Stranraer 2 - 2 Inverness CT

Scottish Cup - 5th Round
Saturday, February 8th, 2014, 3:00 PM at Stair Park, Stranraer
Attendance: 722
Referee: Kevin Clancy
Stranraer Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Martin Grehan (pen.45)
Jamie Longworth (72)
Aaron Doran (40)
Billy Mckay (74)

Team Managers
Stephen Aitken John Hughes

Starting Eleven
David Mitchell
Scott Robertson
Scott Rumsby
Frank McKeown
Mark Docherty
Sean Winter
Steven Bell
Grant Gallagher
Andrew Stirling
Martin Grehan
Jamie Longworth
Dean Brill
Josh Meekings
Gary Warren
David Raven
Graeme Shinnie
Aaron Doran
Greg Tansey
Ross Draper
James Vincent
Marley Watkins
Billy Mckay

Bench
Ryan Borris
David McGregor
Lloyd Kinnaird
Kyle Rafferty
Adam Forde
David McKenna
Ryan Esson
Daniel Devine
Carl Tremarco
Nick Ross
Liam Polworth
Danny Williams
Richie Foran

Substitutions
David McKenna -> Andrew Stirling (82)
Adam Forde -> Jamie Longworth (87)
Richie Foran for Marley Watkins (58)
Danny Williams for Aaron Doran (68)

Bookings
None. Graeme Shinnie (45)
Greg Tansey (49)
Richie Foran (86)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Dean Brill (GK) 27 apps -
David Raven 59 apps -
Josh Meekings 89 apps -
Gary Warren 63 apps8 goals
Marley Watkins 16 apps -
Ross Draper 65 apps6 goals
Graeme Shinnie 127 apps4 goals
Aaron Doran 100 apps12 goals
Greg Tansey 42 apps6 goals
James Vincent 12 apps1 goal
Billy Mckay 96 apps49 goals
Danny Williams (sub) 17 apps1 goal
Richie Foran (sub) 187 apps44 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Aaron Doran (22 years 277 days)
Oldest Player:Greg Tansey (2015 years 194 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 354 days
Domestic Players:5 (45.45 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Liam Polworth (19 years 124 days)
Oldest Player:Josh Meekings (2015 years 194 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 328 days
Domestic Players:10 (55.56 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Aaron Doran played his 100th major competitive game for the Club.

Replay required to separate sides:

Inverness are still searching for their first win at Stair Park Stranraer after the sides drew 2-2 in their Scottish Cup 5th round encounter at a windswept stadium.

A somewhat towsy affair saw Inverness take the lead when Aaron Doran's shot come cross found the back of the net after forty minutes, but five minutes later Martin Grehan levelled from the spot after Graeme Shinnie had shoved him over inside the box. It was no more than Stranraer deserved as they had matched the SPFL side in the first half.

Maybe Inverness were feeling the effects of last weekends heroic effort in the League Cup semi-final. Whatever it was, the second half was going down the same route and Richie Foran made his long awaited comeback after 58 minutes to try and inject some urgency about the visitors. Billy McKay almost grabbed a goal but was blocked by some last ditch defending, and when Jamie Longworth capitalised on a loose header in midfield and raced forward to score with a powerful low drive, a shock looked to be on the cards. Unfortunately for the Blues, McKay popped up in the six yard box to head Inverness towards a replay after Foran headed the ball back across goal for a simple finish for wee Billy.

No more scoring and few chances in the last fifteen minutes, but Stranraer gave as good as they got and Inverness were relatively pleased to hear the final whistle and get another crack at progressing to meet Dundee United in the next round.

Full Time 2-2


Kudos to the hardy bunch of fans that made the 500 mile round trip to stand in the wind and rain. Nostalgia is not what it used to be! Some rare sightings on the BBC highlights where Naelifts made a scarce appearance along with Capital Caley, great faces for the radio some might say, certainly kept the crows away.

Here's a fans eye view from the Immortal Howden Ender who made the journey for olde times sake:- Well that was the best away day in feckin ages. Early morning start - two carriage steam train to the End of the Earth, travelling at a maximum 40mph - two pubs in Stranraer - one called The Pub and one called The Fitba Pub - great craic all day with a crew of REAL ICT fans - A sh**hole of a ground, pissing down rain and a gale force wind. Standing on a grass embankment watching a game of football being played in a peat bog. FECKIN, FECKIN GREAT.

So, it's back to Inverness for a replay, scheduled for Tuesday 18th February, and that's still winless at Stair Park for Inverness. Dundee United await the victors after they dumped St Mirren today.

Match report written by tm4tj