Guyana go down 2-0 to defending champions Canada
Guyana’s Gabriella Xavier makes a desperate dive against Canada yesterday. (Samuel Maughn photos)
Guyana’s Gabriella Xavier makes a desperate dive against Canada yesterday. (Samuel Maughn photos)

… We’re down but not out – coach Scott

DESPITE a 2-0 loss against defending champions Canada yesterday, Guyana’s head coach Dwayne Scott told Chronicle that his ladies, though being down, are certainly not out of their hunt for a top-four spot in this year’s Pan American Indoor Hockey Championships.
Prior to yesterday’s game, Guyana had suffered defeats against Uruguay (4-3) and Argentina (3-0) and in the game against Canada, they were expected to be outplayed, but, the Guyanese women impressed the crowd at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall with their ‘die-hard’ hockey game.
The Canadians entered the clash against Guyana with a 5-1 victory over Barbados and, given their distinct advantage or speed and skills they were expecting a wide margin of victory.

Michelle Webber, six minutes into the game put the visitors in the lead with her goal, while Kathleen Leahy, in the 15th minute cemented the Canadians lead.

Action between Guyana and Canada at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall

Guyana suffered a devastating blow after watching their 18-year-old star Aliyah Gordon fall to the ground after picking up an injury. Gordon is one the best players on the Guyana side but in her absence, the local women matched the Canadians every move.
They (Guyana) came close to scoring on several occasions in the second half, but, their attempts were foiled by the Canadians’ stubborn defence and twice the ball had beaten the keeper, but edged off the goal stanchion.

“We have proved that we can play hockey with the ‘big dogs’, we’ve proved that we can compete, every one of our games has been a close game. We want to prove to the rest of the hockey nations that we are capable of playing with the very best,” head coach Dwayne Scott told Chronicle after his loss to Argentina.
Having failed to secure a win in their three matches, Scott stated, “We’re not disappointed with the losses and we’re coming against some of the best teams playing hockey forever. If you look at the competition we’ve been coming up against and the games we’ve been playing, we still have hope.”

Argentina, USA, Canada and Uruguay are all undefeated so far in the tournament, and a herculean task is ahead for Scott’s ladies, since they will have to win their three remaining games to stand a chance to feature in the medal round of the Championships.
Up next for Guyana are the win-less Barbados today, and they will wrap up their round-robin play against Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow.

 

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