Venezuela edges Guyana in penalty shoot-out

Guyana fell agonizingly close to securing a berth in the final of the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) Challenge, losing to Venezuela 4-5 in a sudden-death penalty shoot-out yesterday in Chicklayo, Peru.

Unable to be separated with the score locked at 3-3, Guyana got off to the perfect start as Aroydy Branford scored from their first attempt while custodian Medroy Scotland denied Cristian Vargas.

It then became 2-0 in favour of Guyana as Jamarj Assanah scored in their second attempt and Scotland denied Andy Adrian, putting his team into a commanding position.

Venezuela then cut the deficit to one in the third round as Kareem McKenzie was denied by goal-keeper Junior Benitez while Wilber Bracamonte netted.

Aroydy Branford (centre) in the process of initiating a strike on goal while being surrounded by several Venezuelan players during their PAHF Challenge semi-final fixture in Peru. (Photo courtesy of PAHF Website)
Aroydy Branford (centre) in the process of initiating a strike on goal while being surrounded by several Venezuelan players during their PAHF Challenge semi-final fixture in Peru. (Photo courtesy of PAHF Website)

The score then became 2-2 in the fourth round as Orland Semple failed to score his attempt while Jose Oropeza netted from the distance for the Venezuelans.

In the fifth round, the score became 3-3 as both team netted in the shape of Marvin Dannett and Dixon Abreu respectively. In the opening round of sudden death strikes, both teams found the back of the net in the shape of Vargas and Branford respectively.

Venezuela then took a 5-4 lead in the second round of the sudden death stage as Oropeza scored. Needing to score to keep the matchup alive, Assanah agonizingly failed to find the back of the net, sealing the win for Venezuela in the process.

Prior the fixture’s dramatic conclusion, Adrian gave Venezuela the early lead as he netted in the second minute through a field goal conversion. The Guyanese then fired back seven minutes later compliments of a field goal strike from Robert France.

However Vargas then restored the Venezuelans lead, netting through a 23rd minute penalty corner conversion. Similarly Guyana levelled the score once more in the 31st minute as France sealed his double with a field goal effort.

Guyana then took the lead for the first time four minutes onward following a field goal shot from Branford. Nonetheless, the Venezuelans would not be denied as Raudin Simanca scored in the 54th minute to level the matchup.

With the loss, Guyana will now oppose Uruguay in the third place playoff tomorrow after the latter lost to Brazil 4-0 in the second semi-final matchup.

This international outdoor event is the first for the Guyanese men in eight years, with their last competitive outdoor showing occurring in the 2007 Caribbean Cup and ALBA Games where they acquired a Bronze and Silver respectively.

Due to Guyana’s inactivity over the period, it no longer holds a world or Pan American ranking and will have to compete alongside the teams not ranked in the top six within the region in the Pan American Challenge to qualify for the 2017 Pan American Cup in the United States of America.