Caley Thistle were unable to force a winning goal in a match they dominated, eventually having to settle for a 0-0 draw against Falkirk.
Inverness piled on the pressure during the second-half and were denied a breakthrough on a number of occasions, with Jake Mulraney coming closest when his effort struck the post.
John Robertson made two changes from the side that defeated Peterhead 3-0 the previous week, to reach the IRN-BRU Cup quarter-finals. One was enforced, with goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams missing out through a calf injury picked up in training, meaning Mark Ridgers was restored, while Riccardo Calder dropped to the bench to be replaced by Mulraney.
Falkirk were eager to impress in new manager Paul Hartley’s first game in charge, with Joe McKee testing Ridgers inside the opening three minutes with a low strike the goalkeeper did well to hold.
Caley Jags showed promise in their own attacking play however, with former Bairns forward John Baird flashing a shot wide after robbing Bairns skipper Aaron Muirhead of the ball, before Liam Polworth saw a low strike well held by Robbie Thomson.
The visitors continued to show occasional threat, with Mulraney booked for diving as he tried to make his way into the penalty box, before attacker Connor Bell was inches from connecting with Joe Chalmers’ delivery from the left.
Falkirk defender Jordan McGhee forced Ridgers to make an outstanding save on 34 minutes when he rose to nod McKee’s corner goalwards, only to be thwarted by the goalkeeper’s fingertip save.
Caley Thistle maintained threat up to half-time however, with Joe Chalmers seeing a free-kick drift narrowly wide of Robbie Thomson’s goal on 40 minutes.
The visitors started the second-half brightly and spurned a fine chance two minutes in, when Bell laid off Baird, who floated a strike harmlessly over in plenty space and with Mulraney to his right.
An even better chance fell to the feet of Carl Tremarco on 56 minutes, with the left back beating the offside trap after being slipped through by Baird, however he snatched at his effort which floated past the post.
Inverness continued to pile on the pressure, and their supporters thought they had taken the lead when Bell’s strike from 14 yards rolled alongside the outer part of the side-netting after he had been slipped through by a superb pass by Vigurs, before Bell turned supplier with a cross which Baird nodded over.
The visitors’ two best chances fell to Mulraney just after the 70th minute however. His first attempt came on the counter-attack, with Baird releasing him for a low strike that Thomson somehow scrambled over the bar, before from the resulting corner, the Irishman saw an effort crash off the face of the post.
Inverness could not find a way through however, and remain a point behind eighth-placed Falkirk.
