Match Summary

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