Ethan Cairns has announced himself to Caley Thistle’s first team scene after his first goal for the club rescued a point against Morton.
Inverness made the worst possible start, falling behind after just five minutes. Zak Delaney’s loose pass across the backline was intercepted by Calvin Miller, who angled a sweet low strike beyond the reach of Mark Ridgers.
The home side pushed for a leveller but to no avail in the first half. Their best opportunity came when Aaron Doran was played through on goal but took too long to release his shot, with Darragh O’Connor tracking back to dispossess him.
Caley Jags started the second half strongly and pulled level on 57 minutes. Scott Allardice powered a shot at goal from the edge of the box through a crowded penalty area, which had too much for Brian Shwake to handle, with Billy Mckay clinical in dispatching the rebound.
The game continued to be wide open, with Cameron Blues somehow failing to convert a header from close-range which Ridgers claimed on the goalline.
Robbie Muirhead looked to have secured the points for the Ton when he struck past Ridgers after Wallace Duffy had slipped up.
Youngster Cairns had other ideas however, showing excellent composure to finish from a tight angle after Danny Devine had flicked a Nathan Shaw delivery into his path.
Talking points
Substitutions had desired effect
Morton’s early goal came as a setback for Billy Dodds’ men, prompting the need for a response.
Although they commanded most of the play in the remainder of the first half, they struggled to fashion a sustained period of pressure on the Morton goal.
Dodds shook his side up at the interval, with Lewis Hyde ad Nathan Shaw coming on to replace Aaron Doran and Zak Delaney, who was at fault for the opening goal.
The two players made a noticeable impact on Caley Thistle’s attacking play, which amounted to Mckay’s equaliser within 12 minutes of the restart.
After Muirhead looked to have taken the points back to Cappielow, the contributions from the bench continued as teenager Cairns netted his first goal for the club.
It was a superb finish by Cairns, who recently returned from a loan spell at Forres Mechanics, which will be a huge boost to his confidence as he aims to make his name in the first team.
Result further tightens Championship table
There remains precious little between the teams in the league standings, which showed in the way the game unfolded.
Inverness are sixth in the table, a point ahead of Morton, but a win for either side would have taken them above Partick Thistle into fourth place.
On one hand Inverness will be pleased they showed the resilience to twice come from behind to salvage a point, however Billy Dodds was far from happy at the ease with which Morton were able to find the net.
The result maintains Caley Jags’ unbeaten league record in 2023, which now stretches to five games.
Although Inverness overcame the cheap mistakes to take something from the match, they will need to be cut out if Inverness are the build the momentum they need to climb the table.
Scottish Cup lifeline
Inverness will switch focus back to Scottish Cup next weekend, after being handed an unexpected reprieve in the competition.
Queen’s Park, who triumphed 2-0 at Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday, were thrown out of the tournament after fielding the ineligible Euan Henderson.
It means Caley Jags will now travel to Livingston for a last-16 tie on Saturday.
That will be a tough ask, against David Martindale’s side who are sitting pretty in the top half of the Premiership.
It by no means an unattainable task however, with the Highlanders having already triumphed at Almondvale in the League Cup earlier this season.
The prospect of reaching the latter stages of the cup is an exciting one for the Highlanders, which would make for an exciting climax to the campaign in tandem with their promotion push.
Talking tactics
Billy Dodds made two changes from the side which faced Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup on Tuesday. Sean Welsh was not in the squad, while Nathan Shaw dropped to the bench.
Daniel MacKay and Aaron Doran were brought in to support Billy Mckay in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Referee watch
Calum Scott waved away an appeal from the visitors shortly after Miller’s opener, when Jai Quitongo went to the ground under close attention from Delaney.
Player ratings
CALEY THISTLE (4-2-3-1): Ridgers 6; Carson 6, Duffy 5, Devine 6, Delaney 5 (Hyde 46); Allardice 7, Harper 6; Henderson 5 (Boyd 75), Doran 5 (Shaw 46), MaKay 6 (Cairns 84); Mckay 8.
Subs not used: Mackay, Thompson, Strachan.
MORTON (4-1-4-1): Schwake 6; Grimshaw 6, O’Connor 7, Baird 6, Waters 7; Gillespie 6; Quitongo 5 (McGrattan 61), Blues 6, Crawford 6 (King 77), Miller 8; Muirhead 7.
Subs not used: Green, Pignatiello, Roy, Ambrose, Garrity, King.
Star man
Billy Mckay led the line superbly for Inverness, and moved a step closer to the club’s all-time goalscoring record with a typically clinical finish.
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