City boss sure Ryan Porteous has a big future at Hibs

Ryan Porteous, right, scored the goal for Citys first League Two win and later the one that ensured their safety

Gary Jardine has revealed how watching Hibs teenager Ryan Porteous put former Liverpool striker Florent Sinama Pongolle up in the air led to him joining Edinburgh City.

Jardine, below, made note of that moment as he watched the Easter Road outfit’s development side face Dundee United towards the end of last season and when Porteous’ name came up as he looked to build his squad for City’s move into League Two he jumped at the chance to take him on loan.

It was, he admitted, a bit of a gamble, Porteous only 17 at the time and untested against the vastly experienced strikers he would come up against in the coming months.

But today Jardine’s judgment has proved to be totally vindicated, the Hibs youngster having played his part in City retaining their place in League Two, having earned their right to step up from the Lowland League with a play-off final triumph over East Stirling.

He recalled: “I’d approached Hibs to ask who they might have available and Ryan’s name came up. I remembered watching him come on in the last 20 minutes for Hibs against Dundee United’s youth team and putting Sinama Pongolle up in the air.

“I took a chance on him but you have to trust your own judgment and I thought him playing alongside Joe Mbu would work well, and Ryan has gone from strength to strength. He’s done very well, he’s much more confident and he talks non-stop now. He’s improved beyond my expectations, to be honest.”

Porteous’ temperament was clear to see when, only shortly before joining City, he faced them in a pre-season friendly at Meadowbank, a game Neil Lennon’s side won 6-1.

Jardine said: “It was the week before Hibs were due to face Brondby in the Europa League and had a strong side out that night.

“They gave us a bit of a doing, Ryan came on and made a mistake which led to our goal and you could see he was annoyed with himself. But he didn’t let it get to him which is pretty unique for someone of his age.

“We saw it again later in the season in a Scottish Cup game when he was booked after only four minutes. I was worried that I might have to take him off but that was him, he managed the game properly which is something you’d expect from an experienced player rather than someone of his age.”

Having made the step up, City initially struggled for results but it was Porteous who gave them their first league win, scoring the only goal of the game against Annan Athletic.