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Tottenham drew with Portsmouth 1-1, while Hossam Ghaly
was unlucky to have a severe mouth injury in the opening
minute of the game!
Read also:
Ghaly mouth bleeding
The game at Portsmouth was, as expected,
a tough one. With Mido having played against Liverpool
despite not being 100% ready, he was kept out of the
squad to recover completely from his thigh and groin
injuries. Hossam Ghaly, meanwhile, kept his place in
the starting line-up and as expected, on the right side
of the midfield. Didier Zokora was put to the bench
after his poor showing which is perhaps due to his playing
so many games in a row.
Ghaly's performance was similar to his previous games
until he was substituted off. His passing was generally
good and he advanced into the centre every now and again
as usual.
The Egyptian was kicked in the head early on by Pamarot
as went in for a ball head-down. He bled seriously from
his mouth, and a tooth clearly flew into the air.
Ghaly actually lost four teeth in the collision, possibly
including his front two. He has also split his lip.
"He played on and showed great character because
he is a very good lad," said Martin Jol after the
match.
After receiving treatment and returning to the game,
Ghaly looked bright with his passing and crossing. He
also won a header in the air, which he flicked on for
Jermain Defoe, who forced a save from David James. And
then Ghaly had a chance of his own when he latched onto
a low cross across the face of goal from Berbatov. He
slid onto it but it was blocked by a defender immediately
for a corner.
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At the other end though, Ghaly ran into trouble as he was
pressurised and could only slide the ball back to an opponent,
who found Benjani at the edge of the box. His shot took a
deflection and bounce which made it tough for Paul Robinson
to stop, and so Pompey took the lead with their opening shot
on goal.
At half time, Hossam Ghaly was substituted off for Danny Murphy,
who went onto the left, meaning that Steed Malbranque took
the right-mid spot.
Keeper James denied Spurs a few times before they finally
broke through. Berbatov's movement on the left was good and
he passed to Murphy, who chipped ball perfectly towards the
far post for Malbranque to head in.
Spurs attacked to get a winner but Berbatov wasted a clear
ball on the right when he neither shot nor crossed. To add
to this, Defoe and Huddlestone forced superb saves from James,
while Porsmouth's only real action in the half was a correct
handball appeal against Pascal Chimbonda, which Tottenham
got away with.
EP wish Ghaly a speedy recovery...
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