Bermuda under-14 girls coach Don Vickers was full of praise for his Bermuda side despite seeing them agonisingly miss out on a place in the final of the Caribbean Union Girls’ Challenge Series in Antigua.

The squad’s campaign was finally brought to an end in the semi-finals with a narrow 1-0 defeat against Guadeloupe, who dominated much of the encounter before finally finding the decisive breakthrough in the 66th minute through Lea Pheron.

While obviously disappointed to miss out on a place in the showpiece final, a magnanimous Vickers hailed the endeavours of his squad and believes they will have learnt vital lessons to leave them in good stead for the future.

“It was a really tough game and we did as best as we could to play through the middle, but Guadeloupe were very strong tactically and managed to nullify us,” he said.

“Credit to my players, they defended superbly and held out under a lot of pressure for as long as they could, but in reality the best team won.

“This match in particular was a great test to see what level they are at and what they need to improve on to be at this level internationally.

“They would have learnt a lot because it was a great learning experience for everyone, including us coaches.

“I’m more than content with how the squad performed throughout the tournament. We were not sure how things would go at the beginning, but overall I’m really pleased.

“There’s a lot of reason to be optimistic about the future because there will be more opportunities like this going forward. This is a young squad and they will have a chance to grow together. That is the key thing for the future, these girls will only get stronger.”

Guadeloupe got on the front foot from the outset, forcing Bermuda back into a defensive shape, with goalkeeper Semaj Baisden-Scott called upon on numerous occasions to deny Keliah Joyeux and keep her clean sheet intact.

That theme continued after the interval, with Guadeloupe dominating and Bermuda struggling to string passes together and create clear opportunities. The pressure finally told in the 66th minute when Pheron picked up possession before firing past a helpless Baisden-Scott to open the scoring.

Bermuda responded strongly to the setback, pushing forward in search of an equaliser. However, they were unable to find a way through the dogged Guadeloupe backline, with the opposition holding firm in the closing stages to seal victory.