Charlie Christie – Late leveller could be vital for Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Whilst Kirk Broadfoot’s injury time goal was not enough to gain a much sought after three points for ICT it may yet prove crucial as we attempt to stay in touch at the top of the Scottish Championship.
After some disappointing displays at home, it was pleasing to see us create chances again and, although losing three goals at home is not good, we certainly showed some character to peg Partick Thistle back three times in an entertaining affair.
Our late goal was replicated at Gayfield Park where table toppers Arbroath maintained their good home form thanks to a Michael Mackenna penalty in the 91st minute and it’s a goal we could have done without in Inverness.
With Kilmarnock suffering a surprise home defeat to Ayr United, it would have been nice to see Arbroath slip up as their lead at the top shows no signs of depreciating any time soon.
I watched their recent Friday night match against title favourites Kilmarnock and they were worthy winners displaying a typical no nonsense approach in difficult conditions and it perhaps changed the thinking for many that the ‘Red Lichties’ could go all the way after all.
We still have to play Arbroath in Inverness along with trips to Firhill and Rugby Park and, when they come around, these matches will prove pivotal in our attempt to challenge for the title or, at the very least, achieve a play-off place – something we should be more than capable of achieving.
In the top-flight, Celtic are in scintillating form and, in my opinion, look very similar to the fast-flowing attractive side that Brendan Rodgers led to the title in 2017/18.
Their recent Old Firm display was simply breathtaking and they have followed that up with excellent away wins at Motherwell and Aberdeen.
The recent additions to the Parkhead squad have proved significant.
The Japanese players catching the eye with their positive, all action displays aided by a rejuvenated Tom Rogic – one of my favourite players in the Scottish game whose rediscovered form has proved pivotal in Celtic’s return to the top of the table.
Rangers have recovered from that derby set back with two comprehensive home wins over both Edinburgh sides and the gap between the country’s top two sides and everyone else is now as big as it’s been at this stage of the season for many years. Both sides have gained more than double the number of points than Aberdeen have after 26 games – a quite incredible statistic.
I have previously spoken about the success Derek McInnes achieved at the Dons with his four consecutive second placed finishes between 2015 and 2018 and this season proves my point.
This weekend the Scottish Cup takes centre stage with seven Fifth round ties being played to a finish over Saturday and Sunday prior to the final tie at Peterhead on Monday evening when the ‘Blue Toon host Dundee.
I fully expect to see the names of Celtic, Rangers and Hearts in the Quarter Final draw but outwith that there are some difficult games to predict. It is always great to see the ‘lesser lights’ doing well in our national cup competition – something that was synonymous in Inverness in past times, and it would be good to see an upset or two as the weekend unfolds.
