Caley Thistle’s relegation fears increased after being defeated 3-0 by Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park last night.
There was a sense of optimism in the Inverness camp before the match following Billy Mckay’s return to the club but last night’s heavy defeat leaves Richie Foran’s men three points adrift at the foot of the table.
It was easy to see why the Caley Jags lay claim to the worst defence in the league with Alex D’Acol converting the easiest of headers to open the scoring after 10 minutes.
Grant Gillespie capitalised on some more poor defending early in the second half to net Accies’ second before Rakish Bingham blasted home a stunning third.
The ease with which Hamilton netted would have been a major worry for Foran, whose side have now conceded 43 times in 23 league games.
Caley Thistle received a pre-match boost with the confirmation that forward Billy Mckay had returned to the club on a loan deal from Wigan Athletic until the end of the season.
Nineteen-year-old Celtic defender Jamie McCart also joined the club on loan, while Guinea international Lonsana Doumbouya, who had scored six goals in 20 appearances, and young forward Ali Sutherland were both released.
Richie Foran’s new signings were registered in time for last night’s match with Mckay thrown straight in to lead the line for the visitors with McCart named on the bench.
Only goal difference separated the Scottish Premiership’s bottom two prior to this one kicking off but Inverness boasted a decent record at New Douglas Park, having not lost a top flight match there since 2009.
Hamilton captain Mikey Devlin and Italian midfielder Massimo Donati both returned from suspension with Dan Seaborne and Craig Watson dropping to the bench.
Accies, without a win on their own patch since defeating Aberdeen 1-0 in October, made a promising start with Rakish Bingham outmuscling Gary Warren before setting up Ali Crawford who fired over from the edge of the area.
Billy Mckay looked eager to impress early on and signalled his intent with a powerful left-footed volley that rippled the side-netting.
But it was Hamilton who broke the deadlock in the 10th minute courtesy of some static Caley Jags defending. Alex D’Acol was the man to profit, running clear of his marker, to glance home a Crawford corner at the near post.
Caley Thistle were gifted a chance to restore parity in the 26th minute when Carl Tremarco was bundled over in the penalty area by Devlin as he attempted to head home a delicious Greg Tansey cross.
Referee Euan Anderson pointed to the spot but Gary Woods, the former Ross County stopper, guessed correctly and dived low to his right to keep out Greg Tansey’s spot-kick.
Delight for Accies soon turned to disappointment when their talisman and top scorer Crawford limped off after coming off second best in a challenge with Iain Vigurs and was replaced by Blair Adams.
However it was the hosts who remained the game’s dominant force with Henri Anier and Billy Mckay too often forced to chase long, hopeful forward passes to no avail.
The visitors finally threatened in the final minute of the half but Warren’s attempted overhead kick was bravely blocked by Donati.
If Foran was looking for a response from his players after the break, he didn’t get it.
Instead, it was Accies who doubled their advantage with Bingham rolling the ball across goal for Gillespie whose scuffed effort somehow evaded Owain Fon Williams, despite the Welsh international getting two hands to it.
If the goalkeeper was culpable for the second, there was nothing he could do to keep out the third.
Bingham brushed off the challenge of Brad Mckay before cutting past Warren and drilling a venomous strike into the top corner.
Inverness brought on debutant Dean Ebbe and Larnell Cole as they searched for a way back into the game but Hamilton, emboldened by their three goal lead, were playing with confidence and continued to push forward in pursuit of a fourth.
The hosts went close to adding to their tally as time ticked down with substitute Blair Adams heading just wide from six yards out.
The same player was presented with an even better chance moments later when Carl Tremarco misjudged the flight of a Dougie Imrie cross but again failed to convert when he should have at least hit the target.
Inverness had the ball in the back of the net in the dying stages when Ebbe headed home a Raven cross but the goal was chalked off for a foul. That summed up their night.
