Dundee Utd 0 - 2 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, October 21st, 2017, 3:00 PM at Tannadice Stadium, Dundee
Attendance: 5,560
Referee: Willie Collum
Dundee Utd Inverness CT

Goalscorers
None. Iain Vigurs (28)
Connor Bell (36)

Team Managers
Ray McKinnon John Robertson

Starting Eleven
Harry Lewis
Mark Durnan
Lewis Toshney
William Edjenguele
Jamie Robson
Paul McMullan
Samuel Stanton
William Flood
Fraser Fyvie
Scott McDonald
James Keatings
Mark Ridgers
Coll Donaldson
David Raven
Carl Tremarco
Brad Mckay
Joe Chalmers
Iain Vigurs
Liam Polworth
Jake Mulraney
John Baird
Connor Bell

Bench
Stewart Murdoch
Thomas Scobbie
Patrick Nkoyi
Scott Fraser
Billy King
Deniz Dogan Mehmet
Matthew Smith
Ryan Esson
Gary Warren
Matthew Elsdon
Charlie Trafford
Alex Cooper
Daniel Mackay
George Oakley

Substitutions
Billy King -> Fraser Fyvie (52)
Stewart Murdoch -> Paul McMullan (60)
Scott Fraser -> Samuel Stanton (76)
Alex Cooper for Jake Mulraney (74)
Charlie Trafford for Connor Bell (82)
George Oakley for Iain Vigurs (88)

Bookings
James Keatings (65) Brad Mckay (16)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 13 apps -
David Raven 178 apps5 goals
Joe Chalmers 15 apps -
Coll Donaldson 7 apps -
Carl Tremarco 117 apps10 goals
Brad Mckay 44 apps2 goals
Iain Vigurs 116 apps20 goals
Jake Mulraney 44 apps -
Liam Polworth 130 apps13 goals
John Baird 16 apps2 goals
Connor Bell 11 apps3 goals
Alex Cooper (sub) 8 apps1 goal
Charlie Trafford (sub) 8 apps -
George Oakley (sub) 13 apps2 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Connor Bell (21 years 103 days)
Oldest Player:David Raven (32 years 233 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 146 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Daniel Mackay (16 years 189 days)
Oldest Player:Ryan Esson (37 years 225 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 70 days
Domestic Players:10 (55.56 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Caley Jags dump the Arabs: Inverness threw the form book out the window as they went to Tannadice and convincingly beat United 2-0 thanks to first half strikes from Iain Vigurs and Connor Bell. It was no more than Inverness deserved as they kept the home side relatively quiet throughout and the three points went back up the A9.

Thankfully, they paid no attention to my pre-match prediction of a home win and went about their business with some authority.

John Robertson went with an unchanged side from the excellent draw at Falkirk.

Under fire Arabs boss Ray McKinnon brought in Scott McDonald and Sam Stanton to try and give him some attacking promise. Out went Billy King and Jordie Briels missed out through injury.

That went well Raymond! A board meeting was hastily arranged at Tannadice on Saturday night.

ICT Chris was in attendance and he was suitably chuffed with how things went, here is his account of the game.

We were excellent today, thoroughly deserved the win and it probably should've been more. We appear to have stumbled on a formation and style that works, or it has the last two weeks anyway. We built on the performance against Falkirk and improved on it.

We set up in a pretty standard 4-4-2, relatively flat in midfield with Chalmers left and Mulraney right. Vigurs and Polworth sat in the middle in front of the the same back four as previously, including returning hero Donaldson. Up front we had Baird and Bell.

United had a few chances early and forced Ridgers into a reflex save from a shot (didn't see who hit it) and then we had to scramble clear from within the six yard box after a prolonged stramash. After that we really took over and started having an impact in an attacking sense. Baird and Tremarco missed headers and we had a few other openings before opening the scoring. Following a corner the ball was headed clear to Vigurs who shot in from the edge of the box.

We then doubled our lead with one of the best goals I've seen us score in years. A United attack broke down around our 18 yard box and we broke with a little dink into midfield from Donaldson (I think). We then moved the ball quickly through midfield and released Mulraney with a weighted through ball. Mulraney rinsed the left back for pace and drove into the box, where he hit a driven low cross that Connor Bell drilled in from a couple of yards. It was a ******* belter, everything about it was perfect, the passing, the pace, the finish. When Mulraney got the ball I said to my mate that this would be goal of the season, I can't imagine us scoring a better one this season.

We had a couple of other breaks which could've lead to goals in the first half, Mulraney, Baird and Bell all had opportunities. Into the second half and we again sat strong and broke, with Mulraney probably having the best chance when he was put right through but didn't shoot quickly enough. Donaldson also had a header that he put over but should've got on target. United, oddly, played with their centre half Durnan up front from an hour but that had zero impact, I don't think a single chance came from it. There were a couple of set pieces that Ridgers had to save but weren't really threatening. It was nervy for the fans because we've been so bad but looking back, we cigar'd it in the second half.

Full Time 0-2

Overall, we were excellent. Vigurs was at the heart of everything, he ran the midfield. He has been superb this season, strolling though games and dominating possession. He can switch the play but it's the way he plays little passes to create space, flicks round the corner of players and turns with the ball that makes him so effective. He really has been a class act and is the heart of our team.

Defensively we have somehow become settled and solid. Having two experienced full backs in Tremarco and Raven is a help but Donaldson has been a rock the last two weeks, defends well, no nonsense, quick and good in the air. He clearly loved getting that win, going by his celebrations at the end. He looks like being a real find.

Up front Baird and Bell aren't likely to be prolific but the way they pull defenders about, hold the ball and make runs is vital to creating the space for our chances. Mulraney has kicked on in the last two weeks, another confidence filled game today, including an actual assist, miracle of miracles! Second week in a row he dominated the full back and his end product was better. Great stuff

You can see why ICT Chris was drooling over the second goal. She's a belter as Gerry Cinnamon would say..........

Match report written by ICT Chris



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. St. Mirren 10 7 1 2 21 13 8 22
2. Dunfermline 10 6 2 2 25 10 15 20
3. Livingston 10 5 3 2 17 13 4 18
4. Dundee Utd 10 5 2 3 10 11 -1 17
5. Queen of the South 10 4 3 3 15 11 4 15
6. Dumbarton 10 2 4 4 8 14 -6 10
7. Inverness CT 10 2 3 5 12 16 -4 9
8. Falkirk 10 1 5 4 6 14 -8 8
9. Brechin City 10 0 2 8 6 21 -15 2