Taskmaster Foran roasts his winners
RICHIE FORAN claimed he enjoyed his dugout debut after watching his Inverness side rack up a Betfred Cup Group C win at Cowdenbeath.
But that did not stop the hard-to-please Dubliner from informing his players at full-time that they slipped below the standards he expects.
Gary Warren’s 74thminute header avoided the need for penalties after Blue Brazil defender Dean Brett had cancelled out Ross Draper’s opener in the first half.
‘I’m pleased with the result, I thought we deserved it,’ remarked Foran. ‘We hit the crossbar three times, their keeper (David McGurn) pulled off a few good saves.
‘Overall, it’s a deserved three points, but we told the lads we expect a better performance, better passing. We were a bit slack to second balls.’
After 18 minutes, Draper was the beneficiary as debutant Scott Boden shrugged off a challenge before having the composure to look up and find his team-mate. With McGurn out of position, all Draper had to do was hit the target.
A rare Cowdenbeath attack in the 23rd minute yielded an equaliser.
Lewis Moore managed to dig out a low cross in a congested box and the long-serving Brett guided a side-footed volley past Ryan Esson from 12 yards.
The Highland outfit brushed themselves down and continued to threaten.
Utilising the wind, Iain Vigurs’ left-footed freekick was pushed on to the woodwork by Cowdenbeath keeper McGurn. Vigurs had already headed off the bar earlier in the match.
And the crossbar denied the midfielder for a third time after his header from Greg Tansey’s corner bounced down on the wrong side of the line.
But Warren notched the winner after his header from a Tansey corner was ruled to have landed over the line after hitting the underside of the bar.
Cowdenbeath boss Liam Fox said afterwards: ‘We’re not going to be judged this season on how we do against the likes of Inverness. There are positives to take for us.’