Inverness CT 0 - 0 St. Mirren

League Match
Saturday, May 17th, 2008, 3:00 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 3,783
Referee: Eddie Smith
Inverness CT  St. Mirren

Goalscorers
None. None.

Team Managers
Craig Brewster Gus MacPherson

Starting Eleven
Michael Fraser
Richard Hastings
Ross Tokely
David Proctor
Barry Wilson
Roy McBain
Russell Duncan
Don Cowie
Dennis Wyness
Marius Niculae
Dougie Imrie
Howard
Barron
Haining
Potter
McCay
Dorman
Mason
Murray
O'Donnell
Mehmet
Dargo

Substitutes
Zbigniew Małkowski
Guy Kerr
Richie Hart
Ian Black
Iain Vigurs
Graham Bayne
Rory McAllister
Hamilton
Burns
Crighton
McGinn
Docherty
McAusland
Smith

Substitutions
Ian Black for Dennis Wyness (57)
Graham Bayne for Marius Niculae (72)
Richie Hart for Barry Wilson (79)
Hamilton -> Mason (72)
McGinn -> O'Donnell (90)

Bookings
David Proctor (1)
Ross Tokely (64)
Barron (56)
O'Donnell (74)

Red Cards
David Proctor (54)
None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Michael Fraser (GK) 59 apps -
David Proctor 66 apps4 goals
Richard Hastings 336 apps3 goals
Ross Tokely 440 apps30 goals
Barry Wilson 338 apps83 goals
Don Cowie 41 apps9 goals
Roy McBain 300 apps18 goals
Russell Duncan 259 apps9 goals
Dennis Wyness 243 apps101 goals
Dougie Imrie 15 apps2 goals
Marius Niculae 38 apps10 goals
Ian Black (sub) 106 apps4 goals
Richie Hart (sub) 164 apps16 goals
Graham Bayne (sub) 133 apps20 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:David Proctor (24 years 79 days)
Oldest Player:Marius Niculae (2009 years 291 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 39 days
Domestic Players:10 (90.91 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Iain Vigurs (20 years 15 days)
Oldest Player:Zbigniew Małkowski (2009 years 291 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 217 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Roy McBain made his 300th competitive appearance for the Club.

Despite the 0-0 scoreline this was a relatively entertaining game.

Dennis Wyness who will be playing for St Mirren next season could not score in his final game for ICT despite having a chance from two yards out and neither could Marius Niculae who - if speculation is to be believed - may also be moving on.

I think ICT will have been unhappy not have been ahead before being reduced to ten men as we had the better of the chances before Proctors dismissal. After that, while we still had opportunities to go in front, St. Mirren had us on the back foot at times and in the end a draw was about right.

Straight from the kick off we put ourselves under pressure when a slack Tokely pass across the centre of defence was seized upon by Dargo who picked the ball up and drove towards goal. Proctor was keeping close attention and eventually, when attempting to put in a challenge, only succeeded in bring down the former Inverness man resulting in a free kick to the Saints. Had Hastings not been tracking back with the ICT defender it could have been worse for Proctor but he was only awarded a yellow card. From the resultant free kick, taken twice after Niculae broke early from the wall, Home keeper Fraser easily held McCays shot.

ICT retaliated when a surging Imrie run down the left side resulted in a cross being fired across goal which found ICTs Player of the Season Don Cowie at the back post but he was unable to steer the ball into the net instead firing over much to the relief of Howard in the Buddies goal. Inverness were on the attack again when a McBain cross was knocked down by Paisley bound Wyness to Niculae but the Romanian was unable to dig the ball out from under his feet as he was surrounded by Saint Mirren defenders who cleared the danger. An Imrie free kick was the next attempt on goal but the former Bully Wee star sent the ball wide of the post. Imrie threatened again as more direct running down the left saw him cut infield and send in a shot high towards goal which Howard was able to deal with.

Saint Mirren threatened in spells in the first half as well. A superb cross field pass found right back Barron in acres of space. McBain was slow to close him down and gave the Saints man the time to send in a wicked ball right across the six yard box which left Fraser scrambling as Dargo closed in. Luckily for Inverness Dargo was unable to connect with the ball and it trickled out of play and away from danger. Yet again Dargo was involved as Saints built upon their good spell of possession. A Mehmet through ball found Dargo who headed towards goal but was shackled all the way by a determined Imrie who eventually won the ball off him continuing his strong start to the game.

Barry Wilson, fresh from signing a new 6 month deal at Inverness sent in a cross which Wyness attacked but he was unable to put Inverness in front. Wilson was next to threaten as he sent in a testing drive which Howard palmed to safety. A wonderful passing move down the right involving Wilson, Tokely and Cowie set Wyness up again but yet again he failed to find the target. Even more staggering was the miss from Wyness minutes later. The ball ricocheted in the box before dropping to the feet of Wyness who somehow contrived to miss from inches out. Marius Niculae had been having a quiet game so far. He was next to test Saints keeper Howard with a drive the just flew over. This was to be the final action of the first 45 minutes in which Inverness had had by far the better chances but Saints still looked threatening on occasions too.

Half Time: 0-0

Into the 2nd half and ICT nearly shot themselves in the foot again with another defensive mix up. Shoddy play at the back allowed Billy Mehmet the chance to put Saints in front but he was unable to take advantage as he blazed over. Inverness retaliated with a Niculae header which had Howard scrambling to save. A powerful effort from Saint Mirren's 22 was gathered by Fraser as the game started to open up a little. A Cowie half volley from a Wilson cross squirmed wide of the goal before Inverness were reduced to 10 men after another collision between Proctor and Dargo. With the ball on the far side touchline, a clever through ball sent Dargo scampering away towards goal with Proctor in hot pursuit. The players tangled and Proctor was shown a straight red for a professional foul leaving Inverness to play the remainder of the game with 10 men. Dorman tried his luck from the subsequent free kick but the ball flew over.

Imrie was causing problems down the left hand side and drew Barron into a crude foul which set up another chance for Inverness. The free kick found its way to Niculae who had his header cleared by the Buddies rearguard. Brewster shuffled his pack by withdrawing the misfiring Wyness and tightened up the midfield with Black coming on. Wyness was given a standing ovation by the Home crowd in what is likely to be his last game for ICT before joining Saint Mirren in the summer. With the withdrawal of Wyness, Niculae was left to plough a lone furrow up front and he was next to threaten when a darting run saw him squeezed off the ball by three Saint Mirren players. Roy McBain cut in from the left and drove towards goal before unleashing a thundering shot. Unfortunately the shot was hit with his right foot and the ball ended up heading towards the Moray Firth! Saint Mirren then nearly took the lead through an unlikely source as Tokely came close to sending the ball into his own net as Saint Mirren upped the stakes as the clock wound down. A cross to Dargo found the goal shy striker in space but his low shot was saved by Fraser.

There was a contentious moment when Bayne looked to have handled in the area with a cross cum shot that was drive at him. It was debateable whether he could have done anything about it but it might not have been too surprising if Eddie Smith had given a spot kick. Bayne, with plenty of time, inexplicably thumped the ball out for another corner under no pressure which prompted a verbal spat with Hastings over the needless pressure put under the ICT defence because of Baynes hurried clearance. Dargo threatened again with a shot that crept wide of the left hand post and Jim Hamilton was the man on the end of another Saint Mirren counter attack but he too was unable to put St. Mirren ahead as he shot at Fraser.

Despite a good start to the game ICT were clinging on at the end with only 10 men after Proctors dismissal. They should really have been ahead before then but were unable to take their chances with Wyness guilty of some awful misses. However Saints had some chances of their own and will have been disappointed not to have taken at least one of them.

It would seem that is Wyness's last game for ICT so best of luck to him wherever he might turn up next season. He's been a great player for ICT and I'm sorry to see him go.

He used to be shite, but now he's alright, walking in a Wyness wonderland.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 37 27 5 5 83 26 57 86
2. Rangers 36 26 5 5 81 31 50 83
3. Motherwell 37 17 6 14 48 46 2 57
4. Dundee Utd 37 14 10 13 53 46 7 52
5. Hibernian 37 14 10 13 49 43 6 52
6. Aberdeen 37 14 8 15 48 58 -10 50
7. Falkirk 38 13 10 15 45 49 -4 49
8. Hearts 38 13 9 16 47 55 -8 48
9. Inverness CT 38 13 4 21 51 62 -11 43
10. St. Mirren 37 10 11 16 26 51 -25 41
11. Kilmarnock 38 10 10 18 39 52 -13 40
12. Gretna 38 5 8 25 32 83 -51 23