Bermuda?s Digicel Cup squad will receive a welcome boost by the return from suspension of team skipper Kentoine Jennings for tonight?s crucial second-round clash with Bahamas at the National Stadium in St Michael?s, Barbados.

It is a match Bermuda must win in order to keep their Cup hopes alive. Jennings? experience and resolve in defence was clearly missed during last Sunday?s 3-0 loss to St. Vincent at the same venue.

And his absence just might have been the difference between Bermuda winning and losing, though the 36-year-old stalwart doesn?t see it that way.

?I thought the guys did an admirable job and I don?t think I could have asked for anything more from them. I think we had ample chances to put the game away, but we didn?t. And I always felt that the first team that scored would eventually win the match,? Jennings said.

The Bermuda skipper was sent off in the previous round of the competition against US Virgin Islands last September, but without a doubt his return tonight will help raise spirits in the camp, spirits that surprisingly remain reasonably good despite Sunday?s loss.

Still Jennings reckons Bermuda should have gained something from their last match against well-drilled opponents: ?We haven?t played a lot of football against teams like St. Vincent who can stick to a path for 90 minutes waitng for that one mistake to appear,? he noted.

?We missed chances that could have won us the game, but you can?t take anything away from the players because they gave it their all.

?It was a beautiful game of football to watch and our guys were able to match a very good team. St. Vincent are a quality team. They are very fast, skilful and very organised ? and we matched them for long periods. The only time we didn?t was when we had our lapses and made mistakes and even the most talented players make mistakes and we saw that from everybody on that field, including the opposition.?

The veteran defender admitted watching his team lose from the sidelines proved to be a bitter pill to swallow. ?It was frustrating for me because I would have loved to have played. It was very frustrating, not being able to help,? Jennings said.

?But we have to understand that mistakes are going to cost us and we have to learn from them in order to grow. Now we have another important game to play. And so we will have to rise, minimise our mistakes, and capitalise on our chances in order to give ourselves a chance to win.?