Nothing seems fair in either love or war whatever the old adage says but football provided a glimmer of hope at Hampden Park on Wednesday night.
On a tense night Ukraine edged past a fired up Scotland to deny Steve Clarke’s men a place at a first World Cup in 24 years and set up a playoff decider against Wales on Sunday. And if it is anything like this one the Millennium Stadium is in for a firecracker, oozing emotion promising another happy diversion from the terrible events back home in Ukraine.
Two goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk saw the visitors race into what looked like an unassailable lead early in the second half. But Callum McGregor set up a belting last 10 minutes but the visitors held firm.
It was a match which had bent emotions into some uncomfortable shapes beforehand with even Graeme Souness declaring for the war-torn visitors on account of the turmoil they had been forced to endure. With around half of Ukraine manager Oleksandr Petrakov's squad playing at home with either Shakhtar Donetsk or Dinamo Kyiv, the bulk have been in a camp near Slovenian capital Ljubljana since the start of May.
Others like their Premier League contingent have been playing regularly but the rest have had to make do with three friendlies against club sides from Germany, Italy and Croatia by way of preparation. It was a far from ideal preparation for a game of their lives yet this was always going to be a side driven by a greater purpose.
Ukraine’s players were each draped in a flag for the anthems with the visitors rendition warmly applauded around the stadium. Yet it was the noise which followed Flower of Scotland which shook the rafters loose. Unfortunately a similarly loose start in defence from Scotland who were caught off guard in the 11th minute, Viktor Tsygankov rattling a shot goalwards after beating Aaron Hickey to the ball and rattling a shot off Craig Gordon’s fingertips just over the bar.
It was an effort which might have been going over but Gordon made a quality save at the feet of Andriy Yarmolenko five minutes later then reacted quickest to the loose ball to smother it as it rolled towards the line. Scotland had a few forays forward but it was the men in yellow who were producing the more clinical forward movement, and Gordon the busier of the two keepers.
Ukraine got the breakthrough their superiority deserved just after the half hour, and the goal was simplicity itself, Yarmolenko’s latching on to a long ball over the top, taking one touch then lofting the ball over the advancing Gordon with his second. Aside from the yellow shirted Ukraine section which started popcorning wildly, Hampden fell silent.
The problem in the first half looked a systemic one with Scotland’s back three looking repeatedly exposed by simple passes in the channels either side of Scott McTominay and Liam Cooper. Ukraine were clearly finding it too easy to take out Clarke’s wing backs and cut through. Had it not been for Gordon Scotland’s World Cup dream could have been over at the break.
Four minutes after the restart it pretty much was when Benfica striker Roman Yaremchuk rose above both McTominay and Aaron Hickey to nod Oleksandr Karavaev’s cross from the right past Gordon. It was a hammer blow to Scottish hopes. Steve Clarke had switched to a back three for the second half pushing Scott McTominay into a more familiar midfield role and it brought greater purpose.
The home side should have pulled one back after the hour mark, second half substitute Ryan Christie and McTominay combining on the right to force a fumble from Georgiy Bushcan. With the ball bouncing invitingly out for John McGinn, the Scottish No 7 tried to place his header too accorately inside the near post when there was plenty of the goal gaping elsewhere.
McGregor managed to set up a barnstorming last 10 minutes hooking the ball just over the line after a hopeless flap from Bushcan. Artem Dovbyk ensured the dream stayed alive finishing the last move of the match with a third.
