Here come the girls!

Coach Aaron Denkins says he expects Bermuda’s World Cup qualifying rivals to have special plans for hot-shot striker Aaliyah Nolan.

The island’s Under-17 women fly to Haiti tomorrow for the final round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) World Cup qualifiers.

They must finish top of a tough group that also contains Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic and Grenada in order to advance to the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

Nolan will be well known to Bermuda’s opponents, having scored hat-tricks in the Under-20 qualifiers and the previous round of Under-17 qualifiers. 

The 16-year-old also netted for the women’s team at the home Island Games to kick off a stunning summer.

Denkins said: “She’s an athlete and it shows at all levels. I’m trying to get the rest of the team to understand they are athletes also.

‘Major goalscorer’

“Sometimes when you have a major goalscorer the team seems to focus on one player. 

“She gets the goals from the team but she puts it in the back of the net.

“The rest of the Caribbean has taken note of her also, so I think they are planning for her. We need to get her in different situation, different positions to see if we can give them a different look.”

He added: “I expect the girls to play well. They have been playing well as a unit for a year and a half now. 

“For most of them this is their first ever major tournament and the maturity levels have picked up a lot.

“It’s all about progress, I’m hoping we come out with some positive results.”

Assistant coach Naquita Robinson also coaches the Under-20s and the senior women’s side.

She believes the girls must really show they have the hunger to succeed if they are to progress.

Time to dig deep

“We have a tough group. We had some scouts watching Trinidad’s previous group and they gave us an insight into what to expect.

“My expectations for the girls is for them to be able to compete. 

“I need them to focus and dig deep and play with a lot of heart and to know they can achieve this — but it’s entirely up to them.

“There is an onus of Aaliyah to carry on scoring but as I said to her, she’ll score more if she gives more assists.

“I want the girls to understand, Aaliyah is not the only girl who can score goals on this team.

“I have done some work with them on shooting but Aaliyah loves to score goals and she loves to do the things to get into position to score goals.

“She’s played in three tournaments this summer, the women’s Island Games, the Under-20 qualifier and the Under-17 qualifier, she’s a mainstay and she’s the only player to have scored in all three tournaments in one summer. 

“That’s something she should be very proud of.”