Manager Duncan Ferguson starts reign at Inverness Caley Thistle winning first league game of the season in a frantic finish at Arbroath
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Scottish Championship
Arbroath 2
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3
Scorers - Arbroath: Stewart (72) Mckenna (80). Inverness: Longstaff (10) Doran (31) Mckay (50).
DUNCAN Ferguson started his reign of Inverness Caledonian Thistle with a nervy win as he watched his new team hold on for victory over Arbroath at Gayfield.
Goals in the first half from Luis Longstaff and Aaron Doran, followed by a peach of a lob from Billy Mckay at the start of the second half, saw Inverness cruising 3-0 after 50 minutes.
Arbroath did come back through Scott Stewart and Michael McKenna reduced the deficit to one with 10 minutes left in a five-goal thriller.
The victory also moved Inverness off the bottom of the table into ninth place with Greenock Morton losing at Airdrieonians.
It was Ferguson's first game in charge since being appointed as the club new manager on Tuesday.
He took over from Billy Dodds who was sacked as head coach after a winless run of nine matches in all competitions.
He made no changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Dundee United last week, under interim managers Charlie Christie and John Robertson as their winless run stretched to 10 matches
It was Caley Thistle's first victory since their 2-1 win over Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in the League Cup back on Saturday, July 15.
The Big Dunc era only had to wait 10 minutes for Inverness Caledonian Thistle to break the deadlock.
A cross in the box eventually found its way to Longstaff and his low drive found its way into the back of the net.
The visitors doubled their advantage on the half hour mark when Longstaff charged down the left wing and his cross found Aaron Doran in the box.
The Irishman fired a low drive into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Caley Thistle killed off the contest five minutes into the second half, when a route one punt from Mark Ridgers found Mckay in the box.
He lobbed Gaston from 12 yards out with the most delicate of touches over the goalkeeper into the back of the net.
Arbroath pulled one back with around 20 minutes remaining when a shot from Stewart cannoned off the back of Ujdur and into the net.
Inverness were made to work with 10 minutes left when McKenna fired a low drive off the inside of the left post that cannoned over the line and into the net.
It set up a frantic finish at Gayfield, but Inverness held on for victory.
Arbroath: Gaston, Steele, Stewart, Little, O'Brien, Slater (Balde 71), Gold, McKenna, Bird (Mcintosh 64), Hylton (Dunnwald -Turan 87), Dow (Stow 62),
Substitutes: Jacobs, Norey, Balde, Lyon, Adams, Hamilton.
Inverness: Ridgers, Harper, Gilmour, Carson, McKay (Delaney 65), Doran (Samuels 55), Anderson, Longstaff (Davidson 72), Boyes, Shaw, Ujdur.
Substitutes: Hyde, Lodovica, Brooks, Bray, Thompson, Mackay.
Referee: Don Robertson.
Attendance 1723
