Cameron Harper is hoping his late goal against Arbroath at Gayfield can help swing momentum for Caley Thistle.
The 22-year-old defender netted in injury time in the Championship encounter to cancel out Adam McKinnon’s 82nd-minute opener for Arbroath.
It was a valuable point gained for Duncan Ferguson’s side who were staring down the barrel of being dragged further into the relegation battle with basement side Arbroath until Harper’s late leveller.
The draw means ninth-placed ICT remain six points clear of Arbroath at the bottom of the table and are one behind Queen’s Park, who sit in eighth with 27 points.
Harper said: “It is a massive goal for us, to be honest. A point is not the best result, but it keeps us moving up the way.
“I didn’t feel like we deserved to be behind in the game, but it is what happens when you come down here. I felt like we were on top for the first half and had a lot of chances.
“There were a good few cut-backs we should be scoring and there were good opportunities.
“The boys are convinced we should have had a penalty in the second half, so to go 1-0 down is a real suckerpunch. You think of the worst possible thing and that’s you done.
“Thankfully it went in. I think I managed to get back to the halfway line before it had even gone in the back of the net – it was that much of a pea-roller, but a goal is a goal and I don’t care.”
Harper urges Caley Thistle to commit to improving defensively
Harper believes his side must take the point as a positive as it could make a difference during the run-in to the end of the season.
He added: “It could be a vital point come the end of the season, but we just won’t know until then.
“We’ve got to take the point and it could be vital. It’s not the end of the world, but it could have been better.
“It gives you that belief again. Everyone was down and thought we were beat and then we get that goal and we’re right back in it again. We now have that six point gap and it gives you that wee bit of breathing room.”
Caley Thistle are without a win in their last three league matches and Harper knows there are issues his side need to address.
They return to Championship action on Tuesday night against Dunfermline Athletic at the Caledonian Stadium.
The defender said: “We have been pretty honest about it – we need to keep goals out at the other end.
“It’s maybe about managing the game better and being 100 per cent assertive in everything that we are doing defensively. I wouldn’t care if someone made a mistake, but they’re committed – don’t be tentative. We need to be better at that.
“We’ve scored goals. We scored three against Partick Thistle and three at Raith Rovers and these are teams right at the top of the league. If we manage to keep a few more clean sheets then we will be safe.”
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