The new Caley Thistle era under manager Richie Foran got off to an encouraging start with a hard-earned 2-1 win at Cowdenbeath in the Betfred Cup, but there is still work to do on and off the pitch.
The Irishman, who succeeded John Hughes at the end of last season, has pledged to introduce a more direct, attacking style of play to excite the club’s supporters, although a blustery Central Park – complete with a speedway track surrounding the pitch – wasn’t the most conducive environment for this new brand of football.
For his first competitive match as a manager, this was a tricky hurdle for Foran to overcome.
Difficult conditions and a well-organised Cowdenbeath side frustrated Caley Thistle for long spells until captain Gary Warren headed home the winning goal 15 minutes from time after Dean Brett had cancelled out Ross Draper’s opener.
After an under-whelming 2015-16 campaign, there is a sense of excitement about the season ahead for Caley Thistle.
Foran handed debuts to his four new signings with Kevin McNaughton, Scott Boden and Billy King all starting against the Blue Brazil, while Jake Mulraney impressed after being introduced at the break.
It is dangerous to read too much into early season matches against lower league opposition, but Caley Thistle already look a more menacing proposition in attack.
The plan deployed by Foran is straightforward. Get the ball wide to King and Mulraney, who both possess the pace and trickery to skip past defenders and create chances.
The manager would have been delighted with the manner in which his new signings have fitted into his team, but the man of the match on Saturday was Iain Vigurs, who was at the heart of most of Caley Thistle’s best play.
He struck the crossbar with a header before the visitors opened the scoring after only 13 minutes.
Boden, the former Newport County forward, displayed great strength to shrug off the challenge of Greg Ross before unselfishly playing the ball across goal for Draper to apply the finishing touch.
A great start, but Cowdenbeath mustered an immediate response with Brett levelling after some determined play by former Hearts player Gary Glen.
Vigurs went close to regaining the lead for the Caley Jags with a superbly-struck free kick from 35 yards that was tipped over for a corner kick before heading the ball on to the crossbar for the second time from the resulting set-piece.
Foran opted to make a change at the break with Mulraney replacing Liam Polworth and the visitors upped the tempo after the restart with Boden drawing a smart save from Cowdenbeath goalkeeper David McGurn.
It took Inverness until the 75th minute to finally turn their dominance into a second goal with captain Warren heading home a Vigurs corner to give Caley Thistle a deserved lead.
Goalkeeper Ryan Esson was withdrawn five minutes from time as a precaution with his deputy, Cameron Mackay, able to see out the match and ensure Caley Thistle began the Betfred Cup campaign with a victory. That leaves Inverness already one point ahead of their group rivals Dundee United, who are on two points after requiring penalties to defeat Arbroath on Friday. The sides will meet at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday in what will be a good test.
Foran already has the foundations of a decent team, but needs a couple more additions to a squad that looks light on numbers.
The Caley Jags listed only five of a possible seven substitutes and will need to strengthen before the league campaign begins next month.
However it has been an encouraging start for Foran and the noisy band of Caley Thistle supporters who travelled to Cowdenbeath appeared happy with what they are seeing.
They are starting to buy into what Foran is trying to deliver – time will tell if he is able to make it happen.