Mark Atkinson praised the heroics of stopper Anthony Patterson as his saves earned Sunderland under-18s a point in Saturday’s Wear-Tyne clash.
Patterson produced save after save from the first whistle to the last, with only Matty Longstaff’s scuffed effort getting the better of him with 50 minutes played.
But the young ‘keeper was in inspired form as the Magpies looked to wrap up the three points, clawing the ball off the line following a lob and atoning for being rounded by getting back to hook the ball off the feet of the Magpies striker as he went to pull the trigger.
Lee Connelly then punished the visitors in the closing stages to level the Black Cats’ opening U18 Premier League fixture of the season.
Speaking post-match, Atkinson hailed Patterson for his efforts between the sticks.
“It was a scrappy game and there was a lot of intensity because you could see what it meant to both teams and both sets of players,” he said.
“There were spells when there was decent quality from both sets of teams and Anthony has made some great saves at crucial times for us.
“That is the kind of thing Anthony is capable of,” he continued.
“We don’t always see that in training and it is up to him to perform like that on a more consistent basis.
“He is a good shot stopper and he produced some important saves for us.”