Aberdeen loan star Alfie Bavidge is scoring freely – but his focus remains firmly on Caley Thistle

Alfie Bavidge is well aware of growing interest from Aberdeen fans in his scoring streak at Inverness as he chases silverware in the Highlands.

For the second season running, the 19-year-old Dons forward is on loan with Caley Thistle, this time as they chase a League One title – and possibly a Challenge Cup.

As a second half substitute, Bavidge crashed home the quarter-final winner against Stenhousemuir on Tuesday.

That strike makes him the club’s top scorer with 16 goals, one ahead of Chanka Zimba and four in front of club legend and assistant boss Billy Mckay.

What makes his 16-goal haul even more impressive is that Bavidge has started just 15 of his 31 appearances for ICT this term.

Only a hamstring injury stopped him last season when he netted six goals in just nine games when on loan at Inverness.

Bavidge is out of contract at Aberdeen this summer when he and the Dons will decide the next step. He’s made five first-team appearances for Aberdeen, all from the bench in 2023.

Bavidge focused on success at ICTFC

Plenty of Dons fans feel their homegrown talent has earned his chance again at the managerless club, although his loan agreement with ICT takes him until May.

When asked about the growing calls for him to be given a fresh shot at Aberdeen, he told The Press and Journal: “My head is fully here. I don’t tend to think too much about what people are saying, through the good and the bad times.

“Like last season, the loan move here has worked for me.

“Scoring goals is my favourite thing. I’ve maybe not played as much as I’d have liked to, but I am buzzing to help contribute to the team.

“This has been a tough season. A lot of teams are going for the league title.

“Any contribution I can have to try to bring success to the club is good for me.

“At this club, there is a lot of noise about what we can do this season, but we’re ignoring that and getting our heads down to maintain consistency and take every game head on.”

Bavidge details recipe for success

Bavidge, who has also had loan stints in recent years with Kelty Hearts and Ayr United, has his eyes on the prizes this year at Inverness.

Sitting top of League One on 40 points with Stenhousemuir with a game in handand now one win away from the Challenge Cup final, ICT have success in their sights, having already knocked out Championship title-hunters Partick Thistle. 

The reward for Inverness reaching the Challenge Cup semis on February 24 or 25 is a tie against Championship leaders St Johnstone or Ayr United.

The Perth tie was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch on Tuesday and has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 7.

The young forward believes any success will come from cool heads and consistent performances in these final few crunch months.

He said: “This is the first time in my career that I’ve been deep into any competition, so I’m really excited.

“It’s the same for most of the lads. Even the more experienced players, like Billy Mckay and Danny Devine, everyone has taken this competition seriously from the start.

“To get some silverware for this club would be amazing.

“Regardless of the competition, be it the league or a cup-tie, it’s all about creating the winning habit.

“We are hopefully ready to go on another strong run, like we had earlier this season. It’s about maintaining the consistency and not becoming complacent. I believe that could be the only thing to stop us this season.”

‘Instinctive’ winning goal

Bavidge’s swivel and shot high into the roof of the net against Stenny was a strike worthy of winning any match.

And the in-form forward added: “Those are my favourite types of goals. You don’t have to think about it too much, it’s more about instinct. I was just happy to be in the right place.

“After that, we saw the game out really well. A lot of balls were played up to our defence, but we defended really well and that’s testament to the lads.

“We’re delighted to be in the semi-final. We’re always going to back ourselves, with the quality we’ve got in the dressing room. It’s massive.

“Of course it will be a tough game, but we can go toe-to-toe with whoever we play next.”

This Saturday, Inverness travel to third-placed Queen of the South, a team who have won six of their last eight matches and are tucked just three points behind ICT.

[Source: Press and Journal]