Aberdeen 1 - 2 Inverness CT

League Match
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010, 7:45 PM at Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Attendance: 5,917
Referee: J McKendrick
Aberdeen Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Andrius Velicka (49) Adam Rooney (pen.) (34)
Grant Munro (81)

Team Managers
Mark McGhee Terry Butcher

Starting Eleven
Jamie Langfield
Rory McArdle
Zander Diamond
Clark Robertson
Derek Young
Yoann Folly
Ryan Jack
Sone Aluko
Darren Mackie
Chris Maguire
Scott Vernon
Ryan Esson
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
Kevin McCann
Gavin Morrison
Johnny Hayes
Nick Ross
Graeme Shinnie
Stuart Duff
Adam Rooney
Richie Foran

Bench
Mark Howard
Jerel Ifil
Dean Jarvis
Hallur Hansson
Ryan Fraser
Andrius Velicka
Josh Magennis
Jonny Tuffey
Stuart Golabek
Roy McBain
Lee Cox
Eric Odhiambo
Shane Sutherland
Dani Sanchez

Substitutions
Andrius Velicka => Darren Mackie (44)
Jerel Ifil => Ryan Jack (57)
Eric Odhiambo for Nick Ross (82)

Bookings
Derek Young (22)
Clark Robertson (32)
Darren Mackie (33)
Zander Diamond (34)
Jerel Ifil (65)
None.

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 84 apps -
Kevin McCann 8 apps1 goal
Ross Tokely 530 apps34 goals
Grant Munro 343 apps14 goals
Nick Ross 27 apps1 goal
Gavin Morrison 9 apps1 goal
Graeme Shinnie 12 apps -
Johnny Hayes 58 apps13 goals
Stuart Duff 12 apps1 goal
Adam Rooney 96 apps41 goals
Richie Foran 66 apps19 goals
Eric Odhiambo (sub) 49 apps11 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Johnny Hayes (23 years 129 days)
Oldest Player:Kevin McCann (2012 years 102 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 230 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Shane Sutherland (20 years 22 days)
Oldest Player:Kevin McCann (2012 years 102 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 198 days
Domestic Players:18 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

More misery for Dons Boss:

Inverness continued their magnificent away record in a turgid match at a sparsely populated and bitterly cold evening in the North East.  Adam Rooney scored from the spot before half time, but former Hearts player Andrius Velicka equalised early in the second half.  MotM Grant Munro headed the winner as Inverness completed a miserable week for the Dons and have maybe just added another managerial scalp to their expanding CV.  The game itself lacked any fluency and neither side managed to get the upper hand although Ryan Esson was the busier keeper.  The points headed North as Inverness saw out the game comfortably after getting their noses in front.

davie watched this one from the luxury of his living room, hope your Gaelic is up to scratch.

The view from the sofa. Before I settled down to watch the game on Alba last night, glass of red in one hand, I dipped into Sky anytime to watch walking dead. There was a scene in it where the protagonist was cuffing himself around the ear and pleading with himself to wake from the zombie nightmare that was engulfing him. I realised his name must be McGhee. This is the first time this hack has compiled a match report from the warm and fuzzy living room, but it seemed a better idea than attempting to brave Ice Station Zebra and then get up for work next day. It seems that the few hundred brave souls who did managed to make more noise than the Aberdeen support – undead or what?

Inverness started brightly, passing crisply through the channels as Aberdeen appeared content to sit off and feel their way into the game. Attempts from Foran, Hayes, Tokely and Rooney were fashioned before Aberdeen’s first attempt on goal in 16 minutes from Vernon. In all, it was shaping to a classic ICT away win even at this point with a hesitant home side, a smallish forward line (Vernon excepted) and an ICT side willing to press high up the park. All well and good, but the lynchpin is Ryan Esson. The first half was again littered with saves of a quality varying from sublime to ridiculous. The latter came in around 28 minutes from a shot by Vernon which he somehow swiped around a post and the sublime when he showed utter commitment to deny Mackie. No surprise that Mackie was the one who didn’t get up. From our point of view, the sofa was jumped on in 33 minutes after a Hayes run was halted fairly agriculturally by Clark Robertson. After the yellow, the free kick was hoisted above everyone, especially Grant Munro who was lying prostrate in the box. Penalty, and cue a massive girn from Diamond and Young. More yellows and then Rooney did what he does. 1-0. Aberdeen huffed and puffed, but when your luck’s out, it’s out.

 Half time :- 0-1.

A special mention must go to Alba for the half time entertainment. Scott Kellacher’s guided trip around the ICT laundry room (?) was a gem, surpassed only by his quip about Tommy Cumming’s underwear. Bizarre. The departure of the flattened Mackie was a double edged thing in that it resulted in the on loan Velicka being introduced to the fray. He’s exactly the kind of big rumbustious centre forward that we don’t cope with that well, and he proved that point in 48 minutes by freeing himself in the box to score to Esson’s left. This cued a spell of red pressure, but too often the quality of the pass and the lack of vision cost Aberdeen any real chance of taking a lead. That’s not to say that they didn’t have chances, but Esson was not for being beaten again under any circumstances. Adam Rooney also had a couple of great chances after some great direct running, and Nick Ross nearly celebrated his call up by hooking a wicked shot just wide. I would have taken a draw at this point, but ICT conjured up a great night for Grantie when he bulleted a header past Langfield after pressure and a wee dinked cross from Foran in 80 minutes. I nearly spilled my pringles. The game fizzled out after that, with Aberdeen accepting their fate.

Full Time:- 1-2.

Our neighbours are in a mess, and were dispatched with a bit of dignity. I doubt if they will have any left after they face Rangers on Saturday. Cue the much awaited P45 for McGhee. In truth, he looked a beaten man at the end. The last word (and indeed one of the very few words that I understood all night) has to go to that great Aberdonian institution, the Press and Journal: “For the first time in the club’s history, Inverness Caledonian Thistle are the best team in the north of Scotland. The league doesn’t lie and two games between Inverness and Aberdeen add further credence to that statement. I find that quite staggering and Aberdeen fans may find it more staggering still”. Oh yes.

Match report written by davie



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Rangers 11 10 1 0 29 10 19 31
2. Celtic 11 10 0 1 31 7 24 30
3. Motherwell 11 6 1 4 16 13 3 19
4. Inverness CT 12 5 3 4 17 13 4 18
5. Hearts 11 5 2 4 16 13 3 17
6. Dundee Utd 11 5 2 4 12 16 -4 17
7. Kilmarnock 11 4 1 6 16 14 2 13
8. St. Johnstone 11 3 2 6 9 16 -7 11
9. Aberdeen 12 3 1 8 15 26 -11 10
10. Hamilton Academical 11 2 3 6 10 21 -11 9
11. Hibernian 11 2 2 7 10 20 -10 8
12. St. Mirren 11 2 2 7 11 23 -12 8