Ian Coke netted twice early in the second half as Bermuda came from a goal down at half-time to beat Grenada 2-1 in a friendly international on Saturday at the Grenada National Stadium.

Coke, last season’s Premier Division MVP, marked his return to the national team set-up with two good finishes in the 59th and 63rd minutes to turn the match around after Grenada held a 1-0 lead from the sixth minute after a mix-up in the Bermuda defence, whose appeals for offside were ignored by the referee. Grenada were creating the early chances as another effort was put inches over the top after a pass over the Bermuda defence.

Bermuda, playing a 4-4-2 formation, had Jahquil Hill in goal while Justin Donawa played at right back, and Callon Minors at left back. Dante Leverock and Tre Ming were the central defenders. The midfielders were Roger Lee, Donte Brangman, Willie Clemons and Drewonde Bascome while captain Reggie Lambe was up front with Coke.

Lambe was booked in the sixteenth minute for a foul from behind as Bermuda tried to equalise. Brangman had a shot from a corner saved by the Grenada goalkeeper. At the other end Grenada were starting to push Bermuda back into their own half as they put together some good passes.

Coke had a first time shot saved after a pass from Bascome while Hill blocked an effort before the defence cleared.

“In the first half we played more football in our half and the question was asked of the players at half-time, ‘Who do you think has more possession of the ball?’,” said Kyle Lightbourne, the Bermuda assistant coach.

“They had less possession but were more threatening in their attacks, so we asked our players to put more threat into our attacks. We managed to do that and we were pleased that the guys took the information.”

Bermuda looked more threatening in the second half and got their reward when Coke equalised 14 minutes after the restart after Donawa’s run down the right resulted in a cross for the Boulevard striker to convert.

A well-taken free kick by Bascome forced the Grenada goalkeeper into an exceptional save to keep the score level. However, Bermuda found a second goal moments later when Clemons played a pass to Coke who steadied himself before slotting past the goalkeeper from close range for what turned out to be the clincher.

Bermuda grew in confidence after the two goals before the game was held up with an injury to a Grenada defender who was eventually stretchered off the field.

“Willie set up the second goal, a well-worked goal from a counter-attack, and Ian finished it off well with a left-footed shot from a slight angle,” Lightbourne said. “Their goalkeeper made two fantastic saves, one from Drewonde’s free kick and a shot from Reggie as well.

“Ian definitely was pleased with his performance because he wasn’t feeling the best the day before. He worked hard and showed yesterday why he is the top scorer in Bermuda. We were able to get a good performance out of him.”

Bermuda made two late substitutions in a bid to hang on to the slim lead, with Osagi Bascome replacing his cousin Drewonde in the 85th minute and Mazyhe Burchall coming on for Coke in the 89th minute. Goalkeeper Hill was booked in extra time for time-wasting.

“In the end coach [Andrew Bascome] made a couple of adjustments because they went to a 4-4-2 with two big strikers up front. We managed to deal with that and were able to see the game out because they definitely caused us a few problems, playing a little more direct.

“They had a guy up front who was strong and had a lot of pace, but we were able to deal with them. Their players were physically stronger than us but we were able to keep them at bay.”

Lightbourne added: “It was a good learning experience for a young squad, and we got to see a couple more players. All the players did well for themselves, hopefully they got a bit of a taste in their mouths and we can build on that.

“Grenada were getting ready for one of their major tournaments in three weeks so they are preparing for the beginning of their season while we are still out of season. We’re pleased with the fitness that the guys showed as well. It was high intensity game and a good game to watch.”

Lightbourne said the crowd for Thursday’s practice match was bigger than Saturday’s international, estimating the crowd to be 500 or 600 while the practice match further out in the country attracted about 1,500.

Bermuda had an overnight stay in Miami before returning home today.

Bermuda (4-4-2): J Hill — J Donawa, T Ming, D Leverock, C Minors — R Lee, D Brangman, W Clemons, D Bascome (sub: O Bascome, 85min) — R Lambe, I Coke (sub: M Burchall, 89).