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Livingston -V- Inverness CT


Scotty

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Sounded a poor game overall, but that's 7 points out of 9 in the second round of fixtures, 7 more than against the same teams first time round. I will take that!

Anyone know why Tremarco was subbed? Hopefully not an injury.

Edited by Robert
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35 minutes ago, Robert said:

Sounded a poor game overall, but that's 7 points out of 9 in the second round of fixtures, 7 more than against the same teams first time round. I will take that!

Anyone know why Tremarco was subbed? Hopefully not an injury.

Maybe because he was booked. Maybe hooked as running risk of a red card given his all or nothing mindset (meant in a positive way) :ictscarf:

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57 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Anyone happen to know our record for number of games or minutes without conceding? There can’t be many times we’ve had a run this long.

Where is Snekboy when you need him ? I have a vague memory that Mark Brown went nine games without conceding.

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Probably should have won that today. Mulraney and Bell had guilt edged chances to put us in front and both passed them up / saw their efforts well saved by Alexander. The chance from Bell came from some quite fantastic build up play through the middle but it was one of the few moments of real quality. Whilst most of the players did fine they didn't quite hit the same heights as they had done against Falkirk and Dundee United (thinking Polworth and Vigurs here).  

At the back we were solid but we didn't create a lot of good chances like we did against the Bairns a few weeks ago and we missed that clinical edge that we had at Tannadice. Ridgers barely had a save to make and that says a lot about how we did today - defence seldom troubled albeit we lacked a bit up front ourselves. The subs seemed to disrupt us a wee bit. Baird off for Oakley made sense but he struggled to hold the ball up and link with his team mates as Baird had been doing previously. 

Mulraney continued his good form and whilst I don't agree that his end product was there today that's probably being a bit harsh as he did put in a couple of decent crosses though I still think he was a wee bit wasteful at times and again threw himself to ground a bit too often. That said, he really seems to be on a good run just now and I see no reason why, based on his current form, he couldn't go on to perform to a similar level to Hayes when he was with us at this level several years ago.

Great support down backing the side today, plenty of noise, just a shame there wasn't a goal to celebrate.

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57 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Anyone happen to know our record for number of games or minutes without conceding? There can’t be many times we’ve had a run this long.

 

15 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

As far as I can see, the last goal conceded was 63 min into the 2-1 defeat at Dumbarton on Sep 23. That makes 567 min of play without conceding. I don't know what previous seasons' stats say.

A trawl through each season’s results on this site seems to reveal that this is the first time ever that we have gone 6 competitive matches in a row without conceding!  :clapoverhead:

There have been several occasions when we’ve managed 5 in a row in the league, including some at Premier league level - one of those was when we won all our post-split fixtures under Christie.

In terms of minutes, it is fairly likely that this is also our longest run but to be certain you’d have to look at when the goals were conceded in the matches immediately before and after the various 5 game runs. 

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16 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

 

A trawl through each season’s results on this site seems to reveal that this is the first time ever that we have gone 6 competitive matches in a row without conceding!  :clapoverhead:

There have been several occasions when we’ve managed 5 in a row in the league, including some at Premier league level - one of those was when we won all our post-split fixtures under Christie.

In terms of minutes, it is fairly likely that this is also our longest run but to be certain you’d have to look at when the goals were conceded in the matches immediately before and after the various 5 game runs. 

That's some achievement, particularly when we hardly had a clean sheet last season! Hopefully we can kick on.

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That was a reasonable point today although could have been 3 I suppose. Livi are a well organised team. 

As for the guys and girls of Caleyaway give yourselves a round of applause! Having everyone squashed in that corner certainly made for a loud support. However if another 50 folk had turned up Livi would have been stuffed. Odd arrangement of both supports entering through same gates with no direction of which queue you needed to be in (poor stewarding really). 

 

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1 hour ago, Robert said:

That's some achievement, particularly when we hardly had a clean sheet last season! Hopefully we can kick on.

It’s some achievement given that we were a shambles who conceded 2-4-3-2 in the previous 4 games! Despite the recent impressive defensive record, only 3 teams have conceded more. Interestingly, one of them is top of the league!

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John Robertson  seems to agree with my past suggestion that he strengthen the defence first and then  start on the offence. It's sure paying dividends  because the other teams can't beat us and, even if we don't  come very close to winning the league, at least we will be able to stave off the awful shadow of further relegation  and remain in a  " steadily rebuilding  mode".

Away support seems to have been in great voice.    Very encouraging  all round. Definitely agree with the poster who suggested brining on the lad from the juniors (Reserve?) team.Nothing like showing all the up-and-comers that ICT wants them to progress fast and needs them.

:clapoverhead: 

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I'm very heartened by the positive progress now being experienced by our lads on the park.

And very pleased for John Robertson too since he  has not had his worries to seek since he took over. I get the impression that he is a down-to-earth, well-motivated man who is working very hard  to handle and develop the players  he has inherited and/but  needs to develop further.

His goal is to get the lads  progressing  with greater and greater confidence and in the process revealing their flair and their dynamism and thus enjoying their roles and their football step by step. This will also then please the fans who will, (as they appear to have done today away from home), support the team vociferously and encourage  every positive move they  try or achieve. The team will then know that they CAN take moderate risks without being creamed verbally both on and off the park.

With confidence growing in the minds of the players they will now feel emboldened to take considered risks and grow by trial and error  that will strengthen the whole team. Happier days ahead.      And enjoy your footie, guys.

 

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Talking of stats etc, as far as I can tell, of the 35 games (all comps) between Caley and Livvy...this is the first 0-0 between the two clubs. Honours even too P35 W13 D9 L13.

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RETURN TO THE TOEKNEE MACARONI - NO GOALS BUT PLENTY OF POSITIVES

First game I have been to since Dumbarton and it was like watching a brand new team – a much improved and organised outfit – and I was advised that this was below the standards set at Tannadice and against Dumbfarmlife. Well dropped the missus off at the Travelodge, a swift pint in the Hungry Horse at the top of the Hill and down to the petite Stadium Bar and a few swift voddie and cokes with Top Six. And then we were all paraded into the Main Stand. It was packed and we must have had close to 50% of the attendance – and we certainly made ourselves heard.

A 0-0 always conjures up the idea of boredom and a lack of entertainment. Apart from the first 2-3 minutes - when Livi flew out of the blocks and had fashioned two chances – I felt that we were always in control, if anyone deserved to win it was us but most of the play was confined to the middle sections of the pitch. On show were two very well drilled defences but two teams clearly lacking in the necessary firepower to clinch all three points. In many ways we cancelled each other out as Livi’s style and system was almost identical to ours.

We had two good chances to steal three points in both halves. Mulraney had the first half chance after a great through ball from (?) Vigurs, he outpaced the defence but brought out a good save from the veteran Alexander. IMHO Connor Bell had the better chance and really should have tucked it away. And what a through ball from Polworth. So we looked very solid and confident at the back. We won the midfield battle but I felt that we were lacking up front and the two “wee man attack” against the likes of Livi will not work.

But we are getting better and better – fitter and fitter – and all of a sudden a play-off place is very much back on the cards. Only negative was our discipline (again) and picking up three cheap yellow cards – Mckay, Donaldson and Tremarco. And we picked up praise from both coaches.

Inverness manager John Robertson: "That's six clean sheets and something the players should be immensely proud of because they're working their socks off. We had to match a really honest, intense, direct Livingston team and we managed to create a few opportunities. Livingston manager David Hopkin: "Inverness have really picked up defensively and Neil Alexander's pulled off a couple of great saves to keep us in it as well. Before the game I'd have taken a point. We were playing against an experienced and well-drilled side.

SMILEYMOMETER

RIDGERS   :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Nowt to do with fitness, all to do with confidence and a much improved back four.

RAVEN   :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: May not have many more opportunities so I will give him the MOM Award. More like the old Rave, kept going and overlapping for 90 minutes.

MCKAY  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Not pretty but dogged and efficient.

DONALDSON  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Mighty close in my MOM choice. Cant believe the difference in him in comparison with Dumbarton.

TREMARCO  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Probably a real influence on the improvement defensively but I suspect he will be missing in action for another few weeks.

MULRANEY  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Appears to have been given some “play for the shirt” medication but also played wide right and offensive which is undoubtedly where he is at his best.

POLWORTH  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Another 110% display. If only we had a Brewster or Dargo to feed to.

VIGURS  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Showed the usual class touches but I suspect that he was singled out for the “don’t let him play” attention by Livi.

CHALMERS  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: I really (always) liked him in midfield. A real battler and a great foil for Vigurs, Polworth and Mulraney.

BAIRD  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Needs a goal. Plus he is the target man and I don’t think that he is comfortable with that. Better player running off the front man.

BELL  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Well I would simply pick him in front of Baird – as the runner – at the present time. Great run on to a greater pass which led to him missing the 1:1 opportunity of the game.

CALDER  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Looked a bit dodgy and not the ideal cover for Tremarco at full back / wing back

OAKLEY  WTF –  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: what an action packed half hour put in. Probably boosted by the fan chants and evidently clapping enthusiastically at the final whistle.

ROBBO  :clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead::clapoverhead: Continues to improve. Will be interesting who he plays at left back and surely Oakley has booked a start as the Number 9.

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11 minutes ago, Renegade said:

Oakley did well when he came on, but to me he looks like a number 10.  Is playing a diamond midfield with him at the tip of it behind Baird and Bell an option?

I thought Oakley was pretty poor really. Whilst he won a few headers and generally was good at holding the ball up he was very slow at finding a team mate when he had the ball and this really caused a lot of our attacks to break down as he ended up giving the ball away. Baird and Bell as soon as they have the ball are laying it off and turning and speeding towards goal, Oakley by comparison was quite sluggish.

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15 hours ago, RiG said:

I thought Oakley was pretty poor really. Whilst he won a few headers and generally was good at holding the ball up he was very slow at finding a team mate when he had the ball and this really caused a lot of our attacks to break down as he ended up giving the ball away. Baird and Bell as soon as they have the ball are laying it off and turning and speeding towards goal, Oakley by comparison was quite sluggish.

football is all about opinions and how people see it but at the end of the day only one person's opinion matters. good to see how others see it tho.

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Now this could lead to an interesting debate. My opinions are undoubtedly skewed by my traditional preference for a "big man-wee man" combination up front. Baird and Bell are clearly two wee men and nowt wrong with that. Baird resembles a young Robbo in his style, albeit not near the Robbo standard. I felt sorry for Baird at Livi as he had to take on the "target man" role - IMHO a role better provided by a big man. When you are a tall defender it must be a bonus as you know that you will not get beat in the air and your job is to jockey, hassle, use your strength and not allow the wee man to turn and run. That is probably why Oakley looked so good when he came on.  The Livi central defenders had to alter their game and they did not like it. To be fair to Oakley I thought that he did run the line, was not static and I have not witnessed that before. With a wee man / wee man combination you are highly dependent on width and the ball play and support of the central midfielders. Again we have two of the better midfielders in Vigurs and Polworth but that can also be combatted by not allowing those playmakers time and room to display their talents. How many times did we see Polworth gambling from midfield on Saturday ? To neutralise that pair is also what Livi did well. Renegade talked about Oakley as a number 10 but that would probably need a 3-5-2 formation and we are not ready for that - yet.

So I would go big man / wee man every time and that is why I enthused about Oakley. I suspect it is the main reason why Robbo gambled on the likes of Susan. How many headed goals or assists have we seen this season, other than dead ball situations. I would love to see Mulraney, Chalmers or Raven sending in a bye line cross and a big man exploding the net with a towering header.

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Well, I really enjoyed my trip up North. Almost a perfect day for the football, and great to be in a vociferous crowd of ICT fans, and thanks to Cath who I befriended at the 'wrong' turnstile, we spent the entire game in chat about how it was going.

Given how well Livingston are doing...  they could have gone top with a win, we acquitted ourselves really well, and I thought we were the better team after the initial 5 minutes. After that I didn't think we were in much danger, and with a bit more composure (from Mulraney) or luck (Bell ) we would have come away with all three points. Another clean sheet is pretty impressive after the start to the season, and Donaldson impressed me, and Ridgers looked a lot safer than the early season reports would have suggested....on the whole his kicking was pretty good.

I generally agree with most of IHE's marking, although I would score Polworth and Vigurs the other way around. For me Vigurs was the stand out guy, not just for the way he was pulling the strings in midfield but for the level of effort in winning the ball back, something I'd never really thought was his strong point. I felt during the game how lucky, given our finances, we are to have someone like Vigurs in the team. Another guy who impressed me was Baird, who worked extremely hard and showed no little skill at times, whether he is a true goalscorer in the Mckay mould I doubt it, but I could imagine he'll have a 'purple patch' at some stage in the season. Perversely the introduction of Oakley, in his place, towards the end of the game did seem to swing the game in our favour, mainly I think because with the benefit of fresh legs and a taller frame he seemed to give their defenders something to worry about. I'd almost say Livingston were hanging on in the last 10mins. If Mulraney can maintain and then improve on his current level of game, we are going to be quite a dangerous side going forward, coupled with the clever and dogged play of Bell. Chalmers has certainly got a decent cross in him as well, and seems to be another finding his feet.

Overall a decent performance in my book, from a bunch of 'budget level' players who got off to a bad start to the season, many of the newbies with a bit to prove, and now some of them are showing their worth.

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