Jamaica Women lose hockey final to Guyana
JAMAICA NATIONAL women’s hockey coach Christine Bartley said poor finishing led to their 1-0 defeat to Guyana in the final of the Women’s CAC Games Qualifiers at the JN Hockey Field in Mona yesterday.
Latacia Chung netted the game’s only goal 12 minutes from time when Jamaica failed to clear a penalty corner. Chung gave the visiting Guyana an unlikely victory against the dominant hosts, who controlled most of the match but could not find the net.
“I think we did not take our chances when we got them. We created more chances than they did, and they created one chance and got one goal,” Bartley told The Gleaner afterwards.
Jamaica were all over the opponents from the opening whistle, pegging the opposition back in their half for most of the contest, and it only seemed a matter of time before Jamaica would break the deadlock. But it was not to be.
Even though the local girls were not as fluent as they usually are, and their turnovers were more than the usual, they had enough control of the game to put the Guyanese away in Bartley’s assessment.
“It’s a final, so you expected them to be a little jittery at the
start. But we settled down and played well and created some opportunities. But if you don’t make use of your chances, then it will hurt, and that was what happened,” she explained.
“We have to make sure when we get opportunities, we take them,” she added.
Despite the disappointment of losing the final, Bartley said that the main objective was accomplished and they will now look to make their mark at the CAC Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, next year.
“We are disappointed because our objective was to win the game. Guyana is a good team. They played well, created a chance, and made use of it.
“But I though we played really well. We had an excellent tournament and the commitment and determination they showed brought them to the final, and it’s been a while since we have been to a final, so it’s an achievement. We accomplished the main objective, which was to get to the CAC Games, and we are there now, so we just have to put in some more work and all the resources so we can perform well at the CAC,” she added.
Guyana coach Philip Fernandes said the Jamaicans were better on the day and that his side was fortunate to get the winner.
“Jamaica had the better of the game. They played well. They have a quality side, and the game was very close, but we got the break on this day,” he said.
Jamaica’s male counterparts, on the other hand, were named victors of their final against Guyana when technical difficulties with the floodlights after a lightning strike meant an early end to the game with the score at 0-0 after 19 minutes. The Jamaicans were given the victory because they won their preliminary-round group.