Caley Thistle’s attempt to pull off the great escape will go down to the wire after they delivered a superb performance to defeat Dundee 2-0 in their hour of need.
Inverness were fully deserving of only their sixth league triumph of the season, their second on the road, as they produced one of their best displays of the campaign to move to within a point of Hamilton Accies.
Inverness stormed into a commanding position early on through clinical finishes from attackers Billy Mckay and Alex Fisher, which gave Richie Foran’s men early breathing space.
Although Dundee offered occasional threat, the Highlanders’ victory means Inverness remain firmly active in their pursuit of Hamilton for the relegation play-off position, with a victory against Motherwell and an Accies failure to defat Dundee on Saturday enough for the Highlanders to avoid automatic relegation to the Championship.
That fate has looked inevitable for several weeks, but having already been written off, Foran and his players have shown a rugged determination to defy the odds.
Having been given fresh hope of survival by Ross County’s defeat of Hamilton Accies the previous night, Inverness were firmly on their final chance. Two victories were the requirement, with Hamilton’s seven-goal superior goal difference before kick-off meaning that simply bridging the four-point gap was unlikely to be enough.
Caley Jags missed the opportunity to narrow that gap when they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Kilmarnock on Saturday, in spite of a fine second-half showing. Foran drafted in two of substitutes who helped to spark that improvement for the trip to Tayside, with Iain Vigurs and Liam Polworth in from the start to replace Jake Mulraney and Henri Anier.
Inverness were up against a Dundee side who were already safe thanks to a revival in fortunes under new manager Neil McCann, and it was clear from the intensity of their start that the Highlanders were the side in far greater need of the points. The hunger was evident in Caley Jags, with Mckay charging down an early Scott Bain clearance only to send the ball wide, however the Northern Irishman was not to be denied the opening goal little more than 90 seconds into the game.
Polworth, with his back to goal, teed the ball up for Mckay, who rifled a powerful low drive into Bain’s bottom left corner from 14 yards to give his side the dream start.
It was a firm show of intent in Caley Thistle’s bid to take their survival bid to the wire, but they still had the vast majority of the match to hold out for. Dundee offered mild threat through two corners which were well defended by the visitors, however even better was to follow on 10 minutes. Vigurs showed impressive vision to pick out the run of Fisher, who took one touch before lashing powerfully past Bain on the angle from just inside the penalty box. The visiting supporters could hardly believe their luck.
That good fortune was put to the test on 20 minutes when Dundee missed a glaring opportunity to pull one back on 20 minutes, with Dundee skipper Darren O’Dea leaping unmarked to meet Kevin Holt’s corner but sending his far post header over from close-range.
Mark O’Hara also saw an effort well gathered by Ryan Esson, as Dundee began to increase their attacking threat, with full back Cammy Kerr firing wide of target after finding his way into a promising shooting position.
Inverness had another flurry of attempts just after the half-hour mark, with Bain doing well to hold on to Ross Draper’s header, before Fisher nodded wide moments later, as Foran’s men hunted an elusive killer third goal.
Caley Jags survived a huge let-off on 41 minutes however when former Caley Jags midfielder Nick Ross’ flick to Marcus Haber released the Canadian attacker for a one-on-one effort which Esson did brilliantly to save, with Brad McKay showing quick reactions to clear as the ball spun back towards Haber who was ready to tap into the empty net.
Inverness knew a third goal would do it for them as they began the second-half, but equally they had to be wary of a fightback from a rattled Dundee side, whose supporters were far from pleased with the performance.
It was the visitors who, with the security of a two-goal cushion, showed a level of composure on the ball that has been glaringly non-evident throughout much of the campaign, and they matched the pleasant football with a desire to win every second ball whenever they were out of possession.
Both sides had chances to add to the scoresheet, with Esson doing well to hold on to O’Hara’s header and Bain doing likewise from Brad McKay, with Inverness holding out for only their third league clean sheet of the season.
Inverness still need plenty to go in their favour, but their supporters are now daring to dream of a sensational recovery.
