London Olympics 2012: Team GB Denied by Stubborn Senegal

The Great Britain men's football team marked their first fixture for over 50 years with a draw against Senegal, in their opening game of the London 2012 Olympic football tournament at Old Trafford.

Craig Bellamy looked to have given Great Britain an historic victory with a goal after 20 minutes, but the match hinged on referee Ravshan Irmatov's refusal to award the Liverpool striker a penalty after a clattering challenge from Salio Ciss.

The Senegalese took full advantage of their reprieve and equalised seven minutes from time following a sweeping counter-attack, finished off by Moussa Konate.

Substitute Marvin Sordell could have grabbed a late winner, but struck the bar as GB had to settle for a point ahead of group games against United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.

Manager Stuart Pearce, charged with selecting the first Great Britain football team since the 1960 Olympics, opted for seven players from England and four from Wales. Their opponents, Senegal, boasted five graduates from the football academy run by former France and Arsenal midfield Patrick Vieira.

Ryan Giggs, who began as captain in his maiden international tournament at the age of 38, started in the centre of midfield alongside fellow Welshman Joe Allen and Manchester United teammate Tom Cleverley.

While the hosts looked disjointed in the opening stages, Senegal's athletic side looked a threat in the final third and GB goalkeeper Jack Butland had to be alert to prevent Salio Ciss's deflected cross breaking the deadlock.

Despite a sell out at Old Trafford, the indifferent atmosphere was contributing to a nervy start for Pearce's side, and with free-flowing football at a premium, success eventually came from an archetypally British set piece.

Giggs whipped the ball in from the left hand channel, and Richards' physicality meant Ciss's clearance only fell as far as Bellamy, who rifled the ball into the corner.

Team GB's lead was almost short-lived as Butland, whose strong performance in the warm-up game against Brazil earned him a start ahead of Luke Steele, cleared straight to Sadio Mane, but his chipped effort floated wide.

Midfielder Mane was thwarted again when he ran at the GB defence just before the break, only for defender Micah Richards to halt his progress.

GB striker Daniel Sturridge, having recovered from viral meningitis to take his place in the games, was replaced at half-time, with Sordell introduced to spearhead GB's attack. However it was Senegal who again posed the more potent threat in the second half, with Stephane Badji's shot producing a sprawling save from Butland.

The Birmingham City goalkeeper was again called into action as the home side allowed Ciss enough time to shoot from range. From the resulting corner, Abdoulaye Ba's header was cleared off the line by GB defender Danny Rose.

The substitions of Joe Allen and Craig Bellamy, who was forced to go off following Ciss's ungainly tackle which went unpunished, weakened GB's grip on the match still further, and Senegal eventually drew level when Konate swept home after a sweeping move.