Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 – 1 Arbroath
It seemed like the Gayfield wind followed Arbroath up to the Highlands on Saturday as the Caledonian Stadium was blasted by gale force wins throughout.
It was the Lichties who had the wind behind their back in the first half and looked positive in the early stages with Connor Smith having the first chance for the Lichties in the 13th minute but his shot was wide of the far post.
Colin Hamilton was next to have an attempt at goal but his shot across the goal from the left wing was saved by Mark Ridgers, however the Lichties were celebrating just 3 minutes later when Bobby Linn broke down the left wing before crossing the ball into the box where Kris Doolan made no mistake from 1 yard at the back post to score our first Championship goal of the season.
The wind was a challenge for both sides as it blew across the pitch as both sides struggled at time to hold onto possession. A Bobby Linn shot was blocked outside the 18 yard box in the last chance in the first half.
HT – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 – 1 Arbroath
It sadly didn’t take Inverness Caledonian Thistle long to equalise with an ever increasing wind at their backs as a quick corner in the 47th minute allowed Daniel MacKay to nod in the equaliser at the near post.
The Lichties did have win a series of free kicks as the looked for a second goal with a Connor Smith effort just flying over the bar in the 50th minute after a foul on Kris Doolan, before a hand ball by Brad McKay allowed Bobby Linn to strike a free kick but the wall blocked his effort in the 63rd minute.
Inverness took the lead in the 71st minute when a long range strike by Scott Allardice flew past Derek Gaston into the far corner of the net. Inverness definitely were full of confidence and Daniel McKay had a shot saved just a minute later before Allardice tried his luck from range again only to have his shot blocked. McKay again had another strike blocked before missing wide of the right hand post.
Arbroath introduced Luke Donnelly, Michael McKenna and Dale Hilson for Kris Doolan, Connor Smith and Bobby Linn as he tried to get the Lichties back into the game.
A handball on the edge of the Inverness box went unpunished and just 60 seconds later Inverness had their third goal as Roddy MacGregor set up Nikolay Todorov for his 3rd goal in 3 matches.
Luke Donnelly did well in the box before a Ricky Little shot was just wide after a corner in the 89th minute but there was no comeback for the Lichties.
FT – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 – 1 Arbroath
Arbroath now have 3 games in a row at Gayfield and will be hoping to get their first points on the board. The Championship is again proving to be one of the hardest leagues to predict with the margin between a win and a loss down to very small margins.
C’mon the Lichties
Stats
Possession – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 57% – 43% Arbroath
Total Shots – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 7 – 7 Arbroath
On Target – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4 – 2 Arbroath
Corners – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4 – 2 Arbroath
Fouls Committed – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 10 – 13 Arbroath
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
1 – Mark Ridgers
2 – Wallace Duffy
4 – Sean Welsh (c)
12 – Roddy MacGregor (Doran 86)
16 – Cameron Harper
18 – Scott Allardice
19 – Kai Kennedy (Keatings 79)
22 – Brad Mckay
24 – Robbie Deas
27 – Daniel MacKay
77 – Nikolay Todorov (Devine 91)
Substitutes
6 – Daniel Devine – 77; 91st
7 – James Keatings – 19; 79th
10 – Aaron Doran – 12; 86th
25 – Harry Nicholson
26 – Ryan Fyffe
28 – Lewis Hyde
21 – Cameron MacKay (GK)
Goals – MacKay 47, Allardice 71, Todorov 79
Yellow Card – McKay 63
Arbroath
1 – Derek Gaston
2 – Jason Thomson
3 – Colin Hamilton
4 – Ricky Little
5 – Thomas O’Brien (c)
7 – David Gold
22 – Miko Virtanen
17 – Connor Smith (McKenna 75)
16 – Michael Ruth
14 – Kris Doolan (Donnelly 75)
11 – Bobby Linn (Hilson 75)
Substitutes
6 – Mark Whatley
8 – Michael McKenna – 17; 75th
9 – Dale Hilson – 11; 75th
10 – Gavin Swankie
12 – Scott Stewart
15 – Luke Donnelly – 14; 75th
21 – Robert Douglas (GK)
Goal – Doolan 24
Referee; Colin Steven
Assistant Referee 1; Ross MacLeod
Assistant Referee 2; David Dunne
