Scottish Premiership: Aberdeen 1-1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Iain Vigurs scored from long range for Caley Thistle

Iain Vigurs' sublime drive was enough to secure Inverness Caledonian Thistle a hard-earned point as they survived heavy late pressure from Aberdeen.

The Dons scored a controversial opening goal after a dull first half.

They thought the game should have been halted with Liam Polworth injured, but Niall McGinn found the bottom corner after play was waved on.

Wes Burns and James Maddison both went close to extending the lead, but Vigurs fired the equaliser from 25 yards.

The point lifts Caley Thistle off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table, while the Dons find themselves in seventh, six points adrift of leaders Celtic.

Jonny (Hayes) be good?

Derek McInnes was delighted to welcome Jonny Hayes back into the Aberdeen ranks after injury.

There is no doubt Aberdeen have missed the spark the Republic of Ireland international can bring and you wonder if things may have been slightly different at Celtic Park had Aberdeen been able to field Hayes that day.

Here he began in central midfield, but such is the fluid nature of the Aberdeen midfield that Hayes moved to either flank from time to time.

He brings a spark and there were flashes, but there was a sense that Hayes was finding his football feet again after his lay-off.

In the end, it was his partner in crime, McGinn, that made the vital breakthrough with a fine curling effort, while James Maddison perhaps provided more bright spots.

Caley Thistle (don't) go ballistic

Niall McGinn (centre) had given Aberdeen the lead at Pittodrie

Inverness showed guts to end their run of defeats with a win over St Johnstone two weeks ago.

Richie Foran wants his side to be tough and physical to deal with and they were solid for large parts.

But there is an issue in the attacking third. Billy King and Liam Polworth look lively at times, but as a goal threat, Alex Fisher rarely got near the Aberdeen goal.

In the end, it was a great strike from midfielder Vigurs that levelled things - well worth catching on the Sportscene highlights at 18:00 BST on Sunday on BBC Two Scotland.

Foran cuts a languid, laid-back figure in the Caley Thistle dugout at the moment.

He knows it is only September and a point on the road in Aberdeen is always a decent return.

Can Aberdeen mount a challenge to Celtic?

The easy answer is no after Aberdeen were swatted aside by Celtic two weeks ago.

Derek McInnes' side are already playing catch-up, six points off the pace, plus Celtic have a game in hand and look imperious under Brendan Rodgers so far.

While Celtic already look streets ahead of all the rest, these are still early days and Aberdeen are likely to improve.

Yes, it has been a slightly slow start from the Dons, but it has not been a bad one either.

With Hayes back in the side, with Maddison showing early promise and poise in central midfield and with the goals yet to flow properly from Adam Rooney - they will surely come - all the signs point to Aberdeen moving up through the gears in the weeks and months to come.

However, this was also a frustrating watch for the home fans.

There is room for improvement with Aberdeen - of that there is no doubt - but no matter how much they improve, it looks like an almost impossible task for them to close the gap on Celtic given how much improved the champions look under Rodgers.

Reaction

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "The first-half was nowhere near what we would expect. We looked hesitant when we needed to be a bit more aggressive with our play.

"I thought the approach second-half the players were excellent. I thought we caused Inverness all sorts of problems.

"We've been the victim of some real quality goals against us this season and that was a great finish from Vigurs.

"At 1-1 we've got to try and get the goal. We had a couple of chances but ultimately we didn't get the ball over the line and it's a disappointing result."

Inverness CT manager Richie Foran: "I just want referees and officials to be fair to us, simple as that. If you're going to book three of our players you've got to be consistent, you've got to be fair.

"I'm disappointed. I thought Aberdeen were there for the taking.

"I thought defensively all over the park we were magnificent. Attacking wise going forward that was the poorest we've been and I've told them that.

"Maybe in a few hours or a day or two I'll be happy with a point but at the moment I'm not."