Robin Hood 1

Dandy Town 2

Confusion surrounds which two teams will qualify from group B of the Dudley Eve Trophy after Dandy Town Hornets defeated Robin Hood 2-1 at Devonshire Recreation Club yesterday.

The result leaves all three teams — Town, Hood and Devonshire Cougars — level on three points with identical goal difference and also the same goals scored and conceded.

Before yesterday’s final match in “the group of death”, the Bermuda Football Association confirmed that there was nothing in the rules governing the competition to deal with such a deadlock.

The executives will now have to make a swift decision on how to break the tie.

Hornets, the defending champions, took the lead they arguably deserved moments before half-time when Angelo Simmons tapped home from close range.

Kyle Lightbourne, the Hood coach, read his players the riot act during the interval but his words looked to have fallen on deaf ears when his side conceded again in the 48th minute.

Oneko Lowe, the teenage Hornets midfielder, burst into the box unchallenged by the flat-footed Hood defence before firing past goalkeeper Jason Simmons.

Hood reduced the deficit almost immediately when Antwan Russell’s thunderbolt free kick nestled into the top corner to leave all the three teams in the group with identical records. Russell also had a header cleared off the line by Kwonde Lathan, the Hornets defender, mid-way through the second half.

Both sides had enough chances to spare the BFA the headache it now faces, with Angelo Simmons forcing Jason Simmons to save with his feet while at the other end Russell had a strong penalty claim turned away after he appeared to have been brought down by Mikkail Crockwell, the Hornets goalkeeper.

Hood had another penalty turned away when substitute forward Muhamed Brajanovic was shoved in the back in the final minutes as referee Antoine Augustus adjudged that the foul was committed outside the area.

Jomar Wilkinson, the Hornets coach, said he was eagerly awaiting the BFA’s decision on how to resolve the tied group.

“I wonder what the BFA is going to do now,” Wilkinson said. “I imagine they will have to draw out of a cup or something.

“It’s been a competitive group and unfortunately we couldn’t win it. It was a competitive game and I felt we definitely could have won by a bigger margin.”

Kyle Lightbourne said he believed his side had been on the wrong end of a couple of refereeing decisions.

“I thought we kept them at arms length for long periods but conceded two goals at particularly bad times,” Lightbourne said.

“I thought we were unfortunate not to get at least one penalty today. I thought Antwan’s was a clear-cut.”

Lightbourne added: “I’ve no idea what the BFA will do now as we all have the same points. It’s like the group of death!”