Barbados 1 Bermuda 1

Bermuda squandered an opportunity to stretch their lead at the top of League B group C in Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup qualifying after being held to a draw by Barbados at Wildey Astro Turf Stadium in Bridgetown in last night.

The Lady Gombey Warriors took the lead midway through the first half through a neat finish from striker Aaliyah Nolan.

However, the Bajan Pride equalised two minutes into the second half when defender Adrienne Forde stabbed home during a goalmouth scramble after Bermuda failed to clear their lines from a corner.

Both teams created more opportunities but were denied by some excellent defending and goalkeeping and ultimately had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Bermuda were unfortunate not to have come away with all of the points because Nolan also struck the woodwork early in the first half.

Despite dropping their first points and conceding for the first time in the competition, the Lady Gombey Warriors remain on top of their group by a point over Dominican Republic.

Bermuda started on the front foot and went agonisingly close when Nolan’s right-footed shot from just outside of the box clipped the far post.

Barbados responded with midfielder Ashanee Thompson curling a shot over from 20 yards after Bermuda conceded possession in their own area.

The hosts kept the pressure on but fell behind after Nolan latched on to captain Eva Frazzoni’s defence-splitting pass from midfield and buried her effort.

Bermuda forward Jaden Masters then got behind the Bajan defence but pulled up with cramp as she raced towards goal.

The visitors suffered a setback just before the break when Nolan was injured and had to be replaced.

Barbados applied early pressure at the start of the second half, which paid off when Forde equalised.

Bermuda’s best chance in the second half fell to Masters, whose blast from close range was saved by Barbados goalkeeper Kamillah Burke.

SCORERS

Barbados: Forde 47

Bermuda: Nolan 24

TEAMS

Barbados (4-4-2): K Burke – S Hinds, K Johnson, A Forde, D Watson-James – T Bynoe (sub: M Alleyne, 61min), S Stevenson, A Thompson, R Cyrus (sub: S Als, 83), S Toppin-Herbert (sub: F Jarvis, 78), C Burnett-Griffith (sub: A Small, 46). Substitutes not used: R Holder, B Branker-White, E Atherley, D Whitehall, T Maughn, A Sudatt-Seally, K Catlyn, T White. Booked: Small.

Bermuda (4-1-4-1): Z Turner – J Rempel (sub: K Dill, 61), V Davis, S Fisher, K Goodchild – K Brangman, J Ratteray-Smith (sub: S Lowe-Darrell, 61) T Edwards, E Frazzoni, J Masters – A Nolan (Sub: A Furbert, 42). Substitutes not used: D Brown, M Christian, K Burch, K Nanette, J Samuels-Williams, J Simmons. Booked: Masters, Edwards.

Referee: S Stockman (Costa Rica).