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Spurs vs Chelsea (2-1)

Date: 5-11-2006
Wrote: EP's webmaster

The exciting game between Spurs and Chelsea ended in a 2-1 win for Spurs. The guests looked unstoppable in the first 20 minutes and they managed to score through Mekalele. However, Spurs pulled level through Dawson who scored from a well placed header. After the equalizer, Spurs battled hard and scored a 2nd goal in the 2nd half through Lennon. Ghaly played the full match in the centre of midfield and did well defensively. However, his gave away possession too often in the 2nd half. The other Egyptian at the Lane, Mido remained on bench and didn't see action.

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Spurs made an amazing comeback in their home clash with Chelsea and managed to defeat the stars filled team by two goals to one.

The game was nonstop action from the kick off till the final whistle and deserved to be one of the best Premiership matches this season.

In the first 20 minutes, Chelsea looked unstoppable thanks to their pressure and fighting for every ball. At this stage, Tottenham looked shaky and simply had no chance.

In the 14th minute, Mekalele scored the only goal for Chelsea from a superb volley shot from 25 yards, the goal came after a corer kick from the right side which was played high into the box where it was headed back to Mekalele and the latter sent it home on the volley with his left.

Chelsea got close to scoring in more than one occasion at this stage but a header from Dawson changed things completely and was the turning point in the game.

Dawson jumped high to head the ball after a freekick from the left flank and the Spurs centreback sent the ball into the far corner leaving Chelsea's keeper with no chance. The goal made the score 1-1 in the 24th minute and since then, Spurs controlled the game till the final 15 minutes.

In the 2nd half, Spurs started very well and scored via Lennon who received a cross from Robbie Keane and smashed the ball into the far corner with his left to give Spurs a 2-1 lead.

In the 70th minute, Chelsea had to resume the match with 10 men as their central defender John Terri received a 2nd yellow card after a heated argument with Zokora inside the Spurs box and headed into the tunnel to add to Maurinho's misery.

Despite playing with 10 men on the field, Chelsea looked more dangerous as Spurs were happy to sit back and defend their lead. The blues had a chance to score through a left footed shot from Drogba that went just over and a fine shot from Lampard which was denied by the post.


In the final minutes, Jol finally decided to make a change as he brought Defoe on to replace the excelling Robbie Keane and the home side managed to defend their lead and win three precious points from their tough rivals.

From the two Egyptians at Tottenham, only Ghaly played. On the other side, Mido started and remained on the subs bench and didn't see action.

Ghaly changed his position often in today's match, he started as right midfielder with Lennon on the left wing, but later on in the first half, both players switched positions and the Egyptian played more on the left and Lennon moved to play in the right flank.

In the 2nd half, Ghaly played as defensive midfielder to help Zokora and Jenas in keeping Mekalele, Ballack, Essien and Lampard quiet. The Egyptian succeeded in this defensive role and also linked well with forwards.

Despite this, Ghaly wasn't at his best in terms of passing, he gave away possession too easy near the end of the game and in more than one occasion which put Spurs under pressure in the final minutes. This Shaky performance from the Egyptian in the last 20 minutes affected his ratings in the game as SkySports gave him an overall rating of 5 which is amongst the lowest ratings in the game.

It was a tough game for Ghaly and his side, they succeeded in winning after 16 years of trying. Ghaly proved that he can play at the highest levels and face the toughest =opponents, However, he has to work on improving his passing and timing.

It should be noted that Ghaly was shown a yellow card as he elbowed Essien in the 2nd half, the Egyptian was lucky to go away with just yellow card.

With this important win, Spurs moved up to the 10th spot in the table while Chelsea became 2nd after Manchester United who are currently on top of the table.

The win should give Mido and Ghaly's club a huge boost that till help them achieve victory in the coming games..

EP RATINGS:

Spurs: Robinson 6, Chimbonda 8, Dawson 9, King 9, Assou-Ekotto 8, Ghaly 6, Jenas 6 , Zokora 8, Lennon 9, Berbatov 6, Keane 9. Subs: Cerny, Davids, Huddlestone, Mido, Defoe 6.

Chelsea: Hilario 5, A Cole 5, Ferreira 4 (Boulharouz 4; Kalou, 6), Terry 5, Carvalho 6 , Makelele 8 (Wright-Phillips 6), Essien 7, Lampard 7, Ballack 6, Robben 7, Drogba 7. Subs: Cudicini, J Cole.