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

Qualified We make the long journey to Dumfries on Tuesday night safe in the knowledge that we have qualified for a play-off place at the top end of the table. Unfortunately for Queen of the South they are all but relegated, and only three wins from their final three games can offer them some hope of a miracle that will save them from the drop. Tuesday night at 7:45pm is the scheduled start for this re-arranged fixture. Our goal will be to get enough points to remain in third place to get the slight advantage of playing at home in the 3rd/4th place play-off second leg with second place pretty much out of our reach. MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING INFO NO SUPPORTERS BUS TO DUMFRIES DUE TO COVID! Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 3 6 38 26 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 20 10 10 71 46 +25 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Queens 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) The stats are heavily on our side although over the last five meetings queens have faired slightly better with a win and two draws. Last five Championship games Queens: LLLLL ICT FC: WWWDW CTO Report 25th Sept: Gardyne volleys us to the top... 2-1Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Report 19th Nov: He scores when he wants... 1-2The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. CTO Report 15th Jan: Comedy of Errors: 2-2 Inverness once more failed to take advantage of the given situation by producing another abject display at home against a club staring at relegation. This time it was Queen of the South that showed up our lack of quality and Lee Connelly scored the opener in the first half with Willie Collum waiving away appeals for offside. Same old same old from Inverness in a dire first half. We looked to have got out of jail when the Queens defenders made a hash of clearing a long kick out from Mark Ridgers and Billy Mckay accepted the comical defending to prod the ball home. If ever a man needed a goal it was Tom Walsh who has been totally ineffective this season, but score he did after being sent into the box by Mckay before drilling the ball behind Josh Rae. Phew we all thought, thank feck for that! Alas we shot ourselves in the foot, or more accurately David Carson shot us in the foot as he teed up substitute Ally Roy who had only been on the park for one minute. Surprisingly we actually jumped back into second place thanks to other results, but it's a complete mystery how we have done this given the dross we are subject to at the moment. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Queen of the South v Inverness CT - Tuesday Night 7:45pm 1. Kilmarnock 34 19 6 9 47 25 63 2. Arbroath 34 16 14 4 50 26 62 3. Inverness CT 33 14 11 8 47 32 53 4. Partick Thistle 34 13 10 11 44 37 49 5. Raith Rovers 34 11 13 10 41 43 46 6. Hamilton Ac. 34 10 12 12 38 47 42 7. Morton 34 9 13 12 36 43 40 8. Ayr United 34 8 11 15 35 50 35 9. Dunfermline 34 7 14 13 35 50 35 10. Q.O.S. 33 6 8 19 31 51 26 Friday Night 7:45pm could decide who gets promoted ***Killie v Arbroath*** Last Time Out Inverness secured a play-off place with a deserved 2-1 win over a disappointing Kilmarnock on Friday night. Killie had taken the lead through Ash Taylor with a deft finish from a Kirk Broadfoot assist, after he miscued a header. Billy Mckay levelled with fifteen minutes to go and Logan Chalmers completed the comeback with a clinical finish; a low drive from 10 yards, his fourth goal in four games. That's some left peg lad. Queens plunged themselves perilously close to relegation when they were crushed 5-1 at Palmerston after having taken an early lead through Ally Roy. Arbroath overturned that before half time before running away with the game. The game before that Queens were unfortunate to go down 1-0 to Partick Thistle after dominating the game. Difficult to tell which side was going for promotion and which was facing the drop. Let that be a warning to the Caley Jags. Latest Team News Fairly clean bill of health for Dodds with only Allardice out long term. Lee Connelly has scored in each of the three games against us this season. Goes without saying that we need to keep an eye on him. C'mon the Caley Jags, do this for Big Stew

Comedy of Errors Inverness once more failed to take advantage of the given situation by producing another abject display at home against a club staring at relegation. This time it was Queen of the South that showed up our lack of quality and Lee Connelly scored the opener in the first half with Willie Collum waiving away appeals for offside. Same old same old from Inverness in a dire first half. We looked to have got out of jail when the Queens defenders made a hash of clearing a long kick out from Mark Ridgers and Billy Mckay accepted the comical defending to prod the ball home. If ever a man needed a goal it was Tom Walsh who has been totally ineffective this season, but score he did after being sent into the box by Mckay before drilling the ball behind Josh Rae. Phew we all thought, thank feck for that! Alas we shot ourselves in the foot, or more accurately David Carson shot us in the foot as he teed up substitute Ally Roy who had only been on the park for one minute. Surprisingly we actually jumped back into second place thanks to other results, but it's a complete mystery how we have done this given the dross we are subject to at the moment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As expected, Aaron Doran once again missed out. Also missing was Scott Allardice who they kept quiet about and Cameron Harper. Still waiting for confirmation that Allardice's injury is season ending or just a rumour, but he is not included today. That left us with only six on the bench, two of those being youth players. Queens made three changes from their last outing with Shea Gordon making his debut for the 'Doonhamers' and Willie Gibson returning after injury. Another flat calm afternoon with a covid restricted crowd in attendance saw the hosts set the ball rolling attacking the South Stand end. I'll let RIG tell the story. I know I know, you've all read it before, but this is how it is I'm afraid. That was grim. After a decent opening 15 - 20 minutes from Queens, during which they probably should have scored at least once, we started to get on top and looked like ending the first half the stronger side. Queens main attacking plan seemed to be trying to slide the ball in behind our CBs for Connelly to latch on to and we got a glimpse of this when Paton (I think) burst through and looked set to round Ridgers but fortunately a well timed challenge snuffed out this threat. Deas had a couple of decent chances which fell to him at the left edge of the box but your CB filling in at left back probably doesn't have the greatest shooting boots in the world and it showed as he snatched at both efforts. Walsh had a good chance to score as well but I think he tried to be too cute and attempted to shoot back across Rae in goal instead of sending a shot away from him. The opening goal looked miles offside but that was probably because there was one Queens player standing ahead of Connelly before he raced clear to round Ridgers and, eventually, put the ball into the net. At the time I thought he was offside but folk watching on the stream said he was played onside by Broadfoot. Still annoying given we had a taste of this minutes before with the aforementioned Paton chance. In the second half and Devine made a desperate challenge to stop a second Queens goal throwing himself in front of a goal bound shot from a few yards out. A bit of route one got us level with a long thump downfield by Ridgers and it looked like Gibson got in a right state trying to decide if he was going to clear the ball or not and Mckay took it off him to bundle in the equaliser. Route one Sutherland had a good chance to get the second goal for us but seemed to take forever to actually get his shot away and a Queens defender did well to deflect the effort behind for a corner. The second for ICT did come eventually with Mckay flicking the ball on for Walsh who got in behind the defence and finished well across Rae. But only a few minutes later Queens were back level and no one seemed to know what exactly had happened with Roy turning hom a cross whilst in an offside position. At the game I could only think that the ball had come off an ICT player so Roy couldn't therefore be offside and from what I've read it seems the ball was actually played to him by Carson so the goal, sadly, stood. An absolutely gutting result with Arbroath winning and other sides around us faltering. Queens looked decent in spells but seemed a bit of a mess at the back and it's frustrating that we couldn't take advantage of this as I felt we had enough chances to put the game to bed. That said I still think we were very poor again and whilst the likes of Mckay and McAlear turned in good performances we need more from the likes of Walsh (although he did score today) and we also need some fresh faces in quickly to try and give the squad a lift. Talking to BBC Sport Inverness CT head coach Billy Dodds: "My players showed a brilliant appetite to get back into it. When you feel it's gone against you with the first goal you can let the heads go down - they didn't. "They kept battling away and then we lose another questionable goal - not because of the officials but because of the interpretation of the law. There's a couple of players standing slightly offside and they gain an advantage." Queen of the South manager Allan Johnston: "I thought we played well for long periods. "It was a really good team performance and we were really unlucky to come away with just a point. "We were under pressure from a big, physical team at the end. We gave away cheap goals, which has been a thing too often from my point of view." Date: 15/01/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 479 Referee: Willie Collum Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Walsh, Welsh, McAlear, MacGregor (Duku 64), Sutherland, Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; L Nicolson, Hyde, Duffy, Jamieson Scorers: Mckay (62), Walsh (73) Booked: Mckay (8), Deas (45) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 2 Manager: Alan Johnston Lineup: Rae; Johnston, Nditi, Gibson (Fitzpatrick 76), East, Gordon (Debayo 70), McGrory, Liddle, Cooper, Connelly, Paton (Roy 76) Subs (not used): Cowie, Joseph, McKechnie, Junior Scorers: Connelly (39), Roy (77) Booked: Nditi (60), Liddle (61) Sent Off: none a

Shut that window Second bottom Queen of the south come calling to the Caledonian Stadium to take on second top Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm is the kick-off. Queens have lost their last two fixtures and Inverness are without a win in their last three games. Time to close the transfer window before we have nobody left to play out the season. OFFICIAL PREVIEW/STREAMING/TICKET INFO Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 20 12 2 6 36 24 +12 Away 19 8 7 4 33 20 +13 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 39 20 9 10 69 44 +25 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Arbroath 21 10 8 3 33 15 38 2. Inverness CT 20 10 6 4 27 15 36 3. Kilmarnock 20 11 3 6 26 14 36 4. Raith Rovers 21 9 8 4 28 20 35 5. Partick Thistle 19 9 5 5 32 18 32 6. Hamilton Ac. 21 6 6 9 24 36 24 7. Ayr United 20 5 6 9 19 32 21 8. Morton 20 3 8 9 22 31 17 9. Q.O.S. 20 4 5 11 19 31 17 10. Dunfermline 20 2 9 9 18 36 15 FRIDAY 19:45 Partick 1-1 Killie SATURDAY 15:00 Ayr Utd v Morton Dunfermline v Hamilton Inverness v Queens Raith Rovers v Arbroath Inverness have picked up six points from the two games between the clubs this season, both ending 2-1 in favour of the Caley Jags. CTO Summary from 25th September: Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. CTO Summary from 19th November: The visitors opened the scoring when Billy Mckay converted a first half penalty. They doubled their lead when he added a second from a superb Carson cross but Queens forced a tense finish when Lee Connelly smashed the ball into the net to give them hope. However Inverness saw out the game to claim the points and move a point behind leaders Kilmarnock who play Arbroath on Saturday. Last Time Out The Caley Jags recovered from a goal down to draw with Raith Rovers last weekend. The points were shared thanks to two spectacular goals from Ethan Ross and Reece McAlear. A poor first half for the hosts saw Raith lead at the break but a better performance after the interval earned a share of the points although Raith will be aggrieved that they never ended their 22 year wait for a win over Inverness. Queens were deservedly beaten by Kilmarnock in a 2-0 defeat at Palmerston. Alan Johnston had this to say about it on BBC Sport: "It was never a penalty. There was a tug of the shirt but I've seen it again and it was way outside the box. But we continue to give away cheap goals. We have a fight on our hands. That's for sure." That's something like only four wins in 25 games since Alan Johnston went to Palmerston. The sort of form that gets teams relegated. Unfortunately, on the whole, we seldom take full advantage of this and often find ourselves struggling to dominate these games. That needs to change now if we want to remain interested in topping this league. Showing some urgency from the start would be an improvement on recent offerings. Latest Team News Billy Dodds saw Sean Welsh return last week as a second half substitute against Raith Rovers. Aaron Dorran missed out with a thigh injury and is a major doubt. Youth player Harry Hennem will continue his loan spell at Brora Rangers until the end of the season. More disturbing news though if true is that Scott Allardice is allegedly out for the season if you believe the latest rumours. Another equally disappointing one is that Robbie Deas is the subject of a six figure bid (£150K) by St Johnstone to lure our defender to McDiarmid Park, following the footsteps of defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney. Meh! I bet that next up for scrutiny will be Shane Sutherland; what's the odds on that... As an aside, but equally annoying: Daniel Mackay has joined Killie on loan, and loan Ranger Kai Kennedy has gone to Hamilton Accies. Willie Gibson should return for Queens who should also have former County and Inverness player Alex Cooper plying his trade at left back. Keeper Sol Brynn has been recalled by Middlesbrough but midfielder Don McMahon comes back from his loan to Dalbeattie Star. Here's Doddsy...

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

Gardyne volleys us to the top Goals from Sean Welsh and Michael Gardyne were just enough to put Inverness back to the top of the table despite a worldy goal from Lee Connelly for the visitors. Inverness deserved the win but made hard work of it before Gardyne scored a superb volley to win the points and ease the fans nerves. Billy Dodds had Michael Gardyne back from injury but Doran and Sutherland were on the bench after knocks last week. Sean Welsh was in the starting XI as Inverness looked to get back above Kilmarnock after they drew with Arbroath on Friday night. Queen of the South came North on the back of some indifferent form which showed they were better suited to playing away from home. No Dobbie as the prolific striker had left Palmerston after a glittering career. Much travelled former Ross County and Inverness player Alex Cooper was on the bench for the Doonhamers. Mark Ridgers was the first keeper in action as he smothered a weak shot from Lee Connelly with just sixty seconds gone; Connelly would do better later in the game.. Inverness responded with a Scott Allardice drive that fizzed a couple of feet wide in the fifth minute, although the keeper looked to have his post covered. Allardice's next involvement was a booking after a rash tackle out wide as Inverness made heavy weather of making any progress. However, Duku turned his marker and was brought down on the edge of the penalty box arc as David Carson fed the ball to him. Sean Welsh stepped forward and curled a sublime low free kick into the bottom corner from around twenty-five yards, the ball coming off the surface at pace. Tom Walsh almost got on the end of a Gardyne cross after a quick free kick, the ball just out of reach. Minutes later another Gardyne cross found Manny Duku but his header was glanced wide. Duku was causing problems for the defence with his awkward style and direct running, almost finding Walsh after another cut back into the box. Yet another Gardyne cross not connected with Duku's head as the striker passes up on another opportunity. Ten minutes to the break and the hosts are well in control although Queens are not completely out of it so far with only one goal separating the sides as another Gardyne cross evades two forwards in the box. After Gardyne was fouled wide left, a Walsh free kick was headed goalwards but it lacked sufficient power to trouble the keeper as the interval loomed. Half Time: 1-0 The visitors managed to make some progress early in the second half and Mark Ridgers pulled off a superb save and he was not to know it was adjudged offside. Substitute Reece McAlear stung the palms of the keeper as Inverness came back into the game. Broadfoot dollied a header into the keeper and when Johnston broke on the right side for Queens, he got the break of the ball but dragged his shot just wide across the keeper. Billy McKay replaced the hapless Duku around the hour as Inverness looked for the cushion. Clear chances were difficult to come by as the hosts won a couple of corners to no avail, but from the return ball, Walsh's cross bounced back off the corner of the bar. Out of nothing the visitors scored a superb goal through Connelly with a curling shot from the corner of the box high into the net across the keeper. Great strike! Lewis Jamieson replaced Allardice as Dodds decided a second goal was needed. It almost came at the other end as a cleared ball ricocheted off a defender and Ridgers had to look sharp to save. Just when Queens looked the more likely to score, Michael Gardyne volleyed in a beauty after a long through ball from Robbie Deas bounced up nicely for him to chest then volley home with power. Inverness pressed for a third goal and Carson and Gardyne were blocked in the six yard box as the clock ticked towards the ninety. With the hosts in command the referee ended the game to send Inverness back to the top of the table after a deserved win over a gritty Queens. Good performances all over the park with Michael Gardyne the pick of the bunch and honourable mentions for Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and David Carson. From BBC Sport Billy Dodds: "We had to work for it but I thought our attitude was fantastic. My experienced players came up trumps. Sean Welsh with a brilliant free kick and Michael Gardyne with a great finish." Allan Johnston: "The least we should have come away with was a point with the way we played, especially in the second half so we are a little bit frustrated. We have to make sure we learn from that." From CTO Robert: Pretty dominant first half without creating any clear cut chances, but deservedly ahead after a great free kick by Welsh. We failed to kick on after the break and it was no great surprise when the equaliser went in, as they had tested us a few times before it. It was a very good finish. That was the kick up the backside we needed and we got the winner through Gardyne from a long ball by Deas, with Jamieson playing his part by distracting the defence. However, we need to be more clinical and put teams away when we are on top, and stop making it hard for ourselves. Pick for me today was Gardyne, closely followed by Welsh. From CTO RIG: Deserved win. We largely cigared that today save for a period in the second half when Queens got their equaliser and looked like they might steal a point but fortunately we were able to go up a gear and get a deserved winner. Smashing performance from Gardyne. He might be 58<<disclaimer alert>> but he's still as fit as anyone in our squad and still has plenty to offer. Pacey and direct and not afraid to have a crack at goal when some might take an extra touch too many (Duku). Lovely finish for the winner and a deserved MotM. Devine continues to be perhaps our most consistent performer. He almost score a comedy own goal but other than that he was excellent again and stepped out of defence on numerous occasions to intercept balls forward from Queens. Carson was again solid at RB and MacGregor, before his injury, was running the midfield. Walsh was disappointing though and I feel that he's not really hit the height he did in his previous stint with us. Connelly looked useful for Queens who did press and harry us a lot in the first half but seemed to cease after conceding a goal and seemed content to let us knock the ball about looking for an opening. Unfortunately a fair bit of our play broke down in the final third (we definitely lacked a killer pass at times) but I felt we dealt with their few attacking opportunities quite well. Their equaliser was absolutely stunning but fortunately we just upped our game a bit and took a deserved win. All in all, a very pleasing day. Doddsy Here's the goals, three crackers... Date: 25/09/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1184 Referee: Alan Newlands Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Broadfoot, Devine, Deas, Walsh, Welsh, Allardice (Jamieson 76), MacGregor (McAlear 54), Gardyne, Duku (Mckay 63) Subs (not used): Mackay; Harper, Sutherland, Doran Scorers: Welsh (12), Gardyne (81) Booked: Allardice (9) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 1 Manager: Allan Johnston Lineup: Brynn; Gibson, Mckay, Connelly, Debayo, Liddle (Junior 67), McGrory (Fitzpatrick 73) East, Joseph, Nditi, Johnston (Paton 87), Subs (not used): Cowie; Cooper, Chima, Henderson, Scorers: Connelly (74) Booked: Nditi (85) Sent Off: none a

Queens visit. After dropping our first points of the season last weekend to bottom club Dunfermline, seventh place Queen of the South come calling on Saturday to the Caledonian Stadium, the game kicking off at 3:00pm. We had Mark Ridgers to thank for earning us a point at East End Park as he pulled off two tremendous saves late in the game to deny the Pars their first win of the season. The draw was sufficient to keep Inverness top of the table but Kilmarnock and Arbroath gained some ground at the top end whilst the Pars stay rooted to the foot of the Championship. Queens went down 2-0 at home to Arbroath as their indifferent start to the season continues, beating Raith away one week, losing at home to Arbroath the next. It would appear that their away form suits them better than playing at Palmerston at the moment. Stat Attack First Competitive Meeting Dec 17th, 1994 Scottish Cup (Rd 1) (H) 1 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Apr 10th, 2021 League (Championship) (A) 1 - 1 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 19 11 2 6 34 23 +11 Away 18 7 7 4 31 19 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 37 18 9 10 65 42 +23 Biggest Victories Dec 4th, 2020 League (Championship) (A) 3 - 0 Apr 17th, 2004 League (H) 4 - 1 Dec 6th, 2003 League (H) 4 - 1 Aug 1st, 1998 League Cup (Round 1) (A) 4 - 1 Heaviest Defeats Oct 10th, 2009 League (H) 1 - 3 Mar 21st, 1998 League (H) 0 - 2 Aug 13th, 1997 Challenge Cup (Rd 1) (H) 0 - 2 Highest Attendance Oct 18th, 2003 League (A) 3,547 Highest Home Attendance Oct 10th, 2009 League (H) 3,011 Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 6 5 1 0 7 1 6 16 2. Kilmarnock 6 5 0 1 8 1 7 15 3. Arbroath 6 4 1 1 14 4 10 13 4. Partick Thistle 6 3 0 3 11 10 1 9 5. Raith Rovers 5 2 1 2 7 6 1 7 6. Ayr United 6 2 1 3 7 8 -1 7 7. Queen of the South 6 2 0 4 7 10 -3 6 8. Morton 6 1 1 4 5 10 -5 4 9. Hamilton Academical 6 1 1 4 6 14 -8 4 10. Dunfermline 5 0 2 3 3 11 -8 2 As the stats show, Inverness have the upper hand in this fixture but Queens won 0 - 1 in the last one at the Caledonian Stadium in February 2021 when Nortei Nortay scored the only goal of the game as the visitors burst forward around the hour to win in Inverness for the sixth time out of nineteen visits. Other games this weekend Arbroath 0-0 Kilmarnock (Friday 19:45) Will this one sort the men from the boys? Nope. Ayr United v Morton (Saturday 15:00) Mid table supremacy? Dunfermline v Hamilton (Sat 15:00) Relegation battle? Raith Rovers v Partick (Sunday 15:00) - Raith Rovers v Dunfermline ***catch up game Wed 29th Sept 19:05 Streaming from ICTV * Ticket Info Official Preview Match Info AGM 2021 - Statement Hospitality v Morton Lewis Hyde to Rothes Aly Riddle to Forres * Users in England: The English FA was granted ‘blocked hours’ protection pursuant to UEFA Article 48 which prohibits the transmission of matches within its territory during the period of ‘blocked hours’. (refer to Help). Users who are later found to have purchased from within England, will have their purchase refunded and be unable to watch the stream. I see that petty out of date rules by closed shop jobs for boys organisations are still alive and kicking. I fail to see that watching a stream of a Scottish game in England will make much difference to the size of the crowd south of the border. They will be banning kilts next Latest Team News Michael Gardyne has missed the last couple of games but trained hard on Thursday. Aaron Doran and Shane Sutherland were injured at East End Park and Dodds will wait until Friday before finalising his team selection. This could open the door for Cameron Harper and Billy Mckay for a start and maybe Lewis Jamieson will be pushing for some game time. Allan Johnston was disappointed with the result last week and despite plenty of possession and opportunities he felt they failed to make the most of their opportunities. Defensive lapses costing the Doonhamers and not clinical enough in front of goal. Queens are of course Dobbieless, and that has to be a bonus for the opposition. He doesn't score many, but when he does... Billy looking ahead

Tight as a ducks erse This crucial game ended in stalemate as did the entire Championship fixture list. In a tight first half both keepers had saves to make with Ridgers probably the busier. Queens opened the scoring on the hour when the defence allowed Fitzpatrick to run forty yards unchallenged to fire high past Ridgers. Toddy levelled minutes later from a Storey cross, heading down into the bottom corner for his tenth goal this season. No further scoring with Inverness finishing the game on top but unable to get the winner. Inverness went down to Dumfries for their sixth away game out of the last seven, and more importantly on a winning run of six on the bounce, including two Scottish Cup games. This late run has put Inverness in contention for a top four finish, but one defeat could change all that as we hang on to our ambitions with only four games left. Neil McCann was without the services of Sean Welsh and James Keatings with Brad Mckay as captain and Roddy MacGregor starting. Queen of the South made two changes from the game against Hibs. In come East and Jones with Dobbie and Joseph dropping to the bench and they will go with a front three of Connor Shields, Isaiah Jones and Dapo Mebude. Less than four minutes gone and both keepers were called into action with Ferguson saving from Allan and Ridgers likewise from Shields. It had been a bright opening by both sides with Inverness doing most of the pressing. Ridgers kept the scoresheet blank with a tremendous save after a long free kick found Breen ghosting in behind the defenders. The big keeper dived full length to turn the header behind for a corner which he gathered well to ease the pressure. He had to make another superb save just after the half hour when Shields broke into the box. In an increasingly rare foray forward a deep cross by Mackay saw Ferguson gather the header which was too straight at him. Indiana Jones took a sore one when Allardice challenged for the ball and it cannoned off his neck/face. Ferguson saved a free kick low to his right five minutes before the break and one minute before the forty-five a Todorov header was blocked en-route with big shouts for a penalty falling on deaf ears. A promising free kick right on the interval was skied by Allardice and it remained goalless at the break. Half Time: 0-0 Ridgers was back in action early in the half when he dived low to his left to save a shot on the cut back as he was left wrong footed but got to it at full stretch to make the save. Dan Mackay curled an effort just over on the run and Scott Allan should have done better than shoot wide after substitute James Vincent set him up. Toddy headed a free kick towards goal but Ferguson picked it out of the air comfortably. The deadlock was broken when our defence parted like the Red Sea to allow Fitzpatrick to run through on an exposed keeper to slot home high into the net. The lead lasted only a couple of minutes before Todorov headed a cross to the far post from Storey low into the net under challenge. Entering the final fifteen and Storey fired a left footer from distance but Ferguson was right behind it. Dan Mackay fizzed one just over with ten minutes left. A good run down the right saw a Storey cross dummied for Sutherland to strike from fifteen yards but it was too straight at the keeper again. Chances were getting tight now and defences remained on top as the game drew to a close with Inverness on the offensive but no further goals. Full Time: 1-1 An entertaining and open game could not separate the sides and with all other results ending all square we remain in fourth place, but you can't get a fag paper between the top six sides apart from Hearts who are now confirmed as Champions with Alloa all but relegated. Still all to play for and next up for the Caley Jags in the Championship is Dundee at the Caledonian Stadium. Great display from our defence with Mckay, Ridgers and Devine outstanding and hot Toddy still on a roll with his tenth of the season. Date: 10/04/2021 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 0000 Referee: Grant Irvine Queen of the South: 1 Manager: Allan Johnstone Lineup: Ferguson; Gibson, Breen, Buchanan, Maxwell, Obileye, Dickson, McCabe, Mebude, Shields, Jones (Fitzpatrick 57)) Subs (not used): Leighfield; McKee, Joseph, Pybus, East, Dobbie Scorers: Fitzpatrick (65) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Neil McCann (temporary) Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, B Mckay, Devine, Deas, D Mackay, Allardice, Allan (Sutherland 75), MacGregor (Vincent 58), Storey, Todorov (Harper 85) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Lyall, Duffy, McHattie Scorers: Todorov (68) Booked: MacGregor (26), Deas (87), Storey (89) Sent Off: none a

Queen of the South -V- Inverness CT Championship Football @ Palmerston Park, Dumfries Saturday 10th April 2021 @ 15:00pm Covid Restrictions - No Fans Streaming available

Ring Rusty Caley Jags Hamered Doon. Despite the hosts having the better chances, including Miles Storey hitting the bar and Ferguson making some excellent saves, the first half ended goalless. The deadlock was broken just after the hour when Nortei Nortey ran through to score his first goal for Queens. Plenty of effort but not enough guile or composure and lots of misfortune saw Inverness take nothing from this game as the Doonhamers held on for all three points. That result leaves Inverness still second bottom although the table is a mess with postponed games. RIG has this report ready: The stunning lack of creativity in this team was on full display tonight. We might have been missing players but so were QotS so I am not having that as an excuse. Storey and Mackay, whilst willing and hard working on the flanks did not create enough throughout the time they were on the pitch to have us in a more comfortable position. A good cross by Mackay in the first half which found Storey who saw his effort deflect over / wide was as good as it got. When MacGregor came on later on and popped up on the left side he was continuously looking to cut back in on his right and with no support down the left side he was easily nullified. Keatings, despite a nice effort from a free kick in the second half, was largely anonymous and there was a huge gap between him as the 10 and the 6 and 8 at the base of the middle triangle. Defensively I thought we were mostly fine save for the moment that mattered. Grim defending and after that Queens sat back with 9 men behind the ball and challenged an insipid ICT, who had struggled to break them down for most of the game prior to the goal, to work their way through a superbly drilled defensive line. Needless to say it did not go well for us although Harper put in a nice ball for Toddy who probably should have scored. Apart from that though... For all our possession, as alluded to above, we did previous little with it and as such I cannot begrudge Queens the win. Maybe if we had created numerous great chances and Ferguson had pulled off a string of saves then I might feel aggrieved at being "robbed" but from the small number of really good chances we did have I cannot recall him being overly troubled. The action from Wednesday night... OFFICIAL MATCH REPORT FROM ICTFC Thoughts from CTO doofers dad: We've played worse than that and won. I thought we had some decent build up play and put them under a lot of pressure, but too often we hadn't got the close control or inventiveness to create clear cut chances. Then when we did shoot, the shooting was woeful. Maybe lacking a bit of confidence and match sharpness, but we don't have anybody who looks as though they could score goals on a regular basis and that's a worry. Stirling Observer: Positive me thinks there is a decent team there and it's down to a lack of match practice and sharpness due to the fragmented number of games over the last 2 months. I am hopeful it will click into place and we will hit a run of form and climb table. Negative me thinks our central defence is worryingly soft, we have a lack of wingers to create anything, we have a lack of a goalscorer. We are in for a relegation battle or at best a low placed finish. There's also a lot of unhappy bunnies on the forums, only time will tell which faction have the right end of the stick. Date: 17/02/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0000 Referee: David Lowe Inverness CT: 0 Manager: John Robertson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, B Mckay, Deas, Harper, D Mackay (MacGregor 73), Welsh (Carson 78), Allardice, Sutherland, Keatings (Todorov )73, Storey Subs (not used): C Mackay; Devine, Nicolson, Hyde Scorers: none Booked: Todorov (87), Allardice (90+5) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 1 Manager: Allan Johnston Lineup: Ferguson; Gibson, Buchanan, Breen, Maxwell, Nortey, Obileye, Jones (Goss 77), McGrory (McMahon 90+5), East, Dobbie (Joseph 60). Subs (not used): Rae; McKechnie, Camara Sylla. Scorers: Nortey (63) Booked: Maxwell (35), Obileye (87), Joseph (89) Sent Off: none a

Third time lucky This fixture is looking like it might beat the pandemic, snow, ice and water and is scheduled to be played on Wednesday evening with a 6:30pm kick-off. That is unless the strong winds force another postponement. The original preview is still mostly relevant apart from a couple of fairly serious injuries to a couple of Caley Thistle players. First the good news: We have signed Anthony McDonald on loan from Hearts and there is no pitch inspection planned......yet. Now the bad news: Anthony McDonald is injured and possibly out for most of the season with suspected knee cartilage/ligament damage. Aaron Doran has a torn thigh muscle. Both were injured in separate incidents during training on the artificial surface at the indoor facility and both will be out for a lengthy spell. With Kai Kennedy now at Raith Rovers, the new injuries leave us short on suppliers for the strikers. Maybe David Carson will be fit enough to start, but like most of the squad, match sharpness will be an issue. Plenty room for the young team to get back into the starting XI and give Robbo some food for thought. James Keatings was a casualty after 20 minutes of the Arbroath game, so he might be missing as well. It might be easier to check and see who is not fit...... Queen of the South are a different beast from the team we swept aside 3-0 at Palmerston back on the 4th December. Players like Dapo Awokoya-Mebude, Isaiah Jones, Ayo Obileye and Connor Shields are making the Doonhamers tick along nicely and have added a goal threat to the Queens attack. Not household names, but certainly giving the Dumfries side a lift, especially with goal machine Stephen Dobbie missing a few games through injury. Of course, Mebude might have a problem should his partying be deemed naughty. He might have to sit this one out. Up to the officials to sort that one out. Queens come North on the back of contrasting results. A 2-1 win over Morton, a defeat at Alloa by the same score and an excellent draw against Hearts where it took a 90th minute penalty for the Jambo's to rescue a point. We enter this game after a 1-1 draw at Gayfield followed by two postponements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICIAL PREVIEW PPV £10, (cheap at half the price) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previously: Queens of the ice age frozen off...***GAME OFF*** (30th January) Another rearranged game due to go ahead on Saturday afternoon with Queen of the South the visitors. Should snow, ice, rain, covid or road blockages not stop this one, it is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV. Pixie Lott for a £10er. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves as the words that we all dread have been uttered by the club. "There will be a pitch inspection at 9am tomorrow morning ahead of the match against Queen of the South". Now there's a surprise! It could be an opportunity for us to bounce back after a disappointing draw against the ten men of Morton. Easier said than done given our lack of game time over the last month. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Queen of the South back to Jan 13th 2018 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) At Cappielow we were without Brad Mckay and more importantly striker Miles Storey. With Kai Kennedy off to Raith Rovers, we were bereft of the guile needed to prize open a stubborn defence, and when we did, a lack of composure ensured we would not run away with the game despite the Ton being a man short for over half of the match. All this has not best pleased Robbo who has let them know in no uncertain terms that it's simply not good enough to just turn up and claim the points. You tell them John... Queens are on a bit of a roll since we last played them on December 4th. They took a thrashing at Tynecastle the week after (6-1) then lost to Morton and Dundee. However, since then they beat Raith Rovers 0-2 on 29th December, they have been on the up. Victories over Ayr United, Queens Park and Morton along with a draw against Arbroath have lifted them above Inverness in the table although we do have three games in hand. In fact we have games in hand over everyone, but that does not equate to points in the bag; think Morton in midweek. Connor Shields is the man on form just now and Queens now seem to have enough talent on board to ease away from the relegation area. Shields has nine goals this season, and more worrying for us seven in the last six games since Xmas. Team news not forthcoming but Robbo hinted at some changes after the slackness at Cappielow. I'll keep it short as there is no guarantee the game will go ahead, so look out early morning for any news from ICT FC.

Queens of the ice age frozen off. ***POSTPONED*** Another rearranged game due to go ahead on Saturday afternoon with Queen of the South the visitors. Should snow, ice, covid or road blockages not stop this one, it is scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm with live streaming available from Caley Jags TV - Pixie Lott for a £10er. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves as the words that we all dread have been uttered by the club. "There will be a pitch inspection at 9am tomorrow morning ahead of the match against Queen of the South". Now there's a surprise! It could be an opportunity for us to bounce back after a disappointing draw against the ten men of Morton. Easier said than done given our lack of game time over the last month. Last 10 Competitive Meetings against Queen of the South back to Jan 13th 2018 3 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 1 (H) At Cappielow we were without Brad Mckay and more importantly striker Miles Storey. With Kai Kennedy off to Raith Rovers, we were bereft of the guile needed to prize open a stubborn defence, and when we did, a lack of composure ensured we would not run away with the game despite the Ton being a man short for over half of the match. All this has not best pleased Robbo who has let them know in no uncertain terms that it's simply not good enough to just turn up and claim the points. You tell them John... Queens are on a bit of a roll since we last played them on December 4th. They took a thrashing at Tynecastle the week after (6-1) then lost to Morton and Dundee. However, since then they beat Raith Rovers 0-2 on 29th December, they have been on the up. Victories over Ayr United, Queens Park and Morton along with a draw against Arbroath have lifted them above Inverness in the table although we do have three games in hand. In fact we have games in hand over everyone, but that does not equate to points in the bag; think Morton in midweek. Connor Shields is the man on form just now and Queens now seem to have enough talent on board to ease away from the relegation area. Shields has nine goals this season, and more worrying for us seven in the last six games since Xmas. Team news not forthcoming but Robbo hinted at some changes after the slackness at Cappielow. I'll keep it short as there is no guarantee the game will go ahead, so look out early morning for any news from ICT FC.

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

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

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

Caley Jags weather the storm. Inverness ran out comfortable winners as the game was played out in a mini storm. James Vincent opened the scoring on the half hour from a corner in a dull first half. A brighter second half saw James Keatings score a tremendous swerving free kick from 35 yards before Semple pulled one back for Queens in the middle of a storm. We'll put that one down to the weather. Miles Storey put the game to bed ten minutes from the end when David Carson slid a ball into the box for Storey to poke home off the post. The outcome was never really in doubt and just the tonic on a freezing night when the weather deteriorated as the game went on. Credit to both sets of players for getting through the game without hypothermia setting in. Stirling Observer had this to say on CTO............. Good win. Queens were very poor. Took a wee while to settle into the formation but the goal certainly helped. Great corner from Keatings, with whip and dip. Vincent flicked it in. Second goal was a direct free kick from Keatings. It was a Ronaldo-esqe strike through the ball to give it swerve and dip. Keeper appeared to be distracted by this or the runners and messed up his balance. Ball went in quite centrally but moved an awful lot. Good strike from about 35 yards out. 3rd was a good run (again) by Carson. Was fortunate his flick through deflected into the path of Storey who was sharp to pounce and toe poke it in off the far post. Couldn't really see what happened with their goal. <checks video> Defence wasn't overly troubled. Mchattie swept up everything and Toddy won everything in the air. Formation suited most of the players particularly Keatings, Storey and Rooney. Carson had a super game again. Won back so many balls by harassing the opposition. Doran and Walsh seemed to enjoy their cameos off the bench. Corner flag on a bender..... Miles better............ Brrrrrŕrrrrrrrr Date: 10/03/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1811 Referee: Steven Reid Inverness CT: 3 Lineup: Ridgers; Rooney, Todorov, McHattie, Tremarco, Carson, Trafford, Vincent, Harper (Doran 77), Keatings (Walsh 76), Storey (White 88) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Davies, MacGregor, Scorers: Vincent (30), Keatings (57), Storey (79) Booked: Tremarco (29) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 1 Lineup: Stewart; Ledger, Kilday, Semple, Kidd (Petravicius 39), Lyon, Pybus (Hamilton 75), Wilson, Mercer, Oliver, Dobbie (Paton 62) Subs (not used): Leighfield, Devine, Gourlay. Scorers: Semple (72) Booked: Ledger (88) Sent Off: none a

Queens visit Another Tuesday, another game at the Caledonian Stadium, this time we host Queen of the South looking to get over the disappointment of a poor result at Alloa on Saturday. The game kicks off at 7:45pm. At the weekend, we went down to the Wasps who were absolutely buzzing. Only two goals which flattered Inverness who also saw a host of opportunities wasted. First half goals from Lee Connelly and Kevin O'Hara saw us leave Clackmannanshire empty handed. However, the disappointment was tempered by the fact that we actually gained a point over our nearest challengers over the week as all other sides drew again. I know, I know, it's clutching at straws a wee bit, but it's all we've got to be happy about after a grim week. Queen of the South went ahead in midweek only for Dunfermline Athletic to peg them back with a penalty just after half time. Gary Oliver had put Queens on their way to their first win in nine games but Jonathan Afolabi levelled from the spot. The Doonhamers have slipped into the play-off slot at the wrong end of the league thanks to Alloa beating us. However, we are still closer to them on points than we are to league leaders Dundee United. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match Info Tickets Sports Bar Official report v Alloa Digital Matchday Programme ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two other games on Tuesday night Partick Thistle v Dunfermline Athletic Dundee v Ayr United Queen of the South play Ayr United on Friday night. This is the third meeting between the clubs this season with Inverness victorious in the first two games, both 2-0 wins home and away. Queens are close to the relegation danger zone and will be looking to rectify that so expect a tough encounter where on their day, any team is capable of beating anyone in the league. Given our reluctance to beat teams in the bottom half of the league, this will not be an easy task. Hopefully the rude awakening at Alloa will stir the team and get us back on track. Sean Welsh and James Vincent missed the game at Recreation Park and Lewis Toshney came off injured after only three minutes. The news regarding Toshney is not great, he is expected to be out for at least a month with an injury to his quad muscle, and that leaves us wafer thin at the back with the run-in and Chocolate biscuit cup coming up. Once more Queen of the South will be relying heavily on top scorer Stephen Dobbie. Always a threat, Dobbie has eleven goals to his credit this term, meagre by his own standards. However, he is one of the best finishers in the Championship. Ignore him at your peril......... Simon Macdonald RIP The funeral service will take place on Wednesday 11 March at 12.30pm in the Funeral Home of William T Fraser and Son, Culduthel Road, Inverness, IV2 6AB, and thereafter to Kilvean Cemetery. All friends and colleagues past and present welcome. Family flowers only please, and money donations to the Scottish Burned Children’s Club welcome. As a mark of respect for Simon, the Fans will do their own tribute at the Challenge Cup Final against Raith Rovers. We're planning on having a minutes applause in the 44th minute for Simon / Bronson during this game. Something to note for later this month and feel free to make others around you at the game aware.

***Game off*** There's another preview wasted; meh! It's Dobbie time. Steven Dobbie takes the rest of his entourage North this weekend as Inverness host Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. The game kicks off at 3:00pm and let's hope the wind and rain relents somewhat so we can avoid trampolines and other objects seen hurtling around Inverness this past week. Oh dear, the weather has won, the game has been called off on Friday after a 12:00inspection. Our last game saw a return to form as we ran out comfortable winners over a resurgent Dundee at Dens Park. Two superb first half goals from Aaron Doran and James Keatings gave us the platform to go on and dominate the first forty-five and from there on in we were never in danger. What a difference a week made after the disappointment of the Arbroath defeat to end 2019. The Doonhamers took on the other half of Dundee at Palmerston but narrowly went down 1-0 as Mark Connolly headed the winner early into the second half. After last week's games, Queen of the South find themselves in sixth position, ten points behind second place Inverness but still only three points above the relegation play-off place occupied by Morton. These two teams have a crucial catch up game to play against each other. Lots of players moving back and fore in the January sales and Mitch Curry has returned to Middlesbrough after his injury disrupted spell in the Highlands. I suppose he was more of a Korma than a Vindaloo, but good luck to him for the future. Less pleasing are the strong rumours that Coll Donaldson could be on his way over the bridge on a pre-contract while Shaun Rooney could be heading to Dundee, with St Johnstone showing interest as well. Another in danger of leaving is Tom Walsh, although he would be less of a miss due to recent injury problems, although on his game he can be a match winner. I'm afraid money talks, and we won't be splashing much cash around unless we get contracts bought out now. Anyway, it's all speculation at the moment, but it's no secret that Donaldson and a few others would prefer a bigger wage. In fact, rumours would have it that half our squad are being targeted such is our financial disposition. Cest la vie! Gringo's thoughts.......... Caley Jags are so difficult to predict these days. They blow very hot and cold. This should be a massive three points for us but....I'm struggling to find any confidence that they can do so. Distractions of higher wages and new contracts could have an affect on the minds especially if we concede the first goal. Some guys might get that 'well I'm leaving soon for a higher wage anyway so this game doesn't matter attitude' I'd hope they are more professional than that though. NPL says FT 2-1 Pfffftttt A bit damp around the penalty box

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

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