Patterson kept Sheffield United at bay before Sunderland mounted a comeback win, completed in the 95th minute.
Header Image: via Sunderland AFC
Sunderland have reached the Premier League following their 2-1 win over Sheffield United in the Championship Play-Off final yesterday afternoon (Saturday 24th May).
The Black Cats return to the top flight after a rollercoaster nine years away between League One and the Championship.
One of the club's standout performers in recent years has been academy graduate goalkeeper Anthony Patterson. Now 25, Patterson played all but one league game in goal for Sunderland this season, and came up with what many are deeming a Man of the Match performance against the Blades at Wembley.
Mentored by two highly rated goalkeeper coaches in Alessandro Barcherini, who spoke to Goalkeeper.com about the Sunderland goalkeeper department's progress last November, and Tom Weal, Patterson has in the past been linked with moves away to Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur.
Now, with his boyhood side back in the big time, it's unlikely he'll be going anywhere.
At Wembley, Patterson pulled off an incredible Gordon Banks-esque save to deny a Kieffer Moore header early on and also spared the blushes of full back Dennis Cirkin when the Sunderland man's defensive error allow a 1v1 opportunity which Patterson was equal to.
The first save drew comparisons with Jim Montgomery's incredible save in the FA Cup Final, near enough 52 years ago this past week, for Sunderland against Leeds at the old Wembley.
This is Patterson's day, in pictures and video.
