Caley put County’s champagne on ice

THE champagne lost its sparkle when Inverness rained on Ross County’s open-top bus parade through the streets of Dingwall.

County had planned the biggest party the Ross-shire market town has ever seen to celebrate winning the League Cup a week ago.

Instead, they had to settle for a scaled down version after landing their first national silverware since being elected to the Scottish League 22 years ago.

First-half goals from Liam Polworth and Ross Draper and a brilliant early second-half howitzer from Miles Storey earned Inverness their fifth successive win at the Global Energy Stadium and their first away clean sheet in the Premiership.

It also ended a seven-match winless run for John Hughes’ side, including Hibs ending Caley Thistle’s hold on the Scottish Cup in the midweek quarter-final replay.

Inverness remain ninth in the Premiership because of results elsewhere and still have much work to do if they are to achieve their objective of a top-six place, while County have slipped from fourth to sixth.

Carl Tremarco provided the spark after 25 minutes when he rattled the County crossbar with a well-struck shot from 20 yards after Polworth had set him up.

County responded when Jackson Irvine seemed certain to score after he chased down a pass from Liam Boyce a minute or so later, but his aim was a fraction out and he ended up clipping the post.

County’s failure to mark in the 32nd minute enabled Storey to break through the unguarded middle and release Polworth into space down the right, from where he was able to finish from just outside the box.

Draper was then able to score with a first-time shot from 12 yards five minutes later after Liam Hughes had been able to set up the chance with a neat flick into his path.

Perhaps if County had managed to hold out for longer than three minutes of the second half, they might have made a game of it.

But when Storey dispatched a volley out of nothing into the corner from 25 yards, there was no way back for Jim McIntyre’s team, who avoided conceding a fourth goal when Polworth was denied by the width of the crossbar.

Caley boss Hughes was gracious enough to admit that his side had enjoyed a rub of the green at key moments as Inverness recorded their 24th derby success compared to County’s record of 11 wins in addition to 16 draws.

But he also praised his players for showing the character necessary to bounce back from their cup heartache.

He said: ‘Ross County had an early chance through Alex Schalk and Jackson Irvine hit the post when clean through on goal and, had either of these gone in, it might have been a different game.

‘But, from the moment we scored, I felt there was only going to be one winner and after the week we’ve had, going out of the Scottish Cup, to come back from the disappointment in this manner speaks volumes about the players.

‘I think that’s the first time we’ve scored three goals this season and, had our decision-making in the final third been better, we could have had another couple.

‘We’ll rest up in the next couple of weeks but we’ve set ourselves a standard with this performance and I would like to think we are in the mix for the top six, but all we can do is try to get results.’

Counterpart McIntyre bemoaned missed opportunities, pointing out that County had four chances to score.

He added: ‘I felt in the first half we were the better side until we lost a goal. We knew the next goal would be crucial and to lose it the way we did was sickening.

‘It was a clear hand ball and the referee has to get them right. I’ve watched it back on the video and Storey has controlled the ball with both hands before volleying it in.

‘The referee was looking right at it and it’s not his chest, it’s arms and that was disappointing as it took the wind right out of our sails and, from then on, Inverness bossed the game.

‘We knew if we didn’t win we might drop a place or two, but if we win our next two games we know we’ll be in the top six and that’s our aim.’