Euro 2012 Photos

Euro 2012: France ease past Ukraine 2-0

June 16, 2012 00:58

France dashed Ukraine's hopes of a surprise second straight win in Group D as they beat the tournament co-hosts 2-0 in rain-soaked Donetsk.

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France dashed Ukraine's hopes of a surprise second straight win in Group D as they beat the tournament co-hosts 2-0 in rain-soaked Donetsk. (All AFP and AP Images)
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Oleg Blokhin's side, surprise winners against Sweden in their opening match, started briskly against the French, who were looking for a vital three points after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with England in their first match.
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Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers ordered both teams off after just five minutes, as violent thunder and electric storms lashed Shakhtar Donetsk's Donbass Arena, flooding parts of the playing surface.
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After nearly an hour of suspension and some emergency groundwork, play finally resumed.
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Ukraine had as many as nine attempts in the match but only two were on goal.
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Among his many saves, Ukraine custodian Andrei Pyatov produced a stunning one-handed save to claw away a Phillipe Mexes header that appeared destined for the top-right corner.
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The arena shook with noise each time the ball came to Andrei Shevchenko, hero of the win against Sweden.
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Jeremy Menez, selected ahead of Florent Malouda, put the French 1-0 up on 53 minutes, silencing the home fans.
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Menez's left-foot drive was followed three minutes later by Yohan Cabaye's first goal for the national team.
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"Tonight I really enjoyed watching France play," said France coach Laurent Blanc after the match.
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The only concern for Blanc may be leading striker Karim Benzema who looked to have suffered an injury during the second-half and was eventually replaced by Olivier Giroud.

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