Thursday, November 26, 2009
Home
National
Sports
Business
Lifestyles
Religion
Arts & Culture
Pulse
Spice
Editorial
letters
Opinion
Foodie
Sportscope
Real Talks
Weekend Report
PDF's
Classifieds
Contact
About Us
Archive
Weather
| |
||
|
||
|
||
 |
|
Team Bahamas eliminated in Haiti By KELSIE JOHNSON ~ NG Sports Reporter ~ kelsie@nasguard.com: The two losses for Team Bahamas at the first stage of the Caribbean Football Union's (CFU) Under-17 (U-17) Women's Tournament, has crushed all chances for the national team to advance to the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) U-17 Women's World Cup, in 2010. The Bahamas suffered a crushing 5-0 loss to Haiti on Wednesday and a 2-1 beating to the Cayman Islands on Monday. As a result, the team will play for third or fourth place, on Friday, against the British Virgin Islands at the National Stadium in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Both Haiti and the Cayman Islands have earned six points from their two wins, over The Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. They (Haiti and the Cayman Islands) will battle for the top spot on Friday and a place in stage two. Despite the two losses suffered, Head Coach of Team Bahamas, Vandyke Bethel, applauded the team for making the adjustments on and off the field. Bethel said he saw a huge improvement in the team's game against Haiti. According to the coach, Monday's match against the Cayman Islands was played at a slow pace. He believes that the team played at a higher level against Haiti, quickening up the pace. "I think we performed very well in both games," said Bethel. "The team was asked to do some things in the Haiti game and they did. We tried new things in that game, but they just didn't pay off. The Haitian team was just better around the goal area. We had our chances and we just couldn't put them away. That is something that we will have to fix today (Thursday). "In the first game we lost 2-1, we had two shots at goal, and one goal scored. In the game against Haiti we had three or four shots, but we didn't score any goals. Our goal keeper had about 21 saves and the Haitian team they only had five goals. We just have to be able to play football, where we are scoring. That is something that we are gong to fix today (Thursday)." Bethel is predicting a win for the team and a third place finish. He believes that a win will build on the team's confidence, that they too can play on or above the level of the competition. The team will have a busy schedule next year and Bethel is hoping that this tournament will help them prepare for those competitions. He also wants to keep the team together and build upon what has happened at the CFU U-17 Women's Tournament. He described the tournament as a learning experience for Team Bahamas. "We had a lot of opportunities (at this tournament), and the Cayman game is the game we should have won," said Bethel. "That comes from a lack of experience, players not understanding the game fully, but you live and you learn so on Friday, we are going to keep challenging them. They have to know that they have to play the game every time they step on the field. It is not your fault a team is good or if they are not good. Every time you step on the field you have to play your game. This is something that we are trying to teach them. It is not a matter of if you win or lose, it is about playing hard all the time. The team's estimate is high, they are ready to play and win." The game against the British Virgin Islands is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. today.
Friday November 6, 2009 |
|
|
|