Inverness CT 2 - 0 Motherwell

League Match
Saturday, August 17th, 2013, 3:00 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 3,031
Referee: Iain Brines
Inverness CT  Motherwell

Goalscorers
Richie Foran (4)
Billy Mckay (36)
None.

Team Managers
Terry Butcher Stuart McCall

Starting Eleven
Dean Brill
Josh Meekings
Gary Warren
David Raven
Nick Ross
Graeme Shinnie
Aaron Doran
Ross Draper
James Vincent
Richie Foran
Billy Mckay
Lee Hollis
Simon Ramsden
Shaun Hutchinson
Stephen McManus
Steven Hammell
Keith Lasley
Paul Lawson
James McFadden
Robert McHugh
Iain Vigurs
John Sutton

Substitutes
Ryan Esson
Daniel Devine
Liam Polworth
Conor Pepper
Danny Williams
Ben Greenhalgh
Torbjorn Agdestein
Gunnar Nielsen
Zaine Francis-Angol
Stuart Carswell
Lee Erwin
Fraser Kerr
Craig Moore
Henri Anier

Substitutions
Liam Polworth for James Vincent (82)
Torbjorn Agdestein for Billy Mckay (84)
Danny Williams for Aaron Doran (90)
Henri Anier -> Robert McHugh (46)
Stuart Carswell -> Paul Lawson (46)
Zaine Francis-Angol -> James McFadden (66)

Bookings
Graeme Shinnie (43)
Josh Meekings (54)
Iain Vigurs (80)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Dean Brill (GK) 3 apps -
Gary Warren 41 apps6 goals
Josh Meekings 65 apps -
David Raven 46 apps -
Ross Draper 43 apps5 goals
Graeme Shinnie 103 apps2 goals
Aaron Doran 76 apps7 goals
James Vincent 3 apps1 goal
Nick Ross 108 apps7 goals
Richie Foran 171 apps41 goals
Billy Mckay 72 apps33 goals
Liam Polworth (sub) 7 apps -
Danny Williams (sub) 2 apps -
Torbjorn Agdestein (sub) 2 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Aaron Doran (22 years 102 days)
Oldest Player:Josh Meekings (2015 years 19 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 316 days
Domestic Players:5 (45.45 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Liam Polworth (18 years 314 days)
Oldest Player:Josh Meekings (2015 years 19 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 158 days
Domestic Players:11 (61.11 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Inverness Brush Well Aside:

Inverness kept their excellent start to the season going after brushing Motherwell aside with some sweeping moves in a scintillating first half that gave them a cushion to defend in a more even second forty-five. Two superb goals from the head of captain Richie Foran and the foot of Billy McKay made it three out of three to maintain our 100% record and another clean sheet was an added bonus in a highly entertaining match.

A blustery day saw Motherwell visit Inverness with a much changed squad from the one that ripped us apart in the early games last year. Gone were Jamie Murphy, Michael Higdon, Henrik Ojamaa, Chris Humphrey, Nicky Law, and keeper Darren Randolph. James McFadden remains, but new signings Iain Vigurs and Paul Lawson will need to show more, although Henri Anier looks a useful addition and John Sutton should fill the Higdon shaped hole up front for the Steelmen.

As expected, Inverness were unchanged from last week with Dean Brill once more in the nets and James Vincent pulling the strings. Agdestein, Polworth and Williams would come off the bench in the latter stages as Butcher freshened tired legs up and a disappointing crowd of just over 3,000 settled in their seats ready for action, some 250 of them in the away end.

It was the home fans who were given the opportunity to get off their bums first and with only four minutes on the clock, the brisk Inverness attackers scored the opener, and what a goal it was. Motherwell boss McCall might well be disappointed with his defence, but when Graeme Shinnie's curling free kick swung into the box, Foran bulleted a diving header across the keeper and into the net from around twelve yards. Brilliant start to the game for Inverness and just what the home fans needed to erase last seasons drubbing from the memory banks.

Inverness turned the screw and Vincent had a shot charged down with the goal at his mercy and the lively McKay likewise, McManus and Hutchinson doing their utmost with last ditch blocks. However, it was one way traffic and the dazzling attacking display from the home side was a joy to behold.

With Inverness very much on the front foot, a brilliant team goal ended the scoring, but not the entertainment. Doran and Raven combined beautifully to tee up Billy McKay who finished superbly by stroking the ball into the bottom corner from fifteen yards.

McKay was causing the big Well defence all sorts of problems with his darting runs and clever flicks and one such move saw him set up an opportunity for Vincent who spectacularly volleyed narrowly wide of the mark.

Inverness were rampant now and Motherwell worked hard to contain the eager home side and but for some timely interventions we could have been looking at a cricket score but the referee intervened and blew for half time for McCall to get to work over the interval.

Half Time 2-0

McCall rang the changes after the break and introduced Carswell and the strapping Henri Anier who looks a decent player and it was the latter who was denied by a crucial Raven block as he was about to pull the trigger on a McFadden cross.

The game was more even now and Inverness had a lucky escape as Hutchinson headed over after Brill missed a cross from the Well left. Another scare soon after when Vigurs crumbled in the box as Raven slid in but Brines was not interested. Shame. Anier almost scored a consolation with five minutes left but he hammered a close range effort just over the corner of the bar, and that was the closest Motherwell came to breeching the Inverness rearguard.

But, it was not all about Motherwell and Foran and McKay passed up glorious chances to extend the lead as the Steelmen chased the game. Aaron Doran forced Hollis into making a great save to deny the Irishman as he sprinted into the box, but his high angled drive was pushed away by the keeper.

Full-Time 2-0

Motherwell had run out of ideas before the end and Inverness held on for a well deserved win to keep them at the right end of the table. Make no bones about it, this was an excellent performance from Inverness who stroked the ball around confidently and scored a couple of cracking goals. I expect Celtic will offer a much stiffer test next week, but lets just wallow in the glory of our opening three games for now.

tm4tj MotM:- Well, I concurred with the sponsors who had Richie Foran as their pick. He scored a fabulous goal and was dictating the flow of the game. In the second half when Well pushed for a foothold, he was at the heart of the defence mopping up everything, great captains performance from him. Mckay and Doran caused all sorts of problems for Motherwell and in the second half Warren got better and better as the game wore on. Overall just a great team performance

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

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