The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Why I’m not giving up on Caley Jags’ title ambitions
The gap is now nine points but I’m not ready to write off Caley Thistle’s title prospects just yet. Saturday was another disappointing afternoon for Billy Dodds and his players but I don’t think Dundee were that much better than Inverness at Caledonian Stadium.
Paul McMullan’s excellent strike was a goal fit to win any game but the frustration for Caley Thistle will be that the Dark Blues were not made to work harder for their win.
Inverness were much better in the second half but the big issue at the moment is that too many players are not playing at their peak and Doddsy’s options at freshening up his team are limited to say the least.
David Carson was the outstanding Inverness player again but he needs more of his team-mates to be playing at the same level as he is reaching and it’s not quite happening for them just now.
I watch Inverness and I’m seeing a pretty familiar pattern playing out in recent weeks of the team playing well but without creating too many chances.
They didn’t deserve to beat Dundee but by the same token it’s not as if they were outplayed either.
Had it ended in a draw rather than a 1-0 defeat I doubt any fans would have complained.
CALEY THISTLE’S FORTUNES WILL TURN
The absence of Billy Mckay due to a calf strain on Saturday did little to help improve that situation.
He is in the veteran stage of his career but Billy still knows the way to goal and his goals have been so important for the club over the years.
I hope it’s nothing serious and he’s back in the fold soon as it doesn’t sound as if we’ll see any of the long-term injured players back anytime soon.
I looked at the bench on Saturday and there were some young names on there I hadn’t heard of.
It’s a big ask to throw untried youngsters into the team before they are ready and Caley Jags have to just take this injury list on the chin and keep plugging away.
The one saving grace is that the Championship is such a keenly-contested division.
Dundee and Ayr have pulled clear of Inverness for now but there are only 10 points separating first place from seventh.
A couple of wins would go a long way to putting Inverness back in the hunt and I’m sure that will be the message Doddsy and his coaching staff are hammering home.
The chance to take a break from league action this weekend has probably come at the right time for the club.
They face Hamilton Accies in the SPFL Trust Trophy in what will be a tough game and the team will have a very youthful look to it due to the injury crisis at the club.
But if they can get a result to go through to the quarter-final it might just be the result which gives everyone a lift and gets their season back on track.
CAN ENGLAND GO ALL THE WAY IN QATAR?
Whisper it, but England could go all the way in the World Cup.
Sunday felt like the first proper test for Gareth Southgate’s side and they passed it with flying colours as they swept Senegal aside with the minimum of fuss.
As last-16 matches go the 3-0 win was as routine as you could hope for.
Jude Bellingham is having a terrific tournament and now that Harry Kane is off the mark too it augurs well for the Auld Enemy.
Granted they will face a very different machine when they take on reigning world champions France in the quarter-final on Saturday.
Kylian Mbappe has, not surprisingly, been the key man for the French and his two goals against Poland on Sunday were top drawer.
He’s a fantastic player to watch and it is clear his head-to-head with England’s Kyle Walker is going to go a long way to deciding this one.
The French will ask questions of the English defence but by the same token there is an abundance of attacking firepower in Southgate’s side to cause the champions problems too.
It has all the ingredients of being a cracker and I expect whoever comes out on top to fancy their chances of going all the way in Qatar.
HEARTS DEBACLE TOOK ME DOWN MEMORY LANE
I had a wee chuckle to myself when I heard Hearts’ friendly match with UD Almeria in Spain was abandoned on Sunday.
Jambos full-back Alex Cochrane and Rodrigo Ely of Almeria were sent off as fighting broke out between the players leading to the call to abandon the match.
Hearts coach Robbie Neilson put it best when he said “all hell broke loose” and he did the right thing in calling it quits and taking his players off.
I’ve been there myself. I remember a pre-season trip to Holland with the Dons in 1993 and we travelled across the border to Germany to play a team called Rot-Weiss Oberhaussen. Both Theo Snelders and Theo Ten Caat asked why we going there as the game would be a war and they were spot-on. It was carnage.
The game featured players diving all over the place and faking injury, bookings galore and fans being ejected from the ground for throwing beer at our dugout.
I can laugh about it now but at the time it was crazy stuff and we couldn’t believe what was happening.
It’s easy to forget these games are fitness exercises and Neilson did the sensible thing in avoiding the potential of anyone getting injured in stopping the game.