Northern Ireland have claimed their first ever win at the European Championships with a 2-0 win against a Ukraine side who failed to make the most of their possession dominance.
Gareth McAuley opened the scoring for his side early in the second half with a neat header, before Niall McGinn finished off the job with the last kick of the game.
Here is a comprehensive overview of how each player performed:
Ukraine
Andriy Pyatov – 6: Rarely untroubled throughout the match and nothing he could do about the opening goal.
Yaroslav Rakitskiy – 6.5: Often found himself playing the ball out from the back regularly and did so with aplomb. Provided a strong physical presence for his side in defence.
Yevhen Khacheridi – 5: Not the strongest performance from the centre half, arguably at fault for Gareth McAuley’s goal for not tightly marking the Northern Ireland man.
Vyacheslav Shevchuk – 7: One of his side’s better players on the night, continually darting forward in support of his wingers and putting a number of dangerous crosses into the box.
Artem Fedetskiy – 6.5: Just as his fellow fullback did, he worked tirelessly up and down the touchline throughout the 90 minutes.
Viktor Kovalenko – 6: Found himself on the edge of the box with a couple of chances which he failed to take.
Taras Stepanenko – 6.5: Very much the link between defence and attack throughout the match, always looking to get his danger men involved through the wing areas.
Serhiy Sydorchuk- 5.5: Failed to stand out in the middle of the park, providing limited chances for his attackers, before being subbed off with a yellow card to his name.
Yevhen Seleznyov -5.5: Found his opportunities limited throughout the match, but when the chances came his way he failed to convert. Picked up a yellow card for his troubles.
Yevhen Konoplyanka – 7.5: While he may not have dominated the match, the Sevilla man looked the most dangerous for his side.
Andriy Yarmolenko – 5: Yet again the winger failed to have a major impact on the match, struggling to find time and space on the ball.
Substitutes
Roman Zozulya – 3: Failed to have an impact in the striking role.
Olekzandr Zinchenko – 3: Failed to inspire any sort of comeback.
Denys Garmash – N/A: Limited time to have an impact.
Northern Ireland
Michael McGovern – 7: Untroubled for large parts of the match but made a number of smart saves.
Gareth McAuley – 7.5: Stood tall in defence alongside Cathcart and took advantage of some poor marking to open the scoring.
Craig Cathcart – 6.5: A professional display from the Watford man who was composed throughout.
Jonny Evans – 8.5: An absolute standout defensive performance from the experienced defender, playing out of position and limiting the Ukraine attackers’ influence.
Aaron Hughes – 6.5: Didn’t totally deal with the threat of Konoplyanka but did well to curtail his influence in creating chances.
Oliver Norwood – 6: Had a sloppy start to the match with a few poor passes, but grew as the game went on and set up the opening goal with a well delivered free-kick.
Corry Evans – 6: A solid display in the middle of the pitch, not widely noticed for his work on the ball but worked his socks off.
Steven Davis – 7: Led by example from the outset of the match, controlling the tempo of his side’s play going forward and digging in defensively.
Stuart Dallas – 5.5: Provided some spark early but faded out of the game as Ukraine continued to dominate possession.
Jamie Ward – 6.5: Pushed back defensively to help Aaron Hughes on the right side of defence on a regular basis, while created a threat with his set-piece delivery.
Connor Washington – 7: Despite not seeing much off the ball the striker held the ball up well and brought his midfielders into the game.
Substitutes
Niall McGinn- 6.5: Put the icing on the cake with the sealer in the dying seconds.
Josh Magennis- N/A: Not on the pitch long enough to have an impact.
Paddy McNair: N/A: Subbed on in injury time.
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