Bermuda 1 Guadeloupe 2

Bermuda had defenders Jorj Dublin and captain Lejaun Simmons sent off before conceding two late goals in a heartbreaking defeat to Guadeloupe in the Concacaf Nations League group B opener in St Lucia on Friday.

Enrique Russell’s eighteenth-minute penalty gave Bermuda the lead at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, which John Barry Nusum’s side surrendered in the final ten minutes of the encounter.

Guadeloupe ramped up the pressure after Dublin’s expulsion, equalising through substitute Allan Vulgaire in the 84th before Djamalee Boisné grabbed the winner a minute from time.

“It’s disappointing because it’s definitely one of those games where you feel like it got away,” Nusum told The Royal Gazette.

“The effort that they gave once that red card happened was beautiful in a sense of how we applaud ourselves.

“In the first half, we were able to dominate the ball and create possession and really play through.

“We probably could have given ourselves a little bit more of a cushion in the first half, that’s probably one of the things we will discuss as a team.

“But again, the way that we displayed how we can control the game, how we can move the ball around.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the way that first half went and then the way that the boys worked and suffered in the second half.”

Bermuda, who were without rested veteran striker Nahki Wells, enjoyed a bright start with Sincere Hall forcing a save from Davy Rouyard in the ninth minute after being played through by Deniche Hill.

“There’s nothing wrong with Nahki Wells and he’ll be involved in the next match,” Nusum said.

“He only arrived in St Lucia on Thursday and due to the travel, we just wanted to make sure that we’re taking the right precautions and not putting him in a space where he can get an injury, so it was more of a precaution than anything else.”

Boisné cut through the inside to get the first shot on target for Guadeloupe, which was not powerful enough to trouble Milai Perott.

Ajani Burchall was clipped by Kenjy Montantin to win a penalty after Russell played the ball into the middle. Although Rouyard went the right way, he could not keep out the Bermuda No 9.

In the 28th, Dublin averted danger when he chased down Ange-Freddy Plumain and blocked him from taking a shot at goal.

In the 31st, Ne-Jai Tucker drew out a save from Rouyard with a well-struck free kick from the left side.

Bermuda had a chance to double their lead just before the break when Russell flicked on for Djair Parfitt, whose firm header was kept out by Rouyard.

Just before the hour mark, Perott made a fine save to deny Kendy Giblaca after initially fumbling Boisné's effort.

The Bermuda goalkeeper also did well in the 62nd to turn the ball behind for a corner when Boisné tried to squeeze it in at the near post.

Dublin was sent off in the 64th for a foul on Fabien Géran and with no video assistant referee to take a second look at the challenge, Bermuda had to play the remaining 26 minutes one man short.

Perott produced a great save to preserve Bermuda’s lead in the 74th, pushing Boisné’s shot for a corner.

Guadeloupe equalised with six minutes to go when Vulgaire, a 77th minute replacement for defender Sulyvane Darase, scored off the rebound after the Bermuda keeper saved Plumain's initial strike.

In the 89th, Boisné netted the winner after Perott spilt the ball and it fell kindly for the Guadeloupe forward.

Simmons received his second yellow for wrapping his hands around Taïryk Arconte, which means that he will also miss the second match against St Lucia on Monday night.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that are ready to step up,” the coach said.

“The same would have applied if they had been injured, two guys would have come into the team.”

Nusum felt hard done by referee José Corporán’s decision to send off Dublin, as the Dominican Republic official had initially appeared to take out a yellow card.

“When the tackle happened, the referee was actually reaching for his yellow card and then he made eye contact with the fourth official and then all of a sudden he reached for his back pocket,” the coach added.

“They definitely communicated at that point. It seemed like the ref was about to give a yellow card and then shifted his move to a red card, so that’s frustrating.

“The proud part is that once he made his decision, we shifted. We had to change our defensive structure and the boys applied themselves really well.

“Guadeloupe were still getting frustrated as they weren’t really able to penetrate us. But once that first goal went in, it was kind of a lift for them.

“You could see their spirits get higher because I think they were thinking that the game was starting to run away from them as well.

“It’s unfortunate because we weren’t able to continue playing the way that we wanted to play due to being one man down and having them throw waves of attacks at us, which we dealt with for a good portion of it.

“It was a good 20 minutes that we dealt with being comfortable without the ball and still feeling like they weren’t a threat to us at that point.”

SCORERS

Bermuda: Russell 18 pen

Guadeloupe: Vulgaire 84, Boisné 89

TEAMS

Bermuda (4-4-2): M Perott—L Simmons, D Hill, J Dublin, H Twite— L Robinson (sub: Z Lewis, 46), N Tucker—A Burchall (sub: L. Steede-Jackson, 70), D Parfitt (sub: J Donawa, 63) — E Russell (sub: D Richardson, 87), S Hall (sub: B Borgesson, 63). Substitutes not used: C Fubler, B Morrison, R Robinson, E Darrell, J Hill, C McDowall, E Peets. Booked: Simmons, Hill, Lewis. Sent off: Dublin, Simmons

Guadeloupe (4-3-3): D Rouyard — S Darase (sub: A Vulgaire, 77), F Geran (sub: M Alphonse, 66), K Montantin, Y Raddas — T Davillars (sub: K Giblaca, 46), F Plumain, W Francillonne — F Plumain — D Boisné, J Gamby (sub: D Capraja, 59), T Arconte. Substitutes not used: M Philemon, A Silo, M Cysique, H Dezac, M Citronnelle, W Jacques, L Mausse. Booked: Davillars, Gamby

Referee: J Corporán (Dominican Republic).