Obika and Alnwick hailed after Buddies bag narrow victory
HAMILTON ACCIES 0 ST MIRREN 1 Obika (19)
Jim Goodwin hailed goal hero Jon Obika and stopper Jak Alnwick as St Mirren claimed a win over Hamilton Accies.
Obika scored the only goal of the game after 19 minutes while Alnwick made a number of vital saves to earn a clean sheet and all three points for his side.
The Buddies having won two of their opening three games, Goodwin saluted his big performers.
He said: “Without being disrespectful, your two most important positions are your goalkeeper and striker.
“Obika scored 12 last year and this year we’re hoping for 15, maybe 20 from him. And if you’ve got a goalkeeper at the other end who can save you valuable points, it’s a great place to start from.
“We made seven or eight really good opportunities and managed to take one of them. But we could have made this afternoon a whole lot more comfortable if we’d been a bit more clinical in the first half.
“The second half was very different and I give credit to the opposition for that because Brian Rice made a couple of changes and they penned us in for large periods. There are spells when you are going to have to stand up and be counted and I thought my players did that brilliantly.”
Both sides looked eager from the first whistle, having had their midweek games postponed.
And the visitors produced the first real chance. Cammy MacPherson swung over a corner and Joe Shaughnessy’s shot was well saved by Ryan Fulton.
Accies were next to threaten minutes later. David Templeton thrashed his free kick from just outside the box into the defensive wall but was first to the rebound. His low effort was kept out by the watchful Alnwick.
The Saints goalkeeper then had to react quickly to push away a David Moyo shot after Scott Martin’s attempt had been deflected into the striker’s path.
Shaughnessy was proving an unlikely danger man for the Buddies. And from another MacPherson corner the big defender saw his goalbound drive blocked close to the line.
But the visitors started to turn the screw and took a deserved lead after 19 minutes. Sam Foley’s cross was headed back into the danger area by Junior Morias towards Richard Tait. And the defender’s ball in was touched in by Obika from a matter of yards for his first goal of the season.
St Mirren kept up the pressure – a slight deflection prevented Kyle McAllister from doubling their lead with a powerful effort from the edge of the box.
Morias tried his luck after 35 minutes. Obika rolled a ball into his path and, after his first shot was blocked, the frontman’s second attempt required a diving stop from Fulton to keep it out.
Morias had two more attempts before half-time. Marcus Fraser picked him out for the first one that went just wide, before the Londoner flashed a second effort off target after good play by MacPherson.
The Buddies almost paid for that poor finishing in the first minute of the second half as Accies started strongly. Andy Winter’s cut back found its way to Ross Callachan and his shot was well saved by Alnwick.
The former St Johnstone midfielder had an opportunity minutes later but side-footed his shot off target, before Templeton was wide with a blast from a free kick just outside the box.
Hamilton did finally get another effort on target from full-back Scott McMann who could hardly believe that Alnwick had got down to keep it out.
St Mirren then enjoyed a rare second-half chance through sub Ilkay Durmus but Fulton proved equal to it. But it didn’t matter as Goodwin’s men clung on for the three points.