At Oleg Blokhin everything goes according to plan. And before and after the trip to Rome, the coach of the Ukrainian team emphasized that losing the world champions on the road was not a problem. The real tragedy is to lose points in a home match against the Scotland team:
“If we are not able to achieve victory, then we will have practically no chance of leaving the group. Then it will be necessary to prepare a new team for the qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup. ”
And even before the game Blokhin called opponents the favorites - it was nothing more than a compliment on duty, a tribute to politeness. His assistant Vladimir Veremeev flew to Glasgow for a reason. Entering the “Olympic” field, the Ukrainian team knew very well what needs to be done to win. I went out and did it.
Glasgow's Saturday triumph could drive any Scots crazy, but not Walter Smith. He knows his team too well. An experienced coach perfectly understood the real balance of power. Therefore, in Kiev, his guys openly defended a draw. Cheap and cheerful. That's just all the forces were left at Hampden Park. The Tartan Army played too passively. And recovered Andriy Shevchenko did what Thierry Henry failed: he ruined the Scottish wall. It was he who was the best player in the match: created both goals, the opponent earned a penalty and a penalty. What’s more, gentlemen-skeptics? The "Brave Sons of Scotland" feared Sheva like fire.
... Not a single Ukrainian sports publication managed to guess the composition of its team. If Svidersky's exit instead of the disqualified Yezersky was easy to guess, no one expected Alexander Kucher to appear on the field from the first minutes. After the summer transition from Metalist to Shakhtar, the guy only once left at a new place in the “start”. And even then in a cup match against an outsider of the second Ukrainian league Yavor. And here, right in the thick of it - the center of defense of the national team in a key match for her. Everything turned out in the best traditions of Hollywood: a person not only used the chance for all 100, but also became a hero, scoring a winning goal.
In addition to patching holes in the defense, there was another mystery: who will play on the left edge of the Ukrainian midfield? Sparrow or Kalinichenko? Blokhin made a choice in favor of the football player of the Moscow Spartak. Maxim first entered the field with a new image. Now he is a radical brunette. This is not to be confused with Tymoshchuk?
Kalinichenko was in the first half one of the most prominent characters. Dealt two good head shots. Ukrainians diligently pressed on the Scottish penalty box and its environs. Opponent defended the whole team. The tartan wall held back blows for the time being. But besides this wall, the British had nothing. How much has been told about the horrors and dangers of Scottish standards! But they had nowhere to take from. For the entire match, the Scottish team did not file a single corner. And there were few penalties. The Ukrainian defenders and supporting midfielders practically did not break the rules: only 9 fouls per match. And where is the Scottish thirst for struggle? But in Rome, being under siege, the Ukrainians folded often. And for several days, the Ukrainian defense did not become exactly.
When in the second half the “blue-yellow" accelerated the pace, the Scots did not find an answer. Knowing British football from the inside, Sergei Baltacha said this before the game: “It will be a big problem for rivals if the Ukrainians turn on the speed of not just one player, but the whole team. The Scots are slow, they’re not used to playing in this mode. ”
Speeds increased, and the wall began to fall apart before our eyes. Within five minutes, Shevchenko created three dangerous moments in a row. The stands were noisier and louder. The climax was approaching.
And I did not have to wait long. In the 60th minute, Andrei completed a free kick from the “Filimonov name” point. Svidersky turned out to be more agile than McFadden, and in the resulting turmoil Kucher shot the gates from eight meters.
The crush, however, was not enough for a long time. The Ukrainians slowed down, and the guests (more precisely Kenny Miller) created a couple of great scoring chances. First, after either an impact or a canopy of the Celtic striker, the ball almost fell behind Shovkovsky. The crossbar insured. And a dozen minutes before the end, Miller wrote Blokhin’s wards a second indulgence: in incredibly comfortable conditions, he hit his head from the goalie line, but missed. The Scots walked on Saturday.
In the end, the incredible two-match fatigue of their defenders made itself felt. First, Pressly, assessing the possible consequences of Shevchenko’s one-on-one exit, quite deliberately thwarted a potential goal attack. The fair punishment was a red card from the Swedish judge Hansson. A couple of minutes later, Sheva earned another foul. This time in the penalty area. Penalty hit himself. Calm and confident.
Victor SHARAFUDINOV