Dunc-ball takes shape under Duncan Ferguson as David Wotherspoon double and Billy Mckay penalty seals thrilling win and hoists for Inverness Caley Thistle out of relegation territory
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Inverness Caley Thistle (3) 3
Ayr United (0) 1
Attendance: 2,259
(Scorers: ICT - Wotherspoon 32, 43, Mckay pen 45; Ayr - Murphy pen 60)
Duncan Ferguson, as a ferocious competitor and predatory penalty box finisher in his Everton and Newcastle prime, revelled in the big ball forward and the raw aggression of the game.
Any thoughts that this would see a similar style of play being imprinted on Caley Thistle during his managerial term have quickly been banished.
Something much silkier and subtler is taking shape at his new club and, judging by the enthusiasm echoing in the stands today, Dunc-ball is being well received.
It was a vital win – defeat would have left ICT second bottom and eight points off the top four – but now a victory away to Dunfermline next weekend could lift them to fifth in the table.
It was thrill-a-minute football at times, refreshing to watch, and the sporadic ovations in the main stand suggested it is certainly capturing the Inverness public’s imagination.
That 15-minute period before the break all but settled the match, with David Wotherspoon’s double and a Billy Mckay penalty setting the tone before half-time.
Jamie Murphy’s reply from the spot on the hour ushered in latter Ayr dominance, but Ayr never really looked like stopping Caley Thistle making it five games unbeaten, including three wins, under Ferguson.
Caley Thistle were unchanged from the previous weekend’s draw at Tannadice, with David Carson passing a morning fitness test, while Ayr, unbeaten in their last three visits to the Highlands, made three changes.
Nick McAllister, Mark McKenzie and Jay Senga replaced Ahkeem Rose, Jack Young and absent Elicha Ahui.
The Honest Men then suffered a setback when George Stanger dislocated his shoulder after barely 10 minutes.
The hosts warmed up to produce some free-flowing football, pleasing on the eye, but there was no great threat to goal from either side before the 32nd minute opener.
It was a captivating spell, with Billy Mckay’s vision and invention sparking the opener after releasing Cammy Harper to the left of the box.
Harper’s floated cross was cushioned down by the head of Carson and Nathan Shaw’s mishit attempt square on goal was redirected into the net close-in by Wotherspoon.
Caley Jags raised the tempo again, with Wotherspoon threaded wide left of the six-yard box by Harper, before finding the net with a heavily deflected finish.
The home crowd were on their feet again after the sheer pace of the move caught out Ayr, causing Paddy Reading to trip Caley Thistle’s Charlie Gilmour in the penalty area.
Mckay stepped up to the spot to score his fourth of the season.
The hosts seemed to be cruising, but Ayr grasped a lifeline on the hour mark.
Substitute Ahkeem Rose raced into the box only to be clipped to earth by keeper Mark Ridgers.
Jamie Murphy's slick penalty denied Ridgers a clean sheet on his 250th club appearance.
What followed were long spells where the hosts had to show grit, resolve, and battling spirit to keep the scoreline at 3-1.
Maybe some of those traits Ferguson displayed in abundance as a player are at play after all.
Inverness CT (4-4-1-1): Ridgers 7; Ujdur 7, Devine 7, Boyes 8; Carson 6 (Duffy 57, 6) Gilmour 7, Anderson 5 (Longstaff 46, 6), Shaw 7, Harper 8; Wotherspoon 8 (Brooks 89, 3), Mckay 7 (Sheridan 78, 4). Subs: MacKay, Delaney, Hyde, Lodovica, Brooks, Thompson.
Booked: Anderson 27, Brooks 90
Ayr United (4-4-2): Mutch; McAllister, McGinty, Stanger (F. Ecrepont 12), Reading; Chalmers (Rose 46, ), Senga (Amartey 69, ), Syla, Murphy; McKenzie (McGeady, 78, 4), Dowds (Young 69, ). Subs: O. Ecrepont, Smith, Bryden.
Referee: Iain Snedden 7
