Craig Gordon hails 'fantastic' Sunderland talent ahead of Hearts testimonial

Former Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon has praised current Black Cats number one Anthony Patterson for his “fantastic” display in last month’s Championship play-off final.

The academy graduate produced a Man of the Match display at Wembley, denying Kieffer Moore in the opening exchanges before preventing a certain goal with a smart point blank stop in the second-half.

And Gordon - who is still playing professionally for Scottish Premiership club Hearts at the age of 42 - has admitted that he was very impressed by what he saw from Patterson when it mattered most.

What did Craig Gordon say about Anthony Patterson?

Speaking to The Scotsman, the veteran stopper said: “I was cheering them on. It didn’t look likely for a large part of the game, I was a little bit nervous for them. But they stayed in the game.

“Patterson made a couple of good saves, the one after 70 seconds - that’s the one that gets the headlines - but the one with his left foot in the second-half. If they go two goals down there, it is probably too difficult for them to get back into the game. From a goalkeeping point of view I though he was fantastic, keeping them in the game, and then they go on and win it.”

What did Craig Gordon say about his time at Sunderland?

Next month, Sunderland will travel to Edinburgh to face Hearts in a testimonial match for Gordon, and reflecting on his own stint on Wearside, the Scot said: “That was my first move. I’d been here [Hearts] since I was 12, I had came through the youth system. Seven or eight seasons on from going through the under-18s, the first-team, I’d always been at once place. Now I’m a couple of hours down the road, everything is different, the training ground is different. People are different.

“The travel to away grounds is much further. Everything changed in a matter of days, that is going to take some getting used to, whether you’re coming from the other side of the world or a couple of hours away. It probably took me a little while to get used to everything, and the club. Once I did though, it was somewhere I really felt at home.”

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Gordon also spoke about a stunning and fondly-remembered save he made against Bolton Wanderers at the Stadium of Light back in 2010. He said: “Yeah, it was a fantastic save. At the time, I’m probably not entirely sure how I’ve managed to make it. I remember the corner going to the back post - I’ve obviously watched it a few times since. It gets knocked back into the six yard line, my initial reaction was, ‘Oh, this is a goal’, but I need to make an effort and show that I am trying to keep this out.

“As I turned and made my dive, I’ve realised it is still within my reach. I’ve swung my left hand at it, and luckily for me it sort of rolled up my left thumb, I got some spin on the ball which managed to take it up and over the bar from almost on the goal line. I’m not entirely sure how I managed to do that, but sometimes you get a little bit of luck along with a great reaction. It is something I am still very proud of.”

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