Caley Thistle manager John Hughes hopes the display of referee Willie Collum at St Mirren Park did not overshadow a fine showing from his side.
A Greg Tansey penalty gave Inverness a 1-0 win at Paisley and moved them to third in the Scottish Premiership, only three points adrift of leaders Hamilton Accies.
But it was Collum who took the spotlight by producing nine yellow cards as well as a red for Caley Thistle’s midfielder Ryan Christie.
Hughes criticised the performance of Collum, who will referee Barcelona’s Champions League match against Ajax at the Nou Camp this evening, claiming he had ruined the match as a spectacle.
But the Inverness manager, whose side hosts Dundee United on Saturday, believes his team’s performance should not be overlooked.
He said: “The effort and commitment from the players was first class.
“They kept their shape and defended as though their lives depended on it. Even towards the end of the match they were still showing the energy and desire to try to score another goal.
“They were absolutely different class. The first half worked a treat for us and we could have scored a couple of goals before we made the breakthrough. We have to be happy any time we go away from home and keep a clean sheet and take three points.”
Hughes also pinpointed the performance of central defender Gary Warren for the part he played in rallying his side after it was reduced to 10 men five minutes after the interval when Christie saw red for a second bookable offence.
He added: “Gary was phenomenal. When we went down to 10 men his attitude was to lead from the front and he relished the challenge.
“He was outstanding.
“There were lots of positives to be taken from the match and I was delighted for the players. Danny Williams came in and did well and Ibra Sekajja got some game time. We changed the formation two or three times during the match and the players adapted well. We did a lot of defensive work in the lead up top the match and it served us well.”