Saudi Arabia 0-4 Ukraine
Andriy Shevchenko scored his first World Cup goal as Ukraine put their dismal display against Spain firmly behind them in Hamburg with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
Oleg Blokhin's team had lost their opener 4-0 to the Spaniards but bounced back to take a comfortable three points against the outclassed Asians, whose uncertainty at set-pieces was ruthlessly exposed.
Midfielder Maksym Kalinichenko set up Andriy Rusol's opener and Shevchenko for the third goal from a corner and free-kick respectively as the Saudis' susceptibility to the high ball fatally wounded their chances of taking anything from the game.
Serhiy Rebrov, meanwhile, claimed his side's second when his speculative effort from distance sailed into the top corner after Saudi goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid slipped as he tried to move across his line and Kalinichenko deservedly completed the rout six minutes from time.
The win puts Ukraine's hopes of progressing to the knockout phase of their first World Cup back on track and their fate will be decided in their final game of Group H, when they face Tunisia.
Rusol set the Ukrainians on their way to the historic victory with less than four minutes on the clock when he beat the Saudi defence to Kalinichenko's corner from the right, steering the ball past Zaid with his knee to give his team the perfect start.
And while Redha Tukar almost levelled immediately with a half volley, it was the Ukrainians who looked the more likely to add to the scoring as the Saudis panicked whenever the European side pushed forward.
Shevchenko came agonisingly close to doubling Ukraine's lead in the 13th minute when he met another excellent Kalinichenko corner with a powerful header, but Ahmed Dokhi blocked his shot on the goalline.
Chelsea's latest big money signing fired off another effort eight minutes later but this time Shevchenko's attempt from long range was straight at Zaid.
The Saudis offered little serious goal threat, with only left-back Dokhi causing anything like consternation in the Ukrainian defence, but even his attempts at goal were off target.
With nine minutes to go to the break, the Ukrainians doubled their lead as Rebrov let fly from more than 35 yards with a right foot effort that beat Zaid, whose footing gave way on the soft wet turf as he struggled to cover the Dynamo Kiev man's shot.
Voronin should have increased Ukraine's advantage further one minute before the interval when an abysmal attempt to clear by Hamad Al Montashari fell at the forward's feet - but the shot was pulled across the face of goal.
However, with less than a minute on the clock after the resumption, the Ukrainians added to their total and this time it was Shevchenko's turn to punish the Saudis for their poor defending when he rose above Al Montashari to head home Kalinichenko's free-kick from the left.
Kalinichenko continued to cause the Saudis problems and he came close to claiming the goal his display demanded in the 65th minute, only for his curling shot to just miss the top corner of Zaid's goal.
With six minutes to go the Spartak Moscow striker finally got his name on the scoresheet as Shevchenko turned provider, the 29-year-old outstripping the Saudi defence with his pace down the left before cutting the ball back for Kalinichenko to fire into the roof of the net.
Oleg Blokhin's team had lost their opener 4-0 to the Spaniards but bounced back to take a comfortable three points against the outclassed Asians, whose uncertainty at set-pieces was ruthlessly exposed.
Midfielder Maksym Kalinichenko set up Andriy Rusol's opener and Shevchenko for the third goal from a corner and free-kick respectively as the Saudis' susceptibility to the high ball fatally wounded their chances of taking anything from the game.
Serhiy Rebrov, meanwhile, claimed his side's second when his speculative effort from distance sailed into the top corner after Saudi goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid slipped as he tried to move across his line and Kalinichenko deservedly completed the rout six minutes from time.
The win puts Ukraine's hopes of progressing to the knockout phase of their first World Cup back on track and their fate will be decided in their final game of Group H, when they face Tunisia.
Rusol set the Ukrainians on their way to the historic victory with less than four minutes on the clock when he beat the Saudi defence to Kalinichenko's corner from the right, steering the ball past Zaid with his knee to give his team the perfect start.
And while Redha Tukar almost levelled immediately with a half volley, it was the Ukrainians who looked the more likely to add to the scoring as the Saudis panicked whenever the European side pushed forward.
Shevchenko came agonisingly close to doubling Ukraine's lead in the 13th minute when he met another excellent Kalinichenko corner with a powerful header, but Ahmed Dokhi blocked his shot on the goalline.
Chelsea's latest big money signing fired off another effort eight minutes later but this time Shevchenko's attempt from long range was straight at Zaid.
The Saudis offered little serious goal threat, with only left-back Dokhi causing anything like consternation in the Ukrainian defence, but even his attempts at goal were off target.
With nine minutes to go to the break, the Ukrainians doubled their lead as Rebrov let fly from more than 35 yards with a right foot effort that beat Zaid, whose footing gave way on the soft wet turf as he struggled to cover the Dynamo Kiev man's shot.
Voronin should have increased Ukraine's advantage further one minute before the interval when an abysmal attempt to clear by Hamad Al Montashari fell at the forward's feet - but the shot was pulled across the face of goal.
However, with less than a minute on the clock after the resumption, the Ukrainians added to their total and this time it was Shevchenko's turn to punish the Saudis for their poor defending when he rose above Al Montashari to head home Kalinichenko's free-kick from the left.
Kalinichenko continued to cause the Saudis problems and he came close to claiming the goal his display demanded in the 65th minute, only for his curling shot to just miss the top corner of Zaid's goal.
With six minutes to go the Spartak Moscow striker finally got his name on the scoresheet as Shevchenko turned provider, the 29-year-old outstripping the Saudi defence with his pace down the left before cutting the ball back for Kalinichenko to fire into the roof of the net.
posted by dgarden at 1:35 pm
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