Inverness CT 6 - 1 Cove Rangers

League Match
Monday, January 2nd, 2023, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 2,052
Referee: Craig Napier
Inverness CT  Cove Rangers

Goalscorers
Billy Mckay (32)
Daniel Devine (40)
Billy Mckay (pen.) (44)
Kyle McClelland (o.g.) (50)
Scott Ross (o.g.) (52)
Billy Mckay (64)
Jack Sanders (22)

Team Managers
Billy Dodds Jim McIntyre

Starting Eleven
Mark Ridgers
Max Ram
Zak Delaney
Daniel Devine
Lewis Hyde
David Carson
Sean Welsh
Aaron Doran
Jay Henderson
Daniel Mackay
Billy Mckay
Stuart Mackenzie
Scott Ross
Jack sanders
Mark Reynolds
Connor Scully
Luis Longstaff
Blair Yule
Fraser Fyvie
Leighton McIntosh
Gerry McDonagh
Mitchel Megginson

Substitutes
Cameron Mackay
Lewis Nicolson
Matthew Strachan
Robbie Thompson
Steven Boyd
Ethan Cairns
George Oakley
Kyle Gourlay
Evan Towler
Kyle McClelland
Iain Vigers
Robbie Leitch
Cieran Dunne

Substitutions
Steven Boyd for Daniel Mackay (73)
Robbie Thompson for Jay Henderson (81)
Lewis Nicolson for Aaron Doran (81)
Ethan Cairns for Billy Mckay (81)
Matthew Strachan for Max Ram (85)
Jamie Masson -> Gerry McDonagh (34)
Kyle McClelland -> Mark Reynolds (45)

Bookings
None. Scott Ross (33)
Jack Sanders (44)
Connor Scully (69)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 215 apps -
Daniel Devine 162 apps6 goals
Max Ram 13 apps1 goal
Zak Delaney 22 apps -
Lewis Hyde 34 apps -
David Carson 119 apps1 goal
Sean Welsh 115 apps13 goals
Aaron Doran 353 apps53 goals
Jay Henderson 1 app (debut) -
Daniel Mackay 78 apps13 goals
Billy Mckay 225 apps90 goals
Matthew Strachan (sub) 5 apps -
Lewis Nicolson (sub) 5 apps1 goal
Robbie Thompson (sub) 1 app (debut) -
Steven Boyd (sub) 25 apps1 goal
Ethan Cairns (sub) 2 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Lewis Hyde (20 years 176 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 80 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 297 days
Domestic Players:5 (45.45 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Matthew Strachan (17 years 217 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 80 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 242 days
Domestic Players:11 (61.11 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts
Jay Henderson(Signed December 30th, 2022)
Robbie Thompson(Signed June 10th, 2021)

Milestones

Happy New Year: Inverness began 2023 with a crushing win against Cove. Two from Billy Mckay and one from Danny Devine countered the opening goal from Jack Sanders. Two quickfire own goals within five minutes of the restart put the hosts 5-1 ahead. Mckay notched his hat-trick from close range as we ran away with the game. Big win to start the year, just what we needed.

Jay Henderson started in his first game for the Caley Jags after a signing on loan for the rest of the season. Zak Delaney returned after injury but he was the only returnee with a sparse bench, Oakley and Boyd were the only senior outfield players on it with returning loan players. Gilmour and Logan missed out for Cove who had Iain Vigurs on the bench. 

After a minutes silence for the legend that was Pele, the game got underway on a crisp afternoon in the Highlands. Billy Mckay struck the post in the first minute from twenty yards. Megginson flicked a header just over five minutes later and Longstaff shot over after fifteen minutes as Cove got to grips with the pace of the game. Doran has a shot blocked by McKenzie and Billy Mckay put the rebound just wide. Hyde then saw McKenzie block with his legs as Mckay put him through on goal. Jack Sanders headed in the opener after twenty two minutes. Doran went close soon after, his deflected shot sliding past for a fruitless corner. Just after the half hour Billy Mckay drew Inverness level with a diving header from six yards after a Sean Welsh cross. Danny Devine put Inverness ahead five minutes before the break with a half volley into the bottom corner, Sean Welsh again the provider. A minute before the half time whistle, it was 3-1 when Billy Mckay netted from the spot after hand ball by Jack Sanders. Just after the interval a Dan Mackay shot/cross ended up in the net via Kyle McClelland. It's raining own goals now and Scott Ross was next to put through his own net. Mark Ridgers denied Fraser Fyvie and Luis Longstaff with excellent saves and Dan Mackay went close on the hour. Billy got his hat-trick and Dan Mackay went close to number seven. The three returning youngsters came on for the final ten minutes and more followed as we saw out the game.

Who saw that coming??? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not many saw that result coming, probably not even Billy Dodds but it's a badly needed flying start to 2023. Six goals and a hat-trick for the evergreen Billy Dodds. As much as we have criticised the team on here, surely nobody can have any complaints after that result, our biggest of the season. Good to see Mark Ridgers back between the sticks and Zak Delaney back after injury. Billy Mckay, poacher extraordinaire back to his best.

What's not to like!

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Queens Park 19 11 3 5 38 27 11 36
2. Dundee 19 10 4 5 32 24 8 34
3. Ayr United 19 9 5 5 38 27 11 32
4. Morton 18 8 6 4 27 19 8 30
5. Partick Thistle 20 9 3 8 40 35 5 30
6. Raith Rovers 20 8 3 9 25 26 -1 27
7. Inverness CT 19 7 5 7 26 27 -1 26
8. Cove Rangers 19 5 6 8 28 34 -6 21
9. Arbroath 20 3 8 9 17 30 -13 17
10. Hamilton Academical 19 2 5 12 16 38 -22 11