Barbados senior men’s coach Kent Hall says his side must raise its standards “in attitude, intensity and the basics” after a 3–0 defeat to Aruba on Saturday at the Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Aruba struck early through Quilan Poulina in the 4th minute, before second-half goals from Jaybrien Romano in the 64th and Carolith Fermina in the 79th sealed a comfortable win for the hosts. This result closed out the international window for Barbados, which was part of the inaugural 2025/2026 CONCACAF Friendly Series.
Speaking after the match, Hall admitted the result was “very disappointing” and gave full credit to Aruba.
“We made far too many unforced errors in possession. It took us too long to get into a groove and start to actually play, so they dictated play for the vast majority of the game,” the head coach said.
Hall pointed to physical and mental commitment as key shortfalls. “We were too late or too weak in a lot of challenges, and that ultimately cost us,” he said.
“Right now, everyone’s going to be emotional about it, but we have to dust off and really be introspective. There’s no point in dwelling on your failures; you have to learn from them.”
The visitors arrived in good spirits after edging Bonaire 3-2 on Wednesday, but Hall rated Barbados’ overall international window only “a four out of 10”, citing inconsistency in intensity across both fixtures.
Six changes were made from the win as Raheem Agard, Sheran Hoyte, Darian King, Khalil Vanderpool-Nurse, Jayden Goodridge, and Jaron Oughterson made way for Jireh Malcolm, Raquan Clarke, Romario Small, Shamari Harewood, Kevon Lucas, and Rommell
Bynoe at the start of the match against Aruba.
“Maybe I’m harsh, but I have high expectations for us as a nation and for these boys.”
“Although we showed the right kind of attitude and quality to start the game against Bonaire, we have to sustain it. It’s not enough to deliver in moments. We have to maintain the focus and the intensity for the whole window, not just one match. There are too many unforced errors, too many mistakes on the basics. At the top level, it’s not about special moments, it’s about mastering the basics first and being proficient at them consistently,” he said.
National captain Andre Applewhaite echoed those sentiments.
“We started one goal down early in the game, which put us behind. We had to fight back in the second half. We didn’t get the goal that we needed more, and they scored two more off a counter-attack. It was a good piece of skill, so I give them credit for that,” he said.
“The guys were more eager, I would say, in that first game. We went out there with one goal in mind, and that’s to win. We started with a 3-0 lead at half-time (against Bonaire), and the tempo fell off from the guys for a bit. They came out and scored two goals in the second, but we still came away with the victory. Overall, it’s a test to see where we were at. What we need to improve on is our consistency. We won the first game; it’s just to come out and dominate. In every game we play, just dominate.” (JC)
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