Men highlight strong second day as Ja get first points

National men’s hockey co-captain Shemar Gordon hopes that their gutsy maiden victory in the Hockey5s Pan American Cup will be the turning point to propel them to a strong run for the rest of tournament as day two ended at the Mona Hockey Field yesterday.

Jamaica got their first points of the campaign after the men dispatched Panama 3-1 thanks to goals from Gordon in the first minute, Kevon Reid in the sixth minute and Paul Glan Haughton in the 16th minute. Yomar Martinez got Panama’s lone goal in the 12th minute.

Following Sunday’s opening day defeat to the United States, Gordon credited their win to how their team psychologist refocused their mindset.

“We went back to the drawing board and did a few psychological sessions where the psychologist told us that it was all in our head. We just went out there and did exactly what the coach wanted us to do,” Gordon told The Gleaner.

Head coach Duvaughn Henlon stated that he was encouraged by the display shown against the top ranked United States and saw that confidence maintained in their performance against Panama.

“We played the number one seed in the competition (on Sunday) and we gave them a very tough game. The team was very confident coming out today and the result today was expected,” Henlon said.

Gordon hopes that it provides a launchpad to display the country’s capabilities in the sport at the elite level of this format.

“It sets the tone for the rest of the week because we want to show the rest of the world that Jamaica can play at a high level. And that is what we are here to show and that is what we will display,” Gordon said.

The Jamaican men are now in second place in Pool A with three points behind the United States who have six points thanks to a 3-1 win over Puerto Rico in their second game.

Meanwhile, the women settled for a 2-2 draw with Brazil in their second game of the campaign. Anna De Almeida opened the scoring in the fifth minute before Imauny Linton equalised four minutes later. Linton gave Jamaica a second half lead in the 13th minute, a lead that only lasted a minute as Micaela De Melo restored parity.

The Jamaican women with their first point are now in third place in Pool B after two games. Trinidad and Tobago are in second with three points and Uruguay on top with six points.

Other results

Men

Paraguay 6 Costa Rica 0

Trinidad and Tobago 10 Guatemala 1

Puerto Rico 1 USA 3

Women

Guatemala 1 Costa Rica 0

USA 5 Paraguay 0

Uruguay 8 Trinidad and Tobago 1

USA 8 Guatemala 0

Costa Rica 1 Panama 0