Guatemala 0

Bermuda 0

Bermuda kept alive hopes of continuing their World Cup journey after a dogged, backs-to-the-wall draw against Guatemala.

The second-round qualifier descended into chaos when the floodlights went off at the Estadio Nacional Mateo Flores in Guatemala City last night.

The blackout occurred in the 85th minute, with the players left standing around in the dark, bemused as to what had happened.

Both teams eventually headed to the dressing room before returning to the pitch about 15 minutes later — to play the final five minutes of the second half.

Bermuda had looked set for an impressive draw against a much fancied Guatemala before the floodlight failure, and continued their obstinate display when the match finally resumed.

The visiting side had Freddy Hall — the team’s captain, in the absence of the injured Nahki Wells — to thank, with the Bermuda goalkeeper pulling off a fine save late on.

Hall needed to be at his very best throughout against Guatemala, who unsurprisingly enjoyed the bulk of possession, missed a hatful of chances and had three goals disallowed.

Bermuda showed plenty of appetite for the battle, however, with Keishen Bean forcing a save from Ricardo Jerez, the Guatemala goalkeeper, with a free header that the midfielder probably should have done better with.

Andrew Bascome, the Bermuda coach, said before the game that it would be “beautiful” should his side return home with a fighting chance of advancing to the third round.

His battling players achieved far more than that last night, with an inspiring performance against a side ranked 33 positions above them in the Fifa world rankings, and can dare to dream of pulling off a major upset in the return leg at the National Stadium on Monday.

Bascome heaped praise upon his team for their unyielding defensive display but said his tactics would be far more expansive on home soil.

“I was very excited with the commitment and the guys stayed very organised,” Bascome said. “We kept our two blocks tight and we tried to make good use of the ball.

“Our objective was to prevent Guatemala from scoring and I have to praise the players for staying disciplined for the entire game.

“On Monday we will be in our conditions and our strategy will be a lot different.”

Mark Wade, the Bermuda Football Association vice-president, admitted that the team rode their luck at times but believed they had deserved the draw.

“The players were quietly confident that we could get something out of it,” said Wade, who attended last night’s game.

“The coach wanted the team to be hard to beat and we achieved that. We rode our luck at times but we are very happy to leave Guatemala with something.”

“Freddy [Hall] stepped up tonight and there were a lot performances that deserve praise.”

Wade said it was important the players to remained focused during the floodlight failure and admitted they had been hoping they would not come back on.

“It was quite confusing and, to be honest, we were hoping they did not come back on as [the result] would have stood.”

Monday’s match kicks off at 7.30pm.