Striker Austin Samuels reckons Caley Thistle are showing early signs of promise after leaving Livingston with three Premier Sport Cup points in the bag.
The former Wolves frontman netted the opener in a Group G 2-1 victory at their Premiership hosts on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Max Stryjek was sent off for a clumsy collision with Samuels in the second half before on-loan Hibs starlet Daniel MacKay marked his Inverness return with the second goal.
Jason Holt rifled the Lions back into contention then missed a penalty, which blew their chances of earning a shoot-out for a bonus point and ICT won 2-1.
It means following their 1-0 victory at League 2 champions Kelty Hearts on Saturday, ICT are the table-toppers, albeit with the Fifers and Cove Rangers only having played one fixture.
New arrivals Zak Delaney, Nathan Shaw, Daniel MacKay, George Oakley and Steven Boyd all featured at Livi as the team aim to progress to the knockouts of the League Cup for the first time since 2016–17.
Taming Lions sets standards for ICT
Samuels, who was on loan at Aberdeen last term, likes the look of the side at these early stages.
He said: “It was a really good result. Livingston pushed us back a lot towards the end.
“Even with 10 men, they were still coming at us, but these types of wins are good – when you grind them out.
“Beating a Premiership team shows we can hold our own. I knew Livingston had a good home record, so it was a good result for us.
“But Championship teams are not easy either and we have to bring these types of performances into those games as well.
“Everyone is settling in well and I feel like we have a really good team this season.
“You can see on the pitch how we get the ball moving and the defence has also been top drawer.
“Players are putting their bodies on the line and we have some really composed players in the side too, such as Deasy (Robbie Deas) and Zak (Delaney).”
Early goal great for confidence
Samuels, 21, was sharp in pre-season and he’s delighted to get his first competitive goal on matchday two.
He said: “Towards the end of last season, my confidence grew as I got used to the team a lot more.
“That carried into pre-season and the first cup games, so hopefully we can all kick on from here.
“It’s always good to get a goal so early in the season. You start as you mean to go on.
“You don’t want to be waiting too long to get your first goal as a striker.”
Wiped out in second half flashpoint
As well as scoring, Samuels was involved in another big moment in Tuesday’s tie when Stryjek cleaned him out with a challenge on the edge of the box.
That led to referee Alan Muir sending the Pole off with more than half an hour to go and Caley Thistle one goal to the good.
The forward reported no ill-effects from the incident.
He added: “I am alright. I saw the ball coming over and I just tried to take it down when the keeper came out. He hit me on the head.
“It was either his knee or foot which caught me, but he definitely caught me on the head, but I’m feeling alright.”
Building momentum for league start
ICT return to action next Tuesday when League 2 opponents Albion Rovers visit Inverness before the group stages conclude with Cove Rangers coming to the Caledonian Stadium a week on Saturday.
Samuels is keen to keep the winning form going in front of the local support.
He said: “It will be good to get back in front of our home fans, who were really supportive last season.
“Hopefully we can get some more strong results before the league season starts (on July 30).”
FULL TIME: Livingston 1-2 ICTFC
Goals from Austin Samuels and Daniel MacKay give us three big points in the Group!
GET IN! 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/JfcPdiRPDQ
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) July 12, 2022
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