Hughes lauds ‘fairytale’ Inverness as they book historic trip to continent
INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE manager John Hughes hailed his side’s ‘fairytale story’ after seeing them clinch their first-ever place in Europe.
The Highland club are now gearing up for their foray into the Europa League next season courtesy of Edward Ofere’s ninth-minute header, which proved enough to overcome Dundee and guarantee that coveted third spot in the Premiership, which takes them into uncharted territory.
Caley Thistle’s players wrote themselves into folklore ahead of their Scottish Cup Final with Falkirk at Hampden later this month and Hughes, whose side had been tipped by many to struggle in the Premiership before a ball was kicked, could not hide his delight as he watched his proud players pull off such an historic achievement.
He said: ‘I’m delighted to get the European spot but I have seen us play better.
‘We got the win that takes us into Europe and that is a fairytale story.
‘It is remarkable what the boys have done.
‘We have finished third, made Europe and got a Scottish Cup Final to look forward to, so there are a lot of good things happening at Inverness.
‘We are a small, provincial club with 3,500 fans. We don’t have the budget of other clubs and I’m pleased for the boys to have success.
‘They give me everything they have got.
‘I have taken Falkirk and Hibs into Europe but this achievement is right up there.
‘We had to overcome a few hurdles as we had to do without Richie Foran this season and we had to sell Billy Mckay.
‘Even now, at times, I wish we still had Billy because he is a wee poacher but we’ve got to where we wanted to be.’
Inverness arrived on Tayside knowing they just needed a win to fulfil their dream, but it was a fired-up Dundee who created the first chance of the game after only two minutes when Luka Tankulic picked up the ball 25 yards from goal and unleashed an ambitious effort, which flew narrowly past Ryan Esson’s left-hand post.
At the other end, the visitors threatened when Josh Meekings whipped a cross into the danger area, looking for Marley Watkins only for Thomas Konrad to head the ball away at the expense of a corner.
From the set-piece which followed, Greg Tansey crossed into the middle for Ofere, who planted a downward header into the bottom corner past Kyle Letheren to give Caley Thistle a valuable early lead.
It was the Nigerian’s fifth league goal since signing for the Highlanders at the end of February and it turned out to be the most telling of the lot.
Hughes praised the African forward for his decisive strike and revealed he would love to attract more of the Inverness public to watch his burgeoning side every week.
He added: ‘Edward is a gentleman and he never stops smiling. He’s a lovely lad.
‘It took a while to get him up to speed but I’m glad for him.
‘I wasn’t even interested in the Scottish Cup at the start of the season. It was all about the league and anything else was a bonus, but the boys just keep breaking records.
‘We have been lucky in terms of injuries compared to other clubs.
‘I still see Rangers and Celtic fans leaving the town every week to go to games, which is sad.
‘We worked hard with the schools and we understand there is peer pressure there, but it would be nice to change that mindset.’
Dundee, though, came close to equalising in 17 minutes. Paul McGinn’s cross was met by Greg Stewart’s glancing header, which looked to be crossing the line. However, just as the home team were about to celebrate, Danny Devine got back to quell the danger.
Just before the break, Stewart curled a free-kick from just outside the penalty area, forcing Esson to dive and tip the ball wide.
Within two minutes of the restart, the Dark Blues ought to have levelled matters.
Tankulic rolled a pass into the path of Jim McAlister, but from 10 yards he shot straight at Esson with the goal at his mercy.
Dundee were up in arms with what they deemed a two-footed challenge from Meekings on Paul McGowan in 60 minutes, but referee Don Robertson was up with play and waved it on.
Then, in 79 minutes, the hosts were denied an equaliser by a brilliant save from Esson.
Skipper Kevin Thomson surged into the box and crossed for defender James McPake whose header looked netbound until Esson somehow got down to palm it away one-handed.
Dundee boss Paul Hartley felt his side fully merited a point for their efforts, saying: ‘It was a fantastic save to deny us a draw.
‘I was a lot happier with how we played but it was just a set-piece that did for us in the end.
‘I thought we were slick for periods of play but you have to take your chances.’