Gary Warren’s late equaliser earned a battling Caley Thistle a share of the spoils at Kilmarnock.
A stunning strike from Kilmarnock midfielder Souleymane Coulibaly looked set to be enough to earn the Rugby Park side victory.
But, with six minutes to go, Warren nodded home a Greg Tansey free kick to ensure Richie Foran’s side took something from a hard-fought encounter.
Warren had returned from suspension, replacing midfielder Jake Mulraney who dropped to the bench, while Welsh international Owain Fon Williams played through the pain barrier for the second successive week, despite undergoing extensive treatment for back spasms.
Kilmarnock started the day inside the top six but there remains an air of despondency around the club with supporters handing in a petition before the game with around 3,000 signatures demanding director Michael Johnston leaves the club.
With defender Scott Boyd missing through injury, the Ayrshire side handed a first start to Iain Wilson, who only turned 18 on Thursday.
It was the home side who made the more promising start with Josh Meekings producing a crucial sliding tackle to prevent Coulibaly pouncing upon a slack back-pass from Warren.
Caley Thistle were forced to play more than five minutes of the opening exchanges with a numerical while defensive midfielder Brad McKay was patched up following a clash of heads.
Despite the early Kilmarnock pressure, the visitors carved out the first shot on target with Carl Tremarco racing on to Greg Tansey’s cross-field pass before testing Jamie MacDonald with a powerful drive.
Inverness were forced into an early change after 21 minutes with Lonsana Doumbouya hobbling off and replaced by Alex Fisher.
Defender Warren went close from an enticing Iain Vigurs free kick before Killie felt they should have been awarded a penalty when a Jordan Jones cross appeared to strike McKay’s hand.
Nathan Tyson looked to have opened the scoring two minutes before the break when he lobbed the ball over Fon Williams only to be denied by a miraculous goal-line clearance from Caley Thistle defender Meekings.
Caley Thistle made their second alteration at half-time with Liam Polworth introduced for McKay, who had spent a large chunk of the first period receiving treatment for a facial wound.
The visitors made their third and final enforced substitution after 53 minutes when Lewis Horner limped off and was replaced by Billy King.
And it was Foran’s side who were inches away from making the breakthrough a minute later when Tansey fed Fisher whose effort rolled agonisingly wide with MacDonald beaten.
Inverness were much more of an attacking threat in the second half with Warren firing over from distance before a Meekings header was well gathered by MacDonald.
But it was the home side who broke the deadlock in spectacular circumstances.
Coulibaly, who has already notched a couple of goal of the season contenders this season, added another fine strike to his collection when he twisted Polworth inside and out before rifling the ball high into the net with the aid of the post.
But Inverness restored parity after 84 minutes to claim a point when Warren rose unmarked to head home a Tansey free kick.