Inverness CT 0 - 3 Rangers

League Match
Sunday, January 4th, 2009, 12:30 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 7,056
Referee: Dougie McDonald
Inverness CT  Rangers

Goalscorers
None. Pedro Mendes (46)
Kris Boyd (81)
Kris Boyd (87)

Team Managers
Craig Brewster Walter Smith

Starting Eleven
Ryan Esson
Richard Hastings
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
David Proctor
Roy McBain
Russell Duncan
Ian Black
Don Cowie
Iain Vigurs
Andrew Barrowman
Allan McGregor
David Weir
Sasa Papac
Kirk Broadfoot
Madjid Bougherra
Steven Davis
Pedro Mendes
Barry Ferguson
Nacho Novo
Kenny Miller
Kris Boyd

Substitutes
Michael Fraser
Jamie Duff
Lionel Djebi-Zadi
Zander Sutherland
Garry Wood
Dougie Imrie
Adam Rooney
Neil Alexander
Steven Whittaker
Chris Burke
Aaron Niguez
Kyle Lafferty
Andrius Velicka
John Fleck

Substitutions
Dougie Imrie for Ian Black (64)
Adam Rooney for Iain Vigurs (73)
Jamie Duff for Ross Tokely (85)
Chris Burke -> Kenny Miller (62)
Steven Whittaker -> Pedro Mendes (78)

Bookings
David Proctor (50)
None.

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 13 apps -
Richard Hastings 359 apps4 goals
David Proctor 77 apps4 goals
Ross Tokely 462 apps31 goals
Grant Munro 263 apps6 goals
Iain Vigurs 21 apps2 goals
Ian Black 128 apps6 goals
Don Cowie 64 apps12 goals
Roy McBain 319 apps19 goals
Russell Duncan 277 apps9 goals
Andrew Barrowman 21 apps2 goals
Jamie Duff (sub) 12 apps -
Dougie Imrie (sub) 39 apps5 goals
Adam Rooney (sub) 21 apps5 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Iain Vigurs (20 years 247 days)
Oldest Player:Andrew Barrowman (2010 years 158 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 62 days
Domestic Players:10 (90.91 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Iain Vigurs (20 years 247 days)
Oldest Player:Lionel Djebi-Zadi (2010 years 158 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 322 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Brewster on the Brink:

Caley Thistle suffered their 6th league defeat in a row today against visitors Glasgow Rangers.

Despite managing to strangle the game and hold their own for most of the first half and seeing the best of the opportunities a goal for Mendes within 30 secs of the re-start and a brace for Boyd secured the points for Rangers and left Inverness languishing on their own at the bottom of the League Table.

Brewster continues to insist he knows what is needed to turn things around and continues to plead with fans to get behind the team.  In my mind the fans are right behind the team, it's the manager they are finding it impossible to support and with a cup game coming up and the classic "6 Pointer" against Hamilton, then now more than ever changes are needed.

Credit where credit's due today. The first 45 minutes were exactly what I look for from my team - commitment, energy, passion. Rangers didn't turn up in the first half, but we were absolutely excellent - McBain did a remarkable job playing wide right, Barrowman showed some fight and guts, and our midfield in general were everywhere. The home support gave our boys a standing ovation at half time, which was well deserved and you could see the players appreciated it.

Unfortunately, we appear to be cursed to shed goals at the start of the second half.

Mendes' finish was out of this world, make no mistake. But again it looked like rohypnol had been planted in the half time tea. Rossco went to pieces in the second half, though it appeared he had strained a stomach muscle when he was subbed so that might explain it. But as soon as the first goal went in we looked panicky and rudderless again. Substituting Black was a baffling decision, not any easier explained by the fact that Imrie contributed zero. ANd ultimately we got caught on the break for the second goal, and by the strangest free kick decision ever (should have been ours, then they took the free kick from the wrong place when the ref wasn't looking) for the third.

Ultimately, Brew's stock has not risen or fallen today. But once more we have shown that we are capable of playing quality football against good opposition, only to cause our own downfall with individual errors and our lack of heart when we fall behind.

Today, in conclusion, was a crying shame.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 21 16 3 2 47 20 27 51
2. Rangers 21 14 4 3 48 17 31 46
3. Dundee Utd 21 9 8 4 30 22 8 35
4. Hearts 20 9 5 6 20 21 -1 32
5. Aberdeen 20 9 3 8 23 21 2 30
6. Hibernian 21 7 6 8 26 28 -2 27
7. Kilmarnock 20 8 2 10 21 26 -5 26
8. St. Mirren 21 7 4 10 16 22 -6 25
9. Motherwell 20 6 3 11 20 31 -11 21
10. Hamilton Academical 21 6 2 13 19 36 -17 20
11. Falkirk 21 4 6 11 22 31 -9 18
12. Inverness CT 21 5 2 14 20 37 -17 17