INVERNESS Caley Thistle had cold water poured on their good start to the season with a home defeat to early-season whipping-boys Hamilton.
Former ICT midfielder Dougie Imrie's 30-yard rocket after just 38 seconds was enough for Hamilton to snatch all three points, condemning the Caley Jags to their second 1-0 home defeat of the season.
The loss to Accies, who had conceded eight goals in their first two SPL games and crashed out of the Co-op Insurance Cup in midweek, was the second consecutive home league defeat for Caley Thistle in the SPL.
And the result has brought the fans down to earth after the crushing Tannadive victory last week and good cup win in midweek, and means the Caley Jags have yet to pick up a single point at the TCS, which must be a real head-scratcher for gaffer Terry Butcher.
Imrie stunned his former employers with the thunderbold so early in the game, after robbing Lee Cox of possession and firing into the top corner beyond the in-form Ryan Esson.
Marco Paixao could have doubled the visitors' advantage after 25 minutes but Esson made a good save, as ICT struggled to make any inroads into the game.
It wasn't until well into the second half that the Caley Jags created a clear-cut opening, when Jonny Hayes played a short free-kick to Nick Ross who crossed into the box towards Eric Odhiambo, but his header was cleared.
Esson was called into action soon after to make a low block from a close-range header before Caley Thistle finally stepped up a gear and began to look like the home team.
The only real chance from this spell of posession was an Adam Rooney lob which was cleared of the line, and Ryan Esson was called into action late in the game before it petered out to a disappointing defeat.
