England lost their 100 per cent winning record in World Cup qualifying Group 6 as Robert Green saw red in a 1-0 defeat to Ukraine.
Green sent off in Dnipro defeat
England lost their 100 per cent winning record in World Cup qualifying Group 6 as Robert Green saw red in a 1-0 defeat to Ukraine.
The goalkeeper was dismissed after just 14 minutes following a foul on Artem Milevskiy, although it was a defensive mistake from Rio Ferdinand that had presented the Ukraine striker with a clear run on goal.
Andriy Shevchenko fired the resulting penalty wide but Ukraine managed to take the lead on 29 minutes when Serhiy Nazarenko's shot was deflected past substitute keeper David James by Ashley Cole.
Frank Lampard missed a good chance to equalise but England created few other clear-cut opportunities despite a spirited performance with ten men.
Ukraine came close to extending their advantage when Milevskiy struck the crossbar, while Yaroslav Rakitskiy and Andriy Yarmolenko were denied by superb saves from James in the second half.
England tried their hardest in the closing stages to avoid going down to their first competitive loss under Capello but Ukraine held on to move to the brink of a play-off place.
Aberration
Pelted with flares seconds into the game that resulted in a two-minute hold-up, Green had barely had a touch when Ferdinand made his aberration.
Prior to only his second competitive start in 12 months, Ferdinand spoke of the unspoken knowledge that no-one in Capello's squad can feel sure of their place in South Africa.
But neither injury, nor rustiness could be used as an excuse for the bad defending that let Milevskiy charge straight through the heart of England's rearguard.
Green came out to confront the striker but only succeeded in sending him sprawling.
In the confusion that followed referee Damir Skomina initially showed Ferdinand a red card before finally sending Green on his way.
James was his replacement, Aaron Lennon the unlucky man replaced. After just 15 minutes, it was a major disruption Capello could have done without and the Italian must have had a sense of foreboding as Shevchenko strode up to take the spot-kick given the number of times the Ukrainian hero has scored against him in the past.
Not this time though. This time he smacked the outside of a post to allow England to continue their dream of completing a perfect qualifying campaign.
For a while, the Three Lions were quite comfortable. They even managed to get forward on a couple of occasions, Wayne Rooney predictably getting through the work of two men to make up the numbers.
But when Cole also made a needless error close to his own penalty area there was no reprieve as Milevskiy drove forward before the ball eventually broke to Nazarenko after Glen Johnson had made a tackle.
On the ground where he plays his club football, Nazarenko let fly with relish. Cole flung himself at the ball in a bid to make amends. But he could only divert it into the corner, ending any hope James had of keeping it out.
Cue more flares - and a threat to stop the game, which would actually have been no bad thing as errors continued to undermine England's hopes of pulling level.
Blunder
Another Ferdinand blunder almost proved costly when the defender's loose header fell to the impressive Milevskiy, whose thunderous shot cannoned back off a post with James hopelessly beaten.
So, while Lampard almost profited from Rooney's astute pass, Capello's half-time demand was for clearer focus, although the loss of Steven Gerrard at half-time shut off one obvious avenue of redemption.
Lampard drove a free-kick into the wall when set to do much better and Rooney's industry almost brought England level near the end in a late surge as Ukraine sweated.
But an equaliser would have been unjust given the sheer volume of basic defensive mistakes, which must have left Capello shell-shocked.
James Milner conceded a corner at the end of a catalogue of clangers, then James needed to make a feet-first save to deny Yarmolenko, who had been put clean through by Rakitskiy.
Conspiracy theorists wondered whether England might be secretly happy to lose, just to ensure Croatia are knocked out, which will be the case if Ukraine complete the relatively straightforward task of beating Andorra on Wednesday.
If that was supposed to be a consolation, it was totally lost on Capello, who can only hope his players have had all their bad luck and endured all their calamities on one night.
For if they repeat this showing, with 10 men or 11 in South Africa next year, they won't be away from home very long.
| Ukraine |
Team Statistics |
England |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 3 |
Corners |
4 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
11 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 4 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 82.6 |
Passing Success |
74.9 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
17 |
| 90.5 |
Tackles Success |
76.5 |
| 57.6 |
Possession |
42.4 |
| 48.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
51.7 |
|
