Bermuda 4

Turks and Caicos Islands 0

Bermuda handed the Turks and Caicos a crushing defeat in their opening Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Group A CONCACAF Women?s Gold Cup qualifier in the Dominican Republic on Thursday night.

Goals either side of the break from Ebonie Burgess and additional strikes from Tamisha Darrell ? who opened the scoring ? and a Carrie Kenneth penalty saw Bermuda?s bid to qualify for November?s Gold Cup in the US get off to a flying start in hot and humid conditions.

Bermuda took the lead in the 20th minute when Darrell slotted home a Stacy Babb cross in the area.

A good build up-from midfield involving Kenneth and captain Naquita Dill culminated with Burgess converting a another cross from close range to earn the local girls a two-goal cushion at the half.

Kenneth then scored Bermuda?s third goal from the penalty spot midway through the second-half after a Dill goal-bound shot was handled by a defender in the box.

Burgess then heaped more misery on the opposition?s porous defence by volleying home a poor clearance 15 minutes from full-time to seal a convincing win.

Bermuda coach Vance Brown said his team were always in control once they had acclimatised to hot and humid conditions and had adapted to playing on a difficult surface.

?The pitch really didn?t suit our passing game, and so we had to adjust,? Brown told The Royal Gazette from the Dominican Republic yesterday.

?But once they settled down and got used to the surface they stamped their authority on the game.?

Bermuda are now two wins away from qualifying for the Gold Cup finals.

The local team held a light practice session yesterday afternoon in preparation for today?s second Group A match against US Virgin Islands ? opponents Brown has described as physically ?tough?.

?We are probably technically more skilful than they (US Virgin Islands) but they come with a lot of fight,? he said. ?So we will have to match their fight and it could be a very physical match for us.?

Confidence, Brown said, remained ?high? in the local camp.

?One thing I must say is the girls? attitude and confidence is very high. We had a few stumbling blocks when we arrived with hotel accommodations and transportation, but the girls refused to let that deter them and have been in high spirits ever since.?

Bermuda team: K.Perinchief (goalkeeper), N.Dill (capt), S.Campbell, D.Ward, T.Swan, S.Babb, A.Smith, C.Kenneth, V.Bean, T.Darrell, E.Burgess.