Caley Thistle maintained their push for the promotion play-offs from the Championship as they defeated visitors Raith Rovers 2-0.
It’s a result which all but ends the Kirkcaldy club’s hopes of making it into the top four, but ICT are now fifth, just five points behind Ayr United with a game in hand.
Jay Henderson shot Inverness in front early on and Nathan Shaw doubled the advantage just after 21 minutes and that was enough to secure the result.
Amazingly, the last time Caley Thistle lost to Rovers in a league game was in October 2000, some 25 fixtures ago.
It took a little time for the match to settle into a pattern of any sort and the first opportunity fell to Rovers’ Aidan Connolly, who drew a save from Mark Ridgers after a slack Zak Delaney pass.
Home fans didn’t have to wait long to celebrate a goal, however, as their side marched ahead on 11th minute.
Cammy Harper burst forward, considered taking a shot, but opted to feed it to on-loan St Mirren winger Jay Henderson, who dispatched a low shot past Jamie MacDonald into the net for his fourth goal of the season.
And the slick, patient play from Inverness was keeping Rovers moving and they were 2-0 up after 21 minutes.
Billy Mckay and Aaron Doran combined on the right side of the box, a pass broke to Shaw and the winger rifled the ball high into the net for his seventh goal of the campaign. It was all going to plan from the hosts’ point of view.
Raith needed to find their feet and Lewis Vaughan sent a low shot beyond the left post from fully 25 yards.
Doran was close to adding a third just before the break, but a smart MacDonald stop kept it at two.
There was very little of note for much of the second half until Billy Mckay drilled a shot off target just before the hour mark.
Raith probed and pressed for a way back into the match, but Inverness were well organised and never looked in danger of throwing it away.
On Tuesday, the Caley Jags are home to Arbroath, while new leaders Dundee are the hosts for Raith Rovers.
Talking points
Record unbeaten run on the line once more
Former Aberdeen midfielder Paul Sheerin was a Caley Thistle scorer on the last occasion ICT suffered a league loss against the Kirkcaldy side.
Sheerin scored late on in the 2-1 home defeat almost 23 years ago, with goals for Jay Stein and Ivan Mballa earning Raith full points in the Division One match in Inverness.
Although Rovers have defeated ICT in cups, it seems they could not get over the line on league business.
The most memorable example of that came in March 2022 when it took two last-gasp Logan Chalmers goals to turn a 2-1 deficit into a stunning 3-2 victory in Fife.
Passing game was a joy to watch as Rovers toiled
The first half goals put Caley Thistle in control in this game and the confidence of a team on the up in terms of results and league position was there for all to see.
It was neat, one-touch play, with plenty of movement from the Highlanders as Raith chased shadows in the sunshine.
The defeat for the seventh-placed Stark Park’s side all but puts them out of play-off contention. They realistically had to win here.
No goals but Billy Mckay was buzzing and effective
Although 15-goal striker Billy Mckay didn’t add to that tally against Raith, he was noticeable by his work-rate all over the park.
He was back defending, chasing opponents out wide and looking for a chance at the top end of the park. It wasn’t to be in terms of a goal, but his performance will have pleased boss Billy Dodds.
Talking tactics
Inverness were unchanged from the 11 who began at Morton last week, meaning Henderson, who came off early with an ankle knock at Cappielow, was fit and ready.
Injuries badly hit Rovers’ options, which led to Ian Murray making four changes from the side which slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Hamilton Accies on Tuesday.
On-loan Ross County striker William Akio, Connor McBride, Kieran Ngwenya and Dylan Easton were handed starts. Their four-man bench indicated their selection woes.
Referee watch
Craig Napier ignored pleas from Raith for a first half spot-kick when the ball appeared to strike defender Robbie Deas on the arm, but that was the only potential flashpoint for the official. He didn’t even issue a booking.
Player ratings
CALEY THISTLE (4-4-1-1): Ridgers 6, Harper 6, Welsh 6, Deas 6, Carson 6, Billy Mckay 7 (Samuels 70), Doran 7 (Woods 77) , Allardice 6, Henderson 7 (Boyd 77), Shaw 7 (Hyde 82), Delaney 6.
Subs not used: Cammy MacKay (GK), Devine, Hyde, Daniel MacKay, Nicolson.
RAITH ROVERS (4-1-4-1): MacDonald 6, Millen 5 (Young 52), Nolan 6, Connolly 6, Vaughan 7, McBride 6, Ngwenya 6, Stanton 6, Akio 6 (Goncalves 82), Brown 6, Easton 6 (Ross 82).
Subs not used: Thomson (GK).
Star man
Nathan Shaw: Not only did the ever-increasingly confident wide player score another goal, but his attacking talent and awareness was a problem for the Fifers.
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