McClaren hails Graham as Boro earn late draw
Graham came off the bench to score the first Premiership goal of his Riverside career to earn Boro a precious point from a 2-2 draw at home to Charlton yesterday.
The 19-year-old Gateshead-born striker has yet to sign a new contract with the club, unlike many of the other youngsters who have put pen to paper as they see Boro as the way ahead in English football.
James Morrison, Tony McMahon, Matthew Bates and David Wheater have all agreed deals, but Graham is currently stalling, although McClaren can see an end to the impasse.
“We are negotiating with him, but we are not far away,” insisted McClaren. “We want the lad to stay and he wants to stay here. After today, on both sides, everybody wants to make an effort to sign him.”
Graham’s 86th-minute equaliser came just four minutes after he had stepped off the bench and his bravery gained him due reward.
Graham was kicked in the face by Chris Perry as he headed Franck Queudrue’s long ball over the advancing Dean Kiely.
Graham conceded to being momentarily unconscious after the challenge and received a cut lip for his trouble, but he said: “I didn’t even know I had scored until someone told me. I was out of it for a few seconds and someone had to wake me to tell me I had got the equaliser.”
Boro were slow out of the blocks and were behind in the 14th minute when Charlton skipper Matt Holland drove home his third goal of the season, albeit with a deflection off fellow captain Gareth Southgate.
It took time for the home side to warm to their task and over the course of the following hour they found Kiely in outstanding form as he pulled off save after save. He was finally beaten in the 74th minute, and in controversial circumstances, as centre-back Chris Riggott was clearly in an offside position in stabbing home from close range after Kiely had denied Southgate from eight yards.
The momentum was with Boro, but they were behind again six minutes later when Shaun Bartlett cracked home his seventh goal of the season, before Graham then stepped into the spotlight.
“It was a fantastic game, especially the second half,” reflected McClaren.
Charlton manager Alan Curbishley was happy with a point, although he felt Boro were lucky to get back on level terms.
“The game turned in the second half, after we had got back on track in the first following our disastrous FA Cup defeat (to Leicester) last week,” said Curbishley.
“We got our goal and went into half-time deservedly in front, but then after the break they put us under a lot of pressure. Dean made some great saves and I thought it was going to be one of those afternoons for us, but then they got their goal which I understand was offside.”
: Nash, Reiziger (Graham 82), Riggott, Southgate, Queudrue, Parlour (Job 86), Doriva, Nemeth (Parnaby 87), Zenden, Downing, Hasselbaink.
: Kiely, Hreidarsson, Perry, El Karkouri, Young, Konchesky, Murphy (Euell 78), Holland, Kishishev, Thomas (Johansson 72), Bartlett.
: M Riley (W Yorkshire).
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