Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has waxed lyrical about the talents of on-loan Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu following Saturday's goalless draw with Ipswich Town.
Signed on loan from City last summer for the duration of the campaign, Bazunu has been nothing short of excellent for the League One side. Racking up 36 appearances in league and cup, he has kept a respectable 15 clean sheets.
Bazunu has kept more League One clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the division this term — one more than Sheffield Wednesday's Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Wycombe Wanderers keeper David Stockdale. His latest came on Saturday as Pompey drew 0-0 with Ipswich to keep their play-off aspirations alive.
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After being guilty of committing a mistake a few days earlier against Crewe Alexandra, Bazunu's performance against the Tractor Boys was nothing short of outstanding. He made a string of fine saves, helping Pompey extend their unbeaten run to eight games.
But while Cowley was quick to laud his performance, he also hailed his character for bouncing back from a mistake in such terrific fashion.
"Gavin Bazunu, wow," Cowley said, as quoted by Hampshire Live. "He made the mistake on a Tuesday night, he's absolutely so annoyed with himself because it would have been another clean sheet, 93rd minute.
"I said to him, 'If you're going to make a mistake, make one in the 93rd minute when your team are 3-0 up'. For him to come and play as well as he did, he's going to be some goalkeeper, wow.
"Just his control. I thought when needed, the saves. I didn't think we needed him too much, once or twice, but that's the sign of a good goalkeeper. When you do need him, he's there.
"Just his distribution, his calmness, and his control. For a 20-year-old, come on. It's pretty impressive."
Bazunu, who has become the Republic of Ireland's first choice goalkeeper this season as a result of his performances for Portsmouth, joined City in September 2018 from Shamrock Rovers. However, he is yet to make a first-team appearance for the club.
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