Former national coach Gary Darrell is one of a number of former internationals backing Bermuda to pull off an upset against Jamaica at Flora Duffy Stadium tonight.

Darrell is inspired by the strides the Gombey Warriors have made under coach Michael Findlay, with performances helped by the majority of the squad playing overseas, and he is confident they can overturn the odds against a team ranked 92 places higher in Fifa’s world rankings.

“Jamaica are always tough and we will have our hands full, but I have enough confidence in the players and staff that I can hope for a good result,” he said.

‘“It looks to me like this group, and the coach, have a definite plan that I hope comes to fruition and everything is possible. The ultimate aim is to get a victory and from what I’ve seen of Jamaica lately, I don’t see why we can’t.

“I am sure Bermuda have worked hard and they should be full of confidence from their last performance. We know it’s not going to be easy but to have Nahki Wells involved and with most of the young players playing at a higher level abroad than what we have locally, they can perform at their best.

“It’s going to be a wonderful atmosphere. We don’t always get to play in front of a full stadium like we are going to experience tomorrow night, so I do hope they make the most of it and enjoy it.”

In 1992, Darrell guided Bermuda to the second round of World Cup qualifying, the farthest the island had reached in the competition at the time, with a talented team boasting Shaun Goater, Kyle Lightbourne, Kentoine Jennings and Meshach Wade.

“It was a wonderful experience and we all enjoyed the ride,” Darrell said.

“We did very well and better than expected. It was something to remember for sure and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll always have fond memories of it, especially for the players.”

Former Bermuda striker Sammy Swan attributed team harmony as a key factor to the 1992 team’s success, with Bermuda holding Jamaica to a 1-1 draw at home.

“Gary [Darrell] did a really good job of keeping we guys together in a training camp, which I thought helped us a lot,” he said.

“They kept us together up Warwick Camp for three months, or close to that, and that helped a lot with our development as far as getting to know one another.

“It was a good experience for me as far as playing with Shaun, David [Bascome], Kenny [Thompson] and a few guys. When I look back, that that was probably the icing on the cake for me.”

In the 1-1 draw with Jamaica, defender Kentoine Jennings put Bermuda in front with a thunderbolt strike from outside the box before the away side equalised through nemesis Paul Davis to rescue a point.

“I can remember the dummy from Shaun Goater and I just struck it because it was laying on a platter for me,” Jennings recalled.

“That was probably the best goal and best feeling you can have, especially from the distance that it was. It had to be from 25 to 30 yards out.”

Bermuda battled back from a two-goal deficit in the away match in Jamaica before ultimately losing 3-2 in a five-goal thriller which put an end to what was then the island’s finest run in World Cup qualifying.

“That was a definitely a battle and I was disappointed in the end because I thought we should have won that one,” Swan said.

Jennings added: “It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the result and if we didn’t start as slow as we did, I think the game could’ve been different for us.”

Former Bermuda defender Leroy Stevens cites the overwhelming support the Jamaicans received from their fans as key to their victory and is hoping Bermudians return the favour by rallying behind the Gombey Warriors tonight.

“The game down in Jamaica was really hard because when you get down there nobody is supporting you, and that’s how we need to make them feel when we play them at home tomorrow night,” Stevens said.

“Even though we have Jamaicans here we have to be ten times louder than them so their team can’t feel any support in Bermuda.

“The energy of the crowd pushed us to go a little deeper. It was great just to represent the country and have a chance to play in a World Cup qualifier with all that support from the whole island.”