Despite being just 19 at the time of
his release, it did seem that Patterson had been at and around the club
for years. He was brought over to the club from Northern Ireland as part
of our links over there, and became a regular fixture in the youth and
reserves sides from then on. Rory was a competitive striker, with an all
round game which could see him play out wide in midfield as well.
Dale fans got their first glimpse of Patterson in the "first team" when he
came on as a sub in a pre-season friendly at Accrington in 2001, but it
was to be over a year later when he got his first real shot at the first
team when he appeared as a substitute in an LDV match against bury.
Over the next two seasons, he had a number of outings for the first team,
most of which came via the bench, but he was unable to repeat the
goalscoring touch that he had shown for the reserves. His time at Dale
ended with just six starts to his name, with a further twelve appearances
as substitute.
At the end of the 2002-3, Rory became close to becoming one of the growing
number of Internationals to come out of Spotland in recent years, when he
was called up to the Eire U-19 squad for their European Championship
Qualifiers following injuries to a number of key players. However, despite
making the squad, Rory didn't make an appearance for them.
Since leaving Dale, Patterson moved
to play for rebel club FCUM and has become something of a legend for them
with his goalscoring, including one goal straight from the kick off.
Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, it can be found
here.
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