Latest update April 1st, 2025 5:37 PM
Guyana’s cliffhanger win earn them fifth place
Guyana’s national men’s hockey team pulled off yet another cliffhanger to come out in 5th place at the 2010 Indoor Pan American Championships on Saturday afternoon in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
The match started with Uruguay playing their customary defensive style of hockey, dropping to below the halfway line and stifling the space that Guyana had to operate.
Devin Munroe
Robert France
The pattern of the game was Guyana maintaining possessions for large stretches of the game and Uruguay pouncing on counterattacking opportunities. Guyana had their first and only short corner of the game in the 17th minute which they failed to score.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first but it was Uruguay who had the best opportunity of the half when Mateo Pereiro narrowly missed a wide open goal. In the dying minutes of the game Guyana tried to press for the win by pushing further up the court but Uruguay set off a wild celebration when they scored on a counter with 38 seconds left in the game.
By the time Guyana centred the ball there was only 28 seconds left on the clock, the ball was passed to left back Dwayne Scott across the field to Jerazeno Bell down the right board to Marvin Dannett who sent the ball across face off the goal for captain Devin Munroe to finish. The goal left the entire arena stunned and meant that the game would have to be settled in sudden death overtime.
Extra time started with the momentum in Guyana’s favour, but again Uruguay hung back and counterattacked but time and time again they were turned back by goalkeeper Michael Xavier. In the last minute of the first half of overtime Alex Gouveia received a pass in the left corner of the Uruguay area and flicked the ball towards the goal which deflected off the keeper and went bouncing towards the far post before Robert France trapped the ball and sealed the win with an easy tap in.
As soon as the referee confirmed the goal the entire Guyanese bench was on the floor in wild celebration.
The win ensured Guyana its highest possible placing after missing out on a semifinal spot with losses to Argentina and Canada, and coming into the tournament ranked as the lowest team.
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