Caley Thistle progressed to the fourth-round of the Scottish Cup thanks to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over in-form League Two visitors Stirling Albion.
The result is a welcome boost for Billy Dodds’ men as this brought to an end a run of six games without a win.
Dale Carrick headed the Binos into a surprise first half lead, but defender Wallace Duffy swiftly levelled with a header.
Max Ram gave ICT the lead, but there was still time for Carrick to net again to make it 2-2 at the interval.
Aaron Doran, in his 350th appearance for the club, gave ICT the victory as the go into Monday’s draw.
Home head coach Billy Dodds, with seven players sidelined through injury, had little wiggle room in terms of shaking up his team.
An hour before kick-off, the north side announced former Newcastle United’s academy right-back Ryan Barrett, 21, had signed on a short-term deal until January.
The ex-Wales under-21 international began the afternoon on the bench, but he came on deep into the tie for his debut.
One week on from their gutsy 2-2 draw with pace-setters Ayr United, in came Lewis Hyde for captain Sean Welsh, who didn’t make it after playing with a knock last week.
There was a welcome return to the bench for on-loan Hibs winger Dan MacKay, having been out since mid-October. He replaced forward Billy Mckay midway through the second period.
Stirling Albion came into this tie fresh from a 3-1 home league win against East Fife, which placed them just three points behind leaders Dumbarton.
Their manager, former Aberdeen captain Darren Young, made just one change to his starting 11, with Harrison Clark coming in for the benched Ross Davidson.
Inverness find themselves six points off the pace in the race for the second-tier title, but now the pressure was on trying to take the 2015 cup-winners past this tricky test.
Stirling were a match for ICT, with neither side finding an early cutting edge.
The visitors were forced into a switch on 22 minutes when an injury for Kyle Banner saw him replaced by Davidson.
Stirling were almost in front just after that when a smart move down the right by Aaron Dunsmore took him clear and his cross was diverted just wide at close-range by on-loan Dundee United midfielder Kai Fotheringham.
Their pressure paid off on 27 minutes when, from a Fotheringham delivery, Carrick pounced to head beyond Cammy MacKay to make it 1-0.
That advantage lasted a mere three minutes though and ICT levelled when Duffy pounced to head home from a corner to ease home nerves.
Fotheringham and Dunsmore were not far off the mark soon after that, offering a reminder of Stirling’s threats.
Five minutes before the break, ICT nudged in front when Ram was on hand to knock the ball home after Aaron Doran laid it on for him.
On the stroke of half-time, there was more drama when Carrick raced through after Danny Devine mistake and he slotted past Cammy MacKay to square the contest.
It was nip and tuck well into the second half with Dodds putting on striker George Oakley for Steven Boyd as the clock reached the hour mark.
Inverness were back in front on 68 minutes when clever link-up play between Shaw and Oakley ended with Doran cheekily flicking the ball into the net past keeper Blair Currie.
Fotheringham, a constant threat for Stirling, tested Cammy MacKay, with the Inverness goalkeeper tipping his effort over the crossbar.
MacKay needed to make one more save from Ross McGeachie late on to ensure ICT kept their noses in front.
Stirling can walk away with plenty of credit, but for ICT this was a welcome return to winning ways and the chance of drawing a big gun next up.
The focus returns to the Championship next week when ICT welcome promotion rivals Dundee to the Highlands.
CALEY THISTLE (4-4-1-1) – Cammy MacKay 6, Duffy 6, Harper 6, Devine 6, Carson 6, Billy Mckay 6 (Dan MacKay 64), Doran 6, Ram 6 (Barrett 81), Hyde 6, Shaw 7, Boyd 6 (Oakley 60). Subs not used – Ridgers (GK), Strachan, Calum MacKay, Nicolson.
STIRLING ALBION (4-2-3-1) – Currie 6, McGeachie 6, McLean 6, McGregor 6, Dunsmore 7, Carrick 7, Leitch 6 (Moore 72), Denholm 6 (Thomson 72), Banner 3 (Davidson 22), Clark 6 (Cooper 82), Fotheringham 7. Subs not used – Law (GK), Burns.
Referee – Dan McFarlane.
Attendance – 738.
Man of the match – Nathan Shaw.
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