Martinique 2 Bermuda 1

Bermuda’s road to the Concacaf Under-20 Championship got tougher after losing to group F rivals Martinique in the first meeting between the two countries in St Kitts.

Goals from striker Hervinsonn Gervais and Awan Guillaume put Martinique 2-0 up before Bermuda midfielder Riley Robinson scored his second goal of the tournament to throw the Gombey Warriors a much needed lifeline with eight minutes to play.

Martinique goalscorer Harvinsonn Gervais was then sent off after picking up a second booking and Bermuda pressed hard for an equaliser but were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage as their opponents held on to pick up their first win of the tournament after defeat to Jamaica in their opening game

After the final whistle Bermuda coach Cecoy Robinson expressed disappointment over the result.

“It's a hard pill to swallow,” he told The Royal Gazette.

Mistakes cost you and that's what sums up our performance. I don't think we played bad and I don’t think they were better than us, but the team that makes the most mistakes is the one that normally gets punished.

“That happened to be us today. so we have to pick ourselves back up and go again, but it’s not over.”

While disappointed by the outcome of the match, Robinson hailed his team’s never-say-die attitude after falling two goals behind.

“The boys fought hard so credit to them,” he said.

“It’s a matter of how fast we can pick ourselves up and go again because in tournaments you don't get time to sulk and lick your wounds. You just have to get back up, let it go and go again, so we'll look at some things and analyse our game and go from there.”

Harry Twite tasted defeat for the first time as Bermuda captain but is already focusing on the final game against Jamaica on Wednesday .

“Obviously it's going to hurt, but it's football,” he said. “Things happen and you just have to push forward and focus on the next game.”

Twite believed Bermuda could salvage a point from the match after Robinson pulled one back and Martinique were reduced to ten men.

“It was good, it lifted us and it was what we needed,” he said.

“It looked promising. Everyone's heads were high and I thought we would still do it in the last minute, but sometimes things don't go the way that they should and it's just how you react to it.

“As much as it hurts, we have to look to the next game. We still have a game in our group against Jamaica, and we need to be fully focused on that."

Robinson made four changes to the starting XI that edged Grenada 2-1 in Bermuda’s previous outing, with goalkeeper David Martin, defender Nayan Grant, midfielder Daion Swan-DeSilva and striker Gianni Burgess getting the nod.

Martinique dominated the early exchanges as Bermuda packed numbers behind the ball and looked to catch their opponents on the counter-attack.

On two occasions the Gombey Warriors broke quickly but saw promising raids fizzle into nothing as midfielder Aunde Todd’s cross was blocked, while striker Sachiel Ming went for glory when passing was the better option.

Those wasteful possessions came back to haunt when Bermuda goalkeeper Martin allowed Martinique striker Gervais’s seemingly harmless shot from distance to slip through his fingers, with the goal arriving just as Bermuda seemed to be gaining momentum.

Bermuda had the ball in the back of the net moments later but the goal was ruled out for offside, allowing Martinique to cling to their slim lead at the break.

Martin pulled off a brilliant save at the near post early in the second half to make amends for his earlier blunder, but Martinique doubled their lead in the 63rd minute when substitute Awon Guillaume broke from his own half and fired past Martin.

Bermuda battled on and managed to slice the deficit in half when Robinson scored directly from a corner to the astonishment of many around the ground.

In the other match in group F, Jamaica beat Grenada 2-0 and now top the table on six points, three clear of Bermuda and Martinique in second and third respectively. In order for Bermuda to secure the sole qualifying spot they must beat Jamaica in their final group game by at least two goals and hope that Martinique do not win by more against Grenada

SCORERS

Martinique: Gervais 33, Guillaume 63

Bermuda: Robinson 82

TEAMS

Martinique (3-5-2): N Jean- Baptiste 7 – M Varane 7, L Sylvius 7, K Marie- Joseph 7 – N Thine 7 (sub: B Cerefus, 61min 7), M Lixfe 7, E Mata 7 (sub: S Momet, 61 7), F Maville 7 (sub: B Rama, 43 7), W Olivier 7 – L Lamorandiere 7 (sub: A Guillaume, 61min 7), H Gervais 7. Substitutes not used: S Huyghues-Beaufond, Y Frederic, S Amauld, S Ely-Marius, A Joseph-Auguste. Booked: Gervais, Cerefus. Sent off: Gervais.

Bermuda (3-5-2): D Martin 7 – B Morrison 7 (sub: J Burgess, 70 7) H Twite 7, M Mobray 7 – N Grant 7, R Robinson 7, A Todd 7, D Swan- DeSilva 7 (sub: J Roberts, 70 7), H Dill 7 (sub: J Madeiros, 70 7)- S Ming 7 (sub: X DeRoza, 60 7), G Burgess 7 (sub: A Armstrong, 60 7). Substitutes not used: N Swan, J Henderson, J Eve, E Joseph.

Referee: D Gomez (Costa Rica).