THE Guyana Hockey Board’s national junior men’s team to Trinidad and Tobago have taken a 2-nil lead in their three-game series against the hosts.

On Wednesday evening, the Guyanese claimed a 2nd victory over Trinidad and Tobago’s U-19 Development team; this time their ‘B’ Team at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua, and this time by a 2-nil margin.
Trinidad played a low press from the start of the game, allowing Guyana to maintain possession in their own half of the field. This made them difficult to break down and forced the Guyanese to work the ball round the back from side to side to create gaps in the Trinidadian defence.
After Trinidad conceded a long corner from a Guyanese left-sided attack, an aerial pass to the defender Daniel Hooper provided enough space for him to find captain Mark Sargeant free at the top of the D. His first time shot was neatly deflected in on the near post by striker Ato Greene to give Guyana the early lead.
Despite being outmatched, the work rate and fighting spirit of the Trinidadian side frustrated the Guyanese for most of the match.
Guyana had to wait until the fourth quarter to register their second goal, when Jamarj Assanah took a quick free hit just outside the Trinidadian scoring area and laid the ball off to Aroydy Branford, who pulled the ball onto his reverse and sent his shot over the advancing Trinidadian goalkeeper.
Although Guyana had several more goal-scoring opportunities the Trinidadian defence held strong for the remainder the game to limit the score to 2-0.
On Tuesday, Guyana claimed a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the ‘A’ team.
In Monday’s warm-up game, Guyana edged out Paragon Hockey Club 2-1.
In the final game of the series last night, Guyana were down to face a combined T&T Development team.
Meanwhile, former Trinidadian national player and drag-flicking specialist Wayne Leggerton conducted a training session for the team yesterday morning, focusing on the specialty skill.

(By Leeron Brumell)