Ukraine managed to make a great comeback and recorded their first and very valuable victory at the European Championship. In a match played in Düsseldorf, the Ukrainians beat Slovakia 2-1 in Group E.
The first to score was Slovakia, with Ivan Schranz finding the net in the 17th minute. However, the Ukrainians gradually started to play better and scored two goals in the second half – Mykola Shaparenko scored in the 54th minute and Roman Yaremchuk completed the comeback in the 80th minute.
Slovakia were the better team from the start. The first two dangerous chances of the match came in the 10th minute. First, Lukas Haraslin fired a shot at Trubin’s goal, but he managed to save it. Just seconds later, Ivan Schranz shot from close range, but Trubin intervened again.
In the 16th minute, David Hancko fired a powerful free kick, but Trubin again made a save.
The pressure from Slovakia paid off and just a minute later they took the lead. Lukas Haraslin crossed into the Ukraine penalty area, where Ivan Schranz managed to beat Oleksandr Zinchenko, who hung in the air, and Schranz headed home to make it 1-0.
Little by little, the Ukrainians woke up and started to look for an equalizer. In the 28th minute, Mykhaylo Mudryk set up Artem Dovbyk beautifully, who managed to get away from Milan Skriniar and fired a shot, but Peter Pekarik managed to block his shot with a sliding tackle.
The Ukrainians organized an attack in the 34th minute, in which Dovbyk failed to pass the ball to Yarmolenko. Thus, it fell to Oleksandr Tymchyk, who took a good shot, but the ball hit the right post of Martin Dubravka.
In the 43rd minute, Oleksandr Zinchenko shot from a tight angle from a free kick, but Martin Dubravka saved it to the side.
Slovakia managed to organize a very good counterattack in the 44th minute. Then Lukas Haraslin directed the ball towards Trubin’s goal, but he dived and managed to save it for a corner.
However, the good play from the end of the first half finally paid off for the Ukrainians. In the 54th minute, they played the ball around and forced Slovakia to make a mistake. In the Slovakia penalty area, Oleksandr Zinchenko passed the ball to Mykola Shaparenko, who sent the ball straight into Martin Dubravka’s goal, making it 1-1.
In the 74th minute, Roman Yaremchuk advanced through the middle of the field and passed to Mykhaylo Mudryk. The pass was not accurate enough, but Mudryk still managed to get to the ball and shot at the Slovakia goal, but hit the post.
In the 80th minute, Ukraine’s good performances in the second half brought about a complete turnaround in the match. Mykola Shaparenko made a great pass to Roman Yaremchuk, who managed to get away from Milan Skriniar. Yaremchuk managed to control the ball, orientated himself perfectly and sent the ball between Trubin’s legs. Skriniar tried to clear the ball, but it had already crossed the goal line and the score was 1-2.
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