If you believe in the predictive power of the numbers then Dundee United are a decent wager for that third place.

Not only did they grab all three points convincingly, they racked up their third league win on the trot and their top scorer, Lee Wilkie, notched his third league goal - although you could argue that one should be cancelled out because of his late own goal which brought Inverness a score their wholeheartedness deserved.

The Wilkie own goal arrived in the dying moments from a wild swing of the boot of the central defender. It followed a Barry Wilson corner awarded after Don Cowie had fired in a shot from 20-yards, hit as he slid, which was tipped over adroitly by Lukasz Zaluska in the United goal.

Wilkie wasn't sure afterwards whether his three goals equalled his best-ever season's total, or whether he might have scored one more in the past.

But, whatever, he continued to confess that he should be scoring more, given his imposing power and gargantuan size. When he sits down there still seem to be clouds around his brow.

He was candid about the sitter he missed, volleying the ball "fifty yards over the bar" although this was an underestimate. If Tannadice was on the flight path to Dundee airport there could have been a disaster.

Perhaps complacency bedevilled United's last few minutes, because, while Caley had competed evenly in the first half, they were dominated for large parts of the second.

United ran the midfield where Willo Flood was inexhaustible, breaking repeatedly forward as well as feeding the flankers, and was prevented from scoring a scorching 20-yard shot only by a fine save from the Caley goalkeeper Michael Fraser.

If Flood was industry his fellow midfielder Craig Conway was artistry.

He was given a painkilling injection before the game on ribs damaged last week against Hearts and although he was withdrawn as a precaution after the potion wore off, he was the most influential presence, at the heart of everything United composed.

Manager Craig Levein complimented Caley: "I thought they closed us down, denied us space and took the ball off us more than any other team has this season."

For a rollicking game there was a curious absence of atmosphere at Tannadice, so much so that the players' calls penetrated the glass-enclosed press box, although there was no bonfire of the profanities, such as that set-off by Joe Kinnear last week. If the match did not exactly catch fire it certainly fizzed.

The first half might not have been beauteous but it was incident-packed. Caley were saved twice on the line, once from a cute save by goalkeeper Fraser from a Jon Daly header, the cross coming from a Flood corner.

The second, again from a corner and a header - the ball dispatched across by Conway for Darren Dods, and stopped by defender Jamie Duff's timely block.

Earlier we had seen the perfect example of why defenders should not be left loitering in the penalty box after the aerial option has closed on them. A Conway free-kick was nodded on by Scott Robertson, landing at the feet of Wilkie who volleyed the ball over on the drop, as he later volunteered.

United also had a penalty claim correctly turned down, as the ball seemed to play Richard Hastings, but they finally went ahead with five minutes of the half remaining, through the Dublin duo of Sean Dillon and Daly, the former providing the cross and the latter the definitive header. Flood was the third United starter - spooky, eh? - from Ireland's capital Levein had predicted that Caley would pack the midfield and spring on the break. Which was true up to a point. The expected five men in the middle was actually four, Don Cowie playing in a slightly advanced role behind Andy Barrowman.

It was a Cowie cutback, from a surging run down the left by Dougie Imrie, which set up Roy McBain but he sclaffed weakly wide. Wilkie may not be the neatest or quickest on the ground but he's certainly daunting and deadly in the air. He, and his fellow central defender Dods, had dealt with everything which came at them aerially and his trots upfield were always panic-invoking, his side's second and decisive goal almost looking pre-destined.

Paul Dixon, who had shown speedy heels down the left throughout, charged forward and fired a cross to the back post where Dods headed across goal for the big man to bang a header home via the underside of the bar.

Craig Brewster felt his team had been United's equal for 70 minutes of the game, dropping out midway through the second period. He's paid to see it that way, even if it wasn't entirely accurate. No one could deny that it was a thrilling contest.

Dundee United substitutes: O'Donovan for Sandaza 59, Swanson for Conway 76 Not used: McGovern, Grainger, Kenneth, Buaben, Goodwillie Booked: Flood 44 Inverness substitutes: Wilson for Black 46, Rooney for McBain 71, Wood for Barrowman 84 Not used: Esson, Djebi-Zadi, McGuire, Gillespie Booked: Wilson 77, Munro 85

Referee: I Brines Att: 6279