Spain finally douse Ukraine fire

By Mark Chaplin at Juan A. Samaranch stadium

Spain reached the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final after winning a dramatic semi-final penalty shoot-out against Ukraine in Lausanne tonight.

Spain keep nerve
After a tightly-fought 2-2 draw over 120 pulsating minutes, the Spanish youngsters kept their nerve in the shoot-out to win 4-1, with David, Sergio Ramos, Roberto Soldado and Rubén all finding the net from the spot while Spanish goalkeeper Ribas produced a stunning save to keep out Konstyantyn Kravtchenko's kick, Dmytro Chygrynskiy shot wide and only Dmytro Vorobey was successful for Ukraine. Spain therefore set up an eagerly-awaited final against Turkey in Nyon on Saturday.

Topsy-turvy game
A topsy-turvy game had seen Victor open the scoring for Spain early in the first half, before an Oleksandr Aliyev free-kick levelled matters for the Ukrainians soon after the hour. Substitute Soldado put the Spaniards back in front in extra time only for defender Oleksandr Yatsenko to equalise again for Ukraine with time running out.

First chance
Spain had reached the semi-finals with a 100 per cent record, scoring ten goals in their three group matches, while Ukraine had yet to concede a goal in the tournament. The Ukrainians carved out the first chance after five minutes, Oleksandr Sytnyk racing clear of a square Spanish defence only to fire over from a promising position.

Victor opener
But Spain were soon showing their considerable attacking potential and took the lead on 12 minutes. David swung over a right-wing free-kick and Victor headed in at the far post. Lax covering had cost Ukraine their first goal of the competition.

Dangerous David
David lashed a drive centimetres wide as Spain looked to capitalise on their early breakthrough. Another dangerous Spanish attack saw Joan Tomas poke the ball just past the post after a jinking run by the impressive David.

Diving save
The Ukrainians finally rallied as the break approached - Aliyev forcing a diving save from Ribas, and Sytnyk firing across goal and narrowly wide. Half-time came with Spain having enjoyed the better of the first half-hour and the industrious Ukrainians looking more threatening nearer to the interval.

Scrappy play
Play was scrappy in the opening minutes after the interval and scoring chances were at a premium, although the Ukrainians did the bulk of the attacking without unduly troubling the Spanish rearguard.

Busy Aliyev
The busy Aliyev curled a 20-metre free-kick wide as Ukraine sought an equaliser with the hour mark passing and another chance saw Ribas beat out a rasping Artem Milevskyy effort. Spain still looked dangerous in breakaways, however, and David was foiled by Ukraine keeper Bohdan Shust when he burst clear.

Ukrainian reward
The Ukrainians found a deserved leveller in the 65th minute, Aliyev earning reward for his industry when his 25-metre free-kick was deflected past the wrong-footed Ribas to set up an intriguing finale.

Late flurry
The rapid Vorobey tested Ribas after a powerful run but with Spain hitting hard on the counter, there was little to choose between the sides as the minutes ticked down. A late Spanish flurry failed to separate the teams as extra time became inevitable.

Soldado scores
Spain grabbed the lead shortly into extra time. Shust disastrously missed his kick in trying to clear a through-ball, and Soldado ran on unchallenged to roll the ball in. However the durable Ukrainians kept plugging away, and pulled themselves level again with eight minutes of extra time left. Ribas could only parry a pile-driving Kravtchenko free-kick, and defender Yatsenko headed the rebound into the net to take a gripping semi-final to its penalty climax.