Team Bahamas fell down four goals to none in the first five minutes in Saturday night's encounter against Senegal, and it was all downhill from there as they dropped their second straight game to start the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 at The Bahamas' National Beach Soccer Arena at Malcolm Park.
The Bahamas lost 10-1, their only goal coming on a penalty shot by Team Captain Gavin Christie at the 4:44 mark of the second stanza. Senegal got that goal right back four minutes later, and then completed the scoring with four goals in the third and final period.
As a result of the loss, coupled with Switzerland's 9-5 win over Ecuador earlier in the day, The Bahamas fell out of contention for a quarter-final spot. The Bahamas will play its final game of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 against Ecuador at 8 p.m. tonight, and the quarter-finals will get underway on Thursday.
"That was just really a bad performance for us -- no focus and no fight," said Team Bahamas Head Coach Alexandre Soares. "We didn't play any defense, and we didn't use our intelligence. In the first four minutes, we were down 4-0. You can't win a match like that. We have to find a way to get motivated and try to win at least one game in the world cup."
In the first minute of the game, Senegalese defender Mamadou Sylla sidestepped Bahamian defender Nesley Jean and pushed one past goalie Julio Jemison to give Senegal a 1-0 lead. About a minute later, a wide open Ibrahima Balde, of Senegal, scored his first of three goals in the match. He took a well placed pass from Babacar Fall and again diverted a shot past Jemison. Less than a minute later, Balde struck again. This time, he found a small opening and bounced one over the head of Bahamian goalie Jemison. Mamour Diagne scored Senegal's fourth goal at the 4:39 mark of the opening stanza. He got the assist from Hamidou Barry and pushed a shot into the top right portion of the goal past Jemison. Lansana Diassy gave Senegal a 5-0 lead as he scored at the 7:59 mark of the first period.
"We came out tonight and allowed Senegal to play their game. There wasn't any ball pressure at all," said Bahamian goalie Jemison who surrendered all 10 goals. "Against Switzerland, we took away their game and let them play to our pace. We didn't do that tonight (Saturday). We gave Senegal too much freedom, and they took advantage of it.
"Defending them was a bit of a struggle because their playing style is a bit unique. They're big and fast, and they move well on the sand. They're one of the few teams that play like that. Their players are world-class, so it was a bit of a struggle for us. We're going to take this game, learn from it, and come back on Monday and play hard. We just have to keep working hard, and we'll get there."
The Bahamas finally got on the scoreboard five minutes into the second stanza on a penalty shot from Christie. Balde got his hat trick, and fourth goal of the tournament, four minutes later, and then two goals each from Papa Ndoye and Hamad Diouf in the third stanza completed the scoring.
"We had a game plan and we didn't execute it. Some silly goals happened out there," said Lesley St. Fleur, The Bahamas' top international goal scorer. "They scored four goals in four minutes. We tried, but they just were on another level. We need to fight more. We lost focus. I tried to lift the team up, but it wasn't happening for us tonight. You have to believe, and we didn't go out there and believe tonight. We have to go out there on Monday and play with pride."
Both The Bahamas and Ecuador come into tonight's match-up winless. Ecuador is ranked at number 21 in the world, and The Bahamas is at number 48.
"We have to go back to the drawing board and start over," said St. Fleur. "I just want to thank the fans for coming out and supporting us. They have been here for us from day one -- they never gave up on us, and we appreciate that."
It was a complete domination by Senegal on Saturday night. They out-shot The Bahamas, 53-43, and controlled the ball 54 percent of the time. They will play Switzerland today for the top spot in Group A, and both teams will advance to the quarter-finals on Thursday. Meanwhile, The Bahamas and Ecuador will play their final match of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) tournament tonight.

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