A pair of goals in a 10-second span in the final third spelt doom for The Bahamas boys beach soccer team last night, as they fell to St. Lucia in their opening game of the 6th Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility.
The Bahamas had all the momentum early, dictated the pace for much of the game, but completely unraveled in the final stanza, surrendering three goals to St. Lucia - two from Hakeem Harrow, and the other from Sebastien Ribot. A goal kick from Team Bahamas' goalie Michael Butler ricocheted off Harrow and found itself in the back of the net. Just 10 seconds later, Harrow beat The Bahamas' defender and diverted a shot past Butler. It was all the cushion St. Lucia needed. The held off The Bahamas, 5-2.
"It was a hard fought game for us. We just fell short at the end," said Team Bahamas forward Phieron Wilson. "We made some simple mistakes, but we just have to come out here in the next game and fight harder. It was a battle today. Unfortunately we came up a bit short. We're going to go home, rest up for a bit, and come out stronger tomorrow. I believe in my team and I'm very confident that we will do well in the next game."
Wilson scored both goals for The Bahamas. He gave the country a 1-0 lead in the first stanza with a shot from about 20 feet out. His teammate swung at the ball and missed, and that was enough to distract the goalie from St. Lucia as the ball bounced past him for the first goal of the game. Later in the first, St. Lucia got on the scoreboard. They scored with four seconds remaining in the opening period to even the score at one.
Wilson again put The Bahamas in the second period. He found himself all alone with the St. Lucia goalie, and pushed a shot past him to give The Bahamas a 2-1 lead with 7:25 remaining in the period. Again that lead was short lived, as Ribot scored moments later for St. Lucia to even the score at two. He also scored the go ahead goal in the final period, and St. Lucia never looked back.
Team Bahamas will move on to play Antigua & Barbuda in its next game, tonight at 8 p.m. at the stadium. A win is crucial if the team plans on winning a medal in boys beach soccer action.
The Bahamas girls team also played yesterday, and were completely overwhelmed, losing to Jamaica, 15-2.
"We're a lil disappointed in ourselves, but we know that tomorrow is a new day, and what happened today will only make us stronger for tomorrow," said Team Bahamas striker Hannah Darville. "We're looking forward to the other games. Most of us are new to playing beach soccer, and it was our first international experience. We're looking forward to playing better, and hopefully advancing to the gold medal match."
The girls will play their next game against the Turks and Caicos Islands, at 6:45 p.m. this evening. Like the boys, a win is crucial if they plan on winning a medal.
This is the first time that The Bahamas is playing in beach soccer, in boys and girls action, at this level.
The CYG Bahamas 2017 continues today with seven of the nine sports on the docket. Over 1,000 athletes from 64 countries are competing in the CYG Bahamas 2017.

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