National coach Kyle Lightbourne says his players? eyes are ?wide open? after last night?s 7-0 blanking by the Manchester City Youth Academy.

Following the lopsided encounter at the National Sports Centre, the former pro frankly noted that Bermuda?s footballers could not have expected to match their more seasoned rivals.

?A lot of people will be talking about the result 7-0 but I told our guys before the game that this would be a rougher test than Trinidad because a lot of these guys (City) are on the verge of playing in their first team and they play at a very high level.?

Not mixing matters, Lightbourne complimented the visitors, stating City were ?still in first gear? at the end of the match.

?This is what we?re trying to achieve, to get to that level. You can?t expect to train for a month and be at that level. We had some good individual performances but we didn?t play well as a team.?

He stressed it was important for Bermuda to maintain regular training and seek more friendly fixtures if they were to become a force with which to be reckoned.

Meanwhile, striker Shaun Goater ? who organised the match as part of his annual Grassroots Soccer Festival ? was not surprised with the ruthless manner in which young City dispatched their mission.

?I expected them to be clinical. They are professionals. They are not going to come and give us an easy ride.

?I think that was a great learning experience for the Bermuda team because Santos, who were down here not too long ago, are around the same age and that was a close game and last year we narrowly lost against the Youth Academy and they didn?t want this one to be close again.

?From their point of view, it?s their pride and professionalism that?s being dented if we get one over them.?

The former Blues marksman acknowledged that he was perhaps responsible for the Island not getting on the scoresheet when he took aim from an extremely tight angle rather than square the ball to fellow forward Aljame Zuill who would have had an easy, close-range shot.

?I?m disappointed in the fact that, for probably the first time in my whole career, I was selfish,? he said.

?I think that?s the first time I?ve ever been that way. It would have been nice for us to get a goal so I?m disappointed that I didn?t square the ball.?

Academy Director Jim Cassell was thrilled with his players? polished performance.

?We had some good finishing tonight. The boys played very well and sometimes that happens. You get your chances and you take them and we did that tonight.?

Asked if he was disappointed Bermuda didn?t provide a sterner test for his team, he responded like the consummate polite guest, reasoning that the local squad are rebuilding.

?They are starting to build their team up so they are experimenting,? he said. ?We?ve had boys who have been with us for five years even though they are all under 19. They are some good quality young boys there.?

He applauded Youth Academy skipper Danny Warrender in particular for being ?outstanding? and highlighted the ?good interplay among the midfield?.