Ukraine 1 – 1 Rep Ire

Republic of Ireland missed the chance to go top of their Nations League group after a 1-1 draw with Ukraine.

Burnley’s Nathan Collins silenced the vocal Ukraine crowd in the Polish city of Lodz just after the half-hour mark with a superb solo goal – winning the ball in the opposition half before jinking past three defenders as he strode forward and poked home.

But seconds after the restart, Artem Dovbyk’s close-range finish legged back Stephen Kenny’s side, to deny Ireland a first ever away win in this competition.

In the context of their Nations League table, Ireland remain three points behind Ukraine at the top of the table – and are also two behind Scotland, who beat Armenia 4-1 earlier on Tuesday.

Kenny announced before the game that victory against last year’s European Championship quarter-finalists would be a better achievement than their 3-0 win over Scotland on Saturday, but Ireland were not a side who looked overawed by their opponents in Poland.

Derby midfielder Jason Knight was arguably Ireland’s brightest player in terms of going forward, heading wide just after two minutes before setting up Troy Parrott for the best chance of the first half.

Knight’s deep cross from the right found the Ireland striker completely unmarked at the back post, but Parrott could only head wide as he tried to force the shot back across goal.

Visiting goalkeeper Kelleher was also called into action early on, making smart stops from Ruslan Malinovskyi and Vitaly Mykolenko, though the deadlock was broken at the other end.

Collins pinched the ball near the centre circle in the Ukraine half and channelled his inner Diego Maradona with a superb solo goal, his first at international level.

Knight came close to a second goal for Ireland in the first half as his low effort was well saved, but the visitors took a deserved lead into the half-time interval – which was lost within seconds of the restart.

A mix-up down Ireland’s left allowed Andriy Yarmolenko plenty of space, and he crossed for Artem Dovbyk for an easy tap-in to send the Ukrainian fans wild.

Ukraine spent the second half on top but Ireland did their best to regain the lead. Parrott had an effort deflected wide while the impressive Knight had a low drive well held.

At the other end, Mykolenko burst into the box after a promising underlap but could only prod Murdyk’s incisive pass wide.

What’s next?

Ukraine will face Scotland on September 21 and Republic of Ireland will face travel to Scotland on September 24.