Morning 4-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago gives Canada the Pool B victory
In a picturesque morning setting at the Pan American Games, the Canadian Men’s National Team delivered a decisive 4-0 performance against Trinidad and Tobago in their final group stage match. With their eyes set on claiming the top spot in the group, the Canadians did what they had to do on the field and secured a convincing victory.
The game took a few minutes to get going, but in the eighth minute, Matt Sarmento capitalized on a beautifully executed three-way attacking play orchestrated by Gordon Johnston and Floris van Son, deflecting home a goal in the first quarter. This early lead set the tone for the rest of the match.
As the first half drew to a close, Pan American Games rookie Sean Davis made his mark, smashing a goal past the Trinidadian goalkeeper, extending Canada’s lead. The third quarter saw no respite for Trinidad and Tobago, with Johnston adding to his growing tournament goal tally with a penalty corner drag flick. James Kirkpatrick also got his name on the scoresheet with a beauty deflection on another penalty corner. Davis, who is at his first Pan American Games said scoring is always great, but securing the win for the team is the most important.
“It’s obviously great to score, and get my first of the tournament, gain a little confidence heading into semifinals,” Davis said. “I think the team is feeling positive, we still have some improvements. We need to keep building on our connections and working together as a team. Today was a great for us, we’re growing through each game, the result showed that we can take control and move onto the next game.”
Despite Trinidad and Tobago’s efforts to mount a comeback, Canada remained firmly in control of the game. The Canadian defense held strong, minimizing the chances against their goalkeeper, Ethan McTavish, who maintained a clean sheet, his second of the tournament.
With the group stage complete, head coach Patrick Tshutshani says his team will be up for the challenge of the Pan American medal rounds.
“At the start of the tournament, we said we wanted to grow through each game through the pool. I think we’ve done that. And now we enter the second phase. We still have some improvements we want to make and we want to keep accelerating our play,” Tshutshani said.
With the morning victory, Team Canada secured the top spot in Pool B, finishing the group stage with a 3-0 record. Today’s win guarantees them a place in the semi-finals, where they are likely to face Chile on November 1.
Canada defeats TTO in their final match of group stage in Santiago. Photos/Yan Huckendubler
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