Ireland fans laud Man City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu for heroic performance against Portugal

Despite conceding two late goals, Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has been lauded for his excellent performance for the Republic of Ireland against Portugal on Wednesday night.

Ireland took a first-half lead through a John Egan header and managed to keep Portugal at bay until the 89th minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo equalised to break Ali Daei's 109-goal international record.

The Manchester United forward subsequently scored the 111th goal of his international career in the 96th minute of the match at Faro, breaking Irish hearts to win the FIFA World Cup qualifier 2-1.

Although he couldn't keep a clean sheet in the end, Bazunu was arguably Ireland's best player on the night, making five saves including stopping Ronaldo from the penalty spot.

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The shot stopper, who is currently on loan at third tier Portsmouth, had a nervy moment in the opening half as a Diogo Jota effort bounced off his arm and in the direction of the goal, but he recovered to stop it from going over the line.

Bazunu managed to keep his composure thereafter and put in the kind of performance that will almost certainly make the number one jersey his whenever the Irish national team plays.

What makes it all the more impressive is that the young player, who was dropped at Rochdale last season, is only 19 years of age winning his fifth international cap - and was just seven months old when Ronaldo made his debut for Sporting Club in 2002.

Unsurprisingly, Bazunu earned plenty of plaudits online for his heroics, and here are some of the best bits:

It's safe to say Man City fans are getting excited about his future prospects and looking forward to seeing how he progresses from here.

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