Guyana make 1st-ever World Cup final at Indoor Hockey Masters

The Rock Hard boys from Guyana played a masterful semifinal match to outclass France by 3-2 in the Men’s Over-45 division of the Indoor Hockey Masters World Cup. Like two experienced prize-fighters, the two nations bided their time in the opening minutes, cautiously exploring their opponent and being careful not to give up any easy opportunities. A shot at the prestigious gold medal was at stake, and a win would guarantee a World Cup medal.
With few opportunities in the first quarter, Guyana’s superior speed produced several counterattacking opportunities in the second quarter, but their shots were mostly thwarted by the excellence of French goalkeeper Locu Didier. An Alan Fernandes reverse shot from the left managed to find a way past Didier in the 16th minute and seemed to be the catalyst Guyana needed to take control of the game. Captain Jerazeno Bell was next on the scoresheet with a pair of identical penalty corner shots high to the goalkeeper’s left, the second coming just before halftime.

France would regroup and earned their first goal of the match two minutes after resumption as Franck Barbet-Carriere, while chasing a pass through the middle, collided with Guyanese goalkeeper Gregory Garraway, earning hm a penalty corner. Damien Declercq converted for France, restoring their hope and confidence in a comeback. Guyana struggled to get their shots on target as several shots went wide while no fewer than three rattled the crossbar to no avail. Declercq would heighten the tension by drawing his side within one when he converted a penalty corner for France mid-way through the third quarter. Despite an exhaustive final quarter, the match had no further goals and Guyana enjoyed the celebration of its first final berth at a Masters World Cup.

Guyana had dispatched Wales in their final pool match the previous day by 6 goals to 5 in another high-paced match that saw the unbeaten debutants from South America finish top of their pool with an unbeaten record. Wales were first to strike with a Greg Laurenson goal right at the very end of a tightly-defended first quarter. Guyana, however, would dominate the second quarter with four goals to Wales additional single. The teams traded punches in the second half until the match concluded with Guyana up by 6-5.
Veteran midfielder Alan Fernandes led the Guyanese scorers with a double while teammates Ian Nicholson, Devin Hooper, Dwayne Scott and Jerazeno Bell each scored one. Dan Makaruk managed a double for Wales in addition to singles from Greg Laurenson, Mark Bromley, and Matt Stollery.
England managed to upstage the powerful German side in the other semifinal to earn the second spot in the final. This has set up a return clash between hosts England and the unbeaten surprise of the tournament, Guyana.