sport news STEPHEN McGOWAN: Ukraine's dominant 3-1 win at Hampden was utterly humbling for ... trends now

sport news STEPHEN McGOWAN: Ukraine's dominant 3-1 win at Hampden was utterly humbling for ... trends now
sport news STEPHEN McGOWAN: Ukraine's dominant 3-1 win at Hampden was utterly humbling for ... trends now

sport news STEPHEN McGOWAN: Ukraine's dominant 3-1 win at Hampden was utterly humbling for ... trends now

The imposition of martial law meant that six of Ukraine's starting XI in this World Cup play-off hadn't kicked a competitive ball since December. Overwhelming their hosts with their superior skill, fitness and relentless courage, no one would have guessed.

Holed up in a Slovenian training camp for the last month, Oleksandr Petrakov's side trudged out draped in yellow and blue flags then unleashed their patriotic anger with Vladimir Putin on a Scotland team caught out by their relentless ferocity. 

By the time they united as one with their 3,000 supporters at time-up, the job of becoming world football's most unpopular international team had passed to Wales on Sunday.

For Scotland the painful 24-year wait for an appearance at the World Cup finals goes on. 

Unbeaten in their last eight games, hopes of a trip to Cardiff were raised briefly by a late goal for Callum McGregor after 82 minutes. By then a tiring Ukraine were clinging to a lead carved by goals ahead through Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk. 

Just as Steve Clarke's side pressed furiously for extra-time, a clinical breakaway saw substitute Artem Dovbyk race behind a stranded defence to thunder the ball past Craig Gordon.

Scotland's resistance was done and if there could be no quibbling with the scoreline, there will be plenty with the performance. 

The world's media converged on Glasgow praying for a miracle. On a night when planet football kicked every ball on Ukraine's behalf, Scotland were second best in every department. But for goalkeeper Gordon, the stricken visitors would have scored six.

No one predicted a game so one-sided, so utterly humbling for Scotland. Even before the Russian tanks started rolling over the border three months ago, the play-off record of these two nations hinted at a different outcome.

Scotland's last World Cup play-off was 37 years ago when goals from Davie Cooper and Frank McAvennie secured a 2-0 aggregate win over Australia to book a place at Mexico '86. Play-off encounters had been less kind to Ukraine, a nation who finally claimed their first victory in seven attempts on Wednesday night.

But for Gordon, victory would have been theirs after 20 minutes. Despite the absence of Kieran Tierney - the very player a 3-5-2 formation was created for - Steve Clarke stuck with his favoured shape, slotting in Liam Cooper for the absent Arsenal defender. It didn't work and, in the days to come, there will be questions over why the manager seemed so reluctant to change it.

Ukraine set the tone of the night and so nearly opened the scoring after eight minutes, Gordon producing his first wonderful save from the driven first-time effort of Viktor Tsygankov after Oleksandr Karavayev's cross came off the heel of Ruslan Malinovskyi.

The Hearts keeper came to Scotland's rescue again 10 minutes later. Ukraine cut the home defence apart with alarming ease once more when Yaremchuk's attempt to turn and shoot in the area was foiled by the toe of McGregor. The Celtic captain succeeded only in diverting the ball into the path of Yarmolenko in front of goal. You'd have bet money on the West Ham man nudging Ukraine into the lead. Even he couldn't believe it when Gordon once again

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