Curaçao 3 Bermuda 2

Bermuda battled bravely against Curaçao last night to dispel any lingering thoughts about a lack of fighting spirit in the wake of a second successive defeat in the final round of World Cup qualifying.

The national team were 2-0 down in the 26th minute and perhaps lucky not to be further behind after goalkeeper Dale Eve pulled off a string of fantastic saves with all parts of his body as Curaçao dominated the early stages.

But the Gombey Warriors showed so much heart and were level by the interval with Kane Crichlow and Djair Parfitt silencing the home crowd and giving Bermuda hope of capturing their first points in the final stage of World Cup qualifying.

After a breathless first half, it was no surprise that the game calmed down in the second half with neither side creating too many chances.

But Tahith Chong, the former Manchester United player who was the best player on the pitch on the night, added to his two goals for Curaçao by providing an assist for Tyrone Noselin to burst into the box and smash the ball into the top left corner.

Try as they might, Bermuda started to look leggy late with two games in four days and plenty of travel in between taking its toll, but in added time they came close on a couple of occasions.

Nahki Wells threaded a pass to Crichlow that was smothered by the goalkeeper before a couple of late corners sparked panic in the Curaçao defence but Bermuda could just not find another equaliser.

Despite the defeat coach Michael Findlay was proud of the effort put in by Bermuda’s players.

“These guys are learning at an incredibly fast rate,” he said. “Some guys are more experienced than others but as a group playing at this level, in the final round of World Cup qualifying, they are learning enormous lessons at a very rapid rate.

“I can’t say enough about how they are applying themselves, keeping themselves accountable, wanting success and being disappointed when it doesn’t come. They have showed they have the capacity to rebound, deal with adversity and execute.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them and I know the staff is incredibly proud of them. That’s a little fluffy because what I liked was their response after the game, demanding more of each other.”

The early Curaçao onslaught began as soon as the first minute when Chong fired a brilliant shot from outside the box, which was pushed away by Eve. The ball fell only as far as former Aston Villa midfielder Leandro Bacuna, who’s rebound struck his own player.

There were two penalty shouts inside the first ten minutes, with play halted so the video assistant referee could check the claims. The first came when striker Jurgen Locadia was tackled from behind by Danté Leverock and the second when Ne-Jai Tucker brought down Chong just outside the box.

With the pressure building It appeared only a matter of time before the Bermuda dam was breached and Chong made the breakthrough in the fifteenth minute.

After Eve had made yet another save, probably by then his fourth of the night, the ball rebounded to the classy midfielder, who took a touch with his right foot and buried it with his left from about ten yards.

Just over ten minutes later, Chong grabbed his second when he found plenty of space in the area, turned inside Harry Twite, who overcommitted, and calmly placed the ball wide of Eve and into the net.

Bermuda had struggled to get into the Curaçao half, with the home side having 64 per cent possession and 14 shots to the away side’s one in the first half an hour but in the 35th minute Bermuda grabbed themselves a lifeline.

After Deniche Hill was fouled on the left wing, Reggie Lambe passed it short to Tucker, who curled a sweet ball into the penalty area. Crichlow, ghosting in between the Curaçao back line, got his foot to the ball and prodded it past goalkeeper Eloy Room, who should have done better.

Three minutes before half-time and the fans inside the Estadio Willense were stunned when Bermuda levelled. A fantastic tackle by Leverock inside his own half was followed by a ten-yard run and a perfect long ball to Parfitt.

Through on goal, Parfitt appeared to take too long but he showed a fantastic piece of skill to jink inside a closing defender and place the ball past Room and into the net via a deflection.

The second half was filled with fewer incidents than the first, it would have been hard to have featured more. Findlay shuffled his pack, taking off Tucker and Leverock after 53 minutes.

That prompted Curaçao to get back on top and they claimed the winner through Noslin in the 75th minute.

Tempers flared late on when Leandro Bacuna, who had been petulant for much of the game, went head-to-head with Reece Jones Jr.

That drew all 22 players and both benches into a shoving match, with three players and Bermuda coach John Barry Nusum, who did nothing but calm the situation, all booked.

Defeat leaves Bermuda at the bottom of their group, with Jamaica topping the table on six points after beating Trinidad & Tobago 2-0. Curaçao sit second on four, with Trinidad third on one.

SCORERS

Curacao: Chong 15, 26, Noselin 75

Bermuda: Crichlow 35, Parfitt 42

TEAMS

Curaçao (4-3-3) E Room — R Bazoer (sub: J Gaari, 79min), R van Eijma S Sambo Floranus — T Chong (sub: L Comenencia, 88), L Bacuna, J Margaritha (sub: T Noselin, 64) — J Bacuna, J Locadia (sub: G Kastaneer, 79), J Anthonis (sub: J Zimmerman, 79).Substitutes not used: L Morencia, T Doornbusch, A Martha, G Roemeratoe, J Carolina, K Felida. Booked: S Floranus, G Kastaneer.

Bermuda (4-2-3-1) D Eve — R Jones Jr, D Leverock (sub: J Carpenter, 54), H Twite, D Hill (sub: L Simmons, 87) — K Martin (sub: R Lee, 87), N Tucker (sub: Z Lewis, 54) — R Lambe, D Parfitt (sub: J Donawa, 68), K Crichlow — N Wells. Substitutes not used: D Bell, C Fubler, E Russell, J Butterfield-Steede, K Richardson, A Todd, Booked: J Nusum (coach), Russell.

Referee: A Carrasco (Dominican Republic).