Inverness Caley Thistle player/assistant manager Billy Mckay delighted with team’s mental strength as Highland capital outfit seal seeded spot for next round of KDM Evolution Trophy
Inverness Caledonian Thistle player/assistant manager Billy Mckay was delighted with how the team responded mentally to going behind against Forfar Athletic in the KDM Evolution Trophy on Saturday.
Martin Rennie had put the hosts in front in the 27th minute at Station Park, leaving the Caley Jags reeling going into half time.
However, a strong comeback after the restart saw Inverness score four goals, courtesy of Calum MacLeod, Adam Mackinnon, Luis Longstaff and Mckay himself.
Considering Inverness have not been behind much in games this season, particularly in the Trophy where they had won four out of four going into Saturday’s match, it could have been a real test of composure following the previous week’s defeat at Hamilton.
Mckay, though, says he could not ask for more in terms of mental resilience as ICT secured a seeded spot for the first knockout round of this season’s Challenge Cup.
“I thought Forfar were really good for the first 45 minutes, and we weren’t at our best,” he told club media following the victory.
“We still created chances in those first 45 minutes, but it’s not how we want to play and it’s not how we can play.
“We had a chat at half time – nothing severe, but knowing we could do better, and we wanted to show that.
“When you go a goal behind, you sometimes see a team’s real mentality, but the most pleasing thing about the game for me was that I thought ours was excellent.
“It could have been a really difficult afternoon, but we came out for the second half really strongly and got the goals.
“When you get setbacks, it’s about how you react, and I thought we reacted in the right way.”
With three more points in the bag, Inverness have guaranteed themselves a seeded place in the next round with one match of the league phase remaining.
Caley Thistle actually sit at the top of the standings as they have the best goal difference out of the three teams to have recorded five wins out of five.
That means they will avoid a Championship side in the next round, and can only be drawn against one of the 16 teams progressing from the opening stage who will be unseeded in the draw.
“Our target was to be one of those seeded teams,” Mckay added.
“We’ve taken this competition seriously. We’ve made plenty of changes, but every team we put out right now is strong.
“You saw that today, it was a really good win, and you can’t ask for any more than getting five out of five.”