After the unfortunate mistakes of Ljubljana, all eyes were focussed on Kyiv the following Wednesday. The signs, while not being exactly promising, weren't all that negative either. All the right things were being said and most people expected the "blip" of Ljubljana would be shown to be exactly that. But one can't count on fate and she intervened that day in the form of a blizzard. Weather - the Great Equaliser.

The moment it all went pear shaped

The match played out exactly as one might expect. Ukraine's quick counter-attacking game was left wanting in the conditions and Ukraine searched desperately for a way past the determined Slovenians. The first half ended goalless and the match looked to be heading towards the inevitable 0-0 when Ukraine upped the ante and begain pressuring the Slovenians. The pressure told and a number of Ukrainian chances openned up, leading to the Slovenians conceding a penalty on the hour. Rebrov dispatched the penalty kick with his usual aplomb and suddenly Ukraine were back on track to qualification with their required 1-0 home victory. However, Ukraine's forte is not holding 1-0 leads.

The Slovenians fought back and the hairs on the back of your neck stood up when Ukraine conceded a free kick 25 metres directly in front of goal. Somehow you just knew something was wrong. The free kick deflected off the wall, but bounced right to Pavlin on the left. He took a couple of touches and struck from the edge of the area, beating Shovkovsky to his right. 1-1 and now it was the Slovenians who were on course for a Belgian summer holiday. For whatever reason, Ukraine never turned the pressure back on. They fought, but you could tell that nothing was going to happen. Life just drained out of Kyiv that night and once again Ukraine was consigned to a miserable summer of watching someone else play on the big stage while watching from home.

Epilogue

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