Belarus secured a 0-0 stalemate in Minsk to spoil Ukraine's hopes of securing a play-off place in European Zone qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.
Both sides had chances from the start, Andriy Shevchenko twice missing the target and his team-mate Andriy Yarmolenko firing straight into the goalkeeper's hands, while Belarus' Aleksandr Hleb, Sergei Kornilenko and Vitaliy Kutuzov tested Andriy Pyatov. The Blue-Yellows failed to find a way past the hosts' stubborn back line in the second half too, and managed just the solitary point from the very important match.
Ukraine remain third in the group standings with 15 points after eight games, meaning Oleksiy Mykhailychenko’s men must defeat England (10 October, Dnipropetrovsk) and Andorra (14 October, Andorra la Vella) to be sure of sealing their place in South Africa.
Belarus – Ukraine – 0:0
Belarus: Zhevnov, Shitov, Yurevich, Sosnovsky, Omelyanchuk, Plaskonnyy (Lentsevich, 56), Kulchiy, Kalachev, А.Hleb, Kutuzov (V.Hleb, 87), Kornilenko (Kovel, 76).
Ukraine: Pyatov, Mandzyuk, Kucher, Chygrynskyy, Kobin, Husyev (Nazarenko, 60), Tymoshchuk, Gai, Yarmolenko, Milevskyy, Shevchenko (Voronin, 87).
Booked: Shitov (42), Kulchiy (67) – Mandzyuk (82), Shevchenko (86).
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