In this battle of the Jags, Inverness proved to be untouchable no longer.
Having gone more than 10 hours without conceding a Premier League goal, Caley Thistle yesterday contrived to lose three.
With it went their place at the top of the table, Hamilton Accies now holding that honour thanks to a superior goal difference.
And if the slimness of the margin is some consolation then so too should be the knowledge the visitors were beaten here by a decent side.
Goals from Steven Lawless, Abdul Osman and Kallum Higginbotham proved decisive after Aaron Doran’s early strike for John Hughes’s side.
“The long run without conceding has gone now and that is probably a bit of a relief to be honest,” said the Caley Jags manager.
“We take it on the chin, dust ourselves down and say, right, we go again.
“You have to look at it over the piece and say well done to Partick Thistle.
“The way the game went and the way the goals went, they probably deserved it.
“To come to a place like Firhill and get a result you have to play a lot better and pass the ball a better than we did out there.
“If you don’t, then you are going to be vulnerable.”
To be fair, the visitors, playing a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation, didn’t perform that badly. It was as much that the home side were very good.
Caley Jags though had to be commended for setting up the contest with a corker of an opening goal.
David Raven worked the ball down the right flank to Marley Watkins who in turn shifted it slickly onto Aaron Doran.
The midfielder has a reputation as being a sweet striker of the ball and showed why here with a shot that flew across keeper Scott Fox and into the net.
But it was to prove the catalyst for an excellent comeback from the home side.
Steven Lawless, supplied by Ryan Stevenson, jinked inside Graeme Shinnie and curled a lovely left foot effort low into the far corner.
And, just like that, the run of 618 minutes without conceding a league goal was over.
Having conceded one, Inverness did it again almost instantly. Kallum Higginbotham swung in a corner from the right and Abdul Osman rose above Gary Warren and made the most of it, powering a header down low and past Dean Brill.
From provider, the midfielder then turned scorer, smashing home an impressive 20-yard effort after nice set-up work from Lawless.
The only blip for Thistle on a balmy Glasgow afternoon was a missed penalty, Kris Doolan hitting a weak effort at Dean Brill from a spot kick he won himself when luring Gary Warren into
a foul.
For Inverness there was at least the knowledge that they will get a quick chance to bounce back when they travel to Ibrox to take on Rangers in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
“We don’t want to concede soft goals like we did here, but we go there with a live chance because we are a good team,” said Gary Warren.
“Last season we got all the way to the Final (where they lost to Aberdeen) and we want to go as far as we possibly can again this time as well.”
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe