Ukraine qualify despite Dutch fightback

Goals from Bas Dost and John Goossens were not enough to deny Ukraine a place in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals after a dramatic play-off second leg in Kyiv.

A 3-1 away win in Saturday's first leg had seemingly all but booked Ukraine's place in next June's finals, but Dost struck for the Netherlands just before the break and when Goossens made it 2-0 on the night with 33 minutes left, the visitors trailed only on away goals. However Ukraine held on and they, rather than the nation that beat them in the 2006 final, will travel to Denmark next summer.

From the start the Netherlands had more of the possession as Ukraine sat back and looked to hit Roman Zozulya with long balls, even though he was kept closely marked by the visitors' defence. Bram Nuytinck forced Ukraine goalkeeper Denis Boyko into a good save and Joshua John then shot just wide for the away side.

As half-time approached, the Netherlands struck. In a goalmouth scramble the ball eluded John and Ricky van Wolfswinkel but Dost pounced and his deflected shot beat Boyko. Now nerves truly set in for Ukraine and the tension increased further when Luuk de Jong found Goossens who shot home from 18 metres. Only in the last 15 minutes did Ukraine regain some composure; they had the better of the play but that they did not manage to force a goal was of no consequence ultimately as they, not the Dutch, will be in the hat for the 9 November draw in Aalborg.