Curtain closes on Bermuda’s Nations Cup effort with loss against Haiti

Haiti 3-1  Bermuda

Bermuda suffered it’s second Nations League defeat in four days, after falling 3-1 to League B Group B winners Haiti in Dominican Republic last night (Tuesday), bringing an end to the Island’s run in the latest edition of the tournament.

Following what has been a disappointing overall demonstration throughout the competition, the match may also have signalled the end of Kyle Lightbourne’s tenure as head coach.

Bermuda’s team featured several changes from the one that lost to Guyana on Saturday at Flora Duffy Stadium, with several youngsters granted starts in what was a meaningless match for Bermuda, which was already eliminated from Gold Cup contention, just as Haiti had well guaranteed themselves a place in the prestigious competition.

The changes did little to improve Bermuda’s prospects of winning, rather the first half appeared more so as men against boys, with the bigger, faster and stronger home team attacking at will, while dominating every inch of Estadio Panmericano, seizing the lead in short order, when Frantzdy Pierrot scored with a tap-in of a right-wing cross in the 25th minute.

A minute later Haiti doubled the margin, again from the right side, through Jeppe Simonsen, as the entire Bermuda defence and goalkeeper Dale Eve mysteriously stood and watched a low, angled cross into the six-yard box go in.

The best goal of the match came on the stroke of halftime, when Carnejy Antoine created space for himself at the edge of the penalty area to curl a right-foot shot into the top right corner.

Content with the lead and untroubled by a neophyte opposition, Haiti toyed with Bermuda after the interval, electing to put on several dribbling displays and maintain possession, much to the delight of the handful of fans on hand to see the ‘rehersal’.

However a lapse in the 74th minute allowed Duke University student/athlete Jai Bean to score his first senior, international goal, a delicate lob of the keeper from near the penalty spot, after being fed by from Zeiko Lewis.

In all Bermuda ended with four points from six matches for a 1-1-4 (W-D-L) recortd, the only ‘victory’ coming via walkover, when Montserrat elected not to travel to Bermuda for it’s scheduled match, which was declared a forfeit.

Calls for the beleagured Lightbourne to resign or be terminated, that started after last year’s embarrassing 3-2 defeat at the hands of Montserrat, a nation of just 5,000, have only increased since the June 12 debacle and appear likely to reach a crescendo before the team is called back into action.

The Bermuda Football Associations (BFA) technical director Maurice Lowe may also find himself being dragged over the coals as the man in charge of the national programme, including the flag ship senior men.

Many pundits have stated the present as being the time for a skilled foreign coach to be hired for the Bermuda job, which would seem feasible for the BFA, with the governing body believed to be flush with funding, based on its believed receipt of a substantial cash disbursement share from last year’s World Cup.

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