John Rankin and Graham Bayne returned to the side to face St Mirren at Love Street but neither could ensure the three points came back up the A9 from Paisley as the Buddies won 2-1.

Franco Miranda and Mark Corcoran grabbed the goals for St Mirren with Don Cowie getting his first for ICT.

However, with Gretna gaining a point at Tynecastle, Caley Thistle slumped to the bottom of the table and are now the only team still to win any points.

John Rankin and Graham Bayne returned to the side to face St Mirren at Love Street today with Dennis Wyness and Roy McBain dropping to the subs bench.

There was no place in the squad for recent loan signing Steven Watt. In fact, Manager Charlie Christie named a set of subs without a single defender perhaps highlighting how desperate the need is for a permanent defensive signing.

FIRST HALF

The opening 18 minutes were all Caley Thistle. Graham Bayne attempted an overhead kick in the second minute that went over the bar, John Rankin had a shot from distance well saved by Smith in 7 minutes and Haining cleared another effort from him for a corner in 11 minutes. Ian Black also had an attempt a minute later that went wide.

Although it was against the run of play, St Mirren scored in the 18th minute and the pendulum swung quickly in the other direction. A cross from Van Zanten found Franco Miranda at the edge of the box and the young Argentinian, making his debut for St Mirren, struck it sweetly into the bottom left corner.

Niculae and Cowie both had chances to equalise soon after the opener but on both occasions keeper Chris Smith was up to the task of saving their long range efforts.

As the half wore on it was fairly evenly matched with both sides having chances. Graham Bayne put a header wide in 28 minutes and a minute later forced Chris Smith to concede a corner which came to nothing. At the other end, Richard Brittain hit wide from 25 yards out. Before the half came to an end, Black and Niculae both had chances but they came to nothing and the half ended with St Mirren leading 1-0.

Half Time: 1-0

St Mirren went two up in the 55th minute through Mark Corcoran. Corcoran, who was on the end of numerous offside decisions in the first half had an easy tap in after Stewart Kean had done all the hard work on the right flank.

Marius Niculae may not have scored in his first two matches but he had some good touches today and setup Don Cowie for his first Caley Thistle goal just three minutes later. A great cross from the Romanian gave Cowie the chance to slide in with his goal.

The team went looking for an equaliser and Charlie Christie went for some very attacking substitutions as time wore on. Barry Wilson came on for Richard Hastings and Dennis Wyness then came on for Ian Black.

With only three at the back, St Mirren had a few chances to put the game out of reach and it was Stewart Kean who made a mess of one of the best with just over 20 minutes to go. After being setup by Hugh Murray he headed high and wide from only six yards out. Kean would also have another chance in the 88th minute where he beat Mike Fraser and Stuart McCaffrey as they slid on the wet surface and only had to walk the ball into the net... he perhaps didn't realise how much time he had and put it wide.

Sandwiched in between these two Kean chances was Caley Thistle's best chance to draw level. A John Rankin shot went inches wide of the post with 10 minutes to go.

Full Time: 2-1

That's now three games played, three defeats only two goals scored, one by a midfielder, one by a defender and seven goals leaked. Its not quite a crisis yet but with Gretna getting a point at Tynecastle, and Caley Thistle being the only team in the SPL who are yet to register any points next week's game against Dundee United at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium is most definitely a must win match.