"Of course, it was my first goal for Spurs and for it to come in a big UEFA Cup game makes is even more special," Ghaly was quoted as saying by Tottenham's official website after the match.

"It was our first game in the group and it was good for me to score the goal that got us on our way to a win."

Spurs opened their group stage campaign with a 2-0 win over Besiktas in Istanbul, thanks to goals from Ghaly and Bulgarian international striker Dimitar Berbatov.

"We played a good game, we were organised and played with discipline. We kept our shape," the Egypt international said.

"Besiktas didn't have many chances to score, while we created openings for ourselves. We missed a couple and scored two so it was a good result for us."

The former Feyenoord midfielder was full of praise for the Besiktas fans after they applauded Tottenham players following the end of the match.

"I didn't expect that sort of reception after having won the game. We played in a fair way, played well and they respected us for it."

Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' is yet to open his account after rejoining Tottenham from AS Roma in the summer transfer window, but his teammate Ghaly is confident he will soon hit his top form.

"I am top scorer now, but he will score soon and get his confidence up."

Tottenham coach Martin Jol hailed the performance of Ghaly, who became a constant figure in the Dutch boss' plans in recent matches.

"I thought Hossam Ghaly was excellent in the first half, the defence was excellent and we were too strong to concede goals."