Inverness CT -V- Hearts - Report

Broke Hearts leave Inverness Heart Broken

They may be in poor condition off the park, but they played with plenty of fight on the field of play and deservedly took a point back to the capital, albeit with a dubious penalty scored by captain Marius Zaliukas after Owain Tudur-Jones had opened the scoring with a thunderous strike from thirty yards.

Inverness passed up a great opportunity to hit the top of the table by crumbling meekly against a Hearts side desperately trying to avoid the same fate as The Rangers.

An impeccable minutes silence ahead of remembrance day was observed by all as the fans readied themselves for what should have been an entertaining afternoon. It did, however, turn out to be a frustrating day for Inverness supporters as the Jambo's turned the tables with a late sucker punch.

Supporters from both sides offered their predictions before the event

As expected, Richie Foran was the only change Inverness made with Ross Draper being out injured and the visitors started with Sutton and Driver on the bench.

To be honest, this was as scrappy a game as has been witnessed at the Caledonian Stadium this season with neither side able to string too many passes together, and don't get me started on throw-ins, more like throw-aways, as far as Inverness were concerned.

The telly viewers were able to dissect this match in full as Inverness stuttered their way around the park. Gone was the free flowing football of late and an unwelcome return of the longer ball was evident as the match wore on with the midfield being bypassed as Hearts tenacity won the day.

Inverness did start bright enough, or should that be right eenuff, and had the better of the opening exchanges but nothing of note happened in the first quarter, that was until Jones stepped in to score his first goal for the club.

Andy Shinnie did well along the edge of the box holding onto the ball before laying it off to McKay who played it back to Shinnie. With the Hearts defence blocking his path, he rolled the ball back to Owain Tudur-Jones who took a touch before unleashing a ferocious curling shot from thirty plus yards that flew high past a diving MacDonald in the Hearts goal for a fantastic first goal for the Long Man.

Unfortunately, that goal was about it as far as Inverness were concerned as we handed the initiative back to the visitors soon after, although Billy McKay dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box after he jinked his way into a shooting position. Just before the break, MacDonald pulled off a decent save as Foran looked to extend the lead with a placed drive from distance, the keeper pushing his effort to safety.

Hearts had not threatened in the first half apart from a shot from Stevenson that Reguero needed the assistance of his chest to deny the number 7, although the warning signs were evident as they were gaining the upper hand in the midfield battle without being able to penetrate the Inverness back line.

Half Time 1-0

The warnings were not latched on to by the Inverness tacticians and Hearts dominated the second half, but again without causing too much concern for Reguero and Co.

Andy Shinnie almost doubled our advantage after 55 minutes bursting into the box after a neat exchange with Doran but the keeper brilliantly beat away his angled drive and Jones felled Zaliukas when the rebound fell to him on the edge of the box.

However, it was now beginning to look like just a matter of time before the Jambo's would get the breakthrough, the fact that it took so long was the only surprise. Paterson had been interesting throughout, but it was his diving that caught the eye in the last minute of the game. He went down very easily as Jones stuck a leg in his direction and he had no hesitation in hitting the deck, referee Collum falling hook, line and sinker for it. After some confusion as to who would take the kick, captain Marius Zaliukas stepped forward and sent Reguero to his left, the ball unfortunately going to his right and a not undeserved equaliser, although the manner in which it was acheived was somewhat shabby.

Full Time 1-1

Inverness will be kicking themselves after blowing another lead where three points turned into one, but have only themselves to blame after a jaded looking performance where stringing passes together seemed to be too difficult for too many players on the day. Credit to Hearts for sticking to the task and getting their just reward.

tm4tj Man of the Match:- Easier to say who would not be in with a shout for the award, however the back line were pretty solid and David Raven seems to be a different person from the one that arrived in August, and for this and recent performances he gets my vote.

Moan of the Match:- this award goes to whoever thought it was a good idea to sell cup tickets immediately after the final whistle. This led to the North Stand emptying quicker than the Marie Celeste before the end of the game.......meh!