‘Partick panic cost us,’ says Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Duncan Ferguson
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DUNCAN Ferguson felt a destructive nervousness swirl around the Caledonian Stadium before Caley Thistle hit trouble against Partick Thistle.
Goals from defenders Cammy Kerry and Remi Savage seemed to have the Inverness team heading for a first home win in the league since November 11.
But the Championship’s third top side preyed on indecisiveness in the closing third of the match, with Ferguson sensing a panic among players and supporters alike.
Aiden Fitzpatrick and Brian Graham, from the penalty spot, squared the game at 2-2 before Nathan Shaw made amends for conceding the spot-kick by quickly restoring the lead.
A Graham volley, though, sealed a 3-3 draw and left the hosts locked in joint second bottom place alongside Dunfermline, who have a game in hand.
“I was never comfortable, even at 2-0 given the way we were defending,” Ferguson said.
“That’s where a couple of their goals came from. We never got our heads on the ball to clear it far enough away or simply kick the ball down the pitch.”
Ferguson praised attacking play, but is concerned by the jittery response.
“There is a bit of panic here – you can feel that within the stadium, with the fans and with the players a little bit,” he said.
“It is such a long time since we have won a league game here and you can feel a wee bit of anxiety. At moments, we need to be a bit calmer.
“You could feel the atmosphere going down when it went to 2-2, like we were going to go under.
“To be fair, the lads dug it out again with nice play to go 3-2 up when we could easily have folded. Then we conceded another by not clearing our lines.
“It was a good game but we need to get back to keeping clean sheets.
“The defensive unit must be much better.”
