Inverness CT 1 - 0 Kelty Hearts

League - League 1
Saturday, April 18th, 2026, 3:00 PM at New Central Park, Kelty
Attendance: 2,405
Referee: Colin Steven
Inverness CT  Kelty Hearts

Goalscorers
Alexander Ferguson (o.g.) (61)
None.

Team Managers
Scott Kellacher Tam O'Ware

Starting Eleven
Ross Munro
Mitchell Robertson
Remi Savage
Ross Millen
Daniel Devine
Jordan Alonge
Alfie Stewart
Calum MacLeod
Paul Allan
Alfie Bavidge
Chanka Zimba
Kyle Gourlay
Alexander Ferguson
Lewis Moor
Aaron Arnott
Sam Fisher
Luke McCarvel
Arran Pettifer
Dylan Corr
Cameron Cooper
Alasdair Davidson
Jack Brydon (C)

Substitutes
Logan Ross
Oscar MacIntyre
Ben Brannan
Adam Mackinnon
David Wotherspoon
Joe Chalmers
Kieron Willox
Luis Longstaff
Billy Mckay
Ryan Adamson
Murray Thomas
Innes Murry
James Graham
Ross Cunningham
Jack Wylie
Jay Snoddy
Grant Leitch

Substitutions
Oscar MacIntyre for Mitchell Robertson (46)
Luis Longstaff for Jordan Alonge (46)
Adam Mackinnon for Alfie Stewart (56)
David Wotherspoon for Chanka Zimba (77)
Billy Mckay for Alfie Bavidge (89)
Aaron Arnott -> Innes Murray 64
Dylan Corr -> Jack Wyllie 65
Arran Pettifer -> Ross Cunningham 76
Cameron Cooper -> James Graham 76

Bookings
Adam Mackinnon (91)
Alexander Ferguson 78

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ross Munro (GK) 46 apps -
Mitchell Robertson 31 apps4 goals
Remi Savage 109 apps2 goals
Daniel Devine 294 apps11 goals
Ross Millen 15 apps2 goals
Jordan Alonge 42 apps8 goals
Alfie Stewart 60 apps11 goals
Calum MacLeod 70 apps7 goals
Paul Allan 76 apps11 goals
Alfie Bavidge 56 apps26 goals
Chanka Zimba 41 apps19 goals
Oscar MacIntyre (sub) 35 apps1 goal
Adam Mackinnon (sub) 72 apps5 goals
David Wotherspoon (sub) 49 apps10 goals
Luis Longstaff (sub) 113 apps12 goals
Billy Mckay (sub) 374 apps130 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Alfie Stewart (19 years 266 days)
Oldest Player:Daniel Devine (33 years 231 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 357 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ben Brannan (19 years 83 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (37 years 187 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 198 days
Domestic Players:14 (70.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

One step Closer


This was the ninth meeting between these two sides and the most crucial given what was at stake for both teams. For the Caley Jags, they are focussed on one thing, promotion, and the result at Cove v Stenhousemuir will be secondmost on their minds. Kelty will be fully committed to the task in hand whilst keeping an eye on events at Cove and Montrose v Accies where their closest relegation rivals will be battling for points.

It was a tight affair as we suspected and it took an own goal to separate the sides after a less than impressive first half in the swirling conditions. It happened at the far end and it took a while to decide but the goal has been credited to Alex Ferguson following a corner. (Bet he wishes he had stayed at Manchester United) Who knows, we never had binoculars. The goal followed on from the best effort of the game so far when Kyle Gourlay denied Adam MacKinnon with a great low save in the bottom corner, the result was a Paul Allan corner kick to Inverness. The rest is history. That's how it ended with little goalmouth action although Kelty came close with a shot from distance that curled just wide of the top corner. Phew! That was the closest they came and a big warning to us.

With Stenhousemuir losing at Cove and Accies winning at Montrose, promotion and relegation have become a little clearer but nothing finalised yet with only two games remaining.

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

A chilly afternoon on the Moray Firth greeted the teams with April showers and blustery winds forecast for the afternoon and Kelty meant business by changing ends before kick-off. Full report to follow but to be honest, the first half was tense and dull where virtually nothing happened. A Zimba effort held by Kyle Gourlay was the only moment of note in a terrible first forty-five. Maybe the swirling wind had something to do with it but it was a total non event. The pace improved after the break but like Talking Heads, it was still tense and nervous, we can't relax... The introduction of MacIntyre and Longstaff at the interval gave us more width and it seemed to inject a bit more life about proceedings but still not exactly a riot like we showed at Peterhead. Lewis Moore had an effort saved comfortably by Ross Munro before it took the introduction of MacKinnon to put the final piece of the jigsaw in place and he was instrumental in bringing about the only goal of the game. At last we saw some good build up play and MacKinnon's shot was well saved by Gourlay just inside the post at the expense of a corner. Not for the first time this season, Paul Allan's inswinging corner landed right on top of the goalline and it looked like the ball has come off Alex Ferguson before entering the net. Pin point accuracy from Allan and just the break we needed. Not a game for taking unnecessary risks and our defence limited Kelty to very few opportunities, one of those a shot that whistled close to the junction of crossbar and post. That was a timely reminder we still had work to do as Bavidge headed over and Longstaff skied one after good interplay outside the box. As they have done most of the season, our defence stood firm with Kelty not looking likely to get back on level terms and it was a massive three points combined with the news that Stenhousemuir had been beaten 2-0 at Cove.

FULL TIME: 1-0

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Inverness CT 34 20 10 4 57 22 35 65
2. Stenhousemuir 34 16 13 5 47 27 20 61
3. Alloa Athletic 34 15 8 11 49 33 16 53
4. Queen of the South 34 13 11 10 52 44 8 50
5. Peterhead 34 12 7 15 47 59 -12 43
6. Montrose 34 11 8 15 46 63 -17 41
7. Cove Rangers 34 8 10 16 39 44 -5 34
8. East Fife 34 9 7 18 33 60 -27 34
9. Hamilton Academical 34 15 7 12 50 39 11 31
10. Kelty Hearts 34 5 11 18 31 60 -29 26