TWO goals from attacking winger Vurlon Mills saw Guyana go past Bermuda 2-1 when the two countries  met Tuesday evening at the Guyana National Stadium, as action in the CONCACAF Group B World Cup qualifiers continued.
Mills’ goals came in the 50th and 60th minutes while Khano Smith, in the 90th minute, pulled one back for the Bermudans who have now slumped to their second loss in as many matches while Guyana made it their second win and are now atop the group with six points, tied with Trinidad and Tobago, after they had defeated Barbados 2-0 on the same evening in Bridgetown.
The Guyana team had promised the home crowd a better showing after a dismal but victorious performance against the Bajans in their first game. Technical director Jamal Shabazz and captain Chris Nurse in different sections of the local media stated that the players were now getting together and that they had worked on their troubles to perform better against Bermuda.
However, like the common saying goes “words are wind”, the Golden Jaguars seem far from their usual selves and in fact, had played worse than they did against Barbados.
The 2-1 win does not reflect how the game was really played, except that Guyana’s defence was the same – sturdy – while in front, the absence of striker Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson was evidently missed on pitch.
Richardson, due to an injury, did not start and was replaced by Travis ‘Zorro’ Grant; a player known more for his ability to make things happen than in an attacking mid-field role. However, he teamed up with Shawn ‘Bubbly’ Beveney to form Guyana’s main attacking alliance.
Ronson Williams in goal, Nurse, Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard and Walter Moore at the back (defence), along with Dwain Jacobs, Mills, Kayode McKinnon and Chris Bourne rounded off Guyana’s starting 11.
The game started with Bermuda falling back, playing a more defensive game just like they did against Trinidad (according to reports) but nonetheless, 10 minutes into the contest, Pollard nearly sent Guyana into the lead but his header from a corner kick taken by McKinnon just barely hit the crossbar.
Bermuda’s goalie was nowhere in sight when the veteran defender was picked out by perfectly taken kick by McKinnon, and to show his frustration, the 37-year-old slumped to his knees in front of the goal after the deflection was kicked off.
Bermuda basically controlled the pace of the game but the Guyanese would again find another chance at scoring and this time it was Moore whose shot, just like Pollard’s, hit the crossbar.
Bourne, working the wing and attacking the goal in front of the corporate boxes, used his obvious superior speed to get around his opponents and found a pacing Moore in the box for the header.
While he didn’t score, his effort was cheered loudly by the crowd after looking at the distance which he covered to get his head on the ball.
But while the team seemed to be putting in a spirited performance, their striker Beveney seemed not his usual self. The striker who played off of Richardson in the first game and scored Guyana’s first goal of the qualifiers, displayed a game that was not well received by the fans at the National Stadium.
Persons were heard shouting in true Guyana dialect, “Why Shabazz don’t tek dah boy off” and sometimes those calls were made in unison but their calls fell on deaf ears.
The half ended scoreless with the Bermudans barely creating chances on goal and the few that they had were held off, some by the defence but mostly by Williams between the uprights.
American Referee Mark Gieger kept the game tight sharing five yellow cards, two of which were handed to Guyana (Bourne and Jacobs) as the second half resumed with Guyana playing with a bit more purposeful but having fewer chances on goal as compared to the first half.
This was so simple because of the selfish plays by Beveney who decided that he could dribble his way to goal instead of playing with the spaces.
Both teams lacked that presence in the midfield but Mills got an opening ten minutes into play after he worked his way down the right side, this time attacking the goal in front of the media centre and, with a powerful right foot strike, was able to beat Bermuda’s keeper.
While cheers erupted from the spectators, Mills celebrated with two back flips, much to the delight of the crowd. Dejection was printed on the Bermudans’ faces as they spotted the ball in the centre, asking one another what went wrong.
But Mills was not done; the winger showed his hunger and the tempo of the game changed to his fast-playing nature and ten minutes later, he made it 2-0 when Jacobs’ shot on goal was blocked by the keeper but Mills was there to blast home the rebound.
This fuelled a change for the Bermudans who sent off Regie Lambre and John Nusum for Tyrell Burgess and Angelo Simmons. Guyana also made a few changes, finally sending off Beveney and bringing Richardson into the game, along with Eusi Phillips for Grant and the night’s hero (Mills) saw Anthony Benfield come in for him.
Richardson immediately caused trouble early using some fancy footwork, but on the other end, Bermuda stepped up the pace in an attempt to level the score or go for a win. Their big striker and captain Smith hit a well-timed pass at the top of the 18 yards box that went flat and hard to Williams who dived a bit late.
Smith’s 90th minute goal came just when the fourth official Edvin Jurisevic had signalled that four minutes’ stoppage time was left in the game.
On another play, Williams made another save but went down to the ground after holding his left shoulder and the referee was forced to call Guyana’s medical assistant to the pitch.
By the time Williams was cleared and play had resumed, the referee blasted his ‘fox40’ to end the game. Guyana’s celebration was not of the ordinary since they were aware of their performance and for Bermuda, it meant that they will have to win all their remaining matches to stand a chance of making the group.
After the game, Shabazz said that the team showed obvious signs that they needed more time and games together and added that they are still not up to what he knows the team could be.
The Golden Jaguars will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run when they play their return matches against Barbados on October 7 then travel to Bermuda October 11.
A break of one month will be taken and then Guyana would resume with their final and most intriguing match  – clash with the 2006 FIFA World Cup-playing nation Trinidad and Tobago, first clashing on November 11 at the Guyana National Stadium before flying off to the Twin Island Republic for the return leg on November 15.