COVE RANGERS 0
INVERNESS CT 1 Boyd (18)
Billy Dodds got one over his former colleague Jim McIntyre as Inverness made it five league wins on the spin to take them second behind Partick Thistle on goal difference.
Caley boss Dodds was delighted to see their run continue but he insisted there was no chance he would be getting carried away.
He said: “We can play better, and we will play better, but if you’re playing bad and winning games you’ve got to take it.”
“To win five consecutively in this league is so hard and we’ve had to dig in to do it.
“It’s a great thing, we’ve won five on the bounce and there’s more to come – we’re a team to be reckoned with, but I’m not getting carried away.”
In the other dugout Jim McIntyre reflected on a game of few chances that just didn’t go their way.
He said: “We got into really good areas but we made the wrong choices, that’s why we’ve not scored.
“It was a bit of a war of attrition from both sides and we were punished for our one moment of switching off, which they never did.”
In the ninth minute Cove thought they had broken the deadlock. Shay Logan floated in a free kick and Mitch Megginson leapt to head home – but the captain had strayed offside.
In the 18th minute a good move from the Caley Jags saw the visitors take the lead. Steven Boyd played in Billy McKay who ran into the box, down the inside-left channel, then squared it back across goal where Boyd couldn’t miss the tap in.
Cove came close to an equaliser in the 52nd minute, Megginson’s snapshot from inside the box was well kept out by Mark Ridgers who got down quickly to his right.
However, the ICT defence largely did it’s job and kept the chances to a minimum.
The best opportunity for the visitors to double their lead arrived in the 89th minute when a counterattack found Nathan Shaw, but Gourlay was able to keep out his effort.
The day then ended on a sour note for Cove when Leighton McIntosh was dismissed. McIntosh clashed with Zak Delaney who fell to the ground clutching his face in the 90th minute, the referee had no choice but to send off the substitute.
But the win was just reward for McKay who bossed proceedings and proved how vital he will be in the Caley Jags push for the
play-offs.