Caley Thistle boss Scott Kellacher wasn’t surprised to see Musa Dibaga play a starring role in his side’s 2-1 victory at Cove Rangers.
The 24-year-old, who joined Caley Thistle from Bo’ness United in August, saved Mitch Megginson’s penalty which proved to be the turning point of the encounter at Balmoral Stadium.
Cove were already leading 1-0 through Megginson’s early strike when Dibaga saved the spot-kick and Adam Mackinnon restored parity for Inverness only a minute later.
Keith Bray’s second-half goal clinched victory for Kellacher’s side – their first win since the club went into administration last month.
The Caley Thistle head coach was full of praise for Dibaga, who has impressed since making the move from Lowland League side Bo’ness.
He said: “Musa is unbelievable in the goals in terms of penalties.
“We’ve taken them in the training ground and he’s a big boy and hard to beat.
“I actually thought that was a turning point in the game because he made the save and our boys got a bit of confidence from it and the game changed.
“We got them in at half-time and we had a right good chat with them. They understood what we were looking for.
“The second half was probably the best I’ve seen us.
“I thought we were absolutely terrific. I know the game finished 2-1 but we hit the bar and had other chances.
“That’s all we can ask for. I’m so, so proud of the boys. Everybody that’s involved, we just needed that boost and hopefully it’s a stepping stone.”
Limited options on the bench
Caley Thistle had a very inexperienced bench for the game and made only one substitution during the match against Cove with Ethan Cairns coming on for Billy Mckay two minutes into injury time.
Kellacher said: “I spoke to the younger boys in the dressing room as well because they’re all going to play their part at some stage.
“But it was one of those games, you probably had to see it out.
“We took Billy off and put Ethan on for the last few minutes.
“We didn’t want to tweak it too much. We changed the shape a wee bit halfway through the second half just to make us a bit more solid in the middle of the park.
“I’m absolutely over the moon for everybody from the players to the fans with the win.
“We know the task ahead and we know how hard it’s going to be. We’ll just look to next week now.”
Mackinnon makes his mark
Kellacher was also pleased to see youngster Mackinnon find the back of the net after urging him to take more shots during matches.
The Caley Thistle boss, whose side host Alloa on Saturday, added: “It’s something I’ve told him because the previous week he was a wee bit reluctant to go and shoot.
“I said: ‘Adam, you need to shoot more.’
“We actually spoke to him and showed him because he gets in great areas.
“We’ve got to encourage that. If you don’t buy a ticket, you’re not going to win the lottery, are you?
“He had a shot on Saturday and luckily enough it’s gone in.
“You saw the players rise that extra foot after that with the way they started the second half.
“I was absolutely delighted for every single one of them.”
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