Caley Thistle’s demotion to the Championship is now all but certain following this painful defeat at the hands of Highland rivals Ross County.
It was billed as the most important Highland derby of all-time by many, and it will undoubtedly be one that is remembered by both sets of supporters for very different reasons.
This could be the last meeting between the sides for some time, with Inverness getting ever closer to the reality they will be playing second-tier football next season following this result.
For County, this four-goal derby haul, in which all goals came from Liam Boyce, will do wonders for their morale and it moves them a firm step closer to safety, with Jim McIntyre’s men leapfrogging Kilmarnock into seventh, which means they are six points clear of the relegation play-off position.
County claimed a spirited, albeit controversial 2-2 draw against Celtic in their last outing, which made it two games unbeaten, with Jim McIntyre making two changes. Andrew Davies was ruled out through suspension and youngster Reghan Tumilty dropping to the bench, the pair replaced by Martin Woods and Craig Curran.
Caley Jags were fast approaching last chance saloon, with their dire run of one victory from 22 games leaving them in a precarious position ahead of the trip to Dingwall. Richie Foran shook his side up, making four changes from the team defeated 4-2 by Motherwell last time out. Two changes were enforced, with Carl Tremarco and goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams sidelined with respective knee and groin injuries, while Brad McKay and Ross Draper dropped to the bench. The quartet were replaced by Ryan Esson, Kevin McNaughton, David Raven and Jake Mulraney.
Kick-off at Victoria Park was delayed by 15 minutes due to an accident on the A9 near North Kessock, which held several supporters back on their way to the game. The two sides looked eager to make up for lost time once the game did eventually get underway though, with the action starting at a frantic pace and play raging from end to end. The first chance fell to Caley Jags’ Alex Fisher, who unexpectedly got on the end of Iain Vigurs’ corner but stabbed wide from close-range.
Inverness were pressing their hosts high up the field to some degree of success, but out of nowhere they inexplicably gift-wrapped the Staggies an opener on 22 minutes. Esson took a loose touch to control Jamie McCart’s backpass, with the veteran goalkeeper charged down by Boyce. Any invitation for a forward already on 17 goals for the season likely to be gladly accepted, with the Northern Irishman on hand to prod home from close-range.
Having had little trouble settling into the derby occasion, Caley Jags suddenly found themselves on the back-foot against a County side that was displaying a newly-found confidence. The Staggies piled the misery on their rivals with a second goal on 34 minutes, with O’Brien getting to the ball ahead of Raven down the left flank before whipping in a tempting delivery to the near post which found Boyce on hand to glance a header across goal for his seventh derby goal of the campaign. Inverness’ hopes of pulling off the great escape were now lying in tatters.
Boyce was hungry for a second derby hat-trick of the season, and he was thwarted within minutes when Esson captured his strike from Gardyne’s cross. Caley Jags needed a timely goal before the break but looked shattered by the set-back, with McNaughton’s long-range strike drifting wide in their closest attempt.
Foran’s half-time message to his players would have been to highlight the significance of the game’s next goal, and how an early strike from his men could have got them right back into the game. Within four minutes of the restart came further despair when Raven bundled Martin Woods over in the penalty area. There was no doubt over who was taking the spot-kick, with Boyce stepping forward to coolly slot home and move Caley Jags another step closer to their fate.
The second-half was guaranteed painful viewing for Caley Jags supporters from this point onwards, but it got even worse just after the hour mark as County were awarded another penalty by referee Craig Thomson. This time Ryan Dow was pulled to the ground by Liam Polworth as he bore down on goal, with the Caley Jags midfielder dismissed, and Boyce once again firing past Esson to add insult to injury.
Despite playing out the final half-hour with 10 men, Caley Jags managed to avoid further damage, but the latest nail was already firmly planted in their coffin.
