Good win comes from humble beginnings

Richard Winton
Assistant Sports Editor

WHEN Jim Goodwin hauled himself ruefully to his feet only to see a yellow card being brandished in his direction, the suspicion was that it would be a long afternoon for the Irishman.
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Less than two minutes had elapsed when the St Mirren captain received his apparently obligatory booking for lunging at Darren Barr but, rather than neutering his contribution, it sparked a lingering sense of injustice.

Certainly, the leathering that the midfielder administered to the ball in the closing minutes of the first half, affording the Paisley side a lead over Hearts that they would not relinquish, was heavy with retribution.

"I barely celebrated because I was that annoyed at myself," Goodwin said. "I was frustrated because every time I passed the ball it seemed to go out of the park; I was probably getting hooked at half-time. I was so frustrated, and I think the goal was just the shot in the arm I needed to get myself going."

The 30-year-old is an incongruous presence in the St Mirren team, and not just because of his distinctive shaven head. Amid a collection of elegant youngsters all eager to play cute flicks and perceptive passes, Goodwin is the bulwark; the bouncer who patrols the midfield meting out justice to those who attempt to intimidate his younger colleagues. It is a vital duty and one which he performs with relish.

However, accomplishment eventually attracts attention and, as manager Danny Lennon noted afterwards, the refereeing fraternity have taken note by allowing their interpretation of Goodwin's challenges to be coloured by his reputation. The Irishman, therefore, is often booked for a tackle that would earn another player a dressing-down, impinging on his ability to fulfil his role.

"These bloody bookings -" he said. "They're adding up again and it's too early in the season for me to be getting stupid yellows like that. The referee said it was straight legged and my studs were up but it was an honest tackle and I won the ball. I was kind of walking on eggshells from there on in and had to be careful not to go to ground and make tackles, and that kind of takes away from my game a little bit."

Fortunately for St Mirren, plenty of others stepped up to share the burden on an afternoon in which they combined pass and move with blood and snotters to great effect. From the alert Lewis Guy and imaginative Steven Thompson in attack, to the hugely promising Kenny McLean in midfield, and composed debutant Paul Dummett at left-back, the Paisley side were superior to a pallid Hearts, despite John McGlynn's protestations.

The Tynecastle manager was correct in his assertion that Goodwin's goal was crucial in shaping the course of the contest but his suggestion that the visitors posed untold problems for the St Mirren defence did not stand up to scrutiny. Granted, Hearts enjoyed more of the ball – a consequence of their numerical advantage in midfield – but struggled to turn that possession into clear openings, even if they earned a staggering 15 corners to their hosts' two.

Goalkeeper Craig Samson was relatively untested, while Lee Mair and Marc McAusland, two centre-backs who struggled to contain Leigh Griffiths in their last home game against Hibernian, found Callum Paterson much easier to quell. The 17-year-old did, as McGlynn pointed out, spurn three decent first-half openings but looked less than refined as a central striker than he has done either at full-back or wide on the right, even if his strength and mobility should equip him to reprise the role, which he played in his younger days.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, though, this was the third consecutive game in which Hearts failed to score. John Sutton was introduced with 25 minutes remaining but appears to have some way to go to convince his manager, while beyond that McGlynn can only look to untested youngsters. He concedes the issue is becoming a problem – so too is the reported failure to pay wages on time again this month – but insists that it can and will be addressed.

So, too, insists Goodwin, will be his disciplinary record.

Taken from the Herald