Bermuda lost their heads in the sapping heat in their second CFU Under-20 World Cup qualifier against hosts Dominican Republic, having two players sent off to leave their qualification chances hanging in the balance.

Che Brangman and Calin Maybury were both dismissed for violent conduct during an undisciplined second half, made all the more inexcusable considering their team had already been reduced to ten men when Quintonio Lema limped off with no substitutions left.

To compound Bermuda’s woes, Rai Simons, who plundered a hat-trick in his team’s opening match, had a penalty saved early in the second period with the score 1-0.

Yesterday’s defeat serves as a slap in the face for Dennis Brown side, who had put themselves in a strong position to qualify as group two winners, having defeated Guadeloupe — widely regarded as the favourites — 4-3 on Wednesday.

Brangman and Maybury, both second-half substitutes, will now miss tomorrow’s all-important match against Antigua, which will determine whether Dennis Brown’s side advance to the final round of qualifying in Trinidad & Tobago in September.

Brown’s side must finish at least second to stand any chance of qualifying from an evenly poised group, with all four teams sitting on three points from two games heading into the final round of matches.

For the second consecutive game, Bermuda fell behind to an early goal with a Dominican Republic forward finding the net from close range after being picked out from a free kick in a wide position. Despite having a physical advantage, a nervous-looking Bermuda were struggling to impose themselves their opponents who enjoyed the superior swathes of possession with their short, decisive passing for the majority of the first half.

Bermuda offered very little in the way of attacking verve, with Simons largely reduced to feeding off scraps as his midfielders continued to struggle to find, let alone set, any sort of passing tempo.

In the 67th minute, however Bermuda finally threatened to force an equaliser when substitute Zaire Burchall was hauled down in the box to present Simons with an opportunity to increase his goal tally.

However, the Ilkeston striker, normally so reliable from the penalty spot, was denied by the Dominican goalkeeper with a low save to his right, the rebound falling to Burchall, who blazed well over the bar.

The chance of Brown’s side restoring parity were made all the more difficult when Lima, the attack-minded right back, was forced off with a hamstring injury that leaves him doubtful for tomorrow’s final game.

With Brown having used his full quota of replacements relatively early, Bermuda were still coming to terms with having to play the remainder of the match at a numerical disadvantage when they were reduced to nine men after Brangman was sent off for kicking an opponent.

Five minutes later, Maybury inexplicably aped Brangman’s moment of madness by committing the same act of recklessness to leave Bermuda down to eight.

In the final minute, Dominican exploited the extra space by punished Bermuda for their hotheadedness by adding a second goal.

A disgruntled Brown insisted that poor refereeing decisions had contributed to his team’s defeat, posting on his Facebook page: “Well Bermuda, I will never criticise a local referee again.

“We all witnessed some of the worst officiating that I have ever seen. The boys are a bit down because we lost a big opportunity, but we must now look but bounce back.

“Coach Keishon Smith [Brown’s assistant] gave a great speech in the changing room after the game, which picked the players’ heads back up.”