The USA won the beach soccer title last night, beating Mexico 5-0. Photo: Austin Fernander/Tribune staff
#By BRENT STUBBS
#Senior Sports Reporter
#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
#The Bahamas men’s national beach soccer team came so close to booking their ticket to the United Arab Emirates for the 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
#But before a large crowd of spectators on hand at the Malcolm Park beach soccer facility, Mexico left them grounded with a hard-fought, 3-2 victory in the feature game played in the semifinal matches of the CONCACAF Championships on Saturday night.
#Mexico, the four-time CBSC champions who took advantage of a stunning own goal from the Bahamas and another from Edgar Portilla in the first of three periods, prevailed to join the United States on the trip to Dubai.
#The USA avenged their defeat to El Salvador two years ago by dethroning the defending champions with a 5-2 victory in the other semifinal game.
#As the championship came to a close yesterday, defending champions El Salvador nipped the Bahamas 3-2 as Kyle Williams and James Thompson scored for the Bahamas.
#El Salvador got a pair of goals from Jason Urbina and another from Heber Ramos to snatch third place in the team rankings from the Bahamas.
#Thompson said they gave their all right to the end but, like they did the night before against Mexico in their semifinal matchup, they fell short against El Salvador in their finale yesterday.
#“How far we made it was a dream come through,” Thompson said. “It’s just a true testament of how hard we worked as a team, We definitely know what we need to do to get to the next level.
#“We were very close to getting to the World Cup. It’s always a childhood dream. It’s just a shame we let the opportunity slip away, but we know what we have to do for the next one.”
#Despite the loss, it was the best showing ever for the Bahamas in the CONCACAF Beach Soccer competition.
#The USA wrapped up the championship by clinching the title with an impressive 5-0 whitewashing of Mexico. Gabriel Silvera booted in a pair of goals and Nick Perera, Tomas Canale and Ricardo Carvalho added one each.
#It was still a memorable championship for the Bahamas.
#On Saturday, after trailing 2-0 to Mexico, the Bahamas got on the scoreboard, thanks to a goal from goalkeeper Michael Butler to cut the deficit to 2-1 at the end of the second period.
#Wood Julmis came through with the 2-2 equalizer in the third. but Mexico put the icing on the cake as their goalkeeper Gabriel Macias booted in the final goal in the final minute to begin their celebrations.
#It was a painful loss for Team Bahamas, losing it down the stretch, but team captain Gavin Christie lamented it will be one that will propel the team even further in the future.
#“It’s kind of heartbreaking because the team worked so hard for so many months, preparing, training, time off jobs and to be so close,” Christie said. “With 30 seconds to go, we had the momentum in our favor, but unfortunately one silly mistake and the game was over.”
#Christie, however, thanked the Bahamian public for their tremendous support.
#“We heard them, we felt them, so we thank them for all of their support,” he quipped. “We just encourage them to continue to support beach soccer. We have a very good team, We just continue to support the team.”
#At this stage in the game, Christie said the Bahamas no longer go to the tournaments to compete, but to win. Considered one of the top teams in CONCACAF, he said it shows the growth of the sport and they only hope to improve.
#Butler admitted that it was a tough pill to swallow.
#“It was pretty tough. It was a really tough game. Obviously, we didn’t get the results that we wanted, but the team went out there and gave it 100 percent,” he said.
#On scoring the goal for the team, Butler said it was what the doctor prescribed because it was contagious as the Bahamas got another to level the score.
#But he admitted that Mexico’s goalkeeper is considered to be one of the best in the region and the one time the Bahamas “gave him the space,” Butler said Macias “punished us.”
#Renowned Brazilian coach Alexandre Soares, who guided the team through the tournament, said they played a very experienced team, but he was proud of the effort the Bahamas produced against them.
#“The team is amazing. They play with a high quality,” said Soares, who noted that the young players played exceptionally well. “The future is very bright for them,”
#In Friday’s semifinal match after a day’s rest at the completion of the round robin play, the Bahamas clinched its spot in the semifinal with an impressive 4-2 win over Panama in their quarter-final match-up.
#Kyle Williams and Gary Joseph pushed the Bahamas up 2-0 with their pair of goals in the first period. Panama responded with a goal from Nagdiel Del Rosario and Luis Quintero before Williams added another for a 3-2 Bahamas lead at the end of the second.
#The lone goal in the third came from Michael Williams on a goalkeeper’s insurance boot to seal the deal as the Bahamas moved one game closer to getting to the World Cup.
#Unfortunately, they ended up one goal short of beating Mexico in the semifinal clincher and one behind El Salvador to complete the championship in fourth place overall.
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