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It is fair to say that even some Spurs fans may have
felt sorry for their London rivals West Ham United,
who fell to a 96th minute defeat to Tottenham! The visitors,
who started with Ghaly in the midfield, were 2-0 and
3-2 down, but managed to scrape a victory in one of
the most exciting games of the season!
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With Didier Zokora out of the line-up,
Teemu Tainio moved into the centre, and Martin Jol opted
for Hossam Ghaly on the right wing and Aaron Lennon
on the left. Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' was not in the match
squad.
Ghaly and his team were ready for what was on paper,
one of the easiest games of the season. The Hammers
had five losses in a row and hadn't won since beating
Adam El-Abd's Brighton in the Cup. In the league, they
started the game bottom with 20 points, having the worst
goal difference, four losses on the trot and 10 points
between them and safety.
But the reality was very different. This was a side
determined to stay up, and the fans filled Upton Park
to its fullest. The start West Ham made was rampant,
and though Spurs ended up with all three points, for
most of the game it looked like the hosts would victor.
Ghaly was put into a physical and extremely fast game
and at times, like his team-mates, he looked shaky,
though he did play his part in the 45 minutes he was
on the pitch. West Ham attacked Tottenham and within
a minute Mark Noble had forced a save from Paul Robinson.
When the defence made a short clearance to Ghaly a few
minutes into the match, he made a fine touch past Noble
who followed through on him and earnt an early booking.
In the 14th minute, Ghaly looked as though he had made
a superb assist had it not been for Robert Green's great
save. The Egyptian started the move off from the defence
with a short pass before receiving the ball square on
the edge of the box from Lennon. Ghaly made a succinct
chipped pass into the area, where Dimitar Berbatov,
amidst the crowd, forced a good save from Green. The
keeper was to make another save moments later from another
attempt from the Bulgarian striker.
Just a minute later, West Ham took the lead. Ghaly
attempted to clear the ball inside his third but it
was blocked. He chased the ball on the right and tried
a tackle, before then pressurising Paul Konchesky, who
managed to cross just in time. There, Carlos Tevez chested
the ball down for Noble, who smashed a low volley home.
The game continued in this way, and when Ghaly gathered
the ball on the right to make a sprinting run forward
he was pressurised by two players before going down,
but no foul was given. Spurs managed to get shots away
but two saves were made by Green to deny Berbatov, as
well as his own team-mate Lee Bowyer. Ghaly was settling
into the game and made a nice tackle at one stage which
led to a Spurs move. However, at times, he was a little
slow on the ball and Marlon Harewood pressurised him
on the half-hour mark before taking the ball and hitting
it wide.
West Ham needed a second before the half ended, and
they had a number of chances in which to do so. Finally,
they did five minutes before the interval when Tevez
struck close range free-kick into the net beyond a strangely
positioned Robinson.
Martin Jol decided to take Ghaly off at half-time,
and Tom Huddlestone made his way into the midfield.
It is true to say that when attacking, Ghaly was drawing
into the centre, and so it was never a strict midfield.
Equally, Huddlestone and Tainio began to play both on
the right and in the centre, something Ghaly proved
he can do very well.
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The second half provided an ever faster tempo at times, and
the drama heigtened. Only minutes into the half, Lennon went
down in the box and Jermain Defoe, who was on the receiving
end of jeers from his former club's faithful, slotted the
penalty kick into the goal. Spurs looked revitilised and when
Teemu Tainio scored the equaliser it was no surprise. It was
Lennon who flicked Berbatov's cross in style towards Tainio,
who swerved a half-volley into the net.
In the final minutes, Hammers manager Alan Curbishley threw
on two more strikers to make an impact. With his first touch,
Kepa Blanco headed just wide. But Bobby Zamora's first touch
in the 85th minute was a finely directed header past Robinson.
The ecstacy in the stadium could be felt, and Zamora knew
he had won the game for West Ham.
But when on-loan Moroccan youngster Adel Taarabt was put
on by Martin Jol in the final three minutes, he did well to
win an arguable free-kick just outside the box. Berbatov stepped
up and lofted it into the goal, despite Konchesky's efforts
to clear off the line.
This was in a sense a bad result for both sides, particularly
West Ham. But when Tevez had the ball inside the box after
intense pressure from the hosts, it looked for a split second
as though it was their day. His shot however, went agonisingly
wide.
West Ham's final corner, in the 96th minute, led to a fast
four-man counter attack from Spurs. Defoe shot, Green parried,
and Paul Stalteri broke Hammers hearts.
EP Ratings:
West Ham: Green 6, Ferdinand 5, Upson ? (Davenport
10' 6), Neill 6, Konchesky 6, Quashie 5 (Blanco 80' ?), Bowyer
6, Etherington 5 (Zamora 83' ?), Noble 8, Tevez 8, Harewood
5
Tottenham: Robinson 4, Dawson 5, Gardner 5, Lee 5,
Chimbonda 5 (Taarabt 87' ?), Tainio 8, Jenas 5 (Stalteri 57'
6), Ghaly 6 (Huddlestone 46' 6), Lennon 6, Defoe 6,
Berbatov 7
More soon on EgyptianPlayers.com...
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