Bermuda Hogges 1

Ocean City 0

Scott Morton's relieved smile at the end of last night's match said it all.

Bermuda Hogges' coach collapsed into his dugout at BAA Field a happy man at the final whistle after watching his young side claim their first ever Premier Development League (PDL) victory.

Their opponents, Ocean City, finished the game with just nine men, the Hogges only ten, but the only statistic that mattered was Keishen Bean's crisp volley midway through the second period.

It certainly made amends for the glorious one-on-one chance he missed in the first half.

The ball was pinging around the area like a pinball before Bean hit the jackpot, smashing a bouncing ball past City goalkeeper Tude Ogunbiya in the 73rd minute.

City were already a man down by that stage after having Sal Pistone dismissed for a reckless tackle on Damon Ming.

And they found themselves reduced to nine men shortly after Hogges' opener when Terry Gibbs was brandished with his second yellow card by referee Chris Penso for needless backchat.

It was a busy night for Penso who had to reach into his pocket again for his red card to send Ming for an early bath for retaliation in the 80th minute.

The diminutive midfielder was already on a yellow and will now miss the second installment of Hogges' doubleheader against City tomorrow.

City may have been superior in terms of their brute force, but Hogges were pound for pound better than their opponents. Quicker, more fluid and with a few more with tricks up their sleeve, Hogges played some fast, attractive counter-attacking football at times and were good value for their win.

Deployed in an unfamiliar holding role, teenage midfielder Troy Tucker also impressed, providing Hogges with a platform to build from with his short, sharp, passing game.

Sure, City had their moments, especially in the first period, but when they did manage to breach the Hogges backline they were faced by classy 'keeper Freddy Hall, who inspired confidence in his defence throughout.

The one occasion Hall was beaten, by burly striker Bryan Carmichael, the crossbar came to the Hogges' rescue.

In the final few moments Hall's opposite number, Ogunbiya, denied Hogges a second goal with a superb double save from efforts by Quadir Maynard and Nahki Wells.

Not that it mattered. The final whistle blew just seconds later and was met with a triumphant cheer from the home supporters who are starting to make BAA Field feel like home.

Morton admitted he was relieved to get his first PDL victory as Hogges' coach under his belt.

"It was a bit scrappy at times and I was relieved to get the win," he said.

"They went down to nine men and we took advantage of that, which we had to.

"Hopefully winning will become a habit now for us."

He added: "We'll have to do without an influential player like Damon Ming for the next match, but it gives an opportunity to another player and we will make adjustments."

Hogges take on City tomorrow at BAA Field at 6 p.m.

n See live coverage of the game at www.royalgazette.com

Bermuda Hogges: F.Hall, J.Peniston (R.DeShield, 6) J.Bather, M.Waldron, D.Tankard, T.Tucker, D.Ming, K.Bean (S.Darrell, 81), S.Hollis (Q.Maynard, 77), T.Burgess, A.Simmons (N.Wells, 42)

Substitutes not used: T.Bell, R.Lee

Goals: Bean, 73

Red cards: Ming, 80

Yellow cards: Tucker

Ocean City: T.Ogunbiya, A.Hamilton, K.Strunk, W.Swetra (D.Brown, 85), J.Fletcher, T.Gibbs, M.Melchionni (D.Dove, 81) S.Pistone, K.Curran, B.Carmichael (J.Chapman, 81), G.Cranere (R.Pitcher, 77)

Substitues not used: J.McPaul, M.Griffin

Red cards: Pistone, 48 Gibbs 76

Referee: C.Pesto

Man of the match: Hall (Hogges)

n Island Soccer League (ISL) Blue division leaders Knights remained undefeated with their 9-3 win over Apex, while Storm continue to breathe down their necks after their comfortable 9-2 victory over winless Titans.

In last night's first match at the National Sports Centre (NSC), braces from Ian Coke, Vincent Minors jr. and Jamie Smith guided Knights to their convincing win.

Keston Lewis, Robert Richardson, and Aljame Zuill all chipped in with one goal apiece.

Three goals in the dying minutes of the first half gave Knights the breathing space they would need going into the break, and the win was never really in doubt from that point on.

David Outerbridge, Mark Steede, and Wolde Place scored for Apex

Storm also got a convincing win courtesy of a Domico Coddington hat-trick.

Titans took the lead through Anthony Rocker, but that would be the closest they would come to winning the game.

Kwame Steede grabbed a brace while Corey Dowling, Grant McKellar, D'mitri Butterfield, and Kevin Lambe all got their names on the scoresheet with solo strikes.

Kenji Griffith scored the Titans second goal.

Last night's results

Knights 9, Apex 3

Knights goalscorers: Ian Coke(2), Vincent Minors jr.(2),and Jamie Smith(2), Keston Lewis, Robert Richardson, Aljame Zuill

Apex goalscorers: David Outerbridge, Mark Steede, Wolde Place

Storm 9, Titans 2

Storm goalscorers: Domico Coddington(3), Kwame Steede(2),Corey Dowling, Grant McKellar, D'mitri Butterfield, Kevin Lambe

Titans goalscorers: Anthony Rocker, Kenji Griffith

Tomorrow's fixtures

Royal v Arsenal, 2 p.m.

Union v Kings, 4 p.m.

Storm v Apex, 6 p.m.

Titans v Knights, 8 p.m.

Tuesday's fixtures

Royal v Arsenal, 7.30 p.m.

Union v Arsenal, 8.45 p.m.

Thursday's fixtures

Titans v Apex, 7.30 p.m.

Storm v Knights, 8 p.m.