TTO stickmen lose to Canada; Ahye hits the track

Trinidad and Tobago's men’s field hockey held their own but ultimately lost a third successive Pan American Games Group B preliminary fixture, in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday.

Perhaps the toughest of their three fixtures, TTO were defeated 4-0 by Canada, leaving them bottom of the standings, following a 6-1 defeat to USA and 2-1 loss to Brazil on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

Canada scored once in each of the first two quarters, and another two in the third period, by which point TTO found the defensive composure to prevent a wider margin of defeat. TTO captain Jordan Vieira was the only player to receive a green card (temporary suspension).

The statistics just about favoured the Canadians, who edged TTO for possession, with 57 per cent. Canada also attempted 15 shots, with a conversion rate of 27 per cent, against TTO’s four shots.

Two of Canada’s goals resulted from four penalty corner attempts. Matthew Sarmento scored with his only shot for Canada, together with Sean Michael Davis, who scored one from his four shots.

Both men’s groups concluded on Sunday. Argentina and Chile advanced from Group A as the top two teams, while Canada topped Group B and advanced together with USA.

Argentina were merciless in their final group match, crushing Peru 22-0.

TT will next play in the fifth to eighth-place classification round, starting on Tuesday.

Hockey will continue on Monday in the women’s division, with a struggling TTO set to face Argentina, starting at 8.30 am.

Coach Akim Toussaint’s women were defeated 15-0 by the USA and 11-0 by Uruguay in their opening two Group A matches. Argentina lead the standings after an 8-0 win over Uruguay and 5-1 over the USA, meaning Monday’s match will likely be TTO’s most difficult.

The classification round and semifinals start on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated athletics segment got under way on Sunday, with long-distance events. Action continues on Monday, starting with preliminaries in the highly anticipated men and women’s 100m and men’s 400m.

TTO’s competitors in the individual athletic events are: Jerrod Elcock (men’s 100m), Kyle Greaux (200m), Michelle-Lee Ahye (women’s 100m) and Reyare Thomas (women’s 100m and 200m),

Elcock and Greaux are also among the TTO scheduled for the men’s 4x100m relay, alongside Eric Harrison Jr and Judah Taylor. The men’s and women’s 100m finals are scheduled for Tuesday, while the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay finals will take place on Thursday.