Western Mass Pioneers 2

(Bunsie 14, McFarlane 84)

Bermuda Hogges 1

(Zuill 88)

Careless defending proved costly for Bermuda Hogges who slipped to a narrow defeat against Western Mass Pioneers at the Lusitano Stadium last night.

Pioneers punished Hogges makeshift back-line in either half with goals from Noel Bunsie and Omar McFarlane, before substitute Aljame Zuill struck late on from the penalty spot.

Despite the Hogges being far from their fluid best, they were still well worth a share of the spoils against a Pioneers side, who Kyle Lightbourne, the Hogges' coach, believed were "there for the taking".

"It's very disappointing and we gifted them two sloppy goals," he said.

"They were there for the taking and we were still in it until the very end.

"We huffed and puffed tonight and didn't have the right intensity about us."

The Hogges had a strong penalty claim waved away by referee Vic Matheson when John Barry Nusum appeared to be hauled down, and Lightbourne admitted he was unimpressed by the official's performance.

"I don't like talking about referees but I thought he made a lot of questionable decisions.

"He booked John (Barry Nusum) for diving.

"John was clean through on goal, why would he dive? The referee missed a lot of things out there."

Adopting a counter-attacking method of play, Hogges always seemed capable of opening up Pioneers defence, and carved out the first chance of the game when Ralph Bean forced a parried save from goalkeeper Matt Glaeser.

But it wasn't long before the hosts took control of proceedings with Hogges indebted to veteran goalkeeper Timmy Figuerido who showed superb reflexes with a double save, denying striker Neil Krause from point blank range.

In the absence of battle-hardened bruisers Stevie Astwood and Kofi Dill, Hogges looked a touch brittle against Pioneers, who should have struck again when man-mountain marksman Krause showed nimble feet to beat Michael Parsons and Omar Shakir, but somehow lifted his effort over the bar.

Pioneers then took the lead when explosive winger Noel Bunsie carefully guided a bobbling ball past Timmy Figuerido from the edge of the area.

With compatriot and MLS star Khano Smith watching from the stands, Hogges were still showing moments of invention with Ralph Bean, looking the player most likely to create something special, especially when cutting in from the left-flank.

The second-half saw Hogges start the stronger with Damon Ming trying his luck from long range, while John Barry Nusum wasted a genuine scoring chance, slicing his shot wide after being slid through by Keishen Bean.

Hogges then benefited from a massive stroke of good fortune when Jeff Deren found Krause clear of the defence and he then swerved past the onrushing Figuerido only to then slip with the goal at his mercy.

The local-boy recovered and still got his shot away, under pressure from the Hogges recovering defenders, but saw his stabbed effort bounce back off the bar.

Ralph Bean was continuing to be at the centre of most of the Hogges attacking play and hit a majestic quarterback style pass for Ming to run onto.

However, the little winger carelessly over cooked his right-wing cross with the ball running harmlessly out of play.

At the other end Hogges were still riding their luck with Krause muscling his way through their shaky back-line before striking the post from an acute angle.

The Hogges' bench was then up in arms when their protests for a penalty fell on deaf ears when Nusum appeared to be pulled down on.

Lightbourne's men were looking good value for a point but faced an uphill struggle when Omar McFarlane doubled the Pioneers' lead on 84 minutes.

Substitute Aljame Zuill did at least ensure it was a nervous finish for the hosts when he struck from the penalty spot after Federico Molinari hauled down Lloyd Holder.