Dundee 0 - 1 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, May 9th, 2015, 3:00 PM at Dens Park, Dundee
Attendance: 5,123
Referee: Don Robertson
Dundee Inverness CT

Goalscorers
None. Edward Ofere (8)

Team Managers
Paul Hartley John Hughes

Starting Eleven
Kyle Letheren
Paul McGinn
James McPake
Thomas Konrad
Willie Dyer
Stephen McGinn
Paul McGowan
Kevin Thomson
Jim McAlister
Greg Stewart
Luka Tankulic
Ryan Esson
Josh Meekings
Gary Warren
Daniel Devine
Graeme Shinnie
Greg Tansey
Ross Draper
Ryan Christie
Danny Williams
Marley Watkins
Edward Ofere

Bench
Callum Brodie
Gary Irvine
Simon Ferry
David Clarkson
Gary Harkins
Craig Wighton
Calvin Colquhoun
Cameron Mackay
David Raven
Carl Tremarco
Nick Ross
Aaron Doran
James Vincent
Tarmo Kink

Substitutions
Craig Wighton -> Stephen McGinn (75)
Gary Harkins -> Kevin Thomson (81)
James Vincent for Marley Watkins (64)
Aaron Doran for Danny Williams (75)
Carl Tremarco for Greg Tansey (80)

Bookings
Kevin Thomson (61) Danny Williams (38)
Daniel Devine (72)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 177 apps -
Daniel Devine 35 apps1 goal
Josh Meekings 146 apps3 goals
Gary Warren 117 apps11 goals
Ryan Christie 56 apps7 goals
Graeme Shinnie 185 apps8 goals
Greg Tansey 100 apps16 goals
Danny Williams 63 apps4 goals
Marley Watkins 70 apps9 goals
Ross Draper 117 apps7 goals
Edward Ofere 11 apps6 goals
Carl Tremarco (sub) 35 apps -
James Vincent (sub) 48 apps2 goals
Aaron Doran (sub) 149 apps20 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ryan Christie (20 years 78 days)
Oldest Player:Graeme Shinnie (2016 years 284 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 240 days
Domestic Players:8 (72.73 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Cameron Mackay (15 years 155 days)
Oldest Player:Graeme Shinnie (2016 years 284 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 73 days
Domestic Players:11 (61.11 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Greg Tansey played his 100th major competitive game for the Club.

They Think It's All Over.......

......... It Is Now. Inverness secured third place in the league with a hard fought win over a sprightly Dundee at DenPark. Edward Ofere continued his scoring with an exquisite early first half header from a pin point Greg Tansey cross for the only goal in an entertaining encounter. That's six goals in eleven games for the big striker. (Billy who, I hear you say)

Inverness went into this game in fine fettle after beating Dundee United in midweek and knew that a victory would clinch third place and with it a European adventure. They would not be disappointed but Dundee were in no mood to hand it to them on a plate.

David Raven remained on the bench after returning from suspension and Ryan Christie started. Danny Devine grabbed some more match time as well as Inverness played towards Tannadice in the first half. Paul McGowan and Greg Stewart returned for Dundee and Kyle Letheren replaced the injured Scott Bain in goal.

A bright day with little wind greeted the players and the fans came prepared with passports in their pockets.

After a few minutes of posturing Inverness took the lead. Greg Tansey swung in an inviting cross with Eddie Ofere's name on it and the big Nigerian powered a low header into the bottom right side of the goal for a superb opener.

A few minutes later and Marley Watkins fired over, but Dundee were starting to pick up the pace and were beginning to find space in the middle of the park. Ryan Esson was called into his first bit of serious action as he plucked a shot out of the air, McGinn's effort straight down his throat, easy for the keeper.

With 25 minutes gone Esson saved well as Dundee started to pin Inverness back, Greg Stewart flashing a shot goalwards from a tight angle. Moments later Ryan Christie almost added a second goal but his low shot from thirty yards brushed off the foot of the post with the keeper beaten.

Danny Devine made an incredibly spectacular overhead clearance from a dipping Stewart header that had Esson beaten. Great stuff from the big defender, fantastic agility, something that Nadia Comaneci would have been proud of.

Dundee were the side looking more likely to score the next goal at this point and Esson stopped a couple of headed attempts from McPake and Tankulic, but on the stroke of half time Christie forced Letheren to save but the advantage remained with Inverness at the break.



Half Time 0-1

Dundee began the second half where they left off and created a couple of early threats from Jim McAlister, one where he shot weekly at Esson from inside the box after breaking through, but Inverness looked to be closing down sharper and forced a seies of corners to no avail.

Just after the hour and James Vincent replaced Watkins as Yogi looked to get a hold on the midfield battle. Danny Devine was carded for what looked to be a nothing challenge, unless the ref had been totting up minor stoppages from the resolute defender and Aaron Dorran replaced midweek hero Danny Williams as Inverness started to assert their dominance once more.

Just when it looked as though the visitors had weathered the storm, up popped Jake McPake in the box. He looked to have scored, but Ryan Esson matched Danny Devine's performance as he threw himself across goal to his left and somehow clawed the ball away for a corner. Unbelievable save from Ryan and an important one at that stage of the game.

The chants from the visiting fans were getting louder as news came through that the Tayside derby had ended all square and it looked unlikely that Dundee would be able to score the goals required to keep the passports in the pocket.

Dundee were now leaving gaps at the back in search of a leveller and Inverness had a couple of chances to exploit that, but we ended up taking the ball for a walk as the clock ticked oh so slowly towards the final countdown for Europe.

The final whistle brought about great scenes of joy in the away end and Yogi and the players responded as they left the park. They returned to take the well earned plaudits and the visiting fans went home fair chuffed right eenuff.

Full Time 0-1

A few contenders for MotM but it would be cruel to single out anyone after this emotionally draining encounter. However, I do have a cruel streak and three players shone brightest for me. Ross Draper was immense in midfield breaking up play on numerous occasions and feeding forward. Danny Devine looked so solid at the back winning almost everything that came his way and his goal line clearance was just phenomenal. But I have to award the MotM to Ryan Esson who was simply superb. That save late in the game will have Gordon Banks turning in his grave.

So, it's congratulations all round from CTO to Yogi and the boys for giving us a wonderful season, and it's not over yet.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 35 27 4 4 78 17 61 85
2. Aberdeen 35 23 5 7 56 30 26 74
3. Inverness CT 36 18 8 10 49 37 12 62
4. Dundee Utd 36 16 5 15 55 53 2 53
5. St. Johnstone 36 15 8 13 33 34 -1 53
6. Hamilton Academical 36 14 8 14 48 51 -3 50
7. Partick Thistle 36 12 9 15 47 40 7 45
8. Dundee 36 11 11 14 45 53 -8 44
9. Kilmarnock 36 10 8 18 39 56 -17 38
10. Ross County 36 10 8 18 42 61 -19 38
11. Motherwell 36 10 5 21 37 61 -24 35
12. St. Mirren 36 8 3 25 28 64 -36 27