Inverness CT 2 - 1 Ayr United

League Match
Saturday, January 17th, 2004, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 1,443
Referee: M McCurry
Inverness CT  Ayr United

Goalscorers
Paul Ritchie (22)
David Bingham (81)
Doyle (62)

Team Managers
John Robertson Unknown.

Starting Eleven
Mark Brown
Ross Tokely
Bobby Mann
Stuart Golabek
Stuart McCaffrey
Russell Duncan
Liam Keogh
David Bingham
Darran Thomson
Paul Ritchie
Darren Mackie
Roy
Lyle
Hardy
Smyth
Campbell
Craig
Chaplain
Ramsay
Brown
Kean
McColl

Substitutes
Michael Fraser
Grant Munro
Barry Wilson
David MacRae
Craig MacMillan
McGrady
Doyle
Ferguson
Burgess
Hillcoat

Substitutions
Barry Wilson for Darran Thomson (72)
Grant Munro for Darren Mackie (83)
McGrady -> McGrady (37)
Doyle -> Hardy (37)
Ferguson -> Brown (64)

Bookings
Darren Mackie (60)
David Bingham (60)
Smyth
Ramsay

Red Cards
None. Mark Campbell (88)
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Brown (GK) 71 apps -
Ross Tokely 264 apps20 goals
Stuart Golabek 148 apps3 goals
Stuart McCaffrey 130 apps5 goals
Bobby Mann 194 apps17 goals
Darran Thomson 17 apps -
Russell Duncan 100 apps1 goal
David Bingham 26 apps10 goals
Liam Keogh 44 apps1 goal
Paul Ritchie 110 apps53 goals
Darren Mackie 2 apps -
Grant Munro (sub) 79 apps2 goals
Barry Wilson (sub) 175 apps51 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (24 years 321 days)
Oldest Player:Darran Thomson (2005 years 169 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 321 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (24 years 321 days)
Oldest Player:Darren Mackie (2005 years 169 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 150 days
Domestic Players:16 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Russell Duncan played his 100th major competitive game for the Club.
David Bingham reached 10 goals for the Club.

The points should have been wrapped up comfortably in the first half but the home side could only manage one goal. An Ayr revival in the second half led to an equaliser and a tense finish. On a bitterly cold afternoon Caley Thistle dominated the first half and they could easily have gone ahead in the first ten minutes. In nine minutes David Bingham turned and shot in the box but it hit off Mark Campbell and fell kindly for Ludo Roy. A minute later Ross Tokely crossed from the right and it nearly fooled Roy – it bounced to safety off the crossbar. In 15 and 17 minutes Roy saved shots from Darren Mackie then a Paul Ritchie header flashed past. In 22 minutes a Tokely header sent Bingham off goalwards, he passed inside to Mackie who could have shot but he found Ritchie in a better position – Ritchie turned just inside the box and hit a left-foot shot past Roy for the opening goal. The expected avalanche never happened. In 27 minutes Roy dropped the ball on the 18 yard line - or just outside some claimed, Mackie passed to Ritchie and his chip towards the empty goal was palmed away by Roy. Bingham’s cross-goal ball from the left a minute later came close then in 35 minutes Roy came to Ayr’s rescue once more when he stopped a Ritchie volley. Ayr sparked to life after the break but still rarely troubled Mark Brown. In 51 minutes Ritchie latched onto a Darran Thomson corner but his header was cleared off the line by a defender. Ayr equalised with a freak goal in 62 minutes. Brown punched away a high ball from Stuart McGrady and it struck Jamie Doyle 15 yards out – with the goal unattended the ball trickled over the line. Ayr substitute Andrew Ferguson latched onto a poor pass six minutes later but, with only Brown to beat, he shot low and wide. Substitute Barry Wilson flicked the ball over Roy in 76 minutes but it cleared the bar. There was great relief for the home fans when the winner came with nine minutes left. The hard-working Mackie won a corner on the left and Wilson’s kick was headed in by Bingham. Ayr could not hit back and their misery was compounded when Mark Campbell was sent off two minutes from time for a reckless challenge on Stuart Golabek. With Clyde’s game falling victim to the weather Caley Thistle are now just one point off the top.

None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Clyde 20 12 4 4 32 21 11 40
2. Inverness CT 20 12 3 5 39 18 21 39
3. Queen of the South 21 10 5 6 29 26 3 35
4. Ross County 21 9 6 6 38 28 10 33
5. Falkirk 20 9 5 6 24 21 3 32
6. St. Johnstone 20 8 7 5 32 22 10 31
7. St. Mirren 20 5 7 8 18 27 -9 22
8. Raith Rovers 20 5 4 11 22 32 -10 19
9. Ayr United 21 3 7 11 21 38 -17 16
10. Brechin City 21 3 4 14 21 43 -22 13