Caley Thistle thump Dundee to finish season in seventh spot
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A FOUR-star display from Caley Thistle was too much for Dundee as they secured seventh spot.
Goals from Miles Storey, Danny Devine, Ross Draper and Richie Foran ensured the Caley Jags would finish best of the rest in the Premiership and earn an extra £53,000 in prize money.
All the goals came in the second half after a predictably tame opening to an end-of-season encounter.
Both sides were unchanged from their respective midweek games, meaning no farewell appearances for Dean Brill, Nat Wedderburn and Liam Hughes. David Raven only made the bench.
This was the only Saturday game with anything riding on it - seventh place - but the sparse crowd in the Highlands reflected the general apathy towards Caley Thistle at present.
A series of decisions made by manager John Hughes have proved unpopular with the fanbase, namely ostracising Raven, who has received huge applause from supporters since it emerged he was unlikely to be retained.
The opening of the game was all Inverness, with Dundee camped well inside their own half. A cross-shot from Miles Storey nearly caught out Scott Bain, called up to the Scotland squad this week, but he recovered to tip the ball over.
At times it resembled a training exercise for the Caley Jags, ball retention prioritised over penetration. Bain reacted well to hold on to a Iain Vigurs free kick while at the opposite end, Greg Stewart was proving the main threat. One shot wide sounded a warning of what was to come, with his next opportunity going over via the crossbar.
Caley Thistle seemed destined to repeat old mistakes and allow the opposition to score from limited chances. Devine backed away from Paul McGinn as the full-back advanced into the area, allowing him to get a shot away. Thankfully for the defender, Owain Fon Williams was on hand to keep it out.
After a quiet opening to the second period, Caley Thistle finally broke the deadlock on 61 minutes. Liam Polworth received the ball just outside the area and he played a first-time pass through to Storey. When Bain advanced on him, Storey hurdled the challenge and turned the ball home from six yards.
The game was killed off with two goals in two minutes. On 69 minutes, Vigurs floated a corner to the back post where Devine was on hand to scramble home from close range. Two minutes later, former Caley Thistle midfielder Nick Ross was caught in possession by Draper, who drove on to slot past Bain.
Raven was brought on to rapturous applause from the crowd and when Inverness were given a penalty with six minutes to go, fans clamoured for the departing favourite to take it. However, Foran stepped up to score what could be his final goal to put the gloss on an assured second-half display.
CALEY THISTLE: Fon Williams; Meekings (Raven, 74), Devine, Warren, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Polworth, Vigurs, D. Williams (R. Williams, 76), Storey (Foran, 67). Subs unused: Esson, Roberts, Horner, Mbuyi-Mutombo. Booked: none.
DUNDEE: Bain; McGinn (Black, 78), Etxabeguren, O'Dea, Holt, Colquhoun (Perez-Reverte, 67), Ross, Wighton, Stewart (Curran, 77), Loy, Hemmings. Subs unused: Mitchell, Meggatt, Gazhalov. Booked: Black.
Attendance: 3794.
Referee: B. Cook.
