Caley Thistle fall to heavy loss at Hearts after leading in Premier Sports Cup thriller

Scott Kellacher admits Caley Thistle were taught a painful lesson during 10 late minutes of madness in their 6-2 Premier Sports Cup loss against Hearts.

Last year’s League One winners gave last term’s Premiership runners-up, who are now bossed by Belgian Wouter Vrancken, a mighty fright before a flood of late goals in the second-round tie.

The Highlanders, who are now back in the Championship, had an early Alfie Bavidge goal disallowed for offside after a VAR check.

Just moments after a home penalty call was overturned, Hearts full-back Christian Borchgrevink looped a header into the net after the free-kick at the edge of the box broke kindly for the Norwegian.

Inverness, who won their Premier Sports group section, dug deep, limiting their hosts, although Sabah Kerjota did strike woodwork.

In the second half, goals from Ryan Duncan and Alfie Bavidge in quick succession put Inverness ahead before Rogers Mato swiftly levelled the pulsating contest, making it three goals inside six minutes.

The closing 10 minutes plus additional time saw Hearts motor to victory, with a Calvin Miller penalty, goals from James Wilson and Claudio Braga and another Miller strike leading to a crushing defeat for ICT.

‘We wanted to put our stamp on the game’

Kellacher tried to sum up his emotions at the end of a dramatic afternoon in the capital.

He said: “It was 10 minutes of madness.

“We were great for 82 minutes. You know when you come here Hearts are going to have a lot of the ball.

“We had a game plan and we stuck to it, although in the first half I felt we were nowhere near our best. We’re in the big boys’ league against Hearts at Tynecastle and we didn’t pass the ball as well as we can. Credit to Hearts, they are a good side.

“Going in 1-0 down at half-time, you take that. I had a good chat with them and asked them to believe in themselves a little bit more.

“We wanted to put our stamp on the game, otherwise we would regret it. We went on the front foot and pressed and passed the ball a lot better.

“That’s where we got our two goals from and we were delighted to get in front. We hoped to see out the next five to 10 minutes to get through it. We knew they would throw everything at it.

“They brought on the big guns with 15-20 minutes to go. They can change games.

“The hard part is we gave away a penalty. We’ve got to move our feet and we can’t let it happen as easy as that.

“For 82 minutes, we came here and played really well. The last 10 minutes I would like to forget. We capitulated after they got the third goal.

“That’s what Hearts can do when the crowd get right behind them. We will learn a lot from that last 10 minutes, but we will learn a lot more from the first 82 minutes.”

‘This is the league you want to get to’

And the Inverness boss, whose side host Partick Thistle in the Championship this Friday, is confident his players will bounce back.

He added: “I don’t think it is a fair reflection on the game. The boys are gutted but we will take a lot from it and we will move on.

“We had a tough pre-season, including a 4-0 loss to Ross County. We learned from that and it stood us in good stead going forward.

“This is the league you want to get to. We want to play in these big games on TV. It’s a sore one, especially those last 10 minutes. We will take it on the chin and move on.

“There are lots of positives to take from it.”

[Source: Press and Journal]