Inverness CT 4 - 0 Hamilton Academical

League - Championship
Friday, April 29th, 2022, 7:45 PM at Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 2,131
Referee: Graham Grainger
Inverness CT  Hamilton Academical

Goalscorers
Tom Walsh (4)
Shane Sutherland (15)
Tom Walsh (22)
Joe Hardy (28)
None.

Team Managers
Billy Dodds Stuart Taylor

Starting Eleven
Mark Ridgers
Robbie Deas
Wallace Duffy
Cameron Harper
David Carson
Roddy MacGregor
Tom Walsh
Lewis Hyde
Joe Hardy
Shane Sutherland
Billy Mckay
Ryan Fulton
Josh Mullin
Mihai Popescu
Daniel O'Reilly
Matthew Sheils
Reegan Mimnaugh
Lewis Smith
Lewis Spence
Steve Lawson
Ellis Brown
David Moyo

Substitutes
Cameron Mackay
Reece McAlear
Sean Welsh
Logan Chalmers
Austin Samuels
Brian Easton
Ronan Hughes
Andy Winter
Jamie Smith
Adam McGowan
Chris McGinn
Cian Newbury

Substitutions
Sean Welsh for Wallace Duffy (25)
Cameron Mackay for Mark Ridgers (45)
Austin Samuels for Billy Mckay (45)
Reece McAlear for Robbie Deas (58)
Logan Chalmers for Shane Sutherland (64)
Brian Easton -> Ellis Brown (29)
Ronan Hughes -> Reegan Mimnaugh (45)
Andy Winter -> Lewis Spence (73)
Adam McGowan -> David Moyo (91)

Bookings
None. Mihai Popescu (35)
Brian Easton (57)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 190 apps -
Robbie Deas 77 apps1 goal
Wallace Duffy 38 apps1 goal
Cameron Harper 69 apps2 goals
David Carson 89 apps1 goal
Roddy MacGregor 86 apps5 goals
Tom Walsh 102 apps16 goals
Lewis Hyde 10 apps -
Billy Mckay 194 apps81 goals
Joe Hardy 12 apps1 goal
Shane Sutherland 158 apps20 goals
Cameron Mackay (sub) (GK) 28 apps -
Sean Welsh (sub) 102 apps13 goals
Reece McAlear (sub) 37 apps4 goals
Austin Samuels (sub) 13 apps1 goal
Logan Chalmers (sub) 12 apps5 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Lewis Hyde (19 years 293 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (33 years 197 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 125 days
Domestic Players:8 (72.73 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Lewis Hyde (19 years 293 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (33 years 197 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 299 days
Domestic Players:12 (75.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Joe Hardy scored his first goal for the Club.

End of season rout

Inverness rounded off the regular season with big win over hapless Hamilton. Tom Walsh gave Inverness an early lead and Shane Sutherland added a tremendous second after fifteen minutes. Walsh notched his second when Sutherland slipped him into the box and Joe Hardy got in on the act with his first goal. Four up at the break and the foot was off the pedal in the second half as Inverness cruised to victory in the final home game with no further scoring.

The last game of the season ahead of the play-offs saw Hamilton Accies come North looking to secure sixth place in the Championship. For Inverness it was about game management and preparation for the play-offs to come, therefore I wasn't expecting too much from the team as this result counts for nothing other than pride.

Dodds rested Broadfoot and Devine with McAlear, Samuels and Chalmers on the bench. Hamilton were claiming a reduced squad due to injuries and covid.

After a bright opening, Tom Walsh opened the scoring with a low shot across the keeper in the fourth minute.

Popescu headed just wide from a great position after a corner was swung into the box, the defender should really have done better than to place his header wide.

Shane Sutherland doubled the lead when Walsh turned provider and played him into the right side of the box. Sutherland stepped onto it and first timed the ball into the roof of the net from around seventeen yards.

Mark Ridgers did well to beat away a dangerous shot that bounced just in front of him as Accies responded through Lewis Smith, but their joy was short lived when Sutherland slipped Walsh into the box for him to place the ball behind the keeper with aplomb.

Billy Mckay nearly got on the scoresheet after Walsh threaded him into the box, Fulton saving at the expense of a corner. Moments later Joe Hardy almost got his first goal for the club, Fulton saving once more. However, Hardy would not be denied and he rolled in a fourth goal with Walsh involved again.

It was all too easy for the hosts and Stuart Taylor hooked Ellis Brown and replaced him with the reliable and experienced Brian Easton in an attempt to shore up at the back against a rampant Caley Jags.

Half Time: 4-0

First notable action of a quieter second half saw sub keeper Cammy Mackay deny Popescu who had drilled a low dipping shot near his left hand post, the keeper doing well to keep the ball out.

A tremendous sweeping move down the right almost found an acrobatic finish from Austin Samuels but the defence just managed to deny him the opportunity. Samuels went close again soon after as he shot across the face of the goal.

MacGregor and Chalmers combined well to win a corner on the left but it came to nothing.

Accies looked to have scored a consolation goal when substitute Andrew Winter lashed a through ball into the roof of the net but it was adjudged to be offside, marginal decision if at all.

Samuels had a late effort saved by the keeper as he shot from a narrow angle on the right side.

Full Time: 4-1
Inverness warmed up for the play-offs with a superb first half which blew Accies away. That's our first win over them this season. Great performance all round with some slick play on show and that afforded us the luxury of coasting through the second half.

Man of the Match for me was Roddy MacGregor who strolled through this one and Tom Walsh looked more like his old self with a couple of slick goals.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Kilmarnock 36 20 7 9 50 27 23 67
2. Arbroath 36 17 14 5 54 28 26 65
3. Inverness CT 36 16 11 9 53 34 19 59
4. Partick Thistle 36 14 10 12 46 40 6 52
5. Raith Rovers 36 12 14 10 44 44 0 50
6. Hamilton Academical 36 10 12 14 38 53 -15 42
7. Morton 36 9 13 14 36 47 -11 40
8. Ayr United 36 9 12 15 39 52 -13 39
9. Dunfermline 36 7 14 15 36 53 -17 35
10. Queen of the South 36 8 9 19 36 54 -18 33