Duvaughn Henlon, coach of Jamaica’s national men’s hockey team, believes his players have demonstrated fighting spirit in their quest to qualify for the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey 5s World Cup to be held in Muscat, Oman, next year.

The Jamaicans have put themselves in an excellent position for the January 24-31 tournament, which will involve 16 teams for both the men’s and women’s categories.

In the preliminary stage of the Pan American Confederation Hockey 5s Championship at Mona Hockey Field, the Jamaicans placed second in Pool A of the qualifiers with six points, three points behind the United States. Puerto Rico finished third with three points, while Panama were last in the four-team pool with zero point.

Following a 2-4 loss to the Americans in their first encounter on Sunday, the Jamaicans defeated Panama 3-1 on Monday, before finishing the pool with a 3-2 victory over Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

Jamaica will face Guatemala in their elimination game on Friday at 2:30 pm, and a win would take them into the semi-finals, which is to be contested later on the same day.

“I am very pleased with the boys’ performances so far. We played the top team, the number one-ranked team, the highest seeded team, which is the USA, and we went down 2-4, but it was a very competitive game. The boys had given it a good shot, and I think that game gave them some confidence going into the other games where we came out victorious,” Henlon told the Jamaica Observer.

“The team is feeling very confident; they are giving their all to try and make it to the World Cup, and so we will be going out there against Guatemala for a win and trying to play some very good hockey to achieve that,” he added.

Henlon stated that there are many positives to be drawn from the Jamaicans’ performances, which speak loudly about their ability.

“A lot of positives can be taken from the guys’ performances so far in the competition, especially in Tuesday’s game against Puerto Rico. Coming to the end of the game, it was very difficult as there was some what we called questionable calls, but the guys kept their heads, they stayed focused even when they went down a few players, and they pulled through.

“The goalkeeper was very big for us as Puerto Rico as he made some tremendous saves and kept us in the game,” Henlon said.

Meanwhile, the national women’s team finished fourth in Pool B, one point behind Uruguay (nine points), Trinidad and Tobago (four points), and Brazil (two points).

Jamaica had lost 1-2 to Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday’s opening game, drew 2-2 with Brazil on Monday, and went down 10-1 to Uruguay on Tuesday. The Jamaicans will play the United States in the crossover game today at 1:00 pm.

While it is going to be a very tough game for the Jamaicans, Technical Director Michelle Holt said the hosts are ready for the challenge.

“We came into a tough zone where Trinidad, Brazil, and Uruguay ranked above us, so we knew from the beginning that our likely opponent would be the USA, and we are mentally prepared for that, and I think the girls have got over…the disappointment and [have] moved on from there,” Holt told the Observer.