Inverness CT 2 Dunfermline 0
Saturday, 21st Dec 2019Ladbrokes Championship: Joe Thomson, Paul Paton and Lewis McCann start. Shaun Rooney (34) 1-0: Jamie McCart (80) 2-0:
Bright sunshine welcomed Dunfermline to Caledonian Stadium for their final away fixture of the decade. Without the suspended Greg Kiltie Stevie Crawford brought in Joe Thomson for his first start since March. Kyle Turner and Harry Cochrane were relegated to the bench to accommodate Paul Paton and Lewis McCann.
Inverness manager John Robertson was without Carl Tremarco, out with a foot injury meaning he brought in former Pars youth Kevin McHattie. There starting eleven included two other former Dunfermline players Jordan White and Shaun Rooney. James Vincent returned to the Caley bench.
McCann got the match underway with the visitors attacking the goal at the Kessock Bridge end. It was the Pars who created the first danger in the fourth minute of the match. Ryan Dow exchanged passes with Kevin Nisbet before slipping the ball to Thomson on the edge of the Inverness box and receiving it back via Aaron Comrie to release the first shot of the afternoon but that was blocked by McHattie and the home side successfully defended the resultant corner.
Home skipper Aaron Doran then created two opportunities for his side, both crosses from the left. The first was smashed narrowly wide left by James Keatings, the second one Ryan Scully held. Then in tenth minute Keatings sent Miles Storey into the left side of the Pars box and Paton slid in to direct the ball back towards Scully who was able to hold.
Charlie Trafford sent a wild shot over the crossbar from 25 yards out before Nisbet had a glorious chance on the quarter hour. Played through by McCann with just keeper Mark Ridgers to beat, the keeper stopped the shot and then had an easy catch as Nizzy followed up with a header
Four minutes later the tenacity of Lewis Martin took him to the byeline but his cutback found McCann rather than Nisbet further behind him and ball went wide left. Back at the other end Scully made a great save turning a deflected Storey cross from the right around his right hand post.
The sun was going down, the few clouds in the sky reflected its glow and Caley really should have lit up the home fans too but they failed to take two good chances. A delivery from the right was fired on target by Doran and then again from the block by Keatings but he was narrowly wide right with his low driven effort.
Paton launched a 32nd minute Pars free kick into the Caley Thistle box and while Ashcroft managed to head it back towards Danny Devine, possession was lost until McCann latched on to the clearance and it was Jordan White who cleared his cross.
Two minutes later however Caley scores the opener after a corner from the right was defended and then returned by Keatings for Shaun ROONEY to sweep into the left side of the Pars net. 1-0
Comrie did well to thwart Doran who was bearing in on a diagonal ball and directing it back to his keeper. Keatings sent a 39th minute effort wide right before play stopped for Tom Beadling to receive treatment. Unable to continue Kyle Turner was the 43rd minute sub and he came close to providing the equaliser. The ball was played through by McCann for Nisbet but yet again Ridgers came out on top in another one on one.
The Pars keeper had been by far the busier of the two keepers as reflected by the first half stat of 61% Caley Thistle possession.
Half time: Inverness Caley Thistle 1 Dunfermline 0
David Carson smashed an early second half effort wide left before the Fifers had a spell where they pushed up but failed to trouble the keeper. Gradually the home side moved play deeper and deeper into the Pars half and in 57 minutes Ashcroft made a great tackle on Storey to left of goal to concede only a corner. That was defended but Paton under pressure from White turned the ball behind two minutes later for another corner on the left. This time Scully plucked the ball from the air.
Anthony McDonald made his Pars debut coming on for Lewis McCann in 62 minutes and almost made a stunning impact but would only force what was the visitors first corner of the game. Dow delivered from the left and Ashcroft collected the loose ball and was unfortunate no one was in front of goal to convert.
Comrie made a run and found Nisbet with his cross but he could not get his shot away. The Fifers were beginning to look the more likely to find the net, even Ashcroft was driving deep and the increasingly nervous home support were starting to call for a substitution.
Martin dispossessed Rooney to hand Caley a 72nd minute corner and from the second play Rooney had a shot that was deflected behind for another corner that Jamie McCart got his head to but could not put in the net.
Andy Ryan replaced Joe Thomson with sixteen minutes remaining but it was Caley’s Doran who forced another corner and when he delivered McCART again rose to head the ball in at the left post. There were appeals that Trafford had assisted the ball across the line off his arm but the referee deemed he didn`t touch it so goal stood. 2-0 with ten minutes remaining.
Three minutes later there was a speedy break by McDonald that set up Nisbet on the edge of the box but Ridgers held the shot. Vincent intercepted an 88th minute Ryan corner and Inverness saw the game out to consolidate their second place in the Championship. As for Dunfermline they fell out of the play off positions as a consequence of Dundee’s win over Partick Thistle.
INVERNESS CT: Mark Ridgers: Shaun Rooney, Coll Donaldson, Jamie McCart, Kevin McHattie: David Carson, Aaron Doran (c)(Nikolay Todorov 89), Charlie Trafford, James Keatings (James Vincent 74), Jordan White (Mitch Curry 85), Miles StoreySUBS NOT USED: Cammy Harper, Roddy Macgregor, Matheus Machado, Cammy Mackay (GK)
SCORERS: Rooney (34), McCart (80)
YELLOW CARD: Donaldson (65)
DUNFERMLINE: Ryan Scully: Aaron Comrie, Danny Devine, Lee Ashcroft, Lewis Martin: Ryan Dow, Paul Paton (c), Tom Beadling (Kyle Turner 43), Joe Thomson (Andy Ryan 74), Lewis McCann (Anthony McDonald 62), Kevin Nisbet.
SUBS NOT USED: Tom Lang, Harry Cochrane, Josh Edwards, Cammy Gill (GK)
YELLOW CARD: Dow (35)
REFEREE: Alan Newlands
WEATHER: Sunny 4C
ATTENDANCE 2116
NEXT MATCH: Ladbrokes Championship: (home) v Alloa Athletic Saturday 28th December 2019, kick off 3.00pm at East End Park
HT Draw Numbers: 1st - 07086, 2nd - 06826
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Preview Inverness CT
Saturday, 21st Dec 2019Ladbrokes Championship: (away) Saturday 21st December 2019 3.00pm kick off at the Caledonian Stadium.
The Saturday before Christmas sees Stevie Crawford take his team up the A9 to face John Robertson’s Inverness Caley Thistle. The Pars do not have a good record at the Caledonian Stadium, it being more than twelve years since winning their last league match there.
Both sides lost their last league matches and will hoping to get back on track with a win. There are only four points separating Inverness in second from Dunfermline in fourth. The Pars have the better goal difference so points from this match will be very significant.
Milestones Inverness Caledonian Thistle (Away)
Last League Victory: 17/03/07: 3-1 SPL
Last League Defeat: 04/05/19: 0-1 Championship
Best League Victory: 22/04/00 2-1 Sc Div 1
Worst League Defeats: 15/08/04 & 29/01/05 0-2 SPL
Last Goalless Draw: 03/05/12: 0-0 Premier League
First visit: 23/10/99: 1-1 Sc Div 1
The last dozen league matches between the teams have seen three Dunfermline wins, five draws and four Caley Thistle wins.
Last 12 League matches v Inverness Caley Thistle
14/09/19: (H) 0-1 [0-1] Welsh
04/05/19: (A) 0-1 [0-1] Austin
16/02/19: (H) 1-0 [1-0] Thomson
30/10/18: (A) 2-2 [1-0] Keena, [1-1] Calder, [2-1] Keena, [2-2] White
01/09/18: (H) 0-3 [0-1] Rooney, [0-2] Polworth, [0-3] Oakley
21/04/18: (A) 2-2 [1-0] Ryan, [1-1] Chalmers, [1-2] Austin, [2-2] Clark.
13/03/18: (H) 1-0 [1-0] Craigen
28/10/17: (A) 0-1 [0-1] Bell
12/08/17: (H) 5-1 [1-0] Smith, [2-0] Ashcroft, [2-1] Vigurs, [3-1] Cardle, [4-1] Hopkirk, [5-1] Cardle.
18/02/12: (H) 1-1 [1-0] Cardle, [1-1] Ross.
22/10/11: (A) 1-1 [0-1] Tade, [1-1] Buchanan (pen.)
06/08/11: (H) 3-3 [1-0] Kirk, [1-1] Tansey, [2-1] Kirk. [2-2] Hayes, [2-3] Tansey, [3-3] Hardie.
Last time at Caledonian Stadium
Inverness Caley Thistle 1 Dunfermline 0
Ladbrokes Championship, Saturday 4th May 2019
The last visit to Inverness was for the final match of season and it was played on a cold Saturday in May. Ryan Scully was ill and Jackson Longridge was suspended so Stevie Crawford brought in Lewis Martin, Stuart Morrison, Kallum Higginbotham and Cammy Gill. Myles. For 21 year old Gill and 20 year old Morrison this was their league debut for Dunfermline but they both members of the last Pars team to win in Inverness.
Throughout it was a fairly even, typical end of season match. Disaster struck however in 35 minutes when a mix up between Morrison and his keeper let Nathan AUSTIN in to slot the ball home. Morrison’s pass back to Gill was too high and that proved fatal. 1-0
INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE: Mark Ridgers (c): Shaun Rooney, Coll Donaldson (Jamie McCart HT), Brad McKay, Kevin McHattie, Joe Chalmers, Darren McCauley, Tom Walsh, Charlie Trafford (Liam Polworth 65), Nathan Austin (Aaron Doran 73), Jordan White.
SUBS NOT USED: Anthony McDonald, Cameron Harper, Matheus Machado, Cameron Mackay (GK).
DUNFERMLINE: Cammy Gill (GK): Mark Durnan, Danny Devine, Lee Ashcroft (c) Lewis Martin: Stuart Morrison: Louis Longridge (Andy Ryan 73), James Craigen, Ryan Blair (Matthew Todd 62), Kallum Higginbotham (Lewis McCann 88): Bruce Anderson.
SUBS NOT USED: Myles Hippolyte, Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Paul Allan, Craig Burt (GK)
Form Last Six Matches
Dunfermline and Inverness Caley Thistle have both won three of their last six matches, and both lost their last league games.
DUNFERMLINE
Dundee (A) L 3-4
Morton (H) W 3-1
Ayr United (A) W 1-0
Partick Thistle (H) W 5-1
Stranraer (A) L 0-1
Alloa Athletic (A) L 1-2
INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE
Partick Thistle (A) L 1-3
Ayr United (H) W 2-0
Alloa Athletic (A) W 2-0
Dundee (H) W 1-0
Clyde (H) D 0-0
Arbroath (A) L 0-3
Current League Stats
DUNFERMLINE
League Position: 4th
League Points: 25
Goal Difference: +7
League Record: P17 W7 D4 L6 GF28 GA21
Last Six League Match Form: WLWWWL
INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE
League Position: 2nd
League Points: 29
Goal Difference: +4
League Record: P17 W9 D2 L6 GF25 GA21
Last Six League Match Form: LLWWWL
Last time out
DUNFERMLINE v (Dundee):Ryan Scully: Aaron Comrie, Danny Devine, Lee Ashcroft (c), Lewis Martin: Ryan Dow, Harry Cochrane (Paul Paton 49), Tom Beadling (Lewis McCann 83), Kyle Turner (Joe Thomson 58, Greg Kiltie, Kevin Nisbet.
SUBS NOT USED: Stuart Morrison, Anthony McDonald, Miller Fenton, Cammy Gill (GK)
INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE (v Partick Thistle):Mark Ridgers: Shaun Rooney, Coll Donaldson, Jamie McCart, Carl Tremarco (Cammy Harper 85): David Carson, Aaron Doran (Mitchell Curry 84), Charlie Trafford, James Keatings, Jordan White (Nikolay Todorov 84), Miles Storey
SUBS NOT USED: Kevin McHattie, Brad McKay, Roddy Macgregor, Cammy Mackay (GK)
Other Championship Fixtures
Alloa Athletic v Morton
Dundee United v Ayr United
Partick Thistle v Dundee
Queen of the South v Arbroath
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