Trinidad and Tobago’s junior hockey men emerged as champions of the 2025 PAHF Junior Pan Am Challenge, yesterday staging a remarkable comeback to secure a 3-1 victory over Brazil at the Sir Garfield Sobers Sporting Complex, in Wildey, Barbados.
After being edged 1-0 by Brazil in their final round-robin match on Saturday, the Glenn “Fido” Francis-coached squad exacted sweet revenge on the South Americans in the final. Brazil opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Luigi Lunard tapped home from close range following a surging run by Gustavo Felinto.
But the junior “Calypso Stickmen” soon regained their composure and in the second period they ramped up the pressure, catching the Brazilians by surprise.
Wayne Edwards capitalised on the momentum by advancing upfield and finding Nicholas Siu Butt in the Brazilian circle. Siu Butt skilfully manoeuvred the ball around Brazil’s goalkeeper to level the score in the 25th minute. Edwards, who proved to be a constant thorn in the Brazilian’s side, then struck again three minutes later.
After a rapid counter-attack involving Levi Anderson and Alexander Rowe, Edwards fired a reverse low shot into the right-hand corner, TTO going 2-1 up, a lead which they would not relinquish. Edwards completed his brace in the 40th minute.
Following an interception by Nicholas Whiteman down the left flank, Edwards was set clear and, after side-stepping a desperate lunge from Brazil’s goalkeeper Bento Caria, he was at full stretch to slap the ball into the vacant uprights. The final goal deflated the Brazilians, whose body language said it all--shoulders slumped--as they struggled to get back into the match.
Coach Francis had emphasised the team’s stamina and capacity to improve as the game wore on, and his belief was vindicated by a resolute defensive stand in the closing period that repelled Brazil’s frantic attempts to claw back into the game.
Day of mixed fortunes
While the men’s triumph was the highlight of the tournament for T&T, the women’s campaign, unfortunately, did not end as positively. Earlier in the day, the local women were narrowly edged out by Guyana 1-0. Sarah Klautky fired home a low drive from a right-side penalty corner, giving her side the winning goal in the 52nd minute.
Despite dominating possession and nearly matching the penalty corner tally (5-4), Guyana’s incisiveness in front of goal proved decisive.
Reflecting on her team’s efforts throughout the nine-day tournament, head coach Kristin Thompson, a former national player, commented, “Definitely, (it was a) tough loss. We knew it would be a close game going into it. The game was even; back and forth and our keeper made some excellent saves to keep us in the game. Unfortunately we were on the wrong end today.”
He added: “They improved from game to game and got the key results against Barbados (2-1) and Guatemala (0-0) which allowed us to play for the third and fourth classification game, which for their age and experience level, we are happy with at this moment. We return now with valuable experience from this tournament. We know we have a lot of work to do looking ahead to future tournaments.”
In the women’s competition, Mexico were ultimately crowned champions after edging Puerto Rico 3-2.
The T&T men’s victory marks a significant milestone in Trinidad and Tobago’s junior hockey history. The resilience and tactical nous exhibited in overcoming past setbacks and executing a well-timed comeback will be remembered as the defining moment of the tournament.
And they can now savour the lagniappe of having qualified for the 2026 Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay this August.
