Costello hails 'special' strike as Team GB clinch crucial win at Paris 2024

Amy Costello hailed a ‘special’ strike as Great Britain’s women beat South Africa 2-1 to breathe fresh life into their hockey campaign.

The Edinburgh ace, 26, fired home from a penalty corner to level the scores after Kayla de Waal had given South Africa an early lead.

Hannah French’s winner completed the fightback and earned a much-needed victory for David Ralph’s side, who had lost their opening two matches.

“To score is really special,” she said. “It’s something I’ve been working on, so it was nice to get the rewards in a massive game for us.

“We had no points on the board coming in, so whether it was pretty or not, the aim was just to get three points. We are really pleased to come out with the win.

“Back-to-back losses kind of sucked the air out of us but it’s tournament hockey, we still have two games to go.

“It is about thinking forward rather than looking back too much, and dwelling on what could have been.”

Team GB’s women’s hockey stars are among over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.

Costello was a travelling reserve during the last Olympics in Tokyo but is now playing a central role in returning Britain’s women to the Olympic podium.

They will bid to build on their momentum against USA this afternoon (4pm) and Costello’s goal continued a good week for the Scottish contingent in Britain’s hockey ranks following Lee Morton’s double for the men on Tuesday.

“It’s nice to have a big Scottish contingent and I’m really enjoying fully being a part of it this time,” she said.

“The village is massive and I’ve had lots of conversations with Andy Murray, we