Caley Thistle assistant boss Billy Mckay targets Challenge Cup glory after 4-1 victory at Forfar Athletic
The Inverness side have won five games out of five in the league phase of the competition.
Caley Thistle assistant manager Billy Mckay admitted his side suffered from a hangover following last week’s defeat to Hamilton Accies despite their perfect Challenge Cup record being maintained at Forfar.
The assistant played the full 90 minutes as Inverness stuttered but eventually blew away their League Two opponents with a 4-1 victory at Station Park.
The striker was full of praise for the opposition, who upset the script by taking a deserved lead after 26 minutes.
“It was a tough game,” said Mckay.
“I thought they were brilliant, especially in the first half. They played a shape and pressed higher and it took us a while to get to grips with.
“At times, we weren’t at our fluid best but it all came together at the start of the second half, it clicked, and we go the job done.
“It was important for us to get the win after last week.
“Maybe that’s why it took us a bit too long to get to the grips with the game.
“There was a bit of a hangover from last week, but we can put that behind us now.
“There are going to be slips along the way but it is about how we react, and we reacted well.”
Five changes for cup tie
Inverness made five changes to the side that lost to Hamilton and travelled to Station Park looking to maintain their perfect record in the league phase of the Challenge Cup.
Forfar, however clearly hadn’t read the script and started on the front foot.
Only a sensational stop from Inverness goalkeeper Ross Munro kept Stuart Morrison’s header out of the net after nine minutes.
The visitors went up the other end and came close themselves when Paul Allan’s free kick rebounded off the post.
Scott Shepherd and Alfie Bavidge traded chances at either end as the Loons upset the Inverness rhythm.
Martin Rennie made Inverness pay for their poor start after 26 minutes, collecting the ball 30 yards from goal before showing tremendous feet to weave through at least three Inverness defenders and find the back of the net.
Caley Thistle began to find their feet and Mckay and Adam Mackinnon saw good chances thwarted by the Forfar keeper before an injury to captain for the day, Ross Millen, interrupted any attempt to ramp up the pressure on the Forfar defence.
The full time outfit came racing out the traps and looked like a different side in the second period.
The game was turned on its head within ten minutes of the restart. Calum MacLeod levelled the scoring from the second phase of a set play before Mackinnon took advantage of some slack Forfar defending to put his side in front.
Despite being behind, Forfar were far from out of it and were twice denied an equaliser by the excellent Ross Munro.
He first pulled off a stunning reflex stop to deny Angus Mailer’s header and then raced out of goal to thwart Nathan Cannon’s effort.
Substitute Luis Longstaff put the game beyond doubt after 63 minutes, volleying home from the edge of the box after an exquisite passing move.
Mckay rounded off the scoring, himself, as the clocked ticked over in to injury time, combining well with David Wotherspoon before finding the net from range.
The win guaranteed Inverness a seeded draw in the next round and Mckay feels his side have a chance at going all the way in the competition.
He added: “Coming into the competition, we had a target to get in that top six.
“We’ve had a really strong team and really strong performances.
“It’s been good for us. We go into every competition hoping we can challenge.
“The Championship teams are going to come in next round so it’s going to get harder, but we believe we can go all the way.”
[Source: Press and Journal]
