Frustrated Croatia held in Ukraine
Saturday 11 October 2008
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Croatia's Ivica Križanac tries to dispossess Andriy Shevchenko of Ukraine (©Getty Images)
Ukraine had goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov to thank for holding visitors Croatia to a goalless draw, with the FC Shakhtar Donetsk custodian sparing his side a costly defeat.
Group situation
Three points separated the teams positioned second and third in Group 6 before kick-off and Croatia were desperate to make up that deficit after succumbing to leaders England last time out. A solid defensive performance gave Slaven Bilić's men the platform to do just that, but they were unable to find a way past Pyatov in the Ukraine goal.
Modrić chance
The match began at a high tempo in Kharkov, with the hosts winning five early corners. Croatia never looked like conceding, however, and they came close to taking the lead themselves when Luka Modrić first brought Pyatov into action with 15 minutes gone. The visitors then started enjoying the lion's share of possession, though they were given brief cause for concern when Andriy Shevchenko fired wide from a free-kick a minute before the break.
Croatia pressure
The AC Milan striker missed another opportunity soon after the restart, shooting over from Serhiy Nazarenko's cross, before Modrić replied for Croatia by beating two defenders and directing the ball towards the top corner – only for Pyatov to demonstrate his abilities again. Darijo Srna found Ivica Olić in the box from the resultant corner, but the Hamburger SV forward hit the bar and spurned another golden chance 12 minutes before the end. Modrić could still have sealed the points for Croatia had he not failed to beat Pyatov from close range.
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