Ukraine cruise past Faroe Islands

Ukraine kept themselves in the hunt for a place at UEFA EURO 2008™ with a one-sided win against a Faroe Islands side who were condemned to their fifth consecutive defeat without scoring in Group B.

Champions leapfrogged
The visitors had the chance to open up a two-point gap on world champions Italy while maintaining the pressure on France and Scotland. They made no mistake with Volodymyr Yezerskiy scoring in the first half and Oleh Gusev after the break.

Deserved lead
Despite missing prolific forward Andriy Shevchenko through injury, Ukraine assumed control early on with Andriy Voronin testing Jákup Mikkelsen. It was no surprise when Oleh Blokhin's men took the lead after 20 minutes when Yezerskiy drilled a 20-metre shot past Mikkelsen. Taras Mikhalik then curled an effort past the far post and Anatoliy Tymoschuk nodded over Maxym Kalynychenko's corner as the away team looked to double their advantage.

Just reward
The home side's first attempt of note came on 50 minutes yet Olexandr Shovkovskiy was able to watch Símun Samuelsen's 35-metre strike fly over. Ukraine were eventually rewarded for their dominance seven minutes later when Andriy Nesmachniy headed into the path of Gusev and the midfielder calmly slid a low shot past Mikkelsen. Olexiy Bielik wasted two fine chances to put the game further beyond doubt while Súni Olsen blazed wide as the Faroes tried to force their way back into contention.

Profligate finishing
Kalynychenko was left kicking himself after he squandered two simple openings, one with his head, the other a volley, while Tymoschuk's fierce drive crashed against Mikkelsen's right-hand post. But by then Ukraine had done enough to secure the points and were happy to settle for a two-goal margin ahead of another crucial qualifier on Wednesday, when they entertain Lithuania.