Bermuda’s quest to reach the final at the Caribbean Football Union Under-14 Challenge suffered a setback when they were edged 1-0 by Jamaica in the semi-finals in Dominican Republic today.

Tai Sean Headley struck two minutes into the second half to break Bermuda hearts and book Jamaica’s place in Sunday’s Tier 1 final. The Jamaicans will now defend their title against Haiti, who defeated the host nation 6-1 in the other semi-final.

It was a tight, cagey affair decided by one moment of quality, but Bermuda’s goalkeeper Tayte Browne deserved credit for keeping the scoreline respectable.

Browne, back in goal after starting against Barbados on Monday, was called into action seconds into the encounter, using his feet to block an early Jamaican strike.

The early save set the tone for a busy afternoon for the Bermuda keeper. He was called into action again in the sixteenth minute when he got down well to push over Jhemar Roswell’s powerful effort for a corner.

Five minutes later the Bermuda keeper was at it once more, rushing off his line to disrupt another Jamaican raid and snuff out the danger before it developed.

Despite sustained Jamaican pressure, Bermuda defended in numbers and looked to hit on the counter. The Gombey Warriors worked hard to stay compact, but struggled to create clear chances at the other end.

After conceding at the start of the second half, Bermuda nearly fell further behind three minutes later, but Kylon Gayle blazed over with the goal at his mercy.

That miss proved crucial as Bermuda continued to hang on with hope of equalising. A string of last-ditch clearances by the Bermudian defence and further stops from Browne prevented Jamaica from doubling their lead as the game wore on.