Hinch saves the day for TeamGB to clinch gold in thrilling final
Holcombe keeper Maddie Hinch almost single-handedly earned GB a gold medal with an imperious display and penalty shootout heroics to beat the Netherlands last Friday night. Former Sutton Valence School pupil Susannah Townsend of Canterbury Ladies and Hinch’s Holcs team-mates Sam Quek, Nic White and Shona McCallin played their part as GB withstood a battering from the double Olympic champions, only for White’s late strike to ensure a 3-3 draw and penalties. Hinch – who is moving to play in Holland for SCHC next season – was the star for GB with a string of saves to keep the 2008 and 2012 gold medallists at bay during normal time and then proved unbeatable in the shoot-out. That allowed Hollie Webb to spark wild scenes with the crucial conversion after Helen Richardson-Walsh had held her nerve to open the scoring. Earlier, Lily Owsley gave Britain the perfect start with a neat close-range finish after a mesmerising run into the D by Sophie Bray. However, the World No.1 team levelled seconds into the second quarter after a lightning break which saw Kitty van Male drive past Hinch to her left before firing a reverse stick strike into the roof of the net. The goal sparked a spell of dominance from the Netherlands and Naomi van As rattled the bar after working herself a yard near the edge of the D, however it was from a penalty corner that the Dutch made it 2-1. Hinch had already made some stunning saves – one of them a quickfire double – to keep the Netherlands out but she was beaten by a low strike from Maartje Paumen which also evaded Richardson-Walsh on the line. GB, though, bounced back almost immediately and with the Dutch defence at sea, a speculative ball into the D broke to the unmarked Crista Cullen at the back post who bobbled the equaliser with a first-time shot to ensure it was all square at half-time. The Netherlands won a string of penalty corners after the turnaround but Hinch was equal to the first three of them. However, the Dutch changed tack and Caia Van Maasakker swung a subtle pass past the defence for Van Male to sweep home her second six minutes into the third period. Somehow GB clawed their way back into it and after winning their first two penalty corners of the match, the ball broke from a melee after an Alex Danson shot for Holcombe’s White to sweep home with her back to goal to ensure the dramatic penalties. “That was a huge team effort,” said Hinch. “The Dutch are a fantastic side. We definitely backed ourselves in the shoot-out. Goalkeeping has its highs and lows. You can be a villain but you can also be a hero in the moment. “It helped that the Dutch had a shoot-out in their semi-final, so that gave me a chance to see what they do but I basically give myself a game plan for each player and I execute that and thankfully it worked as the Dutch did what I thought they would do. “What a great advert for hockey. That’s what we want to do, showcase our sport and I’m so pleased it was a good game.”