Inverness CT 2 - 0 Ayr United

League Match
Saturday, December 7th, 2019, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 1,833
Referee: Gavin Ross
Inverness CT  Ayr United

Goalscorers
Jordan White (20)
Miles Storey (63)
None.

Team Managers
John Robertson Mark Kerr

Starting Eleven
Mark Ridgers
Shaun Rooney
Coll Donaldson
Carl Tremarco
Jamie McCart
David Carson
Charlie Trafford
Aaron Doran
Jordan White
James Keatings
Miles Storey
Ross Doohan
Jordan Houston
Aaron Muirhead
Sam Roscoe-Byrne
Daniel Harvie
Andy Geggan
Ross Docherty
Stephen Kelly
Michael Moffat
Craig Moore
Alan Forrest

Substitutes
Cameron Mackay
Cameron Harper
Kevin McHattie
Brad Mckay
Roddy MacGregor
Mitchell Curry
Nikolay Todorov
Ellis Hare-Reid
Craig McGuffie
Steven Bell
Finn Ecrepont
Mark McKenzie
Mark Kerr

Substitutions
Kevin McHattie for Carl Tremarco (64)
Roddy MacGregor for James Keatings (85)
Nikolay Todorov for Jordan White (86)
Mark McKenzie -> Andy Geggan (68)
Craig McGuffie -> Alan Forrest (69)
Mark Kerr -> Michael Moffat (78)

Bookings
Shaun Rooney (39)
Mark McKenzie (90+2)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 110 apps -
Carl Tremarco 191 apps15 goals
Jamie McCart 70 apps1 goal
Shaun Rooney 62 apps7 goals
Coll Donaldson 99 apps4 goals
David Carson 22 apps -
Aaron Doran 264 apps44 goals
Charlie Trafford 81 apps3 goals
Jordan White 74 apps22 goals
Miles Storey 56 apps16 goals
James Keatings 16 apps3 goals
Kevin McHattie (sub) 20 apps -
Roddy MacGregor (sub) 22 apps -
Nikolay Todorov (sub) 19 apps5 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Jamie McCart (22 years 175 days)
Oldest Player:Carl Tremarco (34 years 65 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 336 days
Domestic Players:6 (54.55 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Roddy MacGregor (17 years 355 days)
Oldest Player:Carl Tremarco (34 years 65 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 346 days
Domestic Players:11 (61.11 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Storey is Miles better....



Inverness did what they had to do to remain in second place, and they did it in style. A fine finish from Jordan White in the 20th minute was built upon by born again Miles Storey after the break who sprinted from ten yards inside the halfway line before drilling the ball through keeper Doohan who will feel he should have done better on that occasion. However, Doohan was the reason that the score remained closer than it should have been with a handful of excellent saves to deny the eager Caley Jags men who thouroughly deserved the win to keep them behind leaders Dundee United.

Inverness went unchanged from last weeks win over Alloa Athletic whilst Ayr United were likewise with Steven Bell coming on to the bench. Inverness were looking for their third win on the trot and in contrast Ayr were looking to avoid a hat-trick of defeats on the bounce.

A crowd of under 2000 were on hand to watch this game as the miserable weather continued with a blustery wind adding to the clilled downpours.

The hosts started in confident mode and Jordan White headed a James Keatings corner over in the fifth minute. Aaron Doran was poleaxed on the edge of the box a minute later but the referee was not interested. The first of many frustrating calls by a referee out of his depth. Keatings volleyed across the box but it narrowly missed the keepers left hand post as the pressure mounted on the Ayr goal. A free kick over and another effort from Keatings showed our intent and a goal was imminent.

Ayr's one fleeting glimpse of goal in the first half came when a long ball forward saw Mark Ridgers come thirty yards off his line only to miss the tackle. However, by the time Ayr got the ball under control and lofted it towards the box Inverness had bodies back and the opportunity fizzled out.

David Carson picked up the ball in an attacking area inside the centre circle and drove forward before feeding White just outside the box. The big man took one touch then offloaded early as a defender tried to block. This seemed to wrong foot the keeper and the ball was tucked into the bottom corner with Ross Doohan stranded. Great goal from the big striker and no more than Inverness deserved.

Miles Storey was beginning to see more of the ball after a sloppy start to the game with some wasted opportunities to deliver a telling ball. He got on the end of a long clearance from Ridgers but Doohan saved comfortably low down. He forced Doohan to earn his money shortly before the break after we dispossessed Ayr near the centre circly. The ball fell to Storey and he strode forward before unleashing atesting 25 yard effort that the keeper did well to claw away with a diving save.

Half Time 1-0

Ayr began the second half on the front foot as the Caley Jags looked content to weather the storm, however Ayr got the break of the ball after a clearance fell kindly to them off the back of a defender but Alan Forrest shot across the face of the goal sneaked just wide of the post.

Storey was looking sharper as the game wore on and when a clearance from a corner came to him some 15 yards inside his own half he did what he can do best. He sprinted clear with pace and power before deciding whether to cross or shoot. He elected to shoot and the ball squirmed away from Doohan and rolled slowly into the net for a superb individual goal. That eased the pressure in the home stands and gave us a cushion to work with.

That second goal seemed to take the wind out of the Ayr sails and we looked most likely to add to our tally.

Carl Tremarco went off injured to be replace by Kevin McHattie just after the hour.

Storey was now in full flow and when he burst down the right flank, his cross was met first time by Keatings only for Doohan to pull off another tremendous save low down to his left.

Ayr's best moment came soon after when Ridgers did well to spread himself and block an effort from Mark McKenzie after he was set clear on the right side of the box.

The Doran and Keatings double act linked well again and after Doran jinked his way into the box it was left to Doohan to once more deny Inverness a third goal with five minutes left. We finished the game on the front foot and Todorov saw a header booted off the line as the game ran away from Ayr.

Good afternoons entertainment despite the horrendous conditions and a well deserved three points for the hosts.

Miles Storey was given the sponsors MotM award and few could complain about that although David Carson has picked up most votes on the CTO voting. No failures today with the defence once more back to their best, three wins and three clean sheets. Carson and Charlie Trafford were in control of the midfield and Miles Storey used his power to good effect, especially in the second half. James Keating was unfortunate not to score today and but for some heroics from Ross Doohan, Inverness could have gone nap!

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Dundee Utd 15 12 0 3 35 13 22 36
2. Inverness CT 16 9 2 5 24 18 6 29
3. Dunfermline 16 7 4 5 25 17 8 25
4. Ayr United 15 8 0 7 28 22 6 24
5. Dundee 16 6 4 6 20 22 -2 22
6. Arbroath 15 6 3 6 15 16 -1 21
7. Queen of the South 16 5 4 7 16 19 -3 19
8. Morton 15 5 1 9 19 32 -13 16
9. Partick Thistle 16 4 3 9 21 32 -11 15
10. Alloa Athletic 16 3 5 8 16 28 -12 14