A six-goal massacre at the hands of Cuba in their opening first-round qualifier has left Bermuda Under-23s' Olympic dreams hanging by a thread. Antoine Russell's controversial dismissal on 40-minutes for an illegal tackle triggered Bermuda's capitulation, as Cuba made the most of their numerical advantage.

Kenny Thompson's young charges must beat the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico, while praying host Cuba taste defeat to stand a chance of reaching the next qualifying round with only one nation progressing.

Head of delegation Troy Brimmer said Russell's sending off was the defining moment of the game with Bermuda in the hunt until that point.

"Up until the sending off we had been playing well and were just one goal down, but after the sending-off our heads seemed to drop," said Brimmer.

"I thought it was a harsh decision and a yellow card would have sufficed.

"The Cubans put in some very physical challenges which didn't even receive a yellow card."

Cuba took the lead on 37 minutes and went into the midway point protecting a two-goal lead, before breaching Bermuda's backline to score on four more occasions.

But Brimmer has called for the colts to dust off their disappointment and take maximum points from the remaining fixtures to keep their Olympic hopes alive, however slight.

"The players are disappointed but Kenny Thompson has told them to learn from it and look towards their game tomorrow against the Cayman Islands," he added.

"We want to finish at least second in the group and hope Cuba lose to Puerto Rico.

"We need to score as many goals as we can just in case Cuba slip up - but our chances are now slim.

"A real positive from yesterday's game was the performance of our keeper Freddy Hall who made some great saves."

Bermuda face the Cayman Islands tomorrow and Puerto Rico on September 13.