Bermuda bring in the New Year with deserved draw
By Josh Ball (The Royal Gazette)Nahki Wells scored Bermuda's first goal of the New Year as the Under-23s battled their way to a deserved draw against Trinidad & Tobago at the National Sports Centre yesterday.
Wells, whose man-of-the match performance saw him cover more ground than almost any other player on the pitch, struck early in the second half of a game in which neither side ever really settled into any kind of rhythm.
The goal cancelled out Jean Luc Rochford's 16th minute rocket, the highlight of an otherwise tepid affair which was characterised by sloppy passing, niggly fouls, and an uneven physical match-up that exposed Bermuda as just a little too lightweight for this level of football.
That isn't to say that the home side weren't aggressive. They battled hard, more often than not illegally, and Antonio Lowe was a rock at the centre of a defence which was vastly improved from the first game.
Their overall shape was better too, however they were let down on occasion by a lack of movement, and a midfield that, Wells aside, was largely annonymous for the majority of yesterday's game.
"I thought Nakhi Wells can play at a higher level than we saw today," said coach Scott Morton. "He has superior technical ability but must learn what we need from him tactically. His ability is endless.
"Defensively we were better than we were in the first game. We changed things around and I felt Antonio Lowe's pace at the back gave us a bit more balance."
Not that Bermuda had to be at their best because the Soca Warriors' hectic schedule of three games in five days finally caught up with them, and at times they struggled to get out of neutral.
Striker Jamal Clarance played on the fringes of the game for most of the hour that he was on the pitch, and while his replacement Jerrel Britto proved more of a threat, the rather disjointed nature of the Trinidad performance often left him without enough support to be truly effective.
They also allowed the home side's rather robust approach to knock them out of their stride, which given that T&T are both taller and stronger than their Bermuda counterparts is something they should never have allowed to happen.
Even so, having taken the lead through Rochford, who reacted quickest when Nicholas Walker's corner came back of the back post and rifled in a shot from 20 yards out, Trinidad would have been confident of picking up their third win of the tour.
However, several half chances aside, they failed to seriously test Bermuda goalkeeper Daniel Johnson for the rest of the half and were made to pay for it soon after the restart.
Some good work by Devrae Tankard down the left saw him skip past several challenges, glide into the penalty box and play a perfect pass to Wells, who side-footed the ball home from 12 yards out.
Both teams had chances to win the game in the second half. Britto headed straight at Johnson when clean through and Reggie Lambe scuffed a shot he should have done far better with.
In the end though a draw was a fair result, and gives Bermuda a platform on which to build for the rest of the year.
Bermuda: D.Johnson, D.Tankard (R.Purnell, 80), A.Lowe, A.Gibbons, R.Lee (R.Trott, 73), S.Hollis (A.Russell, 65), S.Darrell (S.Brown, 62), R.Lambe, N.Wells (T.Tucker, 81), K.Bean, A.Simmons (A.Grant, 86). Sub not used: T.Bell.
Trinidad & Tobago: A.Marchan, J.Jones (J.Morris, 63), D Cyrus, M.Williams, M.Lewis, M.Joseph (S Campbell, 46), N.Walker, L.Paul, JL Rochford, T.Lougheed, J.Clarance (J.Britto, 57). Booked: Rochford, Britto, Paul.
Referee: A.Francis
Man of the match: N. Wells
Bermuda Under 23’s 1 Trinidad & Tobago Under 23’s 1
islandstats.comThe third and final match of this Trinidad tour of Bermuda got underway with the visitors attacking with the wind at their backs. After some ten minutes neither team has tested the goalkeepers, however some six minutes later Jean Luc Rochford had a shot from some 30 yards fly into the back of the net beating a diving Daniel Johnson. In the 20th minute Johnson got his fingers to tip a drive from Rochford over the crossbar. In the 38th minute Johnson failed to collect a through ball cleanly and Jamal Clarance was able to take control of the ball but Ajani Gibbons was able clear he ball before Clarance could get a shot off.
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Full Bermuda Under 23’s & Trinidad Under 23’s Half Time StatsIn the 51st minute Bermuda equalized, Devraer Tankard beat two Trinidad players to the ball on the half way line and ran into the box and his cross was put away by Nahki Wells. In the 80th minute Trinidad substitute Stephen Campbell had a shot turned over the crossbar by Johnson. A hard fought game came to an end with Trinidad going unbeaten over the three matches, finishing with two wins and one draw.
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Full Bermuda Under 23’s & Trinidad Under 23’s Full Time Stats
