A crimson card for Lions keeper Max Stryjek when it was 1-0 heaped the strain on the hosts earlier than on-loan Hibs starlet MacKay doubled the lead.
A late Jason Holt strike supplied hope for the top-flight crew earlier than a Jason Holt spot-kick denied them the possibility of an unlikely shoot-out for a bonus level.
Objectives from Austin Samuels and Daniel MacKay earned Caley Thistle a table-topping 2-1 Premier Sports activities Cup win at Premiership hosts Livingston.
With Cove Rangers beginning Group G this night with a 2-1 win in opposition to League 2 opponents Albion Rovers, ICT are the front-runners on six factors.
Jim McIntyre’s Cove have solely performed one recreation, as have Kelty Hearts.
ICT started this season’s competitors with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at League 2 champions Kelty Hearts on the weekend courtesy of George Oakley’s late strike on his second debut for the Championship membership.
The guests arrived in sunny West Lothian with no trio of injured defenders, Danny Devine, Wallace Duffy and Max Ram, who got here off with a thigh harm on his debut on the weekend.
Zak Delaney, additionally debuted at Kelty when changed Ram and he began right here, with Lewis Hyde handed a begin together with Daniel MacKay and winger Nathan Shaw.
Striker Billy Mckay, Aaron Doran and Steven Boyd dropped to the bench.
Livingston additionally made 4 adjustments, with Stryjek, defenders Sean Kelly and Phillip Cancur and midfielder Dylan Bahamboula all promoted to the primary 11.
ICT have didn’t win a spot within the knockouts over the previous 5 years, so are decided to take action this time.
Livingston had management of the early phases, incomes a few corners and Bahamboula was simply out of attain when skipper Nicky Devlin whipped in a superb cross from the correct.
And it was Delaney to the rescue on quarter-hour when he blocked a net-bound Esmael Goncalves drive after the striker related with a Joel Nouble cut-back.
The primary second of be aware for the Highlanders arrived simply after that when, from a Cammy Harper free-kick, stand-in captain Deas rattled the bar with a header.
It then took an honest save from residence goalkeeper Stryjek to maintain the scores clean as he pushed away a stinging shot from MacKay, who burst by from the left flank when cleverly picked out by Roddy MacGregor.
Livingston nearly took the lead in spectacular trend when Devlin – from simply inside his personal half – went for aim and Ridgers back-pedalled sufficient earlier than tipping it on to the bar and Deas mopped it up.
