Vennegoor of Hesselink (15, 59)
Donati (41)
Nakamura (56)
McGuire (70 og)
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None.
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Appearances & Goals To Date
Starting Lineup
| Youngest Player: | Ross Tokely (28 years 198 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Don Cowie (2009 years 46 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 32 years 27 days |
| Domestic Players: | 11 (100.00 % of starting eleven) |
Matchday Squad
| Youngest Player: | Iain Vigurs (19 years 135 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Phil McGuire (2009 years 46 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 26 years 279 days |
| Domestic Players: | 18 (100.00 % of matchday squad) |
First Team Debuts
Milestones
Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC travelled to Celtic Park with the tough task of looking to take the seasons first points against the on form Celtic. In a match where Caley Thistle played well in large spells they were, again, unfortunate not to get more for their efforts.
Those first points continue to elude us and the 5-0 defeat looks worse than it was. The team, manager and fans should take some comfort that the performances of the last 2 weeks have been good and against lesser opponents we could have witnessed a reversal of fortunes.
Brewster made 2 changes to the starting eleven used at Easter Road a fortnight ago. McGuire got a start ahead of McCaffrey and he also dropped himself from the squad choosing to start with Wyness and leave room on the bench for more defensive options.
Strachan had also chosen to freshen things up as he rested players who had been on International Duty and kept this weeks coming fixture at Shakthar Donetsk in mind.
Caley Thistle took to the field in the new away strip and started the brighter of the two teams. Dennis Wyness had a 20yard shot saved on the 2 minute mark and that was followed in 8 minutes by what looked almost certain to be the opening goal of the game - Celtic were struggling to clear a ball from the goalmouth when it fell at the feet of Dennis Wyness who somehow managed to shoot over the bar. The first goal came 7 minutes later when Scott Browns shot deflected off Vennegoor of Hesselink to beat Fraser in the ICT goal.
This wasn’t to put a dampener on the fighting spirit of the Caley Thistle lads as they then proceeded to take the game by the scruff of the neck. McGuire was unfortunate not to get a little more on his header from a corner, Niculae shot narrowly wide, Wilson had a 20 yard shot saved and Cowie made Boruc work hard to tip his shot round the post all within the next 20 minutes.
Ian Black was to be the first in the book on 36 minutes for a foul on McGeady and Celtic were to stretch the lead to two shortly after as Scott McDonald slid a pass to Donati who stuck the ball into the corner for a tight angle.
HT: Celtic 2 v 0 Inverness CT
Neither team were proving to be to much of a danger to the oppositions goal for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but that was to change very quickly and very dramatically as Nakamura drilled a 30 yard shot beyond the reach of Michael Fraser and in to the top corner.
The fans had barely sat down when Scott McDonald played another inch perfect ball in to the area, this time finding the head of Vennegoor of Hesselink. Ian Black tried his best to imitate that shooting prowess of Nakamura but sent his shot over the bar on 65 minutes.
Duncan was next up to try and get ICT on the score sheet. His right-footed drive from 12 yards hit the post and then the ball broke to him again on 18 yards but the on form Boruc denied him with a save.
One of Caley Thistles new boys was to get on the score sheet on 70 minutes, but unfortunately it was in the wrong end. His attempts to clear the ball backfired and he was to close the days scoring making it 5 – 0 to Celtic.
Caley Thistle fought till the last minutes for a goal which nobody would have denied them given the performance they put on. Black, Cowie and Niculae all had shots in the last 10 minutes but it was to no avail.
Full Time: 5-0
I said it after the Hibs again and I’ll say it again now. If Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC continues to play like this, we will not be relegated this season. Our time will come and someone is about to get a hiding…here’s hoping for a result against Hearts at home next week.
Match report written by CaleyD
