Ross County 1 - 0 Inverness CT

League Match
Sunday, May 19th, 2013, 12:45 PM at Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall
Attendance: 6,002
Referee: Euan Norris
Ross County Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Andrew Hainault (43) None.

Team Managers
Derek Adams Terry Butcher

Starting Eleven
Paul Gallacher
Scott Boyd
Andrew Hainault
Evangelos Ikonomou
Michael Kovacevic
Stuart Kettlewell
Paul Lawson
Iain Vigurs
Ivan Sproule
Mark Fotheringham
Steffen Wohlfarth
Antonio Reguero
Chris Hogg
Josh Meekings
David Raven
Daniel Devine
Charlie Taylor
Graeme Shinnie
Aaron Doran
Andrew Shinnie
Conor Pepper
Billy Mckay

Bench
Sean McCarthy
Grant Munro
Archibald Macphee
Martin Scott
Alex Cooper
Gary Glen
Adam Porritt
Ryan Esson
Nick Ross
Liam Polworth
Martin Laing
Ryan Christie
Shane Sutherland
Calum Ferguson

Substitutions
Gary Glen -> Steffen Wohlfarth (67)
Martin Scott -> Mark Fotheringham (80)
Alex Cooper -> Ivan Sproule (90)
Nick Ross for Conor Pepper (36)
Shane Sutherland for Charlie Taylor (78)

Bookings
Ivan Sproule (27)
Scott Boyd (36)
Stuart Kettlewell (55)
Graeme Shinnie (27)
Josh Meekings (71)
David Raven (90)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Antonio Reguero (GK) 28 apps -
David Raven 43 apps -
Charlie Taylor 8 apps -
Josh Meekings 62 apps -
Chris Hogg 25 apps1 goal
Daniel Devine 10 apps -
Graeme Shinnie 100 apps2 goals
Aaron Doran 73 apps6 goals
Conor Pepper 15 apps2 goals
Andrew Shinnie 65 apps24 goals
Billy Mckay 69 apps30 goals
Nick Ross (sub) 105 apps7 goals
Shane Sutherland (sub) 90 apps3 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Daniel Devine (20 years 259 days)
Oldest Player:Charlie Taylor (2014 years 294 days)
Average Player Age:23 years 323 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ryan Christie (18 years 88 days)
Oldest Player:Charlie Taylor (2014 years 294 days)
Average Player Age:23 years 190 days
Domestic Players:14 (77.78 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Graeme Shinnie played his 100th major competitive game for the Club.

Eurodoor slammed shut:

Inverness were beached at the Global Energy Sandpit when Ross County left us seething and checking lastminute.com for new holiday destinations as we failed to get the result required to send us through the EuroDoor.

Inverness failed to cope with the loss of their entire first choice midfield as Draper, Foran and Jones were all absent for such a crucial game leaving Andy Shinnie ploughing a lone furrow on the Dingwall tattie field. A super strike from Andre Hainault sealed our fate with St Johnstone doing the business to steal the Euro slot from under our feet.

It had been a tremendous season for both clubs leading up to this occasion but it was a bridge too far from our point of view. One trip too many to visit our neighbours who took control of the game and deservedly beat an out of sorts Inverness.

County had a late call off with Paul Gallacher replacing the injured Michael Fraser in goal. To be honest, they needn't have bothered as Inverness never troubled the keeper and County mopped up some weak Inverness attacks which ended on the head of Boyd and Co. Owain Tudur-Jones was a surprise absentee for Inverness who started with young Connor Pepper out wide and Daniel Devine and Charlie Taylor trying to fill the void left by Draper and Foran who were serving bans.

6002 fans turned out and great credit to the Inverness fans who were having a ball, win or lose as they stayed behind to cheer their team long after the final whistle had sounded.

Devine almost got Inverness off to the perfect start but his stabbed effort narrowly missed the target. County responded and Sproule should have opened the scoring after being set up by Vigurs but he clipped his shot over the bar with Reguero helpless.

County were getting to grips with the game and Inverness were rarely seen in an attacking sense and Reguero had to look sharp to deny Mihael Kovacevic after he burst through a gaping void in the Inverness rearguard.

Wohlfarth and Kettlewell both flashed shots just wide as County kept the pace up and Butcher was willing his side to get to the break unbreached. However, a goal was coming and after Inverness failed to clear an attack conclusively Hainault pounced on the loose ball to volley beyond Reguero from around ten yards, the goal coming just a minute before the break. Fotheringham still had time for one last attempt before the whistle but it went straight at Reguero.

Half Time 1-0

Inverness lurked with a bit more intent after the break and Doran fired a volley straight down the keepers throat. Billy McKay almost snatched a leveller after re-directing a shot from Raven but it looped agonisingly wide.

It was better from Inverness but we looked as though we could play all day without scoring. Reguero was doing his best to keep the score down with another fine save, diving low to his right but it was County who were now looking for more although Shane Sutherland almost teed up a strike for Shinnie but Gallacher was alert to it and snuffed out the chance and with it Inverness' Euro dream.

Vigurs almost made it two in the last few minutes as he smacked a free kick off the junction of post and bar for what would have been a spectacular goal and the ref finally ended our day as the beach balls rained onto the pitch with the Inverness fans singing loud and proud on what was a massively disappointing result, but a fabulous season. Even Derek Adams clapped his appreciation, not missed by the Inverness end who quickly boo'd him in response, but the mood remained jovial long after the final whistle, but we were hurting.

Full Time 1-0

tm4tj MotM goes to the away fans who were just brilliant despite the reverse, and Andy Shinnie oozed class but lacked support from those around him.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 38 24 7 7 92 35 57 79
2. Motherwell 38 18 9 11 67 50 17 63
3. St. Johnstone 38 14 14 10 45 44 1 56
4. Inverness CT 38 13 15 10 64 60 4 54
5. Ross County 38 13 14 11 47 48 -1 53
6. Hibernian 38 13 12 13 49 52 -3 51
7. Aberdeen 38 11 15 12 41 43 -2 48
8. Dundee Utd 38 11 14 13 51 61 -10 47
9. Kilmarnock 38 11 12 15 51 53 -2 45
10. Hearts 38 11 11 16 39 49 -10 44
11. St. Mirren 38 9 14 15 47 60 -13 41
12. Dundee 38 7 9 22 28 66 -38 30