An incensed Kenny Thompson was furious with referee Carlos Batres for allowing Trinidad's controversial tie-winning goal to stand.

Bermuda's defence were caught off guard when Stern John struck mid-way through the second half while Thompson was still in the process of making a substitution.

Thompson, who protested vehemently with the fourth official, said the goal got Trinidad 'out of jail' and had to bite his tongue when asked about referee Batres' bizarre performance.

"I have to be very careful about what I say," said Thompson. "Obviously it's bitterly disappointing. I've not seen anything like the goal they scored to win the tie.

"Jemeiko (Jennings) wasn't even on the pitch. He was on the touchline when the Trinidad player took the free kick. The referee had stopped play and should have re-started it with a whistle, but there was no whistle and he goes and allows the goal.

"It's difficult to accept because it had a major influence in getting Trinidad out of jail."

Thompson said he believed the game was slipping away from the Soca Warriors prior to John's strike and reckons the narrow World Cup qualifying defeat is a surefire sign of the national team's progress.

"The players had struggled in the first half and we conceded an early goal and had to weather a heavy storm," said Thompson.

"But we made some adjustments at the break and certainly did not look like conceding up until the second goal.

"I think Trinidad were starting to get desperate and things were slipping away from them.

"It's a sign of our growth and Trinidad knew they were in a very difficult situation. When the draw was made most people didn't give us a chance, but we've shown we can compete with a team of their calibre.

"Importantly, Bermuda Football Association have the resources to build on this and continue the programme. That's always been our downfall in the past – things always used to just stop."

Skipper Omar Shakir believes Bermuda can use their battling performances against the Caribbean powerhouse as a launch pad as they look to build towards this summer's Digicel Cup campaign.

The stopper said he was immensely proud of his team-mates' backs-to-the-wall display and was confident the national team programme would go from strength to strength.

"I hope this is the start of things to come for us," said Shakir. "We gave a good showing of ourselves in this qualifier and hopefully we can build upon it. We gave everything we had but it just wasn't our day.

"We must now keep the nucleus of our team together and look towards a successful Digicel Cup campaign."

The PHC player also praised the partisan crowd who packed the National Sports Centre and cheered the players on for match's entirety.

"The supporters were superb and really spurred us on. I hope they continue to support us like that," he said.

"It was a great atmosphere and I'm just thankful that I could take part in it."