Caley Thistle survive Ayr United comeback
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 (Austin x2, Polworth)
Ayr United 2 (McDaid, Shankland)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle held on to secure three points at Ayr United despite a spirited fightback from the hosts.
Caley Thistle surged into an early lead and had looked comfortable, but late goals from the Honest Men made for a nervy finish.
Nathan Austin got the scoring under way when he held off Daniel Harvie to latch on to a long ball from midfield.
He could only watch as his first attempt as blocked, but he made no mistake with the rebound, blasting past Ross Doohan.
Austin would grab his second three minutes later, breaking Ayr's offside trap to get on the end of George Oakley's pass and fire home from eight yards out.
Liam Polworth would then stun the hosts with a screamer from 20 yards to make the score 3-0 to ICT after just 18 minutes.
Caley Thistle looked comfortable, but Ayr United would score what seemed to be a consolation after 52 minutes.
Jamie McCart would get caught in possession, allowing Lawrence Shankland to steal the ball and square it across the face of goal for Declan McDaid to finish.
Shankland himself would then set up a tense finish by scoring a powerful free kick from 25 yards with little over five minutes left on the clock.
But Caley Thistle would hold on for the win, taking all three points back up to Inverness and moving back up to fourth in the Scottish Championship.
