Barry Robson scored an 81st-minute penalty to give Dundee United the victory they needed to guarantee Bank of Scotland Premier League safety and was then sent off in stoppage time for a second booking.

The former Caley winger was fouled inside the area and stepped up to take the kick himself, which he duly converted, before sparking an incredible pitch invasion by throwing himself headlong into the fans behind the goal.

An eventful afternoon was completed in the dying seconds when he was ordered off for diving.

United fans, gleeful in their own survival and Tayside neighbours Dundee's demise, again took to the pitch at the conclusion and this time were allowed to conduct their party without the interference of the local constabulary.

Gordon Chisholm brought in David McCracken for the injured Paul Ritchie and, with the experienced centre-half's absence a major consideration, decided to replace Stuart Duff with Derek McInnes and have the former Rangers midfielder sit and protect his makeshift defence.

Play was held up for 13 minutes to allow the visiting fans, whose journey had been beset by traffic problems on the A9, to get to the game and when the action did finally get underway it was the men in tangerine, as you would expect, who flew out of the traps.

They created the first chance within seconds but McInnes was unable to exploit space on the left to pick out Stevie Crawford after combining well with Barry Robson.

The left-hand side was proving most fruitful for United and they should have taken the lead after nine minutes with a sublime move again emanating from the far side of the pitch.

Robson left Ross Tokely standing and this time managed to find his target, Crawford. The Scotland international was shadowed closely by Darren Dods but still did well to tee up Mark Kerr, but his powerful shot from the edge of the area was palmed away by Mark Brown.

Caley suffered a scare in the 16th minute when Graham Bayne fell to the ground clutching his ankle. The former Dundee man needed a few minutes of treatment on the sidelines before he could return to the action.

He gamely tried to soldier on for a further quarter-hour but eventually had to admit defeat so Brewster entered the fray ahead of schedule.

United were lucky to keep 11 men on the field when Grant Brebner stupidly kneed Ian Black after an innocuous tussle.

Referee Alan Freeland could easily have shown a red card but, perhaps mindful of the game's importance, settled for a stern ticking off and a yellow.

No sooner was the card back in the safety of the official's pocket than it was aired again, this time towards Robson who cried foul once too often and eventually snapped the referee's patience.

Chisholm had been saying all week that he would not settle for the single point they need and backed up his claims by making an adventurous change in the 57th minute.

He replaced Crawford, who again had a poor game and is looking terrible value at £3000-a-week, with Jason Scotland in a carbon copy of the move which won them the Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final two months ago.

He then brought on Stuart Duff for the tiring Brebner in the 64th minute.

Bullock's form has caused United problems all season and he had yet another erratic moment when coming to gather substitute Barry Wilson's corner kick.

The Englishman shouted and came off his line, but missed it completely and was only let off when the ball bobbled wide at the back post.

It was edgy stuff for the visitors and their supporters behind the goal summed up their desperation in the 76th minute, furiously claiming a penalty after Scotland was shrugged off the ball by Dods. The referee was never likely to be swayed by their protests and signalled for the Trinidadian to get to his feet.

He did award a spot-kick in the 81st minute and it eventually gave United the moment they had waited all game for. Robson was dumped over by Tokely inside the box and stepped up to take the kick himself.

He blasted his effort straight down the middle and immediately ran to the fans behind the goal, sparking wild celebrations and a pitch invasion. The winger had already been booked and was on the verge of a red card for his moment of madness, until Brewster intervened and pleaded his case.

The occasion clearly got to him, though, and no-one could help his cause in the dying minutes when Freeland saw fit to finally flash the red card for a dive.

That moment soured the 90 minutes for the Tangerines staff, but nothing could hold back their supporters' celebrations as they again broke the police cordon and took to the pitch.

Teams

Inverness CT: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Hart (McAllister 73), Black, Fox, Golabek, Prunty (Wilson 60), Bayne (Brewster 33).

Subs Not Used: Fraser, McBain, Duncan, Proctor.

Booked: Black.

Dundee Utd: Bullock, Kenneth, McCracken, Archibald, Wilson, McInnes, Kerr, Brebner (Duff 63), Robson, McIntyre (Grady 86), Crawford (Scotland 57).

Subs Not Used: Colgan, Samuel, Dodds, Cameron.

Sent Off: Robson (90).

Booked: Brebner, Robson.

Goals: Robson 82 pen.

Att: 5,479

Ref: A Freeland (Scotland).