Coach Ryan Esson was proud of his under-18s as they went down to a 3-0 SPFL Trust Trophy defeat at Hamilton Accies.
An early Sam Nixon own goal and Reegan Mimnaugh effort had Accied 2-0 ahead at half-time.
With nine regular players sidelined through injury, ICT took the decision last week to pitch mainly the 18s into the action against a mixed-up Accies side.
The young Inverness side performed well, producing chances and will have learned from the experience, despite being undone in this defeat.
Esson had nothing but praise for his group for the way they performed.
He said: “I was absolutely proud of the team, especially in the first half when we had a good few chances.
“We stuck to our game plan and we were unlucky. The first goal was unlucky with Sam where it takes a wee nick off Mark, it spins off Sam to go into the back of the net.
“All in all, it was a good day. Hamilton were very good and they put out a decent side with experience. It was a bit daunting to begin with, but we grew into the game and I thought we held our own for big parts of it until we tired after 60 minutes.
“We reacted really well to losing the early goal and we could have gone under, but we actually got together and grew into the game.”
Hamilton manager John Rankin, meanwhile, was full of praise for both sets of players for showing up so well.
He said: “It was a good game of football. Credit to Inverness – I thought their kids were great. They were really good.
“Likewise, our young boys were really good and exceptional at times. They passed the ball really well and were not intimidated because we had some senior boys on the pitch as well. They met the demands put on them to move the ball quickly and sharp.
“It was also nice to be on the front foot and get an early goal. It settled the players’ nerves, but we moved the ball really well, especially in the first half.
“In the second half, we got a wee bit complacent, but credit to Inverness who shifted across well and their young players were decent.”
Inverness return to New Douglas Park next weekend on Championship duty, with a more familiar line-up hunting points to stay within range of the top five.
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