St Vincent & the Grenadines 0 Bermuda 4

Jya Ratteray-Smith grabbed two goals yesterday to enhance Bermuda’s hopes of qualifying for the Concacaf Gold Cup with a thrashing of St Vincent & the Grenadines.

Handed a starting role in the absence of two-goal hero Jaden Masters from the team that beat Dominican Republic 2-0 four days earlier, Ratteray-Smith capitalised on her opportunity to open the scoring in the fourteenth minute before adding a second six minutes before the break to put her side in control.

Captain Eva Frazzoni added a third in the 78th minute, with Khyla Brangman, in the starting line-up in place of the absent Nia Christopher, wrapping up the scoring late on from the spot as the team made it back-to-back wins in League B group C

Coach Naquita Robinson was pleased to pick up the three points but felt her side was not at their best in the stifling conditions.

“Overall I was happy, but it wasn’t one of our best performances,” Robinson said.

“The heat was a huge factor and if you saw the game you would have seen the St Vincent girls were going hard at 85 minutes but we were pretty gassed. It was very hot, 90 to 95 degrees, which is not something we are accustomed to, but once we settled and controlled the match, we let the ball do the work.

“We knew that they would be aggressive and that they would be coming for us because they were at home and coming off a loss to Barbados, so we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.

“There are worse things than not playing well and winning 4-0. A win is a win and the girls are happy. We go away now and regroup.”

Robinson was also thrilled with the impact made by Ratteray-Smith as she came into the team.

“Jya’s just that player,” Robinson said. “She scores goals. She scored goals at the Island Games. We know what she offers and each match and each tournament that she plays she is getting stronger, getting braver and she wants to score goals.

“I love her directness. From the first whistle, she was just going at the goal. I am very happy for her. She’s come back from a terrible injury and we were not sure what we were going to get from her.

“Being over in the UK has helped her a lot and we were gunning for her hat-trick here, but she got a little knock and we don’t want to risk anyone.

“Barbados are the next two matches and we will be around the same type of physicality that we experienced today so we want to make sure these players get back to their schools fit and healthy so they can continue to play for us.”

As well as the enforced changes of Ratteray-Smith and Brangman, with Masters and Christopher returning to college in the United States, Symira Darrell also replaced Trinae Edwards

After a tentative opening, St Vincent missed a glaring chance to break the deadlock when Raenicia Cuffy saw her effort from the right side of the area bounce off the inside of the far post, with Areka Hooper somehow firing the rebound over from three yards out under no real pressure.

St Vincent were made to pay just three minutes later when Bermuda opened the scoring. A searching ball from the right found its way through to Ratteray-Smith, who managed to beat the onrushing Dominique Benn with a driven strike into the bottom right corner.

Continuing in the ascendancy, Bermuda went close to adding a second in the 20th minute when Aaliyah Nolan brilliantly turned her marker on the edge of the area before firing narrowly over.

Bermuda were rewarded for their prolonged period of dominance in the 39th minute when Ratteray-Smith struck again to double the advantage. Seizing on a loose ball in midfield, the forward burst into the area before rifling a left-foot shot past Benn to send Bermuda into the interval in firm control.

Picking up where they left off, Bermuda almost added a third four minutes after the restart but Benn was at her best to tip Frazzoni’s close-range volley over her bar after good work down the right-hand side by Ashley Tutas.

Frazzoni failed to capitalise on another good opportunity in the 64th minute when thrashing a loose ball over from just inside the area but her persistence finally paid off in the 79th minute.

An incisive flowing move resulted in Frazzoni being released into the area with a defence-splitting pass and she kept her composure to slot the ball past an onrushing Benn.

Having been a relative bystander for much of the match, Bermuda goalkeeper Zakhari Turner was called into action in the 84th minute to denying Hooper.

Bermuda added a fourth from the spot just three minutes later when a good interchange between Frazzoni and Ratteray-Smith saw the former upended, with Brangman taking responsibility and narrowly squeezing the ball under the body of Benn.

To their credit, St Vincent continued to search for a consolation, but Bermuda’s dogged defence stood firm to earn a clean sheet to go along with a deserved three points.

SCORERS

Bermuda: J Ratteray-Smith 14, 39, E Frazzoni 79, K Brangman 86 pen

TEAMS

St Vincent & the Grenadines (4-5-1): A Benn – A Hooper, S Connell, R Nanton (sub: K Warren, 90), M Stowe (sub: S Peters, 80) – K Wyllie (sub: A Anderson, 62), A Browne (sub: J Jackson, 80), A Richards, D Delpeche, A Charles – R Cuffy (sub: A Deplpeche, 62). Substitutes not used: M Marshall, T James, R Hannaway, E Jefferey, D Creese, S Cyrus. Booked: Connell, Browne.

Bermuda (4-3-3): Z Turner – K Goodchild, V Davis, D Watson (sub: F Fisher, 46), T Fubler – E Frazzoni, K Brangman, J Ratteray-Smith (sub: J Smith, 86) – Symira Darrell (sub: T Edwards, 46), A Nolan (sub: K Burch, 79), A Tutas (sub: A Furbert, 63). Substitutes not used: D Brown, Samara Darrell, Jahde Simmons, C Dowling, Jahni Simmons. Booked: Fubler.

Referee: P Perez (Mexico).