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Charlie Christie - Championship is heading for exciting conclusion and Inverness Caledonian Thistle have great chance of play-offs


By Will Clark

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Last weekend saw Hearts confirm the Scottish Championship title when, following their convincing home win over Alloa on the Friday evening, results went their way the following day to bring some much needed relief to the Gorgie club.

Charile Christie (right) believes Caley Thistle can make the play-offs.
Charile Christie (right) believes Caley Thistle can make the play-offs.

Last weekend saw Hearts confirm the Scottish Championship title when, following their convincing home win over Alloa on the Friday evening, results went their way the following day to bring some much needed relief to the Gorgie club.

Friday’s win was their first in four league games and those poor league showings, allied to that disastrous cup loss at Brora, had led to quite a bit of unrest amongst the support but the club will feel that the season’s main objective has now been achieved and they can start planning for life back in the top league once again.

Now that the Championship title has been decided attention turns to the play-off places and Tuesday’s results almost guarantee that things will go to the very last day of the season.

I watched the Dunfermline v Dundee match which ended in a no score draw where entertainment value was at a premium and goal scoring opportunities almost non existent.

This was the Pars seventh league game without a win and, at this stage of the season, it is surprising that a team can still be in with a chance of the play-offs given that kind of run.

Indeed, looking at the final three fixtures the East End Park club have potentially the easier of run-ins but they will certainly have to play better than they did on Tuesday to achieve a top four spot.

Raith Rovers have been the surprise outfit and their creditable win at Queen of the South in midweek has all but guaranteed them a play off place but they will know that second place is of significant benefit and hugely experienced manager John McGlynn will certainly be making his squad aware of that fact.

Dundee were undoubtedly the better team on Tuesday at Dunfermline but, with the abundance of

attacking firepower they have at their disposal, will be frustrated that they didn’t create more in the

final third. After Hearts they are the second top scorers in the division but have also conceded

significantly more than their play off rivals and, in my opinion, this is where their ‘Achilles Heel’ lies.

Their defence can certainly be vulnerable and lacks pace centrally and their wide midfielders are significantly more comfortable in the attacking half rather than helping out defensively and this can, at times, leave them exposed.

It certainly sets things up nicely for this Tuesday’s league match in Inverness when we entertain the Dens Park club looking to achieve the three points which would see us breathing down their

necks with two games to go.

I remember speaking to our interim manager Neil McCann after he had been at the club a few days and, whilst looking at the remaining fixtures, we both agreed that it would be great if we could achieve the results that made this match significant. The players have done just that and huge credit to them.

Not so long ago we were looking at the play-offs at the bottom end of the table but an excellent run has propelled us right into the frame for a top four spot.

Prior to that we have a really difficult Scottish Cup match this evening against St Mirren and it was

certainly not the draw that we would have wished for given our schedule. However, we have produced some superb performances in Paisley over the years and have a very decent record down there including a previous Scottish Cup win.

They are another side who can find it hard to turn their possession into clear cut chances and are often involved in low scoring affairs.

If we can continue our solid defensive form then we are certainly capable of causing them problems offensively and, with us having no midweek match this week, the players will have had the chance to recharge their batteries to give it a real go.


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