Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley has praised loan striker George Hirst for the “really, really important” role he has played in their recent strong form.
After a pretty patchy time with Portsmouth, Hirst has been one of the club’s standout players over the past month or so.
The Leicester City loanee has scored four goals and laid on one assist in the last five League One games, helping Cowley secure five wins from the last six league games. He was on form once again at the weekend as 10-man Pompey secured a thoroughly impressive 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley, scoring twice.
Hirst came off to a standing ovation from supporters on 72 minutes, and Cowley has now moved to heap praise on the striker for his efforts.
As quoted by Hampshire Live, the Portsmouth boss picked out the striker for the “really, really important” role he has played in their strong run of late. Here’s what he had to say:
“I said to him as he was coming off ‘they (the fans) are standing for you kid, they are standing for you’.
“The ovation he got was so well deserved.
“What I liked about him was that he played well Tuesday and he backed it up. Good players, they back it up. I thought he showed humility, I thought he showed a real desire.
“He’s been a really, really important part of this run.”
Hirst’s recent contributions have taken him to eight goals and two assists in 34 appearances for Portsmouth. It marks the 23-year-old’s most fruitful return at senior level so far, having previously struggled to make a telling impact with Rotherham United and OH Leuven.
Looking forward…
Up next for Hirst and co is a Tuesday night clash with Crewe Alexandra, where Pompey will be looking to make it seven undefeated in League One.
A win could see Portsmouth rise up to 9th and could see them close the gap to the top-six to four points if results elsewhere go their way.
It previously looked as though Pompey were destined for another season of League One football, but if they can maintain their current form over the final 12 games, they could yet make a late break into the play-offs.
