Caley Thistle return to Arbroath’s Gayfield Park on league duty for the first time in 16 years this weekend.
Inverness are favourites to pick up all three points but it’s likely to be an altogether tougher task than their last trip there in March 2003.
Back then, Arbroath were as good as relegated as they stumbled through a difficult campaign in the second tier that ended with them collecting only 15 points.
Dick Campbell’s League One champions already have more than that, sitting in fifth place with 17 points – only three behind Inverness.
With only one defeat in six homes matches this season, John Robertson and his team won’t be taking their opponents lightly. Partick Thistle, Dunfermline and Queen of the South have already made that mistake.
Inverness will also want to build a bit of momentum ahead of their Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup quarter-final with Clyde the following weekend.
With the greatest respect to Clyde, in 2003 it’s fair to say that ICT were looking forward to a more glamorous tie.
After a 3-1 success at Gayfield, they hosted Celtic at the Caledonian Stadium in the Scottish Cup quarter-final eight days later.
The Bhoys were on a high having eliminated Liverpool from the UEFA Cup only three nights earlier, but despite fielding a squad that included Henrik Larsson, John Hartson and Neil Lennon they were beaten 1-0 in the Highland capital.
At Gayfield the previous week, Arbroath took a surprise 1-0 lead into half-time after a goal from Kevin Heenan on 45 minutes.
Whatever Robertson said to his players at the interval must have worked because Inverness came roaring back into the game.
Steven Hislop hit the equaliser on 67 minutes before Dennis Wyness put the visitors in front just a minute later.
Wyness, in the midst of a 27 goal season which won the ex-Aberdeen striker a move to Hearts, killed the game off with his second on 84 minutes.
Caley Thistle finished fourth in the First Division that year and the loss of Wyness and Barry Robson, who left for Dundee United after six years in Inverness, that summer was thought to be a hammer blow to any hopes of Robertson taking them any higher.
But instead he brought in David Bingham and Barry Wilson and Inverness clinched promotion to the top flight for the first time in 2004.
Here’s how the teams lined up on March 15, 2003.
