Euro 2012: England v Ukraine full-time report

Wayne Rooney

England 1 Ukraine 0

Wayne Rooney returned from his two-match suspension to fire England into the Euro 2012 quarter-finals at the expense of co-hosts Ukraine.

However, the match was not without controversy, as Ukraine's Marko Dević was denied a perfectly good goal – with the match officials failing to spot that the striker's second-half shot had crossed the line.

It initially appeared that John Terry had produced a wonderful goal-line clearance, only for replays to prove that the whole ball was over the line.

The game's biggest talking point arrived not long after Rooney had effectively sealed the points for England, who finish top of Group D and will now play Italy in Kiev on Sunday.

The Manchester United striker nodded in Steven Gerrard's cross for one of the easiest but most important goals of his international career.

England came into this crucial Group D decider as the narrow favourites, but it was the co-hosts who dominated large periods of the match.

It was a markedly improved performance by the Ukrainians, who were comprehensively outplayed by France in their previous match.

Oleg Blokhin promised that no repeat performance would occur against England, and the Ukraine coach was true to his word.

His side went close to testing Joe Hart on a further two occasions inside the opening 20 minutes after Denys Garmash had smashed an early effort narrowly over the England goal-frame.

The next scare came when Dević picked up the ball on the edge of the box and struck a first-time effort which was well charged down by Scott Parker, before a strike from a similar position by Yevhen Konoplianka was blocked by the frame of Terry.

Roy Hodgson's back-four were forced to defend deep as a revitalised Ukraine pushed hard in search of the opening goal, while England's midfield and attack struggled to put together any meaningful passages of play during the first half.

But despite their lack of possession, England should have taken the lead midway through the half when a rare opportunity fell to the man whose return had dominated the pre-match headlines.

And what an opportunity it was, too. Rooney should have scored when Young whipped in an inch-perfect cross for his Manchester United team-mate, but the striker – who had taken up a free position inside the Ukraine penalty area – headed wide of the target.

There was no two ways about it – it was a glaring miss by the man who was bidding to score his first goal at a major tournament since the 2004 European Championship.

Not only that but it was also nearly a costly miss. Minutes later Yarmolenko received the ball inside the England box and shaped to shoot on his favoured left foot following more impressive build-up by the Ukrainians, but the alert Hart was equal to the talented winger's strike.

Hodgson and his players must have breathed a collective sigh of relief as referee Viktor Kassai blew his whistle for half time – and judging by the timing of the game's only goal, the break came at an ideal time for the visitors.

That's because just two minutes after the interval, England had taken a priceless lead.

Gerrard was the architect, firing in a dangerous cross after bamboozling Yarmolenko on the right wing, allowing Rooney to nod in from close range after Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov had fumbled.

It was a goal which alleviated the pressure on England's shoulders, although Rooney had the chance to put the Three Lions out of sight minutes later.

Gerrard rolled a pass through to Rooney behind the Ukraine defence, but the goalscorer lacked the required acceleration to burst away from Yarmolenko, who made up for allowing Gerrard to skip past him for the first goal by denying the England striker a shot.

A sharper Rooney might have finished that chance and doubled England's lead, but instead the missed chance spurred on Ukraine to come agonisingly close to levelling the scores.

Indeed, had goal-line technology been introduced for this tournament, then Ukraine would have finished the match with a deserved draw.

Terry produced a heroic acrobatic clearance to hook Dević's shot to safety, but Blokhin had every right to feel incensed as replays proved that the ball had crossed the line.

England, famously denied a goal in the last-16 of the 2010 World Cup against Germany in similar circumstances, had no time to sympathise with their opponents though.

It was a warning sign for Hodgson's men. The result, and their passage through to the quarter-finals, was anything but secure and it was imperative they remained focused for the rest of the match.

There was another particularly nervy moment when Konoplianka forced Hart into a fortuitous one-handed side after being deceived by the swerve of the long-range strike.

The England goalkeeper was bailed out by his Manchester City team-mate Joleon Lescott, who cleared to safety, as Hodgson's side - somehow - still had their clean sheet intact at the full-time whistle.

The debate about goal-line technology will continue to rage, but this time it's Ukraine who find themselves on the receiving end of a wrong decision.

Roy Hodgson: ‘This was an away game with a capital A’
Sweden v France full-time report
Euro 2012 fixtures and results

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