The Bahamas senior women’s football national team wrapped up the first two-game window of the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League, on the road to the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Women’s Gold Cup, with a 4-1 loss to Grenada on the road on Sunday. Head coach for The Bahamas, Ricquea Bain, saw some bright spots for The Bahamas in its first two games.
This is the first time in a very long time that The Bahamas fielded a senior women’s team in competitive matches. Bain said she likes how the foundation looks.
“We’ve gained our first two experience points. The team was able to have some great moments against a great team, so we know that we are building a strong foundation for our journey. We’re happy that we were able to score in both games, as Janeka Edey and Demitra McClure were able to score beautiful long-range goals, so we’re excited about our future as a team as we continue on this journey,” Bain said.
Sunday saw The Bahamas tieing the game 1-1 on an Edey goal at the Kirani James Stadium in St. George’s, Grenada. Nia Thompson from Grenada scored the lone goal for them in the first half. However, Grenada’s Melania Fullerton broke that tie with a goal in the 47th minute. Thompson added two more in that second half to complete her hat-trick.
“We started the first half without the first game jitters and more confident that we can stand up and play against a seasoned team like Grenada,” Bain said. “We were able to hold more possession and played better defensively in our second game. We pressed better defensively in Grenada and it led to us improving the scoreline. Unfortunately, we made four key mistakes that led to points on the board for Grenada.”
The Bahamas lost the first game 6-1 at home at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium last week Wednesday. The Bahamas has zero points in League C Group C with a 0-2 win/loss record. Grenada is at the top of the group with a 2-0 record. The US Virgin Islands is the only team in the group that has not played as yet.
Heading into the third game, which will be against the US Virgin Islands on Sunday, October 29 on the road, Bain and her staff are looking to fine-tune some tactical and technical details so they can play strong for 90 minutes. The team has some collegiate players who will be playing in their respective conference playoffs.
“Player availability will be tougher in October because of college conference playoffs, but we will be looking for other players to step up. We’ve received a few calls from players saying they will be available,” Bain said.
The team is enjoying some rest, but will resume training on Monday, October 2.
