HIBS FEEL RELIEF AS PORTEOUS BAN ENDS

Hibernian caretaker manager David Gray was delighted to have Ryan Porteous back from a lengthy ban in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Aberdeen.

The defender was available after serving a four-game cinch Premiership suspension, although he did feature in last month’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by rivals Hearts.

Porteous showed his value to the team with a man-of-the-match performance against the Dons as the hosts claimed a point through Paul McGinn’s equaliser after David Bates had given Jim Goodwin’s men the lead.

Gray said: “I thought Ryan was fantastic – he’s not played for a few weeks so it was always going to be a bit of a risk at this stage to throw him in and see how he was but he didn’t show any signs of rustiness.

“He’s trained exceptionally well, he works really hard, and I think he’s a fantastic player.

“He’s had his challenges at times, and I think he knows that, but when his head is on it and he’s in a good place like he is at the moment, he’s a top centre-half at this level.”

Bates gave Aberdeen the lead 10 minutes after the restart with a near-post finish before McGinn, from a similar position, levelled in the 83rd minute.

Aberdeen manager Goodwin admits taking a share of the spoils reflected what the teams put into the game.

He said: “We came here to try and win the game. I said to the players after the game that I thought we were very good first half.

“We were in control of the majority of the first 45 minutes, we were the better team.

“We pressed Hibs high up the pitch, denied them any real space. Second half I didn’t think we reached those levels.”