Inverness CT3–4Falkirk

The top two sides in Division One produced a classic game with Falkirk just edging out Caley Thistle four minutes from time.
It could have gone either way and the home side looked set for victory after they took a 2-0 lead. Barry Robson scored the first in eight minutes with a low shot from 18 yards after a pass from Dennis Wyness and a neat turn. Caley Thistle were denied a penalty in 22 minutes when Ross Tokely was brought down by Jamie McQuilken and a corner given. Bobby Mann scored with a glancing header from the corner but it was disallowed. Wyness made it 2-0 in 28 minutes when he seized on a slip by John Hughes, created space with a double-shuffle, turned the recovering Hughes then hit low past Allan Ferguson. The lead did not last long. In 31 minutes a seemingly harmless lob from the right was headed goalwards by Owen Coyle and somehow everyone stood back to watch it end up in the back of the net. Two minutes later a long lob from Hughes was chased by Collin Samuel and he touched it past Brown despite the close attentions of Mann and Stuart Golabek. Roy McBain tested Allan Ferguson close to the interval and the ‘keeper could only parry it – Wyness was in quickly but he knocked it just past. In 56 minutes Ferguson dived to save a header from Wyness and, as the ball broke, the striker reached it first. He flicked it over the stranded ‘keeper and Paul Ritchie headed powerfully into the net for 3-2. Ferguson saved from Wyness and Ritchie before Coyle equalised in 73 minutes. Mark Kerr sent Samuel through down the left and his cross was headed home by Coyle from close range. Brown made a fine one-handed save from Coyle before the veteran striker completed his hat-trick in 86 minutes with a left-foot volley from just inside the area. Caley Thistle substitutes Charlie Christie and Steven Hislop combined to force a good save from Ferguson in the final seconds but it was Falkirk who took all the points and opened up a seven point gap at the top of the league.