Shevchenko's goal and the Kazakhs' own goal brought the Ukrainian national team victory in the 2006 World Cup qualifying match. The Kazakhs did not surprise Blokhin's team. Almost walking, the blue-and-yellows got their three points, which had been planned by the coaching staff even after the draw.
Throughout the game, the Kazakhstan national team did not create a single goal-scoring opportunity and only once hit the target of Shovkovskyi's goal.
It would be worth mentioning how the match began. Perhaps for the first time, the fans of the Ukrainian national team, all 35 thousand of them, sang the anthem the way they do in European countries. The atmosphere was truly unforgettable!
As for the game itself, the Ukrainians immediately set about a systematic assault on the Kazakhstan national team's goal. Rotan and Husiev shot at the goal, and in the 12th minute Shevchenko nearly scored, but his turning shot went over the crossbar.
The score was opened in the 18th minute. In the visitors' penalty area, Rusol and Shevchenko got tangled up, but the Milan forward, standing with his back to the goal, turned around and pushed the ball between the defender and the goalkeeper - 1:0.
Having scored, the Ukrainians immediately reduced the pace of their actions, which had not been powerful anyway. It was noticeable that Blokhin's charges were saving energy for the game against the Greeks.
Nevertheless, even with such a course of events, the hosts should have scored more. Husiev and Shevchenko shot dangerously, and Novikov pulled a powerful shot from Nesmachnyi from the left flank from about 26 meters from under the crossbar.
In the second half, the pattern of play did not change. Blokhin replaced Radchenko with Husin, who had been out of the game in the first half, and his particularly dangerous back-pass was especially notable, after which Baltiev could have gone one-on-one. The Greeks would have taken advantage of such a gift.
In the 46th minute, Shevchenko could have scored a brace, but after his shot from about 20 meters the ball hit the post and a moment later ended up with Voronin, who, already sitting on the turf, pushed it into the net of the Kazakh team's goal. However, the Austrian referee Gerold Lehner called a foul by the Ukrainian in the attack and disallowed the goal.
Five minutes later, the referee from Austria should have awarded a penalty when Rotan was brought down on the turf, but he did not.
Another chance to score was again missed by Shevchenko. This time the captain of the Ukrainian national team beat four defenders of the Kazakh team, but his finishing shot was parried by Novikov, who demonstrated excellent reflexes.
However, instead of Shevchenko, the Kazakhs struck their own goal themselves. In the 83rd minute, Rotan elegantly crossed into the penalty area, and Avdeev sliced the ball into his own corner of the goal – 2:0.
In the remaining time, Vorobei shot again, Shevchenko from a free kick, but the spectators saw no more goals.
After the match, Shevchenko admitted that the players were saving energy for the game against Greece.
Oleh Blokhin surprised after the game, if not disappointed. After the won match, Blokhin in a burst of euphoria forbade the players to talk to the press, and the blue-and-yellows one after another found themselves on the bus…
The victory over Kazakhstan does not particularly cause euphoria. Only after Greece can we build some winning scenarios, but for now let's wait.
Group 2
Ukraine – Kazakhstan - 2:0 Goals: Shevchenko 18, Avdeev 83 - own goal Ukraine: Shovkovskyi, Yezerskyi (Fedorov 87), Rusol, Radchenko (Husin, 46), Nesmachnyi, Vorobei, Tymoshchuk, Rotan, Husiev, Shevchenko, Voronin (Bielik 70) Kazakhstan: Novikov - Liapkin, Familtsov (Traviin 79), Avdeev, Dubynskyi, Smakov (Nizovtsev, 56), Karpovych, Baizhamov, Baltiev, Krokhmal, Rodionov (Chychulin 31).