Croatia 2 – 2 Ukraine: Everything Still To Play For

The clash between Ukraine and Croatia had all the makings of a heavyweight prizefight. The visitors were stunned early, but bounced off the ropes with an uppercut of their own. Ukraine had gained the momentum but the loss of their talisman evened out the flow of the match. And even though Ukraine landed the first blow of the second half, they allowed the hosts to dictate their terms and needed a couple favors from the posts to survive until the final whistle. The result means Ukraine still controls its World Cup 2010 destiny, and one could not for more from a team still waiting to find its best form.

Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko took a gamble by putting several players in the first eleven who had recently flown below the national team radar. Just as he had at Wembley when he started the Metalist Kharkiv pair of Valentyn Slyusar and Serhiy Valyayev, the manager went with a midfielder from an in form club when he selected Shakhtar’s Oleksiy “He Is Not Your Buddy,” Gai to partner Anatoliy Tymoschuk in the center. With his pool of creative midfielders weakened by the injury to Oleksandr Aliyev, Mykhaylichenko had to pick two out of a trio of Dnipro players, and he chose Ruslan Rotan over Maksym Kalynychenko to play on the flank opposite Serhiy Nazarenko. Perhaps in the biggest surprise, Dynamo Kyiv’s Vitaliy Mandzyuk was included over incumbent right back Hrygory Yarmash. Mykhaylichenko’s instincts proved correct, as all three players more than held their own.

Croatia’s opener came so quickly Ukraine must have felt they started the match a goal down. But the visitors did not panic and sought to maintain possession while searching for a route up the pitch. And at the first sight of goal Ukraine were level through Andriy Shevchenko. After dropping back in the buildup, Sheva made a true center forward’s run from outside box to get on the end of Rotan’s cross and hammer the ball into the net. The instinct and determination he showed in sprinting for the spot were he anticipated the ball would arrive are still unmatched among his compatriots. The motivational effect of Sheva was on full display as Ukraine took control, moving the ball and attacking with confidence it has rarely shown against opponents of Croatia’s caliber. And just like that, Sheva was gone, pulling up lame just twenty minutes in and seemingly taking the momentum to the bench with him.

During Ukraine’s surge Artem Milevskiy appeared to be tripped while controlling the ball in the area, but referee Terje Hauge was not interested in awarding a penalty to the Dynamo striker. The Norwegian official redeemed himself when he did not fall for Darijo Srna’s attempt to trick his way into a spot kick. A lesser referee may have been fooled when Srna kicked out his leg to make contact with a defender as he went to ground. But Hauge saw through the Croatian captain’s elaborate acting job and produced a yellow card for simulation.

In the second half Ukraine took the lead through an unlikely source, as Gai beat his marker at the near post to head in Nazarenko’s free kick delivery. And for a stretch things looked positive for Mykhaylichenko’s crew, as they stymied Croatia and looked set to take advantage of the space created as the hosts pushed forward. But while Croatia seemed out of ideas in open play, they gathered themselves when the ball was stopped and found ways to open up Ukraine’s defense. A free kick taken short gave Luka Modric the ball in space, and following a one-two combination the little pest was in on goal, his deflected shot looping over the helpless Andriy Pyatov and into the net. With the score at 2-2 Ukraine was content to try and hold on to a point, and the tactic almost proved disastrous. A team can afford to sit back when it possesses the threat of a counter, but with poor interplay between the front players and no pace to speak of, the visitors were setting themselves up for an assault. Paying no respect to Ukraine’s attacking capabilities, Croatia stormed Pyatov’s goal, and were only denied by the woodwork before running out of time.

Overall Ukraine put in a much better performance than when the teams met in Kharkiv last fall. They held the ball well, put together a few offensive moves, and capitalized on a set piece. But some of the same shortcomings remain, and they have to be addressed before Ukraine faces their next serious Group Six foe when they travel to Belarus in September. While Milevskiy and Shevchenko showed a glimpse of a promising partnership, Sheva’s replacement Yevhen Seleznyov did little to justify his appearance on the pitch. Seleznyov simply did not appear ready to play, immediately getting booked for entering the field without the referee’s permission. With Mykhaylichenko putting so much weight on club form, it is surprising he chose to bring Seleznyov over Oleksandr Hladky, who has been ahead of Seleznyov on the Shakhtar depth chart. In any case, Milevskiy needs a running mate with good positional sense and high workrate off the ball, qualities that Seleznyov has not demonstrated. If Sheva is out, Andriy Voronin should get the next start up front.

The end result was exactly what Ukraine was after in Zagreb. They can now pull level with Croatia by picking up three points against Kazakhstan in Kiev on Wednesday. Ukraine has the more favorable qualifying home stretch compared to their rivals. Croatia still has two matches to play against Belarus, as well as a trip to Wembley remaining, while Ukraine plays Belarus once more and face England on home soil. As long as we take the points we are supposed to get, the goal of reaching South Africa 2010 will remain within reach.