Cincinatti King 2

Bermuda Hogges 3

Bermuda Hogges will be brimming with confidence this evening when they take to the field against Crystal Palace Baltimore following the first away win of their inaugural United Soccer League season on Saturday night.

A brace from franchise player Stephen Astwood and a solitary strike from Jared Peniston — all in the first half on the Astroturf of the Town and Country Club Sports Complex — was enough to hand Kyle Lightbourne’s men their second victory of the summer.

And though they conceded two goals in the final 25 minutes and were put under enormous pressure as their hosts through everything at them in search of an equaliser, the notoriously porous Hogges defence held firm until the referee’s whistle brought merciful relief and the much-needed three points.

The Hogges are still bottom of the USL Division Two table with seven points from 12 games, but are now only three points shy of the New Hampshire Phantoms and the Kings — both of who have played several more games.

Saturday’s result was even more significant because (other than the last 15 minutes when Lightbourne brought himself on) it was achieved largely without the involvement of the coach and striker Shaun Goater, who decided to give the players a chance to prove that they could win without their contribution.

The Hogges’ only other win came on June 25 when they beat the Phantoms 2-0 — with the Goat grabbing both goals.

“The point of the Bermuda Hogges is to develop young Bermudian football talent, so the less Kyle and I can be involved on the pitch itself, the better,” said Goater last night, shortly after arriving back on the Island following over a week away with the squad in the US.

“So to get a win under our belts without me playing and Kyle only coming on for a bit at the end is a terrific result and has given the guys great belief that they can do well in this league on their own.

“The first half on Saturday was flawless — it really was. We controlled the game, didn’t concede early goals like we have been doing all season and what was nice is that our attacking game really worked and we caused them plenty of problems.

“We totally outplayed them in the first half, and for the first 20 minutes of the second half it was more or less the same. Then we conceded against the run of play.

“I think our goalkeeper Nigel (Burgess) would be the first to admit it was a sloppy goal to concede. The shot from one of the Cincinatti players bounced a few times before it got to him, but bounced up a little more than he expected on the Astroturf and he could only parry it and then their striker followed up and bundled it in over the line.

“After that, they went very direct and put is under a lot of pressure. We conceded another one and then had to deal with a bunch of corners. I was biting my nails on the sidelines and shouting myself hoarse.

“But luckily we held on at the end, and to get the win was a tremendous feeling, particularly with it being away from home.

“You can really see the improvements the guys have made since the start of the season and what helped I think was being away together for an extended period of time.

“We got in some excellent training sessions and had an opportunity to watch Cincinnati play before we took them on, which was something we have not had the opportunity to do before.

“So we’re definitely moving in the right direction now. We’ve got two games coming up this week. It’s really amazing what a win can do. The guys are buzzing and really looking forward to picking up some more points.”

The game against Baltimore tonight kicks off at 7.30 p.m. at the National Sports Centre.

The Hogges will then have only one day to recuperate before playing the Cleveland City Stars on Wednesday — the second of three-straight home fixtures.