Stalemate In Inverness (2008)

(first published in the match programme for St. Mirren v Dundee United, 17^th May 2026)

Saints travelled to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on 17^th May 2008 to face Inverness Caledonian Thistle for an end-of-season Premier League fixture – the first time St. Mirren had played a competitive match on this date.

Saints entered the match in tenth place, two points behind their hosts, who were already assured of finishing no higher than ninth. Kilmarnock could still match St. Mirren's points total, but they had a vastly inferior goal difference, while Gretna had been relegated seven weeks earlier. The Buddies also had the prospect of a further league match still to play - a repeatedly postponed fixture against UEFA Cup finalists Rangers.

The match was marked by Issue No. 21 of Inverness's official matchday programme for the 2007/08 season. This was a substantial 66-page full colour glossy publication, measuring 24cm by 17cm and priced at £2.50. The front cover displayed the full match details and was dominated by an action photo from their most recent home game, a resounding 6-1 victory over Gretna.

The opening pages featured welcome messages and reflections on recent matches from Manager Craig Brewster and Captain Grant Munro, followed by the Editor's column, in which he thanked the many staff and contributors who had helped produce the programme throughout the season.

"One 2 One" presented a four-page interview with Iain Vigurs, who had scored his first goal for the Club in the demolition of Gretna and had just signed a new one year deal to remain at Inverness. Eight pages of reports, statistics and photos covering Inverness's recent win against Gretna and narrow defeat to Falkirk, led neatly into the centre-page spread, featuring a full-colour action shot of Dougie Imrie.

The second half of the issue began with the latest instalment of the "Q&A" series, this time focussing on Zander Sutherland — a promising young player who had spent the season on loan at Elgin City. "That Was The Week That Was" then offered a nostalgic look back to events from the final week of October 2005.

"A Look at World Football", written by ICT's globetrotting supporter Ian Rendall, provided a concise history of Inter Milan. It was an engaging piece, though unfortunately marred by a printing error where the second page had been offset by half an inch, truncating the text. A similar misalignment affected the first page of the two-page analysis of past ICT v St Mirren encounters — a small, but noticeable blemish in an otherwise polished publication.

Attention then shifted to the reserve side with a report, photos and stats of a convincing 3-0 win over Kilmarnock in their final match of the season. Making his debut for Inverness that night was under-17 defender Graeme Shinnie (I wonder what happened to him?) The accompanying Premier Reserve League table did not include this result and still showed St. Mirren at the top. Sadly for Saints, they would be overtaken by teams with games in hand to finish third behind Celtic and Inverness.

"Club News", "Youth Round-Up", "Stats 2007/08", "Fixtures" and the team line-ups rounded off the reading material. In total, there were 21 pages of advertising in an issue which is readily obtainable today.

The final match of the season at Inverness was watched by 3,783 spectators. The early stages set the tone for St Mirren's threat. Straight from the kick-off, a loose pass from Ross Tokely allowed Saints' Craig Dargo to burst forward, drawing a foul from David Proctor and earning the defender an early booking. Nothing came of the resulting free kick, but it signalled that St Mirren were ready to pounce on any slackness.

Saints' best early opportunity came when a superb cross-field pass released David Barron in space. His whipped delivery flashed across the six-yard box with Craig Dargo inches away from converting.

Inverness created chances of their own, most notably through Don Cowie and St. Mirren-bound Dennis Wyness, but Saints' spells of possession were more purposeful. Billy Mehmet's link-up play repeatedly brought Dargo into promising areas, and only determined defending prevented the visitors from capitalising.

After the interval, St Mirren threatened again when shoddy defensive play by the hosts gifted Mehmet a clear sight of goal, but he blazed over. Moments later, a powerful Stephen O’Donnell effort was safely gathered by home goalie Michael Fraser as the game started to open up.

The match swung decisively in the visitors’ favour in the 54^th minute when Proctor received a straight red card for a professional foul on Dargo, leaving Inverness to battle through the latter stages a man down.

St Mirren pushed higher and began to dictate the tempo. Tokely came close to diverting the ball into his own net under pressure and a contentious handball shout against substitute Graham Bayne only added to the tension.

In the end, the draw reflected a match in which St Mirren's organisation, pressure and late dominance were matched by Inverness’s resilience and some erratic finishing at both ends.