Raith missed the chance to go second in the Scottish Championship after paying the price for an early red card in a 1-0 defeat to Inverness.

The hosts’ quest to move above Dunfermline got off to a terrible start as Iain Davidson was shown a straight red card for a foul on Nikolay Todorov after 10 minutes.

Inverness tried to capitalise on their advantage and Daniel MacKay forced Raith goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald into a smart save after 21 minutes.

Regan Hendry threatened just after the break for Raith but his strike was tipped over by Mark Ridgers.

And it was Inverness who took the lead on 50 minutes as MacKay produced a superb chipped finish over MacDonald following a pinpoint pass from goalkeeper Ridgers after a Raith corner.

The hosts continued to carry a threat, with Ridgers required to tip over from Kyle Benedictus’ header just before the hour and also denying Lewis Vaughan in the closing stages.