Caley Thistle squandered their chance for a first win in a month in a 2-2 draw with 10-man Morton.
After Sean McGinty and Shane Sutherland traded early goals, youngster Daniel MacKay nicked John Robertson’s side in front.
The game ought to have turned in Inverness’ favour when Rabin Omar was dismissed mid-way through the first half but the Caley Jags failed to capitalise decisively.
That in turn allowed the Cappielow outfit to stay in with a puncher’s chance, which was given to them by Cameron Blues’ smart finish.
The draw keeps Caley Thistle in eighth, ahead of a home fixture against Queen of the South on Saturday.
In a lightning start to the game, both sides had the ball in the back of the net inside five minutes.
A deep free-kick into the Caley Thistle box was not cleared by the visiting defence and it fell to Ton skipper McGinty, who crashed in from eight yards.
However, not dwelling on the early setback, Inverness responded with a tidy move that played in James Vincent and he squared for Sutherland to slot underneath Aidan McAdams.
It was Caley Thistle’s first game in 29 days, following a string of postponements due to the weather and Covid-19, and they showed few ill-effects from their time in cold storage.
GOALLLLLLL SHANE SUTHERLAND MAKES IT 1-1 pic.twitter.com/focnCZPhSy
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) January 27, 2021
MacKay was restored to the starting line-up, on the right side of a front, three, and made the most of his opportunity.
Capitalising on a lapse in the Morton defence, MacKay collected the ball ahead of the advancing McAdams and was able to round the goalkeeper before rolling into an empty net.
Inverness were four games behind some clubs in the Championship prior to kick-off and racking up points, with the games they now have in hand, will prove imperative.
The busy upcoming schedule will afford them little respite, with seven games to play before the end of February plus a Scottish Cup tie. But after an unexpected break it is a run they should relish.
After tumbling out of the ascendancy following McGinty’s opener, matters got worse for Morton before the half-hour mark. Having already been booked early on, ex-Elgin City midfielder Rabin Omar was given a second yellow for chopping down Sutherland to stop an Inverness counter.
The man advantage gave Caley Thistle greater space to play in, with Ton dropping deeper towards their own penalty area.
Having Sean Welsh in the middle of the park made a huge difference for the Caley Jags, with their ability to recycle possession and keep the pressure on the depleted home side.
Inverness ought to have been further in front at the start of the second half, with referee Peter Stuart inexplicably missing a clear handball from Morton defender Markus Fjortoft.
The visitors were patient and probing but not clinical, allowing the Ton – under the interim stewardship of Anton McElhone – to hang on in the game.
After not heeding the warning given to them by Michael Ledger, who saw a goal-bound effort blocked at close range by Mark Ridgers, Inverness conceded a leveller all over their own making.
Robbie Deas, trying to pick out his full-back Wallace Duffy, stooped to head towards him but got nowhere enough contact on the ball. That allowed ex-Hearts kid Gary Oliver to seize on the mistake, galloping forward and crossing for Blues to finish.
It was little more than Morton deserved, rallying admirably in the face of adversity and their opponents failing to capitalise on their advantageous situation.
Nikolay Todorov and James Keating were called from the bench, in place of Aaron Doran and Scott Allardice, with Robertson trying to force his side into more threatening areas.
Sutherland had an effort kicked off the line by Ledger, as Inverness pushed for the winner.
Deas and Todorov both had chances in the dying embers but Robertson’s side were forced to settle for a share of the spoils.