Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu is full of pride after his Republic of Ireland heroics.

But Bazunu refuses to accept he is the Republic of Ireland's first-choice goalkeeper despite announcing himself on the world stage by saving a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.

The 19-year-old City keeper, who is on a season-long loan at League OnePortsmouth, brilliantly kept out Ronaldo's spot-kick during Wednesday night's heartbreaking 2-1 World Cup qualifier defeat in Faro as he won his fifth senior cap.

Asked if he feels like Ireland's number one, he said: “No, not at all. Every game I come into, every training session I do, I feel like I have to prove myself again, not just to the manager, to the players, but to myself.

“I'm always going into training sessions and games never happy or never just content being the so-called number one. I feel like I have to work for my spot every time I step on the pitch."

Returning Manchester United superstar Ronaldo, who escaped punishment for clipping defender Dara O'Shea as he waited to take his spot-kick, ultimately had the last laugh when he cancelled out John Egan's first-half opener with an 89th-minute header and then scored the winner in stoppage time.

Bazunu said: “The word is 'class', I suppose. He's Cristiano Ronaldo, that level of quality. As a team, we defended well against him and the rest of the Portuguese attacking players for the whole game.

“That's why he's broken those records and that's why he is who is is, because he's able to come up with moments like that and score goals at vital moments."