Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Shawky played
the first half of Boro's first match in the Algarve
friendly tournament in Portugal. The Egyptian did well
in the first half which ended goal-less. He came off
during half time and was replaced by the French man
Didier Digard. On the other hand, Mido remained in England
due to VISA issues.
Mido and Shawky's Boro continued preparations
for the new season by travelling to Portugal and participating
in the Algarve Cup which is an annual friendly tournament.
Boro played their first match on Tuesday
night. They faced the Scottish Premier League champions,
Celtic.
Egyptian midfielder Shawky played the
entire frist half. Shawky did well but he looked a bit
sluggish at times and gave away the ball in a dangerous
position which could lead to a goal. On the other hand,
the Egyptian had a close shot on goal that only gazed
the bar.
In the 2nd half, Shawky was replaced by
French new signing Digard. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The frast goal came through the subsititute Aliadiere
after a mistake from the keeper who tried to clear the
ball but the ball came off Aliadiere and went in. In
the stoppage time, Celticequalized through a header
from a close range to end the game in a draw.
It should be noted that Mido will not feature in this
tournament as he couldn't obtain a VISA to enter Portugal.
Mido released the following statement
on Boro's website regarding his inability to travel
with the team: "I would like Boro supporters to
know why I am not in the team for this evening's game
in Portugal against Celtic.
"There have been ongoing problems regarding my
visa which I hope to have sorted shortly. It could be
that the Portuguese Embassy require up to a week to
amend this situation, thus preventing my ability to
travel to Portugal in the very immediate future."
