Guyana go into the final fixtures today at the top of the group with four points, Bermuda three, Trinidad & Tobago two and St Lucia one.

They clash with St Lucia in the first game at 13:00 hrs and Bermuda and Trinidad & Tobago face off in the second.

The Guyanese cannot afford to lose; should Bermuda or Trinidad & Tobago win, they will end with six or five points respectively. They also have to avoid a draw.

In the second fixtures of the Caribbean group qualifiers at the National Sports Centre in Bermuda, Guyana survived a tough challenge by Bermuda as goalkeeper Fidel Smith played the match of his life, with the Guyanese putting in an impressive all-round performance.

Technical Director Neider Dos Santos told Chronicle Sport: "It was a tough match. Bermuda played a wonderful game. The first half was equal. The two teams were very strong in marking and there were very few opportunities for both sides.

"In the second half, from 15-20 minutes in, we gave a little space in midfield and were under very hard pressure with a gap between the defence and forward. This gave freedom to the Bermuda midfield. It was very painful. We had to resist too much because they were very close to our goal.

"After two changes when (Shawn) Sobers and (Randy) Small went in to make the right side strong -- that was the side that Bermuda made the most attacks -- we equal the match. We were good in counter-attacking and scored a goal.

"The match was decided by details. Both sides could have won; fortunately it was we.

"We don’t have anything to celebrate yet. We have a hard match against St Lucia. We need to win and not wait to see the result of the second match."

Both sides fought very hard for any ground gained, and the battle went to the last whistle. However, only one card was issued, reflecting a clean game, despite the intensity.

Bermuda surprisingly played right down to the end. In the previous encounter, they were visibly spent after 25 minutes of play, particularly the strikers.

The hosts launched a vicious onslaught on the left wing as they attacked the southern goal, Colin Clarke facing the brunt of the attack. Those attacks that overwhelmed the defence were turned back brilliantly by Smith.

One such occasion was in about 15 minutes of play. Bermuda had a throw in from the left and Keishan Bean sliced the ball close to the near post, but Smith dived for a superb save.

Leon Grumble was businesslike in the midfield with no fancy play, while Dwayne Duke, Quincy Madramootoo and Devon Cormack gave good support in the defence. When Smith blocked the shots to goal, there was always someone to clear the ball.

Perhaps the only weak link was Daniel Fortune who started out well but was the victim of tiredness; that put more pressure on right wingback Clarke.

Naturally, Dwight Peters was tightly marked, but he intelligently drew the play and fed Konata Manning, particularly in the second half.

Bermuda shot to goal seven times in the first half, especially in the first 30 minutes, but Guyana came back and aimed eight good ones as Manning reacted to any opening.

The Guyanese were the first to force a corner, within the first ten minutes, and two others, while Bermuda had one. In the second half, Bermuda had two and Guyana one.

Both sides messed one clear chance each in the first half, and Guyana one in the second half. In the 17th minute during a mix-up of box, Bean latched on to the ball, and with a clear opening, hit the ball high over the crossbar.

Then six minutes from halftime, Shevane Seaforth at centre, found Cormack at left, who sent a nice pass to Manning in front of a clear goal, but the shot went high.

The hosts injected their first set of fresh legs after 30 minutes of play and at the start of the second half. They completed their quota of substitutes some 35 minutes after the resumption.

As Guyana came under more pressure, midfielder Carlos Monkhouse found himself either too far up or dropped too far down, leaving a space. That was when Seaforth came into his own, performing creditably by filling the gap and controlling the left flank.

Seventeen minutes into the half, Dos Santos made his master moves. He introduced Sobers for Favourite on the right wing. After yeoman service, Clarke was deservedly relieved by Randy Small seven minutes later.

And Guyana began making more inroads. Then in the 76th minute, Sobers latched on to a loose ball just outside the edge of the box. He evaded one defender and drew two others, then sent the pass to the left. The ball, however, rebounded off another defender, crossing to Manning just in front of the goal. The captain controlled the ball, and in a masterpiece of matured play, slotted it past the goalkeeper for the winning goal.

It was Guyana’s first good shot in the half, with only one other good one aimed, while Bermuda had five.

But Bermuda still did not give up and continued attacking, making Guyana work overtime for the victory.

Earlier, St Lucia faced Trinidad & Tobago with a 5-3-2 formation to contain the attacks and even launched raids of their own. The boys from the Twin Island Republic also threw away some sitters, while the goalkeeper saved the others superbly.