Guyana fall to Jamaica in clash for fifth place

Aug 01, 2010 Sports

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The Guyana women’s hockey team fell to Jamaica by a 1 – 0 margin in their final match of the CAC Games which is being held in Puerto Rico.
The loss left Guyana in sixth place of the eight team competition, while Jamaica ended fifth.
With Jamaica scoring against the run of play in the opening minutes of the match, the Guyanese were left to chase for the remainder of the game.
They looked the more purposeful side although Jamaica created some opportunities as well, but neither team could produce another goal.
Guyana stepped up the pressure in the final ten minutes of the match piling players forward and pushed the game deep into the Jamaican half, but despite several goal-mouth scuffles and penalty corners the Jamaican defence held on for the victory and fifth position.
Coach Philip Fernandes indicated that he was pleased with the team’s showing despite their position.
“The team finished above their ranking and everyone’s expectation of them, but I’m disappointed, however, with the loss to Jamaica because I think we were the better side and just did not put away our chances,” Fernandes said.
According to Fernandes, while several of the Guyanese players performed well throughout the tournament, including Chantelle Fernandes, Alysa Xavier and Trisha Woodroffe, sweeper Ulrica Sutherland was outstanding.
“This is a team game and so it is impossible to attribute a team’s performance to any one player, but as a one on one defender Ulrica was as good as any in the tournament,” Fernandes stated.
Trinidad copped the gold, dominating Mexico in the final by 4 – 0, while Barbados secured the bronze, defeating the Dominican Republic by 3 – 1. Jamaica placed fifth, Guyana sixth, hosts Puerto Rico seventh and Bermuda eight.
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Basketball Coaching Clinic underway in Berbice

Young and aspiring Basketball players in Berbice have a chance to improve their skills, through the kind courtesy of national basketball Coach Kirk Fraser and the Berbice Basketball Association (BBA) which has organized a two week basketball coaching clinic for youngsters in the East Berbice area.
The sessions which began last Monday July 26 is expected to end on August 6, caters for youngsters between the ages of 8-16 yrs.
The sessions are being held from Monday to Friday, beginning from 9am to 12 pm, at the Vrymans Erven Basketball court.
Fraser who is the president of the Berbice Basketball Association (BBA) and the Warriors Basketball Club of New Amsterdam is being assisted by Wendell Christopher in carrying the youngsters through their paces.
Speaking to Kaieteur Sport, Fraser who has been selected by the Guyana Basketball Federation to attend a course in Hungary said the purpose of the clinic is to rekindle the interest in Basketball which has dwindled in the Berbice area.
He also said another reason is to help keep the youngsters gainfully occupied during the holiday period.
Keeping them occupied “will help to instill disciple into the youngsters, and teach them about team work at an early age”, the coach said.
To play Basketball he said “you must have disciple and be a good team man, as Basketball is a team game”.
The sessions are basically for beginners, but according to Fraser any youngster can come along and be a part of the activities. At the sessions the youngsters are thought the basics of basketball which include passing, shooting, dribbling, intercepting.
The Coach stated that they would have liked to have the sessions for the entire day and for a longer duration, but snacks have to be provided and it is proving costly.
They will like to thank Gilgeous First Choice Pawn Shop and former national footballers Adrian and Sherwin Forde of Fordys Subletta catering and Businessman Troy for their assistance so far. They are totally disappointed with the Regional Administration and the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport for not coming forward to assist.
Fraser, who has been a school teacher for a number of years, said there are many social ills in our society today and the problems of school drop outs, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, Drug Abuse and delinquency is taking a toll on our younger population.
To help fight these curses, “we must organize activities to keep them occupied, and our support is also needed, they need our help” he concluded.
Over 50 youths both boys and girls drawn from the New Amsterdam/Canje area are participating in the sessions and according to the coach before the end of the sessions, the youths will be involved in some community activities in and around the town of New Amsterdam. Certificates are also expected to be issued to the successful participants.
Interested persons can contact Fraser on Tel. numbers 3334075 or3333621 or Crandon on tel. no 3332813. (Samuel Whyte)
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Guyana’s team was better structured – Whipple

Technical Director of the victorious Guyana Sevens team Joe Whipple speaking with Kaieteur Sport shortly after they retained their NACRA title said that the squad is going to take one weekend off and back to preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games scheduled for Pune, India.
Whipple, who spearheaded the Guyana preparations for the CAC and NACRA Tournaments giving his thoughts on Guyana’s performance, said that to win back to back competitions was an extremely superb accomplishment, especially with the fact that all the teams raised their level of play in the latter event.
He pointed out that many international teams do not play so much games in such a short period and for Guyana to come out victorious in both competitions is a significant achievement and worthy of praise.
He mentioned that all the guys played well and deserved all the accolades they received, while the fans were very supportive during the duration of the tournaments.
Whipple added that the victory in the final was extremely significant since all the teams had picked up their level of play in the NACRA Series where the defending had stepped up after the offence seemed a bit tired.
Referring to the game against Jamaica, Whipple said that they have really good athletes, while they play a bit unorthodox, but with much aggression and combined with their natural athletic ability, it took Guyana a while to realise their strategy.
According o Whipple, even though the visitors held the advantage of natural athletic ability, Guyana were the better structured and they evidently prevailed.

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