Caley Thistle head coach Billy Dodds praised his players for digging out their gutsy 1-0 Championship victory against Raith Rovers.
After seeing 19-year-old Roddy MacGregor’s superb strike earn maximum points to follow on from an opening day win at Arbroath, Dodds was satisfied by the afternoon’s work as his team sit joint top after two games.
He said: “In this Championship, half a dozen times you’ll play well and win games. In the rest of the games, you’re digging in and my boys are giving me everything.
“It wasn’t pretty at times. I thought we created some decent chances, but it was like a game of chess. Who was going to break first?
“I always felt that one goal would win it. Roddy’s strike was brilliant when he came on. I just wanted him on for that wee bit of energy.
“Roddy was disappointed not to have been playing. I wanted wingers to play. He did a shift for me at Arbroath last week out wide, which doesn’t suit him.
“It shows you how versatile he is. I am delighted for him. When I leave people out the team, I want them to respond. He showed a lot of energy when he came on.”
Dodds felt that they largely kept Rovers at bay, which gave them the foundation to go on and win it late on.
He added:Â “It wasn’t pretty but it was all positive.
“I thought we were maybe giving them a wee bit too much room, but they weren’t really cutting us open. Kirk (Broadfoot) and Danny (Devine) clattered into one another and they went through, but Raith never created great chances.
“We had a couple of good ones, but there were not many chances in the game. It could have gone either way. Raith will win games, there’s no doubt about that. You can see that by the way they play.”