England-Ukraine: Fabio Capello Relieved after Insipid Performance

Christopher Potter by Scribe Written on April 01, 2009
LONDON - APRIL 01: Wayne Rooney of England makes a spectacular attempt at goal during the FIFA 2010 World Cup Group 6 Qualifying match between England and Ukraine at Wembley Stadium on April 1, 2009 in London, England.  (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Will David Beckham run out of skin to tattoo? Can Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko just get a room? Does Capello actually have emotions? Did David Pleat actually call Andriy Voronin anaemic?

With little by way of notable entertainment during England's World Cup Qualifying home match against Ukraine, I looked in vain for something interesting to analyse.

It was perhaps surprising therefore in this context when the television cameras panned to the England coach punching the air in relief rather than delight after watching his side battle to an uninspiring 2-1 victory over group rivals Ukraine at Wembley.

For all of England's possession and Wayne Rooney's stellar football, Andriy Shevchenko looked to have punished England for their inability to finish off mediocre opponents with an instinctive close-range strike in the closing minutes.

However, man of the match captain John Terry was in the right place at the right time to guide a cushioned Steven Gerrard header into the net from close range in the 85th minute despite a suspicion that it was from an offside position.

Capello resisted the temptation to start icon David Beckham on the right after an encouraging second-half display during the 4-0 friendly victory over Slovakia at the weekend. Lennon started on the right and, with Peter Crouch upfront. The emphasis was to use the full width of the big playing surface to create some space away from the compressed midfield area.

To their credit, the visitors effectively cut off this service to Lennon in particular and were combative in the midfield, none more so than the impressive Anatoliy Tymoschuk. On the plus side for England, this tactic allowed Wayne Rooney to expertly explore the pockets of space that opened up in front of the visitors' defence.

Rooney's effervescence and intelligent movement and vision was comfortably England's biggest threat going forward and, in the 13th minute, he played a fine one-two with Gerrard on the left and skidded an excellent ball to the other side of the pitch, only for a dangerous Lennon cross to be cleared to safety from in front of goal. This was a move that was replicated half way through the first half with a similar result.

England's ascendancy was rewarded in the 29th minute later when Peter Crouch acrobatically turned in a cushioned header from John Terry from yards out despite the best efforts of the onrushing Ukrainian goalkeeper Andrii Piatov.

There was reason for Capello to be concerned shortly afterwards as Gareth Barry, already booked for a clumsy challenge, was fortunate to escape without further punishment after hauling down the tricky striker Milevskiy and David James struggled to keep out Liverpool reject Voronin's seemingly harmless long-range strike on goal.

Capello will have been relatively pleased as the half-time whistle blew as his side were seemingly on course for a comfortable, problem-free victory.

Single Page
Vote Now! - Author Poll

Who was your man of the match?

  • Peter Crouch
  • Andriy Shevchenko
  • Anatoliy Tymoschuk
  • Wayne Rooney
  • John Terry
  • Steven Gerrard
vote to see results
Results - Author Poll

Who was your man of the match?

  • Peter Crouch

    14.3%
  • Andriy Shevchenko

    28.6%
  • Anatoliy Tymoschuk

    21.4%
  • Wayne Rooney

    21.4%
  • John Terry

    7.1%
  • Steven Gerrard

    7.1%
  • Total votes: 14
(0)
...
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written on April 01, 2009 Game Recap

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