Munro eyes up more clean sheets as Caley Thistle triumph

Published on Monday 9 February 2009 09:14

GRANT MUNRO is targeting more clean sheets after Inverness' 2-0 victory against ten-man Kilmarnock in the fifth round of the Homecoming Scottish Cup.

The Caley captain was at the heart of the back four which held firm against Killie in treacherous conditions at the Caledonian Stadium.

It was the first time in 14 months Thistle have kept a second successive clean sheet – and gave new manager Terry Butcher picked up his first win as Inverness boss. Munro believes the foundations are in place for the club to fight for Clydesdale Bank Premier League survival.

"It was good to carry on from last week and keep another clean sheet to make sure we reach the next round of the cup," he said.

"It wasn't pretty at times – obviously the weather made it difficult, with 'white-out' conditions at one point. The clean sheet was the most pleasing aspect from our point of view."

Victory over Killie is a notable performance, according to Munro. "Kilmarnock have been doing well in the league – and we knew it was important to continue the good work from last week and throw it away by not turning in the same level of performance," he said.

"We could've fallen flat on our faces. But we didn't, because we were up for it.

"The sending-off (of Kevin Kyle in the 68th minute) helped change the game because it gave us a little breathing space and we eventually went on to grab the winner."

The Inverness captain has been a mainstay after recovering from injury in the early weeks of the campaign – and has played with a variety of central defensive partners in Phil McGuire, Jamie Duff and David Proctor.

Pavels Mihadjuks has also been part of a re-shuffled rearguard after making his debut in the fourth round against Partick.

It was he who put his team in front yesterday – and Munro rates the big Latvian highly.

"He's a lovely guy and he's been fantastic since arriving. The way he strolls through games is excellent."