James Vincent says Caley Thistle will once again need to live up to the favourites tag if they are to progress past Falkirk into the Scottish Cup final.
Having risen to third in the Championship following a run of six wins from their last seven matches, confidence is high among Billy Dodds’ squad ahead of this weekend’s Hampden Park semi-final showdown.
Caley Jags have defeated Premiership opposition in the form of Livingston and Kilmarnock in order to reach the last four of the competition.
On this occasion, however, the burden of expectation will fall upon the Highlanders against a Bairns side who are currently placed second in League One.
Falkirk were also in the division below when the sides met in the 2015 final, with Inverness fresh from finishing third in the Premiership when they took on then-Championship opponents with history on the line.
Having knocked out Celtic in the semi-finals that year, Vincent says dealing with the pressure of being favourites made the final an altogether different challenge.
Vincent said: “There was always that pressure, especially considering we had built a successful team and were consistently playing well.
“That almost added to it. It’s not like we weren’t in a good run of form or we didn’t think we had the squad.
“We were more than capable of getting to finals. We did it the year before and got beaten by Aberdeen (the 2014 League Cup final).
“We knew Falkirk were still a good team, and had a lot of good players.
“They had been successful, they were always in and around in trying to get promoted into the Premiership.
“It came with a little bit of added pressure which on another day could have gone the other way, but I’m glad the lads were mentally strong and we managed to get through.”
Inverness had to show resolve
Inverness took a first half lead through Marley Watkins, however, their path to victory was disrupted by the dismissal of Carl Tremarco 15 minutes from time.
Peter Grant levelled for the Bairns five minutes later, at which point the momentum appeared to be firmly with the lower league side.
Vincent says the resolve within John Hughes’ side ensured they were able to navigate their way through the challenges they faced.
He added: “The way the game ebbed and flowed, it was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions.
“I’m just glad we built on a good platform, and had the steady heads that meant we could deal with any sort of rocks and issues.
“We were under the cosh for a little bit of time. Had it gone to extra-time, who knows what could have happened?”
Vincent hopes Caley Jags are headed back in right direction
Inverness’ cup victory was the high point of a successful period for the club, during which they recorded three successive top-six finishes in the top flight.
Just two years later, however, the Highlanders suffered relegation to the second-tier – where they have remained since.
Vincent returned to Inverness for a second spell in 2019, spending two years with the club before leaving to join Hereford.
He now plays for FC United of Manchester in the Northern Premier League.
The 33-year-old hopes Caley Jags’ run to the latter stages of the Scottish Cup once more is a sign they are headed in the right direction.
Vincent added: “It was fantastic. The club had done well before, we had really grafted to something special within the club.
“It’s unfortunate the way the club has gone – they got relegated and they have been fighting to get back.
“But at the time we were really pushing high and it was going well.
“To be in and around that sort of success, and effectively see the town come together, was really good.”
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