Bermuda 1

New England Revolution 6

A Khano Smith-inspired New England Revolution smacked Bermuda for six with the MLS giants in cruise control at the National Sports Centre on Saturday night.

Son of the soil Smith had the honour of wearing the skipper's armband bestowed upon him by coach Steve Nicol, and orchestrated Revs first two goals with devilish crosses.

The annual friendly marked Smith's first outing since undergoing treatment for a groin injury with the former Dandy Town man enjoying a lively first half against his national squad team-mates.

And while the heavy defeat will have done little to ease the pressure on under-fire coach Keith Tucker, at least Smith's return to fitness offers encouragement ahead of Bermuda's crunch World Cup qualifying showdown with Cayman Islands next month.

Revs opened the floodgates in the ninth minute when Smith slung over an inviting low cross, which was gratefully dispatched by Spencer Wadsworth.

Smith then repeated his trick with a near identical centre, threaded through the corridor of uncertainty, allowing Kenny Mansally to score the first of his three goals on 38 minutes.

On the stroke of half-time the pacey Mansally, who had replaced the injured Wadsworth, struck again with a clinical finish demonstrating the gulf in class between the two teams.

The second period saw both sides shuffle their starters with Smith substituted and the promising Keishen Bean entering the fray for the hosts.

By now Revs were merely dusting off their pre-season cobwebs and at times Bermuda were afforded time and space to string a few attractive passes together, albeit from inside their own half.

On 55 minutes Revs increased their advantage through Adam Cristman who fired past keeper Nigel Burgess, who had replaced Jason Williams at the midway point. And on 65 minutes Amaechi Igwe made it 5-0 with a close range header.

But Burgess then covered himself in glory after Revs were awarded a dubious penalty for a challenge on Mansally. Midfield lynchpin Shalrie Jospeh stepped up to take the spot kick, but saw his well-struck effort superbly saved by Burgess low to his right.

Buoyed by their keeper's heriocs Bermuda then opened their account when the busy Domico Coddington curled in a free kick to the back post for Bean to plant a towering header home.

Lashun Dill had a great opportunity to get on the scoresheet late on, latching on to Kwame Steede's delightful slide-rule pass. But Dill lacked composure at the crucial moment with keeper Matt Reis rushing off his line and smothering the ball at the winger's feet.

Revs had the final say when Mansally completed his hat-trick in the dying seconds.

Bermuda meet Revs again at the NSC on Wednesday night. Kick-off is at 8 p.m.

Bermuda: J.Williams, M.Waldron, O.Shakir, K.Richards, C.Dowling, K.Steede, S.Darrell, B.Minors, D.Ming, D.Coddington, L.Dill

Subs used: N.Burgess, L.Holder, C.Robinson, K.Talbert, K.Bean, E.Signor, M.Parsons

New England Revolution: M.Reis, C.Albright, J.Heaps, M.Parkhurst, J.Delgado, S.Ralston, S.Joseph, J.Larentowicz, K.Smith, S.Wadsworth, A.Cristman

Subs used: A.Igwe, J.Franchino, K.Mansally, S.Nyassi

Referee: A.Francis

Men-of-the-match: O.Shakir (Bermuda); K.Mansally (New England Revolution)