Caley Thistle will head to the seaside town of Ayr on Saturday seeking a fresh lift at the top of the Championship.
The stark statistics show Billy Dodds’ team have won just one of their last five league games.
However, the 0-0 draw at Partick Thistle disguised the fact that the Inverness team were much improved from their 1-0 midweek defeat against Arbroath, which ended a run of five straight home victories.
Two strikes off woodwork and a saved Sean Welsh penalty were the closest ICT came to leaving Firhill with three points and Kilmarnock moved two points clear of them at the top of the table after their sweeping 4-0 victory over Queen of the South at Rugby Park.
The first half was end to end, but the best opportunities were being carved out by ICT in a line-up which included returns for Michael Gardyne and Wallace Duffy in place of Manny Duku and Roddy MacGregor.
Early chances at either end
Thistle’s Zak Radden and ICT’s Aaron Doran both had shots fly wide of goal within the opening two minutes as both teams got down to business.
Inverness keeper Mark Ridgers pushed away a fine low Rudden drive before, at the other end, Walsh flashed a shot beyond the left post.
Walsh, who was a real menace, was picked out smartly by Billy Mckay and his swerving effort came back off the post.
Former Ross County striker Brian Graham headed over the bar when he met a tempting cross from Scott Tiffoney, but the visitors responded.
For the second time in the half, the woodwork came to the hosts’ rescue as Gardyne crashed an effort off the underside of the bar and Mckay’s follow-up call that it hit an arm was ignored.
Penalty save was crunch moment
The second half took a little time to burst into life but it did so with a penalty for Inverness when Doran was decked in the box by Lewis Mayo.
Sneddon got down smartly to his right side to save Welsh’s effort and it was delight for the keeper and despair for the ICT skipper.
Sneddon had to be alert moments later to turn an ambitious Doran long-range effort over the top.
Jake Hastie had the ball in the net for Thistle late on, but referee Gavin Duncan ruled it had gone out of play before Rudden crossed it.
Thistle were hanging on a bit in the closing moments and sub MacGregor was not far off the mark when he connected with a Mckay delivery.
It was not to be for the Caley Jags and their quest for a return to winning ways moves on to Somerset Park.
Best performance yet, says Dodds
Dodds, who didn’t blame Welsh for missing his spot-kick because he struck in on target and with power, hailed the display as the best so far this term.
Despite the result, he said: “We were magnificent. The pitch was not in the best condition and that’s not having a go at Partick Thistle, but it was not at its most playable, but that was our best game this season.
“I include the game at Kilmarnock (1-0 away win) and our second half against Partick Thistle (3-1 home victory). That is right up there.”
Clean sheet boost for McCall
Partick manager Ian McCall, who hailed Sneddon’s “outstanding” penalty save, is craving a consistency of results after 4-0 and 6-1 routs against Ayr and Hamilton have been followed by a trio of 0-0s against Dunfermline, Morton and now Inverness.
He said: “In the first half, they hit the bar and the post, but we had two or three really good chances as well.
“The first half was even, but I thought they were better. If any team deserved to win it, it was them.
“But our goalkeeper made a great penalty save, we’re five unbeaten and we’ve kept another clean sheet. We need to turn these draws into wins. If we’d beaten Dunfermline or Morton, then this was not a bad result.”
PARTICK THISTLE (4-4-2): Sneddon 7, Foster 6, Holt 6, Mayo 6, Tiffoney 7 (Murray 86), Bannigan 6, Graham 6 (Hastie 63), Rudden 7, Smith 6 (Gordon 63), Akinola, 6 Docherty 6. Subs not used: McCready (GK), Turner, McKenna, Maciver.
CALEY THISTLE (4-5-1): Ridgers 6, Duffy 6, Welsh 6, Deas 6, Devine 6, Gardyne 6, Mckay 6, Doran 6 (Jamieson 80), Walsh 7 (MacGregor 86), Broadfoot 6, Allardice 7. Subs not used: MacKay (GK), Harper, McDonald, Duku, McAlear.
Referee: Gavin Duncan.
Attendance: 2527.
Man of the match: Jamie Sneddon.
