Ukraine boosted their chances of reaching the Euro 2020 knockout phase with a 2-1 victory over North Macedonia on Thursday.
Andriy Yarmolenko scored the opener and set up Roman Yaremchuk to make it 2-0 in a dominant first-half display from Andriy Shevchenko's side in Bucharest.
North Macedonia, beaten by Austria on matchday one, improved after the break and pulled a goal back through Ezgjan Alioski after the Leeds United man saw his penalty saved.
Ruslan Malinovskiy also erred from the spot, meaning as many have been missed at this tournament (four) as in the whole of Euro 2016, but it did not cost Ukraine an important three points in Group C.
Ukraine carried a threat from the off, Stole Dimitrievski saving from Malinovskiy and Yarmolenko, while Stefan Ristovski made a brilliant block on Yaremchuk.
The breakthrough came just before the half-hour mark, Yarmolenko finishing at the far post after Oleksandr Karavaev's inspired flick-on from Malinovskiy's corner.
It was 2-0 five minutes later, Yaremchuk slotting a cool finish past Dimitrievski after a clever first-time pass from Yarmolenko.
Goran Pandev produced a clever chipped finish but the goal was disallowed for offside, as North Macedonia ended the half without a shot on target.
However, they did halve the deficit 11 minutes after the restart, Alioski expertly finishing on the rebound after his penalty had been well saved by Georgi Bushchan.
Viktor Tsygankov studded a great chance wide barely five minutes after coming off the Ukraine bench, and Malinovskiy saw his spot-kick parried by Dimitrievski after a VAR review saw Daniel Avramovski penalised for handball.
North Macedonia applied some late pressure to no avail, with their tournament now looking likely to come to an end after the group stage is concluded.
What does it mean? Ukraine back in contention for knockouts
Ukraine's victory means they are right back in the mix to finish in Group C's top two. If the Netherlands defeat Austria, Shevchenko's men will be guaranteed to finish at least second with a win on matchday three.
North Macedonia, meanwhile, could soon be facing elimination. Should the later game finish in anything other than an Austria win, the European Championship newcomers will be unable to advance to the knockout rounds.
Yarmolenko sparkles
Yarmolenko has now scored in three consecutive Ukraine matches for the first time since October 2016, while their last player to score in consecutive games at a major finals was Shevchenko himself at the 2006 World Cup.
The West Ham forward provided the clinical touches in attack in the first half and showed off with a few tricks, highlighting the calibre of player the Hammers would have if he could now sustain his fitness.
Too little, too late from Angelovski's men
Igor Angelovski made two changes at half-time and it was one of those replacements, Aleksandar Trajkovski, whose stunning attempt led to the penalty after it was tipped onto the crossbar.
Their possessions swung from 36.6 per cent in the first half to 62.5 in the second, the shot count more than doubled to 10 in total, but they were left with too much to do by the time they adopted a bolder approach.
What's next?
Ukraine conclude their group stage against Austria in Bucharest, with North Macedonia facing the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Both games are on June 21.
David Moyes urges West Ham to finish the job and top Group A
David Moyes wants West Ham to finish the job off and top their Europa League group.
Tomas Soucek struck late on yet again as the Hammers secured their passage into the knock-out stages with a 1-0 win against Backa Topola in Serbia.
Now they need to avoid defeat to Freiburg at the London Stadium in a fortnight to ensure they top Group A and avoid a two-legged play-off in February.
“We’re thrilled at West Ham that we’re going to play in Europe after Christmas time for the third season,” Hammers boss Moyes said at his post-match press conference.
“Even playing Freiburg in the last game to win the group is hugely important. But I’d have taken this at the start of the season, if you’d said we’ll finish second I’d have taken that.
“Freiburg are a good side and we are going to have to play well.”
Czech midfielder Soucek, who struck with an 89th-minute volley to settle a poor match, has now scored in his last five matches for club and country.
Soucek also hit the late goal which secured a 2-1 win at Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
“Tomas is in great form, not only for us but for his country as well,” added Moyes.
“Let’s continue. His first season he got 10 goals for us and it’s seven now so he has a chance to reach that figure again.
“We made a few changes, some with illness, we were always going to try some other players tonight to give them game time.”
“We scored two late goals on Saturday to beat Burnley and as a manager sometimes it’s good to win game late.”
Aberdeen bounce back from two goals down to draw with HJK in Finland
C fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with HJK in a Europa Conference League game that was held up by a Helsinki snow storm.
The referee briefly stopped the game early in the second half because the travelling Dons fans were throwing snowballs, before a longer delay to allow several snow ploughs to clear the pitch.
Aberdeen were two goals down inside 33 minutes but a stunning strike from Angus MacDonald gave them a lifeline.
Duk levelled in the 56th minute before the 13-minute delay. There had been snow on the artificial pitch at the Bolt Arena from the start with an orange ball deployed and there was no let-up throughout amid temperatures of -5C.
Aberdeen finished the stronger team after the game restarted but could not convert several late chances.
Both teams were consigned to a bottom-two finish in Group G after match day four and the home side’s domestic season ended on October 21 when they clinched the Finnish title on goal difference.
Barry Robson made eight changes to the team that started Sunday’s draw with Rangers. MacDonald made his first start in almost three months following an injury-hit start to the season, while 20-year-old Jack Milne and summer signing Pape Habib Gueye both made their first starts for the club.
Milne showed promise in the opening stages with a good run and cross that led to shots from Duk and Gueye but neither could get through to test the home goalkeeper.
HJK soon got on top and Kelle Roos twice saved well with his feet before the home pressure paid off in the 16th minute. Slobodan Rubezic sold himself with an over-eager attempt to cut out a forward pass and Hassane Bande took advantage as he fired high into the net.
The home side clipped the post and the bar in the following moments and Aberdeen squandered two chances to put HJK under pressure from free-kicks following cynical challenges. The Dons would be subjected to several more throughout the game as Kosovan referee Genc Nuza adopted a lenient approach, although two players were booked from each side.
Aberdeen fell further behind when Santeri Hostikka skipped past three weak challenges and fired through a crowded goalmouth into the bottom corner.
The Dons got back into the game completely out of the blue in the 41st minute. MacDonald controlled a pass 30 yards out and fired the bouncing ball into the top corner.
Robson made two half-time changes as Ester Sokler replaced the ineffective Gueye and Jamie McGrath came on for Ryan Duncan.
The referee turned to Jonny Hayes to try to stop the Aberdeen fans throwing snowballs as HJK prepared to take a goal-kick early in the second half and Sokler was also unsettling the home defence with his harrying.
The substitute’s hard work led to the corner which resulted in Aberdeen’s 56th-minute equaliser. Richard Jensen flicked on Connor Barron’s delivery and Duk nodded home at the far post.
HJK substitute Jukka Raitala fired over from six yards in the 72nd minute just before Nuza took the players off.
Aberdeen re-emerged the stronger team. McGrath and Sokler each twice threatened and substitute Bojan Miovski saw an effort saved as Aberdeen broke with numbers.
The Dons were disappointed when the final whistle eventually sounded as they searched for a winner on a pitch which was again covered in snow with the lines barely visible.
Police injured during pre-match violence from Legia Warsaw fans at Aston Villa
Police have been injured after violence from Legia Warsaw fans ahead of their game at Aston Villa.
Missiles were thrown at police as the visiting fans were held in the coach park near Villa Park, before they were due to enter for the Europa Conference League game on Thursday.
Three police have been injured but the game will start on time, although no Legia fans have been allowed into the stadium ahead of kick-off.
A Birmingham Police statement on X, formerly Twitter, read: “We’re currently unable to allow away fans into Villa Park following disorder outside the stadium which has seen missiles thrown at officers.
“Three officers have already been injured & a significant policing operation continues. Please avoid Witton Lane where possible.”
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