Ukraine 0 vs 0 England Match Report

Photo by Mike Trevelyan, graphics and editing by Conor Rees

England battled hard to gain a point in their crucial World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine in Kiev, taking them closer to a spot in next summer’s tournament in Brazil.

There was not much to note on their performance bar it being gutsy and determined against the Ukrainians, as neither team really possessed the cutting edge in the final third of the pitch.

Defensively however, was a different story as Gary Cahill put in an aspiring performance, particularly at the beginning of the match, to assure that the visitors to the Olympic stadium’s goal was not breached. 

Ukraine started well and they were unlucky not to receive a penalty with their first attack, with Zozuiya and Hart tangling, following this though, chances came few and far between for the home side and England managed to play in their 4-3-3 system with a tad more comfort.

England tried to put as much pressure as they could on their hosts and it nearly produced a goal from captain Steven Gerrard in the 32nd minute of the game. Shooting from a distance, he had the Ukrainian keeper Andriy Pyatov caught off guard, unfortunately for the skipper, his shot looped over the bar to safety.

In the second half the atmosphere and momentum dwindled with both teams trying their best to create an opening, with both managers making substitutions to try and inject some life into the game.

The pressure of the first half was nearly all in vain for England however as Kyle Walker was close to conceding a penalty, luckily for the Three lions, the referee deemed the Spurs right back’s foul to be outside of the box. From the resulting free kick Yevgeni Konoplienka’s shot skimmed Phil Jagielka’s foot and landed inches wide of Joe Hart’s post.

Ukraine also let another golden opportunity slip away as Konoplienka’s saw his header land straight at Hart from only 6 yards out.

Aside from this England can take pride from their gutsy display and maybe should have even won the game when Frank Lampard, on his 100th cap for his country, headed wide in the dying seconds.

England sit on top with Ukraine just one point behind going into the final group games, with England at home against both Montenegro and Poland, it is fair to say they should be favourites to qualify as group winners, leaving Ukraine having to settle for battling Montenegro and Poland for a play-off place.

Please give our Facebook page a like and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the Entertainment you need.