Ukraine v France

Ukraine 0

France 2

Menez 53′ Cabaye 56′

FT 90 +4
HT 0-0

Highlights: Ukraine 0-2 France

By Saj Chowdhury BBC Sport

France secured their first Group D win at Euro 2012 at the expense of co-hosts Ukraine during a rain-interrupted spectacle in Donetsk.

The teams were forced off after only four minutes because of the stormy conditions, returning almost an hour after the scheduled start.

Jeremy Menez opened the scoring in the second half when he drifted inside his marker and fired in from 12 yards.

Yohan Cabaye added a second with a low strike from the edge of the area.

It was the Newcastle midfielder's first international goal, secured as he moved into an advanced position and took advantage of a Ukraine defence that laboured in the heat and soggy conditions inside the Donbass Arena.

The energy-sapping pitch was created by the deluge early in the first half that led to referee Bjorn Kuipers taking the teams off.

The Dutchman was unconcerned by the rain at kick-off but by the fourth minute the downpour had intensified and heavy lightning overhead meant the official had little option but to haul the players off the pitch.

Despite the storm subsiding 20 minutes later, there remained a doubt about whether the rest of the match would be completed on Friday because of the surface water, with rain having poured in torrents out of the stands.

However, following emergency drainage work by the groundstaff, Kuipers gave the go-ahead for the game to restart.

It took a few minutes for the players to become accustomed to the new playing conditions, and it was the nimble French attack that was first to settle.

They provided the best goalmouth action in the first half, with Menez, Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery showing the most intent.

Cabaye doubles France's lead

Paris St Germain winger Menez actually had the ball in the net but it was rightly ruled offside, while Benzema also tested Andriy Pyatov with a rising stinging shot and a low drive.

It was centre-back Philippe Mexes who had the clearest chance of the first 45 minutes when his powerful header from a corner had to be pushed away by Pyatov.

But Bayern Munich's Ribery, impressive in the pre-tournament friendlies, was the French star in Donetsk, and it was his wizardry that eventually found Menez on the right of the area.

The winger picking up the pass before shifting inside Yevhen Selin and firing low inside the left-hand post.

The second goal came three minutes later and this time Benzema was the creator. The Real Madrid forward fed Cabaye on the edge of the 18-yard area and he escaped his marker Oleg Gusev before firing in a low shot.

Match analysis

Jan Molby BBC Radio 5 live

"Sometimes you criticise teams who employ two holding midfielders. But one of France's is Cabaye and he's an all-round midfielder, who sits when he has to sit and gets forward too. It works well for them."

Moments later Cabaye was fractions away from adding a second but his rasping drive, following sustained France pressure, rattled the left-hand post.

Ukraine's game relied on long balls into space for Andriy Shevchenko and Andriy Yarmolenko to chase.

Shevchenko, the hero of the opening match against Sweden, went closest with two efforts. The first was a fierce angled drive that Hugo Lloris palmed away and the second, after the break, was an arrowed shot that flew just a foot over the bar.

Apart from that there was little to enthuse the largely partisan crowd inside the Ukraine stadium. The loud roars of delight that must have heartened their team when they drove forward earlier in the game had turned to whistles of disgust by the end of the match.

The co-hosts have a chance to make amends when they face England in Tuesday's Group D decider, with France up against Sweden in Kiev.

Lineup, Bookings (5) & Substitutions (6)

Ukraine

12 Pyatov
02 Selin Booked
03 Khacheridi
17 Mykhalyk
04 Tymoschuk Booked
09 Gusev
11 Yarmolenko (Aliev - 68' )
18 Nazarenko (Milevskiy - 60' )
19 Konoplienka
07 Shevchenko
10 Voronin (Devic - 46' )

Substitutes

01 Koval
23 Goryainov
05 Kucher
13 Shevchuk
20 Rakitskiy
21 Butko
06 Garmash
08 Aliev
14 Rotan
15 Milevskiy
16 Seleznyov
22 Devic

France

01 Lloris
02 Debuchy Booked
04 Rami
05 Mexes Booked
22 Clichy
06 Cabaye (M'Vila - 68' )
11 Nasri
18 Diarra
07 Ribery
10 Benzema (Giroud - 75' )
14 Menez Booked (Martin - 73' )

Substitutes

16 Mandanda
23 Carrasso
03 Evra
13 Reveillere
21 Koscielny
08 Valbuena
12 Matuidi
15 Malouda
17 M'Vila
19 Martin
09 Giroud
20 Ben Arfa

Ref: Kuipers

Att: 51,504

Match Stats

Possession 42 58

Shots

9 14

On target

2 10

Corners

5 6

Fouls

7 10

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +3:06 Full time

Full Time The referee signals the end of the game.

87:45

Yevgen Konoplianka has an effort at goal from just inside the box that misses to the right of the target.

86:56

Samir Nasri takes a short corner. Unfair challenge on Anatoliy Tymoschuk by Samir Nasri results in a free kick. Anatoliy Tymoschuk restarts play with the free kick.

86:04

Samir Nasri crosses the ball in from the free kick, save by Andrei Pyatov.

86:04 Booking

Booking Anatoliy Tymoschuk goes into the referee's book.