Devonshire Cougars roared into the second round of the FA Cup, eliminating Somerset with a 3-2 victory a Somerset Cricket Club on Tuesday night.

Despite missing several regulars, including player/coach Shawn Smith and veteran forward Phillip Clarke, Cougars showed remarkable resilience in the face of a rampant Trojan attack, clawing their way back from an early two-goal deficit.

Yet Somerset will be kicking themselves for poor finishing in the second half.

As it was, two first-half strikes from the right boot of William (Yuseff) Pitt and a thundering header from the dreadlocked Mark Smith were enough to extinguish any hopes the west enders had of landing the precious piece of shining metal to the club that at one time bore the mantle `Silver City'.

Still, early beginnings saw the home side appearing in a voracious mood, attacking from the time referee Stuart Crockwell blew his whistle to commence play.

Indeed Cougars' goalkeeper Ricardo Brangman was called on to punch away a bending Andrew Rahman free-kick for a corner mere seconds into the affair.

And it was from the resultant set piece that Somerset took the lead, David Burchall ripping one past Brangman from the top of the penalty area after Cougars could only partially clear Curtis Grant's cross.

Cougars returned fire in the seventh minute, as a 30-yard tracer from Pitt hit the underside of the crossbar and bounded outward, allowing Timmy Figuerido to belatedly collect.

At the other end Steval Mendes wasted a chance to double Somerset's advantage, stroking the ball wide of an empty net, but Somerset did manage to increase their advantage in the 21st minute when Brangman completely misjudged another Grant corner and watched in horror as the ball swerved inside the posts.

Duly aroused, and seeing their own chances slipping away, Cougars finally found the range, Pitt applying the finishing touches to a ball laid in from the right by Sherritt Hewey. The corn-rolled striker calmly controlled, swiveled and ultimately unleashed a low drive that found the right corner.

Action continued at a dizzying pace, Pitt notching his second from the penalty spot in the 24th minute, after Galvin Butterfield elbowed Hewey, precipitating both the kick and his own banishment from the game.

Eight minutes from the break Cougars got the lead they would never relinquish and again Pitt was involved, his perfectly flighted cross from the right side finding a streaking Smith, whose powerful header gave Figuerido no chance.

The second half featured Somerset will no less than 90 percent of the possession, but absolutely nothing to show for their domination, as time and again they squandered opportunity.

St. George's 3 Robin Hood 1 It took two tries but finally St. George's got it right, earning a place in the next round of the FA Cup, while eliminating the fairytale dreams of Commercial Division outfit Robin Hood.

In a contest of contrasting styles, St. George's intricate passing game won out over the long-ball tactics utilized by the men from the Hood.

St. George's hit pay-dirt after but five minutes, Kyle Williams following up on his own miss to crash the rebound home past goalkeeper Andrew Jekyll.

Yet if one sensed a rout such thoughts were to be dismissed as Hood quickly regrouped and soon stole the initiative, their persistence paying off a minute from the interval.

A left-wing cross by former top flight player Paul Towlson picked out a flashing Simon Turner at the far post, the latter poking the ball past Khabir Dill to level matters.

The second half began with the sides trading blows, however St. George's landed the knock-out blow 65 minutes on when fine build-up in midfield by Ernest Signour and skipper Marlon Outerbridge served to unearth Gregg Foggo, who, spotting a gap in the defence, unleashed a powerful blast from all of 30 yards that skidded on the wet turf, eluding Jekyll.

Sinclair Gibbons assured the result 10 minutes from time, as a miskick by fullback Robert Jones inside the penalty area left him with the simple task of picking a spot past Jekyll.