Colombia 2

Bermuda 0

Nathan Trott, the Bermuda Under-17 goalkeeper, produced an outstanding display between the uprights in Mexico City yesterday, but it still was not enough to prevent defeat by Colombia to conclude their involvement in the Under-16 Mexico Cup of Nations.

Trott was the sole bright spot in an otherwise poor defensive display by Bermuda, saving a penalty and making a string of brilliant saves to keep the scoreline respectable.

Bermuda were forced to chase the game after poor defending on a set-piece gifted the Colombians with an early lead. Edward Bolaños, the striker, converted from a corner after being presented with too much time and space in the area.

With their tails now up, the Colombians continued to carve out openings in Bermuda’s defence and control the tempo of the match.

But despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession during the opening stanza, Bermuda’s opponents had only their one-goal advantage to show for it at the half.

The Colombians picked up where they had left off at the start of the second half and were presented with a golden opportunity to increase their lead when they were awarded a penalty after Bermuda handled in the area. But Trott, who got his chance after first-choice Ajani Daniels was injured in the opening match against Chile, proved equal to the task to deny Bolaños from doubling his team’s and his personal tally from the spot.

However, there was very little the goalkeeper could do to prevent Edwin Cetre, the Colombian striker, from taking the match farther beyond Bermuda’s reach. Cetre positioned himself in the right place at the right time to apply the finishing touch to an attack down the left channel in the 53rd minute.

Such was Colombia’s dominance that Bermuda were kept on the back foot for long spells and managed only one shot on target.

Bermuda also suffered 2-0 defeats in their matches against Chile and Portugal.

The youngsters have been away from home since the middle of last month, during which they have competed in the Caribbean Under-17 Championship qualifying round in Nassau, Bahamas, before moving on to Mexico.