Bermuda and Bahamas will lay everything on the line when they lock horns in tonight’s Digicel Cup second-round clash at the National Stadium in St. Michael’s, Barbados.

Both countries lost their opening contests on Sunday, Bermuda 3-0 against St. Vincent and Bahamas 2-1 against host country Barbados respectively.

Now the two teams face each other, knowing that another loss would effectively end their Cup hopes, as the top two teams from Group G will automatically qualify for January’s finals in Trinidad and Tobago while the third-placed team will enter a triangular play-off that will decide the sole remaining spot in the finals of the Concacaf Gold Cup qualifier.

Bermuda spent yesterday licking their wounds and were in reasonably good spirits. Team officials held several discussions with players and also a late afternoon workout at a club facility in nearby Dover.

The Bermuda squad will likely undergo changes with team skipper Kentoine Jennings returning to the fold from suspension. Midfielders Blenn Bean and Jelani Scott and defender Dennis Zuill are among those who could get the nod from coach Kyle Lightbourne to play starting roles.

While not much is known about tonight’s opponents, Bahamas’ squad is a very youthful one with several key players in the US collegian ranks.

Yesterday BFA technical committee chairman Mark Trott stressed the importance of capitalising on chances following Bermuda’s sub-par attacking performance against St. Vincent on Sunday night. And he remains upbeat Bermuda will bounce back in tonight’s match.

“When teams make mistakes at this level, you have to punish them. And if you don’t then it comes back to haunt you, as was the case in the last match,” Trott told The Royal Gazette.

“After Sunday’s match even St, Vincent’s coach (Zoran Vranes) admitted that we bossed them around for the first 45 minutes. But we didn’t convert our chances. And so we can’t make any excuses either because the bottom line is that at this level you have to score.”

Undoubtedly there will be some degree of pressure on the shoulders of the Bermuda players ahead of and possibly during tonight’s key clash, something Trott is also aware of.

“I think now that their backs are up against the wall. We have no choice but to do our best in order to succeed,” he added.

“But no matter what happens, tomorrow night (today) we will have to walk out of that stadium with three points because anything less basically means the tournament is over for us.

“It will all come down to how badly the guys really want it and realistically from my own perspective, I think Bahamas has improved. But I also still feel we should be able to beat them.”

Coach Lightbourne, meanwhile, added: “This is a sport where you must take your opportunities when they present themselves. We got ourselves in a couple of good positions in the first match but failed to execute. But now we must put that behind us and focus on our next match against the Bahamas because this game is very important for us and we must get something out of it in order to advance to the finals.”

Apart from striker John Barry Nusum, who chipped a tooth during Sunday’s match, the remainder of the Bermuda squad remain healthy.

Hosts Barbados face St. Vincent in tonight’s second match in St. Michael’s with each team needing only a win to book the first spot in the finals.