Arbroath picked up their first point of the season after weathering a first half storm from Inverness Caledonian Thistle to secure a goalless draw at Gayfield.
The Highland side will feel they should have picked up all three points as they passed up numerous chances and had to settle for a second consecutive 0-0 draw to start their season, with Aidan McAdams in the Lichties goal picking up the Man of the Match award.
It was the visitors who began the better of the two sides with an early Adam Mackinnon effort into the arms of McAdams their first sight of goal, before they really should have opened the scoring on 19 minutes.
Scott McGill turned and played an under-hit back pass that sent Alfie Bavidge in on goal, with the forward’s shot going the wrong side of the post.
The chances kept coming for Caley Thistle with Danny Devine firing over from a set-piece before Bavidge was denied by a strong block as Arbroath struggled to cope with the away side’s quick football.
Inverness had the first chance of the second half too with Graeme Shinnie’s run eventually seeing the ball fall to Noa Boutin to drag a shot across the face of goal.
A deflected Scott Constable effort was as much as Arbroath could muster before Ryan Duncan somehow managed to miss the ball completely from Liam Sole’s cross as he looked odds on to score.
Duncan then fired a free kick straight at McAdams, before the Lichties keeper made tough work of Sole’s back post header as he dropped it against the upright before Charlie Dewar cleared the danger.
Substitute Morgan Bates tested the keeper once again with a powerful header that had to be turned behind, before a slight touch on Shinnie’s strike saw the ball flash off target again soon after.
Arbroath began to press a lot more as the half progressed and had a decent chance when Ryan Dow picked up some space on the edge of the box, but he couldn’t bend his left footed effort into the corner as the match fizzled out.
Arbroath: McAdams; Stewart (Dewar, 46’), Watson, O’Brien, Mackie; Constable, McGill (Beadling, 68’); McKenna, Reilly (Robinson, 63’), Dow; Winter
Inverness CT: Munro; Macleod, Devine, Savage, Boutin; Mackinnon (Allan, 68’), Shinnie; Duncan, Stewart (Keir, 87’), Sole (Longstaff, 80’); Bavidge (Bates, 68’)
Attendance: 1,381
