Bermuda coach Gary Adams has come out in praise of his players after they suffered an 18-0 defeat to the United States in their opening group B encounter at the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Qualifiers in Costa Rica on Tuesday.

While the Bermuda girls put up a fight, they were no match for the Americans, who recorded the second-biggest victory in their history following a 20-0 triumph over Grenada in 2022.

The Americans raced into a 6-0 lead at half time after scoring four goals in the first ten minute, before they notched a further dozen goals in the last 45 minutes.

Adams knew that it was going to be a tough ask for his players against the best team in the region.

“I know 18-0 sounds very drastic and very bad, but that is the reality of the gulf in the levels of football,” Adams told The Royal Gazette.

“The result of that game, regardless of the score, was that America was going to win.

“My goalkeeper Kyra Simmons is just 14 years old, the same for Priya Dill, Avery Taylor and Nadia Medeiros and they are playing for their country. They were representing Bermuda against a top-ten world football superpower.

“We had two of our own superstars, Janiya Sealey and Evans Welch, fighting through injury to even make the game.

“The result might be horrendous and there’s no denying the score. But that’s irrelevant as the girls never gave up for 90 minutes, they did their best to stay together and tried their hardest.

“To put things into perspective in the 64th minute the US bring on a 15-year-old girl [McKenna Whitham], who plays professional football forl Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League and who’s worth over $70,000 at 15 years old.

“That is the calibre of the team we had to face. The experience these girls got and the fact that they never gave up was a success for me.

“They fought for 90 minutes and tried as best as they could. I can’t ask for more than that, I’m not going to be disappointed in this result and I’m not going to be disappointed in the team.”

Despite the praise, Adams highlighted some of the areas in which they could have done better to lessen the damage.

“Of course, there’s small things we could have probably done to minimise the score,” he said.

“But you’re just one step behind or maybe not covering the space that you thought of. Maybe players could have stepped to other players a little bit faster.”

Bermuda suffered a blow when striker Milan Gibbons-Thomas, who scored six goals at home during the initial phase of qualification, was fouled by US goalkeeper Lexi Fischer, who perhaps should have been sent off in the 23rd minute.

The forward tried to keep on playing but could not continue, leading to her being replaced by Daisy Langley ten minutes before the break.

“Milan was in, she passed the last defender, the goalkeeper came out and they collided,” Adams said.

“We got a free kick, but we didn’t take advantage of the chance, so we can’t sit here and complain about what happened and what didn’t happen about the other team.

“We had to take Milan out as a precaution because she turned her ankle a little bit during the tackle. We think she’ll be OK, we need to get her off and rest.

“This whole week is not about the US as we have two more games that we need to worry about. We just move forward, take the precaution and try to get as many points or better performances out of the next two games.”

Some of the key moments for Bermuda came in the first half, when a superb save by Krya Simmons denied Deus Stanislaus in the 37th minute. Janiya Sealey came up with a goalline clearance in the 43rd to keep out an effort from Anaiah Williams.

TEAMS

Bermuda (4-2-3-1): K Simmons—A Berry (sub: M Robinson, 85), Z Showers, J Sealey, T Glasgow—A Taylor, N Samuels—E Welch (sub: M Lohan, 72), N Medeiros, P Dill—M Gibbons-Thomas (sub: D Langley, 35). Substitutes not used: S Denkins, N Minors, K Deane, I Smith.

United States (4-2-3-1): L Fischer—G Zuniga, K Hansen, M Maves, A Williams — Morell, L Paletta (sub: E Vera, 61) — A Manning (sub: G Hanf, 46), M Corona (sub: J Heathcock, 77), M Dimaria (sub: G Aguilar, 61) — D Stanislaus (sub: M Whitham, 64). Substitutes not used: S Ahrens, G Murray, S Ogden, A Saunders, L Ta. Booked: Fischer

Referee: M Ureña (Dominican Republic).