Manager Duncan Ferguson claims that Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s 2-1 loss against Ayr United at the Caledonian Stadium was caused by a lack of killing instinct.
Two points behind Queen’s Park in eighth position in the Championship, Inverness is still in the relegation play-off zone.
Ferguson claims Caley Thistle lost the game because they did not create enough opportunities in front of goal.
“We worked very hard. Two set-plays led to the goals. We got out to a strong start and generated a few opportunities. Though we weren’t at our best, we were the superior squad.We didn’t play strong enough defence against the throw-in, short corner, and set plays.
“They went up the pitch for the first time in the second half, and they scored from the throw-in.
“We never really had the quality in the last portion of the game and we were a little anxious when in control.
“In an attempt to generate that opportunity, I started all of the strikers and left Alex Samuel on. The murderous instinct never existed in us.”
“Making it count in the final third is the hardest part of the game,” Ferguson continued. Though we didn’t have the opportunities, we had a solid beginning.
“On a different day, they might have scored; Max Anderson had a terrific shot, James Carragher headed one, and Alex Samuel had one over the bar. We had no one to attack the ball, but Cammy Harper also flashed one across the box.
It was a tale told through two set plays. There’s no save for my goalie to make. We weren’t productive enough.
“Compared to earlier, our midfield was not as strong. A few were not on it. After playing such a strong defense—keeping three straight clean sheets—you gave up two goals.
Inverness When Caledonian Thistle travels to Dundee United next week, they know they need to win to keep themselves out of the relegation zone come the conclusion of the season.
“Dundee United has pressure to improve, and we have pressure to try to stay in the division,” he stated.
“At home, we appear to be making mistakes. Here, we were defeated by Arbroath, Queen’s Park, and now Ayr. We’re in this situation and on the defensive because of our home form.
“We would have been in the middle of the table if we had taken a few draws or even one victory in those games. However, we haven’t played well at home this season.
“There are yet more turns and twists to come. Teams will drop matches. We’ve been having a little run. We must not give up and must somehow find three victories.
“We’ll give it our all at Tannadice. We must play far better than we did in this game.”
Ferguson believed that extra injury time ought to have been allotted at the conclusion of the game.
“That was amazing given the substitutions we’d made and the time Ayr had wasted, it was unbelievable the referee had only found three more minutes,” he remarked.
