HAMILTON, Bermuda, (CMC) – Jamaica men’s team booked their ticket to next year’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games after defeating Bermuda 1-0 in Friday’s hockey qualifier at the Flora Duffy Stadium, leaving the hosts and Puerto Rico to scrap it out for the remaining place in El Salvador.
Twenty-four hours after slumping to a crushing 4-1 defeat against the same opponents, a more resolute Bermuda looked set to secure a hard-earned point, but conceded with just over a minute remaining.
Bermuda goalkeeper Justin Dill parried Tyrone Vernon’s shot from Gian-Paul Haughton’s penalty corner and the ball fell to the unmarked Shemar Gordon to tap home.
Jamaica coach Duvaughn Henlon praised his team for achieving their CAC objective with a game to spare.
“We are happy with the win,” he said after his unbeaten side moved to seven points from three games.
“It was a hard-fought match and we are thankful. The team has played some very good hockey and we continue to build.
“It’s a young team, 10 players playing for the national team for the first time, so it’s a good showing and I am happy for the guys.
“The coaching staff and management staff has done a lot of work and it has paid off.”
Bermuda captain Samuel Thompson said: “It was very unfortunate.
“We did play extremely well, but it came down to the last minute unfortunately.
“We changed our structure around a little bit. The communication was a lot higher and the passing consistency was a lot higher as well, which allowed us to have a little bit more edge this time than we did the last.”
On Saturday, Jamaica play their final game against Puerto Rico while today, the hosts clash with Puerto Rico in the final game of the qualifiers.