Foran impressed with players' response as Inverness keep battling
Richie Foran claimed he had got the answers he was looking for from his Inverness players as they beat Hamilton 2-1.
Richie Foran claimed he had got the answers he was looking for from his Inverness players as they beat Hamilton 2-1.
The Caley Thistle manager had demanded that his team “man up” in the build-up to the game and they controlled affairs in the first half as goals from Brad McKay and Greg Tansey gave the home side a comfortable first-half lead. Danny Redmond's last-ditch consolation was not enough to drag anything out of the game for Accies.
The result cut the gap between bottom-placed Inverness and the play-off spot to four points with three games of the season remaining.
Foran had been craving a win - they had just one win in 23 games before this one - and got the response from the players he was after.
“It's an important three points. I'm delighted with the lads, I'm proud of them. It was an aggressive performance. The players turned up,” said Foran.
“Players who didn't think they needed to head the ball, tackle, they tackled and headed the ball today. We were aggressive from start to finish and created numerous chances. We dominated the game - it was a really good performance. They fought their corners and won their individual battles.”
Inverness could have made it more comfortable for themselves in the first half having created numerous chances against a poor Hamilton side, but a lack of composure in front of goal prevented them from extending their lead.
But Foran was keen to stress the positives, having seen his side record their first Premiership win since February.
“You want to make it a little more comfortable for yourself. It was a little bit nervy in the last 10 minutes,” he said.
“But we cut them open and with a little more composure, it was maybe four or five-one.”
Hamilton boss Martin Canning was left to lament a dismal first-half performance where his team offered little and were opened up on numerous occasions by the hosts.
“The first half wasn't good enough, both goals came from our mistakes - it was the same as last week against Kilmarnock,” he said.
“Last week it was a corner and a long throw-in, this week it was a free-kick into the box and then a stupid penalty. When you do that you give yourself a mountain to climb.”