The young Dons secured the Youth Alliance League South East title last Saturday and in the process became the first Under-18s side in the Club’s history to have achieved such a feat.
Edu Rubio’s side were 1-0 down at half-time against AFC Wimbledon, however, Pattison’s second-half goal levelled the scoring before Recoe Martin sealed the win with his penalty.
Talking to iFollow MK Dons prior to tonight’s FA Youth Cup clash Pattison put the Under-18s success down to the team spirit within the dressing room.
“It felt good to win the title considering we were 1-0 down at half-time and to get that late penalty was a really good feeling.
“I think the team spirit has been a massive part of our success this year. During pre-season we said we wanted to do something good this year and we’ve shown that so far – now we’ve got to go into the FA Youth Cup and try to win that game.”
The Under-18s reached the Fourth Round of the competition after recording 1-0 win over Cardiff City thanks to a late Tommy Hope goal. Pattison put the win down to the togetherness among his teammates.
“The win over Cardiff shows how together we are defensively because we were under pressure for 9minuteses – we had once chance and Tommy took it.
“We’re excited but we just need to stay composed and do our jobs.”
The FA Youth Cup provides today’s youngsters to play at first-team stadiums and experience the life of a professional footballer, an experience Pattison is looking forward too.
“I think it’s a good experience to play at different stadiums and it readies us for when we hopefully get first-team experience – it’s good to play under the floodlights too.
“I feel that it’s a team effort and if we stick together we can get the win and come back happy.”
