Impressive Spain see off Ukraine
Impressive Spain see off Ukraine
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Wednesday, 14, Jun 2006 04:51
Perennial World Cup underachievers Spain have got their campaign in Germany off to the perfect start with a 4-0 hammering of Ukraine in Leipzig.
A brace from the prolific David Villa in between goals from Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres proved too much for a lacklustre Ukraine, who were reduced to ten men early in the second half when defender Vladislav Vashchuk was shown red.
But even before Vashchuk was dismissed, the match was heavily one-sided with Spain dominating possession and creating a series of decent chances.
Liverpool's Alonso gave his coach Luis Aragones reason to cheer after just 13 minutes when he beat his club team-mate Luis Garcia to a corner to head the ball past the hapless Olexandr Shovkovskiy.
The lead was doubled just four minutes later as Valencia's Villa struck a free kick from the edge of the box which deflected off Andriy Rusol, who had committed the initial foul with a rash tackle, and floated into the Ukraine net.
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine's captain and talisman, desperately tried to rally his troops but Spain were relentless in their pressure and fast flowing football.
The half-time whistle came as a relief to Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin who made a double substitution at the break bringing Andriy Vorobey and Oleg Shelayev on for Oleg Gusev and Andriy Gusin.
But the changes didn't work and within three minutes of the restart, Spain were three up and Ukraine were a man down.
The lightning quick Fernando Torres broke through the Ukraine defence and mustered an under-pressure shot on goal but referee Massimo Busacca deemed Vashchuk to have impeded the young Spaniard and promptly sent him off.
Camera replays suggested the decision was harsh but Villa dispatched the spot kick and Spain's unbeaten run of 22 matches, stretching right back to Euro 2004, was as good as safe.
Torres added a fourth and some gloss to the scoreline with a stunning strike in the last ten minutes as he combined with skipper Carlos Puyol and Arsenal starlet Cesc Fabregas before smashing home a difficult chance with aplomb.
A sure contender for best team performance of the finals so far, Spain now face Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in their remaining group matches.