Jamaica take aim at Paraguay to secure World Cup berth
Published:Saturday | June 10, 2023 | 1:12 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
JAMAICA’S men’s team will now have to rely on defeating Paraguay in their third and fourth playoff of the 2023 Hockey5s Pan American Cup tomorrow to book a spot at the 2024 Hockey5s World Cup following their 9-2 semifinal defeat by Trinidad and Tobago last night.
In last night’s semifinal, Trinidad and Tobago, the tournament’s highest scoring men’s team, were the quicker out of the blocks as they led 4-0 by the halfway mark.
They were led by Teague Marcano who scored five goals on the night as his goals came in the second, eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th minutes. Shawn Phillip in the sixth minute, Mickell Pierre in the 13th minute and captain Akim Toussaint with a brace in the seventh and 19th minutes were the other scorers for the twin-island republic. Jamaica’s goals came from captain Nickoy Stephenson who was on target in the ninth and 15th minutes.
Trinidad and Tobago will meet the United States (US) in the final. The US defeated Paraguay 5-1 in the other semi-final.
Despite the defeat, Jamaica’s head coach Duvaughn Henlon was pleased with the performance of his young group.
“It’s not the result we would have liked but we have one more game to go which will give us another opportunity to go to the World Cup and we are looking forward to that,” he stated.
Coach Henlon, who faced powerful offensive opponents in Trinidad and Tobago, believes he saw strength within his team that can be used to help them perform better next time around.
“The team is always determined to play and they gave it a good shot. We we made some good plays but unfortunately, they didn’t go our way tonight but we will be ready for Paraguay,” he added.
Coach Henlon said the South Americans are a good team but believes his boys will be ready for their highly anticipated assignment.
“Paraguay are a good team but we are looking forward to the challenge and we are hoping that we will come out on top,” Henlon said.
In a match played early yesterday Jamaica defeated Guatemala 3-2 in a shootout to book their place in the semi-finals. The teams were locked at 1-1 at full-time.