Scottish newspapers react to Nathan Patterson performance as Everton player features v Georgia
Everton defender Nathan Patterson played 76 minutes as Scotland clawed back a 2-2 draw against Georgia in their Euro 2024 group-stage qualifier on Thursday evening (16 November).
Lawrence Shankland’s stoppage-time equaliser rescued a point for the Scots as they kept their slim hopes of topping their group alive with a late draw in Tbilisi.
It’s been a nightmare destination for the Tartan Army in recent years and it looked like it was going to be another night of torment for Steve Clarke’s already-qualified team before the Hearts striker’s stoppage-time goal.
And in the absence of Aaron Hickey, Toffees full-back Nathan Patterson was given a rare start against the Georgians and his display was rewarded with some mixed reaction from Scottish Newspapers.
The Scotsman (16 November) gave the former Rangers defender a “6/10” rating, writing:
“Received a harsh early booking but recovered to have a good game with some penetrating forward runs and passes helping to open the Georgians up. Blotted his copybook by failing to track the run of Kvaratskhelia for Georgia’s second. 6”
The Scottish Sun gave the 22-year-old the same score, writing: “Made it a long night for himself with a seventh-minute booking for a flailing arm on Kochorashvili. Good cross fumbled by keeper just before half-time. Subbed.
The Herald Scotland gave a more harsh assessment, giving him a “5/10” after a “tough night” in Tbilisi. They wrote: “Was clearly eager to show the manager what he’s capable of with Aaron Hickey absent. Did okay, but had a tough evening trying to deal with Kvaratskhelia who got the better of him on a few occasions.”
Did Patterson do enough?
Kvaratskhelia enjoyed another superb night for his country, with the Napoli attacker simply unstoppable at times, and Patterson, unfortunately, got a front-row seat.
The Georgian winger has proven an incredibly tough customer for many of Europe’s best defenders so Patterson will be mightily relieved he didn’t endure a tougher night.
However, whether he did enough to convince Clarke that he’s capable of toppling Aaron Hickey in the Scottish starting eleven remains uncertain. In fact, he may not have done enough to convince Sean Dyche at Goodison Park either.
It was certainly an entertaining encounter, with Patterson doing his best to get forward and provide width and cutting edge on the right flank as much as he possibly could amid his tricky defensive outing.
Once he gets those regular opportunities at Everton, he’ll certainly be facing similar or tougher tests than Kvaratskhelia and he will hope to use this experience as another learning curve in his development.
In other Everton news, a journalist has shared a Toffees 12-point deduction verdict amid a “historically bad” Premier League campaign.