Thursday 18 August 2016 12:58, UK
Sunderland winger Lynden Gooch has expressed his shock at being selected to start in last Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City.
New Black Cats boss David Moyes took a leap of faith in the 20-year-old at the Etihad, starting him ahead of the likes of Wahbi Khazri, Jeremain Lens and Adnan Januzaj.
It was Gooch's first taste of senior football at Sunderland, having previously impressed in the Sunderland development side and on loan spells at Gateshead FC and Doncaster Rovers.
"I found out last Friday I'd be playing against Manchester City, at the end of training - I was shocked, to be honest," Gooch told the Sunderland Echo.
"I thought at most I'd maybe get on the bench, and then manager read my name out before we did set-pieces and I couldn't believe it. I was looking around, checking to make sure it was right."
Gooch, who has been capped for the United States' U20 team, has cited Moyes' youth policy as a reason for optimism, as he looks to continue his involvement against Middlesbrough on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1.
"I think the manager has shown he likes to blood young players, like Jack Rodwell at Everton and Adnan Januzaj at Manchester United. So I'm, hoping to follow in those footsteps," he added.
"It would be fantastic to play, it's another massive game, massive occasion. It would be amazing, a derby as well.
"It would just be a dream come true. We all want to play in these type of games, so it'd be great.
"The manager has shown a lot of faith in me so hopefully I've put enough pressure on him that I can stay in the team, or at least come off the bench and make an impact, and be in the squad every week."
