Scots striker on target but hosts Brazil too strong
The action at the Paralympics began in Rio yesterday with one sight some wanted to see at the Olympics but did not – a united Great Britain football team taking on hosts Brazil.
Britain’s seven-a-side footballers, for athletes with cerebral palsy or an acquired brain injury, lost 2-1 at the Deodoro Stadium.
The national football associations continue to block a British team at the Olympics, but there was no such issue at the Paralympics with three Scots and one Northern Irishman in the 14-man squad.
David Porcher from Livingston, who scored Britain’s goal yesterday, was once on the books at Hibs and now plays for Preston Athletic in the Lowland League following a spell at Stenhousemuir. He is joined in the GB squad by Martin Hickman from Lennoxtown and the experienced Jonathan Paterson from Motherwell.
Leandro Goncalves do Amaral gave Brazil an early lead and Maycon Ferreira de Almeida doubled the advantage.
Britain did cut the deficit three minutes after the restart when Porcher struck a fine goal.
Two Scots athletes made a bright start to their 2016 Paralympic campaigns.
Borders wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn was fourth fastest in advancing to the T53 100 metres final and Edinburgh’s partially-sighted sprinter Libby Clegg was joint-second fastest in progressing to the T11 100m semi-final.
Britain’s women’s wheelchair basketball squad opened with a 43-36 loss to Canada.