Caley Thistle boss Duncan Ferguson paid tribute to courageous defending after David Wotherspoon’s goal on his league debut sealed a “massive” 1-0 Championship victory over Airdrie.
It was backs-to-the-wall towards the end for Inverness, but the Everton legend’s first victory at the Caledonian Stadium made it seven points from nine since his arrival.
After 10 prior winless matches – including nine defeats – it has been a stunning transformation under fired-up Ferguson.
The home fans lapped it up at the final whistle as big Dunc punched the air in joy, and he admitted: “I didn’t totally enjoy the game – because I kicked every ball!
“But I really did enjoy it at full-time because I felt the players dug deep today.
“They were under a lot of pressure in the last 20 minutes and we know how important it was.
“If we didn’t win today, we would have been cut adrift in the league.
“It was a big win for us, massive – and I couldn’t have been prouder of the players.
“I thought defensively we were fantastic. We defended our box manfully, particularly in the second half.
“They really put their bodies on the line. It really showed the commitment of the team.”
Wotherspoon, released by St Johnstone in the summer after a decade, produced a classy first half finish to win it, and Ferguson added: “At the outset, you could see he was a wee bit rusty and maybe not quite understanding how I wanted him to play.
“But as he caught his breath a little bit, he did show that little bit of quality.
“We’d worked on it all week and he gets a fantastic goal.”
For more than half an hour, play was deadlocked with little coming off for either side.
Then, after 33 minutes, great work from Luis Longstaff down the left saw him send a low angled ball across to the edge of the area.
Billy Mckay struck hard and low, with the attempt parried by Airdrie keeper Joshua Rae, before Wotherspoon caught the rebound all wrong.
The veteran would have his moment, though.
Four minutes later, Nathan Shaw’s ball across from the right found the ex-Saints man pirouetting gracefully and dragging the ball into space with superb control, before executing an eight-yard finish.
Airdrie began to exert more and more pressure as the second half progressed, but the hosts defended superbly.
Airdrie manager Rhys McCabe said: “We had a lot of pressure, but it is what you do with the pressure.
“I wouldn’t say we were wasteful, but we could have created a lot more, especially in that second half.
“We limited them to a couple of chances, so the goal was a hard one to take as we’d controlled the first half.
“Our focus doesn’t change – my focus never changes – we never get too high when we win or too down.
“We know the trajectory we need to be on and, as long as the positives outweigh the negatives, we’re onto a winner.”
Inverness Caley Thistle (4-4-1-1) – Ridgers 7, Carson 7 (Delaney 76, 5), Devine 7 (Davidson 76, 5), Ujdur 8, Harper 7, Longstaff 6 (Brooks 61), Gilmour 7, Anderson 6, Shaw 6, Wotherspoon 7 (Sheridan 65, 6), Mckay 6 (Lodovica 65, 5).
Subs not used: MacKay, Hyde, Boyes, Thompson.
Airdrie (4-3-3) – Rae 6, Megwa 6, Watson 6, Fordyce 6, Hancock 6, Frizzell 7, McCabe 7 (Aitken 65, 6), Telfer 6, McStravick 6 (McGregor 67, 5), Todorov 6, Gallagher 6 (McGill 76).
Subs not used: Hutton, Taylor-Sinclair, O’Connor, McMaster, Aitken, Dunlop.
Referee: Calum Scott. Kept a very tight rein on the match without being overly-officious. Waved away two penalty claims, but while home one looked a strong shout, was well-sighted for both.
Man of the match: Nikola Ujdur (Inverness): The big Aussie signing was strong, solid and composed in the first half, using the ball superbly.
Very comfortable in possession and came into his own late in the match with some terrific blocks and interventions.
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