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Banana Skin Avoided A potential banana skin encounter was made all the more plausible given the 2015 Scottish Cup winners permanent injury crisis. Stirling Albion are on a roll at the top end of League Two whilst we are struggling to get players on the park recently. With that in mind we made a late swoop into the transfer market to snap up right back Ryan Barrett on a short term loan until January. He was thrust into the squad for this Scottish Cup game having been training with the squad this week. Dale Carrick scored a first half brace with Wallace Duffy and Max Ram replying for Inverness who only woke up after the opening goal. After the break Aaron Doran restored the hosts lead and we held on to go into the draw for the fourth round. Not pretty, but we got there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New loan signing Ryan Barrett was on the bench alongside Dan Mackay who was reappearing after injury. Sean Welsh was given more recovery time. Dale Carrick would spearhead the Binos attack and hot prospect Kai Fotheringham would be one to watch. One change from last week as Harrison Clark comes in to replace Ross Davidson. Robert Thomson returns to the bench after serving his suspension. Cammy Clark remains suspended. After the heavy rain and wind earlier in the week it was a pleasantly calm and mild afternoon for a kick-about. Thirteen goal striker Dale Carrick was prominent early on as he shot wide, but it was a low key start to the game. Kai Fotheringham sliced wide after twenty-five minutes with the hosts not really threatening. A couple of corners for the visitors brought about the opening goal when Carrick bulleted a header high into the net after Fotheringham had chipped a ball into the box. No surprise really given our negative start to the match as we have offered very little so far. Was there a shock on the cards? Maybe not, the lead lasted little more than five minutes as Wallace Duffy levelled the tie from a Nathan Shaw cross with an excellent headed goal of his own, his downward header bouncing high into the net. Fotheringham and Aaron Doran exchanged efforts with Currie called into action to deny Doran before Max Ram put us ahead five minutes before the interval as he shot into the bottom corner from close range assisted by Billy Mckay. We can't hold on to the lead either and Dale Carrick scored his second of the game in stoppage time before the whistle as he slotted the ball past Cammy Mackay from close range after a defensive blunder by the recovering Devine. HALF TIME 2-2 A couple of early second half corners came to nothing for the hosts. Ten minutes after the break the tricky Fotheringham went close again with an effort from outside the box. The Bino's were fancying this one with Inverness not looking particularly threatening. George Oakley replaced Steven Boyd on the hour and Dan Mackay replaced Billy Mckay soon after. His first contribution was a header that went wide, which was more positive than Oakley who conceded a foul inside a minute of entering the park. Inverness retook the lead when Aaron Doran scored from close range with twenty minutes left, Shaw again with the assist as he cut along the byeline before picking out Doran. Mackay saved from Fotheringham, tipping the ball over as Stirling looked to stay in the tie and Harrison Clark had an effort blocked as we struggled to contain the Binos who were forcing their hosts onto the back foot as they gave away more corners. It was going to be a long last ten minutes for the home fans. Ryan Barrett made his debut with ten minutes to go with Max Ram giving way and still we looked fragile as Stirling tried to force an equaliser with Mackay denying Davidson's deflected shot and Carrick. Obligatory booking for David Carson as we clung on to what we had. And we just got over the line... MotM for Inverness was Nathan Shaw once more with Cammy Mackay also ensuring we went into the hat for the 4th round draw. Date: 26/11/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 738 Referee: Dan McFarlane Inverness CT: 3 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Duffy, Ram (Barrett 81), Devine, Harper, Shaw, Carson, Hyde, Doran, Boyd (Oakley 60), B Mckay (D Mackay 64) Subs (not used): Ridgers; Strachan, Cal Mackay, Nicolson Scorers: Duffy (32), Ram (40), Doran (69) Booked: Ram (71), Carson (87), Harper (90+2) Sent Off: none Stirling Albion: 2 Manager: Darren Young Lineup: Currie; McGeachie, McLean, McGregor, H Clark (Cooper 82), Dunsmore, Leitch (Moore 72), Banner (Davidson 22), Denholm (Thomson 72), Carrick, Fotheringham Subs (not used): Law; Burns Scorers: Carrick (27, 45+1) Booked: Davidson (88) Sent Off: none a

Bino's Bonus Kevin Rutkiewicz took his Stirling Albion side North for the second group 'A' match for both teams who were looking to continue their winning starts to the League Cup. Something was going to give and it did with the Bino's taking the bonus point after a 2-2 draw. Stirling took an early lead with a superb free kick by Dylan Mackin from twenty-three yards. Kieran Moore stunned the hosts on the counter with a second before Roddy Macgregor pulled one back before the Interval, linking with Duku. Shane Sutherland levelled the tie early in the second half, again Duku the provider. Jack Leitch hit the post for the impressive Bino's as they continued to cause problems. Chances went abegging at both ends and when Doran missed a great opportunity at the end, the game went to penalties to decide the bonus point. When Currie brilliantly saved Sutherland's penalty it was the Bino's that prevailed 3-2, and no one could grudge them that. Penalty scorers Inverness CT: 2 - Walsh , Allardice , McAlear , Carson , Sutherland Stirling Albion: 3 - Carrick , Leitch , Flanagan Omar , Banner OFFICIAL REPORT FROM ICTFC CTO RIG has this summary: We had a lot of the ball but didn't create too many clear cut chances. From an ICT perspective the defending for the second goal was a shambles. Carson completely switched off and let his man run off him. Nice free kick for the opener but I can't help but feel we didn't defend that set piece particularly well either. A couple of nice passing moves at the edge of the box saw us score two decent goals and although we dominated in terms of attacking with Stirling content to sit back and hit on the counter we struggled to really test the keeper. Doran had the best chance to win it when he sclaffed a shot wide with only the keeper to beat. That said, Stirling looked decent on the counter and although Broadfoot was pretty decent for most of the game he did have a comedy mishap with Deas (I think) where the two of them went for the ball and both missed it leading to a clear chance for Albion to grab a winner but they hit the post / bar. That penalty shoot out was pretty rotten. Almost as bad as the one between the two sides back in 2017 in the same competition. That's us possibly out of the competition already as we will probably need to do our usual of get at least a point from Hearts or avoid losing 3 - 0 only to contrive to lose 4 - 0. Meh. On the plus side it was great being back at a game again. Pragmatism at it's finest CTO Doofers Dad: We played some tidy football at times with good ball retention and interplay in midfield, but there was a lack of movement up front, we were rarely able to find the defence splitting passes and any crosses into the box were generally poor. As for the defence; being lucky to concede only 2 goals at home against a part time team 2 divisions below us tells its own story. But hey. It was back to watching live football and that is a real positive. CTO Robert: Not our finest day, and once again we look to be failing to get out of the group stages, but we need to use the next two games to sharpen up so we are ready for the league campaign. Date: 17/07/2021 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: **** Referee: Alan Newlands Inverness CT: 2 (2 pens) Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Carson, Fyffe (Deas 46), Broadfoot (Devine 63), Harper, MacGregor, Welsh (Allardice (38), Gardyne (Doran 63), Walsh, Sutherland, Duku (McAlear 83) Subs (not used): Ridgers; H Nicolson, Duffy, Cairns, Scorers: MacGregor (27), Sutherland (49) Booked: Devine (72) Sent Off: none Stirling Albion: 2 (3 pens) Manager: Kevin Rutkiewicz Lineup: Currie; Cummins (McGeachie 74), McLean, McGregor, McNiff, Laird (Banner 83), Moore (Heaver 90), Omar, Leitch, Flanagan, Mackin (Carrick 74) Subs (not used): Law; Roberts, Heaver, Bikey Scorers: Mackin (4), Moore (20) Booked: Omar (58), McGregor (80) Sent Off: none a

League Cup Second game of the season has Stirling Albion coming North to face the Caley Jags with both sides getting off to a winning start in their opening group 'A' fixture. The Bino's went to Cove and came away with an excellent 3-2 win and Inverness defeated Peterhead 2-0 in Billy Dodds first game flying solo. The match is a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon with home fans only allowed in the stadium under current covid restrictions. PPV Streaming from ICTV OFFICIAL PREVIEW INFO We comfortably beat Peterhead on Tuesday night thanks to two fantastic second half strikes. Manny Duku opened his account with a tight finish from sixteen yards and Aaron Doran thundered in a swerving 30 yarder to complete the scoring. Inverness were rarely troubled and eased home with Peterhead winless after two games. Stirling edged out Cove in an entertaining five goal game at Balmoral Stadium. Rabin Omar put Stirling in at the break a goal to the good. Nathan Flanagan doubled the advantage early in the second half but a Fraser Fyvie double looked likely to take the tie to a penalty shoot-out. Note that Vigurs is credited with the assists for both Cove goals. However Flanagan scored again in stoppage time to win the game for the visitors. Bino's starting XI v Cove Rangers: Currie; Cummins, McLean, McGregor, McNiff, Laird, Leitch, Omar, Flanagan, Moore, Mackin Latest Team News Robbie Deas has returned to full training and Billy Mckay will return to full training, possibly next week. Anthony McDonald has been on light training and will be stepping up his rehab with full training soon. Looks like we will be along similar lines to the Peterhead game. Manny Duku and Kirk Broadfoot caught the eye on Tuesday night with Aaron Doran, Sean Welsh and Tom Walsh looking spritely. Other fixture in group A Peterhead play Cove Rangers on Saturday.

Caley Thistle cantered into the 4th round of the Tennents Scottish Cup with what turned out to be an easy win against Stirling Albion. Charlie Christie went with 3 strikers from the start and this paid off as the Caley Jags managed 6 goals from 5 different scorers. Official Club Historian Ian Broadfoot supplies the match report. STIRLING ALBION 1-6 ICT 6th January 2007 Forthbank Stadium, Stirling STIRLING ALBION 1 (O'Brien 15) Team: Hogarth, Hay (Taggart 55), McNally, Graham, Forsyth, Bell, Fraser, Aitken, O'Brien (Devine 76), Tomana (Wilson 55), Cramb Subs: Christie & Malseed INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 6 (Dargo 8,41, Wyness 13, McBain 22, Wilson 47, Morgan 69) Team:Brown, Tokely (McCaffrey 53), Dods, Munro, Wilson (Morgan 67), Duncan, Rankin, McBain, Wyness, Bayne (McAllister 62), Dargo Subs: Black & Fraser Referee Mike Ritchie Attendance 1521 Man of the Match Craig Dargo (ICT) Charlie Christie said: We're in the next round draw and that was the main priority today... we're just hoping for a decent draw. With Stirling riding high in the Second Division, and having home advantage, Caley Thistle had to be at their professional best going into this match. In the event a fine performance led to a comfortable victory. This was only the Sixth meeting of the clubs and only the second in any cup - Stirling won a League Challenge Cup match 3-1 in August 1996 but never managed a league victory when both were in the Second Division in 1998/99. The Binos were without Dene Shields who has gone back to Gretna from loan and also the injured Ian Cashmore. Richard Hastings missed out for ICT due to injury but Ian Black returned from suspension to take a place on the bench. Craig Dargo came back from injury to take his place in an attacking formation with three at the back and all three main strikers in the starting eleven. With only eight minutes gone it was 1-0 to ICT when John Rankin stepped in as the Stirling defence tried to clear a high header from Graham Bayne - Rankin sent a low ball across goal from the left and Dargo bundled in from a yard out. Five minutes later a Roy McBain cross from the left was knocked-down by Bayne and Dennis Wyness sent a superb left-foot volley from 20 yards past Myles Hogarth to make it 2-0. Two minutes after that Stirling temporarily came back into it when David O'Brien scored from 12 yards via the post. Roy McBain made it 3-1 in 22 minutes when his first shot came back off Wyness and he hammered the rebound home from the edge of the box. John Fraser hit the bar for Stirling in 32 minutes but four minutes before the break Craig Dargo scored a tremendous goal to make it 4-1. He played a one-two with Wyness and chipped over Hogarth from 25 yards. Half Time: 1-4 Two minutes into the second half Barry Wilson scored with a low shot from 25 yards which went in off the post to make it 5-1. Stirling were by now well and truly out and in 54 minutes it was nearly 6-1 when Bayne hit the post with a low drive. The final goal came in 69 minutes from Alan Morgan just two minutes after he came on for Barry Wilson. He took a pass from Rankin, went past three defenders then scored from an acute angle through Hogarth's legs. Full Time: 1-6 A good afternoon's work for ICT and a place in Sunday's fourth round draw. [4th round draw paired ICT at home to either Dundee Utd or St Mirren]

Susan could feature at Stirling. Inverness opened their Group A, Betfred Cup, account with a comfortable win over Brechin City on Saturday. Gary Warren notched a couple and new striker George Oakley opened his own personal account with a header. One swallow does not a summer make but how good did that feel? Next up a wee Tuesday night jaunt to Stirling to battle with the Binos. John Robertson has said that three wins should be enough to progress so it would be great to meet Falkirk on Saturday sitting with two. Tonight should also see the much anticipated debut of Feliciano Zschusschen, apparently to be known as Susan…. He has a very impressive showreel so hopes are high that the goals this season could be plentiful. Mark Ridgers was very quiet on Saturday and will be hoping for more of the same. I expect the team to line up pretty much as Saturday and my guess is that Oakley will be sacrificed to allow Susan to show us what he can do. The Binos finished mid-table last season in League Two with 47 points, just 5 points short of a play-off slot. Their opening game this season saw them crash to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Falkirk who scored through Nathan Austin, Joe McKee, Alex Harris and Aaron Muirhead. Albion scored a superb late consolation from Darren Smith in a more even second period. Squad changes at Stirling Albion according to the BBC website are - In: Peter MacDonald, forward (Clyde); Steven Noble, defender (Peterhead). Loan: Callum Morrison, midfielder (Hearts). Late additions are defender Lee Hamilton from Bristol Rovers and Keeper Mark Foden from over the bridge. Out: Chris Smith, goalkeeper (Stenhousemuir); Ross Forsyth, defender (Clydebank); Jamie Mills, defender (BSC Glasgow); Ross McMillan, defender (BSC Glasgow); Frazer Wright, defender (retired); Alex Docherty, midfielder; Darren Petrie, midfielder; Jack McCue, midfielder. Loan ended: Dylan Bikey, forward (Hearts); Conor Quigley, defender (Dundee). Stirling Albion had this squad starting against Falkirk:- 1 C Binnie 2 R McGeachie 3 S Noble 4 S Davidson 5 E McNeil 6 W Robertson 8 L Caddis 9 P MacDonald 10 D Smith 11 R Kavanagh 16 S Dickson. Subs:- 7 C Morrison 12 K Banner 14 A Black 15 C McMullan 18 B Henderson 19 R Cameron GK R Fallens Stirling Albion Team News:- Striker Andy Little won’t feature as he continues his recovery from injury and the game is likely to come too soon for defender Ross Smith. Prices for tonight are £10 adults £5 concessions and U16s free. All fans are housed in the West stand according to Stirling twitter. Oh, remember to take yer sun screen factor 50, it's roastie toastie out there. Format: A reminder that all drawn games in the group stage go straight to penalties, with the winners receiving a bonus point. Let’s hope another win is winging its way to Inverness. This Preview was brought to you by Old Caley Girl

Mutombo stunner settles ICT Inverness eased into the 5th round with a 2-0 win over Stirling Albion, but it took two superb strikes from Andrea Mutombo and Iain Vigurs to settle the tie against the League Two side. Danny Devine was returned to the heart of the defence after suspension at the weekend and Andrea Mutombo was given a start. Danny Williams was at left back with Carl Tremarco out. A brisk night met the players as they emerged from the tunnel and the crowd was kept to a minimum with Sky Sports covering the game. The first dangerous action of the tie was when Danny Williams brought down Steven Doris on the edge of the box. Doris took the free kick himself and curled his effort over the bar. Encouraging start for the Binos and they foraged forward again only to be blocked on the edge of the box at the expense of a corner which came to nothing as Ross Smith shot just wide. It's the League Two side that were making all the early running against a struggling Inverness, but Gary Warren almost scored with a header after a corner, however the ball got smuggled away from the six yard box and away from danger. Andrea Mutombo is able to showcase his twinkle toed skills and he curled a shot just over after fifteen minutes as Inverness begin to get to grips with the game. Five minutes later and Liam Polworth shoots over as the early Stirling threat seems to have evaporated, but the home side will need to up their accuracy if they want to progress. Back come the Binos though and Ross Smith heads wide to make sure Inverness are kept on their toes. Mutombo has had enough though and goes on another dazzling dribble. This time he cuts in from the left and ends it by exploding the ball behind Chris Smith from 25 yards into the keepers top right hand corner. Extreme goal from the one man showing the ability to get behind the Binos defence. It's all Inverness now and constant pressure brings about a couple of half chances but the final shots get snuffed out, Vigurs and Draper looking to add the second. Despite dominating, we are still finding it difficult to create any premium opportunities to get the second goal and too many crosses and passes are going astray allowing Albion time to regroup and remain in contention. Goal apart, that's another uninspiring 45 minutes from Inverness against a resolute Stirling Albion as the half fades out. Half Time 1-0 The poor touches and poor lay offs continue at the start of the second half, but as Inverness break forward, Ross Smith earns a booking for stopping Danny Williams dead in his tracks. Mutombo is still the one stretching the back line of the visitors defence and he pings a ball across goal, but the defenders hook it clear. Flattering to deceive springs to mind as Inverness play the ball back and fore across the Binos defensive line before once more overrunning the ball. Ten minutes into the half and a free kick causes a bit of urgency in the Inverness box before Mark Lamont fires over from outside the box. Better spell for the visitors as they force a corner and another scrambulation in the home box. Mutombo is still the main threat and he earns a free kick 25 yards out. Iain Vigurs wastes the chance as he hits the defensive wall. He would atone for that a few minutes later. Inverness broke from the back at pace. Raven fed Storey who held the ball until Draper found space. He raced forward before cutting back to the incoming Vigurs who guided the ball into the top corner from 18 yards for another stunning goal. Pick that one out. Inverness once more on the ascendency but more overplay results in Williams crossing behind after some tidy midfield passing. Draper got booked for upending Lamont, a bit soft looking, but it is Ross Draper, and Storey forged his way down the left after riding two challenges. Vigurs goes down in the box and all he got for his troubles was a booking. Oh dear. Two nil up, but we have been here before, Albion not blown out yet with 20 minutes to endure as Storey has an effort saved. Craig Beattie enters the tie as Stirling look to get back into the game, Ross Smith leaving the field and Alex Fisher replaces Liam Polworth with fifteen left. Tremendous work by Williams down the left allows Storey to thrash a ball goalwards, but Smith is equal to it and palms the shot away for a fruitless corner. Richie Foran and Jordan Roberts get some game time as Draper and MotM Mutombo leave the pitch. That sparked the visitors into life again as they forced a couple of corners, but it was Danny Devine that almost curled in a third goal, the ball almost shaving the outside of the post as it went just wide. Jordan Roberts' impact was almost instant. He was booked minutes after coming on. Oh well, we have waited long enough to see him on the park, I suppose any publicity is good publicity. Oh ffs, Alex Fisher is helped off the park with what looks like an ankle injury, that's all we need, and Stirling Albion end the game as they started, on the front foot. A free kick from Doris, a corner and a lob from Darren Smith going narrowly over the bar with Fon Williams stranded. Full Time 2-0 This game was won by the home side with the aid of two tremendous goals, both contenders for goal of the round. Stirling battled hard but it was Inverness who controlled the game and created the chances to get themselves into the next round where Motherwell await. Tonight's MotM goes to Andrea Mutombo. He did a power of work tonight dragging defenders all over the place and his trickery saw him ghost past a few in tight situations. His goal was a tremendous individual effort after drifting in from the left wing then unleashing a stunning strike from 25 yards. Miles Storey did nothing right in the first half but did plenty of unselfish sprinting after the break, unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions. From a selfish point of view, it would have been nice to score a barrowload of goals, but it's credit to Stirling Albion that we never as they stuck to the task and finished the game at our end of the park. Good luck to them for the rest of the season, the banana skin put away for another year. It's Fir Park for us on the weekend of 6th February in the 5th round Date: 19/01/16 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1231 Referee: Mat Northcroft Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Raven, Warren, Draper (Foran 82), Devine, Tansey, Williams, Polworth (Fisher 76), Vigurs, Mbuyi-Mutombo (Roberts 82), Storey Subs (not used): Esson, Wedderburn, Brown, Sutherland Scorers: Mbuyi-Mutombo (28), Vigurs (61) Booked: Williams (3) Sent Off: none Stirling Albion: 0 Lineup: W.Smith, Mazel, Forsyth, McGeachie, R.Smith (Beattie 75), Robertson, Johnston (Cunningham 69), Comrie (Lamont 50), Doris, D.Smith, Dickson Subs (not used): Binnie, Hamilton, Verlaque, Kouider-Aissa, Scorers: none Booked: R.Smith (50) Sent Off: none 0 Quote Edit

Another Chance Cup replay coming up on Tuesday night as Inverness welcome Stirling Albion back to the Highlands. The last time they were here, April 1999, they left Inverness with a point after a 2-2 draw thanks to a double from Alex Bone. Duncan Shearer had scored both Inverness goals. Inverness held the Binos to a scoreless draw at Forthbank a couple of Saturdays ago and the League Two side deserve another chance to progress in the competition as the Premiership side failed to get the better of their opponents. Having avoided the banana skin that day, you would have to fancy Inverness' chances of completing the job on Tuesday, but we are fairly inept at getting the better of underdogs and after a drab display at Forthbank, followed by a toothless performance at Rugby Park, one could be forgiven for wondering which club will be seen as the underdog. Stirling had their game on Saturday postponed at Elgin as Inverness struggled their way to defeat against Kilmarnock and the weather. The game was played out on a snowbound pitch as we once more failed to beat a club floundering at the bottom end of the league. The winning goal was a stunning volleyed strike, but it does not detract from another insipid performance from Yogi's side. The only bright spot for Inverness to come out of that game was our 1500th competitive goal. That landmark was achieved by Ross Draper. Not a regular scorer, 8 goals in 135 appearances, but nonetheless it's his name that goes into the record books. We are bereft of creativity at the moment and added to that is more injury woes that we are unable to cope with. Josh Meekings has not played for a month now and can be added to the longer term casualties. James Vincent missed out at Killie and Jordan Roberts once more filled a space on the bench but is yet to feature since his early season injury. Alex Fisher has been brought into the squad but will need time to get up to speed. Inverness will have Danny Devine back after he missed the Killie game through suspension. Richie Foran is another bench warmer, but not sure if he is ready for a full blooded cup tie yet. Doran, Brill and Meekings will not feature. Stirling Albion are without hamstring duo Kevin McKinlay and Ross McMillan, and new signing Scott Buist is ineligible, having signed too late for this 4th round replay. Motherwell await the victors at Fir Park in the 5th round and there's no guarantee that will be Inverness. In fact, given our reluctance to see games out, it would not surprise me if we struggle through this game as well. We should have enough in the tank to see off the Binos, but you could say that about the first game as well. I won't go as far as to say that Stirling will progress, but I will be pleasantly surprised if we can get through without any drama. Fingers crossed it is then.............

Forthbank Stalemate Stirling Albion rightly took all the plaudits in this fourth round tie as Scottish Cup champions Inverness Caledonian Thistle were made to look more like chumps as they struggled to a scoreless draw against the League Two part timers. The weather relented sufficiently for this game to go ahead as Inverness began the defence of their trophy in Stirling. The last time the clubs met here in the cup Inverness trounced the Bino's 6-1. There would be no such outcome this time as the home side had done their homework and negated anything the visitors had to offer, which in truth was very little. An encouraging away support were on hand to witness our opening defence and many left disappointed at our inability to create anything resembling a chance, although everyone was grateful for the opportunity to rectify this in the replay on Tuesday 19th of January. New signing Alex Fisher started on the bench along with Andrea Mutombo and perennial bench warmer Jordan Roberts. Danny Williams filled the vacant left back position in Carl Tremarco's enforced absence. Stirling made three changes from the side that flopped against East Stirling the previous week. Out went Ross McGeachie, David Verlaque and Mark Lamont, and in came Ross Smith, Craig Comrie and Phil Johnston. Craig Beattie was on the bench. A relatvely lively opening from the visitors saw little happening but Danny Williams had a shot well saved by Chris Smith in the eighth minute after linking neatly with Liam Polworth. It would go on to be a dreadful first half with Inverness allowing their opponents to get bodies behind the ball with their painstakingly slow build up play which made for little entertainment for the crowd. The first half came and went without much ado as the fans waited for something to happen. Half Time 0-0 Yogi had seen enough of the ineffective and out of position Nat Wedderburn and pulled him off at the break, replacing him with Alex Fisher in the hope that this would inject a bit more urgency about events. Miles Storey, David Raven and Danny Devine all came close in a more up tempo second half, but we were still too intent on boring Stirling Albion into submission, but the Bino's were having none of it and were probing well on the break. Darren Smith fired over the bar five minutes after the interval and that was a warning shot for Inverness. But our pedantic style was inviting a shock and Owain Fon Williams denied Willie Robertson after the hour. Craig Beattie entered the fray as the game trudged towards a climax and you could smell the banana skin being peeled. We almost stood on it and Gary Warren prevented the slip when he blocked a Steven Doris effort which looked as if it might have gone in. Greg Tansey fired one just wide but we could not put ourselves into the hat on our own and Stirling Albion deservedly joined us. Full Time 0-0 This was not about what we didn't do, it was all about what Stirling Albion did and they thoroughly deserved another crack at us. We should not be taking this lightly and can consider ourselves fortunate to get another chance to right the many wrongs. The MotM were all wearing Bino's white and red and they collect that accolade as a team. Congratulations to Stirling Albion. For Inverness, it's time to take stock and ask ourselves if we really did enough against a team 32 places below us in the Scottish Football tier system. I think we all know the answer. Alternative Maryhill was at the game and made these observations:- Disappointing performance. I know that our default strategy is to sit deep and build from the back, but I thought that yesterday would be an opportunity, against part-time players from a league below, to press higher up the park and try to overwhelm them early in the game. For the first ten minutes it looked like we were going to do that, with Storey and Williams both looking particularly lively, and Stirling's left back looking vulnerable. However, we then reverted to the deep-lying, low-tempo approach and created next to nothing for the rest of the half. Stirling were quick and direct down the right hand side, and looked threatening on a couple of occasions, although their moves tended to fall apart when they got to the edge of our box. We had a few more chances and close shaves in the second half, but rarely forced the Stirling keeper into saves. Fisher doesn't seem to have much pace, although he may need time to get up to the pace of competitive games, but he did add a bit of presence up front, and it may be that, if they play together, Storey starts to play a more roaming role, dropping deeper to collect the ball and taking it out wide when required - he was doing that anyway yesterday, but there was rarely any support for him until Fisher arrived. I don't have too many fears for the replay, but we will need much more of a cutting edge and more ability to press teams if we are going to get anywhere near where we did last season. Players of the calibre and directness of Watkins and Shinnie were sorely missed yesterday. Stirling Albion: 0 C Smith, Mazel, McKinlay (McGeachie 12), Forsyth, R Smith, Robertson, Johnston (Lamont 62), Comrie (Beattie 79), Doris, D Smith, Dickson. Subs (not used): Verlaque, Cunningham, Kouider-Aissa, Binnie (GK). Inverness CT: 0 O F Williams, Raven, Warren, Devine, Wedderburn (Fisher 46), Tansey, D Williams, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Mbuyi-Mutombo 79), Storey. Subs (not used): Roberts, Brown, Sutherland, MacRae, Esson (GK). Referee: Mat Northcroft Crowd: 1,224

Title defence begins Inverness start the defence of their trophy in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday against Stirling Albion at Forthbank Stadium with a 15:00 kick off. We have played there before in the cup, and in January 2007 ran out big winners with a 6-1 scoreline. Craig Dargo grabbed a couple and Dennis Wyness, Roy McBain, Barry Wilson and Alan Morgan completed the Inverness scoring. David O'Brien got the Bino's goal, but it was the Highlanders that cruised into the next round. 1521 attended that game, I wonder how the crowds will fare for this one? We put Dundee United out in the fourth round thanks to a Russell Duncan screamer but we fell foul to two late goals by Celtic in the quarter final. We had led through a Graham Bayne goal after 18 minutes, but were caught out as Celtic equalised through Steven Pressley in the 89th minute. We had our thoughts on a replay but Kenny Miller stunned the Inverness fans by scoring in the 91st minute to send us crashing out of the competition. Just goes to show that losing late goals is nothing new for us. Celtic went on to lift the trophy that year. The clubs have met six times, mostly in our early days in the Second Division. Inverness have won four, Stirling one and the other game was a 2-2 draw in Inverness. We have scored 12 goals at Stirling in three games, conceding only twice. The tie Stirling Albion won was a Challenge Cup game at Forthbank in 96/97 when they won 3-1. Back to the future though and Stirling Albion have made their way to this game by beating East Fife 1-0 after a goalless draw nine days earlier. In the third round, the Bino's trounced lowland league side Cumbernauld Colts 6-0. Steven Doris and Craig Beattie both scored braces and Kyle Lander and Sean Dickson completed the scoring. With most of Scotland suffering from serious flooding and snow issues plenty of folk will be keeping an eye on the weather forecast prior to this game. Stirling Albion have tried their best to re-assure everyone that the weather and pitch should be OK, but as we know, that can change swiftly. Ross McMillan is out for Stirling Albion with a hamstring problem and he should be the only absentee. The Cup holders will be without Carl Tremarco who was sent off after stumbling over the ball in last seasons final before bringing down the Falkirk player in attempting to rectify his error. Josh Meekings has missed recent games and Jordan Roberts has not been tried out although he has been on the bench. Otherwise, Inverness will be on familiar lines as recent weeks, although Tobi Sho-Silva has left the building. tm4tj Prediction:- Stirling Albion come into this game off the back of a surprise 3-2 defeat to struggling East Stirling who are propping up League Two and they were also beaten 3-1 by East Fife in the previous game. Stirling sit just outside the play off position in fifth place. Inverness are on a high after an excellent derby win over Ross County and are unbeaten in five now having entered the top-six. No disrespect to The Bino's who are having a solid season, but if we can't get ourselves into the draw for the fifth round then there's something wrong. Miles Storey is looking to get back on a scoring run, and who would bet against him notching our 1500th competitive goal. Now that he is staying at Inverness for the rest of the season, watch him go! I doubt this will be as easy as some would have us believe, but we should be strong enough to progress. Away win for me and Inverness' ball to be in Gary Anderson's hand soon. ***Latest News*** Inverness have added six foot three Englishman Alex Fisher to their squad and the 25 year old is apparently eligible to be included in todays team if seleced. Fisher is an out of contract striker signed after leaving Torquay United by mutual consent. He had scored 7 goals in 22 appearances for the Gulls. His arrival could open the ICT exit door for another out of favour striker at Inverness in the shape of Dani Lopez. Partick Thistle are the first side through to the next round of the cup after they knocked out St Mirren 2-1 last night. From Bino's website Admission: Adults £15, Seniors & Students £10, U16s £5. Cash at the turnstiles. Fans: Albion supporters should use turnstiles 1, 2 3, & 4 in the West Stand. Turnstiles 7, 8, 9 & 10 will be open in the East Stand for ICT fans. Replay date: If the game ends in a draw, the replay will take place at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday January 19.