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  1. Butcher's meet not enough for sad Caley Jags In the presence of the great man himself, Inverness and Ayr locked horns at the relegation end of the table. A far cry from the euphoric scenes when Inverness were in seventh heaven after winning the First Division back in 2010. This game took on a more sinister roll after Dunfermline trashed Dundee United 3-1 last night to move four points above Inverness in the table. A win for either side here could prove pivotal come the business end of the season. Defeat may start the downward spiral for either side as they could become detatched from the peleton above. Inverness had to put the Battery Farm debacle behind them and concentrate on the job in hand on the park. At the end of the day the only word I have after this display is despondency. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A beautiful afternoon for a kick about in the Highlands was ruined by a rubbish game of football. Inverness were down to the bare bones with only six subs, mainly the walking wounded on the bench. The visitors had Frankie Musonda as captain and a strong starting XI with an equally strong bench that included Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Aiden McGeady. Inverness as they do started brightly. A long free kick from Savage caused problems in the first minute before being cleared and a couple of minutes later keeper Clarke let a shot squirm under him and narrowly missed going in at his far post. However, our usual ten minute flurry only lasted until that ball slipped past the post. Ayr dominated the half thereafter and took an early lead through a poked effort from Stanger on the line or possibly an own goal from Anderson after we failed to clear our lines on Ayr's left flank and gave the ball away too easily. The industrious Alex Samuel had our best moment when he guided a volley just over the bar. Alas, we were absolutely honking for the rest of the half, unable to string one pass together and constantly gave the ball away. Fortunately on the stroke of half time we were thrown a lifeline from the spot. Fair play to Billy Mckay for grabbing the ball and slamming it into the net for an undeserved but welcome equaliser. Given the abuse he and his son took after he missed his penalty against the Pars, this was a sweet moment for a legend. After the interval nothing changed. We continued to fail to create anything and Ayr continued to look the more likely to score again. There wasn't a lack of effort. However a lack of tactical nous and quality were in abundance. Ayr always looked like breaking clear and we always looked pedantic and predictable and turned backwards at every opportunity. Is that a lack of confidence or a lack of quality. Probably both. Predictable Ayr took all three points when Bryden knocked home in front of the Ayr fans to complete our demise. Although there was still half an hour to go, nobody in the home support could see us scoring and they amused themselves by taunting security and anyone else that would listen. Mark Ridgers kept us close with a big save ten minutes from the end as we feared the worst. Cammy Harper did eventually fire a great ball across the box near the end but there were no takers as it flashed across the goal a yard from the line. Therein lies the difference. When Ayr did that in the fifth minute, Stanger scored from practically on the goalline. As it was, we played out the final half hour without otherwise threatening and Ayr took all three points back home. FULL TIME: 1-2 Having sat through one of the worst games for many a year there is little to hope for now apart from Arbroath to keep losing because we certainly appear to find it difficult to win. We have no game changers in our squad and our manager is playing the wrong type of anti-football to help our cause. Big Dunc thought we were the better team. Pleeeeeaaase, give me a break! We were second to everything and Ayr were always one step ahead of us after the first three minutes. SHOCKER springs to mind. Highlights from Ayr United as we appear to be too embarrassed to put our own highlights up We lost didn't we>>> Date: 16/03/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1979 Referee: Iain Snedden Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carragher (Doran 69), Devine, Savage, Duffy, Kerr, Lawal (Pepple 69), Anderson, Harper, Alex Samuel, B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Brooks, Austin Samuels Scorers: B Mckay (45+3 pen) Booked: Carragher (11), Pepple (87) Sent Off: none Ayr United: 2 Manager: Scott Brown Lineup: Clarke; McAllister, Musonda, Stanger, Sanders, Syla, McHugh, Bryden (Amartey 70), Dowds, Willoughby (Murphy 62), McKenzie Subs (not used): Albinson; McGinty, McGinley, Tomlinson, Dempsey, McGeady, Chalmers Scorers: Stanger (5) Bryden (61) Booked: Murphy (68) Sent Off: none a
  2. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH OR WATCHED A LIVE STREAM OR TV *** If you were at the match or viewing, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME or WATCHING LIVE STREAM or TV Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game or viewed live streams, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  3.   Ayr we go again   Unfortunately it's another home game this Saturday as fellow languishers Ayr United make the long trek North to face home strugglers Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ayr are one of only two teams we have beaten at home in the Championship this season. However, in the presence of one of our highest profile managers ever, it would be rude not to think about the possibility of a seven goal barrage. Terry Butcher is in the area doing a gig with Richard Gough and will pop along to the stadium for a look at the current side. It has to be said that they are not a patch on what Tel Boy built before being lured to Leith for a custard cream, a team we beat 2-0 in our next match. However, that is history and the mess we find ourselves in now is a sad indictment of the times we live in now under the present regime. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Battery Farm - Rejected ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 11 11 3 42 27 +15 Away 27 13 6 8 50 33 +17 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 52 24 17 11 92 60 +32 We have always had the edge over Ayr United and the H2H shows that. Even recent form has us on top, and that is not always the same for all of our recent opponents. Only three defeats at home. Our prime objective this weekend is a win and would be a bonus but avoiding defeat is an absolute priority. Maybe even scoring a goal might ease the pain... Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 3 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) Inverness ease away from the bottom:  3 - 1  Inverness added Sean Welsh to the ever expanding longer term injury list suffering from a recurring back injury, but Luis Longstaff was fit enough to make the bench. Ayr United had Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Anton Dowds as a triple threat up front. Despite this, Inverness cruised home without having to get out of second gear. Three goals inside the last ten minutes of the first half ended the game as a contest. Two from David Wotherspoon and a penalty from Billy Mckay. Ayr got a consolation penalty in a poor second half, but it was an important three points for the Caley Jags and Big Dunc. As comfortable as it was it was still a poor second half where we should have gone on to put Ayr to the sword. As it was, the result was huge in the context of our season and we can overlook the turgid performance in the light of three excellent points and a step up the table to eighth place with games in hand over some teams. FULL TIME: 3-1. Interesting to note that we only had five of the team that started against Ayr back on November 11th available for selection last week with Carson & Wotherspoon away and the rest injured. Still here: Mark Ridgers, Cameron Harper, Danny Devine, Max Anderson, Billy Mckay (subs C Mackay, Wallace Duffy) Gone/Unavailable: Morgan Boyes, Nikola Ujdur, David Wotherspoon, David Carson, Charlie Gilmour, Nathan Shaw (subs Delaney, Thompson, Hyde, Sheridan, Longstaff, Lodovica, Brooks) Last Time Out Inverness failed again at home last Saturday against one of the two teams they had already beaten at home this season. The other being this weeks opponent Ayr United. The Airdrie game ended scoreless, and that was no surprise to those at the stadium. Plenty of effort, plenty of passes, however our Achiles Heel of creating and scoring chances has haunted us for most of the season. Last Five: D D D W D  Ayr United were idle last weekend. Their last game was a 2-0 defeat at East End Park on 2ndMarch. Two goals just before the interval by Chris Hamilton and a first for loan signing Chris Kane was the difference between the sides.Scott Brown's best result was a stunning 4-3 win over Partick Thistle (McAllister, Willoughbyx2 and McHugh were the scorers in a see-saw game). However, Ayr have shipped a massive fifty goals in the League and that's something that we need to capitalise on. They have also scored thirty-eight times, so it's important to keep our fourth clean sheet in a row to give us a platform to build on. Last Five: L W L W L  Table ahead of Friday nights big game Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dunfermline v Dundee United Friday night @ 7:45 1. Dundee Utd 28 17 7 4 55 17 58 2. Raith Rovers 28 17 6 5 49 36 57 3. Partick Thistle 28 10 10 8 53 48 40 4. Morton 27 10 7 10 34 31 37 5. Airdrieonians 27 10 6 11 28 30 36 6. Queens Park 28 8 8 12 41 47 32 7. Dunfermline 28 8 8 12 30 38 32 8. Ayr United 27 9 5 13 38 50 32 9. Inverness CT 28 7 10 11 32 32 31 10. Arbroath 27 6 5 16 28 59 23 SATURDAY 16TH MARCH    Airdrie v Arbroath Inverness CT v Ayr United      Partick v Morton Queen's v Rovers  Latest Team News Inverness: Still have massive injury worries ahead of this one with most on the bench still nursing knocks. Long term: Gilmour, Longstaff, Chilokoa-Mullen, Big Harry & Lewis Nicolson. Out: McAllister (4-6 weeks), Macgregor, Shaw, Ujdur (2 weeks). Struggling: Carragher, Boyes... Have I missed any   Ayr United: One glaring alteration at Ayr United since they were last here is their manager. Former Hibs and Celtic midfielder Scott Brown is now in charge after Lee Bullen was relieved of his duties on the 15th of January a few days after we had beaten the honest men 3-1 at Somerset Park. He was replaced by Brown some ten days later. Brown has 3 wins to his credit since then from seven games ( QP, Airdrie, Partick), losing to Dundee United, Rangers (cup), Raith Rovers and last time out at Dunfermline. Ayr's January sales deals. In: Nathan McGinley, defender (Motherwell) Loan in: Jack Sanders, defender (Kilmarnock); Josh Clarke, goalkeeper (Celtic); Harry McHugh, midfielder (Wigan Athletic); Kurt Willoughby, forward (Oldham Athletic). Logan Chalmers was a big threat last time we met and with players like Murphy and McGeady on their books plenty of experience at a higher level. On loan forward Kurt Willoughby looks handy. Ayr team @ EEP   Clarke   McAllister (Tomlinson 90+1)  Sanders   McGinty   Musonda   Bryden (Chalmers 45)  Dempsey (Smith 76)   McHugh   Murphy (Syla 76)   Dowds   McKenzie (Willoughby 56)   Subs Not Used: Albinson; McGeady, Stanger, McGinley   Good to see that bullying in the workplace is alive and kicking in the Highland Council.  
  4. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH OR WATCHED A LIVE STREAM OR TV *** If you were at the match or viewing, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME or WATCHING LIVE STREAM or TV Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game or viewed live streams, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  5. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH OR WATCHED A LIVE STREAM OR TV *** If you were at the match or viewing, please use the poll above to vote for your top 3 players. As a bit of fun, we have also added an option to rate the referee .... Please make sure you vote for 3 separate players. If you make an error, let us know so we can fix it. PLEASE ONLY VOTE ABOVE IF YOU WERE AT THE GAME or WATCHING LIVE STREAM or TV Anyone caught trying to cheat the system WILL be banned from voting in ALL site polls...this is your only warning. **NOT at the game ?** As a result of requests received, we have made a slight change to how these threads work for site users who listened to the full game live on the radio ....... You too will now be able to cast your votes, but should do it in the thread below, and NOT in the official poll above. Just list the three players of your choosing and award 5,3, or 1 point(s). You can give the ref a mark if you want too ! These votes will NOT be counted in the official total, as we only count votes from those who where actually at the game or viewed live streams, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  6. Diamondonians Promoted Airdrie are sitting in fifth place in the table, just below the play-off places with former Caley Jag Nikolay Todorov getting amongst the goals and he will provide a big test for our central defence. We have found Airdrie a difficult proposition at times this season but we did win the last home encounter against them. Our off-field problems are out in the open now after a meeting with fans on Wednesday evening. See the responses below from the CTO forum page 16 onwards. Suffice to say it is worth a lot of money and it does have a massive part to play in the future of our club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Battery Farm - CTO Topic Chairmans Response after meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 9 5 0 4 14 12 +2 Away 8 2 2 4 9 17 -8 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 17 7 2 8 23 29 -6 Only this season's games are relevant as prior to the 2-3 defeat in the League Cup group stages, our previous game against Airdrie was in 2002 when a Martin Bavidge strike was the only goal of the game. Not only that, it keeps our record thrashing of 0 - 6 out of sight as though it never happened. (just for the record, Owen Coyle scored a hat-trick, Neil McFarlane planted a header behind Nicky Walker, Lee Gardiner drove in from the edge of the box and Paul Armstrong ended the rout five minutes before the end. Gubbed!) This season's Competitive Meetings 0 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) Not much success for us this season against the Diamonds although we did win the last home game against them thanks to a superb finish from the long gone Spoony: FULL TIME: 1 - 0. The fabulous execution of his goal was a great introduction for David Wotherspoon but for me the Man of the Match and new version of Bobby Mann was Nikola Ujdur. The Aussie defender is solid, strolled through the game unflustered and can pick a pass. Good graft in midfield but Sheridan and Big Harry need some work done. Shaw picked up a booking at the end when Big Dunc sent him back onto the pitch to get treatment. Last Time Out Inverness extended their unbeaten run to four games (3xD & 1xW) with an excellent result at Cappielow that ended Morton's 14 game Championship undefeated run. Clinical strikes from Billy Mckay, his 110th goal for the club, and a first from Sean McAllister (video below) ensured we grabbed all three points in a crucial game at the bottom end of the table given Arbroath's unexpected win over Raith Rovers the night before. Last Five: L D D D W Airdrieonians played twice this week. A 1-1 draw last Saturday at home to Queens Park was followed in midweek by a stunning 2-0 win at East End Park. Mason Hancock scored the leveler against QP with two former Dunfermline players Nikolay Todorov and Gabby McGill (video below) sinking their old team. Manager Rhys McCabe said on BBC Sport: "We knew coming here it was about playing the percentages really well, doing the basics really well. We never really felt in danger towards the latter stages of the game." Last Five: L L W D W Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Only four games this weekend as Morton are on Scottish Cup duty 1. Dundee Utd 27 16 7 4 51 17 55 2. Raith Rovers 26 15 6 5 46 36 51 3. Partick Thistle 26 10 9 7 51 45 39 4. Morton 27 10 7 10 34 31 37 5. Airdrieonians 26 10 5 11 28 30 35 6. Dunfermline 27 8 8 11 30 36 32 7. Ayr United 27 9 5 13 38 50 32 8. Queens Park 27 8 7 12 39 45 31 9. Inverness CT 27 7 9 11 32 32 30 10. Arbroath 26 6 5 15 28 55 23 SATURDAY 9TH MARCH Dundee Utd v Arbroath fc Inverness CT v Airdrieonians Queen's Park v Partick Thistle Raith Rovers v Dunfermline Latest Team News Inverness beat the injury woes last weekend to take all three points at Morton. New loan signing Samson Lawal from Livingston remained on the bench. We have a number of long term casualties in Charlie Gilmour, Luis Longstaff, Chilokoa-Mullen, Harry Lodovica and Lewis Nicolson. Roddy MacGregor, Nathan Shaw and Morgan Boyes were shorter term injuries. Austin Samuels has yet to be unleashed after his return to the bench and the similarly named Alex Samuel has been through the wars but has continued to feature despite a broken hand and numerous stitches about his body. He's a warrior. A number of players have also been carrying injuries so we will have to wait and see what Big Dunc is saying. Dunc's Update: Sean McAllister out for at least a couple of weeks (thigh). Boyes and Ujdur might make the bench. Dunc's loon (Cameron) might be a signing option. And surprise surprise, even our trialists are picking up knocks aren't they! Airdrie had a good week picking up four points. Calum Gallagher and Nikolay Todorov are their top scorers this season so far with seven goals each. Despite that, they are the lowest scoring side in the Championship with only 28 goals, four less than Inverness. Defences are similar with Airdrie two goals better off although they have played one game less than us. Airdrie team v Pars: Rae Megwa Watson Fordyce Hancock McCabe Telfer Frizzell McStravick (McMaster 72) McGill (Donnell 66) Todorov (Gallagher 72) Subs Not Used: Hutton; Lyall, Dunlop, O'Connor, Taylor-Sinclair
  7. Billy Answers His Critics On the injury front we go from bad to worse. This time our midfield engine room has been disrupted with Charlie Gilmour out for the season and Nathan Shaw out with a hamstring injury to add to those already on the treatment table. Samson Lawal, on loan from Livi, comes into the squad. Both sides had sparse benches. Morton had doubts ahead of this clash over main striker George Oakley, midfielder Iain Wilson and keeper Ryan Mullen. As it happened, all three missed out as did. Jai Quitongo. With Robbie Muirhead on the park, they would still pose a formidable threat up front and long throw expert Lewis Strapp will provide plenty of ammunition for him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What a start for Inverness and Billy Mckay, who answered his abusers from last week by opening the scoring in the second minute, firing into the top corner after an assist from Cammy Harper. Robbie Muirhead looked to respond but Mark Ridgers was equal to his effort in the fifth minute. Ten minutes before the interval Sean McAllister curled in a low free kick from the edge of the box to double our advantage and open his scoring account at Inverness. Plenty of bookings but no further scoring saw Inverness pick up a vital three points in the relegation battle although we still remain in ninth spot but only two points from Dunfermline in fifth. FULL TIME: 0-2 What a crucial result that is after Arbroath won last night. Only two points separate 5th and 9th. Two excellent goals from Inverness in the first half paved the way for victory to end Morton's tremendous unbeaten run of fourteen Championship games. The hosts had a flurry of activity around our box towards the end of the game with Robbie Muirhead heading just wide and from a corner the ball was headed off a congested line aswel. They also had a goal disallowed in the 90th minute after a scramble in our box. However, Inverness held out for their second consecutive clean sheet to make it four games without defeat to remain seven points above Arbroath. We won didn't we>>> Here's wee Dougie>>> Date: 02/03/2024 Venue: Cappielow Park, Greenock Attendance: 1933 Referee: Graham Grainger Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: MacDonald; French, Baird, O'Connor, Strapp, Crawford, McGrattan (Broadfoot 54), Power (Gillespie 86), Blues, Garrity (Bearne 76), Muirhead Subs (not used): Murdoch; Waters Scorers: none Booked: French (45+1) Power (60), O'Connor (76), Muirhead (88) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Duffy, Carragher, Devine, Savage, McAllister (Brooks 84), Kerr, Anderson, Harper, Alex Samuel (Doran 79), B Mckay (Pepple 69) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels, Lawal Scorers: B Mckay (2), McAllister (34) Booked: Carragher (45), Duffy (45+1), Kerr (48), Savage (88) Sent Off: none a
  8. A visit to the form team Morton host Inverness on Saturday at 3:00pm. They are unbeaten over ninety minutes in their last 17 outings, including a 5-0 pumping of the Pars, a 3-2 win at Tannadice and they also knocked Motherwell out of the Scottish Cup. It wasn't that long ago Morton were below us in the table and now they are in contention for a play-off place at the top end of the table. Us, on the other hand, have slumped to ninth in the table with the distinct possibility of making a play-off place as well. Unfortunately, that's at the relegation end of the table. Arbroath beating Raith Rovers last night shows that anything is possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus Info Samson Lawal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 12 6 4 48 20 +28 Away 20 11 3 6 38 26 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 42 23 9 10 86 46 +40 We hold a fair advantage over Morton but most of that will be historical. More recently the pendulum has swung towards the Greenock club although we did take a point from the last encounter with them played at the Caledonian Stadium 0 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) Our last meeting at Cappielow ended in a 1 - 2 victory for the hosts. Sloppy Stuff in Greenock: Wallace Duffy missed out with a calf injury with Jake Davidson getting a rare start and the paternal David Carson was still on maternity leave. Good to see Roddy Macgregor was on the bench following another lengthy layoff through injury alongside Sean Welsh and Nathan Shaw. Morton had three players that were on our books recently. Defender Kirk Broadfoot, wide player Stephen Boyd and striker George Oakley. And it was that man Oakley that gave Morton the lead after errors in defence. Jack Baird smashed in a second ten minutes from time. Adam Brooks added a late consolation, but it was too little too late in Greenock as the revolution ground to a halt. Last Week Inverness have failed to beat two of their relegation candidates over the last week. A 1-1 draw at Arbroath, thanks to a late Cammy Harper strike, was followed by a goalless draw at home to Dunfermline in a rather turgid encounter as injuries curtailed the quality of both sides. Last Five: W L D D D Morton have no such issues after 17 unbeaten games. This week saw them gain four points with a win against Airdrie and a draw at Stark's Park against promotion chasing Raith Rovers, where Morton were unlucky not to come away with all three points having created the better chances. Last Five: L L D W .D It's not difficult to spot that none of the Inverness players feature in the top scorers list. However Robbie Muirhead and George Oakley of Morton are included. Ferguson has massive injury problems ahead of this game. The latest disaster has Charlie Gilmour out for the rest of the season. Just what we need with only ten games left to save our season. Nathan Shaw will miss a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. Max Anderson should return after suspension. Portugese and Czech players on trial this week, we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, the Caley Jags are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Samson Lawal on loan from Livingston until the end of the season. Lawal, 19 years-old, joined Livingston on a 3-year deal in August 2023 from Nigerian side Katsina United. We've got injuries, haven't we>>> Unbeaten in 17 games, Morton are on a high just now and are looking to get into second place soon. Morton team at Raith Rovers in midweek MacDonald French Baird O'Connor Strapp Power Blues Crawford Wilson (Gillespie 38) Quitongo (Garrity 82) Muirhead Subs Not Used: Murdoch; Bearne, McGrattan, Broadfoot, Waters
  9. Devine intervention after Billy's penalty shocker A hugely depleted Inverness squad were cobbled together to face Dunfermline Athletic in a crucial wrong end of the table clash tonight. We had the possibility of jumping up to fifth had results all gone our way tonight as long as we did our job on the park. A long shot given our home form this season, but nonetheless still a possibility. That never aged well. The table is crying out for a team to go on a good run and challenge those that have had it too easy so far this season. Chris Kane missed out for the visitors which was a bonus for us. Alex Samuel, Billy Mckay and Wallace Duffy all started for Inverness which left us with no midfielders or defenders on the bench. A calm but chilly night greeted the teams at the Caledonian Stadium. It was all downhill after that. From the moment Billy Mckay saw his bland penalty dollied into Mehmet's arms in the first half, this game had 0-0 written all over it. And so it came to pass. It might have been an away win had we not conjured up two incredible goalmouth clearances in the first half. One a brave headed clearance from possibly McAllister that required some smelling salts to get him back on his feet and the second a sublime sliding clearance almost on the line by Danny. A sort of Devine intervention of the highest order after Jakubiak had rounded Ridgers to slot the ball into the seemingly empty net. Enter Danny with impeccable timing to thwart the burly striker. The second half deteriorated into an error ridden farce with neither side capable of stringing two passes together and a no scoring draw was more than the football on display merited. There was a couple of minutes when the ball never touched the ground as it was continuously kicked and headed vertically. Both sets of fans wondering if there were any footballers on the park or was this a new anti sport designed to close football stadiums for good. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Apart from the penalty save, both keepers could have sat in the Innes Bar and had a pint, such was the lack of penalty box entertainment. Wallace Duffy took a nasty injury to his arm but he remained on the park after treatment. However he might be missing next weekend after this. Also struggling at the end was Nathan Shaw who might have a hamstring problem. Unsavoury abuse being thrown around at the stadium towards one of our players' son. Not acceptable in the least. Highlights might be a tad misleading... Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts We've had better seasons... 1. Dundee Utd 25 15 6 4 49 16 51 2. Raith Rovers 25 15 6 4 44 33 51 3. Partick Thistle 25 10 8 7 50 44 38 4. Morton 25 10 7 8 34 28 37 5. Ayr United 26 9 5 12 38 48 32 6. Airdrieonians 24 9 4 11 25 29 31 7. Queens Park 26 8 6 12 38 44 30 8. Dunfermline 25 7 8 10 28 34 29 9. Inverness CT 26 6 9 11 30 32 27 10. Arbroath 25 5 5 15 25 53 20 Date: 27/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1958 Referee: Gavin Duncan Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Duffy, Carragher, Devine, Savage, Shaw (Doran 78) McAllister, Harper, Alex Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 90) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Austin Samuels, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Carragher (60), Devine (88) Sent Off: none Dunfermline Ath: 0 Manager: James McPake Lineup: Mehmet; Edwards, Hamilton, Fagan-Walcott, Todd (Moffat 74), Otoo, McCann (Holmes 28), Summers (O'Halloran 45), Welch-Hayes, Allan (Chalmers 45), Jakubiak, Subs (not used): Little; Sutherland, Fenton, Benjamin Scorers: none Booked: Allan (30), Henderson (66) Sent Off: none a
  10.   Every Point is a Prisoner   Apart from the top three teams, every point gained is crucial in the Championship, especially at the end of the table we find ourselves rooted to. Like us, Dunfermline hit a sticky patch but look to be over the worst and came away from Firhill with all three points on Friday night after nine winless games. We salvaged a draw in stoppage time at Arbroath. No rest for the wicked though, so it's back to action against our fellow strugglers on Tuesday night at 7:45pm. Ferguson has wholesale injuries to contend with for this one. It might be quicker to say who is fit. What could possibly go wrong! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Pars Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 24 10 9 5 31 22 +9 Away 25 9 11 5 30 27 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 51 19 21 11 64 53 +11 Overall, we have had the beating of Dunfermline over the years since we first crossed swords with them back in August 1999 where our first taste of Championship (Division 1) football ended in a 4-0 defeat at East End Park in front of 4865 fans. You can read the report on that game HERE. Five out of the last ten meetings have ended in draws with two wins apiece. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Pars 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 2 - 1 (A)  Our last home win over Dunfermline:  2 - 0 Looking promising...Inverness took a massive step towards a play off place by defeating Dunfermline Athletic for the first time this season. An encouraging but goalless first half where Reece McAlear had hit the post was replaced by a two goal second half with chances at both ends. The deadlock was broken by a man who only scores screamers. Reece McAlear lashed the ball across the keeper and into the top right corner of the goal from a difficult position wide on the inside right area. What a strike that was but it only woke the Pars up from their lethargy and they had three or four great opportunities before substitute Austin Samuels sealed the points after he sprinted on to a through ball from Aaron Doran to slot neatly behind Mehmet in goal. Comfortable thereafter for the remainder of the game and an excellent three points to strengthen our hold on third place with Raith, Arbroath and Partick all dropping points.  Last Time Out A week after we let slip a two goal advantage over Partick Thistle, we salvaged a point at Gayfield with a 94th minute goal from Cammy Harper after loanee Adam Mackinnon had put Arbroath ahead ten minutes from the end. To be honest, we spurned far too many good opportunities, enough to win three games, but credit to the players for snatching a point at the death. Always a difficult venue, made moreso by a lengthy injury list that saw us without around ten players (Longstaff, Mullen, Ujdur, Boyes, Duffy, MacGregor, Lodovica, Nicolson) and a suspended Max Anderson who will miss the Dunfermline game as well. That left us with a sparse bench of only four outfield players, and not all of them were fully fit. Last five Championship games:  L W L D D  Dunfermline threw a relegation spanner in the works last Friday a week after they also drew with Arbroath to complete this wee quadrangle of fixtures. However, they landed us all in the kacke by defrauding Partick 3-1 at Firhill where shockingly poor refereeing decisions affected the result in Dunfermline's favour. Brian Graham should have had a hat-trick but officially is only credited with scoring once. Goals from Walcott, Todd and Benjamin turned this game on it's head, much to the chagrin of bottom clubs Arbroath and Inverness. Last five Championship games: D L L D W  Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Full fixture list on Tuesday night 1. Dundee Utd 24 15 6 3 49 14 51 2. Raith Rovers 24 15 5 4 44 33 50 3. Partick Thistle 24 10 8 6 47 40 38 4. Morton 24 10 6 8 34 28 36 5. Ayr United 25 8 5 12 34 45 29 6. Dunfermline 24 7 7 10 28 34 28 7. Airdrieonians 23 8 4 11 23 29 28 8. Queens Park 25 7 6 12 32 44 27 9. Inverness CT 25 6 8 11 30 32 26 10. Arbroath 24 5 5 14 25 47 20 Tuesday night 27th Feb all at 7:45pm Ayr United v Partick Thistle Dundee United v Airdrieonians Inverness CT v Dunfermline Queen's Park v Arbroath Rovers v Morton Latest Team News Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen is out for the season with a stress fracture in his back. We already have long term issues with Longstaff, Lodovica and Nicolson. Added to that list is Ujdur, Boyes, MacGregor, Duffy and now Charlie Gilmour who limped off injured to be substituted after an hour and is out with a knee injury. Alex Samuel managed to play the full game with his hand strapped and also picked up stitches after the tackle from Adam Mackinnon. Nathan Shaw was also a doubt on Saturday but played all 95 minutes as well. The good news is that Max Anderson is not injured. The bad news is that Max Anderson is suspended. Of our injured squad, Wallace Duffy and Alex Samuel look the most likely to make an appearance. Expect a another sparse bench tonight. We're injured, aren't we>>>   The addition of Chris Kane to the Pars squad was a great bit of business for them in the January sales. Here's all of their new additions, all loans: Chris Kane, forward (St Johnstone); Xavier Benjamin, defender (Cardiff City); Malachi Fagan-Walcott, defender (Cardiff City); Brad Holmes, forward (Blackpool). Pars team at Partick on Friday night Mehmet   Benjamin (Welch-Hayes 80)   Hamilton   Fagan-Walcott   Todd (Moffat 67)   Otoo   Allan   Edwards   Holmes (Jakubiak 61)   Kane   McCann   Subs Not Used: Little; Chalmers, Sutherland, Summers,     
  11. Harper saves the day After last night's result at Firhill, this game took on an even more significant role with far reaching consequences for teams caught up in the collateral damage. To add insult to injury at Firhill, Partick can feel particularly aggrieved after an astonishing display of incompetence by the match officials who should be asked to resign with immediate effect. Brian Graham had two perfectly legitimate goals chalked off by shockingly poor refereeing decisions. I couldn't care less about Graham or Partick, but those decisions could be crucial come the end of the season and neither Arbroath or ourselves will be happy about the end result borne out of sheer incompetence, 3-1 for Dunfermline. Gayfield is a difficult enough place to go to with a full squad, therefore Duncan Ferguson had his work cut out today with a number of players unavailable including the suspended Max Anderson and a depleted bench of four outfield players. However Alex Samuel returned to the starting XI with Billy Mckay dropping to the bench. Arbroath were without Tam O'Brien but top strikers Michael McKenna and Leighton McIntosh were on the bench with new loan signing Charlie Reilly and defender Ricky Little. Plenty of half chances but not enough on target to overly trouble the keepers at the interval with Boruc the busier goalie. Inside the last ten minutes and MacKinnon scored from close range after a corner. It looked like time was running out but Cammy Harper drilled in an equaliser for a deserved share of the points. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A six pointer if ever there was one kicked off on a bright afternoon and Kyle Robinson saw an effort blocked in the opening minutes. Inverness responded and Kerr, Shaw and Gilmour all had shots blocked around the hosts box. Cammy Kerr brought Boruc into action direct from a free kick with twenty minutes gone. Cammy Harper was denied by Boruc at the expense of a corner. Kerr was again denied by Boruc, his low shot was well saved by the keeper after good work by McAllister. The chances were racking up for the visitors and Bim Pepple went very close. The shooting practise continued with Harper firing just over the bar from outside the box fifteen minutes from the break. David Gold shot wide for the Smokies as half time approached and the hosts upped the pressure on Mark Ridgers' box with Innes Murray firing a free kick wide. HALF TIME:0-0 No changes at the interval but Ricky Little replaced Hamilton ten minutes into the half after a clash with Alex Samuel who was booked. Aaron Doran then replaced the injured Gilmour and Billy Mckay replaced Pepple. Arbroath also brought on the big guns with Bird and McKenna joining the play. Substitute Charlie Reilly shot wide and Alex Samuel did the same at the other end. A penalty appeal for Inverness was ignored. Possession was swinging towards the hosts as we entered the final fifteen and yellow cards looked like they were going out of fashion. Arbroath opened the scoring following a corner when Adam MacKinnon, on loan from Ross County, scored from close range. Ridgers saved from Reilly and Alex Samuel had one attempt close and another saved by Boruc as we tried to salvage a point. In a frenetic finish, Nathan Shaw had a shot blocked and Kerr fired wide before Cammy Harper shot home to earn a point, but not before McKenna shot over right at the death. Phew, and breathe! FULL TIME 1-1 We left it a tad late but eventually got the point we deserved with Harper's strike into the bottom corner from outside the box. Boom! More detail and reaction to follow. Highlights from Arbroath FC TV We drew didn't we>>> Date: 24/02/2024 Venue: Gayfield, Arbroath Attendance: 1539 Referee: Kevin Clancy Arbroath FC: 1 Manager: Jim McIntyre Lineup: Boruc; Walker,Teale, Hamilton (Little 54), Stewart, Gold (McKenna 66), MacKinnon, Murray (Reilly 58), Dow, Slater, Robinson (Bird 66) Subs (not used): Gaston; Stowe, McIntosh Scorers: MacKinnon (82) Booked: Slater (37), Little 77), McKenna (80) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Carragher, Devine, Savage, Shaw, Gilmour (Doran 58)), McAllister, Harper, Pepple (B Mckay 63), Alex Samuel Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Austin Samuels Scorers: Harper (90+4) Booked: Alex Samuel (49), Kerr (76), Devine (83) Sent Off: none a
  12.   Back to the start   We head to Arbroath on Saturday, the scene of Big Dunc's first game in charge of the Caley Jags, where we earned our first win of the season in our seventh Championship game and his tenure at the Caley Jags began with only one point on the board prior to this game. We now sit on twenty-five points, but still perilously close to the relegation zone, unable to put a consistent run together to climb the table like others have done (Morton the prime example). Max Anderson is suspened and something like five definite outs and another five struggling with knocks.  Nothing new there then!  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel info  Max Anderson  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Arbroath Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 17 4 4 60 21 +39 Away 24 11 6 7 35 29 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 49 28 10 11 95 50 +45 We have always generally had the edge over Arbroath but have found them to be more resilient of late, losing at home last time we met. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Arbroath 1 - 2 (H) 3 - 2 (A) 2 - 4 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) Looking Down:  1 - 2  For cod's sake! Inverness slumped to an embarrassing defeat as Arbroath stunned Ferguson's flops at the Caledonian Stadium. Arbroath with big players out and only three outfield players on the bench proved too good for an overrated Inverness bunch of haddies who were easily beaten by the Smokies. With both sides losing in midweek, this game took on more significance for Big Dunc's side and Jim McIntyre was also looking to get away from the bottom of the table after he replaced Dick Campbell. David Wotherspoon was fit enough to start and good to see Keith Bray return to the squad alongside Robbie Thompson. Arbroath came North with only four on the bench with Michael McKenna and Ricky Little still out injured and O'Brien suspended. As it turned out we are now looking down the table instead of up after back to back defeats to the two teams who were below us only four days ago as Arbroath won 2-1. That was new manager Jim McIntyre's first win and it moves Arbroath off the bottom of the table. one point behind Inverness. All the goals came in the first half from Jay Bird, Billy Mckay and two minutes later David Gold. Looks like a few will be going cheap in the January sales.   Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Partick Thistle v Dunfermline: Friday Night TV game (mon the Harry Wraggs) 1. Dundee Utd 23 14 6 3 46 13 48 2. Raith Rovers 23 14 5 4 42 32 47 3. Partick Thistle 23 10 8 5 46 37 38 4. Morton 23 9 6 8 32 27 33 5. Ayr United 24 8 5 11 33 43 29 6. Airdrieonians 22 8 4 10 22 27 28 7. Queens Park 24 7 6 11 31 41 27 8. Inverness CT 24 6 7 11 29 31 25 9. Dunfermline 23 6 7 10 25 33 25 10. Arbroath 23 5 4 14 24 46 19 SATURDAY 24TH FEBRUARY   Arbroath v Inverness CT Ayr United v Raith Rovers Dundee Utd v Queen's Park  Morton v Airdrie    Latest Team News We threw away a two goal lead last week against Partick Thistle and ended up hanging on by a thread as Partick pushed for a late winner. Highly entertaining stuff, but disappointing to only take a point after going two ahead through Kerr and Savage. Pegged back by Fitzpatrick and a Graham penalty, Shaw then restored our lead only for Graham to volley in the equaliser with five minutes left. Frantic ending to the game, but we kept our point. Both sides feel they should have won and defences are being questioned about giving away cheap goals. At least we scored a couple in the Home end, so that's a small crumb of comfort. However, every point is a prisoner now with only twelve games left to preserve our status and we can not afford to give away preventable goals. Inverness failed to get Max Anderson's red card rescinded and he misses the next two games. His direct replacement Roddy MacGregor has a foot injury. We have five definite crocks and five doubtful crocks, so it's back to making your own selection for this game. Here's Dunc to explain all... It's someting like this plus the usual mirrors, smoke screens and cloak & daggers. OUT INJURED: (Longstaff, MacGregor, Lodovica, Nicolson, Mullen, Duffy, Anderson suspended) Maybe Out: (Alex Samuel, Austin Samuels, Boyes, Shaw) We've got injuries, haven't we>>>     Jim McIntyre's Arbroath had a battling 1-1 draw at East End Park last week after going behind in the 18th minute through Walcott. An early second half header from Tam O'Brien levelled the game and that's how it ended. Arbroath have secured the services of Charlie Reilly on loan from Dundee for the rest of the season. The wide midfielder is available for selection tomorrow. Leighton McIntosh took a knock last week and is a doubt. Line-up v Pars last week Boruc   Gold   O'Brien   Teale   Hamilton (Walker 90+4)   Stewart   Dow   Norey (Murray 45)   Slater   Stowe (Mackinnon 45, Bird 90+7)   McIntosh (Robinson 45) Subs Not Used:  Gaston; Lyon, Dunnwald-Turan  
  13. KerrPlonkers Inverness boss Duncan Ferguson was without Luis Longstaff, Wallace Duffy and striker Alex Samuel through injury although Austin Samuels was on the bench alongside Nikola Ujdur, Danny Devine, Aaron Doran and Roddy MacGregor amongst others. On paper it was a team bereft of attacking options. (what's new I hear you say). McMillan and Diack missed out for Partick Thistle but plenty of other threats on the park including Graham, Lawless, McInroy and Fitzpatrick. Cammy Kerr opened the scoring half an hour in to open his own account at Inverness, a welcome goal for the home fans, albeit at the South Stand end of the stadium. Be patient I hear you say and we were rewarded with a North Stand goal from Remi Savage ten minutes after the interval. Another ten minutes later and Fitzpatrick shot in from twelve yards to throw Partick a lifeline. Brian Graham converted a penalty but Nathan Shaw restored our advantage two minutes later. Unfortunately, the man we love to hate, Brian Graham, slammed in a volley after some head tennis to end the scoring and Max Anderson saw red in time added on. Meh, some game but a disappointing outcome despite the goals at the home end. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The visitors set the ball rolling and the hosts looked spritely in the opening exchanges with Billy Mckay having an effort blocked. However Partick looked dangerous going forward and Brian Graham had a couple of efforts after quarter of an hour, Ridgers doing well to deny Brian Graham's first effort, the second one was headed off target by the big striker. The corner count and possession had all but levelled off after twenty-five minites with clear opportunities difficult to come by. Having just said that, Cammy Kerr opened the scoring just before the half hour with a strike from distance into the bottom corner. Five minutes later Nathan Shaw fed Mckay on the edge of the box but the striker shot over. Charlie Gilmour was next to have a go but he missed the target as well. As half time approached Jamie Sneddon saved well from on-loan Everton youngster Sean McAllister as he shot goalwards after good play by Mckay. HALF TIME: 1-0 After the break Partick went on to the front foot and Kerr McInroy went close from outside the box after a Partick corner. Doran and Devine replaced McAllister and Mullen and three minutes later a Doran corner was headed in by Savage to double our lead. Aidan Fitzpatrick pulled one back for Partick, shooting home from twelve yards. Another twelve yard effort drew Partick level. This time from the spot after Nathan Shaw had fouled Robinson in the box. Brian Graham made no mistake. Shaw made amends two minutes later shooting home from inside the box. Alas, the scourge of Inverness, Graham, levelled again four minutes from the end as he volleyed into the top corner. FULL TIME: 3-3 BishBashBosh said on CTO: Highlight of first half was a pass back to Ridgers, I think he hit his clearance into their player and ball spun into air on our bye line. Ridgers is now facing the north stand and attempts a hoof of the ball over the stand. Total fresh air kick resulting in him then heading the ball out for a corner. You couldn’t make it up. Anderson red card was straight out of the ref pocket, no second to think. Anderson first touch for a pro footballer was so poor today, the ball rising into the air as he tried to control it many times. That was what happened for the sending off as he raised his boot into the players head to get the ball. The Partick guy went down clutching his head. Once the red was shown he miraculously recovered and didn’t require hospital treatment. Robert on CTO: We started on the front foot, with none of the back and fro passing that’s dominated our recent performances. Kerr’s goal was a cracker, calmly taken after a great pass by McAllister, and we deservedly led at the break although we had some nervous moments. Partick came out flying in the second half and our second was against the run of play, and we were then let down by poor defending for their first and getting caught napping at a free kick and conceding the penalty. I thought we were done for then, but credit to the players for lifting themselves and taking the lead again, and we should have gone 4-2 up but Pepple went alone when he should have played Harper in. We then conceded, meaning its twelve points we’ve lost late in games. Satan won the quote of the day: I am glad we've strengthened at the back Highlights from ICT>>> We scored goals didn't we>>> Date: 17/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2215 Referee: Grant Irvine Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Carragher, Chilokoa-Mullen (Devine 51), Savage, Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, McAllister (Doran 51, Ujdur 90+3), B Mckay (Pepple 68) Subs (not used): C Mackay; MacGregor, Samuels, Brooks Scorers: Kerr (27), Savage (54), Shaw (79) Booked: Shaw (45) Sent Off: Anderson (90+2) Partick Thistle: 3 Manager: Kris Doolan Lineup: Sneddon; Williams (Adeloye 84), Muirhead, Neilson, Milne (O'Reilly 88), Lawless, McInroy (Robinson 68), Bannigan, McBeth, FitzPatrick, Graham Subs (not used): Stewart; Mitchell, Ngwenya, Alston, Stanway, MacKenzie Scorers: Fitzpatrick (64), Graham (77 pen, 86) Booked: Fitzpatrick (65), McBeth (88) Sent Off: none a
  14. Jags on Jags Third place Partick Thistle come calling at the Caledonian Stadium this Saturday for a game scheduled to kick-off at 3:00pm. The sides can't be separated so far this season with both fixtures ending all square. Partick will be looking to hang on to the coat tails of the top two who face each other on Friday night whilst we are in desperate need of points to avoid being sucked into the hub of the relegation play-offs. Both sides exited the Scottish Cup last weekend against Premiership opposition, but it's back to the grind on Saturday with a tough encounter expected. Off the field, the Battery Farm project is still a cause for concern with the local council doing a U-turn. You couldn't make this up, what an omnishambles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ H2H v Partick Thistle Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 26 12 7 7 39 33 +6 Away 25 6 7 12 26 40 -14 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 51 18 14 19 65 73 -8 Home team is normally the best indicator in these fixtures. We suffered a couple of heavy away defeats a year or two ago but other than that most of these fixtures have been close affairs and usually favour the home side. Both games this season ended all square, although it's fair to say that Inverness shaded the play but our lack of penetration in the final third is a continuing problem. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick Thistle 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 5 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) 3 - 3 (H) FULL TIME: 0 - 0. Thistle be the day: This will be the day that Duncan Ferguson made his bow to the Caley Jags fans. The weather might have dampened the atmosherics, but inside the stadium it was a warm welcome for Big Dunc. He was without the long term absentees (MacGregor & Nicolson) plus more recent victims in Sean Welsh, Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy. After the first win last week, it was an unchanged starting XI that took to the sodden turf. Partick had our olde foe Brian Graham up front. Enough said. Neither side can complain about a point apiece but Partick will now know that they can not expect to pick up easy points against us. In fact had Gilmour placed his shot within the bounds of the posts then we could have taken all three points. Meh! Another step in the right direction for Inverness who matched high scoring Partick Thistle all over the park. Best for Inverness were the tricky Longstaff, the unflustered Ujdur and the driving force of Gilmour, with Ridgers doing his bit at the end. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Big game on Friday night: Raith v Dundee United 1. Dundee Utd 22 14 6 2 45 11 48 2. Raith Rovers 22 13 5 4 40 31 44 3. Partick Thistle 22 10 7 5 43 34 37 4. Morton 22 9 5 8 32 27 32 5. Airdrieonians 21 8 4 9 20 24 28 6. Queens Park 23 7 5 11 31 41 26 7. Ayr United 23 7 5 11 30 41 26 8. Inverness CT 23 6 6 11 26 28 24 9. Dunfermline 22 6 6 10 24 32 24 10. Arbroath 22 5 3 14 23 45 18 FRIDAY 16TH FEBRUARY Raith Rovers v Dundee Utd SATURDAY 17TH FEBRUARY Airdrieonians v Ayr United Dunfermline v Arbroath Inverness CT v Partick Thistle Queen's Pk v Morton Last Time Out Both sides fell at the 5th round stage of the Scottish Cup. We went down 3-1 to a seasoned Premiership side in Hibs. Defensive blunders, a deflected goal and a bit of extra quality saw Hibs through to face Rangers in the next round. The goal of the game came from Aaron Doran in stoppage time. A mere consolation, but a cracker nonetheless. <<click watch on X to start video>> No disgrace really, but the disappointing aspect of this defeat, as is the case most weeks, is our inability to break down a defence and get a shot on target. However, with Alex Samuel injured, we lost our only form of aggression up front, and with it, any hope of causing an upset. Partick had cheered us all up when they knocked County out of the Cup in the previous round, however, surprisingly they found Livingston to be much more resilient and went down 2-3 after extra time. McInroy and Fitzpatrick had put the Harry Wragg's two ahead on the hour before Livi produced a match winning comeback to win in extra time thanks to Kris Doolan's untimely substitutions. Latest Team News Inverness will be without Luis Longstaff for a couple of months with a knee injury. Alex Samuel missed out last week with a fractured hand and misses out again. Morgan Boyes fell out with a post against Hibs and will be out. The post escaped without injury and will be back in action on Saturday.Danny Devine and Nikola Ujdur have had limited training this week. Here's Bim>>> Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan lamented making the two substitutions in the five minute spell between Partick going 2-0 ahead and Joel Nouble starting the Livi comeback in the 66th minute. My Bad he said Speaking on BBC Sport: "I'm gutted. We put so much into it, but to be 2-0 up and lose is tough. We pushed them the full way. I take responsibility, I made two subs quickly, took off two key players. Maybe they should have stayed on the pitch. "We caused them problems, but we just couldn't deal with their physicality at the end of the game. It's heartbreaking when it comes down the last 20 seconds and you lose a goal, but there are positives to take." Team v Livi in Cup: Sneddon McMillan Williams 71) Muirhead (McKenzie 100) Neilson Milne Bannigan Stanway Lawless (Diack 64) McInroy (Alston 87) Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 87) Graham (Adeloye 64) Subs not used: Mitchell; Stewart; Lyon
  15. Spiders close the gap The January transfer window saw seven new players come to the Caledonian Stadium and around ten players try their hand elsewhere. Big outs were Carson, Welsh and Wotherspoon. Cammy Kerr is a known quantity in and Alex Samuel has already notched four goals in two games. The other newbies are promising prospects and only time will tell if they are ready to sample the Championship. Latest signings 'Bim' Pepple and Sean McAllister were on the home bench. Queens had three changes from last week with Sean Welsh suspended Danny Wilson had not materialised for the visitors but they had former Rothes player Callum Happell on the bench with Crole and Scott. Dom Thomas and Ruari Paton were the ones to watch for the visitors. No goals in a turgid first half but plenty of possession without working the keeper too hard. Dom Thomas opened the scoring just after the interval and that's how it ended. We have signed plenty of players, but we don't have a team yet. The only consolation is we actually went up a place in the table as Morton hammered Dunfermline 5-0 at EEP. However, both Dunfermline and Queens Park have games in hand over us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A brisk and blustery afternoon like something from Winnie the Pooh greeted the players as the game got underway with news from Somerset Park that Ayr United opened the scoring against League leaders Dundee United within two minutes. Not much happening early doors in the Highlands as the teams got to grips with conditions and team mates names. Alex Bannon headed wide after fifteen minutes for the Spiders. Chilokoa-Mullen saw a yellow after twenty minutes and Ridgers was brought into action from Ruari Paton's free kick. Alex Samuel shot wide but it was poor value for money so far and Cammy Kerr also dragged his shot wide five minutes later. The attempts were starting to rack up now and Charlie Gilmour was next to miss the target before Max Anderson saw Ferrie save his effort. Shaw was denied on the break and from the recycled ball Samuel shot wide. Plenty of possession from the hosts but no breakthrough at the interval. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break but we came out quicker and Billy Mckay was denied by Ferrie before Nathan Shaw had an effort blocked. Alas, it was a false dawn as Dom Thomas opened the scoring for the Spiders five minutes after the interval. Alex Samuel will be disappointed not to have levelled the game five minutes later with a close range header but Ferrie saved to keep the visitors ahead. Sean McAllister came on for his debut as he replaced Anderson ten minutes after the interval. Cammy Kerr cut inside from the right and offloaded but Ferrie kept the ball out and Inverness won a corner. Ujdur headed over as the home side looked to get back into the game, and Ridgers was back in action to save from Ruari Paton with fifteen minutes left. In stoppage time and another effort from Gilmour misses the top corner. Harper fired a free kick over at the death and that was it. Over and out! FULL TIME: 0-1 Same sh!t different day - Reaction on CTO: Went to the game with optimistism, Anticipation and confidence... left with a feeling of De ja vu. That was a tough watch, as has been the case so often. I thought we started poorly but then largely dominated the first half but couldn’t score. We were too tippy tappy yet again in the final third when shots were on. We came out strongly in the second half but conceded against the run of play and never looked like getting back in it after then. For comparison Dodds in the Championship averaged 1.5 points per game, Ferguson is on 1.35. I think I would have been better going shopping .........You've taken that too far Highlights??? We lost didn't we>>> Date: 03/02/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1962 Referee: Euan Anderson Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Kerr, Devine, Chilokoa-Mullen (Ujdur 51), Harper, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson (McAllister 56), Savage (Longstaff 74), Samuel, B Mckay (Pepple 75) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Duffy, Boyes, Doran, Brooks Scorers: none Booked: Chilokoa-Mullen (19), Ujdur (88) Sent Off: none Queens Park: 1 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Ferrie; Tizzard, Bannon, Thomson, Robson, Bruce (Carse 60), Turner, McKinstry (Scott 60), McPherson (Longridge 68), Thomas, Paton (Crole 90+6) Subs (not used): Kane; Williamson, Reid, Mauchin, Haspell Scorers: Thomas (50) Booked: Tizzard (53), Scott (71) Sent Off: none a
  16. Six Pointers Already Callum Davidson brings his new charges North for what might be considered a six-pointer already at this stage of the season with both teams desperate for points to clamber away from bottom spot in the table, currently held by Arbroath. January sales have brought new faces in and old faces out. The latest ins being Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel Pepple (easy for you to say) & Sean McAllister and the latest outs being David Carson, Jake Davidson and Robbie Thompson. Queens Park have added Danny Wilson, not the band but the former Liverpool, Hearts and Rangers defender to their squad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Sean McAllister In David Carson Out Aribim Pepple In Jake Davidson Out Shake it all About (Robbie Thompson) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last 7 Competitive Meetings 4 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Over the last couple of seasons Queens Park had the beating of us during the Doddsball era. However, we had a tremendous away win at Hampden Park last time out, our first since Queens Park were promoted into the Championship in season 22/23. FULL TIME: 4 - 1 Happy Days! Our biggest win of the season, first goal for Ujdur with Anderson, Spoony and Mckay all hitting the back of the net. All this with Ferguson sent to the stands at half time. Plenty room for him there in an empty National Stadium. Inverness move up to sixth in the table and we play Morton at Cappielow on Tuesday night where a win would see us jump another place to fifth. (never happened meh!) Indifferent results from Inverness over the last five, but the two wins were well deserved away wins at Somerset Park and Starks park, scoring three goals on each occasion. Alex Samuel was the hero last weekend against Raith Rovers with a first half hat-trick. In between those two wins we snatched defeat from the jaws of a draw at home against Dundee United when a late goal ruined our TV night. We also progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after beating Broomhill 4-0. We now face Hibernian at home in the next round. Eat yer heart out Derek! Inverness CT Last Five Championship Games: D L W L W Callum Davidson is the new manager of Queens Park and in his first game in charge he saw his new side beat Raith Rovers 2-1. On BBC Sport, Davidson said: "Really pleased with the character. They reacted really well, the heads could've gone down. We got back into the game with a fantastic goal by Cammy. Delighted for him. Sean (Welsh) was a real calming influence. It's a great start and it's just three points for us. I'll hopefully try and get a couple more players in." He was undone in his next game as another new manager, Scott Brown saw his Ayr United beat Queens Park 2-1 with Sean Welsh being sent off. The other win over the last five was a 2-1 win over Dunfermline on the 5th of January. Queens Park Last Five Championship Games: L L W W L Latest Team News Inverness made a host of defensive signings in the sales bringing in James Carragher, Callum Kerr, Remi Savage and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen. All four have had some game time since joining but the most effective newbie so far has been the loan signing of striker Alex Samuel from the quaint market town of Dingwall. Big outs were Sean Welsh to Queens Park and David Wotherspoon to Dundee United. Zak Delaney is now on the injured list at Arbroath. Add David Carson to the out list: Sold to Livingston and Robbie Thompson on loan to Spartans. Here's one for you, the longest name ever to sign on at the Caledonian Stadium: I give you Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel "Aribim" Pepple. Quite the transfer window that we have been involved in. That's around 50 players that have been in or around our squad this season. I couldn't even hazard a guess at our team selection for tomorrow, apart from maybe Mark Ridgers will take the gloves. Awaiting team news from Dunc. He's still trying to find out all their names. And here it is>>> In amongst all the waffle, it appears that Carragher, Devine, Duffy, Doran and Longstaff have all been struggling with niggles this week. Queens Park have a new manager and a new goal scoring midfield maestro in Sean Welsh, when he is not injured. However, he is suspended after his red card last week against Ayr United . A couple of loan players in, Mackenzie Carse, midfielder (Celtic) and James Crole, forward (Cardiff City). Callum Haspell has joined from Rothes. A big miss will be Barry Hepburn who has returned to Bayern Munich. Ruari Paton is way out on his own as top scorer with 15 goals. Former Liverpool, Hearts and Rangers defender Danny Wilson is a late transfer signing for QP. Spare keeper Callan McKenna is off to AFC Bournemouth. Team v Ayr United last week Ferrie Bannon Thomson Robson Mauchin (McPherson 83) Welsh Turner (Spong 71) Bruce (McKinstry 72) Longridge (Carse 71) Paton Thomas Subs Not Used: McKenna; Jarrett, Reid, Williamson, Tizzard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget about next week
  17. Hat-Trix Alex With a raft of new defenders coming in to the Inverness squad, it was anyones guess which four defenders Big Dunc would select from the eleven he now has at his disposal. He has an easier choice which new striker will be involved and that will be Alex Samuel. Ian Murray has taken Zak Rudden in on loan from Dundee but has lost Jamie Gullan to Dundalk ahead of this one, he of the powerful shot who likes a goal against Inverness. Sam Stanton was missing for Raith. Three debut's were dished out by Dunc. Cammy Kerr, Remi Savage and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen all started as did Alex Samuel with a few big names on the bench. Ewan Murray was the only change for Rovers with Zak Rudden on the bench. All that defenders and we still lose a headed goal from a corner as Jack Hamilton opened the scoring. Alex Samuel levelled five minutes later on the half hour and another five minutes later he put the visitors ahead. Alex completed his hat-trick in nine minutes to put Inverness in the driving seat at the Interval. Lewis Vaughan pulled one back early in the second half but Inverness held on for all three points. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FULL TIME: 2-3 Normal Service Resumed as Alex bags a hat-trick Man of the match Alex Samuel scored a nine minute hat-trick as normal service was resumed at Stark's Park. Will that be another 23 years before Raith beat us again? Mantis was on hand and gave us this round-up: That was sweet. Never in doubt even after going behind. When I saw the orange strips it took me back to November 2001 when we went behind to a Nacho Novo penalty and won 5-1. Sure the last 20 minutes were nervy but that was all in our heads. A lot of that spell was Rovers knocking it about in their own half looking for a gap. The players looked composed and some of the passing was superb. Hamiltons goal was really sloppy on our part with two newbies in the back three so they will need to work on who is picking up at corners. No failures today and we looked physically strong and made Rovers look a shadow of the side which was flying earlier in the season. The double- barrel Jeremiah looked very impressive apart from his blunder which let Vaughan away to score for 3-2, which made the second half a much less comfortable watch. The other three were solid too. Cammy Kerr, Savage and of course Samuel - Machine #2. What a warrior. On another day Billy might have grabbed a fourth but his touch let him down. A bit risky changing defenders late in the game but hey, it made no difference to the result and we got a chance to see Duffy’s haircut. We have lost 10 games and have probably left too much to do for the playoffs but we should be looking up at Dunfermline, Ayr and Airdrie. At least watching ICT isn’t a chore any longer. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table after today's games. 1. Dundee Utd 21 13 6 2 43 10 45 2. Raith Rovers 22 13 5 4 40 31 44 3. Partick Thistle 22 10 7 5 43 34 37 4. Morton 21 8 5 8 27 27 29 5. Airdrieonians 21 8 4 9 20 24 28 6. Ayr United 22 7 5 10 29 39 26 7. Dunfermline 20 6 6 8 24 24 24 8. Inverness CT 22 6 6 10 26 27 24 9. Queens Park 21 5 5 11 27 41 20 10. Arbroath 22 5 3 14 23 45 18
  18. They used to be sh!te, but now they're alright Inverness face a treacherous trip to the home of the new, improved version of Raith Rovers. This would have been a game where we might have expected to pick up at least a point over the last twenty odd years. However, they are more resillient of late and testament to that is our two meetings this season when late goals saw Rovers snatch all six points from Inverness who deserved more from both games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All the ins and outs Match/Ticket Info Scottish Cup v Hibs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 14 5 3 41 17 +24 Away 18 9 5 4 34 22 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 40 23 10 7 75 39 +36 Raith broke the mold back in September when they won for the first time in 23 years: Record Breakers Never had there been a better time for Raith Rovers to break the Caley Jags hoodoo! Inverness, without a win in their last eight games, and Billy Dodds and the management team under fire. A 23 year run of games without a win for Raith Rovers was brought to an end today when Jamie Gullan smashed home from 15 yards with five minutes left. It was harsh on Inverness who dominated for long spells earlier in the game, but it leaves the management with some tough decisions to make. There will be dancing on the streets of Raith tonight! 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 3 - 2 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) And in December: Just Like Buses None for 23 years then two in a row as Raith came from behind to win with a time added on penalty converted by Jamie Gullan. Billy Mckay had opened the scoring with a header on the hour but a late surge by Rovers won it. Lewis Vaughan four minutes from the end then the penalty to take the win at the death scored by Jamie Gullan. We should have had a penalty of our own after that, but Mr Williams chose to ignore it. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and that one hurt. Championship Points Dundee Utd - 44 Raith Rovers - 44 Partick Thistle -36 Airdrieonians - 27 Morton - 26 Dunfermline - 23 Ayr United - 23 Inverness CT - 21 Queens Park - 20 Arbroath FC - 18 Latest Team News Inverness Last 5 Championship results: D D L W L Big Dunc has been dabbling in the January sales both in and out over the last couple of weeks. Out: Sean Welsh, David Wotherspoon, Cillian Sheridan, Zak Delaney, Harry Hennem (departed), Lewis Hyde, Keith Bray, Ethan Cairns (loaned out) In: Striker Alex Samuel, the rest are all defenders:- James Carracher, Cammy Kerr, Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen, Remi Savage Raith Rovers have suffered three defeats on the trot: Airdrie & Queens Park in the Championship and a 2-1 defeat to Livingston in the Scottish Cup last weekend. Zak Rudden, Shaun Byrne and Kyle Turner are new additions in the January sales. Rudden was the latest signing and he will be available for tomorrow. Jamie Gullan has left Rovers to sign for Dundalk. Last 5 Championship results: D D W L L Team v Livi in the Cup last week Dabrowski Millen Brown Dick Connolly Mullin Byrne (Gullan 83) Turner (Easton 67) Smith Hamilton Vaughan Subs Not Used: Thomson; Masson, Hannah, McGill, Corr, McNeil, Murray
  19. Late winner for United A lot happened ahead of this one. David Wotherspoon will sign for United shortly and didn't feature for either side tonight. New signing, centre back James Carragher started. Released today, Sean Welsh has left Inverness with immediate effect and will be moving to Queens Park having played a total of 143 games, scoring 16 goals. Defender Zak Delaney has also left. Harry Hennem has departed as well. Lewis Hyde has gone to Brora on loan for the rest of the season. United added Alex Greive from St Mirren to their squad this week and he starts tonight. Craig Sibbald is suspended after his 88th minute red card against Morton. Archie Meekison made the bench but Declan Gallagher and Ross Docherty will miss out. Louis Moult who was a doubt missed out altogether. A late Tony Watt tap-in ruined all of Inverness' good work and United take the three points to go back on top of the table overnight at least. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness set the ball rolling kicking towards the South Stand housing the United fans. It was a more than cagey opening fifteen with Inverness in no hurry to leave their own half of the pitch, opting for the sideways movement instead which made for a ponderous start to the game. Midway through the first half and surely one of the most boring games ever televised with Inverness going sideways and United unable to break the hosts down. On cue, twenty-five minutes in, a wee foray forward for Inverness ended with Billy Mckay winning a corner after his effort was deflected wide. A second corner led to the ball being headed clear off the United line by Jordan Tillson when Danny Devine met Cammy Harper's corner, the keeper well beaten. A David Carson ball into the box found Luis Longstaff but he was shut down by the time he got his shot away and the chance was gone. Glen Middleton took a knock as the ball was crossed in but continued after lengthy treatment. Another ball into the box fell to Mckay but the sting was taken out of the strike enough for Walton to gather the blocked shot. Tony Watt was looking for a penalty as he landed on the turf but Alan Muir was not interested and giving a goal kick as the ball bounced over the line. Good Inverness pressure just before the break but it ended all square at the interval with the hosts seeing the better of the possession and United offering nothing so far. HALF TIME: 0-0 Rain met the sides after the break and five minutes in Watt headed over at the far side of the box. A well worked move saw Carson find Max Anderson in the box and his low effort was well saved by Walton, Charlie Gilmour's follow up shot from the recycled ball was sliced well wide. United were showing a bit more intent after the interval although in truth play was still a tad untidy. United had their best opportunity of the game as they worked an opening for substitute Archie Meekison but Ridgers was able to hold his low volley well on the greasy surface. Possession had evened out now with fifteen minutes left. Out of nothing with Inverness failing to retain the ball for any length of time a deflected cross from the left made it's way to Watt for a tap in. Minutes later substitute Cillian Sheridan failed to connect with a Harper cross when he looked favourite to get his head on the ball. Inverness were denied what looked like a penalty as Grimshaw handled in his own box. A late flurry from Inverness came to nothing and it was a disappointing result at the end of the night where United were there for the taking. FULL TIME: 0-1 Inverness manager Duncan Ferguson told BBC Scotland: "I thought the first half we were the better team. "We could have maybe gone one-up. In the second half we didn't do as well, Dundee United pushed the play without really creating anything."I think everybody saw in the stadium the big moment - but the referee never made the decision." Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "I think there will be people writing into the BBC looking for their licence fee back after that performance. "It was a really poor game of football. I am not making excuses but we have a lot of players struggling with knocks. I think we are very lucky to have won the game. "I am not going to stand here and say we deserved it but throughout the course of the league campaign you are going to get games like that. "It was not pretty but sometimes the result is worth more than the performance and I think tonight was one of those. It is a huge three points." On the handball claim at the end, Goodwin added: "We were denied a stonewall penalty last weekend but tonight we probably got away with one." Date: 12/01/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2662 Referee: Alan Muir Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Devine, Carragher (Sheridan 90), Boyes, Longstaff (Doran 93), Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Shaw, B Mckay (Brooks 79) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Davidson, Duffy, Ujdur, Thompson, MacGregor, Scorers: none Booked: Boyes (57) Sent Off: none Dundee United: 1 Manager: Jim Goodwin; Lineup: Walton; Grimshaw, Graham, Holt, McMann, Fotheringham, Greive (Meekison 69), Tillson (Glass 88), Middleton, Watt, Mochrie Subs (not used): Newman; Denham, Freeman, Duffy, MacLeod, Cudjoe, Petrie Scorers: Watt (87) Booked: Tillson (61), Watt (94) Sent Off: none a
  20. Wotherspoon Derby With David Wotherspoon jumping ship for the glamour of a big club prepared to buy themselves out of trouble at all costs, Big Dunc has the TV reality task of stopping Jim Goodwin's almost all conquering Dundee United. They have slipped up a little of late and Morton beat them last weekend, so they are far from invincible, but then again, we are not world beaters yet, despite a convincing Wotherspoonless win at Ayr last Saturday. The game is a 7:45pm kick-off on Friday night at the Caledonian Stadium or a seat in your own house with the BBC Scotland channel turned on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info James Carragher Sean Welsh has left the Building Zak Delaney follows him out the door Harry Hennem's next out the door Lewis Hyde ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Arabs Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 34 10 10 14 35 44 -9 Away 29 7 11 11 37 43 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 63 17 21 25 72 87 -15 United hold the upper hand overall but Inverness competed well in the two games played this season. A 1-0 defeat in the Doddsball era and a 1-1 draw in the last encounter at Tannadice as Big Dunc returned North of the border. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Dundee United 1 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 0 - 3 (H) 1 - 4 (A) 0 - 3 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 0 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 0 - 1 (A) Point on the Road: 1 - 1 Dunc's return to Tannadice would be hindered by some key players missing. Welsh and Longstaff failed to recover but Boyes and Wotherspoon were in the starting XI. Sheridan was on the bench which looked a bit devoid of flair. United had a strong line-up with Ross County loanee Jordan Tillson replacing the injured Docherty. A big crowd of over 7500 were on hand with 270 visiting fans making the journey in eternal hope. Inverness opened the scoring through Shaw, but Holt levelled the game quickly. United had the possession but Big Dunc went back up the A9 with a hard earned point. Tremendous point on the road. It was a backs to the wall performance at times but our defence was up to the task of slowing down the top scorers in the Championship. Mark Ridgers was in superb form with his back five blunting the top scorers. Full marks to Ferguson for adapting the shape with key players missing at a difficult venue. Two brilliant goals and a point on the road at the league leaders den.The Big Dunc revolution gathers pace. Last Time out A Morgan Boyes brace in the second half and a first half gift for Billy Mckay from Ayr keeper Albinston saw Inverness get their first win in six outings at Somerset Park despite the best efforts of the eager Logan Chalmers who notched the Ayr goal and generally tormented us for most of the game. However we challenged well and got our rewards in an entertaining game to run out worthy winners and jump Ayr in the table. Last Five Games: L D D L W A George Oakley hat-trick was enough to beat the Arabs at Tannadice last weekend. 2-0 down, United fought back through Fotheringham and Moult before the break and thought they had done enough to earn a point, but Oakley thought otherwise and cracked a tremendous long range effort in off the post to win it for the visitors with two minutes left. Sandwiched in between the defeats to Raith Rovers and Morton are 3-0 wins over Arbroath and Partick Thistle and a goalless draw against Queens Park Last Five Games: L D W W L We play tonight at the Caledonian Stadium. Been chilly all week but the covers have been down since Monday with the forecast of frost all week. Arbroath v Ayr below us is one to keep an eye on and look out for Queens Park after Callum Davidson has been appointed as manager this week. Morton are the form team just now and will be looking to get into the top four soon. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Raith Rovers 20 13 5 2 37 26 44 2. Dundee Utd 19 12 5 2 42 10 41 3. Partick Thistle 20 10 5 5 41 32 35 4. Airdrieonians 20 8 3 9 19 23 27 5. Morton 19 7 4 8 23 26 25 6. Dunfermline 19 6 5 8 24 24 23 7. Inverness CT 20 5 6 9 23 24 21 8. Ayr United 19 5 4 10 25 38 19 9. Queens Park 19 4 5 10 24 38 17 10. Arbroath 19 5 2 12 23 40 17 Latest Team News Wotherspoon has jumped ship but won't feature for either side on Friday night. James Carragher, a centre back, will be included in our squad? Sean Welsh has left Inverness with immediate effect and will be moving South having played a total of 143 games, scoring 16 goals. Defender Zak Delaney has also left. Harry Hennem has departed as well. Lewis Hyde has gone to Brora on loan for the rest of the season. Not many sound bytes coming out of the Caledonian Stadium this week. Will update when/if we hear any team news. The Arabs have added New Zealand forward Alex Greive from St Mirren to their squad this week. Craig Sibbald will be suspended after his 88th minute red card against Morton. Archie Meekison should make the United squad but Declan Gallagher and Ross Docherty will miss out. Lewis Moult is also a doubt. Dundee United team v Morton Walton Grimshaw Graham Holt McMann Sibbald Tillson (Glass 45) Fotheringham (Cudjoe 86) Watt Middleton Moult (Mochrie 45) Subs Not Used: Newman; Petrie, Denham, Freeman, Duffy, MacLeod
  21. Ayr Raid by the Boyes It's hotting up at the bottom end of the table after Queens Park grabbed their first win in sixteen games to close the gap on Inverness to just one point ahead of the visit to Somerset Park today. Charlie Albinson was back in the gloves and Sean McGinty was back at the heart of the Ayr defence with Anton Dowds, Jamie Murphy and Logan Chalmers the main threats up front. Danny Devine and David Carson were fit enough to start for Inverness but Nikola Ujdur was dropped to a bench which didn't inspire the Caley Jags faithful. A couple of early saves from Ridgers denied Ayr before Billy Mckay benefitted from an error by Albinson to open the scoring after half an hour. After the break a Morgan Boyes double put Inverness in the driving seat but Logan Chalmers reduced the deficit immediately. A couple of late chances at the end but Inverness held on to record their first win in six. Much better all round, so credit for that after a difficult month. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness kicked off in bright sunshine with the far side of the park looking like a building site. Seven minutes in and Logan Chalmers benefitted from an awkward ball that bounced across the face on the eighteen yard line, his curling effort tipped over brilliantly from a back pedaling keeper. A minute later he pulled off another save from distance as Ayr forced the play, Jack Young with a rasping shot well saved by Ridgers. After that early flurry the ball was like a hot potato with neither side able to stamp their authority on proceedings. Out of nothing, Billy Mckay opened the scoring on the half hour after Albiston was caught short with the ball at his feet. Max Anderson rolled the ball to Mckay and he rolled the ball into the net. Ridgers pulled off another important save soon after the opener when Chalmers burst into the box but the keeper got his angles right to deny the eager forward at the expense of a corner. Albinson saved from Nathan Shaw as the game approached the interval but it was Mckay's goal that separated the sides at the break. HALF TIME: 0-1 No changes at the interval. Good pressure around the home box almost resulted in an opening for the visitors. At the other end Ayr put the ball in the net but the flag was up which stopped any celebrations. Ten minutes after the break Morgan Boyes nodded in a beauty from a superb Cammy Harper cross after good away pressure. Boyes added a third with another header with referee Gavin Duncan adjudging the ball was over the line before being cleared but that lead was short lived as Logan Chalmers gave the hosts a lifeline, scoring from a tight angle two minutes later. Ridgers kept that cushion saving from close range as Ayr looked certain to pull another goal back through Anton Dowds. With ten minutes remaining Harper rattled the bar from just inside the box when he should have been hitting the target after we missed a couple of opportunities to finish off the moves. Amartey burst into the box and his shot was tipped onto the bar and over by Ridgers as Ayr pushed forward in time added on but it was Inverness that jumped up to seventh in the table above Ayr United as they held out for all three points. FULL TIME: 1-3 More Match Reaction to follow Great win on the road for Inverness after a poor run of results. Plenty of hard work done to make this possible and Mark Ridgers pulled off two or three excellent saves to keep us in touch at crucial stages. Two goals from Boyes was a bonus and good work going forward by Cammy Harper. All in, a decent performance. Top quote on CTO: So, 2 wins in our last 8 matches, both achieved when our manager was in the stand? Both Managers spoke to BBC Sport Ayr United manager Lee Bullen: "Nine times out of 10, the team that's better in both boxes wins the game of football and that's what happened. It just wasn't our day. It could've been easy just to throw the towel in at 3-0 but they kept going, Logan scores a wonderful goal. We had opportunities to maybe even get something out of the game." Inverness CT manager Duncan Ferguson: "It was a six-pointer. We've managed to jump above Ayr. It's a massive game for us. Moments in the game went for us. We created an awful lot of chances, particularly in the second half. [Mark Ridgers] was fantastic. A really great goalkeeper. Maybe one of the best in the league if not the best in the league." We won didn't we>>> Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table looks healthier after todays games 1. Raith Rovers 20 13 5 2 37 26 44 2. Dundee Utd 19 12 5 2 42 10 41 3. Partick Thistle 20 10 5 5 41 32 35 4. Airdrieonians 20 8 3 9 19 23 27 5. Morton 19 7 4 8 23 26 25 6. Dunfermline 19 6 5 8 24 24 23 7. Inverness CT 20 5 6 9 23 24 21 8. Ayr United 19 5 4 10 25 38 19 9. Queens Park 19 4 5 10 24 38 17 10. Arbroath 19 5 2 12 23 40 17 Date: 06/01/2024 Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr Attendance: 1826 Referee: Gavin Duncan Ayr United: 1 Manager: Lee Bullen Lineup: Albinson; Ahui, McGinty, McAllister, Stanger, Reading, Dempsey, Chalmers, Young, Smith (Bryden 61), Murphy (Amartey 74), Dowds (McKenzie 86) Subs (not used): Mutch; Watret, McAllister, Syla, Rose, Senga, Scorers: Chalmers (65) Booked: Chalmers (54), Young (85) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Carson, Duffy, Devine, Boyes, Welsh (Longstaff 69), Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Shaw, B Mckay (Brooks 82) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Ujdur, Davidson, Thompson, Doran, Sheridan Scorers: Mckay (29), Boyes (55, 63) Booked: Duffy (38), Welsh (50), Carson (80) Sent Off: none a
  22. Stand up and be Counted A visit to Somerset Park is on the cards for the Caley Jags who are winless in their last five games. The new manager bounce has long gone and the honeymoon period is over. We have been dire of late after defeats to Morton, Arbroath and Airdrie with draws against Partick Thistle & Morton. The report card reads 'must try harder'. Unfortunately we are woefully short of the required standard to compete in the Championship. What's next for us? Unless we sign some decent quality soon, it looks like we will be dragged into a relegation battle. If that happens, it could be something that we will not recover from. Dead wood needs to be removed from this club ASAP, and that includes the hierarchy. Time to shape up or ship out! With neither set of fans looking forward to this one, it could be a long day. Here's hoping something happens or the fanbase will shrink instead of growing. As Robbie Williams once said; "let me entertain you".... Please! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Supporters Bus Info Scottish Cup v Broomhill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 11 11 3 42 27 +15 Away 26 12 6 8 47 32 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 51 23 17 11 89 59 +30 We do hold a fair advantage over Ayr United, but most of that came when we had a squad capable of taking on all challengers, not the shambles we have since become. We have now been dragged back into the pack and nothing is guaranteed. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 3 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) Nov 11th 2023 - Inverness ease away from the bottom: 3 - 1 Inverness added Sean Welsh to the ever expanding longer term injury list suffering from a recurring back injury, but Luis Longstaff was fit enough to make the bench. Ayr United had Logan Chalmers, Jamie Murphy and Anton Dowds as a triple threat up front. Despite this, Inverness cruised home without having to get out of second gear. Three goals inside the last ten minutes of the first half ended the game as a contest. Two from David Wotherspoon and a penalty from Billy Mckay. Ayr got a consolation penalty in a poor second half, but it was an important three points for the Caley Jags and Big Dunc. As comfortable as it was it was still a poor second half where we should have gone on to put Ayr to the sword. As it was, the result was huge in the context of our season and we can overlook the turgid performance in the light of three excellent points and a step up the table to eighth place with games in hand over some teams. It looked like we were starting to move in the right direction after we beat Ayr United 3-1 at the Caledonian Stadium back on the 11th November. Those games in hand are now gone and the likelihood that David Wotherspoon will also be gone doesn't fill the fanbase with any confidence as he has been our only bright spark recently. Without Spoony we will be in big big trouble. Last Time Out We slumped badly away to Airdrie on 2nd of January going down 2-0. Second half goals from Todorov and Fordyce sealed our fate in a lacklustre performance that ended with Duncan Ferguson being red carded, again. Seems like he still has his naughty boy streak in him, that's two red cards in a month. Last Five Games: L L D D L Ayr United also slumped at the weekend being turned over 3-0 by a rejuvenated Morton. It was the perfect hat-trick from Robbie Muirhead that did the damage. Both feet and his head netting him 13 goals for the season as Morton hang on to the tails of the top four with Ayr just a point above Inverness. Last Five Games: L W D D L That leaves the table looking like this ahead of games this weekend>>> FRIDAY 5TH JANUARY Queen's Park v Dunfermline SATURDAY 6TH JANUARY Airdrie v Rovers Ayr Utd v Inverness CT Arabs v Morton Partick v Arbroath Latest Team News Inverness will be without David Wotherspoon (hamstring), Danny Devine (not trained), Harry Lodovica and Austin Samuels. We started with a very negative no strikers approach at Airdrie and that never aged well. Let's hope Dunc has something better for the fans this weekend. Maybe ditch no hopers like Sheridan, Brooks, Davidson etc... We have better youngsters of our own who will play for less £££ Ayr United lined up like this against Morton>>> Mutch Ahui McAllister Stanger Reading Senga (Rose 64) Dempsey Chalmers (McGeady 64, Smith 76) Young (Syla 83) Murphy (Amartey 64) Dowds Subs Not Used: Albinson; Ecrepont, McKenzie, Bryden
  23. New Year New Hope We face another tough encounter on Tuesday 2nd January as we visit the Excelsior Stadium to take on fifth place Airdrieonians for the fourth time this season having also faced them in the group stages of the League Cup. This one kicks off at 3:00pm, but, don't worry if you can't make the game, Airdrie have got you covered and are offering PPV Live Stream for £15:00. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/ Bus Info PPV Live Stream Broomhill - Scottish Cup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 9 5 0 4 14 12 +2 Away 7 2 2 3 9 15 -6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 16 7 2 7 23 27 -4 Honours are even over the years with Airdrie apart from that 6-0 humping we took off them in September 2001 Last 3 Competitive Meetings are the only significant ones as previous games were back before 2002 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) Our first win over Airdrie in recent times was the last encounter at the Caledonian Stadium where we took all three points at the end of March. 1 - 0 Duncan ferguson was looking for his first home Championship success as the Diamond's visited the Caledonian Stadium. He would be without some key players. Unfortunately Welsh, Duffy, Doran, MacGregor, Nicolson, and Samuels were all out with Devine, Boyes, Ujdur, Harper and Carson all struggling to make this one. New signings David Wotherspoon and Cillian Sheridan were in the squad. As it was, Carson, Ujdur, Devine, Harper and Wotherspoon all started with Boyes and Sheridan on the bench. Airdrie had Gallagher and Todorov up front with Player Manager Rhys McCabe on from the start. It was a decent afternoon for a game of football and Airdrie took advantage of the good conditions to control the early possession although they never troubled Ridgers, one shot clearing the North Stand into the car park. The next one went five yards over the bar. The best Inverness could offer was a blocked shot on the edge of the box after our best move of the game. We came more into the mix and David Wotherspoon spooned a shot over the bar from five yards after Keeper Josh Rae had saved from Billy Mckay. He really should have scored but he made amends five minutes before the break with a tremendously calm finish. He showed real class unlike the open goal he missed earlier. The move began on the left with Longstaff then when it came to Wotherspoon in midfield he flicked it deftly to the right side where Gilmour fed Shaw. He drove down the wing before cutting the ball back to Spoony who turned in the box to roll the ball into the unguarded corner of the net from twelve yards after making the space for himself. Class! Half Time: 1-0 After the interval Airdrie retained the ball better but we threatened when Gilmour went down after a challenge in the box. Shaw picked up the loose ball but his shot was charged down as he tried to pick out the top corner from the edge of the box. A spate of substitutions disrupted the flow of the game and the visitors made a late push to salvage a point. However, we defended well despite half of our back four being substituted with Ujdur dominant. The big defender made a couple of crucial blocks, one in particular as Frizzell pulled the trigger, the ball deflecting over the bar. Despite the late pressure from Airdrie, Ridgers was not overly exerted although he made a couple of crucial catches and punches clear to hold on to the clean sheet and more importantly all three points. Full Time: 1-0 The fabulous execution of his goal was a great introduction for David Wotherspoon but for me the Man of the Match and new version of Bobby Mann was Nikola Ujdur. The Aussie defender is solid, strolled through the game unflustered and can pick a pass. Good graft in midfield but Sheridan and Big Harry need some work done. Shaw picked up a booking at the end when Big Dunc sent him back onto the pitch to get treatment All games are 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday. Airdrieonians v Inverness CT Arbroath v Dundee Utd Dunfermline v Raith Rovers Morton v Ayr Utd Partick Thistle v Queen's Park Last Time Out Inverness slumped to another disappointing result and performance as we failed to score at home to Morton and had to settle for a point on a turgid encounter last Saturday. Looks like the honeymoon is well and trully over for big Dunc with many fans likening the performance to that of Doddsball, and that didn't end well. Here's hoping the January sales brings in a couple of decent players as we are creaking at the seams and displaying a distinct lack of quality, especially beyond the first XI. With David Wotherspoon looking like he is either injured or offski to Tannadice then we are in desparate need of a playmaker and out and out striker. Last Five Games: W L L D D Airdrie were the only winners last Saturday as a late Todorov strike gave them all three points against a struggling Queens Park. A Dom Thomas penalty had Queens in front before half time but A bullet header from Mason Hancock squared the match before Toddy's 93rd minute winner. Airdrie stopped the rot with that one after a bit of a Championship slump since they beat Arbroath on November 11th. Last five Games: L L L D W Latest Team News Inverness might be without David Wotherspoon and he could well be finished here with Dundee United looking to get him on board. Doran, Samuels, Lodovica and Duffy are out. Carson got a few minutes against Morton but MacGregor is still being nursed back towards getting some game time. Here's Dunc speaking ahead of Airdrie game: We were rubbish, weren't we>>> No official team news available yet Callum Gallagher is the Diamond's top scorer on seven goals with Todorov and Lewis MacGregor both on four. Airdrie are the lowest scorers in the League with just sixteen goals.......and we thought we were poor on twenty. Airdrie team v Queens Park Rae Megwa Fordyce McCabe Hancock Frizzell McMaster Telfer McGregor (McGregor 75) Gallagher (Todorov (45) McStravick (Watson 95) Subs Not Used: Hutton; Cassidy, Gallagher, Rowley, Dunlop, O'Connor
  24. Stalemate in the Highlands Inverness were along familiar lines of late with Welsh, Carson and Macgregor on the bench. Morton were without the suspended George Oakley, with long throw specialist Lewis Strapp in there for a reason other than just defending. Steven Boyd started for Morton. Alas there was no goals to cheer in a dismal affair as the last game of the year ended a point apiece. Have a good & safe New Year ********************** A chilly afternoon up North saw Inverness look for an early breakthrough with Max Anderson and David Wotherspoon having early efforts blocked en route to goal. Wotherspoon had another one blocked from close range twenty minutes in, however clear opportunities were at a premium. Five minutes before the break Charlie Gilmour had a pop from distance but Mullen was able to save comfortably. Disaster for Inverness minutes later as chief playmaker Wotherspoon went off injured to be replaced by Luis Longstaff. A poor first forty-five ended goalless. HALF TIME: 0-0 No changes at the break and five minutes into the second half Nikola Ujdur put Billy Mckay through but his effort from a tight angle enabled Mullen to deny him. Gilmour shot over as the tempo increased and Robbie Muirhead shot just wide at the other end when he might have done better. Substitute Lewis McGrattan won a corner with a blocked shot but it came to nothing as both sides made more changes. Claims for a late penalty went unanswered as Danny Devine went down in the box. David Carson missed a late chance to win it and that was your lot for 2023. FULL TIME: 0-0 Stalemate in the Highlands in a poor game to end the year with David Wotherspoon possibly having made his last appearance for the Caley Jags coming off injured before the break. Meh! A selection of comments on CTO: Shocking performance. Could have played for weeks and not scored, Some players were awful, Shaw needs to be dropped and Gilmore needs shooting practice. The subs that came on showed how poor our squad is. As Ferguson says we're def.in a relegation battle. Dreadful, dreadful stuff. One of the worst football matches I've ever suffered. We are going to be worryingly looking over our shoulder if this is the level of output until May. Scrappy game in which we tried to walk ball into net.We need to take more chances and shoot for goal. I think we needed more balls in from the wings and great to see Carson come on. Good we kept the back door closed, just a pity we were no sharper up front. Neither side shone today and if we don't up the tempo and get sharper at passing the best we can hope for is to stay in this league. Hopefully we will see positive moves in January tansfer market. Just about the worst game I have ever had the misfortune to attend. Embarrassing lack of quality, no excitement whatsoever, freezing cold, no wonder attendances are falling away. We really are a grim watch these days. Mind-numbing stuff! Sideways passing, then backwards, followed by some more sideways passing. Zero entertainment! Was Derek Adams right? We drew didn't we>>> Date: 30/12/2023 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2114 Referee: Colin Steven Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Ridgers; Davidson (Carson 73), Ujdur, Devine, Boyes, Shaw, Gilmour, Anderson, Harper, Wotherspoon (Longstaff 40), B Mckay (Brooks 71) Subs (not used): C Mackay; Delaney, Macgregor, Thompson, Welsh, Sheridan Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: none Morton: 0 Manager: Dougie Imrie Lineup: Mullen; French (O'Connor 74), Broadfoot, Baird, Strapp, Blues (Bearne 84), Power (Gillespie 72), Crawford, Wilson, Boyd (McGrattan 61), Muirhead Subs (not used): MacDonald; O'Boy Scorers: none Booked: Muirhead (55) Sent Off: none a
  25. Last Game of 2023 Last game before the bells brings Morton North for the first time this season. We played them recently at Cappielow and went down to a disappointing 2-1 defeat in a game held over from 21st October. Since then Morton have clambered up to fifth in the table while we have slumped to 8th with back to back defeats and a welcome point at Firhill. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Official Preview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 21 12 5 4 48 20 +28 Away 20 11 3 6 38 26 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 41 23 8 10 86 46 +40 Sloppy Stuff in Greenock: 1 - 2 Wallace Duffy missed out with a calf injury with Jake Davidson getting a rare start and the paternal David Carson was still on maternity leave. Good to see Roddy Macgregor was on the bench following another lengthy layoff through injury alongside Sean Welsh and Nathan Shaw. Morton had three players that were on our books recently. Defender Kirk Broadfoot, wide player Stephen Boyd and striker George Oakley. And it was that man Oakley that gave Morton the lead after errors in defence. Jack Baird smashed in a second ten minutes from time. Adam Brooks added a late consolation, but it was too little too late in Greenock as the revolution ground to a halt. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) Last Time Out We have struggled to make headway recently losing to two of the three sides below us in the league. We steadied the ship somewhat with a good point at Partick in a game Ferguson thought we deserved better from, but we would all have taken a point before hand. Max Anderson's deflected shot found it's way into the net after just 21 seconds, our fastest ever goal but Jack McMillan levelled ten minutes later and that's how it ended at Firhill. Last Five L W L L D Dougie Imrie's side have had a mini revival. Three wins and a draw in the last four since Morton stopped the rot, including the 2-1 win over us in October. and that has seen them jump up to where we were looking to be before we lost to Morton and Arbroath. Last Five L W W W D Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Dundee United v Partick on Friday night 1. Raith Rovers 17 12 4 1 33 22 40 2. Dundee Utd 16 10 5 1 34 7 35 3. Partick Thistle 17 8 5 4 34 27 29 4. Dunfermline 16 6 4 6 20 18 22 5. Morton 16 5 3 8 17 24 18 6. Ayr United 16 5 3 8 22 30 18 7. Airdrieonians 17 5 3 9 14 22 18 8. Inverness CT 17 4 5 8 20 21 17 9. Arbroath 16 5 1 10 21 31 16 10. Queens Park 16 3 5 8 19 32 14 The bottom half of the table is getting very congested and the value of a mini-run has been exemplified with Morton climbing up to fifth in the table, a position we were also looking at before disappointing results against Morton and Arbroath recently. Raith Rovers will head the table going into 2024 and a lot of that is down to their never say die attitude with late goals being a major factor in their climb to the top. The January sales are going to be crucial this season with any team capable of winning on the day. As they always say, there are no easy games in the Championship, and so it proves to be the way... Latest Team News Ferguson has Carson back training but big Harry can be added to the Doran, Samuels and MacGregor list of guys still out. Lewis Strapp is back at Morton, he of the long throw and it was a useful weapon against us last time out. George Oakley is thriving again. Last starting XI v Airdrie Mullen French Baird O'Connor Strapp Gillespie (Power 60) Wilson Blues (Boyd 60) Crawford McGrattan (Bearne 69) Muirhead Subs Not used: MacDonald; O'Boy
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