Great Britain’s women fell to a 1-0 defeat by Spain in the second match of their Olympic qualifying campaign in Valencia.

Patricia Alvarez scored the only goal of a fast-paced game in the fourth quarter.

GB, who beat Canada 2-0 in their opening game on Saturday, need a top-three finish to qualify for Paris 2024.

They face Malaysia in their third group game on Tuesday at 13:15 GMT, live on the BBC.

GB are third in their group, behind second-placed Canada on goals scored.

If Britain defeat winless Malaysia and Canada fail to beat leaders Spain, GB will go through to the semi-finals.

Eight teams are competing in Spain, split into groups of four.

The two top from each group will progress to the semi-finals, and the finalists and winner of the third-place play-off qualify for the Olympics.

Laura Roper and Sarah Jones should have given GB the lead before Spain’s opener, but keeper Clara Perez produced two quick saves to deny the pair.

Match-winner Alvarez was denied moments before her goal by a double save from GB goalkeeper Sabbie Heesh.

GB captain Hollie Pearne-Webb said the team need to capitalise on the chances they are creating.

She added: “We defended pretty well as a whole. It’s a good game to learn from in terms of turning our opportunities into outcomes.

“It was a tough lesson today, but it’s tournament hockey and we move on to the next.”

Perez, who was player of the match, said: “I’m really happy for the team as it was a tough match. Both teams had opportunities to take the win, and we were lucky we scored a goal.”