Duncan Ferguson hails Inverness Caley Thistle hat-trick hero Alex Samuel after 'unstoppable' performance against Raith Rovers

Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Duncan Ferguson was full of praise for the club's hat-trick hero Alex Samuel after beating Raith Rovers 3-2.

All of Samuel's goals came in a nine minute spell towards the end of the first half, bringing the Welshman's tally to four in two games since signing for ICT earlier this month.

Ferguson felt Samuel has immediately come in and made Inverness a better team, and was delighted to have reaped early rewards of the deal to bring the striker across the Kessock Bridge from Ross County.

"He did very well, and he's made a massive difference to us," Ferguson explained.

"In the first half he was unstoppable really, getting a hat-trick in nine minutes.

"In the second he tired a wee bit, as the team did, and Raith scored their goal to put us under a lot of pressure, but I'm made up for Alex.

"We know he's a good player – he has played at a higher level and at a good level in England – and he showed that last week and again this week.

"He hasn't played a lot of football, but now he's had two starts in a week and scored four goals, so he has been prolific for us so far."

While Samuel's impact has been clear for all to see, Ferguson also gave three players debuts in Kirkcaldy.

Cammy Kerr played 90 minutes on the right-hand side, while young defenders Remi Savage and Jeremiah Chiloka-Mullen were also given a chance to impress from the start.

Given Raith are challenging for the Championship title, it was very much a deep end to throw the new recruits into, but Ferguson was pleased with how they all coped with the challenge.

"Raith are very direct – their first goal came about from a long ball that we didn't defend well – and they put you under a lot of pressure," Ferguson added.

"I thought we defended well enough in the second half. Obviously you're going to concede chances, but we had two young debutants in defence playing their first senior games, and I thought they did very well.

"I was up all night thinking about whether to put them in, but we brought them to the club because they are good players.

"They are young, and I think that was the first time they've ever been on a plastic pitch for a match which was a concern, but in the main they did very well and they will get better for it.

"Cameron's 28, so there was a bit of experience blended with a bit of youth, and I thought Cameron had a very good display on the right."

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