Inverness CT -V- Hamilton - Preview

[tm4tj]

Time to Prepare

 

The last game of the season ahead of the play-offs has Hamilton Accies coming North looking to secure sixth place in the Championship. For Inverness it's all about game management and preparation for the play-offs to come, starting with an away tie at Partick on Tuesday 3rd May. Don't expect too much from the team as this result counts for nothing other than pride.

MATCH/TICKET/STREAMING INFO

OFFICIAL PREVIEW

It's a bit of a dead rubber as far as we are concerned with bigger fish to fry as the promotion play-offs begin on 3rd May at Firhill with the return leg at the Caledonian Stadium on Friday 6th May. However, we will have to go through the motions and hopefully get through this game unscathed.

Venue Head 2 Head

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	14	4	4	6	21	19	+2
Away	11	6	2	3	17	13	+4
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	25	10	6	9	38	32	+6

Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Accies

1 - 1 (A)

1 - 2 (H)

1 - 2 (A)

2 - 1 (H)

0 - 3 (A)

1 - 1 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

1 - 0 (A)

0 - 1 (H)

4 - 3 (A)

CTO Oct2nd - Academicals teach us a lesson:  Accies did inflict the first reverse for Inverness, as the Caley Jags drowned at the fountain of youth, and they did it with ten men for over an hour after Reegan Mimnaugh was sent off for a second bookable offence. They opened the scoring when Lewis Smith thumped the ball into the net after only five minutes. Andy Ryan added a second as Inverness crumbled and failed to trouble the home keeper. 2-0 at the break and Inverness bossed possession after the interval but never made Fulton work for his money. Harper hit the bar as the pressure mounted and Michael Gardyne scored a late consolation in injury time, but it was too little too late. With Raith beating Killie and Arbroath drawing, no major damage was done with Raith and Partick the big winners this weekend.

CTO Dec18th - Hyde:  After an uneventful first half, Inverness slumped to their second defeat of the season to a rank rotten Accies when they surrendered a second half lead after Cammy Harper netted. However two goals in the space of three minutes from David Moyo and Andrew Winter ruined our day and knocked us off our perch at the top. I suppose it was only a Winter's tale, but it doesn't make good reading. That's our Jekyll and Hyde season in all its sorry glory...

CTO Feb25th - Entertaining draw:  Accies took an early lead through Josh Mullin after a defensive blunder by Reece McAlear. Great finish from the Accies player though as he arrowed the ball high into the net from twenty yards. We levelled when Sam Pearson scored his first goal for the club on the half hour and that's how it stayed at the break, although David Moyo almost got a touch on a low ball fizzed into the box just on the whistle. No further scoring after the break despite plenty of opportunities at both ends and Joe Hardy almost snatched it at the end with the last kick of the ball. Good point, but ten games without a win now.

The season has been littered with some tremendous goals and here are the ones which made the shortlist for Goal of the Season.

The voting closes at 10:00am on Friday morning, the winners of all awards will be announced at Accies game on Friday night.

It's been a season of 'what could have been' after a miserable run of eleven games with no wins starting in December and picking up only six points from a possible thirty-three. However, we are where we are and it's the play-offs for us. Good luck to the Caley Jags when they come along! Who knew that a 6-1 thrashing of Morton would start it all off.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Kilmarnock	35	20	6	9	49	26	66
2.	Arbroath	35	16	14	5	51	28	62
3.	Inverness CT	35	15	11	9	49	34	56
4.	Partick Thistle	35	14	10	11	45	37	52
5.	Raith Rovers	35	12	13	10	43	43	49
6.	Hamilton Ac.	35	10	12	13	38	49	42
7.	Morton	35	9	13	13	36	44	40
8.	Ayr United	35	8	12	15	36	51	36
9.	Dunfermline	35	7	14	14	35	51	35
10.	Q.O.S.	35	7	9	19	34	53	30

 

Last time Out

Inverness secured third place in the Championship after a relatively comfortable win over Morton despite the narrow scoreline. We had an objective prior to the game and that was achieved when comeback kid Roddy MacGregor scored the only goal of the game with a tidy low strike from outside of the box as the defenders backed off.

Accies failed to wrap up sixth place after a slow start to the campaign which will leave them with something to aim for in this match as they strive to keep Morton below them in the table. They lost 0-2 to Raith Rovers who are still chasing fourth although goal difference is heavily stacked in favour of Partick Thistle

Latest Team News

Please, no more injuries before play-offs 

 

 

View full article

 

[Kingsmills]

It would be nice to beat Hamilton for the first time this season in what, for us at least, is little more than a pre season friendly.

[RiG]

Accies are the only side we haven't won a single game against in the league this season. A good example perhaps of why we ended up being so far off the pace in the race for the title.

[+IBM]

 

 

[Row S]

Home car park fully available at long last, just in time for our last league game. 

[tm4tj]

Anyone spot the deliberate mistake on the OFFICIAL PREVIEW

[+snorbens_caleyman]

1 minute ago, tm4tj said:

Anyone spot the deliberate mistake on the OFFICIAL PREVIEW

****, I missed it.  How did we do?

[tm4tj]

[+DoofersDad]

I hope the failure to use a capital "C" when referring to the leagues sponsors does not result in a points deduction 

Also, amused by the wording of seats in the away end being "currently available".  It makes it sound that if you don't get your quickly, they will have sold out.  

[+Robert]

Our starting 11:

Ridgers

Carson Duffy Deas Harper

Sutherland MacGregor Hyde Walsh

Mckay Hardy

with MacKay, Welsh, Chalmers, McAlear and Samuels on the bench.

Just bumped into Carl Tremarco outside the ground.

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Robert

[tm4tj]

1 hour ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

****, I missed it.  How did we do?

Good..... if we were playing Raith Rovers.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Shocking stuff - what are we doing - we are going to be completely knackered for the play-offs. Get the whole bench on NOW.

[Satan]

McGregor pulling the strings.

[Kingsmills]

I admit that I was dubious when I saw the relatively unchanged starting line up but, as it turned out, we got the job done in the first half hour enabling us to coast and use our full compliment of substitutes for the remaining 2 thirds of the game.

I have often been critical of the manager's team selection tactics and substitutions, or absence of them, this season.

However, this evening he got all three spot on allowing us to progress to the play offs full of momentum and confidence having ended our non winning record against Accies in the most emphatic manner without busting a gut in the process.

It won't be easy but this is our best prospect of promotion since relegation and we have put ourselves in a strong position to grasp it.

Come on the Caley Jags !

[tm4tj]

 

[Caley Mad In Berks]

A good way to end our league campaign.  Should give us all the confidence we need for the play-offs.  Well done lads.

[Satan]

4-0 and cruising, but we still need a right back.

[+Robert]

A very enjoyable Friday evening.

What a first half: we looked like scoring whenever we went forward and all the goals were good. It is good to see Walsh on the scoresheet as that’s been missing from his game this season, and Hardy needed a goal.

The second half was just about seeing the game out without causing issues for the play offs.

I hope Duffy is not badly injured.

Who’d have expected us to play the last half hour with Welsh and Hyde at centre half.

MacGregor was in control in midfield whilst our movement in the middle and up front was excellent.

The stand out for me was Hyde. He slotted into midfield as though he had been playing in the team all season. He reminded me of Carson, being tenacious but able to pick out a pass. It is really encouraging that we have more young players who should become first team regulars.

I hope we are all as happy next Friday at full time. 

[+standbydave]

I thought Shane was immense tonight and his goal was a cracker. Can see why he is the players player of the year.

[caleyboy]

6 hours ago, standbydave said:

I thought Shane was immense tonight and his goal was a cracker. Can see why he is the players player of the year.

Well said Shane 

[Eagle4Caley]

Good way to close out the normal season before the play-offs with nearly all the objects achieved with Walsh getting on the scoresheet twice along with Sutherland, MacGregor getting a good performance in, good game time for Harper, bonuses in Hyde, Hardy scoring!, no bookings and injuries bar Duffy, let's hope that is not serious.

For a brief while with Raith winning and Partick losing heavily I was checking routes to Kirkcaldy!

Let's take one play-off game at a time and see how far we can get..... I think we have enough in each area of the pitch to have some confidence

[+snorbens_caleyman]

For me, the difference last night was that, for the first 25 minutes at least, we went for the jugular.  Incisive, direct movement, straight at goal.  None of the dithering about outside the box which I have complained about in the past, passing sideways to each other because everyone was too scared to have a go.  Instead it was straight through - run at the defence and cause them problems.

Probably the best game I have seen Sutherland play.  I thought Walsh was immense too - not just his two goals, but he always seemed to be in there, usually in the middle and not on a wing, trying to create and cause trouble.  I'm pleased for him, because at the very start of the season he and Carson were a great partnership down the right-hand side, but then Walsh seemed to lose his way. 

Take the same attitude into the next couple of games, and we'll be fine.

[jed5697]

Hopefully that's us on a run again keep on running and scoring goals. Let's pickle the thistle and choke the smokies... 

[Jaggernaut]

Best first 45 minutes I have enjoyed for sometime. It just shows you what the team can do when they pass the ball quickly and at pace, instead of just pumping it forwards. 4 good goals and some really strong performances. Walsh had his best game this season, it's what he's capable of, so let's hope he takes that form into the playoffs. Sutherland ran and fought for every ball, and has had an excellent season, he has exceeded my expectations. Carson is a beast of a player, he's the kind of player I would want in my team, fearless in the tackle, good on the ball, and gives everything for the team. And I was really impressed with Hyde, it's the first time I have really seen him play, and I think he is definitely one for the future. He gave a short wayward pass to Carson early on, and Carson let him know about it, but after that, he grew into the game, has good feet, and was strong in the tackle and shielding the ball. The second half was just seeing the game out, and when you consider we ended up with seven midfielders on the pitch at the end, we got through the match relatively unscathed, apart from Duffy, who I hope isn't too badly injured. So, if we can get our passing game ready for the playoffs, I look forward to the next part of our season.

[+roarer]

10 hours ago, standbydave said:

I thought Shane was immense tonight and his goal was a cracker. Can see why he is the players player of the year.

He was always odds-on to win!