FIFA World Cup 2014
European Qualifying Group H
Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
10 September 2013
Tickets for this encounter were in plentiful supply as we only took 1950 official supporters and the stadium has a capacity of just over 70,000. So in theory we might have been offered between 3.5K (5%). The venue for the EF members signing on point was the ticket office just outside the entrance/exit for the Olimpiiskia metro station which made the whole process as easy as pie!
The game itself was a huge encounter with no side able to contemplate a loss. England arrived in Kiev without Welbeck and Rooney, so looked desperately blunt up front, but despite the doom and gloom the British press were pedalling, Roy Hodgdson seemed totally unmoved and even sounded a little confident. A single point would ensure that England go into the two remaining home qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland with their destiny in their own hands. Ukraine would then need us to slip up in order for them to claim top spot. Ukraine's remaining games are against Poland (behind closed doors in Kiev) and away to San Marino.
Ukraine v England
The stadium is very impressive and only a short walk from Independence Square and the main shopping street (Khrechatyk street). The stadium is also surrounded by decent bars and restaurants and doubles up as the preferred venue for Dynamo Kiev's big games.
Relaxing in a bar just a stone's throw from the Olympic stadium with the Sunderland boys.
Cockney Pete.
The view in the stadium is outstanding and the
England away support is in top form.
The Ukrainians are out in force for this one too and they've all been issued mini Ukrainian flags to wave at us. The other side of the flag has a caption which reads "Winner"!
As the second half draws to a close, England have taken a bit of a battering but have not yet conceded. The nerves are jangling and the nails are being bitten to the quick.
The referee signals the end of the game
and the flares go off in the home end.
England escape with a 0:0 draw which initiates a 30 minute rendition of 'Roy Hodgson's Barmy Army'. The atmosphere is electric and the 2000 Englishmen are making a real racket.
Time to party!
The 'marmite' band were brilliant tonight (IMO), orchestrated the singing from start to finish. The young lad on the bongos must be 'mutton' now, if he wasn't already.
Ukrainian fans from the upper tier trying to retrieve an England shirt that somebody had thrown up to them. The shirt had got lodged in the concrete wall, so they used all manner of methods and implements to fish for it. Hilarious!
Day 1 - Kiev old town
We arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon, so take a walk to St Andrew's church at the top of Andrew's descent.
Loads of 'tatt' shops.
Loads of 'tatt' shops.
We stop off at the Gastro Rock Café for a rustic platter of dried salted fish and a jar of ale.
After being suitably fed and watered we return to our awesome hotel in the old town of Podil, the Podal Plaza Hotel
Day 2 - St Sophia's Cathedral, St Michael's Monastery, Dynamo Kiev and Independence Square
Kontraktova square
Andrew's descent, or in this case 'Andrew's ascent.
Not recommended for hangovers!
Not recommended for hangovers!
The street vendors sell all kinds of Soviet memorabilia. The best one I saw was a MIG fighter pilot's G - suit.
St Sofia's cathedral with its huge bell tower
The entry fee of 10 UAH is worth every penny
The main cathedral is one of the most important in Ukraine.
Next up was the reconstruction of the legendary
Golden Gate of Kiev (Zoloti Vovota).
Behind it is a statue of Yarsolav 'the wise', a national hero
and the man who is credited for building St Sofia's cathedral.
St Michael's Golden domed monastery is a must see.
This time we managed to get inside during the service,
so we lit a candle for our departed loved one's.
It's funicular time, so we jump on the car which takes
us down to Poshtova square on the river side.
Sadly for us, the Riverside station and it's surrounding area are a building site so we are forced to revert to plan B.
Walk.
and walk
still walking
We even run out of path and end up going rogue!
Finally, we arrive at the Dnipro Metro station
and a smile returns to Mrs H.
and a smile returns to Mrs H.
We change at Arsenalna which is the deepest metro
station on the planet, at a meagre 105 metres.
Arsenalna square at the exit to the deep one!
First glimpse of Dynamos Kiev's spiritual home,
the Valery Lobanovskyi Dinamo stadium.
the Valery Lobanovskyi Dinamo stadium.
Soviet era floodlights amongst the trees.
Monument to Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Monument to the Dynamo players that played in the famous match duped as the 'Death Match' . Their plight gave Hollywood the inspiration to make wartime films such as 'Escape to Victory'.
The visitors entrance which was sadly closed and remained so, despite attempts to bung the guard 50 UAH to open it.
The main stadium entrance.
The club shop.
Independence Square.
Spot the dodgy Coyote.
BessarabskaSquare, one of the Euro 12 fan zones.
Closed streets down the main shopping area down Khrechatyk street, what more could a girl ask for?
Shopping is thirsty work, so we stop off at the 'Wato Bar', a favourite amongst England fans during the Euros.
It was a brilliant night until a small group of Ukrainians (7 to 8) decided to assault the bar with tear gas, flares and a thunder flash, and all because they wanted to nick a flag. The net result was a young lad from Watford losing his flag and getting stitches in his head for trying to prevent them taking it and another chap receiving cuts to his hand (suspected knife wound). I must stress that this was an isolated event and totally unrepresentative of the Ukrainians that we had met, who have all been great.
Day 3 - Chernobyl
We had pre-booked a day trip to Chernobyl, courtesy of Simon Oliver to see the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. It proved a really interesting excursion (in small doses).
The border at the 35 km exclusion zone
Entering Chernobyl Nuclear plant.
The monument to the disaster at reactor 4.
The chimney of reactor 4 in the background.
The reactor itself is covered by a concrete sarcophagus .
Radiation levels are checked throughout our trip
Entering the abandoned city of Pripyat (the highly
contaminated red forest is in the background).
The school.
The famous ferris wheel.
The fair had arrived at Pripyat to celebrate a
national holiday, it was never to leave.
The football stadium (FC Pripyat).
The lunch was really quite nice and an
obvious improvement from previous reports.
On leaving the exclusion zone there is a mandatory check on personal radiation levels.
Safely back in Kiev!
We find a great restaurant opposite our hotel which was cunningly disguised as a night club.
Day 4 - Holodomor memorial, Percherska Lavra and the site to commemorate the Great Patriotic War.
A babushka tending to her pack.
Incredible soviet style hotel.
The memorial to the Holodomar victims. In 1932-33 Stalin created a man made famine to rid the Soviet Union of the growing problem of Ukrainian nationalism. An estimated 6 million Ukrainians perished.
Pecherska Lavra, an incredible site
and the home of the famous caves of Lavra.
Sue dresses up to enter the lower caves.
A short walk up the hill from Pecherska Lavra is the site to
commemorate the history of the Great Patriotic War.
Tanks line the route to the museum.
Rodina Matt (Nation's Mother) is a huge titanium statue that commemorates the struggle against the Nazis in WWII. The local nickname for the monument is 'Tin Tits'.
The first series of sculptures under the bridge.
Ypa Kiev.
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