Inverness CT 1 - 1 East Fife

(Won 5 - 3 on pens.)
League Cup - Group Stages F
Saturday, July 11th, 2026, 3:00 PM at Caledonian SarensPSG Stadium
Referee: Sean Murdoch
Inverness CT  East Fife

Goalscorers
Adam Mackinnon (91)
Myles Gaffney (34)

Team Managers
Scott Kellacher Dick Campbell

Starting Eleven
Ross Munro
Remi Savage
Noa Boutin
Graeme Shinnie
Daniel Devine
Paul Allan
Alfie Stewart
Calum MacLeod
Ryan Duncan
Liam Sole
Alfie Bavidge
Derek Gaston
Reis Peggie
Brian Easton (c), Captain
Mamadou Bah
David Wilson
Tom Milne
Kieran Millar
Liam Newton
Myles Gaffney
Pat Slattery
Cameron Ross

Substitutes
Logan Ross
James Clark
Shae Keogh
Adam Mackinnon
David Wotherspoon
Joe Chalmers
Morgan Bates
Hamzad Kargbo
Luis Longstaff
Nathan Austin
Jaiden Fairley
Jack Healy
James Linton
Matthew Rollo
Tyrell Skeen-Hamilton
Trialist B

Substitutions
Hamzad Kargbo for Liam Sole (62)
David Wotherspoon for Paul Allan (62)
Luis Longstaff for Alfie Bavidge (62)
Morgan Bates for Noa Boutin (71)
Adam Mackinnon for Ryan Duncan (85)
Tyrell Skeen-Hamilton replaces Myles Gaffney (64)
Trialist B replaces Liam Newton (81)
Nathan Austin replaces Cameron Ross (85)

Bookings
Noa Boutin (59)
Morgan Bates (94)
Cameron Ross (24)
Myles Gaffney (59)
Mamadou Bah (74)
David Wilson (86)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ross Munro (GK) 49 apps -
Remi Savage 112 apps2 goals
Graeme Shinnie 188 apps8 goals
Daniel Devine 297 apps12 goals
Noa Boutin 1 app (debut) -
Paul Allan 79 apps11 goals
Alfie Stewart 63 apps11 goals
Calum MacLeod 73 apps7 goals
Ryan Duncan 1 app (debut) -
Liam Sole 45 apps6 goals
Alfie Bavidge 59 apps26 goals
Adam Mackinnon (sub) 75 apps6 goals
David Wotherspoon (sub) 52 apps10 goals
Hamzad Kargbo (sub) 1 app (debut) -
Luis Longstaff (sub) 115 apps12 goals
Morgan Bates (sub) 1 app (debut) -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Alfie Stewart (19 years 350 days)
Oldest Player:Graeme Shinnie (34 years 350 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 72 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:James Clark (18 years 20 days)
Oldest Player:David Wotherspoon (35 years 277 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 327 days
Domestic Players:13 (65.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts
Noa Boutin(Signed June 16th, 2026)
Ryan Duncan(Signed July 3rd, 2026)
Hamzad Kargbo(Signed July 4th, 2026)
Morgan Bates(Signed June 23rd, 2026)

Milestones

Desperate Stuff

A dreadful game where we shared a goal apiece with almost relegated East Fife. We prevailed 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out to earn the bonus point but the performance was not what was expected. I know I know it is usually a competition we use to fine tune our squad but we are a far cry from the finished article going by that performance. An absolutely honking performance mostly played at pre-season pace. The one bit of quality got us level in time added on, from a neat finish into the bottom corner by MacKinnon after good work down the left flank. Otherwise dreadful. Too many players looked as if they were still on a pre-season jolly with no apparent urgency on the job in hand. I've seen better stuff at the Hub over the last few weeks from under 12's. I don't know why I bother sometimes.

Gaffney opened the scoring after the half hour in a dour uneventful game. It started with Scotlandesque defending and a poor choice of ball out of the box from Savage. Sole failed to control the ball. It was transferred forward with the Fife forward player looking yards offside and Myles Gaffney knocked in with nobody near him. Our attacking efforts were as insipid as the national team as well, however MacKinnon's goal in time added on was a good low curling effort from around 16 yards after two or three players were involved down the left side. Ross Munro made one good save in the penalty shoot-out as he saved the Fifers second spot kick. We put all five of ours away comfortably. Shinnie, Wotherspoon, Kargbo, Bates and Longstaff winning us the bonus point. Reis Peggie, Pat Slattery, and David Wilson scored from the spot for East Fife with Tyrell Skeen-Hamilton having his penalty saved by Ross Munro. In the other Group F fixture Linlithgow Rose pulled off a good win at Cappielow, defeating Morton 1-0 with a goal from Callum Rae early in the second half. We play the Rose next week at Prestonfield.

We were not the only Championship side to struggle. As well as Morton going down, Dunfermline were pumped 3-0 at East Kilbride. Partick Thistle showed how it should be done by hammering Brechin City 6-0.

Match report written by tm4tj

None.