Inverness Caledonian Thistle have never reached the semi-final of the League Cup and last night were left cursing the match officials for ensuring that unenviable record remains intact for another season at least.

An uninspiring contest was decided in Falkirk's favour by Neil McCann's first-half header, but both the winger and Michael Higdon, his team-mate, seemed to be in an offside position when play travelled forward into the Inverness penalty box.

The visitors enjoyed the best of the chances, in the first-half especially, but seemed to wilt after the break and rarely looked like claiming an equaliser that would have sent the tie into extra-time.

Their sense of regret will surely be tied to that fact as much as the officials' apparent error but that didn't stop Craig Brewster, the Inverness manager, from bemoaning his team's misfortune. "The referee supervisor told my director of football Graeme Bennett that McCann was offside," Brewster revealed post-match. "So, if it is offside, it is a sickener for us to go out of the cup because of that."

The aesthetics or merits of the victory, however, will scarcely trouble Falkirk who now at least have the prospect of a Hampden appearance in the spring to help them through the winter months.

The Co-operative Insurance Cup may not be the most illustrious competition but Falkirk cannot afford to be sniffy. They have failed to reach the final of this tournament in any of its many guises since 1947 - when they were beaten by East Fife after a replay - while their last semi-final appearance came two seasons when they were soundly whipped by Kilmarnock.

John Hughes, the Falkirk manager, relished the chance to make amends for that defeat. "Inverness maybe deserved something from the game, possible extra-time," he said. "We're disappointed we didn't kill it off but it's about getting the result to take us into the semi-final."

In truth, this was a fairly unremarkable tie peppered with the occasional outbreak of goalmouth action and that one particularly contentious incident that heavily influenced the direction of the tie.

Jackie McNamara's through ball seemed to have located both Higdon and McCann in an offside position but, to the amazement of most inside the stadium, Willie Conquer, the standside assistant referee, allowed play to continue.

Higdon seemed more taken aback than most, slamming his shot against the bar when a goal seemed inevitable. The ball fortuitously fell in McCann's direction who headed into the empty net.

It would get worse for Inverness after the break when they were denied a penalty when Gerard Aafjes seemed to illegally halt the run of Adam Rooney inside the area. "The referee apologised to my players at the end of the game for not giving it," Brewster added wistfully.

The McCann goal was a painful one for Inverness to endure but also served to compound their wastefulness at the other end of the field. They enjoyed by far the bulk of the chances but failed to match that endeavour with accuracy. Don Cowie thrashed an effort into the side netting after fastening on to Dougie Imrie's defence-splitting pass before Scott Flinders in the Falkirk goal earned his corn by saving well at close range from Rooney and Jamie Duff. Cowie tried again to break the keeper's resolve but couldn't keep his drive under the bar as Inverness toiled to convert their superiority into goals.

Much has been made of Falkirk's dedication to pretty, passing football but, for all its good intentions, it does have a habit of appearing over- complicated and indirect at times. Chances for the hosts, therefore, did not reflect their share of possession. Graham Barrett had an effort cleared off the line as early as the third minute but, their controversial goal aside, it was difficult to recall Falkirk troubling Esson again until just short of the hour mark when a Darren Barr effort hit a post.

The arrival as replacements of Barry Wilson and Russell Latapy, aged 36 and 40 respectively, did little to help the pace of a game that had started leisurely and became gradually slower.

Even the late Inverness rally was half-hearted, Rooney stretching but failing to connect with a Cowie cross was the closest they came to taking the match to extra-time before the former Stoke player attempted an ambitious overhead kick but failed to connect.

It was symptomatic of a match that promised much but ultimately failed to deliver but Falkirk will care little as they await the semi-final draw.