Home|Sports|Puerto Rico takes down Bahamas 6-1Sports
Rahming scores lone goal for The Bahamas
Simba FrenchSend an emailSeptember 11, 2023 105 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The Bahamas senior men’s national football team got its 2023-2024 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) Nations League action off on a sour note, as Puerto Rico bested the team 6-1 at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium on Saturday. The match was a part of League B, Group D action.
Head coach for The Bahamas, Nesly Jean said that despite the loss, his players did well.
“They did well in the second half. There were a few mistakes in the first half that we needed to adjust. I think going to the second half we did that. It is a learning experience for the younger guys and the guys who made their debut. We are going to make mistakes but at the same time we must learn from it,” Jean said.
The Bahamas got off to a strong start finding the back of the net in less than two minutes on a Christopher Rahming shot from the top of Puerto Rico’s 18-yard box. It was part of Jean’s plan to hit Puerto Rico on the counterattack early in the game.
The visitors answered back with a goal of their own four minutes later when Gerald Diaz kicked in the equalizer. Puerto Rico scored again on a Ricardo Rivera header inside the box at the 14-minute mark as they took a 2-1 lead. The visitors were not finished yet as Joel Burgos sent the ball past Bahamas’ goalkeeper Vance Wheaton in the 35th minute. Las Boricuas were not done scoring in the first half as Rodolfo Sulia got on the scoresheet in the 42nd minute to make it 4-1.
The Puerto Rico head coach, Husidic Adis said that after The Bahamas scored first, his team began to settle in.
“We started playing Puerto Rico football. The scoreline is a bit funny to me because we were close to having a lot more goals than six. We just implemented a new system, so I am proud of the boys for how they were brave to play it. It was very risky, but this is our identity, and it was fun watching them being brave and playing beautiful football,” Adis said.
The second half was much better from The Bahamas side as the formation was changed. The Bahamas had a lot more opportunities early in that half but did not get any past the Puerto Rican goalkeeper, Joel Serrano. Center back for The Bahamas, William Evans said that they let Puerto Rico come at them too much in the first half.
“We showed what we could do in the second half. We were all over them in the first couple minutes of the second half. We kept the ball; got chances and we need to put those away.”
The Bahamas kept it clean for the majority of the second half, but Burgos scored his second goal in the game in the 86th minute to make it 5-1. Diaz put the icing on the cake with an 89th minute goal to put them up 6-1. Puerto Rico’s captain, Nicolas Cardona said they knew they had a lot of time left after The Bahamas hit them on the chin early.
“We had a lot of minutes to impose our game on them and we were able to do it. We started slower in the second half, and we need to improve on that and we will do that and play better in the next match,” Cardona said.
Bahamians came out and supported their team. Striker, Wood ‘Peter’ Julmis who helped to set up the Bahamas’ lone goal was impressed with the crowd’s support on Saturday.
“I played a few home games before, and I think this is the most fans that I saw since I started playing for the national team. We appreciate them as a team. They came out and backed us even when we were down, they were still cheering and rooting for us. They were the 12th man, and we felt the home support,” Julmis said.
He added that he felt that the team found their identity in the second half and going forward they need to trust themselves more.
The Bahamas heads to Guyana to play Guyana, who took down Antigua and Barbuda 5-1 on Saturday in Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda. That game will be at the National Track and Field Center in Leonora, Guyana. Jean who did not ‘let the cat out the bag’, said that The Bahamas is ready for that away game.
“We will adjust,” Jean said. “Guyana is a different team with a different style of play. We must adjust our identity. We have nothing to lose, and we must take risks and get up the field and by doing that we will get our chances.”
Puerto Rico and Antigua and Barbuda will play on a neutral site at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium on Tuesday at 7.06 p.m.