HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) – Bermuda left 10-man Barbados rooted to the bottom of the CONCACAF Group B table without a point when they beat them 2-1 in the first of two World Cup qualifiers at the National Sports Centre here yesterday. Barbados, who had failed to score a goal in their previous group matches, stunned Bermuda when they took a fourth-minute lead through Diquan Adamson but were reduced to 10 men in the 25th minute when their goalkeeper, Jason Boxill, was sent off.
Skipper Khano Smith took the resultant penalty and Kwame Steede added a second goal four minutes into the second half to wrap up the points, but Bermuda remained in third place behind Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago and have no chance of progressing.
Bermuda and Barbados will meet again here on Monday night.
The game was one of four early evening fixtures which saw St Vincent and the Grenadines draw 1-1 with Belize in Belmopan, US Virgin Islands beating Curacao 3-0 in Frederiksted and Dominican Republic swamping Cayman Islands 4-0 in San Cristobal.
Strong winds from Tropical Storm Sean, which raced by Bermuda earlier in the day, eased considerably before kick-off and it was the visitors who settled more quickly on the Remembrance Day public holiday.
Adamson beat the offside trap and rifled a shot past Bermuda goalkeeper Mikkail Crockwell, who was replaced at the start of the second half by 16-year-old Dale Eve, who is on the books of English Premier League side Stoke City.
In the 22nd minute Domico Coddington had a header saved by Boxill but three minutes later the game changed as a ball from Andre Manders sent Damon Ming through before he was brought down by Boxill, who was red-carded for the challenge.
Barbados’ substitute goalkeeper Bentley Springer came on as Kyle Gibson was sacrificed but Springer’s first act was to take the ball out of the net as Smith fired home the equaliser from the penalty spot.
Steede put Bermuda ahead in the 49th minute when he headed home a cross from Quadir Maynard, beating Springer to his left.
As Barbados strove for an equaliser Eve dived at the feet of Adamson to deny the striker his second goal.