THAT ONE’S FOR YOU BRO
Arbroath hero dedicates winner to his late sibling
AN emotional Dylan Paterson dedicated his first professional goal to his late brother after Arbroath’s dramatic win against St Mirren.
The former Rangers and Dundee United youth talent climbed off the bench in the 82nd minute of the Red Lichties’ Group E opener to slam home a memorable back-post winner in injury-time.
Paterson celebrated wildly in front of the hardy travelling support, with Arbroath now in control of the group after toppling top seeds Saints.
Afterwards the attacking midfielder poignantly dedicated his memorable strike to his older brother Jack – who passed away just two years ago.
Paterson said: “My instructions were just to get on the ball, take people on and lift the team up the pitch. All credit to Michael McKenna, who put a great ball in for me.
“I’ve gambled at the back post and it dropped for me – it was a hard one to take but thankfully I was able to control it.
“It was the perfect time to score and I loved celebrating with the fans afterwards. They’re great people.
“It was my first professional goal and I want to dedicate it to my big brother Jack who
passed away a couple of years ago. He was two years older than me, so I definitely enjoyed that goal for him. It was the best moment of my career so far.
“Once I got on the pitch I thought: ‘I only need one chance’ and, fortunately, it arrived.
“Sadly, my family weren’t here today but they were watching the game back home. They’ll be happy.
“Hopefully I can kick on and keep this going. I’ve been working hard in training and I’m glad I took my opportunity.”
After a productive spell on loan at hometown club Stirling Albion last season, Paterson hopes he has done enough to prove he’s now worthy of being involved at Gayfield Park on a regular basis as Arbroath begin another crack at promotion to the Premiership.
He added: “I was on loan at Stirling and Arbroath did so well it’s going to be hard to get in the team.
“But everyone has been helping me so far. I was kind of surprised to get on against St Mirren but you need to take these chances when they come your way.
“We have a lot of quality. I look up to the players here and just strive to get better each day.
“The gaffer has had a wee chat with me already and it’s down to me now to push on.”