GB target Olympic dream after easing to win over Chile
Laura Unsworth expressed her relief that Great Britain women can defend their Olympic title next year after Mark Hager’s side sealed qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Games with a 5-1 aggregate win over Chile.
Britain followed up their 3-0 advantage from the first leg on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Las Diablas to record their first back-to-back victories since the team triumphed at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Unsworth got Britain’s second goal inside the first 10 minutes when she rifled a shot into the roof of the net from close range and played a pivotal role throughout to ensure she will become a threetime Olympian – and Britain’s most experienced player of this current crop – come July next year.
“It is a relief, and as Olympic champions we can go out there and defend our title,” said Unsworth. “The real work starts here and we can now talk about putting our stamp on the tournament. It is a weight off our shoulders.”
It took just four minutes for Tess Howard to bury a low reverse-stick shot into the corner of the net to put their Olympic dream beyond doubt. It was clear Britain were eager to change their lacklustre narrative of late, which has included a poor showing in this year’s Pro League and a fourth-place finish at July’s Eurohockey Championships in Antwerp.
“We all knew we had to buckle down,” added Unsworth. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work and the few weeks we had, post-antwerp, we put in a solid block of work. We’ve got longer now with Mark, as he only came in in March. It’s a completely new team and we are playing a different style and we are going in the right direction.”
Chile tested Britain’s mettle intermittently and Fernanda Villagran converted a penalty corner late on to the approval of the watching Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa, the former head coach of the Chile men’s football team, who was invited to the match by head coach, Sergio Vigil.
But Las Diablas – ranked 18th in the world – failed to trouble goalkeeper Maddie Hinch until the 40th minute and Hager is acutely aware his side will face more clinical opposition at Tokyo.
“Tonight we will have a few beers to celebrate making the Olympics,” he said. “We already have plans in place and we can activate those. For us, it’s about making sure we progress and get better.”
Team captain Hollie Pearnewebb added: “We have ticked one box – we’re going. But in the next eight months we have to push each other even harder.”