Inverness CT5–0Brechin City

A dream start, a lean spell then a feast of goals. Brechin offered very little and in the end were well beaten on a day when heavy rain made good football very difficult. The opener came so early that many missed it. Steve Hislop raced to collect a Liam Keogh pass then strode goalwards before neatly sending it past the advancing David Hay in only 56 seconds. A minute later Brechin’s Chris Templeman had one of his side’s few chances. He was in space in the Caley Thistle box but his attempted pass across goal was blocked. The home side pressed forward and Hay saved well from a Barry Wilson low shot in 18 minutes. In 22 minutes the ball was cleared off the Brechin line three times before Hay grabbed a Ross Tokely header to end the onslaught. Roy McBain sent over a corner from the left in 36 minutes, the defence half-cleared it and Tokely chipped in from six yards to make it 2-0. Hay saved well from Russell Duncan in 40 minutes then just on the whistle Liam Keogh scored his first goal for the club. He ran from his own half to pick up the ball then ran towards goal with a defender in pursuit – Keogh’s speed won the race and he scored with a low angled shot from the edge of the box. Just after the restart Wilson hit the post with an angled chip then Hay saved from Hislop. Brechin’s Steven Hampshire should have scored in 69 minutes – he was well placed six yards out when a cross came in from the right but he headed wide. Tokely scored his second in 76 minutes after somehow staying onside when the Brechin defence stepped out – he controlled Bobby Mann’s lob then calmly stroked it past the ‘keeper from ten yards with no defender in sight. Five minutes from time a superb defence-splitting pass from substitute Craig MacMillan sent Wilson off down the right. Wilson raced on then sent an angled chip into the far corner of the net. A comprehensive victory which sent Caley Thistle to the top of the league on goal difference – only two points separate the top six teams.