Live Commentary: Ross County 0-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle - as it happened

The first Highland derby of the season took place at Victoria Park on Friday evening.

Second-placed Inverness Caledonian Thistle travelled to Ross County hoping for a win to move them to within one point of Premiership leaders Celtic.

However, Caley were unable to gain ground on the champions, as a floodlight failure caused the game to be abandoned at half time.

Find out how events unfolded in Dingwall by revisiting the action with Sports Mole's blow-by-blow updates below.

9.07pmThe Inverness fans are trying to make the most of their trip to Victoria Park, which, ironically, is known officially as the Global Energy Stadium for sponsorship reasons. At least 100 visiting supporters are still here and making lots of noise. While they party into the night for reasons unknown, I will say goodbye. Thanks for following tonight's events with Sports Mole. See you again soon.

9.03pmOn a positive note, neither side will feel aggrieved at having to play that first half again. Often when games are cut short there is controversy as teams see their goals/leads disappear, but not tonight because nothing happened!

9pmIt has been confirmed that the game cannot be completed tonight. The fans are not impressed, booing as they file out of the stadium.

8.59pmGAME ABANDONED!

8.58pmUH OH!! The lights have failed for a third time. This could see the game called off. We can't wait around for ever.

8.55pmOfficial word is that play should restart at 9.05pm.

8.54pmThree of the four main floodlights are back in action, but we cannot restart play until all are fully powered up. The players are on the field going through impromptu warm-up procedures.

8.50pmInverness have shaded possession with 54%, however, the visitors have registered just three shots while County have produced six - five of which have come from outside of the penalty area. The home side have committed seven fouls, while the visitors have made six.

8.47pmWhile we wait for things to lighten up in deepest darkest Scotland, let's take a look at the key stats from the opening 45 minutes...

8.44pmThe police have confirmed that a "technical problem" has occurred and that the lights should be back on within 10 minutes.

8.41pmTHE LIGHTS ARE OUT! Out of nowhere, there's a floodlight failure and Victoria Park descends into darkness.

8.39pmA half of poor quality ends just as things were starting to heat up. Inverness have been the slightly better side, but the scoreline paints an accurate picture.

8.37pmHALF-TIME: Ross County 0-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle

45 minAnother booking is issued as Luckassen picks up a yellow card after jumping unfairly with Warren.

42 minCONFRONTATION! Ross Draper challenges Luckassen in the air and both players land in a heap on the floor. Luckassen is angry as he feels that Draper swung an elbow in his direction. Both sets of players then push and shove each other before referee Beaton, who is a professional communications expert by day, issues yellow cards to Draper and De Leeuw for their aggressive behaviour during the disagreement.

37 minAnother poor corner allows County to clear with minimal fuss.

36 minCHANCE! Foran produces a fantastic through pass to send Aaron Doran away down the right. Doran gets to the byline, but his poor cross is deflected behind for a corner. McKay, who was well positioned in the middle, looks far from impressed.

32 minAfter being starved of service for the opening half-hour, Luckassen finally gets the ball into his feet. He turns nicely and fires wide from 25 yards. Poor finish, but sharp skills from the powerful Staggies forward.

26 minGOAL DISALLOWED! Shinnie's inswinging delivery finds the head of William McKay, who nods the ball into the path of Ross. Ross then fires the ball into the back of the net, but play had already been stopped because McKay was flagged for offside. Correct decision.

25 minRocco Quinn hacks down Foran and Caley have a free kick 25 yards from goal, just right of centre.

21 minInverness win their second corner of the game. It's whipped in and flashes just past the arm of Michael Kovacevic. The away fans launch a halfhearted and unsuccessful penalty appeal before Carey hacks clear.

16 minIt's now County's turn to apply some pressure. The Staggies build nicely before De Leeuw unleashes a low drive from 20 yards and Dean Brill is forced into his first save of the night. It was a stop one would expect the keeper to make, but he judged it well on a skidding surface nevertheless.

12 minCHANCE! Nick Ross wastes a good opportunity to give Inverness the lead. He latches on to Ritchie Foran's flick-on, but fails to make a good contact with a left-footed volley that spins into the arms of Mark Brown.

9 minBoth sides are struggling to keep hold of possession right now and the ball is spending a lot of time in the air.

5 minYELLOW CARD: It wouldn't be a proper derby without an early mistimed challenge for the referee to deal with. Gary Warren goes in late on Melvin de Leeuw near the halfway line and John Beaton is forced to issue the game's first booking.

3 minIt's been a scrappy start, but both sides are showing plenty of attacking intent. Nothing created as yet, though.

1 minShinnie tries to find McKay with a lofted through pass, but the ball skids off the wet surface and runs out for a goal kick. The rain is hammering down now.

0 minInverness get the game underway...

7.43pmPREDICTION: These sides played each other six times last season and not one of those games produced an away win. I reckon that trend will change tonight. 3-1 to Inverness is my tip.

7.39pmThe teams are making their way out onto the pitch. Kickoff is just minutes away...

7.34pmMeanwhile, Caley have been forced into a defensive reshuffle due to David Raven's groin injury. Left-footer Graeme Shinnie switches to right-back, while Marley Watkins and Carl Tremarco make their first starts for the club.

7.31pmThe big news from County's team selection is that captain Richie Brittain drops to the bench, while Graham Carey and Kevin Luckassen return to the starting XI.

7.27pmInverness subs: Esson, Devine, Greenhalgh, Williams, Polworth, Pepper, Agdestein

7.26pmINVERNESS XI: Brill, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, McKay, Draper, Foran, Doran, Ross, Watkins, Tremarco

7.24pmROSS COUNTY SUBS: Fraser, Micic, Brittain, Mustafi, Maatsen, Ross Saunders

7.23pmROSS COUNTY XI: Brown, Kovacevic, Gordon, Kettlewell, Boyd, Sproule, Quinn, De Leeuw, Luckassen, McLean, Carey

7.19pmHowever, Caley have travelled well this season, winning three of their six away games in all competitions, as well as earning a creditable 2-2 draw at Celtic in August.

7.18pmTerry Butcher (pictured above) brings his side to Victoria Park looking to bounce back from back-to-back league defeats. And he wonâ€™t be expecting an easy ride because fierce rivals Ross County have been in solid form at home this season, taking nine points from a possible 15.

7.15pmHello and thanks for joining Sports Moleâ€™s coverage of tonightâ€™s clash in Dingwall, where light rain is falling and the temperature is a modest 11Â°C.

Live Commentary: Ross County 0-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle - as it happened

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Teams mentioned in this article :

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Ross County