MALAMPAKA.COM

England 1 Ukraine 0:

A goal that was more poacher than Pele was not what Wayne Rooney would have visualised when he retired to his hotel room on the eve of this European Championship encounter.

But it was a goal that propelled England into a quarter-final few thought Roy Hodgson would reach when he was parachuted into Wembley last month, and a goal that secures a meeting with Italy in Kiev on Sunday rather than the world and defending European champions here on Saturday.

It was also a goal that was given, which was more than could be said for the one Marko Devic scored in the 62nd minute. Joe Hart had not done enough to halt the progress of Devic’s shot and John Terry, for all his heroics, was too late when he finally cleared. That the officials did not spot that the ball had crossed the line should at least silence Michel Platini in his outdated opposition to goalline technology.

He's back: Wayne Rooney marks his return to action with England's opener against Ukraine

He doesn't miss from there: Wayne Rooney opens the scoring

Net gains: Wayne Rooney follows his header in after opening the scoring

Start the party: Wayne Rooney celebrates with John Terry

Match facts

England: Hart, Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole, Milner (Walcott 70), Gerrard, Parker, Young, Rooney (Oxlade-Chamberlain 87), Welbeck (Carroll 82). Subs not used: Green, Kelly, Henderson, Baines, Jones, Jagielka, Downing, Defoe, Butland.

Booked: Gerrard, Cole.

Scorer: Rooney 48.

Ukraine: Pyatov, Gusev, Khacheridi, Selin, Rakitskiy, Yarmolenko, Tymoschuk, Konoplianka, Garmash (Nazarenko 78), Devic (Shevchenko 70), Milevskiy (Butko 77).
Subs not used: Koval, Kucher, Aliev, Voronin, Shevchuk, Rotan, Seleznyov, Mykhalyk, Goryainov.

Booked: Tymoschuk, Rakitskiy, Shevchenko.

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Attendance: 51,504.

In the end, it mattered not. Thanks to a quite astonishing victory for Sweden over France, England emerged as comfortable winners of Group D and it is of little comfort to Ukraine that it would not have rescued them from elimination either.

For England, however, it was all rather more positive. This was their fourth win in five under Hodgson, extending the unbeaten run they have so far enjoyed under their new manager.

Hodgson will still have his issues with the performance here at the Donbass Arena. As Steven Gerrard said, it was ‘not fantastic’. It was actually far from that at times.

Rooney’s 48th-minute goal was important on so many levels, not least in easing the sense of anxiety that had developed among England’s players after a nervy first half against co-hosts who were classy in everything they did except their finishing.

Hodgson would have returned to the dressing room at the interval more with a sigh of relief than a swagger, such was the manner in which his team held Ukraine to a goalless first 45 minutes.

Defensively England were terrific. John Terry was magnificent, just as he was against France. Just as he almost always is in an England shirt.

Never give up: John Terry (No 6) chases back as the ball heads towards the goal

Touch and go: John Terry ends up in the net as he hooks the ball clear after it had crossed the line

Appeal: Marko Devic's effort did cross the line

Off the hook: John Terry cleared the ball as Marko Devic's shot crossed the line but no goal was given

We all saw it: TV pictures show the ball crossing the line

Goalline technology: A computer-generated image shows the ball over the line

But he was not alone in impressing in the back four. Alongside Terry, Joleon Lescott also did well. As did Glen Johnson to Terry’s right. Such a solid defensive performance will do Johnson’s confidence no harm and the save Joe Hart made in the second half to deny Yevhen Konoplianka highlighted the quality of England’s goalkeeper too.

Ahead of them Gerrard and Scott Parker again ran themselves into the ground. No England player ran further than Parker.

But Gerrard offers so much more than protection for the back four. He is proving a fine captain in this tournament, leading by example and providing the kind of service every striker dreams of.

He provided the ball for Lescott against France, for Andy Carroll against Sweden and it was his ball Rooney converted here from less than a yard.

Rooney enjoyed a touch of good fortune too. The ball bounced up beautifully for him after clipping Yevhen Khacheridi and slipping through the hands of Andriy Pyatov. But it was a marvellous cross from Gerrard and it came after he had beaten the full back too.

One that got away: Wayne Rooney's first-half header drifted wide

Heads you lose: Wayne Rooney fluffed his early opportunity from Ashley Young's cross

Frustration: Wayne Rooney was disappointed with his miss but he made up for it after the break

England will nevertheless need to improve come that clash with Italy, just as Rooney will need to convert the kind of chances he was presented with when Ashley Young planted a brilliant cross on that refurbished head of his before the break. It was an opportunity Carroll almost certainly would have buried, and that would have only made it all the more painful for Rooney when it was the towering Liverpool striker whom he displaced.

Rooney did not have the kind of game he would have imagined for himself, even if he will take pleasure in his first tournament goal in eight years. He was not as sharp as he claimed he was; he was a player who looked like he hadn’t played a full game for more than a month.

After 87 minutes on Tuesday night, it should be a better Rooney come Sunday. A Rooney who can provide the oil in the machine that has been missing at times; who can make England a more fluid, fluent attacking force. Rooney and Danny Welbeck have proved themselves a potent attacking partnership at Manchester United this season, scoring 33 goals in 22 starts.

Against Ukraine this England team experienced difficulties that are starting to become familiar to Hodgson, not least when in possession.

Ukraine did not make it easy for England, defending deep and pouncing with their swiftly executed counter-attacks. But England need to play with more cohesion and composure as well as the organisation and determination that has got them this far. Gerrard said they were ‘unbreakable’ after the Sweden game and Hodgson has certainly made England very difficult to beat.

The knee injury that prevented Andriy Shevchenko from starting this final group match made it that much harder for Ukraine. It also seemed to affect the mood of a crowd that was never more vocal than when their hero eventually joined this contest as a 70th-minute substitute. Hostile hosts? They were relatively subdued, as the 4,000 England fans made themselves heard over the 44,000 Ukrainians. All or nothing: The Ukraine players huddle before their must-win game

All or nothing: The Ukraine players huddle before their must-win game

The scene is set: England and Ukraine line up for the national anthems

Eleven lions: The England team line up just before facing co-hosts Ukraine

The home side might have been relieved to see an England team lacking Theo Walcott, Hodgson opting for the relative safety of James Milner instead. In fairness to England’s manager he has not lacked ambition here in eastern Europe. The selection of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against France and Carroll as partner to Welbeck against Sweden showed as much.

But it will be interesting to see what he does with his wingers now if the ankle injury Shevchenko inflicted on Young turns out to be serious. Young hobbled away from here last night and that is a worry.

Initially, England were far too cautious against Ukraine. They were playing with patience, and passing well when they had the ball. They just weren’t seeing that much of it.