Red card? Ryan didn’t even deserve his yellow
ROSS DISMISSES GERRARD FURY AT PORTEOUS CHALLENGE
HIBERNIAN boss Jack Ross has risked the wrath of Steven Gerrard by claiming that Ryan Porteous shouldn’t even have been booked for the off-the-ball block on Alfredo Morelos that caused such a storm at Easter Road on Sunday.
The Rangers boss declared in a post-match interview that Hibs were lucky not to get a red card during the feisty 2-2 draw, with Porteous and team-mate Paul Hanlon receiving only yellows for challenges on Morelos and Ianis Hagi respectively.
And Gerrard had some harsh words for defender Porteous after the 21-year-old accused James Tavernier of being ‘a bad loser’ when the Ibrox skipper blanked him at full-time.
The Liverpool legend insisted that Porteous’ accusation was ‘cheap’ considering he was red carded for a lunge on Borna Barisic when Hibernian were trailing 3-0 to the Ibrox side in a Premiership game last December.
And, despite suggestions from Gerrard that Porteous should have been more heavily punished by referee Don Robertson for his clash with Morelos on Sunday, Ross has now argued that the booking may actually have been undeserved.
The Hibs boss believes all the talk surrounding the Scotland Under-21s cap, who earned a maiden full call-up for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Cyprus and Kazakhstan last November, should instead focus on his defensive qualities.
Backing the ‘brilliant’ youngster to go on and ‘fulfil all his ambitions’ in football, Ross said: ‘He was brilliant again and that’s how he has played all season. His level of consistency has been terrific, he defended brilliantly and he showed composure at times.
‘He has been cautioned in the game, which is debatable, and certainly nothing worthy of comment, because it was nothing.
‘The focus should be on the positives he’s shown this season, and he’s shown lots of them. If he continues to do that over a prolonged period, he will fulfil all his ambitions in the game.’
Defending his challenge on Morelos, Porteous said after the game: ‘It was a coming together really. I don’t think it was anything more than that.’
Meanwhile, Ross (below) has hailed the influence of stalwart Lewis Stevenson who celebrated the 15th anniversary of his debut for the club on Monday.
The 32-year-old has made just three substitute appearances so far this season after being replaced in the starting line-up by 18-year-old Josh Doig. But Ross was full of praise for the dependable defender after his half-hour outing against Rangers at Easter Road.
He said: ‘Lewis was brilliant when he came on. I’m delighted for him that he made a very good contribution in terms of us getting something from the game. ‘He would obviously have liked to have started the game and scored but he also showed everyone why he has been such an asset to Hibs for so many years.’