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Hall awaits clearance for Caribbean Cup

Toronto new boy Freddy Hall (right) with head coach Paul Mariner. Hall hopes to be involved in Bermuda’s upcoming Digicel Cup campaign.

Toronto FC goalkeeper Freddy Hall has expressed his desire to play for Bermuda in next month’s Digicel Caribbean Cup in Haiti.New head coach Andrew Bascome has yet to name his squad for the biennial competition but Hall, who signed for Toronto last month, is available if called upon.Although the ex-Northampton Town keeper insists he would never turn down the opportunity to represent Bermuda, he admits he needs to be granted permission to play from Toronto coach Paul Mariner.“I will never turn down the opportunity to play for the national team, it’s always a proud moment,” said the 27-year-old. “I haven’t heard anything from the Bermuda Football Association and if they want me to come.“At the end of the day it all boils down to sitting down with my gaffer and seeing what he says about it.”Having a familiar face in the dressing room in Bermuda team-mate Lambe has helped Hall settle at Toronto, who are bottom of the Eastern Conference.He said he had been impressed with the standard of the MLS, which he believed was more pleasing on the eye than the muck and nettles of the English lower leagues.“I’m adapting very well to life in the MLS, it’s been an easy transition especially because the club has taken very good care of me. Fitting in with the guys on the team has been smooth because it’s a close group,” said the former St George’s shot stopper.“It’s always good to be on the same team as someone you know especially if it’s someone who you have played with before. Reggie has made the transition a lot easier because he knows the club and the city very well,” he said.“The biggest difference I have experienced between the leagues is that in the MLS the spaces between games are much shorter and there’s a lot more travelling.“In England we travelled the day of the game or if the distance was over three hours we would travel the day before. Here at Toronto, no matter how far the distance we always fly.“The standard of play also is different, a lot of the teams in the English League Two played traditional English football of long ball and try and grind out results.“Since I have been at Toronto the teams we have played against have tried to play football, and you can see how the standard is improving tremendously in the MLS.”Hall made his debut for the club in a friendly match against English Premier League side Liverpool at the Rogers Centre, an experience he said he would never forget.“It was an honour to have the opportunity to play against a team like Liverpool, not many people can say that.“They are a respected and historic club in Europe, let alone England. But to be honest it really didn’t feel any different than any other game.“I think people around me, friends and family from abroad and home, really put it in perspective, of how huge it actually was.“For me, in every game you just try to do what you can and you can’t allow yourself to look at the name on the front or back of the jersey and become overwhelmed.”Toronto take on Columbus Crew today in the MLS.Lambe is currently injured and remains a doubt for the national team’s trip to Haiti. Reports have suggested he could be on the sidelines for three weeks.He suffered the knee injury in the the MLS match against Portland Timbers earlier this month.