Middlesbrough: Middlesborough 1 Egaleo 0; McClaren pleased with start

Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren hailed the Teessiders' narrow victory over Greek minnows Egaleo as the "perfect start" to the club's UEFA Cup Group E campaign.

Boro came away from the Rizoupoli stadium in Athens with all three points thanks to a late strike from substitute Stewart Downing, whose reputation continues to grow with every match.

The youngster was rested following another impressive display in the 4-0 win at Blackburn last weekend, but came to his manager's rescue to strike the winner just seven minutes after coming off the bench after it looked as though a poor Boro performance was heading for a goalless draw.

McClaren said: "It's a perfect start for us.

"We wanted to get a result here, maybe we would have settled for a draw but I just thought it was a perfect game for us.

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