Nick Ross for Ryan Christie (76)
|
Chris Johnston -> Rory McKenzie (46)
Alexei Eremenko -> Michael Ngoo (55)
Lee Miller -> Sammy Clingan (79) |
Appearances & Goals To Date
Starting Lineup
| Youngest Player: | Ryan Christie (19 years 191 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Graeme Shinnie (2016 years 32 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 25 years 90 days |
| Domestic Players: | 7 (63.64 % of starting eleven) |
Matchday Squad
| Youngest Player: | Ryan Christie (19 years 191 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Graeme Shinnie (2016 years 32 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 25 years 139 days |
| Domestic Players: | 11 (64.71 % of matchday squad) |
First Team Debuts
Milestones
| Dean Brill played his 50th major competitive game for the Club. |
| Greg Tansey reached 10 goals for the Club. |
Another Clean Sheet:
Inverness eased past a lifeless Kilmarnock with relative ease as they built on another clean sheet to pull away in the second half with a superb team goal from Aaron Doran and a thunderous strike from Greg Tansey that eventually found the net off the keepers back. The first half was verging on tedium with Inverness always holding the trump cards, but defences were on top and chances were at a premium. The second period saw Inverness move smoothly through the gears whilst Kilmarnock remained in neutral and there was only going to be one winner.
This result sees Inverness sitting on top of the league, unbeaten, unbreached, and understandably chuffed.
Capital Caley will have a report for us before he turns into a Heed Army disciple............Or maybe not, you'll have to put up with me again.
A miserably wet night and early morning gave way to some rays of solar luminance and by the time kick off arrived at 3:00pm the ground was swathed in bright sunshine for what promised to be an entertaining game.
Dean Brill and the defence are setting new standards at Inverness this season with their fourth clean sheet in a row, could they make it five and total 600 goal free minutes.
Still no Richie Foran or Danny Devine for the home side and James Vincent was also absent again. Aaron Doran featured from the start, but Gary Warren pulled a late sickie and Ross Draper dropped into a defensive role. Kilmarnock had the giant Michael Ngoo on from the start with the impressive Robbie Muirhead dropping to the bench alongside former Scotland International Lee Miller and the elegant but somewhat overweight Alexei Eremenko. Aaron Doran has a long way to go to catch up with 'Tubby' Eremenko.
To say this game took a while to warm up is a bit of an understatement.
Inverness weaved some pretty patterns around the pitch as Killie seemed intent on not conceding. Neither side made much headway to be honest and it was about ten minutes before half time when Doran curled an effort just over from his trademark position on the left side of the box.
Five minutes before the break and Ngoo headed over from a good position but he had been well marshalled by makeshift defender Ross Draper and his partner Josh Meekings.
Half Time 0-0
Right from the restart there looked to be more urgency about Inverness and Doran raced onto a long through ball but the keeper just beat him to it.
The passing was slicker and more direct with Killie struggling to get a hold of the ball and a good passing move ended with Shinnie firing a 25 yard effort on target, unfortunately too straight at the keeper who palmed the ball to safety.
The passing game was in full flow now and a slick combination saw Watkins skip into the box and although there appeared to be a tangle of legs, no penalty was given with Watkins spread-eagled on the turf.
An eight man move ended with Doran clipping a tidy ball to the back post where Raven met it with his head only for Letheren to dive full length to turn the ball round the post for a corner.
Better was yet to come and a ten man move started on the edge of Brill's box ended with Shinnie threading Doran through on goal and the cheeky chappy deftly dinked the ball through Letheren's legs for a sensational team goal. Doran seemed delighted by this and celebrated with the fans behind the goal at the foot of the North Stand which earned the Irishman a yellow card, but it was worth it.
Another swift move saw substitute Nick Ross involved, but not in the way he would have liked. Watkins sprinted into the box and teed up McKay who hit a shot towards the top corner, however it was nasty Nick this time as he blocked the ball with his chest sending him onto the turf. But wait, fortunately for Nick, the ball eventually rebounded to the feet of Greg Tansey some forty five yards out. Now Greg, as we know likes to crack the ball pretty hard. He looked up, took a few strides forward and absolutely leathered the ball towards the postage stamp corner of the goal. Letheren flew across his line but the ball crashed of the junction of bar and post and ricocheted onto Letheren's back, from there it bounced behind him into the net for a stunning second Inverness goal.
Full Time 2-0
A comfortable and comprehensive win for Inverness after a slow start where both teams jostled for possession. Inverness upped the anti after the break and Killie were second best from there on in. Two stunning goals and another clean sheet, not a bad afternoon for Yogi's slick side. Kilmarnock never looked like scoring and can have no complaints about the manner of the defeat which leaves Inverness sitting on top of the league with thirteen points from five games.
tm4tj MotM:- Plenty of good performances once more from the home side. Ross Draper could have a career as a centre back when he gets fed up of being a midfielder. Greg Tansey is spraying the ball around and his goal was a belter. Josh Meekings showed once again that he is one of the best centre backs in the division and some of the interplay between midfield and front was a joy to behold in that second half. For me, Ross Draper just nicks it for a tremendous display in an abnormal position, but what a great team performance in that second period.
One man who gets few points from today's game was Dean Brill who could have sat in the North Stand for all he was asked to do, but the fifth clean sheet has set a new club record and that is fantastic reward for solid displays from Dean and the defence.
Match report written by tm4tj
