HAMILTON, Bermuda, (CMC) – Bermuda’s women clinched a place in next year’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games with a last-gasp winner over Guyana in a round-robin qualifier at the Flora Duffy Stadium on Saturday.

Mallory Towlson broke Guyanese hearts with the Bermuda winner arriving with less than a minute left on the clock, the forward converting from open play after breaking away on a counter-attack, to spur the hosts to a 1-0 win.

Isabel Roe’s long pass pierced the Guyana defence to send Towlson clear with only goalkeeper Alysa Xavier to beat. The forward kept her composure as she rounded Xavier before slotting home.

“We came in with a target of going harder today and I am so proud of the girls,” Kovin Moodley, the Bermuda coach, said.

“You come to a tournament and you obviously want to win every single game, and to be able to achieve that is icing on the cake.”

Bermuda went into the match knowing a win would see them through, having beaten Jamaica 2-1 in their opener on Thursday, and ultimately were equal to the task.

“They realised what was at stake and they had me on edge. I lost my voice and my heart was racing, but this is why we love sport,” Moodley added.

“It was a 0-0 game all the way up until the end and it was that counter-attack goal. Really exciting for us and we are off to the CAC Games.”

Tse Minors, the Bermuda captain, was equally thrilled, saying: “These girls never put their heads down. Our heads always stayed up and we literally fought to the last second, and that’s what happened.”

Bermuda’s men’s team, yet to win a game this week, can also book a ticket to El Salvador, but will need to beat Puerto Rico in Sunday’s final game of the five-day tournament, which sees the three men’s teams playing each other twice and the four women’s teams playing each other once.

Puerto Rico men’s team have drawn all three of their matches so far, including two 1-1 stalemates against leaders Jamaica, who have already booked their spot in next year’s Games.

A 15th-minute field goal by Eddie Fuentos Rios gave Puerto Rico the lead in Saturday’s game, but Jamaica responded with a 45th-minute field goal from Nickoy Stephenson to ensure a share of the spoils.

In Saturday’s first women’s match, Jamaica and Puerto Rico – the two other teams battling for the second spot in next year’s Games after Guyana’s elimination – drew 1-1, Jamaica’s Shareeka Elliott’s 45th-minute strike from a penalty corner cancelling out Josefina Freaney’s field goal on 32 minutes for the Puerto Ricans.