Ukraine deny Scotland on emotional night to set up playoff final with Wales

When the fourth official’s board displayed four minutes of stoppage time, it seemed incredible to think how dominant Ukraine had earlier been in this semi-final. Goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk meant a two-goal lead, which was perfectly reflective of the flow of this game. Yet as full-time approached, Scotland sensed they could nudge the tie into extra time, Callum McGregor having already halved the hosts’ deficit.

There was to be no late equaliser. With the last kick of the game, Artem Dovbyk instead sealed Ukraine’s win. Cheers reverberated from Glasgow to Kyiv – including plenty towns and cities in between – as Ukraine marched on to meet Wales on Sunday. It was an exceptional showing for so long and Ukraine ultimately needed tenacity to withstand Scottish pressure. Steve Clarke will be frustrated that the charge took so long to arrive.

“Focus on football” had been the recurring pre-match message from within the Scotland camp. That essentially happened straight from kick-off, with every crunching tackle by those in navy met with roars of approval from the majority of the crowd. Earlier, in an emotional scene, the Ukraine players – draped in the flags of their country – had clapped those supporters for their widespread applause of their national anthem.

The approach of everyone associated with the Scotland team to Ukraine has been on point from the moment it was clear this semi-final, initially scheduled for March, would at the very least be delayed. Ukraine had no desire to be patronised here; they duly were not.

Clarke’s insistence that the scale of this football challenge had to be respected partly resonated in the knowledge that Ukraine have fine players. Within 17 minutes, the visitors had twice