Inverness eased any lingering threat of relegation from the Ladbrokes Premiership after scoring three times in the second half on their way to a 3-1 win over 10-man Kilmarnock.
Greg Tansey, Ross Draper and Danny Williams all found the back of the net to move Inverness 11 points clear of 11th spot with four games to go.
Kallum Higginbotham had given Lee Clark’s men the lead towards the end of the first half but Caley Thistle drew themselves level 10 minutes after the break, Tansey netting a penalty after Jamie MacDonald had been sent off.
Draper turned in from close range after a Tansey corner with 17 minutes to go and Williams netted three minutes later to secure the points.
Given that three points would have been useful for both sides, you would have expected more from a first half that lacked in any real incident or urgency.
Neither goalkeeper was forced into a save in the first 30 minutes as a tame affair played out in front of a sparse Sunday afternoon crowd.
Killie’s greatest threat came from set pieces, with balls aimed at Miles Addison, while Caley Thistle had some joy with Danny Williams and Miles Storey finding some space in behind the Kilmarnock back line. The best chances fell for the home side, with MacDonald denying Danny Williams and Julien Faubert heading a Gary Warren effort off the line.
In a familiar story for Caley Thistle they had controlled possession but created little before shooting themselves in the foot.
Greg Kiltie broke and fed Higginbotham and he was granted the freedom of the Highland capital, cutting inside and firing beyond Owain Fon Williams to give Kilmarnock a half-time lead.
It was the visitors’ only shot of the first half and after the number of sucker-punches Inverness have been caught by this season, it should not have come as a surprise that they should find themselves behind.
They were inexplicably handed a lifeline eight minutes into the second half by Killie defender Conrad Balatoni.
His back pass was intercepted by Draper and, after rounding the goalkeeper, he was brought down by MacDonald, who saw red.
Tansey buried the resulting penalty under replacement goalkeeper Conor Brennan.
The opportunity was there for Inverness to go on and seize the game but they failed to do so, Josh Meekings missing a glaring header shortly after Fon Williams bailed out his side at the other end.
But Draper’s close-range finish and Danny Williams’ angled shot across Brennan gave the hosts a two-goal cushion and gave them a lead they could hold on to, despite Faubert hitting the bar.
