George Hirst feels Ipswich Town will need to replicate gritty Brighton shutout for more positive away results in Premier League

Ipswich Town striker George Hirst believes the defensive determination the Blues showed in their gritty goalless draw at Brighton & Hove Albion will need to be replicated throughout the season in order to get positive results.

Aro Muric was the standout performer on the day as the goalkeeper’s heroics helped contribute to Town’s first clean sheet of the campaign and first away point of the Premier League season.

The Suffolk side faced a siege of Brighton attacks throughout the contest before ultimately grinding out an extremely hard-fought draw at the Amex Stadium in what was the first top flight meeting between the sides since 1983.

Despite the recent international break causing restrictive training at Playford Road with so many players (10) away, Hirst says the togetherness in the squad significantly contributed to the overall effort of seeing out the match, but admitted there was some natural disappointment to not come away with a victory.

“I think we did well on the whole and we’re definitely still learning as a group,” he said, following his 59th minute substitute appearance which was of his first of the season, having had knee surgery after breaking down in pre-season.

“We’ve had a few internationals going away last week, which is great for them to be away with their national teams but for us it was tough.

“Coming back and you’ve got a pretty new group of lads who showed out there that they’re all fighting for each other. With the gaffer that is the bare minimum that you can come to expect from us.

“No matter how whether we’re playing good or bad, we’re always going to fight for each other and that’s what ultimately got us a point today.

“We’ve got 11 lads on the pitch at any one time and every single one of them is willing to put their body on the line for the team to try and get the result that we want.

“Unfortunately today we didn’t manage to get the three points, but come the end of the season you could look back and say it was a pretty good point.

“Whoever’s on the pitch, whether it’s the lads who are starting or coming off the bench, everyone knows how important the squad is. Everybody is on the same page with knowing when you’re on the pitch you’ve got a job to do, everyone’s fully on board with that.”

The former Leicester City striker knows the Blues will face similar challenges throughout the rest of the season as the level of opposition remains at the highest level, but says it was important for the group to get through those difficult moments relatively unscathed.

The 25-year-old said: “Without a doubt it’s massive, that’s one thing we speak about. We’ve had two really good years in League One and the Championship and it’s different football.

“We know we’re not going to have the ball as much as we’re used to, but it’s about weathering the storm at times. Today we did that remarkably well and is what ultimately got us the point.

“It can be tiring, but that’s what we’re here for when we go out there, no matter if its 90-plus minutes nowadays. No matter what the time on the clock is, who is on the pitch or how tired you are, unfortunately you’ve just got to keep going and keep pushing.

“I’ve been in that situation when you’re tired and you’ve got 10 lads around you who are screaming and shouting at you getting you through those tough moments.

“When you’ve got 11 lads on the pitch at any one time doing that, ultimately you’re going to go in the right direction. It feels like that’s a massive part of it, just working hard and being together.”

Among many standout performers within the overall defensive unit, Muric was the saviour as the Kosovan produced six saves and commanded his area expertly during the afternoon.

And within those saves was a remarkable double stop to deny Georginio Rutter and then Kaoru Mitoma in quick succession during the first half, and Hirst says the entire dressing room owe him a lot.

“All the lads have given him a massive pat on the back, that’s for certain,” he said of Muric.

“He was incredible today with some of the saves he’s made.

“He’s a big lad as you can probably tell, he commands the area well and that’s what we need from him. Today he did his job exceptionally well and we’re thankful for that.”

Hirst was returning to the team for the first time this season after recovering from a knee injury he picked up in July’s friendly against Fortuna Dusseldorf, getting half an hour from the bench against the Seagulls for his first Premier League appearance in four years.

He said: “I got back a little bit ahead of schedule which was nice and just to get out there, have an effect and ultimately help the boys.It’s all well and good watching but nobody wants to but nobody wants to be watching the game when you’re injured.

“While being injured it’s just been a case of listening to the gaffer and taking on board the information that he’s given the rest of the lads, so when I was back I was ready to go and my brain was switched onto Premier League football.

“I’m delighted to be back and hopefully that’s the end of the injuries.”

On his fitness situation, Hirst said: “Really good. I’ve done a lot of work in the last few weeks to get back as quickly as possible, a lot of running and tough days. But to be back with the boys makes it all worth it.”

Town face another away trip on the south coast in their next outing, against fellow promoted side Southampton at St Mary’s next Saturday (3pm).

While Hirst agreed that the Blues know what to expect from the Saints, he suggested this summer’s transfer window will make recent meetings less relevant for this campaign.

“They’re going to have improved from last season as have we and we know we need to improve even more and can improve even more,” he said.

“I don’t think we can take too much from the games we had last season, we’ve got a lot of different players in the team and so have they so it’s going to be a fresh start going into next week.

“We’ll rest up over the weekend and get ready to go again on Monday.”