Bermuda & Puerto Rico Draw In Concacaf U20
Bermuda’s Under 20 Men’s National team took to the field for the final time in the 2020 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship Qualifying tournament as they matched up against the host Puerto Rico.
Bermuda’s starting line-up included Peter Silvester, Zakiyah Lee, Diego Richardson, Ayleal Dill, Simeon Burrows, Rayquon Woodley-Smith, Samori Greenidge-Saltus, Jalun Hassell, Arnezha Astwood, Seke Spence, Luciano Swan – Substitutes: Jaiden Manders, Malik Joell, Khiari Sharrieff-Hayward, Amir Thomas, Senoj Mitchell, Jenico Sealey, and Z’Dao Dill.
The Bermuda team went into the final game looking for their first points of the tournament, and found themselves down 1 – 0 after only three minutes. Puerto Rico doubled their lead in the 28th minute, but Bermuda pulled a goal back when Luciano Swan converted from the penalty spot, notching his fourth of the competition.
Bermuda salvaged a point when Ayleal Dill scored in the 66th minute; with neither team finding the back of the net again, Bermuda picked up their first point of the tournament with a 2 – 2 draw.
Bermuda U20 head coach Ray Jones said after the game, “Overall, I think we should have done better; we were in every match, but things just didn’t go our way, and with nine players making their international debut, it was an eye opener for some of them.
“In the first game, the second yellow card that resulted in a red card changed the game. Game two saw us give away a goal from a set piece with the last kick of the game, which was again disappointing.
“Then tonight, the players showed guts and determination to come from 2 – 0 down to claw their way back to get a draw; that showed character and hopefully they learn from the experience.”
