Bermuda Hogges team management might have rued their decision not to start with dynamic midfielder Kwame Steede against the visiting Eagles at the National Sports Centre last night.

Steede leapt from the bench midway through the second-half and notched the Hogges' consolation in the 78th minute in heavy traffic after combining with team boss Shaun Goater in the box.

It was a flash of sheer determination which the home team lacked for most of last night's encounter, and a stroke of genius which left many wondering why on earth was Steede was on the bench in the first place.

"We did toy with the idea of starting Kwame. But he's been out (recovering from knee surgery) for several weeks and so we thought it might've been difficult for him to start," Hogges' coach Kyle Lightbourne explained.

From the moment Steede — a firm candidate to walk away with this season's Bermuda Football Association MVP Award strolled onto 'the carpet' his presence was felt in the middle of the park while his late tally perhaps personified the class act that he has evolved into in recent years.

"I thought he came on and showed his class — he is one of those players that can score at any level," Lightbourne added.

The former Coventry City striker again lamented over his team's porous defensive output and felt earlier chances that went begging ultimately came back to haunt.

"We didn't take our opportunities tonight. I thought the teams looked evenly matched but when they scored in the last minute (of the first half) that knocked the wind out of our sails and gave us an uphill climb," he said.

"It was disappointing to lose but it was also a learning curve and so we have to keep going and bounce back for our next game." Hogges travel to Pennsylvania later this week to meet the Harrisburg City Islanders. But they may have to do so without franchise player Stephen Astwood who limped off clutching his left shin in the second-half.

"He got a knock and so we'll have to have a look at him tomorrow to assess things and then go from there," Lightbourne said.

Irrespective of the final scoreline, Hogges 'keeper Timmy Figureido, described afterwards by Eagles' coach Mark Steffens as "one of the best in the league", also made a big impact on the match and could be largely credited for keeping things fairly tidy at the break.

"He was excellent. He came up with some great saves and seems to really read the game well. I think he's one of the best in the league," Steffen said.

The visitor's coach seemed to take victory all in stride, but admitted that his team's finishing left much to be desired.

"I thought we were a bit sluggish actually early in the game and missed some good opportunities — but so did Bermuda," he added. "I thought the first half was a game of missed opportunities but if you can continue to create opportunities then eventually they start to fall in.

"And I thought that once we broke the ice we kind of opened it up a bit."

Lightbourne feels that his defenders will continue to struggle until they can figure out a way how to cope with the long ball.

"These teams don't look to play balls to the feet — they look to play balls in behind and have guys willing to run hard," he added. "We have to get used to teams playing that sort of system against us because I think it really kills our defenders.

"We have to learn how to cut off the supply line in those areas and until we learn that we are always going to be playing catch up."