Leon Sullivan Taylor (born 19 April 1998) is a Liberian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Brunei Super League club Kasuka.[1] He was the top scorer for two consecutive seasons of the Myanmar National League 2 as well as at the 2022 Brunei FA Cup and the 2023 Brunei Super League.
 Taylor with Kasuka in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leon Sullivan Taylor | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Paynesville, Liberia | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kasuka | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2018 | Glow Lamp Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017 | Mawyawadi | 3 | (5) |
| 2018 | Royal Thanlyin | 10 | (14) |
| 2019 | Chin United | 12 | (17) |
| 2020–2022 | Kasuka | 14 | (16) |
| 2023 | See Khwae City | 10 | (1) |
| 2023 | Indera | 14 | (31) |
| 2024 | Maraleina | 8 | (5) |
| 2024– | Kasuka | 6 | (11) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 November 2024 | |||
Career
editMawyawadi
editTaylor began his professional playing career in with Myanmar second division club Mawyawadi in 2017 after moving from Glow Lamp Academy in Ghana.
Royal Thanlyin
editIn 2018, Taylor joined Royal Thanlyin of the MNL-2. His 14 goals propelled them to the championship and prospective promotion to the 2019 Myanmar National League, nonetheless the club folded due to financial difficulties soon after.[2]
Chin United
editIn 2019, Taylor moved to Chin United for the 2019 MNL-2 season, once again topping the goalscoring charts with 17 goals and helping the club from Chin State to winning the league and promotion to the top flight.[3][4]
Kasuka
editTaylor left Myanmar for Brunei in 2020 and signed for Kasuka at the start of the 2020 Brunei Super League.[5] He scored on his debut in a 5–0 win over Kuala Belait on 1 March.[6] However, after two rounds into the newly expanded league the COVID-19 pandemic started, forcing the suspension and subsequent cancellation of the league.[7]
Taylor stayed with Kasuka for the next two years, scoring 15 goals in only six league matches in the 2021 Brunei Super League before a second league abandonment,[8] then becoming top-scorer at the 2022 Brunei FA Cup in which his team went all the way to the final before losing 2–1 to DPMM. Taylor scored in said match in the 12th minute.[9]
See Khwae City
editAt the turn of the year, Taylor transferred to See Khwae City of the Thai League 3 North midway through the 2022–23 season, replacing Hamzeh Sari of Iran who moved to Rasisalai United.[10] He made 10 appearances for See Khwae City, scoring once against Nakhon Mae Sot United in a 2–0 win on 28 January.[11]
Indera
edit
Taylor returned to Brunei at the conclusion of the league in March, signing for Indera.[12] He made his debut on 5 May against AKSE Bersatu and scored on the 28th minute, then the game was suspended due to floodlight failure and was adjourned to 24 May.[13] He netted again on the 81st minute to win the fragmented game for Indera with a 2–1 score. On 4 June 2023, Taylor scored four goals in a 6–0 victory over BSRC.[14] The next month, he scored five goals in a 6–0 win over BAKES. He finished the truncated season as the top goalscorer with 31 goals.
Maraleina
editAt the start of 2024, Taylor moved back to the Thai League 3, this time with Maraleina. He scored on his debut match against Thap Luang United on 13 January in a 1–0 away victory.[15] On 14 February, Taylor scored a hat-trick over Chainat United.[16]
Return to Kasuka
editIn June 2024, Taylor returned to Kasuka in preparation for the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship qualifying play-offs where they faced Shan United of Myanmar.[17] In the first leg on 17 July, he scored the solitary goal for the Bruneian club in a 1–1 draw at Bandar Seri Begawan.[18] He was a second half substitute in the second leg at Thuwunna Stadium a week later, winning a penalty which was converted by Willian dos Santos for their consolation goal in a 3–1 defeat.[19]
In the first league fixture for Kasuka in the 2024–25 Brunei Super League against Lun Bawang FC on 1 September 2024, Taylor scored a hat-trick against the Temburong District outfit in a 9–0 win.[20] He followed this with two goals against both Jerudong FC and MS ABDB later that month.[21][22]
Honors
editClub
editRoyal Thanlwin
Chin United
Kasuka
- Brunei FA Cup runner-up: 2022
Indera
- Brunei Super League runner-up: 2023
Individual
edit- 2018 MNL-2 Top Scorer – 14 goals
- 2019 MNL-2 Top Scorer – 17 goals
- 2022 Brunei FA Cup Top Scorer – 25 goals
- 2023 Brunei Super League Top Scorer – 31 goals
References
edit- ^ "Liberian Striker Wins Top Scorer Of the Month Award". Liberian Sports International. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon Taylor Wins 2nd Division Title in Asia". Daily Observer (Liberia). 30 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Chin United inks Liberian defender". Myanmar Digital News. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon Taylor Closes In On Winning Myanmar League II Top Scorer Award". Liberian Sports International. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon Taylor Joins Brunei Super League Club, Kasuka FC". Liberian Sports International. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Kasuka enjoy perfect start in Brunei Super League". Borneo Bulletin. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Brunei Super League, U16 & U19 Tournaments cancelled". National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. 19 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Leon Taylor Scores Brace In Kasuka FC League Opener In Brunei Super League". Liberian Sports International. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "DPMM FC WIN BRUNEI FA CUP 2022". BruSports News. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ @leont824 (4 June 2023). "Let's go!!!!!!!!!!🙏". Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Thai League:Results". Thai League. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ @fa.bruneidarussalam (6 May 2023). "He's back! Indera SC welcome back last season's Top Scorer, Leon Sullivan Taylor. Indera SC is welcoming back the FA Cup 2022 top scorer who played for Kasuka FC last season". Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via Instagram.
- ^ @fa.bruneidarussalam (8 May 2023). "Match Results". Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via Instagram.
- ^ @inderasc (4 June 2023). "Tonight's result against BSRC FC". Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via Instagram.
- ^ @maraleinafc (14 January 2024). "🔥FULL-TIME🔥🏆ปุ๋ยรุ่งอรุณลีก ไทยลีค 3 2023 24 นัด 13⚽ทัพหลวง ยูไนเต็ด 0 VS 1 มาราเลน่า เอฟซีScored 76' Leon". Retrieved 15 January 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Leon Sullivan Taylor On Fire, Scores Hat Trick For Maraleina Fc". FrontPage Africa. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ @kasukafc (16 July 2024). "For this Asean Club Championship Shopee Cup 2024, let us support Club Kasuka FC, our local representative from Brunei". Retrieved 18 July 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ "REPORT: KASUKA FC 1-1 SHAN UNITED FC (QUALIFYING ROUND-PLAY-OFF 1ST LEG)". ASEAN Football Federation. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "REPORT: SHAN UNITED FC 3-1 KASUKA FC (QUALIFYING ROUND PLAY-OFF 2ND LEG)". ASEAN Football Federation. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
- ^ @ligabrunei (30 August 2024). "The Brunei Super League 2024/25 kicked off in spectacular fashion on Sunday as Kasuka FC delivered a commanding 9-0 victory against Lun Bawang FC". Retrieved 3 September 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ "22/09/2024 Brunei Super League 2024/2025". Radio Television Brunei. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ @bulakitani (27 September 2024). "Brunei Super League 2024 Keputusan penuh Kasuka FC 3-1 MS ABDB". Retrieved 10 October 2024 – via Instagram.