The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The men’s national soccer team suffered another heartbreaking loss, this time 2-0 to Nicaragua on Friday before the home crowd at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

It was the first of the two home and away matches between the two countries in the 2022-2023 CONCACAF Nations League as the two teams left town on Saturday to play again at 8pm tonight in Nicaragua. It was also Team Bahamas’ third match and second consecutive loss in a two-week span.

“It was a tough one. We held our own for quite a bit. One mistake, give up a goal. We had one or two chances, but we didn’t take advantage of our chances,” said Kevin Davies, who assisted Bahamas’ head coach Nesly Jean. “All in all, I’m very proud of the team. I think we gave it our all.

“We had a couple of injuries that forced us to make some subs, but overall, we lost. We’re not happy that we lost, but I’m still happy with the way we played for the most part. We made some mistakes, but mistakes are a part of the game. Unfortunately, one cost us. The goal at the end was a goal at the end. It was a good goal from them. We were down a name at the time, but overall, it was a tough loss.”

Jaime Moreno booted in the first goal for Nicaragua in the 40th minute in the first half off Bahamas’ starting goalkeeper Julio Jemison. After Jemison got injured in the second half, Oliver Townsend came in as a replacement, but he couldn’t stop Matias Moldskred Belli from reaching the back of the net in the 90th minute to put the icing on the cake in their shutout.

Not only did Team Bahamas lose Jemison, but forward Omari Bain and defender Derrick Ferguson both had to exit the game with injuries, which resulted in the coaching staff going deeper in the line-up from their young squad to complete the game.

“Derrick definitely was a tough loss because it was late in the first half. He was actually having a pretty solid game at the time,” Davies said.

“Of course, losing your starting keeper is significant. Omari, a mid field striker, has good speed, so we lost a little there, but it is what it is. We have to rally and see what we come up with on Monday.” Veteran team captain Lesly St Fleur, who normally plays up front leading the offensive charge, was moved to the backline where he tried to help bolster their defensive attack.

He said the team had its chances to get on the scoreboard, but didn’t.

“We did what we could have done. Everybody put in the work. It’s just that we lost focus in the last two or three minutes of the game,” St Fleur said.

“That’s how they scored the first goal in the first half. We went out of sync. Everybody was somewhere else and they scored.

“The same thing in the second period. It was a tough loss.”

St Fleur said they have to put this game behind them and focus on the task ahead of them when they face Nicaragua tonight.

Davies said although Nicaragua has a lot of confidence going at home, they have to dig deep and come out to fight.

Nicaragua’s assistant coach Andres Rozo said the objective was for the team to get three points and they did that.

“We had more opportunities to score. We should have scored more goals,” he said. “We could have had a better game, but the three points is more important for us to take with us.”

Moldskred, the interpreter for Rozo, said they didn’t have the flow in their, but once they settled down, the opportunities came and he managed to boot in a goal, so he was happy with the way he played for the team.

He noted that both teams have now played three games in two weeks, but today’s game will be a competitive one, but he admitted that they are looking forward to playing much better at home than they did here.

“We have to be aggressive. We know there is no walkover here. Even though we are playing at home, all of the games are tough,” Moldskred said. “So we have to be humble when we work and smart when we play.

With their victory over the Bahamas on Friday, Nicaragua now leads Group B with two wins and a draw against St Vincent and the Grenadines for a total of seven points.

The Bahamas is now third in the standings with a 1-2 win-loss record.