UKRAINE 0, ENGLAND 0
England secured a battling draw that sees them maintain pole position in Group H with a far from classic performance but one which afforded them a massive step towards the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
Frank Lampard could have sealed victory on his 100th England appearance but his late header went wide as England fought to secure a vital point.
England manager Roy Hodgson was relieved to survive their Kiev test with a depleted squad shorn of the likes of Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck, who was suspended after picking up a second yellow card against Moldova on Friday, plus team-mate Wayne Rooney and Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge who picked up injuries last week.
Also missing was Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain leaving England’s attacking options threadbare with his Gunners team-mate Jack Wilshere short of full match fitness.
“It was a fair result. We did very well especially in the first half when we had clear control of the game and could have won it at the death with a header from Frank.
“We lost seven players form the original squad and a lot of players came in who aren’t normally there for this kind of game and pressure.
“We gained a result without riding our luck.
“We were good defensively and if we had a Rooney or Sturridge available we might have even won.
“Perhaps we didn’t have the quality to win the game but we didn’t lose.”
Manchester City’s James Milner was used to bolster England’s work rate in the wide positions and both Ashley Cole and Kyle Walker were given stern tests by Ukraine’s wingers as expected.
Ukraine had a good early start and could have claimed a penalty after just 40 seconds when Joe Hart dived to claim a ball at the feet of Roman Zozulya after an early cross by Yevgeni Konoplienka.
Walker almost gave away another spot kick when Oleg Gusev almost got past him and Hart had to make the clearance.
First half excitement gave way to a second half of increasing attrition as the stakes for each side raised. Jack Wilshere looked unfit while Theo Walcott picked up a knock after he was hacked down by Oleksandr Kucher.
An increasingly defensive looking England side laboured towards the end of the game as injuries took their toll.
Artem Fedetskiy evaded all his markers as a second half chance arrived for Ukraine but his header was weak and easy to save for Hart as the home side tried to press for victory but eventually settled for a draw after Lampard’s late header went wide and 70,000 fans in the Olympic Stadium held their breath.
England will secure their ticket to Brazil with home victories against Montenegro and Poland in October but they will be chased all the way.