WOOFFERTON and Fownhope both took full advantage of a rare slip by reigning champions Ewyas Harold to crack the Hereford Times Herefordshire League Premier Division title race wide open.

While the reigning champions were walloped 5-2 at championship outsiders Pegasus, Woofferton clung on for a narrow 3-2 victory at Ross United Services and Fownhope dealt Sutton's title aspirations a severe blow with a comfortable 4-1 home win.

Although Harold lead the table by one point, second-placed Woofferton have a game in hand and Fownhope still have to play both their rivals.

Jamie Rogers notched a hat-trick as Pegasus gained ample revenge for the previous week's dismissal from the Journal Cup with their emphatic win over Ewyas Harold at the Essex Arms.

Rogers cancelled out an early Derek Howells goal after the visitors had dominated the early stages. The young Pegasus team were well in control from this point and, with the aid of a couple of goalkeeping errors, led 3-1 at the break. Mathew Goodall put them in the lead when Jeremy Rolph failed to hold the ball and Rogers benefited from a mix-up in the Harold defence to slot home his second.

Rolph redeemed himself with some fine saves in the second-half, but was left helpless by both Rogers and Goodall as the home team stormed into a 5-1 lead.

Simon Macklin scored a late consolation goal as the visitors pushed forward to salvage some pride.

Woofferton appeared to be coasting to victory at Ross United Services when they sailed into a three-goal lead inside 20 minutes.

The home team struck back and, despite having striker Neil Meek sent off, scored either side of the break to give the title hopefuls a torrid time before they ran out narrow 3-2 winners.

Robert Hicks (2) and Steve Minton were the scorers for Woofferton in the early stages. Meek pulled a goal back before the break and was then dismissed in the early stages of the second half.

The home team pushed Steve Gain forward following Meek's dismissal and he netted a good goal to set up a frenetic finish.

After holding a slender 2-1 lead at the break, Fownhope scored twice in the last 10 minutes to give the final scoreline a more accurate reflection of their domination over visiting Sutton.

The visitors turned in one of their poorest performances of the season and had to thank goalkeeper Chris Appleby for keeping them in with a shout until late in the game.

Fownhope took an early lead when Tim Hargraves broke clear and chipped Appleby.

Paul Challinor levelled the score midway through the half but, with the direct tactics of the home team causing a hesitant defence untold problems, it came as no surprise when Hargraves restored their lead shortly before the interval.

Gary Orman extended the lead when he headed home from a corner with 10 minutes to go, and Ben Corner broke clear five minutes later to complete the scoring with a drive from a tight angle.

Adam Bridges netted a brace of goals as Ross Town responded to a forthright half-time pep talk to dominate the second-half and run out comfortable 3-0 winners in their mid-table derby at Weston.

The home team controlled the first-half and were unlucky not to go in front, especially when they were denied by a superb save from Darren Dobson in the Ross goal.

After the break it was a different story and the Town team took the lead when Guy Brain latched onto a cross from David Knapper to volley home from 18-yards.

With 15 minutes to go, man-of-the-match Bridges extended the lead with a fiercely driven free-kick from fully 20 yards. He completed the scoring when he collected the ball in midfield and let fly from a similar distance.

Westfields picked up valuable points in their fight against relegation when they recorded a narrow 3-2 win over bottom team Lads Club at Rotherwas.

Teenager Jamie Gould was the star for the home team with a hat-trick. Their luckless opponents kept plugging away to keep in contention for a share of the spoils, but in the end were doomed to their 19th defeat of the season.

Centre-back Brian Kendall rescued a valuable point for third-from-bottom Bromyard when he unleashed a fierce 25-yard drive with five minutes to go in a 2-2 away draw at Wellington.

After going close to giving his side the lead straight from the kick-off, Michael Beale put Bromyard ahead after two minutes when he broke clear of the defence and drove home from the edge of the box.

Both sides had chances to score but, after the visitors had gone close to extending the lead with a free-kick which crashed against the cross-bar, it was Wellington who tied the score just before the break. Ian Jordan slotted the ball home after being set up by Mark Hicks.

Jordan scored his second to put Wellington into the lead 10 minutes into the second half when he chased a through ball and fired home. The visitors were not to be denied and deservedly grabbed the late equaliser.