Smith hits roof to raise rafters

At the 1992 Olympics here, a Jane Sixsmith goal in extra time against South Korea won bronze for Great Britain. Yesterday Sixsmith was still buzzing as Britain achieved their first win over the Asian champions since that famous victory eight years ago.

At the 1992 Olympics here, a Jane Sixsmith goal in extra time against South Korea won bronze for Great Britain. Yesterday Sixsmith was still buzzing as Britain achieved their first win over the Asian champions since that famous victory eight years ago.

In hot sunshine, Britain twice came from behind, shrugged off the disruption of injuries to Kath Johnson and Pauline Stott, and snatched the game when Jane Smith, at a switched penalty corner, placed the ball into the roof of the net with less than two minutes remaining.

Both defences were severely tested in a thrilling first half which ended with a goal to each side. A quick South Korean counterattack, after Mandy Nicholson's shot had been well saved, saw Seong Eun Kim outpacing the British defence to open the scoring. Within a minute Lucilla Wright equalised from Britain's third penalty corner.

In the 55th minute a long ball from the South Korean right wing by-passed a packed British defence to find Eun Jin Kim unmarked near the far post. Her shot from close range gave the goalkeeper Hilary Rose no chance .

Britain quickly regrouped and fought back, with the speed of Sixsmith and Anna Bennett posing problems. But it was Tina Cullen, in the 63rd minute, cutting in from the left who saw her shot take a deflection off a defender's stick into the roof of the net for the equaliser. Smith's winner came from the second of two late penalty corners.

GREAT BRITAIN: H Rose (Bury); P Stott (Bonagrass Grove), F Greenham (Slough), M Clewlow (Canterbury, capt), K Johnson (Harleston Magpies); J Smith (Slough), K Bowden (Fyffes Leicester), D Marston-Smith (Clifton); J Sixsmith (Sutton Coldfield), M Nicholson (Slough), T Cullen (Hightown). Substitutes used: A Bennett (Canterbury), R Simpson (Grange Edinburgh), H Richardson (Fyffes Leicester), K Walsh (Hightown), L Wright (Olton).

SOUTH KOREA: Hang Joo Jeong; Myung Ok Kim (capt); Hee Joo Yoo, Sun Hwa Lee, Soo Jung Kim; Mi Hyun Kim, Seung Shin Oh, Eun Kyung Park; Seong Eun Kim, Jeong Soon Yang, Eun Jin Kim. Substitutes used: Yong Sook Park, Jin Hyuk Bang, Ko Woon Oh, Eun Young Lee, Bo Ra Cho.

Umpires: P Carne and I Arancibia (Spain).