IT WAS just a week ago that Bermuda's World Cup opponents, Trinidad and Tobago, were carrying the tag of 'sore losers' having unexpectedly lost their first-leg qualifier on home soil.

A few days later, Bermuda came perilously close to facing the same accusation.

Perhaps there's a fine line between disappointment and delusion.

But nobody, especially the 5,000 or more who squeezed into the National Sports Centre last Sunday night and provided a sporting carnival the likes of which we've rarely seen, could argue that the Gombey Warriors weren't beaten by a better team.

That's not to denigrate Bermuda's performance.

Most of the players – not all, mind you – played their hearts out.

Over a two-leg clash which was ultimately settled by just one goal, Bermuda went down with the type of fighting spirit which, it has to be said, isn't always evident in other national teams.

They achieved a result which, just a few months ago, would have been unthinkable.

And coach Kenny Thompson, his staff and the players can be immensely proud.

But let's not blame the ref, who so often in these kind of close encounters is made the scapegoat.

Thankfully, Bermuda Football Association have decided not to appeal the result, which would have led to inevitable failure.

Thompson was seething after the match, as one would expect from someone whose passion borders on the fanatical.

Some would say his complaint was perfectly valid.

It's true that Trinidad netted their decisive goal when Bermuda were attempting to make a substitution and their players stood still waiting for a whistle that never came.

It was a lapse that might have just cost them victory. It came at a time when Bermuda were begining to get the measure of their opponents, and a sense of panic and frustration was beginning to creep into the Trinidad camp.

It was unfortunate, even unfair. But had the shoe been on the other foot, we'd have taken a goal in similar circumstances.

There was a suggestion that a Trinidad player was twice booked and therefore should have been shown the red card. Video footage shows that wasn't true.

That same footage shows that at one point one team had 12 players on the field – that team was Bermuda. We could hardly moan about that.

What emerged more than anything else in this two-leg tie, is that for the first time in many, many years, Bermuda football can be taken seriously within this region.

One footballing website ran a poll asking what had been the biggest World Cup qualifying upset so far this year.

Bermuda's 2-1 win in Trinidad ranked third.

And that poll took into account a myriad of matches being played not just throughout the Caribbean, but the whole of Asia, Africa and Oceania.

We didn't just surprise ourselves, but the rest of the world as well.

What matters now is that the national programme pushes on to the point that the footballing fever created over the past two weeks becomes commonplace rather than a rarity; that crowds of 5,000 continually fill the NSC; and that we can enter competitions such as the upcoming Digicel Caribbean Cup with a sense of anticipation and excitement.

It's been said so many times before that a sport can unite a nation.

For a fleeting few days, it did.

Perhaps some of those who used their privileged position to gleefully snap up tickets at the expense of others who genuinely support the game, will have taken note.

– ADRIAN ROBSON