Inverness Caledonian Thistle edge Queen of the South with victory in League One but remain in relegation zone
Scottish League One
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1
Queen of the South 0
Scorer: Bavidge (38)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle made it four wins from their last five matches in League One as they saw off Queen of the South in a scrappy encounter at the Caledonian Stadium.
Alfie Bavidge scored the only goal of the game to give Inverness victory on Saturday afternoon.
But they remain in ninth place, two points behind Annan Athletic who recorded a shock 3-1 victory at Kelty Hearts.
Inverness made one change to the team that defeated Alloa Athetic 2-1 last week.
Luis Longstaff recovered from injury to return to the starting line-up and replaced Billy Mckay who was on the bench.
Queen of the South created the first chance of the game midway through the first half. Josh Walker’s pass found its way to Jordan Allan in the box. His thunderous drive forced goalkeeper Musa Dibaga to parry the ball away from danger to keep the game goalless.
But the deadlock was broken seven minutes before half time when Bavidge beat offside trap to run on to a throughball and then a cheeky clip over Ross Stewart from 12 yards to put them in front.
Inverness came close to doubling their advantage midway through the second half when Adam Mackinnon unleashed a powerful effort from outside the box, forcing Stewart to turn the ball around the left post.
The hosts came close again when Bavidge’s cross from the right wing found Longstaff who forced a great save from Stewart.
Queen of the South were reduced to 10 men when Jack Brydon was sent off for picking up a second yellow card for pulling Billy Mckay.
Paul Allan almost killed the game off when he was unchallenged in the box and forced Stewart to produce a great save to keep them in the game.
But Inverness held on for all three points.
Inverness: Dibaga, Nolan, Savage, Devine, Gilmour, MacKinnon (Cairns 89), Bavidge, Longstaff, Bray, Stewart (Mckay 75), Allan.
Substitutes: Rebilas, Strachan, Macleod, Thompson, Keogh, Ewan.
QOS: Stewart, Hewitt, Lyon, Douglas, Cochrane, Dickenson, Brooks (Bryden 72), Hannah (Brydon 62) , MacIntyre, Walker (Smith 62)), Allan (Charters 38).
Substitutes: Johnstone, O’Donnell, Bryden, McLinden.
Referee: Alastair Grieve
Attendance 1726