Following a season where Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson spent two spells on loan at Notts County, positive Covid tests for Thorben Hoffmann and Lee Burge as well as the latter also undergoing tests on his heart has seen the youngster become a regular in goal for the Black Cats. His form has been impressive to the point where Hoffmann, who had been the first-choice keeper for much of the season, has been unable to force his way back into the first team.
Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson Deservedly the Current Number One
Patterson Deserves to be in the First Team
Since the arrival of new head coach Alex Neil, 21-year-old goalkeeper Anthony Patterson has played in every game. His performances have been crucial during the run into the end of the season where the Black Cats have hit form at the right time.
Prior to Neil’s appointment, Sunderland’s defence were conceding goals at an alarming rate. Neil has managed to plug the leaky defence which has now conceded just five goals in Neil’s first 10 games in charge. This includes five clean sheets in the last seven games.
The whole team have played their part in an upturn of results: however, it is young shot-stopper Anthony Patterson who has caught the eye with a series of impressive performances and saves.
Following another impressive display at Oxford United, where the Black Cats won 2-1, Patterson produced the save of the season with the scores at 1-1. Following the game head coach Alex Neil praised his goalkeeper’s performance. He said of Patterson: “He is a very, very good shot stopper.
“The second one, in particular, was a great save. The first one, I would expect him to get there, it’s from distance and he can see it the full way, albeit he shows he is agile enough to get across.
“The second one is an excellent save, and as I’ve said before these games between teams at the top end of the division are going to be defined by key moments. He’s a young kid, this is his first season at this level and he’s got a lot ahead of him,” Neil said.
“To be competing where we are, to have the burden of the expectation we have with Sunderland and perform at the same time, you need to be made of stern stuff.
Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson, One of the Fans’ Own
Born in North Shields, a short journey from Sunderland, Patterson joined the Black Cats’ academy at a young age. After rising through the ranks at the Academy of Light and several appearances on the substitutes bench for the first team, Patterson made his senior debut in November 2020 in the EFL Trophy. He made just one more appearance for the first team during the 2020/21 season but did enough to convince the club to give him a new contract and be considered a part of the main squad going forward.
With Lee Burge already at the club and the arrival of Bayern Munich keeper Thorben Hoffmann on loan, Patterson was allowed to leave on loan, joining Notts County for a month. The loan was extended but he was recalled due to an injury to Burge; however, he was allowed to rejoin County soon after. This spell didn’t last long as he once again recalled.
With both Sunderlands’ number one and two goalkeepers being sidelined, Patterson was brought into the first team. After initially looking understandably nervous, Patterson has grown in confidence with each game he has played. His crucial saves and playing his part in keeping clean sheets have seen Sunderland as a team grow in confidence and produce positive results where previously they would have been hard to come by.
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