England have recorded their first competitive defeat under the new management of Fabio Capello.
One thing that Capello can’t seem to overcome in the England team is their defensive mistakes and lapses in concentration. It was not completely unexpected that England lost the game to Ukraine based on two more defensive errors.
England were dealt a heavy blow after just 14 minutes when Rio Ferdinand inexplicably let the ball run past him, not realizing Artem Milevskiy was lurking. Rob Green went to ground and had little choice but to bring Milevskiy down, which resulted in a penalty and a red card for Green. Aaron Lennon was sacrificed to bring on backup keeper David James. The blow could have been heavier but Shevchenko missed the penalty; hitting the post.
Down to ten man England looked seriously second best to Ukraine, allowing the Ukrainians dominate the possession. Then came the second defensive mistake when the normally reliable Ashley Cole decided to do a little drag-back on the edge of the box and missed the ball. The striker stole the ball away and it ran to Serhiy Nazarenko who let rip with a powerful shot; Ashley Cole finished the move off by the deflecting the shot into his own net.
In the second half England reshaped with Milner coming on for Gerrard and Rooney drop back into a wing position. With the formation shift England played much better and looked like they could get at least an equalized, but it wasn’t to be and Ukraine were able to hold on for the win.
There were both some positives and negatives for England to take from this game; most of the negatives were defensive errors which Capello needs to somehow sort out if England are to have any chance at the World Cup.
On a positive note David James was excellent, and did not do his World Cup hopes any damage with two fantastic saves. First he made an impressive full stretch one handed dive to deny Rakitskiy’s powerful strike. Second he gave a lesson in how one-on-one’s should be handled when he stayed big to block Yarmolenko on the break away.
Another player worth noting is Michael Carrick; sometimes it’s so frustrating to watch him play, as you know what he’s capable of but just doesn’t seem to want to come alive. He can pass a long ball like no one else, can unlock defenses with through balls, he’s pretty good running with the ball and can hit a good shot. But he doesn’t seem to want to do any of those things. The game last night was perfect example. He didn’t seem to want the ball at all, taking up poor positions and standing way too close to the ball carrier…almost in subconscious way of saying “don’t pass to me”. When he was on the ball all he would play were short balls across the back line.
Barry can play short passes all day, but he can also make tackles all day, which Carrick cannot. If Carrick has any chance of playing in the World Cup he needs to showcase his skills, not play in the manner of Barry, as Barry will win that contest every time.
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