Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
JAMAICA'S FEMALE hockey team returned to the island yesterday having drawn their three-Test series against Trinidad and Tobago 1-1 on the weekend.
The final game of the tour was set to be played on Monday but was brought forward to Sunday, with the Jamaicans losing a close 2-1 encounter.
Jamaica had got off to an excellent start when they got the better of the Trinidadians 1-0 in a cagey first game.
Sophia Cooper got onto the scoresheet in that game from a penalty corner strike in the 50th minute that gave the Jamaicans a lift going into the second game last Friday.
Trinidad and Tobago would not give up easily and made things interesting when they forced Jamaica to come from behind to earn a draw in the second game.
Coming from 2-1 down in the first half, where Kecia Jones and Tanya James had put the hosts in a commanding position, Shakeelia Elliot pulled off the performance of the tour, bagging a brace to make sure that Jamaica could not lose the series.
On Sunday the Trinidadians finally got the better of Jamaica in another close affair.
PREPARATORY GAME
In winning that game 2-1, Sophia Cooper was again on the scoresheet for Jamaica, who must have rued not being able to close out their hosts from the second game.
The Test-series serves as preparation for the CAC Games, set to begin in July and according to national head coach, Dr. Michelle Holt, the team performed well, but needed to understand how to win one-off matches, as will be the case at the games.
Dr. Holt said the games were close and could have gone either way, however, Jamaica should have won the last game based on the number of opportunities they failed to put away.
"Overall I'm satisfied with the performance of every single player. I'm also satisfied with where we are now," said Dr. Holt. "What we have gained from this three-Test experience is that Trinidad (and Tobago) is a very good team and that we have to make a lot more progress if we are to ensure victories over them."
The pool drawings for the CAC Games have not bee unkind to Jamaica, but the first round will not be easy either.
Jamaica have been drawn alongside the Netherlands Antilles, who are expected to have Dutch expatriates from good backgrounds in hockey, and Cuba, who haven't played on the international scene for almost 10 years.
Despite that, the Cubans are expected to be a handful as usual, and Dr. Holt thinks that her team needs to get more internationals under their belt to be able to deal with the high pressure situations that will present themselves in trying to get back to the final. Last time out, the Jamaicans copped the silver medal behind the Trinidad and Tobago team.
