From Portsmouth goal hero to going nine months without scoring - now Ipswich, Leicester and former Blackburn striker finally off the mark

The striker netted 15 times for the Blues last season during a productive loan spell which established him as a Fratton favourite.

However, since registering in a 4-1 defeat for Danny Cowley’s side at Sheffield Wednesday in April 2022, he had drawn a goal blank.

That was until Tuesday night, when Hirst scored for new club Ipswich in their FA Cup elimination at the hands of Burnley.

He cancelled out Nathan Tella’s early opener for the high-flying Clarets, before the Southampton loanee grabbed a stoppage-time winner.

Amid defeat, at least Hirst can take confidence from opening his Tractor Boys goal account in his sixth appearance following a January loan arrival from Leicester.

It also ended a drought stretching 561 minutes of first-team action in all competitions, consisting of spells at Blackburn and now Ipswich.

Pompey attempted to bring Hirst back to Fratton Park in the summer, yet the 23-year-old instead elected to test himself in the Championship with Rovers.

However, he struggled for game time and his scheduled season-long loan at Ewood Park was cancelled at the halfway mark.

Of his 11 appearances for Rovers, just three were starts, while he failed to find the back of the net in any of those outings.

Indeed, Hirst’s sole 90 minutes was in a 4-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup in December.

In total, the former England youth striker went 368 minutes without scoring for Rovers, prompting his return last month.

Promotion-chasing Ipswich, who had attempted to buy Hirst last summer, then swooped to capture him on loan for the remainder of the season.

Yet he had gone 193 minutes without a goal for Kieran McKenna’s side until at last breaking his duck at Burnley.

In mitigation, since leaving Pompey at the end of last season, Hirst has started just six games during his 17 appearances across all competitions.

As Blues fans will testify, he flourished at Fratton Park after being handed a regular run in the side from November 2021.

In his final 17 matches of last term, he scored 11 times, producing consistently eye-catching performances which attracted Blackburn’s interest in the first place.

Now he’s off the mark at Ipswich – and Tractor Boys supporters will be hoping for a goal rush to drive their battle with Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday for League One’s two automatic promotion spots.