Bermuda 1, Cayman –Islands 1

Bermuda learned a cruel but fundamental lesson at the National Sports Centre (NSC) yesterday - it's never over until the proverbial fat lady sings.

Only four minutes plus stoppage time away from victory, and firmly in control of proceedings, the hosts were forced to settle for a share of the spoils as Allean Grant capitalised on a rare defensive fumble to cancel out Tyrell Burgess' first-half gem that put Bermuda in command.

The final result might've been a bitter pill to swallow for the hosts who dominated throughout and nearly regained the lead with the last throw of the dice through the irrepressible Burgess, who came of age at the NSC yesterday.

The Caymans failed to come to terms with the pace and guile of Burgess who gave Bermuda a dream start with a beauty that was worth every penny of the admission fee.

Prior to kick-off national coach Keith Tucker urged his players to throw caution to the wind and attack at all cost.

Apparently, Burgess took the coach's instructions to heart and managed to unlock a tall Cayman defence that paid the price for some slack defending of their own.

Given enough real-estate just outside the 18-yard box, Burgess timed Kwame Steede's cross in the middle to perfection and unleashed a venomous right-footed half volley that soared into the top left-hand corner past a flat-footed Tuda Murphy in the Cayman goal.

Burgess' ballistic lifted Bermuda's confidence and minutes later they nearly stretched their lead through the omnipresent Steede who, on occasion, gave reminders as to why he is the Premier Division's MVP.

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