Bermuda girls under-17 coach Gary Adams has saluted his players for their fearless display against Canada at the Concacaf Women’s Qualifier in the Dominican Republic.

The Bermudians lost 9-0 in their last group F match against the Canadians but put up a fight against the highly rated regional powerhouse, with Adams believing the players picked up some valuable lessons that will help them improve

“I am very proud of the girls and we did the best we could,’’ Adams said.

“It was working to keep Canada out and to make it difficult for them. The girls were organised and they stuck to what we were asking of them. Of course in the second half we asked the girls to leave everything out there and then the last 20 minutes when they scored a flurry of goals, I believe we were just running out of fitness.

“Canada moved the ball well. They were organised, they were clinical and if you give them the space and a chance they will take it. I think the girls were excellent for what they could do, considering Canada’s teamare all 16 years old and in high-performance centres all over Canada. The majority of our girls are 14 and 15 with a few 16-years olds.

“The result withstanding, I think the girls did excellent and I am extremely proud of them. It was a great lesson for them to see the level we need to be at and the focus, fitness and discipline to try to reach the next level. That game will help them develop in the long run.”

“Taya [Rodrigues] had a great game in the sense that the scoreline could have been higher without her. Absolutely proud of her, she kept us in the game a lot more.

Bermuda started their campaign on a bright note with a 4-1 win over Dominica and the loss to Canada saw them fall short in their quest to qualify for next year’s Concacaf Women's Under-17 Championship.

“The tournament was well run, the girls were being prepared, but we just need a little bit more discipline in our game,’’ he said.

“Overall, I think the game against Dominica showed us that we can definitely compete within the region, and we can win. It’s a challenge to these girls, besides the scoreline against Canada, they should look up to the better countries in the region, that’s what we should be aspiring to.

“If we want to take these girls and football in general to the next level, the focus in the training, the discipline has to be there. The Canadian girls train every day and most of them do the gym, physical lifting sessions at least twice a week in their high-performance centres. It’s difficult for Bermuda to match them but that type of effort is what it takes to get to get to the next level.”