PATTON IS A TOP THREAT AT TEE TIME
IN an era when academies and development squads are king, Shaun Patton serves as a reminder that rare talents don’t need a defined pathway to the top.
The 23-year-old Donegal goalkeeper can already claim a slice of history on the basis that no player has surely ever played less football to make it as an inter-county player.
Prior to Declan Bonner’s call inviting him into his squad in the winter of 2017, Patton had played the grand total of two adult games of competitive football — both in the Ulster club Championship for St Eunan’s when he was still a teenager.
That was the grand sum of his experience, which gives the description of a ‘rookie’ at inter-county level a whole new meaning.
And yet from that most unlikely and unpromising of starts, he is now on most critics shortlist for an All-Star.
His lack of Gaelic football experience was down to his pursuit of a professional soccer career that took him to Derry City, Finn Harps and, finally, Sligo Rovers.
Last weekend, as desperation demanded that Meath go direct in the closing minutes, the goalkeeper found himself under the types of high balls that have caught out the very best in Rory Beggan and Stephen Cluxton over the past 12 months. Both times Patton called and claimed with absolute authority.
What’s surprising is not just that his shot-stopping ability isn’t being reflected in shut-outs — nine in 21 appearances — but that he has mastered the skills he wouldn’t have been exposed to in his soccer career.
That extends to the kicking tee, where he arguably has no equal thus far in the Championship. In the big games this summer his kicking ability has ensured that Donegal have been able to shut down games, most notably in the Ulster semi-final win over Tyrone and also in the final quarter of the Meath game last weekend.
The speed, the precision, the ball flight and, when needed, his length has become a powerful weapon in Donegal’s armoury.
More than anything, though, it is his almost telepathic relationship with Michael Murphy that has provided a sense of security to Donegal’s restarts that only Dublin can better.
But then the relationship between Patton and his team captain is one that has been nourished off the field, too — he actually works in Murphy’s Letterkenny-based sports shop.
Patton makes no bones about his respect for his captain.
‘There are no words that can describe the man. He is just something else,’ says Patton.
‘He is a leader, a born leader and I am just thankful to be able to share the same dressing room with him.
‘He is just a fantastic person. The quality he has is something that no man can ever question.
‘He is the best footballer that I have ever seen, hands down.’
But while Murphy’s impact cannot be doubted, Patton’s success as a restart specialist is largely down to his own conviction.
It was evident last year that his kicking skills were well north of competent but he hit a buffer in the opening round of the Super 8s against Dublin, when the champions went after him with a zonal press.
It worked and Donegal bled scores in first half as a result.
That could have sowed doubts in Patton’s mind, but he is dismissive of the notion that he is more comfortable in his inter-county skin than he was 12 months ago.
‘I would not say so, no. I am quite happy with the work we have been putting in together. I would not say I feel more comfortable in myself. I am always happy with where I am at.
‘Form is form but the boys out the field help me a lot with their movement.
‘It is something we worked on a lot from last year; there is a lot of movement out the field and boys running to places it’s easy to clip it out to.’
Croke Park should facilitate that movement on Sunday, but Patton knows that an in-form Kerry team will seek to disrupt that rhythm.
‘You just know what you are going to get with Kerry,’ he says.
‘Some of the footballers they have are unbelievable so we know what we are going to face and we have to be ready for it.’
“Murphy is the best footballer I’ve ever seen”