JON THE RISE
A spectacular first-half finish from the former Spurs kid opened the scoring before Danny Mullen sealed victory.
It was only St Mirren’s second win of the season as they inflicted more misery on Tommy Wright’s Perth outfit who lie rock bottom of the pile, still searching for their first victory.
Goodwin insisted his side could have won by three or four as he savoured Obika’s wonder strike and a rare Premiership triumph.
The Irishman said: “The first goal was a bit of individual brilliance from Jon, who showed great athleticism to put the ball in the back of the net the way he did.
“The second was pleasing from a coach’s perspective in terms of the way we created it. That’s the kind of things all teams work on and it gives you a great satisfaction when you see it come off. We could have won by three or four.
“I’m delighted for the supporters as well. They’ve been great since I came in the door and they haven’t had a great deal to cheer about of late but they haven’t allowed their frustration to get on the park and affect the players.”
Goodwin added skipper Stephen McGinn into St Mirren’s midfield at the expense of Ryan Flynn while Tony Andreu replaced Ilkay Durmus in attack.
Opposite number Wright switched Drey Wright for David Wotherspoon while Jason Holt was declared fit again and replaced Ali McCann in midfield, with the 19-year-old on the bench.
Murray Davidson cracked in a shot from distance that whistled just past inside two minutes for St Johnstone.
There was some neat build-up play by the Perth men after 15 minutes which ended with Anthony Ralston’s effort hacked off the line by Stephen McGinn.
Both sides then had penalty claims within 60 seconds of each other as Matty Kennedy claimed his foot had been stood on in the box but referee Nick Walsh rightfully waved play.
Saints got lucky when Sam Foley then shoved Kennedy to the deck. The home side then raced up the park and Mullen was the victim of a high boot from Jason Kerr but Walsh was again unmoved.
St Mirren finally opened the scoring in 36 minutes. The ball bobbed around the area and Sean McLoughlin helped it on before Obika launched himself into a scissor kick and superbly converted.
The lead was almost doubled in 53 minutes when Mullen raced clean through only to see his clipped shot come back off the inside of a post.
But the Buddies finally settled it in 62 minutes when Mullen slammed home Paul McGinn’s low cross.
Wright said: “What happened in the second hal f was unacceptable. Ultimately it lies on my shoulders.
“I look at the players and wonder how many realise how tough this league is and what you’ve got to do to win.” The return of captain marvel for St Mirren in the engine room was a welcome sight for boss Jim Goodwin.
McGinn solidified the midfield and allowed the front players to do their thing to good effect. Will be difficult to keep him out of the starting line-up now.
Could have awarded two penalties in the first half but choose to give neither with Danny Mullen’s appeal looking a stonewaller on first glance. The whistler wasn’t convinced and didn’t appear to have a firm grip on the contest at any point. A day to forget. 5/10
NICK WALSH: