Three takeaways from the Championship stalemate between Inverness Caley Thistle and Queen's Park
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After a couple of big wins in the Championship, Inverness Caledonian Thistle were feeling good going heading into yesterday's match against league leaders Queen's Park.
That certainly showed on the pitch if not on the scoreboard, as both teams had several chances to find the back of the net before the game finished 0–0.
It was an entertaining contest that both sides will likely feel they could have earned more from, but what stood out from the match? Here are three things to take away from the game at the Caledonian Stadium.
An attacking threat
It may seem strange to talk about potency going forward after a goalless draw, but I missed Caley Thistle's last two games where they scored a combined 10 goals so even without finding the net, the display against Queen's Park felt like a step up to me.
Compared to the last few times I watched Inverness play, there has been clear improvement in the attacking third.
Early on, Mark Ridgers was the launching pad for attacks. The goalkeeper was eager to get the ball forward quickly by playing long balls over the top of defenders into space, and with the pace of Daniel MacKay and Jay Henderson to aim for it has every chance of paying off.
After things settled down, ICT's passing was much crisper going forward, playing short, tight passes around corners and using angles to their advantage as they looked to break forward.
I often call for a good tempo and intensity to a team's play, and this was a good example of what I mean – Inverness were well-drilled, knowing exactly where teammates would be and what their plan was to get a goal. This time, the onlyt this missing was that final finish.
Whether the last few weeks have seen a tactical tweak or this really is just the difference that confidence makes, the Caley Jags are once again a threat going forward, and if they can show that against the Championship leaders then they should be able to take the game to anyone they come up against in the remainder of the season.
Head coach Billy Dodds' thoughts: "The way Queen's play, they put a full press on to try and keep you high up the pitch.
"Their full backs go forward, which leaves space, so we tried to take advantage of that. We didn't always do it, but when you're tired if you can have that precision to pick the right pass I think you can get them.
"We did that down there for the first goal when they beat us 2–1, and those are the kind of things were were trying to do again. We had chances, we picked the right pass a few times and just couldn't take them."
Commitment to the cause
At the other end, two crucial blocks were needed from Danny Devine to keep Queen's Park out.
It shows both how important he is to this side right now, but also the motivation and determination that is permeating the squad at the Caledonian Stadium.
If Caley Thistle had given up on their promotion bid after a run of bad results to end 2022, they would not be putting their bodies on the line to make it as difficult as possible for other teams to score against them.
The players themselves might tell you differently, but there is a desperation when something is at stake that simply cannot be replicated when the campaign is fizzling out.
That we saw defenders dutifully doing their jobs says a lot about where their mindset is right now, and more of that same application will be needed to get back in the mix at the very top of the table over the coming months.
Wallace Duffy's thoughts: "I think Danny had a good few blocks. They missed some chances, but one of their keeper's saves in the first half was unbelievable.
"It was a bit like basketball at times, but that's just the way they play with how many bodies they get forward and how aggressively they press.
"I thought we managed that pretty well to be honest. We never got too caught up in the old kamikaze football, but it was a decent game for the neutrals with plenty of chances."
Options at hand
There is not really much more to say about the injury crisis that has impeded Caley Thistle this season, but it was notable that Billy Dodds had a full complement of substitutes to pick from once again this weekend.
Yes, some of those were youngsters who have not had much exposure to Championship football, but it is another indicator that the tide is turning in the Highland capital.
It was only the second time this season that Dodds has been able to name nine substitutes in his matchday squad – the other being against Brechin City in the SPFL Trust Trophy at the end of September – and as far as I can see it was the first time he has ever done so in the league.
When people talk about competition for places it may feel somewhat cliche, but just having more numbers available again will greatly increase the options for what Inverness can do on the training pitch too.
Hopefully, things only improve from here on out at Caley Thistle in that regard, and returning players can help provide fresh impetus to the squad in the second half of the season.
Billy Dodds' thoughts: "It was nice to turn to my bench and see a full, healthy selection to choose from.
"We had a full quota of players which was nice, and that allowed us to freshen it up with boys who went on and worked hard.
"I'm starting to get plenty to choose from, and you can see we're starting to get better results because of it."
