Bermuda closed out their group A matches in the Caribbean Football Union Under-14 Challenge Series in Dominican Republic with a 2-0 win over Barbados yesterday, but the result was not enough to secure progress.

The group winners were determined prior to Bermuda’s match, with French Guiana thrashing bottom team Dominica 11-1 on Wednesday and St Vincent & the Grenadines inflicted another big loss on Dominica yesterday, 7-0. However, it wasn’t enough to edge French Guiana on goal difference for the top spot and a place in this weekend’s semi-finals.

French Guiana and St Vincent both finished with nine points from their four matches with the former having a goal difference of eleven and St Vincent eight as the two big losses left winless Dominica bottom of the standings with only one goal scored and 31 conceded.

Bermuda finished in third place, ahead of Barbados on goal difference after both recorded two wins and two losses. They hammered Dominica 9-0 in their opening match.

Yesterday Bermuda forced the game’s first corner after just 35 seconds as they showed their intent early on against Barbados. They created the better chances in the first half, though they did not test the goalkeeper Kailen Payne-Richards in the opening 35-minute half.

Barbados looked more threatening in the second half but it was Bermuda who took the lead in the 51st minute when a surprise own goal was scored by defender Jonathan McFarlane.

Substitute Azende Trott-Smith broke free down the right and eluded a sliding challenge from the goalkeeper outside the box before shooting at an angle towards the open goal. The ball bounced off the far upright and McFarlane, trying to boot it behind for a corner, sliced the ball off the inside of his boot into the open goal.

A well taken second goal by substitute Cairo Tucker in the 60th minute sealed the win for Bermuda, after Tucker turned inside the box and fired his shot past the goalkeeper.