Hamburg: After the nightmare in Leipzig last Wednesday when they lost 4-0 on their World Cup debut to Spain, it was a dream came true for Ukraine's fans on Monday.
With Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov among the scorers and coach Oleg Blokhin in the dug-out, the three men still alive who are most synonymous with Ukrainian soccer over the last 30 years, all played a huge role at this first World Cup victory.
It is a fair bet too that watching somewhere from a heavenly seat way up high, Valery Lobanovsky, the eminence gris of Ukrainian soccer who nurtured the young Blokhin in the 1970s and 1980s and was still involved with football until shortly before his death at 63 four years ago was also enjoying the occasion.
Ukraine, who fluffed their opening night lines in Leipzig, came out and grabbed centre stage from the first whistle this time around.
The Saudi defence was put under a barrage almost from the first kick and it was almost no surprise when Ukraine went ahead after only four minutes.
Their first ever World Cup goal was not a 30-metre screamer, or a brilliantly taken header -- but they were coming.
Instead it came off Andriy Rusol's knee following a corner by Maksim Kalinichenko, but as the old saying goes, they all count.
Their second after 36 minutes was far more memorable and seemed to surprise Rebrov as much as anyone.
The skilful little playmaker, whose career has stuttered since leaving Dynamo Kiev in 2000 for England, slammed in a speculative dipping shot that nestled in the back of the net after Saudi goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid slipped.
In the 1990s Rebrov and Shevchenko formed a dangerous scoring partnership at Kiev and their almost telepathic understanding helped Dynamo into the semi-finals of the Champions League in 1999.
The partnership ended when Rebrov moved to Tottenham Hotspur and Shevchenko went to AC Milan where his career blossomed while Rebrov's wilted.
But on Monday it was as if they had never been apart. Rebrov, industrious and creative in midfield, was finding his old colleague with lethal regularity.
Shevchenko like Rebrov, blighted by injury in the build-up to the World Cup and poor against Spain last week, appeared rejuvenated.
He had one half-chance on target against Spain, but he posed a constant threat to the Saudis and made an indelible mark on the World Cup with a perfectly placed headed goal a minute into the second half.
Kalinichenko, who had an outstanding game and was named as the FIFA Man of the Match, rounded off the victory with a great goal in the dying minutes, crashing a cross into the roof of the net after a surging run from his own half.
So the 4-0 losers of last week became the 4-0 winners in Hamburg. There have been bigger reversals of fortune in the World Cup in the past in terms of victories and defeats.
In 1954 Turkey beat South Korea 7-0 and were promptly trounced 7-2 by West Germany a few days later.
In the same tournament, the Germans lost 8-3 to Hungary in an opening-round game then beat them 3-2 in the World Cup final.
Ukraine are a long way from the World Cup final but they also distanced themselves from the hugely disappointing start they made to the tournament.
Blokhin, who like Shevchenko has won the European Footballer of the Year award, made four changes to his starting lineup.
One was forced on him following the sending off of Vladislav Vaschchyuk against Spain but he also employed a 3-5-2 formation that allowed Ukraine to stretch the Saudis, use the wings and thunder in cross after cross.
The tactic worked, the points were won and Ukraine are now real contenders for the second round.
Even the injuries are healing. Shevchenko looked fit and dynamic, Rebrov was brimming with confidence.
Tunisia will have to be at their very best to stop this Ukrainian revolution from gaining momentum on Friday.
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