Inverness 3 Celtic 2:It will be of scant consolation to Celtic that they can now legitimately claim to have been part of the most exhilarating match of the season. The champions were two goals in front midway through the opening half in the Highlands yesterday, but what followed ranked firmly in the epic category as 10-man Inverness Caledonian Thistle recovered to record their first league victory over Celtic.

It was the decision of the referee, Dougie McDonald, to award a 42nd-minute penalty to the hosts which sparked their memorable fightback. Steven Pressley was harshly adjudged to have wrestled Marius Nicolae to the ground, John Rankin dispatched the spot-kick and from that moment Inverness went from strength to strength, their second-half display surely among the best this club have produced in their 13-year history.

The impact on a title race that is already promising to be the most exciting in years was that Rangers now sit two points behind their city rivals in the table but with two games in hand.

"I'm in a state of shock," said Celtic's manager, Gordon Strachan, "that was just the most bizarre game of football."

Strachan complained of Nicolae's penalty award that the Inverness striker had wasted an advantage allowed to him by the referee, but he conceded that his team's defending, particularly away from home, must improve.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had put Celtic 2-0 up with two goals in as many minutes by the 26th minute, firstly heading home a Paul Hartley free-kick before decisively deflecting Aiden McGeady's curling shot into the net, to apparently put the visitors firmly on course for victory.

Yet Rankin offered Inverness hope, before David Proctor headed them level with a powerful near-post header. Another decisive moment followed, Celtic's Scott McDonald seeing a goal wrongly disallowed for offside.

Inverness, prompted brilliantly from midfield by Ian Black, wasted little time in benefiting from the error, as Don Cowie's surging run took him through a lethargic Celtic central defence, after which the midfielder finished beyond Mark Brown.

There remained time for Proctor to be dismissed after the defender's last-man foul on McDonald, with the Inverness goalkeeper, Michael Fraser, subsequently producing a magnificent save to deny Chris Killen.

"It was a big win for us under the circumstances," said Craig Brewster, the Inverness manager, whose team have recorded four successive wins.