Town striker George Hirst felt the Blues were deserving of their point following the 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.

With relegation to the Championship already confirmed, Town found themselves two goals down on Merseyside after 35 minutes thanks to goals from Toffees’ duo Beto and Dwight McNeil.

But Julio Enciso’s stunner before half-time allowed Hirst to take centre stage off the bench, when the frontman headed Omari Hutchinson’s cross beyond Jordan Pickford to claim a share of the spoils.

It marked the first time this season that Town have come from two goals down to grab a point, and Hirst feels the response highlights the character in Kieran McKenna’s side.

“That’s something we pride ourselves on,” he said. “That’s part of our culture right the way through the club, that never-say-die attitude.

“Things aren’t always going to go your way but it’s not that that determines you, it’s how you react to that and how you bounce back from that. Today we showed all the qualities of a really good side.

“Going back to our character and our belief as a side, it’s stuff we have shown from the second I walked through the door. That’s all I’ve ever known at this football club and that will be here long past me being here.

“That’s something we double down on and can really build on, today showing the character to come from two goals down against a very good Premier League side is another experience we can build on.

“If you look at the game as a whole, we deserved something out of the game. It was a great goal from Julio to get us back in the game and it was nice to get the goal that meant we got a point.

“We’ve seen him do that. We saw his videos when he signed so we’ve been waiting for one of those to go in, it was only a matter of time. He’s a special player and he’s got moments of quality like that.”

Hirst’s header little more than 10 minutes from the end ensured that the 3,000 travelling Town fans in the Bullens Road Stand went home with something to cheer.

The striker notched his fifth goal of the season despite struggling for consistent starts, a figure he hopes will lead into a successful season in the Championship next term.

“Never going to complain at that,” Hirst said. “It’s nice that it meant it got us back in the game at 2-2 and held on to take the point. It’s nice that it meant something and hopefully I can nick a couple more before the end of the season.

“It was just about scoring as many as possible, I didn’t put a number on myself. It’s nice to get another one and hopefully I can get a couple more before the end of the season.

“I’m a striker and ultimately I’m going to get judged on my goals, so to score five goals in the minutes I’ve found myself getting this season is something I’m pretty pleased with and gives me a better base to build on going forward.

“Being 6ft 4in, you’d like to think I’d score a few with my head. It’s something I’ve definitely improved on over the last year or two.

“I probably didn’t score enough headers for my size and my build, but it’s something I’ve found this season can be a real strength of mine going forward. When you’ve got a delivery like Omari putting it on a plate for you at the back stick, it makes it a little bit easier.”

Hirst’s role as an impact substitute is an important one, and the Scotland international knows there is more to the job than just scoring goals, such as winning fouls and putting his body about.

“That’s all part of the job title,” he said. “That’s something I’ve known for years now and I feel like I’m at the point where I’m pretty comfortable with that and can bring to the team whatever is needed at any given moment.

“It was nice to get the goal today and hopefully we can do well for the last couple of games.”

With the Blues’ fate already mathematically sealed, it could be easy to forgive the players already looking ahead to next season.

For Hirst, though, the build-up was not thought of any differently to any previous matches.

He said: “Not really difficult, we accepted that it’s not gone our way this season for a number of reasons. Ultimately we’ve still got games left, we’ve still got a point to prove and we want to go out there and get as many points as possible.

“It’s obviously not nice getting relegated but all the boys came into training and it was all focus on Everton and go and give the best account of ourselves that we can.”

With the clash marking the penultimate ever fixture at the Toffees’ iconic Goodison Park home, Hirst was full of praise for the ground that has hosted more top-flight matches than any other in English football history.

The 26-year-old said: “It’s one of the most historic grounds in English football, in my opinion. It’s the first time I’ve been here and obviously it’s going to be the last, so it was nice to get the goal and get the point.

“It’s a great place to come and play and as a team we cherish these moments. You get the taste for it, you get the goals that we scored today and we get the point and it does make you want to come back for more.

“That will be next season’s aim and something we’ll speak about next season. For now, we’re just going to enjoy the last few games and get as many points as we can.”

Photo: Kallum Brisset

Linkboy13 added 19:26 - May 3 Hirst is going to be a massive player in the championship Premier league maybe a bit too physical for him. Can we please sign Encisco he's very young and raw at the moment but would be huge in the championship.
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bluelad7 added 21:08 - May 3 I would imagine MA and KMcK have already got in place the jigsaw puzzle for next season. Ins and outs are probably lined up.
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Edmundo added 21:38 - May 3 Really hope Hirst stays, though he sounds committed to the Club. As for Enciso, he's Premier League quality and will do well next season. Not with us, not next year anyhow.
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Lightningboy added 23:06 - May 3 Hirst has been brilliant whenever called on this season..I reckon if he'd had as many minutes as Delap he would've been in double figures (and he's more of a team player,there,said it).
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DifferentGravy added 00:18 - May 4 Well done Hirst, played really well and well taken goal
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armchaircritic59 added 00:21 - May 4 Can't argue with much of what's in the posts above. I too think GH could be a very, very, important player for us next season, if staying fit, and Lightningboy, I agree with everything in your post. GH is better than Delap with his back to goal, holding the ball up and bringing others into play, and better in the air too. It also appears he's borrowed some of the more physical aspects of Delap's play too! Of course, Delap has his own qualities.

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