Inverness Caley Thistle manager Scott Kellacher praises team character for seeing off Queen of the South
HEAD Coach Scott Kellacher praised Inverness Caledonian Thistle for grinding out victory against Queen of the South to make it four wins out of five in League One.
Alfie Bavidge, on loan from Aberdeen, scored the only goal of the game for a 1-0 win to keep Inverness within touching distance of getting out of the relegation zone.
They remain two points behind Annan Athletic who recorded a shock 3-1 win at Kelty Hearts.
Kellacher said his team were forced into a battle against Queen of the South, but was pleased that his team came out on top on Saturday afternoon.
He said: "We deserved the three points in what was a cagey affair. I have a lot of respect for Queen of the South and what Peter is doing and tries to play football and mix it up.
"To win the game and get a clean sheet I am delighted as I asked the boys to go up a level. To get the goal, we managed the game really well and we played our game."
Kellacher also reserved praise for Bavidge who has scored four goals in his first five games for the club.
He said: "Alfie has played on the left, the right and now through the middle. When he goes through on goal he is a confident boy, you can see he wants to take chances. It is worth his weight in gold having boys who want to score goals."
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.
Queen of the South manager Peter Murphy felt his team merited at least a point.
He said: "I think the fair result for me would have been a draw. There wasn't a lot in it. We went down to 10 men and we gambled with two men on top.
"Inverness didn't have any real clear cut chances apart from the goal. "It is a tough one to take, but Inverness have done really well with the points deduction."