Inverness CT 1 - 0 Raith Rovers

League - Championship
Saturday, August 7th, 2021, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 1,675
Referee: Alan Muir
Inverness CT  Raith Rovers

Goalscorers
Roddy MacGregor (80)
None.

Team Managers
Billy Dodds John McGlynn

Starting Eleven
Mark Ridgers
Robbie Deas
Kirk Broadfoot
Daniel Devine
David Carson
Tom Walsh
Scott Allardice
Michael Gardyne
Reece McAlear
Manny Duku
Shane Sutherland
Jamie Macdonald
Reghan Tumilty
Kyle Benedictus
Aidan Connolly
Liam Dick
Ross Matthews
Cristophe Berra
Dario Zanatta
Matej Poplatnik
Dylan Tait
Tom Lang

Substitutes
Cameron Mackay
Cameron Harper
Lewis Hyde
Roddy MacGregor
Aaron Doran
Lewis Jamieson
Billy Mckay
James Keatings
David McKay
Robbie Thomson
Ethon Varian
Kai Fotheringham
Blaise Riley-Snow
Aaron Arnot

Substitutions
Roddy MacGregor for Reece McAlear (63)
Aaron Doran for Tom Walsh (81)
Lewis Hyde for Manny Duku (88)
Ethon Varian -> Matej Poplatnik (66)
Blaise Riley-Snow -> Dylan Tait (73)
James Keatings -> Dario Zanatta (85)

Bookings
Daniel Devine (28)
Mark Ridgers (78)
Liam Dick (24)
Ross Matthews (53)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 161 apps -
Robbie Deas 38 apps1 goal
Daniel Devine 117 apps4 goals
Kirk Broadfoot 6 apps -
David Carson 59 apps1 goal
Tom Walsh 74 apps13 goals
Scott Allardice 38 apps3 goals
Michael Gardyne 5 apps -
Reece McAlear 6 apps -
Shane Sutherland 126 apps11 goals
Manny Duku 6 apps2 goals
Lewis Hyde (sub) 5 apps -
Roddy MacGregor (sub) 63 apps4 goals
Aaron Doran (sub) 295 apps49 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Reece McAlear (19 years 181 days)
Oldest Player:Kirk Broadfoot (37 years 8 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 341 days
Domestic Players:8 (72.73 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Lewis Hyde (19 years 28 days)
Oldest Player:Kirk Broadfoot (37 years 8 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 39 days
Domestic Players:13 (72.22 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

MacGregor Stunner: Inverness maintained their winning start to the league campaign, but it took a stunning half volley from substitute Roddy MacGregor to settle the points. It had been a relatively even game with the hosts having slightly the better of it throughout. Jamie MacDonald had pulled off three or four decent saves before Roddy struck from 25 yards, the ball flashing into the net past an outstretched keeper after some neat interplay outside the box involving Sutherland and Duku. Six points from two games, we could not have asked for a better start to the Championship.

Sean Welsh was still missing as were Anthony McDonald and Wallace Duffy. Aaron Doran and Billy Mckay were on the bench alongside Roddy MacGregor with Manny Duku starting up front against his former employers. Lewis Vaughan missed out for Raith, but James Keatings would make the bench for Rovers on his first return to the Caledonian Stadium which was loosely populated with fans as covid restrictions begin to ease. The new and improved stream maybe taking it's toll on the attendance with Auldy Boy and Rossco on the commentary, replays and all!

Big downpours ahead of kick-off ensured the pitch was well watered with steady rain being the order of the day as Inverness attacked the South Stand end in the first half.

An even opening to the game saw both sides struggle to create any clear cut opportunities. Manny Duku looked most likely to unlock the visitors defence. Could have been a red card before the break for Mathews after Duku pounced on a lofted ball forward, as he broke clear he was upended and Mathews got away with just a yellow for his troubles. Duku missed out from a great ball into the front post from Walsh and later in the half he was unfortunate after Michael Gardyne fed him into the left side of the box only for Berra to make a great interception as he shot, the ball spinning behind for a fruitless corner. Meanwhile, Raith were reduced to shooting from distance although we almost let them in when Broadfoot misjudged the bounce on a through ball but we swept it away eventually. Just on the interval Tom Walsh was close to connecting with a dangerous ball into the box from Gardyne on the left side, but a goal kick was the result. No scoring at the break but Inverness always looked the more likely to get amongst the goals. Sutherland saw a shot gathered by MacDonald with ease, but he was more troubled when Duku got on the end of a ball into the box from Sutherland and shot on the turn, MacDonald saving well to his left. The keeper did well to deny the same player direct from a free kick as he covered his top corner well to prevent the opener. Substitute MacGregor did well down the left to set up Gardyne for a pot at goal but he skied it badly. Ridgers saved comfortably after Raith burst along the left byeline and minutes later he was also fortunate not to be sent packing for a similar offence, bringing down Ethon Varian as he started to break clear, similar to Duku in the first half. When Allardice broke forward from the halfway line, it looked hopeful. Sutherland gathered the ball and shipped it to Duku who laid it off for MacGregor to strike a peach from twenty-five yards on the half volley with a bit of side spin on it. What a hit, what a goal! Rovers still pushed for a breakthrough but never really looked like creating the opportunity they needed and Inverness saw out the game relatively comfortably.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Partick Thistle 2 2 0 0 6 2 4 6
2. Kilmarnock 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6
3. Inverness CT 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 6
4. Morton 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4
5. Hamilton Academical 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1
6. Raith Rovers 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1
7. Arbroath 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
8. Ayr United 2 0 1 1 2 4 -2 1
9. Dunfermline 2 0 1 1 2 5 -3 1
10. Queen of the South 2 0 0 2 2 4 -2 0