Caley Thistle’s Championship campaign will not be judged on how they fare against Hearts, but they did not fall far short in their efforts against the title favourites.
Inverness travelled with what has become a customary youthful side in recent weeks, with their Tynecastle starting 11 containing four teenagers.
Their fearless approach was plain to see, with John Robertson’s side showcasing some adventurous play which on-loan Rangers winger Kai Kennedy was at the forefront of, but they were ultimately unable to produce enough threat to Craig Gordon’s goal.
It was far from a vintage display from Hearts, but two moments of brilliance from Steven Naismith and Liam Boyce magnified the talent which makes them overwhelming title favourites.
Inverness threatened a revival when Aaron Doran found the net in the dying minutes, but they were unable to avoid their second one-goal loss at Tynecastle this term, having seen another courageous display go unrewarded in the Betfred Cup.
Robertson took encouragement from the way his young side approached the match, although the Caley Jags boss is hoping to use the upcoming League Cup double header against Raith Rovers and East Fife to ease back some of his senior campaigners who have been sidelined through injury in recent weeks.
Robertson said: “In the first half I thought our youngsters matched Hearts. We knew from the previous game in the League Cup we would have the energy to match Hearts, and we did that again.
“We restricted Hearts to a couple of half chances, but we weren’t enough of a threat ourselves.
“We were quite comfortable. Young Robbie Deas thought Brad Mckay would win his header, but Naismith got in between them and scored, while the second was a great finish as Wallace Duffy got himself into a good defensive position, but Boyce produced a bit of magic.
“We got the goal then suddenly Hearts were hanging on. Our younger players have done terrifically well, but we need to get a wee bit of experience back as it showed in the last 15 minutes or so the difference that can make.”
Inverness were fresh from their first victory of the campaign against Arbroath the previous weekend, and Robertson had the luxury of being able to name the same team for the trip to the capital. His depth was also boosted by the return of James Vincent and Shane Sutherland to the bench.
There was precious little to separate the sides in an uneventful first half, with the hosts coming closest on 11 minutes when Boyce nodded wide after Craig Halkett had knocked an Olly Lee free-kick across goal.
Although Inverness enjoyed some decent spells of attacking play, they struggled to create the chances to show for it, with Hearts coming closest to netting before the interval through efforts from Michael Smith and Peter Haring which narrowly missed the target.
Hearts’ breakthrough arrived less than a minute into the second half, however, with Naismith stooping to spectacularly volley Stephen Kingsley’s delivery into Mark Ridgers’ far corner.
Inverness looked for a quick response, with the dynamic Kennedy seeing an effort deflected wide after latching on to a loose ball.
Robertson introduced Sutherland in place of Roddy MacGregor in the push for a leveller, however, Robbie Neilson’s men doubled their lead on 69 minutes. Olly Lee broke down the inside right channel before cutting the ball across goal, where former Ross County attacker Boyce was on hand to deceive Ridgers with a deft back-heeled finish.
Hearts looked to inflict further damage, with substitute Aidy White crashing a strike off the crossbar.
Inverness rallied in the latter stages following the addition of substitutes Doran, Sutherland and James Keatings. They set up a tense finish when substitute Doran met a Wallace Duffy delivery from the right flank with a glancing header which was beyond Gordon’s reach, but the visitors were thwarted in their late push for a leveller.
Robertson, who had laid a wreath in tribute to late former Hearts defender Marius Zaliukas prior to the game, felt his side lacked a clinical edge in their late push.
Robertson added: “We stuck at it. We got our experienced boys on, but they can only give us 15 or 20 minutes at the moment as they only started training at the beginning of the week.
“The goal made them nervous, but another couple of half-chances came along.”
