Inverness emerged victorious from a scrappy top-of-the-table clash at Rugby Park.
The Highland side put Kilmarnock to the sword thanks to Michael Gardyne – who came back to haunt his former employers.
This cinch Championship clash was hardly a mouth-watering one for the neutral but it was never set to be a spectacle.
Billy Dodds’ men ensured they headed back up the A9 in good spirits, with former Killie defender Kirk Broadfoot putting in a good show as captain as he let little past him.
It took the visitors five minutes to take the lead when former Killie man Gardyne lashed an effort into the roof of the net which left Zach Hemming helpless.
Killie had a fantastic chance in the 15th minute when Scott Robinson burst past the Caley defence. He then laid it off to Liam Polworth – but his tame shot left the crowd disappointed as it rolled into the grasp of ex-Killie stopper Mark Ridgers.
And just a minute later the hosts went close again as Blair Alston lashed a volley towards goal, but it was tipped round the post for a corner,
Killie star Robinson was forced off with injury on the half hour mark with Innes Cameron rushed on to replace him.
Very little came in terms of chances in a scrappy affair, but sub Cameron had a wonderful chance in the 67th minute when the ball fell to him from a corner, but his effort was clawed away by Caley stopper Ridgers.
Aaron Doran tried his luck from 20 yards in the 75th minute, but his curling effort sailed just wide and failed to trouble Hemming.
Shane Sutherland looked to kill the game off when he was through on goal in the 82nd minute, but he couldn’t keep his cheeky chip down and it ended up in the stands.
Killie struggled to create any clearcut chances in the closing minutes which summed up the afternoon as the Highland side saw out the match without having to break a sweat.
The only half-chance was a poor Cameron header in stoppage time but it didn’t have Ridgers worried in the slightest.
The result maintained Caley's perfect start to the season and they sit top with 12 points from four games – incidentally, all 1-0 victories.
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