It wasn't hand to ball, it was ball to hand.

That was the verdict down at the packed Vasco da Gama club yesterday after France were awarded a debatable extra-time penalty against Portugal.

Hundreds of Bermuda's large Portuguese community clocked off work early yesterday to see the team which has captured their hearts bid to reach their first major final.

And a few dozen of them gathered to watch the action unfold on the big screen at the Reid Street club and suffered as Zinedine Zidane converted the contentious spot-kick to net a `golden goal' which sent France through to the final.

Austrian referee Guenter Benko decided it was deliberate handball when Abel Xavier blocked a Sylvain Wiltord shot near his own goal-line with just seven minutes of extra time remaining.

When Nuno Gomes pounced with a left-footed snapshot in the 19th minute to put Portugal ahead, no bar in the heart of Lisbon could have greeted the goal with more delight.

There was a sense of excited expectancy, as Bermudians with Portuguese ancestry as well as those who have moved here from the southern European country sensed that after so many years of threatening to win a major trophy, this time would be their turn.

Victor Maiato, who moved to Bermuda from Portugal 22 years ago and now runs a landscaping and maintenance business: "I employ 11 staff and they asked me if they could have time off to watch the match and I told them `no problem'. I know of others who have done the same.

"Portuguese people are passionate about football. They would rather watch the game than work overtime. There must be about 1,000 Portuguese workers who have stopped to watch the match.

"This is the best Portugal have played for years. Figo and Rui Costa are the best midfield players in the world.'' Also in the club was Vasco goalkeeper Timmy Figureido, who said: "They are a very good, disciplined side. Portugal have always had the skill, but this team is organised as well.'' But the mood in the club changed when Thierry Henry equalised for France six minutes into the second half. After initial anger that the apparently offside goal had been allowed to stand, the chatter which had resounded around the club earlier turned to a tense quiet.

Nail-biting, nervous scratching of noses and general unease continued through extra time and when Portugal's Joao Pinto shot four inches wide of the post with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez beaten, the noise made the ceiling shake.

Then came that penalty -- an agonising way to lose. When the ball hit the net, despair hit the Vasco club. Faces dropped and the dream was over. Match report on page 15.