The recent passing of Anthony Manders makes it three Bermuda under-19 team-mates that youth team captain Dennis Brown has lost in the past two years.

Yesterday was the second anniversary of the passing of Troy Berkeley, Dennis Brown’s team-mate with both Somerset Trojans and Bermuda.

Last June, Reggie Gomes, a former Somerset Trojans goalkeeper, also passed. Today, Brown and the other surviving members of that 1980 Bermuda youth team that competed in the Concacaf Tournament in the United States, will pay their final respects to Manders, who passed away recently at the age of 59.

Manders, Gomes and Berkeley, were members of the Bermuda youth team that reached the Concacaf second round in Washington.

“Today is the second anniversary of Troy’s passing, so it rings home even more as these guys passed before 60,” said Brown, who spoke publicly recently about his own health issues, urging his former players to take their health seriously.

“That was a wake-up call for me, but since going back to the doctor everything is good. I just have to make sure I do what I have to do.

“I advise my mates around my age to take care of our bodies.”

Brown was the captain of the team coached by Winston “Coe” Trott that went down 2-1 to the US that night. Kenny Burt scored the Bermuda goal.

“Porky was the No 1 ’keeper, Reggie the reserve ’keeper and Troy the starting winger,” Brown recalls.

“We won the first round in St Louis before moving on to play in the JFK stadium in DC. That was one of the best national teams I played in, period.

“I was the youngest starter so it was definitely an honour to be chosen as captain.

The starting XI contained six Somerset Trojans players, with Brown and another Trojan, Anthony “Globe” Simons, the two centre backs, and Kevin Grant and Mark Woods the other defenders.

The midfield in a 4-3-3 formation was Andrew Bascome and Somerset pair Robert Goodchild and David Burchall, while Kenny Burt was the striker and Somerset pair Berkeley and Anthony Bailey the wingers.

“That was a very talented squad,” Brown said. “Then you still had guys like [Brian] ”Bulla“ Anderson, Troy Durham and George Smith from Boulevard.

“Porky had safe hands. He was short but made up for it with his organisational skills and his bravery. He was a top-class goalkeeper.

“My prayers go out to his sister, Sheena, who lost her brother and brother-in- law [Gregory Maybury] and Perry Maybury, who also lost his brother and brother-in-law.”

He added: “I extend my condolences to the whole Manders family, the Dandy Town family and all of Porky’s close friends. This is a devastating loss, not just for his family and friends, but also to Bermuda on a whole for what he did in his profession.

“Porky was a beautiful person. I got to know him from young when he was playing for Dandy Town in the youth division and me playing for Somerset in the youth division. Then he was the starting goalkeeper in that 1980 Bermuda team, which got to the quarter-final stage of the Concacaf qualifying.

“We go way back. Then competing against him when he played for Dandy Town’s ’Youth Explosion’. I’ll always remember him as a nice, genuine person who never had anything bad to say about anybody.”

Manders was also the wicketkeeper in the 1979 Bermuda Under-19 cricket team that won the International Youth Tournament under captain Charlie Marshall in Toronto, Canada.