Sean Welsh struck the leveller for Championship leaders Caley Thistle as they secured a 1-1 draw against 10-men Raith Rovers in this second v first showdown in Fife.
Rovers were reduced to 10 men just before the interval of a goalless first half when Ross Matthews was sent off for a full-on challenge, a decision they clearly disputed.
Aidan Connolly strike just after the hour mark gave Raith the lead, but a leveller from Inverness captain Welsh with 11 minutes left earned them a share of the spoils.
Kilmarnock’s 2-1 victory against Hamilton shoots them into second spot, three points now behind ICT.
ICT unbeaten in 21 years v Rovers
The Inverness club arrived in Kirkcaldy boasting an outstanding record against their opponents since their first meeting in 1999.
Not only had ICT racked up 20 wins out of 30 matches, they were 24 straight fixtures without a loss against Rovers, stemming back to October 2000.
However, everything suggested this one might be different as it was a second v first place showdown, with Raith winning eight of their last 11 games in all competitions.
Joint cup holders battle for points
These clubs are the joint holders of the SPFL Trust Trophy and set to meet in the quarter-finals in Inverness on November 30.
When they met in the league in August, it took a magical strike from ICT’s Roddy MacGregor with 10 minutes left to edge it 1-0.
Home boss John McGlynn stuck with the same attacking line-up which beat Arbroath 2-1 a week ago.
Inverness head coach Billy Dodds, whose side moved five points clear thanks to a 2-0 win over Morton, made just one change.
On-loan Norwich City midfielder Reece McAlear dropped to the bench, with Wallace Duffy returning to his right-back berth, allowing Scott Allardice to also got back to his usual midfield position.
Broadfoot booked in under a minute
ICT suffered a really early blow when Kirk Broadfoot was booked in just under a minute for hauling down Ethon Varian.
It was an encouraging start overall from the Fifers on their plastic pitch, with ICT needing to stay alert from the off.
Ahead of this clash, Dodds labelled Rovers one of the best, if not the best, sides in the division and it was easy to see why, with their neat and slick passing.
An injury for Varian led to a 21st minute change for Raith, with Matej Poplatnik taking his place.
By this stage, Caley Jags had only had a couple of sniffs from free-kicks, but produced nothing to trouble the hosts.
When Inverness were finding time in their opponents’ half, patience was the key to unlocking the door, because Raith were right on top of them, not letting them settle.
Just before the interval, the best chance arrived when Connolly had a crack from outside the box, but his shot was deflected off Robbie Deas for a corner. However, thankfully for the visitors, it came to nothing.
Straight red card riles Raith Rovers
There was a big flashpoint just before half-time when Matthews flew into a challenge on Billy Mckay and whistler Colin Steven sent him off, much to the fury of the home team and supporters, who made their feelings clear as the officials headed off the park.
The first opportunity of the second half fell to MacGregor when Duffy’s cross broke his way, but he sliced the drive wide of the left post.
That sparked a reaction from Rovers and Reghan Tumilty drew a fine diving save from Mark Ridgers.
It was then back down the other side and Shane Sutherland was picked out from midfield and swerved a shot just beyond the far post.
Clinical Connolly beats Ridgers
The deadlock was broken on 62 minutes with a fine, sweeping move from Rovers,
Dario Zanatta found space on the left, whipped in a tempting cross and Connolly made no mistake with a clinical shot into the net.
Ex-Rovers striker Manny Duku, who had just replaced Shane Sutherland, almost equalised with a free-kick from distance, but keeper MacDonald was equal to it.
Caley Thistle though kept plugging away and got their reward out of the blue.
With 11 minutes left, ICT skipper Welsh made the best of a gap in the home defence and steered a low drive beyond MacDonald into the net from a Michael Gardyne delivery.
Zanatta almost sealed a dramatic late victory for Raith when he broke into the box, but he drilled his shot high over the top.
There is a full Championship card this Tuesday as Arbroath visit Inverness and Raith visit struggling derby rivals Dunfermline Athletic.
RAITH ROVERS (4-4-3): MacDonald 6, Tumilty 6, Dick 6, Berra 6, Benedictus 6 (Lang 53), Connolly 7 (Ross 77), Matthews 4, Zanatta 6, Spencer 6, Tait 6, Varian 3 (Poplatnik 21). Subs not used: Thomson (GK), Riley-Snow, Mitchell, Young.
CALEY THISTLE (4-1-4-1): Ridgers 6, Duffy 6, Welsh 6, Deas 6, Devine 7, Gardyne 6, Mckay 6 (Jamieson 82), Sutherland 6 (Duku 72), MacGregor 6, Broadfoot 6, Allardice 6 (Doran 65). Subs not used: Mackay (GK), Walsh, McDonald, McAlear.
Referee: Colin Steven.
Attendance: 1900.
Man of the match: Aidan Connolly.