Highs and Löws of the Tournament

Having just witnessed my ninth and final match of the tournament, I thought I should look back at my experiences during this trip.

Before I set off I was aware of the negative publicity, but as a football supporter and traveller, I don't pay too much attention to people who consistently look for easy stories to create headlines. Instead I believe in finding out for myself. I can report that I have witnessed no problems between supporters and no incidents of racism at all. I have already commented on the exorbitant prices being charged for ( very) basic accommodation and personally believe that this is the reason that supporters have not travelled in the numbers I would expect. The exception being the Irish.

During the last fortnight I have visited six of the eight venues. I have been impressed with every one, to such an extent that I cannot believe there is such a thing as a restricted view ticket. (The only restricted view I heard of was a travelling fan's view blocked by an Irishman standing in the aisle. When the Irishman was confronted he simply smiled looked down, picked up a pint from the row of them he had and gave it to his new friend, and stayed where he was). My only complaint would be that Kiev has a running track meaning that behind the goal you are a long way from the action.

During my trip I met a German who managed to take advantage of the free accommodation in Kiev, by responding to the adverts I had seen (see 15th June), countering my earlier comments and offering a positive perspective on the situation. He rang a phone number, was picked up by his host, driven to the accommodation and then left the key as his host went to work. Then in the evening his host treated him to a sumptuous meal.

Individuals in both countries have been eager to meet and talk to you as a visitor to their country. This wasn't difficult in Poland, but in Ukraine, where less people speak English once a local starts a conversation with you, you can see all the non English speaking people want to join in with this and hijack the local to act as translator.

The culinary highlight for me has been the pierogi (Poland) and varenki (Ukraine) which are simply dumplings with different fillings e.g. cheese or meat.

Having been eating cakes and desserts since before you were aware of James Richardson I can recommend Blinkle in Warsaw and Veronika's in Lviv.

At this tournament I personally believe the quality of the football in the Group stages, has been better than ever before, with most teams having a chance of qualifying, maybe due to the new rules!

The hosts both played their part enthusiastically supporting the games, and had visiting supporters joining in the chants for the two home nations, as I left the stadium for the last time on Friday "Polska biało czerwoni," rang round the ground as the Poles in Gdansk also bade the tournament farewell.

The number of travelling fans has been much lower than at previous tournaments. Although I didn't see them I have heard that the Irish supporters made a favourable impression on the residents of Poznan, where around 30,000 were seen, teaching the locals to "stand up for the boys in green."

As ever the Italians and French did not have the support to match their teams. The Swedes had the luck of the draw and set up camp in Kiev, whilst The Netherlands total of points matched their interest in their base of Kharkiv.

The Russian supporters I see were promised free flights to the Quarter Finals if the team progressed that far as part of Vladimir Putin's election campaign.

The Germans were present in good numbers at all three of their games that I saw, and have a strong belief that they will end their 16 years of hurt.

So those were some of the highs.

As for Löw, just remember Markus's words, as Germany edge ever Klose!

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile

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Euro 2012 football

A Tale of Four Cities

Now coming towards the end of my tour of Ukraine, I thought it was time to discuss what the Ukraine has to offer.

Before the tournament started there was plenty of bad publicity. Now I believe that the reason there are not as many supporters here as normal is the ridiculous prices being charged from the outset by the local hoteliers.

When people see prices of over £100 a night for a basic hotel and over £50 a night in a hostel dormitory bed shared with 8 other people, a year before the competition starts, then prospective visitors are not encouraged to look at this as a sensible proposition. If you did look further into accommodation you would have been shocked to see some rooms at over £1,000 a night.

Noises were made by the Ukrainian government in April asking hoteliers to drop prices, but this fell on deaf ears. Some Ukrainians looked to put this right in May by setting up a movement to offer free accommodation to foreigners to counter the bad publicity their country had been receiving, alas this is too late to make any difference as the people who are set on coming have already made their arrangements.

The attitude of making as much as possible from the visitors is highlighted by my experiences with the taxi driver in Donetsk who would rather charge 250 hryvnia and stand outside waiting for a client than keep busy at a reasonable rate. Also the bar in Kharkiv where the price was exorbitant for locals. This shortsightedness does not endear you to the local businesses but makes me feel sorry for the local people who have to put up with this behaviour, whilst earning a meagre wage for example, the young doctors on the train to Lviv on €100 a month.

As for sightseeing, Kharkiv had several Soviet sights which you are warned that the locals don't like talking about.

Donetsk has the Donbass Stadium and the restaurant Старгород (Stargorod). The next thing to do there was visit a salt mine some 75k away where there is a football pitch 300m underground. I didn't have time to visit but I am guessing that someone from the U.A.E. did.

Lviv has a pleasant feel to it and has plenty of old buildings in the city centre which with some investment could make a popular tourist destination, especially as they have just improved the airport facilities.

There is also the Masoch Cafe, but don't beat yourself up if you don't get to see it!

I had read that there are plenty of things to see in Lviv, and I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the school of science, by a local. The place was used to film the Russian version of the Three Musketeers.

Kiev has (as I mentioned previously) numerous sights which make it stand out as a must see destination.

Would I come back to any of them?

Of course I will, if there is a football match on!

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Euro 2012 Lviv

Lviv and late lie!

Arriving in Lviv, immediately asked for help to get to accommodation. As ever there were volunteers at the train station who seemed startled and surprised to see you.

They pointed me on the direction of trolleybus No. 9. (I had already problems with this address as on the google map showing directions it highlighted a completely different address to the one given. I wrote to them to confirm, but received no reply, so also wrote the Lviv Tourist board who confirmed the mistake on Google maps.

So took the tram the 4k into town and began to search for the accommodation.

Couldn't find our destination wanted No. 10, had 9 & 11 across the street, locals offered to help but were just as confused. So I went round the block and saw an entrance manned with guards. This was my accommodation. Once again nigh on impossible to find.

Lviv itself is a pleasant place with something to offer any tourists unlike Kharkiv and Donetsk, which I don't think too many people would visit.

The support also here in town was good with a large number of Germans once again present. There was also a number of Polish supporters here (Lviv is near the Polish border). Throughout the tournament the atmosphere has been good and fans have mingled with no problems whatsoever, and I have not witnessed any racism at all.

The Lviv New Stadium lies some 6 miles out of town in the middle of nowhere, but free buses were laid on. The stadium has a strange steel looking facade, but inside offered a good view as everyone is close to the pitch.

The feeling between supporters was that there would be a 1-1 draw. However basically anything was possible in terms of who could qualify.

Maybe the Danes shouldn't have been singing "Remember 1992", as Germany drove forward looking for victory.

The German supporters really got behind their team in the second half with a 20 minute chant of "Ole, ole,ole". Though it was only in the last few minutes that they sensed victory as they chanted "Seig".

So now after getting up at 11a.m. It's Lviv for today.

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Euro 2012 Lviv

Euro 2012 24 Hours to Lviv

Arrived at the train station to see another new train, unfortunately that was not the one travelling to Lviv at 13.31. Instead it was back to normal, and the comforts of a third class sleeper.

Sat next to two Ukrainians who invited me to play cards, and quickly got talking about football and life in their country. They had just visited Donetsk for the first time having taken the train from their home town on a 16 hour journey.

Their accommodation sounded familiar, a student hall let out to football supporters at 10 times the normal price. If we think this is outrageous, imagine how you would feel if that amount was two thirds of your salary for the month, as it was for these two doctors in their second year of work.

Word got round the carriage that there were foreign football fans in the carriage and my new found friends warned me that they overheard others planned to join us for a party as they stocked up on alcohol. At this stop I also spotted a German friend, Markus and invited him to join us.

Sure enough our compartment was crowded as the locals asked the same questions over and over again through the help of our doctors who translated.

They insisted that we drink vodka with them and when it was suggested that they should offer something to eat, within seconds a loaf of bread, tomatoes and a gherkin appeared.

They were all in total agreement that Ukraine were too reliant on Shevchenko, and that it was unfair on him to carry the whole attack.

Talking of great Ukrainian footballers one man put forward his vote for Oleg Blokhin.

A young boy joined us and quickly took over as translator, as he spoke fluent French/Ukrainian/Russian and English. He offered his views on football and even communism. Finding out that he collected coins from around the world, we were reminded that he was just 12, as he rejected the offer of a €2 Italian coin as he had one already.

There was plenty of heated discussion , especially as Markus got louder and louder convincing everyone that on July 1st 2012 at 23.35 (local time) Germany will be lifting the trophy.

Eventually went to bed around 2a.m! And arose at 9a.m. Only four hours to go.

Complimentary tea was served for breakfast although the sugar that came with it gave a false impression of the train we were on.

Arrived in Lviv on time at 13.04

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Ukraine v France Euro 2012

Made our way into town by local bus and found that we were some 5km past the stadium. So much for on the same road.

The weather was similar to Kharkiv, so I was pleased to see some cloud in the early afternoon to keep the temperature down.

Arriving at the Donbass Arena, it looks like a drab space ship. Inside though the home clubs colours give the stadium a livelier feel. The stadium was the most expensive in Europe, although questions have been asked as to why?

There was an excellent atmosphere in the stadium as the match kicked off, but the rain started to empty the stand opposite me. Then a loud bang, and the players were taken off the pitch. Papers have reported that stands were emptied, truth of the matter is the people were soaked to the skin by the sudden downpour and many had already taken shelter before play stopped.

Ukraine tried, but relied too much on one player. Unfortunately Shevchenko had two good efforts but could not find the net. France produced an excellent performance quickly getting the ball into the last third of play and then, producing passes that Spain would have been proud of.

At the end of the game I expected to find chaos outside in terms of water everywhere but there was hardly a sign of the deluge.

Now the stadium was lit up and looked as though it deserved it's ranking as one of the best stadiums in the world.

Taxi drivers were asking for 250 Hryvnia to take us back, but we went round the corner and got one for 70.

Back at the accommodation we found we had a bed there for the night. Unfortunately for one member of my party their night's sleep ended with another loud bang as their bunk bed collapsed with them in it.

Time to move on.

Will be catching the train tomorrow to Lviv for a 24 hour train journey.

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Euro 2012 football Ross Clegg

Старгород

After wandering around Kharkiv during the afternoon cooling down with ice creams and then thunder and a little rain, the main aim of the afternoon was to find somewhere to watch the evenings football.

Старгород

Mission accomplished.

Beer garden, unfortunately the weather ruled that out.

Home of FC Metalist Kharkov supporters club.

"An up market version of Hooters" I heard the place described as, not sure what that means.

I hope you can read the photos to see why. My colleagues are currently working hard on their membership application.

If they don't manage to enrol tonight the good news is there are also branches of the restaurant in Donetsk and Lviv, guess where we're heading next.

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Finding Accommodation in Donetsk

The journey out of Kharkiv was a lot more pleasant than the one taking us there. A departure time of 06.25 saw us catch the first metro of the day at 05.30 to the train station where waiting for us was a brand new air conditioned train.

Been out here now for a week and yesterday had to spend money on public transport for the first time, on Kharkiv's metro system, where the fare of approx 20 pence will cover your journey.

Today, had no choice but to get a taxi to the accommodation which had been booked in Donetsk, as last night I received an email giving me a different address, and I was unable to find it on a map.

I wasn't the only one.

In the end found a taxi driver and we rang the hostel so that he could get directions from them. Haggled the price down from 170 to 100 which was still expensive.

The description I had stated that the place where we were staying was on the same street as the Donbass Arena. So I was pleased to catch my first glimpse of the Arena as we hurtled passed with horn beeping at various distractions.

We kept going at 100km/h for some time, albeit on the same road.... For someway then turned off..... And turned again. Eventually arriving at an area of local houses (as opposed to blocks).

When we got there we were advised that we might not be staying there!

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Euro 2012 football Ross Clegg

Kharkiv Da Da Da

Decided to go for a curry after midnight to kill time before catching the 02.54 train to Kharkiv. Would you believe it, curry house closed!

So in the end found somewhere else and dashed across town in time to get the train from Kiev. Successfully negotiated the antiquated locker system and caught that train.

The great thing about this journey around Poland and Ukraine is that there was no need to pay ridiculous prices for basic accommodation. So a bargain with a eight hour train journey and a night's accommodation for less than you would pay for a bed for one night. I didn't realise that it also included a free sauna! No windows opened, and a packed train with bunks to sleep on (notice I didn't call them bunk beds!)

Arriving in Kharkiv, the sauna experience helped us quickly to adjust to the 33 degree heat.

Accommodation was 14km out of town, but the 24 hour metro took us nearby in no time. Then 50 minutes of wandering around the "blocks" and we arrived.

Spent the afternoon in Shevchenko Park (where else?). Headed for the Metalist Stadium on the Metro to find the nearest station to the ground was closed. So a 10 minute walk through a landscape that hadn't changed much in the last 30 years, and we were at the stadium. Looking for somewhere to watch the early game, we weren't spoilt for choice and ended up in a small restaurant with a Russian who thought he owned the place.

His English was limited to naming players and the clubs they played for. Hence, da, da, da. It would have been interesting to find out more about him, but I fear that the conversation would not have gone anywhere, especially as I couldn't tell him which clubs all the Russian players played for.

The ground has the nickname of "The Spider", due to the poles supporting the stadiums structure on the outside looking like spider's legs. I couldn't find confirmation, but I believe it is also homage to Queens Park, who are known as The Spiders due to their intricate passing moves in the 1870s. This is also the model that Barcelona copied to play their ticky tacky football that has been so successful for them.

During a quieter moment in the game the neutral supporters began to chant for their country - Roo-see-ya.

Germany deserved their victory and so far are the best team and best supporters seen.

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Euro 2012 football Ross Clegg

Shevchenko

The day after the night before. As the whole of Ukraine is chanting his name I decided to dedicate the day to finding out more about him.

Walking the streets of Kiev I saw they had already erected statues and plaques in honour of his two goals last night.

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Euro 2012 football Ross Clegg

Ukraine v Sweden Euro 2012

Managed a quick getaway from Kiev Airport, once again making use of the free transport available from the airport with match tickets on the day of the game, catching a bus and then managed to catch the majority of the England v France game in the Lucy pub (translates to Lucky in English, the horseshoe gives you a clue).

These Ukrainians are in a weight category above that of the Poles, and England had better watch out as if Ukraine do punch above their weight when they meet in Kiev or they could be in serious trouble.

Counterfeit souvenirs were openly on display, as were political protests indicating that Ukraine is at the moment a law unto itself. The countdown to kickoff (coming to a stadium near you soon) was done in Ukrainian. Not unusual you think. In Poland it was done in English.

Once again the stadium in Kiev was magnificent and with all supporters (with an exception!) in yellow and the blue running track, you knew you were in the Ukraine, except the sky and the fields were upside down.

Once the game settled down and I had worked out that Ukraine were the ones playing in yellow and chants of Sver-gay were replaced with Ooh-cry-eena. Ukraine threatened and like Balotelli, Ibrahomivic showed moments of class that make him look one of the best in the world whilst in the same period showed a lack of application that would not be tolerated in every team.

Shevchenko seems to score every time I see him play and do it was no surprise that their current national hero delivered the equalising goal, and then the winner.

Sweden pushed on towards the end but maybe it was Ooh-cry-eena's "Lucy" night after all.

Whilst both teams battled it out, nothing quite matched the passion shown and heard in the Lucy pub earlier.

© Ross Clegg & Soccerphile.com

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Euro 2012 football Ross Clegg

What to do and where to stay in the Ukraine?

The fifth largest city of the Ukraine, Donetsk, has so much to do and so many wonderful hotels to reside that it is difficult to know where to begin. Whether you are comfortable on campsites or prefer lounging in luxury, Donetsk is certainly delighted to cater for your every need.

Donbass Palace

The Donbass Palace boasts the finest of fabrics and carefully crafted furniture and fixtures, state-of-the-art technology in every room, such as heated floors in the bathrooms for your absolute pleasure. The hotel staff offer a personalised service, always with a smile.
The hotel boasts 129 air-conditioned and centrally heated rooms, a 24 hour check out service, lift access, hotel safe and, of course, reception. All rooms are spacious and include en-suite bathroom, double or king size beds, wonderful tranquil views of Kiev’s parks and gardens, a wonder to behold in summer and arguably bettered during the winter months as the snow creates what can only be described as a wonderland.

The Donbass Palace truly has everything, from beautiful rooms to an on-site restaurant, conference facilities, car park and laundry. The spa facility is also rather magical, combining Eastern and Western, traditional and modern treatments together to create a truly individual weave of fabric to furnish your health and fitness requirements.
As one might expect from such a large and luxurious hotel, an indoor swimming pool, sauna, hot tub, gym and sun terrace are also provided.

The Donbass Palace is located in central Donetsk, within easy reach of the opera house, drama theatre, shopping and bars/clubs.
A typical summer break at the Donbass Palace would cost around £250 per room per night.

The Opera House & Theatre

Whilst you are staying in Donetsk, visiting the eighty-five year-old opera house and ballet theatre is a must as it offers not only a wonderfully elegant exterior but also out of this world performances at incredibly reasonable prices. The Theatre hosts world class productions and performances by legendary opera and ballet stars such as Ivan Kozlovsky, Pavel Lisitsian and Anastasia Volochkova and since 1994, 'The stars of the World's ballet' festival has taken place at the theatre. Alternatively, why not catch 'Swan Lake' in its original language for as little as £3 a ticket, or for around £10 you will secure the best seats in the house.

Pushkin Boulevard

A gorgeous, green pathway that escorts you for around 2 kilometers out of the city is the picturesque Pushkin Boulevard. During this pleasant stroll, you will discover al fresco cafes, relaxing fountains and the monument ‘O Taras Shevchenko’.
Lenin Square
Home of the immense 42 meter Lenin statue: one of Ukraine’s largest symbols of Lenin, signifying the importance of the city during the Soviet Union: a wonder to behold.

Happy Camping

If your budget is somewhat tighter and the luxury of the Donbass Palace is not within your price range then why not pay 25 times less per night (around £10) and take your own tent or caravan to Donetsk?
If you are visiting Donetsk on a low budget in 2012 or thereafter, why not try http://www.venere.com/campsites/donetsk/campsite-camping-park-2012/
Where ‘Camping Park 2012’ will cater for your every need, at a fraction of the cost of the luxury hotels.

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Platini soothes growing pains of Ukraine

Michel Platini has said he is at last confident Ukraine can host Euro 2012.

After several 'last chance' warnings over the past three years, the UEFA boss can tear a few fewer hairs out now the four stadia do seem to be on track for next summer.

"A year ago, we were deciding whether to leave four or two cities," Platini told reporters on a tour of Kharkiv. "And today we have four cities."

"There are no serious problems in preparing for Euro 2012," he continued, "but there are many minor tasks and problems that need to be solved."

For Platini, a successful Euro 2012 is crucial to his reputation as an organiser of big soccer tournaments as he continues his silent campaign for the FIFA Presidency at some point in the future.

The Frenchman has found the two hosts' lack of infrastructure and slow construction progress compared to western European nations an ongoing headache, and has constantly had to threaten them with being stripped of hosting rights. Spain was the first nation touted as a replacement back in 2008, when World Soccer's Keir Radnedge boldly announced neither Poland nor Ukraine would host Euro 2012.

Then Germany entered the picture, either as sole host or as joint organiser with Poland. Now it is clear UEFA is not turning back and is throwing its cards on the table with the two unknown East European hosts. By rights the tournament should have been Italy's, but the calciopoli scandal and an upsurge in high-profile hooliganism let the duo in through the back door.

It promises to be a unique European Championship, a foretaste perhaps of the 2018 World Cup in neighbouring Russia.

The cheap transport promised to fans facing extraordinarily long journeys between venues (Gdansk to Donetsk is 933 miles/1502km) yet to materialise.

Next month Platini visits Poland to inspect their venues, with the opening date of Warsaw's new arena still up in the air.

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

UEFA EURO 2012 8th June -1st July 2012

VENUES

Poland
Warsaw 58,224 (opening game and semi-final)
Gdansk 44,636
Poznan 43,090
Wroclaw 44,416

Ukraine
Kiev 63,195 (semi-final and final)
Donetsk 50,055
Kharkiv 35,721
Lviv 34, 915

Qualifiers
Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and ten others to be decided.

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England & Ukraine finish even

UEFA U21 Championship Group B
England 0:0 Ukraine
Att: 3,495

England and Ukraine survive after a goalless but entertaining clash here in Herning, but both now face do-or-die showdowns with the Czechs and Spanish respectively after they failed to find the net in Jutland this evening.

With Spain on four points and the Czechs on three, England on two and the Ukraine with a point know that nothing less than victory will do on Sunday.

With both teams hungry for a win, a fast-paced opening duly arrived and it was the yellow jerseys of the Ukraine, backed by a noisy support from the ranks of Jutland's expat agricultural workers, who bared their teeth first.

Denys Garmash, the attacking midfielder from Dynamo Kyiv who has gained some admiring glances already, won a corner deflected off Phil Jones with a snapshot on the edge of the area in the seventh minute. Soon afterwards the Ukrainians confirmed their attacking desire when Yevhen Konoplyanka let rip with a 20 yard missile which Frank Fielding dove quickly to parry away. The Dnipro midfielder was the chief protagonist, dribbling at speed, switching positions and shooting from distance.

England needed to stand firm as the yellow shirts attacked with alacrity, and some of their stratospheric clearances betrayed their nerves at being on the back foot. Familiar failings were to the fore again for Stuart Pearce's men, who looked unlikely to threaten the Ukrainian goal in the first half hour, ruining a number of moves with yet more hopeful but dispiriting pumps upfield.

But suddenly a spark of hope came in the 33rd minute. Michael Mancienne threaded a pass through the middle to Daniel Sturridge and the Chelsea striker let fly on the half-volley from fully 30 yards out and whacked the crossbar with the goalkeeper flailing.

England finished the half the stronger, with left-flanker Danny Rose obeying Pearce's vocal exhortations to take on Ukraine's pedestrian right-back Bohdan Butko.

Ukraine resumed their dominance after the break, though Daniel Welbeck, under pressure eight minutes into the half, almost snatched the lead from a route one chase chipped wide of goal. Instead of passing through the Ukrainians, England seemed to be seeking the spectacular. Mancienne, still exploring his unfamiliar midfield anchoring role, tried his luck from 30 yards out rather than prolong a promising move on the deck. England were out of ideas in the middle again, and unlike against Spain, failing to make headway on the wings.

Pearce had seen enough, hauling off Rose and the disappointing Jack Rodwell three minutes before the hour mark.

The yellows sought a second wind, and coach Pavlo Yakovenko took the reins and pulled his ball wizard Konoplyanka off in the 65th, his high-octane motor having run out of petrol at last.

Four minutes later Garmash drew a diving save from 20 yards out and striker Roman Zozulya came on for the ineffective Artem Kravets and glanced a header a couple of yards wide soon afterwards.

A nil-nil looked likelier as the clock counted down, until Ukraine got a stroke of luck eight minutes from time. Garmash ran at the England centre-backs and his through-ball caromed off Jones into the path of Zozulya, whose snapshot was blocked by an alert Fielding. Along with the old head on young shoulders that was Phil Jones, the Derby custodian was England's best performer.

England sub Henri Lansbury rifled an effort a yard wide three minutes later at the other end, confirming it was not yet game over. Sturridge aped him in the 86th, before Welbeck's header from a Lansbury corner brought a goalline save.

No more chances emerged and the two nations tripped off knowing they will have no more excuses over 90 minutes on Sunday.

For England, a stout defence provides hope of avoiding defeat once more, but a fragmented outfield with midfield and attack rarely in unison and a confused attacking policy which relies too much on ineffective hit-and-hope balls do not hint at progression.

The Ukrainians by contrast will have to find a plan B after their energetic attacking, however fine it is to behold, ran out of steam in the second half and failed to spring a watertight backline.

England (4-1-2-3) - Frank Fielding, Michael Mancienne (Fabrice Muamba 89'), Ryan Bertrand, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Kyle Walker, Jack Rodwell (Henri Lansbury 58'), Danny Rose (Scott Sinclair 58')

Ukraine (4-2-3-1) - Anton Kanibolotskiy, Bohdan Butko, Yevhen Selin, Yaroslav Rakiskiy, Yevhen Konoplyanka (Andriy Yarmolenko 65'), Oleg Golodyuk, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Maxym Biliy, Volodymyr Chesnakov, Denys Garmash, Artem Kravets (Roman Zozulya 70')

Total shots - Ukraine 10, England 15
Ball possession - Ukraine 52%, England 48%
Cautions - Ukraine 4, England 2

Sunday 2045: England v Czech Republic (Viborg), Spain v Ukraine (Herning)

Group B standings

Spain pld 2 pts 4
Czech Rep pld 2 pts 3
England pld 2 pts 2
Ukraine pld 2 pts 1

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

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UEFA U21 Championship 2011: England v Ukraine

Group B - England v Ukraine 20:45 MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark

Both teams enter tonight's clash in Herning in need of points.

Ukraine lost their opening clash 2-1 to the Czech Republic, while England scraped a 1-1 draw with Spain with Danny Welbeck's late leveller.

England coach Stuart Pearce insisted his side had been more skilful in training than they were against Spain, but must have been worried by the lack of guile in midfield. Starting with Jack Rodwell might alleviate some of those worries, but work needs to be done on the movement and first-touches of the strike Daniels Sturridge and Welbeck.

The Three Lions were penetrative on the flanks, particularly from their man of the match Kyle Walker, but a dearth of accurate crosses may push Pearce into fielding Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton, who impressed in the Premier League this season.

Ukraine, rated by Pearce as one of the top three teams in the tournament, will be desperate to avoid defeat and tournament elimination tonight. They pulled a goal back against the unbeaten Czechs in their opener late on after a spirited fightback but the two-goal deficit proved too much in the end.

Ukranian football is still feeling confident after Shakhtar Donetsk made it to the last eight in the Champions League this year, and with Euro 2012 imminent in their homeland. Ukraine won the U19 version two years ago and two of those winners now play in the Under-21s, who topped a qualifying group including Belgium, France and Slovenia before edging out the Netherlands on away goals for a place in Denmark.

Their entire squad is domestically based and little known outside Ukraine, but expect to see more of some of these starlets at next season's European Championship finals.

After their first outing ended in defeat they suffered a double blow with the injury to skipper Taras Stepanenko, who will probably be replaced by Shaktar defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy.

Other match (18:00 Viborg - Czech Republic v Spain)

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Shahtar or Shakhtar

Why it is that the Russian and Ukrainian sound /h/ (like in Hull or Harvard) is (mis)represented in English by the letters "kh"?
It's been bugging me somewhat.

So, it should be Shahtar, not Shakhtar; also, Harkov, not Kharkov (or Harkiv, as the name is in Ukrainian).

Even funnier, some geniuses determined that the Ukrainian sound /g/ (almost like in Galloway or Glasgow, just a bit softer) should be transcribed into English with the letter "h"!

Thus, English transcribes the Ukrainian word Liga (League) as
Liha (!), but Shahtar as Shakhtar. And naturally, 99.9% of English
speakers will mispronounce both words... So weird.

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