Bermuda left the field with their heads held high yesterday, saying they had lost but not been outclassed.

Coach Kyle Lightbourne, skipper Lionel Furbert and veteran Shaun Goater all felt the Island?s squad acquitted themselves well though blanked 3-0 by a second-string Santos line-up from Brazil ? all the goals coming in the second half.

?I?m obviously disappointed with the result but I thought the players? performance was good. We worked hard but clearly, when you make plenty of substitutions, things change with those players coming in having to get into the pace of the game,? said Lightbourne.

?Up to 60 minutes in the game I thought we did quite well and I think we can build off performances like that.?

Still the national coach conceded the difference in fitness was apparent towards the end as the local footballers tired.

?Some of our players were feeling it. We were up against professionals who train every day,? he stressed.

Lightbourne, a recently-retired pro, speculated that had Bermuda been able to score first their confidence might have risen and produced a different kind of game. However, given their rivals? credentials, he opted for a somewhat cautious approach.

?I didn?t really want to go out and let the game be too open for them because, before the match, we said they would most likely have more possession than us.

?We stood firm for the first half and it was disappointing that we gave away a goal early in the second half.?

Despite the loss, Lightbourne thought Bermuda?s defence held up well and singled out Kofi Dill for kudos. Skipper Furbert, Jemieko Jennings and Timmy Figureido also came in for praise. The coach lauded the manner in which Khano Smith and Shaun Goater linked well at times too.

Furbert, coming to national prominence at age 33, was pleased with his gutsy performance as well as being asked to lead his country.

?I?m really just happy to be given the chance by Kyle to play for the national team. At this age, for them to call me up, maybe they saw something in me that other coaches didn?t. That was nice.

?I?m also humbled by them making me the captain. That?s never been an aspiration of mine. Of course I wanted to play for Bermuda but to be made captain is very humbling, especially in front of my home crowd,? he told .

Reflecting on the home team?s showing, Furbert felt they played ?really well? and were unlucky not to score.

?The 3-0 scoreline does not reflect how the game went at all. It?s very flattering to Santos. They scored two goals in about the last five minutes when we made some substitutes. Before that it was a 1-0 game and that?s anybody?s game.?

No doubt the Dandy Town captain would have been making mental notes as the Premier League champions and frontrunners battle the Brazilians tomorrow night at Somerset.

?We were competitive the whole game so hopefully Dandy Town will go out there, put the work in and hope for something good to come out of it,? declared Furbert.

Meanwhile, Goater ? who flew Meanwhile, Shaun Goater, in from England especially for the match ? left the National Sports Centre with mixed feelings.

While upbeat about the Bermudians? showing, he was personally frustrated at not doing better with his scoring opportunities.

?I thought we settled in quite well in the first half with the way we went about the game and the tactics Kyle wanted us to employ. In fact, we had quite a few chances and I think they more or less fell to me and I think natural game rust and not having played 90 minutes for some time ? I?ve played some reserve games and the level isn?t all that high ? caused me to make the wrong decisions with some of the chances I got,? explained the veteran striker, noting that yesterday?s match was more competitive than the reserve games he has been playing while shut out of first-team action at Reading.

In one instance, he tried to lob Santos keeper from about eight or nine yards with the ball bouncing when, on second thoughts ?I really should have smashed it?, he acknowledged.

?I?m always disappointed not to score when I come home because of fans? expectations. Also, the chances I got are the typical Shaun Goater chances which I tend to put away but that happens.

?I can only put it down to not playing over a period of time. It catches up with you when you?re not playing week in, week out. You just can?t go on the field and produce it as much as you want but I thoroughly enjoyed it.?

Goater admitted that fatigue got the better of Bermuda after the break.

The marksman lauded those with the initiative to bring Santos here, noting that?s how the Island?s football will improve which, he observed, it has already done since Bermuda succumbed to Manchester City Youth Academy last summer.