National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 Croatia's Tonko Grković started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Petro Yakhno made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Marcel Gradiček in the 2nd minute of play. In the 5th minute, Lovro Rališ got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Vlaho Modrah made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Grygoriy Lozynskyi in the 9th minute of play. With a little luck, U21 Croatia's Vlaho Modrah got control of the ball when Grygoriy Lozynskyi tried to sneak it across the goal line. Vlaho Modrah showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Myroslav Matviychuk in the 18th minute of the match. The audience was convinced that Tonko Grković's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Petro Yakhno was relentless in the 19th minute of the game. 22 minutes into the game, Tonko Grković cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Petro Yakhno was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Vlaho Modrah made an important save on a dangerous shot by Grygoriy Lozynskyi in the 37th minute. After 40 played minutes U21 Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Marcel Gradiček. Pavlo Perekytnyi hit a great freekick 41 minutes into the match. Petro Yakhno showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tonko Grković in the 42nd minute of the match. Tonko Grković spun around in front of the goal 44 minutes in the game, and got away a shot that, to his disappointment, went to the left of U21 Ukraine's goal. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Petro Yakhno was out of position in the 52 minute of play, and Tonko Grković capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Tonko Grković really showed his touch with that goal: 0-2. Petro Yakhno showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Marcel Gradiček, who was totally free with the ball in the 56th minute. Petro Yakhno made an important save on a dangerous shot by Tonko Grković in the 57th minute. U21 Ukraine's Petro Yakhno proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 59th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Ukraine from getting a goal against them. Tonko Grkovićs short, quick shot in the 61stth minute got Petro Yakhno to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. The audience thought a goal was coming when Tonko Grković got free with Petro Yakhno in the 63rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Ukraine's zone, Tonko Grković stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Petro Yakhno came out of the goal and Tonko Grković tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. U21 Croatia's Cvjetko Štokić was substituted for Lovro Rališ. Petro Yakhno was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Cvjetko Štokić showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 0-3 in the 68 minute of play. U21 Ukraine's Petro Yakhno played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cvjetko Štokić in the 71st minute of play. In the 76th minute, Tonko Grković got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. 78 minutes into the match, U21 Ukraine's goalkeeper Petro Yakhno had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Cvjetko Štokić. After 79 minutes, Viktor Nesteruk mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 Ukraine and the U21 Croatia players grew even worse after the yellow card. Viktor Nesteruk hit a great freekick 80 minutes into the match. Cvjetko Štokić's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Petro Yakhno read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 81st minute of play. A collision led to U21 Ukraine getting a freekick after 83 minutes play. Yevgen Kravchuk hit a great ball. Cvjetko Štokić might have been able to make a better finish in the 84th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Petro Yakhno. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Cvjetko Štokić ran back to his position shaking his head. U21 Ukraine's Petro Yakhno proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 84th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Ukraine from getting a goal against them. In the 86th minute, Cvjetko Štokić got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Vlaho Modrah showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Grygoriy Lozynskyi, who was totally free with the ball in the 94th minute. The U21 Ukraine supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching U21 Croatia's performance. The match ended with a win for U21 Croatia.