by SAM WILKINSON In Colombia

BARBADOS' UNDER-21 SOCCER TEAM bid farewell to the 20th Central American and Caribbean Games last night when they were nipped 3-2 by Honduras in their final round-robin match here in Barranquilla, Colombia.

The defeat leaves Barbados without a point at the bottom of the standings. El Salvador who trounced Barbados 6-0 on Saturday, and Honduras, both of whom have qualified for the quarter-finals, play each other tomorrow night for top position in their Group D.

It was a disappointing result for Barbados who led 2-0 at half-time, with goals in the fourth minute from a header from Jason Goodridge, and a sweeping right-booter in the tenth from Shane Callender.

After that fascinating start, Barbados' energy level fell inexplicably low, and clearly ran out before the final whistle sealed their fate.

Barbados absorbed a lot of pressure for an unyielding 35 minutes in the first session mainly through goalie Kareem Farrell who saved no fewer than half-a-dozen scorching Honduras attempts, five of which he skilfully pushed away for corners. Indeed, were it not for his athleticism and good judgment, Honduras might have trooped off to the interval in a better, or more comfortable position than the 0-2 deficit.

Honduras must have observed Barbados' weakness, and quickly bounced back like hungry lions immediately on resumption.

The game was exactly four minutes old (49th minute) when Ranmon Castillo climaxed an excitingly organised left-side set play that literally spun a web around the Barbados defence for Honduras' first goal. That goal opened the Barbados defensive cracks wider and wider, for Castillo found the nets for his second eight minutes later (53rd). After that Emilio Izaguirre sealed Barbados' fate with a 64th minute winner.

Coach Kenrick Layne said Barbados played far better than on the opening night against El Salvador.

"The boys stuck well to the team plan. No question about that. They began as instructed, played aggressively and counter attacked effectively, and got positive results.

"However, the team was unable to sustain its energetic play, as several of the boys complained of being too tired to run as quickly as they had done in the opening exchanges of the game," he said.