The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Caley Thistle grind out win
Caley Thistle continued their superb start to the season with a 2-1 win at Kilmarnock on Saturday but midfielder James Vincent accepted Inverness were far from their best.
Terry Butcher’s men are three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership having won five of their opening six matches.
Caley Jags have been earning plenty of plaudits for their free-flowing and attacking style in recent games but this was a more resilient performance.
Former Kidderminster Harriers player Vincent was pleased Inverness maintained their unbeaten start to the season, even if the performance was more pragmatic than pretty.
The 23- year- old said: “After the match the manager asked us to put up our hand if we had played well and I couldn’t count many hands going up. We all talked about the performance but you are not going to be happy with every game. Sometimes you have to be happy with the result, so we will take three points and build on it for the next match.
“In our previous games we have been playing very good football but we showed a different side. We proved we can grind out results. We displayed a good resilience to get the three points.”
Winning games when not at your best is always the sign of a good team.
Caley Thistle have been rightly praised for the exciting brand of football which has taken them to the Scottish Premiership’s summit but these three points were won through discipline, doggedness and determination.
Terry Butcher’s men remain unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership with five victories from their opening six matches – a stark contrast to last year’s stuttering start in which they failed to pick up a win in their first seven matches.
Despite that relatively poor start, Caley Jags still went on to finish in fourth place – their highest topflight placing – and only narrowly missed out on qualifying for European competition.
That disappointment is undoubtedly the driving force behind this early season run and the foundations are already being laid for another impressive campaign that can have a happier ending this time around.
Caley Thistle were unchanged from the team which eased to a 2-0victory against Hearts prior to the international break and they made an excellent start by taking the lead with a beautifully crafted goal with only six minutes elapsed.
Along throw into the box from Josh Meekings had caused consternation in
“Killie afforded McKay the freedom of Ayrshire”
the Kilmarnock penalty area before the ball broke to James Vincent on the edge of the box. His cross was flicked on by Billy McKay to the unmarked Aaron Doran, who could have blasted the ball goalwards but, instead, calmly volleyed it across goal for captain Richie Foran to steer the ball into the net from close range.
The visitors should have doubled their advantage before the break against a Killie side bereft of confidence which struggled to keep possession or test the Caley Thistle rearguard.
Gary Warren went closest for Caley Thistle, but his looping header was cleared on the line by Kyle Jacobs just before the half hour mark.
Michael Gardyne, the former Ross County player, was the only Kilmarnock