Arbroath tasted that winning feeling for the third successive Saturday as they coolly disposed of Inverness in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Their 4-2 win flattered the 10-man Highland visitors who, in reality, could have made the long trip up the A9 on the end of a real battering.
Goals by David Gold, Tam O’Brien, Scott Stewart and Aaron Steele made it comfortable for Arbroath.
That rendered Adam Brooks and Lewis Hyde strikes mere consolation efforts on a day where their sub Harry Lodovica was red carded 60 seconds after coming on as sub.
Courier Sport was at Gayfield to witness the victory and here are four talking points:
Attack-minded Arbroath had real goal threat against Inverness
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝🎩👏
The draw for the fourth round of the SPFL Trust Trophy will take place on Thursday 14th September. pic.twitter.com/4sf8sANOYd
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) September 9, 2023
It’s not an exaggeration to say Arbroath dominated from start to finish.
They had a real creative spark and a cutting edge about their attack.
Dick Campbell’s men scored just 29 goals in the Championship last term and he made bolstering their attack a priority.
Working closely with the club’s head of recruitment Barry Sellars, Campbell has added real quality in his frontline.
Jermaine Hylton was the latest player to step up to the plate on Saturday as he terrorised Inverness.
But, more tellingly, the supply chain to the attack is much more fluid than it has ever been.
With 20 shots, Arbroath peppered the Inverness goal.
Three of Arbroath’s four goals came from defenders and the other was by a midfielder.
That underlines that they have threats all over the park.
Awesome Aaron Steele
Arbroath have signed nine players so far this term and more could be added before the end of the month.
So is it too premature to pick the best one?
Steele has been an exceptional piece of business and looks like a player with real growth in his game.
Steele is only 21 but plays with a level of maturity you’d expect from a player in their late 20s with hundreds of senior games behind them.
Athletic, quick, strong in the tackle and a real threat in the opposition box, Steele capped off another fine afternoon with a late goal.
Magical Michael McKenna
Michael McKenna has been one of the most important players in the Arbroath squad for the last few years.
When he plays, Arbroath tend to play.
And right now, McKenna is in a rich vein of form.
The midfielder had a slow start to the season as he worked his way to full match fitness in the Viaplay Cup.
But his energetic runs – which have seen him clock over 11km on the GPS – and creative passing helped cut Inverness open at will.
And having prolific targets to find with his passes is the icing on the cake for Arbroath.
Red card call – how much did it impact on game?
With Arbroath 2-1 up and in control, Inverness pressed the self-destruct button as they went down to 10 men.
Sub Harry Lodovica had only been on the park for 60 second when he was sent-off.
Lodovica lost control of the ball and went in dangerously high on Michael McKenna.
He was shown a straight red – a decision that even Inverness boss Billy Dodds didn’t dispute in his post-match interview.
That certainly didn’t help matters for the visitors.
It opened up even more gaps for Arbroath expose and Stewart and Steele took full advantage with late goals.
But, in reality, Arbroath were always winning this game v 10 or 11 men.
Conversation