Bermuda 1 Barbados 2

Bermuda let a lead slip for the third time in four matches as they finished a disappointing international window with another defeat to Barbados.

It was the same Nations League story for the Gombey Warriors, who showed plenty of promise before taking the lead but then shipped two quick goals as they closed in on handing John Barry Nusum a first win as Bermuda coach.

Djair Parfitt gave Bermuda the lead when he tapped in from close range in the 74th minute after fantastic work down the right from Enrique Russell, who replaced Nahki Wells in the starting XI, but just seven minutes later they were 2-1 down after Barbados forward Thierry Gale scored two quick goals to undo all the good work.

Defeat leaves Bermuda without a point after four games in Nations League B Group B and they have just two remaining matches to claw back four points on the third-placed team, Guadeloupe, and avoid relegation.

On a wet night in Bridgetown, Deniche Hill was handed the honour of captaining Bermuda in the absence of Nahki Wells and for most of the match he would have been satisfied with the way Bermuda performed under his leadership.

While the first 45 minutes will not live long in the memory of those watching the game, it will have been well received by Nusum, who had been asking his team to show more defensive solidity after conceding 11 goals in the first three matches of the competition.

A more pragmatic way of playing, helped by the return of Jorj Dublin after a two-game suspension and with Riley Robinson coming in to central midfield alongside his namesake Luke, helped to consign Barbados to just a couple of chances in the first half.

But Bermuda should have fallen behind in the ninth minute when good Barbados work on the left found Omari Leacock unmarked eight yards out, but he fired high over the bar.

In a half of limited opportunities, Jaheim Neblett found himself in a similar position to Leacock in the 23rd minute but his shot was fired straight at Bermuda goalkeeper Jahquil Hill.

The only time Bermuda were caught in transition in the first half came when Deniche Hill was dispossessed high up the field in the 33rd minute. Barbados broke quickly with five forward and the ball came to Niall Reid-Stephen, whose effort was comfortably pushed away by Jahquil Hill.

It was Bermuda who had shown early signs of promise with the dangerous Djair Parfitt taking on five Barbados players on the left wing before firing in a dangerous low ball that was cleared for a corner in the first minute.

With Ne-Jai Tucker pushed forward to be the main support for Russell and with Riley Robinson displaying some fine skills and effective long-range passing, confidence was growing that Bermuda could pick up their first points of the Nations League campaign.

But with more focus on defence there was less emphasis in attack and Bermuda had only one shot on goal in the first half, when Riley Robinson received the ball 25 yards from goal before his curling effort went over the bar in the 31st minute.

Zeiko Lewis replaced the ineffective Tucker at half time and Bermuda were lucky not to give away a penalty just three minutes after the restart.

Captain Hill was beaten for pace by Gale and grabbed a huge chunk of his shirt inside the box, but referee Sergio Rozenhaut, from Suriname, unexpectedly waved play on.

Sincere Hall left the pitch with a hamstring injury in the 51st minute but Bermuda’s first shot on target came just seconds later when they were temporarily down to ten men.

Lewis was sent clear on the left but his tame shot was easily stopped by Barbados goalkeeper Jamal Blackman, who started his career in the Chelsea academy.

Jahquil Hill came to Bermuda’s rescue twice in quick succession on the hour, first foiling Jaron Oughterson in a one-on-one situation and then turning a Reid-Stephen shot round the post.

Those efforts sandwiched a wasted Bermuda opportunity with Lewis opting to pass when the better option was to shoot when through on goal.

Deniche Hill hit the post from a free kick and Parfitt thought he was about to break the deadlock when he was played through on goal in the 65th minute before a fantastic last-ditch tackle from Jacob Gollop prevented Bermuda from taking the lead.

Hill was again called into action in the 72nd minute, diving low to his left to again keep out an effort from Reid-Stephen.

Parfitt’s goal was then the catalyst for Bermuda supporters to believe that a win was coming but Gale was first found on the edge of the box and curled his effort into the far corner past the despairing dive of Jahquil Hill before he bundled a cross home just a couple of minutes later to send the local fans home happy.

Goals

Bermuda: Parfitt 74

Barbados: Gale 79, 81

Teams

Bermuda: J Hill, L Simmons, J Dublin, H Twite, D Hill, L Robinson, N Tucker, R Robinson, S Hall, D Parfitt, E Russell. Substitutes: E Peets, D Richardson, L Steede-Jackson, B Morrison, C McDowall, J Donawa, Z Lewis, B Borgesson, E Darrell, A Burchall, C Fubler, M Perott

Barbados: J Blackman, R Clarke, J Gollop, M Williams, T Bailey-Edwards, A Applewhite, N Reid-Stephen, J Neblett, O Leacock, J Oughterson, T Gale. Substitutes: S Hoyte, T James, J Gilkes, D King, A Burton, S Prescod, R Bourne, D Thorne, J Malcolm, C Griffith, K Lashley, Z Applewhite

Referee: S Rozenhaut (Suriname)