Anthony Patterson, the goalkeeper for Sunderland, has given his assessment of his penalty save against Sheffield United on New Year’s Day at the Stadium of Light. Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor’s goals, separated by club captain Luke O’Nien’s own goal, gave the Black Cats a 2-1 victory. But following a shirt pull by the previously mentioned O’Nien, Sunderland gave up a penalty with the score tied at zero in the first half.

However, Patterson was equal to the penalty that Kieffer Moore, a former Sunderland transfer target, took. In a pivotal moment in the overall scheme of the game, the homegrown goalie dove to his side and kept the striker out with his legs.”We do our research on the penalty takers and, I’ve sort of dived the right way,” Patterson stated in reference to the penalty save.

That’s what all the study actually comes down to, but I’ve managed to stick a leg out and keep it out. It’s ultimately up to luck, but before every game we get a sheet of the possible penalty takers and watch a little bit of the footage and whatnot to see if they have any patterns or methods or anything like that that gives you an idea of where it’s going to go. It’s mostly luck, but you still need to make the saves.