Caley Thistle edged through to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup but they were pushed all the way by Elgin City in a pulsating tie at Borough Briggs.
Lonsana Doumbouya’s header in the second half was enough to give Richie Foran’s side victory but the plaudits go to League 2 side City for their efforts against their Premiership opponents.
The kick-off was delayed 10 minutes for safety reasons due to the number of spectators still queueing to get into Borough Briggs.
When play did finally get underway it was Elgin who started brightly with Shane Sutherland and Thomas Reilly firing long range efforts for the home side but it was Inverness who threatened to break the deadlock through Greg Tansey but his long range effort was saved by Elgin goalkeeper Marc Waters.
The League 2 side held their own, however, and they stunned the visitors by taking the lead.
It was a goal Inverness goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams won’t want to see again, however, with Mark Nicolson’s low curling free kick in the 25th minute squirming through his grasp into the net.
The Premiership side responded strongly to the loss of the goal and they were soon back on level terms when midfielder Larnell Cole raced past two Elgin defenders before slotting the ball past Waters from eight yards for the equaliser.
Inverness came out in determined mood for the second half with Aaron Doran’s ball into the box headed goalwards by Doumbouya but Waters dived low to his left to tip the effort past the post.
Doumbouya had several chances to put his side ahead in a strong second half showing for his side. He headed wide from a Cole cross, headed against the crossbar from a Doran cross before finally getting it right from another Doran ball into the box, steering a downward header past Waters to give Caley Thistle the lead.
Iain Vigurs struck the crossbar for Inverness with a free kick as they tried to put the game beyond the home side but in the end Doumbouya’s header proved enough to ensure passage to the fifth round.
