Just a few yards from the spot where Eric Liddell created the legend behind ‘Chariots of Fire’, Lee Morton scripted his own sporting blockbuster.
The cinder track where Liddell blazed to 400-metre gold a century ago is now a blaze of blue astroturf, but it was still a canvas for a fellow Scot to create a moment of magic.
Glaswegian Morton, who nearly quit the sport in 2019, rattled home two stunning goals in five minutes to help Team GB earn a vital 2-2 draw with the Netherlands.
“We never give up,” said Morton. “Until that final whistle blows, we’ll back ourselves to create chances and score goals.”
It is a value system that Morton embodies with his own journey in the sport.
He is one of the most gifted players that Britain has produced but having been dropped from the GB programme in 2019, stood on the brink of leaving the sport.
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.
“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.”
Princess Anne was 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.
Her Royal Highness would have been forgiven for nodding off during the course of a soporific first half in which neither side wanted to give an inch, least of all RAF Aircraftman Liam Sanford.
The fearless defender, who is the first to run towards the danger at penalty corners, caught a glancing blow to the cheek from the ball and went off with a bloodied face.
The match turned on a moment of magic from Floris Wortelboer late in the third quarter and 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.
Revington’s side were pouring forward in the closing minutes with Rupert Shipperley forcing a sharp near post save from Pirmin Blaak, World Goalkeeper of the Year in 2023.
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."
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.
It was a crucial intervention in the context of Team GB’s ambitions to win their first gold medal in men’s hockey since Seoul 1988.
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 and their resilience was laid bare once more in an epic encounter with the Dutch, who they could easily meet again in the medal matches.
“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.”
Morton is the first Scottish player to feature in the Team GB men's hockey squad since 2008 and he is keen to leave a legacy through his performances in Paris.
"I want reset that clock and hopefully show future generations that we have Scottish athletes for the men’s every single Olympics," said Morton. "It’s been a long time; I take this as an opportunity to reset and hopefully we have even more Scottish athletes in years to come."
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