Goodwin keeps calm as Buddies carry on
Jim Goodwin claimed he enjoyed the calmest afternoon of his managerial career yesterday.
The St Mirren boss had a rather nervous end to last season’s campaign as his men scrambled out of the relegation zone.
Assembling a squad in double-quick time just over a year ago resulted in a team that took many months to build up an understanding.
Although we’ve just gone through hugely unsettling times, Goodwin has been able to take a calmer approach to his recruitment.
That led to him signing three new defenders – Richard Tait, Joe Shaugnessy and Marcus Fraser.
They all performed solidly in this victory and Tait got the only goal of the game. Goodwin was delighted. He said: “It’s the most comfortable I’ve felt throughout my short managerial career when balls were going in the box.
ST Mirren:
(4-2-3-1) Alnwick 7; Fraser 6, Mccarthy 6, Shaughnessy 7, Tait 7; Foley 8, Macpherson 6; Durmus 6 (Thorvaldsson 77, 5), Mcallister 6 (Morias 62, 5), Mcgrath 6; Obika 6. Unused subs – Lyness (Gk), Baird, Jack, Jamieson, Erhahon, Henderson, Urminsky (Gk).
Livingston:
“I’ve got four real warriors at the back who enjoy defending and Sam Foley in front of them, who’s very disciplined as well.
“Lyndon Dykes is a really good player and the fact Livingston want over £1million for him shows how well my two centre-halves did.
“I don’t remember him having many chances to score.”
Watching football behind closed doors means the only noise comes from those taking part. But there wasn’t a great deal of shouting on the pitch apart from the standard phrases like “push up” and “hold the line”.
This doesn’t seem to be an era where leaders come to the fore in teams, perhaps because they get so many instructions coming from the sidelines.
Watching football without crowds exposes you to the full blast of praise and criticism bellowed by coaches and there were spells when the histrionics of the men in the dugouts were rather more entertaining than what was happening on the pitch.
St Mirren took the lead just after their boss had implored his boys to move higher up and put more pressure on the ball.
A corner kick, which was taken while the tannoy played a recording of Come On Ye Saints, resulted in the ball finding Jamie Mcgrath on the right of the penalty area.
He was given time to deliver a cross and Richard Tait ran between defenders to send a diving header past the keeper.
It was a great way for the 30-year-old to mark his first competitive game after moving from Motherwell.
However, goals from the defender are something of a rarity and he’s unlikely to solve the Buddies’ goal-scoring problem.
Jon Obika battled gamely on his own up front, but didn’t often get a clear sight of goal. Morias did come close to doubling Saints’ tally when he thumped a shot off the post near the end.
He was only five yards out and really should have scored.
Livingston produced plenty of effort but not much creativity.
Sibbald hit the post five minutes before half-time and that was the closest they came.
A late flurry saw Pittman presented with an opportunity when Alnwick punched out a cross and it landed at his feet.
The midfielder got a shot on target but the goalie recovered to make a save.
Jim Goodwin would like to add a bit more firepower. He added: “We’re always looking for good attacking players and we’re waiting for the English market to open.
“I’ve some young loan strikers I’d like to bring up but that won’t happen straight away.”
(3-4-2-1): Mccrorie 7; Fitzwater 6, Guthrie 6, Taylor-sinclair 6 (Souda 84, 5); Devlin 6, Bartley 7, Sibbald 6 (Robinson 68, 5), Ambrose 6; Pittman 6, Forrest 6 (Kouider-aissa 62, 5); Dykes 6. Unused subs – Stryjek (Gk), Crawford, Mcmillan, Tiffoney, Hamilton, Pignatiello.
St Mirren captain
showed a huge amount of composure in front of the home defence. He always appears to be one move ahead with vital interceptions and crisp passing.