The 19-year-old attacker came off the bench to score a late equaliser for the League Two side in Tuesday night’s Checkatrade Trophy match against Brighton’s Under-23s.
Stevenage manager Darren Sarll has heaped praised on Aston Villa loanee Harry McKirdy after the 19-year-old forward netted his first senior goal in Tuesday night’s Chekatrade Trophy tie with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Under-23s.
Sarll was speaking to the Hertfordshire Mercury following the match at the Lamex Stadium after seeing McKirdy bag an 87th-minute equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw for his side in their second Group G game.
The skilful striker, who joined the club from Villa in August on a half-season loan deal, was making just his second professional appearance after featuring as a second-half substitute in last month’s 2-0 home defeat to Exeter City and he again started on the bench for the visit of Brighton’s youngsters.
Having only just recovered from an ankle injury, the teenage loanee struggled to make any real impact on his first outing for the League 2 side, but the game against the Seagulls saw him deliver a vastly improved performance.
Brought on with 21 minutes left, the Stoke native provided the hosts with some much-needed creativity in the final third before going on to score the all-important equaliser three minutes from time, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and firing into the back of the net to secure his side a share of the spoils.
Stevenage subsequently missed out on a bonus point after losing the resulting penalty shootout 4-3, but that took nothing away from the Villa academy graduate’s lively cameo.
“We wanted someone who could turn and twist in tight areas tonight and that’s also why we put him on against Exeter,” Sarll told the Hertfordshire Mercury when speaking about McKirdy’s performance after the Brighton match. “Everyone who wasn’t here tonight, that’s why we put Harry McKirdy for those type of performances.
“He’s got those abilities and that’s why we brought him to the club, he’s got something different to what we have and he was great when he came on.
“What I liked about Harry is that he lifted the play in terms of its speed and its tempo. He’s enthusiastic, a lovely boy and he’s got a good personality,” the Boro boss added. “He’s a terrific manipulator of the football in tight situations, especially being the size he is.
“Ten years ago you’d have looked at a lad like that coming on and thought, I’m going to enjoy this, I’m going to let him know he’s in a senior game but Harry seems to ride everything in front of him and and he came on and had a real impact.”
McKirdy’s next opportunity to impress Sarll will come on Saturday afternoon when Stevenage host table-topping Plymouth Argyle in their latest League Two clash.
The promising attacker, who joined Villa as a scholar in 2013, saw injuries hamper his progress last season after making the step up to the Under-21 side full-time, but he remains a highly-rated prospect who could have a bright future in B6 if Tuesday night’s display was a sign of things to come.
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