Tokyo 2020 - Hockey heroics from Maddie Hinch as Team GB beat Spain in dramatic quarter-final shoot-out

ByTom Bennett

Updated 02/08/2021 at 17:38 GMT

Maddie Hinch repeated her shoot-out heroics from five years ago, once again saving every single penalty she faced as Great Britain beat Spain in the hockey quarter-finals to set up a meeting with Netherlands in the final four. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.

Team GB’s women’s hockey team are through to the final four of the Tokyo Olympic Games after a stunning shoot-out win over Spain in the quarter-finals.

A hard-fought match ended all square with two goals apiece after normal team, with Spain drawing level in the final quarter to take the tie the distance.

Hannah Martin and Sarah Jones slotted Britain’s second and third penalties, with Martin’s coming on the rebound, to give the defending Olympic champions a huge chance of reaching the semis.

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And it was goalie Maddie Hinch who was the hero for GB, saving all four of the Spanish attempts she faced before being engulfed by her overjoyed team-mates.

Team GB in fact celebrated the win twice, with Spain's fourth penalty ordered to be retaken after Hinch was adjudged to have commited a foul after making an initial save.

But the keeper shrugged off the disappointment and denied the retake to send her side through to the final four.

Hinch is no stranger to shoot-out heroics, having steered Great Britain to Olympic gold at Rio 2016, saving all four penalties against the Netherlands and making her a national hero as the match took place at prime-time on a Friday night in the UK.

And speaking to Eurosport ahead of the Tokyo games, the 32-year-old explained how she approaches a shoot-out and why she takes it as an opportunity to shine rather than one to fear.

“In Rio, I can honestly hand on heart say I wanted them to shoot - I felt six foot tall and six foot wide,” she said. “That’s what sets the top goalkeepers apart - real self-belief - and if it does go in, you move on. What’s going on in your mind, that’s the difference between good and great goalkeepers.

I definitely expect myself to make a certain amount of saves - a shoot-out is the goalkeeper’s chance to shine.

"We spend most of the game standing around, during a game, you may not have touched the ball and lost 3-0. We go through the serious lows and that’s the extremes of the position.

“But when a shoot-out happens, I think great, this is your moment to shine. The hero status you can have, it’s a cool situation to be in and you should embrace it.

“If you’ve done your homework and you back yourself to make the saves, you’ll be fine.”

Hannah Martin of Team Great Britain and teammate Madeleine Claire Hinch celebrate victory in the Women's Quarterfinal match between Spain and Great Britain on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Oi Hockey Stadium on August 02, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan

Image credit: Getty Images

A repeat of the Rio final awaits in the last four for Team GB, with a match against the Netherlands scheduled for Wednesday. The pair also met during the group stage, with the Dutch edging a tense match 1-0.

Argentina and India will play off for the other spot in the final.

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