Academy midfielder Monty Patterson came on as a 66th minute sub as New Zealand’s U20s lost 1-0 to hosts China in their opening game at the Panda Cup International Tournament this morning. The Chinese goal came from the penalty spot in the 24th minute.

The New Zealand youngsters next play Brazil on Friday and finally Croatia on Sunday. The four-team competition is part of the Junior All Whites’ preparation for next year’s FIFA U20 World Cup, which they are hosting.

Patterson, who starts a two-year scholarship with the Blues this summer, recently scored four goals in his first three friendlies for the Junior All Whites, two games with Fiji and one against Papua New Guinea.

In October, the 17-year-old featured for New Zealand in their three games at the FIFA U17 World Cup finals in the UAE and prior to that, in April last year, he won the Golden Ball at the Oceania Football Confederation U17 Championship when he joint-top scored on six goals with team-mate Stuart Holthusen.

Two months later, he won his first cap with the New Zealand ‘A’ side when he came on as an 85th minute sub as they lost 1-0 to Jordan in a friendly in Auckland.

Photo: Action Images

TractorBoyOlly added 11:56 - Jun 4 Sounds like a promising player from the academy, hopefully he can keep up those level of performances as he progresses.
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