Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. in their tenth season in the Scottish Football League competed in the Scottish First Division, Scottish League Cup, Scottish Challenge Cup and the Scottish Cup in season 2003–04. They won their first major trophy when they won the Challenge Cup beating Airdrie United in the final 2–0 with goals from Steve Hislop and David Bingham, and at the end of the season, they won the First Division Championship, securing promotion to the Scottish Premier League. However, SPL rules at that time stated that all member clubs must have a stadium with a minimum capacity of 10,000 seats. Caledonian Stadium did not and this left the club's board with a dilemma: either to stay in the First Division like Falkirk the previous season or to groundshare with Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium, over 100 miles (160 km) away. After consulting with supporters, the board decided the sacrifice of one season in Aberdeen would be worthwhile for Premier League football.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.
2003-04 season
ManagerJohn Robertson
Scottish First Division1st - Winners
Scottish CupSemi-final
Scottish League Cup1st Round
Scottish Challenge CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague: Paul Ritchie (14)
All: Paul Ritchie (23)
Highest home attendance6,092 vs. St Johnstone, 15 May 2004
Lowest home attendance667 vs. Queen's Park, 2 September 2003

Results

Scottish First Division

Match Day Date Opponent H/A Score ICT Scorer(s) Attendance
1 3 August Falkirk A 1-2 McCaffrey 2,596
2 16 August Clyde H 0–0 1,839
3 23 August St Johnstone A 2–1 Bingham, Hislop 3,031
4 30 August Ross County A 1–1 Mann 5,020
5 13 September Ayr United A 1–0 Ritchie 1,476
6 20 September Brechin City A 2–0 McBain, Ritchie 652
7 27 September St Mirren H 2–0 Ritchie, McCaffrey 1,896
8 4 October Raith Rovers H 2–1 Tokely, McCaffrey 1,707
9 18 October Queen of the South A 2–3 Ritchie, Bingham 3,547
10 1 November Falkirk H 1–2 Hughes (own goal) 2,223
11 5 November Clyde A 0–1 765
12 8 November Ayr United A 3–0 Golabek, Hart, Hislop 1,464
13 14 November Ross County H 3–3 Bingham, Hislop, Wilson 3,523
14 22 November St Mirren A 4–0 Bingham (2), McBain (2) 2,204
15 29 November Brechin City H 5–0 Tokely (2), Hislop, Keogh, Wilson 1,393
16 6 December Queen of the South H 4–1 Hislop (2), McCaffrey, Wilson 1,745
17 13 December Raith Rovers A 3–1 Munro, Bingham, Ritchie 1,432
18 27 December St Johnstone H 1-0 Wilson 2,949
19 3 January Ross County A 0-1 6,120
20 17 January Ayr United H 2–1 Ritchie, Bingham 1,443
21 24 January Brechin City A 4–2 Thomson, Ritchie, Bingham, Duncan 667
22 31 January St Mirren H 1–1 Bingham 1,913
23 14 February Raith Rovers H 3–0 Bingham, Keogh, Wilson 1,879
24 21 February Queen of the South A 1–2 Ritchie 2,021
25 2 March Falkirk A 1–2 Ritchie 2,268
26 13 March St Johnstone A 2-3 Ritchie (2) 2,913
27 16 March Clyde H 3–1 Ritchie, Bingham, Wilson 2,645
28 20 March Ayr United A 1–1 Wilson 1,207
29 27 March Ross County H 1–0 Wilson 4,019
30 3 April St Mirren A 0–0 Robson 2,272
31 13 April Brechin City H 1–0 Robson 1,248
32 17 April Queen of the South H 4–1 Hislop, Bingham, Wilson 6,755
33 24 April Raith Rovers A 1–0 Ritchie 1.748
34 1 May Falkirk H 0–0 8,750
35 8 May Clyde A 2–1 Keogh, Hislop 4,850
36 15 May St Johnstone H 3-1 Bingham, Wilson, Ritchie 6,092

Final League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Inverness CT (C, P) 36 21 7 8 67 33 +34 70 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Clyde 36 20 9 7 64 40 +24 69
3 St Johnstone 36 15 12 9 59 45 +14 57
4 Falkirk 36 15 10 11 43 37 +6 55
5 Queen of the South 36 15 9 12 46 48 −2 54
Source: "2003-2004 First Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Scottish League Cup

Round Date Opponent H/A Score ICT Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 2 September Queen's Park H 1–2 Ritchie 968

Scottish Challenge Cup

Round Date Opponent H/A Score ICT Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 2 August Gretna A 5–0 Hart (2), Bingham, Hislop, Ritchie 528
R2 12 August Peterhead A 2–1 Hislop (2) 886
QF 26 August Ross County H 1–0 Hislop 2,631
SF 16 September Raith Rovers A 4–0 Wilson (2), Ritchie (2) 2,110
Final 20 April Airdrie United N 2–0 Bingham, Hislop 5,428

Scottish Cup

Round Date Opponent H/A Score ICT Scorer(s) Attendance
R3 10 January Brechin City H 5–1 Ritchie (3), Bingham, McBain 1,412
R4 7 February St Mirren A 1–0 Thomson 3,589
QF 6 March Motherwell A 1–0 Wilson 7,930
SF 10 April Dunfermline Athletic N 1–1 Ritchie 13,225
SF R 20 April Dunfermline Athletic N 2–3 Ritchie, Bingham 5,728

Hat-tricks

Player Competition Score Opponent Date
Scotland Paul Ritchie Scottish Cup 5–1 Brechin City 10 January 2004

References

caleythistleonline

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