T&T’s senior women’s hockey team will be aiming to seal a ticket to the FIH Hockey5s (five-a-side) Women’s 16-team World Cup in Muscat, Oman next January when they begin main draw knockout play on Thursday at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus Turf, Kingston, Jamaica.
The ‘Calypso Stickwomen’ led by co-captains Krizia Layne-Alexander and Shaniah De Freitas will meet Guatemala at 2.45 pm with the winners to meet the winner of the first quarterfinal from 2 pm between USA and Jamaica in one of two semifinals from 7.30 pm.
In the other last-eight clashes, Paraguay meets Brazil, at 3.30 pm, and Uruguay against Costa Rica, at 4.15 pm with both winners set to meet in the other main draw semifinal from 8.15 pm.
From the semifinals, the two winners will qualify for Saturday’s decider along with sealing their tickets to Oman, where they will be joined by the winner of the third-placed playoff.
So far, the African trio of Namibia, South Africa and Zambia along with host Oman have qualified for the World Cup while Oceania, Asia, and Europe are yet to determine their three qualifiers each as well.
During their round-robin Group B series, T&T edged Jamaica 2-1, but was then outclassed by Uruguay 8-1 before coming from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 for the second spot ahead of their meeting with Guatemala who ended in the third spot in Pool A, after beating Panama 2-1, and Costa Rica 1-0 while tasting defeat versus Pool A winners’ USA, 8-0, and Paraguay 2-0.
Speaking ahead of the team’s all-important must-win clash with Guatemala, Francis was optimistic about his teams’ chances and said his team was still to play its best game as he anticipated a tough test from the Central Americans.
The long-serving T&T coach and former national goalkeeper said, “So far, the tournament has been going pretty good for us, but I’m still waiting for our best performance, and I know it’s going to come starting with the quarterfinals."
He added, “I believe they (national women’s team) still have a lot to give, and we are looking to medal in the tournament."
Reflecting on their three matches so far, a 2-1 win over Jamaica, followed by an 8-1 loss to reigning world champions Uruguay, and then a 2-2 draw with Brazil to finish second in Pool B, Francis said he was satisfied with the effort.
Francis said, “Against Jamaica, some of the girls were a bit overwhelmed with the crowd and the atmosphere and we were able to get over that with the 2-1 win which was an excellent result.
“Against Uruguay, a world-class team it was tough, and we are far from their standard, but we actually got a lot of good stuff out of it, and was the first team to score on them, and put them under some pressure and also got a lot of shots in.
“Just like against Jamaica, we dominated against Brazil but we just didn’t put away our chances and they hit us on the counter-attack twice.
"So, what was really good for me as the coach was seeing the girls show a lot of grit and determination to get back into the contest and get the 2-2 draw to seal the second spot in the group."
For coach Francis, his main concern going into the match against the Central Americans was the fitness level of his team which he said is still not where it should be.
He said, “It’s still not the level that I would have liked, nor is it at the level for international events and for us as a country, it’s becoming a problem to all our national teams in all forms of sports, where the athletes also need to take it upon themselves to live much more healthy lifestyles and show more commitment to getting in top shape.”
Final Women's Round-Robin Pool standings:
Women:
Pool A
USA*4*4*0*0*29*0*29*12
Paraguay*4*3*0*1*13*5*8*9
Guatemala*4*2*0*2*3*11*-8*6
Costa Rica*4*1*0*3*1*13*-12*3
Panama*4*0*0*4*1*18*-17*0
Pool B
Uruguay*3*3*0*0*25*2*23*9
T&T*3*1*1*1*5*11*-6*4
Brazil*3*0*2*1*4*11*-7*2
Jamaica*3*0*1*2*4*14*-10*1
Today's matches
Quarterfinals
USA vs Jamaica, 2 pm
T&T vs Guatemala, 2.45 pm
Paraguay vs Brazil, 3.30 pm
Uruguay vs Costa Rica, 4.15 pm
Losers Semifinals
USA/Jamaica loser vs T&T/Guatemala loser, 6 pm
Paraguay/Brazil loser vs Uruguay/Costa Rica loser, 6.45 pm
Main Draw Semifinals
USA/Jamaica winner vs T&T/Guatemala winner, 7.30 pm
Paraguay/Brazil winner vs Uruguay/Costa Rica winner, 8.15 pm
Saturday's matches
Seventh place play-off, 5 pm
Fifth place play-off, 5.45 pm
Third place play-off, 6.30 pm
Final, 7.15 pm
