Opening event will mark Inverness Caledonian Thistle testimonial
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Aaron Doran will reunite with members of Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s Scottish Cup winning side to mark the first event of his testimonial year.
An audience with the history-making side will be held at the Caledonian Stadium tomorrow night, with the likes of James Vincent, Marley Watkins, Ross Draper, Josh Meekings and then club captain Graeme Shinnie returning to the Highland capital.
The players will revisit the semi final and final of the 2015 triumph, sharing memories and watching extended highlights before taking questions from the audience.
They will also be doing meet and greets with VIP ticket holders, and both an auction and a raffle will take place to raise extra funds towards the testimonial.
This event is being organised by the testimonial committee, led by former Caley Thistle secretary Jim Falconer, and the group have several other events lined up for later this year.
On the agenda includes a golf day at Aviemore’s Spey Valley, a ladies’ day at the club and a match – although that will likely take place during the World Cup break as opposed to the summer due to other events.
Doran passed 300 appearances for the Caley Jags last season, and recently put pen-to-paper on a new one-year contract to stay at Inverness for next season.
It means his association with the Caledonian Stadium outfit will stretch to at least 12 years, having originally signed for the club on loan in the January transfer window back in 2011.
Then manager Terry Butcher made the move permanent in the summer, and Doran has been playing for ICT ever since.
In that time he has experienced plenty of highs and lows, but his career in the Highland capital began brightly.
He was part of the side that reached the 2014 League Cup final, even scoring in the ultimately unsuccessful penalty shoot-out, but he was able to taste success in a cup final the following year as ICT lifted the Scottish Cup – taking the club into Europe.
After that, though, the squad broke up and form suffered as a result.
Relegation to the Championship loomed in 2017, but highlights since have included a Challenge Cup triumph in 2018 and a Scottish Cup semi final back at Hampden in 2019.
n For more information, email adtestimonial@gmail.com or call 07981 807965
