Inverness CT 0 - 0 Falkirk

League Match
Saturday, March 30th, 2019, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 2,817
Referee: Gavin Ross
Inverness CT  Falkirk

Goalscorers
None. None.

Team Managers
John Robertson Ray McKinnon

Starting Eleven
Mark Ridgers
Coll Donaldson
Kevin McHattie
Carl Tremarco
Brad Mckay
Jamie McCart
Joe Chalmers
Charlie Trafford
Aaron Doran
Liam Polworth
Jordan White
Harry Burgoyne
Jordan McGhee (c)
Ciaran McKenna
William Edjenguele
Paul Dixon
Paul Paton
Ian McShane
Abdul Osman
Deimantas Petravicius
Davis Keillor-Dunn
Zak Rudden

Substitutes
Cameron Mackay
Shaun Rooney
Tom Walsh
Matheus Machado
Darren McCauley
Nathan Austin
Daniel Mackay
Ross MacLean
Aaron Jarvis
Shayne Lavery
David Mitchell
Tom Robson
Kevin O'Hara
Mark Waddington

Substitutions
Tom Walsh for Joe Chalmers (65)
Nathan Austin for Jordan White (77)
Aaron Jarvis -> Deimantas Petravicius (74)
Ross MacLean -> Davis Keillor-Dunn (62)
Shayne Lavery -> Zak Rudden (86)

Bookings
Charlie Trafford (61)
Brad Mckay (89)
Paul Dixon (28)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 81 apps -
Brad Mckay 112 apps6 goals
Joe Chalmers 85 apps6 goals
Coll Donaldson 68 apps1 goal
Jamie McCart 39 apps1 goal
Carl Tremarco 166 apps13 goals
Kevin McHattie 6 apps -
Liam Polworth 200 apps18 goals
Aaron Doran 232 apps38 goals
Charlie Trafford 56 apps -
Jordan White 41 apps14 goals
Tom Walsh (sub) 33 apps10 goals
Nathan Austin (sub) 39 apps12 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Jamie McCart (21 years 288 days)
Oldest Player:Carl Tremarco (33 years 178 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 177 days
Domestic Players:8 (72.73 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Matheus Machado (17 years 268 days)
Oldest Player:Carl Tremarco (33 years 178 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 264 days
Domestic Players:12 (66.67 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Liam Polworth made his 200th competitive appearance for the Club.

Bore draw: Defences were on top at the Caledonian Stadium as Falkirk came North with a clear game plan; do not concede. It worked as Inverness struggled to break them down with former Partick player Abdul Osman outstanding for Falkirk, and combined with our wayward shooting that ensured the battling Bairns went home with a point. Chances were at a premium in an instantly forgettable first half. The tempo improved in the second but despite some near misses around the Falkirk box it was left to Mark Ridgers to ensure we also took a point as he blocked a late effort from substitute Shayne Lavery from six yards.

Some odd results today with County, Dundee United and Dunfermline losing we actually moved further away from the Pars in fifth place.

A decent visiting crowd were on hand to see if they could lift the Bairns out of the relegation scrap with a total of over 2800 in attendance on a brisk and blustery afternoon in the Highland Capital.

As mentioned above, it was an instantly forgettable first forty-five with the most apt description coming from AJS as he slithered and shivered down the stairs at the interval. Bland! Enough said Sandy.

The only plus points for me were that Coll Donaldson was immense at the back for us mopping up every ball forward from Falkirk and Abdul Osman did likewise at the other end to ensure it was a total stalemate. In our defence, the Bairns probably had more to gain from keeping it tight and their tenacity and close shackling of our players made for a dull first half.

The pace of the game quickened after the break as Inverness drove towards the North Stand and Charlie Trafford shot wide as more urgency came into our play.

Harry Burgoyne saved from man of the moment Aaron Doran as he looked for his fifth goal in as many games, but like his team mates, most efforts were not causing the big keeper too many issues. Harry again denying Doran and a succession of three corners came to nothing.

Kevin McHattie had one of our best moments when he flashed a volley just wide from the edge of the box when it looked as though it might find the bottom corner, the ball going agonisingly the wrong side of the post.

Brad Mckay met a Chalmers corner from the right but it flashed just wide of the post with defenders relieved to see it miss, the ball rolling out for a corner off Edjenguele's shins .

White directed a header well wide on the run under pressure from the two centre backs, the ball just not running for the big man today.

Doran came closest of all when he appeared on the left side of the box as he collected a disguised pass from Polworth, but his goalbound shot was cleared away from inside the six yard box by Jordan McGhee. Polly then guided the clearance just wide under pressure from the defender. That could easily have been the opener but for a fortunate block by Edjenguele on Polly, the ball going for a corner.

A wonderful jinky run into the box by Trafford almost set up a chance for Tom Walsh but he wanted to take an extra touch to be sure and his right footed effort was subsequently blocked.

Would have been nice for Polworth to get one on his 200th appearance but he will need to be sharper if he wants to hit the back of the net. Too ponderous around the box for my liking although he was always looking to create something for others, especially in the second half.

The customary late flurry brought little reward for Inverness and right at the death Falkirk almost stole it. Substitute Shayne Lavery pounced on the ball plumb in front of Mark Ridgers but the Inverness stopper stood firm as his shot went into his chest to avoid us losing another sore one to the Bairns.

It would have been nothing short of robbery had defence minded Falkirk stolen all three points as they did last time they were here. It was miserable enough dropping two points but as it turned out we lost no ground and as for Falkirk, they actually dropped to second bottom after Partick whipped Morton 3-0.

Man of the Match for Inverness was Coll Donaldson. Boy are we going to miss you in the Semi-Final. Abdul Osman was the same for Falkirk proving to be a big obstacle and dominated everything in the air at his end. He's a big unit.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Ross County 29 17 6 6 50 28 22 57
2. Dundee Utd 31 16 7 8 42 37 5 55
3. Ayr United 28 13 7 8 43 28 15 46
4. Inverness CT 30 11 13 6 41 33 8 46
5. Dunfermline 30 11 7 12 30 32 -2 40
6. Morton 29 8 10 11 27 39 -12 34
7. Queen of the South 29 8 9 12 37 36 1 33
8. Partick Thistle 30 9 5 16 34 47 -13 32
9. Falkirk 30 7 10 13 31 40 -9 31
10. Stirling Albion 30 7 8 15 31 46 -15 29