Morgan Boyes watched Caley Thistle stun his Livingston team-mates in the Scottish Cup last season on the road to Hampden.
Now, the on-loan Livi defender wants to sample the success in the knockout competition with Inverness, who were one win away from lifting the trophy for a second time.
In February, ICT knocked Livi out of the Scottish Cup with a 3-0 masterclass at the Tony Macaroni Arena after being reinstated at the expense of Queen’s Park, who fielded an ineligible player in their win at the Caledonian Stadium.
ICT, who won the trophy in 2015 under John Hughes, were beaten 3-1 by treble-winners Celtic in June’s final at the national stadium in Glasgow.
They begin this season’s Scottish Cup with a home tie against Lowland League side Cowdenbeath in the third round on Saturday.
Anything is possible in Scottish Cup
Boyes, who didn’t feature for Livi in the tie which took ICT into the last eight, says their focus must by fixed on the Blue Brazil to open the door to a potential cup run.
He said: “I was playing for Livingston last year and Inverness beat Livingston to get through in the cup.
“It just shows that, in the Scottish Cup, form doesn’t matter. Anything can happen.
“That’s why you must just look at the fixture in front of you and play to your full capabilities.
“Hopefully, this club can go on a run like last season and go as far as we can and see what we can get out of the cup this year.”
🎟️ It's the Scottish Cup Third Round this weekend as we face @CowdenbeathFC at home
Tickets available now from https://t.co/iOIFJ8EV0e, in-store at the Caledonian Stadium and over the phone on 01462 222880
Get tickets in advance to avoid delays on Matchday
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) November 21, 2023
Normal preparation for Blue Brazil
Boyes, 22, insists there will be no hint of complacency ahead of a tie where they are overwhelming favourites against the Blue Brazil.
He said: “We’re not changing anything in terms of training or how we approach the game.
“Cowdenbeath will get the respect that we give to any of our opponents.
“We will do everything we would do like it was a Championship game. We will be as professional as possible.
“Hopefully that will see us advance to the next round of the Scottish Cup.”
Defence can get even stronger – Boyes
Boyes is enjoying his spell in the Highlands, having already clocked up nine appearances this term.
He’s more than played his part in Inverness becoming less generous at the back.
Since manager Duncan Ferguson’s first fixture, which was a 3-2 Championship win at Arbroath in late September, ICT have not conceded more than one goal in any game.
That has been the foundation of a six-game unbeaten streak, including 1-1 draw away to leaders Dundee United and a fine 3-1 victory over Ayr United as well as last week’s 1-1 result at Dunfermline Athletic.
Recently bottom, ICT are now seventh in the Championship, just four points shy of fourth spot.
Players eyeing further improvement
Boyes, who gained valuable top-flight experience at the Livi Lions last year, says the ICT players know there is scope for further improvement.
He said: “Including the Arbroath game, if you look at the goals we’re conceding, we’re still not overall happy with it.
“Those goals at Arbroath were both avoidable. We conceded a set-piece against Dundee United and a penalty against Ayr, so we are looking for clean sheets, because that would then really give us in this league a high percentage chance of winning because we score goals.
“We need to take that one goal we’re conceding down to zero to give us a better chance of winning games.”
Boyes is fan of formation reshuffle
Ferguson changed formation from 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2, with the back trio including Boyes on the left, boosted by David Carson and Cammy Harper dropping back when required.
The ex-Liverpool youth player said: “I don’t mind playing in any formation. I’ll play wherever the gaffer asks me to.
“Personally though, I really do like playing in the 3-5-2 – it allows me to play to my capabilities, so I’m happy the manager has gone for that and hopefully he sticks with it, although as I say I’ll play wherever I’m asked to.”
ICT’s attacking and defensive balance
It was ahead of the recent game at Tannadice that Ferguson opted to make that formation shift to quell Jim Goodwin’s team’s attacking threats.
Boyes feels from that point Inverness have showed the best of both sides, with strength in both boxes.
He added: “Dundee United had been scoring a lot of goals and that was factored into the reasons why we changed to 3-5-2.
“People might say it’s like a back five, but we showed against Dundee United what we’ve got going forward. We didn’t sit in and we attacked really well.
“The gaffer was pleased with that and kept it the following week where we scored three against Ayr. He would have been even happier with it then and he’s opted to stick with it since.
“The gaffer will decide whether he wants to keep that in the coming games. He will pick what he wants to pick. If it’s working, it’s working.”
