Filed under: Football, Scotland
They may have beaten Celtic just twice in the league in their history but Inverness really can claim to be the Parkhead club's bogey side after throwing open the SPL title race.Terry Butcher's team's 3-2 win on Wednesday night will not go down in history like the side that won 3-1 in the Scottish Cup in 2000, costing John Barnes his job and inspiring the famous headline 'Super Caley go Ballistic, Celtic are atrocious'.
But Celtic's stumble could prove just as seismic proving that games in hand are not always such a blessing at this time of year, no matter whom they are against.
Against all the odds, it now looks like Walter Smith could walk off into the sunset with a third successive SPL crown.
It was tempting to believe that Celtic had done the hard bit when they scrapped out a goalless draw at Ibrox in April and their task was simple.
Win their five remaining matches and Rangers could not touch them but now they have fallen at the second hurdle.
Even a draw in Inverness, who can only finish as high as seventh, would have maintained Celtic's grip on top spot, with vastly better goal difference and three games left.
But after a grim hour and a half in the Highlands, which also saw Celtic lose midfielder Beram Kayal to a broken wrist and concussion, they are the ones left crossing their fingers, hoping for the lot across town to slip up.
And just 24 hours after Neil Lennon took issue with questions about his team's 'bottle' they suffered a first league defeat since the 2-0 loss to Motherwell at the end of February.
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