Slovenia vs Ukraine. European Championship Qualifying Qualifying Play-Offs.
Ljudski Vrt.
Thursday 19 November 2015 10:09, UK
Ukraine secured qualification for Euro 2016 with a 3-1 aggregate win over Slovenia after a bad-tempered second leg in Maribor.
Andriy Yarmolenko equalised on the night with the final kick of the game after Bostjan Cesar had given Slovenia hope of overturning the 2-0 first-leg result with an 11th-minute header.
Referee Cuneyt Cakir had a challenging evening as both sides engaged in unnecessary bickering throughout, and Slovenia right-back Miso Brecko eventually saw red after kicking out in stoppage time.
The aggregate victory secures qualification for a European Championship for the first time in Ukraine's history - they reached the tournament as co-hosts in their only previous appearance in 2012.
The away side took a 2-0 advantage into the second leg, but that offered little comfort based on their recent play-off history. Ukraine had thrown away the same lead against France in their 2014 World Cup qualification play-off, losing their second leg 3-0 in Paris.
With the onus on Slovenia to attack, manager Srecko Katanec opted to leave out Fiorentina striker Josip Ilicic after a below-par performance in Lviv. But it was centre-back Cesar who set the tone for what would be an ugly first half with a booking after just seven seconds.
The Slovenia skipper was lucky to stay on the pitch after catching Yevhen Seleznyov with an elbow, but the Turkish referee brandished only a yellow - the first of five in the opening 45 minutes.
An early goal was crucial for the home side, and it was Cesar who broke the deadlock on 11 minutes. The centre-back headed home after Ukraine failed to deal with Valter Birsa's dangerous delivery from the right. Roman Bezjak got a crucial flick on the cross, and Artem Fedetskiy could only block the ball into Cesar's path.
Slovenia failed to test Pyatov once in the first leg, but were much improved in front of their home fans. Their high-intensity pressing seemed to startle Ukraine, and captain Yevhen Konoplyanka went into the book after five minutes as the away side struggled to maintain possession.
Konoplyanka and Yarmolenko once again looked Ukraine's most threatening attackers, and twice they came close to linking up in the first half. Yarmolenko failed to latch onto an inviting cross from his midfield partner, before returning the favour, but Konoplyanka could not convert either.
A poor cross-field path from Kevin Kampl led to Ukraine's best opportunity of the half, but Seleznyov miscued his effort into the ground and straight at Samir Handanovic.
Nejc Pecnik tested Ukraine 'keeper Andriy Pyatov three minutes before the break, and Ukraine were fortunate to get to half time with their aggregate lead intact.
Konoplyanka, so impressive in Sevilla's 3-2 win over Real Madrid before the international break, tested Handanovic with a stinging shot after a slaloming run five minutes after the interval.
Kampl continued to threaten the Ukrainian back-line with mazy runs from the left channel, and goal-scorer Cesar had an excellent opportunity to level the aggregate score on 74 minutes, but his low header from a corner was well saved by Pyatov.
Handanvoic had earlier kept out Yarmolenko and Yaroslav Rakitskiy, but Ukraine sank back towards their own penalty area as the second half progressed. Yarmolenko deflected Krhin's goal-bound effort over the bar, and substitute Zlatan Ljubijankic took too long when gifted space in the Ukraine penalty area.
Frustrations boiled over for the home side as Ukraine looked to see out the final moments in the five minutes of stoppage time, and Brecko received a red card for a nasty kick. Flares had briefly stopped play prior to the sending off, and the atmosphere soured.
Another stray arm from Cesar opened up a head wound on substitute Artem Kravets, leading to an extra two minutes of added time. But Slovenia were undone as they committed defenders forward, and it was a mistake from their best performer on the night, Kampl, that led to Yarmolenko's equaliser.
The Slovenia attacker slipped when collecting a clearance as the last man, allowing Kravets to break clear with two team-mates in tow.
The second-half substitute kept his composure to draw out Handanovic before passing to an unmarked Yarmolenko, who swept into the net to cap off the perfect night for Mikhail Fomenko's side.
