Appearances & Goals To Date
Starting Lineup
| Youngest Player: | Daniel Mackay (20 years 6 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Sean Welsh (31 years 44 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 26 years 232 days |
| Domestic Players: | 8 (72.73 % of starting eleven) |
Matchday Squad
| Youngest Player: | Arron Lyall (17 years 215 days) |
| Oldest Player: | James Vincent (31 years 213 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 25 years 151 days |
| Domestic Players: | 13 (72.22 % of matchday squad) |
First Team Debuts
Milestones
All but over
In a game with so much at stake it was a tentative opening forty five where neither keeper was over exerted on a fiery pitch. Mackay and Sutherland both had efforts saved by Legzdins, but in truth little else happened with defences on top and it remained goalless at the interval. In a crazy spell after the break, Scott Allardice and Brad Mckay were sent off but nine man Inverness took the lead through Daniel Mackay. Unfortunately, Lee Ashcroft equalised minutes later. It had been backs to the wall since we went down to nine men and time ran out with the game ending all square. Not the result we were looking for, but defiant to the end as Dundee's winless streak in Inverness continues on League business.
----------------------------------------------------
With games running out, points were now precious. A win for Inverness would put us back above Dunfermline and only one point behind Dundee. A win for Dundee would all but end our promotion aspirations. A draw would be of little use to us and not much help to Dundee either in their pursuit of second place. Bottom line, both sides are in desperate need of the three points. Inverness are undefeated in their last six Championship games and Dundee are undefeated in their last five Championship games. Something was going to give.
Neil McCann started with Shane Sutherland up front with Nikolay Todorov and Miles Storey on the bench. James McPake was without Jordan Marshall from the side that drew with Dunfermline, Cammy Kerr deputising and Jason Cummings and Charlie Adams were on the bench. Paul McGowan was out injured.
----------------------------------------------------
A beautiful night for a game of football as the sides entered the pitch and it was Dundee that set the ball rolling.
First effort of note came in the fifth minute as Mullen hooked the ball slowly over the bar after a long throw in found him near the front post.
Dan Mackay latched onto a long goal kick from Mark Ridgers but the angle was tight as he cut in from the left and the keeper made the first save of the game, pushing the ball behind for a fruitless corner.
Mullen had a shot deflected for a corner from a long throw and the Caley Jags went up the other end with Todorov netting from an offside position.
Almost the opener for Inverness but a close range effort from Sutherland was blocked away near the goalline by Legzdins.
With half an hour gone, neither side was able to break down the opposition defence and chances were at a premium.
Ten minutes before the break Danny Devine headed a yard wide from a deep corner.
Play was becoming disjointed and scrappy but a great ball forward set Mackay free on the left as he won a corner. It came to nothing and it was level at the break
Half Time: 0-0
Charlie Adams entered the fray at the interval with Afolabi going off.
The visitors started with more urgency after the interval and we resorted to hoofing the ball anywhere, and generally the way we were facing.
A super run down the right wing saw David Carson whip a ball across the box but it was just too high for Toddy.
Scott Allan threaded the ball of the night to Deas running into the left side of the box and a fraction of a second delay in pulling the trigger allowed Legzdins to pull off a great save.
Confusion when the linesman flagged Dundee offside and Ridgers made a tremendous save. However play continued and the save was crucial. Minutes later Allardice was sent off for a crunching tackle in midfield. Wtf.
We gained a pass-back free kick inside the Dundee box but Todorov's effort was blocked and cleared. I suppose it made it worth the keepers deliberate foul to stop Toddy from getting to the ball for the sake of an indirect free kick on the right side of the box. Meh!
Miles Storey and Roddy MacGregor came on for the final twenty minutes.
Jason Cummings picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and forced Ridgers into making a good save as Dundee looked to take advantage of the extra man.
The extra man became two when Brad Mckay was left short and had had to lunge in. Red card and down to nine men.
It looked worse when Cummings headed into the net but after much debate and celebration in the Dark Blue ranks the 'goal' was ruled out for offside presumably.
Unbelievably we went ahead when birthday boy Daniel Mackay brought down a lobbed ball forward from Welsh before clipping the ball neatly behind the keeper to score. Scenes! Another great goal from the young forward, his eighth of the season.
Unfortunately it didn't last long though as Lee Ashcroft headed home from a corner to square matters two minutes later and despite some desperate defending at times that's how it ended.
Full Time 1-1
Oh well, the run for promotion has all but ended with two games remaining. It's well out of our own hands now and we will need a massive helping hand from the Smokies and the Wasps if we are to sneak into the top four.
Going down to nine men scuppered our chances big time but credit to the lads for fighting to the end and getting a draw. Albeit not enough, it still means that Dundee have not won a League game in Inverness.
Match report written by tm4tj
