Ukraine 6 Ireland 0
Ukraine are the 2012 Paralympic silver medallists and the number two ranked side in the world, and they showed it against Ireland yesterday.
A statistic encapsulates the nature of the fare. Ukraine had 35 shots, and nine on target, in the hour of football, while Ireland forced just a single save from Kostiantyn Smashko.
The Ukraine team is comprised of full-time players, the only one in the tournament.
Ireland team manager Barry Ferguson was candid in his appraisal of a tough afternoon. "Yeah, a tough opener, we are playing the best team and they are going to win the gold medal. I thought we did really well in the second half to keep it to two [goals]; they were looking to get 10 [the maximum amount that counts towards goal difference irrespective of the final score].
“I thought we did really well in little patches. There’s no shame in putting your hands up against a team like that; they were better than us.
“We got a better shape in the second half. We stuck at it, kept going; that was the most pleasing thing going into Saturday [when Ireland face Brazil]. They are going to want to get 10 goals as well. No one is going to want to play Iran from the other group. We are going into another tough game.”
The atmosphere was muted compared the earlier match that saw Brazil beat Great Britain 2-1. About 200 people, the majority of whom were Irish, hung around for the second match.
The reduced capacity of 7,000 seats – the stadium could accommodate 15,000 spectators when hosting the Sevens rugby during the Olympics – makes for a more intimate setting, but it was still only about a third full when the hosts were in action.
It didn’t diminish from the colour and sound generated by the Brazilian fans, who were noisily enthusiastic as the hosts forged a 2-0 lead at the interval. When Britain clawed a goal back and pressed strongly for an equaliser, the anxiety of the locals was palpable.
The dimensions of the pitch for the seven-a-side game would equate to about two thirds the size of a full-size pitch in length and slightly smaller in width; the short-sided game is a physically demanding challenge as a result with rolling substitutions over two, 30-minute halves.
The Paralympic seven-a-side game comprises of players with Cerebral Palsy and some that have what are described as ‘acquired brain injuries’. The levels of disability are classified from five. Those most affected are classified as eight; these are players whose movement is most restricted.
A team must have one category five and one category six player on the pitch at all times and only one category eight player. Players must be replaced by team-mates with a similar classification, making the rolling substitutions a little more fraught. There is no offside and players are able to take a traditional throw-in or roll the ball in along the ground instead.
It took about five minutes before the first throaty chorus of ‘Ole, Ole, Ole’ interrupted sporadic shouting from the players.
After a quite opening Ukraine profited from several Irish errors, creating some decent scoring opportunities that they failed to convert. It was a state of affairs that was unlikely to last and on 11 minutes Vitali Romanchuk converted from an acute angle. It was easily the most difficult of the opportunities presented.
Four minutes later, Ukrainian captain Volodymyr Antoniuk, scored a second and less than 60 seconds later a third. Ireland were being dragged hither and tither. Ukraine used the full expanse of the pitch to stretch the Irish defence and then flooding the gaps with late arriving players; the cohesion, patterns and discipline of a full-time, experienced team easily discernible.
Ireland dropped deeper and deeper. When they did win possession there was no outlet up front and the first half resembled a training drill, predicated on attack against defence.
What offered Ireland some respite was the Ukraine's sudden affinity with long-range shooting, Irish goalkeeper Aaron Tier making a couple of decent blocks. It couldn't and didn't last, Artem Krasylynykov adding a fourth. Ireland relied on moments of individual skill, Ryan Nolan a standout in that respect.
A statistic that perhaps best encapsulates the nature of the match is that substitute Dillon Sheridan produced Ireland’s first shot that required a save seven minutes into the second half. At that point Ukraine led 6-0.
By the final whistle Ireland had conceded no more goals and in extreme adversity showed character and tenacity, Sheridan's contribution and that of Joe Markey particular noteworthy. The pool draw has been unkind and there is no let-up.
