Bermuda Hogges 1Brooklyn Knights 0It was a victory built on desire and determination as much as flair and finesse a surefire sign Bermuda Hogges are no longer the pushovers they used to be.Also evident in Hogges’ win over Brooklyn Knights was an edge, a steely reserve call it what you will; a trait absent from the team’s previous incarnations when they were too often bullied into submission by their more physical opponents.That’s not the case anymore, though.If there was any bullying going on at BAA Field on Saturday night it was being dished out by Maurice Lowe’s new-look Hogges team, who refused to budge an inch and accept anything less than the three points their wholehearted display deserved.Reduced to ten men with five minutes remaining when Roger Lee was sent off for a second bookable offence, Hogges would have drawn this game in the past; an outcome they would have probably been satisfied with.But their benchmark of success has been raised to new heights following their best ever run of results, which has seen them climb to fifth in the table after four wins in seven games.Their skipper Keishen Bean, who bagged his seventh goal of the season against Knights, admitted as much when asked about Hogges’ new-found backbone after the game.“Some people seem to confuse our passion with aggression; we’re a very passionate team. I don’t think there’s ever been a Hogges team with more physicality than this one,” said Bean, whose team picked up six cautions during the game.“This victory was probably the most important of the season. It was a game we knew we were capable of winning but we had to dig deep to do so.”Despite playing in midfield, Bean is only five goals behind the Premier Development League’s top goalscorer, and is confident of closing the gap before the season ends.“That was my seventh goal of the season; I’m very happy with that. I think the leading scorer in the league has 13,” he said. “I’m enjoying playing in midfield and I think it’s my best position. Hopefully I can score a few more in our final two games.”After a goalless and virtually chanceless first half, the breakthrough came on 51 minutes when Antwan Russell’s miscued shot from just inside the box fell invitingly for the goal-hungry Bean.A slight nudge from a Knights defender threw Russell off balance as he prepared to pull the trigger, with the ball squirming away somewhat fortuitously into the path of the onrushing Bean whose first-time strike nestled into the far corner.The Hogges captain had a glorious chance to give his side a two-goal cushion soon after, but blazed over after being released by the increasingly impressive Zeiko Lewis who looks just at home in the centre of park as he does on the wing.Further chances went begging for Hogges with substitute Casey Castle failing to get on the end of a peach of a cross from teenager Lewis, before right back Daniel Andrade found himself in unfamiliar territory after being picked out by Russell, but saw his shot blocked after taking too many touches to steady himself.Perhaps encouraged by Hogges’ inability to kill the game off, Knights threw bodies forward in their hunt for an equaliser and smelled blood when defender Lee who was already on a yellow card for dissent was dismissed for a professional foul.Moments before injury-time the visitors should have pulled level, but they squandered a gilt-edge opportunity when Kyle Schlesinger saw his close range effort superbly saved by Hogges’ second-choice keeper Mikkail Crockwell with a point-blank block.Schlesinger, though, had a second bite of the cherry from the ensuing rebound but this time was thwarted by the crossbar much to the relief of Hogges coach Maurice Lowe who by this stage was prowling the touchline like a scalded cat.“I’d like to dedicate this win to our families and injured players,” said Lowe, after the final whistle. “We’ve done a lot of travelling this season and it can put a strain (on your family life).”Hogges play their penultimate match of the season on Thursday against Central Jersey at BAA Field. Kick off is 7 pm.Bermuda Hogges: M Crockwell, D Andrade, J Bather, R Lee, R DeShields, S Darrell, K Bean, Z Lewis, D Ming (D Cox, 86), A Russell (L Dill, 90), S Smith (C Castle, 75)Substitutes not used: T Bell, W ClemonsGoal: Bean, 51Red card: Lee, 85Yellow cards: Smith, Ming, Andrade, DarrellBrooklyn Knights: T Clarhaut, Z Goose, M Piccoli, B Matthewson (A Thomas, 67), S Colwell, A Marcu (J Hedglin, 55), B Farzan (R Abreu, 82), R Weir, N Mensah, A Maabdi, K SchlesingerSubstitutes not used: R Campbell, A TagliaferriReferee: D DellaviaMan of the match: Andrade (Hogges)