Bermuda stun TT U-20s in 3rd place playoff

Beaten in Friday’s semi-final to Antigua/Barbuda, 5-4 in kicks from the penalty mark, TT would have been looking to end the tournament on a high after previously going six matches unbeaten in the CFU qualifiers, including three Group B games in the Final Round without conceding a goal in outfield play.

But midfielder Mikel Thomas punished the dethroned champions with an 87th minute goal to give Bermuda third place honours.

Knory Scott had earlier given Bermuda a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute while St Ann’s Rangers forward Josh Toussaint equalised for TT three minutes into the second half.

TT will join 11 other nations in the CONCACAF Finals in Costa Rica from February 17-March 5.

The other qualified teams include hosts Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico, United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Bermuda, Antigua/ Barbuda, Haiti and CFU fifthplaced team St Kitts/Nevis.

TT forward Nicholas Dillon was ruled out with an ankle injury sustained in the 0-0 draw with Haiti last Wednesday while midfielder Isaiah Hudson returned to Trinidad on Friday.

“It was definitely a most disappointing way to end the tournament.

We came here with the objective of qualifying for the CONCACAF stage which we achieved but I felt we needed to show a bit more urgency after the Haiti game and we did not do that in the end,” said TT coach Brian Williams.

“Complacency stepped in and, after (the) Haiti game, we spoke about trying to avoid that at length.

“I do not think Antigua and Barbuda are a better a team than us and they didn’t play a better match than we did and it was the same against Bermuda. But what I noticed is that we were not hungry to take care of the game in these two matches and that cost us.

It is something that continues to affect us at all levels in regional competitions and I really wanted us to step over that hurdle in this competition but we failed to do that. This is something we have to urgently address with our national teams,” Williams added.

Looking at the immediate future, Williams said, “we’ll have a two-week break and then we will get back to the training field. My coaching staff and I will be opening up the squad again and I will welcome the chance to include any player that I think is disciplined enough and capable enough to represent the country and bring something extra to the squad, that could bolster our chances at the CONCACAF level.”