Inverness CT 0 - 1 Hearts

League Match
Saturday, November 15th, 2008, 3:00 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 4,088
Referee: Mike Tumilty
Inverness CT  Hearts

Goalscorers
None. Bruno Aguiar (22)

Team Managers
Craig Brewster Csaba Laszlo

Starting Eleven
Ryan Esson
Richard Hastings
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
David Proctor
Barry Wilson
Russell Duncan
Ian Black
Dougie Imrie
Andrew Barrowman
Adam Rooney
Janos Balogh
Robbie Neilson
Christophe Berra
Lee Wallace
Marius Zaliukas
Christos Karipidis
Eggert Jonsson
Bruno Aguiar
Michael Stewart
Andrew Driver
Christian Nade

Substitutes
Michael Fraser
Jamie Duff
Roy McBain
Zander Sutherland
Iain Vigurs
Rory McAllister
Garry Wood
Marian Kello
Jason Thomson
Jonathan Brown
Ruben Palazuelos
Juho Makela
David Obua
Jamie Mole

Substitutions
Roy McBain for Ian Black (15)
Iain Vigurs for Barry Wilson (59)
Garry Wood for Andrew Barrowman (63)
David Obua -> Andrew Driver (86)
Juho Makela -> Christian Nade (90)

Bookings
None. Marius Zaliukas (33)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 6 apps -
Ross Tokely 457 apps30 goals
David Proctor 70 apps4 goals
Grant Munro 256 apps6 goals
Richard Hastings 352 apps4 goals
Barry Wilson 352 apps83 goals
Russell Duncan 270 apps9 goals
Ian Black 122 apps6 goals
Dougie Imrie 32 apps4 goals
Adam Rooney 15 apps3 goals
Andrew Barrowman 15 apps2 goals
Roy McBain (sub) 314 apps19 goals
Iain Vigurs (sub) 17 apps2 goals
Garry Wood (sub) 12 apps2 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:David Proctor (24 years 261 days)
Oldest Player:Ian Black (2010 years 108 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 164 days
Domestic Players:10 (90.91 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Iain Vigurs (20 years 197 days)
Oldest Player:Adam Rooney (2010 years 108 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 65 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Jambos earn the points:

Caley Thistle drop back to 10th following a scrappy performance against Hearts at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

Ian Black was sorely missed in the middle of the park after an eye injury saw him subbed after only 15 minutes.

Despite getting forward ICT were lacking any end product and it was left to Hearts to open the scoring at the other end when Aguiar managed to create some space and get his shot on target from 20 yards out.

Caley Thistle should have equalised when a ball fell to Rooney and all he had to do was push it over the line, but the lack of strength on the ball allowed it to be cleared off the line.

The second half continued to be scrappy and Hearts only goal was enough for them to head home with the 3 points.

Craig Brewster started with the same team that finished the match against Falkirk on Wednesday. This meant that Gary Wood and Ian Vigurs dropped to the bench with Andy Barrowman and Adam Rooney replacing them as a front two. Don Cowie was missing through injury which gave Barry Wilson a rare start on the right flank. Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo recalled Michael Stewart from suspension along with Robbie Neilson. They replaced David Obua and Ruben Palazuelos in the Jambos line up.

Hearts were first to threaten when Andy Driver looked to test Esson from a free kick just outside the box but the hearts youngster fired his effort well over the bar. Inverness retaliated with a Wilson cross finding its way to Andy Barrowman but the former Ross County player couldn’t get the ball under control and the chance was lost. Michael Stewart then saw his effort fall into the path of team mate Driver who scuffed his shot wide of Esson's goal as both sides sought to open the scoring.

Ian Black was forced off after 15 minutes with suspected concussion with Roy McBain taking his place in the midfield. ICT then came close with a couple of headed efforts from Imrie and Tokely but neither were able to work Balogh in the Hearts goal. Balogh then had to be quick off his line to deny Rooney who was played through by Imrie and Hearts were too punish ICT for their inability to convert their half chances into goals.

Portugese midfielder Aguiar collected the ball about 25 yards out and turned his marker before sending a low shot past Esson who might have done better getting down to turn the ball round the post. The goal knocked Inverness off the pace somewhat but there was a golden chance to equalise before half time when Barrowman chased a ball and pushed the ball past the onrushing Balogh but it was blocked by the Hearts defence only for it to fall to Rooney who tried to force the ball over the line in the resultant stramash but a last ditch Neilson challenge cleared the danger for Hearts.

Just before the half time whistle referee Mike Tumilty enraged the Home support when he denied ICT what looked like a penalty when Rooney was bundled off the ball by Lee Wallace. Despite fierce protests from the ICT players and the Home fans Tumilty remained convinced that there was no foul and play raged on.

Half Time 0-1

Hearts nearly extended their lead just after half time when Nade attempted an audacious strike which nearly beat Esson at his near post but the former Aberdeen keeper palmed the ball around the post. Nade was presented with another chance soon after when Andy Driver lobbed a ball through for him but Esson was equal to his effort.

Inverness gradually took control of the game and Hearts were forced to defend for large periods of the 2nd half. Ian Vigurs came on for the tiring Wilson and Wood came on for Barrowman who was subjected to a bizarre mixture of cheers and boos as he trudged off. Whether this was an indication of what some of the crowd thought of his performance or whether they were disagreeing with Brewster's decision only they will know. But it was an odd reaction to a substitution.

With Vigurs on the pitch ICT were playing with more intent while trying to grab the equaliser but the Hearts backline stood firm and in Nade they had a useful outlet for trying to catch Inverness on the counter attack. Late efforts from Vigurs and Imrie registered the Home sides first efforts on target for the game and were an indication of how little was created during the match. As time ticked away despairing long balls from the Home side were the only attacking threat posed which Berra and Zaliukas lapped up as Hearts held firm to secure an impressive three points.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 13 11 1 1 34 13 21 34
2. Rangers 14 10 3 1 32 11 21 33
3. Hearts 14 7 2 5 15 17 -2 23
4. Dundee Utd 14 6 4 4 19 16 3 22
5. Kilmarnock 14 6 1 7 13 19 -6 19
6. Aberdeen 14 5 3 6 15 16 -1 18
7. Motherwell 14 5 2 7 16 19 -3 17
8. Falkirk 14 4 4 6 17 19 -2 16
9. Hibernian 14 4 4 6 15 21 -6 16
10. Inverness CT 14 4 2 8 15 21 -6 14
11. St. Mirren 14 3 3 8 9 16 -7 12
12. Hamilton Academical 13 3 1 9 11 23 -12 10