Vincent goal seals ICT's Scottish Cup triumph
JAMES Vincent wrote himself into the history books as his goal sealed Caley Thistle's maiden Scottish Cup victory.
The substitute tapped in at the back post with five minutes to go to earn Inverness a 2-1 win, against the back-drop of ten men after losing Carl Tremarco in the second half.
A first-half goal from Marley Watkins had given Inverness a lead they merited, but a slack second-half display allowed Falkirk back into the game.
Peter Grant made the ascendancy count as he powered in a header on 80 minutes. But with Falkirk pushing for a winner, Inverness broke and James Vincent sealed the Scottish Cup in dramatic fashion.
It means the club will now enter the Europa League in the second qualifying round, which starts on 16 July.
Caley Thistle were hit with a blow before kick-off as it was revealed David Raven tore his calf in training before the final and would miss the game. Tremarco came into the side and Graeme Shinnie switched to right-back.
Prior to kick-off, it was announced that defender Danny Devine had signed a one-year extension to his deal with the Caley Jags, with an option of another year, after previously stating he hoped to pen a fresh deal before the final.
Watkins was again given a berth up front and looked to end his three-month wait for a goal. He perhaps should have done better with a Josh Meekings in-swinging cross, which the slightest touch would have diverted past Jamie MacDonald.
Will Vaulks had the first shot on target of the game 20 minutes in as he latched on to Ross Draper's misplaced pass, but his low effort was comfortably held by Ryan Esson. Falkirk fans believed he had given their side the lead before the half-hour as he brushed the side-netting with an effort from 25 yards.
At the opposite end, Watkins was again finding himself in the right positions, but not getting the right results. Shinnie's cross-field ball picked out Tremarco and he drilled a ball across goal, which the Welshman could have gambled on. A skewed Aaron Doran effort, straight at MacDonald, added to Inverness' early frustrations.
But the nerves were settled on 38 minutes as Watkins made amends for his early misses. Slipped in by Doran, Watkins held off Peter Grant and rounded MacDonald to slide in Caley Thistle's opening goal. Watkins then hared down the touchline to grab a t-shirt bearing the name of Roy Lewis, the father of Worcester Warriors rugby player Sam, who was from Swansea and passed away earlier this week.
Only a superb covering tackle from Peter Grant prevented a second goal before half-time, as he raced across to deny Doran a clear shot on goal.
Falkirk needed to come out and assert themselves on the game at the start of the second half and, as had been the case in the first half, Vaulks was the man to do it. Caley Thistle were giving him too much space to find his range and with just four minutes gone in the second period, he whipped an effort just wide of Esson's far post.
He saw another goal-bound effort blocked by Meekings before Watkins was denied by the offside trap, as both sides began to exchange chances. Blair Alston soon blazed over from David Smith's cross, as the Bairns looked to take advantage of Tremarco being down injured.
Twenty minutes into the second period and the Caley Jags were still to threaten, while Falkirk were inching closer into the game. Only a Meekings clearance, from inside the six-yard box, prevented Botti Biabi's cross from proving critical, before Vaulks, again, found himself on the end of a chance which he landed on the roof of the net.
If nerves were shredded among the Highlanders, things were about to get worse. Tremarco was given his marching orders with 15 minutes to go, miscontrolling and allowing Blair Alston to nip in and the left-back brought him down as the last man. Ross Draper then survived strong hand-ball shouts on the edge of the area as Caley Thistle came severely under the cosh.
The game eventually turned full circle when Grant leapt highest at the back post to power in an Alston free-kick, with ten minutes remaining. When Kieran Duffie had a goal-bound shot blocked shortly after, there seemed only to be one winner.
But as ever, not doing things the easy way, Caley Thistle broke away through Watkins with their sights set on a winner. His tame shot was parried by MacDonald into the path of Vincent, who tore a strip to get up there from his make-shift right-back slot, to slide in.
Despite a hairy closing stage, with five minutes additional time, Caley Thistle held on to seal their first piece of domestic silverware.
CALEY THISTLE: Esson; Shinnie, Meekings, Devine, Tremarco, Christie (Vincent, 72), Tansey, Draper, Doran (Williams, 78), Watkins (Ross, 90), Ofere. Subs unused: Mackay, Polworth, Horner, Kink. Booked:
FALKIRK: MacDonald; Duffie, McCracken, Grant, Leahy, Alston, Taiwo, Vaulks, Sibbald, Smith (Biabi, 63), Loy (Morgan, 90). Subs unused: Bowman, Muirhead, Cooper, Dick, Blair. Booked: Taiwo.
Attendance: 47,149.
Referee: W. Collum.
