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Home Sport Football Caley Thistle

Paul Chalk: Caley Thistle can make it a merry Christmas by scoring home festive double

By Paul Chalk
The Caledonian Stadium, where ICT are set to play three successive matches.
The Caledonian Stadium, where ICT are set to play three successive matches.

Caley Thistle face two festive fixtures at the Caledonian Stadium either side of Christmas which will present different kinds of challenges.

Billy Dodds’ table-toppers tackle Hamilton Accies on Saturday, eager to build upon their stunning 6-1 rout of Morton last weekend.

Not only did main strikers Billy Mckay and Shane Sutherland find the net, so did on-loan St Mirren starlet Lewis Jamieson when he came off the bench, while it was great to see Reece McAlear, who is on loan from Norwich City, also net with a rocket of a shot.

It was a result which came just four days after ICT were knocked out of the Scottish Cup on penalties at Cappielow, so to return there and post their best away win in more than a decade was just the tonic.

Winning run builds momentum

It also made it three league wins in succession for Dodds, following on from seeing off Queen of the South and faltering early favourites Kilmarnock. 

Beating Morton was important for Caley Thistle, while doing so in such style was extra special.

Caley Jags head coach Billy Dodds.

Inverness are deservedly top by one point from Raith Rovers, yet Dodds and many of his players feel they should already be four or five points at least better off.

That’s because they lost a strange game 2-1 at Hamilton in October, in 90 minutes where they could not get the better of 10 men after Accies’ Reegan Mimnaugh was sent off after half an hour with Hamilton 2-0 up.

The visitors pressed, pushed and were all over Accies, but it took a stoppage-time goal to get Inverness on the scoresheet. Too little, too late.

More than matching their rivals

Caley Thistle have dealt with their main promotion rivals in head-to-heads. They’ve taken six points from Killie, four points from Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle and are evenly matched at one win, one loss against Arbroath.

There’s a whopping 11 points between Hamilton, in sixth, and Partick one place above them.

Time to see off lower half opponents

In matches against the teams in the lower half, Caley Thistle will want to show they can turn on the tap of quality to get victories, although they can’t be expected to score six every week.

They’ve lost to Dunfermline, Hamilton and Morton (in a penalty shoot-out) and drawn with Dunfermline and Ayr in the league.

Teams in the lower five places have caused all teams trouble, but if Caley Thistle can collect full points in games such as Hamilton at home they will further underline their title credentials.

Dom Thomas celebrates after scoring the winner for Dunfermline at Inverness last month.

A number of former Caley Thistle title-winning players have underlined throughout this season just how important it would be if Dodds’ team can see off their four main rivals to win the league.

That glorious achievement would avoid the potential pitfalls of promotion play-offs when legs are weary with quick-fire fixtures usually favouring the top-flight side.

Dundee seeing off Kilmarnock was a rare break from the norm in May as they exchanged divisions.

Dodds is nothing other than respectful, no matter who his players are facing. He often points about the takes are high for all sides, at the top or bottom end of the table.

Having lost to Stuart Taylor’s Accies, he knows only a high-energy, slick display from the start will do in order to outclass their opponents this weekend.

If they do net the victory, they will be the halfway leaders after 18 of the 36 games, no matter what the chasers do this weekend.

Partick will be tough nuts to crack

They will then swiftly turn their attention to facing Ian McCall’s Partick Thistle here on Boxing Day.

The Glasgow Jags have been a bright addition to the second-tier after winning League One last season and they look strong contenders alongside ICT, Raith, Arbroath and Killie.

Partick Thistle shot-stopper Jamie Sneddon.

Thistle will come to Inverness with a point to prove. Two of ICT’s best displays have been against them this season, with a 3-1 comeback victory sparked by a cracking Kirk Broadfoot leveller a real high point. 

In a 0-0 draw at Firhill in October, a brilliant display from Partick goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon made all the difference that afternoon, with his save from Sean Welsh’s penalty the icing on their cake.

Sneddon, whose tally of eight is the highest clean sheet record in the league, created a new shut-out club record of eight successive blanks in a row until Arbroath won 2-0 at Maryhill last week.

If Caley Thistle can, by hook or by crook, celebrate Christmas with six points at the Caledonian Stadium before trips to Dunfermline and Arbroath either side of New Year, they’ll enter 2022 with a spring in their steps.