A potential turning point in Caley Thistle’s season on an historic night for the club, as they moved off the bottom of the Premiership.
On the night of their 1000th match, Inverness looked to be settling for a point when Martyn Waghorn canceled out Greg Tansey’s superb opener midway through the second-half.
Inverness’ chance of a crucial victory looked to have gone when substitute Iain Vigurs missed a spot-kick of the hosts’ own four minutes from time. Billy Mckay was to have the last laugh though, squeezing home a sublime overhead kick with only a minute left.
Inverness have had many famous victories since their formation in 1994, but this could yet prove to be another cornerstone in a so far disappointing campaign.
Rangers arrived in the Highlands in chaos, without a manager, and caretaker Graeme Murty overseeing a shambolic 2-1 defeat against Dundee on Sunday which left them six points adrift of second-placed Aberdeen.
Inverness’ need was great as well however, having not won since October. Little did that matter to Richie Foran, who spoke of his desire for his players to unsettle the visitors from the off.
It was spirited performance which secured a depleted Caley Jags side a 1-1 draw against Hearts the previous weekend, leaving Foran with tough decisions to make given the return of several first-team players. The result of those was to stick with the same team that earned a valuable point, meaning the hastily-paired central defensive partnership of Louis Laing and Jamie McCart continued, leaving skipper Gary Warren, Brad McKay, Iain Vigurs and Billy King on the bench.
It could have been a nightmare start for Caley Jags, who needed sharp interventions from goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams after just four minutes. Lee Wallace released veteran attacker Kenny Miller from a quick throw-in, with
Fon Williams standing tall to block his shot from an acute angle, and even more impressively getting down to save Emerson Hyndman’s rebound.
Inverness were dealt a blow on the quarter-hour mark when Carl Tremarco was forced off with a groin injury, with Brad McKay his replacement. The hosts created their first opportunity of note when Jake Mulraney robbed Andy Halliday of the ball before carving out a shooting chance from the edge of the visitors’ box, but he saw his effort deflected over.
Caley Jags grew steadily into the game, with Billy Mckay seeing his header blocked by Rob Kiernan, before Greg Tansey struck wide. Foran’s men survived a scare on 33 minutes however, when Wallace’s right-footed delivery picked out the unmarked head of Barrie McKay, but he could only screw his effort harmlessly over from six yards.
Inverness displayed confidence in their possession of the ball but the Gers continued to carry threat, with Martyn Waghorn shooting wide of Fon Williams’ right-hand post from long-range.
Mulraney had the beating of Wallace down the right, showing the left back a clean pair of heels before Danny Wilson got in at the near post to clear ahead of Mckay.
Caley Jags’ persistence paid off on the stroke of half-time though, when they took a stunning lead. Liam Polworth saw his effort blocked into the path of Tansey, who lined up a superb 25-yard shot that took the slightest of deflections off Wilson to help it past Wes Foderingham. The ideal time to strike, could this be the turning point in their season?
Caley Jags were patient in the early stages of the second-half, but in their moments on the ball they were able to exploit large gaps in a clearly vulnerable Rangers side. Danger looked on the cards whenever Mulraney picked up the ball, in what was undoubtedly the Irishman’s best performance since joining QPR last summer.
Rangers offered a reminder of their danger on 59 minutes however, with on-loan Celtic defender Jamie McCart standing tall to block successive shots from Hyndman and James Tavernier. McKay was next to threaten for the Gers moments later, with his curling strike from the edge of the box forcing Fon Williams to make a fingertip save to divert it over the bar.
Inverness had defended well but a horrendous lack of concentration should have resulted in an equaliser on 63 minutes. Hyndman exposed a huge gap in the backline when he released Jon Toral, who somehow drilled wide of the left-hand post with virtually the entire goal to aim at.
It was Rangers’ best spell of pressure of the game, and it was little surprise when they restored parity midway through the second-half. The goal came gift-wrapped, with referee Steven McLean pointing to the spot following Laing’s clumsy challenge on Wallace inside the area, and Waghorn making no mistake.
Caley Jags could have restored their lead four minutes from time when Mckay was hauled down by Wilson, however Vigurs’ poor effort was saved by Foderingham.
They thought their chance was gone, but there was still time for Mckay to strike, squeezing home an exquisite overhead kick.
