Inverness CT 0 - 2 Celtic

League Match
Saturday, November 19th, 2011, 12:30 PM at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 6,435
Referee: Stevie O'Reilly
Inverness CT  Celtic

Goalscorers
None. Anthony Stokes (61)
Anthony Stokes (72)

Team Managers
Terry Butcher Neil Lennon

Starting Eleven
Ryan Esson
Ross Tokely
Kenny Gillet
Chris Hogg
Josh Meekings
Johnny Hayes
Greg Tansey
Andrew Shinnie
David Davis
Richie Foran
Gregory Tade
Fraser Forster
Daniel Majstorovic
Badr El Kaddouri
Joe Ledley
Baram Kayal
Adam Matthews
Victor Wanyama
Georgios Samaras
Gary Hooper
Anthony Stokes
James Forrest

Substitutes
Jonny Tuffey
David Proctor
Gavin Morrison
Nick Ross
Graeme Shinnie
Aidan Chippendale
Shane Sutherland
Lukasz Zaluska
Filip Twardzik
Marcus Fraser
Patrick McCourt
Ki Sung-Yueng
Dylan McGeouch
Kris Commons

Substitutions
David Proctor for Richie Foran (78)
Shane Sutherland for Gregory Tade (78)
Ki Sung-Yueng => Georgios Samaras (54)
Patrick McCourt => Badr El Kaddouri (69)
Kris Commons => James Forrest (82)

Bookings
Chris Hogg (24)
Richie Foran (52)
Andrew Shinnie (90)
Baram Kayal (28)
Daniel Majstorovic (59)
Badr El Kaddouri (66)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 123 apps -
Ross Tokely 572 apps35 goals
Josh Meekings 4 apps -
Chris Hogg 19 apps1 goal
Kenny Gillet 20 apps -
Greg Tansey 14 apps2 goals
Johnny Hayes 80 apps18 goals
Andrew Shinnie 13 apps5 goals
David Davis 9 apps1 goal
Richie Foran 109 apps29 goals
Gregory Tade 16 apps6 goals
David Proctor (sub) 155 apps8 goals
Shane Sutherland (sub) 49 apps2 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:David Davis (20 years 277 days)
Oldest Player:Josh Meekings (2013 years 112 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 285 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Aidan Chippendale (19 years 183 days)
Oldest Player:Graeme Shinnie (2013 years 112 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 140 days
Domestic Players:18 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Surprise Surprise, sending off seals Inverness' fate:

Another controversial refereeing decision against one of the Old Firm scuppered Inverness' hopes of competing in this tense encounter at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

O'Reilly, really, that's his name, singled out Greg Tansey for the red card after an aerial challenge on the Greek tragedy that was Georgios Samaras and that was the end of the home sides resistance to the multi million pound players from the central belt.

An Anthony Stokes double sealed the points in a game that hinged on the referees inadequacies.  The game had been even before the sending off, but down to 10 men it was always going to be an uphill struggle against the now confident Glasgow giants.  O'Reilly defied belief when he booked Foran later in the game after Englands record goal scorer Daniel Majstorovic shoved him away, Foran being deemed the guilty party and Danny Bhoy escaping with a short lecture; unbelievable.

A match report will be published from the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium later .... after our reporter has put his pitchfork and torch away and Stevie O'Reilly is safely on the A9 south.

Ginger Jaggy will tell us how it all unravelled after O'Reilly spoiled an otherwise interesting day.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greek Tragedy

Once again Scottish football will wake up to another controversial moment involving one of the Old Firm, and for the third time this season Caley Thistle have had a man wrongly sent off which has cost us points. It is no surprise that we are bottom of the table with so many crucial decisions going against us so far. The decision yesterday was scandalous if not bordering on the absurd. Television replays have clearly shown that no elbow was used and that Samaras was far too tall for Tansey to elbow anyway. For 37 minutes we had a real contest but the rash decision by Referee Steven O'Reilly practically killed the game after that.

The first half was even with Inverness looking on a par if not slightly better than the giants from the east end of Glasgow. It was a game of very few chances with the match being contested for supremacy in the middle of the park. Celtic's Anthony Stokes had the first chance but his quick feet was not matched by a finish which was straight at Ryan Esson. Jonny Hayes was a headache for Celtic's back four all day and because of the sending off, it will never be known whether he would help Inverness to a victory as the support just wasn't there with 10 men. David Davies continued his impressive string of performances marshalling the middle of the park really well with strength and power which didn't allow Celtic's midfield to command the game. It was Hayes with a burst of pace that saw him easily beat El Kaddouri and put a dangerous cross in, which came to nothing, but the warning was there for Celtic. Anthony Stokes again was involved as he had a close range shot deflected wide by the big legs of Ross Tokely but again the Hoops were struggling to find space to fashion any clear cut chances. It was neat attacking play which allowed Hayes to put in a great shot which Forster brilliantly put behind when he must have been unsighted.

The game plan was working brilliantly which was frustrating Celtic, but enter the fray Georgios Samaras to change the game. The 37th minute will not be remembered for a brilliant piece of footballing skill by the big Geek but a moment which is plaguing the game at the moment. The pantomime saw Samaras and O'Reilly as the chief villains as they conspired to turn the game against us in the cruellest manner. Samaras jumped for a long ball and had been challenged by the smaller Greg Tansey. The Greek striker won the ball but then fell into a crumpled heap leading to the entrance of O'Reilly to brandish the red card. The footage clearly shows that Tansey's elbow was nowhere near Samaras and also showed that O'Reilly was in no position to judge the challenge. As it was Tansey had to go and with it also went any chance that Caley Thistle realistically had of matching Celtic. For Samaras it was his only meaningful contribution in the game and what a moment it was!

Half Time 0-0

The second half saw a battling performance by the depleted home side but they unfortunately had to succumb to the misfortune that was forced upon them. Celtic played on the front foot as expected with the extra man on the park. Caley Thistles players valiantly battled and held Celtic out until the hour mark when the brave resistance was put down. Celtic's front two Hooper and Stokes combined brilliantly with Stokes given a tap in to give Celtic the lead to the home fans disgust. Celtic continued to press with Esson saving from Hooper at his near post. But out of nowhere it was almost all square when a brilliant long pass forward troubled the Celtic centre pairing of Majstorovic and Wanyama. Tade broke through the middle and only had to control the ball but miscontrolled at the crucial point and the ball ran away to safety. If he had controlled he would have been through on goal definitely. Jonny Hayes continued to torment the Celtic defence but most times was crowded out as CaleyThistle struggled to press with 10 men.

Celtic continued to create with Ki going close but that ended up as a slight reprieve as Celtic finally killed us off and again it had a hint of irony. Celtic pressed forward and it looked like Caley Thistle had cleared the ball but some how the ball found its way to Anthony Stokes who expertly finished past Esson. But again through television the striker was shown as being offside, another mistake by the official, surely not. Celtic failed to score anymore goals but should have when Kris Commons blazed over in the box. But for all the pain a wounded Caley Thistle endured they continued to battle showing lots of spirit. The score could have been reduced when Andrew Shinnie who also played out of his skin took down the ball brilliantly when going through on goal but just couldn't get a second touch to nip it past the big presence that was Forster in goal. The game ended with a chorus of boos as O'Reilly and Samaras left the arena.

Full Time 0-2

It was an infuriating game which only showed that for all the financial muscle Celtic behold, they for long periods looked very clueless against a determined Caley Thistle side. Had it not been for the sending off then who knows what would have happened? But that is now in the past and we should look forward to the optimism of the future after such a great battling performance.

And if Tansey doesn't win any appeal the club may make then it wouldn't surprise anyone at all after what happened on Saturday.

***note: Greg Tansey received a straight red card in the 37th minute of this game. This was later rescinded by an appeals panel. Hooray!

Match report written by ginger jaggy



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Rangers 15 12 3 0 30 6 24 39
2. Celtic 14 9 2 3 27 15 12 29
3. Motherwell 15 9 2 4 22 18 4 29
4. St. Johnstone 14 5 5 4 15 11 4 20
5. St. Mirren 15 5 5 5 14 14 0 20
6. Hearts 15 5 4 6 13 10 3 19
7. Dundee Utd 15 4 5 6 21 26 -5 17
8. Kilmarnock 15 3 7 5 20 25 -5 16
9. Hibernian 15 3 5 7 15 23 -8 14
10. Dunfermline 14 3 4 7 15 29 -14 13
11. Aberdeen 14 3 3 8 14 18 -4 12
12. Inverness CT 15 3 3 9 19 30 -11 12