Bermuda's Antonio Pierce was on the winning side last night as wildcard New York Giants caused one of Super Bowl's biggest upsets to deny New England Patriots a 'perfect season'.

Pierce, who has Bermudian parentage, was involved in the action from an early stage but not in quite the way he wished when he was flagged for a pass interference in the end zone against Patriots' Benjamin Watson.

However, Pierce came good as the game progressed showing his trademark ability to read opposition tactics and thwarting a number of attempts to break through the Giants' defence.

Giants had been first with points on the board, but only seconds into the second quarter were 7-3 down. In a game that was dominated by the relative defensive strengths of the two teams, it was linebacker Pierce who showed his greatest industry and effectiveness in the scoreless third quarter as things remained on a knife-edge.

The six-foot one-inch tall Pierce delivered a number of tackles against running back Kevin Faulk. When Giants took a 14-10 lead in the fourth it seemed that Bermuda would have its own stake in a winning side on a day that had seen a draw and a loss for the national soccer and 20/20 cricket teams.

But there was more drama to come. As Giants fought to preserve their slender lead Pierce again made an important tackle on Faulk with just over five minutes remaining and soon after closed down wide receiver Randy Moss.

It was Moss who went on to score the touchdown that put the New England team back in front with less than three minutes remaining. It looked as though the Patriots were destined to become only the second team in history after the 1972 Miami Dolphins to go an entire season, including the Super Bowl, without defeat.

Then, in a final twist that sent many Bermudian hearts soaring, Giants leader Eli Manning delivered a perfect ball to Plaxico Burress in the corner of the touchdown zone and the Giants regained the lead. Patriots were unable to answer in the 35 seconds remaining.

Underdogs New York Giants - with Pierce providing the Bermuda link - secured a place in Super Bowl history to lift the Lombardi Trophy.