Hearts -V- Inverness CT : Matchday Thread

[SMEE]

i dont mind admitting i really though this was going to be one step to far. pleased to hold my hands up and say well done i was wrong.

Me too TUG....i thought we might come a cropper today. It is going to happen one day, its inevitable, it was just nice to go a whole calander year, then the whole of 2010 unbeaten. That will do me. PS>.....I think going 2 yrs is a tad optimistic

[Glebeict]

Maybe I shouldn't say , but due to Wanderers Link , got to hear the game in Canada.

Sounded like the broadcasters were Hearts Fans LOL.

Thanks Wanderer.

[Bombabim]

phew we got away with that. second half was one way traffic but we defended well and they were limited to long range shots for a lot of it. admittedly going very close on a number of occasions. but we held on and even had the chance to sneak a winner. shame it was at russell's feet really. will take the point though.

black got man of the match for them. was good to see him leaving the field with a caley top on

thought munro was our MoM, steady as a rock and a goal as well, thought him and tokely coped with the elephant man that is kyle as well as could be expected. he bullied them a bit but in the end he only scored from the spot. incidentally it was def a penalty. esson had to go for it but the striker got there first. meh.

hayes was as bad as i think any of us have seen him. wrong boots i think and just couldn't get to grips with the ball. he'll be back.

three draws in a row against the three teams above us. shall not complain. heres hoping back to winning ways against the midden next week. looking back in the league we ain't entirely clear or free given the games in hand of the teams below us, but with 27 points for half a season. more than happy.

[tm4tj]

Spot on about Hayes. He had a shocker. Looked sluggish and struggled to get going until about an hour into the game. Templeton on the other hand looks to be a tremendous prospect and he packs a punch for a wee guy.

Shame about Russells effort near the end. He broke forward and Russell had options, but the defence opened up for him and he tried his luck from twenty five yards, but hit it too straight at the keeper.

We worked very hard for this point and stopped the form team in their tracks. All our best performers were at the back. Granty, Rossco and Duff were supreb, while Jonny was still basking in the glory of his super strike last week. Difficult to tell about our goal at the far end of the ground, but Munro headed goalwards and seemed to be claiming it, although there appeared to be a melee in front of the goal line.

Hearts spurned what opportunities they had and created a few chances, but flashed them across the box with no takers and ended the game with a flurry of corners which we did well to repel.

Great point from a difficult encounter.

[Pele_Is_God]

Hearts deserved to win but we battled well and can't fault the players for effort. Tokely and Munro were immense and thought Foran played well also. Hayes was a bit out of it, would of taken him off earlier but still in 4th place and if we are still there come end of the season I will be one happy chappy.

BTW Why did we have to pay ?22 when the home fans were getting in for ?14-?17???

[PullMyFinger]

Hearts deserved to win but we battled well and can't fault the players for effort. Tokely and Munro were immense and thought Foran played well also. Hayes was a bit out of it, would of taken him off earlier but still in 4th place and if we are still there come end of the season I will be one happy chappy.

BTW Why did we have to pay ?22 when the home fans were getting in for ?14-?17???

Prices for the Kevin Bisset enclosure are somewhat less than away fans pay, maybe it's a similar pricing structure or was that all home tickets at ?14/?17?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Gawd that put feckin years on me !!! We were so fortunate to hold out today but we could have pinched it if Russell ahd put Eric in - or Rooney.

Might get ma usual pelters here BUT why was TB so restrained - this was the feckin occasion when he should have led the team to the away end and did his usual choir leading - so why not today - only thing that didnt make it perfect.

[Yngwie]

I'm hoping that any clubs interested in Hayes sent their scouts to this fixture.

[alternative maryhill]

Might get ma usual pelters here BUT why was TB so restrained - this was the feckin occasion when he should have led the team to the away end and did his usual choir leading - so why not today - only thing that didnt make it perfect.

I wondered about that a bit too, but maybe it says something about his standards: perhaps he realised we were not at our best today and thought that it would be presumptious to do the whole crowd thing, despite the achievement.

Anyway, as far as the performance goes, I concur with everything that has gone before. Hayes was anonymous, Cox seemed to be on the wrong side of the ball too much, we couldn't retain the ball at all in the second half, but the defence was immense. Rosscoe continues to confound all the reservations people have had about him as a central defender, and Munro must be one of the most underrated players in the SPL. Superb from both, and Duff also had a pretty good game up against Templeton, especially considering he was booked so early.

Truthfully, we were maybe a little lucky to get a point from that game considering the imbalance of possession, but there's no disgrace in that; Hearts are the best team we have faced this season and I could see them finishing above Celtic.

Edited December 19, 2010 by alternative maryhill

[HMFC]

Congrats on your team's result today and remaining undefeated for a full calander year - some achievement!

At times you carried alot of luck but deserved the point for the way you defended, great performance, and your manager is a top man.

All the best.

[LancsDave]

I'm only a part time fan and went yesterday because I was in Dunfermline the night before. It was amazing to see so many people had travelled from Inverness (and Chorley!). It was a great atmosphere from both sets of fans and I thought Hearts were a good side even if they did a lot of diving. Kyle hasn't changed much from his days in England. Inverness's defence was tremendous and some of the play in the last third was intricate and good to watch. Shame about Hayes who couldn't cope with the slippery surface. Could have nicked the game in injury time. I think he made the right choice to shoot instead of passing. He was central to goal and a yard either side would have scored.

The main thing now is to pick up wins against the lower teams - the job's been done against the big boys!

[Caley Stan]

Like most others, i just voted for 3 defenders in the POY which gives some indication of just how under the cosh we were for long spells. We started brightly, pressing well and finding pockets of space down the left with Ross and Foran looking to create openings. After our goal, Hearts took a firm grip of possession and we found it very difficult to get out of our own half, with resolute defending and a degree of luck combining to allow us to escape with a point and our record intact.

I thought our shape was slightly different yesterday. Lee Cox appeared to be stationed in the centre of a line of 4 with Nick Ross. Russell Duncan was very much a lone presence in front of the defence. Rooney was very isolated as nobody in the 4 seemed to have a licence to join him in attack in the way that Ross or Odhiambo have in the past. I think the team was set up to take a point and given the form that Hearts are in we should be happy enough with that.

[+DoofersDad]

We certainly rode our luck against a very good Hearts side. Wow, the young lad Templeton is some player! It was a shame Hayes was so out of sorts because there was space for him with Hearts pressing all the time. However, for all Hearts effort (and Jeffries was very pleased with their performance) the stats showed we had more shots on target. This demonstrates how defensively we are solid whilst creating chances up front. We will play worse than that and win against poorer sides than Hearts.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

And what about the chant of the season - Rosscoe clashes heads with Kyle - gets the head bandage on and returns to - "There's only two Terry Butchers".

But - feck me - there was a clear comparison - Rosscoe truly is Superman.

[tm4tj]

Great atmosphere and some good chants yesterday. The Rossco one was sharp as a tack. It certainly helps when we get squashed into a corner and everyone is singing from the same book.

The record books show that we drew 1-1, that will do for me.

Jonny Hayes was extremely disappointing yesterday. He never appeared until around the hour mark when he suddenly woke up and ran. Unfortunately, Rooney had seen his piss poor display up to that point and never gave him the ball, and that about summed up Jonny's day, after last week, this was one for him to forget.

Still, well done everybody, who would have thought we would have been sitting fourth in the league around Xmas, although I have to say that with games in hand, Killie, United and Well will be breathing down our necks.

Enjoy it while we can.

Edited December 19, 2010 by tm4tj
I lost an h, but I found it now.

[WYNESS101]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/9303058.stm

Highlights from the bbc

[HumbersideDude]

Those highlights bore little resemblance to the game I heard on the radio. Did we not have an offside goal? or a few attempts, in first half at least? Templetons "dive" for a penalty claim? And as there is no Sportscene this week, we will never see anymore.

[tm4tj]

Nah, that was pretty much it. We did have an offside goal and it was offside. Templeton did dive and he was booked for it. Duncan shot too close to keeper at the end. We created very few off target chances to be honest.

We were crapping ourselves at the end as Hearts forced three or four corners in injury time, but we held firm.

They on the other hand were much more creative and should really have won the game. But they never. They flashed two or three across the face of the box, Templeton rattled the post and fizzed another belter a couple of feet wide. Our chances were not as clear cut and we tended to fizzle out in the last third. Hayes was pathetic and never helped Duff out. He should have been hooked earlier. This left us toiling with a passenger. Esson was definitely the busier keeper and had to make the more difficult saves. Cox was another who has had a better day at the office. Too often in the wrong place but they all stuck to their task and a draw was hard earned and almost believable.

[Tug]

rosscoes @rse for MOM

[MissICT]

another enjoyable away game

wasnt too sureabout te ref though......

I have to say some "football fans" are f*cking @ssholes!!!!

[PaderbornCaley]

Great day out as usual, but I agree, lucky to hold on but not complaining! Very happy with a draw! One sour note... I won't be back to Diggers again! I don't think we're welcome any more!!!

[sheepslagger]

Great game. Great banter and on reflection a great result. We played some fantastic confident football especially in the first half. Fantastic defending in the second. Thats a good Hearts side. Agree with what everyone says about Templeman. He was worryingly good against us. I was bumming him up to my Hearts mate on the way to the game. Must have been the kiss of death for him.

Last fifteen my erse wiz knitting socks, but we held out. Happy .

[davie]

That was some game, I've no idea how we got away with some of the second half. Russel Duncan was my MOTM, but everyone played out of their skins. I particularly loved the Jambo with the ulster flag and his mate with the yellow tracksuit. Nice. Also liked TB's comment on the radio about Rosscoe not deserving a headband 'cause he only had one stitch. Still, managed the whole game this time but I lost Maimie at the end. Has anyone seen her since? (only kidding, she was off on a mission) Now, how do I keep going to away games without that daft hat? I'm scared to ditch it now!

[Scarlet Pimple]

The Hearts manager on the BBC commentary after the ganme was slight in his praise for ICT. He remembered to say something, at the end of his lauding of his own team as the best thing since sliced bread.Then he said that ICT were lucky to get a point, that Hearts were the best team and ..blah blah.

Seems odd that they didn't win then isn't it?

There are two teams on the park and if one does not win and it is a draw how can the team that mostly attacked, and which played well enough, be the best team when the team that mostly defended, and played a BLINDER in that role, is not viewed the best team?

I mean, are there not two roles in the game--to attack and to defend. Is is that attacking is so much more cool than defending. It sure sounds like it.

Personally speaking, it sounded as if the draw was a fair result.

And great praise must be heaped on the team in the SPL who has never lost an away game in all of 2010.INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE. --The best team in he SPL on THAT record.

[Scarlet Pimple]

I fact I feel as if I am in dreamland and watching the best team in the land.