Warren wins Betfred Cup clash for Caley Jags at Cowdenbeath
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CALEY Thistle beat battling League Two hosts Cowdenbeath 2-1 in their opening group game in the revamped Betfred Cup this afternoon (Saturday).
Ross Draper put the dominant top-flight team in front after 13 minutes, but this was cancelled out by Cowden full-back Dean Brett 10 minutes later.
Under new competition rules, drawn ties go straight to penalties with the victors gaining two rather than three points and this was on the cards until Gary Warren's header sealed the victory to take them top of their section.
ICT, the Blue Brazil, Dundee United, Dunfermline and Arbroath and in a section battling it out between them throughout the second half of July to be in the top two and book a second round knock-out fixture next month.
This was manager Richie Foran's first competitive match in charge of the Scottish Premiership side since taking over from John Hughes and in the oppositie dug-out was ex-Caley Jags midfielder Liam Fox in his first fixture that mattered too.
There were also three players making their competitive debuts for Inverness, while David Raven was suspended and Josh Meekings missed out with a knee knock.
Kicking off their Caley Jags careers for real after pre-season action were defender Kevin McNaughton, wide midfielder Billy King and striker Scott Boden.
Former Scotland and Aberdeen stopper McNaughton penned a one-year deal through the week, while King came on loan from Hearts for 12 months and Boden joined this summer on a three-year contract from Newport County and hit four goals in a busy but swift pre-season spell.
Ryan Esson was in goals, with Wales international and ICT number one Owain Fon Williams given extra rest time following his involvement at the Euro 2016 finals in France.
This revamped version of the League Cup started last night and in this section Dundee United, next week's visitors to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, needed penalties to squeeze past Arbroath after a 1-1 draw, earning them two points.
It was a sunny afternoon in the Fife town and the visiting fans were out to enjoy it, complete with drummer! They arrived in good numbers and decent numbers for this tie.
The last time these clubs locked horns was also here at Central Park back in 1997 when the Blue Brazil won 2-1, with ICT's consolation goal in that Division Three contest scored by Paul Cherry. Much has changed for the Highlanders over those past 19 years.
Just ahead of kick-off, the Caley Jags fans turned their voices and faces towards the bench to chant Foran's name, which he clearly appreciated with the thumbs up in return.
The first chance came the way of Iain Vigurs and he saw his free-kick held by home keeper David McGurn then, on 11 minutes, Warren headed just wide of goal from a Greg Tansey corner.
At a venue which stages stock car racing, it was one-way traffic from Caley Thistle in the early stages and they got their noses in front when midfield power-house Draper was on hand to tuck away a cut-back from Boden.
The visitors were the team on top and relishing this chance to shine, but out of the blue, Cowdenbeath punished slackness at the back to level.
Lewis Moore worked his way into the box from the left flank and picked out Brett all too easily and the defender supplied a simple finish to beat Esson.
Although Liam Polworth, Vigurs and Tansey went close in the remainder of the forst half, they were not as sharp as they had been earlier in the contest and Foran's introduced winger Jake Mulraney, a summer signing from QPR, at the start of the second half to add some spark, replacing Polworth.
However, the same duo who had provided the Cowden leveller combined again just after the break with a searing run from Moore lining up Brett and his low drive flashed past Esson's right post to sound another warning.
This did spark ICT back to life and Boden was unlucky to see his header blocked on the line when he met an inviting free-kick from Tansey fly into the danger area.
Cowden forward Kris Renton then appealed for a foul on the edge of the box when he seemed to have been impeded by Warren, but referee Stephen Finnie waved play on.
The game began scrappy for a while with needless bookings spoiling it.
The winner arrived though for the Highlanders on 75 minutes when Vigurs corner was met by Warren, whose header crashed off the underside of the bar and over the line.
Sub Craig Johnston almost took the tie to spot-kicks with a close-range effort, but it was ICT who gained the win with Mulraney almost notching a third goal in stoppage time but being denied by Fraser Mullen.
Caley Thistle will now host Championship side Dundee United next week knowing that a win will give them a really good chance of winning the section, although Dunfermline, who have yet to play, may have something to say about that.
Cowdenbeath: McGurn, Brett, Mullen, Moore, O'Brien (Johnston 82), Glen (Miller 55), Turner, Ross, Renton, Rutherford, McLaughlan. Subs not used: Sneddon (GK), Robertson, Swann, Creany, Muirhead.
Inverness CT: Esson (Mackay 85), Tremarco, McNaughton, Warren, Polworth (Mulraney 46), Draper, Vigurs, Tansey, Horner, Boden, King. Subs not used: Brown, Fisher, Sutherland.
Referee: Stephen Finnie.
