- Fran Reilly
- Wed, Jun 22 2016
A Jakub Blaszczykowski goal was enough to give Poland a 1-0 win over Ukraine in Marseille and to secure second place in Group C.
The Poles will now face Switzerland, runners-up in Group A, in the last-16 on Saturday in Saint Etienne. As for Ukraine, their Euro 2016 tournament is over after suffering three losses from three games, though they were much improved from their first two defeats in this match.
Mykhailo Fomenko's side will feel aggrieved to come away with nothing having finished the match with 64% possession and 19 attempts on goal to Poland's nine.
In the end, only one attempt mattered, Blaszczykowski's excellent close range finish following a neatly worked short corner routine being the difference. With that goal, the 30 year old became the first Polish player to score in two different European Championships.
Poland flew out of the traps, with Arkadiusz Milik stinging Ukrainian 'keeper Andriy Pyatov's palms early on when he broke through down the left side. However, it was Robert Lewandowski who should have had Adam Nawalka's side ahead as early as the third minute.
The ball fell to him in a perfect position inside the area, but with the whole goal to aim at the Bayern Munich striker fired over the bar. He has now gone five games without a goal for Poland.
Ukraine had a bright start themselves, with Michal Pazden needing to be sharp to get across the box to block an Andriy Yarmolenko effort on goal. The Dynamo Kiev winger then wasted Ukraine's best chance of the game in the 17th minute.
The Polish backline was caught high up the pitch and Yaramolenko broke free down the right side. However, when one-on-one with Poland 'keeper Lukasz Fabianski, he fired wide of the top corner. A glorious chance squandered.
Kamil Glik thought he put Poland ahead in the 21st minute when Milik picked him out in the box, but the defender's header went just over the bar.
Eight minutes later, Yevhen Konoplyanka drifted inside from the left flank and attempted to beat Fabianksi at his near-post, but his shot flew just wide with the 'keeper looking like he had it covered.
Three minutes after the restart, Oleksandr Zinechenko powered a header over the bar from a Konoplyanka cross. A goal was coming from somewhere and it would be Poland who broke the deadlock in the 54th minute.
Milik played a short corner to Bartosz Kapustka before taking the return pass on the corner of the box. The Ajax frontman slipped a reverse ball into the unmarked Blaszczykowski.
With plenty sill to do inside the area, the Dortmund winger – who spent last season on loan at Fiorentina – rolled the ball with his right foot past Ukraine skipper Ruslan Rotan on the right-hand side of the six yard box before firing an unstoppable left-footed effort high into the top corner, giving Pyatov no chance.
Kapustka almost doubled the lead immediately when he shot just wide of the near-post after cutting inside, but Ukraine race up the other end and passed up a succession of chances through Zinechenko, Konoplyanka, Yarmolenko and Roman Zozulya.
For all their huffing and puffing, Ukraine couldn't find a way through and Poland's record of having never lost when Blaszczykowski has scored remains intact. It was his 17th goal for Poland and it ensured a first win for him over Ukraine at the fourth attempt.
Ukraine: Andriy Pyatov; Artem Fedetskiy, Yevhen Khacheridi, Oleksandr Kucher, Bohdan Butko; Andriy Yarmolenko, Taras Stepanenko, Ruslan Rotan, Yevhen Konoplyanka; Oleksandr Zinchenko (Viktor Kovalenko, 73); Roman Zozulya (Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, 90+2).
Subs not used: Denys Boyko (GK), Mykyta Shevchenko (GK), Pylyp Budkivskiy, Mykhaylo Fomenko, Denys Garmash, Oleksandr Karavaev, Serhiy Rybalka, Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Yevhen Seleznyov, Serhiy Sydorchuk.
Bookings: R Rotan (25), O Kucher (38).
Poland: Lukasz Fabianski; Thiago Cionek, Michal Pazden, Kamil Glik, Artur Jedrzejczyk; Piotr Zielinsk (Jakub Blaszczykowski, HT), Tomasz Jodlowiec, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Bartosz Kapustka, (Kamil Grosicki, 71); Arkadiusz Milik (Filip Starzynski, 90+3); Robert Lewandowski.
Subs not used: Artur Boruc (GK), Wojciech Szczesny (GK), Jakub Wawrzyniak, Mariusz Stepinski, Bartosz Salamon, Karol Linetty, Lukasz Piszczek, Krzysztof Maczynski, Slawomir Peszko.
Bookings: B Kapustka (60).
Referee: Svein Oddvar (NOR).
Attendance: 67,000.
Extratime Man of the Match: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Poland).
