Doncaster Toll Bar beat Ashton Bears to reach Betfred Challenge Cup second round

Toll Bar trailed 16-6 at half time but scored three second half tries to claim a memorable win in front of a bumper crowd at Prospect Road.

The victory means that the Doncaster club have gone one stage further than last season after falling at the first hurdle at home to the Royal Air Force.

They will now host National Conference Premier outfit West Hull in the second round on Saturday, January 27.

Neither side gained a foothold during the early exchanges but Wigan outfit Ashton opened the scoring on 18 minutes when Rothwell was able to score close to the posts which left Sexton with an easy conversion.

This seemed to unsettle the home side and, from the resulting kick-off, Ashton capitalised again with Rothwell crashing over for an unconverted score.

Toll Bar grew into the game and some sustained pressure led to powerhouse forward Jacob Jones crashing over on 31 minutes. Kieron Lawton added the extras to make it 6-10.

Within three minutes the visitors had restored their 10-point lead with a try from Green promptly converted by Sexton.

Following the restart some slick play by Toll Bar put Luke Cade over in the corner to excite the crowd and raise hopes of a comeback.

Toll Bar were now camped in the opposition’s half and substitute Adam Jones made an immediate impact as he unlocked the Ashton defence and sent captain Jordan King over under the posts, leaving Lawton with an easy two points to level the scores.

The home side took the lead for the first time late in the game when Ben Howe hoisted a huge kick from midfield and Lawton was able to rise above the retreating Ashton defenders and claim the ball with an open field in front of him to touch down under the posts.

Lawton then added the conversion to give Toll Bar a 22-16 lead with around six minutes to go.

Ashton were not giving up without a fight and they went over on the corner in the final seconds when Rothwell completed his hat trick but Sexton was unable to bring the tie level with his kick from the touchline.

A club spokesperson said: “The club would like to thank all those that turned out in support of the team and hope to see them all down again in round two.”