Lee Burge has to bounce back quickly after error proves costly for promotion-chasing Sunderland

Jon McLaughlin's summer exit to Rangers left Phil Parkinson with a decision to make, promote last season's No2 to the main role or look elsewhere for a new No1.

Parkinson put his faith in Burge to start the season, with Remi Matthews brought to Wearside to add competition and cover for the ex-Coventry City man.

Saturday was Burge's chance to lay down a marker for the start of the season with a commanding display.

Yet within 90 seconds he'd conceded an awful penalty and Sunderland were 1-0 down.

Phil Parkinson - though he didn't single out Burge for criticism - summed it up himself: “It was a terrible start for us.

"We couldn’t have started any worse, against a team that just came to time waste."

Chris Maguire rescued a point for Sunderland and they could have snatched all three late on but a point was a fair result, especially given the dreadful start.

Sunderland were then all at sea for the opening half hour, unable to get a foothold or any control in the game while defensively they looked nervous, not helped by the early penalty.

Burge had rushed off his line and wrapped an arm around the leg of Jayden Mitchell-Lawson in an attempt to win the ball. It was rash, unnecessary, clumsy.

Looked worse the more replays you saw on social media. Burge would have done well to turn his phone off on Saturday night.

Now it's up to him to bounce back. Everyone makes mistakes, McLaughlin did during his time and was dropped as a result but he didn't make many and he was Mr Dependable for the vast majority of his time on Wearside.

Burge now needs to prove he has what it takes to become McLaughlin's long-term successor on Wearside, bounce back quickly, and help Sunderland to some clean sheets over the coming weeks in what will prove a difficult start to the third season in League One.

Promotion is once again the aim and Sunderland will need a goalkeeper they can rely on if they are to achieve it.

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