Bermuda 2 Trinidad & Tobago 2

Jace Donawa and James Morrison scored for Bermuda as they started the Concacaf Under-20 World Cup Qualifiers with a draw against higher-ranked Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday.

Donawa rounded the Trinidad goalkeeper after a magnificent pass by Kennahz Fray to open the scoring in the 38th minute. Morrison, who replaced Fray in the 56th, headed in from a Khari Sharrieff free kick to secure his team a point.

An unfortunate own goal by Emeer Peets had handed Trinidad an equaliser in the 78th minute and they took the lead just 60 seconds later through substitute Dominic Joseph.

Bermuda coach Cecoy Robinson was pleased with a point after both sides had shared periods of dominance.

“I feel that it was a game of two halves,” Robinson told The Royal Gazette.

“I thought the first half we executed the game plan of what we were trying to do and I thought we did that well.

“We could have taken a few of the chances that we actually got in the first half to make the game slightly easier for us, but that didn’t happen, so we need to be better in that area.

“In the second half we were just trying to get the players to stick to what we were doing. We got cramps and a little bit of fatigue, so this forced us into certain changes and certain decisions.”

Bermuda, ranked nineteenth in the Concacaf region, continue to punch above their weight by picking up a point against Trinidad, who are rated thirteenth, but Robinson feels it was a missed opportunity to pick up a victory.

“We need to make sure that we get better as we move on,” the Bermuda coach said.

“It feels like a loss, but we have to just keep working and keep moving. They might be ranked higher than us, but we always believed that we were the better team and the side we put together is really good.

“We always believed that Bermuda was going to be competitive. The way we played in the first half and the way we controlled the match in the first half, we felt that we should have got the result.”

In windy conditions at Costa Rica Federation Field No 2, Bermuda goalkeeper David Martin made crucial saves to keep Trinidad at bay in the opening minutes of the encounter.

With that pressure absorbed, Gombey Warriors became a threat to Trinidad and took the lead after Fray made a long pass from the centre for Donawa to put Bermuda ahead seven minutes before the break.

“It was a good feeling to get the first goal and take the pressure off,” Robinson said.

“In that moment, I actually thought it was coming because we were putting ourselves in some good positions.”

Donawa had a great chance to double Bermuda’s lead in the 64th minute but his effort was saved by Bryan Gafiuk. As action quickly swung to the other end, Martin went airborne to push over Joseph’s strike.

Substitute Josiah Kallicharan’s cross then caused confusion in the Bermuda box, with Peets adjudged to made the last touch before the ball trickled over the line. Just a minute later Bermuda were behind when Dominic Joseph slotted in from a tight angle.

But Bermuda’s young side displayed their resilience by levelling six minutes before the end through Morrison’s header.

“We need to be better in those moments in managing the game,” the Bermuda coach said.

“The first five minutes after the goal goes in are definitely crucial minutes, so we needed to make sure that we didn’t give up another one.”

SCORERS

Bermuda: Donawa 38, Morrison 84

Trinidad & Tobago: Peets og 78, Joseph 79

TEAMS

Bermuda (4-3-3): D Martin — N Grant (Smith-Davis, 79min), E Peets, L Jimenez, M Tear-De Leon — X DeRoza, K Fray (sub: J Morrison, 56), H Bean-Fox (sub: M Belboda, 71) — K Sharrieff, J Donawa (sub: D Stewart, 79), K Brunson. Substitutes not used: D Powell, C Jackson, I Gibbons, B Borgesson, Q Raynor, D Coddington.

Trinidad & Tobago starting XI (4-4-2): B Gafiuk — S McNish, A Pierre, J Caprietta, J Ochoa — T McMillan, C Trestrail, D Garcia, C Joseph — P Nelson, M Webb.

Referee: S Dewar (Jamaica).