Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Caley Thistle striker Harry Lodovica presses case for shot at Airdrieonians

After scoring a treble to help his club win the Inverness Cup, the powerful English forward is eyeing goals in the Championship.

Caley Thistle forward Harry Lodovica wants to follow on his hat-trick against Clach with goals in the Championship. image: Jasper images
Caley Thistle forward Harry Lodovica wants to follow on his hat-trick against Clach with goals in the Championship. image: Jasper images

Striker Harry Lodovica hopes his Inverness Cup treble has pushed him closer to a Championship start for Caley Thistle at Airdrieonians.

The 24-year-old summer signing from National League South side Aveley made his first start in ICT colours on Tuesday and scored three times in a 4-1 victory at Highland League Clachnacuddin.

Lewis Mackie, 16, stepped off the bench to ensure the victory for Caley Thistle in the one-off match for the revived regional competition, which is set to be expanded next year.

The sharp focus for Lodovica and the Caley Jags is now on more pressing matters. They are looking to arrest a five-match losing competitive run, stemming back to the Viaplay Cup and carrying on into their opening two league games.

They need to get points on the board, and tackle newly-promoted Airdrie, who are three points richer and ran Premiership Ross County into extra-time before losing 4-3 in the League Cup at the Excelsior Stadium at the weekend.

Hat-trick on full debut ‘good feeling’ for Lodovica

Lodovica, who has recovered from a shoulder injury, knows bigger tests will follow, but he was thrilled to take his chances against Clach at Grant Street.

He said: “It felt great. I could not have imagined it to have gone any better – to score a hat-trick on my full debut is a really good feeling.

“They all count and I was happy I was able to score three on Tuesday. I should have had a few more – that’s what the gaffer will tell me. But it’s a good feeling, regardless.

“To score a hat-trick and get the win, I’m happy.”

Early goals are real boost for forward

Hitting the net, as a forward, in the opening weeks of his Inverness career matters for the ex-Chelmsford City player, who is making the step into full-time football for the first time. 

He said: “The earlier the better. You don’t want to leave it too long, because then the pressure builds.

“As a striker, whether I start or come on as a sub, I always try to score goals, regardless of the situation. We could be 5-0 up or 5-0 down, I just try to score and do my job.

“It was a really good feeling on Tuesday and hopefully I can push on.

“We have got Airdrie away on Saturday, so hopefully I have given myself a chance to be involved and follow on from Tuesday.”

‘We’re a well-connected group’

Lodovica, who impressed head coach Billy Dodds during an extended trial last month, has been impressed by the quality of his new team-mates and is relishing the chance to prove his worth to the Highland team.

Harry Lodovica in action against Elgin City in pre-season. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson.

He added: “The Championship is a good, tough, league. It’s physical, but I knew that.

“I know at Inverness, some of the players have come from the Premiership, so even after my first training session, I knew what it was going to be like.

“It was nothing I wasn’t expecting (that) I wasn’t ready for. When you are involved, it’s a different feeling.

“Results have not been going our way in the past few weeks, but we’re working hard in training and we’re determined to turn it around.

“Everyone is fit and sharp. We’re a well-connected group and I have no doubt we will turn it around.”

Lodovica is ready for forward battle

Lodovica is well aware competition in attack from Billy Mckay, Austin Samuels and Adam Brooks will make winning a place in the ICT team a challenge – but he’s ready for it.

Adam Brooks, right, also joined the Caley Jags in July. Image: Jasperimage.

He said: “Whether I’m in training, or working on my finishing after training, I always try to do it to the best of my ability, and the highest quality.

“It could be a pre-season game or a cup-tie, or five minutes on the pitch in a league game, I want to show what I can do. I want to be involved as much as I can.

“We have got fierce competition in the squad going forward, so I know how it is. I will do my best.”

Conversation