Roddy MacGregor reckons Caley Thistle can dig deep to recover from their penalty shoot-out agony and get their Premier Sports Cup campaign back on track.
The Championship team found themselves 2-0 down against League Two Stirling Albion after 20 minutes, before goals from MacGregor and Shane Sutherland either side of half-time hauled them level.
Both teams had chances to nick it within 90 minutes, but it went to spot-kicks and the Binos won it after Shane Sutherland’s spot-kick was saved by keeper David Currie.
Penalty loss turns heat up for last two games
It meant Stirling headed south with a bonus point to take second place in Group A ahead of Inverness, who trail leaders Hearts by two points.
Caley Thistle, who beat Peterhead 2-0 last Tuesday, take on Cove Rangers at the Balmoor Stadium on Tuesday before finishing against Hearts on Sunday.
Stirling, who beat Cove away in their opener, host Hearts tomorrow before taking on Peterhead at Forthbank on Saturday.
ICT have yet to qualify from the group stages of the League Cup since it was brought in five years ago and they have work to do in order to avoid another early exit.
MacGregor’s energetic performance was one of the highlights amid the disappointment.
The 19-year-old’s goal to bring the tie back to 2-1 was superb as he linked up superbly with Manny Duku before lashing the ball into the net.
Despite that, the Inverness-born hot-shot was reeling to have been on the end of a penalty shoot-out loss and he blamed their timid opening spell when they fell a couple of goals behind.
Lack of cutting edge in slow start was costly
He said:Â “Our start was really disappointing. We did well to bring it back to 2-2 and we could have nicked it at the end. The two goals really early killed us a bit.
“We lacked a wee bit in the final third, just that last pass wasn’t quite there. After getting back to get the draw, we’ll just take the positives from that and move on.
“We knew we needed to get a goal before half-time to get us back on track. We were knocking the ball about well, but we just didn’t have that edge for a lot of the game.
“Obviously, we’d have liked to have won the game, but it’s gone to penalties and it’s not gone our way. We all know what penalties are like. The boys have been practicing them, but it was just unlucky that we didn’t manage to win it and get that bonus point.”
Only victory will do for Caley Thistle at Cove
Looking ahead of the trip east to face Paul Hartley’s League One team, MacGregor says ICT will be gunning for full points in order to line up a showdown with Hearts this weekend.
He stressed: “It will be another tough game. Cove are a good side, but we know we need to win the game if we are to stand any chance of getting out of the group. If we can get the win on Tuesday that gives us an opportunity in the Heart game next week.”
Fans being back is boost for players
The Scotland under-21 forward, who scored twice last season, was satisfied to get off the mark in what was only the club’s second game of the new term.
He added:Â “I was pleased to score. I want to add that more to my game. It was good to be out there in front of the fans again. That gives us a big boost and it’s good to be back playing again.”
GOALLLLLLL! RODDY MACGREGOR! pic.twitter.com/H62ZqHWPUY
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) July 17, 2021