Caley Thistle missed out on a golden opportunity to open up a 10-point gap over Dundee United in an ill-tempered match in which both sides ended the game with 10 men at Tannadice.
John Hughes’ men took the lead in the seventh minute through a Greg Tansey penalty after United goalkeeper Michal Szromnik was sent off for denying Marley Watkins a goalscoring opportunity.
But Inverness failed to make the most of their numerical superiority and Ryan McGowan’s 73rd minute strike ensured United earned a share of the spoils.
Caley Thistle also ended the match a man down after Gary Warren was sent off for an off the ball clash with Nadir Ciftci deep in injury time.
The result extends Caley Thistle’s unbeaten run to 10 matches but this was a frustrating evening for Hughes and his side as they passed up the chance to move within two points of second place Aberdeen.
Dundee United, to their credit, charged only £5 for tickets, which helped increase the numbers in the stadium on a cold Tuesday evening for a match that was originally scheduled for last month but was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Caley Thistle stuck with the same line-up that drew 3-3 with Kilmarnock on Saturday as they looked to maintain their unbeaten start to 2015, although were only able to name six substitutes on the bench.
United went into the match on the back of successive defeats by St Johnstone and Kilmarnock so it was no surprise to see manager Jackie McNamara shuffle his pack with Aidan Connolly and Chris Erskine stepping in for John Rankin and Henri Anier.
It took David Raven a mere 13 seconds to pick up the first booking of the game for a badly timed, sliding challenge on Ryan Dow.
But United goalkeeper Szromnik, making his second start for the Tangerines, was to suffer a much worse fate only six minutes into proceedings.
The Polish stopper brought Marley Watkins crashing to the ground as he raced through on goal after being released by an exquisite Graeme Shinnie pass and referee Calum Murray had no option but to brandish a red card and award a spot-kick.
Erskine was the unfortunate United player to make way for substitute goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak who was unable to prevent Tansey giving Caley Thistle the lead from the resulting penalty.
Watkins almost doubled the lead when he rounded Cierzniak only to be denied by some strong defending by Ryan McGowan before Dow went close to restoring parity with a well-struck effort that whistled past the post.
A foul on Ryan Christie by United midfielder Dow sparked an angry exchange between both sets of players that resulted in Paul Paton and Gary Warren both being booked.
Inverness were looking capable of scoring every time they reached the final third with the United defence struggling to deal with the pace of Watkins.
The visitors should have netted a second 10 minutes before the break but Ross Draper somehow headed over a Christie corner from only two yards out.
Raven was fortunate to avoid being sent off for a second bookable offence in the opening minute of the second half for a late challenge on United full back Paul Dixon.
Quality football was at a premium in a scrappy match constantly disrupted by needless fouls and late challenges.
United suddenly began to look more threatening and Caley Thistle goalkeeper Ryan Esson was called upon to produce a smart save to thwart Dow turning home a delicious pass from Connolly.
Despite their numerical advantage, Caley Thistle were pegged back in their own half for long spells as the hosts pushed for an equaliser.
Ross Draper and Connolly both tried their luck unsuccessfully from distance as both team’s pressed for the next crucial goal.
Caley Thistle were appealing for a penalty when Shinnie was bundled over by United captain Sean Dillon as he attempted to turn home a Tansey cross.
But it was United who drew level soon after when the Caley Thistle defence failed to deal with a Dillon cross and McGowan was perfectly placed to slot the ball home with the aid of a deflection.
Inverness almost won it late on through a powerful Tansey free kick that was well kept out by Cierzniak before Warren saw red in injury time for a clash with Ciftci.