Caley Thistle dug deep but failed to claim a point in an uninspiring Premiership encounter against Motherwell at Caledonian Stadium last night.
Substitute Ryan Christie came off the bench to score his first goal for the club as his strike cancelled out Estonian Henri Anier’s goal for Motherwell and take the sting out of a restless home support who had harangued their team for much of the game.
But with the home supporters urging their team forward former Caley Jags midfielder Iain Vigurs netted a dramatic winner eight minutes from time to take the Steelmen up to second place above Aberdeen.
Caley Thistle manager John Hughes made three changes to the side which drew 2-2 with St Mirren on Saturday.
Goalkeeper coach Ryan Esson came in for his first appearance of the season, with Dean Brill dropping to the bench.
Carl Tremarco and Danny Devine also came in to a new-look back four in place of Ryan Christie, who also dropped to the bench, and Josh Meekings, who was suspended after his red card against the Buddies.
Motherwell manager Stuart McCall made three changes, with Fraser Kerr, Henri Anier and Jack Leitch coming in for Zaine Francis-Angol, Craig Moore and Lionel Ainsworth who all dropped to the bench.
Both managers had labelled this game as a must-win and it showed as the two teams committed men forward in pursuit of the opening goal but all the shots towards goal were of the long-range variety.
Former Inverness midfielder Iain Vigurs saw his shot punched away by Esson before Graeme Shinnie, who was pushed into a midfield role for the Highlanders, almost gave his side an early lead with a fine 20-yard strike in the 13th minute but Well goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen did well to turn his effort past the post.
Tremarco and Greg Tansey were next to try their luck for Hughes’s side but both men failed to hit the target with 20-yard drives, while Well were happy to trade spectacular efforts of their own as Reid fired in a 30-yard shot which Esson did well to parry.
Inverness were trying to play possession football in an attempt to get in behind the Well defence but the efforts of the players found little support from the stands where there were calls for a more direct approach from the team.
The mood of the home support plummeted even further when the visitors broke the deadlock six minutes before the break.
It was an old-fashioned back-to-front goal, too, as Fraser Kerr’s 40-yard ball sent Henri Anier clear on goal and he held off the challenge of Gary Warren to slot his strike beyond the advancing Esson.
Well manager McCall made a change at the break, bringing on Zaine Francis-Angol for Reid.
The visitors, with the one-goal lead, were content to sit deep, soak up the pressure from the home side and play on the counterattack. The tactic made for more frustration for the home supporters, who were growing increasingly agitated at seeing their side fail to muster an attack.
By the hour mark the boos were beginning to echo and the atmosphere was clearly taking its toll on Hughes’s players, who were visibly wilting under the strain.
Inspiration was needed badly from somewhere and Hughes turned to teenager Ryan Christie to provide it, sending the youngster on for Liam Polworth.
Within minutes of his arrival there was a noticeable spark about the Highlanders and they went close to restoring parity in spectacular fashion through Tansey’s 30-yard strike which beat Nielsen but came crashing back off his left post. With time running out, Hughes had to gamble and right back David Raven was withdrawn in favour of Marley Watkins.
The mood within Caledonian Stadium finally took a turn for the better 16 minutes from time as the goal the home side craved came out of nowhere.
There was nothing pretty about the build-up as the ball broke to Christie 25 yards from goal but the youngster took a touch before hammering the ball low past Nielsen from 25 yards.
Inverness pushed for a winner but they were caught by the Steelmen as Moore and Vigurs managed to find themselves two on one against Inverness defender Danny Devine and the duo took full advantage with the interchange of passes ending with Vigurs firing low past Esson from 16 yards.