Inverness CT 3 - 2 Motherwell

League Match
Saturday, May 20th, 2017, 3:00 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 5,351
Referee: Craig Thomson
Inverness CT  Motherwell

Goalscorers
Greg Tansey (64)
Alex Fisher (66)
Alex Fisher (67)
James McFadden (73)
Ryan Bowman (pen.93)

Team Managers
Richie Foran Steve Robinson

Starting Eleven
Ryan Esson
Gary Warren
David Raven
Brad Mckay
Louis Laing
Iain Vigurs
Liam Polworth
Greg Tansey
Ross Draper
Billy Mckay
Alex Fisher
Russell Griffiths
Steven Hammell
Ben Heneghan
Carl McHugh
Chris Cadden
Lionel Ainsworth
Louis Moult
Elliott Frear
Craig Clay
Allan Campbell
Shea Gordon

Substitutes
Daniel Hoban
Kevin McNaughton
Jamie McCart
Jake Mulraney
Larnell Cole
Scott Boden
Henri Anier
Oliver Pain
Ryan Bowman
Keith Lasley
Zak Jules
James McFadden
David Turnbull
Adam Livingstone

Substitutions
Jake Mulraney for Liam Polworth (77)
Jamie McCart for Iain Vigurs (83)
Adam Livingstone -> Lionel Ainsworth (56)
Ryan Bowman -> Shea Gordon (67)
James McFadden -> Louis Moult (73)

Bookings
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 187 apps -
Brad Mckay 28 apps1 goal
Louis Laing 14 apps -
David Raven 166 apps4 goals
Gary Warren 191 apps15 goals
Greg Tansey 191 apps32 goals
Iain Vigurs 100 apps16 goals
Liam Polworth 114 apps10 goals
Ross Draper 202 apps16 goals
Alex Fisher 28 apps8 goals
Billy Mckay 157 apps66 goals
Jamie McCart (sub) 11 apps -
Jake Mulraney (sub) 32 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Liam Polworth (22 years 226 days)
Oldest Player:Alex Fisher (2018 years 296 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 147 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Daniel Hoban (19 years 50 days)
Oldest Player:Greg Tansey (2018 years 296 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 313 days
Domestic Players:13 (72.22 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Iain Vigurs played his 100th major competitive game for the Club.

Annus Horribilis Endum Relegationus:

Our Annus has at last ended in relegation after we defeated Motherwell 3-2, but Hamilton thumped Dundee to ensure they live to fight another day. The inevitable happened, albeit later than most of us expected, but after getting some false hope in midweek, the great escape was called off before half-time with Accies 2-0 up at the interval.

So, the worst team in the league got their just reward, automatic relegation. A lot of unhappy bunnies at full-time with many fans turning their anger to the board, or more specifically the lack of action from the board and a rookie manager who will be made the scapegoat in all of this. Foran was given the role by a board which we all hoped would work out. When it never happened the board did nothing. When it all went tits up the board did nothing. The silence from the board is deafening and the stench of relegation will linger around for a long time. Anyway, congratulations to Accies who took the pressure and went about their business the right way. For us, it's championship football next season with no guarantee that we will bounce back. Bigger clubs than us have found it's tough to get out of this league and float around the championship for several years. However, that's the position we find ourselves in and we just have to get on with it.

Foran fielded the same side that started against Dundee and a big crowd turned out to see if the impossible would happen. Motherwell were without the departing Scott McDonald, but Louis Moult made the starting XI.

It was a cagey opening half for us and we looked nervous, afraid to make the errors that would see us relegated. It took 23 minutes for us to feel uneasy as news filtered through that Accies had taken the lead. The frustration doubled two minutes later as Accies bagged a second and we all knew it was game over. It looked as though the players knew something was wrong as the first half was poor, and heads were dropping, but in all honesty it was the same fare we have been treated to all season, so nothing new there.

Despite the poor first half, we did create the best opportunities and Laing fired a long range effort that worked the keeper. Polworth skewed wide and Draper opened his body too much when he should have found the top corner. However, Motherwell did look slicker than us for the most part which in itself was a tad worrying.

Half-Time 0-0

We needed goals and upped the pace after the break but had Raven to thank for clearing what looked like a netbound effort away from goal.

Dougie Imrie sealed our fate when he scored a third for Accies from the spot in the 56th minute. Relegation assured, and Just when it looked as though we had run out of ideas, we hit Well with a triple whammy. Greg Tansey punched the air in delight as his parting gift was a goal rifled across the keeper in the 64th minute. Three minutes later and Alex Fisher had us 3-0 ahead. It mattered not a jot though although the goals were pleasing.

Motherwell beavered away and were rewarded with a couple of goals, one from sub James McFadden and a late penalty from Bowman.

Full Time 3-2

Many fans had seen enough long before the end and may have missed Well's mini revival, but they fell just short of utterly ruining our day completely although relegation was punishment enough for a season of dross.

I'll stick to comments regarding the game for now and my MotM goes to Iain Vigurs who looked assured on the ball, the one player who looked to have class in abundance on a dark day for the club. Greg Tansey also impressed in his final game before joining Aberdeen. However, it's not just about this one game, the whole season has been littered with failures, from top to bottom and that is why we are going down.

It has taken twenty-two years to build this club into a force to be reckoned with. It's only taken one year to demolish it and set us back fifteen years.


I'm not sure about bad apples, but something is rotten to the core. As someone commented somewhere, "Budapest to Brechin in just two years...............

See you all next season in the Championship

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 37 33 4 0 104 25 79 103
2. Aberdeen 37 23 4 10 68 35 33 73
3. Rangers 37 18 10 9 54 43 11 64
4. St. Johnstone 37 17 7 13 49 44 5 58
5. Hearts 37 12 10 15 55 50 5 46
6. Ross County 38 11 13 14 48 58 -10 46
7. Partick Thistle 37 10 12 15 38 48 -10 42
8. Kilmarnock 38 9 14 15 36 56 -20 41
9. Motherwell 38 10 8 20 46 69 -23 38
10. Dundee 38 10 7 21 38 62 -24 37
11. Hamilton Academical 38 7 14 17 37 56 -19 35
12. Inverness CT 38 7 13 18 44 71 -27 34