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Aaron Doran confident Caley Thistle have real chance against Motherwell in Premier Sports Cup

Aaron Doran confident Caley Thistle have real chance against Motherwell in Premier Sports Cup

Winger Aaron Doran insists Caley Thistle will have a go at top-flight Motherwell as they seek to secure a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final spot.

The Inverness side’s reward for winning Group G is a trip on August 31 to the Premiership Steelmen, who finished fifth in the top division last term.

Well’s season has not begun as planned, as they head to Ireland to tackle Sligo Rovers on Thursday 1-0 down in a Europa Conference League qualifying tie.

Aaron Doran goes on the attack for ICT against Albion Rovers.

Despite making it into Europe, Well’s form was far from consistent in the second half of last season. Graham Alexander’s side won just three of their final 13 fixtures in league and cup.

Inverness have a good record away Fir Park, although they have not played Well since their last season in the Premiership in 2016/17.

They’ve bagged three wins from their last four matches there and, having just won against top-table opponents Livingston away from home, they’ve nothing to fear.

Fir Park is happy hunting ground

Irishman Doran has scored in this fixture and believes they have a fighting chance of knocking out their upper-tier hosts.

He said: “It is a tough game. Our fans maybe wanted a home tie against Celtic or Rangers, but it’s a winnable game for us.

“We’ve just beaten Livingston away from home in the cup, also in the Premiership. We also played well against St Johnstone, drawing with them up here in May, so we’re confident in our ability.

“There is a lot of competition for places. We have a lot of hungry boys wanting to be in the team and I’m sure we can be a match for a lot of teams.

Ex-Ross County ace Blair Spittal joined Motherwell this summer.

“I watched Motherwell’s game against Sligo and I felt Sligo were the better team, so Motherwell will be going over to try and turn that tie around in Ireland.

“We’ll watch that one and their games between now and our match at Fir Park. I’m sure the manager will work out the areas where he thinks we can beat them.

“We’ve done well at Fir Park over the years and I scored against them down there (in a 2-0 Premiership win in 2014).

“It’s always a nice pitch to play on, with a great surface, so hopefully it suits our game. It’s an exciting one to look forward to.”

Coyle’s Spiders first up in league

Thoughts about the Motherwell clash are on ice this week for ICT, though, as they get set for the Championship getting started on Saturday.

They welcome Owen Coyle’s Championship play-off winners Queen’s Park to the Highlands.

The part-time Spiders replaced Dunfermline by beating them in the play-offs and have shown flashes of potential in the League Cup this month.

They won 5-2 at Stranraer and beat Forfar Athletic 4-1, before losing 2-1 to fellow Championship side, newly-relegated Dundee.

They exited the competition on Saturday when, after a 1-1 draw, they lost a penalty shoot-out against another second-tier team, Hamilton Accies.

Former Ross County manager Owen Coyle is now in charge of ICT’s league opener opponents Queen’s Park.

After snaring 11 out of the 12 possible Premier Sports Cup points, Billy Dodds’ men will be eager to get off and running in the league with a win.

Last season, Inverness finished third in the Championship behind champions Kilmarnock and Arbroath.

They took their promotion push all the way, losing out to St Johnstone in the play-off final in May.

Strong start is Caley Thistle’s goal

Doran expects a testing opening fixture, but hopes the Caley Jags can set the tone for another strong start, like 12 months ago when they roared past their early rivals.

He added: “It’s refreshing to see lower league teams like Cove Rangers and Queen’s Park made the step into the Championship.

“I’m sure Queen’s Park will be hungry to come up here and get a result and show what they’re all about. They’ve got a bit of money behind them and have a strong squad of players.

“They’ve also scored a good few goals in the cup, so they’ll bring plenty of quality into this league.

“It will be a decent game for the fans on Saturday, so hopefully we can get a good crowd and continue the form we’ve shown already in the cup.

“Last season, we started really well in the league, winning our first six games. It would be great if we could start like that – that will be our aim.”

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