Guyana’s women are almost assured of a place in the final of the Pan American hockey Challenge Cup even if they lose to current leaders Uruguay in their final preliminary match to be played later today at the Deodoro Hockey Complex in neighbouring Brazil. Guyana and Uruguay remain unbeaten in the competition but the Guyanese were held to a 1-1 draw by Brazil while Uruguay have been dominant against their opponents and have already booked a place in the final.
A win against Uruguay would put Guyana at the top of the table with 10 points and a draw would still assure the Guyanese a place in the final.
Brazil with four points with a game remaining must beat Paraguay by six clear goals to deny Guyana a place in tomorrow’s final.
The Guyanese have shown marked improvement as the tournament progressed with a 2-1 win against Paraguay, 1-1 draw with Brazil and crushed they Bermuda 6-0.
Guyana have scored nine goals in the round robin tournament while two goals were scored against them.
The Guyanese will be looking for a superb all round performance against Uruguay and a lot will depend on Captain Chantelle Fernandes and the goal-hungry Kerensa Fernandes, Marzana Fieftkou, Gabriella Xavier and Amanda Garnett.
Team Coach Philip Fernandes said that the team must score as many goals as possible as goal average may play an important role since Guyana drew with Brazil.
The final and third place play off will take place tomorrow with the two finalists moving on to compete in the Pan American leg of the 2013 Women’s Hockey World Cup.
They will join Argentina, Chile, Canada, Mexico, United States of America and Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup qualifiers.
