'Harshly treated' - Jack Ross launches strong defence of key Hibs man after impressive derby showing
Both teams had chances to win the game but the goalkeepers, and defenders, performed well to ensure a share of the points and a stalemate.
Ross was keen to highlight the performance of Ryan Porteous, who was guilty of a handful of howlers last season but has started the new campaign in fine fettle and put in a very good showing at Tynecastle as he continues to mature into a good all-round defender.
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Hide Ad“We’ve made big progress; we’ve had some bumps along the way as well and the derby was a test for them,” the Easter Road boss said afterwards.
"Take Ryan Porteous for example, as an individual who I think is a brilliant young player. And I do think that at times he’s been harshly treated within this country for some things."
The boyhood Hibs fan has now played more than 100 games in green and white and is still just 22 years of age, and Ross saluted his rise from youth player to first-choice centre-back.
"For the number of games he’s played as a young man and how he is as a player, he’s terrific.
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Hide Ad"I think the performance he produced against Hearts in terms of maturity was another sign of that. Again, not blemish-free, but really, really good.
"That’s hopefully an indiciation of how the young players are continuing to grow and the club should then hopefully benefit from that as well.”
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