cove Cruise, July 2021: 1 - 3 Inverness' dismal run of League Cup results continued with defeat at Cove. Our only crumb of comfort...A penalty to Inverness in the 90th minute offered little consolation for the Caley Jags but Duku duly converted from the spot. Cove kept at Bay, Oct 2022: 1 - 0 Our first visit to Balmoral Park on League business ended with a hard fought win, our fifth on the bounce. Inverness opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Steven Boyd, his first of the season. However Roddy MacGregor was helped off the pitch after being injured in the build up to that goal. Allardice stayed in the dressing room at the interval to be replaced by Lewis Hyde. Ridgers did well to deny Cove after the break and right at the end Cove were reduced to ten men as McIntosh was sent off. Still joint top as Partick also win with Dundee and Morton leading the chasing pack. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Friday night game 1. Dundee 32 16 9 7 57 33 57 2. Queens Park 32 16 6 10 58 45 54 3. Partick Thistle 32 15 6 11 58 40 51 4. Ayr United 32 14 8 10 57 41 50 5. Inverness CT 32 13 9 10 46 42 48 6. Morton 32 12 11 9 45 38 47 7. Raith Rovers 32 11 8 13 43 44 41 8. Arbroath 32 6 14 12 28 43 32 9. Hamilton Ac. 32 7 8 17 28 58 29 10. Cove Rangers 32 6 9 17 35 71 27 Fiday 14th April (7:45pm) Queen's v Accies Saturday 15th April (3:00pm) Cove Rangers v Caley Jags Dundee v Morton Partick v Ayr Utd Rovers v Arbroath Last Time Out We kept the Raith Rovers hoodo going last weekend then followed that up with another convincing 2-0 home win on Tuesday against Arbroath. Second half goals from the form guys Nathan Shaw and a Scott Allardice (pen) put us in control. However, Jay Henderson was red carded with ten minutes left and will miss the game at Cove. I suppose if you could pick a game to miss, then this would be your choice. L W W W W Cove took a much needed away point in the relegation battle with Hamilton Accies. Luis Longstaff had given Cove the advantage in the second half but Connor Smith squared matters five minutes later. That's a point more than we have managed against Accies all season. That's a concern for us as Cove dig their heels in as they try the great escape. Their previous home game was a 5-0 thrashing from Partick Thistle. L L L L D Latest Team News Jay Henderson is suspended. Danny Devine has sat on the bench over the last two games after a recent injury. Max Ram, Roddy MacGregor and Wallace Duffy have all been missing in recent weeks along with season long casualties Sutherland and Walsh. Here's Bazza to tell you what's happening>>> Cove Rangers starting XI v Hamilton Fox Logan Ross Reynolds Longridge Longstaff Yule Scully Dunne Megginson O'Halloran That's a potentially potent strikeforce with Mitch Megginson who likes a goal against us and Michael O'Halloran the former St Johnstone and Rangers player. Plenty experience in defence as well with Shay Logan, Mark Reynolds and Luis Longstaff. Let's not forget that Iain Vigurs is still around as well. Not as easy a game as some might have you believe, we may have to be patient again.

  Five to go   Down to the last five league games starting with the visit of Arbroath on Tuesday night for a 7:45pm kick-off. That's two of the current form teams clashing, somethings going to give. After successive victories over Partick, Morton and Raith Rovers, we have brought our own fate back into our own hands with a late run. It's still a big ask, but win our remaining games and we will be in the play-offs. Who saw that coming a month ago? Mind you, we still have to play Hamilton, and that gives me the fear. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup Tickets AGM 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 16 4 3 57 19 +38 Away 22 10 6 6 30 23 +7 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 45 26 10 9 87 42 +45 We hold the overall advantage over the Smokies but four of the last five games ended all square after ninety minutes. They are now fighting to avoid relegation and will be a tough nut to crack as Dundee found out at the weekend in a scoreless draw at Gayfield. We surprised our own fans with a 4-1 win out of the blue at Arbroath in January. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) From CTO 4 - 1 win January 2023: Smokies Smoked: Both clubs had big wins in the first games of 2023 and it was Inverness that continued in style with a 4-1 win at Gayfield. Billy Mckay, who scored a hat-trick last week, opened the scoring at the back post in the ninth minute but Ben El-Mhanni levelled fifteen minutes later when he slotted into the bottom corner. Jay Henderson put us ahead just before the break as he lifted a shot high into the net from inside the box. Twenty minutes into the second half Dan Mackay shot into the bottom corner to double our advantage. Substitute Lewis Nicolson concluded the scoring in the 86th minute with a header from sub Steven Boyd's cross. Great win on the road for the Caley Jags that moves us into sixth place in the table, eleven points behind table toppers Queens Park. Great start to 2023 for the Caley Jags with two big wins on the bounce. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Three fixtures on Tuesday night 1. Dundee 31 15 9 7 54 32 54 2. Queens Park 32 16 6 10 58 45 54 3. Partick Thistle 32 15 6 11 58 40 51 4. Ayr United 32 14 8 10 57 41 50 5. Inverness CT 31 12 9 10 44 42 45 6. Morton 31 11 11 9 43 38 44 7. Raith Rovers 31 11 8 12 42 41 41 8. Arbroath 31 6 14 11 28 41 32 9. Hamilton Ac. 31 7 8 16 28 56 29 10. Cove Rangers 32 6 9 17 35 71 27 Tuesday 11th April Dundee v Rovers  Inverness CT v Arbroath FC Morton v Accies Last Time Out We won our third game on the bounce with a comfortable 2-0 win over Raith Rovers. Jay Henderson played after being injured at Cappielow the previous week and opened the scoring before Nathan Shaw crashed in a second ten minutes later. With Raith Rovers looking like their season was already over, the Caley Jags did just enough without over exerting themselves and keeping themselves fresh for the coming busy April schedule culminating in the Scottish Cup tie against Falkirk at Hampden on the 29th. W L W W W  Arbroath, unbeaten in their last seven league games, have eased themselves clear of Hamilton and Cove at the bottom of the table after two wins and a draw in the last three. However, it's still tight at the bottom and they will be in no mood to gift three points to us. A win over Queens Park  was followed by another over Ayr United before the goalless draw against Dundee on Saturday. D D W W D  Latest Team News Billy Dodds has no apparent fresh injuries after the weekend and Jay Henderson played and scored which was a bonus. Danny Devine stayed on the bench which will benefit him in the coming weeks. No sign of Roddy MacGregor, Max Ram, Wallace Duffy or the two season long crocks in Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh. There's little time to rest players with this month's heavy schedule so don't look for too many changes.   Arbroath Starting XI v Dundee: Gaston; Banks, Little, O'Brien, Hetherington, Baldé, Gold, Stewart, McKenna, Dow, Hilson Arbroath assistant manager Ian Campbell said on BBC Sport: "I think everyone saw an Arbroath team really fighting for each other, well organised and professional. "The plaudits come to Arbroath today, we were tremendous. I'm so happy we done today what we've been doing since Christmas, we went about our business exceptionally (against Dundee)  

  A must win game   Raith Rovers head North this Saturday for a 3:00pm kick-off at the Caledonian Stadium looking for their first win over the Caley Jags since October 28th, 2000. Yes, it really is that long since they beat us over ninety minutes. Once upon a time, Raith were one of the benchmarks for a rising Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Since we started beating them there has been no going back. However, there are no easy points at this stage of the season and this amazing run will come to an end one year, Let's hope it's not this Saturday. If this is not seen as a must win game, then it's certainly in the category of must not lose, and that applies to both teams. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info AGM Hampden Calling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 13 5 2 38 15 +23 Away 17 9 5 3 34 21 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 37 22 10 5 72 36 +36 It's unbelievable to think that Raith's last win over Inverness over 90 minutes was almost 22 years ago. Mind you, Raith had a pretty handy team back then and they had won four of the previous five encounters since we met them in the big boys leagues, with the other one drawn. Since then, we have literally swamped Rovers with 22 wins, 10 draws and zero defeats. Getting back up to date over the last ten, it's 4 wins, 6 draws and zero defeats. Starting to level out a bit, but still no wins for Raith. Here's who played for them last time they won: Peter Hetherston was player manager back then. Van de Kamp; McCulloch, Dennis, Hamilton, Browne, Black, Hetherston, Ellis, Mballa, Clark, Stein Last 10 Competitive Meetings 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) Last Raith win: Oct 28th 2001 - 1 - 2. Injury-hit Caley Thistle lost this game because of a poor first half display. Despite this they nearly took the lead in 13 minutes when a David Bagan shot was blocked by Greig McCulloch and spun over the bar. Raith scored first in 16 minutes when Jim Calder failed to hold a Shaun Dennis cross and Jay Stein hit home the loose ball from six yards. In 21 minutes a poor headed clearance by Stuart McCaffrey was picked up by Andrew Clark and he set up Ivan Mballa and the Frenchman slammed the ball into the net from 12 yards. ICT had a penalty claim turned down in 38 minutes when Charlie Christie was brought down by Paul Browne. After the break the home side improved but Guido Van de Kamp denied them on several occasions. Paul Sheerin pulled one back in 79 minutes when he netted from close range after a good cut back by Roy McBain. Four minutes later Sheerin watched in frustration as Van de Kamp saved his low shot. As time ran out he came close twice more but Raith held on to win. Report by Ian Broadfoot Last Time Out Inverness pulled off a good win at Cappielow last weekend beating Morton 2-1 with super strikes from Scott Allardice and a late one from David Carson, only his second goal for the club. Pretty much a replica of his other goal against Dunfermline Athletic. Another few replicas would not go amiss.    Raith Rovers failed to capitalise on their game in hand by going down at home to Hamilton Accies by 2-1 on Tuesday night. That result keeps them one point behind Inverness in the race to get into the play-offs. Time Accies did us a favour instead of beating us all the time! Encounters this season have been tight affairs. A Scott Allardice penalty and a late Billy Mckay strike were the difference between the sides at Kirkaldy back in September. There followed two draws since then home and away. The 1 - 1 draw at Inverness saw a tremendous header from Robbie Deas cancel out a Sam Stanton strike. That was the game where Deas broke his leg late in the game. Remarkable that he has made such progress since then.  2 - 2 in the last one at Stark's Park with Billy Mckay once again saving the day with another late goal to frustrate Rovers once more. Rovers had led twice through Lewis Vaughan and Aidan Connolly but Jay Henderson then Mckay squared matters. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Partick v Queens Park tonight at 7:45 BBC Scotland TV 1. Queens Park 31 16 6 9 58 41 54 2. Dundee 30 15 8 7 54 32 53 3. Ayr United 31 14 7 10 56 40 49 4. Partick Thistle 31 14 6 11 54 40 48 5. Morton 30 11 10 9 42 37 43 6. Inverness CT 30 11 9 10 42 42 42 7. Raith Rovers 30 11 8 11 42 39 41 8. Arbroath 30 6 13 11 28 41 31 9. Hamilton Ac. 30 7 7 16 27 55 28 10. Cove Rangers 31 6 8 17 34 70 26 Friday 7th April Partick Thistle v Queen's Park Saturday 8th April Arbroath v Dundee Ayr Utd v Morton Accies v Cove  Inverness CT v Raith Rovers Latest Team News Danny Devine, Wallace Duffy and Roddy MacGregor all missed out at Cappielow last week leaving us with a sparse bench. Jay Henderson came off injured after ten minutes but will be assessed closer to kick-off to see if he is fit enough. Here's Dodds to spill the beans...   Raith Rovers top scorer is Aidan Connolly with twelve goals followed by Dylan Easton seven goals and Lewis Vaughan with five. Connolly is the big danger here, not just his goals but he is also credited with seven assists, much greater than any of his team mates.          

  The Quest for Points Goes On   With only seven games left to salvage something from an error strewn season, we go searching for that elusive three points from Morton, something we have yet to achieve this season. Two wins and a draw so far against Dougie Imrie's team. The 4-0 loss at Cappielow at the end of October prompted the start of 'Ridgersgate'. How ridiculous does that look now given Mark's stunning performance last Friday in the ten man win over Partick Thistle. Not one of Billy Dodds' better decisions made in the heat of battle as Morton cuffed us and resigned Mark to the naughty step at half time and over the next seven games until Partick put five past Cammy on Xmas Eve. That period saw us win two points from a possible fifteen. It's just as well they don't do that to managers as Doddsy would have been sitting in the stand for months. However, all has hopefully been forgiven and Mark produced the performance of the season on telly to remove any lingering doubts about his ability.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info Semi-Final Tickets On Sale Now ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 5 4 48 20 +28 Away 18 10 3 5 35 23 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 22 8 9 83 43 +40 Overall we hold a massive advantage home and away over Morton, but recent games show that the trend is changing as we only have one win in the last five encounters. It took a late strike from Ethan Cairns to salvage a point last time in a 2 - 2 at the Caledonian Stadium. Calvin Miller had put Morton ahead early in the first half before Billy Mckay levelled around the hour. Robbie Muirhead looked to have given Morton all three points ten minutes before the end before substitute Cairns scored his first goal for the Caley Jags to share the spoils. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 2 - 2 (H) 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)   Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Arbroath v Ayr United Friday Night 1. Queens Park 30 16 6 8 58 39 54 2. Dundee 29 14 8 7 47 32 50 3. Ayr United 30 14 7 9 56 38 49 4. Partick Thistle 30 13 6 11 49 40 45 5. Morton 29 11 10 8 41 35 43 6. Inverness CT 29 10 9 10 40 41 39 7. Raith Rovers 28 10 8 10 39 37 38 8. Arbroath 29 5 13 11 26 41 28 9. Cove Rangers 30 6 8 16 34 65 26 10. Hamilton Ac. 28 6 7 15 25 47 25 FRIDAY 31ST MARCH 7:45 Arbroath v Ayr United SATURDAY 1ST APRIL 3:00 Cove Rangers v Partick Thistle Dundee v Accies       Morton v Inverness  Raith Rovers v Queen's Park Last Time Out A rousing backs to the wall performance from the Caley Jags earned a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle. After Jay Henderson nicked the ball off of a Partick player, he danced down the wing before delivering a terrific pin point ball into the box for Nathan Shaw to slide in and convert. Sean Welsh was wrongly sent off with forty minutes remaining and Partick besieged the Inverness penalty box. However, Mark Ridgers was in tremendous form to deny the eager Partick attack time after time and 1-0 it was for the hosts. Ridgers had pulled off a worldy save in the first half to deny a stunned Brian Graham and was unbeatable on the day. That ensured Inverness' last five results look like this L D W L W    Morton dropped points at Gayfield after George Oakley scored his sixth goal in eight games for the Cappielow side. However keeper Brian Schwake blundered to allow Sean Ardakwa to tap in. That fumble was not lost on Morton manager Dougie Imrie who told BBC Sport: "I think for large parts of that game we were by far the better team. I'm lost for words. I thought my players were superb to a man. The amount of chances we created - I don't know how we didn't win that. "He's [Schwake] a young goalkeeper in the game trying to make a name for himself. He has to be switched on and his concentration levels have to be high. That's not the first time this season he's cost us points."  (Naughty step for you m'lad) Morton Last Five W D L D D  This season Morton hold the Indian Sign over us. A 0 - 1 at the Caledonian Stadium followed by the 0 - 4 game at Cappielow before the 2 - 2 draw back in Inverness at the beginning of February. Time to sort it out guys. Latest Team News Just when we thought things were getting better we lost Danny Devine to injury in the warm up last Friday. The previous game Roddy MacGregor was injured in his second appearance since returning from months out. Potentially, Sean Welsh could also have missed out but we appealed that, and given the secret society within the refereeing circles then I wasn't holding my breath. However, miracles do happen, the spell has been broken and he is now free to play at Morton. Unless of course he is injured. Zak Delaney filled in for Devine last week and did well after an early booking. We also found out that Ben Woods is a real thing after he came on as a substitute in the second half. Thankfully Robbie Deas has not shown any adverse reaction on his return to action and likewise Scott Allardice.  So, it sounds like MacGregor and Ram plus the long term Walsh and Sutherland will be unavailable. Danny Devine? Your guess is as good as mine. Morton starting XI v Arbroath: Judging by wee Dougies reaction to the Gayfield fumble then Schwake could be on the naughty step for Morton. Jai Quitongo has been out recently but could be near to a return to the squad. 1Schwake   23Grimshaw 5Baird 4O'Connor 6Waters   14Crawford 8Blues   9Muirhead 30Crawford 21Gillespie   22Oakley George Oakley seems to have had a new lease of life since joining Morton. I wonder what, or who was holding him back at Inverness? Six goals in eight games since leaving Inverness. Hmmnnn? On a sad note, Ian Manning the former club physio has passed away. RIP Ian. Condolences to family and friends.    

Killie Cup Action It's Scottish Cup quarter final action this weekend when Scotland's second oldest club Kilmarnock come North on Friday night @ 7:45 looking for a place in the semi-finals of the second oldest Cup competition in the world. However, it's the oldest trophy as it's still the original trophy that is up for grabs. At 2ft high the silver trophy was not cheap back in the day, costing £56/13 shillings and was commissioned to Glasgow silversmith George Edwards & Sons. The first ever event started in 1873 and the final in 1874 saw Queens Park beat Clydesdale 2-0 in front of 2,500 fans at the original Hampden Park. Incidentally Kilmarnock played in the first ever Scottish Cup tie, losing 2-0 to Renton in 1873. Standing in their way this season are our very own Caley Jags, Scottish Cup winners in 2015. Kilmarnock have won the Cup three times (1920/29/97). The last time they lifted the Cup in 1997, like us, they also defeated Falkirk in the final. The result was 1-0 at Ibrox in front of 45,000 fans with Paul Wright scoring the only goal. See more at The Scottish Cup. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Live on BBC Scotland The Covers Are On ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Killie Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 12 9 4 46 33 +13 Away 26 8 6 12 36 45 -9 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 51 20 15 16 82 78 +4 Overall, we still hold the edge over Kilmarnock and have met them five times in the Scottish Cup which includes a replay in 2001. This is the first 6th round tie between the cubs with Killie having won two of the previous three 5th round ties. I don't think Killie ever got over being dumped out of the Scottish Cup on the 9th of February 1985 by Highland League Inverness Thistle. Dave Milroy, Gordon Hay and Brian Black were the scorers that ensured the playing surface would be covered with big Kilmarnock bunnets and scarves. What a sight that was. That win earned Thistle an away tie at Parkhead in the last sixteen. 2001 Mar 6th Scottish Cup (Round 4 Replay) 1 - 2 A 6,528 Feb 17th Scottish Cup (Round 4) 1 - 1 H 5,294 2009 Feb 7th Scottish Cup (Rd 5) 2 - 0 H 2,578 2010 Feb 6th Scottish Cup (Rd 5) 0 - 3 A 4,473 2013 Feb 2nd Scottish Cup (Rd 5) 0 - 2 A 3,172 Here's Killie with a late equaliser in 2001 We have the upper hand most recently, although these were all very tight fixtures. Last 4 Competitive Meetings from season 21/22 in the Championship. 2 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) On December 3rd last season, Sean Welsh did this in a 1 - 0 win over Killie..... BOOM! Last Time Out Inverness got a welcome three points at Somerset Park despite going behind early on after top Scorer Dipo Akinyemi scored his sixteenth of the season. Sean Welsh levelled soon after then Ayr were reduced to ten men when Daire O'Connor was sent off fifteen minutes before the break. Inverness took their time but eventually got the reward their chances deserved when Jay Henderson popped up at the back post to bury a Nathan Shaw cross. Deserved three points for the Caley Jags after a lean spell and sets us up nicely for a crack at Killie in the Cup. Our own recent form over last five is also disappointing but hopefully on the up: D L L D W Killie went down at Ibrox last weekend as Rangers scored three first half goals. It was a poor defensive performance by the Rugby Park club in the first forty-five and they had the disappointment of a VAR penalty award on the break. In their favour, after a much improved performance, they did win the second half 1-0 when Jeriel Dorsett scored with a header and they also had a penalty claim turned down. Killie find themselves second bottom of the Premiership after a poor run of form and unless much changes they will be vying with Ross County for a relegation play-off spot with Dundee United occupying the automatic relegation slot. Last five results heading downwards: W L L D L The only win in that run was over bottom club Dundee United on 1st February. Latest Team News Our fortunes are slowly turning on the injury front with Deas, Harper, Devine, Delaney and Samuels all returning, but there were still five players missing at Ayr: Sutherland, Walsh, MacGregor, Ram and Woods. Billy Mckay returned after suspension last week and is chasing the goal scoring record of Dennis Wyness. On the playing surface the covers are on as another big freeze hits the North, -10 around the area already this week. Billy looking forward to this one>>> Kilmarnock have found the going tough in the Premiership this season but they are not without some very good players. One of our own Liam Polworth is still at Killie and featured in their last game at Ibrox. Daniel Armstrong is a danger with his attacking flair and he is top scorer with nine goals this season plus five assists. Jordan Jones has returned to Rugby Park and is another tricky customer. Rory McKenzie is a pocket dynamo with his all action style. In defence Ash Taylor is still there and has contributed at the other end with four goals, a danger at set pieces. By all accounts, Killie will be bringing a decent away support to this one.

On the Road Again After a battling 1-1 draw at Dundee, we are off on our travels again, this time it's even further afield as we visit Somerset Park, an often fruitful venue over the years. On Saturday, it's a 3:00pm kick off as points become difficult to collect at both ends of the table. Inverness are still bottom of the recent form table with only 4 points from a possible 18. Ayr have faltered recently but have 8 points from their last 6 games. Talismanic striker Billy Mckay will return after being red carded at Hamilton a fortnight ago. Billy is still seven goals short of being level with Dennis Wyness as our all time record scorer. Reece McAlear is now at Somerset Park but Logan Chalmers' loan spell has ended and the experienced Michael Moffat is at Glenafton. Unfortunately events off the park are overtaking events on the park. £££ See Club Statement below £££ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus info Club Statement Get Well Soon Cammy Ticket Update v Killie School strikes, We've got your back ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Get well soon Cammy Venue H2H v Ayr United Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 23 10 11 2 38 24 +14 Away 24 11 6 7 45 30 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 47 21 17 9 83 54 +29 Head to Heads v Ayr tend to favour Inverness over the years, but due to our decline in fortunes more recent results are more equal. 3 wins for ICT - 2 wins for Ayr and 5 draws over the last ten encounters. Ayr have become more difficult to beat over the last couple of years. They came up into the Championship in 2018 and we held the upper hand for the first couple of seasons but they are now capable of holding their own and under Lee Bullen are more difficult to prise points from these days. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) From CTO Last October 1 - 0 - Ayr Pressure Not Enough: Ayr started the day three points ahead of Inverness. They would end the day level. Plenty of pressure from the hosts in a dominant first half but the nearest they came to a goal was a Mark Mckenzie header that came off the bar and the same player missed from six yards after being set up by Dipo Akinyemi. Inverness would be relieved to get to the interval on level terms. Cammy Harper glanced in a header just after the break to open the scoring. That's how it ended after a difficult ninety minutes but it's three wins on the bounce on the road. FRIDAY 3RD MARCH 7:45pm Hamilton v Arbroath SATURDAY 4TH MARCH 3:00pm Ayr United v Inverness CT Cove R v Dundee Partick v Rovers Queen's v Morton Last Time Out Inverness, off the back of two miserable defeats against Hamilton, battled for a plucky 1-1 draw at Dundee. Fortunate as it was we showed a bit of fight. Dundee will feel aggrieved that they never took all three points having a goal disallowed for a dubious offside decision and hitting the woodwork twice. To rub salt in the wound, Harper's equaliser took a massive deflection to wrong foot the keeper and put the Dundee fans on the verge of tears. At least Billy Mckay should return after suspension. Ayr United drew a blank last Friday at Stark's Park against Raith Rovers, with ICT's Scottish Cup hero Jamie MacDonald denying Ben Dempsey from the spot to ensure it remained goalless. They have been slipping up in recent weeks D W L L D. Their only win was a routine 5-0 thrashing of Cove Rangers at the end of January. This season's encounters show that we won the first one at Ayr 1 - 0 and drew the reverse fixture in the Highlands 2 - 2 Shaw shank redemption: Nathan Shaw earned Inverness an unlikely point as he scored his second of the game with three minutes left. That levelled the score after Dipo Akinyemi had put leaders Ayr United ahead with his 14th goal of the season less than ten minutes from the end. Shaw had given the hosts an early lead which they held until the 66th minute when Mark McKenzie bundled into the net from close range. This was a better point for Inverness who still had nine players missing although Danny Devine came into the back four before going off after being injured with fifteen minutes remaining. Latest Team News Billy Mckay returns after suspension. At least he should add some much needed potency to the attack. Still waiting for around five players returning from injury. Sutherland, Walsh, Woods, Ram and MacGregor. Samuels is now getting game time as is Allardice, Deas and Harper but all four are still building up to maximum efficiency after returning from longer term injury. Deas played in midweek in a young side at Forres to get some more minutes in his legs. Eck's Ayr Catch-Up RIP Eric: It's at this point over the last couple of years I would insert a section written by fellow CTO member and friend ictewd. Eric, without prompting, would gather any updated information about our opponents and offer it to me for adding to the preview. Without fail, Eric would investigate and I would receive an eMail every Thursday ahead of the fixtures. He was also responsible for helping to get our site stats in order and was willing to do this throughout his illness borne with great dignity. I have known Eric for over fifty years and he was an unassuming guy but very intelligent and self motivated. He was the consummate professional in all he did and I/we will miss him greatly for his diligent professionalism as he carried out his many tasks on CTO. Sadly Eric passed away this week and I for one will miss his eMails and quiet sense of humour and the endless hours of brain crunching stats he input and more importantly, his friendship. I offer sincere condolences to his family and friends at this most difficult of times. RIP Eric Davidson This ones on me Eck Ayr United have scooped up Chris Maguire an experienced attacking inside forward once of Aberdeen and Sheffield Wednesday. Dylan Watret has signed his first pro contract at Ayr and featured against Raith Rovers. Frankie Musonda returned to action in a reserve game against Hibs last week. Josh Mullin is now a permanent signing and former Inverness midfielder Reece McAlear has come in on loan from Tranmere Rovers. That's he of the thunderous goals from outside the box; beware! Loan ended: Logan Chalmers, forward (Dundee United); Bradley Young, forward (Aston Villa). Loan out: David Bangala, defender (Cove Rangers); Finn Ecrepont, defender (Stranraer); Michael Moffat, forward (Glenafton).

Mckayless Jags at Dens After two defeats in a row from the then bottom club Hamilton Accies we now have a run of away championship games starting at Dens Park on Saturday. Its a 3:00pm start at the Kilmac Stadium as we look to get back in amongst the play-off places at the top end of the table. Its a big ask given our last couple of results and we will be without the suspended Billy Mckay who is the only man keeping us above the relegation play-offs. Dundee have faltered recently as well and we did win at Dens Park earlier in the season which was an unexpected bonus. So all is not lost yet, but the mindset at the moment for most fans is do we have the right management team in charge? Not according to those that were at Hamilton. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info Mathew Strachan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Dundee Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 7 8 2 27 16 +11 Away 20 7 8 5 28 25 +3 Neutral 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 Total 39 14 16 9 57 45 +12 We still hold the overall edge over Dundee but draws are the most common results. Dundee sit second in the table on 42 points with a game in hand over leaders Queens Park who are on 44 points. Inverness are lurking in seventh place and well off the pace with 32 points. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) Here's the recent form table..... not good reading to be honest. Had we beaten Accies twice we would be top and they would be in our position. Overall Home Away Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A +/- Pts Peer through your fingers if easily offended 1. Hamilton Ac. 6 4 1 1 8 3 2 1 0 4 2 2 0 1 4 1 +5 13 2. Raith Rovers 6 2 4 0 9 7 0 2 0 3 3 2 2 0 6 4 +2 10 3. Partick Thistle 6 3 0 3 8 6 2 0 2 7 4 1 0 1 1 2 +2 9 4. Queens Park 6 2 2 2 11 7 1 1 0 3 1 1 1 2 8 6 +4 8 5. Dundee 6 2 2 2 10 7 2 0 1 8 4 0 2 1 2 3 +3 8 6. Arbroath 6 2 2 2 11 12 0 0 2 2 6 2 2 0 9 6 -1 8 7. Ayr United 6 2 1 3 8 7 1 1 2 3 5 1 0 1 5 2 +1 7 8. Morton 6 2 1 3 8 9 2 0 1 5 4 0 1 2 3 5 -1 7 9. Inverness CT 6 1 3 2 9 10 0 2 1 2 5 1 1 1 7 5 -1 6 10. Cove Rangers 6 1 2 3 4 17 0 2 2 3 14 1 0 1 1 3 -13 5 Friday 24th Feb19:45 Raith Rovers 0-0 Ayr United Saturday 25th Feb Arbroath v Partick Thistle Dundee FC v Inverness CT Hamilton v Queen's Pk Morton v Cove Ran The last meeting at Dens Park saw us take a surprise 3 - 2 win: From CTO - Harper stuns Dundee: The first meeting of the sides this season ended in victory for the visitors. Dundee took an early lead through Sweeney but Cammy Harper levelled almost immediately with a curling shot from outside the box. Austin Samuels day was over five minutes before the interval. Just on the break Billy Mckay scored from the spot to put the visitors ahead after Harper had been fouled. Paul McMullan made it all square ten minutes after the interval although that goal has now been attributed to Joe Grayson. However, man of the match Harper restored the visitors advantage from twenty-five yards with seven minutes left. That ended the scoring and sealed the points before Sweeney was sent off for a second bookable offence as the game slipped away from Dundee. Last time out Inverness flopped at Hamilton, the second reverse against the same side in three days. A 3-0 drubbing at Inverness was followed by a 2-1 defeat at Hamilton, although had we taken our chances at New Douglas Park things might have worked out differently. They didn't and to rub salt in the wound Billy Mckay was sent off. Meh! Dundee lost 1-0 to Morton last Friday as points become hard to get at both ends of the table. That was after a 3-0 beating of Cove Rangers the previous Sunday. Latest Team news Billy Mckay is suspended after being sent off at Hamilton. Mathew Strachan, our promising young defender has been loaned out to Nairn County for the remainder of the season, no doubt the return of Harper, Deas and Delaney drove that option. The Duracell Bunny that is David Carson took a thigh knock against Accies and is a doubt, but he's a tough cookie so we'll see how that turns out. Austin Samuels will probably replace Mckay and he will be glad to get the chance to play again at Dens Park as that was the start of his injury problems back in September 2022. He has had a couple of cameo slots on his return and may not be 100% yet. Still waiting for five to return from injury: Sutherland, Walsh, Macgregor (close to a return), Ram and Ben Woods. Since we last played Dundee: Loan in: Lorent Tolaj, forward (Brighton & Hove Albion); Barry Maguire, midfielder (Motherwell); Luke Hannant, midfielder (Colchester United); Kwame Thomas, forward (Sutton United). Zach Robinson has returned on loan from Wimbledon. (never knew he played tennis) Out: Niall McGinn, forward (Glentoran); Derick Osei, forward. Loan ended: Joe Grayson, defender (Barrow). Loan out: Zack Rudden, forward (St Johnstone); Luke Strachan, defender (Alloa Athletic), Paul McGowan is on Loan at Dunfermline for the rest of the season. Euan Mutale is at Albion Rovers.