Emblazoned across the back of Trinidad's training tops are the words "impossible is nothing".

Ironically, it was the underdogs Bermuda who did the most to endorse that sentiment at the Marvin Lee Stadium with an astonishing victory over the Caribbean's top-ranked side.

After all, outside Bermuda national team's close-knit camp, who had realistically given them much of a chance of posting a positive result against a nation who qualified for the 2006 World Cup.

Certainly not former Premier League striker Stern John who dismissed Sunday's first leg as nothing more than preparation for the more imporant matters that lay ahead.

Quite simply Bermuda were supposed to be effortlessly dispatched by the region's big boys who boasted a plethora of professional talent in their starting line-up such as Sunderland's Carlos Edwards and prolific Swansea City striker, Jason Scotland.

This brazen showing of a lack of respect even spilled over into Trinidad's daily newspapers yesterday morning, with the Daily Express describing Bermuda as 'a sub standard bunch, lacking in quality, and pudgy'.

If Thompson requires any more motivation to get his players fired up for this weekend's second leg then that might just do the trick. The Bermuda coach would be the first to concede he did not set his team up to play a gung-ho brand of football.

Against a technically superior side, which Trinidad indeed are, adopting such tactics would have been football suicide.

It might not have been pretty, and at times Bermuda enjoyed more than their fair share of luck defending desperately as a tidal wave of Trinidad attacks crashed against their defensive wall.

Crucially, they expected this onslaught and prepared for it by drawing up a game plan to frustrate their opponenets, suffocate their space, and hit them on the counter-attack via Khano Smith and Damon Ming.

Conversely, Trinidad were forced to ditch their own pre-game plans as early as half-time, switching from a 3-4-3 formation to a more attacking 4-2-4 with the team trailing 2-1.

They even threw gargantuan Swansea City defender Dennis Lawrence into the front line of attack as they reverted to a long-ball game desperately looking to convert their superior possesion into goals.

Such a move was a surefire sign that things had gone seriously wrong for the hosts who had aimed to kill the tie off at the first time of asking.

While Bermuda's backline will earn plenty of plaudits after successfully shackling Trinidad's top two all-time goalscorers, Stern John and Jason Scotland, their three-pronged attack also deserves to be heaped with praise.

While Smith was not as effective as the workaholic Ming, the MLS winger set his team on their way to victory by superbly crafting John Barry Nusum's early-opener.

Effortlessly shifting through his gears of blistering accelaration Smith burnt off his marker before delivering a delicious low-driven cross which Nusum finished from close-range.

Since Smith obviously had the beating of his namesake Kareem, it was frustrating that he remained on the edge of the action sparing the full back from more embarrassement.

On the opposite flank, Ming proved to be a constant menace throughout while Nusum battered and bruised Trinidad's defenders, bagging a brace which saw him leapfrog Shaun Goater as Bermuda's top goalscorer in World Cup qualifiers.

Worryingly, Nussum was removed from the fray late on after tweaking a hamstring, and is now a serious doubt for the second leg.

Meanwhile, Southampton striker John, who missed a glut of gilt-edged goalscoring opportunities, levelled mid-way through the first half, striking a bouncing ball past Timmy Figureido after Khaleem Hyland's through ball had caught the defence too square.

However, Bermuda are made of sterner stuff these days and re-gained their advantage with a goal clouded in controversy. Much to the despair of the Trinidad faithful, the referee waved play-on despite goalkeeper Clayton Ince colliding with Ming.

The Trinidad defenders commited a cardinal sin of not playing to the whistle allowing Ming to play the ball to Nusum on the edge of the area, who calmly stroked home his second and silenced the relentless steel-drum symphony from behind the goal.

The stage is now set for an epic encounter with the National Sports Centre sure to be transformed into a furnace of partisan support, who will be hoping to witness their heroes forge a piece of footballing history.

Once again they will be striving to ram Stern John's pre-game prophecy back down his throat with the Gombey Warriors now truly believeing that 'impossible is nothing'.

n While Bermuda triumphed in Trinidad, the Bermuda Hogges had less joy in America on Saturday, losing 4-1 to the Richmond Kickers.

Lashun Dill scored the only goal of a game that was suspended for an hour due to violent thunderstorms.

n Premier Ewart Brown was quick to congratulate Bermuda's victorious team.

In a statement released yesterday, Brown said: "I am thrilled beyond belief. Something told me that our guys were ready to do something special for their country and themselves.

"Coach Thompson and his staff deserve our admiration and respect.

"They have lifted us back into a position of respect in the football world."