Former Scarborough FC man Kyle Lightbourne leads Bermuda to major tournament

Kyle Lightbourne during his time with Boro

Under the watchful eye of coach Lightbourne, Bermuda came from behind to secure an historic 3-1 win over Dominican Republic in their final Concacaf Nations League qualifier at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago.

After falling behind to a fortuitous third-minute strike from Enmy Pena, Bermuda rallied with Zeiko Lewis equalising shortly after, before second-half goals from Nahki Wells and substitute Justin Donawa clinched Bermuda’s place at the Gold Cup for the first time.

The Gold Cup, which will be held from June 15 to July 7 in the United States, is a biennial competition for teams in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Bermuda will come up against the likes of Mexico, hosts USA and Costa Rica in the finals of the competition.

Lightbourne, who played 19 games for Boro in the 1992-93 season, said achieving the feat of qualifying for the Gold Cup was just the beginning of his team’s journey.

“An emotional day for us, the coaching staff and the players, and hats off to everyone that made the trip down to watch the game,” Lightbourne said.

“This is the beginning of a journey for us and we can’t rest on our laurels.

“We will enjoy the moment and we have to move forward now. We have to raise our level because we are going to a new level.”