On Saturday, September 24, the Ukrainian national team, which was defeated in Glasgow by Scotland (0:3), played another match in the League of Nations in Division B. Oleksandr Petrakov’s wards arrived in Yerevan, where they played with the Armenian team, which was defeated in June in Lodz (3:0).
The League of nations. Division B. 5th round
Armenia - Ukraine - 0:5 (0:1)
Ukraine: Lunin, Timchik, Zabarny, Krivtsov (Matvienko, 77), Kacharaba, Mikolenko, Sidorchuk (Pikhalonok, 46), Ignatenko, Tsygankov (Yarmolenko, 66), Zubkov (Mudrik, 71), Yaremchuk (Dovbyk, 66).
Goals: Timchik (22), Zubkov (57), Dovbyk (69, 85), Ignatenko (81).
Compared to the recent match against Scotland, the Yellow-Blues’ coaching staff have fielded a completely new squad for the game. This was due to a long-distance flight (the distance between Glasgow and Yerevan is 3736 km) or a weak performance by our team - only Alexander Petrakov and his assistants can answer this question. But the Ukrainian national team started the match at the Republican Stadium nervously. In particular, already in the first minutes, the guests could have conceded when Selarrayan fled from the center of the field face to face with Lunin, but our goalkeeper played reliably and parried the shot.
However, the “yellow-blues” are still a class above their opponent, which they proved in the middle of the first half. At first, Tsygankov did not translate a good moment into a goal, when he could not beat the goalkeeper with a shot from an acute angle, but in the 22nd minute the score was opened. Mikolenko saved the ball at the corner flag and gave a sharp pass to Tsygankov, he immediately assessed the situation and led to Zubkov’s goal, after which there was a cross into the goalkeeper’s area, where Timchik, who joined the attack, sent the ball into the goal in a fall - 0:1.
After the goal scored, the “yellow-blues” calmed down, and at the beginning of the second half they almost paid for it, when Dashyan and Barseghyan could well equalize. But our guys held out and doubled their lead in the 57th minute. Moreover, the Zubkov-Timchik connection worked again, only this time the players switched roles - the defender shot from the right flank, and the attacking midfielder closed with a shot from the center of the penalty area - 0:2.
And soon Ukraine brought the score to a devastating one, and the players who appeared on the field just a few minutes ago took part in the goal attack. Yarmolenko with a brilliant pass with the outside of his foot led Zubkov to the goal, he overturned the goalkeeper, and Dovbyk literally from a meter “brought” the ball into the goal with his head - 0:3.
Subsequently, the guests calmly brought the match to their landslide victory, but at the same time they found several more opportunities to increase their advantage. First, Ignatenko unloaded the “gun” and with a long-range shot from 27 meters hit exactly in the corner of the goal, scoring the fourth goal in the match, and then, after a corner kick, Dovbik a la Messi dealt with several opponents at once and gently shot over the goalkeeper who rushed to him in the legs, - 0:5.
Note that in the fifth round in Group 1 on Saturday, September 24, Scotland will play Ireland in Glasgow.
Position of teams in group 1: 1. Ukraine - 10 points (5 matches); 2. Scotland - 9 (4); 3. Ireland - 4 (4); 4. Armenia - 3(5).
In the final round on Tuesday, September 27, the following matches will be played: Ukraine - Scotland, Ireland - Armenia.
Earlier reported that the Ukrainian “youth team” minimally lost to Slovakia the first meeting for a ticket to Euro 2023.
Photo UAF
Source: Fakty
