Taylor found the net and led Kevin Keegan's side in last night's 2-2 draw against PSV Eindhoven at St James's Park.

And the 22-year-old – who took the captain's armband when Nicky Butt left the field – was also named man of the match.

Taylor gave Newcastle the perfect start with his third-minute opener, the defender rising to head a Geremi corner past Andreas Isaksson.

Danny Guthrie doubled United's advantage five minutes later, but PSV pulled one back after the hour mark, and equalised 20 minutes from time.

The result ended a run of three successive 1-0 friendly defeats, and Taylor – who admits he does not know the meaning of the word friendly – was happy to play his part at both ends of the pitch, though he admits his goal celebration in front of an empty Leazes End was not up to his usual standards.

He told the Gazette: "I picked the stand with the least amount of fans!

"When the Premier League kicks off, if I do get a goal, then you'll see the celebration come back to life again.

"But seriously, I was absolutely delighted. It was a great ball by Geremi, and it got us off to a good start."

The night got better for Taylor after Butt's 76th minute substitution, with the England Under-21 captain skippering his club team for the last quarter of an hour.

"There's no words to describe that," added Taylor. "It's the biggest honour for me, and it just tops it off with the England Under-21 captaincy.

"It meant so much. When Claudio (Cacapa) handed it to me, I put it on with the biggest smile on my face. I felt two inches taller, and the man of the match award just topped it off.

"It was hard work, but I think anybody in the back four could have had it.

"We all worked hard. It was a difficult game. We had our work cut out, but we stuck at it well. It was a great team performance.

"No matter who you play against, you've got to be aggressive against them, and these games will stand us in good stead.

"We don't want to lose any games as players. We want that winning mentality."