St. Mirren 1 - 2 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, December 3rd, 2011, 3:00 PM at St Mirren Park, Paisley
Attendance: 3,675
Referee: Euan Norris
St. Mirren Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Steven Thompson (45) Andrew Shinnie (11)
Johnny Hayes (69)

Team Managers
Danny Lennon Terry Butcher

Starting Eleven
Craig Samson
Lee Mair
Marc McAusland
Jeroen Tesselaar
Illias Haddad
Jim Goodwin
Gary Teale
Kenny Mclean
Steven Thompson
Paul McGowan
Nigel Hasselbaink
Ryan Esson
Ross Tokely
Kenny Gillet
Chris Hogg
Roman Golobart
Johnny Hayes
Greg Tansey
Andrew Shinnie
David Davis
Richie Foran
Billy Mckay

Bench
Graeme Smith
David van Zanten
David Barron
Graham Carey
Joe McKee
Aaron Mooy
John McShane
Jonny Tuffey
Gavin Morrison
Lee Cox
Nick Ross
Graeme Shinnie
Shane Sutherland
Gregory Tade

Substitutions
David Barron => Lee Mair (46)
Graham Carey => Gary Teale (74)
John McShane => Nigel Hasselbaink (74)
Gregory Tade for Billy Mckay (85)
Lee Cox for Richie Foran (85)

Bookings
None. David Davis (63)
Kenny Gillet (80)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 125 apps -
Roman Golobart 9 apps -
Kenny Gillet 22 apps -
Chris Hogg 21 apps1 goal
Ross Tokely 574 apps36 goals
Johnny Hayes 82 apps19 goals
Andrew Shinnie 15 apps6 goals
David Davis 11 apps1 goal
Greg Tansey 16 apps2 goals
Billy Mckay 3 apps -
Richie Foran 111 apps29 goals
Lee Cox (sub) 78 apps4 goals
Gregory Tade (sub) 18 apps6 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Roman Golobart (19 years 261 days)
Oldest Player:Andrew Shinnie (2013 years 126 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 182 days
Domestic Players:10 (90.91 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Roman Golobart (19 years 261 days)
Oldest Player:Graeme Shinnie (2013 years 126 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 239 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Inverness tough it out for three points:

Caley Thistle finally managed to claw themselves off the bottom of the table with a hard fought win in Paisley.

A first half goal from Andrew Shinnie and a second half strike from Jonny Hayes saw to that although it could have been a case of deja vu if Ryan Esson had not made a save on the line deep into second half injury time.

Our scribe today is Proctor, and without further ado, we let him take up the story ......

Terry Butcher’s tactical gamble paid off at New St Mirren Park as the Caley Jags claimed maximum points to leapfrog three teams to 9th place.

Butcher opted for a formation that saw three players up front, including Billy McKay in place of Gregory Tade.

Before the start of the game there was a minute’s applause for the Wales Manager Gary Speed who died tragically last Sunday.

The early stages of the game went in the Buddy’s favour, St Mirren were granted an early free kick, Kenny McLean crossed the ball into the box which failed to connect with anyone

Four minutes into the game Nigel Hasselebaink worked his way into the Caley Thistle box but was forced to sky the ball over cross-bar, Hasselebaink would continue to look menacing, forcing Ryan Esson out of his box three minutes later.

The young Dutchman was not the only St Mirren player to trouble ICT early on. Striker Steven Thompson nearly scored from a corner at the seven minute mark. Early signs showed the Highlander’s defence may struggle in the manner they have all season.

The Caley Jags were soon able to breathe easier as Jonny Hayes nicked the ball from St Mirren’s Marc MacAusland and passed to Andrew Shinnie in the box. Shinnie slotted the ball past Craig Samson for his sixth goal of the season via a neat step-over from the alert McKay.

ICT showed signs of class. At the 36th minute mark Ross Tokely looked keen to score two weeks in a row, having grabbed a consolation goal at Tynecastle, the defender sent a shot high and wide after a silky piece of play. Much to the dismay of the home support who booed Tokely for much of the game. Greg Tansey and Billy McKay would have their respective chances before the end of the first half. Tansey’s shot would strike the advertising boards while McKay would hit the side netting.

St Mirren’s Jeroen Tesselarr would force Ryan Esson to knock the ball over the bar for a corner before half-time, showing the Saints were still in the game as the end of the half approached. They would claw back into the game with the last kick of the half as Steven Thompson converted an inswinging Teale corner into his 6th goal of the season.  In reality, this was sloppy defending once more as Thompson was left on his own to nod home. All square going into half time, something that Saint's barely merited.

Half Time 1-1

During the interval the weather in Paisley seriously deteriorated. Heavy rain seemed to affect the playing surface.

Caley Thistle’s Billy MacKay had an early chance in the second half. The Northern Irishman picked up a Kenny Gillett cross only to send it left of the post.

Steven Thompson was keen to bag another goal. Ryan Esson was forced to spill his shot in the first five minutes of the half. It wouldn’t take long for Ryan Esson to be tested again as he tip a long range Gary Teale free-kick over the bar.

Jonny Hayes would net the winner for Inverness in the 69th minute. The Irishman drove the ball into the left hand corner from outside the box after some tidy interplay from Shinnie, Tansey and Davis. With 20 minutes left in the game, the Highlanders needed to hold on.

The remainder of the game was rather lacklustre. Gary Teale was replaced by Graham Carey in the 75th minute for St Mirren. While Billy McKay and Richie Foran were replaced by Gregory Tade and Lee Cox. St Mirren’s attempts to score an equaliser were futile. There closest chance came through a Steven Thompson header.  A late flurry from the home side came to nothing as the Inverness defence coped comfortably with a spate of crosses and corners and held on for a deserved three points.

Full Time 1-2

Despite Thompson’s impressive performance. The Buddies recorded their second loss in a row. Inverness grabbed a valuable win but have still not kept a clean sheet all season. The bottom six now looks to be exceedingly competitive. 

Match report written by Proctor



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Rangers 17 13 3 1 32 8 24 42
2. Celtic 16 11 2 3 34 16 18 35
3. Motherwell 16 9 3 4 22 18 4 30
4. St. Johnstone 16 7 5 4 20 13 7 26
5. Hearts 17 6 4 7 16 13 3 22
6. Kilmarnock 17 5 7 5 23 25 -2 22
7. St. Mirren 17 5 5 7 15 21 -6 20
8. Dundee Utd 16 4 6 6 21 26 -5 18
9. Inverness CT 17 4 3 10 22 33 -11 15
10. Hibernian 16 3 5 8 16 26 -10 14
11. Dunfermline 17 3 5 9 20 36 -16 14
12. Aberdeen 16 3 4 9 17 23 -6 13