Date	Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Competition	Scottish League Cup
Fixture/Score	Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1:2 Ross County
Venue	Caledonian Stadium
Attendance	3,004
Referee	Steven Mclean
Comments	Match Report Report by Scott Davie for the BBC. League Cup Quarter Final Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Ross County 2 Ross County took the spoils in the Highland derby and clinched a place in their first ever League Cup semi-final. County had the better of the first half and after Martin Woods hit the bar, his corner kick met the head of Jackson Irvine for the opening goal. Craig Curran then picked out Michael Gardyne to curl round the goalkeeper. Greg Tansey's stunning, long-range effort reduced the deficit after Ryan Christie hit a post, but Caley could not find a second. This was victory at the seventh time of asking for the Staggies in the Highland derby and they will feel the wait was worthwhile given what was at stake for the club. They are now just one step away from a second major final of their own after losing the 2010 Scottish Cup Final, and have now scored 11 goals in the competition this season. By contrast Inverness are struggling to recapture the form that saw them win a trophy, clinch European football for the first time and finish third in the Premiership last season. Miles Storey should have put them ahead in just seven minutes, but he lacked confidence when sent clear by Liam Polworth and County goalkeeper Gary Woods saved comfortably. That was about it as far as clear-cut chances were concerned for Caley Thistle, while the visitors always looked capable of tearing a strip off the home side. They looked much sharper in attack with Liam Boyce twice going close and Woods smashing a shot off the crossbar from fully 35 yards before Irvine finally broke the deadlock. The Australian midfielder was unmarked as Woods delivered a corner from the left and had a free header to notch his first goal of the season and third in total for Ross County, two of them against Inverness. Any thoughts of a Caley Thistle comeback seemed doomed shortly after the break when Gardyne scored a delightful second for the visitors after being played in by Curran. There was still a fair bit of work to do, but Gardyne cut inside and bent a delightful left-foot shot into the far corner of the net from the inside right channel. Only a goal-line intervention by Josh Meekings denied Gardyne a second following a mistake by goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams, but Inverness finally rallied late on. Christie showed great awareness to backheel a cross from substitute Danny Williams, but was frustrated when that improvisational skill only resulted in hitting the frame of the goal. Then Tansey stepped up to lash a shot past Woods and spark a frantic finale, but apart from the last 15 minutes Ross County were the better side and deserved to progress to the last four. Ross County manager Jim McIntyre insists they are good enough to win the League Cup after knocking out Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Goals from Jackson Irvine and Michael Gardyne either side of the interval were enough to see off a late challenge from their Highland derby rivals. Jim McIntyre's men are now in their first ever League Cup semi-final. "When you get to a semi-final, you have got to believe you can go on and actually win it," said McIntyre. "It's about winning the semi-final now." The Dingwall side got to the 2010 Scottish Cup final, but lost 3-0 to Dundee United, and McIntyre believes this year they can go one better. "'One game at a time' is our motto, as that is the way we work, and it is fantastic that we are in the hat for the draw," he told BBC Scotland. "Hopefully we can now take the next stage by winning the semi and getting to the final. "It's been a long time since this club had a day out at Hampden and the record in the cups has not been great. "We wanted to make sure this season that we tried to get to the latter stages and we have got to the semi-final now. "We are all delighted with that and especially from my point of view the bounce back from the defeat against Hearts as that was the poorest performance we have had this season. "It has shown me the character in the squad to do that in a week with three away games at Hearts, Inverness and Dundee United on Saturday." McIntyre's pleasure at the result was tempered by relief that he finally got one over their Highland derby rivals at the fifth attempt since replacing Derek Adams as manager. It was the first in seven games overall and the first time that Ross County have beaten Caley Thistle in a major knockout competition. Greg Tansey's 35-yard stunner set up a late rally for the home side, but the visitors held their nerve to progress. McIntyre added: "I'm thrilled with the result as it's been a long time coming beating Inverness. "For me we have had four attempts and not done it so it's nice to get that monkey off our back. "Our play was fantastic and we should have scored more goals as we had good chances to kill the game but didn't take them." Inverness manager John Hughes was disappointed at the result which leaves his side with just two wins out of eight at home this season. Injuries limited Hughes to being able to name just four outfield substitutes but he refused to use that as an excuse and was happy with the attitude of those fit enough to play. "We showed plenty of spirit and character and hit the post as well," said Hughes. "Tansey got a good goal, but we gave ourselves too much to do. "We need to become a little more streetwise, when to play, when not to play. I feel for them. They gave everything. "What we had on the bench is all we've got. "But you're looking over your shoulder at one or two in the stand - guys like Gary Warren, Ross Draper and Richie Foran who'd revel in that but that's where we are."
Ross County
Manager	Jim McIntyre
Starting 11	21: Gary Woods, 2: Marcus Fraser, 3: Jamie Reckord, 6: Christopher Robertson, 7: Michael Gardyne 1, 10: Liam Boyce, 11: Craig Curran, 15: Andrew Davies 1, 19: Tony Dingwall, 36: Jackson Irvine 1, 42: Martin Wood 1
Bench	31: James Severn, 5: Scott Boyd, 9: Brian Graham, 12: Richard Foster, 17: Jonathan Franks, 18: Stewart Murdoch, 23: Alex Schalk
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Manager	John Hughes
Starting 11	Owain Fon Williams, David Raven 1, Carl Tremarco, Josh Meekings, Danny Devine, James Vincent, Greg Tansey 1, Liam Polworth, Ryan Christie, Iain Vigurs 1, Miles Storey
Bench	Ryan Esson, Nathaniel Wedderburn, Lewis Horner, Danny Williams, Alisdair Sutherland