Inverness CT 1 - 1 Aberdeen

League Match
Saturday, September 15th, 2012, 3:00 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 4,499
Referee: George Salmond
Inverness CT  Aberdeen

Goalscorers
Richie Foran (pen.) (67)
Cammy Smith (84)

Team Managers
Terry Butcher Craig Brown

Starting Eleven
Ryan Esson
Josh Meekings
Gary Warren
David Raven
Andre Blackman
Graeme Shinnie
Aaron Doran
Andrew Shinnie
Owain Tudur Jones
Ross Draper
Richie Foran
Jamie Langfield
Russell Anderson
Andrew Considine
Mark Reynolds
Ryan Jack
Gavin Rae
Stephen Hughes
Jonathan Hayes
Ryan Fraser
Scott Vernon
Josh Magennis

Substitutes
Antonio Reguero
George Brislen-Hall
Gavin Morrison
Conor Pepper
Shane Sutherland
Billy Mckay
Jason Oswell
Jason Brown
Clark Robertson
Chris Clark
Niall McGinn
Jordan Brown
Mitch Megginson
Cammy Smith

Substitutions
Shane Sutherland for Andrew Shinnie (63)
Billy Mckay for Aaron Doran (86)
Conor Pepper for Shane Sutherland (90)
Niall McGinn -> Scott Vernon (73)
Cammy Smith -> Ryan Jack (74)
Mitch Megginson -> Ryan Fraser (81)

Bookings
Aaron Doran (19)
Josh Meekings (44)
Richie Foran (79)
None.

Red Cards
Owain Tudur Jones (56)
Russell Anderson (66)
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 148 apps -
Josh Meekings 27 apps -
Andre Blackman 1 app (debut) -
David Raven 7 apps -
Gary Warren 7 apps -
Graeme Shinnie 63 apps1 goal
Aaron Doran 35 apps3 goals
Owain Tudur Jones 20 apps -
Andrew Shinnie 28 apps12 goals
Ross Draper 7 apps2 goals
Richie Foran 137 apps32 goals
Conor Pepper (sub) 5 apps1 goal
Shane Sutherland (sub) 72 apps3 goals
Billy Mckay (sub) 31 apps4 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Aaron Doran (21 years 131 days)
Oldest Player:Graeme Shinnie (2014 years 48 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 251 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Aaron Doran (21 years 131 days)
Oldest Player:Antonio Reguero (2014 years 48 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 222 days
Domestic Players:13 (72.22 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts
Andre Blackman(Signed )

Milestones

Stalemate.

Aaron Doran welcomed his mate Jonny Hayes back to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium with an early robust tackle which might just have turned their relationship stale.

Jonny may have been back in Inverness, but it was Aaron Doran that made the headlines with an incredible miss that should have put the game beyond the Dons. I believe he claims he was fouled, and for his sake I hope so, otherwise it was a faux pas of gargantuan proportions.

One on one with Langfield, he appeared to be caught in two minds what to do and in the end did nothing, much to the disdain of the home support, claiming he was fouled as he tried to shoot............I will need to check the video tape for that one.

Substitute Shane Sutherland was brought down and captain superb Richie Foran sent Langfield the wrong way from the spot. However, Aberdeen sneaked a point as their young substitute Cammy Smith was left unattended to head home the equaliser from a Hayes cross late in the game, something the Dons scarcely deserved, although neither side troubled the opposition keeper throughout the ninety minutes.

A couple of red cards, Owain Tudur-Jones once more sent packing; studs up challenge offering the referee the opportunity to send him off, and that he did, and Russell Anderson being deemed responsible for Shane Sutherland tumbling in the box for the penalty with Foran possibly fortunate to stay on the park after ploughing through a tackle and creating a new furrow in the park.

ajsict will have a full report for you when he settles down after that turgid encounter.............

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Old habits die hard

A lacking combination of clinical finishing and concentration late on saw Caley Thistle drop yet another 2 points in a game they probably should have won. Many fans would have been sceptical having watched ICT ship 8 goals in 2 games but with only one win to their name this season the Dons were no great shakes so both teams would have seen it as an opportunity to grasp. It was also a game in which Jonny Hayes returned to TCS as an opposing player for the first time and he was greeted with a mixed reception from the home fans.

Terry Butcher handed deadline day signing Andre Blackman his first start at left back since joining from Celtic with Graeme Shinnie reverting to left wing and after a credible display against Motherwell, Richie Foran retained his role as the lone striker. There was also a place in the squad for former Arsenal youngster George Brislen-Hall.

Paw Broon recieved a lot of praise for the caliber of player he signed in the summer and he had his two new starlets Hayes and Niall McGinn at his disposal along with promising youngsters Cammy Smith and Ryan Fraser, both of whom left a lasting impression.

In a game that was full of action the first half certainly was not. Both teams made the pitch look very congested, cancelling each other out and keeping the creative influence of both sides closely marked.

ICT had the better of the first half with Aaron Doran shooting over and one or two promising attacks charged down by the Dons. Graeme Shinnie had the best opportunity. Esson's high ball was beautifully touched down by Shinnie but on his weaker right foot his shot was tame and easily gathered by Langfield.

It certainly wasn't difficult for ICT to retain the ball but with the door to the goal being closed off the frustrations began to grow and Aberdeen began to create openings for themselves. Jonny Hayes looked to catch the ICT defence on the counter attack before he was taken out by Aaron Doran who received a booking for his troubles.

As half time drew near ICT's defence was called into action with Ryan Jack having a shot blocked by Gary Warren and then Ryan Fraser showing good composure to set up Stephen Hughes who was thwarted in his attempts to score by Ross Draper who put in a superb challenge to keep the scores level.

Half time ICT 0-0 Aberdeen

The 2nd half began with a bit more urgency. From a corner Andrew Considine was left unmarked and his strike seemed a certain goal but for Owain Tudur-Jones who cleared the effort off the line and after a quick frenzy saw the ball gathered by Esson.

ICT were next to try and break the deadlock. Andre Blackman nearly capped off an impressive debut with a goal, a neat change of play between Draper and OTJ set up the young full back who showed good composure to beat his man and get a powerful drive away from about 25 yards but the shot was just wide.

The game then exploded into life just short of the hour mark when Tudur-Jones was shown his 2nd red card of the season (and of his career) when he lunged in on the menacing Ryan Fraser and the referee showed little hesitation in sending the big Welshman for an early bath. On initial viewing it seemed harsh with the challenge being nothing more than late and a little aggressive.

Sky Sports reported it as being foul and abusive language that saw him go but I cant help but dismiss that as an error from them as he said next to nothing to the ref after the incident.

Butcher was forced into a tactical re shuffle with Foran dropping back into midfield and Shane Sutherland being brought on to occupy the lone striker role. Ironically this seemed to galvanize ICT and after Aaron Doran was flagged offside after scoring ICT created another opening. Warren won the ball and fed it to Graeme Shinnie who threaded a beautiful through ball to Shane Sutherland who was hacked down while bearing down on goal by Russell Anderson. The Dons stalwart was then shown the first red card of his long Aberdeen career for a professional foul and ICT were awarded a penalty as a result. Richie Foran showed no hesitation as he tucked it into the bottom corner sending Langfield the wrong way.

With the game returned to a level playing field both teams squandered further chances. Stephen Hughes and Jonny Hayes coming close for the Dons and Shane Sutherland firing over from the edge of the area.

Aaron Doran had a frustrating afternoon and it was summed up when he wasted the best chance of the day to increase the home sides advantage. From a corner Draper won posession, fed the ball brilliantly to Foran and his unselfish lay off to Doran left the Irish winger with a golden opportunity to seal all three points for ICT but his first touch was poor and following a challenge from Mark Reynolds the chance was gone.

With time running out Aberdeen sent on Niall McGinn and promising teenager Cammy Smith in search on an equalizer and it came with 6 minutes remaining. After giving away a cheap free kick the ICT defence was caught napping as it was taken quickly. Jonny Hayes did what he was renowned for during his time in the Highland capital. His improvisation with the free kick saw him set up youngster Smith who nodded the ball home at the back post to send the large travelling away support into raptures. A local boy scores his first goal for the club in front of his own support to rescue a point for his team? Its the stuff of dreams but my idea of a nightmare as we surrendered yet another lead to a late goal.

With time running down neither team managed find a winning goal but there was time for Shane Sutherland to pick up what looked like a serious injury as he was stretchered off and required a large amount of medical attention. With that the game was drawn to a close.

Full Time 1-1

To summarise:- It was certainly a step in the right direction after the last two games but our old problems continue to haunt us. Poor finishing and conceding late goals, needs sorting out pronto. Having only lost two games out of six sounds great but pairing it with the fact we havent won dents its credibility. Tudur-Jones will be a loss for the next three games. I doubt the club will appeal the decision and Foran will revert back to midfield. As good as he is there I thought Foran looked excellent as a lone striker, his work rate is a real quality and his physical presence makes him a menace for defenders. Defensively I thought we looked better but we lack communication at times and set pieces were conceded as a result of this. Hibs away will be a difficult task as they are on a great run of form and with Leigh Griffiths going great guns at present we will have to be at our best to keep him and the rest quiet.

ajsict92's motm - Andre Blackman, this was a difficult call. Foran worked his socks off and Draper and Warren both put in solid performances but given the fact he was put straight in the starting 11 and was up against a quality winger like Hayes I thought he stuck to his task well and showed real potential as a youngster.

Match report written by tm4tj/AJS



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Motherwell 6 3 3 0 10 5 5 12
2. Hibernian 6 3 2 1 9 8 1 11
3. St. Mirren 6 2 3 1 8 5 3 9
4. Dundee Utd 5 2 2 1 7 2 5 8
5. Celtic 5 2 2 1 9 7 2 8
6. Ross County 6 1 5 0 2 1 1 8
7. Aberdeen 6 1 4 1 3 3 0 7
8. Hearts 6 1 3 2 5 6 -1 6
9. Kilmarnock 6 1 3 2 5 6 -1 6
10. St. Johnstone 6 1 2 3 4 8 -4 5
11. Inverness CT 6 0 4 2 9 14 -5 4
12. Dundee 6 1 1 4 2 8 -6 4