Bermuda Hogges skipper Omar Shakir is confident they can finish with their highest ever number of points by winning their final match of the season at Real Maryland Monarchs.

Should Hogges beat mid-table Monarchs on Saturday night they will have picked up 19 points this term – two more than they managed last season.

Coming off a draw, courtesy of a last gasp Kevin Richards header at the National Sports Centre (NSC), the bottom of the table club will be looking to finish their third season on a high.

"With only one match left I doubt there's any real impact for the rest of the season because we cannot make the play-offs," said Shakir.

"It's always easier to play with no pressure and you could see the boys were more relaxed and allowed themselves to free up a bit (against Charlotte).

"We probably should have won that game but we played well and got a share of the spoils."

Shakir stressed how important it was to show signs of progress, however small, and pointed out that they had beaten some of the USL-D2's top teams such as Richmond Kickers and Harrisburg City Islanders.

And conceding 11 fewer goals than last year season is clear evidence the squad are coming to terms with the rigours of the professional level and could be in the reckoning for a play-off spot in the not too distant future.

"Scoring more points than previous seasons would be a proud achievement," said the Bermuda international.

"It's one of just a few tangible things from this season we can take pride in and shows that we are improving year after year.

"We were also able to beat some teams we had never even taken a point from previously as well as recording our highest tally for points at home. So yeah, it feels good to make some history.

With the season drawing to a close this weekend, Hogges will be without key players for various reasons.

Defender Richards and midfielder Seion Darrell are unavailable due to educational commitments, while Trinidadian Keston Lewis is out with a broken foot sustained against Eagles last weekend.

Not to dwell on the negatives, Shakir said Hogges tended to perform better when under pressure.

"We'll have another bare squad for the last game in Maryland, for various reasons, but strangely enough we tend to do well in those conditions," he said.

"We'll want to finish the season on a good note as well."