Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has given his verdict on Anthony Patterson’s role in the Cardiff City goal.
Sunderland beat Cardiff City 2-1 at the Stadium of Light, with Eliezer Mayenda and Chris Mepham bagging the goals for the Black Cats.
The Spanish youngster was superb once again for Regis Le Bris’ side, as Gary Bennett named Mayenda as Sunderland’s best player. Fans also took to social media to suggest that Mayenda was brilliant for Sunderland.
Across the board though, it wasn’t the most sensational of performances from the entire side, with Sunderland struggling a bit after Patrick Roberts’ injury in the first half, whilst Anthony Patterson was criticised following the Cardiff City goal.
Whilst the sole goal of the game for the Bluebirds had its controversies, Sunderland boss Le Bris has disregarded that, and has instead turned attention on the Black Cats shot-stopper.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris gives honest verdict over Cardiff City goal and Anthony Patterson
Cardiff’s only goal of the game saw Callum O’Dowda loft the ball into the mixer, with Patterson dropping the ball amid pressure from the Bluebirds attackers, only for Isaak Davies to slot the ball away to level up the game.
When asked about the goal, per Sunderland Echo, and whether it should have been allowed, Le Bris spoke about the Black Cats goalkeeper, and his shortcomings in the key moment.
“The culture in England is different. In France, I think the referee would whistle. It wasn’t the case here and we were not surprised. For me, what we can control is the way Patto manages the situation and he will have to learn from this experience.”
Thankfully for Sunderland, Mepham’s late strike meant that Le Bris’ side still picked up three points, but the game saw yet another mistake for Patterson this season.
Anthony Patterson has already been warned by Regis Le Bris over goalkeeping issues
There is no doubting Patterson’s shot-stopping ability, something that makes him one of the best at Championship level.
However, when it comes to commanding his box, the Sunderland goalkeeper doesn’t always look comfortable, especially with bodies in-and-around the box, and that was the case against Cardiff.
It is not the first time that Patterson has struggled in-between the sticks, and certainly not the earliest citing of Le Bris demanding a wake up call from his goalkeeper.
Following the game against Hull City, Le Bris said that Patterson has to ‘think about these mistakes’, following the calamitous mixup from Joe Gelhardt’s corner.
The mistakes weren’t costly against Cardiff, but there needs to be an improvement from the shot-stopper when it comes to commanding his box, as we have seen several moments of complacency already this season when it comes to this.