Caley Thistle boss Scott Kellacher says Dunfermline-bound Keith Bray reminds him of Graeme Shinnie after the midfielder’s hat-trick sunk Cove Rangers.
Full-back turned marauding midfielder Bray signed for Championship side Dunfermline Athletic in the January window on a four-and-a-half-year deal before being loaned back to administration-hit ICT.
He netted all three at second-top Cove Rangers in a 3-0 League One victory, taking his tally for the season to 10 goals.
Bray headed Inverness in front before doubling that advantage with a drive to give Inverness a two-goal half-time cushion.
A second half goal for his treble secured a big result for Inverness, who moved three points ahead of ninth-placed Annan Athletic, who lost their derby 2-0 against Queen of the South.
This was Cove’s first defeat at the Balmoral Stadium for four months, form which had helped keep them in the title hunt for most of the winter.
With four fixtures remaining, they are now 11 points behind champions-elect Arbroath, but ahead of Stenhousemuir on goal difference and four points richer than fourth-placed Queen of the South.
It was a rare off-day for the Aberdeen side, with ICT clinical in pursuit of the points.
‘Keith Bray is unplayable’ – Manager
Kellacher reckons Bray’s professional attitude and consistent form is not unlike Shinnie when he signed a pre-contract with Aberdeen a decade ago – but gave his all for Inverness before departing.
He said: “Keith was unplayable. He has got that about him.
“Keith reminds me of when Graeme Shinnie was at Inverness and he had signed for Aberdeen, in terms of still giving his all for the club.
“That tells you everything about the boy. Keith has come through our youth system and been great. He has taken his opportunity.
“He’s moving on to Dunfermline, but he is giving absolutely everything he can for this club.
“Wee Alfie Stewart provided the three assists as well. He really sees the game.
“I was also delighted to get a clean sheet because we defended from the front.”
‘Anger’ within fired up Inverness
And Kellacher explained ICT’s stinging defeat in Dumfries last weekend fired up his players ahead of this testing trip to face a Cove side he’s got plenty of respect for.
He said: “I can’t ask for much more from these players. That’s the way they trained all week.
“They worked hard, they won their second balls, and they played the way we know they can play. Everything came together.
“Losing 4-1 at Queen of the South last week was a massive set-back, and it was a long journey home. But they came in on Monday and they had anger in them and you could see how much they wanted to make something happen here.
“Cove had not lost here in four months and that’s some going. Paul Hartley is doing a brilliant job here. I’ve really enjoyed playing against them this season.
“It has been two good teams who try to play football the right way and try to win the game. We’ve come out on top here, but they have beaten us on other days too.
“But we still have four massive games to go. All our focus is on Kelty Hearts next Saturday now. As soon as the bus leaves Cove – that’s our focus.”
Bray brace had Caley Jags coasting
Cove were without forward Mitch Megginson following his red card in last week’s 1-0 defeat at Arbroath, while Liam Parker dropped to the bench.
In came Findlay Marshall to midfield and Myles Gaffney in attack, while Arron Darge dropped back to defence.
Inverness welcomed back defender Remi Savage from suspension, so he replaced Connall Ewan, while Matthew Strachan earned a start in place of James Nolan at left-back.
Bray flashed an early header wide for ICT, which came from Alfie Stewart’s corner which was then driven into the box by Charlie Gilmour.
However, Bray broke the deadlock on 13 minutes.
Stewart whipped in a corner and Bray rose high to power a header out of the reach of Nick Suman to put the Caley Jags ahead.
Cove responded well to this set-back for a spell, but Inverness had bodies in the line to keep them out.
Stewart provided all three assists
Connor Scully had a glimpse of goal on 33 minutes, but his drive struck Adam Emslie on the way out of play.
However, it was 2-0 for Inverness on 34 minutes when a through ball from on-loan Dons player Stewart picked out Bray and he calmly slotted past Suman into the bottom left-hand corner.
Cove struggled to find a way into the match after the break, with Inverness limiting their options, while looking for a way to extend their advantage and kill it off.
And with 18 minutes to go, Bray rounded off the scoring with a close-range finish from a deft Stewart pass – his third assist of the afternoon.
Elated Bray raced to the band of vocal travelling fans to share his celebrations.
Sub Declan Glass flashed a free-kick into the side-netting moments later and had a shot blocked in the closing minute, but it was not to be Cove’s day.
Hartley demands improvement for Cove’s away clash at Dumbarton
Afterwards, Cove manager Paul Hartley conceded his team were second best as they were no match for their visitors.
He said: “Inverness moved the ball better, they were more aggressive and they won their duels.
“We didn’t compete well enough. We were not aggressive enough and didn’t create enough. Inverness deserved their victory, that’s for sure.
“We have been fairly strong, especially at home, but we can’t have these sort of performances.
“We’re still in a strong position (in the league), but we need to be better than we were today.
“We never created a lot and didn’t work their goalkeeper enough. There was not enough quality in our game.
“We just need to now focus on our game at Dumbarton next Saturday. They had a brilliant result (winning 6-0 at Kelty Hearts).
“Even though Dumbarton are relegated, it means nothing. They are playing for pride, they’re playing for the jersey. We have to ensure we compete better.”
Cove Rangers v Caley Thistle ratings
COVE RANGERS (4-2-3-1): Suman 6, Harrington 6, Darge 6, Doyle 6, Lobban 7, Scully 6 (Coulson 71), Yule 6, Emslie 6, Fyvie 7, Marshall 6 (Glass 71), Gaffney 6.
Subs not used: Demus (GK), Murray, Gillingham, McGrath, Parker.
CALEY THISTLE (4-4-2): Dibaga 6, Strachan 6, Devine 6, Savage 6, Brannan 6, Mackinnon 7 (MacLeod 85), Stewart 7 (Nolan 90), Gilmour 6, Allan 6, Mckay 7 (Gardiner 81), Bray 8 (Thompson 90).
Subs not used: Rebillas (GK), Walker, Ewan.
Referee: Peter Stuart.
Attendance: 454.
Man of the match: Keith Bray.
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