Partick away March 2024

[tm4tj]

 Firhill for Chills

 

Another chilling prospect coming up this Saturday as we travel to the West End of Glasgow to tackle third place Partick Thistle with only six games left to salvage our miserable season. We escaped from Tannadice with a hard earned point last weekend, mainly thanks to a tremendous display from keeper Mark Ridgers. An acceptable result under normal circumstances, but given our precarious situation we could have done with all three. However it was not to be and we face the prospect of a pointless weekend unless we can show the same commitment as last week. Anything less and it looks like the play-offs for us with only Arbroath below us at present. We are now at the must not lose stage of the season.

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Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info

Scott Young SLO

Official Preview

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Venue H2H v Partick

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	27	12	8	7	42	36	+6
Away	25	6	7	12	26	40	-14
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	52	18	15	19	68	76	-8

Honours are fairly even over the years and over the last ten meetings Partick just have the edge although uncharacteristically we did suffer a couple of heavy defeats at Firhill in recent seasons. Historically, home advantage seems to be crucial to the outcome of these encounters. Oh dear!

Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick

3 - 3 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

0 - 0 (H)

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 5 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 4 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

2 - 1 (A)

0 - 1 (A)

Just before Xmas we were held to a  1 - 1  draw after Max Anderson's 21 second opening goal. Danny Devine was fit enough to start and Jake Davidson again replaced the injured Wallace Duffy at right back. Otherwise no surprises in the Inverness starting XI or bench. As per normal, Brian Graham will present our defence with a robust challenge with Fitzpatrick and McInroy able and willing elfs. 205 visiting fans were on hand to check out this one and at the end of the day Status Quo was maintaned as all five games ended level this weekend. Max Anderson and Jack McMillan were the scorers today.

Ooooooft; having got the match underway, it was an early start for the visitors who caught Partick cold as Max Anderson's weak effort deflected off a defender and found the net after an assist from Billy Mckay, long before all the bums had landed in their seats. 21 seconds apparently! The fast start continued in the third minute as Cammy Harper shot over from the left side. Alas, Jack McMillan squared the game after quarter of an hour scoring from close range. Fitzpatrick shot wide after twenty minutes and Ridgers was then brought into action to stop a long range low effort from Ben Stanway. Ten minutes before the break Wotherspoon bounced a shot just wide from the edge of the box as we ventured forth. A free kick in a promising position for the hosts ended when Graham shot over from just outside the box. Charlie Gilmour had the final effort of the half in stoppage time but it was well wide of the target. Partick with the bulk of the play but it remained all square at the interval. A late goal for Arbroath on half time meant that Inverness had gone from 8th to 5th to 9th over the course of the first forty-five. Meh!
The hosts set the ball in motion for the second half and they were quick to avoid a repeat of the first minutes of the match as they went straight onto the front foot winning a couple of early corners before Anderson went close to his second of the game as the visitors went up the park. Devine did well to deny McMillan his second as he cleared his effort away from goal and Ujdur was booked for fouling Milne moments later. Partick were first with the changes after the hour. Ujdur took a knock but was able to continue and almost got on the end of the ball during a melee following a corner with fifteen minutes remaining. More corners followed but nothing doing before Longstaff saw his shot blocked five minutes before the end. Harper went down in the box but big appeals for a penalty went unanswered. It ended with a point apiece at a difficult venue.
FULL TIME: 1-1
A good point at a difficult venue and one which kept us in eighth place after a late goal for Dunfermline scuppered the Smokies. After the last two defeats, this was a welcome performance and point for the 205 hardy souls who braved the weather to keep away from the Xmas shopping.

Last Time Out

We came away from Tannadice with a point thanks to a backs to the wall performance over Dundee United. An early goal from an unusual but very welcome source put us ahead, only his fourth ever goal for the Caley Jags and his first since 26th November 2022. Wallace Duffy scored after a dozen minutes before a sensational lob from the halfway line saw Louis Moult equalise after the break. A bit of dubiety over the goal as we felt Cammy Kerr had been fouled by Moult when he took the ball from the Caley Jags player. Nothing dubious about the strike as it flew over Ridgers before bouncing into the net off the underside of the bar. Carragher and Gary Bollan were booked for protesting and they seem to have a valid point. Mak Ridgers was otherwise the star of the show and Carragher could have nicked all three points at the death when his powerful shot was cleared off the line by Docherty. Good point under normal circumstances, unfortunately circumstances are not normal at the moment as the league table will show. Last Five: D W D L D 

Cheers Mark>>>

Partick Thistle beat Arbroath 1-0 at Gayfield to stop them encroaching on us although they still have a game in hand. A 15th minute strike from Aidan Fitzpatrick was enough to keep the Smokies at bay although the game was not as close the scoreline might suggest. Partick had the ball in the net another couple of times but they were chalked off. That result pretty much ensures that Partick will at least be in the play-offs. (at the top end of the table) Last Five: D D L W W 

Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Friday night game at Ayr 1. Dundee Utd 30 17 8 5 57 21 59 2. Raith Rovers 29 17 7 5 49 36 58 3. Partick Thistle 30 12 10 8 56 49 46 4. Airdrieonians 28 11 6 11 33 32 39 5. Dunfermline 30 10 8 12 34 39 38 6. Morton 29 10 7 12 35 34 37 7. Queens Park 30 9 9 12 43 48 36 8. Ayr United 29 10 5 14 41 53 35 9. Inverness CT 30 7 11 12 34 35 32 10. Arbroath 29 6 5 18 30 65 23

    FRIDAY 29th March

 Ayr Utd. v Airdrie

   SATURDAY 30th March

1.  Arbroath v Dunfermline
2. Morton v Queen's   
3. Dundee Utd. v Raith Rovers    
4.    Partick Thistle v Inverness CT        

Latest Team News

Inverness still have major injury concerns. We seem to have been saying that for three or four seasons now. Nathan Shaw was a gamble that backfired last week and it has been confirmed that he will now miss the rest of the season. Morgan Boyes came through unscathed on his return and Nikola Ujdur was an unused sub last week. MacGregor is also reportedly fit, but he and Austin Samuels appear to be off the radar.

Here's Dunc with the latest smokescreen>>>

 

Alex Samuel ahead of the game at Firhill>>>

 

Partick Thistle still have the man we love to hate, Brian Graham. Enough said, the big lad does like a goal or two against us. Partick are the second top scorers in the division with 56 goals, but they have conceded an abnormally large amount of goals in 49, the second most goals against with only Arbroath losing more.

Partick team at Gayfield:

Mitchell

 

McMillan   Muirhead   McBeth   Milne

 

Lawless   Neilson   Robinson   McInroy (Stanway 77)  Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 90+3)

 

Graham

 

Subs Not Used: Stewart; Alston, Diack, MacKenzie, Campbell, Horn

 

 

[Duke of Inverness]

2 hours ago, tm4tj said:

 Firhill for Chills

 

Another chilling prospect coming up this Saturday as we travel to the West End of Glasgow to tackle third place Partick Thistle with only six games left to salvage our miserable season. We escaped from Tannadice with a hard earned point last weekend, mainly thanks to a tremendous display from keeper Mark Ridgers. An acceptable result under normal circumstances, but given our precarious situation we could have done with all three. However it was not to be and we face the prospect of a pointless weekend unless we can show the same commitment as last week. Anything less and it looks like the play-offs for us with only Arbroath below us at present. We are now at the must not lose stage of the season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Match/Ticket/Supporters Bus Info

Scott Young SLO

Official Preview

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Venue H2H v Partick

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	27	12	8	7	42	36	+6
Away	25	6	7	12	26	40	-14
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	52	18	15	19	68	76	-8

Honours are fairly even over the years and over the last ten meetings Partick just have the edge although uncharacteristically we did suffer a couple of heavy defeats at Firhill in recent seasons. Historically, home advantage seems to be crucial to the outcome of these encounters. Oh dear!

Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Partick

3 - 3 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

0 - 0 (H)

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 5 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 4 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

2 - 1 (A)

0 - 1 (A)

Just before Xmas we were held to a  1 - 1  draw after Max Anderson's 21 second opening goal. Danny Devine was fit enough to start and Jake Davidson again replaced the injured Wallace Duffy at right back. Otherwise no surprises in the Inverness starting XI or bench. As per normal, Brian Graham will present our defence with a robust challenge with Fitzpatrick and McInroy able and willing elfs. 205 visiting fans were on hand to check out this one and at the end of the day Status Quo was maintaned as all five games ended level this weekend. Max Anderson and Jack McMillan were the scorers today.

Ooooooft; having got the match underway, it was an early start for the visitors who caught Partick cold as Max Anderson's weak effort deflected off a defender and found the net after an assist from Billy Mckay, long before all the bums had landed in their seats. 21 seconds apparently! The fast start continued in the third minute as Cammy Harper shot over from the left side. Alas, Jack McMillan squared the game after quarter of an hour scoring from close range. Fitzpatrick shot wide after twenty minutes and Ridgers was then brought into action to stop a long range low effort from Ben Stanway. Ten minutes before the break Wotherspoon bounced a shot just wide from the edge of the box as we ventured forth. A free kick in a promising position for the hosts ended when Graham shot over from just outside the box. Charlie Gilmour had the final effort of the half in stoppage time but it was well wide of the target. Partick with the bulk of the play but it remained all square at the interval. A late goal for Arbroath on half time meant that Inverness had gone from 8th to 5th to 9th over the course of the first forty-five. Meh!
The hosts set the ball in motion for the second half and they were quick to avoid a repeat of the first minutes of the match as they went straight onto the front foot winning a couple of early corners before Anderson went close to his second of the game as the visitors went up the park. Devine did well to deny McMillan his second as he cleared his effort away from goal and Ujdur was booked for fouling Milne moments later. Partick were first with the changes after the hour. Ujdur took a knock but was able to continue and almost got on the end of the ball during a melee following a corner with fifteen minutes remaining. More corners followed but nothing doing before Longstaff saw his shot blocked five minutes before the end. Harper went down in the box but big appeals for a penalty went unanswered. It ended with a point apiece at a difficult venue.
FULL TIME: 1-1
A good point at a difficult venue and one which kept us in eighth place after a late goal for Dunfermline scuppered the Smokies. After the last two defeats, this was a welcome performance and point for the 205 hardy souls who braved the weather to keep away from the Xmas shopping.

Last Time Out

We came away from Tannadice with a point thanks to a backs to the wall performance over Dundee United. An early goal from an unusual but very welcome source put us ahead, only his fourth ever goal for the Caley Jags and his first since 26th November 2022. Wallace Duffy scored after a dozen minutes before a sensational lob from the halfway line saw Louis Moult equalise after the break. A bit of dubiety over the goal as we felt Cammy Kerr had been fouled by Moult when he took the ball from the Caley Jags player. Nothing dubious about the strike as it flew over Ridgers before bouncing into the net off the underside of the bar. Carragher and Gary Bollan were booked for protesting and they seem to have a valid point. Mak Ridgers was otherwise the star of the show and Carragher could have nicked all three points at the death when his powerful shot was cleared off the line by Docherty. Good point under normal circumstances, unfortunately circumstances are not normal at the moment as the league table will show. Last Five: D W D L D 

Cheers Mark>>>

Partick Thistle beat Arbroath 1-0 at Gayfield to stop them encroaching on us although they still have a game in hand. A 15th minute strike from Aidan Fitzpatrick was enough to keep the Smokies at bay although the game was not as close the scoreline might suggest. Partick had the ball in the net another couple of times but they were chalked off. That result pretty much ensures that Partick will at least be in the play-offs. (at the top end of the table) Last Five: D D L W W 

Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Friday night game at Ayr 1. Dundee Utd 30 17 8 5 57 21 59 2. Raith Rovers 29 17 7 5 49 36 58 3. Partick Thistle 30 12 10 8 56 49 46 4. Airdrieonians 28 11 6 11 33 32 39 5. Dunfermline 30 10 8 12 34 39 38 6. Morton 29 10 7 12 35 34 37 7. Queens Park 30 9 9 12 43 48 36 8. Ayr United 29 10 5 14 41 53 35 9. Inverness CT 30 7 11 12 34 35 32 10. Arbroath 29 6 5 18 30 65 23

    FRIDAY 29th March

 Ayr Utd. v Airdrie

   SATURDAY 30th March

1.  Arbroath v Dunfermline
2. Morton v Queen's   
3. Dundee Utd. v Raith Rovers    
4.    Partick Thistle v Inverness CT        

Latest Team News

Inverness still have major injury concerns. We seem to have been saying that for three or four seasons now. Nathan Shaw was a gamble that backfired last week and it has been confirmed that he will now miss the rest of the season. Morgan Boyes came through unscathed on his return and Nikola Ujdur was an unused sub last week. MacGregor is also reportedly fit, but he and Austin Samuels appear to be off the radar.

Here's Dunc with the latest smokescreen>>>

 

Alex Samuel ahead of the game at Firhill>>>

 

Partick Thistle still have the man we love to hate, Brian Graham. Enough said, the big lad does like a goal or two against us. Partick are the second top scorers in the division with 56 goals, but they have conceded an abnormally large amount of goals in 49, the second most goals against with only Arbroath losing more.

Partick team at Gayfield:

Mitchell

 

McMillan   Muirhead   McBeth   Milne

 

Lawless   Neilson   Robinson   McInroy (Stanway 77)  Fitzpatrick (Ngwenya 90+3)

 

Graham

 

Subs Not Used: Stewart; Alston, Diack, MacKenzie, Campbell, Horn

 

 

2-0 Partick and confirmation we will be in a relegation play off, at best. 

[Yngwie]

We are so unpredictable this season, losing when you expect us to win but then getting points when you wouldn’t expect us to.

3-1 to us.

[Robert]

It’s another weekend where many of those we are trying to catch will pick up points given the other fixtures.

We could do with Airdrie winning at Ayr tonight, but that would put them out of sight for us.

Similarly if Dunfermline beat Arbroath we are unlikely to catch them either.

We then have out of form Morton hosting Queens Park so at least one of them will be amongst the points.

If we lose and both Ayr and Queens Park win (or Ayr win and Morton draw with Queens Park) we will be 5 points off 8th with 5 games left.

All iffs and buts, but we really do need a win tomorrow.

Edited March 29 by Robert

[CaleyCiuin]

With tonight’s result at Ayr, even if we win tomorrow, we will still be in 9th !!!!!! I can’t believe we might end up in relegation playoffs.  

[bdu98196]

Everyone in the league from 4th down has already lost a minimum of 12 games this season.

 

[IBM]

Not looking good!  Other teams picking up points and we are not.

[RednBlackComeback]

2 hours ago, CaleyCiuin said:

With tonight’s result at Ayr, even if we win tomorrow, we will still be in 9th !!!!!! I can’t believe we might end up in relegation playoffs.  

It's where we deserve to be.  We're f#@£&n awful! 

[tm4tj]

[Yngwie]

A goal down and now Kerr sent off.  

[Duke of Inverness]

It's quite obvious, us getting into a Scottish Cup Final has a negative effect down the line. 

[Duke of Inverness]

I would now take 9th place tbh. I fear that Arbroath will beat us next week and we will be overtaken by them. There is nothing in our coaching staff or current squad with any capability to halt the continued downward spiral. 

[ICTPaisley]

Turns out sacking Foran probably wouldn’t have helped.

As poor as Dodds was this season I never felt we’d be in this position with him here. We’ve still got a chance, starting with an absolute must next week v Arbroath and then against Queens Park.

[Yngwie]

The stats aren’t actually bad for a match away to the side in 3rd place, and with us a man down for half an hour!

[tm4tj]

We played better when we went down to ten...

[+jagster]

Goals and points are the only stats that matter. We are in real bother now 

[caley1]

4 minutes ago, ICTPaisley said:

Turns out sacking Foran probably wouldn’t have helped.

As poor as Dodds was this season I never felt we’d be in this position with him here. We’ve still got a chance, starting with an absolute must next week v Arbroath and then against Queens Park.

Ferguson was a big name ( nice guy ) but Not a manager . Yet Another Scot Gardiner disaster as his recommendation . And man has he had a few .  Everything this guy has anything to do with the club is a disaster and about time he is shown the door .

Club is in a very precarious position financially so why are we still paying this clown ? ( Reportedly well over 90k a year when we should immediately have been looking to save money ?   Far too many loan players ,It rarely  works and clearly hasn’t worked . I’d have Charlie take the last few games with some fresh ideas as obviously Ferguson is way out of his depth . 

[Duke of Inverness]

Aye, we need someone in the dugout who actually cares about ICT and where we will be in a few weeks time, as Ferguson and Bollan will be off into the sunset pronto after the Morton game.

Edited March 30 by Duke of Inverness

[CaleyCanary]

1 hour ago, Duke of Inverness said:

I would now take 9th place tbh. I fear that Arbroath will beat us next week and we will be overtaken by them. There is nothing in our coaching staff or current squad with any capability to halt the continued downward spiral. 

Without a shadow of doubt next week is a must win game if ever there was one!

If we do win it, and it is a big if, then hopefully that will give them some confidence to take into the QP game and beyond.

All we can do is hope, I think the believe ship has already sailed.

[buckett]

41 minutes ago, Duke of Inverness said:

Aye, we need someone in the dugout who actually cares about ICT and where we will be in a few weeks time, as Ferguson and Bollan will be off into the sunset pronto after the Morton game.

Think Ferguson is on a 2-year contract.

We can only afford to get rid of him if some other team wants him, which is most unlikely.

[Charles Bannerman]

48 minutes ago, caley1 said:

Ferguson was a big name ( nice guy ) but Not a manager . Yet Another Scot Gardiner disaster as his recommendation . And man has he had a few .  Everything this guy has anything to do with the club is a disaster and about time he is shown the door .

Club is in a very precarious position financially so why are we still paying this clown ? ( Reportedly well over 90k a year when we should immediately have been looking to save money ?   Far too many loan players ,It rarely  works and clearly hasn’t worked . I’d have Charlie take the last few games with some fresh ideas as obviously Ferguson is way out of his depth . 

It should maybe be added that Duncan Ferguson must be working on a rock bottom budget and up here it does seem that clubs have to pay players a premium for geographical reasons recruiting at a decent standard must be very difficult.

Was anyone else at the September meeting of the Football Memories group where Scot Gardiner took the floor and detailed how he personally had recruited Duncan? I understand that the appointment was confirmed after Scot Gardiner and the Chairman voted for Duncan and Grassa voted for Dougie Imrie.

[Polo Chick]

6 minutes ago, buckett said:

Think Ferguson is on a 2-year contract.

We can only afford to get rid of him if some other team wants him, which is most unlikely.

He was signed on a 3 year deal do they never learn

 

[RiG]

14 minutes ago, buckett said:

Think Ferguson is on a 2-year contract.

We can only afford to get rid of him if some other team wants him, which is most unlikely.

 

He's on a 3 year deal.

https://ictfc.com/duncan-ferguson-appointed-manager-of-ictfc/

[Duke of Inverness]

3 minutes ago, RiG said:

He's on a 3 year deal.

https://ictfc.com/duncan-ferguson-appointed-manager-of-ictfc/

What a disaster. Highland League football by then. 

[caley1]

9 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

It should maybe be added that Duncan Ferguson must be working on a rock bottom budget and up here it does seem that clubs have to pay players a premium for geographical reasons recruiting at a decent standard must be very difficult.

Was anyone else at the September meeting of the Football Memories group where Scot Gardiner took the floor and detailed how he personally had recruited Duncan? I understand that the appointment was confirmed after Scot Gardiner and the Chairman voted for Duncan and Grassa voted for Dougie Imrie.

Scot Gardiner Ross Morrison 2 of a kind and not good for the club . Grassa at least has a bit of love for the club