Youth team confident after big win
Bermuda's national Under-17 football team will be gunning for win number two when they step out at the National Sports Centre against Guyana tonight.
With confidence high following Wednesday's inspiring 5-0 victory over St. Lucia in their opening Caribbean Football Union World Cup qualifying match, the players are focused on advancing to the next round.
During a light training session at the Centre yesterday afternoon, coach Kenny Thompson said he was confident that his charges could clear the next hurdle - a Guyanan team who drew 1-1 with Trinidad and Tobago in their opening fixture on Wednesday night.
St. Lucia and Trinidad square off in tonight's curtain raiser at 7 p.m. while Bermuda take to the pitch at 9.00.
Bermuda, says Thompson, will not be taking their opponents lightly.
"I know that it will be a very difficult match as I thought that Guyana played extremely well in the early part of the match and then for whatever reason they dropped off," said Thompson.
"But for us to gain a positive result, it's going to be important that we play very well and keep the concentration level high and minimise the mistakes."
Thompson took Wednesday's big win in his stride, warning players that they couldn't afford to become complacent.
"Last night (Wednesday) was encouraging because even during the moments when we weren't able to play very well we still didn't allow St.Lucia scoring opportunities," he added.
"That's encouraging because we know that there will be moments in the match when we won't be able to dominate . . . certainly at this level where it's nearly impossible to dominate an entire match."
Though Bermuda demonstrated some fine attacking play, their defence was barely tested against St.Lucia.
"It's important that we play well defensively but again we expect a tougher match and we are certainly up for it and confident that we can gain a positive result," added the coach.
Thompson reported that his team had not suffered any injuries and would be at full strength for tonight's match.
"We are perfectly healthy and all 18 players are available but for obvious reasons we won't reveal who the starting 11 will be," said Thompson.
"That's very encouraging because as I stated before the tournament started, this team in particular has plenty of depth with players who at any moment can be introduced into a game and be productive.
"They demonstrated that last night when we brought on three substitutes and the two in the attacking positions scored while the one in midfield orchestrated the goal. So all three substitutes were productive, which is encouraging."