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2018–19 Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. season

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Inverness Caledonian Thistle
2018–19 season
ChairmanGraham Rae
ManagerJohn Robertson
StadiumCaledonian Stadium
Championship3rd
Premiership play-offsSemi-finals lost 4–0 on aggregate vs. Dundee United
Scottish CupSemi-finals lost 3–0 vs. Heart of Midlothian
League CupGroup stage
Challenge CupFirst round lost 1–2 vs. Dunfermline Athletic
Top goalscorerLeague: Jordan White (7)
All: Jordan White (16)
Highest home attendance4,353; vs. Ross County (3 November 2018)
Lowest home attendance672; vs. Edinburgh City (4 December 2018)

The 2018–19 Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. season is the club's second season in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the Scottish Premiership at the end of the 2016–17 season. Caley Thistle will also compete in the Scottish Challenge Cup, Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup. This season will be the 25th season since Inverness joined the Scottish Football League. This season is also the return of the Highland derby after Ross County were relegated one season after Inverness.

Events

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May 2018

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  • 14 May 2018: 10 Youth Team players, dubbed "Class of 2018" as a reference to Fergie's Fledglings which were dubbed "Class of '92", are called up into the first team.

June 2018

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  • 18 June 2018: ICT win the SFA U17 League, winning 22 of 24 and scoring 104 goals along the way.

July 2018

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  • 3 July 2018: The longest serving player in ICTFC history, Ross Tokely, returns to the club as the youth coach.
  • 7 July 2018: Carl Tremarco is made team captain after Gary Warren's exit to Yeovil Town.
  • 13 July 2018: Inverness install a new ticket system, which replaces the old tear stub tickets with barcoded tickets.
  • 22 July 2018: #biggesthomegame returns for the second consecutive year, with the game ending with a 25–25 tie, which was a massive improvement from the previous season where they were beaten by the 100 kids 20–5.

August 2018

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  • 8 August 2018: ICT announce that goalkeeper, Ryan Esson, will receive a testimonial match as recognition for his 10-year career with the Caley Jags.[1]
  • 10 August 2018: Former player and first captain of ICTFC, Alan Hercher, dies aged 52.[2]
  • 11 August 2018: A minutes silence is held for Alan Hercher ahead of Inverness' 0–0 draw with Ayr United, a minutes silence is also held at Clachnacuddin, where Alan was also a player, ahead of their 1–0 win over Lossiemouth.
  • 12 August 2018: Inverness open investigations on some of their home support after abuse was hurled towards Liam Polworth and his family, mainly his sister at Saturday's home game.[3]
  • 13 August 2018: Inverness issue a Club Statement, saying "Inverness Caledonian Thistle were saddened and angered to learn of sustained verbal abuse directed at one of our players and his family by a small minority of supporters during Saturday's match with Ayr United...Individuals who were involved in this abuse have been identified, and are in the process of being banned from attending future Inverness Caledonian Thistle fixtures." It is currently unknown how long the bans are to be served, but is speculated that it is likely to be a Rest of Season ban from the ground or any ground hosting an ICT fixture.[4]
  • 14 August 2018: Defending champions Inverness tumble out of the Scottish Challenge Cup in a first round home fixture vs Dunfermline Athletic, which was a game that was criticized by many fans and some media after Dunfermline Athletic were awarded a penalty despite the foul taking place at least a yard outside the box.
  • 22 August 2018: Inverness progress to the semi-finals of the North of Scotland Cup, after a 6–0 win over Lossiemouth.
  • 23 August 2018: Inverness draft in their first ever Brazilian player, youngster Machado Matheus, on a 2-year contract, from Red Bull Brasil.
  • 23 August 2018: Club site (ictfc.com), unexpectedly goes down for host migration, with no prior warning, much to fans annoyance.

September 2018

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  • 11 September 2018: Former Caledonian manager, Alex Main, dies aged 86
  • 11 September 2018: Inverness secure their North of Scotland cup final after a 4–0 victory over the Can-cans of Forres. They will play local rivals Ross County in the 7 October final at Clachnacuddin's Grant Street Park.
  • 15 September 2018: Inverness go top of the Championship after a 3–2 win over Partick Thistle, continuing their streak of 17 league games unbeaten, which started in March of the previous season.
  • 22 September 2018: Inverness drop to 2nd in the Championship after a 0-0 draw with Ross County, with County dropping to 4th place.
  • 29 September 2018: Inverness fall further after a second consecutive 0–0 draw, however extending their unbeaten streak to 18 games.

October 2018

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November 2018

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  • 3 November 2018: Inverness extend their record with a 2–2 draw with Ross County.
  • 8 November 2018: Riccardo Calder is kicked out of the club after being found guilty of assault in Birmingham after the end of the previous season.

December 2018

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  • 1 December 2018: Inverness's 25-game unbeaten streak comes to an abrupt halt after a 3–2 loss to Falkirk at home.
  • 4 December 2018: Inverness thrash Edinburgh City 6–1 in the Scottish Cup Third round.

January 2019

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February 2019

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  • 1 February 2019: Tulloch gift the stadium to the club, giving the club full ownership of the plot.
  • 7 February 2019: Inverness take Inverness City's women's team under their wing and rebrand them as ICT WFC.
  • 19 February 2019: Inverness progress to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup after beating Ross County 5 – 4 on the first penalty shootout outside the finals since 1990.

March 2019

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April 2019

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  • 4 April 2019: John Robertson and Aaron Doran are named March's Scottish Championship Manager and Player of the Month respectively.
  • 5 April 2019: Summer signing Angus Beith is forced to retire due to a long standing hip injury that has prevented him from playing. A benefit match for him is to be played between Inverness and his previous side Heart of Midlothian.[5]
  • 13 April 2019: Inverness fail to beat Heart of Midlothian, and succumb to a 3–0 defeat, however, it did not go without controversy, as a would be equaliser from Jamie McCart was ruled out for offside, despite it being played back onside by ex-Inverness and Hearts Midfielder, Jake Mulraney.
  • 20 April 2019: In a push for the Premiership play-offs, Inverness falter against Dundee United, which delay rivals, Ross County's title celebrations. By sheer luck, despite the loss, they still secured their playoff spot, as Dunfermline, who trailed by 9 points with three games to play, failed to break Queen of the South. Had both Inverness and Dunfermline won their games and the won their following game, it would come down to the final day, as Inverness would host Dunfermline in the final clash of the season. United on the other hand, have to hope Ross County lose both of their final games, and that they win both of their final games, as it boils down to a 6 point difference between the two teams, however, it would play in Ross County's favour through goal difference, as United would have to score a minimum of 18 goals to take them to a level goal difference.

Summary

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Management

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John Robertson will return to the club for his second season after a close finish to the previous season, by missing out on playoffs by only two points.[citation needed]

Fixtures and results

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Fixtures will be announced by the SPFL in June 2018.[6]

Friendlies

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*Note: Games played on the same day and same time are played with two different squads led by two different managers. Fixtures are being played on the same day as to avoid preseason friendlies leaking into time taken up by the League Cup Group Stage.

30 June 2018 Friendly Strathspey Thistle 0–5 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Fort George
14:00 MacKay 2', 30', 61'

Polworth 75'

Oakley 82'
Stadium: Fort George Training Pitch
10 July 2018 Friendly Buckie Thistle 0–8 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Buckie
19:45 Walsh , , ,

Brown , Wilson

Kennedy
Stadium: Victoria Park
11 July 2018 Friendly Inverness Caledonian Thistle CANCELLED Aberdeen Inverness
19:30 Report Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Note: Game cancelled by Aberdeen due to lack of fit players after their friendly on 8 July.

League

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SPFL fixtures were announced at 9:00am GMT on Friday, 15 June 2018, and are subject to change.

15 September 2018 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–2 Partick Thistle Inverness
15:00 White 11',

Rooney 23',

Welsh soccer ball with check mark
Report Spittal 82', Doolan 90+3' Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 2,424
Referee: Greg Aitken
17 November 2018 Championship Queen of the South 3–3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Dumfries
15:00 Dykes 31',

Dobbie 51',

Todd 61'
Report McCart 71',

Austin 74',

Welsh soccer ball with check mark
Stadium: Palmerston Park
Attendance: 1,233
Referee: Greg Aitken
1 December 2018 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2–3 Falkirk Inverness
15:00 Walsh 6', Oakley 61' Report Rudden 16', 36', Harrison 93' Stadium: Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 2,260
Referee: Colin Steven
7 December 2018 Championship Ayr United P – P Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ayr
19:45 Stadium: Somerset Park
Note: Friday night fixture to fit BT Sport coverage. Only championship match to be shown on BT Sport all season. Game called off due to High Winds.
22 December 2018 Championship Greenock Morton 1–2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Greenock
15:00 Tiffoney 73' Report Walsh 17', Doran 49' Stadium: Cappielow Park
Attendance: 1,608
Referee: Steven Reid
26 January 2019 Championship Falkirk 2–2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Falkirk
15:00 Rudden 29', McShane 56' Report Rooney 12', Doran 45' Stadium: Falkirk Stadium
Attendance: 5,823
Referee: Munro
29 January 2019 Championship Ayr United 2–3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ayr
19:45 McDaid 53', Shankland 85' Report Austin 9', 12', Polworth 18' Stadium: Somerset Park
Attendance: 1,559
Referee: Walsh
16 February 2019 Championship Dunfermline 1–0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Dunfermline
15:00 Thomson 47' Report Stadium: East End Park
Attendance: 4,497
Referee: Steven Kirkland
26 February 2019 (2019-02-26) Championship Dundee United 1–0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Dundee
Connolly Yellow card 32'
Pawlett Yellow card 48' Yellow-red card 72'
Clark 68' (pen.)
Šafranko Yellow card 82'
Report McHattie Yellow card 17'
Rooney Yellow card 47'
Stadium: Tannadice Stadium
Attendance: 4,737
Referee: Barry Cook
15 March 2019 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle P – P Ross County Inverness
17:05 Report Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Referee: Nick Walsh
Note: Friday night fixture, to be shown on BBC Scotland. Called off due to torrential rain
22 March 2018 Championship Partick Thistle 1–2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Glasgow
17:05 Bannigan 68' Report Doran 65', Walsh 81' Stadium: Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 2,149
Referee: John Beaton
30 March 2019 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0–0 Falkirk Inverness
15:00 Report Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 2,817
Referee: Gavin Ross
2 April 2019 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–2 Ross County Inverness
19:05 Tremarco 24', Trafford Yellow card 45+1' Yellow-red card Report Mullin 8', Boyle 34' Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 3,795
Referee: Nick Walsh
Note: Rescheduled fixture from the 15 March
6 April 2019 Championship Ayr United 0–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ayr
15:00 Report McKay 66' Stadium: Somerset Park
Attendance: 1,566
Referee: Craig Thompson

*despite losing to Dundee United, Inverness still secured play-offs, as Dunfermline failed to gain ground against Queen of the South.

Premiership play-offs

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7 May 2019 Premiership play-off Quarter-final 1st Leg Ayr United 1–3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ayr
19:45 Rose 65' Report Trafford 33', White 51', 76' (penalty) Stadium: Somerset Park
Attendance: 2,171
Referee: Alan Muir
11 May 2019 Premiership play-off Quarter-final 2nd Leg Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–1
(4–2 agg.)
Ayr United Inverness
15:00 Donaldson 79' Report McCowan 19' Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 2,323
Referee: Steven McLean
Note: Inverness progressed to the semi-finals after winning 4–2 on aggregate
19 May 2019 Premiership play-off Semi-final 2nd Leg Dundee United 3 – 0
(4–0 agg.)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Dundee
19:45 Clark 45+1',

Sow 54',

Safranko 80'
Report Stadium: Tannadice
Attendance: 8,540
Referee: Kevin Clancy
Note: Dundee United progressed to the finals after winning 4–0 on aggregate

Scottish Cup

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Inverness played their Scottish Cup match on Sunday, 25 November 2018, as they are drawn into the 3rd round of the tournament against Edinburgh City.

25 November 2018 Third round Edinburgh City 1–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Edinburgh
15:00 Henderson 86' Report Rooney 39' Stadium: Ainslie Park
Attendance: 867
Referee: David Munro
Note: Rescheduled due to Edinburgh having an Irn Bru Cup fixture the day before, which has been moved to December
4 December 2018 Third round Replay Inverness Caledonian Thistle 6–1 Edinburgh City Inverness
19:45 Walsh 5', 53',

White 15', 60', 61'

Doran 90+1'
Report Henderson 7' Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 672
Referee: David Munro
3 March 2019 Quarter-finals Dundee United 1–2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Dundee
15:30 Clark 68' (pen) Report Chalmers 19', Doran 90+2' Stadium: Tannadice
Attendance: 7,274
Referee: Steven McLean

League Cup

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Inverness were drawn into Group C of the 2018–19 Scottish League Cup on 25 May 2018, along with Heart of Midlothian, Raith Rovers, Cowdenbeath, and Cove Rangers, the first match will be played on 14 July. However, Inverness failed to make the best runners up, losing out on goal difference to Partick Thistle.

Irn Bru Challenge Cup

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Inverness were the defending champions going into this cup, with the first game being played on 14 August 2018, however were knocked out in their first game by Dunfermline.

North of Scotland Cup

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In this competition, Inverness will use a mixed team of mainly U19s and some first team/reserve players to give a fair chance to the significantly smaller teams they come up against.

Team statistics

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Ross County (C, P) 36 21 8 7 63 34 +29 71 Promotion to the Premiership
2 Dundee United 36 19 8 9 49 40 +9 65 Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 36 14 14 8 48 40 +8 56 Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4 Ayr United 36 15 9 12 50 38 +12 54
5 Greenock Morton 36 11 13 12 36 45 −9 46
Source: SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points in head-to-head matches; 5) Goal difference in hth matches; 6). Goals scored in hth matches; 7). Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).[7]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Management Statistics

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Correct as of 17 Aug 2018
Name From To P W D L Win%
John Robertson 15 July 2017 Present 7 4 1 2 57.14[8]

First team player statistics

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League Goalscorers

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Rank Player Goals Latest Goal
1st Scotland Jordan White 7 vs. Alloa Athletic, 26 Mar 2019
2nd Scotland Tom Walsh 6 vs. Partick Thistle, 22 Mar 2019
3rd Republic of Ireland Aaron Doran 5 vs. Alloa Athletic, 26 Mar 2019
= Scotland Shaun Rooney vs. Alloa Athletic, 27 Apr 2019
5th Scotland Sean Welsh 4 vs. Alloa Athletic, 26 Mar 2019
= England George Oakley vs. Falkirk, 1 Dec 2018
= Scotland Nathan Austin vs. Dunfermline Athletic, 4 May 2019
8th Scotland Brad McKay 3 vs. Ayr United, 6 Apr 2019
9th Scotland Liam Polworth 2 vs. Ayr United, 29 Jan 2019
= England Carl Tremarco vs. Ross County, 2 Apr 2019
= Northern Ireland Darren McCauley vs. Greenock Morton, 16 Apr 2019
12th Canada Charlie Trafford 1 vs. Alloa Athletic, 27 Apr 2019
= Scotland Jamie McCart vs. Queen of the South, 17 Nov 2018
= England Riccardo Calder vs. Dunfermline Athletic, 30 Oct 2018
= Scotland Anthony McDonald vs. Greenock Morton, 16 Apr 2019
Total Goals Scored = 48 Goals

Overall Goalscorers

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Rank Player Goals
1st Scotland Jordan White 16
2nd Republic of Ireland Aaron Doran 11
3rd Scotland Tom Walsh 10
4th Scotland Nathan Austin 7
5th Scotland Shaun Rooney 6
6th England George Oakley 5
7th Scotland Sean Welsh 4
8th Scotland Liam Polworth 3
= Scotland Brad McKay
10th Scotland Joe Chalmers 2
= England Carl Tremarco
= Northern Ireland Darren McCauley
= Canada Charlie Trafford
14th Scotland Daniel MacKay 1
= England Riccardo Calder
= Scotland Jamie McCart
= Scotland Anthony McDonald
= Scotland Coll Donaldson
Total Goals Scored = 78

*as of match played 11 May 2019

**players in Italics left the club during the season, so cannot move up the table

Hat-tricks

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Player Competition Score Opponent Date
Scotland Daniel MacKay Friendly 0–5 Strathspey Thistle 30 June 2018
Scotland Jordan White Friendly 2–4 Forres Mechanics 3 July 2018
Scotland Tom Walsh Friendly 0–8 Buckie Thistle 10 July 2018
Scotland Jordan White Scottish Cup 6–1 Edinburgh City 4 December 2018

Transfers

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Transfers In
Player Age* Pos From Fee Date Notes/Additional Info
Scotland Shaun Rooney 21 DF Scotland Queen of the South Pre-contract agreement 25 April 2018
10 U18 Players 16/17/18 All Academy 14 May 2018 First mass call up of youth squad
Scotland Tom Walsh 21 MF Scotland Dumbarton Free 15 May 2018[9]
Scotland Angus Beith 22 MF Scotland Heart of Midlothian Swap Swap deal for Jake Mulraney
Scotland Jordan White 26 FW England Barrow Free 6 June 2018
Scotland Jamie McCart 21 DF Scotland Celtic Free 14 June 2018
Scotland Sean Welsh 28 MF Scotland Falkirk Free 16 July 2018
Brazil Matheus Machado 17 MF Brazil Red Bull Brasil Free 21 August 2018 Placed in U18 Squad for time being, put on bench in March 2019[10]
Scotland Kevin McHattie 25 DF Republic of Ireland Derry City Free 3 January 2019
Northern Ireland Darren McCauley 27 MF Northern Ireland Coleraine Free 24 January 2019
Transfers Out
Player Age* Pos To Fee Date Notes/Additional Info
Scotland John Baird 33 FW Scotland Forfar Athletic Free 3 May 2018 Accepted player/assistant manager role.
Scotland Iain Vigurs 30 MF Scotland Ross County Free 15 May 2018[11][9]
Republic of Ireland Jake Mulraney 22 MF Scotland Heart of Midlothian Swap Swap deal for Angus Beith.
England Connor Bell 21 FW Scotland Greenock Morton Free 6 June 2018
England Gary Warren 33 DF England Yeovil Town Free 27 June 2018
Scotland Ryan Esson 38 GK Retired (unofficially) N/A 2 July 2018 Became goalkeeping/U18 coach.
Netherlands Collin Seedorf 23 DF Netherlands FC Eindhoven Free 7 July 2018 Initially was listed to leave the club in May.
Republic of Ireland Zachary Elbouzedi 20 MF Terminated Contract N/A 31 August 2018 Left by mutual consent.
England Riccardo Calder 22 MF Contract terminated N/A 8 November 2018 Kicked out after found guilty of assault.
England George Oakley 23 FW Scotland Hamilton Academical Undisclosed 31 January 2019
Scotland Angus Beith 23 MF Retired N/A 5 April 2019 Retired due to serious hip injury, didn't make any appearances.


Loans In
Player Age* Pos From Duration Date in Date out Notes/Additional Info
Wales Owain Fôn Williams 31 GK United States Indy Eleven Loan Return 30 November 2018 N/A Left on loan the previous season.
Scotland Cammy Mackay 22 GK Scotland Rothes Loan Return 1 January 2019 N/A
Scotland Anthony McDonald 17 MF Scotland Heart of Midlothian Rest of season 25 January 2019 End of season Only player to be loaned in during the entire season.
Loans Out
Player Age* Pos To Duration Date out Date in Notes/Additional Info
Scotland Daniel Hoban 20 GK Scotland Forfar Athletic Rest of season 10 January 2019 End of season

*At time of transfer/loan

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Testimonial to take place for Ryan Esson – Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC". ictfc.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Tribute to Alan Hercher – Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC". ictfc.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Inverness probe Liam Polworth's claim family were verbally abused". BBC Sport. 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Club Statement – 13 August 2018". Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Club Statement: Angus Beith". ICTFC. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. ^ "2018/19 fixture release day confirmed – Scottish Professional Football League". spfl.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Championship 2017/2018 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Squad List – Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC". ictfc.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Hearts sign Jake Mulraney, Angus Beith goes to Inverness, Iain Vigurs to Ross County". BBC Sport. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Inverness sign Brazilian teenager from Red Bull in Sao Paulo". BBC Sport. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  11. ^ Wilson, Fraser (15 May 2018). "Transfer news LIVE – all the latest deals from planet football". dailyrecord. Retrieved 12 June 2018.