John Nusum and Naquita Robinson, Bermuda’s Island Games football coaches, are looking to approach the semi-finals in the same attacking manner they have adopted from the start in Guernsey.

Both Bermuda teams ended the group stages on maximum points and as the men prepare to face Anglesey and the women get set to take on the Isle of Man in the knockout stages at 2.30pm Bermuda time on Thursday, Robinson makes it known that she is already proud of her players .

“To be unbeaten and with no goals conceded is an amazing feat for any team in any competition,’’ Robinson said.

“The girls have been working very hard as a team both offensively and defensively. The semis will be approached in the exact same manner as the group games. We came to win, we are looking to start hard and fast and take the game to our opponents.”

Nusum saluted his players for dealing with the pressure of being one of the favourites and having to play their group fixtures on consecutive days.

“The team has acquitted themselves well from the start of the tournament,’’ Nusum said.

“The games have come thick and fast so a massive part of the group stages was the recovery before the next match. We have faced adversity in going down to an early goal against the run of play and managed to respond well to that.

“We face a team that had the momentum to tie us and we were able to bounce up from that.

“Taking all nine points while facing those types of situations has been part of the developing process and has been huge for this group. We are very proud of the effort and resilience of the team so far and hope to carry that into the knockout phase.

In Anglesey, Bermuda’s under-23 side face a team at the top of their game. Their opponents also had a flawless group stage and because of Nusum is not expecting a stroll in the Guernsey sunshine.

“We are obviously playing a team that has been a threat in their group stages so we have to be very wary of them,’’ Nusum said.

“However, our focus has always been on how we can move the ball and defend at a high level and continue to grow in those spaces. Being proactive instead of reacting to the situations that present themselves.

“We are looking to start the match with the right energy and then try to effectively set the pace we want to play at from there. It’s going to be a tough challenge but luckily we have had two very tough group-stage matches that have prepared us for the challenge.”