Supersub Brian Graham salvaged a point for St Johnstone to keep their European hopes alive.
The Perth men were trailing to an Aaron Doran 55th minute strike when Graham, who had been on the pitch for just six minutes, headed home a crucial leveller eight minutes from time.
A draw, which leaves them four points behind Inverness and level with Dundee United, was the very least Saints deserved.
It was a scrappy opening to the game, in blustery conditions, but Saints were marginally on top.
And they came close to taking the lead in just nine minutes.
Danny Swanson showed at Celtic Park how lethal he could be from outside the box, and he was inches away from another long-range effort.
The former Dundee United man’s right foot curler had Ryan Esson well beaten but it struck the face of the bar.
Caley Thistle’s first effort came on 16 minutes when it opened up for Doran in the box. He couldn’t hit the target with his angled shot, however.
Another chance followed seconds later. James Vincent tested Alan Mannus from 20 yards and the Northern Irishman was equal to the task.
Swanson was the class act in the first half, and he teed the ball up for Michael O’Halloran with a fine run and pass. Saints’ top scorer didn’t do Swanson’s work justice though, blazing his shot over the bar.
The last near thing of the half came at the other end when Mannus was at full stretch to tip a Danny Williams shot round the post.
Three minutes after the re-start O’Halloran somehow managed to scoop the ball over the bar from just six yards out.
The Perth men were well on top in the first 10 minutes of the second period but they were hit with a sucker punch when Doran finished superbly from just inside the box after Marley Watkins had set him up.
With Inverness looking fairly comfortable, on 82 minutes Graham rose to bullet home a Tam Scobbie cross and tie the game up at 1-1.
Caley Thistle were down to 10 men a couple of minutes later, David Raven receiving a second yellow for a foul on Swanson.