Hogges .......................................1

Crystal Palace Baltimore.............. 2

When referee Sandra Seraphini blew the final whistle at the National Sports Centre (NSC) last night, nearly every member of the visiting Crystal Palace Baltimore squad breathed a collective sigh of relief — and for good reason having barely held off the menacing Hogges.

After having their two-goal cushion sensationally cut in half in the 46th minute by a spectacular Stephen Astwood volley — his third goal in two outings — the visiting Palace quickly realised their trip to paradise would be a bit more than sipping exotic cocktails under the canopy of palm trees as the Hogges made a real fight of it in front of the home fans.

Astwood’s gem of a goal from all of 25 yards gave the home team just the lift needed to get themselves back into contention after falling into arrears during the opening 45 minutes when it was the visitors — theatrics and all — who dictated the play.

Then arrived the moment full-time pro Damon Ming will probably want to quickly forget after Astwood went down in a heap in the box to earn Hogges a chance to level the scores from the penalty spot.

With the injured Astwood hobbling around the team bench clutching his right hamstring and the 400 or so spectators now holding their breath on the edge of their seats in anticipation for what was to come next, Ming saw to it that Astwood’s sacrifice would go in vain as he blasted his spot-kick over the top.

“He had a lot of time to think about it, but it wasn’t to be. He isn’t going to have to take a pay cut or anything like that — although he’ll probably be a little upset for awhile,” commented Hogges’ boss Shaun Goater.

Having flirted with disaster, the visitors knew they had dodged the proverbial bullet and through a combination of good defending, and at times a bit of luck, were able hold out for a hard fought win on the road.

Jamaican striker Gary Brooks, who did everything within his power to irritate the home town fans, netted both of Palace’s goals during a first-half in which the visitors set the tempo and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession while the Hogges played within themselves in the hopes of catching their opponents off guard on the counterattack.

Brooks opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a thunderous volley from above the penalty area after Jared Peniston’s headed clearance fell directly into the striker’s path.

Six-minutes later it was Brooks again, this time slipping through the back door after losing his marker to double the visitor’s lead with a low drive at the back post.

Two-nil down at the break, one might have expected a blowout in the making. But it simply was not to be as coach Kyle Lightbourne’s half-time pep talk worked wonders with the strapping Astwood firing home arguably the best goal of his career to revive local hopes.

With their opponents now on the defensive, Hogges surged forward with renewed confidence in search of an equaliser with Ming now determined as ever to make amends for making a complete hash of things from the penalty spot.

Michael Parsons missed a sitter at the back post as the home team pressed on, and then in quick succession Kwame Steede placed two headers wide of the mark before Lloyd Holder’s rasping shot missed its intended target by inches.

But despite showing tremendous heart and determination, and pushing the opposition to near breaking point, it just wasn’t to be the Hogges’ night out on the town — although Palace coach Pete Medd might have begged to differ.

“Bermuda have a very good team. We dominated the first half and created a lot of chances and then they dominated the second and we were fortunate they only got one,” Medd said. “They came out and got a goal in the first minute of the second and so that gave them life which made things very difficult for us.”

Bermuda Hogges: N.Burgess, O.Shakir, D.Zuill, R.Wilson, M.Parsons (J.Tucker, 68 mins), J.Scott (L.Holder, 72 mins), C.Hill (S.Simmons, 45 mins), J.Peniston, D.Ming, S.Astwood (R.Bean jr, 53 mins), L.Dill (K.Steede, 45 mins).

Crystal Palace Baltimore: B.Rowland, A.Ohura (D.Cappecci, 74 mins), A.Vghuve, A.Marshall, M.Anjos, M.Mbuta, H.Urguijo, S.Harada (R.Fucci, 90 mins), S.Floves, G.Brooks (S.Rush, 85 mins), A.Herman (J.Aleala, 67 mins).

Yellow cards: O.Shakir, S.Simmons (Bermuda); S.Harada, G.Brooks (Palace).

Men of the match: O.Shakir (Bermuda); G.Brooks (Palace).

Referee: S.Seraphini (USA).