We’ve had our fair share knocks in our inaugural season in the USL, but I woke up yesterday morning feeling a whole lot more confident about the future prospects of the Bermuda Hogges in this league.

On Wednesday night we took on the Cleveland City Stars — Division Two’s second-best team at present — and dominated them for long periods.

The overall display from the boys, particularly in the first half, was very good indeed and though we didn’t manage to take advantage of the chances we created, the fact that we are now competing strongly against the top teams in this league is a brilliant sign for the future.

It has taken us close to three months to get used to the higher level of play, but over the last few games we’ve really started to see the players assert themselves.

Anybody who turned up on Wednesday night having not watched the Hogges since April would have seen a completely different outfit: we’ve started to win the physical battle in midfield more frequently, our composure on the ball is a lot better, the fluidity of our attacking play has improved and, perhaps most importantly, we are now far less likely to concede sloppy goals early on in games.

There is obviously still a lot of room for improvement. We had about six or seven good chances against Cleveland which if we’re being honest, should really have been put in the back of the net.

But we’ve now reached what I would call the minimum standard required to be competitive in the league and there’s no reason why we cannot go from strength to strength next season.

Wednesday night was also significant in that we welcomed wing-back Kevin Richards into the Hogges ranks. Kevin has been living in England for quite a few years now working for Ace, but is back on the Island full-time and we’re delighted to have him on board. We’re all well aware of his quality.

Having played a lot of football in the UK, he plays a very high tempo game and his effect on the team was obvious even inside the first 15 minutes against Cleveland.

He certainly brought the best out of Damon Ming on the right wing, and I was delighted to see how those two linked up and gave us an attacking option down that flank which we haven’t really had before.

Kevin came off at half-time after picking up a little knock, but we expect him to play a key role for us in the games we have left this year. When a new exciting player joins a club, it is almost inevitable that the players around him respond and that has certainly been the case here. Long may it continue.

Despite Wednesday night’s draw, we are still bottom of the table by a couple of points from the New Hampshire Phantoms and the Cincinnati Kings. We’ve got one more home game remaining — against the Western Mass Pioneers next Tuesday — and we’re desperate to win that one to reward our loyal fans for all their support this season.

That is why I’m seriously considering playing in that last home game, before retreating to the sidelines for the final four games where we’re on the road in the US during August.

As I’ve said, the Bermuda Hogges is about developing local talent and the less Kyle and I can be involved the better. But a win in that last home game is crucial as far as I’m concerned, and if that means I need to play on a one-off basis then I will.

It’s not entirely beyond the realms of possibility either that Kyle and I will both play, but that is something that will be discussed nearer the time.

As it is, the boys have been given until Sunday off to recover from what has been a pretty arduous schedule of matches and travelling over the last couple of weeks.

But we’ll be back in on Sunday working as hard as ever in preparation for the last third of the season. Hopefully we can pick up a couple of wins and get ourselves away from the bottom of the table.