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Україна/Ukrayina

 
912 vs. Ukraine
 

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1019 vs. Ukraine
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
2014 FIFA World Cup UEFA Group H qualification match


Ukraine 0 England 0 [0-0]
 


Natsional'nyî Sportyvnyĭ Kompleks, Pechersk, Kyiv
Kick-off (EEST): 9.45pm 7.45pm BST
Attendance: 69,890

England kicked-off 94½ minutes 46:00 & 48:29
   
Olexandr Kucher 61 60:59
 

Kyle Walker
70
69:53
Commentator: Clive Tyldesley with Andy Townsend
 

Match Summary

Officials from Portugal

Ukraine Squad

Type

England Squad
Referee (sky blue) - Pedro Proença Oliveira Alves Garcia
42 (3 November 1970), Lisboa, FIFA listed 2003.

Assistant Referees - Bertino da Cunha Miranda, 41 (18 May 1972) and José Tiago Garcias Bolinhas Trigo, 41 (2 July 1972).
Fourth official - Duarte Nuno Pereira Gomes, 40 (16 January 1973), Lisboa.

4 Goal Attempts 5
1 Attempts on Target 2
0 Hit Bar/Post 0
9 Corner Kicks Won 7
1 Offside Calls Against 1
16 Fouls Conceded 14
53.4% Possession 46.6%

Ukraine Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (8 August 2013) 28th
EFO ranking Group 4
ELO rating 23rd
Colours: Made by Adidas - Yellow crew neck jerseys with blue trimmed collar/Adidas sleeve trim, yellow chest band, yellow shorts with blue Adidas side trim, yellow socks with blue Adidas trim.
Capt: Oleksandr Kucher Manager: Mykhailo Ivanovych Fomenko Михайло Іванович Фоменко, 64 (19 September 1948), appointed 26 December 2012.
8th match, W 6 - D 2 - L 0 - F 22 - A 2.
Ukraine Lineup
12 Pyatov, Andriy V. 29
74 days
28 June 1984 G FC Shakhtar Donetsk 42 0
17 Fedetskiy, Artem A. 28
137 days
26 April 1985 RB FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 25 2
3 Khacheridi, Yevhen H. 26
44 days
28 July 1987 CD FC Dynamo Kyiv 24 3
5 Kucher, Oleksandr M. 30
323 days
22 October 1982 CD FC Shakhtar Donetsk 35 2
Kucher is cautioned in the 62nd min. for a foul after he slices down Theo Walcott's achilles as he is in full flight. Suspended.
13 Shevchuk, Vyacheslav A. 33
120 days
13 May 1979 LB FC Shakhtar Donetsk 30 0
21 Halovskyi de Laserda, Edmar 33
86 days
16 June 1980
in Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil
RDM FC Metallist Kharkiv 6 1
6 Stepanenko, Taras M. 24
33 days
8 August 1989 LDM FC Shakhtar Donetsk 11 0
7 Yarmolenko, Andriy M., off 93rd min. 23
322 days
23 October 1989 RM FC Dynamo Kyiv 34 11
10 Konoplyanka, Yevhen O. 23
353 days
22 September 1989 AM FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 31 8
9 Husev, Oleh A., off 68th min. 30
138 days
25 April 1983 LM FC Dynamo Kyiv 86 13
8 Zozulya, Roman V., off 90th min. 23
297 days
17 November 1989 CF FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 11 2
Ukraine Substitutes
15 Bezus, Roman A., on 68th min. (67:25) for Husev. 22
288 days
26 September 1990 LM FC Dynamo Kyiv 9 2
11 Seleznyov, Yevhen O., on 90th min. (89:32) for Zozulya 28
52 days
20 July 1985 CF FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 39 7
14 Khomchenovskyi, Dmytro H., on 90+2 min (92:20) for Yarmolenko 23
147 days
16 April 1990 RM FC Zorya Luhansk 3 0
result: Ukraine 0 England 0
unused substitutes: 1-Maxym Koval, 2-Denys Dedechko, 4-Anatoliy Tymoschuk, 16-Vitaliy Mandzyuk, 18-Dmitry Hrechyshkin, 19-Mykolo Morozyuk, 20-Yaroslav Rakitskiy, 22-Marko Devic, 23-Rustam Khudzamov.
 
4-2-3-1 Pyatov -
Fedetskiy, Khaceridi, Kucher, Shevchuk -
Edmar, Stepanenko -
Yarmolenko
(Khomchenovskyi), Konplyanka, Husev (Bezus) -
Zozulya
(Seleznyov)
Averages (Starting XI): Age 28 years 11 days Appearances/Goals 30.4 3.8

 

England Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (8 August 2013) 14th
EFO ranking Group 1 (2nd)
ELO rating 6th
Colours: The Nike 2013 away uniform - Red button-collared jerseys, white shorts, red socks with thin white tops.
Capt: Steven Gerrard
(30th (38) captaincy (4))
Manager: Roy Hodgson, 66 (9 August 1947), appointed 1 May 2012,
20th match, W 11 - D 8 - L 1 - F 44 - A 17.
England Lineup
1 Hart, C. Joseph J. 26
144 days
19 April 1987 G Manchester City FC 35 27ᵍᵃ
2 Walker, Kyle A. 23
105 days
28 May 1990 RB Tottenham Hotspur FC 8 0
Walker is cautioned in the 70th minute for a foul, he clumsily brings down Roman Zozulya right on the edge of the penalty box, a free-kick is given.
3 Cole, Ashley 32
264 days
20 December 1980 LB Chelsea FC 105 0
4 Gerrard, Steven G. 33
103 days
30 May 1980 CM Liverpool FC 105 20
5 Cahill, Gary J. 27
265 days
19 December 1985 CD Chelsea FC 18 2
6 Jagielka, Philip N. 31
24 days
17 August 1982 CD Everton FC 21 1
7 Walcott, Theo J., off 88th min. 24
178 days
16 March 1989 RF Arsenal FC 36 5
8 Lampard, Frank J. 35
82 days
20 June 1978 RM Chelsea FC 100 28
England's eighth centurion, & only time three have been on the field
9 Lambert, Rickie L. 31
206 days
16 February 1982 RF Southampton FC 3 2
10 Wilshere, Jack A.G., off 68th min 21
252 days
1 January 1992 LM Arsenal FC 10 0
11 Milner, James P. 27
249 days
4 January 1986 LF Manchester City FC 41 1
England Substitutes
20 Young, Ashley S., on 68th min. (67:02) for Wilshere 28
63 days
9 July 1985 LM Manchester United FC 30 17 7
13
the 104th player to reach the 30-app milestone
17 Cleverley, Thomas W. on 88th min (87:11) for Walcott 24
29 days
12 August 1989 RF Manchester United FC 11 10 0
1
result: Ukraine 0 England 0
unused substitutes: 12-Chris Smalling, 13-John Ruddy, 14-Leighton Baines, 15-Steven Caulker, 16-Michael Carrick, 18-Ross Barkley, 19-Jermain Defoe, 21-Raheem Sterling, 22-Andros Townsend, 23-Fraser Forster.
team notes: Lampard becomes England's eighth centurion, following Billy Wright, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Peter Shilton, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole.
Roy Hodgson becomes the first to manage England three times against the Ukraine.

records:

England have now gone seventeen qualification matches unbeaten (W10 D7).
 
4-3-3 Hart -
Walker, Cahill, Jagielka, Cole
-
Lampard, Gerrard, Wilshere
(Young) -
Walcott
(Cleverley), Lambert, Milner.
Averages (Starting XI): Age 28 years 235 days Appearances/Goals 43.8 5.5
oldest starting XI in 2013-14 most experienced XI in 2013-14

 

    Match Report by Mike Payne

This match was always going to be the pivotal moment in deciding England's World Cup group, and before their trip to the Ukraine, the consensus of opinion seemed to be that a draw would be an excellent result for the 'Three Lions' team. And that is exactly how it panned out, although some of the subsequent post-match criticism was totally over the top, as usual.

Ukraine made their traditional bright start to a game, but the England defence stood firm and kept the home forwards at arm's length.  There was an early scare when the ball came in to the near post and Joe Hart dived at the feet of the onrushing Roman Zozulya.  For a split second the England players had their hearts in their mouths, but thankfully the excellent Portuguese referee awarded a corner rather than the penalty the home fans were screaming for.  Then, almost immediately at the other end, Theo Walcott latched on to a through pass from Rickie Lambert and raced into the penalty area.  This time it was the home goalkeeper, Andriy Pyatov, who spread himself to block the ball and send Walcott sprawling.

Those two early incidents gave the crowd encouragement that this would be an open and attacking game.  But World Cup qualifiers are rarely like that and the match soon settled into a dour defensive battle.  Over the next twenty minutes England defended well with Gary Cahill particularly prominent.  He was well backed up by Phil Jagielka and the ever-reliable Ashley Cole, who did a marvellous job in stifling the threat of danger man Andriy Yarmolenko.  On the other side though, Yevhen Konoplyanka gave Kyle Walker a very difficult night.  Walker is usually no slouch, but Konoplyanka stretched the Tottenham defender almost to breaking point at times.  The Ukrainian was quick, had all the ball skills, and he wasted little time before crossing the ball into the area.  Thankfully when danger did threaten Cahill was across to block, intercept and clear the ball, and the Chelsea man had probably his best game so far in an England shirt. 

Going forward, though England were laboured and lacked ideas. The enforced absence of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Daniel Sturridge would seriously weaken any side, and England's attacking options were limited.  It was always going to be a mountain that England had to somehow get over. To be fair Lambert tried his best and did well in the main, but he was often left isolated and Walcott promised much with his pace but then failed to apply a killer touch when in good positions.  James Milner could not be classed as a forward as he was in the team to bolster the midfield.  If ever a game was there for Jack Wilshere to take by the scruff of the neck, it was this one.  Alas, on the night the Arsenal 'Golden Hope' was found wanting, having a poor game, giving the ball away too easily and being muscled off the ball too often. This is something that opposing teams are picking up on to stifle Wilshere's obvious talent and it is something he needs to find an answer to in the future.

Elsewhere in England's midfield, Steven Gerrard worked his socks off and he also had one of the few worthwhile goal attempts that England conjured up, the ball just missing, going over the bar with the goalkeeper groping.  Frank Lampard, celebrating joining the exclusive '100 Cap Club', had a quiet match, working hard, but not producing any of those trademark surges into the danger areas. 

To be honest the match was devoid of decent goal attempts all round with Ukraine failing to live up to all the pre-match hype.  They were quite poor in many respects and the unjust criticism of England after the game probably stemmed from the surprise at how poor Ukraine actually were.  Their performance was certainly not what the 'experts' expected. 

At the end of the day England were there to do a job, and they did that quite comfortably.  Right at the death they almost snatched victory as Lampard suddenly dipped his head into a cross from the right and headed just wide of the left hand post.  That would have been a fitting climax on a special night for one of England's bester goalscoring midfield players. 

Goal chances at either end were at a premium in this match, and neither goalkeeper had to make a save worthy of the name.  For England, Cahill was outstanding, and for Ukraine their best player was Konoplyanka.  Apart from that there was little to enthuse over, apart from a great deal of hard work and endeavour.  However, England won the point they wanted and deserved, and now top the group as we approach the two home games that remain for them.  It is in England's hands now and with players to come back from injury and suspension the future looks very promising.

One word of caution from one who vividly remembers a certain Polish goalkeeper called Tomaszewski, the fact that Poland are our last match visitors is a niggling thought!  But never mind that, let's deal with Montenegro first and then worry about the Poles later.
  

Source Notes

TheFA.com
BBC Sport
SkySports Football
FFU.org.ua
RateTheRef.com

Mike Payne - football historian and contributor
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