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  1. Revenge is Sweet Inverness gained revenge for a 3-2 defeat eleven days ago at Palmerston when Alfie Bavidge struck his fourth goal in five games with a neat finish from the left side of the penalty box after being fed through by Paul Allan following good work by the returning Luis Longstaff. It was a tight game against a robust Doonhamers side with on form Adam Brooks looking lively for Queens early on before the game settled down. Good pace and power from Bavidge to get on the end of the ball and slip it past keeper Ross Stewart. A slow burner of a second half with chances at a premium. There was a flurry of activity around Stewart before and after Brydon was sent off for persistent fouling and a second yellow card. Stewart made a couple of super saves late in the game as the hosts threatened to increase their advantage and he was in the right place to deny a slick flick from Longstaff when he met a cross from the right. An ultimately deserved win over a Queens side who adopted a 'they shall not pass at any cost' attitude throughout the game and no surprise they ended up with ten men. Unfortunately for us Annan pulled off a great win at Kelty but Montrose are now a target for the bottom three to aim at. Special mention for Michael Hewitt who managed to get play stopped for a head injury when we had possession but made a miraculous recovery to play a blinder for the remainder of the game.............. starting seconds later. The result was greater than the performance and we dug deep to get this win against an over enthusiastic Queens side who were prepared to use underhand tactics to try and derail our admin train. Great finish from Alfie Bavidge which won the points. Luis Longstaff was a popular choice for MotM after returning from injury. Chances were at a premium throughout the game. Dibaga blocked an early effort from Jordan Allan after twenty minutes before Bavidge struck. In the second half Alfie Stewart had an effort from twenty-five yards clawed away from the top corner and Longstaff was unlucky as he flicked towards goal from a front post ball in by Alfie B. Late in the game keeper Stewart kept out a prod forward from Paul Allan with an outstretched arm after good work down the left flank involving Billy Mckay sending Longstaff down the wing to cross to Allan. Like us eleven days ago, it's a long way home when there's no points in the bag... Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 23 8 35 2 Cove 22 10 34 3 Arbroath 21 7 34 4 Queen of Sth 23 -2 32 5 Kelty Hearts 22 7 31 6 Alloa Athletic 23 3 30 7 Montrose 22 -5 25 8 Annan Ath 23 -17 24 9 Caley Jags 23 3 22 10 Dumbarton 22 -14 08 Date: 01/02/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1726 Referee: Alastair Grieve Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Cairns (83)), Stewart (Mckay (73)), Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Ewan, Keogh, MacLeod, R Thompson, Scorers: Bavidge (36) Booked: MacKinnon (27), Gilmour (31), Bray (87) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 0 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; Douglas, MacIntyre, Hannah (J Brydon (56), Hewitt, Allan (Charters 37), Cochrane, Lyon, Walker (Smith 55), Dickenson, Brooks (F Bryden 70) Subs (not used): Johnson; McLinden, O'Donnell, Scorers: none Booked: Cochrane (20), Dickenson (27), Allen (28), Brydon (72, 81) Sent Off: Brydon (81) a
  2. Wasps Stung by Caley Jags With storm Eowyn having passed over yesterday it was game on at the Indodrill Stadium within Recreation Park. The Caley Jags last visit here saw them relinquish a two goal lead within six minutes all too easily after Conor Sammon entered the fray. With the only League1 fixture failing to weather the storm being the Arbroath v Kelty game, this was an opportunity for Alloa to get up to second spot and for Inverness to keep abreast of the relegation zone with Dumbarton at Queen of the South. Charlie Dewar started his first game with Josh Gentles on the bench for the hosts. Luis Longstaff failed to make the starting XI or the bench with Alfie Stewart starting again for an unchanged visitors. Inverness took a first half lead through a Keith Bray header but immediately after the break Cameron O'Donnell equalised however Alfie Stewart got his first goal for Inverness with ten minutes remaining. We saw out the game thereafter and took a big step towards safety. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alloa were keen to take the initiative and Dibaga had to save from Conor Sammon in the first couple of minutes followed by Luke Rankin having his effort blocked. James Nolan and Stefan Scougall exchanged misses at opposite ends of the park after ten minutes as the game settled down. Almost midway through the half and a Sammon header brought Dibaga back into action, but it was at the other end that the first goal came. Keath Bray won a corner when his effort had been blocked and when Alfie Stewart swung the ball in Bray headed home to open the scoring. That's three in three for Bray, becoming a habit now! Adam MacKinnon fired goalwards after twenty-five but Morrison saved. Danny Devine picked up a booking and from the free kick Cameron O'Donnell went close but missed the target. Three minutes before the interval Alfie Bavidge almost got his four in four but his first time shot from outside the box hit the post. HALF TIME: 0-1 Here we go again as we lose a goal within a minute, Cameron O'Donnell scoring from close range to draw Alloa level. A bit of a lull in the game and possession had levelled out with a spate of corners for the Caley Jags producing nothing but a couple of bookings for Mckay, Bray and Nolan. Devine had a header pushed away from goal from an Allan free kick and with ten minutes left Alfie Stewart opened his account at the Caley Jags, slotting in after a great assist from Paul Allan. Kane Thomson had an effort saved by Dibaga in the bottom corner as the game approached the ninety minutes. Despite five minutes of time added on, the visitors saw out the game relatively unscathed and took a massive step towards safety. FULL TIME: 1-2 This was a huge win for the Caley Jags with Dumbarton losing and Annan Athletic drawing today after equalising in the last minute. Meh! Only two points behind Annan now and twelve points ahead of Dumbarton although they have a game in hand over us. We showed great resilience to weather the storm and push on for the win. Pleasing and deserved result after the disappointment in midweek at Dumfries. Biggest surprise was no goals for Alfie Bavidge today. Send him back Mantis on CTO: Never a dirty game but Alloa led us on bookings 4-1 before we came back to 4-4 but they snatched it with a last minute card Should have been out of sight at half time. Bavidge was probably poorer than usual but was unlucky when his drive came off the inside of the post. Paid for it within a minute of the restart and Alloa had a good spell for 15 minutes when we could have conceded. Any worries about tiredness after all the long away trips soon evaporated as we took control and forced corner after corner. Billy had a good chance but his legs gave up on him, then Stewart grabbed the winner, in a game where he started to show a bit of overdue class. What a player Keith Bray is. What a support we have right now Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 22 5 32 3 Queens 22 -1 32 4 Cove 21 9 31 5 Kelty 21 9 31 6 Alloa 22 3 29 7 Montrose 21 -2 25 8 Annan 22 -19 21 9 Caley Jags 22 2 19 10 Sons 21 -14 07 Date: 25/01/2025 Venue: Recreation Park, Alloa Attendance: 0741 Referee: Steven Kirkland Alloa Athletic: 1 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Thomson, Dewar, Neill, Taggart, O'Donnell (Buchanan 86), Virtanen, Scougall, Sammon (McDonnell 86), Rankin (Gentles 67), Donnelly Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Honeyman, Mullen, Roberts, Cawley Scorers: O'Donnell (46) Booked: Virtanen (7), Thomson (48), O'Donnell (57), Scougall (70), Neill (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Stewart, Gilmour, Allan MacKinnon, Bavidge, B Mckay (Cairns 83) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Ewan, C Mackay, R Thompson, MacLeod, Scorers: Bray (21), Stewart (79) Booked: Devine (33), B Mckay (73), Bray (75), Nolan (77) Sent Off: none a
  3. Pointless at Palmerston Luis Longstaff missed out for the visitors after picking up an injury at Annan on Saturday. Queens had Adam Brooks up front after the player had to leave Inverness since administration. It was a lively start to the game in Dumfries. It was three in three for Alfie Bavidge as his early goal put the visitors ahead. However the lead only lasted two minutes as former player Inverness striker Adam Brooks levelled in the tenth minute. Nip and tuck thereafter in an entertaining first half with the hosts shading the possession and the opportunities but it was all square at the break and all to play for in the second half. Brooks added his second of the night ten minutes after the break. Chances went abegging at both ends of the park before Keith Bray equalised with fifteen minutes remaining. Alas substitute Jordan Allan was on hand to knock in the winner following a corner to keep all three points in Dumfries. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's an overview from CTO - Eagle4Caley: I journeyed up...Euston to Carlisle, Carlisle to Dumfries, Last train back to Carlisle, Overnighter in Carlisle, back in my London office by lunchtime...bloody loved it A bit chilly, but at half time was chatting to a Man Utd/QotS fan in the drinks queue, before discovering they don't take payment card, and he bought my coffee! (which got me through the 2nd half) Thought the team played pretty well last night, Longstaff being out affected the midfield balance in my view. When we equalised to 2-2 I think the team got too excited about trying to win and left themselves a bit open. There were times during the match when our defence seemed to consist of just the two CB's as the FB's were pushing up so much...the tikki-takki stuff seems to be largely out Bavidge is some signing, and Bray looked great at right wing-back. Slightly annoying that Brooks got two against us, but did he get a fair crack when he was our player or does he fit better at QotS Anyway that's another ground ticked off...roll on Dumbarton away in March FULL TIME: 3-2 An all action encounter with five goals and the home side edging it 3-2. An Adam Brooks double and a Jordan Allan strike won the points after Alfie Bavidge had opened the scoring after ten minutes. Keith Bray had made it 2-2 before substitute Allan forced in the winner with ten minutes remaining. A tough result to take after our second long haul in three days. It's a long way home if there's no points in the bag. Meh! Full report to follow Date: 21/01/2025 Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries Attendance: 0775 Referee: Gavin Duncan Queen of the South: 3 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; Hewit, Douglas, Hannah, MacIntyre, Doherty (Jack Bryden 71), Luissint, Cochrane, Lyon, Dickenson, Brooks (Allan 77) Subs (not used): Thomson; McKechnie, O'Donnell, Walker, McLinden, McIntosh, Fraser Brydon Scorers: Brooks (12, 53), Allan (79) Booked: Hannah (41), Hewit (64), Luissint (74), Dickinson (76) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Stewart (R Thompson 87), Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 86), Mackinnon, B Mckay (Cairns 86), Bavidge Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, C Mackay Scorers: Bavidge (10), Bray (74) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  4. 3-0 on the Road Wullie Gibson has a couple of absentees in defence with Rhys Breen and Scott Hooper out, but left back Rico Quitongo will be added to the squad for todays game. Unfortunately, Tommy Goss will require more detailed surgery after his pre-op showed more work required to tidy up his knee injury and striker Aiden Smith is suspended. Scott Kellacher once again went with Alfie Bavidge up front with Billy Mckay. Alfie Stewart started on the bench. With seven points separating the clubs before kick-off, this was a vital game to avoid defeat if we wanted to reel in Annan and aspire to climb out of the relegation zone. A dull first half was interrupted by a goal and it was no surprise that it took forty minutes to open the scoring. Alfie Bavidge with his second goal in his second game made it 0-1 at the interval. Keith Bray doubled our advantage just after the break with a header and a late penalty won by Alfie and scored by Billy Mckay ended the scoring and brought us three points closer to Annan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paul Allan had an early opportunity but he missed the target and Luis Longstaff brought out the first save of the game when Jamie Smith denied him from distance after a couple of minutes. It wasn't long before Musa Dibaga got a touch on the ball saving from Charlie Maxwell as Annan responded. Not much to shout about in the opening exchanges as Paul McGowan shot over approaching midway in the first half. Player manager Wullie Gibson earned his wages with a couple of great challenges and blocks to deny Paul Allen's effort from crossing the line. Around the half hour, Inverness missed a clutch of chances with Allen, Billy Mckay, Adam Mackinnon and Danny Devine all off target. Luca Ross was denied by Dibaga as Annan came out of their half before the interval but two minutes later the Caley Jags took the lead, and once again it was loan signing Alfie Bavidge that broke the deadlock after Longstaff sent in an inviting cross having made space for himself on the left wing, Alfie heading in from close range at the back post. Two in two for young Bavidge. He tried his luck with another couple of speculative efforts just before the break but never made the keeper work. HALF TIME: 0-1 The Longstaff - Bavidge combination forced keeper Smith into action just after the restart with Smith saving Alfie's header. Four minutes after the interval the visitors doubled their lead when Keith Bray headed home Paul Allan's corner kick into the bottom corner. The Dunfermline loanee's corner kicks are becoming the stuff of legend. It had been a great start to the second half from the Caley Jags and Allen fired over before Bavidge was again denied by Smith with an excellent save. Dibaga kept out an effort from Quitongo ten minutes from the end but it was the visitors that were in control. The result was put beyond any doubt with three minutes remaining when Billy Mckay scored from the spot after Bavidge was tripped whilst skinning the defender. Billy drilling his spot kick down the middle when the keeper moved to his left. Game over! What a result on the road and just what we needed as we clawed our way to within touching distance of Annan in eighth place. Alfie Bavidge has made a huge impact since coming in on loan and that's Billy Mckay's first goal since August 31st when he scored the winner against Queen of the South. That's his 114th goal for the Caley Jags and great to see him back on the scoresheet. FULL TIME: 0-3 The 3 B's Bavidge Bray Billy Annan 0-3 ICTFC (only game today) Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 21 9 32 3 Kelty 21 9 31 4 Alloa Ath 21 4 29 5 Cove 20 5 28 6 Queens 20 -4 26 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 21 -19 20 9 Caley Jags 20 2 16 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Here's Wullie with his take on the game from Annan's perspective Date: 18/01/2025 Venue: Galabank Stadium, Annan Attendance: 0438 Referee: Craig Napier Annan Athletic: 0 Manager: Wullie Gibson Lineup: Jamie Smith; Dixon, T Muir, Gibson, R Muir (Quitongo 51), McGowan, P Smith (K Fleming 62), Ross, Todd (Carmichael 77), Maxwell, Stevenson Subs (not used): G Fleming; Bell Scorers: none Booked: T Muir (68), J Stevenson (74) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff (MacLeod 79), Gilmour, Allan, Mackinnon (Stewart 71), Bavidge (Cairns 88), B Mckay (R Thompson 88) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Gardiner, C Mackay Scorers: Bavidge (40), Bray (49), B Mckay (pen 87) Booked: MacKinnon (16) Sent Off: none a
  5. What's it all about Alfie Inverness bolstered their squad with a couple of Alfie's on loan from Aberdeen, Bavidge and Stewart. Jack Walker also returned from Nairn County ahead of the visit of fellow Administration side Dumbarton, in what has been described as a six-pointer and it's only the 4th of January. The covers were removed in double quick time thanks to around fifty volunteers who turned up to help get the pitch ready for today's game after a week of frost on a brisk Saturday morning with the sun splitting the sky. It turned into a bitterly cold afternoon but new signing Alfie Bavidge warmed the home fans palms when he opened the scoring after fifteen minutes. The Sons had to replace keeper Brett Long before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. Replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a tremendous save just on the interval but he had no chance with a powerful drive from Charlie Gilmour who doubled the lead twenty minutes from the end. The Sons battled hard and Finlay Gray struck the post but Inverness took the points to narrow the gap on Annan Athletic to seven points with a game in hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Alfie Bavidge running the channels up front alongside Billy Mckay and often Adam MacKinnon backing them up it was no surprise that Inverness were on the front foot in the early exchanges. It was no surprise that the hosts opened the scoring after fifteen minutes when a superb ball down the right wing from Luis Longstaff curled invitingly into the feet of Adam MacKinnon who had made the run forward. He went to the byeline before swinging in a dangerous first time ball into the Sons six yard box which they failed to deal with effectively. Alfie won't score an easier goal this season as the ball broke to him inside the box and he swept it into the net for a debut goal. Lovely moment for the young striker. His next attempt minutes later was not so profitable as a wild swing saw him slice the ball out for a throw in fifty yards wide. We'll ignore that one. There followed a bit of a lull with Inverness dominating play and Dumbarton looking to keep the damage to a minimum. They almost conceded a second when Billy Mckay was threaded through on the left side, however after skipping wide of Brett Long, the keeper recovered sufficiently to get a touch on Mckay's effort from the tightest of angles, the ball running across the face of the goal and out for a corner. The Sons then had to replace keeper Long ten minutes before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. MacKinnon tested the sub keeper with a low shot from the edge of the box and the replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a stunning save just on the interval diving high to his left to deny a thunderous Luis Longstaff volley from the edge of the box as he tipped the ball out for a corner which never happened. HALF TIME: 1-0 Dumbarton looked a bit more aggressive after the break and Ethan Brown's blocked shot brought about appeals for a penalty, but to no avail. Mckay had an effort saved as the hosts continued to dominate and with twenty-minutes remaining Charlie Gilmour side footed in a second goal after a short corner routine saw MacKinnon cut the ball back to Gilmour fifteen yards out and he first timed a side footer high into the net with power. That goal stung Dumbarton into action and they eventually managed to create a couple of opportunities of their own. Dibaga blocked well from Gray as he sprinted clear on the left side of the box. From the corner, Clark's header grazed the top of the bar although there may have been an infringement in the build up. Either way, a goal kick or free kick was given. Gray was then unlucky with twenty minutes remaining when he was put through on the left side again, this time he beat Dibaga at his near post but the ball rebounded to safety off the base of the post. Devine headed wide late on and a couple of promising moves broke down on the edge of the visitors box as Inverness then saw out the game in control. The only downside was an injury to Longstaff who was replaced by Alfie Stewart for his debut. FULL TIME: 2-0 A thoroughly deserved win after last weeks disappointing result against Cove Rangers. New signing Alfie Bavidge was rightly awarded the MotM, not just for his debut goal, but he was a constant threat, tirelessly running the channels like his olde man did back in the day and with plenty of pace and a good first touch. He also seemed to give Billy Mckay an extra spring in his step and he was unlucky not to score. He will certainly be an asset for the Caley Jags in 2025 and Alfie Stewart got a few minutes under his belt as well. Good start to the year for us and hopefully the springboard to go on a wee run and get back into the pack. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 20 8 34 2 Stenny 20 9 31 3 Kelty Hearts 20 9 30 4 Cove 20 5 28 5 Alloa Ath 20 4 28 6 Queen of St 19 -4 25 7 Montrose 20 -2 24 8 Annan Ath 20 -16 20 9 Inverness CT 19 -1 13 10 Dumbarton 20 -12 07 Date: 04/01/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1894 Referee: Dan McFarlane Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Bray, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff (Stewart 75), Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon (Cairns 85), B Mckay, Bavidge (C Mackay 94) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, J Walker, MacLeod, R Thompson Scorers: Bavidge (15), Gilmour (77) Booked: none Sent Off: none Dumbarton: 0 Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup: Long (O'Neil 37); Pignatiello, Lynas (Durnan 68), Brown, Clark, Wilson (Hilton 68), Niang, Gray (Mumbongo 85), Blair, Shiels (McGuffie 85), Orsi Subs (not used): Young, Wallace, Doyle, Nicol. Scorers: none Booked: Shiels (60), McGuffie (88) Sent Off: none a
  6. Big Loss to Round off a Miserable 2024 Last game of Annus Horribilis had Cove Rangers as visitors to the Highlands on a damp but mild afternoon at the Caledonian Stadium. Robbie Thompson returned to the squad after suspension. Charlie Reilly and Jake Davidson were the main players missing. Paul Hartley in his 200th game in charge of Cove covering two spells was without Will Gillingham, Liam Parker and Blair Yule but Mitch Megginson returned after injury and Findlay Marshall and Declan Glass also started. This fourth meeting of the season between the clubs ended in a disappointing defeat. Declan Glass had opened the scoring in just five minutes after Dibaga had knocked away a shot from Megginson and on the rebound, Emslie. Megginson helped himself to number two after a corner. Remi Savage halved the deficit before the interval. Arron Darge headed Cove two ahead just after the interval, his second in two games. A late Emslie strike was the icing on the cake for Cove. Too little too late despite a late flurry from the hosts made all the more disappointing with the news that Dumbarton won whilst our goal difference took a hammering and Annan picked up a point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An early setback for the hosts in the fifth minute when Glass scored on the rebound after Megginson's and then Emslie's shot broke to him from Dibaga. Glass had a second effort saved by the keeper a few minutes later as Cove dominated the early exchanges. James Nolan fired over before Megginson forced Dibaga into action again winning a corner. From that corner Megginson added a second goal heading in from the corner of the six yard box, his eighth strike in the League campaign. An uphill struggle after only twenty minutes with Cove dominating proceedings and Inverness unable to create anything of note. Out of the blue, we scrambled a goal back through Remi Savage following a Paul Allan free kick. Just what we needed to kick-start our afternoon. However, the ever dangerous Megginson was denied by Dibaga a couple of minutes later some five minutes before the break. The hosts were trying to salvage their poor first forty-five and Billy Mckay had an effort saved by Nick Suman as possession almost levelled out after Cove's blistering start but Dibaga had been the busier of the two keepers in a disappointing half for the home fans. HALF TIME: 1-2 Ethan Cairns replaced Mathew Strachan at the interval but we fell further behind minutes after the restart when Darge headed home following a free kick. Mckay was denied two minutes later from close range from Luis Longstaff's free kick. Suman saved from Cairns, tipping over the bar after an hour and Connor Scully shot just wide from a free kick with Danny Devine being booked for his troubles. Allan missed the target as Inverness looked to get a lifeline with twenty minutes left. Cove still looked more dangerous and Glass saw an effort saved by Dibaga after being put through by Megginson. Into the final ten minutes and Inverness were finding it difficult to break Cove down and create anything meaningful whilst Darge fancied another but headed off target. Keith Bray saw his shot saved by the keeper from distance and substitute Robbie Thompson headed wide. Adam Emslie rounded off the scoring as we chased a late consolation, slotting in from the edge of the box in some style. FULL TIME: 1-4 Well that was a kick in the teeth for the Caley Jags who were well beaten by Cove. A random summary on CTO: A game of 2 halves and we were sh!te in both Perhaps too much Christmas pud was had by those in red and blue! Couldn't keep possession - either pushed off the ball far too easily or passing to an opponent. Cove came prepared and soaked up everything we threw at them with ease, and with similar ease strolled through our defence whenever they fancied a shot at goal. They wanted it so much more than we did and could have won by a much bigger margin. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 19 10 34 2 Stenny 19 9 30 3 Kelty 19 9 29 4 Cove R 19 6 28 5 Alloa Ath 19 2 25 6 Montrose 19 -2 23 7 Queen of Sth 18 -5 22 8 Annan Ath 19 -16 19 9 Inverness CT 18 -3 10 10 Dumbarton 19 -10 07 Date: 28/12/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1974 Referee: Iain Snedden Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan (R Thompson 85), Devine, Savage, Strachan (Cairns 46), Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Longstaff, MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Patterson; S Thompson, L Walker, Gardiner, MacLeod, C Mackay Scorers: Savage (37) Booked: Devine (65) Sent Off: none Cove Rangers: 4 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Suman; Lobban, Doyle, Darge, Harrington, Fyvie, Marshall, Scully, Glass, Megginson (Gaffney 81), Emslie Subs (not used): Demus; Murray, McAllister, McGrath Scorers: Glass (5), Megginson (18), Darge (49), Emslie (90+2) Booked: Harrington (81) Sent Off: none a
  7. Stormy at Stenny It was a wild wet and windy weekend at the foot of the Ochil's as troubled Inverness took to the park for the tenth meeting between the sides. Matty Aitken and Buchanan were out for the hosts with Corey O'Donnell starting up top and Bannon covering for Buchanan. On top of the visitors injury list, Robbie Thompson was suspended with Keith Bray starting and Ethan Cairns making the bench. A great save from big Musa denied Yates early in the first half but it remained goalless at the break in an even contest. Inverness forced the pace after the interval and Paul Allan did it again (we think) with four minutes of normal time remaining. There may have been a touch in the box but at the moment Allan is the hero. After the game it was confirmed that it was Charlie Gilmour that got the final touch. Still, another great ball in from Paul Allan. An important win with Dumbarton also winning at Montrose. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was massive early save from Musa Dibaga and his bar as he tipped a wicked shot by top scorer Matty Yates from half a mile out onto the bar and behind for a corner. Oooooft! Paul Allan responded but missed the target before Dibaga then had to save an effort from Michael Anderson off Ross Meechan's cross. The hosts were pushing Inverness back at every opportunity and O'Reilly saw an effort blocked in the next attack. An Inverness 'goal' was ruled out for offside as we settled into the match. Charlie Gilmour headed wide from Allan's flighted free kick into the box midway through the half. The tide was turning somewhat and Billy Mckay had a header saved in the bottom corner by Jamieson before Adam MacKinnon was also denied by the keeper when his shot was deflected towards the keepers gloves. Ten minutes before the break Remi Savage knocked on Allan's free kick but Gilmour shot over. In the final few minutes of the half Stenny made a late push for an opener and James Berry was denied by the Inverness keeper before James Nolan brought Jamieson back into action. Yates had the final say of the half but Dibaga was equal to it and that was the last action of the first forty-five. HALF TIME: 0-0 After a fairly even first half the visitors started the second on the offensive and Keith Bray and Luis Longstaff missed the target in the opening exchanges. Longstaff headed goalwards but Jamieson was able to gather relatively comfortably. MacKinnon and Gilmour were next up to have a go but again Jamieson was alert enough to deny the visitors. With half an hour remaining the game was still up for grabs. A thirty-five yarder from Allan was tipped behind for a corner off the woodwork as the pressure mounted on the home goal and he almost did it again direct from the corner, alas his ball in struck the post. MacKinnon was next to be denied as he shot from outside the box, the keeper again in the right place. Mathew Strachan ventured forward, but he too missed the target from distance, as did Mckay from a Longstaff delivery. He's done it again. Paul Allan swung his corner in and the ball ended up in the net. There may have been another touch in the box, but at the moment, Allan has been credited with the goal and that's how it ended after four minutes of time added on. However the goal has now been awarded to Charlie Gilmour. As long as it's in the net, that's all that matters. FULL TIME: 0-1 Merry Xmas Yngwie on CTO: We were the better side and dominated the second half in particular, with the wind behind us, but as is often the case we lacked any cutting edge in the final third. When we did have clear chances or tried shooting from outside the box, the finishing was often woeful. And it’s increasingly clear that we need a striker to challenge/replace Billy, sorry. The pluses for us were that the defence did its job, Savage won everything, Mousa made a great save tipping a long distance free kick onto the bar, and in midfield MacKinnon and Allan did a lot of impressive stuff. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 18 7 31 2 Kelty Hearts 18 11 29 3 Stenny 18 7 27 4 Alloa Ath 18 4 25 5 Cove R 18 3 25 6 Montrose 18 1 23 7 Queen of Sth 17 -5 21 8 Annan Ath 18 -16 18 9 Inverness CT 17 0 10 10 Dumbarton 18 -12 04 Date: 21/12/2024 Venue: Ochilview Park Attendance: 0719 Referee: Graham Grainger Stenhousemuir: 0 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: Jamieson; Meechan, Banner, Steele, Bilham, Berry, Wedderburn (Cameron 89), Anderson, O'Reilly (Alston 67), O'Donnell, Yates (Taylor 79) Subs (not used): Kyle; Scorers: none Booked: Yates (61) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan, Bray, Gilmour, Allan, Longstaff, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Cairns 90+4) Subs (not used): Patterson; L Walker, S Thompson, Gardiner, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: Gilmour (86) Booked: Devine (62) Sent Off: none a
  8. The Curse Strikes Inverness and Arbroath met at the Caledonian Stadium as the Christmas shopping got into full swing. With the frost lifting, it was a chilled afternoon for this fixture with Inverness missing four longer term casualties in Jake Davidson, and Lewis Nicolson along with loan players Connall Ewan and striker Charlie Reilly . Ethan Cairns was also missing. Corey Patterson came in as an emergency loan due to an injury to Szymon Rebilas. Arbroath, like Inverness, were one of the form teams in League1 prior to kick off and talk of the Manager of the Month curse was rife. As it happened, the Curse saw Robbie Thompson sent off before the interval and second half goals from Dylan Smith & Gavin Reilly won the points for the Smokies. In truth it wasn't a great performance today, but we can't complain after the recent run we had been on. It was a result that puts Arbroath top of the table, not a bad week for them, and their assistant gaffer who had a Golden baby boy introduced to the world. Congratulations David Gold and fiance Claire. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A quick start from the hosts offered them what looked like a decent chance when a ball from the left was met by a couple of attackers near the edge of the six yard box, alas we seemed to try and walk the ball into the net rather than attempt a first time strike and the fleeting moment passed us by. The fleet footed Luis Longstaff tried to replicate his goal against Montrose from the previous week as he cut in from the left across the face of the box. It was perfect up until his parting shot which he dragged wide on this occasion in the tenth minute. After the initial surge, the game lapsed into mediocrity, littered with fouls and errors from both sides with Arbroath not in any hurry to venture forward. Robbie Thompson was booked for a soft infringement on Ryan Dow. That would come back to bite him on the arse before the interval. On the half hour and following a corner, Adam MacKinnon saw his fierce volley deflected just wide. Five minutes later, the already booked Robbie Thompson was sent off after he tripped Fraser Taylor who had picked up the ball about 30 yards from his own goal and was preparing to surge forward, albeit some 70 yards from Dibaga in the Inverness goal. A needless foul with plenty of bodies between Taylor and Dibaga and a simple clip on the heels was enough for the incompetent Colin Steven to produce a second yellow followed quickly by a red. Thompson slowly took the walk of shame and hopefully he will etch this in his brain for future reference. The sending off was all the impetus that Arbroath needed for the start of the second half and they showed that intent on the interval when after a wee flurry of attacks since the red card, Dow shot over into the North stand. HALF TIME: 0-0 The writing was on the wall from kick-off in the second forty-five and it was no surprise when Ross County loanee Dylan Smith headed high into the net in the fifty-second minute. We had been under the cosh in the opening gambits of the second half failing to clear our lines once too often. That stopped us feeling sorry for ourselves and we tried to make a game of it thereafter, but it was difficult to see where a goal was coming from apart from at the other end when Arbroath looked more direct going forward. Fraser Taylor should have put the game beyond us when Arbroath cut us open but his shot from the centre of the box was blocked by Dibaga who spread himself well on the hour. James Nolan fired a rebound just over after a shot had been blocked in the box and he met it around twenty yards out on the right side of centre. He also shot high and wide into the North Stand when on a promising burst forward and Charlie Gilmour fired a vicious shot over as we realised we were still within range of the Smokies. Our best chance of the game ended without making Smokies keeper McAdams work. A long diagonal ball from Nolan on the right side was well controlled by MacKinnon about eight yards from goal, but instead of bursting the net he stretched out a gangly leg early and his shot sailed harmlessly over the bar. Dow might have done better in the dying embers but he Dibaga denied him. However, we were caught up the park when Nolan fluffed his pass back to his keeper allowing Gavin Reilly to drive forward before calmly clipping the ball past Dibaga and watch it roll slowly into the empty net from twenty yards in stoppage time. Game Over! That was a stand emptying moment if ever I saw one. FULL TIME: 0-2 Our big highlight apart from MacKinnon's miss with fifteen to go was an Arbroath player having to pay to get back into the ground after Luis Longstaff left him for dead around the halfway line. Made me laugh anyway. A disappointing result and an untidy game to boot. We spurned what looked like a great opportunity in the first couple of minutes where nobody was willing to put their laces through the ball and the chance petered out. Some second half wasted opportunities but that would have papered over the cracks where we looked like we didn't believe in ourselves. Arbroath were equally poor but once we were reduced to ten the writing was on the wall. Only a matter of time. The second goal was immaterial as we never looked like scoring and it came as a result of an error from a pass back that gifted Reilly the ball to allow him to run on unchallenged in stoppage time. Dibaga made a couple of good stops when Arbroath should have put the game beyond us, unlike McAdams who could have sat in the stand. Dust ourselves down and we go again next week at Stenhousemuir. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 16 4 28 2 Stenny 17 8 27 3 Alloa Ath 17 6 25 4 Kelty Hearts 16 8 23 5 Montrose 17 2 23 6 Cove 17 1 22 7 Queens 16 -3 21 8 Annan Ath 17 -12 18 9 Inverness CT 16 -1 7 10 Dumbarton 17 -13 1 Date: 14/12/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1531 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Bray 68), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson , MacKinnon (Gardiner 82), B Mckay Subs (not used): Corey Patterson; S Thompson, L Walker, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: none Booked: R Thompson (18+35), Longstaff (93) Sent Off: R Thompson (35) Arbroath: 2 Manager: Colin Hamilton & David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Smith, Watson, O'Brien, Wilkie, Murray (Spalding 58), Flynn, Taylor (Reilly 76), Stewart, Gallagher (Slater 76), Dow Subs (not used): McConnell; Coulson, Bisland, Sinclair, Callaghan Scorers: Smith (52), Reilly (90+3) Booked: Murray (13) Sent Off: none a
  9. It's behind you... Inverness were without Jake Davidson, Charlie Reilly, Connall Ewan, and Lewis Nicolson. Remi Savage started after being injured last week and Keith Bray made the bench. Former Inverness players Michael Gardyne and Matheus Machado started for Montrose. With points at a premium, and despite the Caley Jags creating plenty with Cammy Gill the busier keeper, it was Montrose that went in at the break two goals up. Graeme Webster headed in Michael Gardyne's free kick to open the scoring before Blair Lyons added a second ten minutes before the break. The second half started in the same vein with Inverness pushing to get a goal back but squandering opportunities that came their way. We bucked the trend after the hour when Luis Longstaff drilled in from outside the box. Montrose were reduced to ten men when Steeve's was red carded and a late Paul Allan double saved the day in true pantomime fashion as he scored direct from a corner to take all three points back up the A9. Oh no he didn't.......Oh yes he did ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remi Savage took his place in defence but Keith Bray only made it onto the bench. Academy player Ben Gardiner was called into the squad for the first time. James Nolan shot wide early on and Adam MacKinnon brought out a save from Cammy Gill. That would be the order of the day as chances came and went. However, not so for Montrose who took the lead just before the half hour through Webster who headed in a Gardyne free kick. They doubled the lead ten minutes before the break when Lyons fired high into the net from the centre of the box. That apart, the half consisted of missed chances and saves by Cammy Gill who denied Billy Mckay and Adam MacKinnon amongst others. Half Time: 2-0 The second half was similar to the first with Inverness probing, missing and Gill saving. However he could do nothing to stop Longstaff drilling into the bottom corner after the hour. Game on, and moreso ten minutes later when Steeves received a straight red card. Billy Mckay and Adam Mackinnon were notably denied by keeper Gill and it was all hands to the pumps for for Montrose now but they were powerless to stop Paul Allan slotting in an equaliser in the 88th minute. No more than Inverness deserved for their attacking endeavour. However, we weren't finished and absolute limbs in the 94th minute when Paul Allan's shot come cross from a corner ended up in the net for the visitors to snatch a deserved win and three valuable points. Full Time 2-3 (phew) A dramatic ending to the game with Paul Allan snatching the win and up until that moment probably the MotM award from Cammy Gill who broke Inverness hearts on at least a dozen occasions throughout the game. When Paul's dipping corner ended up in the net, the MotM award was diverted to the Inverness match winner with Gill holding his head in disbelief. What a comeback. I doubt this would have happened under Duncan Ferguson's tenure. With his negative approach we would have been more likely to take on another couple of defenders and retain possession. Not for Scott Kellacher who continued to drive his team forward and deservedly got all three points at the death. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 16 9 27 2 Alloa Ath 16 7 25 3 Arbroath 15 2 25 4 Kelty Hearts 15 8 22 5 Cove 16 1 21 6 Montrose 16 1 20 7 Queen of Sth 15 -4 18 8 Annan Ath 16 -16 15 9 Inverness CT 15 1 7 10 Dumbarton 16 -9 1 A chuffed Scott Kellacher Is he having a laugh... Date: 07/2/2024 Venue: Links Park, Montrose Attendance: 0502 Referee: Lloyd Wilson Montrose: 2 Manager: Stuart Petrie Lineup: Gill; Dillon, Quinn, Mckenzie (Steeves 49), Bertie, Masson (Maciver-Redwood 70), Gardyne, Webster (Shrive 76), Machado, Hester (Brown 60), Lyons (Hannah 76) Subs (not used): Mathews; Balfour, Watson Scorers: Webster (27), Lyons (38) Booked: Lyons (32), Masson (40), Brown (88) Sent Off: Steeves (74) Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage, Strachan (Cairns 76), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson (Bray 72), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; S Thompson, C Mackay, L Walker, MacLeod, Gardiner Scorers: Longstaff (64), Allan (88, 90+4) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  10. Cup of no Cheer Jake Davidson, Keith Bray, Charlie Reilly and Lewis Nicolson were all missing for the The Caley Jags on Scottish Cup 3rd Round action at Balmoral Stadium, Cove. Fyvie was out for Cove. No scoring in the first half, not for the want of trying, but two very late goals, one from the spot after a dubious handball attributed to Danny Devine put Cove into the draw for the 4th Round. Substitutes Glass with the penalty and McGrath with a strike into the bottom corner sent the Caley Jags tumbling out of the cup after it was looking good for soooo long. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A mild St Andrew's day at Balmoral greeted the sides and a moment of respect before kick-off for a stalwart, Cove's former coach, physio, kit man and long time friend and supporter Mike Pirie who recently passed away. There was an early touch of the ball in the third minute for Musa Dibaga who had to save a curling shot from Findlay Marshall when he let fly from outside the box. It was all a bit frantic in the opening exchanges with opportunities hard to come by on the artificial surface, the same could not be said for free kicks that were dished out at the drop of a hat. Danny Devine had our first serious attempt after quarter of an hour when his shot from outside the area was saved by Balint Demus in the home goal. The keeper did well again ten minutes later to deny an Adam MacKinnon header from eight yards out, the keeper pushing the ball away after MacKinnon met a great cross from the right. Robbie Thompson was next to have a go but his left footed shot on the run from the edge of the box was too close to the keeper who gathered easily. Dibaga saved a weak effort from Megginson, but it was Demus that had been the busier keeper and he was made to work harder five minutes before the break when MacKinnon let fly from eighteen yards and he pulled off another great save to deny the lively Inverness forward. HALF TIME: 0-0 Cove started the half on the front foot and Reuben McAllister saw Dibaga gather his flick towards goal from Adam Emslie's inviting cross. Musa denied McAllister from a free kick, saving low to his right then smothering the cross back into the box as Cove began to push forward more although the game was littered with either petty fouls or poor refereeing. Probably a bit of both. Billy Mckay had an opportunity from a long ball into the box from the left side but he hit his first time effort into the ground and that made it easier for Demus to make the save. Savage was replaced by Calum Mackay for the final twenty minutes and that started the rot. Out of the blue, up step Mr Hanvidge to award a penalty when the linesman with a clear view signalled for a corner after Devine charged down an attempted cross from a couple of yards from his body. Incredible refereeing not lost on the entire Caley Jags staff and players. Substitute Declan Glass remained calm to slot the ball into the keepers right, unfortunately the keeper had dived to his left. That seemed to take the wind out of our sails and despite six minutes of added time it was Cove that broke forward to end the tie in the 96th minute. As we pushed for an equaliser, a ball out of defence from Glass found Grady McGrath sprinting forward unchallenged to dink the ball behind the exposed keeper. Game over and out of the cup for Inverness. Thank you Gary Hanvidge for ruining our weekend. Good luck to Cove in the next round. FULL TIME: 2-0 A disappointing result given a possible pot of money if afforded a favourable draw. Bring on the "the league is more important anyway" brigade, which, whilst true, doesn't disguise the fact that this was a winnable tie that we lost. Meh! Another downside of this game was an injury to Remi Savage late in the game before the two goals were scored. Nobody happy with the penalty and a sucker punch when chasing the game thereafter. Here's a leaked image of the Caley Jags being knocked out of the Cup down by the sea. Was it a penalty? Very harsh if true at all. It matters not a jot now so let's concentrate on the League games. Only one aim now and that is to claw back the deficit on Annan and co. Danny Devine may have been red carded in the tunnel after the game ended as he questioned the referee over the penalty awarded which basically changed the outcome of this game. Either that or he was asking him if he was qualified to do the job! That may mean he misses the next Scottish Cup tie, depends on what the ref's report said. Date: 30/11/2024 Venue: Balmoral Stadium, Cove Attendance: 0539 Referee: Gary Hanvidge Cove Rangers: 2 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Demus; Doyle, Gillingham, Harrington, Scully, Emslie, Yule, Megginson (McGrath 91),McAllister, Darge, Marshall (Glass 72), Subs (not used): Suman; Murray, Lobban, Gaffney Scorers: Glass (89 pen), McGrath (96) Booked: Yule (30), Marshall (68) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan, Devine, Savage (C Mackay 82), Strachan (Cairns 91), Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, R Thompson (MacLeod 71), Mackinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; L Walker, S Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Longstaff (32), Devine (68), B Mckay (88) Sent Off: none a
  11. Wasps Stung Inverness were looking to push on up the table but leaders Alloa were looking to remain unbeaten away from home in League1. Something was going to give. Robbie Thomson replaced the injured Keith Bray (shoulder) in the only change from last week. Sammon and Cawley were again starting on the bench for Alloa. Inverness dominated most of the game with both keepers having to make a crucial save. With twenty minutes left, Charlie Gilmour slotted in the only goal after great work by Adam MacKinnon down the left. No more than we deserved to be honest and another vital three points, much appreciated by the home fans. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly and showery afternoon greeted the teams as they kicked off in this top versus bottom encounter. A slow start from both sides with Jake Davidson and Adam MacKinnon firing the first warning shots of the afternoon. Davidson's afternoon was cut short after quarter of an hour when he burst forward into the box. Unfortunately keeper Morrison came out to meet him at the corner of the six yard box and Jake came off second best as they clashed. Jake's day was over and Mathew Strachan was called into the game to go to left back with James Nolan switching wings to cover the right back berth. Billy Mckay almost sneaked in the opening goal as he pounced on a ball into the box from Paul Allen's free kick, Morrison denying the striker diving low to his right. Robbie Thompson did well but his final shot was dragged wide as the hosts looked the likeliest to open the scoring. Alloa eventually woke up just before the break and picked up a couple of yellow cards but Musa Dibaga remained untroubled at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 Alloa probably got a rocket at the interval for their lacklustre approach and looked sharper in the second period. Dibaga saved from Luke Rankin and Callum Waters shot wide but it was at the other end where a goal almost came when Morrison saved from Billy Mckay. A wake up call for the hosts when Donnelly headed onto the post with Dibaga scrambling across goal to try and cover his line. On the hour Adam MacKinnon hit the post at the other end and Paul Allen fired the rebound wide as he shot across the keeper and wide of the post. Danny Devine had a header saved before the winning goal was scored. A recycled ball was taken wide of the box by MacKinnon on the left flank. He did well to pick out Charlie Gilmour who buried his low cut back behind Morrison to the relief of the North Stand. Big Musa saved from Kevin Cawley as Alloa made a late surge to try and get something from the game but a confident Musa and his defence stood firm to a man to ensure the Caley Jags picked up successive wins against the teams at the top. FULL TIME: 1-0 Two wins on the trot for Billy and Kells and not only wins but a dash of panache at times as well. Unfortunate not to score more and fairly comfortable most of the game. Only downside was an injury to Jake Davidson as he was challenged on his own through ball by keeper Morrison. He was replaced by Strachan with Nolan moving to the right side where he combined well with the busy Longstaff. More match reaction>>> Scott Kellacher says his Caley Thistle players stood up and were counted as they defeated Alloa Athletic 1-0 for a second successive victory. “You can see from the boys’ performances that’s what we’re looking to portray on the pitch. “I am delighted for everyone at the club including the staff working behind the scenes. We’re all in this together. “We’re going in the right direction in terms of players, fans, staff and everyone coming together. “When you work as hard as we do, around the stadium or on the pitch, with the fans getting behind us, you can see how much it helps.” Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after matchday 14. Off to Dumfries next Saturday 1. Kelty Hearts 14 6 4 4 23 13 22 2. Arbroath 14 6 4 4 17 16 22 3. Alloa Athletic 14 5 6 3 17 12 21 4. Stenhousemuir 14 6 3 5 17 15 21 5. Cove Rangers 14 6 2 6 23 19 20 6. Q.O.S. 14 5 3 6 12 15 18 7. Montrose 14 4 5 5 12 11 17 8. Dumbarton 14 3 6 5 19 24 15 9. Annan Athletic 14 4 2 8 9 24 14 10. Inverness CT 14 4 7 3 12 12 4 Date: 16/11/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1578 Referee: Colin Whyte Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson (Strachan 16), Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon, R Thomson (MacLeod 66), B Mckay (Cairns (90+4)) Subs (not used): Rebilas: S Thomson, Reid, L Walker, C Mackay Scorers: Gilmour (70) Booked: Gilmour (55), Devine (B Mckay), (Nolan 90+3) Sent Off: none Alloa Athletic: 0 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Taggart, Mckay, Neill, Waters, Virtanen (Hetherington 58), Scougall (Sammon 82), Buchanan (Cawley 58), Donnelly, O'Donnell (McDonnell 82), Rankin Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Thomson, Nevan, Honeyman Scorers: none Booked: Waters (42), Scougall (44) Sent Off: none a
  12. Caley Jags Get Vital Win Top versus bottom ended in victory for the Caley Jags who climb into positive numbers at the foot of the table. Cove had made one change from the win at Dumbarton as they looked for their fifth win on the trot. Findlay Marshall replaced Arron Darge. For Inverness, graduate Sam Reid took his place on the bench with Lewis Nicolson missing. On the field, Charlie Gilmour returned to midfield to bolster the squad with Connal Ewan out injured and boss Scott Kellacher would be looking to get into positive numbers with his positive team talks. However, it only took Cove ten minutes to get in front through top scorer Mitch Megginson. Megginson failed to convert a first half penalty with Dibaga saving and two minutes later it was all square when Adam MacKinnon drilled high into the net. With 25 minutes left, Keith Bray popped up with a much needed and deserved winner. This was a great result played out at Cove, sharpened at Inverness but made in the Isle of Lewis. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A fine afternoon for a game of football and after a minutes silence it was game on. Billy Mckay brought out the first save of the game but one minute later we were behind. A bit of hesitancy in defence, but no surprise for guessing that Mitch Megginson opened the scoring. The on form striker fired home after Fraser Fyvie threaded a ball to Blair Yule who unselfishly teed up Megginson to open the scoring. Half an hour gone and chances were difficult to come by with Cove not shy to halt our attacks by fair or foul means. Touch wood and Cove had the opportunity to double their lead when Megginson stepped up to take a penalty after he was fouled by Jake Davidson. Musa Dibaga saved his spot kick and two minutes later we were level when Adam MacKinnon's shot from outside the box found the net. Just before the break Luis Longstaff slashed wide after James Nolan headed down to him in the box. HALF TIME: 1-1 Longstaff and Billy Mckay missed the target and Nolan had his attempt saved as the visitors started the second period on the front foot. Goal scorer MacKinnon was unfortunate as his long range shot came back off the post and Nolan missed the target after good work by Jake Davidson. Megginson brought Dibaga into action as the big keeper denied the strikers low shot towards the bottom corner, the keeper saving comfortably. Charlie Gilmour's deflected shot from range at the opposite end had the same result, Demus saving. However, the visitors persistence paid off when Keith Bray drilled in from outside the box. Gilmour shot over and Mckay saw his shot saved as the visitors looked for a wee cushion in the final quarter of the game. Into the final ten and substitute Declan Glass fired just over as Cove looked to level the game. In the final minutes Glass saw Dibaga save from close range at the expense of a corner as the visitors held firm for an important three points. FULL TIME: 1-2 Good performance from the Caley Jags and a deserved win on the road after a swashbuckling second half performance from the visitors. Great to see the young team scoring the goals today in Adam MacKinnon and Keith Bray. Goals made in the Western Isles. Musa Dibaga saved his second penalty of the season and made a crucial late block to deny Declan Glass as Cove tried to salvage something. Into plus numbers in the table; onwards and upwards hopefully. Late game: Queen of the South 1-1 Alloa Athletic - A result that puts Alloa top of the table. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 13 6 21 2 Cove Rangers 13 5 20 3 Kelty Hearts 13 8 19 4 Arbroath 13 0 19 5 Stenny 13 1 18 6 Queen of Sth 13 -2 18 7 Montrose 13 2 17 8 Annan Ath 13 -13 14 9 Dumbarton 13 -6 12 10 Inverness CT 13 -1 +1 Date: 09/11/2024 Venue: Balmoral Stadium Attendance: 0551 Referee: Euan Anderson Cove Rangers: 1(penalty saved Megginson (37)) Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Demus; Lobban (Glass 70), Doyle, Gillingham, Harrington, Emslie, Yule, Marshall (McAllister 70), Scully, Fyvie, Megginson (Gaffney 90) Subs (not used): Suman; Murray, McGrath Scorers: Megginson (10) Booked: Fyvie (90+2) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray, B Mckay (Cairns 90+2) Subs (not used): Rebilas; R Thompson, Strachan, Sam Reid, C Mackay, MacLeod Scorers: MacKinnon (39), Bray (67) Booked: none Sent Off: none a
  13. Handicap Hurdles And they're off. With a fifteen point deduction because of Administration, we started our League1 campaign again at Dumbarton under the guidance of Scott Kellacher and Billy Mckay for the first time. Danny Devine and Charlie Gilmour were missing which would make Scott Kellacher's team selection more difficult. The Son's were along similar lines to last weeks excellent win at Arbroath. It would be an uphill battle after James Hilton fired the Sons ahead but Jake Davidson headed us level after half an hour and that's how it was at the break. Ryan Blair restored the Sons lead and Hilton added a third to push the Sons 15 points ahead of Inverness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not much to shout about in the opening exchanges until James Hilton smacked in the opening goal from the edge of the box to put the hosts ahead quarter of an hour into the game. Inverness responded with player coach Billy Mckay firing over the bar. On the half hour and it was all square. Jake Davidson scored following a corner with a close range header, Paul Allan with the assist. The visitors upped the pressure on the home goal and Billy Mckay headed over before Adam MacKinnon's header was saved by Brett Long in the home goal. MacKinnon fired wide moments later. Mathew Shiels brought Musa Dibaga into action as the keeper saved comfortably. Five minutes before the break a neat move from a corner ended with the Sons defence having to block from Robbie Thompson as he offloaded. Hilton missed the target with a header just before the break as the ball bounced wide. All to play for in the second period. HALF TIME: 1-1No changes at the interval. Brett Long saved from Mckay's low shot five minutes after the restart and the defenders mopped up the loose ball. Dibaga again denied Hilton just before the hour. Ryan Blair edged the hosts ahead after a corner was recycled. Blair finished with a curling shot behind the keeper. Hilton had been causing problems and he notched his second of the game and Dumbarton's third after driving forward and shooting into the bottom corner. A late flurry of activity saw Remi Savage head over from a corner and Sons sub Mumbongo shooting wide on the run. The last action had Long saving from Nolan as time ran away. FULL TIME: 3-1 Scott Kellacher's first game in charge ended in defeat at the Rock. Not the start we had hoped for but it was a big ask with Devine and Gilmour missing. Great Summary on CTO by Mantis: Massive disappointment in the end. So much positivity in the bar and in the stand, and the team were excellent first half. Hilton’s goal was pretty much Dumbarton’s only attacking effort of the half, completely against the run of play, but what a worldie giving Musa no chance, although he was allowed too much room to turn. The Sons started the second half much better and I always felt that if they scored first, they would win. One or two experienced pros such as Wallace and Carlo. They stuck to the basics, defended well without trying to be fancy, and hit us on the break. A couple of unforced errors cost us. ICT heads dropped at 2-1 and we never looked like coming back. Fantastic support today and great applause for the team at the end. Rather weird coming to a team with such a poor support when you are used to Championship crowds like Partick and the Pars. Hardly heard a sound when they scored. Big uphill task now. Annan beat QotS 1-0 in the late game on BBC Alba Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Cove Rangers 11 3 17 2 Stenhousemuir 11 2 17 3 Alloa Athletic 11 1 17 4 Montrose 11 3 16 5 Kelty Hearts 11 6 15 6 Arbroath 11 -1 15 7 Queen of Sth 11 -3 14 8 Annan Athletic 11 -8 13 9 Dumbarton 11 -1 12 10 Inverness CT 11 -2 -3 Date: 26/10/2024 Venue: Marbill Coaches Stadium, Dumbarton Attendance: 0872 Referee: Graham Grainger Dumbarton: 3 Manager: Stephen Farrell Lineup: Long; Miller, Durnan, Brown, Blair, Pignatiello (Orsi 81), Wilson (McGuffie 81), Niang, Hilton (Wallace 77), Ruth (Mumbongo 81), Shiels (Gray 55) Subs (not used): O'Neil; Young, Lynas, Clark Scorers: Hilton (14, 72), Blair (63) Booked: Wilson (80) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Scott Kellacher (Head Coach) Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson, Ewan, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, R Thompson (MacLeod 76), Allan, MacKinnon (Strachan ), Bray (C Mackay 77), B Mckay Subs (not used): Rebilas; S Thompson, Scorers: Davidson (28) Booked: Nolan (21), Savage (56) Sent Off: none a
  14. There's Life Jim but not as we know it With Administration pending at the start of next week, this game might be the last time we will see the famous Inverness Caledonian Thistle in it's present form. Administration does not come alone. Redundancies and heartbreak goes hand in hand with it and that is the price paid for years of neglect. We had already lost twice to Annan this season, once in the League Cup and once on League business when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference at Galabank but he was missing out this time. Paul McGowan and Wullie Gibson added their experience to the Annan starting XI. Danny Devine returned to the team but Charlie Gilmour, Adam Brooks and Charlie Reilly were missing. After a slow start, Danny Devine headed Inverness in front in the twenty-first minute. That's how it was at the interval with chances difficult to come by. The second half was similar with Devine coming closest to adding a second but his header was just the wrong side of the post and it ended 1-0 with the creditors closing in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bright and breezy afternoon greeted the players on a somewhat sombre afternoon for the Caley Jags with the stench of administration lingering around the stadium. Annan looked spritely in the opening few minutes firing wide on a couple of occasions before Inverness ventured forward. Duncan Ferguson was yellow carded after discussing a penalty claim with the referee when Billy Mckay appeared to be barged off the ball inside the penalty area. After a couple of poor balls into the box Paul Allan provided Danny Devine with the perfect opportunity and Danny duly headed the Caley Jags in front after twenty minutes to lift the mood. Keith Bray was put through on goal on the right side of the box but keeper Smith spread himself to block well. HALF TIME: 1-0 The second period was less than entertaining with a bit too much faffing around outside the box and down the wings with directness the last thing on the minds of the players. Bray had a volley comfortably saved and Devine went very close following a free kick angled into the box by Paul Allan, Danny's header just bouncing past the wrong side of the keepers left hand post with Smith beaten. We did have a few attempts from around the edge of the box but they all went well wide of the target. Meanwhile Annan never troubled Musa Dibaga and two poor teams played out the final forty-five without adding to the scoreline. FULL TIME 1-0 I suppose the result was more important than the performance, which was just as well as both sides were honking. However we have bigger fish to fry on Monday as the grim reaper comes calling with bad news. We may have seen the last of some of these players as the high earners might be culled as our cloth gets cut by the Administrators. Billy Mckay did get a rousing round of applause when he was substituted five minutes before the end and the rest were warmly applauded as they left the field at the end of play. Match reaction from CTO Good summary from Robert: I thought we deserved the win, but once again we made hard work of it in the second half. We dominated the first half and should have had more than one goal. One definite penalty was not given, possibly two (I wasn’t sure if the other incident was in or just outside the box). Devine took his goal well and led the back line with, as others have said, MacKinnon also having a good game. Allan also looked good to me. We allowed ourselves to get hemmed in after the break but Annan were fortunately toothless. With the 15 point penalty, next week’s game at Dumbarton becomes a real six pointer as we try to get ourselves back into the pack. Well done to all who played a part today. It must be tough with all the uncertainties at present. Robbo 1985: Danny Devine was awarded the sponsors man of the match and credit to him for popping up with another crucial goal and putting on another very good defensive display. For me though, Adam MacKinnon stood head and shoulders above every other player on the park today. Broke up play, drove us forward, distributed the ball well, had some shots on goal and worked his absolute socks off. A fantastic individual performance but well done to all the players and staff today for digging in to get the result. Alan: A deserved victory over a poor Annan side who didn't manage one shot on target during the 90 minutes. it wasn't the most exciting game but I'll take 1-0 wins in every every match between now and the end of the season. A wins a win Alloa top the table after a 78th minute winner at Stenhousemuir. Other winners today were Inverness, Dumbarton, Cove & Montrose. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 10 2 17 2 Montrose 10 5 16 3 Kelty Hearts 10 7 15 4 Cove Rangers 10 1 14 5 Stenhousemuir 10 1 14 6 Queen of Sth 10 -2 14 7 Inverness CT 10 0 12 8 Arbroath 10 -2 12 9 Annan Athletic 10 -9 10 10 Dumbarton 10 -3 9 Danny Devine got his MotM award after the game in Bar94. Date: 19/10/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1501 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Duffy (Macleod 46), Devine, Savage, Nolan (Ewan 92), Longstaff (Thompson 84), Davidson, Allan, MacKinnon, Bray, B Mckay (Ferguson 84) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, C Mackay Scorers: Devine (21) Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (20), MacLeod 75) Sent Off: none Annan Athletic: 0 Manager: Wullie Gibson (player manager) Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Todd, Dixon (Ross 81), Breen, Kilsby, (Quitongo 31), Zaid (Quigg 81), A Smith, McGowan, K Fleming, Stevenson, Subs (not used): Aitchison; Muir, Barnes Maxwell, Lennon Scorers: none Booked: Dixon (42), Stevenson (46), Quitongo (74) Sent Off: none a
  15. Valiant Effort Ends in Penalty Loss It was a case of taxi for the Caley Jags at The Home of the Set Fare Arena after a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat when Stephen Kelly swept in the final spot kick to put us out of the Challenge Cup. Danny Devine and Charlie Reilly were missing for the Caley Jags but Keith Bray returned to the starting XI with Jack Newman taking the gloves. Jake Davidson was part of a five man midfield. Livi had former Caley Jags players Samson Lawal and Andy Shinnie starting with Reece McAlear on the bench. David Carson was missing for Livingston. Paul Allan scored his first goal for the Caley Jags in the tenth minute as he headed in an inviting cross from Luis Longstaff. Stevie May levelled after seventeen minutes and top scorer Scott Pittman edged the hosts ahead. However Charlie Gilmour equalised almost immediately in an entertaining first half. No further scoring in the second half and it went to penalties with the hosts prevailing 5-4 Meh! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most expected this to be a stroll for Livi but it was Inverness that were first to threaten when Billy Mckay's shot from distance was saved by Pitaluga. Stevie May saw a header saved by Jack Newman before Inverness went back up the park to open the scoring through a Paul Allan header into the bottom corner off a great ball in from Luis Longstaff. The lead was short lived as Stevie May equalised seven minutes later with a low shot in off the post from inside the box, assisted by Scott Pittman. May and Shinnie returned the compliment ten minutes later to leave Pittman with an easy header. However, Charlie Gilmour scored from close range to level matters two minutes later. Minutes later Pitaluga had to tip an effort from Billy Mckay over the bar. Just before the break, Samson Lawal, Andy Shinnie, May and Clarke set up a chance for Pittman but his header was too close to the keeper and easily dealt with by Newman. In an open first forty-five, Inverness had given Livi a run for their money as the whistle went with the score level. HALF TIME: 2-2 No changes at the interval but Gilmour got an early booking for a high challenge on Shinnie. May fired a thirty-yarder just wide as the hosts threatened and at the other end Pitaluga pulled off a tremendous double save to deny Adam MacKinnon and Longstaff's follow up was also blocked. With twenty minutes remaining, Keith Bray's cross was knocked over by MacKinnon from the edge of the box. Lawal mishit an effort at the other end and was subbed moments later along with Shinnie. Livi upped the intensity and Montano headed over before fellow substitute Liam Sole was denied by Newman and Clarke's effort on the rebound was blocked. With the pressure mounting on the visitors defence Shinnie headed over. Jack Newman received treatment for a leg injury as we went in to overtime. Despite the late pressure it ended all square and penalties would decide who goes into the hat for the draw. FULL TIME: 2-2 Livingston win penalty shoot-out 5-4, scoring all five penalties (Shinnie, McGowan, Winter, Yengi & Kelly) ICT: Davidson Gilmour Savage B Mckay Thompson Saved by Keeper We lost didn't we... Date: 12/10/2024 Venue: Almondvale Attendance: 0943 Referee: Colin Steven Livingston: 2 (5 pens) Manager: David Martindale Lineup: Pitaluga; Clarke (Yengi 84), Nottingham, McGowan, Finlayson, Lawal (Montano 72), Pittman, Kelly, Shinnie, May (Winter 71), Smith (Sole 55) Subs (not used): Prior; McAlear, Green, Muirhead, Stark Scorers: May (17), Pittman (28) Booked: Smith (26) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 (4 pens) Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Newman; Bray (Thompson 84), W Duffy, Savage, Nolan (Strachan 63), Longstaff, Davidson, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 63), MacKinnon, B Mckay Subs (not used): Dibaga; Ewan, C Mackay, Ferguson, Brooks Scorers: Allan (10), Gilmour (30) Booked: Gilmour (52) Sent Off: none a
  16. Another Blank Massive financial hurdles were put to one side as we went down to the Greenversity Stadium, or Gayfield as we all know it, for this Scottish League 1 fixture against Arbroath. With both sides getting off to a cautious start in the league this fixture between last seasons relegated pair might give an indication if either of them are capable of challenging for a play-off place at the top end of the table or will it be a few seasons in the doldrums, or administration or worse. Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns were missing. Charlie Reilly came in on loan from Dundee this week met his new team mates today for the first time and Started up front with Billy Mckay. Arbroath were without Scott Stewart and Tam O'Brien with co-manager David Gold and Ross County's young on loan defender Dylan Smith in their starting XI. The other co-manager Colin Hamilton, Ali Spalding and Calum Gallagher were all on the injured list. After a goalless first half where Inverness were looking the more likely, Reilly opened the scoring. Unfortunately it was Gavin Reilly for Arbroath. Another Saturday, another game slips away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An early shout for a penalty in the first minute when Watson brought down debutant Charlie Reilly but nothing given. A recycled ball after a corner in the eighth minute offered Paul Allan a chance but Aidan McAdams somehow clawed away his header destined for the bottom corner. Charlie Reilly looked eager to please and the keeper had to deny his effort from outside the box. Billy Mckay might have done better after getting behind the defence but the keeper made a good block to deny the ageing striker. Arbroath's first effort of the game came in the 28th minute with a powerful Fraser Taylor shot from the centre of the box but it was straight down Musa Dibaga's throat. Ten minutes before the break, Luis Longstaff was next to have a go after cutting in from the right, but his shot was kept out by McAdams assisted by his post before the resultant corner was cleared. Just before the break Mckay missed the target and Charlie Gilmour had a shot blocked as the visitors finished the half with a flourish having had the better of the first forty-five. HALF TIME: 0-0 Substitute Quinn Coulson went close minutes after coming off the bench as he bent an effort just wide. Ryan Dow's reverse pass allowed Gavin Reilly to score with a tidy curling shot from the edge of the box to open the scoring for the hosts. Minutes later, Charlie Reilly hit the post for Inverness with twenty minutes remaining. Everything in our favour seems to be against us. Reilly and Mckay had both been substituted for the final throws of the game and as it slipped from our grasp Cameron Ferguson saw an effort from outside the box blocked and he shot wide in the 90th minute. Keith Watson was given a second yellow in time added on, and that brought about a yellow card for Arbroath coach Jimmy Boyle as well. It was just another Saturday as we failed to score again and after 96 minutes the full time whistle ended another disappointing day for the Caley Jags. That's three wins on the trot for the Smokies and, erm, just one win in nine for us. FULL TIME: 1-0 From CTO Heartbroken and Embarrassed. A totally broken club. How long has it been since anything to do with ICT brought a smile to your face? Missed chances and lose a goal, same old story. Desperate, miserable, awful. What a mess. We play mostly part time teams with a pro squad and we still can't score. The buck rests with the manager. That's the first round of nine games played ------- And we sit second bottom of League 1. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 9 9 15 2 Stenhousemuir 9 2 14 3 Alloa Athletic 9 1 14 4 Queen of South 9 0 14 5 Montrose 9 3 13 6 Arbroath 9 0 12 7 Cove Rangers 9 -1 11 8 Annan Athletic 9 -8 10 9 Inverness CT 9 -1 9 10 Dumbarton 9 -5 6 Highlights from Arbroath FC TV Date: 05/09/2024 Venue: Gayfield Attendance: 1381 Referee: Craig Napier Arbroath FC: 1 Manager: Colin Hamilton & David Gold Lineup: McAdams; Smith, Wilkie, Watson, Bisland, Gold (Slater 62), Taylor, Sinclair (Coulson 46), Flynn, Dow (Callaghan 86), Reilly (Murray 80) Subs (not used): McConnell; Scorers: Reilly (67) Booked: Watson (55, 90+3) Sent Off: Watson (90+3) Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Davidson, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Longstaff, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 64), MacKinnon, Reilly (Brooks 75), B Mckay (Ferguson 80) Subs (not used): Newman; Duffy, Bray, Ewan, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Reilly (53) Sent Off: none a
  17. Bore Draw Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existant for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval. Half Time: 0-0 The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way. Full Time: 0-0 Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display. OCG on CTO: Well that was dire possibly even worse than last week. Does DF ever try to play football that suits the players he has? Does he even know that we need to win anymore? Most exciting bit was good natured banter with the Stennie keeper! Finding it harder and harder finding any positivity these days. Can you imagine what it will be like watching football like this when it's minus 3 and dark by full time!! More match reaction to follow Big Musa with a big hand <<caleyjags.com>> Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Queen of the South 8 4 14 2 Alloa Athletic 8 3 14 3 Montrose 8 4 13 4 Kelty Hearts 8 5 12 5 Stenhousemuir 8 0 11 6 Inverness CT 8 0 9 7 Arbroath 8 -1 9 8 Cove Rangers 8 -3 8 9 Annan Athletic 8 -9 7 10 Dumbarton 8 -3 6 Date: 28/09/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1601 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy, Davidson, Devine, Savage, Longstaff, Gilmour, MacLeod (Allan 69), Nolan, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Brooks 68) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ferguson, Ewan, C Mackay, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (56) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 0 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: D Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Bilham, Wedderburn (Alston 55), Berry, Ewen (Tomlinson 75), Aitken, Banner, Anderson, Yates (O'Reilly 88) Subs (not used): Trialist A (Hogarth), Trialist B (Cameron). Scorers: none Booked: Berry (45) Sent Off: none a
  18. Wasps Sting Back Inverness were without Charlie Gilmour, Flynn Duffy, Paul Allan, Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson for the trip to Alloa although Jack Newman, Luis Longstaff and Keith Bray have returned to the squad after injury. Alloa have plenty experience in their ranks, notably Conor Sammon and Kevin Cawley and went in to this encounter off the back of a superb win over Partick Thistle last weekend in the Challenge Cup. Sammon started on the bench with Cawley joined by Luke Donnelly up front. Danny Devine gave Inverness an early lead with a tremendous birthday boy volley into the corner. After the interval, Calum Macleod added a second, drilling home, but a few minutes later we were level when substitute Sammon and Luke Donnelly scored for the Wasps. Despite a frantic last twenty minutes, that's how it ended. (2-2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once the early posturing was over, it was a birthday gift from Danny Devine as he lashed in the opening goal from twenty-two yards in the seventh minute to give the visitors the perfect start. What a strike from Danny into the corner off the post. Boom and Happy Birthday! Musa Dibaga saved from Cameron O'Donnell two minutes later at the expense of a corner and Billy Mckay put a header wide after fifteen minutes. Adam MacKinnon was denied by PJ mid-way through the half when the keeper parried his strike away for a corner. On the stroke of half time Adam Brooks went through at an acute angle but his effort was saved at the near post and Mckay was then blocked before MacKinnon shot over from a tight angle. Alloa were seeing plenty of the ball in the opening half but it was the visitors that went in at the break a goal to the good and good value for that lead. HALF TIME: 0-1 No changes at the interval and it was a lively re-start two minutes in when PJ had to deny Mckay from a tight angle. Following an Alloa corner, Big Musa had to deny Morgyn Neill and at the other end Calum MacLeod burst forward and saw his effort tipped onto the post before the rebound was cleared. Billy Mckay went close again after the hour before substitute Stefan Scougall forced Big Musa into a good save. A minute later MacLeod gave us some short lived breathing space following a swift break forward as he drilled the ball across the keeper into the bottom corner, however Conor Sammon quickly pulled a goal back with a great header three minutes later into the top corner finishing a well built move from back to front. Moments later it was all square when Donnelly looped a ball behind Dibaga after a long throw from Taggart and a touch from Sammon. Having been well in control we were now under the cosh but despite some hairy moments towards the end it finished all square. FULL TIME: 2-2 Disappointing to throw away a two goal lead after being in control for over an hour. Two great goals scored but we will be not be happy with our defending at Alloa's goals. Most of us would have taken a draw before kick-off, but the manner in which we capitulated will need addressed. Both managers appeared to be yellow carded in the final minute. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after todays games 1. Alloa Athletic 6 2 4 0 7 5 10 2. Q.O.S. 6 3 1 2 6 4 10 3. Kelty Hearts 6 2 3 1 9 6 9 4. Montrose 6 2 3 1 6 3 9 5. Stenhousemuir 6 3 0 3 10 10 9 6. Inverness CT 6 1 4 1 5 5 7 7. Cove Rangers 6 2 1 3 9 10 7 8. Annan Athletic 6 2 1 3 6 10 7 9. Dumbarton 6 0 6 0 10 10 6 10. Arbroath 6 0 3 3 4 9 3 Date: 14/09/2024 Venue: Recreation Park Alloa Attendance: 0778 Referee: George Calder Alloa Athletic: 2 Manager: Andy Graham Lineup: Morrison; Taggart, McKay, Neill, Thomson, Hetherington, Virtanen (Sammon 64), O'Donnell, Buchanan, Donnelly, Cawley (Scougall 64) Subs (not used): Ogayi; Graham, Nevans Scorers: Sammon (70), Donnelly (73) Booked: Virtanen (54) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; Nolan (C Mackay 82), W Duffy, Devine, Savage, Longstaff, Davidson, MacLeod, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Bray 69), Brooks (Ferguson 86) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ewan, Keogh, Thompson Scorers: Devine (7), MacLeod (67) Booked: MacLeod (31), Nolan (78) Sent Off: none a
  19. First win for the Caley Jags Another controversial week in the life and death of the Caley Jags culminated in a home fixture against Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. A couple of new faces were acquired prior to kick-off with four faces missing, Newman, Longstaff, Bray and Cairns. In came Connall Ewan and James Nolan. Kai Kennedy was in the Doonhamers squad. A first half goal from Billy Mckay in a turgid encounter was enough to secure all three points. A bit of pinball around the visitors goal ended with Billy scoring from close range. Referee Gavin Duncan was the focal point of many a strange decision as he ignored two big penalty claims for the hosts, and a brilliant goalline clearance from an Adam Brooks effort kept Queens in with a chance. Despite a late flurry from Queens we held on for our first win of the League 1 campaign. The downside of these industrial challenges today was that both Duffy's left the field injured, Flynn on a stretcher. Duncan Ferguson was also redcarded for continuallly questioning the referee's decisions. One in particular when Brooks was booked for simulation instead of being awarded a penalty. Baffling incompetence from the ref! On the plus side, the pitch looked in fantastic condition. Full Time: 1-0 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The points were more important than the performance. However, it was encouraging to kick-start our season today and put us only three points off the pace in the table. Billy Mckay beavered away on scraps and got his reward in the first half and Brooks was unfortunate a couple of times. Musa Dibaga did not have too much to deal with, but he seemed to read situations well and took the pressure off the defence with some good catches under pressure, especially when Queens were hurling massive throw-ins into our penalty box in the final quarter of the game. Devine and Savage were solid in the heart of the defence but it was disappointing to lose both full backs to injury. Todays scores on the doors in League 1 Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Kelty Hearts 5 5 9 2 Stenhousemuir 5 3 9 3 Alloa Athletic 5 2 9 4 Queen of the South 5 1 7 5 Inverness CT 5 0 6 6 Montrose 5 0 6 7 Annan Athletic 5 -4 6 8 Dumbarton 5 0 5 9 Cove Rangers 5 -3 4 10 Arbroath 5 -4 3 Date: 31/08/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1703 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (Nolan 67), Devine, Savage, F Duffy (Ewan 75), Davidson, Gilmour, Allan (MacLeod 46), A MacKinnon, B Mckay, Brooks (C Mackay 79) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Strachan, Thompson, Ferguson, Keogh Scorers: B Mckay (19) Booked: Brooks (48), Devine (63) Sent Off: none Queen of the South: 0 Manager: Peter Murphy Lineup: Stewart; Hewit (Johnston3 43), MacIntyre, Hannah, Douglas, Lyon, Dickenson, Kennedy (Doherty 85), Luissint (Walker 58), McKechnie, McIntosh. Subs (not used): Hogarth; Willis, Church, Rogerson, McLinden, Ross Scorers: none Booked: McKechnie (19), Johnstone (70) Sent Off: none a
  20. Mar0-0ned Table toppers Kelty Hearts welcomed the Caley Jags to New Central Park, and this was not just for a training session. Musa Dibaga retained the golves with Jack Newman possibly requiring surgery on his knee and Luis Longstaff is out for a month with a thigh injury. New signing Paul Allan was on the bench. Some 0-0 draws are not as dull as the scoreline might suggest. Well, unfortunately this was not the case here as both sides were reluctant to take the game to their opponents which resulted in a game as dull as dishwater. The visitors did look marginally more industrious, but it would be stretching the imagination somewhat to suggest that we should have won. Billy Mckay shot over from the edge of the box in our best only moment of the first half. Musa made a couple of routine saves and one from a fierce shot but he was not overly exerted. Adams in the Kelty goal had even less to deal with although part of that was down to our inability to get shots on target. In truth, neither side deserved to win, and in the same vein, neither side deserved to lose, so stalemate it was and a point apiece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thankfully, the wee social club was the focal point of the Johndo Awayday as olde faces gathered to remember our fallen comrade. Great to meet up with Isla and Gareth and remember the past and also some well kent faces from better times, Iain Coia, the Wyness Shufflers and many more. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Matchday 4 1. Kelty Hearts 4 2 2 0 6 1 8 2. Alloa Athletic 4 2 2 0 5 3 8 3. Q.O.S. 4 2 1 1 4 2 7 4. Montrose 4 1 3 0 3 2 6 5. Annan Athletic 4 2 0 2 4 4 6 6. Stenhousemuir 4 2 0 2 5 6 6 7. Dumbarton 4 0 4 0 7 7 4 8. Inverness CT 4 0 3 1 2 3 3 9. Arbroath 4 0 2 2 3 7 2 10. Cove Rangers 4 0 1 3 5 9 1 Date: 24/08/2024 Venue: New Central Park, Kelty Attendance: 0692 Referee: George Calder Kelty Hearts: 0 Manager: Michael Tidser (player manager) Lineup: Adams; Mercer, O'Ware (Thomas 46), Flatman, Paterson, Allan, Tidser (B Owens 47), Cunningham, McCarvel, Johnston, Williamson Subs (not used): Adamson; Miller, L Owens Scorers: none Booked: Paterson (37), Mercer (45+4), B Owens (90) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (Brooks 63), Devine, Savage, F Duffy, Davidson, MacLeod (Allan 73), Bray, Gilmour, B Mckay (Ferguson 85), A Mackinnon, Subs (not used): M MacKinnon; Walker, Strachan, Corner, C Mackay, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: W Duffy (31), Gilmour (68), F Duffy (75) Sent Off: none a
  21. New Start Same Problems The first game after the olde CEO was prized from his oligarchy bubble saw a decent crowd turn out in appreciation of the efforts of Alan Savage to right the wrongs. It won't happen overnight, but the first steps have been taken to put some life back into the ailing Caley Jags. On the park, Musa Dibaga replaced the injured Jack Newman in goal with emergency loan keeper from Clach Martin MacKinnon on the bench. Keith Bray kept his place with Adam Brooks on the bench. Montrose were the visitors and they are a more settled side although Michael Gardyne was suspended with former Inverness youth player Matheus Machado starting. Both teams were looking for their first win of the League campaign. Kane Hester scored after twenty minutes but on the interval Montrose were reduced to ten men when Sean Dillon was sent off. After the break it was one way traffic against the ten men and no surprise when Adam MacKinnon equalised. However the winning goal eluded us and it was a point apiece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was an overcast, breezy and somewhat chilly afternoon with an Autumnal feel about it as the teams emerged from the tunnel, Inverness in their new strip, the visitors in white tops with black shorts. Prior to kick off Captain Billy Mckay was presented with a wee memento on reaching 300 appearances for the Caley Jags, not to mention his 112 goals for the club. The first action saw Keith Bray's shot deflected at the expense of a corner when he spun on the edge of the box and tried to get his shot away in the seventh minute. Twenty minutes in and what a finish for the opening goal. Former Elgin player Kane Hester opened the scoring with a tremendous strike into the top corner from a tight angle after his miscontrol seemed to deceive Danny Devine to give the visitors the early advantage. Machado was booked a minute later. Billy Mckay came close to levelling the scores after half an hour when Cammy Gill turned his shot across the keeper onto the post with his fingertips. It was a half littered with fouls and Luis Longstaff shot over ten minutes before the break. Sean Dillon headed over at the other end before he received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Billy Mckay. How dare he on his 300th appearance! That was on the interval to leave the visitors to face the second half a man short but a goal to the good. HALF TIME: 0-1 Mathew Strachan replaced Flynn Duffy at the start of the second half and Gill denied Longstaff shortly after. The other Duffy was hooked for Callum MacLeod ten minutes into the half and Mckay was again foiled by Gill as he shot from inside the box. It was turning into a procession towards Cammy Gill and Longstaff and Gilmour had a go before Adam Mackinnon equalised just after the hour, drilling home from outside the box. He almost scored a second momnents later. Mckay would not find that elusive strike as Gill saved again and Gilmour was blocked before Davidson should have done better at the back post. MacKinnon had another couple of attempts ten minutes from the end and Mckay was denied for the 300th time by the keeper in the top corner. We plugged away until the end but try as we did, the winning goal eluded us and it ended all square. FULL TIME: 1-1 A disappointing result but we did create enough chances to win three games. However, as has been our downfall over the last few seasons, we struggle to get the ball in the net. Great for Adam MacKinnon to get his first goal, and with a bit of fortune he could have scored another couple. Overall the concensus of opinion is that it is a bit of improvement on recent dire performances but we still have a long way to go. Let's not forget we played against 10 men for the whole of the second half. Doofers Dad summarised neatly: Of course it is very disappointing to not to beat a 10 man part time team at home, but I felt there were a lot of positives yesterday. We laid siege to their goal for lengthy periods in the second half and created more chances than we have for a long time. It got the crowd going and was quite exciting to watch. (Dunc, please take note.). A mixture of very narrow misses and weak efforts meant we couldn't find the winner but it could just have easily have been a victory by 3 or 4 goals. How that would have changed the mood! Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after today's draw with Montrose 1. Kelty Hearts 3 2 1 0 6 1 7 2. Q.O.S. 3 2 1 0 4 1 7 3. Annan Athletic 3 2 0 1 4 3 6 4. Alloa Athletic 3 1 2 0 4 3 5 5. Dumbarton 3 0 3 0 5 5 3 6. Montrose 3 0 3 0 2 2 3 7. Stenhousemuir 3 1 0 2 2 4 3 8. Inverness CT 3 0 2 1 2 3 2 9. Cove Rangers 3 0 1 2 3 6 1 10. Arbroath 3 0 1 2 1 5 1 If you can make out what is being said, you are better than me... Sort this out, the wind did the same last time. Can just about make it out in the interview, but it sounds like keeper Jack Newman has gone back to Tannadice for treatment. Sounds like he could be out for some time. Date: 17/08/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1902 Referee: Alastair Grieve Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (MacLeod 55), Davidson (Thompson 86), Devine, Savage, F Duffy (Strachan 46), Bray, Gilmour, A MacKinnon, Longstaff (Brooks 77), B Mackay (Ferguson 86) Subs (not used): M MacKinnon; Walker, Keogh, C Mackay Scorers: A MacKinnon (63) Booked: F Duffy (40), Gilmour (45) Sent Off: none Montrose FC: 1 Manager: Stewart Petrie Lineup: Gill; Williamson, Quinn, Masson (McKenzie 59), Steeves, Hester (Maciver- Redwood 70), Dillon, Lyons (Trialist 70), Hannah (Shrive 58), Brown, Machado (Smith 77) Subs (not used): Mathews; Scorers: Hester (20) Booked: Machado (22), Dillon (34 & 45+1), Masson (38), Steeves (72), Smith (87) Sent Off: Dillon (45+1) a
  22. Too Little Too Late Inverness added their two new signings to their squad which meant Keith Bray was benched with Wallace Duffy returning to the starting XI and Musa Dibaga as back up keeper on the bench. Annan had one change with Josh Dixon replacing Paul Smith in midfield. Jack Newman had the only notable save of the first forty-five denying Aidan Smith after ten mintes. Other than that it was Annan on top without overly threatening. After the interval Annan were awarded a penalty after fifty minutes and Tommy Goss duly scored from the spot. That was the difference between the sides as Annan took all three points despite a late charge from the visitors. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plenty of early posturing and the first action for the keepers saw Jack Newman save brilliantly from an Aidan Smith header in the tenth minute as Annan came close to the opening goal. Inverness' first effort followed soon after as Adam Brooks shot over from a tight angle. Annan were controlling the pace of the game in the first quarter and forced three corners to no avail. Smith again went close on the half hour when he shot just wide. Josh Dixon shot over from the edge of the box ten minutes before the break and Wallace Duffy picked up a yellow for abruptly stopping an Annan attack. Half Time: 0-0 Danny Devine gave away a penalty five minutes after the restart when he fouled Tommy Goss who got up to slot home the spot kick into the bottom corner. Luis Longstaff fired a free kick over the bar and Billy Mckay was denied by the keeper after a turn and run from Longstaff. Almost a tap in for Smith but for a great interception by the defence. Devine headed wide from a Charlie Gilmour free kick as we tried to get back on level terms. A double denial for Inverness as Gilmour's effort was well saved then Devine hit the underside of the bar from the recycled ball as we entered the final ten minutes. Bray shot wide as we pushed for an equaliser with Annan looking for the final whistle. Annan were by now hanging on by a thread and a couple of late corners for the visitors came and went before the final whistle ended the siege. Full Time: 1-0 More detail to follow>>> Date: 10/08/2024 Venue: Galabank Stadium Attendance: 0386 Referee: Alex Shepherd Annan Athletic: 1 Manager: Wullie Gibson (player manager) Lineup: J Smith; Gibson, Dixon (K Fleming 89), T Muir (Quintongo 70), McGowan, Todd, R Muir, Goss (Stevenson 89), Kilsby, A Smith, Zaid (Barnes 79) Subs (not used): G Fleming; Maxwell, Quigg Scorers: Goss (50 pen) Booked: McGowan (51) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Newman; W Duffy (Thompson 83), Davidson, Devine, Savage, F Duffy (Strachan 83), Mackinnon (Bray 74), Gilmour, B Mckay (Ferguson 74), Brooks (MacLeod 46), Longstaff Subs (not used): Dibaga; Walker, Keogh, C Mackay Scorers: none Booked: W Duffy (37) Sent Off: none a
  23. Men v Boys At the neutral venue of Glebe Park, and with a larger than life gap in the away support, Dundee, who were already qualified, made a couple of changes with young defender Luke Graham starting. However hot striker Simon Murray was on from the start with Curtis Main waiting on the bench. Danny Devine had recovered sufficiently to start but Jack Walker was rested after his head knock. Ethan Cairns and Lewis Nicolson are still missing and Niko Ujdur is finally off to Hampden today. 1-0 to Dundee in the first minute. Do we need to get the calculator out? If you answered yes, then that was the correct answer. Five up at the break Dundee cantered home scoring a further goal ten minutes before the end through Portales to round off the scoring. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dundee scored with their first attack; Palmer-Houlden flicked on to Murray who looped the ball over the keeper and into the net and five minutes later Murray shot from outside the box but the keeper tipped it over the bar. Mulligan played in Murray who lifted the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net after 18 minutes. As expected, Dundee totally dominated the opening twenty minutes with Inverness hanging on at times and a third goal came from Seb Palmer-Houlden in the 23rd minute after he stole the ball from the defender and then slipped it past the keeper into the net. Robertson then played Murray in and he put the ball through the keepers legs and into the back of the net. There was more to come in a disastrous first half for the young team as Palmer-Houlden found a brilliant finish into the bottom corner of the net after being played in by Ingram. Half Time: 5-0 The chase is on but we'll need pushbacks. Nightmare first half but it eased a bit in the second before Cameron’s ball into the box found Portales who headed into the back of the net with ten minutes left. Goodbye League Cup, thanks for having us! It's not for everyone... More reaction to follow. We lost didn't we... Date: 27/07/2024 Venue: Glebe Park, Brechin Attendance: 1057 Referee: John Beaton Dundee FC: 6 Manager: Tony Docherty Lineup: Carson; Ingram, Graham, Portales, Robertson, McGhee, Mulligan, McCowan (Cameron 46), Sylla (Astley 65), Palmer-Houlden (Main 58), Murray (Tiffoney 58) Subs (not used): McCracken; Sharp, Richardson, Lochhead Scorers: Murray (1, 18, 29), Palmer-Houlden (23, 41), Portales (79) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Newman; Davidson, Bray, Devine, Savage, Strachan, MacLeod (Thompson 77), Gilmour (Keogh 80), B Mckay (Ferguson 77), Longstaff (C Mackay 80), Brooks (Corner 46) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Nixon Scorers: none Booked: Savage (67) Sent Off: none a
  24. Howden Enders Farewell With the sad passing of the Immortal Howden Ender, the outcome of this game was immaterial. Johndo had travelled all over Britain to watch his beloved club and also into Europe when we went to Astra Giurgiu of Romania. Sadly, this morning he passed away suddenly and everyone at CTO passes on our our deepest condolences to his family friends and extended family at this saddest of times. He did witness Inverness lift the Scottish Cup and was looking forward to the club getting back on track after the financial woes. Sadly, he will never know, but his legacy will live longer than those at the helm just now. Johndo was Captain of the HMS Sneck a vessel he guided through stormy waters and the doldrums. It just won't be the same without you and your Smileymometer after the games, or your pre-season five-a-side tournaments RIP Legend! Arbroath won the bonus point after winning the penalty shoot-out following a goalless 90 minutes, but that was of secondary importance tonight. This was Johndo casually lying on the goal line after we won promotion by beating St Johnston 3-1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A couple of early corners came to nothing for the visitors in the first two minutes, and in an even start to the game, both keepers were called into action over opening twenty minutes, Newman saving from Innes Murray and McAdams denying Calum Mackay. Ryan Dow passed up a good opportunity after half an hour but he shot narrowly wide of the home goal frame. Jack Walker was stretchered off with a nasty head injury after a lengthy stoppage before the interval and he was replaced by Charlie Gilmour. On the resumption of play, Shae Keogh had an effort saved by McAdams in the visitors goal but it remained goalless at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 Billy Mckay, Luis Longstaff and Ben Corner came on after the break but it was Arbroath who started the second half with intent. Newman saved from Mark Stowe and Tam O'Brien headed close to the post following a corner. David Gold was crocked with twenty minutes left and he was unable to continue ten minutes later leaving the visitors down to ten men for the final fifteen. Jake Davidson tried his luck but shot wide with the clock ticking down and Billy Mckay shot over with two minutes of normal time left. FULL TIME: 0-0 Penalty Shoot-Out for the bonus point goes to the visitors 3-5 with a full house. Arbroath: Murray Callachan Stowe Wilkie Bisland 5 Inverness CT: B Mckay Longstaff Savage Gilmour 3 Date: 23/07/2020 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 0794 Referee: Stewart Luke Inverness CT: 0 (3 pens) Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Newman; Bray, Davidson, Walker (Gilmour 42), Savage, Strachan, C Mackay (Longstaff 46), MacLeod, Keogh (B Mckay 46), Thompson (Ferguson 71), Brooks (Corner 46) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Nixon Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Arbroath: 0 (5 pens) Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: McAdams; Steele, Wilkie, O'Brien (Walker 60), Bisland, Slater, Gold, Callachan, Dow (Stowe 45+6), Murray, Spalding Subs (not used): Hemfrey (gk) Scorers: none Booked: Stowe (90+1) Sent Off: none a
  25. Young Guns N' Roses Welcome to the Jungle. For the second year in a row Bonnyrigg Rose came calling in a League Cup group stages encounter. Last season when we had selection choices we edged them 2-1 thanks to a first half brace from the discarded Aaron Doran. It would be a much more difficult task this season with the young guns on the park...... or would it. Inverness cruised to a 3-0 half time lead thanks to crisp strikes from Adam Brooks, Keith Bray and Luis Longstaff in an entertaining forty-five full of neat one touch possession football. With the job done at the break, the second half was an anti-climax with few opportunites and rakes of substitutions which put paid to any thoughts of flowing football and copious amounts of goals. Good win for the young guns who were applauded off the pitch at half time, something unheard of last season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A grey day at the Caledonian Stadium with a sparse crowd in attendance, brought about by the stubborness of the suits to listen to the fans, saw Inverness get the game underway. Plenty of slick passes coupled with good ball retention led to a smart opening goal when Brooks flicked home Mathew Strachan's inviting cross from the left wing. Only moments earlier, a curling cross come shot from Luis Longstaff missed the back post and striker in equal measures. Inverness continuued pressing the visitors and scored a deserved second when Bray held off a challenge in the box to turn and shoot into the bottom corner. On the half hour, Brooks was denied a second when keeper Tom Ritchie pushed his shot onto the post, and minutes later the keeper denied him again. Number three came when Longstaff made his way into the right side of the box before shooting low into the bottom corner. An enterprising opening half and a deserved advantage at the interval as applause broke out around the inside of the ground. Half Time: 3-0 The second half was in stark contrast, but we can't complain at the score. Nothing of note happened after the break apart from Cameron Ferguson getting booked for, well, doing nothing. Danny Devine took a head knock and was replaced after an hour. Hopefully just a precaution as he will be an important player for us this season. All five subs were used by both sides which broke up play in the second period and it was Inverness that got their first win of the season. Full Time: 3-0 Really good win for our young team with some good performances all round. Adam Brooks looked lively and could have had a hat-trick. Mathew Strachan and Calum MacLeod never put a foot wrong and pinged in some dangerous crosses. Luis Longstaff was the pick of the older heads and will be a useful player in League 1. Keith Bray took his goal well and did some sterling work along the right side of the park from back to front. 682 in attendance and one on the bridge. Not great, but given the way the club has treated players, fans, sponsors etc then hardly surprising, in fact maybe more than was anticipated. The same fixture last season had 1077 fans attending and nobody standing on the bridge. With Annan beating Arbroath 0-3 and Dundee not playing today, it looks like our League Cup campaign will be over after the Group Stages. That means a weakened squad will probably see out our final two group games against Arbroath on Tuesday night and Dundee next weekend to allow us to prepare better for the League 1 campaign. a
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