Winger Nathan Shaw is urging Caley Thistle not to stop in their relentless pursuit of a top-four place in this season’s Championship.
The fleet-footed wide man netted the second goal in Saturday’s impressive 2-0 win against injury-hit Raith Rovers.
It was the outcome they needed to take them into fifth position with just five games to go.
They are five points behind fourth-placed Ayr United and can slice that to two points if they win their game in hand on Tuesday at home to eighth-placed Arbroath.
Ayr firmly within sight for Caley Jags
The 22-year-old, who has dazzled in the number 22 shirt since signing last summer from AFC Fylde, is determined to help ICT win their fifth successive league fixture.
He said: “We can’t stop now. We have to keep going. Tuesday against Arbroath is our game in hand and that will be massive.
“Hopefully we can pull three points closer to the top four. We look forward to what will be another challenge. We can’t wait.
“All we can do is focus on ourselves. We cannot get too distracted by anyone else.
“We want to keep putting in the performances and hopefully the results will come with that. Let’s see where we are at the end of the season and hopefully we will be in the play-offs.”
Early goals put Inverness in control
And his magic moment against Rovers came when he rifled an unstoppable shot past Jamie MacDonald to add on to Jay Henderson’s 11th-minute opener.
Shaw felt earning the two-goal cushion well within the first half gave them control of the contest.
He said: “Goals change games and scoring two early on changed the rest of the game.
“We had to stay professional and manage the game and I felt we did that.
22' | 2-0
GOALLLLLLLLLLL! WHAT A FINISH FROM NATHAN SHAW! pic.twitter.com/kB000nnIuZ
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 8, 2023
“It was a good team performance and a good result, which we obviously needed. Every game between now and the end of the season is so important.
“It’s another step in the right direction. We’ve got to knuckle down and look forward to Tuesday.”
Speaking about his goal which deflated Raith so early on, Shaw added: “I didn’t really have to do much.
“I had to just keep it on target and then you always have a chance. I was delighted to see it hit the back of the net.”
Shaw wants wins all way into semis
Although Caley Thistle are clearly focused on trying to win promotion to the Premiership, the countdown is firmly on for April 29 and the Scottish Cup semi against League 1 Falkirk at Hampden.
The talented Englishman hopes they can win the four games before facing Falkirk, which will mean a massive chance of glory on two fronts will await the team.
🏆🎟️ Semi Final Ticket Sales and Collections will be available from 10am – 2pm from the Club Shop tomorrow
Between 2pm and kick-off only tickets will be available for the game v Raith Rovers. pic.twitter.com/zXabZB9Qf2
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 7, 2023
He said: “If we can keep winning until the semi-final we will be in a really strong position in the league and it will give us a lot of momentum going into that semi-final to show what we can do.
“Hopefully we can then see where that takes us. If it’s a positive performance, we could be in the final of the Scottish Cup.”
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