THE Guyana Women’s hockey team suffered a 1-2 defeat against Barbados as they prepare for their participation in the Central American and Caribbean Games which is scheduled for Puerto Rico next month.
According to a release, the local lasses competed in their first match on Friday evening on the artificial pitch of the Sir Garfield Sobers sports centre in Wildey Barbados.
The players are on their second and final weekend training camp on foreign shores as they prepare for the CAC Games in Puerto Rico this July. 
The first of their three matches scheduled for the weekend saw the Guyanese girls put up a spirited fight but went down to Barbados by a 2-1 margin.
The Bajans scored first, early in the match, from a penalty corner tip-in but the Guyanese looked determined to equalise as they controlled greater possession and kept the play mostly in the Bajans’ half of the field. 
Just before halftime, the Guyanese were rewarded with the equaliser as striker Kerensa Fernandes guided home a carefully placed pass into the scoring circle from Cora Towler on the left wing.
Despite some threatening attacking moves from the Guyanese, the Barbadians scored through a baseline attack on the right wing which was slipped past the advancing Guyanese goalkeeper Natalie Hing.
Although suffering a 2-1 defeat, coach Philip Fernandes expressed satisfaction with the performance of his charges who in his opinion have shown a marked improvement since their matches in Trinidad just 3 weeks ago. 
“The girls have responded well to the corrections we have made to our game.” Fernandes said, adding “Hockey is a complicated team sport as there are eleven players on the pitch at the same time from each team and they all need to understand one another.  It therefore takes a lot of time and practice to build a cohesive unit that can be successful against international teams who have been playing together for years.” 
Fernandes said that the team has been making corrective changes to both their defensive structure and understanding and their ability to control the ball under pressure in defence.
The team were expected to face the tough challenge of playing the Barbados women’s national team last evening.
The host team are ranked 5th in the CAC Games while the Guyanese are ranked 8th. .
Fernandes expects that Barbados, Trinidad and Mexico will be the toughest three teams to beat in Puerto Rico and values this opportunity to expose his players to such quality opposition prior to the tournament.
The team play the Barbados nationals again today before returning to Guyana when they will enter their final three weeks of preparation before the games.