England 1 Ukraine 1

Match 18/12/971 - Tuesday, 11 September 2012 - World Cup Qualifying

England (1) 1 Lampard 87 (pen)
Ukraine (1) 1 Konoplienka 38
Att. 68,102

Entrance: £55
Programme: £6
Mileage: 155/1,058

Match Report

The FA made an undisguised attempt to tap into the Olympic feel good factor with a programme cover that exclaimed “Let The Games Begin” and a parade of Olympians during the half-time break. In the days leading up to this World Cup Qualifier it was reported that only 55,000 tickets had been sold for a game that was always likely to be against England’s most dangerous opponent in the group. The final take-up was boosted to 68,102 with tickets being offered to the Olympic Games volunteers at discounted prices. Whilst it is obvious, from the flags that adorn Wembley, that many travel to Wembley from outside of the capital, I would guess that a substantial proportion of any Wembley attendance come from London and the South East and would also guess that last night’s lower than usual attendance is as much to do with a bit of post-Olympic belt tightening as it was England’s poor showing at Euro 2012.

After Friday’s 5-0 romp in the opening Qualifier in Moldova, a smooth ride to Rio may well have been envisaged, but Ukraine came to Wembley with an intention to avenge what they perceived as an injustice in Donetsk when England won by a Wayne Rooney goal after a goal of their own was ruled out when it had clearly crossed the line and they ultimately proved to be more than just a bump in the road.

England were forced to rely on a Frank Lampard penalty with three minutes remaining to salvage a point from a game that saw Steven Gerrard sent off for two bookable offences with an overly officious referee from Turkey, Cuneyt Cakir, taking centre stage. He brandished nine yellow cards in a game that was never fractious.

The Ukrainians posed a dangerous threat with the pace of Yevgeni Konoplienka and Andrij Yarmolenko proving a constant problem for a back line that looked uncomfortable without the presence of Scott Parker patrolling in front of them. The Turkish referee’s first intervention came after 11 minutes when Jermain Defoe fired past the Ukranian keeper from 20 yards only to have the goal chalked off for a mysterious offence. It transpired that the referee had determined that Defoe had executed a hand-off on Yarmolenko whilst engineering the space in which to shoot.

The visitors took full advantage of the let-off when, after 39 minutes, Konoplienka seized on a poor clearance from Joleon Lescott to thunder a shot high into the net from 25 yards for superb finish.

England created chances throughout the first half, but each one fell to Tom Cleverley and, pun intended, on the night he was none to clever.

Chasing the game in the second half, Roy Hodgson ended with a three-pronged attack with Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge joining Defoe in attack. Welbeck struck a post with eight minutes remaining before a hand ball in the area under pressure from the Manchester United striker offered Lampard the opportunity to salvage the point from the spot.

The most rose-tinted of opinions could point to important players missing such as Rooney, John Terry and Parker. Gerrard was forced to play a very deep-lying role in the absence of the midfield holder thus nullifying his influence further up the field. Both of Gerrard bookings were contentious, the first of leading with an arm and the second for a tackle from behind. As his punishment is to miss the home game against San Marino it should not be particularly costly.

The Road to Rio may prove to be a bumpy one and as the Olympic spirit fades over the coming months the FA might need a bit more imaginative thinking than piggy-backing on another sport’s success to keep the Wembley turnstiles clicking. At £55 paid last night, ticket prices might be a good place to start.