Ross County 0 - 1 Inverness CT

League Cup - Rd 2
Tuesday, August 24th, 2004, 3:00 PM at Victoria Park, Dingwall
Attendance: 3,315
Referee: Calum Murray
Ross County Inverness CT

Goalscorers
None. Ross Tokely (65)

Team Managers
Alex Smith John Robertson

Starting Eleven
Garden
Robertson
McCulloch
MacKay
Canning
Lauchlan
Rankin
Cowie
McSwegan
Kilgannon
Burke
Mark Brown
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
Stuart Golabek
Stuart McCaffrey
Barry Wilson
Russell Duncan
Liam Keogh
Steven Hislop
Graham Bayne
Juanjo Carricondo

Bench
McCunnie
McGarry
Higgins
Winters
McCafferty
Michael Fraser
Darren Dods
Roy McBain
Richie Hart
Bryan Prunty

Substitutions
Winters -> Burke (59)
McGarry -> McSwegan (59)
Higgins -> Kilgannon (74)
Roy McBain for Juanjo Carricondo (85)

Bookings
McCulloch
Rankin
None.

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Brown (GK) 95 apps -
Grant Munro 93 apps2 goals
Stuart Golabek 170 apps4 goals
Stuart McCaffrey 151 apps5 goals
Ross Tokely 287 apps21 goals
Russell Duncan 118 apps2 goals
Liam Keogh 68 apps3 goals
Barry Wilson 194 apps60 goals
Steven Hislop 51 apps16 goals
Juanjo Carricondo 4 apps1 goal
Graham Bayne 4 apps -
Roy McBain (sub) 170 apps9 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (25 years 176 days)
Oldest Player:Grant Munro (2006 years 24 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 5 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (25 years 176 days)
Oldest Player:Bryan Prunty (2006 years 24 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 5 days
Domestic Players:16 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

SPL entry put paid to league derbies so this CIS cup clash was a bonus. The match was played amidst heavy rain and Caley Thistle were on top throughout. In the end the teams were only separated by a superb goal from ‘Man of the Match’ Ross Tokely.

Roy McBain and Richie Hart were rested for ICT and their places were taken by Russell Duncan and Steve Hislop. Juanjo played pending an appeal against Sunday’s red card.

In six minutes a Graham Bayne shot was held by Stuart Garden then a Barry Wilson effort cannoned off Hislop and ran past.

Liam Keogh hit high from 25 yards in 10 minutes then County’s John Rankin did the same from a free kick at the other end. A Juanjo free kick curled wide in 12 minutes then Garden took a Wilson low shot at the post in 18 minutes.

Sean Kilgannon had a chance for County in 22 minutes but he was off-balance and shot wide. Two minutes later a Wilson curling free kick from wide right reached Bayne but he headed wide.

Mark Brown punched out in 27 minutes to set up Mark McCulloch but the ex-Caley Thistle captain drove wide. County’s best chance came in 37 minutes when a defensive slip let in Alex Burke but he hit past.

In the run up to the break ICT had chance after chance – Wilson hit over, Keogh blasted high, Juanjo struck wide from an angle, Bayne headed off-target then Grant Munro shot over from the rebound.

Half Time: 0-0

The pattern continued after the restart with Hislop chipping just over, Juanjo doing the same then Wilson and Bayne both hitting high. A poor pass back led to a sliced clearance from Garden and the concession of a corner on the right. Wilson’s kick was headed goalwards by Tokely at the near post and it was 1-0.

There was little else on target at either end with the closest effort coming four minutes from time. Wilson sent over a low cross from the right and Hislop’s low header was cleared at the back post. County had few chances but Sean Higgins did hit wide close to the whistle.

Full Time: 0-1

A good night’s work and the hope of a home third round tie at Caledonian Stadium.

Match report written by Ian Broadfoot