Inverness CT 0 - 2 Aberdeen

League Match
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011, 7:45 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 4,468
Referee: Steve Conroy
Inverness CT  Aberdeen

Goalscorers
None. Ryan Jack (44)
Nick Blackman (49)

Team Managers
Terry Butcher Craig Brown

Starting Eleven
Ryan Esson
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
Chris Innes
Johnny Hayes
Nick Ross
Graeme Shinnie
Stuart Duff
Adam Rooney
Richie Foran
Dani Sanchez
Jamie Langfield
Rory McArdle
Andrew Considine
Zander Diamond
Nikola Vujadinovic
Paul Hartley
Ryan Jack
Robert Milsom
Chris Maguire
Scott Vernon
Nick Blackman

Substitutes
Jonny Tuffey
David Proctor
Roy McBain
Russell Duncan
Aaron Doran
Eric Odhiambo
Shane Sutherland
Mark Howard
Clark Robertson
David McNamee
Derek Young
Peter Pawlett
Michael Paton
Josh Magennis

Substitutions
David Proctor for Dani Sanchez (46)
Eric Odhiambo for Johnny Hayes (73)
Aaron Doran for Stuart Duff (82)
Josh Magennis => Scott Vernon (65)
Derek Young => Chris Maguire (85)

Bookings
Chris Innes (60)
Ross Tokely (70)
Nick Blackman (36)
Rory McArdle (38)

Red Cards
Grant Munro (18)
None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 96 apps -
Ross Tokely 543 apps34 goals
Grant Munro 356 apps16 goals
Chris Innes 10 apps -
Graeme Shinnie 25 apps -
Stuart Duff 25 apps1 goal
Johnny Hayes 65 apps15 goals
Nick Ross 39 apps1 goal
Adam Rooney 109 apps47 goals
Richie Foran 79 apps22 goals
Dani Sanchez 48 apps9 goals
David Proctor (sub) 143 apps8 goals
Aaron Doran (sub) 1 app (debut) -
Eric Odhiambo (sub) 62 apps11 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Johnny Hayes (23 years 207 days)
Oldest Player:Dani Sanchez (2012 years 180 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 308 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Aaron Doran (19 years 263 days)
Oldest Player:Chris Innes (2012 years 180 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 288 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts
Aaron Doran(Signed January 25th, 2011)

Milestones

Off night for Grantie as ten man Inverness wilt.

Not many outwith the secret society of referee's, male or female, know the answer to this one, but for some reason Grant Munro was sent off for what at this moment can only be described as an off the ball incident.  The stand side lines person flagged the referee and after consultation, Munro was singled out as Maguire lay nursing his face on the edge of the Inverness box.  Even Penn & Teller had to concede this one.  Worse was to come as the half time cuppa brewed when Jack fired a ferocious shot off the underside of Esson's bar on the stroke of half time from one chain and a bit.  Great strike, but harsh on Inverness who had started brightly with Hayes taking the game to Aberdeen.  Shortly after half time Blackman turned the ball in with the aid of a deflection which left Esson flat footed, and it was game over.  Inverness battled gamely, especially Adam Rooney who was unlucky on a couple of occasions after he fashioned out his own openings.

This was a much improved performance from Inverness, but with the sending off of Grant Munro, it made the task much more difficult and in the end it proved to be just out of reach, despite a number of half chances for the home side to gain a foothold in the match.  Adam Rooney was the target for most of the homesters attacks and with a bit of fortune he might have scored a couple of goals.  Comeback man Jonny Hayes also shone brightly but the scything Aberdeen henchmen made it an early bath for him as well when he limped off injured in the second period.

So, unfortunately, the stats will show that is ten games without a win, but this was a game that turned on a split second decision by the officials.  A decent away support for a midweek game will no doubt go home happy that they close the gap on the top six, and Inverness will rue another home game without a point.

Davie will unveil the full report when he gets home to warm up and reflect on another pointless exercise.

And so it goes on. The run of 10 games without a win is becoming tedious and just a bit alarming. After the joy and verve of early season, how did it come to this? Last night's game went a long way to providing at least some answers to that. As the ambling preamble from TM4TJ said, the game opened brightly enough although it was obvious from kick off that these were a different prospect completely from the one that played under Mark McGhee. But we did start brightly, Chris Innes heading in a Jonny Hayes cross that was held by Langfield. Hayes was back to his impetuous best, turning Considine at will in the early stages although when he tried a carbon copy of his goal of the month strike (the rangers' one) it went out for a throw in. It wasn't long before the inevitable first foul arrived, but Hayes is resilient if nothing else. Hayes also tested Langfield with an on target drive, but there were also efforts from Aberdeen that pointed to this being a close game of not inconsiderable quality. The fact that this didn't happen was entirely due to Messrs. Conroy & Bee, who spotted something in the Caley Jags penalty area that involved Grant Munro and Chris Maguire and ended with Maguire on the turf. The linesman flagged for something and Munro saw red. The blatant simulation involved from the Aberdeen player was obvious from the outset, the referee was conned and Munro walked. Curiously, violent conduct (Munro allegedly punched him) is deliberate foul play but no penalty was awarded. It might as well have been as ICT then struggled to adapt to the new shape they were required to adapt to. TB had no arguments with the decision, but it seemed less than obvious from the North Stand. Aberdeen were still troubled to the extent that Blackman was booked for hoofing Hayes (again) before McArdle was punished for an appalling "tackle" on Graham Shinnie that was designed purely to injure. Mr Conroy could have redeemed himself there and then but chose not to, to his shame. He proved himself as yellow as the card he brandished. Just before the break Rooney, playing his best game in ages, missed narrowly, and right on 45 minutes JACK drifted into the space where Munro would have been and scored with a drive off the bar. He then launched into a singularly graceless and inflammatory celebration that should have seen him booked. That he wasn't was no surprise.

Half time: Inverness CT 0 Aberdeen 1

Again, the half started brightly, with nearly all of ICT's chances falling to Rooney. Time and time again he fashioned chances, his hold up play was excellent as was his tackling. Missing Sanchez, who had been replaced by Proctor, his options around him had been sacrificed to expediency. His likewise immense work rate was obvious, but the fates conspired against him, and we were punished again after a missed chance resulted in a break up the field and a goal for BLACKMAN which sealed the game. That heads went down slightly was no surprise, but a goal back was never far away. Bickering replaced honest enjoyment in the stands and the game slipped away. That Hayes limped off after 73 minutes to be replaced by Odhiambo was no surprise, but no less depressing for that. There is little chance of him staying fit if other teams are allowed to literally kick him off the park as a counter to his skill. How Adam Rooney must have felt when Diamond cleared off the line after a slaloming run that had left everyone in his wake is beyond me, but it summed it up. There was a bright note as Inverness was treated to their first sight of another Irish winger, Aaron Doran. He showed enough to suggest it won't be their last sight. As the fight in Inverness receded, Ryan Esson showed again and again why Craig Levein should pay this boy some attention. One save, a one on one with Blackman, was sublime. Thanks again Ryan.

Full time:  Inverness CT 0 Aberdeen 2

MotM was Adam Rooney by a length from Ryan Esson. Low light was Richie Foran, again off the boil but struggling manfully. Villain was the referee, ably abetted by the stand side assistant and general irritation was provided by the local constabulary, videotaping all and sundry and earnestly pointing out people who appeared to commit no offence other than support their team. Roll on next Wednesday.

Match report written by tm4tj/Davie



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 23 17 4 2 50 14 36 55
2. Rangers 21 16 2 3 46 20 26 50
3. Hearts 22 14 3 5 36 20 16 45
4. Kilmarnock 22 9 5 8 35 25 10 32
5. Inverness CT 24 7 8 9 31 30 1 29
6. Motherwell 22 8 4 10 26 26 0 28
7. Dundee Utd 19 6 8 5 22 25 -3 26
8. St. Johnstone 21 7 5 9 15 26 -11 26
9. Aberdeen 22 7 2 13 23 39 -16 23
10. St. Mirren 22 4 6 12 18 36 -18 18
11. Hibernian 22 4 4 14 21 39 -18 16
12. Hamilton Academical 20 2 7 11 13 36 -23 13