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The Final Countdown As Europe once said, it's the Final Countdown: 3...2...1. We are now into the final three games of our Annus Administratus and it all starts with a tricky fixture at Stenhousemuir, who will be in the promotion play-offs. Another emergency loan goalkeeper will be with Inverness for Saturdays game at Stenhousemuir with Musa Dibaga out with a hamstring injury. Marcus Gill, a youngster from Celtic's B team squad will be in goal with big Musa out injured. Marcus, 17 years-old, has played for Celtic B in the Lowland League and has also featured in the UEFA Youth League this season. Marcus has also represented Ireland at Under 19's level. What a game to be without two of the three players of the year in Dibaga, and Bavidge. We also have Danny Devine with Gregor Buchanan of Stenhousemuir also in the Team of the Year. (see full team at bottom of preview). We will be keeping a watchful eye on Annan Athletic's game at Galabank against promoted Arbroath... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Info Admin: join the debate on CTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2025 Apr 19th League (League 1) - A - Mar 11th League (League 1) 4 - 1 H 1,482 2024 Dec 21st League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 719 Sep 28th League (League 1) 0 - 0 H 1,601 Only this seasons games are relevant to current form as the previous eight games were prior to 1999 apart from a League Cup game in 2012: A dramatic penalty shootout was concluded when Ryan Esson saved Darren Smith's penalty to win the tie for Inverness 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw where Billy Mckay headed in the opener before Brown Ferguson equalised from the spot before the break. Richie Foran miss 0-1 Brown Ferguson score Graeme Shinnie score 1-2 Andy Rodgers score Gavin Morrison score 2-2 Bryan Hodge miss Aaron Doran score 3-3 John Gemmell score Andrew Shinnie score 4-4 Ross McMillan score Ross Draper score 5-5 Stewart Kean score Philip Roberts score 6-5 Darren Smith miss ICT WIN. INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W L D L W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game the next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and was re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan came North on Saturday in a six-pointer and it was a disappointing defeat after Annan parked the bus after scoring in the third minute. Next up was a 1-1 draw with Alloa despite hitting the woodwork twice and missing a penalty. Another bad day at the office last weekend at a wet and windswept Palmerston after Queen of the South blitzed us with three second half goals to run away with a 4-1 win in Dumfries. Meh! We bounced back with a rout of our own as a Keith Bray hat-trick sunk Cove Rangers 3-0 at Balmoral Park. What a result that was! Despite what could have been a joyous occasion in front of our home fans after that great result at Cove, we once again failed to produce at the Caledonian Stadium going down 2-0 to Kelty in a six-pointer of a game. It's one step forward and two steps back as we crawl towards relative safety. Latest Team News: Musa Dibaga is out with a hamstring injury. Marcus Gill, a youngster from Celtic's B team squad will be in goal with big Musa out and depending on the result of his scan, it could be for the remaining games. No other new injuries at present. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 33 23 63 2 Cove 33 16 52 3 Stenny 33 4 49 4 Queen Sth 33 1 48 5 Alloa Ath 33 8 47 6 Kelty 33 -5 40 7 Montrose 33 -6 39 8 Caley Jags 33 2 36 9 Annan Ath 33 -27 33 10 Sons 33 -16 16 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Last Six: L D D L L L Six games ago we beat Stenny in a re-arranged fixture at the Caledonian Stadium in our finest home game of the season, a crushing 4-1 win. Two 0-0 draws followed against Kelty and Cove then a slump in the last three at home v Montrose (2-3), home v Alloa (1-4) and last weeks title winning defeat at Arbroath (4-0). There are goal scorers in the side though with Corey O'Donnell on 9 and Blair Alston on 8. Yates and Aitken were prominent before injury and big Nat Wedderburn is still there. 𝘼𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨… Musa Dibaga – Inverness Scott Taggart – Alloa Ath Gregor Buchanan – Stenny Thomas O’Brien – Arbroath Danny Devine – Inverness Ross Cunningham – Kelty Fraser Taylor – Arbroath Fraser Fyvie – Cove Scott Stewart – Arbroath Mitchel Megginson – Cove Alfie Bavidge – Inverness

Moving on up This rearranged fixture took second place Stenhousemuir North to face the Caley Jags, fresh out of the relegation play-off slot after last weeks dramatic win over Dumbarton. Stenhousemuir were looking to keep the pressure on top of the table Arbroath whilst Inverness could climb another place with a win. The Warriors were on a five game winning run that included a win over League leaders Arbroath recently. Luis Longstaff missed out for the hosts with Ben Brannan getting his second start. Nat Wedderburn was in the Warriors squad and Corey O'Donnell was the hot property to keep an eye on with nine League goals to his name was on the bench. Mathew Aitken and Matty Yates were back in the starting XI. It ended in the Caley Jags biggest win of the season with early first half goals from Ben Brannan and Charlie Gilmour followed by two quick second half strikes from Keith Bray and Paul Allan, who also rattled the post with a superb strike in the first half. We tailed away towards the end and McLuckie was unlucky as he hit the bar with a good effort from outside the box and Musa Dibaga saved an injury time penalty from Blair Alston after a dubious trip on a Stenny player bursting into the left side of the box. That win moves us above Montrose and into seventh place. Great win, plenty of goals and climbing the table. What's not to like. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been a decent afternoon in the Highland capital and the weather had stayed fine into the evening, with just a gentle shower or two to moisten the pitch as the teams took to the park under the floodlights. All set for the game until we had a half hour delay to find a replacement referee after the first one broke! Scott Kellacher was looking for his side to get off to a fast start and he got exactly that in both halfs. With just three minutes on the clock after a 35 minute delay, the impressive Ben Brannan opened the scoring. We moved the ball sharply from the left side across the face of the box where Calum MacLeod laid it off to Brannan who made the run into the box on the right side. He never really broke stride before rifling the ball high into the net from ten yards for his first goal for the Caley Jags. The perfect start for the hosts. Alas, seven minutes later we were level when Euan O'Reilly got on the end of a ball into the box after a fast break forward that caught us on the hop as we pushed forward. It went from bad to worse just four minutes later when Alfie Bavidge had to leave the pitch with what looked like a thigh/hamstring injury. As he limped off he was replaced by Billy Mckay and we all feared the worst in the stands. Fear not said Charlie Gilmour as he put us back in front three minutes later when he fired in following a corner as he drilled in the second ball. It was a really positive display from the hosts as they took the game to their more fancied opponents and Adam MacKinnon was unfortunate not to score as his twenty-five yard drive just cleared the corner of the bar. Both sides were playing some slick football and as the hosts opened up the visitors defence five minutes before the break Paul Allan's curling effort clattered the post halfway up with keeper Jamieson rooted to the spot. Just on the interval, Musa Dibaga had to make a scrambled dive across his goal as O'Reilly shot from the centre of the box following another incisive burst forward from the Warriors. A better connection might have been rewarded with a goal. HALF TIME: 2-1 We stated the second half even faster than the first and within two minutes Keith Bray had diverted a superb driven cross from MacKinnon into the net from close range with his chest to make it 3-1. Well worked goal and more followed four minutes later when a slick move down the right ended with Paul Allan drilling home ably assisted by three or four willing helpers, Mckay with the killer ball. The wind was well and truly out of the Warriors sails by now as we controlled the next phase of the game with ease. With twenty minutes remaining the unfortunately named Bobby McLuckie was unlucky that Dibaga was in good form to push his drive round the post. He was even unMcLuckier minutes later with a tremendous effort that crashed back off Dibaga's crossbar as the visitors looked for a consolation goal. They almost achieved that with what might go down as a soft penalty award but Dibaga guessed right and smothered Blair Alston's spot-kick to his left and reached forward to grab the loose ball just in time. The stuff legends are made of. FULL TIME: 4-1 Best performance of the season against a pretty slick Stenhousemuir. Paul Allan was the sponsors MotM. To be honest we were not short of contenders. How about Remi Savage who doubled up as a twinkle toed left winger at times. Danny Devine who was solid at the heart of the defence against the athletic Yates, Aitken and O'Reilly. Big Musa with a couple of crucial saves and the penalty stop. For me, the performance of Ben Brannan was outstanding. He brings a new dimension to our game with his foraging forward, his loooong throws, precise curling crosses and biting tackles. He was my pick. The only downside was the injury to Alfie Bavidge. Let's hope his substitution was more precautionary than serious. With Cove cuffing Kelty Hearts 0-4, the table now looks like this with eight games left. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Cove Rangers 28 18 47 3 Stenhousemuir 28 12 47 4 Alloa Athletic 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 28 0 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Inverness CT 28 5 32 8 Montrose 28 -7 32 9 Annan Athletic 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 The Eagle was too incisive for the Warriors in an entertaining contest as the Caley Jags consolidated their new found league position with a confident and sometimes swashbuckling performance. Alfie Bavidge came off wounded, but he was not the first to come off injured. We needed a replacement referee before the game started and a thirty-five minute delay ensued as another one was unearthed. Seventh in the table now and the prospect of more to come. Date: 11/03/2025 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: **** Referee: Tommi Kerr Inverness CT: 4 Manager: Scott Kellacher Lineup: Dibaga; Brannan, Devine, Savage, Nolan, Bray, Gilmour, Allan (Stewart 69), MacLeod, MacKinnon (R Thompson 84), Bavidge (B Mckay 13) Subs (not used): Rebilas; Ewan, Strachan, Walker, Keogh, Cairns Scorers: Brannan (3), Gilmour (17), Bray (47), Allan (51) Booked: Allan (60) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 1 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Fisher, Bilham, O'Reilly (Alston 72), Anderson (Wedderburn 71), McGill (Jacobs 77), McLuckie, Aitken (O'Donnell 61), Yates Subs (not used): Morrison; Banner, Ewen, Tomlinson, Taylor Scorers: O'Reilly (10) Booked: Anderson (71) Sent Off: none a

Warriors head North Second top Stenhousemuir come North to face the Caley Jags in this re-arranged fixture on Tuesday night, 11th of March. Kick off is 7:45pm and you can get to the Stadium on the Footie Bus at 17:45 or 19:00 from the bus station in the centre of the City. Bar94 will open from 17:30. We are now into phase 4 of the League season and the only team we play twice in the run-in is Stenhousemuir. The only team we don't meet again is Dumbarton. After beating Dumbarton on Saturday and Stenhousemuir beating Annan, we have now crawled out of the relegation play-off zone for the first time since we entered administration. Great achievement by Scott Kellacher and his mostly young side and this has not gone unnoticed by the fans. Kellacher has gone on record as stating that the home games will be crucial over the next few weeks with five out of the nine games remaining played at the Caledonian Stadium starting with this one on Tuesday night. Of these five sides only Arbroath play on grass. That will be his focus as the season reaches boiling point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 10 7 2 1 22 8 +14 Only the ten competitive matches against Stenhousemuir and this is the third one this season. We first crossed swords with the Warriors in a Scottish Cup tie in 1996 when we recorded a narrow one goal win, going on to play Rangers in the next round. A tremendous victory for the Inverness side and a place in the last 8 of the cup. We 'scored' in 2 minutes through Thomson but Christie was offside. After that their defence had to withstand tremendous pressure. Mathieson was a real handful and he came close on 3 occasions - chances also fell to Brannigan, Sprott, Roseburgh, Aitken & Bannon. Caley Thistles only other first half chance was a shot from Thomson in 15 minutes but it went past. In the second half Caley Thistle took control and in 53 minutes Thomson was unlucky when his 25 yard shot was tipped over. In 60 minutes Stewart beat the offside trap but keeper McKenzie came off his line well. 2 minutes later a great shot from 18 yards by Christie was held by McKenzie. On 75 minutes Teasdale set off on a run down the right wing and sent a low cross to Brian Thomson just outside the penalty area - his shot into the corner was unstoppable. With a minute to go Stenhousemuir had the ball in the net but it was chalked off. Caley Thistle held out for a famous victory and the prospect of Rangers at home in the next round. ***We did of course play Rangers at Tannadice going down 3-0 in the Quarter Finals. Starting XI McKenzie Sprott Bannon Armstrong Brannigan Roseburgh Aitken Fisher Mathieson Hutchison Little Jim Calder Mike Noble Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur John Scott Graeme Bennett Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Alan Hercher Iain Stewart 75mins Brian Thomson Subs Haddow Hunter Scott Dave McGinlay Davie Ross Colin Mitchell 2024 Dec 21st League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 719 Sep 28th League (League 1) 0 - 0 H 1,601 2012 Sep 25th League Cup (Rd 3) p 1 - 1 A 705 1999 Jul 31st League Cup (Round 1) 3 - 1 A 534 1998 Apr 11th League 2 - 1 H 1,414 Feb 28th League 3 - 0 A 463 1997 Nov 8th League 4 - 1 H 1,669 Aug 30th League 2 - 3 A 400 Aug 2nd League Cup (Rd 1) 5 - 1 H 1,735 1996 Feb 17th Scottish Cup (Rd 4) 1 - 0 A 2,300 INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / ? Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games and that takes us back home to face Stenhousemuir on Tuesday night in the first of our final nine fixtures with another two home games to follow. Scott Kellacher will be without Luis Longstaff who has a hamstring injury and missed the game at Dumbarton. Ben Brannan came into the starting XI and did well, helping set up the late winner with his ball into Charlie Gilmour. Brannan went to right back which allowed Keith Bray to take up Longstaff's role. Kellacher has said we have one or two other niggles. Hardly surprising given the state of the surface at Dumbarton after heavy rain during the Arbroath fixture and only a couple of days to get the body back to manageable levels. Tuesday night fixtures: Cove v Kelty & ICT v Stenny Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 28 17 52 2 Stenny 27 15 47 3 Cove 27 14 44 4 Alloa Ath 28 6 40 5 Kelty Hearts 27 4 35 6 Queen of Sth 28 -6 35 7 Montrose 28 -7 32 8 Inverness CT 27 2 29 9 Annan Ath 28 -24 27 10 Dumbarton 28 -21 08 Warriors Last Six: L W W W W W The best run in the League at the moment, winning their last five on the bounce. They started with a crushing 4-0 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. They bounced back winning the next five starting with a 3-0 win at Montrose. Next was a 2-1 home win over Queen of the South then a 2-0 home win in the top of the table clash against Arbroath. A 3-1 win at Dumbarton and a 2-0 win at Annan sets them up nicely for their third away fixture on the trot at the Caledonian Stadium. Corey O'Donnell is top scorer with nine League goals. Blair Alston has seven. It's been a good season so far for Stenhousemuir and in the first game at the Caledonian Stadium back in September it was a no scoring draw. We nicked the return fixture in December with a 1-0 win thanks to a late Charlie Gilmour strike when he nicked the goal off Paul Allan. Some unusual 'facts' on wikipedia: In 1890, the Warriors moved to Ochilview Park following spells at Tryst Park and Goschen Park. In the early 20th century the club had a brief spell of success, winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup twice in 1901 and 1902. In 1902–03, the club reached the Scottish Cup semi-final, losing 1–4 at home to Rangers. The 1921–22 season saw Stenhousemuir compete for the first time in senior Scottish League Football. In 1925–26, Stenhousemuir goalkeeper Joe Shortt was offered a £50 bribe to throw a match against Broxburn United, but he rejected the offer and the Warriors won the match 6–2. A bookmaker from the Bainsford district of Falkirk, was subsequently jailed for attempted match fixing. In 1928, the wooden grandstand at Ochilview Park burnt down in a fire , which led to a new stand being built in its place, although staircases reputedly had to be added later due to planning errors (was Scot Gardiner in charge). The 1936–37 season saw the club register a record victory – a 9–2 home win against Dundee United. More than a decade later in 1949–50, a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against East Fife drew a record crowd of 12,525 – the highest ever at Ochilview Park. On 7 November 1951, the first floodlit game between two Scottish senior teams occurred at Ochilview Park, a friendly match between Stenhousemuir and Hibernian. The floodlights had been paid for three years earlier by Tommy Douglas, a butcher in King Street, Stenhousemuir.

**GAME OFF **GAME OFF** Top of the table Stenhousemuir are the visitors this weekend at the Caledonian Stadium for a 2:00pm start looking to keep themselves as the leaders of the pack. In contrast, the Caley Jags will be looking to bounce back after they were whitewashed 3-0 at second placed Arbroath last weekend as we lost a little ground on the teams above us. It's a tight division this year with Arbroath probably looking the likeliest to get their act together as witnessed by the way they easily disposed of the Caley Jags last Saturday. Despite a good run of results, it's a sharp learning curve for most at this time, including the fans, where expectations will need to be tempered during the healing process. Don't forget it's an early kick-off at 2:00pm With that in mind, revised bar and bus times in operation this week. Everything is an hour earlier than normal. Bar 94 will open at 1100 and close at 1700. The matchday buses will leave the Bus Station at 1200 and 1315 Return from the stadium 10 mins after the full time whistle and at 1700. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info Keith Bray to Dunfermline ***Early Kick Off 2:00pm*** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 10 7 2 1 22 8 +14 Only the ten competitive matches against Stenhousemuir and this is the third one this season. We first crossed swords with the Warriors in a Scottish Cup tie in 1996 when we recorded a narrow one goal win, going on to play Rangers in the next round. A tremendous victory for the Inverness side and a place in the last 8 of the cup. We 'scored' in 2 minutes through Thomson but Christie was offside. After that their defence had to withstand tremendous pressure. Mathieson was a real handful and he came close on 3 occasions - chances also fell to Brannigan, Sprott, Roseburgh, Aitken & Bannon. Caley Thistles only other first half chance was a shot from Thomson in 15 minutes but it went past. In the second half Caley Thistle took control and in 53 minutes Thomson was unlucky when his 25 yard shot was tipped over. In 60 minutes Stewart beat the offside trap but keeper McKenzie came off his line well. 2 minutes later a great shot from 18 yards by Christie was held by McKenzie. On 75 minutes Teasdale set off on a run down the right wing and sent a low cross to Brian Thomson just outside the penalty area - his shot into the corner was unstoppable. With a minute to go Stenhousemuir had the ball in the net but it was chalked off. Caley Thistle held out for a famous victory and the prospect of Rangers at home in the next round. ***We did of course play Rangers at Tannadice going down 3-0 in the Quarter Finals. Starting XI McKenzie Sprott Bannon Armstrong Brannigan Roseburgh Aitken Fisher Mathieson Hutchison Little Jim Calder Mike Noble Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur John Scott Graeme Bennett Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Alan Hercher Iain Stewart 75mins Brian Thomson Subs Haddow Hunter Scott Dave McGinlay Davie Ross Colin Mitchell 2024 Dec 21st League (League 1) 1 - 0 A 719 Sep 28th League (League 1) 0 - 0 H 1,601 2012 Sep 25th League Cup (Rd 3) p 1 - 1 A 705 1999 Jul 31st League Cup (Round 1) 3 - 1 A 534 1998 Apr 11th League 2 - 1 H 1,414 Feb 28th League 3 - 0 A 463 1997 Nov 8th League 4 - 1 H 1,669 Aug 30th League 2 - 3 A 400 Aug 2nd League Cup (Rd 1) 5 - 1 H 1,735 1996 Feb 17th Scottish Cup (Rd 4) 1 - 0 A 2,300 INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L(11)D W W W L W L W W L W W L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. Billy Mckay speaking to the Courier has said that Jake Davidson will miss the rest of the season after the extent of his knee injury was revealed to be more extensive than at first thought. Jake, who was shaping up well in midfield, was looking promising before his injury against Alloa Athletic in the middle of November and is now in re-hab after his operation. The only other injury concern appears to be Billy himself who was subbed off at Arbroath last weekend as a precaution having come on as a second half sub at the break. As far as signing anyone else: Billy said our hands are tied due to administration. We can only now get players in on loan as long as they are under 20 and the window closes at the end of the month. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Stenny 24 9 38 2 Arbroath 22 10 37 3 Cove Rangers 23 10 35 4 Queen of Sth 24 -3 32 5 Kelty Hearts 22 7 31 6 Alloa Athletic 24 3 31 7 Montrose 24 -5 27 8 Annan Ath 24 -16 27 9 Inverness CT 24 0 22 10 Dumbarton 23 -15 08 <<<That was the Warriors line up in the 2-1 win over Queen of the South last weekend. Warriors Last Six: W D D L W W They started their last six with a resounding 3-1 win at Alloa at the end of December. There followed draws with Annan Athletic and Kelty before being hammered 4-0 at home by Cove. In February they have had a 3-0 win at Montrose and a home win over QotS (2-1) in their last game ahead of the visit to Inverness. That back to back wins have put the Warriors heads above the parapet again with Arbroath handily placed behind them with two games in hand. They also went out of the Cup at East End Park with the Pars easing through 3-0 in the middle of January. Corey O'Donnell and Blair Alston are joint top scorers on six apiece with both scoring in the win over Queens last week. Matty Aitken is on 5 goals but has been out injured since before Xmas. Former Inverness player and man mountain Nat Wedderburn recently made his 150th appearance for Stenhousemuir. The Warriors come North looking to pillage three points from the Bridge and Castle but the Eagle will be doing his best to stop the looting and get the Admin Express back on track after the Smokies derailed us momentarily.

A view of the Ochil's for Xmas An away day to Ochilview Park lies in wait for the Caley 'IOU' Jags on Saturday. With the creditors looming, the club still running at -£10K per week and Administrators already running up a bill of over a quarter of a million pounds, are we a viable proposition or are we running on borrowed time? The financial mess left in the wake of the ill fated previous regime uncovered by the forensic sweep over club accounts is staggering. It's embarrassing to be honest and shameful that the list of creditors still owed money has over 140 names on it. These range from a few £'s to £1.6m in the case of former Chairman Ross Morrison. In total the Caley Jags IOU total is standing at over £3.8m and rising daily. Morrison, Allan Munro and David Cameron alone are down £2,721,751. That's not a lot if you say it quickly. How low can we stoop. I hope they all paused for thought when they donned their red poppy in November, the food suppliers are owed over £26K! There's also a geezer called Scot Gardiner who is looking for £70K and O2 are £1.64p short. WTaF. Meanwhile, on the Park Inverness have to pick themselves up after tasting defeat at home to Arbroath last weekend. The dismissal of Robbie Thompson means that he will miss out along with the injured Jake Davidson, Lewis Nicolson, Charlie Reilly and Connall Ewan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue (only 9 meetings) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 9 6 2 1 21 8 +13 Not many games against the Warriors over the years. Prior to the earlier fixture this season that ended 0-0, our next most recent game was a League cup encounter in 2012 that ended 1-1 at Ochilview. Our one defeat was back in 1997 at Ochilview. Match report by Ian Broadfoot can be read below. The rest of our meetings took place between 1996 -1998. All 9 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 3 (A) 5 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Stenhousemuir 3-2 Inverness: Aug30th 1997. The game started at a fast pace and the home side thought they had scored in 4 minutes when an Innes effort was cleared off the line. In 7 minutes an excellent McCulloch 20 yard shot was painfully blocked by a defender and it fell harmlessly into the arms of Alexander. Wilson had a great chance in the 11th minute - he was clean through after a good pass from Thomson but he dithered too long. Stenhousemuir took the lead in 18 minutes when a Roseburgh cross from the left was knocked in by Farrell from close range. The visitors fought back and in 26 minutes a Wilson corner led to an Alexander save from Cherry and a Teasdale header off the bar. The Warriors took control and came close in 29 minutes when a 25 yard blast from Fisher flew low past the post. On 45 minutes Fisher collected a pass 30 yards out, calmly drew Fridge and slotted the ball home. On 47 minutes the visitors came back into the game when Wilson was brought down and Thomson hammered home the penalty. The revival lasted for 3 minutes. MacArthur was judged to have handled in the box to the amazement of all who saw the ball hit his shoulder. The soft penalty was converted by Roseburgh. In 73 minutes Henderson had the miss of the season. He was one yard out when the ball came across the face of the goal but he failed to connect. In the 85th minute a 25 yard McCulloch strike was tipped over by Alexander. Ross took the corner and Addicoat forced the ball over the line with his chest to make it 3-2. Caley Thistle chased the equaliser in the last 5 minutes but could not penetrate the well organised home defence and overall the final score of 3-2 flattered the Inverness side. Starting XI in bold Alexander Sprott Roseburgh pen (Campbell 84) Armstrong Innes Law Farrell Fisher Little Brown Henderson Les Fridge Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur (Ross 75) Paul Cherry Vetle Andersen Mark McCulloch Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Barry Wilson (Addicoat 75) Iain Stewart pen Brian Thomson INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W L That's our League1 season so far. Scott Kellacher came in at matchday 11. His winning streak bookended by the losses at Dumbarton and the loss at home to Arbroath last week. The earlier fixture against the Warriors ended in a Bore Draw (0-0) Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existent for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval. Half Time: 0-0 The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way. Full Time: 0-0 Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display..... That was Duncball for you! Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 17 3 28 2 Stenny 17 8 27 3 Kelty Hearts 17 9 26 4 Alloa Ath 17 6 25 5 Montrose 17 2 23 6 Cove 17 1 22 7 Queen S 16 -3 21 8 Annan Ath 17 -12 18 9 Inverness CT 16 -1 07 10 Dumbarton 17 -13 01 Stenhousemuir Last Six League1 Games: L D W W W L The Warrior's form over the last six League games is a mirror image of our own. One of the big differences is they have scored plenty goals. 4-0, 3-0 and 1-0 wins over Dumbarton, Cove and Montrose are sandwiched between defeats at and Queen of the South and Arbroath with a draw against Annan five games ago. This was their line-up in the 2-1 defeat at Palmerston last week. Reece Lyon put Queens ahead early in the first half. And look who added a second, none other than Adam Brooks with a sharp first time hit from a low cross into the box. Connor O'Donnell reduced the deficit on the hour but despite Queens keeper being the busiest, it ended in a loss in Dumfries. Unfortunately, Matty Aitken will be unavailable after suffering a kidney injury at Dumfries and has been receiving hospital treatment. Greg Buchanan is over the bookings threshold but should be available for this one. Matty Yates is top scorer with five and Blair Alston has four. Danny Devine is still our top 'striker' with three goals. Nat Wedderburn is still at Stenny. Latest Inverness CT Team News A disappointing defeat last week at home to Arbroath was not helped by the sending off of Robbie Thompson who will miss this clash at Ochilview. No news again from the Inverness camp but as we have heard nothing, can we assume we will be along similar lines with Keith Bray starting in place of Thompson. Talk of a new young striker in the New Year, but we need the goals now as Billy seems to have run dry. Missing last week were Davidson, Reilly, Ewan, Nicolson and Cairns. No news from the gaffers this week again

Bore Draw Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existant for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval. Half Time: 0-0 The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way. Full Time: 0-0 Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display. OCG on CTO: Well that was dire possibly even worse than last week. Does DF ever try to play football that suits the players he has? Does he even know that we need to win anymore? Most exciting bit was good natured banter with the Stennie keeper! Finding it harder and harder finding any positivity these days. Can you imagine what it will be like watching football like this when it's minus 3 and dark by full time!! More match reaction to follow Big Musa with a big hand <<caleyjags.com>> Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Queen of the South 8 4 14 2 Alloa Athletic 8 3 14 3 Montrose 8 4 13 4 Kelty Hearts 8 5 12 5 Stenhousemuir 8 0 11 6 Inverness CT 8 0 9 7 Arbroath 8 -1 9 8 Cove Rangers 8 -3 8 9 Annan Athletic 8 -9 7 10 Dumbarton 8 -3 6 Date: 28/09/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1601 Referee: Peter Stuart Inverness CT: 0 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy, Davidson, Devine, Savage, Longstaff, Gilmour, MacLeod (Allan 69), Nolan, MacKinnon, B Mckay (Brooks 68) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ferguson, Ewan, C Mackay, Thompson Scorers: none Booked: Devine (17), B Mckay (56) Sent Off: none Stenhousemuir: 0 Manager: Gary Naysmith Lineup: D Jamieson; Meechan, Buchanan, Bilham, Wedderburn (Alston 55), Berry, Ewen (Tomlinson 75), Aitken, Banner, Anderson, Yates (O'Reilly 88) Subs (not used): Trialist A (Hogarth), Trialist B (Cameron). Scorers: none Booked: Berry (45) Sent Off: none a

Warriors up for the Battle The second home League1 game in a row has Stenhousemuir visiting for the first time since 1998 when we won 2-1. Mike Teasdale scored both goals as we came from behind to win that relegation battle after Ian Little had opened the scoring early in the first half. It's a standard 3:00pm kick-off this Saturday afternoon apart from Cove v the Smokies which can be seen on BBC Alba at half past five. The revamped 94' Bar will be open at mid-day for both sets of fans with Supporters Trust members and helpers at your service and if you are free around 10:30am on Saturday morning, pop over and help with the tidy up around the Stadium. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Livingston Date Ch Cup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 3 3 0 0 11 3 +8 Away 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 8 6 1 1 21 8 +13 Brian Thomson We have only met Stenhousemuir eight times in total, winning six and losing once, a 3-2 reverse at Ochilview in August 1997. Our top scorer of all time against Stenny is Brian Thomson who has scored seven times in all competitions including a hat-trick in a league cup encounter in 1997 at the Caledonian Stadium. Get yer boots on Brian, we need someone to put the ball in the net. Alas, Brian can't make it, he's washing his hair this weekend. Signed from Huntly - Position: Forward Previously with Fraserburgh, Motherwell, Peterhead & Arbroath Debut Played: 16 Dec 1995 - Last Game: 2 May 1998 Third Division Championship medal 1996/97; Joint top Second Division goalscorer 1997/98 (20 goals) Scored a barrowload, including the vital goal v Stenhousemuir which gained access to Rangers in the Scottish Cup in 1996 and he was a star in that quarter final at Tannadice as well. He made a stunning debut v Ross County in the Inverness Cup Final in December 1995. First Goal: January 13th, 1996 - Alloa Athletic 0 - 2 Caley Thistle (Div 3 "The first goal came in 30 minutes - a header by Brian Thomson after a cross from Richard Hastings) Born: June 19th, 1966 (Fraserburgh) Height: 1.83m Position: inside forward Signed: July 1st, 1995 Left Club: May 31st, 1998 Career Stats: 93 appearances, 34 goals Full Debut: December 16th, 1995 - Cowdenbeath 0 - 0 Inverness CT (League - ) First Goal: January 13th, 1996 - Alloa Athletic 0 - 2 Inverness CT (League - ) Also Played For: Arbroath, Buckie Thistle, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Motherwell, Peterhead Season so Far INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D Our season got off to a slow start with a draw at home to Dumbarton followed by a penalty defeat at Annan. Another two draws against Montrose (h) and Kelty Hearts (a) before our first win of the season over Queen of the South at the Caledonian Stadium. We beat Stirling Albion 3-0 to send us into a fourth Rnd tie away to Livingston thanks to a brace from Adam Brooks and a strike from Adam MacKinnon. That was followed up by us throwing away a two goal lead at Alloa to end up with a 2-2 draw six minutes later. A Danny Devine volley and Calum MacLeod with his first goal for the club were the scorers at Recreation Park. Last time out we had a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Cove Rangers who opened the scoring through Adam Emslie. James Nolan on loan from Manchester United's youth squad levelled the game before the hour with his first goal for the club. The optimist said it's only one defeat in seven games. The pessimist said FFS, we've only won one game out of seven. Billy Dodds said folk have been sacked for less... Stenhousemuir: W L L W W L D Having been promoted as Champions in season 23/24, the Warriors opened their account in League1 with a 2-1 home win over Arbroath but lost the following week at Kelty (2-0). Another loss followed at Alloa (1-0) before a 3-2 home win over Cove Rangers. The highlight of their season so far was a 5-1 thrashing of Annan Athletic at Ochilview. Bilham, Anderson and a Blair Alston hat-trick did the damage as Stenny took their chances whilst Annan only took one of their many opportunities. Montrose brought them back down to earth in the next League game with a 3-0 win at Links Park. Last week a no scoring home draw where Queen of the South dominated the game as Darren Jamieson earned the Warriors another vital point. They also knocked Falkirk out of the Challenge Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Jamieson was again a standout for Stenhousemuir denying Falkirk half a dozen times. Blair Alston is their top scorer in the League with three goals followed by midfielder Michael Anderson on two. Former Hearts defender Gary Naysmith is the Warriors manager. It's difficult to assess the teams this early in the season with everyone capable of pulling off wins over all the other challengers.... except for us with our waltzing slowwww slowwww slowwww slowwww slowwww approach to the game which must be easy to set up against and our lack of penetration in the final third. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of this weekends game with Stenny two points above Inverness. 1. Alloa Athletic 7 3 4 0 8 5 13 2. Montrose 7 3 3 1 7 3 12 3. Q.O.S. 7 3 2 2 6 4 11 4. Stenhousemuir 7 3 1 3 10 10 10 5. Kelty Hearts 7 2 3 2 9 7 9 6. Inverness CT 7 1 5 1 6 6 8 7. Cove Rangers 7 2 2 3 10 11 8 8. Annan Athletic 7 2 1 4 6 12 7 9. Dumbarton 7 0 6 1 10 11 6 10. Arbroath 7 1 3 3 6 9 6 Saturday 28 September 2024 Inverness CT v Stenhousemuir Kelty Hearts v Annan Athletic Montrose v Alloa Athletic Queen Sth v Dumbarton (BBC Alba) Cove v Arbroath (17:30) Latest Team News Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns are still out and Keith Bray has not trained all week. We remain toothless up front with Billy in a withdrawn role and little other attacking options available. Striker for the weekend anyone? Here's Dunc talking about his young team, strikers (or lack of), grass, defence and goals; the hardest part of the game isn't it>>> <<<This was the Stenhousemuire starting XI that Gary Naysmith went with in the home draw against Queen of the South. Nat Wedderburn was a sixth minute sub for the Warriors as Kyle Jacobs went off injured. With six yellow cards last week, looks like the Warriors will be up for the battle. Last week was an open game with Queens more than matching their hosts who were thankful for keeper Jamieson pulling off a handful of great stops. Assistant manager Brown Ferguson bemoaned a number of injuries during this game and was pleased with the battling point against a full time team in QotS. Alston, Taylor, Steele, O'Reilly and Jacobs were all substituted against Queens. Maybe Alston for his own good having just been booked in the closing stages of the game. Ayr United midfielder Scott Tomlinson has recently signed on loan for the season at Ochilview.