Midfielder says Inverness Caledonian Thistle need to find the finishing touch
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LUIS Longstaff knows Inverness Caledonian Thistle have to be more clinical up front if they are to beat Montrose on Saturday and keep their hopes of staying in the Championship alive.
The two teams will face each other again on Saturday after both teams played out a goalless draw in the first leg of the play-off on Tuesday night.
Inverness created few chances in front of goal with Montrose having the better opportunities in attack, but were unable to convert as the match finished 0-0.
Now the two teams face each other on Saturday knowing there has to be a winner, with the loser condemned to League One football next season.
Longstaff, who joined Inverness at the start of the season from Cove Rangers, says while he was happy with how the team performed defensively, knows they need to find the net to avoid relegation.
He said: “I think we got the ball down and played so we can’t blame the artificial pitch, but it was all far too deep.
“We never played football in the final third.
“In parts of the game we showed that we can play. We need to do it more consistently and higher up the pitch as well.
“Nothing has changed, it is one game we have to win by any means necessary. After playing each other, they know more about us and we know more about them. It works both ways, we are in a good position. It is not ideal, but it is not bad.”
Longstaff admitted it was a nervy performance against Montrose on Tuesday night and said that Caley Thistle’s defence had to be alert against their opponents who finished fourth in League One.
Despite only getting a draw, Longstaff says the main thing is they are not going into the second leg behind.
“Montrose had a decent support and it was always going to be difficult to come away with a win. But we didn’t get beat and that was the main thing. Especially with the way that they played. I thought we defended well, but we didn’t create enough. But if you can’t win, don’t lose.
“I felt Montrose would go long and try to put pressure on us at the top and look to win the second balls. I don’t think either side created too much, however they probably created the better chances, but I thought that we dealt with it in the end.
“We just need to perform a lot better going the other way.”
