Inverness 1-1 Celtic: Celtic lost their chance to go top of the Scottish Premier League with a 1-1 draw against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the Tulloch Stadium.

Hoops midfielder Stephen Pearson, who was only playing because Stilian Petrov was injured, slid home a Kenny Miller pass after 25 minutes to give the visitors the lead.

The champions controlled most of the match and never looked in danger from the strangely negative Highlanders.

However, Caley showed more spirit as the second half wore on and were rewarded in the 80th minute when defender Grant Munro fired home the equaliser from the edge of the penalty area.

It was a game that the Parkhead side should have won but now they find themselves a point behind their rivals Rangers.

After the game Munro revealed how a few choice words from manager Charlie Christie spurred them on.

"We got a bit of rollicking at half-time from the gaffer," he told Setanta Sports. "We showed a bit too much respect in the first half and they got a bit of time to pass the ball about."

He added: "They had the bulk of possession but they didn't create too many chances and we had a few snapshots from Craig Dargo. I think a draw was a fair result because of our performance in the second half."

Christie was unhappy with his team's performance in the early part of the game but says he could have no complaints in the end.

"I was certainly not happy in the first 35 minutes because we played second fiddle to Celtic and it was there for all to see," he told Setanta Sports.

"We spoke before the game about not giving them too much respect and not to sit off them and let them play but we did that far too much.

"They have good players, real class acts, and if you give them time, they will hurt you. But, in the second half, we came out and did really well when you consider the calibre of the opposition.

"We were far more like ourselves and managed to create four or five half-chances."