Alan Smith slammed Nathan Patterson for his antics during the first half of Everton vs. West Ham on Sunday (October 29).
During his co-commentary on Sky Sports Main Event at 1:23 p.m., the commentator noted that the Scotland international’s effort to tackle Lucas Paqueta was a poor defensive play.
He also stated that the 22-year-old defender committed himself before the Brazilian international sent the ball to Jarrod Bowen, who was unable to direct his shot on goal.
Patterson’s defending was poor, according to Smith. He made a commitment, and you don’t want to do that to Paqueta. If you want the ball to fall to anyone, Jarrod Bowen is your best bet, but it’s a terrible miscalculation.
Getting away with it
Patterson’s defensive performance was inadequate, and he was fortunate that Everton did not fall down against West Ham.
The Brazilian is exceptionally good on the ball and can twist and turn beautifully in tight spaces, so seeing him dive in will have disappointed Sean Dyche.
The defender has been recalled for this game in lieu of the suspended Ashley Young, thus this is his chance to reclaim his starting spot.
The Scotsman was a little too eager in the first half, getting beat a couple of times by Hammers attackers, but he got away with it and no serious damage was done.
He’ll be trying to be more solid and make less errors in the second half as his team attempts to take a positive result away from the London Stadium.
