TOMMY Smith became the first player to appear in the Olympics while on the books of Ipswich – but could not prevent New Zealand from going down to an underwhelming 1-0 defeat to Belarus.
The Lily Whites tonight suffered a disappointing opening game defeat after Dmitry Baga headed home on the stroke of half-time following a mistake by keeper Michael O’Keefe.
Smith had a steady game after overcoming a shaky opening which saw him booked inside 30 seconds for tugging back Belarus striker Sergei Kornilenko on the edge of the area – arguably the quickest yellow card in Olympic history.
In the other match in Group C, Brazil beat Egypt 3-2.
Smith and New Zealand now face the Egyptians on Sunday before tackling Brazil next Wednesday.
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