Inverness CT 0 - 1 Morton

League Match
Saturday, August 27th, 2022, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 1,924
Referee: Nick Walsh
Inverness CT  Morton

Goalscorers
None. Grant Gillespie (85) (Pen)

Team Managers
Billy Dodds Dougie Imrie

Starting Eleven
Mark Ridgers
Cameron Harper
Robbie Deas
Wallace Duffy
Tom Walsh
Scott Allardice
Roddy MacGregor
David Carson
Steven Boyd
Austin Samuels
Billy Mckay
Brian Schwake
Cario Pignatiello
Darragh O'Connor
Jack Baird
Alex King
Grant Gillespie
Robbie Crawford
Cameron Blues
Jaze Kabia
Robbie Muirhead
Jai Quitongo

Substitutes
Cameron Mackay
Zak Delaney
Daniel Devine
Calum MacKay
Nathan Shaw
Daniel Mackay
Lewis Strapp
Darren Hynes
Lewis McGrattan
Lawton Green
Reece Lyon
Alan Lithgow

Substitutions
Nathan Shaw for Austin Samuels (24)
Daniel Mackay for Tom Walsh (67)
Lewis Strapp -> Alex King (67)
Lewis McGrattan -> Jaze Kabia (80)
Darren Hynes -> Cario Pignatiello (81)

Bookings
Scott Allardice (38)
Billy Mckay (50)
Steven Boyd (73)
Robbie Crawford (86)
Grant Gillespie (92)
Jai Quitongo (95)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 204 apps -
Cameron Harper 84 apps4 goals
Robbie Deas 90 apps1 goal
Wallace Duffy 45 apps2 goals
Tom Walsh 104 apps16 goals
Scott Allardice 73 apps3 goals
Roddy MacGregor 95 apps6 goals
David Carson 103 apps1 goal
Steven Boyd 8 apps -
Billy Mckay 209 apps83 goals
Austin Samuels 28 apps6 goals
Nathan Shaw (sub) 9 apps1 goal
Daniel Mackay (sub) 66 apps13 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Roddy MacGregor (20 years 254 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (33 years 317 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 101 days
Domestic Players:8 (72.73 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Calum MacKay (17 years 123 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (33 years 317 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 83 days
Domestic Players:11 (64.71 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

More rubbish than the streets of Edinburgh

The fans turned up looking for a reaction after the feeble attempt at Firhill last Friday. They would leave disappointed after 95 minutes with lots of questions unanswered as they slumped to a second defeat in a row to a bang average Morton side who had previously only ever won three games at the Caledonian Stadium in nineteen encounters. Goalless at the break, Grant Gillespie slotted home a penalty with five minutes remaining after Duffy handled in the box. Woeful stuff from Billy Dodds and his hapless team. Simply another inept performance from the Caley Jags who are now six points behind early leaders Ayr United.

It could have been worse but for Mark Ridgers who saved well from Jaze Kabia's twenty yard volley and another great save from a Jai Quitongo effort.

Steven Boyd had the first serious attempt in the tenth minute but it was comfortable for the Morton keeper and Austin Samuels shot high and wide as Inverness looked for an opening. However his game ended after 24 minutes through injury with Nathan Shaw replacing him.

Roddy MacGregor had a close range effort saved and it was looking promising without being too critical, but in truth we were still too pedestrian with clear chances at a premium in the little goalmouth action there was on display, Morton looking more intent on not conceding than scoring one for themselves.

Kabia produced the first bit of decent play followed a second later by the next, a great save in the top corner by Ridgers to deny Morton the lead five minutes before the break.

Half Time: 0-0

An untidy opening to the second half came to a close when Ridgers did brilliantly again to deny Quitongo on the hour, tipping his 12 yard volley onto the bar and over for a corner, as we huffed and puffed without doing anything.

Nothing noteworthy happened until Duffy handled, Gillespie scored and the fans were left frustrated once more as they could see all this coming a mile away. The decision was maybe a tad harsh as the ball was being knocked out of the box some 18 yards from goal and hit a flailing arm, but penalty was given. Hold on, the referee was Nick Walsh, maybe that explains it.

A MacGregor header over and a Dan Mackay shot were all we could muster as the game petered out and another defeat it was.

Full Time: 0-1

Well well well, where do we go from here. The two year olde question of where is our right back has not been addressed. Where has our desire gone is also a mystery. Where is our ability to take throw ins, (wait, we never ever had that), where is our ability to attack at pace. Gone are the days of swashbuckling moves late in the game to salvage something, we are now down to punting hopeful balls forward waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen.

Below is a selection from the unhappy bunnies on the forum here on CaleyThistleOnline

Match Reaction from CTO

Well, that was horrendous. I really believe now that Dodds has no idea how to set up and inspire a team. There was no energy, no pace, no desire, no leadership, no tactics, unless you count the hopeful hoofball that the team likes to play.

We keep hearing that their all happy campers but that is not what it appears like. You get the impression that something is upsetting the applecart. Battered by Partick mugged by Morton....and not a glove laid on either....

Was like watching a training exercise... no urgency, no creativity, no pace, no tactics, no inspiration, no imagination, no skill, and no heart! Looking at that team today, there's nothing there. There's nothing that says to me that this team can challenge for the title.

And the winner is: Two blokes stranded on a desert island, with no way of contacting the outside world.

"Caley Thistle got beaten again!"

"How do you know?"

"Back home, it's ten to five on a Saturday."

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Ayr United 5 3 2 0 10 6 4 11
2. Partick Thistle 5 3 1 1 12 8 4 10
3. Queens Park 5 3 1 1 10 8 2 10
4. Morton 5 2 2 1 4 3 1 8
5. Dundee 5 2 1 2 8 8 0 7
6. Raith Rovers 5 2 0 3 5 6 -1 6
7. Hamilton Academical 5 1 3 1 5 6 -1 6
8. Inverness CT 5 1 2 2 6 7 -1 5
9. Cove Rangers 5 1 0 4 5 9 -4 3
10. Arbroath 5 0 2 3 3 7 -4 2