Inverness CT 2 - 0 Dumbarton

League - League 1
Saturday, January 4th, 2025, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 1,894
Referee: Dan McFarlane
Inverness CT  Dumbarton

Goalscorers
Alfie Bavidge (15)
Charlie Gilmour (68)
None.

Team Managers
Stevie Farrell

Starting Eleven
Musa Dibaga
Remi Savage
Daniel Devine
Keith Bray
Charlie Gilmour
Paul Allan
Adam Mackinnon
James Nolan
Alfie Bavidge
Luis Longstaff
Billy Mckay
Brett Long
Aron Lynas
Ethan Brown
Ryan Blair
Kalvin Orsi
David Wilson
Finlay Gray
Carlo Pignatiello
Mouhamed Niang
Matthew Shiels
Cameron Clark

Substitutes
Szymon Rebilas
Matthew Strachan
Calum MacKay
Robbie Thompson
Alfie Stewart
Calum MacLeod
Ethan Cairns
Patrick O'Neil
Greig Young
Mark Durnan
Joseph Mumbongo
Antony Wallace
Owen Doyle
Murray Nicol
James Hilton
Craig McGuffie

Substitutions
Alfie Stewart for Luis Longstaff (75)
Ethan Cairns for Adam Mackinnon (85)
Calum MacKay for Alfie Bavidge (94)
Patrick O'Neil -> Brett Long (37)
Mark Durnan -> Aron Lynas (68)
James Hilton -> David Wilson (68)
Craig McGuffie -> Matthew Shiels (85)
Joel Mumbongo -> Finlay Gray (85)

Bookings
None. Matthew Shiels (60)
Craig McGuffie (88)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Musa Dibaga (GK) 19 apps -
Remi Savage 43 apps2 goals
Daniel Devine 237 apps10 goals
Keith Bray 30 apps2 goals
Charlie Gilmour 55 apps6 goals
Paul Allan 17 apps3 goals
Adam Mackinnon 22 apps3 goals
James Nolan 18 apps1 goal
Billy Mckay 319 apps113 goals
Alfie Bavidge 1 app (debut)1 goal
Luis Longstaff 57 apps4 goals
Alfie Stewart (sub) 1 app (debut) -
Calum MacKay (sub) 13 apps -
Ethan Cairns (sub) 12 apps1 goal

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Alfie Bavidge (18 years 273 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (36 years 83 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 56 days
Domestic Players:5 (45.45 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Alfie Stewart (18 years 162 days)
Oldest Player:Szymon Rebilas (2026 years 162 days)
Average Player Age:22 years 196 days
Domestic Players:11 (61.11 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts
Alfie Bavidge(Signed April 4th, 2025)
Alfie Stewart(Signed January 4th, 2025)

Milestones
Alfie Bavidge scored his first goal for the Club.

What's it all about Alfie



Inverness bolstered their squad with a couple of Alfie's on loan from Aberdeen, Bavidge and Stewart. Jack Walker also returned from Nairn County ahead of the visit of fellow Administration side Dumbarton, in what has been described as a six-pointer and it's only the 4th of January. The covers were removed in double quick time thanks to around fifty volunteers who turned up to help get the pitch ready for today's game after a week of frost on a brisk Saturday morning with the sun splitting the sky. It turned into a bitterly cold afternoon but new signing Alfie Bavidge warmed the home fans palms when he opened the scoring after fifteen minutes. The Sons had to replace keeper Brett Long before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. Replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a tremendous save just on the interval but he had no chance with a powerful drive from Charlie Gilmour who doubled the lead twenty minutes from the end. The Sons battled hard and Finlay Gray struck the post but Inverness took the points to narrow the gap on Annan Athletic to seven points with a game in hand.

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

With Alfie Bavidge running the channels up front alongside Billy Mckay and often Adam MacKinnon backing them up it was no surprise that Inverness were on the front foot in the early exchanges. It was no surprise that the hosts opened the scoring after fifteen minutes when a superb ball down the right wing from Luis Longstaff curled invitingly into the feet of Adam MacKinnon who had made the run forward. He went to the byeline before swinging in a dangerous first time ball into the Sons six yard box which they failed to deal with effectively. Alfie won't score an easier goal this season as the ball broke to him inside the box and he swept it into the net for a debut goal. Lovely moment for the young striker. His next attempt minutes later was not so profitable as a wild swing saw him slice the ball out for a throw in fifty yards wide. We'll ignore that one. There followed a bit of a lull with Inverness dominating play and Dumbarton looking to keep the damage to a minimum. They almost conceded a second when Billy Mckay was threaded through on the left side, however after skipping wide of Brett Long, the keeper recovered sufficiently to get a touch on Mckay's effort from the tightest of angles, the ball running across the face of the goal and out for a corner. The Sons then had to replace keeper Long ten minutes before the break after he caught a ball but landed awkwardly and had to get helped from the pitch. MacKinnon tested the sub keeper with a low shot from the edge of the box and the replacement keeper Paddy O'Neil pulled off a stunning save just on the interval diving high to his left to deny a thunderous Luis Longstaff volley from the edge of the box as he tipped the ball out for a corner which never happened.
HALF TIME: 1-0
Dumbarton looked a bit more aggressive after the break and Ethan Brown's blocked shot brought about appeals for a penalty, but to no avail. Mckay had an effort saved as the hosts continued to dominate and with twenty-minutes remaining Charlie Gilmour side footed in a second goal after a short corner routine saw MacKinnon cut the ball back to Gilmour fifteen yards out and he first timed a side footer high into the net with power. That goal stung Dumbarton into action and they eventually managed to create a couple of opportunities of their own. Dibaga blocked well from Gray as he sprinted clear on the left side of the box. From the corner, Clark's header grazed the top of the bar although there may have been an infringement in the build up. Either way, a goal kick or free kick was given. Gray was then unlucky with twenty minutes remaining when he was put through on the left side again, this time he beat Dibaga at his near post but the ball rebounded to safety off the base of the post. Devine headed wide late on and a couple of promising moves broke down on the edge of the visitors box as Inverness then saw out the game in control. The only downside was an injury to Longstaff who was replaced by Alfie Stewart for his debut.

FULL TIME: 2-0

A thoroughly deserved win after last weeks disappointing result against Cove Rangers. New signing Alfie Bavidge was rightly awarded the MotM, not just for his debut goal, but he was a constant threat, tirelessly running the channels like his olde man did back in the day and with plenty of pace and a good first touch. He also seemed to give Billy Mckay an extra spring in his step and he was unlucky not to score. He will certainly be an asset for the Caley Jags in 2025 and Alfie Stewart got a few minutes under his belt as well. Good start to the year for us and hopefully the springboard to go on a wee run and get back into the pack.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Arbroath 20 10 4 6 31 23 8 34
2. Stenhousemuir 20 9 4 7 29 20 9 31
3. Kelty Hearts 20 8 6 6 28 19 9 30
4. Cove Rangers 20 8 4 8 30 25 5 28
5. Alloa Athletic 20 7 7 6 26 22 4 28
6. Queen of the South 19 7 4 8 17 21 -4 25
7. Montrose 20 6 6 8 19 21 -2 24
8. Annan Athletic 20 5 5 10 18 34 -16 20
9. Inverness CT 19 7 7 5 19 20 -1 13
10. Dumbarton 20 5 7 8 26 38 -12 7