BRITS BOOK OLYMPIC TICKET
Jane Sixsmith booked Great Britain's place in the Sydney Olympics with the
winning goal in a thrilling 1-0 victory over China in the qualifying tournament
in Milton Keynes on Wednesday night.
Veteran Sixsmith struck in the 42nd minute to ensure the hosts finished top of
their group, qualifying for a semi-final berth against 1992 Olympic champions
Spain on Friday.
Germany, meanwhile, will take on New Zealand, who captured the other place in
Britain's pool in the second semi-final.
In front of a packed crowd braving wintry conditions, the British women
dominated the first half, creating several excellent chances and forcing three
penalty corners.
But after the Brits had failed to find a way past some dogged defending, China
hit back to finish the half strongly.
Sixsmith then delivered the killer blow seven minutes after the break when she
collected a pass from captain Sue Chandler, twisted past two defenders and
cracked in an unstoppable shot past the goalkeeper.
In a closely fought finish to the contest with both sides pushing forward at
every opportunity, China were unable to equalise and must now win their next two
games in the play-offs to clinch the fifth and final spot for Sydney.
British captain Chandler reflected on a tough match, saying: "They made us
work really hard. The crowd were fantastic, and we deserved the win."
Earlier, Spain destroyed Ireland's hopes of clinching a place in the top two
and qualifying automatically when they won 2-0.
While Spain therefore celebrated joining Germany in Sydney, the Irish must try
to clinch the fifth spot via the play-offs.
Outplayed throughout the match, Ireland managed just one shot on target and
failed to earn even a single penalty corner.
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