Gable Endies @ Home

[tm4tj]

Gable Endies at Home

 

Montrose are the visitors this weekend and if you can make it along early there's a Supporters Trust Meeting at 12:30 ahead of the game in Bar94 where they will endeavour to give you an update on the Administration process. Should be an entertaining game this Saturday with Inverness on the up and Montrose struggling of late and starting to tread water with one relegation play-off place still up for grabs. At present we hold the trumps for that with eleven games left to Alan Salvage our season. We drew the first encounter 1-1 but a stirring away performance in the second game saw us leave Montrose with a 3-2 victory at the beginning of December. They have their own Alfie Bavidge in Owen Stirton on loan from Dundee United and he has banged in six goals in just a handful of games.

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FANS MEETING 12:30

Full details are in the flyer below, but the meeting gives fans an opportunity to put questions to Charlie Christie, Scott Young or the Supporters Trust Board. Charlie and Scott will be giving updates on the club's situation and Charlie will be sharing some memories of the club's first 30 years.

The meeting is open to all fans and we hope to see many of you there, and remember there is an extra bus being provided by Stagecoach at 12.00 noon from the Bus Station, allowing time to grab a pie or drink before the meeting starts. Concession passes are valid, with the single fare being £2.40.

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 Match/Ticket/Bar94/Info 

 Supporters Trust Meeting 

 Early Bus to Stadium  

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Venue

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	7	3	2	2	8	11	-3
Away	6	3	2	1	9	7	+2
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	13	6	4	3	17	18	-1

Thirteen meetings in total with just the three defeats so far spanning 30 years starting with a 3-1 defeat at Links Park in October 94 in a division Three encounter with Sergei Baltacha the manager. Montrose nearly scored very early in the game but Mark McRitchie saved well from Colin McGlashan. In the 22nd minute a Charlie Christie cross was only inches from Norman MacMillan's head. In the 32nd minute McRitchie again saved at full length from a McGlashan shot. One minute later MacMillan put the visitors in front when he latched on to a Mitchell through ball and shot home. Things went badly wrong in the second half for Caley Thistle when in 58 minutes Paul MacKenzie was sent off for a second bookable offence. It was an uphill struggle after that and it was no surprise when Montrose equalised through Grant in 68 minutes. As the visitors tired McGlashan put Montrose in front with a tremendous shot in 74 minutes and one minute from time McRonald made it three with an overhead kick. Our next meeting in February was even worse. We were hammered 4-0 at home when a Stuart Beedie brace, with Milne and Mark Haro all scoring second half goals without reply. We won the third game 1-0 through a last minute goal from Wilson Robertson but ended as we began with a 3-0 doing at home in April thanks to strikes from Neil McAvoy, Colin McGlashan and Shaun Smith. Montrose went on to gain promotion this season with a late run for the finishing line pipping Ross County for the second place finish. Caledonian Thistle ended the season in mid-table and Forfar Athletic were the Champions. Those were the days...

Last 10 Competitive Meetings

3 - 2 (A)

1 - 1 (H)

1 - 0 (H)

0 - 0 (A)

1 - 1 (H)

3 - 2 (H)

2 - 0 (A)

2 - 0 (H)

2 - 2 (A)

0 - 3 (H)

 

INVERNESS CT  The Season So Far

D  L  D  D W D D D L   / W L(11)D W W W L  W L  

W W L  W W L  W 

Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game last weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot.  *It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath last week and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and is re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose up next and a win would be helpful and much appreciated with only 11 games left in our fixture list.

Latest Team News from within: Scott Kellacher has not mentioned any fresh injury worries but is focussed on four of the next five games being at home for the run in with a total of six of our final games at the Caledonian Stadium against five teams who play on artificial surfaces. Good news if we can use that to our advantage. So, the big emphasis is on our home form.

 

Pos	Team	Pld	Gd	Pts
1	Arbroath	25	12	43
2	Cove Rangers	25	13	41
3	Stenny	25	11	41
4	Alloa Ath	26	6	37
5	Queen of Sth	26	-3	35
6	Kelty Hearts	25	3	31
7	Montrose	26	-7	30
8	Annan Ath	26	-19	27
9	Inverness CT	25	1	25
10	Dumbarton	25	-17	8

 

 

Montrose Last Six: D  L  D  D W L  

At the end of January Montrose picked up an away point with a 2-2 draw at Annan, Stirton and Lyons scoring early goals. A home defeat to Stenhousemuir followed (0-3) with two draws on the bounce against Alloa (2-2) and Cove (1-1). The highlight of the last six was a rousing 2-3 win at Dumbarton with (Stirton x2 & Quinn scoring). Last week saw them well beaten at Home by QotS. 

<<<That was Stewart Petrie's squad for the win over Dumbarton. However, last week Machado started with Masson coming off the bench. Not a great run by Montrose and that has seen them sink perilously close to the relegation scrap. Owen Stirton is top scorer with six goals on loan from Dundee United. He seems to be the Gable Endies equivalent of our own Alfie Bavidge. Experienced arrival in the shape of Craig Wightman to back him up. Callum Sandilands is a promising young forward player in from Hearts. Matheus Machado is still at Montrose as is the imbecilic Michael Gardyne. Good footballer, bit of a tool though.

January Sales: Loan in: Owen Stirton, forward (Dundee United); Callum Sandilands, forward (Heart of Midlothian); Craig Wighton, forward (Dunfermline Athletic); Kieran Freeman, defender (Raith Rovers). Kane Hester has signed on again at Elgin City and Defender Callum Hannah has gone back to Raith Rovers.

[big cherly]

Great pre-match overview as always tm4tj. I read all the noise about being 8th if this and that happen. All fine and good. For me it’s simple, concentrate fully on beating Montrose, end of!! 
Let the other matches take care of themselves! 
bc

Edited February 28 by big cherly

[STFU]

Feeling very deprived of football since the start of the year and really looking forward to this one. Just need to get away from work 15 minutes early so I can make kick off.

[Robert]

Let’s not underestimate Montrose. They are unbeaten away from home in the league in 2025 and in Stirton they have a the player with the best minutes per goal stat in League 1, and he’s scored 6 in 5 games.

That said, there’s no reason why we cannot win this if we play as we have been in many games and play to our strengths.

Three points would do us the world of good. 

[tm4tj]

Unchanged from last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gardyne & Machado not listed and defender Aulay Martin recalled from his loan at Junior side Montrose Roselea.

[big cherly]

A rather insipid and dry first half. Montrose the more adventurous and their efforts rewarded. We seem to take 6 passes when 2 is only required. Alfie unlucky with his shot but needs help. 
bx

[tm4tj]

First Half

An overcast but frost free morning gave way to glimpses of sunshine as kick-off approached. By 3:00 it was an almost pleasant afternoon with a breeze as the game got underway. First attempt of the afternoon saw a Billy Mckay shot blocked and then Charlie Gilmour fired over after a free kick. Not much to talk about ten minutes in but hot prospect Owen Stirton had a shot blocked after twenty minutes with neither side able to make much progress in the final third. With half an hour gone both keepers could have gone for a coffee such was the dearth of activity around the penalty boxes. Graig Wighton and Billy Mckay exchanged misses and with that comment came the kiss of death as young Callum Sandilands, on loan from Hearts, opened the scoring for the visitors, chipping home from inside the box. Not the scoreline Scott Kellacher was hoping for and it went from bad to worse when Luis Longstaff went off injured to be replaced by James Nolan. This fired Inverness into action and Mckay had another effort blocked, this time by Gill before Alfie Bavidge hit the bar from outside the box. Just before the break Musa Dibaga saved from Sandilands at the expense of a corner and at the other end Keith Bray fired wide.

HALF TIME: 0-1

[+snorbens_caleyman]

1-1!  Just from reading the BBC website updates, it was clear that things had swung our way.

Now get another and overtake Annan!

[tm4tj]

With our most creative player subbed off, this was now going to be a massive test of the character of Kellacher's side. Montrose had Graham Webster on from the start of the second half. Gilmour headed on a corner but Mckay knocked it wide five minutes into the second half and Danny Devine lofted a shot over as the hosts looked to get back on level terms. A Paul Allan header off James Nolan's cross was held by Cammy Gill and the pressure was mounting on the visitors defence with Adam MacKinnon having an attempt blocked and Gilmour heading wide. Mckay was denied again by Gill. Charlie Gilmour must have a head like a threepenny bit as he headed wide again and Ben Brannan made his debut replacing MacKinnon. With ten minutes of normal time left up popped Keith Bray with a diving header ably assisted by Remi Savage's ball and Danny Devine's first time cross. No more than we deserved for our second half dominance but a lack of efforts on target meant it ended all square in the Highlands.

FULL TIME: 1-1

[STFU]

On 2/28/2025 at 2:14 PM, STFU said:

Feeling very deprived of football since the start of the year and really looking forward to this one. Just need to get away from work 15 minutes early so I can make kick off.

Still feeling deprived of football.

Looked like these guys had never played together before and our play was totally disjointed.

We somehow move closer to Annan. One to forget and move on.

Hopefully Longstaff isn't sidelined with injury again.

[CaleyCanary]

Disappointing to not get the three points but still chipped away at our first target…

…softly, softly catchee monkey!

[big cherly]

Agree with posters initial feedback of the match. We suffered invention with the loss of Longstaff early in the second half and from there the game was mash of fouls, poor final balls (from us mostly) and stoppages. Add in Montrose throwing their weight around and dirty tricks, it was a match that won’t be remembered for its grace or style. Thought we lacked the imagination and guile to get behind the Montrose defence. Our one piece of quick, accurate sharp passing from Remi to Danny onto a great diving header from Keith brought a quality equaliser. 
On another day we could have lost this match so let’s take the single point we gain on Annan and look forward to the next match. 
bc 

Edited March 1 by big cherly

[IBM]

The first half was dire and the second a bit better, deserved the draw but should have been better against a poor Montrose side.  I hope we see a better performance next home game!

[RednBlackComeback]

Goal aside that was the worst performance since Ferguson. We played the whole game at walking pace, with lots and lots of sideways and backwards passing. Players looked disinterested at times. Very strange considering this was one of the biggest games of the season for us ?

[big cherly]

1 hour ago, RednBlackComeback said:

Goal aside that was the worst performance since Ferguson. We played the whole game at walking pace, with lots and lots of sideways and backwards passing. Players looked disinterested at times. Very strange considering this was one of the biggest games of the season for us ?

Yep, I must admit there were times today I felt I was time warped back to August 24. 
bc

Edited March 1 by big cherly

[forresjags]

That was a hard watch, although we definitely did not deserve to lose, 2 points dropped.

Plus points for me, were Remy and Keith Bray who will be a massive loss next year. Disappointed to see Bavidge shunted to wide left ,he's so less effective than when going through the middle.

 

 

[Robert]

I agree with the posts above.

At half time, I’d have taken a point but I’m disappointed we didn't manage to get a winner. I wonder how things would have turned out if Bavidge’s wonderful strike had gone in rather then hitting the woodwork.

Slack play was the cause of the goal we lost and Montrose seemed to fancy a second the way they started the second half, but we got ourselves back into it and deserved the equaliser when Bray finished after a great ball by Devine (making up for his slack pass that gave Montrose their goal).

Bray did well when pushed further forward, and the early signs with Brannan are encouraging.

I really hope Longstaff is not badly hurt as he’s been our creative spark, and MacKinnon took a sore one too but seemed to run it off.

To end on a positive, that’s a game we would have lost in the last couple of seasons and the point keeps us in touch with Montrose.

Interestingly it was our first draw since 2 November. How times have changed!

Now we have a big fortnight with Dumbarton away, then Stenhousemuir and Annan at home. These games could define our season. 

Edited March 1 by Robert

[tm4tj]

 

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

It did look like we had regressed back to Dunc's style.  Devine eventually made up for his error for their goal with a superb volley to Bray.  Quite sad to see Billy struggling to hit the net which is perhaps why Dunc realised in training he no longer had the pace or guile up front.  A poor performance but in the end a critical point.  Brennan looked impressive.

[buckett]

Not very entertaining but at least we didn't lose.

Could have gone either way!

[Eagle4Caley]

13 hours ago, buckett said:

Not very entertaining but at least we didn't lose.

Could have gone either way!

Not losing was the important bit, at home too, and coming from behind, has a slightly more positive ring about it.

Obviously we want to win every game, maybe as we get closer to safety, the players get a bit more tense, sometime how match starts off dictates the entire game

Anyway I am up for Dumbarton next week, not losing there as important! But lets not take anything for granted

[tm4tj]

Savage Devine Bray ️

What a goal for our equaliser today! pic.twitter.com/mWLSA3HkxI

— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) March 1, 2025

[+DoofersDad]

We've played better, but I thought we deserved to win.  We were over-cautious in the first half as if we were worried that committing players forward would provide opportunities for the in-form Stirton if we lost possession. In truth, he barely got a look in all afternoon.  We were more positive in the 2nd half and created a lot of opportunities but the ball didn't quite run for us in the box.  The stats of 16 attempts on goal and 7 corners does not suggest an overall lack of positivity.

When we finally got the goal it was an absolute stunner. Remi had been playing safe balls all afternoon, but he suddenly played a great cross-field ball to Danny Devine who, for some reason, had popped up on the right of the opposition box.  He played it side-footed on the volley behind the defenders and Keith Bray met it with a superb diving header and past a bemused keeper.  Surely up there with the best goals we've ever scored.

Whilst disappointing not to win, I am confident that we have the quality and desire in the squad to be comfortably clear of the threat of relegation by the end of the season.

[Starscape]

In terms of the stature of the club, we should be looking at where we would be without the 15 point penalty. We should be beating those at the bottom. Especially at home. Ultimately, above the play-offs is the aim and I feel very confident of that. But let's not think of ICT as a 9th place team. That's only due to an administrative sanction. Compare our results to what Cove would expect, not Annan.

[big cherly]

3 hours ago, DoofersDad said:

the in-form Stirton if we lost possession. In truth, he barely got a look in all afternoon.

Agreed, I put that down to the respect Remi gave him (none) and harassed him all afternoon. Having said that I was concerned every time the boy Stirton got the game. His holding up the ball, height, good feet and all round game was impressive IMO. How I wish this stork like framed kid was in our colours as Billy’s impact on a game becomes more and more insignificant. 
bc

Edited March 2 by big cherly