Scott Kellacher felt Caley Thistle lacked in work-rate and quality as their 2-0 defeat at home to Kelty Hearts keeps the relegation pressure on.
It’s a result which retains ICT in eighth spot in League One, but they’re still three points in front of Annan Athletic with three games to go this season.
Second half strikes from Luke McCarvel and Robert Cole sealed managerless Kelty’s second victory of 2025.
The Fifers nudged up one place to sixth and they are on the brink of securing their place in the third tier for 2025-2026.
‘When you have 10 men behind the ball, it is really hard at times.’
With one win from their last five games overall, ICT head coach Kellacher admits this performance fell well short of what he expects from his young side.
He said: “It was really disappointing. I expected more from us today.
“We didn’t start well, and we didn’t work anywhere near hard enough like we did when we won at Cove last weekend.
“This is really frustrating – there are no excuses for that.
“We might not play well, or some things don’t come off in play, but we need to work much harder.
“Kelty sat in and tried to hit us on the counter. We tried to break them down.
“It can be a frustrating game when teams sit in like that.
“We tried to find a wee ball in behind, but we have to be patient.
“I wanted to get the ball wide and get crosses into the box and shots at goal.
“But when you have 10 men behind the ball, it is really hard at times.
“That’s not me looking for excuses. They hit us on the counter and scored two goals for the win. That’s really disappointing.
“It is in our hands, and this was another chance to move up, but we will be up and down.
“It was a really disappointing day.”
‘We can’t be relying on other results’
Annan’s 1-0 loss at Alloa kept them out of reach, but that was cold comfort to Kellacher, who said:Â “I know Annan lost, but we can’t keep looking over our shoulders.
“We can’t be relying on other results.
“It is still in our hands, and we need to take control of that.
“We need to win our home games, there is no getting away from it.
“We were really poor, even though we had chances in the first half.
“Had we taken the lead, we would have had something to hold on to.
“But we never took our chances or do the basics right.”
Dibaga in form, Gilmour hits post
The week had been going so well for ICT, with ex-chairman Alan Savage declared the preferred bidder for the club as exiting administration is now imminent and a strong crowd here of 1812 was a sign of that.
ICT remained unchanged from the side which won 3-0 at Cove Rangers last week.Â
Kelty headed north on the back of boss Charlie Mulgrew resigning after just one victory in 11 games, which left the Maroon Machine plummeting down the division.
Kelty captain Craig Johnston almost gave his side an early breakthrough when he angled a drive on target, but ICT skipper Danny Devine was there to block it.
Johnston was denied again on 17 minutes when he cut inside and swerved a shot, but Musa Dibaga pushed the ball wide.
On the half hour mark, it took a smart save from Kelty keeper Ruairidh Adams to beat clear a drive from Keith Bray, who spotted the opportunity in the box.
Dibaga was called into action again before the break when he saved a low 20-yarder from Jacob McIntyre to keep it blank.
The Inverness number one needed treatment when he stretched to boot the ball clear to prevent a corner kick.
The final chance of the first half came from ICT midfielder Charlie Gilmour, whose long-ranger bounced off the right post and Adams gathered gratefully.
Two late strikes sink Inverness CT
Dibaga didn’t appear for the second half, with that earlier injury ruling him out. That meant 17-year-old Szymon Rebilas was pitched in for his competitive debut.
The only moment of note for Inverness in the second half came the way of Caley Thistle as Billy Mckay showed power to win the ball and lined up Alfie Stewart, who swerved a shot around the right post.
Kelty grabbed the opener 11 minutes from time when McCarvel raced on to a long through ball from Murray Thomas before guiding his shot beyond young Rebilas.
And the victory was capped for Kelty when Cole lashed a low shot into the left corner of the net after getting the better of defender Remi Savage.
ICT’s quest to avoid the play-off relegation position moves on to their trip to promotion contenders Stenhousemuir next weekend.
Speaking about Dibaga’s injury, boss Kellacher added afterwards:Â “Musa has pulled his hamstring – there is no way he could have carried on.
“We had to put young Szymon in goals and it was a big ask for the kid.
“We will see what the physio says about Musa.”
Caley Thistle v Kelty Hearts ratings
CALEY THISTLE (4-4-2): Dibaga 6 (Rebilas 46), Strachan 6, Devine 6, Savage 6, Brannan 6, Mackinnon 6 (MacLeod 60), Stewart 6 (Gardiner 83), Gilmour 7, Allan 6 (Thompson 71), Mckay 7, Bray 7.
Subs not used: Nolan, Walker, Ewan.
KELTY HEARTS (4-4-2): Adams 6, Paterson 6, Mercer 7 (Thomas 72). O’Ware 6, Flatman 6, Moore 6 (Cole 61), Allan 6 (Lyon 78), Owens 6 (McClure 61), MacIntyre 7, Johnston 7 (Fellows 90), McCarvel 6.
Subs not used: Adamson (GK), Brown, Hobbs.
Referee: Daniel Graves.
Attendance: 1812.
Man of the match: Charlie Gilmour.
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