National hockey team suffer crushing losses in Trinidad

Guyana’s national men’s hockey team had a dismal weekend as they lost their three-match friendly series in the twin-island republic. Coming off of a loss in the first game, the local boys went on to suffer defeats in the second and third matches.
Guyana’s momentum seemed to have been building in the second match until they were forced to play short of a player after Rayon Branford received a yellow card. Trinidad saw the opportunity to infiltrate the Guyanese defence and took the opportunity, netting two goals in quick succession before the halftime whistle blew.
Guyana’s closest goal-scoring opportunity came when a penalty was awarded to Edmond Chinian after he was fouled inside the scoring box. However, the expectant hearts of the Guyanese players dropped when the shot was deflected wide by Andrew Stewart.
Trinidadian Tariq Marcano, however, continued his ‘player of the match worthy’ momentum when he set up a number of goal-scoring opportunities for his team. The crucial match-up eventually ended on a 4-0 score in favour of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Guyanese team came out stronger in their third game, showing a level of competitiveness that they had not displayed in their first two encounters.
Unfortunately for the local team, Trinidad were one up quickly in the first half and then surged to a 2-0 lead thanks to a goal off of Medroy Scotland’s stick. Capitalising on an impressive counter attack by Jamarj Assanah, Guyana’s captain, Robert France got the local team’s first goal on the board.
Shaquille Daniel and Marcus James later lengthened the Trinidadian lead after scoring two goals apiece. The Guyanese hopes were raised near the end of the third quarter when they moved the score to 4-2 owing to a successful penalty. Guyana’s hopes were short-lived after Daniel added another goal to Trinidad’s tally, resulting in a 5-2 win for the twin-island republic.