Roddy MacGregor believes Inverness’ performance in the 3-1 Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic can boost their promotion confidence for next season.
The Championship side had beaten cinch Premiership outfits Livingston and Kilmarnock on their way to Saturday’s Hampden Park showpiece but had finished sixth in the league.
Celtic proved too tough an opponent as goals from attackers Kyogo Furuhashi, substitute Liel Abada and Jota completed the domestic treble with Caley Thistle replacement Dan MacKay’s header a consolation.
However, MacGregor – a late second-half substitute for Scott Allardice – insists positives can be taken from the performance going into next season.
The 21-year-old midfielder said: “We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the country at the moment and in previous rounds we had beaten Premiership teams.
“It just shows that when we are on our game we can give any team a game and that definitely gives us confidence going into next season.
“We were disappointed obviously, it is never nice to lose in such a big game. It is not a nice feeling.
“Up against a team like Celtic it is always going to be tricky but I think we did reasonably well and limited their chances.
“We genuinely thought we could win the game and that’s the sign of a good dressing room and we are looking to go again next season and hopefully we have a fully-fit squad.”
MacKay, on loan from Hibernian, was pleased that Inverness proved the doom-mongers wrong with their spirited performance.
The 22-year-old winger said: “The boys can be proud of themselves. We put up a really good battle.
“Everyone doubted us and said it would be six or seven nil but we proved them wrong and showed that a Championship team that was midtable was more than a match at times for Celtic but they were clinical at the end of the day.
“If you get a goal you never know what can happen in these games. Pressure happens and chances come and go in games.
“We took our chance but unfortunately we never got another chance and Celtic were clinical.
“But we need to be proud, it was an achievement getting there.”
Asked about his future with Hibs, he said: “I don’t know yet. I wait to see what happens.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
