Goals from Austin Samuels and Daniel MacKay earned Caley Thistle a table-topping 2-1 Premier Sports Cup win at Premiership hosts Livingston.
A red card for Lions keeper Max Stryjek when it was 1-0 heaped the pressure on the hosts before on-loan Hibs starlet MacKay doubled the lead.
A late Jason Holt strike offered hope for the top-flight team before a Jason Holt spot-kick denied them the chance of an unlikely shoot-out for a bonus point.
With Cove Rangers starting Group G this evening with a 2-1 win against League 2 opponents Albion Rovers, ICT are the front-runners on six points.
Jim McIntyre’s Cove have only played one game, as have Kelty Hearts.
ICT began this season’s competition with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at League 2 champions Kelty Hearts at the weekend courtesy of George Oakley’s late strike on his second debut for the Championship club.
The visitors arrived in sunny West Lothian without a trio of injured defenders, Danny Devine, Wallace Duffy and Max Ram, who came off with a thigh injury on his debut at the weekend.
Zak Delaney, also debuted at Kelty when replaced Ram and he started here, with Lewis Hyde handed a start along with Daniel MacKay and winger Nathan Shaw.
Striker Billy Mckay, Aaron Doran and Steven Boyd dropped to the bench.
Livingston also made four changes, with Stryjek, defenders Sean Kelly and Phillip Cancur and midfielder Dylan Bahamboula all promoted to the first 11.
ICT have failed to win a spot in the knockouts over the past five years, so are determined to do so this time.
Livingston had control of the early stages, earning a couple of corners and Bahamboula was just out of reach when skipper Nicky Devlin whipped in a fine cross from the right.
And it was Delaney to the rescue on 15 minutes when he blocked a net-bound Esmael Goncalves drive after the striker connected with a Joel Nouble cut-back.
The first moment of note for the Highlanders arrived just after that when, from a Cammy Harper free-kick, stand-in captain Deas rattled the bar with a header.
It then took a decent save from home goalkeeper Stryjek to keep the scores blank as he pushed away a stinging shot from MacKay, who burst through from the left flank when cleverly picked out by Roddy MacGregor.
Livingston almost took the lead in spectacular fashion when Devlin – from just inside his own half – went for goal and Ridgers back-pedalled enough before tipping it on to the bar and Deas mopped it up.
The opener arrived for Inverness on 36 minutes when, from a breakaway at speed, MacKay delivered a killer ball and Samuels slotted it away in the six-yard box.
The big moment of the second half came on 58 minutes when Stryjek was sent off by referee Alan Muir for a last-man challenge on in-rushing Samuels.
A free-kick on the cusp of the box was given and keeper Ivan Konovalov, who came on for Dylan Bahamboula, pushed away the curling Harper effort.
Daniel MacKay finished it off with a vital second when he beat Pittman and his deflected drive beat the keeper with 12 minutes left.
Livingston probed for a way back and Holt turned on the edge of the area before rifling a superb drive beyond Ridgers into the net.
Livi then had a golden chance to take it to spot-kicks when Oakley was judged to have felled Scott Bitsindou in the box. Up stepped Holt and fired the ball high over the top and ICT held on.
Inverness now have a week off before hosting Albion Rovers, while the Lions head to Cove Rangers on Saturday.
LIVINGSTON (4-3-3) – Stryjek 6, Devlin 7, Fitzwater 6, Cancur 6, Penrice 6, Kelly 6 (Bitsindou 74), Pittman 6, Holt 6, Bahamboula 6 (Konovalov 60), Goncalves 6 (Anderson 46), Nouble 6 (Shinnie 74). Subs not used – Longridge, Brandon, Montano, Omeonga, Mullin.
CALEY THISTLE (4-4-2) – Ridgers 6, Harper 6, Deas 6, Carson 6, MacGregor 6, Hyde 6 (Boyd 63), D MacKay 7 (Doran 72), Allardice 6 (Oakley 77), Shaw 6 (Mckay 63), Delaney 6, Samuels 6. Subs not used – Mackay (GK), Cairns.
Referee: Alan Muir.
Man of the match – Daniel MacKay.
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