Glimmer of hope for Caley
Foran hails the warrior spirit as his Inverness fighters boost chances of landing play-off spot
TOO little, too late? Probably, but there remains a glimmer of hope for Inverness Caley after this deserved and deceptively comprehensive defeat of relegation rivals Hamilton.
There had seemed a finality about the Highland side’s 4-0 derby humbling at the hands of Ross County in the previous fixture.
But if resignation descended in the aftermath of that humiliation, there also appears to have been a happier knock-on effect. Previously tense and deflated, this group of players discovered a new energy and freedom.
This was more like the Inverness of old, with skipper Gary Warren attacking the ball with warrior-like aggression and the midfield duo of Ross Draper and Greg Tansey pulling the strings as they created enough chances to win two or three matches in the first half alone.
Performances like this have been all too rare since the club’s board of directors decided to replace their Scottish Cup-winning manager John Hughes with Foran last summer but, with three games to play, they have inched to within four points of a play-off place.
As they seek to preserve their seven-year long association with the top flight, Foran and his players will take as much encouragement from Hamilton’s mess of a showing as their own improved display.
The next two fixtures are away to Kilmarnock and Dundee but it’s debatable that home advantage counts for much at this hollow venue anyway.
There were 2,468 souls and a live broadcast team here to witness this match and there was barely a hint of the game’s do-or-die context in the sound emanating from the stands.
With Foran’s calls to his players clearly audible throughout, there must have been a temptation for Sky’s production team to pipe some artificial crowd noise into their transmission.
The Irishman had called for his players to ‘man up’ and promised to pick a physical team against one of the league’s more awkward propositions. He did indeed ring the changes from that Dingwall drubbing with stalwarts Warren and Draper back in alongside Brad McKay. Henri Anier and Billy Mckay were restored up front.
It was an attack-minded selection and the Highlanders started with a rare intensity.
Draper signalled his arrival with a fair but thudding tackle on Accies enforcer Darian Mackinnon, while winger Jake Mulraney looked in the mood as he stretched full-back Giannis Skondras, one bursting run feeding Anier for a shot that curled past Remi Matthews’ goal.
Mulraney’s quick feet brought the trip from Massimo Donati that yielded the opening goal.
Regardless of the relegation outcome, Tansey will not be at Inverness next season and he demonstrated the dead-ball skills, which have been acquired by Aberdeen, when he set up Brad McKay with a curling free-kick that invited a simple finish from the defender at the back post.
Alex Fisher then headed over before picking Rakish Bingham’s pocket to deliver a pass to Billy Mckay. The on-loan Wigan man lashed his shot straight at Matthews before firing another wide when given time and space.
We also had a couple of candidates for miss of the season — one at either end. How Fisher failed to score after Matthews parried Tansey’s long-range effort was a mystery. Rather than nod the ball into the empty net, the striker barely glanced the ball and it crept wide.
Mackinnon then had an opportunity for Hamilton and howled in frustration after he stole behind the home defence but jabbed his effort wide.
Caley Thistle scored their second nine minutes later. Another Tansey dead-ball helped do the damage, Donati throwing a wrestling move on Draper as they vied at the back post. Andrew Dallas pointed to the spot and Tansey calmly converted.
Donati was booked for his infringement and paid at the break when withdrawn by Martin Canning in a double substitution that also saw Bingham hooked and Ali Crawford and Danny Redmond come off the bench.
The result was an improved second-half performance in which Dougie Imrie turned to swerve a shot just wide and Crawford forced Caley keeper Ryan Esson to look sharp with a free-kick.
There was another penalty call for Dallas as Esson slid in to tackle Crawford near the goal-line but the referee signalled for a corner as the Accies players protested.
None of the Inverness attacking quartet looked convincing in front of goal, yet still they contrived to create chances.
Anier really should have played in Fisher for a tap-in, then whacked another opportunity high and wide after beating Scott McMann.
But the home team continued to find gaps. With Fisher taken off, substitute Scott Boden looked in the mood to do some damage.
Flagged offside before deftly chipping Matthews, the striker tried to repeat the trick a few moments later, but this time his shot was a shade too high.
Hamilton pulled back a goal at the end when Mackinnon crossed and defender Louis Laing got caught under the ball. Redmond pulled the ball down neatly before turning to place his shot behind Esson.
It was a lovely piece of skill but Canning first needs his team to address the basics if such moments are to count.