PRESIDENT of Guyana Hockey Board (GHB), Philip Fernandes, showered Guyana’s male and female hockey with praises after they qualified for next year’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in in Barranquilla, Colombia.

The Guyanese women defeated host Jamaica 1-0 to win the CAC Qualifier Tournament, while the men’s team fell to the Jamaicans when ‘bad light’ resulted in their final being prematurely ended, forcing the organisers to use the points standings of the round-robin which saw the Guyanese come up short and had to settle for silver.

Fernandes, who also coached the women’s side, expressed his great satisfaction of the team’s performances, stating that they responded well to the changes implemented throughout the tournament and lifted their level of play when it counted most.
According to Fernandes, several senior players were unavailable for the qualifier tournament due to work commitments or injury “but this afforded the opportunity for new young players to gain valuable exposure”.

The GHB was high in praise for the players and the astute tactical work by men’s coach Robert Fernandes. The GHB president lamented the misfortune of the men’s side stating that he was confident they could have pulled off the victory in the final.

“When Robert and I discussed the men’s pool match against Jamaica, he indicated to me that he was not going to show all his cards as the Guyanese men were already through to the final,” said Fernandes, who added, “the Guyanese men lost the pool match but had more than doubled the scoring opportunities of the opposition and I have no doubt they would have been much better in the final.”

Meanwhile, looking ahead to the CAC Games, Fernandes said, “There is not a moment to spare as time is short and the teams would need to perform even better to medal at an event of that level.”
Puerto Rico secured the bronze in both competitions and will be the first ‘reserve’ country if any other is unable to participate.