On a dreary morning Ross Juniors welcomed Herefordshire Division 1 North side, Real Toros, to Ross Sports Centre in what turned out to be a tepid first round tie in the Division 1 cup.

Sidelined by injury, Juniors regular captain Will Barker embarked on a 'scouting mission' the night prior to the game, spotting several players out on the town. And boy did it show. Juniors made a sluggish start. Whilst they carved out a couple of early opportunities, most notably Chris Davies hitting a post, they were made to pay when some fairly average defending allowed Toros to make the breakthrough.

The home fans were hoping this might spark Juniors into life, but the players themselves seemed happy to play out the first half in similar fashion, with only a dubious penalty shout to show for their efforts.

The scoreline remained the same as the referee's whistle brought the half to close, much to the relief of the home side.

Some stern words from management finally brought some spark into the Juniors and they came out fighting after the break, looking to return to the flowing football for which they are famed.

Centre back Sam Loftus set the tone with a couple of his trademark crunching tackles. This seemed to inspire his fellow defenders, which included Matt Hall, making his first start for the club in a year after returning from a terrible broken leg. Midfielders Joe Loftus and Matt Davies began to get a grip on the game and Davies was unlucky to see his volley drift just over the bar after a fine move.

A minute later Juniors were level. A Chris Davies' corner created havoc allowing the grazing Tom Burford to nod home from short distance.

Alarmingly, Ross immediately took their foot off the gas and despite looking more solid since the break, gaps opened in their defence to allow Toros to restore their advantage. Stand in keeper Dan Morris once again had no chance, as the Ross defence appealed in vain for offside. The game as a contest was taking shape and it only took five minutes for Ross to regain parity. A scuffed Luke Gray shot from 20 yards wrongfooted the hapless keeper. He could only watch as the ball trickled past him, and barely crossed the line.

Ross began to press for the winner. Andy Francis continued his good form and was unlucky not to find the top corner with a rasping drive.

On the other flank, Harry Hall came into the game and became more of a threat as time went on. The all important winner was not coming though, and the game seemed destined for extra time until J Loftus embarked on one of his mazy runs.

After beating two or three Toros defenders he was tripped in the area – penalty said the ref! C Davies calmly slotted his 20th goal of the season and fourth from the spot to push the home side into the lead with 15 minutes remaining.

Ross still had work to do, and a fantastic covering tackle from the ever reliable Rob McAfee ensured the game finished 3-2, much to the relief of the men in Red and White.

The Eagle Inn man of the match went to veteran Andy Francis with a mature performance. Next week brings a return to league duties, as Ross travel to Hereford King George playing fields, looking to extend their lead at the top of the table.