inverness CALEY thistle 2
White (20), Storey (63) AYR United 0
John Robertson described jet-propelled Miles Storey as “unplayable” in current form after the Aberdeen flop tormented Ayr United.
The English attacker – back in the Highlands after three years away – showed he is beginning to recapture the performance levels that enticed the Dons to swoop.
But Robertson also praised the entire team after a third win and third clean sheet in a row kept the pressure on Dundee United.
The Caley Thistle boss said: “When Miles plays like that, in this league, he’s unplayable.
“He’s very difficult to stop when he’s in the mood and, in the last few games, he has been in the mood.
“But, while Miles was outstanding, I couldn’t really pick out one individual because a lot of them looked very sharp.”
Caley Thistle have bossed this fixture since Robertson’s arrival, with five victories and two draws in the last seven meetings before this latest comfortable win.
Early home pressure set the tone and saw Jordan White head over the bar from James Keatings’ corner, while Aaron Muirhead’s mis-timed 18-yard line challenge on Aaron Doran somehow went unpunished.
The home breakthrough came after 20 minutes.
From a fine David Carson ball to his feet, White took a first touch just inside the penalty area and sent a first-time cushioned finish into the left-hand corner of the net.
Ayr were brighter for a spell into the second half, with Alan Forrest seeing an angled shot from the left of the box shave the outside of the post. But the hosts struck again on the counter-attack after 63 minutes.
Storey made a 40-yard burst all the way into the left side of Ayr’s box and, with Keatings screaming for a pass, somehow sent a shot squirming through the grasp of keeper Ross Doohan and trickling over the line.
Beaten boss Mark Kerr, who has lost five of the squad Ian Mccall had last season, admitted: “We didn’t pass the ball at all and didn’t do our defensive side well.
“We normally have a good tight base to our team, but it’s not there just now.”