IF the miraculous Barcelona comeback during the week was the sublime, then this injury-time snatch and grab by Inverness was verging on the ridiculous. In a match where they were second best by the length of Maryhill Road, Richie Foran’s men somehow smuggled a point out of Firhill as Gary Warren’s late, late header gave them what could be a crucial result in their battle to stay in the division.

The last-ditch drama brought to mind the occasion some years back at Motherwell when the announcer credited Dick Turpin with a winning goal for Kilmarnock, and his Partick Thistle counterpart showed admirable restraint to avoid doing likewise.

“We got the goal and we should have seen the game out,” lamented home manager Alan Archibald, who wore the expression of a man who had had his pocket picked.“We looked comfortable enough, but we’ve got to stop the ball coming into the box because it was a simple throw-in. It was a sickener.”

Indeed. The day had all been set up for Thistle goalscorer Kris Doolan to write himself into the club’s record books. The Thistle striker had stuck away his 99th goal in the red and yellow in front of his adoring public, he had the captain’s armband after an injury to Abdul Osman, and the best part of half-an-hour against an out-of-sorts Inverness to bag his century.

As it was, his typically predatory finish just after the hour had looked to be enough at least to send Thistle clear in sixth place.

A couple of Thistle crosses evaded everyone before the ball made its way to Ryan Edwards on the right, who showed why he has been called upon by Australia this week as he fired a wicked ball across the six-yarder where Doolan was waiting, like all good strikers should be, to prod the ball home.

That looked to be that until the dying moments, when the visitors delivered the sucker punch with almost the last touch of the game. Billy King hung up a ball to the back post, where Warren showed the desire to get on to it and head down past Tomas Cerny.

“We definitely deserved the draw,” said Inverness manager Foran, perhaps the only man inside the stadium who held that view. “I always believe we can score. I know it was late in the game but when you have the calibre of player we have then we’ll score a lot of goals – and we’ve scored a lot of late goals, too.”

Foran could have been forgiven for being a little giddy directly after the game, and he paid the home side quite the compliment too.

“Partick Thistle, for me, are a top-four side – I think they’re that good,” he said. “They’re strong, aggressive and they can pass the ball and, with Doolan, they can score goals, too. This is a huge point against a very good team.”

Given the way that Thistle have been defending recently, it was something of an anomaly that on the rare occasions that Inverness ventured forward, they troubled the home defence.

In fact, they actually had the ball in the net in the first half too as Henri Anier picked up on the edge of the area, sidestepped a challenge and fired home, only for assistant referee Graeme Stuart to belatedly raise his flag, deeming Billy McKay to have been blocking the Thistle keeper’s view from an off-side position.

“I’d like to see our disallowed goal again because I’m not sure about that decision,” said Foran.“Billy McKay was definitely in an off-side position but was he interfering with the goalkeeper’s line of vision? I’m not sure – I tend to go by other players’ reactions and I didn’t see their 'keeper complaining.”

But neither should Inverness be complaining about the vital point they gained here, and they do deserve credit for refusing to give up the fight. There may be life in them yet as they go forward into the Highland derby next week with a bounce in their step.

PARTICK THISTLE: Cerny; Dumbuya, Keown, Lindsay, Booth; Barton, Osman (Amoo, 32’); Edwards, Erskine (Elliott, 87’), Lawless (Azeez, 42'); Doolan.

Scorer: Doolan (57’)

INVERNESS: Fon-Williams; Warren, Laing, McCart; Brad McKay, Polworth (King, 61’’), Vigurs (Boden, 82’) Tansey, Raven; Anier (Cole, 82’), Billy McKay.

Booked: Vigurs (21’), McCart (45+3’)

Scorer: Warren (90+2')

Referee: Willie Collum

Attendance: 3082