Moldova made the trip to Odessa to face Ukraine. A snow storm had just hit, so the sidelines were covered with the snow that had been moved off the pitch prior to the opening whistle. The home side started brightest, and Andriy Yarmolenko nearly scroed from just outside the box, but backtracking Moldova goalkeeper Stanislav Namasco made a leaning-back fingertip push over the crossbar. Yarmolenko then forced another save from Namasco before Yarmolenko missed a third chance from close range wide. An Oleg Gusev free kick was deflected on frame by the Moldovan wall, but again Namasco was up to make a push save over his own bar. Ukraine were surely frustrated to be leaving the field tied 0-0.
Ukraine finally got the lead they deserved as the match passed the hour mark when a Roman Bezus cross was headed across the box by Roman Zozulya for the instep shot and goal by the unstoppable Yarmolenko. Ten minutes later, an unmarked Yevhen Khacheridi headed in a corner kick from the near post to give Ukraine a 2-0 lead. With ten minutes left to play, Moldova pulled one back through a nice curled ball from twenty yards out by Alexandr Suvorov, who took advantage of his plentiful time and space to make the score 2-1. Gusev nearly made it 3-1 to the good for Ukraine late, but another diving Namasco fingertip push kept the match close. Ukraine's Taras Stepanenko was thrown off the pitch in stoppage time for a red card for kicking Vitalie Bordian in the back of the neck. Ukraine hold on and win 2-1.
Warsaw was the scene for Poland's home tilt against San Marino. A handball in the box by Alex Della Valle gave Poland a penalty kick twenty minutes into the match, and they would convert it for a 1-0 lead. A simple cross into the box should have been cut out by San Marino left back Mirko Palazzi, but instead he allowed Lukasz Piszczek to get inside position and allow a richochet off his leg to take the ball into the goal for 2-0. Poland would take the 2-0 score into the half.
Deja vu struck four minutes after the break as Della Valle committed another handball in his own box, leading to a penalty kick goal for Poland. Della Valle's poor day continued ten minutes later when another simple cross was not cut out by the San Marino defender, so Lukasz Teodorczyk had a simple finish from seven yards to make it 4-0. Simone Bacchiochi made a late dash up through two Polish defenders, though in the end his shot was saved by an onrushing Poland goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Jakub Kosecki finished the scoring in stoppage time when he snuck a ball in off the far post for his first ever goal for Poland. Poland win 5-0.
Podgorica was the site of the showdown between second-place England and the group leaders, hosts Montenegro. The poor condition of the pitch meant that an already crowded midfielder was nearly unplayable due to the difficulty of stringing passes. England decided to go with the long ball and trust their speed, and the dividends were paid immediately. Wayne Rooney spotted the Montenegrin goalkeeper off his line and decided to send a twenty-one yard chip goalward, but he was denied by the far post. A corner kick six minutes in gave Rooney a chance to elevate from seven yards after his marker had fallen down, and Rooney made no mistake with the finish, giving England the early one-goal advantage. England would take the 1-0 lead over a lackluster Montenegro into the break.
Montenegro were reborn with the second half whistle. Over the course of the match, the home side had gone from one striker to two and now to three with the addition of substitute Dejan Damjanovic. England could not cope as well with the new-look attack, and Montenegro pressed hard for the equalizer. Rooney had one look from a curling free kick to the lower ninety, but Montenegro goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic kept the ball out. Thereafter, Montenegro were relentless in attack. Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic were lethal up front, and Jovetic had a volleyed shot save on the dive by England goalkeeper Joe Hart. Soon thereafter, Jovetic hit the near post on a redirect, but he could not find the ball in time to get off a second attempt before Steven Gerrard could throw a block. With less than a quarter hour to play, persistence paid off for the home team. Hart made one save and Danny Wellbeck made two blocks in a melee setting, but Damjanovic scored on his third attempt in under six seconds to level the match at one goal apiece. Montenegro seemed to have exhausted their attack in the push to equalize, so they had little left to offer after their goal. Gerrard had a free kick saved by Bozovic in the final minute. The two teams draw 1-1 and Group H is still in the balance.
Montenegro 14 pts +11
England 12 pts +18
Poland 8 pts +5
Ukraine 8 pts +2
Moldova 4 pts -7
San Marino 0 pts -29
Goals
Ukraine
Andriy Yarmolenko 61
Yevhen Khacheridi 71
Moldova
Alexandr Suvorov 80
Poland
Robert Lewandowski 21 PK, 50 PK
Lukasz Piszczek 28
Lukasz Teodorczyk 61
Jakub Kosecki 90+2
England
Wayne Rooney 6
Montenegro
Dejan Damjanovic 75
Match Reports:
http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/season=2014/matches/round=2000294/match=2008750/postmatch/report/index.html
http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/253600/report
http://www.thenews.pl/1/5/Artykul/131264,Poland-5-San-Marino-0
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2013/03/27/montenegro-1-1-england-montenegro-start-timidly-but-introduce-attackers-effectively/
http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/montenegros-rapid-ascent-stuns-england/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21947882
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/387355/England-Montenegro-player-ratings
Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlSOiPgaRjs (Ukraine v. Moldova)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl4wdSq3UVk (Poland v. San Marino)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsL7gISsveo (England v. Montenegro)
