#Euro2016 Qualifiers:-: Ukraine 0 vs 1 Spain| Match Report

There were mixed emotions for Cesc Fabregas as
Spain rounded off their Euro 2016 qualification with
victory over Ukraine.

Captain Cesc Fabregas missed a penalty on his 100th
international appearance as Mario Gaspar's debut goal
earned Spain a 1-0 win over Ukraine in Kiev on Monday.

With Spain having already sealed their Euro 2016 place, the
Chelsea man skippered a youthful XI but failed to cap his
special night with a goal, instead seeing a penalty saved after
defender Mario scored the crucial goal midway through the first
half.

The Villarreal full-back was one of two debutants in the visitors'
defence, alongside Xabi Etxeita, but his well-taken header was
enough to limit Ukrainian hopes of progression - second-placed
Slovakia doing enough to go through regardless with a 4-2 win
in Luxembourg.

Fabregas should have made life more comfortable but failed to
double the lead, with Mykhaylo Fomenko's side refusing to give
up hope of snatching a top-two position after falling behind.

The 28-year-old - playing in front of a watching Jose Mourinho -
was withdrawn shortly after the hour having missed his fourth
spot-kick for Spain in as many attempts.

While it was a frustrating evening for Fabregas, the likes of
Mario and Nolito bolstered their chances of featuring in France
next year with strong displays, and David de Gea pulled off a
string of impressive saves to leave Ukraine having to negotiate
the play-offs.

Debutant Mario endured a tricky start in Kiev - outfoxed down
the left early on by Artem Kravets, who cut inside and crossed
only to see Ruslin Rotan fail to add the finish in the area.

Milestone man Fabregas had Spain's first chance when he
collected Isco's pass, surged through the middle, and fired
narrowly over the crossbar nine minutes in.

Having first saved from Kravetz, De Gea then produced a
magnificent reflex stop to deny Rotan with his right foot, before
Mario headed Spain into the lead.

Thiago Alacantara and Nolito combined down the left before the
Bayern Munich man found Mario at the far post to ensure a
dream debut for the full-back.

Just a minute later, Fabregas looked set to celebrate his
landmark appearance with a goal having been fouled in the area
by Oleksandr Kucher, but Andriy Pyatov produced a strong
right-handed save to deny the skipper from the spot.

Spain were almost pegged back when Denys Garmash headed
over amid pinball in the Spain box, with De Gea clearing a
dangerous whipped free-kick from the left on the stroke of half-
time.

And Fomenko's men brought that momentum into the second
half as the lively Andriy Yarmolenko twice went close to
levelling, while Spain had the ball in the net courtesy of Mikel
San Jose prior to the hour mark only for it to be ruled out for a
foul in the build-up.

De Gea again showed his quality to palm away anotherQ
Garmash header as Ukraine's increased pressure coincided with
Luxembourg fighting back from 3-0 down to within a goal of
Slovakia.

However, there was to be no turnaround in Luxembourg -
Slovakia re-establishing a two-goal cushion - and Spain's much-
changed back line shut out the hosts to extend their winning run
to five matches wihtout conceding.