Inverness CT 1 - 1 Hearts

League Match
Saturday, November 10th, 2012, 12:00 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 3,332
Referee: Willie Collum
Inverness CT  Hearts

Goalscorers
Owain Tudur Jones (19)
Marius Zaliukas (pen.90)

Team Managers
Terry Butcher John McGlynn

Starting Eleven
Antonio Reguero
Josh Meekings
Gary Warren
David Raven
Graeme Shinnie
Aaron Doran
Andrew Shinnie
Owain Tudur Jones
Richie Foran
Billy Mckay
Philip Roberts
Jamie MacDonald
Ryan McGowan
Andy Webster
Marius Zaliukas
Danny Grainger
Jason Holt
Darren Barr
Mehdi Taouil
Ryan Stevenson
Callum Paterson
Arvydas Novikovas

Substitutes
Scott Mathieson
George Brislen-Hall
Gavin Morrison
Liam Polworth
Shane Sutherland
Matthew Cooper
Andre Martins
Peter Enckelman
John Sutton
Andrew Driver
Gordon Smith
Jamie Walker
Dylan McGowan
Kevin McHattie

Substitutions
Shane Sutherland for Philip Roberts (64)
Gavin Morrison for Andrew Shinnie (85)
Dylan McGowan -> Mehdi Taouil (46)
Andrew Driver -> Arvydas Novikovas (46)
John Sutton -> Darren Barr (77)

Bookings
Graeme Shinnie (52)
Danny Grainger (29)
Dylan McGowan (76)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Antonio Reguero (GK) 7 apps -
David Raven 16 apps -
Gary Warren 16 apps2 goals
Josh Meekings 36 apps -
Aaron Doran 44 apps4 goals
Graeme Shinnie 72 apps2 goals
Andrew Shinnie 36 apps17 goals
Owain Tudur Jones 26 apps1 goal
Philip Roberts 9 apps1 goal
Richie Foran 144 apps35 goals
Billy Mckay 40 apps9 goals
Gavin Morrison (sub) 29 apps1 goal
Shane Sutherland (sub) 77 apps3 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Aaron Doran (21 years 187 days)
Oldest Player:Josh Meekings (2014 years 104 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 139 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Liam Polworth (18 years 34 days)
Oldest Player:Scott Mathieson (2014 years 104 days)
Average Player Age:23 years 224 days
Domestic Players:14 (77.78 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Owain Tudur Jones scored his first goal for the Club.

Broke Hearts leave Inverness Heart Broken:

They may be in poor condition off the park, but they played with plenty of fight on the field of play and deservedly took a point back to the capital, albeit with a dubious penalty scored by captain Marius Zaliukas after Owain Tudur-Jones had opened the scoring with a thunderous strike from thirty yards.

Inverness passed up a great opportunity to hit the top of the table by crumbling meekly against a Hearts side desperately trying to avoid the same fate as The Rangers.

An impeccable minutes silence ahead of remembrance day was observed by all as the fans readied themselves for what should have been an entertaining afternoon. It did, however, turn out to be a frustrating day for Inverness supporters as the Jambo's turned the tables with a late sucker punch.

Supporters from both sides offered their predictions before the event

As expected, Richie Foran was the only change Inverness made with Ross Draper being out injured and the visitors started with Sutton and Driver on the bench.

To be honest, this was as scrappy a game as has been witnessed at the Caledonian Stadium this season with neither side able to string too many passes together, and don't get me started on throw-ins, more like throw-aways, as far as Inverness were concerned.

The telly viewers were able to dissect this match in full as Inverness stuttered their way around the park. Gone was the free flowing football of late and an unwelcome return of the longer ball was evident as the match wore on with the midfield being bypassed as Hearts tenacity won the day.

Inverness did start bright enough, or should that be right eenuff, and had the better of the opening exchanges but nothing of note happened in the first quarter, that was until Jones stepped in to score his first goal for the club.

Andy Shinnie did well along the edge of the box holding onto the ball before laying it off to McKay who played it back to Shinnie. With the Hearts defence blocking his path, he rolled the ball back to Owain Tudur-Jones who took a touch before unleashing a ferocious curling shot from thirty plus yards that flew high past a diving MacDonald in the Hearts goal for a fantastic first goal for the Long Man.

Unfortunately, that goal was about it as far as Inverness were concerned as we handed the initiative back to the visitors soon after, although Billy McKay dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box after he jinked his way into a shooting position. Just before the break, MacDonald pulled off a decent save as Foran looked to extend the lead with a placed drive from distance, the keeper pushing his effort to safety.

Hearts had not threatened in the first half apart from a shot from Stevenson that Reguero needed the assistance of his chest to deny the number 7, although the warning signs were evident as they were gaining the upper hand in the midfield battle without being able to penetrate the Inverness back line.

Half Time 1-0

The warnings were not latched on to by the Inverness tacticians and Hearts dominated the second half, but again without causing too much concern for Reguero and Co.

Andy Shinnie almost doubled our advantage after 55 minutes bursting into the box after a neat exchange with Doran but the keeper brilliantly beat away his angled drive and Jones felled Zaliukas when the rebound fell to him on the edge of the box.

However, it was now beginning to look like just a matter of time before the Jambo's would get the breakthrough, the fact that it took so long was the only surprise. Paterson had been interesting throughout, but it was his diving that caught the eye in the last minute of the game. He went down very easily as Jones stuck a leg in his direction and he had no hesitation in hitting the deck, referee Collum falling hook, line and sinker for it. After some confusion as to who would take the kick, captain Marius Zaliukas stepped forward and sent Reguero to his left, the ball unfortunately going to his right and a not undeserved equaliser, although the manner in which it was achieved was somewhat shabby.

Full Time 1-1

Inverness will be kicking themselves after blowing another lead where three points turned into one, but have only themselves to blame after a jaded looking performance where stringing passes together seemed to be too difficult for too many players on the day. Credit to Hearts for sticking to the task and getting their just reward.

tm4tj Man of the Match:- Easier to say who would not be in with a shout for the award, however the back line were pretty solid and David Raven seems to be a different person from the one that arrived in August, and for this and recent performances he gets my vote.

Moan of the Match:- this award goes to whoever thought it was a good idea to sell cup tickets immediately after the final whistle. This led to the North Stand emptying quicker than the Marie Celeste before the end of the game.......meh!

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 11 6 3 2 21 11 10 21
2. Hibernian 12 6 3 3 23 16 7 21
3. Aberdeen 13 5 6 2 19 12 7 21
4. Inverness CT 13 4 7 2 26 21 5 19
5. Kilmarnock 13 5 3 5 19 15 4 18
6. St. Johnstone 12 5 3 4 15 16 -1 18
7. Motherwell 13 4 5 4 17 18 -1 17
8. Dundee Utd 11 4 4 3 12 12 0 16
9. Ross County 13 3 6 4 15 19 -4 15
10. Hearts 13 3 5 5 13 14 -1 14
11. St. Mirren 13 3 3 7 17 26 -9 12
12. Dundee 13 2 2 9 6 23 -17 8