GB see off States
- Wednesday,
Paralympic GB 4-0 USA
By Matt Phillips
The Paralympics GB Cerebral Palsy team dismantled USA on Wednesday to pick up their first three points at London 2012.
Defeats to both Brazil and Ukraine had taken GB out of medal contention, but Lyndon Lynch's side finished the group phase on a high with a convincing victory in front of yet another packed Riverbank Arena crowd.
Ibz Diallo had already rattled the USA woodwork with a bullet like header before James Richmond gave GB a well deserved lead on 20 minutes.
The move started when Alistair Patrick-Heselton and stand in skipper Michael Barker saw their one-two attempt break down in the box, but Richmond capitalised on the loose ball to send a rapier-like shot past USA 'keeper Alex Hendricks.
Barker, who took the captain's armband due to Matt Dimbylow's suspension for two previous yellow cards, almost made it 2-0 before the break but his left-foot shot smashed against the crossbar.
GB had to be patient in the second half but they doubled their lead after 44 minutes when Patrick-Heselton accelerated away in midfield and his square ball was rolled in by Everton's George Fletcher.
Both Patrick-Heselton and Diallo had caused massive problems for the Americans all afternoon with their pace and it was no surprise when Diallo put the game out of reach with a stunning low left-foot shot from the edge of the box.
And second-half substitute Jonny Paterson completed the rout in added time after Diallo teed him up with a simple chance from five yards.
Speaking after the game, Diallo commented: "We wanted to give the crowd something to shout about as the support has been fantastic.
"You could really feel the atmosphere building up in the warm-up before the game. We'd lost two games but our morale was still good and we can be really pleased with our performance."
The win means that GB finish third in the group and are still on target for a top six finish at London 2012.
Lynch's side will play Argentina in the classification play-off phase on Friday.
