The 18-year-old Rangers development squad player Nathan Patterson was given an opportunity to show his full potential in front of 40,000 fans at Ibrox in last Friday night’s 2-0 Scottish Cup victory over Stranraer.
The right-back, who is highly rated as a future Gers star by Steven Gerrard and his background coaching staff, did his credentials no harm with an outstanding display.
Patterson was chosen to replace James Tavernier in the starting line-up, after the captain is forced to miss a minimum of the next two league games.
After his performances in Dubai and Glasgow, how do you hold back a young man who has everything in his locker?
He is a tall, talented athletic player who adds so much style to any side.
Patterson never tires, and bombs up the right hand-side of the park at all times.
When Scott Arfield scored the first goal just before half-time, any chance of a major upset completely vanished.
Jermain Defoe won a penalty when he was clearly tripped, to make it 2-0 by converting it just before he was replaced within a minute by Sheyi Ojo.
Gerrard was finally able to introduce young winger Kai Kennedy for the last 10 minutes, in his first Ibrox competitive match, and nearly scored.
With Tavernier set to miss some games with his appendix issue, the chance is there for Patterson to get more game time – despite the presence of Jon Flanagan.
Patterson was tremendous on the ball and always involved in the Rangers attacking policy, as he made a terrific impression on the Ibrox crowd.
Both Patterson and Kennedy look set to have bright futures at Rangers and it is great to see the pair getting first-team minutes under their belt.
