Butcher's boys deny Hoops

Terry Butcher marked his first game in charge of Inverness Caledonian Thistle with a goalless draw against league leaders Celtic.

There was little in the way of goalmouth action, although Georgios Samaras should have done better when he headed wide from six yards in the first half.

Both sides looked for a late winner with Inverness substitute Adam Rooney seeing his header pushed over the bar by Artur Boruc while Stephen McManus volleyed over at the other end in the closing stages.

Inverness came out of the traps brightly with Dougie Imrie testing Boruc from distance within the opening two minutes. And an offside flag denied Richie Foran a dream start when he acrobatically turned the ball past Boruc two minutes later.

Samaras spurned a great opportunity after 17 minutes when he unsuccessfully tried to find his striking partner Scott McDonald instead of having a shot himself.

The hosts almost gifted Celtic the lead when Shunsuke Nakamura pounced on a slack Ross Tokely clearance but the Japanese midfielder's effort was deflected wide.

Inverness survived another scare moments later when Samaras somehow headed wide from six yards when he looked certain to open the scoring.

Both sides were painfully close to making the breakthrough with Imrie inches away from Russell Duncan's cross while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink almost connected with Aiden McGeady's centre at the other end.

Substitute Rooney almost headed Inverness into the lead after 82 minutes but Boruc managed to tip his effort over the bar.

There was still time for McManus to have a chance from six yards but his volley sailed over the bar to allow the home side to hold on for a welcome point.