Hibs reaction: Shorn squad rise to the challenge at Rangers

'Forgive me, but who is Ryan Porteous,' was the question from one onlooker as the team sheets were handed out before kick-off at Ibrox. Ninety minutes later, the 19-year-old Hibs player was the one everyone wanted to talk to.

Jamie Maclaren celebrates after scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot

Thrust into his first Premiership start through necessity, the central figure in a back three consisting of him, Efe Ambrose and 5ft 7in Lewis Stevenson, the youngster turned in the sort of performance which suggested he’d been doing so every Saturday afternoon for years.

A couple of minor mistakes apart, Porteous was hugely impressive and played his part in helping the Capital club to a 2-1 success and a second win over Rangers in Govan, a result few would have predicted when they’d first seen the side fielded by Hibs head coach Neil 
Lennon.

“He was incredible,” said Lennon of his teenage defender. “We’ve got high hopes for him. He made one unbelievable block near the end. He concedes a free-kick when he tries to bring it down on his chest instead of heading it clear.

“But to come into that environment and make his full [league] debut speaks volumes for him.”

Lennon was already without the experience of right-backs David Gray and Steven Whittaker, Lennon lost Darren McGregor and Paul Hanlon – his dependable partnership in central defence – and Lithuanian internationalist Vykintas Slivka for this trip to Glasgow due to injuries picked up in the midweek win against Motherwell. And things appeared to from bad to worse when midfielder Brandon Barker limped off after only a few minutes, his first attempt to set off on one of his trademark blistering runs resulting in him pulling up with a calf problem.

His departure gave Australian striker Jamie Maclaren a first extended run in a green-and-white shirt and a slight change in formation as he paired up, with good effect, with Swiss target man Florian Kamberi – and Maclaren could have had two goals within minutes.

A more clinical finish when he met Martin Boyle’s low cross would have bulged the net rather than see James Tavernier block his shot before he rifled home Kamberi’s ball from a similar position, only to find the offside flag raised against him.

Maclaren, though, was to get his goal on 75 minutes, converting a penalty after Tavernier had foolishly pushed over Scott Allan as he attempted to shepherd the ball out for a corner. It was a strike which proved to be the winner in what was a pulsating game, one played on the edge between two sides who in recent seasons have become more than familiar with each other.

Throughout this period of time, Hibs have just about held the upper hand and they probably did enough to justify a claim that this latest victory was deserved. Lennon’s determination to take the game to the opposition rather than attempting to camp hoping for a point was rewarded, although a more conservative approach would have been understandable given the circumstances.

At the heart of it all was Scott Allan, back at Hibs for a second spell on loan from Celtic, the midfielder displaying all of his undoubted talent as he ran affairs until he began to tire. However, by then he’d done enough to convince the travelling fans that he might just be the piece of the jigsaw which has been missing all season, a playmaker who can unlock the key to opposition defences.

He will, of course, be well supported by Dylan McGeouch and John McGinn, a trio in the middle of the park which will be the envy of many a manager. McGinn once again shone in midfield and opened the scoring on 41 minutes, striding forward to hammer home before Porteous’ foul on Josh Windass allowed Sean Goss to guide home a free-kick via the underside of Hibs goalkeeper Ofir Marciano’s crossbar.

At that point, the momentum appeared to be swinging in favour of Rangers, but Maclaren’s penalty put an immediate halt to that notion, the on-loan forward admitting he’d grabbed the ball to take the spot-kick to prevent any of his team-mates robbing him of the chance.

Maclaren said: “We didn’t even speak about penalties before the game so I couldn’t even tell you who would have taken it had I not been on the pitch.

“It was a bit of an instinct thing. As soon as the referee blew the whistle, I wasn’t going to let anyone else take it.”

Having been limited to a couple of cameo appearances following his arrival on loan from German side Darmstadt, Maclaren admitted he was taken aback to be thrown into action so early this time round.

He said: “I was sitting on the bench expecting to wait 20 minutes and then go out and warm up a little bit. But then Neil said, ‘Jamie you are going on in 30 seconds’. So I had to switch my mindset instantly.

“We changed the formation slightly which suited me as I like playing off a big guy and myself and Flo complemented each other. He was using his strength and I was using my pace.

“Days like these are one of the reasons I came here. I’ve been at Parkhead for Celtic and now Ibrox against Rangers. These are the big games you want to play in and when you get a penalty you want to be the man to step up and take it.”

Lennon, naturally, was delighted with a win which takes Hibs to within two points of Rangers in third place in what was their fifth match in 13 days, a schedule which, he admitted, had left his players running on empty.

His likening of the victory to beating Barcelona when manager of Celtic may have had a touch of hyperbole about it, but few would question his declaration that this was his best result as Hibs boss.

He said: “I have Hanlon out, McGregor out, Whittaker out, Gray out and then we lose Barker. I’ve got Stevenson, a left-back playing at centre-half, McGinn playing left wing-back, Martin Boyle playing right wing-back, two strikers who haven’t played together before and Scott Allan making his second debut. It’s an incredible performance and all the plaudits should go to the players. They were amazing, especially in the first half. They played some unbelievably good football.”