Guyana stun mighty Argentina in PAHF Indoor Hockey opener

Apr 09, 2014 Sports

– suffered a 4-7 loss to USA last night

The Guyana National Men’s Hockey team opened their account at the 2014 Pan American Indoor Cup on an impressive note by shocking regional power house Argentina 5-3. This is the first time Guyana has beaten the perennial outdoor champions at any form of Hockey.
The tournament being held in Montevideo, Uruguay from April 7 – 12 features both male and female competitions with Guyana only appearing in the former.

Captain Devin Munroe and striker Kevin Spencer smother an Argentine forward.

The match started with Guyana playing a compact half-court defence and unleashing devastating counterattacks. Captain Devin Munroe delivered the opening blow by finishing one of those attacks in the second minute to quiet the partisan crowd.
Just two minutes later, stalwart defender Shane Samuels put Guyana up 2-0 by burying a penalty corner flick in the top right corner of the Argentine net. As Argentina scrambled to overcome their shock at being down to the PAHF minions, Guyanese Aroydy Branford, on his international debut, produced a moment of brilliance in the 6th minute to get around the Argentinean defence and give his side the 3-0 lead.
As the early pace took its toll on the Guyanese, Argentina gained the upper hand and attacked in numbers but Guyana’s defence held strong led by inspired play by Aderemi Simon and goalkeeper Anthony Cole.
Argentina’s pressure earned them a vital penalty stroke, but they were denied by the athletic Cole and it would take until the 16th minute before Argentina would register their opener on the board.
With the score at 3-1, the second half mirrored the first with Guyana retreating to the halfway line and inviting Argentina to press high. Class act Jamarj Assanah then restored Guyana’s three goal cushion in the 28th minute when he intercepted a botched Argentinean penalty corner pass and ran half the length of the floor before eliminating the goalkeeper in trademark fashion. Argentina made no mistake on their next short corner a minute later to close the gap to within two goals.
With Argentina now employing a high press to claw their way back, the experienced Samuels slowed the momentum of the game, killing crucial minutes off the clock. Argentina’s high press however left them vulnerable at the back and the pace of Assanah and Robert France, on another devastating counterattack, saw France convert the pass to the last post, in the 37th minute.
With Guyana up by 5-2 and time against them, Argentina then pulled their goalkeeper, opting instead for an additional attacking field player. Guyana retreated deep into their half in all-out defence, and although Argentina would score from a penalty corner at the stroke of full time, the game was already won by a hard-working and spirited Guyanese team.

Class act Jamarj Assanah exhibited his brilliance on a counterattack to elude the field and goalkeeper in the end to pepper Argentina.

The USA men battled hosts Uruguay in the follow-up match with the USA pulling off a comfortable 4-0 victory.
Meanwhile, the Guyanese lost to the USA last evening by a 4-7 margin, more details in tomorrow’s edition. The winner of each competition (male and female) will represent the Americas in the 2015 World Cup in Germany.