Americas

SANTIAGO DE LAS VEGAS, Cuba (CMC) -Jamaica and Barbados, two of the three English-speaking Caribbean teams attending the Pan American junior hockey championships, had a rough initiation on Wednesday.

The Jamaicans employed a defensive scheme that proved porous and Argentina punished them to start their title defence with an easy 17-1 win in the opening fixture of the competition at the Antonio Maceo Stadium in Santiago
de Las Vegas, 25 kilometres south of Havana.

The Barbadians were competitive for the 15 minutes, but once the floodgates opened, the United States continued to control the match and came away with a 5-1 victory in the second match on the programme, before it continued to rain goals when Puerto Rico trampled Venezuela 5-0.

In the tournament opener, Jamaica spread five players across the midfield in an attempt to stop Argentina's attacks.
The tactic worked briefly for the Jamaicans, but when the South Americans opened the score - eight minutes from the start - it was difficult, all one-way traffic and goals were scored almost without interruption.

Argentina showed efficiency in the penalty corners - scoring four of them - as the drag shot from midfielder Pedro Ibarra was lethal.

The South Americans were also effective in their advances, especially through Facundo Callioni and Tomás Argento combinations that were a real nightmare for Jamaica.

Jamaica increased their defensive system after half-time, leaving only one forward in the front line, but the Argentines were even more ruthless in the second stanza.

Callioni, Ibarra and Juan Saldino, all posted hat tricks for the Argentines, who are favoured to win the competition and take one of the three places on offer at the Junior World Cup from June 29 to July 10 in Rotterdam, Holland.

Callioni found the nets in the eighth, 11th and 55th minutes, Ibarra scored in the 14th, 27th and 29th minutes, and Saladino netted in the 31st, 35th and 42nd minutes.

There were two goals apiece for Tomás Argento (9th and 48th) and Lucas Vila (20th and 63rd), while Lucas Rossi, in the 56th minute, and Manuel Brunet, four minutes before the final whistle, all joined the free-for-all.

Jamaica, however, surprised the Argentines netting through the only penalty corner they produced in the whole match - against 19 for Argentina - when Jerome Davis shot powerfully in the 25th minute.

During a colourful and bright opening ceremony that took place before the last match on the opening day, two-dozen professional dancers performed typical Cuban dances and 80 flag bearers of the Cuban Physical Education Institute showed their skills after the traditional parade of the delegations.

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