Support truly
independent journalism
Olympic days like these were never meant to happen to Lee Morton.
The Glaswegian lost his place as a full-time hockey player on the GB programme in 2019 and was a few clicks on a job portal away from quitting the sport altogether.
Thanks to an olive branch from head coach Paul Revington, a willingness to evolve his game and a whole heap of natural ability, Morton is now the toast of Team GB having struck a stunning brace in the final five minutes to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw with Netherlands.
“I had given up on the Olympic dream,” said the 29-year-old. “I was at rock bottom and going to quit, but I stuck with it and to be here now with all of my family watching, it’s pretty special.”
Morton’s magical moment was witnessed by scores of his nearest and dearest, with his brother surprising the family by flying in from Australia to watch the Games.
Anne, Princess Royal, was also in the building, sporting a natty Team GB bucket hat to shield from broiling Parisian heat, and duly rewarded with a thrilling contest between the top two nations in the world.
The match turned on a moment of magic from Floris Wortelboer, who rammed in a fine reverse-stick effort late in the third quarter, before Thijs van Dam poached another early in the fourth.
GB only mounted a response once the second goal had gone in with Morton weaving his way through the box and crashing home to halve the deficit.
They poured forward in the closing minutes with Rupert Shipperley forcing a sharp near-post save from Pirmin Blaak, World Goalkeeper of the Year in 2023. But Blaak had no chance when the ball sat up beautifully for Morton who lashed home a fierce leveller to silence a Dutch-dominated crowd.
On the second goal, Morton said: “Shut the eyes and hope for the best is how I’d describe it, I’ll be honest about that!
“The ball just sat up, I thought about taking a touch and it just sat up very nice so I just gave it a whack, it hit the backboard and what a feeling.”
Revington brought Morton back into the GB programme two years ago because he believed he could produce when it mattered.
“I’m delighted for Lee and this couldn’t have happened to a better quality guy,” said Revington. “The defensive side of his game hadn’t traditionally been strong and I think he’s found that balance, now playing up front, he’s offering both. He’s a complete player and that’s where the modern game is at.”
Having thrashed Spain 4-0 in their opener, Revington’s side had to come from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against South Africa.
Their resilience was laid bare once more in an epic encounter with the Dutch, who they could easily meet again in the medal matches.
These two teams are among a clutch of six nations who will fancy their chances of contending for medals, with GB harbouring their best chance of gold since Seoul 1988.
“We never give up,” said Morton. “Until that final whistle blows, we’ll back ourselves to create chances and score goals.
“We thought it was pretty harsh to be 2-0 down, so to come back in the last few minutes and salvage a point was good. We keep an unbeaten record and overall, very happy.”
With more than £30M a week raised for Good Causes, including vital funding into elite and grassroots sport, National Lottery players support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to live their dreams and make the nation proud, as well as providing more opportunities for people to take part in sport. To find out more visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
