George Hirst has had to remain patient since arriving on loan at Pompey from Leicester over the summer.
The striker has mostly been used as a substitute and had not been able to break his scoring duck in the first 13 appearances.
But that changed in stoppage-time of a Papa John’s Trophy group fixture against Crystal Palace under-21s at Fratton Park.
Hirst capped a fine display by bundling the ball home to complete a 3-0 victory that saw the Blues progress to the knockout stages on goals scored.
And having gone close to finding the net on several occasions earlier in the evening, the 22-year-old was delighted to get off the mark.
He said: “It’s just a weight off my shoulders. I can take a deep breath now and really look to knuckle down.
"If I answered a few critics then great, but if not then I could still walk off the pitch with my head held high."
“The first goal is always the most difficult one to score. The life of a striker means that sometimes it comes in the opening five minutes of your debut and sometimes you have to wait.
“The ball fell to me, I took a swing and missed it. But I was able to have another go and thankfully it went in.
“I think a goal in the last minute always edges it – especially when it’s the one that ultimately sent us through.
“All you can do is keep plugging away. That’s what I’ve been doing and ultimately I know what I can do.
“It wasn’t about going out there and proving to anyone else what I’m capable of, but showing it to myself.
“I was happy with my overall performance in the game and scoring the goal just tops everything off nicely.
“If I answered a few critics then great, but if not then I could still walk off the pitch with my head held high.”