Women's Under-19 National Team: crossbar denies Bonciucci as Titane show progress against Ukraine

Ukraine, coming off a win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, were the second opponents for the Women’s Under-19 National Team in Group B3 of the European Championship qualifiers. Coach Piva lined the Titane up in a 4-1-4-1, executed with discipline and focus in both halves. On a pitch made extremely heavy by the rain, Ukraine fashioned the first chance from a set play. Bielova burst through the middle and found herself one-on-one with Forcellini, who was quick and brave off her line. The Titane replied with personality. Yazici took a corner, which the defence cleared straight back to her; her second cross was deeper and picked out Bonciucci on the far side. The number 2 in light blue and white set herself on her right and crashed a thunderous effort off the crossbar. Terenzi then latched onto the rebound but could not quite complete the dribble that would have opened up the ideal shooting angle. Ukraine responded with a dangerous corner of their own: Carli came up with a crucial touch to divert Tkachuk’s volley. However, the Yellow-Blues kept the pressure on, racking up corners. From one of these, they found the opener. Tkachuk reacted quickest to the loose ball after the defensive clearance and hammered a left-footed strike in off the underside of the bar. That moment unlocked Oleh Bortnik’s side, who went on to score two more goals in quick succession. Holovanchuk made it 2-0, before Bielova struck for 3-0 with a true poacher’s finish in the area. On 27 minutes, Forcellini had to turn a powerful Martseniuk effort behind with an excellent save. The battle then shifted mainly to the central zones, where Piva’s players showcased all their fighting spirit. A clear example came on the half-hour mark: Carli took a heavy blow to the face from an opponent, went down and required treatment. There was a question as to whether Piva would be forced into a first substitution, but the answer came from the player herself – more in attitude than in words: absolutely not. The game resumed. Artemenko squandered a big chance, unlike Kanakhovska, who raced away down the flank and beat Forcellini from close range. The sides went into the interval at 4-0: a harsh scoreline given the Titane’s display, with luck also deserting them, most notably on Bonciucci’s effort against the bar.

Right after the restart, San Marino carved out a chance. Forcellini launched a very long free-kick, the Ukrainian defence and goalkeeper hesitated and Benedettini almost took full advantage. Bortnik’s side responded with a Tkachuk strike that flew just over. Bielova then shot over as well, but only because Benedettini threw herself in the way. Forcellini produced something similar a few minutes later when Savka broke through one-on-one: a magnificent save from the San Marino goalkeeper. Just past the hour mark, Carli earned the spotlight and the applause with a superb goalline rescue after Forcellini had been beaten. In the 65th minute the latter took a free-kick from the halfway line. The defence headed the ball straight to Tamagnini, who tried to swivel and shoot first time, but could not hit the target. On 70 minutes Hladun also turned a very inviting ball from Savka wide of the far post. The introduction of Lonfernini injected fresh energy into a San Marino side that never stopped battling for every ball. Ukraine grew stronger in the closing stages. Two excellent interventions from Forcellini – one with her feet to thwart Konovalova, the other with her fists to deny Kanakhovska – prevented further damage. Yet in the 89th minute the light blue and white keeper (who shortly afterwards handed over to Mastronardi, making her debut in UEFA qualifying) could do nothing about Tkachuk’s close-range finish, which made it 5-0 and completed her brace. It was nevertheless a clearly improved performance from San Marino against a high-calibre side – relegated from League A, like Romania – and one that allows them to look ahead with confidence to Tuesday’s final match (13:00) against hosts Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Women’s Under-19 European Championship Qualifiers, Round 1, MD2 | Ukraine – San Marino 5-0

UKRAINE (4-4-2)

Kharchenko; Boreiko, Savka, Avramenko, Hladun; Tkachuk, Artemenko, Holovanchuk, Martseniuk (46’ Konovalova (87’ Balatska)); Bielova, Kanakhovska

Substitutes: Sakhno, Soloviova, Derkach, Myhal, Ihnatenko, Osadcha, Savkina

Head coach: Oleh Bortnik

SAN MARINO (4-1-4-1)

Forcellini (90+1’ Mastronardi); Stifani (80’ Lonfernini), Paolini, Carli, Benedettini; Balsimelli; Bonciucci, Tamaginini, Yazici, Terenzi; Paone

Substitutes: Zani

Head coach: Giacomo Piva

Referee: Andromachi Tsiofliki (GRE)

Assistant referees: Georgia Komisopoulou (GRE), Vladana Barać (BIH)

Fourth official: Lea Čepo (BIH)

Booked: Savka, Benedettini, Avramenko

Scorers: 15’ and 89’ Tkachuk, 19’ Holovanchuk, 25’ Bielova, 38’ Kanakhovska