When Caley Thistle were pummelled by Partick Thistle two days before Christmas, who could have thought they would be one win away from reaching the Scottish Cup final and on the promotion trail by late April.
That freezing festive night at Firhill saw Inverness taken apart in a 5-1 defeat and it meant, aside from beating Stirling Albion 3-2 in the Scottish Cup, they had not won any other of the nine games since beating Cove in mid-October.
A New Year sparked new form and, with key players returning from injury, 2023 began with a bang and a 6-1 rout of Cove.
And, since then, apart from two off-days against Hamilton and an unfortunate defeat to Queen’s Park, it’s been an upward spiral for the Caley Jags.
Of course, they will contest this Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi against League One opponents Falkirk at the national stadium, aided by a massive slice of luck.
On January 31, a below-par Inverness display ended in a 2-0 loss against Owen Coyle’s impressive Queen’s Park side.
However, before the night was out, it was clear the Spiders were in trouble.
They had fielded an ineligible player, with on-loan Hearts player Euan Henderson not registered for this new tie, which had been rescheduled due to the weather.
Rousing victory over Lions in last 16
Inverness were handed a reprieve and were reinstated, knowing they would be facing a Premiership Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
A bold performance against their in-form hosts ended in a deservedly stunning 3-0 win against the Lions.
That took them into the quarter-finals and there was an air of cautious confidence after drawing Kilmarnock at home.
They had got the better of Killie three times last season in the Championship last season and Derek McInnes’ side, now in the Premiership, were not winning away from Rugby Park.
Despite leaking an early goal, ICT stormed back to win 2-1 and earn their place in the semi-finals against a Falkirk side which dispatched Aberdeen’s conquerors, minnows Darvel 5-1 before beating Championship opponents Ayr United 2-1.
Tense final as ICT edged out Falkirk
Of course, Falkirk v Inverness is a repeat of the 2015 final, which ICT famously won under the guidance of John Hughes. Who can forget how they sensationally knocked Celtic out in the semis at Hampden?
In the final itself, they recovered from Carl Tremarco being sent off and a late Falkirk equaliser to go on and win it with a memorable James Vincent goal laid on a plate by Marley Watkins.
At that time, Inverness were a Premiership club, while Falkirk were in the Championship.
Now, these sides are still one league apart, but the same distance as John McGlynn’s Falkirk seek to get back to the second-tier via the play-offs behind champions Dunfermline Athletic.
Caley Thistle will hope their sparkling form, which has yielded six wins and a draw from their last seven games, can take them into their own promotion play-offs with a chance to go one step further than a year ago when they were pipped in the final by St Johnstone.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw with pacesetters Dundee means they will have to beat visitors Ayr United on the final night of the season, on May 5, to have a chance to nailing a top-four position.
Dream of facing Old Firm next term
The winners of Saturday’s cup semi-final will face holders Rangers or Scottish champions-elect Celtic in the final on June 3.
ICT boss Billy Dodds knows Falkirk will be formidable opponents. Despite not being at their best since beating Ayr in the cup, 11 wins from 13 games into the middle of March shows what the Bairns are capable of.
And their 4-1 League 1 win at Alloa secured the runners-up spot at the weekend as they target promotion to the Championship.
While it seems that there’s acceptance across the country that there will be no final upset no matter which side makes it through to play the Old Firm victor, Caley Thistle have had a season of defying the odds.
So, the chance to go in against Ange Postecoglou’s relentless Hoops or Michael Beale’s Light Blues, who are desperate to retain the trophy, would be an irresistible prospect for Inverness.
The bigger picture for Inverness though will be returning to action a week on Friday against Ayr as they look to win promotion via the play-offs. Celtic and Rangers would then be more than a one-off dream date for the Highlanders.
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