THERE'S nothing quite like the first day of a new season.

Expectant fans saunter into the stadium, take a whiff of the freshly cut grass, and nod their heads in approval. European qualification is even mentioned by those most optimistic.

It can take a lot to diminish such good spirits, but this pulsating contest will certainly have given St Mirren supporters something to ponder. If the Paisley club wish to improve on their most recent showing – Danny Lennon's men finished eighth in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League last season – then the fact remains they will need to start defeating the likes of Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a regular basis.

Despite salvaging a point with a late equaliser through Darren McGregor, it has now been almost two years since St Mirren last managed to beat Inverness. Wins over St Johnstone and Motherwell have also proved elusive.

"It was a little disappointing not to win," said Dougie Imrie, the St Mirren midfielder, whose side had taken the lead through Lewis Guy, before goals from Nick Ross and Billy McKay put the visitors in front. "They dug in, gave as good as they got and made it difficult for us. It's important we try to win as many games as we can at home.

"I know some people will have us down for a relegation fight, but we're all in this together and we know what we want to achieve. It's important that we group together and try to meet our targets."

Having given his team an early advantage, Guy was later shown a straight red card for attempting to wrestle the ball out of Ross Draper's hands. Both managers did their part in playing down the incident, while Simon King, the Inverness defender, elected to distance himself from the discussion. "I didn't really see it," said the centre back, who signed for the club last week following a five-year spell with Gillingham. "It was one of those games that had everything.

"I thought we showed great spirit to come back into it. It's always good to get the first match out of the way, and now we can begin to focus on next week. It's our job to prove the critics wrong, and I'm looking forward to that challenge."

Although King's career has mainly been concentrated in the south of England – Barnet and Plymouth Argyle are among his former clubs – the defender was quick to stress he had no qualms about a move to the Highlands. "It was a great honour to get a call from Terry Butcher," said the Englishman. "He's such a well respected figure and it didn't take much persuasion."