Brandon Taylor gave Phil Parkinson some food for thought during Sunderland’s FA Cup first round defeat to League One rivals Gillingham .
Sunderland fans didn’t have much to cheer on Tuesday night as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Gillingham but much-maligned manager Phil Parkinson believes the performance of young defender Brandon Taylor represented a rare positive at Priestfield, speaking to the Northern Echo.
Parkinson’s horror start to life at the Stadium of Light goes on. The former Bolton boss has failed to win seven out of his nine games since replacing Jack Ross in October and, for the first time since 1923/24, the Black Cats bowed out of the FA Cup at the first round stage.
An extra-time winner from Brandon Hanlan consigned Sunderland to an embarrassing defeat to their League One rivals – but it was another Brandon who gave the Wearside faithful something to savour during the long trip back up north on a bitterly cold midweek night.
Making his first senior start in a year, 20-year-old Taylor was far and away Sunderland’s stand-out performer with his excellent reading of the game and impressive passing range catching the eye.
“We’ve got to take the positives of the good things that we did, and the performances of the youngsters, particularly Brandon, who performed so well,” said the experienced 51-year-old.
“I thought he was excellent tonight. That was a tough game, a completely different game to what he’s played in the U23s, with the ball flying in the box and coming forward quickly.
“I thought that he showed good calmness and did really well.”
The academy graduate was handed a chance in the absence of Jordan Willis and Joel Lynch and it remains to be seen whether Parkinson is willing to throw him in at the deep end when Sunderland return to League One action at home to Coventry City on Saturday.
After standing up to the giant Mikael Mandron in Gillingham, Taylor has proven he can swim in the deep end.
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