Football: Berbatov magic wins Jol tribute; Besiktas 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2.

ARTIN Jol hailed Dimitar Berbatov after the Bulgarian striker fired Tottenham to victory, writes DUNCAN BECH.

Berbatov set up the first for Hossam Ghaly and then produced a piece of magic to give Spurs the perfect start to their Uefa Cup Group B campaign.

The pounds 10.9m summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen rounded two defenders and the keeper on a marauding run before completing a spectacular goal with the coolest of finishes.

It was a breathtaking goal which helped make a mockery of predictions Spurs would be lucky to leave Istanbul with a point.

Jol said: "Berbatov showed some flashes of his quality. We've always said if our strikers can make a difference then we will be a good team.

"Berbatov is the extra quality we have up front. It was a terrific goal and hopefully it will break the spell as we have struggled to score this season."

He added: "Our defence was excellent as well."

Most of the pre-match build-up centred on the hostile reception Spurs could expect at the Inonu Stadium, but the Besiktas fans were noisy rather than intimidating.

They showed their sportsmanship by applauding Spurs from the pitch - a gesture that merited warm praise from Jol.

He said: "To be acknowledged like that is exactly what you want, not having things thrown at you.

"For something like this to happen in Turkey is evidence we were rated tonight. We wanted to silence the crowd but after a couple of minutes we thought it would be impossible to silence a crowd like that. They showed some respect.

"The Turkish are fanatical but they showed today they can be good supporters.

"If you applaud the away team it says it all.

"In the past a few things happened and that was probably why we didn't bring as many supporters but it should be like it was today."

Besiktas have never beaten an English club in Istanbul and Jol said that was used as motivation.

"I'm very satisfied with the three points. It was a very good experience for us. They were a very phon -etical crowd, a very good crowd," he said. "We said before the game let's enjoy it because that's the main thing. We fought for every yard and started off very well.

"It's difficult to play against a proud side like Besiktas. We scored the second goal at the right moment and then had three or four chances after that.

"We were drawn in one of the best groups and three points away at Besiktas is a great result for us.

"Besiktas don't lose much in Europe, although we knew we'd be the first English team to lose over here so that helped spur us on."

Besiktas coach Jean Tigana felt Berbatov was the difference between the sides. He said: "His goal was fantastic. When you have a player like that it is a lot easier to win. He can change a game by himself.

"Tottenham were very good. They were strong in midfield and we could not find a solution to that."

BESIKTAS: Runje, Kurtulus, Sedef (Bobo 46), Zan, Yilmaz, Mercimek, Marcio Nobre, Ricardinho, Uzulmez, Tatan (Akin 66), Toraman. Subs Not Used: Sahin, Dogan, Gulec, Tandogan, Gunes.

Booked: Tatan, Toraman.

TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto, Ghaly (Lennon 83), Huddlestone, Jenas, Murphy (Ziegler 80), Berbatov (Defoe 90), Keane. Subs Not Used: Cerny, Davids, Stalteri, Gardner.

Booked: Chimbonda, Ghaly.

Goals: Ghaly 32, Berbatov 63.

Attendance: 26,800

Referee: Nicolai Vollquartz (Denmark).

CAPTION(S):

STRIKE ONE: Hossam Ghaly scores Spurs' first goal, laid on by last night's star turn, Dimitar Berbatov.