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Alloa Athletic
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Inverness CT
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Appearances & Goals To Date
Starting Lineup
| Youngest Player: | Ross Tokely (23 years 231 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Dennis Wyness (2004 years 79 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 23 years 231 days |
| Domestic Players: | 11 (100.00 % of starting eleven) |
Matchday Squad
| Youngest Player: | Ross Tokely (23 years 231 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Paul Ritchie (2004 years 79 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 30 years 39 days |
| Domestic Players: | 16 (100.00 % of matchday squad) |
First Team Debuts
Milestones
This was a game of two hat-tricks as first Dennis Wyness and then Paul Ritchie put three past Alloa ‘keeper Jim Evans. It was also an excellent team performance – something which would not have been lost on the watching Celtic management team of Martin O’Neill and John Robertson. Alloa were a poor side but in the first half they did try to play football. After half time they reverted to the five-at-the-back formation which earned them a 0-0 draw at Caledonian Stadium in August. The 6-0 result was a new league record score and it could have been more. It was fast forward from the kick-off and the opener came in six minutes. A Bobby Mann low ball reached Wyness in a central position 20 yards out – he headed left into the box, created space then blasted the ball high past Evans. Alloa pressed forward hopefully and in 11 minutes a 25 yard shot from Billy Hamilton was blocked by Bobby Mann. Jamie Stevenson then raced for the line down the right and his cross was headed over by Gareth Hutchison. These were rare Alloa attacks and it was mainly one way traffic. Goal number two came in 19 minutes. Wyness shot high from just outside the box - Evans’ attempted push over the bar was not enough and the ball fell behind him into the net. Wyness completed his hat trick in 27 minutes by being in the right place at the right time. Hart crossed low from the right and Ritchie’s shot was blocked by Evans – it fell for Wyness and he hit into the empty goal from six yards. Ritchie took over the scoring in 36 minutes in spectacular style. He took a Robson pass and headed for the right side of the box – he turned and scored off the bar from a remarkable angle when everyone was expecting a cross. Evans held a Tokely header in 42 minutes and it remained 4-0 at half time. Alloa’s tight defence spoiled the flow of football after the break and there was little of note until the 68th minute when Wyness nearly added his fourth. Robson crossed from the left, Wyness picked his spot and headed low to the corner but Evans dived to his right to make an excellent save. Two minutes later Wyness was the provider when he lobbed across goal from the left edge of the box and Ritchie headed powerfully home for 5-0. Ritchie's hat trick was completed eight minutes later when Robson found him in the box and he hit low past Evans from 12 yards with the aid of a slight deflection. The pressure continued to the end and with five minutes left Tokely crashed a header off the bar. Substitute Tony Low looked set to score close to the whistle but Valentine took the ball off his toe just as he was about to shoot from a good close position. Alloa stay at the foot of the table and Caley Thistle remain second.