2021–22 Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. season

Inverness Caledonian Thistle
2021–22 season
Chairman	Ross Morrison
Manager	Billy Dodds
Stadium	Caledonian Stadium
Scottish Championship	3rd; lost play-off Final 6–2 on Aggregate to St. Johnstone
Scottish Cup	Third Round Replay; lost 5–4 on Penalties to Greenock Morton
League Cup	Group Stage
Challenge Cup	Quarter Finals; lost 5–4 on Penalties to Raith Rovers
Top goalscorer	League: Shane Sutherland: 10; All: Billy Mckay: 15
Highest home attendance	4,811; vs St. Johnstone, 20 May 2022
Lowest home attendance	478; vs Raith Rovers, 8 January 2022
	← 2020–21 2022–23 →

The 2021-22 Inverness Caledonian Thistle season is the club's 28th campaign, and their fifth consecutive season in the Championship - the second-tier of Scottish football.

Events

Pre-Season

1 June 2021: Billy Dodds is named as the team's new manager, resulting in mixed reception from fans.

Fixtures and results

Friendlies

23 June 2021 Friendly	Clachnacuddin	0 – 5	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Inverness
19:30				Stadium: Grant Street Park

26 June 2021 Friendly	Forres Mechanics	0 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Forres
15:00				Stadium: Mosset Park

8 July 2021 Friendly	Aberdeen	1 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Aberdeen
13:00				Stadium: Cormack Park

League

31 July 2021 Scottish Championship	Arbroath	0 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Arbroath
15:00			Sutherland 66'	Stadium: Gayfield Park Attendance: 1,008

7 August 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 0	Raith Rovers	Inverness
15:00	MacGregor 80'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,675

21 August 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 0	Ayr United	Inverness
15:00	Walsh 54'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,032

28 August 2021 Scottish Championship	Kilmarnock	0 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Kilmarnock
15:00			Gardyne 5'	Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 5,004

11 September 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3 – 1	Partick Thistle	Inverness
15:00	Broadfoot 51', Sutherland 68', Doran 71'		Tiffoney 17'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,148

18 September 2021 Scottish Championship	Dunfermline Athletic	0 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Dunfermline
15:00				Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 3,158

25 September 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 1	Queen of the South	Inverness
15:00	Welsh 12', Gardyne 81'		Connelly 74'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,884

2 October 2021 Scottish Championship	Hamilton Academical	2 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Hamilton
15:00	Smith 5', Ryan 26', Mimnaugh 30'		Gardyne 90'	Stadium: Fountain of Youth Stadium Attendance: 1,088

16 October 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 0	Greenock Morton	Inverness
15:00	Mckay 20', Gardyne 49'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,900

23 October 2021 Scottish Championship	Raith Rovers	1 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Kirkcaldy
15:00	Matthews 45', Connolly 62'		Welsh 79'	Stadium: Stark's Park Attendance: 1,900

26 October 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	0 – 1	Arbroath	Inverness
19:45			McKenna 54'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,900

30 October 2021 Scottish Championship	Partick Thistle	0 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Maryhill
15:00				Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,527

6 November 2021 Scottish Championship	Ayr United	2 – 2	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Ayr
15:00	Chalmers 15', Reading 53'		Welsh 13', Gardyne 26'	Stadium: Somerset Park Attendance: 1,289

13 November 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 2	Dunfermline Athletic	Inverness
15:00	Mckay 22'		Devine (o.g.) 51', Thomas 64'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,111

19 November 2021 Scottish Championship	Queen of the South	1 – 2	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Dumfries
19:45	Connelly 75'		Mckay pen' (19), 50'	Stadium: Palmerston Park Attendance: 942

3 December 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 0	Kilmarnock	Inverness
19:45	Welsh 69'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,296

11 December 2021 Scottish Championship	Greenock Morton	1 – 6	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Greenock
15:00	Ugwu pen' (45+1)		Hamilton (o.g.) 15', Sutherland 33', 60', Mckay 43', McAlear 51', Jamieson 78'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,192

18 December 2021 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 2	Hamilton Academical	Inverness
15:00	Harper 65'		Moyo 79', Winter 82'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,862

2 January 2022 Scottish Championship	Arbroath	0 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Arbroath
15:00				Stadium: Gayfield Park Attendance: 494

8 January 2022 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 1	Raith Rovers	Inverness
15:00	McAlear 86'		Ross 24'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 478

15 January 2022 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 2	Queen of the South	Inverness
15:00	Mckay 62', Walsh 73'		Connelly 39', Roy 77'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 479

22 January 2022 Scottish Championship	Dunfermline Athletic	1 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Dunfermline
15:00	Lawless pen' (80)		Sutherland 39'	Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 3,138

29 January 2022 Scottish Championship	Kilmarnock	1 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Kilmarnock
15:00	Lafferty 9'			Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 4,790

5 February 2022 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	0 – 1	Greenock Morton	Inverness
15:00			Strapp 24'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,808

9 February 2022 Scottish Championship]]	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3 – 3	Partick Thistle	Inverness
19:45	McKay 21', Sutherland 45+1' Broadfoot 90+4'		Graham 8', 27', pen' (72)	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,781

19 February 2022 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 2	Ayr United	Inverness
15:00	Carson 68' , Nicholson 86'		McGinty 35', Adeloye 64'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1,850

25 February 2022 Scottish Championship	Hamilton Academical	1 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Hamilton
19:45	Mullin 13'		Pearson 30'	Stadium: New Douglas Park Attendance: 1,187

4 March 2022 Scottish Championship	Partick Thistle	1 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Partick
19:45	Holt 85'			Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,099

12 March 2022 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	3 – 0	Arbroath	Inverness
15:00	Sutherland 5', McAlear 11', McKay 68'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,149

19 March 2022 Scottish Championship	Raith Rovers	2 – 3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Kirkcaldy
15:00	Connolly 13', Poplatnik 30', Benedictus 71' Williamson 90+4'		Sutherland 27', Chalmers 89', 90+2'	Stadium: Stark's Park Attendance: 1,591

26 March 2022 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 0	Dunfermline Athletic	Inverness
15:00	McAlear 58', Samuels 77'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,171

9 April 2022 Scottish Championship	Ayr United	2 – 2	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Ayr
15:00	Bryden 54', Fjørtoft 76'		Sutherland 6', Chalmers 13'	Stadium: Somerset Park Attendance: 1,756

15 April 2022 Scottish Championship	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 1	Kilmarnock	Inverness
19:45	Mckay 76', Chalmers 82'		Taylor 60'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium

19 April 2022 Scottish Championship	Queen of the South	2 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Dumfries
19:45	Todd 6', East 40'		Chalmers 17'	Stadium: Palmerston Park

23 April 2022 Scottish Championship	Greenock Morton	0 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Greenock
15:00			MacGregor 29'	Stadium: Cappielow Park

29 April 2022	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	4 – 0	Hamilton Academical	Inverness
15:00	Walsh 4', 22', Sutherland 15', Hardy 28'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium

Scottish Premiership play-offs

3 May 2022 Scottish Premiership play-off Quarter Final First Leg	Partick Thistle	1 – 2	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Partick
19:45	Crawford 54'		Sutherland 71', Samuels 82'	Stadium: Firhill Stadium

6 May 2022 Scottish Premiership play-offs Quarter Final Second Leg	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 0 (3 – 1 agg.)	Partick Thistle	Inverness
19:45	Samuels 29'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Note: Inverness CT progress to the semi Final

10 May 2022 Scottish Premiership play-off Semi Final First Leg	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	0 – 0	Arbroath	Inverness
19:45				Stadium: Caledonian Stadium

13 May 2022 Scottish Premiership play-off Semi Final Second Leg	Arbroath	0 – 0 (a.e.t.) (0 – 0 agg.) (3 – 5 p)	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Arbroath
19:45			Devine 66', Duffy 113'	Stadium: Gayfield Park
	Penalties
	McKenna , Low , Hamilton , Linn		Mckay, Hardy, Welsh, Harper, Broadfoot
Note: Inverness CT progress to the final

20 May 2022 Scottish Premiership play-off Final First Leg	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 2	St Johnstone	Inverness
19:45	McAlear 73', 80'		Rooney 18', Hallberg 24'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium

23 May 2022 Scottish Premiership play-off Final Second Leg	St Johnstone	4 – 0 (6 – 2 agg.)	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Perth
19:45	May 46', MacPherson 53', Hendry 87', Rooney 90'			Stadium: McDiarmid Park

Scottish Cup

27 November 2021 Scottish Cup Third Round	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 1	Greenock Morton	Inverness
15:00	Mckay 12'		Reilly 81'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium

7 December 2021 Scottish Cup Third Round Replay	Greenock Morton	1 – 1 (5 – 4 p)	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Greenock
19:45	Muirhead 42'		Devine 47'	Stadium: Cappielow
	Penalties
	Reilly Lyon Ugwu Muirhead Oliver		Doran McAlear Allardice Jamieson Devine

League Cup

The Group Stage for the cup was drawn on 28 May 2021, with Cove Rangers, Heart of Midlothian, Inverness, Peterhead and Stirling Albion being drawn into Group A. The first match will be played on 13 July 2021.

13 July 2021 Group A	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 0	Peterhead	Inverness
19:45	Duku 50', Doran 54'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium

17 July 2021 Group A	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2 – 2 (2 – 3 p)	Stirling Albion	Inverness
15:00	MacGregor 27', Sutherland 49'		Mackin 4', Moore 20'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
	Penalties
	Walsh Allardice McAlear Carson Sutherland		Carrick Leitch Flanagan Omar Banner

20 July 2021 Group A	Cove Rangers	3 – 1	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Aberdeen
19:45	McIntosh 35', Megginson 38', Yule 85'		Duku pen' (90)	Stadium: Balmoral Stadium

25 July 2021 Group A	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Edinburgh
17:15	Walker 75'		Gardyne 88'	Stadium: Tynecastle Park
Note: Live on Premier Sports

SPFL Trust Challenge Cup

Inverness are due to enter the Challenge Cup at Round 2 which will be played on the 4th and 5 September.

4 September 2021 SPFL Trust Trophy Round 2	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	4 – 0	Buckie Thistle	Inverness
15:00	Jamieson 24', Harper 67', Mckay 81', 90'			Stadium: Caledonian Stadium

9 October 2021 SPFL Trust Trophy Round 3	Elgin City	2 – 4	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Elgin
14:00	Grivosti 9', Cameron 22'		Mckay 38', 40', 68', Jamieson 72'	Stadium: Borough Briggs

30 November 2021 SPFL Trust Trophy Quarter Final	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	0 – 0 (4 – 5 p)	Raith Rovers	Inverness
19:45				Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
	Penalties
	Doran Harper Deas Jamieson Allardice Sutherland		Tait Berra Matthews Varian Connolly Dick

North of Scotland Cup

Did not enter.

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Kilmarnock (C, P)	36	20	7	9	50	27	+23	67	Promotion to the Premiership
2	Arbroath	36	17	14	5	54	28	+26	65	Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	36	16	11	9	53	34	+19	59	Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4	Partick Thistle	36	14	10	12	46	40	+6	52	Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
5	Raith Rovers	36	12	14	10	44	44	0	50

Source: ^[2]^[3]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-to head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).^[4]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

First Team Player Statistics

League Goalscorers


Rank	Player	Goals
1st	Shane Sutherland	10
2nd	Billy Mckay	9
3rd	Michael Gardyne	5
3rd	Logan Chalmers	5
5th	Reece McAlear	4
	Sean Welsh
	Tom Walsh
8th	Kirk Broadfoot	2
8th	Roddy MacGregor	2
10th	Aaron Doran	1
	Cameron Harper
	Lewis Jamieson
	Joe Hardy
	Lewis Nicolson
	Sam Pearson
	Austin Samuels

Overall Goalscorers


Rank	Player	Goals
1st	Billy Mckay	15
2nd	Shane Sutherland	12
3rd	Reece McAlear	6
4th	Michael Gardyne	5
4th	Logan Chalmers	5
6th	Sean Welsh	4
6th	Tom Walsh	4
8th	Lewis Jamieson	3
	Roddy MacGregor
	Austin Samuels
11th	Aaron Doran	2
	Manny Duku
	Cameron Harper
	Kirk Broadfoot
15th	Danny Devine	1
	Joe Hardy
	Lewis Nicolson
	Sam Pearson

*as of match played 23 May 2022

**players in italics left the club during the season.

Hat-tricks


Player	Competition	Score	Opponent	Date
Billy Mckay	SPFL Trust Trophy	2–4	Elgin City	9 October 2021

Transfers

Transfers In
Player	Age*	Pos	From	Fee	Date
Michael Gardyne	35	MF	Ross County	Free	1 July 2021
Tom Walsh	24	MF	Ayr United	Free	1 July 2021
Manny Duku	28	FW	Raith Rovers	Free	1 July 2021
Billy Mckay	32	FW	Ross County	Free	1 July 2021
Kirk Broadfoot	36	DF	Kilmarnock	Free	12 July 2021
Austin Samuels	21	FW	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Undisclosed	28 January 2022

Transfers Out
Player	Age*	Pos	To	Fee	Date	Notes
James Keatings	29	FW	Raith Rovers	Pre-Contract Agreement	3 March 2021	^[5]
Daniel MacKay	20	FW	Hibernian	Undisclosed	13 May 2021	^[6]
Brad McKay	28	DF	Falkirk	Free	1 July 2021
Nikolay Todorov	24	FW	Dunfermline Athletic	Free	1 July 2021
Miles Storey	27	FW	Hereford	Free	1 July 2021
James Vincent	31	MF	Hereford	Free	1 July 2021
Lewis Toshney	29	DF	Retired	N/A	3 July 2021
Shane Harkness	20	MF	Rothes	Free	January 2022
Michael Gardyne	36	FW	Montrose	Contract Terminated	January 2022
Anthony McDonald	20	MF	Edinburgh City	Free	January 2022
Manny Duku	29	FW	Havant & Waterlooville	Free	January 2022

Loans In/Return
Player	Age*	Pos	From	Duration	Date In	Date Out
Lewis Jamieson	19	FW	St Mirren	Full Season	1 July 2021	25 January 2022
Reece McAlear	19	MF	Norwich City	Full Season	1 July 2021	1 July 2022
Logan Chalmers	21	FW	Dundee United	Half Season	21 January 2022	1 July 2022
Sam Pearson	20	FW	Bristol City	Half Season	21 January 2022	1 July 2022
Joe Hardy	23	FW	Accrington Stanley	Half Season	27 January 2022	1 July 2022

Loans Out/Return
Player	Age*	Pos	To	Duration	Date Out	Date In	Notes
Arron Lyall	17	MF	Rangers	Return	1 July 2021	N/A
Scott Allan	29	MF	Hibernian	Return	1 July 2021	N/A
Lewis Jamieson	19	FW	St Mirren	Recalled	25 January 2022	N/A
Sam Pearson	20	FW	Bristol City	Mutually Terminated	1 April 2022	N/A	Mutually terminated due to Family Bereavment

*at time of transfer/loan

References

^ Third, Paul (1 June 2021). "Time is right for Billy Dodds to take the lead in the dugout with Caley Thistle". Press & Journal. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
^ "Scottish Championship Table". BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
^ "cinch Championship League Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
^ "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
^ "James Keatings Signs | Raith Rovers FC". www.raithrovers.net. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
^ McPartlin, Patrick (12 May 2021). "'A massive club in a massive city' - Daniel Mackay eager to repay Hibs after signing four-year deal". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 12 May 2021.

[1] Third, Paul (1 June 2021). "Time is right for Billy Dodds to take the lead in the dugout with Caley Thistle". Press & Journal. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

[BBC_table-2] "Scottish Championship Table". BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2022.

[3] "cinch Championship League Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 29 April 2022.

[4] "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.

[5] "James Keatings Signs | Raith Rovers FC". www.raithrovers.net. Retrieved 2021-04-26.

[6] McPartlin, Patrick (12 May 2021). "'A massive club in a massive city' - Daniel Mackay eager to repay Hibs after signing four-year deal". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 12 May 2021.

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