Back in the pre-merger Highland League days, there used to be a bit of animosity between Elgin City and the Inverness clubs.
City chairman Graham Tatters was among several who played that down after his club was paired with Caley Thistle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup in January 2017.
But judging on the attendance for this on January 21, 2017, it seemed to capture the imagination.
More than 3,600 piled into Borough Briggs, around six times the average gate at Elgin, for Caley Thistle’s first-ever visit there.
In the aftermath, eight fans ended up in the dock after what can only be described as rare instances of disorder at matches involving either of these two.
On the pitch, there was little to suggest that there was three divisions separating the teams.
On this day in 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣7️⃣ we beat Elgin City 2-1 at Borough Briggs pic.twitter.com/9hBXOX1iHn
— Official ICTFC (@ICTFC) January 21, 2020
Caley Thistle were in the midst of a terrible season under Richie Foran, a campaign that ultimately ended with their relegation from the Scottish Premiership.
Elgin were in fine form meanwhile and looking a fine bet for a place in the League Two play-offs – a late season collapse saw them failing to win any of their final 12 matches and missing out on the play-offs by a single point.
An upset looked like it could be on the cards when the Black and Whites took the lead midway through the first half.
A well-worked free kick was fired at goal by Mark Nicolson and ICT keeper Owain Fon Williams really should have done better as the ball squirmed through his grasp and into the back of the net.
It gave the bumper home crowd something to cheer but the lead didn’t last long as Larnell Cole finished off a lung-busting run with a low finish past Marc Waters.
In the second half, Lonsana Doumbouya crashed a header off the bar and then went one better when he bundled in an Aaron Doran cross to send the visiting Inverness fans home happy.
