6/26/2009 12:50:00 PM Hogges need penalty taker Four straight misses has club seeking a sure shot
Misfiring Bermuda Hogges have been put through some extra penalty practice this week in a bid to end their spot-kick nightmare.
Kyle Lightbourne's team has now missed five penalties this season as a succession of marksmen have spurned a series of golden opportunities.
Defender Darius Cox smashed his spot-kick against the post in injury-time on Friday as the Hogges went down 2-1 to Crystal Palace Baltimore - their fifth defeat in a row.
Skipper Omar Shakir, Stevie Astwood and Antwan Russell have also missed from 12 yards this season.
The Hogges, who have scored seven times in their opening 12 games of the season, could have almost doubled that number if they had put away their penalties.
Russell was the last Hogges player to convert a spot-kick in the 2-1 win over Harrisburg way back on May 1.
Bewildered Lightbourne said his team had been practicing this week. But he insisted it was not just their dead-ball potency that needed to improve.
"We've been practicing penalties for some time now but we still can't seem to put them away.
"We've tried a few different penalty takers, maybe we just need to pick one and stick with him."
He said he had a designated penalty-taker in mind but refused to reveal who it was.
"If we get another one this weekend and he's on the field then he'll take it. We'll have to see what happens."
But he lamented the dropped points from the penalties that had already gone astray.
"We can't afford to keep letting opportunities like that go to waste. We would be unbeaten at home if we had scored all our penalties. It's something we have to work on - not just penalties but our finishing in general. We've missed some chances that were easier than penalty kicks."
Lightbourne felt his side had the lion's share of the game on Friday against Palace.
But he said the inability to stick the ball in the net was continuing to cost them valuable points.
He added that this week's unexpected deluge - with near-record June rainfall - hadn't dampened spirits in training. "I love to train in those kind of conditions. It's been a little soggy but we've been training hard.
"We really need something from this game on Saturday. "
Western Mass Pioneers, visitors to the National Sports Centre this weekend, currently lie four points above the Hogges having played a game less.
They have also struggled in front of goal having scored just nine times in 11 games.
