USL League One club Portland Hearts of Pine will return to the island to play two friendly matches against a Bermuda Select squad early next month.

Portland will take on a mix of Bermudian players from domestic league and overseas, with the games scheduled to take place on February 5 (7pm) and February 8 (2pm).

The US team visited Bermuda last year for two preseason friendlies against Khano Smith’s Rhode Island FC and a Bermuda Select XI. Portland won the match against the local side 2-0, with their goals coming from Titus Washington and Jake Keegan.

Michael Findlay, Bermuda’s national coach, is seeking to achieve multiple goals during the two matches.

“This mini-camp and matches are valuable opportunities for us to meet several objectives within our programme,” Findlay said.

“This includes providing our established domestic-based players an opportunity to get valuable training and match time against quality opposition. For those who are on our domestic target list, it’s an opportunity to be evaluated within the environment.

“We get the chance to work closer with them and see them in a competitive match environment, such as the two matches against Portland Hearts of Pine.”

Domestic-based players such as Danté Leverock, Zeiko Lewis, Enrique Russell, Lejaun Simmons, David Jones Jr, Julian Carpenter, Daniel Cook, Quinaceo Hunt, Jahquil Hill, Danavon Thompson and Eusebio Blankendal are expected to play prominent roles in the two matches.

Fans will also get a chance to catch a glimpse of the future as players look to establish themselves in the senior men’s team in advance of the Nations League campaign that begins in September.

“It provides our Bermuda football fans the opportunity to see our players compete against a professional level of competition,” Findlay said.