Saturday was a big day for Jim Goodwin.
Leaving St Mirren for Aberdeen was a clear statement that he felt he was moving on to bigger things, and having seen his old club finish above his new one last season, he will have been looking to his revolutionised, hand-picked squad to deliver him a statement win.
He was vindicated in spectacular fashion. Goodwin’s ruthless decision to sever ties, mid-contract, with all his predecessor’s marquee signings was an indicator of his desire to stamp a fresh brand on the squad, and by a combination of accident and design it was one of those culled internationalists who laid the foundation for this resounding victory.
Declan Gallagher’s hapless penalty concession got the ball rolling on Aberdeen’s goal rush and allowed them the luxury of playing with a man advantage, and still his impact didn’t end when he left the field.
For it was his first bookable offence, spearing Hayden Coulson, which prompted the unscheduled introduction of Leighton Clarkson, a serendipity which wasn’t long in exploding into the roof of the despondent Buddies’ net.
This was truly one of those days where everything went right for Goodwin: even those things which initially looked to have gone wrong paid off twofold. The loss, 10 minutes into his home debut, of the team’s presumptive left-back gave Liam Scales the chance to put in a virtuoso display filling the gap, and Clarkson an immediate opportunity to blast his way up a packed midfield queue.
Lady Luck won’t always write herself in as the 12th name on Aberdeen’s team sheet, and there will be times where they must grab matches and turn them around.
The riches extracted from the deeper layers of his squad here will give Goodwin great confidence that he has the tools at hand.