Late Scottish Cup heartache for Buckie Thistle as they make Caley Thistle work hard in close contest at Victoria Park
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Buckie Thistle 2 (J Murray, C Murray)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 (Keatings, Welsh, MacKay)
Buckie Thistle pushed Inverness Caledonian Thistle all the way at Victoria Park, but it was the side from the Highland capital who triumphed to set up a meeting with Ross County in the next round of the Scottish Cup.
If Buckie had been hoping to see out the opening stages to get a foothold in the match, that gameplan had to be thrown out immediately.
Straight from kick off Inverness went forward, with Daniel MacKay using his pace to burst past his marker and put a cross into the middle.
It eventually came through to James Keatings, who neatly found the far corner with a shot on the half-turn.
Miles Storey went close to doubling that advantage just a minute later, but Buckie generally responded well to such an early blow.
One particular moment of skill from Sam Urquhart to go past Ryan Fyffe would have brought any Jags fans watching at home to the edge of their seat, and they did get back on level terms in the 14th minutes.
A corner from the left wing hit the woodwork on it's way out to the opposite flank, but Inverness did not react quickly enough to stop the ball coming back in, and Jack Murray rose highest in the middle to head past Cameron MacKay.
After a fairly even 10 minute spell, a fantastic finish from Sean Welsh put ICT back in front.
He received the ball from Keatings in the middle of the park, and after taking a touch to move the ball out from his feet he powerfully struck the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards out.
Again, Buckie responded well, with Urquhart stinging MacKay's gloves from just outside the box.
Inverness thought they had put some daylight between themselves and their hosts when Storey volleyed home Keatings' free kick, but the offside flag kept the deficit down to a single goal for the hosts.
The second half did not begin with the same fireworks as the first, and although Inverness had the better of possession it was Buckie who had the half-sights of goal.
Kevin Fraser and Mark McLauchlan each had chances that missed the target, while Caley Thistle struggled to work Daniel Bell in the final third.
As the clock ticked down Buckie started to commit men forward, and while that meant they kept creating chances, it left them vulnerable to the counter attack.
That exact scenario nearly decided the result with 10 minutes left, as Inverness sprang forward after Callum Murray forced a save out of Cameron MacKay.
Storey broke forward at the other end, coming in from the left to go one-on-one with Bell, but the Buckie keeper closed his angle down well to make an important stop.
Callum Murray would get a goal before the end though, levelling the scores with six minutes left after catching Fyffe in possession and firing past the Caley Thistle keeper.
More late drama was still to come though, as the Jags would only be heading for extra time for two minutes.
Roddy MacGregor tried to force his way through a pack of bodies in the centre of the Buckie box, but lost the ball as claims for a penalty rang in the air.
Ignoring them all though, Daniel MacKay latched on to the loose ball and thumped it into the net for a late winner.
