THE Barbados men endured another disappointing day in their third appearance at the 2017 Indoor Hockey Pan American Cup in Guyana, losing 8-2 to perennial Caribbean rivals Trinidad & Tobago at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, yesterday.
Barbados opened the scoring from an early penalty stroke awarded in the fifth minute, which was easily converted by proven stroke-taker Neil Franklin, who left the twin-island custodian Ron Alexander with no chance to make a save.
But the Barbadians only kept the lead for two minutes as an urgent Trinidad & Tobago team pressed high in an effort to equalise and did so when Marcus James scored from open play, defeating Barbados captain and goalkeeper Andre Boyce.
Two minutes later, another defensive mishap by Barbados, saw an eager Jordan Reynos netting to give Trinidad & Tobago a 2-1 lead.
The Hockey Tridents solidified their structure and looked to be matching their opponents. They created some opportunities of their own, mostly through the skill of forward Akeem Rudder, supported by Aaron Forde, even though no shots found the correct side of the net.
However, the going did not get any easier for Barbados in the second half.
“It was frustrating. We scored first and were going well. I thought we had some rough calls, but that’s how the game goes,” defender Franklin said after the match.
Franklin said he was hopeful of a better showing in today’s match against Argentina.
“We are new to the game [of indoor hockey] and we’ll try our best, listen to the coach and hopefully the result goes in our favour,” he said. (EZS/PR)
