Great Britain’s Olympic dreams suffered an late setback at Old Trafford tonight as Moussa Konate’s 82nd minute equaliser for Senegal denied them victory in the Group A encounter.
The hosts pushed forward frantically in search of a winner but they came no nearer than a Marvin Sordell effort that crashed against the bar.
When Bellamy became the first GB scorer at an Olympics since Northern Ireland’s Patrick Hasty in 1960 in the 19th minute of the match, there was justification for Stuart Pearce that all three of his overage players were involved.
First Ryan Giggs sent over a cross from the right, for which Micah Richards challenged. It was Steven Caulker who got his head to it though, nodding it down for Bellamy, whose first-time finish flashed past Ousmane Mane and into the far corner.
Not that GB should have been in front for long. Jack Butland’s directed a routine clearance straight to Sadio Mane, who chipped disappointingly wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
The introduction of Bolton’s Sordell for Daniel Sturridge at half-time was a worry, although not as much as Ibrahima Ba’s shot that required a smart low save from Butland to keep it out.
Zargo Toure thundered a shot over before Saliou Ciss brought another decent save out of Butland and Rose cleared a powerful Abdoulaye Ba header off the line.
Joe Allen’s exit after an hour was another cause for concern as he had already been down once, and then a strong tackle from Ciss on the edge of the area with a tackle caught the striker around the knee.
The uplifting atmosphere was punctured by Konate eight minutes from time as he delicately lifted the ball over an advancing Butland to deny GB their win.
With Uruguay winning earlier in the day, next games for both sides at Wembley on Sunday are now crucial for their hopes of advancing to the quarter-finals. Team GB face United Arab Emirates, while Senegal meet the South Americans.
fifa.com
