| UKRAINE VS. JAMAICA |
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| The loser of this match was eliminated, while the winner would play the loser of Greece Vs Uruguay. Jamaica had struggled uncharacteristically throughout the round robin, but were still favoured to win. From the outset the match was wide-open, but it took 30 minutes for the deadlock to be broken. Sergei Konovalov crossed to an unmarked Andrei Shevchenko, who opened the scoring with his head and sent the Kiev fans into raptures. The lead lasted only 3 minutes, and unsurprisingly it was Nibblet Jones who levelled the scores, this time with an entirely self-made goal. Picking up a loose ball near halfway, Jones beat 2 defenders before setting sail for the box and slamming home from 20 yards. However, the goals were coming in a rush, and only 5 minutes more passed before the irrepressible Shevchenko gave Ukraine back the lead, with a side-footed finish, after some confusion in the Jamaica defence had given him first play at a loose ball on the edge of the box. Jamaica went to the break 2-1 down, and Aaron Boo’s teamtalk must have worked, because they equalised only 2 minutes after the restart. Again it was Nibblet, this time heading in a cross from his cousin Ricardo at the far post. Jamaica then took the lead for the first time in the match in the 52nd minute. Again Nibblet Jones had a hand, as Alexander Shovkovsky parried his powerful shot, and Kurt Christensen reacted fastest to tap in. The scene seemed set for a Jamaican romp, but Ukraine refused to lie down and equalised in the 60th minute through Konovalov, who smashed in a deflected Andrei Gusin shot from 12 yards. With the scores at 3-3, both teams tried to slow the action down, now realising the importance of protecting their goals rather than playing all out attack. Heading into the final 5 minutes Jamaica were the team pressing hardest for the winner, and the goal finally came in the 85 minute- again it was Christensen with an opportunistic strike. This time a weak clearance fell at his feet, and he had time to measure his shot and slot it comfortably inside the right hand upright. Christensen hammered the final nail into Ukraine’s coffin in the first minute of injury time, again pouncing onto a loose ball, this time from a saved Ricardo Jones shot, to bring up his hat trick. The 5-3 score line was harsh to Ukraine, who bowed out of the competition knowing they had pushed Jamaica all the way. For Jamaica, an elimination showdown against Uruguay now beckoned. Ukraine 3 Jamaica 5 |