Captain Andre Applewhaite produced a sublime winner as Barbados kick started their quest for promotion to League B in the Concacaf Nations League with a 3-2 victory over The Bahamas at the Bethlehem Soccer Complex in St Croix on Saturday evening.
Zachary Applewhaite scored his maiden goal for Barbados in the 10th minute but Bahamas levelled three minutes before the interval compliments Brandon Atherley.
Bahamas went ahead after the break as Atherley snatched his second, but two goals in the last 10 minutes of regulation transformed the second-half, meaning that Kent Hall began his tenure as head coach on a winning note, gifting the side its first triumph in 17 months.
Prior to kick-off, Barbados had endured a tough run of fixtures, going winless in eight matches, including two heavy defeats to Dominican Republic.
The last time the Tridents were victorious, it was a 2-1 win over Antigua & Barbuda on March 26, 2023 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St John’s under Portuguese coach Orlando Da Costa.
But the losing streak came to an end Saturday evening in front of a pint-sized crowd of 138 fans.
Speaking during a post match interview, Hall said he was pleased with the result and expects the team to build on the winning performance.
“ This has been so long in coming for this team. We need to take in this one and celebrate. I think the boys really went into the game and dug deep to get the result and I am very proud of them but the job is not over. We have another match on Tuesday and we will go back and prepare for that.
“We have plenty to look at and we know what we need to do going forward. This is a team that didn’t give up on themselves or the Barbados people. I always felt confident that we would prevail even when we went behind. I am happy for the boys, we deserve it,” he added.
The Tridents were off to the perfect start when they took the lead as Zachary Applewhaite curled home from the edge of the box to net his first goal in international football.
Hall’s men, led at the back by the experienced Mario Williams, defended well but soaked pressure by conceding several set pieces and Bahamas eventually equalised as Atherley nodded past Griffith who was making his debut in goal for Barbados.
Atherley then gave Bahamas the advantage in the 66th minute as a lapse in concentration at the back allowed him to go around Griffith for a neat finish.
Griffith, however, was brilliant with a string of crucial saves to keep Barbados in the contest.
And his hard work was rewarded when Ethan Taylor produced a header 10 minutes from time. But Barbados were not satisfied with just a point and went in search of all three as momentum shifted hands early on.
The Tridents went hunting a winner and found it as Andre Applewhaite orchestrated a match-winning strike, bamboozling his marker before curling the ball on his weaker left-foot past Michael Butler to spark wild celebrations.
Barbados currently sit at the top of group A on three points after Bahamas and US Virgin Islands drew in the opening encounter. The Tridents will now shift their attention toward the next match against USVI on Tuesday at 4 p.m. (TF)
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