Fomenko blasts players after defeat

Complacency an issue for Ukraine coach

Posted Friday, June 17, 2016 by Marca.com

Ukraine's hopes of progressing in the European Championship are now hanging on a knife-edge after their 2-0 defeat to Northern Ireland, with coach Mykhailo Fomenko placing the blame squarely on his players.

Following an abject performance against Germany, the Yellow-Blues barely threatened Michael McGovern's goal on Thursday, and when they did, they failed to take their chances.

"The players were not united on the pitch today and failed to fulfil the requirements the match demenaded of them," he said.

"It will be a tough task to lift the team for our final group match against Poland."

Not many were expecting Northern Ireland to win in Thursday's encounter, and Fomenko pointed to his side's complacency.

"Perhaps they underestimated the opposition and overvalued their ability to play at this level."

Gareth McAuley opened the scoring with a powerful header from a free-kick, which frustrated the Ukrainian, who was aware of their threat from dead ball situations.

"The fact Northern Ireland scored nine of their 16 goals in qualifying from set pieces tells a story, but we were still caught napping for the first goal."