Caley Thistle set to hit the road in bid to return to winning ways after Stenhousemuir take League One lead
After snow covered the Highland capital on Saturday, Inverness will kick off their delayed 2026 schedule with games at Partick Thistle and Cove Rangers this week.
The postponement of Saturday’s match with Peterhead would not have been welcomed by League One favourites Caley Thistle.
ICT face a jam-packed January and now face four successive away games and five out of six on the road before the end of the month.
The rescheduled League One fixture against fifth-placed Blue Toon will likely take place on a midweek date in February, although that has yet to be confirmed.
Volunteers were on standby to clear the snow off the covers on top of the pitch at the Sarens PSG Stadium but heavy overnight snowfall in and around Inverness led to the decision to postpone the north showdown.
Scott Kellacher’s team travel to Championship title-chasers Partick Thistle on Tuesday night for their latest Challenge Cup tie, which will stand as a decent gauge to indicate their progress towards the level they want to be competing at next season.
Partick recovered from trailing 2-0 on Saturday to strike back and win 3-2 against Morton to remain within five points of leaders St Johnstone.
Amid this busy spell, on January 17, Inverness are away to League Two leaders Spartans in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Stenhousemuir win to hit top spot
This Saturday, they travel to ever-improving Cove Rangers and do so not as the league leaders, after Stenhousemuir’s 2-0 win over third-placed Queen of the Southsaw the Warriors leapfrog ICT by one point.
Caley Thistle, who kicked off on -5 points due to being in administration last season, still have the best set of results in the division and have two games in hand – against East Fife on January 20 and the Peterhead game to come.
It was a tough festive fortnight for Inverness as, for the first time under Kellacher, they suffered successive losses – against Stenny and Montrose.
They would have been desperate to have the chance to return to winning ways against Peterhead, but must play catch-up when they go for full points at Cove this weekend.
Cove is next league clash for ICTFC
Credit to Gary Naysmith’s Stenny, who not only beat Inverness 1-0 after suffering a shock 3-0 hiding by Montrose, but then held another promotion rival Alloa Athletic 0-0 away from home before Saturday’s victory over the Doonhamers.
The Warriors, who travel to Stirling Albion in the Challenge Cup on Tuesday, are at home to East Fife this weekend, so even a Caley Thistle win at Cove will probably not be enough to take them back to the summit.
Prior to those pre- and post-Christmas setbacks, Inverness had scored a club record 9-0 Challenge Cup rout at Dumbarton, taking their unbeaten streak to 11 matches.
There have been points where it seemed Inverness, arguably the best team in League One, threatened to surge clear from the chasing pack.
However, Kellacher warned last week that strong teams such as Stenny, Queen of the South and Alloa are ready and able to cash in on any dip in form.
Cove have safety spot within reach
With 18 games played, and 12 wins earned, ICT are at the midway point of their campaign, so now is the time for them to dig deep and rebuild an unbeaten run.
As great as it would be to shock Partick Thistle in the Challenge Cup, Caley Thistle fans would likely prefer three points at Cove if asked to pick which match mattered most.
Paul Hartley’s Cove have lost just two of their last eight games in all competitions, with back-to-back wins against Kelty and Peterhead achieved by scoring nine goals in total.
They also had the weekend free after their game against Montrose was snowed off and they have no midweek game to play, which will keep them fresh.
Cove are level on points with eighth-placed Hamilton, who have been docked 15 points this season, so the chance is there for Cove to climb into a safe position.
The heat is on Inverness and they will have to do most of their work away from home in the coming weeks, but backed by their vocal supporters wherever they go, they can soon become the team to beat as the race for the title intensifies.
[Source: Press and Journal]
