Ukraine 0 - 0 Croatia: I Hate To Bring This Up But…

I remember waking up that Saturday morning with an evil hangover, a souvenir from the Dr. Dog concert I went to the previous night. The band was playing a really tight set and clearly enjoying themselves, the crowd was into it, and it made for a memorable show. I could probably recall all the songs they played in order. Ukraine’s match against Croatia, on the other hand, registered as little more than a blur of awful football in my memory banks. As I slipped in and out of consciousness during the second half, I remember thinking, “Well, at least they have six months to figure things out before the next qualifier.”

I honestly cannot recollect any positive play from Ukraine throughout the whole encounter. Now, I admit it could just be the alcohol messing with my perception, and the Yellow-Blues were really just a minor adjustment away from taking the play to the Croats. But from where I was sitting (read: curled up in a fetal position), Ukraine was never in this contest. It was ten guys in yellow shirts chasing the ball, and at no time did they resemble a team. Head coach Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko acknowledged his squad struggled:

Today we have had a very difficult game, the most difficult one of the whole time that I am the manager of the national team. We were weaker than the Croats in some elements but we successfully managed to neutralized their strengths. Unfortunately, due to what was asked of our forwards in defense may have led to them not having much of an effect upfront. We have a lot of young inexperienced players in the team for whom it may have been a bit difficult psychologically to play against such a strong and organized collective as Croatia. Most important thing is, however, that we successfully fought and got a point out of the game - a result we are pretty satisfied with.

Asked why he made just one substitution, Mykhaylichenko replied, “I was not sure that the new players could change the flow of the play. We had a flimsy equilibrium in the middle of the park and I was weary of losing it and losing the game.”

Based on the form of Mykhaylichenko’s team coming into the match the expectations were far from grandiose, but this performance was downright embarrassing. The only difference between a loss and this confidence-draining draw is a point. Croatia came into Ukraine’s house and made a squad that hopes to be a contender look like group filler. Afterward, Croatian players and coaches sounded like they had just dropped points to the likes of Andorra, rather than earn a result against a tough rival. In fairness, the Croats were also far from their best on this day. But their goal was never threatened, and only the crossbar and a great Andriy Pyatov save kept Ivica Olic, Luca Modric and company from leaving Kharkiv with three points.

Time heals all wounds, and Ukraine has plenty of it to draw conclusions from the Croatia match before making the trip to England in April. They will host Norway in a November friendly, and are sure to schedule another tuneup or two along the way. Mykhaylichenko will have every chance to right the ship, and I believe the Dynamo man is up to the challenge. I encourage you to vent your frustrations below and move on as I have done.