GOALKEEPER Rachel Brown has seen her London 2012 Olympic role limited to that of cheerleader so far – but coach Hope Powell has hinted she’s ready to unleash the Burnley-born stopper against Brazil on Tuesday.
Karen Bardsley has been between the sticks for Great Britain’s first two matches in their first ever Olympic campaign, and is yet to concede a goal after Powell’s side followed up Wednesday’s 1-0 win over New Zealand with an impressive 3-0 win over Cameroon on Saturday.
Everton keeper Brown has therefore been forced to wait for her Great Britain debut but after goals from skipper Casey Stoney, Jill Scott and Steph Houghton swept aside Cameroon, Great Britain are already sure of a quarter-final place prior to their last group game with Brazil.
And while Powell has revealed she’s desperate to see her side maintain their winning run – she admitted Brown has been knocking on the door of starting berth from the off.
“I’ve got 18 players in the squad and they are all itching to play. We have a lot of depth in the squad and a lot of quality sitting on the bench,” said Powell. “We can bring players on and influence the game and that’s a really nice position to be in.
“Everyone wants to play, of course they do, but it is what it is. We have a job to do and so far it’s going okay.
“I’ll wait to see if I make any changes for the Brazil game. We’ll wait on the injury situation and assess what is happening there.
“I’ll then have a look at the players we have to suit the strategy we’ll go into the Brazil game with.
“We’ve got the attitude of why can’t we beat Brazil. We go into every game aiming to win.”
Against Cameroon victory was in little doubt when Stoney tapped home Karen Carney’s free-kick and the host nation were coasting when Scott rounded off a fine move, after excellent link-up play from Kelly Smith and Kim Little.
Houghton rammed home a third after the break, having also grabbed the only goal against New Zealand, and Powell believes Great Britain have no reason to fear Brazil.
“We know the depth and the quality of Brazil – they had a hard fought contest against New Zealand so hopefully some of that will work in our favour,” she added.
“It’s on the day really – it’s going to be a tough encounter but that’s what we are here for. We have these challenges and we’ll do our best.”
n Lloyds TSB, proud supporter of Team GB and proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Get closer to the Games at lloydstsb.com/london2012
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