even if Kyle Lightbourne and Shaun Goater had played, said Goater yesterday.

Speaking for the first time about Bermuda's exit from soccer's premier competition, Goater, top-scoring hero of the successful 1992 campaign, said the result had disappointed and upset him.

Neither of the country's two professional strikers played in either of the two legs against the Caribbean side and Bermuda went out on the away goals rule after a 1-1 draw on aggregate. The young stand-in Bermuda strikers missed a string of chances in both games.

Goater said news of Bermuda's loss on Easter Sunday had capped a miserable day for him.

"I was shocked and upset,'' said Goater. "It was a really disappointing day.

I left the phone off the hook and didn't want to speak to anyone.

"I heard the Antigua 'keeper had a really good game. And even if Kyle and I had been there, who's to say the result would have been any different? "If we missed a lot of chances, that shows the players put in a lot of hard work. I hope that Bermuda football can move on from here.'' After scoring a hat-trick for Bermuda in their opening World Cup match against the British Virgin Islands, Goater said he had opted to miss out on further World Cup matches so he would be available for City as they made their final push for promotion.

"As it came closer, it came down to me having to decide. I asked the BFA not to request my release and they did not request it. We all know the outcome of that now.''