IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Gavin Bazunu was praised after picking up a clean sheet in Portsmouth’s 1-0 win over Shrewsbury last night.
Bazunu, who joined Pompey on loan from Man City, was one of four Irish players playing for the hosts.
Ronan Curtis, Shaun Williams and Marcus Harness also featured, while former Derry City player Josh Daniels started for the visitors.
The victory saw Danny Cowley’s side move to the top of the League One table after three games, and an impressive save from Bazunu in the dying stages ensured his side picked up the three points.
“Gavin Bazunu did what top goalkeepers do – he hardly had a shot to save, but when called upon made a brilliant stop late on,” Cowley told Portsmouth’s official website afterwards.
It was just Bazunu’s second appearance for Portsmouth, also keeping a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Crewe at the weekend.
He joined Man City from Shamrock Rovers in 2019 and played 32 times in a loan spell at Rochdale last season.
The 19-year-old also made his Ireland debut in March and has four senior caps in total.
And the teenager could feature in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers next month, with Darren Randolph and Caoimhin Kelleher unlikely to see much first-team action for West Ham and Liverpool respectively.
Ryan Tunnicliffe scored the only goal of the game for Portsmouth, with Harness creating the assist.
Cowley praised Harness but also felt his side didn’t do enough from an attacking perspective.
“It was a really good goal from our perspective and a great interchange between Ryan and Marcus.
“We had control in the first half, but didn’t play with enough purpose and then your attackers lose their positional discipline. You become less of a threat at the top end of the pitch.
“Credit to Shrewsbury because they were direct and physical, and made it very tough for us. They asked a lot of questions.”
Unfortunately, the Irish-eligible winger was then substituted at half-time after picking up an injury, while skipper Clark Robertson also had to depart the action.
“It wasn’t easy for us to lose two players to injuries at the break – it was an impact one for Marcus on his quad. We’ll know more in 24-48 hours,” added Cowley
