Billy Mckay grabbed Caley Thistle a point in an entertaining tussle with Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park.
Jamie Gullan hit the bar early on with a header and had a penalty appeal turned away after he was clattered into by goalkeeper Mark Ridgers.
Inverness were not offering anything in an attacking sense prior to Lewis Vaughan’s opener, in which he latched upon a poor clearance to fire past Mark Ridgers from 25 yards.
After a poor first-half display, Caley Thistle were level four minutes into the second when Billy Mckay played in Jay Henderson and he finished well into the bottom corner.
Raith restored their advantage after the hour with a well-taken strike from Aidan Connolly but Mckay was the man on the spot to rescue a share of the spoils.
Passive Caley Thistle
While Raith’s front three were a joy to behold at times, the Caley Jags afforded their opponents far too much freedom.
They spent much of the first half camped in their own territory, inviting pressure from a lively home side.
The movement of Vaughan, Dylan Easton and Connolly was constant and they pressed high up the park to prevent Inverness from getting out.
But Scott Brown and Brad Spencer were winning the midfield battle and Billy Dodds’ side were crying out for an out-ball. Launching it up to Mckay was not that.
Their equaliser and the period of control they had in the game was all-too brief and they were guilty of standing off Connolly for the second.
Mckay’s heroics were able to ensure the left the game with something to show for their efforts but they cannot afford to be this passive if they have aspirations of mounting a promotion challenge.
Reliance on old heads
The spine of the Caley Thistle team is packed with experience.
Ridgers, Danny Devine, Sean Welsh, Aaron Doran and Mckay are all 30-plus and have top-flight experience.
Devine, Doran and Mckay were big parts of Inverness’ halcyon days in the Premiership, while Ridgers and Welsh have been dependable figures at the club since relegation.
It is no coincidence that since the turn of the year, when all five have been on the park together, that results have improved.
Here, Doran and Mckay linked effectively higher up the park and Welsh recycled possession well. It was an error from Devine which led to the opening goal, in which Vaughan’s shot left Ridgers flat-footed.
But it was clever play from Mckay that teed up Henderson for the equaliser and when they needed him most to rescue a point, he duly delivered in the final 10 minutes.
Continuation of Stark’s Park hoodoo
Prior to Saturday afternoon, Raith’s last home win against Caley Thistle was back in August 2000.
Granted, the two sides had not been in the same league for around half that time, but it was still a remarkable statistic to have gone for so long without beating a particular team at home.
It had looked as if Raith were going to end that run after being the better side at Stark’s Park but Mckay’s header put paid to those hopes.
The streak goes on.
Player ratings
RAITH ROVERS (4-2-3-1) – MacDonald 6; Millen 6, Lang 7, Nolan 6, Dick 6, Spencer 6, Brown 6, Connolly 7, Easton 7 (Stanton 77), Vaughan 8 (McBride 87), Gullan 6 (Akio 71). Subs not used – McNeil, Ngwenya, McGill, Mitchell, Masson, Frederiksen.
CALEY THISTLE (4-4-1-1) – Ridgers 6; Carson 6, Devine 5, Duffy 5, Delaney 6 (Harper 80), Henderson 7 (Nicolson 87), Welsh 6, Hyde 5 (Allardice 65), D MacKay 6 (Shaw 65), Doran 6 (Boyd 80), Mckay 7. Subs not used – C Mackay, Thompson, Cairns, Strachan.
Referee – Scott Lambie 6.
Star man
Lewis Vaughan – Scored one and set up another, the Raith talisman looks back to his creative best in the number 10 role.
