Caley Thistle boss Duncan Ferguson admits his side are firmly in a relegation scrap after losing 2-1 at home to Arbroath.
Twice this week Inverness have faced the team bottom of the table at kick-off – but Morton and now Arbroath have beaten them to turn up the heat.
Jay Bird shot the Angus team in front in the first half after a lively start by both sides, but Billy Mckay drew ICT level.
The advantage was short-lived, however, as David Gold headed the visitors into an interval lead, which they held to give former Ross County boss Jim McIntyre his first win since taking over from Dick Campbell this month,
The result lifted Arbroath from bottom to ninth, one point and one place behind ICT with a game in hand. It was their first win since beating Partick 3-0 on September 23.
A third defeat in four fixtures has Inverness just three points above 10th and the brilliant managerial start by Ferguson has been slowed down by three narrow defeats against Raith, Morton and Arbroath.
Losing twice to basement opponents
Ferguson, who only lost one of his first 10 matches, explained that they have to recapture their form, with a trip to Partick Thistle next up on Saturday.
He said: “You are one win away from being fifth – that’s football.
“We never get carried away with ourselves. This was a big week for us and we started it well with the 4-1 win against Queen’s Park but we we have two defeats, against Morton and now Arbroath.
“That puts you under a lot of pressure and it’s obviously against teams below you and teams have games in hand, so we are in a relegation battle.
“We were in a relegation battle when I came here and we are still in that battle, but a lot of teams are in that position. Perhaps only the top three, four or five are away from it.
“Most other teams will be in a relegation battle. We have 16 points and a draw would have put us up several places. We’re one point behind fifth place, although we have played an extra game (over Arbroath and Queen’s Park).
“We have had two defeats off teams below us in the league this week. That puts us under a lot of pressure.”
Heat on sides following Ton’s revival
Both teams went into this one on the back of 2-1 defeats during the week, ICT losing at Morton on Tuesday and Arbroath slipping to bottom spot and not moving up due to a cruel late defeat by specialists at such comebacks, title contenders Raith Rovers.
Morton’s recent revival has put the cat amongst the pigeons and makes it a real slog between fifth and last place in the division as sides seek to find consistency.
For Ferguson, it’s first and foremost about ensuring ICT are not back in 10th position, which is where he found them when he took over in late September.
It was the third game in a week for Inverness and Arbroath, with McIntyre having only just taken over from Dick Campbell prior to that.
The headline ICT team news was attacker David Wotherspoon passing a late fitness test to start, having been a big doubt. Wide midfielder Nathan Shaw came in for Louis Longstaff.
Attacking intent from both teams
ICT were on the front foot early on and it took a smart save from Derek Gaston to keep out Shaw after he played a clever one-two with Wotherspoon in a speedy attack.
Arbroath hit back when Jermaine Hylton burst down the right and his delivery was fired over the crossbar by the in-rushing David Gold.
Just before the half hour mark, Arbroath broke the deadlock. A cross was arrowed into the box by Scott Stewart, after he was picked out by Hamilton, and Bird provided a deadly finish to rifle the ball beyond Mark Ridgers.
Inverness were level six minutes before half-time when Wotherspoon fed Cammy Harper and his sweeping cross was crashed home by the boot of Mckay for his fifth goal in seven games.
However, just a few minutes later, the visitors were ahead once more as Gold headed the ball home from close range after meeting a chipped assist from Hylton.
Interval shake-up by Ferguson
Ferguson shuffled his pack at the start of the second half by going with three at the back, changing from 4-4-1-1. Nikola Ujdur was replaced by Longstaff.
Some questionable calls from the officials were baffling the home camp, and Arbroath always looked capable on the attack as the hosts sought a way back into it.
There was no shortage of effort or endeavour from ICT, with stout defending keeping them at bay.
Midfielder Charlie Gilmour had a decent chance to square it when he met a Wotherspoon corner with 10 minutes left, but it had too much height to trouble Gaston.
CALEY THISTLE (4-4-1-1): Ridgers 6, Davidson 6 (Lodovica 89), Ujdur 5 (Longstaff 46), Devine 6, Boyes 6, Shaw 6, Anderson 6, Gilmour 6, Harper 6, Wotherspoon 6 (Brooks 89), Billy Mckay 6 (Sheridan 89). Subs not used: Cammy MacKay (GK), Welsh, Delaney, Bray, Thompson.
ARBROATH (4-5-1): Gaston 6, Norey 6, Steele 6, Hamilton 6, Stewart 6, Lyon 6 (Jacobs 60), Hylton 7, Gold 7 (Stowe 71), Slater 6, McIntosh 6, Bird 7 (Dunnwald-Turan 76). Subs not used: Adams (GK).
Referee: Iain Sneddon.
Star Man: Jay Bird.
Attendance: 1842.
