Bermuda’s Under-15 boys team lost their final group match at the Concacaf Championship in Bradenton, Florida yesterday, when they suffered a 2-1 defeat by Cuba.

Bermuda came close to taking the lead in the opening minutes when Seke Spencer saw his header hit the crossbar. Cuba took the lead in the first half before Bermuda equalised through Jai Pitt to make it 1-1 at the break.

Cuba scored their winner in the second half to leave Bermuda without a win in three group E matches, their only point coming in the 2-2 draw with Martinique in their opening match.

“They scored first and we equalised before the half, then they got one more goal early in the second half,” coach John Barry Nusum explained. “We should have gotten something out of the game, but our mistakes cost us. That’s one of the lessons learnt in all of the matches played.

“We outplayed them but they had three shots on target and scored two. The two goals they got came from defensive lapses and lack of focus at crucial moments.”

Nusum was speaking to The Royal Gazette while on a bus trip with the players, “clearing everyone’s head because it was a tough loss today”.

“This was the one we thought we could have won and should have won, but we didn’t win. We’re on a team-bonding road trip right now. ”

Captain Nahje Smith rates the performance as probably the team’s best in the tournament, and says now they want to finish with a win when they play opponents from the other Division Two group, either Nicaragua or Curaçao.

“I think we outplayed our opponents, we just weren’t able to capitalise on our finishing,” the defender said. “We made a couple of mistakes that cost us the goals but other than that we played really well, the best game we played. Everyone is looking forward to our game on Saturday to see if we can get a win.”

n The Bermuda Under-17 girls team leaves this weekend for the Concacaf Caribbean qualifiers in St Lucia, where they will play the host nation, Antigua and Aruba in group C. Coach Naquita Robinson is upbeat about the team’s chances ahead of the tournament.

“I’m very confident of winning the group,” she told The Royal Gazette. “We haven’t played against St Lucia or Aruba before, but we feel we are the group favourites.

“The girls understand the responsibility of being group favourites and are excited and ready to get the job done.”

Bermuda play St Lucia on Tuesday before taking on Antigua two days later. They then meet Aruba next Saturday, hoping to advance to the next stage.