Timing can be crucial in football – and Caley Thistle are on course to make it work perfectly in their favour.
Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Queen’s Park at Hampden took them from ninth to eighth and two points clear of the beaten Spiders.
It also – amazingly – was the first time this season Duncan Ferguson’s team had posted successive Championship wins. Now is as good a time as any to deliver – when the heat is on.
Cammy Harper’s perfect free-kick at the national stadium earned ICT three crucial points.
Seemingly cut adrift in the relegation play-off spot by a recent 1-0 loss at Partick Thistle, they are now looking to drag others into the mix.
Two weeks ago, they won their first home league fixture in almost five months when they edged past Arbroath 2-1 thanks to Alex Samuel’s impressive winner.
ICT target ‘massive shift in direction’
Two wins on the spin might not be classed as momentum as such, but adding three further points by beating Raith Rovers on Friday night under the lights and the BBC Scotland cameras would be a massive shift in direction.
Such a result would – given Dundee United’s +46 goal difference – hand the Tangerines the title as Raith become the runners-up, something that has looked on the cards for a while.
Billy Dodds’ final game in charge of ICT was last September’s unlucky 1-0 defeat at Raith, while Rovers dished out Duncan Ferguson’s first defeat when they won 2-1 in Inverness in December.
It was a happier return to Starks Park in late January as on-loan Ross County forward Alex Samuel tucked away a lethal hat-trick within nine first half minutes to help ICT win 3-2.
Raith have won just once over the past month, while Dundee United have put their foot to the pedal to move with pace towards their Premiership return just a year after demotion.
Raith faltered, but United kicked on
United’s 3-1 defeat at Dunfermline on March 15 seemed like a reset moment for Jim Goodwin’s Taysiders.
Since then, they have drawn 1-1 with ICT at Tannadice before sweeping to 2-0, 5-0 and 4-1 wins against Raith, Queen’s Park and Morton.
Clearly, beating Rovers for the first time this season was a big result, which will have knocked the stuffing out of Ian Murray’s faltering challengers.
Losing 3-1 at home to promotion contenders Airdrie last Tuesday was followed by a goalless draw against Partick Thistle as they ensured they’d finish no lower than second spot.
Raith will be seeking to regain momentum which had them riding high for much of the campaign, which made them strong challengers at the sharp end of the division.
💪👊 The final push
It's the first of our final three #cinchChamp matches of the season this Friday, as we take on Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium
COME ON ICTFC! 🔴🔵
Ticketing Info: https://t.co/YzSVkAIGsf pic.twitter.com/zDsnePLLZi
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 15, 2024
Doran shone on his starting return
However, they have matches away to Morton and home to relegated Arbroath before they need to worry about playing most likely Partick or Airdrie in the semi-finals.
Inverness don’t have that luxury. Their need for points remains great, otherwise by the end of the weekend – should Queen’s Park beat Dunfermline – they might be ninth again with only two games left.
That’s why putting on another strong performance with bite can really make a difference and give Queen’s Park and Morton in particular food for thought going into Saturday.
Seasoned campaigner Aaron Doran made his first start since July last weekend and, at the age of 32, was controlling a lot in midfield.
On-loan Dundee full-back Cammy Kerr, who has impressed centrally of late, was back on the right side and was terrific, while Wallace Duffy was a rock alongside Danny Devine at the back.
There were no failures last week for ICT – repeat that and Ferguson’s flyers will have a spring in their step in the nick of time.
