Naquita Robinson Proud Of Team’s Efforts
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Naquita Robinson, the Bermuda women’s national team coach, said she is proud of her players and believes the best is yet to come despite missing out on reaching the Concacaf W Gold Cup qualifying play-offs.
Bermuda’s hopes of reaching the inaugural regional competition were dashed after they lost 2-0 away to the Dominican Republic on Tuesday [December 5].
Robinson’s side led group C League B by one point heading into the match and required just a draw to progress to the play-offs but conceded in the seventeenth and 87th minutes, with the Dominican Republic advancing as the group winners.
It was Bermuda’s first defeat since losing 1-0 away to the Dominican Republic in the World Cup qualifiers in April 2022 and ended their 11-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.
“It’s disappointing to be that close [to winning the group] and not get the job done,” Robinson told Bernews.
“It was 1-0 for so long, but we just couldn’t find that goal to turn the tie in our favour. The girls played hard and kept going until the final whistle.”
Robinson, who led Bermuda to the gold medal at the NatWest International Island Games in Guernsey last summer, admits her players were devastated after the game but believes they can take plenty of encouragement from their qualifying campaign.
“There were lots of tears and [players] beating themselves up, but I just told them, ‘Feel what you’re feeling now because I know it hurts’,” she said.
“We could hear the Dominican Republic celebrating and the fireworks. We left the stadium as soon as we could. It was devastating, but we haven’t wallowed for too long.
“You can always look back on things you might have done differently, but there’s no point dwelling on what-ifs.
“We’ve had a great campaign and year and have much to be proud of. We punched above our weight and accomplished a lot.”
With most of the squad in their early to mid-20s, Robinson believes the future is bright for the women’s national team programme and said the group will be even stronger when the next W Gold Cup qualifying campaign rolls around next year.
“Our oldest player is 29 and youngest is 17 – it’s a great group to work with,” she added.
“The Island Games served as perfect preparation for this campaign, and hopefully, we can pick up some international friendlies next year to prepare for the next competition.
“This book hasn’t closed; it’s just the beginning.”
