Bermuda will be looking to close out their group C play with a third straight victory today in St Lucia against Aruba in the Concacaf Caribbean Women’s Under-17 qualifiers.

The Lady Gombey Warriors all but wrapped up the top spot with a 5-0 win over Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday night, while Aruba had some controversy in their match against the host nation, walking off the field late in the game before eventually returning and losing by the same scoreline.

Now Bermuda just need a draw against Aruba to clinch the top spot as St Lucia have to record a big win over Antigua and then hope Bermuda lose to edge out Naquita Robinson’s side for first place on goal difference. However, as far as coach Robinson is concerned, the group is already wrapped up in Bermuda’s favour.

“The group has been won by us but we still have a job to complete,” she said yesterday after two goals apiece by LeiLanni Nesbeth and Jaden Masters and one by Nia Christopher gave Bermuda the win. “We will outplay them [Aruba] based on what we observed.”

According to the stluciasportsonline.com website, the Aruba team walked off the pitch with most of the players in tears, with St Lucia leading 2-0. St Lucia were dominating when the coach of Aruba was seen instructing his team to get off the field with ten minutes left in the game.

Aruba had a player down injured and many of her team-mates were displaying a high level of emotion as they headed to the changing room. The report suggested the coach was complaining about the calls on the field as well as injuries to their players. After a ten-minute break, and a “stern threat of disciplinary action to the Aruban team by match officials”, the team returned. St Lucia scored three late goals to complete a 5-0 thrashing.

“The officiating had been questionable and I think Aruba were more frustrated with the lack of calls than the scoreline,” said Robinson, whose team played the earlier game. “We will play technical, good football and be less aggressive. St Lucia and Antigua spend a lot of time playing the player while Aruba attempt to play football, so I think they will look forward to playing us and enjoying the game more. Unfortunately, their players are a bit banged up.”

Despite eight goals scored and two clean sheets, Robinson still sees room for improvement from her team as they now look forward to playing Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica in the next round of qualifying in Haiti before the end of the year, with the Concacaf tournament taking place in Nicaragua next April.

“It’s not a steep hill to climb,” Robinson insists. “The difference between them and us is they finish their chances.

“Our performance [against Antigua] was a fraction better than the St Lucia game. Again, finishing was not as it should have been. We again created plenty of opportunities but didn’t capitalise. The players understand the result was good but not the team performance.

“The good thing is that our goalscorers are scoring the goals. Jaden Masters, LeiLanni Nesbeth, Danni Watson and Koa Goodchild were outstanding. Again, this team is very young and what a bright future they have.

“The coaching staff are happy with the direction in which we are heading. It is still a process.”