The Tribune

After losing a close encounter in their opening game of the 2021 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean) Beach Soccer Championships, Team Bahamas prevailed with a rout in game two.

Coming off their 3-1 loss on penalty kicks to Guatemala on Monday at the Complejo Deportivo Fedefutbol in Alajuela, Costa Rica, Lesly St Fleur took matters in his hands as he booted in five goals to lead the Bahamas to an impressive 10-2 blowout over the Dominican Republic yesterday.

“It was a good performance, but I think I could have done much better and the team could have performed much better,” St Fleur said. “After the loss yesterday (Monday), we had to come out with the win today (Tuesday) to keep our hopes alive.”

The 32-year-old St Fleur, producing his highest scoring goal total in a game since he made the initial Bahamas Beach Soccer team in 2009, said he had to control the game and play up to par.

“I was more involved with the ball and I was able to get my players to communicate a little more,” he said. “I had to get the team going. I wanted to motivate everybody to go out there and play better than we did the first game and we did.”

Team manager Larry Minns said the performance was overdue.

“The guys really rose to the occasion. I think they were down on themselves yesterday (Monday),” he said. “The real game is tomorrow (today). We need to win to stay in the competition.”

Minns said it was good to see St Fleur carry the team on his back with his five goals, while Timothy Munnings Jr booted in two and Kyle Williams, Wood Julmus and Gary Joseph each added one.

After Daron Beneby mistakenly scored on Team Bahamas’ own goal for a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute, Munnings scored the equaliser five minutes in the second period.

Three minutes later, St Fleur got on the scoreboard with his first goal of the tournament to push Team Bahamas ahead for good. Williams added the third in the 10th minute.

Joseph came through with the fourth in the 12th minute.

St Fleur took over in the third, scoring three consecutive goals in the first, second and fifth minutes.

Julmus followed in the sixth, St Fleur added his fifth in the seventh and Munnings got the final shot in the 11th minute.

“You can’t do anything about a win. When you win, you win,” manager Minns said. “I know they are not resting on this. They are on go power now.”

Although they are playing in some adverse weather conditions in thin wind, Minns said team physiotherapist Eugenia Patton is doing a fantastic job getting the players in tip-top shape.

Team Bahamas, coached by Luiz Escobar, will be back in action today when they take on El Salvador at 3pm.

At the end of the regulation round, the top two teams will advance to the quarterfinals that start on Friday.

“We just have to go out and play Bahamas ball,” St Fleur said. “We feel we have the team that can do it. We just have to stick to our game plan.”

Minns, however, said if they can get past El Salvador, Team Bahamas can go through as the top seed in their pool.

He said it was encouraging to come back from a 3-2 deficit against Guatemala, but it was disheartening to lose 3-2 in penalty kicks.

“We should have beaten them,” he stated.

The tournament, according to Minns, is being played under strict COVID-19 protocol restrictions.

Once they leave their hotel, they are transferred by bus to the venue where they have to practice social distance and wear their masks.

“They take your temperature test, take your bags and allow you to go to the locker room,” he revealed. “In the locker room, we sit on chairs where we have to space out. There is a massage table. “The only time they permit you not to wear your mask is when you are in the game. It was hard for us in the first game coming out of the field breathing hard and you have to put the mask on right away.”

When they arrived, Minns said they had to take PCR tests for COVID-19 and every two days, they were required to take another test. He noted that their latest test was done before they played yesterday.

“There’s a lot of checking, especially here in the hotel where we are staying,” he said. “When we go to dinner, only three persons are allowed to sit at each table. Everything is spaced out. They are very strict.”

Minns, however, said the team has made the necessary adjustments and after losing their first game, they have turned things around and hopefully will continue to play the way they did in game two.

The other players for Team Bahamas are Michael Butler, Gavin Christie, Torin Ferguson, Jean Francois, Evelt Julmis, Evens Julmis and Jaime Thompson.