‘Different ball game’ – Porteous compares Celtic to Rangers

Ryan Porteous has compared Hibernian’s upcoming game against Celtic to their 2-2 draw at home against Steven Gerrard’s Rangers.

Celtic got a huge helping hand yesterday when Rangers dropped two points away at Hibernian, which means the Hoops are only one point behind their Glasgow rivals with a game in hand. And that is after they have made a less than satisfactory start to the season while the media has portrayed Steven Gerrard’s side to be one in absolute top form.

Of course, Hibernian deserve a lot of credit for the result. As we know ourselves, it is not easy to play them away and come out with all three points. In fact, Celtic have only managed two wins from their last four against them.

One man who made quite the impact against the Rangers though is Hibernian’s 21-year-old Scottish centre-back, Ryan Porteous. And it was pretty clear that he had no friends in the opposition camp as both Alfredo Morelos and James Tavernier refused to shake his hand after the game. He was even seen exchanging words with Steven Gerrard at full-time.

This of course has made him a popular figure among Celtic fans. Of course, that will not stay the same for a long time as Hibernian are set to visit Parkhead next Sunday. And Porteous seems to believe that it will be a much harder task than holding to a draw against the Rangers.

As reported by the Herald, the Hibernian defender said:

"“We know that Parkhead will be a different ball game. Celtic’s record there is fantastic. But we have the players in forward areas to hurt them. It will be a difficult task but we will go there with belief.“People have to remember that we are up there as well. I am not saying we are going to challenge for this and that. But we are right up there through merit right now – through performances and good results, through keeping clean sheets and scoring goals.”"

Celtic have already faced Hibernian in pre-season when a second-string Hoops side came out on top with a 3-1 win. This time it will be very different though. The opposition are a team in good form, sitting at third having secured 17 points from their first 8 games.