Ukraine won the battle of the top two nations in the Deaflympics medal table in the men’s soccer final at Taipei Municipal Stadium yesterday afternoon.
The team in yellow won a great contest 3-2 to pick up their 20th gold of the Games, a total only bettered by opponents Russia, who were prevented from adding to their 29 golds and had to settle for their 41st silver.
Germany claimed the bronze medal on Monday with a 4-0 victory over France.
PHOTO: CNA
Ukraine fashioned the first chance of yesterday’s match when Makar Bukin was fouled about 30m from the Russian goal. Oleksandr Chalenko hit a bullet free-kick that beat Russia keeper Dmitry Ivanov, hit the bar, bounced down onto the goal-line and out. If the assistant referee rather than the opposition had been Russian, it might have been given.
Four minutes later, another free-kick, this time on the right touchline, gave Russia their first chance. Pavel Istrashkin got to the cross ahead of the Ukraine defense, but his header flew wide.
Ukraine were on top in terms of possession and territory, but the opening goal came against the run of play. In the 30th minute, Nikolay Afanasyev picked up the ball on the left and went on a mazy run into the middle of the Ukraine defense, beating five men before dinking his shot over Ukraine keeper Dmytro Ukrayinets to score a memorable goal.
Five minutes later Ukraine were level, Ivanov spilled Bukin’s speculative shot from 25m and Volodymyr Riy pounced on the loose ball to poke home the easiest of chances.
Bukin should have put Ukraine in front in the 41st minute when played through with only the keeper to beat, but his tame shot was easily saved by Ivanov. Four minutes later, though, he made amends when he was again played in after some good work on the right by Myroslav Tanchyk, and this time Bukin made no mistake with the finish low in into the corner of the net to put Ukraine 2-1 up at halftime.
Russia came out for the second half looking to put pressure on the Ukraine defense, with Dmytro Puchkov having to make some good blocks and tackles to keep Afanasyev at bay. It was all Russian pressure, but the next goal came from a Ukraine break in the 61st minute.
Chalenko got the ball on the left, beat the defender and cut the ball back for substitute Vitaliy Solovey to sweep into the unguarded net.
In the 71st minute, Russia got themselves back in the game when Vladimir Ivanov’s free-kick from the right was headed in by Istrashkin to make it 3-2 with the best part of 20 minutes to play.
Afanasyev had a chance to equalize a minute later when he got free on the left of the penalty area, but his shot flew just wide of the far post.
Bukin had a chance to seal the win in the 81st minute when he met Myroslav Tanchyk’s cross from the right, but his header was saved by the keeper.
Russia were pressuring the Ukraine goal, and in the 84th minute Vladimir Ivanov had their best chance with a shot from the edge of the penalty area that was palmed away by Ukrayinets. From the resulting corner, Alexander Sedov’s shot flew over the bar and with it Russia’s chances of forcing extra-time.
Luka Doncic on Monday produced a 46-point masterpiece as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the Chicago Bulls’ four-game winning streak with a 129-118 victory on the road. Doncic rattled in eight three-pointers on 15-of-25 shooting from the field, finishing with seven rebounds and 11 assists to lead an impressive Lakers effort at the United Center. LeBron James chipped in with 24 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Rui Hachimura delivered an eye-catching cameo off the bench with 23 points from nine-of-11 shooting. The win was another encouraging result for the Lakers after a 116-110 defeat of the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. “We did
Nottingham Forest FC are to go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros TC on Thursday, while Celtic FC secured their place in the knockout phase with a victory over FC Utrecht. Aston Villa FC finished second in the league phase after recovering from two goals down to beat FC Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 with their spot in the last 16 already assured. Forest stood an outside chance of climbing into the top eight going into the final round of matches, but needed to beat Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and rely on other results going their way. Sean Dyche’s
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo on Friday said that he will probably be out for an extended period after hurting his right calf again after a similar injury caused him to miss eight games earlier this season. Antetokounmpo had his right calf wrapped in the first half of their 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He did not appear comfortable the rest of the night and left for good with 34 seconds remaining. “At the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player said he expected to undergo an MRI
Juventus on Sunday dealt a huge blow to SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense with a 3-0 win in Turin which left the reigning champions nine points behind league leaders Inter, who are pulling away from the chasing pack. Jonathan David, Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic netted in Turin as Juve, a revitalized team under Luciano Spalletti, moved into fourth with a statement win. Juve are fifth and one point behind both Napoli and AS Roma, who lifted themselves into third with a 1-1 draw with second-placed AC Milan in Rome. “We played really well and had fun ... today we were great,”
RSS