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  1. Play Off Final 1st Leg It's the second time we have faced St Johnstone in a crucial promotion encounter at the Caledonian Stadium. This game kicks off on Friday night on 20th May at 7:45pm. The last crucial one was back in 2004. It was Saturday 15th of May when Inverness beat St Johnstone 3-1 to top the League on the final day of the season. It took a bit more wrangling to finally clinch promotion after a legal battle, but we got there. We are an appealing side: Inverness have lodged an appeal to overturn the red card awarded to Danny Devine by the incompetent Willie Collum for not fouling Jack Hamilton. Danny was sent off after 66 minutes as he challenged for a high ball with Arbroath's Hamilton. TV evidence showed little happened but it was of course the Wilie Collum show. Red card for Devine. We will know on Wednesday if the appeal has been successful. He also gave Wallace Duffy a second yellow. Unfortunately, due to some archaic rule, that means we can't appeal against that one despite it looking like the second tackle appeared to be a clean one. Cheers Willie. ***Latest News*** Devine Intervention by Willie Collum: We will have to do it without Danny Devine as the equally incompetent SFA have upheld his decision to issue a red card. Absolutely total incompetency shown here by the self preservation society. Helicopter Saturday CTO Report from 15th May 2004 - 3-1: A triumphant end to a fantastic day, season and decade. The sun shone, the ground was packed, there was tension in the air and the First Division trophy was waiting in a helicopter at Braemar. It just remained for the team to make one last major effort and they did just that. Clyde were leading Brechin 1-0 before the Inverness match even started but this changed nothing as it had always been clear that a win was essential. David Bingham headed a Liam Keogh corner past in the second minute then Craig Nelson tipped over a Stuart Golabek shot from 18 yards. A Bobby Mann header from Keogh's corner scraped past the post. In 14 minutes Barry Wilson raced to stop the ball crossing the bye line but Paul Ritchie touched his cross past. The home pressure finally paid off on the half-hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Stuart McCaffrey's free kick reached David Bingham and his overhead kick fooled Nelson; the keeper backtracked but could only help the ball into the net. This was what most of the crowd wanted and they went wild. It was back to earth just before half-time when Keigan Parker raced through and hammered an equaliser past Mark Brown from long range. Seconds later Wilson scored with a low shot but the offside flag was up. Steve Hislop came on for Keogh in the second half. Saints began to play some good football, particularly through Parker and Simon Donnelly, but ICT always looked more like scoring. In 56 minutes Bingham's through ball set Wilson heading for goal and, as he waited for the moment to shoot, Nelson brought him down. The penalty was a certainty and the pressure was all on Barry Wilson. A trademark short run and it was 2-1. A male streaker joined in the celebrations and was promptly evicted. As the excitement reached fever pitch all that was needed was a third goal to calm the nerves. Roy McBain tried to provide it in 64 minutes with a neat lob over Nelson but it cleared the bar. Bingham headed a Wilson corner goalwards in 71 minutes but Mark Reilly hit it off the line then Stuart McCaffrey headed wide. A third goal came in 76 minutes and fittingly it was from Paul Ritchie who was playing his last game for the club. Wilson took a corner from the left and Ritchie stooped low to head home his 63rd goal in three years. The title was a certainty and the final period was all about waiting for the whistle. Wilson shot wide in 86 minutes then the ball spent vital minutes deep in the Saints half and around the corner flag. The final whistle went, the crowd invaded the pitch, the cup arrived by helicopter, Bobby Mann stepped up to receive the trophy from Lord Macfarlane and the whole of Inverness went ballistic. Now for the SPL........maybe. (Crowd: 6092) Venue H2H (all comps) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 21 15 +6 Away 16 3 4 9 10 20 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 13 7 14 31 35 -4 As the stats show, the home sides have had the better of these encounters over the years. However, it's over five years since we last played the Perth side and on that occasion we lost 3-0 at home as relegation loomed large. CTO SUMMARY APRIL 8TH 2017: On the brink: Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 0 - 3 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Here's how we got here Latest Team News Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor are all out through injury, although rumours of a face mask for Roddy are circulating. If he get's one, let's make it a Lionel Messi mask. Time will tell. Wallace Duffy misses this one after his two yellow cards. Danny Devine ????? Wait for the Wednesday reveal or There will be a lot of tired bodies both physically and mentally after that emotionally draining shoot-out win at Gayfield. Our bench was thin prior to that game, it will have less bums on it now. Duffy will miss this game but might return for the second leg at Perth if its only a one match suspension. Scott Allardice has been on the bench in the previous play-off games, however after his long lay off, i wonder if we are still protecting him, or best scenario, keeping him fresh for these final two games. What a bonus that would be. To be honest, should we be competitive after all this, it really would be a Roy of the Rovers finale to a rollercoaster of a season. St Johnstone limbered up for this game by resting more than half of their regulars in an abject 4-0 defeat at Easter Road. I wouldn't read too much into that result as they were obviously preparing themselves for the play-off finals which are infinitely more important than a dead end of season game against Hibs that would have gained them nothing. So, no fresh injury worries for Callum Davidson to worry about, and know doubt a full bench to fall back on. We will be able to renew acquaintances with a couple of former players in defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney who had cult status at the Caledonian Stadium with his marauding Ross Tokely style runs down the right flank. In Zander Clark they have an imposing presence and top quality keeper. Scoring goals has been their downfall this season, but let's not forget they have been playing in a League a notch or two above where we are at just now. They also have the experienced Nadir Ciftci in the squad who has a trick or two up his sleeve. Michael O'Halloran and Liam Craig will also add more experience and quality to the side, so plenty of options for the Super J's. Having watched our performances in the Play-Off semi's, I doubt Callum Davidson will have lost much sleep. However, we are at our best when the odds are stacked against us. View full article
  2. What a turnaround An understrength Inverness struggled badly for an hour against a solid St Johnstone who took a two goal lead into the interval. Shaun Rooney and Melker Hallberg put the Saints in the driving seat. However, step forward Reece McAlear and take a massive bow. A thumping strike off the underside of the bar and an exquisite curling free kick levelled matters and gives us something to play for in the return leg at Perth, where we should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy back after suspension. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After seeing off Partick Thistle and Arbroath, The Caley Jags faced St Johnstone in the first leg of the Premiership play-off final at the Caledonian Stadium. Unfortunately the final has already been influenced by other factors. Injuries to Tom Walsh, Shane Sutherland and Roddy MacGregor have been added to by the incompetence of referee Willie Collum at Gayfield where he wrongly sent off Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy. What that means is that Inverness will be short on players in an already wafer thin squad. Youngsters Mathew Strachan and Calum Mackay made up a six man bench. Tony Gallacher Chris Kane, David Wotherspoon and Craig Bryson are all long term injuries for St Johnstone who rested six players for their final league game, a 4-0 loss to Hibs. Rain an hour before kick off dampened the atmosphere at the Caledonian Stadium and made for great conditions on a good pitch with Inverness getting the game underway. A breathtaking save from Mark Ridgers denied Glen Middleton as he unleashed a ferocious shot after cutting across the outside of the box in the fifth minute. Ridgers diving high to his right to pull off a fantastic one handed save. As expected, the visitors playing in red and white striped shirts, were making most of the early play and Ridgers was brought into action again to save a low shot from Shaun Rooney after fifteen minutes with a more routine save. St Johnstone opened the scoring after eighteen minutes when Rooney powered in a header after an inviting cross into the box, probably from the area where Danny Devine would normally have been. After a scramble in the home box when Ridgers pushed away a shot from Callum Hendry the ball was eventually forced over the line by Hallberg to double Saints lead. Inverness were finding it difficult to make any headway against a robust looking premiership side and all the half chances were falling to the visitors. When one did come our way Sean Welsh snatched at it and volleyed high and wide. Ten minutes later makeshift central defender Welsh took a knock but continued after treatment with five minutes to go before the interval. Plenty to do for Inverness in the second half with St Johnstone cruising. HALF TIME: 0-2 Dodds replaced Doran and Hardy with Chalmers and Samuels. Early second half pressure saw another scramble in the home box however this time we managed to keep the ball out. St Johnstone were all over us like a rash. If that was not bad enough we made a number of basic errors that led to more opportunities for the Perth side. Scott Allardice replaced Lewis Hyde as we looked to get back into the game, but it was a long shot with the midfielder just back after serious injury. Just after the hour, Middleton went close with a low shot that Ridgers looked to get a fingertip to, however a goal kick was the result. Best effort for Inverness was a run down the left by Billy Mckay where his cross was cleared for a corner. From the corner Welsh volleyed high over again. Chalmers was showing some great touches and turns and he also knocked a dangerous ball into the box but there were no takers. Out of the blue Samuels went down the right and cut the ball back to the edge of the box where Reece McAlear smashed a superb shot into the roof of the net via the underside of the bar from fifteen yards. Game on! Ten minutes before the end McAlear won a free kick about twenty five yards out. He picked himself up and curled a beauty into the top right corner of Zander Clarks goal. What a strike from a man who doesn't do tap ins against a 6ft 5" keeper. Another great burst forward by Samuels almost resulted in a third for Inverness but Mckay was blocked out for a corner at the front post. FULL TIME: 2-2 What a turnaround from Inverness after a torrid first hour. The second half substitutions were crucial to the outcome of this one and has reignited the Premiership flames for the Caley Jags. MotM was Reece McAlear with two absolute belters. On to McDiarmid Park on Monday night and the tie is still very much alive. From BBC Sport Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Billy Dodds: "I had to change it at half-time, I had to do something. Luckily it worked but it wasn't just the changes, it was because of the desire of my players. "We really played well second half, once we got our goal. The subs were good. Two great goals from Reece McAlear. "We just want to go to McDiarmid with a fighting chance and put some pressure on because pressure tells in football. We've still got a big ask, we have to play better from the start than tonight but I think they realise they're good enough now." St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "It's a poor refereeing decision for their first goal. It's two yards offside and it was a head knock. Two really poor decisions let them back in the game. They got a little bit of momentum. "For the first 60 minutes, we were outstanding. It's probably a little bit disappointing we didn't score more goals. It goes back to McDiarmid and it's up to us to win the game. "We need to go and perform like that on Monday. If we do, we'll be confident we can win the game. It's one game so let's go." More match reaction Date: 20/05/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 4811 Referee: Bobby Madden Inverness CT: 2 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: Ridgers, Carson, Broadfoot, Deas, Harper, Doran (Chalmers 45), Welsh, Hyde (Allardice 56), McAlear, Hardy (Samuels 45), B Mckay Subs (not used): C Mackay; Strachan, Calum Mackay Scorers: MacAlear (73, 80) Booked: none Sent Off: none St Johnstone: 2 Manager: Callum Davidson Lineup: Clark; Rooney, Cleary, Gordon, McCart, Brown, Hendry, Middleton (May 69), MacPherson, Davidson, Hallberg (Butterfield 69) Subs (not used): Parish; Mahon, Sang, Gilmour, Craig, Ciftci, O'Halloran Scorers: Rooney (18), Hallberg (24) Booked: Middleton (52) Sent Off: none a
  3. One Game Shootout Well well, after the drama of Friday night, it all comes down to this game in a winner takes all final. It's another blank canvas after a 2-2 draw at the Caledonian Stadium for the final game at McDiarmid Park Perth on Monday night at 7:45pm. We can thank Reece McAlear for that after his two stunning second half goals cancelled out two first half goals for the Perth side. We should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy free from suspension after the Willie Collum debacle. (I notice he was also rubbish in the Showpiece Scottish Cup Final as well. Seriously useless. Maybe VAR will make our refs pull their socks up). Unfortunately, Nick Walsh is allegedly the man in the middle on Monday. That also gives me the fear more than St Johnstone. Buses for play off final 23rd leave stadium at 4pm. Book through Facebook or on 07462218717 Here's our summary from CTO: An understrength Inverness struggled badly for an hour against a solid St Johnstone who took a two goal lead into the interval. Shaun Rooney and Melker Hallberg put the Saints in the driving seat. However, step forward Reece McAlear and take a massive bow. A thumping strike off the underside of the bar and an exquisite curling free kick levelled matters and gives us something to play for in the return leg at Perth, where we should have Danny Devine and Wallace Duffy back after suspension. It was great to see Scott Allardice back on the park on Friday. Along with the tricky Logan Chalmers and the rapid Austin Samuels he helped to get us back on track in the second half after a torrid first forty five where our tactics were a bit pear shaped as Dodds tried to match Saints 3-5-2 formation. Fortunately Billy realised by the interval that we needed to go back to a more standard 4-4-2. After an hour the momentum swung in our direction and up stepped Reece McAlear to thunderblast us on our way to Perth still in the tie. Who to look out for Glen Middleton caught the eye on Friday with his pace, willing running and workrate. Shaun Rooney is as powerful as ever as he bounced a few bodies off him. Melker Hallberg showed quick feet when scoring. In fact with St Johnstone seasoned campaigners in the top division, thirteen seasons now, that gap in stature was massive until we got to grips with the game. Once the belief was there, we turned the tide. All hands to the pumps on Monday, good luck guys.
  4. Play Off Final 1st Leg It's the second time we have faced St Johnstone in a crucial promotion encounter at the Caledonian Stadium. This game kicks off on Friday night on 20th May at 7:45pm. The last crucial one was back in 2004. It was Saturday 15th of May when Inverness beat St Johnstone 3-1 to top the League on the final day of the season. It took a bit more wrangling to finally clinch promotion after a legal battle, but we got there. Devine Intervention by Willie Collum: We will have to do it without Danny Devine as the equally incompetent SFA have upheld his decision to issue a red card. Absolutely total incompetency shown here by the self preservation society. Buses for play off final 23rd leave stadium at 4pm . Book through Facebook or on 07462218717 Buses are filling up fast MERRY XMAS DICK FROM THE WYNESS SHUFFLE We are an appealing side: Inverness have lodged an appeal to overturn the red card awarded to Danny Devine by the incompetent Willie Collum for not fouling Jack Hamilton. Danny was sent off after 66 minutes as he challenged for a high ball with Arbroath's Hamilton. TV evidence showed little happened but it was of course the Wilie Collum show. Red card for Devine. We will know on Wednesday if the appeal has been successful. He also gave Wallace Duffy a second yellow. Unfortunately, due to some archaic rule, that means we can't appeal against that one despite it looking like the second tackle appeared to be a clean one. Cheers Willie. Helicopter Saturday CTO Report from 15th May 2004 - 3-1: A triumphant end to a fantastic day, season and decade. The sun shone, the ground was packed, there was tension in the air and the First Division trophy was waiting in a helicopter at Braemar. It just remained for the team to make one last major effort and they did just that. Clyde were leading Brechin 1-0 before the Inverness match even started but this changed nothing as it had always been clear that a win was essential. David Bingham headed a Liam Keogh corner past in the second minute then Craig Nelson tipped over a Stuart Golabek shot from 18 yards. A Bobby Mann header from Keogh's corner scraped past the post. In 14 minutes Barry Wilson raced to stop the ball crossing the bye line but Paul Ritchie touched his cross past. The home pressure finally paid off on the half-hour mark in bizarre circumstances. Stuart McCaffrey's free kick reached David Bingham and his overhead kick fooled Nelson; the keeper backtracked but could only help the ball into the net. This was what most of the crowd wanted and they went wild. It was back to earth just before half-time when Keigan Parker raced through and hammered an equaliser past Mark Brown from long range. Seconds later Wilson scored with a low shot but the offside flag was up. Steve Hislop came on for Keogh in the second half. Saints began to play some good football, particularly through Parker and Simon Donnelly, but ICT always looked more like scoring. In 56 minutes Bingham's through ball set Wilson heading for goal and, as he waited for the moment to shoot, Nelson brought him down. The penalty was a certainty and the pressure was all on Barry Wilson. A trademark short run and it was 2-1. A male streaker joined in the celebrations and was promptly evicted. As the excitement reached fever pitch all that was needed was a third goal to calm the nerves. Roy McBain tried to provide it in 64 minutes with a neat lob over Nelson but it cleared the bar. Bingham headed a Wilson corner goalwards in 71 minutes but Mark Reilly hit it off the line then Stuart McCaffrey headed wide. A third goal came in 76 minutes and fittingly it was from Paul Ritchie who was playing his last game for the club. Wilson took a corner from the left and Ritchie stooped low to head home his 63rd goal in three years. The title was a certainty and the final period was all about waiting for the whistle. Wilson shot wide in 86 minutes then the ball spent vital minutes deep in the Saints half and around the corner flag. The final whistle went, the crowd invaded the pitch, the cup arrived by helicopter, Bobby Mann stepped up to receive the trophy from Lord Macfarlane and the whole of Inverness went ballistic. Now for the SPL........maybe. (Crowd: 6092) Venue H2H (all comps) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 18 10 3 5 21 15 +6 Away 16 3 4 9 10 20 -10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 34 13 7 14 31 35 -4 As the stats show, the home sides have had the better of these encounters over the years. However, it's over five years since we last played the Perth side and on that occasion we lost 3-0 at home as relegation loomed large. CTO SUMMARY APRIL 8TH 2017: On the brink: Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 0 - 3 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Here's how we got here..... The Caley Jags way Latest Team News Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Roddy MacGregor are all out through injury, Although rumours of a face mask for Roddy are circulating. If he gets a mask, let's make it a Lionel Messi one. Time will tell. Wallace Duffy misses this one after his two yellow cards. Danny Devine ????? Wait for the Wednesday reveal or ***Unfortunately, it's a complete whitewash*** There will be a lot of tired bodies both physically and mentally after that emotionally draining shoot-out win at Gayfield. Our bench was thin prior to that game, it will have less bums on it now. Duffy will miss this game but might return for the second leg at Perth if its only a one match suspension. Scott Allardice has been on the bench in the previous play-off games, however after his long lay off, i wonder if we are still protecting him, or best scenario, keeping him fresh for these final two games. What a bonus that would be. To be honest, should we be competitive after all this, it really would be a Roy of the Rovers finale to a rollercoaster of a season. St Johnstone limbered up for this game by resting more than half of their regulars in an abject 4-0 defeat at Easter Road having fielded four seventeen year old debutants. I wouldn't read too much into that result as they were obviously preparing themselves for the play-off finals which are infinitely more important than a dead end of season game against Hibs that would have gained them nothing. So, no fresh injury worries for Callum Davidson to worry about, and know doubt a full bench to fall back on when the push comes to the shove. We will be able to renew acquaintances with a couple of former players in defenders Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney who had cult status at the Caledonian Stadium with his marauding Ross Tokely style runs down the right flank. In Zander Clark they have an imposing presence and top quality keeper. Scoring goals has been their downfall this season, but let's not forget they have been playing in a League a notch or two above where we are at just now. They also have the experienced Nadir Ciftci in the squad who has a trick or two up his sleeve. Michael O'Halloran and Liam Craig will also add more experience and quality to the side, so plenty of options for the Super J's. Having watched our performances in the Play-Off semi's, I doubt Callum Davidson will have lost much sleep. However, we are at our best when the odds are stacked against us. 3 days to go until our Premiership Play-Off Final 1st Leg v St Johnstone We strongly recommend getting your tickets in advance for this game as it will be a busy fixture. Tickets on sale now from ICT FC Club Shop open until 4pm today Tickets available over the phone on 01463 222880 AWAY TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE St Johnstone v ICT FC cinch Premiership Play-Off Final 2nd Leg Monday 23rd May 2022 19:45pm kick-off McDiarmid Park AWAY FANS TICKETS FULL INFO ON ICTFC
  5. Caley Jags at home in Dingwall Another unusual 'home' match for Caley Thistle and the first playing appearance of the manager. With the Caledonian Stadium being upgraded to SPL requirements the tie was moved to Dingwall. Gales and heavy rain around the country caused many matches to be postponed but the pitch dried out just enough to allow play to go ahead. Victory came via the head of captain Stuart Golabek when a draw looked a strong possibility. The pressure on the Perth Saints started in the fourth minute when a Barry Wilson low 20 yard shot was blocked. Wilson's free kick two minutes later rebounded off the wall and Liam Keogh hit over the bar. In a good Saints spell after 15 minutes Peter MacDonald shot wide then a good Paul Sheerin run was halted by Russell Duncan. The visitors had their best chance of the match after 25 minutes when a curling Sheerin ball from the right fell for Ian Maxwell but his low shot went just wide. Right on the whistle a Duncan drive was deflected onto the Saints post. Half Time: 0-0 Caley Thistle took control in the second half and a spirited Ross Tokely run in 58 minutes nearly came off after he ran from his own half, beat two defenders close to goal then his low shot was held by Cuthbert. A goal looked a racing certainty in 66 minutes when Wilson's pressure forced Cuthbert into an error and the ball broke free. Wilson passed to Brewster 15 yards out but his roll towards the empty goal slid past. The crowd were on their feet but it took another eight minutes before they had something to really shout about. Tokely crossed from the right, the ball flew over Brewster and Golabek was at the back post to head home. A slick move in 83 minutes set up Wilson but he hit high. A minute later Duncan played a 1-2 with substitute Graham Bayne, and Cuthbert did very well to stop Duncan's net-bound shot. A minute into added time a Wilson long-shot was pushed out by Cuthbert to Richie Hart but his angled shot came off the bar. Full Time: 1-0 Not the best performance of the season but a welcome win in difficult conditions. Now it is back along the A96 to the familiar surroundings of Pittodrie for the fourth round. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inverness CT: 1 (Golabek 74) Team: Brown; Tokely, Dods, Munro, Golabek, Wilson, Duncan, Keogh, McBain (Hart 73), Prunty (Juanjo 65), Brewster (Bayne 78) Subs not used: Fraser; Proctor. - Booked: Tokely (60) St Johnstone: 0 Team: Cuthbert; Baxter, Fotheringham (Forsyth 83), Hannah, Webb, Maxwell, McCann (McAnespie 78), Rutkiewicz (Hay 78), MacDonald, Moore, Sheerin Subs not used: Samson; Forsyth. - Booked: Maxwell Attendance: 2021 - Referee: Dougie McDonald
  6. Graham Cummins spoiled the party for Inverness right at the end after a 9th minute Ryan Christie goal had looked like securing all three points for Caley Thistle. We hope to have a full match report up later. From BBC Sport: Substitute Graham Cummins salvaged a point for St Johnstone with a last-minute goal against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ryan Christie's drilled shot gave the visitors an early lead. Christie came close to adding to Caley Thistle's advantage and Michael O'Halloran had an effort saved for Saints. And, with time running out, Cummins headed in Joe Shaughnessy's delivery to restore parity. A draw gives both sides a first Scottish Premiership point this season. But for Inverness the result may well feel like two points dropped having dominated for much of the match and led for so long. They took the initiative when a mix-up at the back for St Johnstone was picked up by Dani Lopez, who played in Christie. The attacking midfielder cut into the box on the left-hand side and, from 15 yards, fired across goalkeeper Alan Mannus into the net. Christie continued to be the danger man for Inverness and almost doubled their lead. He made a surging run from the right only for the Saints defence to block midway inside the penalty box. O'Halloran found space with some intelligent play and forced a decent save from Owain Fon Williams. Inverness threatened again on the stoke of half-time, Andrea Mutombo flashing across the face of goal with no takers. The visitors started the second half as brightly as the first and had a great chance following a corner from Ross Draper. The ball was headed down by Danny Devine and a scramble ensued before the ball was eventually cleared by the hosts. Christie came close again when he spotted Mannus off his line and tried a shot but the keeper made an excellent one-handed save. Cummins replaced Simon Lappin and his contribution proved crucial for St Johnstone as he connected with Shaughnessy's cross from the right to level the match. Date: 08/08/15 Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth Attendance: 2959 Referee: Willie Collum St Johnstone: 1 Lineup: Mannus, Shaughnessy, Scobbie, Wright, Easton, Wotherspoon, Davidson, Lappin (Cummins 61), Craig, Sutton (MacLean 60), O'Halloran Subs (not used): Clark, McKay, Caddis, Brown, Kane Scorers: Cummins (90) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams, Raven, Draper, Devine, Williams, Horner, Polworth, Christie, Tansey, Mbuyi-Mutombo, Lopez (Sutherland 83) Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Ferguson, Brown Scorers: Christie (9) Booked: Christie (93) Sent Off: none
  7. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone PREVIEW 8th April 2017 @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) ONE Football - APP also available for iPhone/Android/Windows phones Sporting Life BBC VIDEO CaleyJagsTV (LIVE for overseas viewers, On Demand for Worldwide Users after UK holdback period) : payment required. SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  8. On the brink Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Goals from Steve Maclean, and a late Liam Craig penalty were rubber stamped by a Graham Cummins strike to complete a miserable afternoon for the Caley Jags and their supporters who chose to vent their frustration towards the bench and the unseen board who had backed the untried Richie Foran, who is probably the scapegoat in this whole sorry saga. The only saving grace after today's tripe was that only County and Accies benefited by a single point. The rest, like us, losing. We only had around 2500 home fans at this game, what incentive is that for the players to bust a gut, then again, what encouragement are the fans getting after a display like that, it's a catch 22 situation. Richie Foran speaking to BBC said "The main person who is not good enough is me. I am obviously not doing my job right and big apologies to the supporters. I believe we let them down today. "It is not good enough. I pick the team, I pick the shape, I will take 90% of the blame for that but the players need to stand up as well." Just today I hear you all shout........ In a game that was crucial to our Premiership survival barely 2500 Home fans bothered to turn up to witness another grim performance, and another nail in the Caley Jags coffin. Considering what was at stake for Inverness, we showed little urgency in the opening exchanges. We lined up with three at the back and Tremarco and McNaughton slightly ahead although it was basically a back five as St Johnstone pressed us high up the park. Mulraney made the bench but remained on it for the whole game. We started with no width and little expectation, sadly that's how at panned out. Neither side were able to carve out a clear opportunity although we had three snippets that we passed on, Billy Mckay, Alex Fisher and Carl Tremarco unable to make the keeper work as they knocked the ball wide or sclaffed their attempts. Greg Tansey showed plenty commitment and a long range effort was dealt with by Alan Mannus in the visitors goal. St Johnstone offered little to trouble Fon Williams, but when they did, he gifted them an opportunity, one they accepted gleefully as MacLean tapped in almost on the line. The keeper had dived low to cut out a cross, all he succeeded in doing was knocking the ball into the path of two Saints players who contrived to knock the ball behind him from close range. Five minutes before the break and the chilling stench of relegation was overpowering. Half Time 0-1 Undeterred we plodded on in the second period and caused the visiting defence plenty of problems, however, for all our domination until Larnell Cole was red carded in the 80th minute, we failed to make Alan Mannus work, electing to miss the target or see shots blocked by a hard working St Johnstone defence. Even the talismanic Billy Mckay failed to get shots away and found defenders protecting Mannus able to block his efforts. When we did make a breakthrough, Cole could only shoot straight at Mannus who gathered easily. We were pressing at this point without a cutting edge but the game dynamics changed drastically after 80 minutes when Cole was sent off. He appeared to have skipped past a couple of players before being brought down clumsily. However, the incompetent referee, and I use that term loosely, Stephen Finnie saw otherwise and when Cole confronted him all he got for his troubles was a yellow card. The angry Cole never gave up though and Finnie swiftly followed the first yellow with a second followed by a change of colour to red. That started the capitulation and two minutes before the end Tremarco gave away a penalty as St Johnstone broke forward. Cue mass exodus. Game and season over as Liam Craig sent Fon Williams the wrong way again. The icing went on the Perth cake in injury time when Graham Cummins wrapped up the points with Inverness, by now, in total disarray. Full Time 0-3 This was another must win game that brought us zero points and abject failure and misery. The Cole sending off was farcical, but there can be no excuse for Garry Warren getting red carded in the tunnel after the game. He obviously had something to say to the official and saw the same colour as Cole. Well done Gary, you are now out at a critical time when we are trying to avoid relegation. Not a great advert for the captain of our team and certainly not leading by example. In truth, our performance was that of a team in absolute chaos, nobody taking responsibility, nobody able to create the spark needed to ignite the fuse, nobody with the balls to try something different and the harsh reality is that we deserve to be where we are based on too many similar performances over the season. Richie's appointment not looking like the best idea right now and the players look resigned to going down. Shame on the lot of you. We needed other games to go for us and they mostly did. Only County and Accies moved further away from us and only by one point, so the position remains crystal clear at the bottom of the table. I'm afraid the only way out of this is to start winning games, anything other than a win next week at Motherwell and it's Championship for us, unless you believe in miracles. tm4tj MotM:- It doesn't matter anymore. We were well served by the departing Tansey, McCart and McNaughton who must be needing to build on his stamina after his lengthy lay off. Billy continues to work away but you can see his frustration after another fruitless day at the office. Too many passengers in a side that look as if they are already doomed. Apologies if this sounds like a broken record, but I'm afraid the record is well and truly broken. Footage from SPFL website of our humiliation Date: 08/04/17 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2961 Referee: Stephen Finnie Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, McNaughton (King 57), Warren, Draper (Polworth 57), McCart (Boden 82), W.Mckay, Tansey, Fisher, Laing, Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Mulraney, Brad McKay, Anier Scorers: none Booked: Cole (81) Sent Off: Cole (82), Warren (in tunnel after game) St Johnstone: 3 Lineup: Mannus, Scobbie, Alston (Thomson 82), MacLean (Millar 79), Shaughnessy, Smith, Coulson (Wotherspoon 70), Paton, Easton, Craig, Cummins Subs (not used): Clark, Anderson, Hurst, Hunter Scorers: MacLean (40), Craig (pen.88), Cummins (91) Booked: Alston (65) Sent Off: none a
  9. Relegation battle begins in earnest. St Johnstone bring their own Marquess of Queensberry brand of football to the Highlands when they visit the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the games start to run out for the Caley Jags in our quest to avoid relegation. Here's a wee tune to welcome the Boxers We were at Pittodrie in midweek and came away empty handed after a Garry Warren own goal gave Aberdeen all three points. The Dons had previously hammered Dundee but found Inverness a tougher nut to crack. We had our own moments during the game but the Dons looked menacing when they broke forward at pace. Despite our massive effort, we fell short of scoring a vital goal and that result ensures we remain bottom of the League for now. St Johnstone were at home to Hearts on Wednesday night and won 1-0 courtesy of a Joe Shaughnessy header. That keeps them firmly in 4th place. However, it was their previous game against Hamilton that ended in farce after a boxing bout broke out between two of their own players, Danny Swanson and Richard Foster. The joke was on us though as Hamilton Accies took advantage of nine man Perth and took all three points. Not much going our way just now, what with late goals, own goals, penalties and expected wins for other teams failing to materialise. Sometimes it's just not your season. This appears to be sometimes. One win in twenty League games is relegation form I'm afraid, and with only seven games remaining, it's difficult to see how and when we can rectify that. The odds are stacking against us. We have had too many draws of late that were not converted into wins and that is killing us. Other teams have lost more games than us over the last ten, Motherwell have conceded the most goals and have the worst goal difference, yet it's Inverness that are in danger of being cut adrift. Meh! One of our four wins this season was the first fixture between the clubs in August, 2-1 in the Highlands. Ross Draper opened the scoring but Richard Foster leveled the game. It took a very late Josh Meekings prod to win the game at the death. The return encounter at Perth saw St Johnstone cruise home untroubled, winning 3-0. Liam Craig, Murray Davidson and Danny Swanson scored for Saints and Garry Warren got himself red carded after an hour. Richie Foran will not have Josh Meekings, Aaron Doran or Iain Vigurs available. Carl Tremarco came through his comeback at Pittodrie unscathed, as did Kevin McNaughton. Jake Mulraney missed out at Pittodrie and his pace on the wing was missed, and he might be missing this one as well. David Raven is rumoured to be struggling to make this one with a groin injury. Tommy Wright will have to do without his cage fighters Danny Swanson and Richard Foster. I don't believe they will be exchanging Xmas cards this year. Keith Watson, Ally Gilchrist and Chris Kane will also sit this one out. However, Steven Anderson and Murray Davidson could be fit enough to be included in the Perth squad. tm4tj prediction:- Well, judging purely on statistics we will have little chance of getting something from this. However, with the two scrappers out suspended then that throws us a lifeline as well. Swanson has been a success this season with a dozen goals and they will miss his contribution. We need to turn defeats into draws and draws into wins. Our commitment has been good recently but we lack the quality and direction needed to see us through the final phase of the campaign. We can do this, it won't be pretty, but pretty never won anything, so let's get the job done, starting at home this weekend. Narrow and ugly home win. With Motherwell and Accies drawing and County beating Dundee in midweek with a last minute penalty, that keeps four other teams within six points of Inverness. So, it's up to us now. A win this weekend would be massive and set us up for a six-pointer showdown with Motherwell the week after, the last game before the League split. Remember 15 points up for grabs in the bottom-six games, still a chance to squirm out if the shit yet. Other games concerning teams at the wrong end of the table:- Celtic v Kilmarnock Hamilton v Ross County Hearts v Dundee Partick v Motherwell
  10. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 3rd December @ 3PM, McDiarmid Park, Perth Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  11. Rock Bottom Inverness have sunk as low as they can for now as St Johnstone inflicted more misery than you could shake a stick at. A 3-0 defeat at Perth has us at rock bottom in more ways than one. The 3-0 defeat was misery enough, but Gary Warren saw fit to get himself sent off moments after being booked. We are not helping ourselves here with additional suspensions on top of injuries to crucial players. Liam Craig opened the scoring in the first quarter and Murray Davidson added a second around the hour as Warren left the field. The rout was completed when Danny Swanson knocked home the third. By all accounts, we were pretty limp. Injury crisis time once more for Inverness with two right backs out injured and a third suspended. It doesn't rain but it pours, and with Polworth missing from midfield we were down to the bare bones. Josh Meekings went to full back and Ross Draper was used as a makeshift centre back. Larnell Cole started in midfield. St Johnstone got a boost with Murray Davidson starting and Joe Shaughnessy also fit enough to get a game. As is the norm for these encounters it was a fairly low key opening to the game, with Danny Swanson and Larnell Cole trying their luck at either end but that changed after fourteen minutes when Inverness lost the ball in midfield. Poor tracking back allowed Liam Craig to find plenty space inside the box and he calmly send a low strike into the net from twelve yards. Great strike, but woeful defending and application from the visitors. Craig had an effort from distance well watched by Fon Williams as St Johnstone took control of proceedings and the only attempt of note came from a Carl Tremarco header that caused little concern. Half Time 1-0 The customary dull first forty-five would liven up somewhat after the break, but none of that had much to do with a lethargic Inverness. Josh Meekings was fortunate not to give away a penalty after a shove in the back on Richard Foster. Clumsy stuff from Meekings, and that set the tone for our defending thereafter. Gary Warren took on the mantle of chief clumsiness the pantomime villain and he was booked for a series of minor indiscretions. That would catch up with the veteran defender just moments later when he challenged for a ball with the tricky Danny Swanson who made Warren look like a rugby player. He barged over the Perth player and can have no complaints over the red card that followed. Poor decision making from an experienced player who had left his team further exposed, not only for this game, but for the next one as well. It got worse once the free kick was taken as Murray Davidson turned on the ball as it was fired low into the box to beat Williams for the second time from around eight yards from the left side of the six-yard box. Iain Vigurs suffered the same fate as Foster, and the result was the same, no penalty as Inverness tried to force their way back into the game, and Billy King fired a decent shot just over, but it was an uphill struggle and we looked like we were treading treacle. Two down and playing with a man short the game was well and truly up when Brian Easton ran onto a long through ball to play in Danny Swanson who wasted no time in taking one touch before smacking the ball home from fifteen yards. Good goal to round off the scoring from the quality player on the park. Full Time 3-0 Plenty to ponder over for Richie Foran as we hit the bottom of the league after yesterday's results. Injuries and suspensions are crippling us just now. That's Tansey, Horner and Warren all missing games for sending off's and that's not good enough at a time when we need experience on the park. They are no use sitting in the stand watching a bench filled with youngsters as those that are not injured try to get us out of this fine mess. Here's a couple of observations from those at the game. Alternative Maryhill was less than impressed with the contribution of some. "Warren has looked shaky this season, but he hasn't been helped by having a player who can't tackle and who has no pace - Iain Vigurs - playing ahead of him in deep midfield all season. I understand the thinking behind playing Draper further forward earlier this season, but why on earth Vigurs has consistently been preferred to Polworth in the centre when both have been available is completely beyond me and is, imho, probably the most significant factor in using having the worst defensive record in the league. It was shown again with the opener today, when Craig seemed able to just stroll onto the ball, completely untroubled. Obviously we have been pretty unlucky again with injuries recently, but given the lack of penetration we have up front, the lack of dig and pace we have in midfield, and our woeful defensive record, there's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be among the favourites to go down". Rig was equally despondent. "Absolutely depressing stuff today. Struggling to think of any real positives at all. We were shocking at the back, had no real control in midfield and struggled to create much of note up front. Our sole tactic of lobbing it towards Doumbouya was easily handled by Anderson and Shaughnessy. With no Plan B Saints rarely looked troubled and ended up with a deserved win. First goal was really poor tracking of Liam Craig who burst into the box and was found by Maclean and the ball was quickly poked beyond Fon Williams. Second came from a free kick which wasn't cleared and Davidson turned the ball in whist the third came late on with our makeshift defence all at sea and Swanson danced inside what was left of it before finding the net. Sending off seemed justified. I can't remember the first yellow but it was a warranted second yellow and Warren had struggled for most of the game to deal with Swanson running right at him. Whilst our players seemed to take a touch of the ball to get it down and kill the forward movement Saint Johnstone continuously looked to attack and get forward. We had a lot of the ball but any time we got into the final third we couldn't break down the Saints defence and just passed the ball or ran across the edge of the penalty area before either shooting wide or passing the ball out for a throw in. It was similar to some of the toothless displays under Hughes last season". And Yngwie summed it up thus; "Any Saints fan or neutral may well conclude today that ICT are a bunch of uncultured thugs, incapable of playing football, or defending, or attacking. They might also conclude that we are the worst team they have seen this season, that we are getting relegated and that the league will be better without us. And based purely on today, it would be hard for me to disagree. So, little for the visiting fans to get excited over and that's a recurring theme this season. We have to take stock and get our heads round this. Bottom of the league is not where we want to be seen. I hope Richie Foran can do something about this. If not, standing in the terraces looks to be an ever increasing possibility, and it could take a while to get back to all seated stadium. Big games coming up in the next fortnight. At home to Hamilton Accies and away to Kilmarnock. These could be season defining moments and we must start to pick up points before we are cut adrift. Sorry to sound a tad depressing, but that's how it is at this stage of the season. Date: 03/12/16 Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth Attendance: 2549 Referee: Euan Anderson St Johnstone: 3 Lineup: Clark, Foster, Shaughnessy, Anderson, Easton, Coulson (Alston 75), Swanson (Kane 83), Davidson, Craig, Wotherspoon, MacLean (Cummins 82) Subs (not used): Mannus, Scobbie, Millar, Gordon Scorers: Craig (14), Davidson (62), Swanson (81) Booked: Coulson (56), Wotherspoon (74) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Cole, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco (Gilchrist 86), Draper, Vigurs, Doran (Mulraney 69), Tansey, King, Doumbouya (Sutherland 84) Subs (not used): Esson. Robertson, MacLennan Scorers: none Booked: Draper (45), Doumbouya (50), Warren (60) Sent Off: Warren (61) a
  12. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, 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 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 watched the game on TV or 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, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  13. Time to have a go. Relatively short trek on Saturday as we head to Perth to face St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park for a 3:00pm kick off. It's been a sad week for football with the Associação Chapecoense de Futebol disaster, where only five of eighty-one passengers are reported to have survived the plane crash that has all but wiped out an entire football club. I'm sure all supporters throughout the world will take a moment to pause for thought and pay tribute to those that perished. Our heartfelt sympathy and condolences go out to all involved. Life is too short. Celebrating their greatest achievement one week, wiped out the next. Life can be so cruel. RIP. The wheat seems to be getting separated from the chaff in the Premiership as the cream of the crop are rising to the top, opening up a gap to the rest suffering with blight, with St Johnstone having a foot in both camps. Unfortunately we seem to be firmly entrenched with the chaff just one point from the bottom of the table. However, It is very tight at the foot with a mere two points between Partick in 12th and Motherwell in 6th, with St Johnstone trying to bridge the gap a further four points ahead. Last time out St Johnstone were beaten 4-2 by our neighbours in Perth. The Saint's were two down at the break and fell further behind before form player Danny Swanson reduced the deficit. Steven Maclean pulled another back but Liam Boyce put the game to bed with a late winner to leave TommyWright bemoaning their poor defending of cross balls. That's no wins in their last four games now as St Johnstone head towards the chaff. Inverness ended their Indian sign hoodoo over Dundee by going down 2-1 at Dens Park. Despite dominating possession, clear chances were hard to come by and we paid the penalty for once more being wasteful in the final third. Signed on again Carl Tremarco scored our counter with around ten minutes to go but we fell short despite Richie Foran claiming we were at our best. The visiting fans would dispute that as we ended our dominance in this fixture and are now five games without a win. Iain Vigurs left the field injured and Lewis Horner saw red in stoppage time and that summed up our day. You have to go back two years for the last Inverness win at Perth and with only one win in our last ten visits, the omens are not great. We did win the first fixture between the clubs this season, but it took a last gasp poke from Josh Meekings to win the game. Ross Draper opened the scoring on the hour but Richard Foster thundered home a venemous shot with ten minutes to go to draw Saints level. Justice was served in injury time when Meekings scored and the points deservedly stayed in the North on this occasion. This was our first win of the season after a dismal start to the campaign. We have not really kicked on though with only three league wins so far, hence our lowly position. Good news for Inverness fans is that Carl Tremarco has extended his stay at the club. He has a one year deal with an option for another. That virtually makes it a two year deal as Carl loves life in the Highlands and he has made the left back slot his own since the departure of Graeme Shinnie. He is also getting a name for himself as a bit of a goal scorer with a target of ten for the season, he is half way there. Tremarco's signature comes hot on the heels of Alex Fisher who signed on until the end of the season. Murray Davidson should be back in the squad after suffering from an ankle injury. Zander Clark and Joe Shaughnessy could be fit for selection but Chris Millar, Keith Watson and Ally Gilchrist will not be fit enough for inclusion. Lewis Horner is suspended for this one and Liam Polworth, Kevin McNaughton, Scott Boden and Alex Fisher are all out. Brad Mckay is another who will be absent after missing out last week with a Shinnie injury. Raven has suffered a further injury after returning from concussion, but could yet make the starting XI. Iain Vigurs took a knock last week but should be fit. tm4tj prediction:- these are historically insipid affairs with low scoring the order of the day. Both clubs are on poor runs just now and nothing tells me that this will be any different. Inverness are struggling for fit players and will rely heavily on providing service for lone striker Lonsana Doumbouya. St Johnstone have a quality player in Danny Swanson and he could be the difference between the sides. I can't see an away win given our injury problems, but a draw would be most welcome. It's going to be a long hard season.
  14. The Season has started Inverness beat St Johnstone 2-1 with a Josh Meekings goal in time added on to kill off a stubborn Perth outfit. It might not have been the best strike Meekings has ever hit, but the important thing here is that the ball ended up in the net and we have finally got our season off and running. With challenging games ahead after the international break, this was a vital win to lift the fans, players and Richie Foran alike. Ross Draper rose highest in the box to crash a header home, but that goal was cancelled out by a thunderous strike from Richard Foster before the scrambulated (there's that word again) winner after the ninety. Manager Richie Foran promised a couple of changes and he was bold enough to do just that. Dropping to the bench were Scott Boden, Jake Mulraney and David Raven. In came Alex Fisher, Billy King and Lewis Horner. New signing Lonsana Doumbouya was on the bench also and he would make his debut late in the game. Tommy Wright had Murray Davidson on the bench, but he would replace Blair Alston at the interval and the dangerous Danny Swanson was looking for his eigth goal of the season playing wide left. A typically meagre crowd for what has been historically dour affairs saw St Johnstone kick off on a bright and pleasant day for a game of football, the crowd bolstered by Paul Gablonski all the way from down under and wee Ava hoping to see Inverness beat St Johnstone this time. Staright from the kick off, you could sense that this was going to be be an open game played with pace and a bit of freneticism thrown in. And it was as we took the game to the visitors from the off. Alan Mannus made the first of many saves from a Gary Warren header as we pressed for an opener, and Danny Swanson was drifting past defenders at the other end, creating havoc along our back line but missing the vital telling cross that would create the chances. The heavily criticised Owain Fon Williams had to look spritely to stop a Steven Anderson header as the Super J's began to get to grips with the game and as play opened out Liam Polworth went close with a shot from outside the box, unfortunately the ball always just the wrong side of the post. Mannus saved headers from Ross Draper and Alex Fisher in quick succession as we continued to take the game to St Johnstone, but Chris Kane fired over at the other end with the goal gaping. Iain Vigurs, Billy King and Alex Fisher all went close with Mannus required to save two of the three attempts as the game raced towards the interval, but try as they might, Inverness were unable to get the ball behind Mannus who was largely responsible for the 0-0 scoreline at the break. Half Time 0-0 The chances kept coming after the break and Fisher fired over from the angle. A goal was coming as we kept pressing forward and a cracker it was too, just before the hour. Billy King drew a foul and a booking from David Wotherspoon and from the resultant free kick, Ross Draper wanted the ball most and he powered a header beyond Mannus for the opening goal. No more than we deserved really. St Johnstone forays forward were becoming rarer, but in one such attack, Murray Davidson headed wide from a decent position. A warning that the visitors were still very much in the game. St Johnstone sub Graham Cummins was seeing plenty of the ball now as the visitors sensed they might snatch an unlikely draw. He had fired a free kick just over then Williams had to save a header from him. Wright's men were given some hope though when out of the blue, Foster bludgeoned a shot home with the keeper well beaten with over ten minutes remaining. That goal sparked Foran into action and soon after Lonsana Doumbouya entered the scene. He is slightly ungamely, but looks like he will cause problems with his height and power. Boden and Mulraney joined him on the park soon after as Richie layed all his cards on the table, going for all three points. Boden brought Mannus into action again and MotM Ross Draper shot narrowly past before testing Mannus with a header. That looked to be it as the clock reached the ninety, but a minute into time added on, Josh Meekings jabbed the ball home after a scrambulation on the goal line when it looked as though the bobbling ball would not fall kindly for us, but persistence paid off and it eventually found the back of the net from Meekings' toe. Mulraney almost added a third as he broke forward with Saints trying to salvage a point, but he sliced his shot at pace as he drove into the box and it went high, wide and not very handsomely into the North Stand. Full Time 2-1 A highly entertaining game with both sides giving it a go. You could see what it meant to the players as they broke their duck. Massive celebrations in the corner of the stadium after the goal and relief all round. Richie Foran was delighted to get off the mark as you can see with his match reaction here, talking to Davie, who is showing a tremendous appetite for this interviewing lark. Lewis Horner did brilliantly coming in at right back and shows plenty of promise when going forward. Fon Williams looked much more assured as his Euro holiday fades into the past. The whole back line worked tirelessly and did a great job of eventually shackling Danny Swanson. Greg Tansey looks as though he is still holding something in reserve and Vigurs and Polworth were good in flashes. Striking has been a problem area but I thought Alex Fisher led the line well and all the substitutes played their part when they came on. But for sheer industry and his goal, Ross Draper was head and shoulders above everyone else and is my MotM. So, international break coming up, then away to the Dons and home to Celtic after that. Tough games ahead, but nobody said it was going to be easy. However, a weight was lifted off the shoulders yesterday and it should set us up nicely for the rest of the season. Foran is still trying to add a couple of players and that should be good enough to see us start to climb the table. Onwards and upwards! Here's Davie talking to match winner Josh Meekings after his screamer....... Footage of game from SPFL website -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inverness CT - 2 - Draper (59) Meekings (90 + 1) Fon Williams, Tremarco, Warren, Meekings, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Boden 84), Tansey, Horner, Fisher (Doumbouya 82), King (Mulraney 85). Subs not used: Esson, Raven, Doran, Sutherland. Booked: Draper (67) St Johnstone: - 1 - Foster (79) Mannus, Alston (Davidson 46), Anderson, MacLean, Wotherspoon, Swanson, Shaughnessy, Paton (Craig 67), Foster, Easton, Kane (Cummins 63). Subs not used: Clark, Millar, Coulson, Gordon. Booked: Wotherspoon (58) Referee: Stephen Finnie. Attendance: 2729.
  15. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone PREVIEW 27th Aug @ 3PM, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only] TEXT ESPN BBC Sporting Life VIDEO SPL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  16. *** VOTING IN THE POLL ABOVE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE MATCH ONLY *** If you were at the match, 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 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 watched the game on TV or 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, but it IS a way for you to participate in the process .... which many people asked for .... a happy medium we hope !!!!!
  17. Time to stand up and be counted Inverness face St Johnstone this Saturday as they look to avoid a fifth straight defeat, but this could prove difficult as it comes hot on the heels of a 5-1 thrashing at Tynecastle, not to mention a derby disaster, a dumping out of the League cup by League One Alloa and an opening day loss at Partick. Aye Richie, nobody said it was going to be easy, but the fans are finding it difficult to understand how this season has become a struggle already as we are in danger of being cut adrift at the foot of the table only three games in. With St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Celtic to come, it could get worse before it gets better. We have already lost the services of Kevin McNaughton, probably out for the season with an Achilles injury as we find it difficult to keep the ball out of our net. Josh Meekings returned at Tynecastle, but he will need game time to get back to full match sharpness and he must have wondered what has happened as we shipped goals like nobody's business. David Raven was retained at the end of last season, despite Yogi trying his best to move him on. Has fan-power overruled shrewd judgement here as Rave has not coped well since his reinstatement. Mind you, he is not alone as the normally reliable Gary Warren has looked vulnerable, posted missing, presumably trying to cover for missing defenders easily pulled out of position. Carl Tremarco showed what he could do towards the end of last season, but we have yet to see the best of him in this campaign. Was it wrong to let Danny Devine leave without trying too hard to tempt him to stay? Our midfield has not changed that much, but our one paced engine room are simply going through the motions. Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs and the exempt from criticism Ross Draper. These guys should be a match for any team outside the top two or three, but already look jaded. The addition of exciting prospect Jake Mulraney should be providing the width we have been screaming for over the last couple of seasons and Billy King and the returning Aaron Doran should compliment that. Striking looks to be our weakest area with the jury still out on Scott Boden and Alex Fisher, but that does not explain the fact that we have conceded eight goals in our last two games. To the untrained eye it would appear that not much has changed apart from the results, and the manager! Foran has taken on this job much to the delight and backing of most of the Caley Thistle support, however, has our hearts ruled our heads here. A Premiership club taking on an untried manager with no previous experience anywhere and apart from a four year deal, little monetary backing from the board as of now. It does smack of the cheap option. Maybe we are still paying for Yogi? When has a new manager not taken in his own second in command, yet Richie has to make do with a used product in Brian Rice; seconds anyone? Can we not afford to pay him off either? It all smacks of a sorry mess with Richie trying to paper over the cracks. Maybe the writing was on the wall when Laura was released from the ticket office in what looks like a penny pinching exercise. Why else would you remove your highest achiever? Anyway, our immediate concern is on the park, and points are proving more difficult to find than those pokemon gadgies. St Johnstone are surely confident of coming North and taking the points given our recent demise. We have found it difficult enough to beat them in recent times and seven points went to Perth Last season with only one solitary point going to the Highland Capital. I always feel we should be able to match the Perth outfit on and off the park, but we are finding that difficult on both counts at the moment. Tommy Wright is as decent a manager as there is in the Premiership, guiding St Johnstone to fourth over the last two seasons whilst we finished in with the also rans last term. They have added full back Richard Foster from Ross County and defender Keith Watson from St Mirren. Midfielders Paul Paton from Dundee United and Blair Alston from Falkirk look to be their key signings and will add plenty of class and a bit of dig. Amongst their departures are the experienced striker John Sutton and midfielders Simon Lappin and Scott Brown. Like Foran, Wright is still searching for Mr Right up front before the transfer window closes. The Perth team won two of the three games last season in what are usually pretty dour encounters, notoriously bereft of goalmouth incidents. I'm painting a pretty bleak picture here, unfortunately that's how it is and the fans are getting frustrated over our dismal start to the league after a reasonable League Cup run that ended with an at that time unexpected defeat to Alloa Athletic. We were absolutely thrashed at Tynecastle last week with Hearts scoring five going on fifteen. That was preceded by a dismal derby defeat at home. Eight gifts goals in two games smacks of heads going down. St Johnstone were capitulating against Celtic, but did score a couple of late goals in the second half, so they still have some fight in them, something we need to display. Can we expect to see an upturn in our fortunes? Well, I was excited at the prospect of our campaign given the goals we racked up prior to matchday one. However, the wind has been taken right out of our sails and we are well and truly in the doldrums now. Strangely though, if we can make the breakthrough and cut out the comedy defending, we might see our first point on the board. Billy King will be available again after having to sit out the Hearts game (parent club ruling) and Aaron Doran is working his way back into contention. Jake Mulraney has declared himself injury free after being taken off at Tynecasle with cramp, but Kev McNaughton is out long term. Owain Fon Williams could do worse than sit on the bench with maybe the experienced Ryan Esson due a recall to cut out some of these free headers we have been subject to. I also wonder if it's time for Lewis Horner to step up to the plate. That might horrify some, but it could be the lesser of two evils. Hopefully Gary Warren will get his mojo back with Josh Meekings likely to be alongside him. Now then, it's time for our midfield to stand up and be counted before we get any worse or they might find themselves on the dole bench as well. We had Farid El Alagui on trial over the last couple of weeks but although he showed up well in friendlies he has not been signed. Another pair of trialists turned out for our development squad in midweek and they are reported to be Gavin Gunning (yes, he of the picking up the ball and walking off the park fame), and Spanish third tier striker Jamar Loza who has been declined a contract. With Kevin McNaughton out for the season, we do need another centre back, but come on, Gavin Gunning! On a positive note, forward, Lonsana Doumbouya (26) joins Inverness from Belgian second division club Cercle Brugge on a 2 year deal (subject to clearance). Lonsana is a big lad at over 6 foot 3 inches and sounds like he could be an ideal target man. Richie Foran reckons he will add pace and power to our front line, something that has been lacking of late. Good luck to him and I hope he is the answer to our striking problems. Foran is hopeful he can be included in the squad for the game tomorrow. Here he is talking about signing for the Caley Jags. Managers advice: It will be worth keeping an eye on Steve MacLean and Danny Swanson. MacLean has hit the target five times and in form Swanson has seven goals to his name. You have been warned. St Johnstone's Tam Scobbie, Dave Mackay and Keith Watson all miss out through injury, however, Chris Millar and Michael Coulson could return after both failed to feature at Parkhead last week. Interesting times ahead. Defeat against St Johnstone is not really an option and it's now time for Foran the friend to be be binned and Foran the manager to enter the scene. I'm going for a home win. Yes, I may be going off my head, but we have to start sooner rather than later, so let's do this on Saturday, for everyone's sake. I'm just not sure where the goals are going to come from though.
  18. Entertainment in Perth? Immortal Howden Ender has penned this Preview as the games come thick and fast, almost catching us out Read on, here's Johndo's Preview........................... Placed in a "new topic" due to indolence and memory impairment of a certain ageing administrator Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to St Jones Town ? Well the answer is a bit of a yes and a no. The stadium itself and the facilities are above average, the stewarding is usually friendly but it is not in a location where train travel is the preference. If you are not travelling by the roads it is a nightmare. Social club and local hostelries are rather dull as well. But there again there is the football to entertain you. According to the stats we have won only 3 out of our 14 meetings in Perf. A worrying statistic is that we have only conjured up 10 goals in those 14 matches, an average of 0.71 per game. Although that sounds about right for this season !! We have had two draws and a loss since the Gary Warren winner in February 2014. We have also lost 4 points because of last minute lapses in two of those ties. Lets hope we keep our concentration tonight and not throw away any vital points. If we beat them by two clear goals we will leap frog them and back into the Top Six. With Hamilton at home coming up on Saturday four to six points would be heaven sent and maybe ease the nerves for the Hibees cup replay. Lets hope we can go somewhere meeting our record 3-0 win in Perth and avoid the record 4-0 drubbing. Games at McDiarmid Park will last in the memory of many. The Challenge Cup win over Airdrie and the final defeat by Dundee – although the first 45 was possibly as good an ICT performance as there ever has been. My favourite game was the 2-1 win in August 2003 when we were treated to the David Bingham show plus a classic goal and celebration by Stevie Hislop. We had a remarkable away record in 2010 when we remained defeated for the whole year but went down 1-0 on 02/01/2011 in Perf. But of course the favourite St Jones Town memory will be of 15/05/2004 and the helicopter trophy arrival at the Dump after goals from Ritchie, Bingham and Wilson. Or perhaps fond memories of a defeat in the Alan Hercher Testimonial in 1997 when we had to loan them Fridgie for the night as they forgot to bring a keeper. Doubt if the same fate will befall Ryan Esson tonight. Lets all hope that we return to playing four at the back tonight and stop playing like obsessive crabs. It will be interesting to see if Horner and Mutumbo return after their super-sub performances. I do feel that Miles Storey needs to be rested. And will we finally see Meekings and Vincent back on the bench. IHE Prediction – always seems to be low scoring affairs of late – only 6 goals in the last 4 matches. My heart says 1-0 to us but my head says 1-1. I would gladly take either of those.
  19. Ultimate Anti Football Inverness and St Johnstone served up an utter borefest of a game as anti-football took over the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. The Perth side took all three points in a 0-1 win over a punchless Inverness who had not a clue how to break down the 10 men of St Johnstone. Both sides should be ashamed of themselves as misplaced passes, poor tackles and miscontrol was the order of the day. Both keepers could have stayed in the dressing room and the score would have remained the same as a 90th minute Liam Craig penalty won the match for the visitors. It turned out to be a decent day for a game of football after overnight rain, the pitch left moist but it great condition. It should have led to an entertaining afternoon's sport. How wrong can you be. Inverness were still unable to field a full strength squad and it showed. Carl Tremarco played at left back, but there is still no sign of Jordan Roberts, Tobi Sho-Silva, Gary Warren, Aron Doran, Richie Foran, and Andrea Mutombo was also out. Iain Vigurs made the bench and James Vincent got a start along with Liam Polworth. St Johnstone had Liam Craig on the bench, but he would be instrumental in our downfall late in the game. Fon-Williams was fortunate a couple of times as he replicated some of Dean Brills twitchy moment from clearances, having to dive full length to save the first one from rebounding in. That was as close as anyone came to breaking sweat in a dire first half. Our only half chance came when Tremarco was well blocked by O'Halloran as he broke into the left side of the box, just before he was able to offload. What a tedious first forty-five, surely the second half would be better? Half Time. 0-0 Well, we didn't know it at the time, but the second half was equally poor, in fact even worse if anything. Dave Mackay was sent off after catching Tremarco on the halfway line. That would maybe give us the upper hand. No. Despite the numerical advantage, and oceans of possession, we hadn't a clue how to get behind the Perth bus and were unable to make Mannus work for his bonus. Fon-Williams was equally idle as the Saints looked to hold on for a point. Little did they know how inept we were about to become and in Michael O'Halloran, they had the only player on the park worthy of his wages. The boredom was now reaching world championship level and it was about to turn into utter chaos as Devine was adjudged to have impeded substitute Liam Craig after ninety minutes had passed. Craig himself took the kick and our misery was complete. Full Time 0-1 Oh dear, what can you say about that. There was lots of head shaking as disgruntled fans left the stadium, muttering the words, shambles, disgraceful, punchless, wet paper bag, useless, no strikers, headless chickens etc. To be honest, that is probably doing a disservice to headless chickens who I'm sure would have shown more aptitude and attitude than those on the park. I would have liked to tell you more about our efforts during the game, but to be honest, there were none, absolutely zilch, zero, nothing. Worst game of football I have ever witnessed. In truth, St Johnstone were no better and we would maybe have done better if they had eleven players on the park. As soon as Mackay went off, they retreated further into their already defensive shell and the writing was on the wall. Yogi needs to turn this around pretty quick or this week will be a complete disaster for us. League Cup action on Tuesday night and the fans might be voting with their feet after this one. MotM. Well, there were none in blue worthy of a mention. They all underperformed. Best on the park was a lively Michael O'Halloran who led the line well. Take note Yogi, we need someone to do this for us. Full match report to follow..............
  20. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 8th August @ 3:00PM McDiarmid Park, Perth Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Open All Mics (BBC) [UK/VPN Only] TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  21. Injury Crisis? Following on from the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Motherwell last weekend, John Hughes’ men face a shorter away trip down the A9 to face St Johnstone in Perth. The major talking point for tomorrow’s game will undoubtedly be concerning the injury list that just seem to keep growing, how long will it be before Yogi himself has to dust off those boots? The Caley Jags could be going to McDiarmid park with an estimated 7/8 first team players sitting on the sidelines. Last weekend saw Inverness defeated by a rejuvenated Motherwell side at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. It was a very disappointing afternoon for all concerned at Caley Thistle where nothing seemed to go in our favour. Slack play from Greg Tansey gifted Motherwell a quick surge allowing debutant Wes Fletcher to score what proved to be the winner for the ‘well. The bad news didn’t end there as Gary Warren now faces several months out of action due to a devastating clash with Motherwell’s Stephen Pearson who also was left with an injury from the incident. After hearing the news that Gary had broken his leg I was a little taken a back, it was seen multiple times he was trying to ‘walk it off’ - a true warrior. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though as there were a couple positives to take from the game. Andrea Mbuyi-Mutombo made a promising start to his ICT career and Owain Fon Williams made some crucial saves, both players will be looking to continue in similar vein tomorrow. St Johnstone went to newly promoted Hearts where they were narrowly defeated 4-3 by the Tynecastle side. Saints new boys John Sutton and Graham Cummins got on the scoresheet and our defenders will definitely need to be keeping a close eye on. Tommy Wright has made some good transfer dealings this summer window. He has added John Sutton from Motherwell, Graham Cummins from Exeter City, Joe Shaughnessy from Aberdeen, Brad McKay (big ‘K’) from Hearts and also brought back former player Liam Craig from Hibernian. Like Inverness, St Johnstone have managed to keep a hold of the core of their team with the only notable departures being Lee Croft, Brian Graham and James McFadden. Last season’s run of results against St Johnstone at McDiarmid park was a 1-0 loss aided by a dive that Tom Daley would have been proud of and was then followed by a 1-1 draw in April with Aaron Doran putting Inverness ahead before Brian Graham got the equaliser. The games against St Johnstone always prove to be stern tests for Caley Thistle but tomorrow could be a whole different challenge with the hinderance of our current injuries. The referee for tomorrow’s game will be none other than Scotland’s most lovable referee Mr William Collum. If I was a betting man, I would be straight down to the bookies before the game to bet on some form of controversy in the way of a red card or penalty for either team. Inverness John Hughes stated to the press this week that ‘one or two’ could return from injury. It’s also been said that Josh Meekings could still play despite his current injury. Long term absentees Dean Brill and Gary Warren will be unavailable for the Caley Jags. St Johnstone will be without Steven Anderson and Chris Millar. Steven MacLean will make a return from his suspension and there also could be a slight chance that captain Dave Mackay and Murray Davidson could make their returns for the hosts. ICTRoughi’s prediction:- With a combination of our current injury list and also the evident lack of fire power in the final third, I predict ICT won’t score a goal. I also think John Sutton and co will pose too much of a threat for our makeshift defence. We will give it our all as per but ultimately I think St Johnstone will win this one quite comfortably.
  22. until
    MATCH PREVIEW: link to go here MATCHDAY THREAD: link to go here
  23. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 2nd May Apr 2015 @ 3:00PM McDiarmid Park, Perth Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO Open All Mics (BBC) [uK/VPN Only] Moray Firth Radio (MFR) - no coverage. broadcasting the Dingwall mob today !! ICTFC.com LIVE - club commentary (worldwide) - doesnt appear to be working today Your browser does not support the audio element. TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC
  24. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- St Johnstone PREVIEW 20th Jan 2015 @ 7:45PM Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO Live Commentary (BBC) [uK/VPN Only] TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS
  25. THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen St Johnstone -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 20th Dec 2014 @ 3:00PM McDiarmid Park, Perth Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO MFR LIVE commentary (MFR/ICT) [uK/VPN Only] BBC Open All Mics (BBC) [uK/VPN Only] TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW
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