<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="80%"> <tbody> <tr> <td>

<table bgcolor="#003300" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td scope="col" width="55">

</td> <td bgcolor="#003300">

THE MATCHDAY THREAD

Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen

</td> <td scope="col" width="55">

</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

<table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td rowspan="3" width="100">

</td> <td>

Hibernian -V- Inverness CT

</td> <td rowspan="3" width="100">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td>

PREVIEW

</td> </tr> <tr> <td>

28th December @ 7:45PM

Easter Road, Edinburgh

</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

<table bgcolor="#99cc99" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <th scope="col" width="33%">

Follow us on Twitter

</th> <th scope="col">

Follow us on Facebook

</th> <th scope="col" width="33%">

Go to the Chatroom

</th> </tr> </tbody> </table>

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#0000cc"> <td scope="col" width="51">

</td> <td scope="col" width="601">

Media Coverage

</td> <td scope="col" width="51">

</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#f2f2f2"> <td align="center" valign="top" width="51">

AUDIO

</td> <td colspan="2">

• Moray Firth Radio Live Commentary [UK Only]
  
  
• BBC "Open All Mics" Live discussion and Goal flashes [UK Only]
  
  
• BBC "Live Commentary" (see links on page) [UK only]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> <td align="center" valign="top" width="51">

TEXT

</td> <td colspan="2">

• ESPN
  
  
• BBC
  
  
• SKY
  
  
• Sporting Life
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#e9e9e9"> <td align="center" valign="top">

VIDEO

</td> <td colspan="2">

• BBC Match Highlights (online) - [UK only]
  
  
• BBC Sportscene TV programme [UK only]
  
  
• ICT Official Website Highlights [Worldwide - Registration Reqd (free)]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

<table bgcolor="#fefeeb" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td scope="col">

TEAM LINEUPS

</td> </tr> <tr> <td>

</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Terry's after match interview, for anyone interested : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16350249.stm.

Well I have come away from Easter Rd a bit disappointed. We controlled that game almost throughout. I never thought we would lose, even when we went 1 down. Hibs were guff!! Only concern was last couple of minutes. This is my first game since the St Johnstone debacle, and this was a massive improvement!! only concern I have is , tonight we seemed comfortable on the ball in defence, comfortable in midfield, but, when the front players get on the ball, panic!! Nobody wants to shoot! Mckay is a lightweight, Hayes, apart from a brilliant goal, 89min 50 sec off ?,|Tade, worked hard but little final reward. Defence and Midfield was pretty solid, . MoM for me was Cox, he worked his little cotton sox off!!

And the Stewards were brilliant, apart from letting a little English woman in who was clearly drunk!! lol

Watched it in the pub. A goal of the season from hayes. Second half we controlled the game, bar the last two minutes when we could have been gutted. Shame we didn't finish it off, but we looked in total control, passing the ball nicely, just choking in front of goal. if we take this form into Monday, with Shinnie, Tokely and Doran added to the squad it should be a great game.

Im satisfied that we havent lost the game but a little dissapointed we didnt take full advantage of Hibs fragile state. Their supporters were on their backs almost from the word go, any pass that went remotely sideways would be met with instant discontent. They need to get their perspectives in better shape or they will carry on dragging the club down.

I think tactically we were a bit lacklustre. McKay was being forced to contend with long punts for the whole game but struggled to compete with O'Hanlon and Stephens, no suprise given they are almost twice his size. Tade struggled to make much impact on the wing too, his effort was superb a usual but he falied to be as productive as he has been in recent weeks. Still glad to see Doran back and hoping he will be back in the starting XI soon,

Wasnt sure about the free kick but having seen it on the telly ive got no qualms, well struck but Esson seemed to move a bit late when going for it. Still credit to the boys they didnt let their heads drop, Foran had a terrific shot curling onto the post and Jonny curling one just wide, also Billy McKay having a shot blocked when he burst through. Not long after Jonny Hayes scored arguably the best solo goal of the season. Picked it up on the halfway line, Hibs players backed off and Jonny just burned past them with one or two ending up on their erses trying to stop him before unleashing a lovely strike into the bottom corner.

The second half was a bit of a no show, both sides huffed and puffed but very little was created between either team, though Foran made a great block at the end. Also Tade seemed to end up in good area to shoot and ended up sconing it across goal when shooting seemed the better option.

For me best player tonight was Foran, he has had his critics this season (including me) but he seems to be relishing his new role in midfield and he seems to have added that bite it was missing at the start of the season. If he carries on like that then he may well give Bucher alot to think about in terms of Tansey and Jones's situation. Also i thought Kenny Gillet was outstanding tonight in central defence, some of his tackles and interceptions were game changing and he gave 100% there, despite being a makeshift role for him.

Overall pleased that its 2 games without defeat. Looking forward to St Johnstone coming up, hopefully we will have Tokely and A Shinnie back and would be nice to see Doran get a longer run out too. Roll on 2012.

is it just me or is it everytime we are involved in a 1-1 draw hayes goes on a run from half way and scores a blinder?

rangers

kilmarnock

and now hibs

brilliance

satisfied with a 1-1 away draw

stand out for me foran, foran put in the type of performance today that made me think id love to in a midfeild knowing hes there to mop up. gave everyone so much freedom.

feel we are missing shinnie a bit someone who picks the simple pass everytime but is forward looking and not just give it out wide it seems a bit of a last resort to play it to hayes its not the way to unlock teams especially not with a 5ft 9 lone striker

roll on 2012

roll on st johnstone

roll on a penalty

Just to add, i just saw the challenge from O'Hanlon on Foran, that was vicious, if the referee had seen that from another angle O'Hanlon would defnitely have been walking, dreadful tackle.

Was worth the trip just for Jonny's goal alone. Thought K Gillet had his best game yet, Foran ran midfield But we need a Striker badly..

My post from P&B

Just in from the game. Thought we were unlucky to go in level at the break, we had the better of the first half. Golobart made a silly mistake for the free kick and O'Connor showed excellent technique to get it up and down in time. We rallied very well though, Foran hit the post and then Hayes sent a shot inches wide. Tade also had a chance in the first few minutes but couldn't get a touch on a long ball forward. McKay had a chance that was blocked, perhaps he could've done better with it.

Hayes was looked dangerous on the right and it was predictable that he would be involved in the goal but what a goal. Running from his own half, evades a couple of tackles, makes space and slots one in from the edge of the box, absolutely superb. One of the best goals I've seen us score in the SPL, an real cracker.

I expected/hoped that we'd continue the second half the way we finished the first but the game died after the break, we didn't have many chances, although Davis got behind the Hibs back four at one point, only to have his shot cleared. We created a few promising positions but never really capitalised on them. Hibs didn't truly threaten us until injury time when they had several good chances from a series of corners, the sort of ending to a match that drives fans mad.

In terms of our players, I thought that Foran had a good game in the middle of the park, he was strong, made good runs and had some good passes. Cox was really industrious and busy, he really covers a lot in the midfield area. At the back, I was relatively pleasently surprised - Golobart looked very composed, frighteningly so for someone who is 19. He showed good timing in terms of interceptions and headers and always walked the ball out from the back well. Gillet did OK as well, some flying headers and a couple of crunching tackles. I wasn't as impressed with our full-backs, who didn't distribute the ball that well I thought but were reasonably solid. Hayes was dangerous, especially in the first half, but Tade was poor on the other wing. He just didn't look like a wide player, his feet weren't quick enough and he looked predictable. McKay put in a real power of work up front but, as I said above, could've pulled the trigger quicker in the first half.

Overall, I'm pleased with a point. Four points from the two games against Aberdeen and Hibs, we've improved our position against both in the last week and showed progress and a bit of solidity. Not quite a clean sheet yet but no goal conceded from open play.

How appropriate that Foran blocked that header at the end from O'Hanlon as he should definitely have been red carded for that shocker of a tackle in the first half. Studs up over the top challenge straight red card, what was the ref thinking, the contact was just below Foran's knee, it looked serious afirst and Foran will be feeling that one today..

Good away draw although Hibs were there for the taking, but no damage done as we maintained the status quo at the bottom. Fantastic goal from Hayes who collected the ball about twenty yards inside his own half, this move starting just in front of our own penalty box, Hayes drifting past four or five green jerseys before arrowing his shot into the bottom corner, great goal.

Foran's suspension kicks in for the St Johnstone game. Pity really as he has been tremendous since moving into the central midfield and directing the traffic much more effectively from there.

Happy with the point though.

I winch every time I see that O'Hanlon challenge. It was absolutely disgusting. Shame you cannot get retrospective red cards.

we didnt even get a free kick from that chalenge WTF!

_{Whoever would have thought that we would all have been happy wee bunnies at Xmas and full of optimism for 2012 - aint football feckin great. The omens are improving game to game but we simply have to put a wee run together now and row for the safety of the shore. My only concern is that the concentration on the league may affect our Cup performance and as I have alluded to before - this is one more contented wee bunny who wants to savour the Hampden atmosphere again.}

_{Is it being re-run on Alba ?}

I'm sure they show everything twice but if you're stuck I'll stick it on a disc for you.

I left this game feeling slightly frustrated that we didn't take all three points. This was the worst Hibs performance i have seen in ten years of visiting Easter Road - they lacked confidence and cohesion and until a flurry of corners in injury time created absolutely nothing. After a slow start, we started to make our numerical advantage in midfield count and dominated possession and territory for the last hour of the game. As on Saturday, the strongest part of the team was the central midfield trio of Foran behind Davis and Cox - most folk were surprised to see Cox hooked as he was buzzing about well and didn't seem tired. Davis showed great composure on the ball in tight situations and looks a cut above this league, and Foran seems to lead the team better from the base of midfield - if there is a concern about him playing there it is that his passing can be erratic. Unfortunately, the wide players were unable to build on the platform provided by those three. Tade was poor out on the left where he caused Aberdeen a few problems on Saturday and the tactic of trying to him early with long diagonals was often wasted due to his poor touch. Hayes, on the other hand, tended to come deep to receive the ball while we were in possession and after a fruitful period before half-time wasn't given any space to play in the second half. While Gillet, and particularly Golobart were comfortable in defence, Hibs' inability get the ball into the front two made the night easier for them.

Overall, i feel more positive than after the Aberdeen game, and a helluva lot more positive than i did before the week started. Worryingly though, two of our best players in these games have been Golobart and Davis. Hopefully we can hang on to those two and give the team a chance to build something on the strong and stable performances we have seen this week

Very happy with the point. I thought we dominated the first half and it was even in the second half. Hibs had one chance and scored, we had maybe 2 or 3 chances. For all our possession, we stuggled in front of goal. Sometimes they looked scared to shoot. Of course, the wind didn't help matters. All in all, I think we played well and probably deserved the 3 points but if you said we'd take a point before the game I would have taken that.

For the folk that watched it on TV - what did you think of Hayes goal? It reminded me of Bagans goal at Tynie 10 years ago in the cup. I did have a few ciders down me at that point so it may have looked better to me than it actually was, but I would say it was one of the best goals scored in an ICT shirt.

The big positive to take from the game is that is now the first time this season we have gone on a 2 game unbeaten run! May not sound spectacular but considering our early season form, it must be fantastic for the confidence of the team. Special mention to Foran, who has played excellent in the last 3 games. Shame he will miss the St J game now! If we can beat St J, our season will start to look very good indeed.

Watched the old firm game first, Didnt really care who won but Rangers being ahead would have kept it more interesting for a few more weeks, I can see Celtic pulling away now.Celtic must be full of confidence since beating us at TCS.

Full of respect for how the managers greeted eachother after the match.

Watched the important match at 10 as live,glad that Foran can still play after a potential leg breaking tackle,did you see the blood on his leg as he was walking off, Its ironic that our players get sent off for nothing in other games,Foran gets enough stud holes in his leg to use it as an ice cube tray and the ref gives a 50/50 ball, not even a yellow.

Great goal from Hayes, solid defending, nice passing and bullied them in midfield, I would say we did enough to win the game but thats how it goes.

Edited December 29, 201113 yr by 12th Man

Just watched the 'highlights' on the BBC. Shocking 'leg breaking tackle' on Foran...no free kick..no yellow card (or red). That had straight red written all over it. Fantastic strike by Hayes for the equaliser and I'd blame Esson (and Golobart) for their goal. He seemed to far to his left in my opinion and invited the curler into the net...maybe. And the Hayes free-kick that struck the wall - it was never 10 yards.

Not even a booking!!! WTF??

In relation to the 6yd and 18 yd box's I'd say the wall is at 7 yds maybe 8yds.

Edited December 29, 201113 yr by Gringo

Just processing the highlights to go on the official site so now had a chance to see what everyone is talking about .....

Great goal from Hayes - the goal itself was decent rather than astonishing, but the beating of 5 players in the process is sublime and elevates it to a much higher standard !

The "leg break" tackle !!! Holy **** ! If refs can rescind cards based on TV footage, why can they not award them. That was a horrible tackle and Foran is extremely lucky not to have suffered a horrendous injury. The ref also needs a talking to .. how the F did he miss it ? I have played it back a few times and each time it looks worse .....

Here is the tackle at 33% speed ......

Scotty, the ONLY reason his leg isn't broken is that it wasn't his standing leg that got hit. If there was ever a case for the rugby system where someone can be "cited" for foul play, that is it because that was a hideous tackle. Someone should forward this to the "compliance officer" at the SFA and ask his opinion-after all, if he can do people for diving when the ref hasn't taken action, he can act on this, surely?

It's a shocker, and the refs failure to do anything about it is fairly typical of the luck we've had with big decisions.

Not only have we had no penalties this season, we've never had a numerical advantage over any of our opponents. The only player to get sent off against us was against Rangers (Edu?) late on when we were already down to 10 men.

My proposed solution for this particular injustice is that next time we play Hibs they have to remove a player from the field after 32 minutes. I was then wondering who decides which player gets taken off and came up with the idea that the fans in the stadium vote by text, £1 a go, and the money raised is used to fly in decent refs from Luxembourg etc.

Good idea, and next time we play the green half of the OF at TCS, we get to play with 12 men from the 37th minute

The annoying thing for me with the tackle, is that the ref blowed against Foran not even a minute before hand for essentially nothing! And then doesn't even notice the leg breaker.

Edited December 30, 201113 yr by Renegade

Well, if such a tackle is against the rules it could be a deal breaker for ICT to launch a law suit against the SFA for refusing to act on "The rules" to punish the player.

Extreme? No !!!

By taking this immediate and decisive action, ICT would show how strong this team and their management is and that this problem will no longer be tolerated. If you are not prepared to fight for what you believe in then no wonder you get singled out for improper treatmemnt.That's why I liked Terry's rants against the SFA. Putting up with this kind of crap, game after game, earns the club no respect and in fact may be promoting and exacerbating the cynical attitudes that currently prevail at high levels. An unimpeded continuance of this unfair treatment at the expense of "The Rules" will hurt ICT and further reduce the reputation of Scottish football. What's needed is for the beaten dog to suddenly turn on the beater and give him or her a savage bite and a shock that they will not recover from quickly.

RESPECT chums.

Go for it ICT.

Anyone agree wth this?

Thought that was a quote front CFC last season but totally agree with the sentiment.