Caley Thistle racked up a club record 9-0 victory at League Two hosts Dumbarton to surge in style into the Challenge Cup third round.

An 8-1 Scottish Cup rout of Annan Athletic in 1998 was the 31-year-old club’s best-ever result before this stunning show on a bitterly cold night at “The Rock”.

Four goals from on-loan Aberdeen attacker Alfie Bavidge – making him this season’s top scorer on 14 goals – was the highlight of a sensational display of scoring, with Calum MacLeod, Billy Mckay and Luis Longstaff also found the net.

In the second half, Ross Millen’s penalty and a Mckay scorcher took it to nine.

Their reward is a last-16 trip to Championship side Partick Thistle on January 6 or 7 after they edged past Cove Rangers.

Thrilled assistant boss Billy Mckay, who has now netted 200 professional goals and a club record 127 for ICT, said afterwards when asked about making history: “It was a really good performance from the lads. You could see how strong a team we were tonight. We were excellent.

“In the first half, we were outstanding in terms of the goals we scored. Our professionalism was very good. I’m very happy but the most important thing was to get into the next round.

“We were right on it from the start and the scoreline reflected that.

“Dumbarton brought on more experience in the second half and they shored things up and were more solid but the job was done.

“We believe we can beat anyone on our day and we’re showing that at the minute.

“Bav overtook (13-goal) Chanka Zimba with his goals but the most pleasing thing is the goals are coming from everywhere.

“When everyone is chipping in with goals, it’s a really good thing for the team. Bav has a knack of being in the right place at the right time as all good strikers have.

“I told him that being in the right place at the right time is no fluke, it’s a skill. He gets his rewards.

“We’re looking forward to Partick Thistle in the next round. They’re doing really well in the Championship (second top). We have a food few games before then, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Inverness, on a 10-match unbeaten surge and leading League One by five points, were playing their third fixture in six days, with this tie postponed from last week due to the rescheduled Scottish Cup game against Tranent, which ICT came through 2-1 last Wednesday.

Scott Kellacher’s team followed that tricky tie with a rousing 4-0 League One win over Hamilton on Saturday.

They were facing opponents lifted by the recent appointment of manager Frank McKeown and their 2-0 win over League Two front-runners East Kilbride at the weekend taking them to within five points of fourth spot.

Inverness, who won all six first-round group stage ties, made eight changes to their starting side, with only MacLeod, Remi Savage and Mitchell Robertson retained from Saturday.

Inverness, who scored early on Saturday, did so again when Bavidge glided into the box to plant a header past goalkeeper Ollie Ecrepont after superb work from Luis Longstaff and Ross Millen in the build-up.

It was one-way traffic from the visitors and it was only a matter of time before the floodgates opened.

On 22 minutes, MacLeod doubled the Caley Jags’ lead when he arrived in the box to guide home a cross from Millen.

And the shell-shocked Sons had no time to recover as, one minute later, Mckay scored with a low drive after working an opening.

Bavidge netted another a few minutes later when he met a cross from Robertson and sreetd his low shot past Ecrepont into the net to make it 4-0.

Bavidge claimed his treble on 31 minutes when he headed home from a pinpoint cross from Oscar MacIntyre to add more salt into their hosts’ wounds.

And the Bavidge show continued when the Dons player headed home another close-range goal on 38 minutes after Jordan Alonge was denied by Ecrepont.

Longstaff got in on the act just before half-time when he accepted a Bavidge pass and rifled a 25-yarder into the net, giving Ecrepont no chance. It was now 7-0.

Dumbarton were finding no joy here. It was a job of simply trying to contain the Highlanders from adding more in the second half.

The eighth goal came on 65 minutes when Millen tucked away a penalty after Oscar MacIntyre was tripped in the area.

Dumbarton forward Scott Honeyman then tried his luck from just inside the Inverness half, but was off the mark though applauded for having the courage to go for goal.

And ICT goalkeeper Logan Ross saved a drive from 25 yards from Honeyman just before flashed a shot over from an acute angle. He was doing all he could to at least provide Dumbarton with a crumb of comfort.

Mckay capped it off with a rocket into the roof of the net on 81 minutes.

Now ICT will head for third-placed Stenhousemuir in League One on Saturday.

Dumbarton v ICTFC ratings

DUMBARTON (4-1-4-1): Ecrepont 4, Lynas 4, Neill 4, Clark 4 (Durnan 46), Marshall 4, Blair 5 (Livingstone 57), Gilfedder 5, Wallace 5 (Docherty 46), Max MacArthur 4 (Walker 46), Roy 5 (McIntosh 62), Honeyman 6.

Subs not use: Kelly (GK), Webster, Donald, Shay McArthur.

CALEY THISTLE (4-2-3-1): Ross 6, Millen 8, Robertson 7, Savage 6, MacIntyre 6, MacLeod 6 (Thompson 46), Stewart 7, Longstaff 8, Alonge 6, Bavidge 9, Mckay 8.

Subs not used: Munro (GK), Devine, Mackinnon, Wotherspoon, Sole, Chalmers, Zimba.

Referee: Jordan Curran.

Attendance: 326.

Man of the match: Alfie Bavidge.

[Source: Press and Journal]