Composure came through for Inverness Caledonian Thistle against Partick Thistle
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Shane Sutherland was pleased with how things clicked into place for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the second half against Partick Thistle.
It had appeared to be a match decided by individual brilliance in the early going, with Scott Tiffoney producing a moment of magic to give the visitors the lead.
Mark Ridgers then had the chance to step up to the plate by denying Brian Graham from point-blank range as the clock ticked down, and Inverness never looked back.
Goals from Kirk Broadfoot, Sutherland himself and then Aaron Doran swung things in the home side’s favour in a brilliant 45 minutes for Caley Thistle that Sutherland put down to a renewed intensity and composure.
“The work rate can’t be questioned for any player in the team,” he said.
“It never drops, so we need to add that little bit of composure and quality in the final third when we get into good positions.
“We got into good areas in the first half, but maybe because we were 1-0 down we rushed it or forced a pass that wasn’t on.
“We needed to be a bit more patient and composed to hurt them – and you saw that in the second half, we got the ball up to our strikers and kept it, moved it quickly to get balls in the box with good link-up play.
“We got three goals at the end of the day.
“So it’s a good three points because they had started well and we needed to respect them. They had a good start to the season too, but this puts us six points clear of them.”
Although Broadfoot’s presence among the scorers may have been the biggest surprise, it was Sutherland’s goal that was the strangest.
Danny Devine played a long ball forward for him that Partick goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon missed completely, leaving an open goal. From there, ICT took full advantage, much to their fans’ enjoyment.
“Danny took a touch, and I caught his eye and made the run,” Sutherland recalled.
“It was a great pass over the top, and I didn’t even think about the goalie coming out – I was just making my way towards the ball.
“You’d have to ask him, but I think he thought I was going to get a touch first, so he has pulled out to make sure he doesn’t give away a penalty and it’s fallen for me.
“It’s one of those I could have missed – I took it first time because I knew it was an open goal, but I’m sure they’re missable, so I was glad to see it hit the net.
“We still had to be alert because they’re a good team, but I thought we managed it brilliantly.
“Since I came back here, a lot of it has been in lockdown. We had a few hundred fans at times, but they were spread out all over the stadium, so they couldn’t create much of an atmosphere.
“You can hear them when the first goal goes in, and that gives us a lift to go and get the second and the third.
“You realise how much it means to other people, just as much as it means to us, so it’s brilliant to have them back.”
