By Stefan Korshak Jun 26, 2006, 22:52 GMT
Cologne - It was the good old battling Ukrainians on Monday, as the World Cup's most eccentric team turned in a sterling performance, and then defeated Switzerland in a penalty shoot out.
Ukrainian goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi makes a save during group H preliminary round match of 2006 FIFA World Cup Ukraine vs Tunisia at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Friday 23 June 2006. EPA/JAN WOITAS
After three games of tepid football at the World Cup, the East Europeans often outplayed the fancied Swiss in energy, team work, and passion - although not always in skill.
Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin neatly solved his chronic defensive worries - the side has been short two experienced defenders since the World Cup began - by giving veteran midfielder Andriy Gusin his first start of the tournament, and assigning him the job of 'neutralising' top Swiss striker Alexander Frei throughout the match.
Gusin's duel with Frei was steel-wire tense by the middle of the second half, as the defensive midfielder began to lose a step to the Swiss forward. But as the half progressed it was Gusin - the oldest member of the Ukrainian team - that appeared to find reserve energy.
But the main Ukrainian defence was an calculated offensive unleashed by the normally conservative Blokhin, with three Ukrainian strikers starting the game, and three and four midfielders adding to the 'attack parties,' as Blokhin described them.
Star striker Andriy Shevchenko led the assault, his long-troubling knee injury apparently forgotten. The newly-hired Chelsea forward threatened the Swiss defence the entire evening and - aways a clear sign the Ukrainians mean business - challenged and even occasionally won one-on-one contests.
By the second half Shevchenko was logging in full-fledged sprints, and blasting shots on the Swiss goal. It was a dramatic contrast to his performance in past games, when fans had whistled him for lack of activity. He missed the Ukrainians' first penalty shot at the end of the game.
Midfielder Anatoliy Tymoschuk turned in arguably the most intense of all, battling from on end of the field to another throughout the match, and at times orchestrating goal shots by Shevchenko.
Right flanker Oleg Gusev, jammed into the trenches of the East Europeans' defensive lines for the last three games to fill in for losses to injuries and fouls, received his attack orders as well, and raided repeatedly to the depths of the Swiss rear.
Blokhin was on his feet for much of the match and, as has become traditional for the World Cup, managed to demonstrate his still excellent first touch by fielding an out near the Ukrainian dug out. As always during a game, the emotional European Footballer of the Year seemed divided on whom he was angrier at: his players, the opposition, or the referees.
But when the game went to extra time Blokhin was a paternal coach, speaking quietly with each of his players, giving a few instructions, and in the case of outstanding players - Tymoschuk, Gusev, and Shevchenko - awarding the ultimate Blokhin accolade: a pat on the back of the head.
Blokhin was absent from the field during the penalty shoot-out. Television cameras caught him swallowing a pill.
By the end of the game all but two of the Ukrainians on the field were Dynamo Kiev players or alumni, including the veteran Gusin, the star Shevchenko, and Ukraine's up-and-coming protege, young forward Artem Milevskiy.
Ukraine keeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi, though mostly untroubled throughout the game, managed a pair of key saves. But at the end of the game, Shovkovski stopped cold a pair of Swiss penalty kicks, winning the man-of-the-match award.
Aside from Shevchenko the Ukrainians did not miss.
Ukraine's peculiar, and now spectacular saga in the World Cup continues. Next stop, Italy.
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