There
were positives. There was a marvellous performance from Danny Welbeck
as a second-half substitute; a performance that secured the penalty that
Frank Lampard then scored to spare Roy Hodgson the ignominy of becoming
the first England manager since Kevin Keegan to lose a World Cup game
at Wembley.
But Hodgson came closer than he would have liked to feeling as wretched as Keegan did on that October afternoon 12 years ago.
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Taking the plaudits: Frank Lampard salutes the England fans after dispatching a clinical penalty to snatch a point at Wembley
Match facts
England: Hart,
Johnson, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines (Bertrand 73), Lampard, Gerrard,
Milner, Cleverley (Welbeck 62), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Sturridge 69),
Defoe. Subs not used: Ruddy, Walker, Cahill, Carrick, Livermore, Lallana, Sterling, Butland.
Booked: Defoe, Gerrard, Lescott, Milner, Johnson.
Sent off: Gerrard.
Scorer: Lampard (pen) 86.
Ukraine: Pyatov,
Gusev, Khacheridi, Rakitskiy, Selin (Shevchuk 75), Tymoschuk,
Rotan (Nazarenko 90), Yarmolenko, Garmash, Konoplianka, Zozulya (Devic
89). Subs not used: Koval, Bezus, Mandzyuk, Stepanenko, Butko, Dykan.
Booked: Selin, Garmash, Khacheridi.
Scorer: Konoplianka 39.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
Attendance: 68,102.
He
might not have felt like resigning in a toilet but he would have been
forced to concede that England’s chances of securing a safe passage to
Brazil were disappearing down the pan. This is a fine Ukraine side, one
more than capable of beating every other team in the qualifying group,
and that would have left England staring at a precarious place in the
play-offs.
Lampard
took his 87th-minute penalty with great composure, driving the ball
home with gusto to cancel out Ievgeny Konoplianka’s tremendous
first-half strike, but the match ended in something of a state of chaos
for England.
There
was the sight of Steven Gerrard being dismissed for a second yellow
card that rules him out of next month’s game against San Marino. Not to
mention the sight of Hodgson waiting for Cuneyt Cakir to inform the
Turkish referee what he thought of his decision.
But
more perplexing were some of the decisions Hodgson seemed to be making.
Welbeck on the left flank? It certainly confused Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Hodgson
will no doubt feel vindicated by the fact that Welbeck still made the
necessary impact, but he did so by drifting into more central positions
where he caused Ukraine real problems. Before unleashing the shot that
Yevgen Khacheridi blocked with his arm, Welbeck saw another effort
rebound off a post.
Marching orders: Gerrard is sent off by Turkish official Cuneyt Cakir
Cleverley
sent an effort against a post too, but for the young Manchester United
midfielder it proved that much more painful. He might have impressed in
Moldova and against Italy prior to that, but he was guilty of
squandering three clear opportunities here.
The
game introduced Hodgson to the brutal reality of life as the England
manager and the decision to select such an offensive side against
opposition of this quality looked like an error of judgment. To be fair
to Hodgson, he was having to cope in the absence of 12 senior players.
Gilt-edged: Tom Cleverley misses from close range with the game goalless
Gerrard
and Lampard did certain things well. In the first half Gerrard’s
passing was excellent. But better teams expose the key weakness in their
partnership and the presence of someone like Michael Carrick behind
them could have provided a bit more security when Joleon Lescott and
Phil Jagielka appeared so vulnerable at the back.
Again,
there were familiar problems. England played some decent attacking
football and the fact that they tried to pass their way through the
Ukraine defence was encouraging.
Unstoppable: Yevhen Konoplianka blasts Ukraine into the ascendancy, leaving Joe Hart no chance
But
in possession they still displayed fundamental deficiencies, conceding
the ball cheaply in dangerous areas because of their inability to cope
with Ukraine’s pressing tactics. An early warning came in the form of an
Oleg Gusev cross than took a deflection off Oxlade-Chamberlain, looped
over Joe Hart and bounced off a post.
England
did respond. Glen Johnson almost carved out an opening for Lampard, and
Jermain Defoe unleashed a right-foot shot that flew past Andriy Piatov
and into the Ukraine net. But Cakir was quite right to disallow the
goal, the official spotting Defoe push Andriy Yarmolenko away with a
rugby-style hand-off.
Disallowed: Jermain Defoe saw this effort chalked off after being adjudged to have fouled Andriy Yarmolenko
This
was already proving a much tougher game than Friday’s 5-0 win in
Moldova. No sooner had England seen that goal chalked off than Ukraine
were cursing their own luck. It seemed certain Ruslan Rotan would score
after a swift counter-attack but Gerrard rescued Hart with a marvellous
block.
After
34 minutes, England should have scored. The ball from Gerrard was
superb, the header across goal from Defoe both unselfish and
intelligent. But, when Cleverley appeared to be left with the simplest
of finishes, he directed his close-range shot straight at Piatov.
Fall guy: Defoe's goal is disallowed for the striker's earlier foul, to the consternation of England players
It
was all the more regrettable for England because of what followed five
minutes later; the goal from Konoplianka. The curling 25-yard effort
from a player considered Ukraine’s answer to Lionel Messi was
breathtaking and simply impossible for Hart to stop.
Two
more chances would follow for England prior to the break, both of them
falling to Cleverley. The first, created by Lampard, he miscued, the
second, created by James Milner, he sent against a post.
Pointing the finger: Roy Hodgson shows his displeasure at referee Cakir after the final whistle
When
it came to making changes, Hodgson’s options were limited. On went
Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge and Ryan Bertrand, with Welbeck the one to
deliver.
That
Gerrard had to leave the field soon afterwards, for a challenge on
Denys Garmash that the referee felt warranted a second yellow card, was
disappointing. But it was no more than that. No, thanks to Welbeck and
Lampard, the more serious outcome was avoided.
Denied: Ukraine were unfortunate to leave England with just a point
Video: England 1-1 Ukraine - watch highlights of the game from Wembley
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