Both sides were feeling the pressure with the score so close and a full quarter left to play.
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First, Kayla Whitelock brought down Helen Richardson-Walsh and was yellow carded.
It all came down the fourth quarter of play.
Team GB earned a second penalty stroke after Lily Owsley had a path to the cage. She wrong-footed Reynolds, and slammed in a reverse stick shot, just like she did at the London Games. She converted to give Great Britain a commanding 3-0 lead with just under nine minutes to go in the game.
Germany men’s field hockey has won another medal, topping the Netherlands in a 4-3 shootout win to earn the bronze. The Netherlands, the dominant force in the sport, will meet New Zealand or Britain in the final.
Furste said Germany had only themselves to blame for losing control so early in the match “We didn’t play our best hockey today (Tuesday), that’s for sure”. They will take on the two-time defending gold medalist Netherlands on Friday.
All three of Peillat’s goals came from penalty corners, and the 24-year-old praised his side’s tactics and preparation before the game. “We made it to the final now and the only thing we are here for is the gold medal”. She drilled it, which sealed her team’s shot at a third consecutive gold medal.
The Netherlands had the better of the first quarter, mounting a number of fast attacks, but Germany took a surprise lead in the 10th minute when the ball bounced free from a penalty corner and Lisa Schutze banged it in. Germany’s Tobias Hauke, Mats Grambusch, Timm Herzbruch and Linus Butt all scored in the shootout, while Robbert Kemperman, Jeroen Hertzberger and Severiano Van Ass scored for the Dutch. However, it would be too high and disallowed, keeping the score even at one goal.
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The shootout went to sudden death, and the tension was so much that Netherlands coach Alyson Annan-Thate was crouching on the turf, barely able to watch.
