Dundee United secured an emphatic 5-0 victory over nine-man Inverness Caledonian Thistle in this afternoon's Scottish Cup quarter-final clash.

The away side pushed forward early on and had an effort on three minutes through Nadir Ciftci, who saw his 25-yard strike deflect wide.

John Rankin found Ciftci on 16 minutes and the striker controlled well, before tucking it into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

The home side had a chance on 21 minutes through Billy McKay, but the striker could only guide his header over the bar.

Ciftci made Inverness pay for the miss when he made it 2-0 on 28 minutes after a defensive mix-up left him with a simple tap-in.

United were awarded a penalty on 35 minutes and went 3-0 up after Graham Gunning stepped up and hit it straight down the middle.

Things went from bad to worse for Inverness on 43 minutes when Greg Tansey saw red for a high-footed challenge.

United continued to dominate in the second half and, four minutes in, they made it 4-0 when Gary Mackay-Steven calmly finished after a strong run.

Stuart Armstrong made it 5-0 on 57 minutes when he met a cross in the area with a powerful header.

Billy McKay had a shot from 25 yards on 65 minutes for the home side, but it went narrowly wide.

Inverness went down to nine men on 71 minutes when Marley Watkins was given a red card by the referee.