WCQ: England 2-1 Ukraine
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
As England and Ukraine kicked off at Wembley tonight, England - resplendent in their new strip (their new bloody £50 strip!) - were comfortably in control of World Cup Qualifying Group Six in Europe. Four wins from four saw Fabio Capello's men to a five-point lead over Croatia and Ukraine.
Even I was confident, and had predicted not only that we would win this game, but also that we'd win it to nil and not drop a single point in qualifying. Big words.
Right on seven minutes, Wayne Rooney made himself the first chance of the match in some style. Steven Gerrard played a low cross slightly behind the Manchester United forward who got a touch to control the ball away from goal and sent a technically perfect overhead kick just over the crossbar.
Six minutes later Rooney was at it again. Peter Crouch brilliantly won the ball in the air and nodded it back to Rooney, who deftly skinned his marker before being pole-axed 22 yards from goal. Gerrard placed the resulting free kick just inches wide.
The opening exchanges were far from one-sided. The visitors had plenty of the ball without being too threatening, and limited England's play by pressing hard all over the pitch and matching our aerial ability.
England were desperately unlucky not to go ahead in the 26th minute after a quick break involving some excellent one-touch football by Rooney, Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Picked out by Lampard on the left wing, Rooney sent a great ball over to Aaron Lennon who was unable to make the pressure tell.
Soon after, England were ahead. Skipper John Terry headed down a far post corner and the long legs of Peter Crouch let him reach the ball in front of the goalkeeper to volley it into the roof of the net - with a helping hand from the keeper on the way. Simple but effective.
Throughout the first half, Rooney was excellent and was able to pass from left to right to Lennon for fun. Gerrard pressed forward well and Lampard's touch was sure and efficient. Still, Ukraine pushed hard and caused a few problems for England, but 1-0 was the half time score.
By the break it was clear that Lennon was doing very little, and what he was doing were things David Beckham will do better even when he's in his fifties: controlling the ball and delivering a cross. He provided no penetration and precious little otherwise. But more than Gareth Barry, who was made to look even slower than usual in picking up an early booking and was lucky to get away without conceding a penalty.
In the first few minutes of the second half, England had more possession as the game opened up, but were far too wasteful. Lennon and Ashley Cole were the most frequent guilty parties. But England remained the more threatening of the two sides.
On for the appalling Lennon, David Beckham came close just after the hour. Wayne Rooney was fouled on 20 yards and Beckham's bending free kick had the goalkeeper flailing but flew just wide and over. It would've been his first England goal at Wembley.
But it was another substitute that netted the next goal, and he wasn't English. Shocking defending by Glen Johnson from a Ukraine free kick left Andriy Shevchenko with nothing to do but blast the equaliser past David James. It wasn't really deserved, but England's defending had long been shaky.
On 78 minutes, Fabio Capello substituted Peter Crouch to bring on Shaun Wright-Phillips. Crouch didn't look injured, and it was a decision reminiscent of Steve McClaren's worst moments. That anybody would take off Crouch while searching for a goal speaks volumes for the harsh reputation he has in this country full of idiots.
But with five minutes left, it was Shevchenko's former colleague John Terry who dragged England back into the lead. A lovely free kick from Beckham found its way onto Gerrard's head and Terry swept in the nod-down with ease.
So that's five wins from five and a growing lead in Group Six. The performance wasn't perfect and wasn't as incisive as I'd hoped, but England got the job done. Wayne Rooney was excellent, Gareth Barry anonymous, and Aaron Lennon and Ashley Cole simply shocking. But there was plenty of heart after slipping back to 1-1 and the fight got us through. Well done England.
(Photo: BBC Sport)
Posted by Chris Nee
2 comments:
SWEET! Crouchie got himself into another on of his crazy orangutan poses on that goal! Photoshoppers everywhere rejoice!
That's right, Crouchinho's got new shapes. This was the 'rope' part of the robot dance, apparently.
I believe he nicked it off some no-mark comedy character who did a sketch with the England squad for Comic Relief.
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