Fan Review: Season ticket holder Sean Mckay critical of points dropped to late goals, player releases and club communication
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This article is part of our fan review series, all thoughts and opinions are contributed by Caley Thistle fans and not by The Inverness Courier.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle fell to a late defeat against Dundee United after a Tony Watt winner saw the Tangerines take all 3 points back down the A9.
Controversy reigned afterwards when Caley Thistle were denied what manager Duncan Ferguson and many others believed should have been a late penalty.
Attending the game on Friday was lifelong fan Sean Mckay (27) who has been attending matches since he was in primary school.
Although Sean believed Caley Thistle were unlucky to lose on Friday, he lamented the manner in which they dropped points due to a late goal yet again.
“That's 4 league games this season where we've conceded after the 85th to lose the match, 5 if you include losing 3-2 to Airdrieonians in the League Cup plus Dunfermline scoring late equalisers in both matches we've played them.
“I felt that we were unfortunate to lose the match, we didn't do a lot to win but we were in control and the 1st half was fairly even, but we were the better team 2nd half just lacking that final pass, a sloggy stalemate would have been a fair result.”
Sean noticed an organisation in the team with some standout performances which gives him confidence of picking up results in upcoming matches.
“The team looked organised across the park, Harper and Carson looked sharp in their roles out wide, Carson really gives the team and fans that bit of grit and passion that we can sometimes lack, with results being below expectation these things make the difference to the match-going fan.
“Billy Mckay has been our best player this season and his experience and ability are going to be vital come May and one of the reasons we did so well in keeping the ball in midfield was by him dropping deep meaning we lacked that presence in the box when it came to us on the attack.”
Sean thinks there has been a marked improvement under Duncan Ferguson, though questions the game management in terms of late substitutions.
“I’ve enjoyed watching us a lot more this season since Ferguson has come in and he’s showed a lot more variety in the shape and formation across all his matches, so losing 1-0 to the likely champions isn’t where our season will be won and lost.
“I think I’d like to see the subs come on earlier with the likes of Doran and MacGregor on the bench, either for 15/20 mins could maybe help swing the game but when every point is a prisoner I can understand the hesitancy.”
Off the pitch, Sean is critical of the decision to let go Sean Welsh and Zak Delaney who have both moved to a league rival.
“After reading the news on Friday afternoon that we’d terminated 3 contracts early plus Lewis Hyde being sent out on loan, focus wasn’t really on the fixture before kick-off and after full-time.
“The fact we’ve let 2 of our players go to other teams struggling in the division is insane, to let our captain sign for a club like Queens Park for no compensation when they’ve just brought in Callum Davidson and coaching staff from Ajax this season, a team who could leapfrog us come our next league match thanks to a goal then scored by Sean Welsh the following day really leaves you scratching your head.
“You would think after we let George Oakley leave for Morton last January for free that we’d learn our lesson, his performances for them helped them finish a place above us come the end of the season, how much was that worth?”
Sean continues to voice his frustration at the lack of communication between the club and the fans which he believes has been an ongoing issue.
“From claiming Barry Wilson was the assistant manager when he left the club with Dodds, to the non-announcement of Wotherspoons departure by giving his number to Carragher, to the non-communication surrounding the departures of Sutherland and Walsh, recently long-serving Liam Dalgarno stepping down from the board, it’s the club off the park that continues to frustrate.”
