Dundee United ace Ross Graham has revealed that his Hampden header allowed him to reclaim the family bragging rights from his dad.
Ross Graham Sr has been able to dine out on his own strike at the national stadium for more than 20 years, having rippled the net for East Fife in a 2-1 win over Queen’s Park in 2003.
He also turned out for Angus outfits Arbroath and Montrose before hanging up his boots.
And Graham Jr followed in his old man’s footsteps on Saturday when his crashing header found the back of the net in United’s 5-0 hammering of the abject Spiders.
The towering jump to meet Miller Thomson’s corner-kick was only bettered by his celebratory leap in front of the United fans.
“I really enjoyed that one – the celebration was more for my dad,” Graham told Courier Sport.
“He scored at Hampden years ago, playing for East Fife against Queen’s Park. He’s always had that one up on me, saying, “I’ve scored at Hampden, and you haven’t.”
“So, I’m pretty happy to have equalled that!”
He added: “I had played at Hampden before, when I was on loan at Elgin.
“That was about four years ago but it’s always nice going there – a good pitch, a top environment and you always know the United fans will be there in great numbers.”
Physical Tangerines
While not in the United side for his prowess in the final third, Graham admits he was particularly relieved to scratch a two-year itch in front of goal.
He last got his name on the score-sheet on April 2, earning Tam Courts’ Tangerines a very creditable 1-1 draw at Hibernian.
“It was long overdue,” the 23-year-old smiled. “Whenever the big lads go up from the back for corners and set-plays, you always want to get on the end of things and help the team out.
“I always want to pitch in with goals and I was happy to do that at the weekend. We’ve got a physical team and when guys like Miller (Thomson) put the ball in good areas then we have three or four players able to attack it.”
Graham: I want to be a Dundee United leader
But Graham’s priority remains keeping the ball out of the Terrors’ net.
And, alongside the similarly youthful Sam McClelland, a new-look United centre-back pairing have racked up successive shut-outs against Raith Rovers and Queen’s Park.
Right-back Thomson, meanwhile, is only 19. The Tangerines’ back-four had an average age of 22.75 on Saturday; only Inverness (22.2) fielded younger in the second tier.
As such, Graham – with 56 senior appearances under his belt for United – is embracing a leadership role that he has always coveted.
“I’m 23 and I’ve played a lot of games already so far in my career,” he added. “I want to help the guys out who are younger than me; pass on that experience that I’ve gained so far.
“It’s positive that I’ve needed to take more leadership in the back-line without Holty (Kevin Holt) and Gall (Declan Gallagher). I know I’m one of the older ones in there, and what that means.
“I’ve always wanted to be vocal and a leader – and now it’s my time to show it.”
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