The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the Bahamas will be laden with collegiate players, Bermuda will be showcasing a team that is centred around four professional players, including Nahki Wells out of the English club Huddersfield Town, when the two square off in the first leg of their FIFA World Cup Qualifier tonight.

The host Bahamas is ranked at 194 and Bermuda, who will entertain the Bahamas in the second leg of the home-and-away series on Sunday, is ranked at 169 in the game that is scheduled for an 8pm kick-off at the new Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Head coach Dion Godet said although the Bahamas Football Association has just completed its team selection following a mini-training camp, he’s confident that it will be a team that will represent the Bahamas very well.

“We started off kind of rocky, uncertain and very unsure. However, I’m very enthusiastic about the energy as we got closer to the tie,” said Godet, who will be assisted by Harvey Mullings. “Once we got the offshore players in, it has been an exciting camp and I’m pleased with the team we will put on the field.

“So we went from no energy to uncertain to put a good quality match on and I can guarantee you the BFA will win. We have to win at home because we will be losing at least four players because of the oddness of both the beach and the grass international tournaments being held at the same time.”

Lesly St Fleur and Nesly Jean will all play tonight, but when the team leaves Thursday for Bermuda, they will be going in a different direction as they head to El Salvador to play in the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship March 28 to April 4.

“We have to win this first round,” Godet said. “We have to demonstrate that we are lions on this soil. We have to find a way to beat Bermuda, if not by skill, at least by will. That’s it. We can’t settle for anything else but win here. We have to die on the field. That’s how important this match is.”

Godet’s only wish is that he had the team in camp for a much longer period of time, but he still likes what he sees going into the tie.

While St Fleur is basically the only player on the team currently playing professionally, Godet said they still have some experienced players in Hepple, Hall and Jean, whom they rely on heavily. Two other veterans are Connor Sheehan and Dwahyne Whylly.

Out of the 23 players selected, 13 are currently in college. They are Justin Sealey, Christopher Larson, Denair Mitchell, Duane Beneby, Dylan Pritchard, Ian Winder, Isiah Collie, Perry Brooks, Richard Munroe, Terry Delancy, Valin Bodie, Kristoff Wood and Erik Carroll. There are also three players still in high school - Dylan Lightbourne in the United States, Ryan Jones in Jamaica and Christopher Godet at Queen’s College. Also on the team is Ambry Moss.

College of he Bahamas freshman Devaughn Williamson, whose twin brother Donovan will be travelling with the men’s beach soccer team, will be a trainer along with Jaelin and Shawn Williams. The team’s physiotherapists are Sasha Fergudon, Virginia Chan and Bernique Hanna.

Justin Sealey, one of the collegians, said they had a good mini-training camp and he’s excited about the team’s potential tonight.

“We’re a lot younger than we’ve been traditionally, which has a good side and a bad side,” he said. “The bad side is we’re a little bit inexperienced, but we have about 4-5 veterans who should be able to carry us through, so we should be okay.’

Sealey, a 23-year-old senior at the University of Central Florida, encourage the Bahamian public to come out to see an “exciting, new brand of football that you have not traditionally seen in the Bahamas. We traditionally tend to be more direct, but now we are attempting to keep the ball.

“We’re not intimidated by them, even though they have their reputation behind them. We feel we have the team that can match-up with them, so we are looking forward to the challenge. It’s going to be a great game and we are looking forward to the Bahamian public coming out and cheering us on.”

Although their visit here since Sunday as been a low-keyed one, Bermuda’s team manager James Davis said they are here for one mission and that is to win.

“So far, it’s been good for us. For most of them, this is the first time, except for the first coach, to be in the Bahamas and playing here, so it’s good to get out and take in the sights,” he said. “But our training has been going very well. We have a young team, but we have some experience players, led by our captain Nakki Wells, who is getting the team to gel together.

With 24-year-old Wells, who also played for Carlisle United and Bradford City, being joined by three other pro players, Davis said Bermuda will play a fast-paced up tempo game.

“The BFA will be the winner of this game. We’re sticking to that tag line,” he said. “But we are confident that the BFA that will win will be Bermuda.”

With some of their players coming from a colder climate, Davis said they have had to get acclimatised to the hotter weather and they have done that and now it’s just a matter of time before they take to the field to play ball.