BOLSTERED by the return of Mo Touray, Barry Town rolled into the last 16 of the JD Welsh Cup on Friday, but it took extra-time to see off the challenge of second tier Penybont at a sodden Jenner Park.

Six-time winners of the famous trophy, Barry will now tackle fellow JD Welsh Premier League side Cefn Druids in the Fourth Round, with the tie to be played at Jenner Park on the weekend of January 25/26th.

Riding high in Division One of the Welsh League, Penybont enjoyed the pick of the early opportunities in Friday's Third Round encounter, with former Barry live-wire Curtis Hutson seizing on a defensive slip to force a commendable save out of Mike Lewis, before Cullen Kinsella fired a golden chance over the bar.

The hosts meanwhile would soon threaten also, as Lewis Cosslett headed narrowly wide from Macauley Southam-Hales' cross, with the ball barely eluding Kayne McLaggon's outstretched leg at the far post.

It was though somewhat against the run of play when Southam-Hales grabbed the 29th-minute opener, squeezing between two Penybont defenders and planting a low, right-footed effort in the bottom corner.

Within moments, the visitors would pull themselves level, as travelled forward Luke Borrelli intercepted an ill-judged, cross-field pass from centre-back Luke Cooper and dispatched a routine finish past Lewis.

The equaliser set the tone for a keenly-contested hour of football, though its greatest drama would come at the very end, following the introduction of talisman Touray as part of three-pronged Barry substitution.

Collecting from Robbie Patten in the centre of the park, Touray would deliver a measured through ball for Southam-Hales to run onto, only to be clipped by the trailing leg of Penybont midfielder Owain Warlow.

However, the home side's shouts for a stoppage -time penalty would be shrugged off by the officials and the visitors nearly capitalised in devastating fashion, as Kiaran Howard's dangerously-deflected effort on 93 minutes was palmed away by Lewis, when a goal at this stage would have proven a knock-out blow.

Into extra-time, Barry found themselves ahead again, with Touray timing his run to perfection to remain onside, before luring Rhys Wilson out of his goal and setting up Jonathan Hood to tap in at the back post.

Wales U21 starlet Touray then added his own name to the scoresheet, racing onto a flighted pass from substitute Tom Fry and lifting the ball over Wilson into the net, in spite of Penybont protests for offside.

With ten minutes to play, supporters were treated to the rare sight of a fourth Barry Town substitute, with the versatile Louis Gerrard taking the field in wake of the recent amendment to competition rules.

Appropriately, it was Gerrard who had the final word on the evening's proceedings, carrying the ball into the danger zone and converting a fine, left-footed effort to wrap things up at 4-1 in Barry's favour.

Ultimately though, the three-goal cushion would not be entirely reflective of a match that saw Penybont compete well for considerable spells, forcing Barry to dig deep to secure their Fourth Round berth.

Nevertheless, and most importantly for their fervent fanbase, Barry's winning ways continue, with Gavin Chesterfield's team having also notched a credible tally of 23 goals at home in nine outings this season

Continuing their recent run of Friday fixtures, Barry's JD Welsh Premier League campaign resumes on the road this week at Carmarthen Town (14th December), while leaders Connah's Quay Nomads head to nearby Cefn Druids and champions The New Saints travel to fourth-placed Bala Town (all at 7.45pm).

Three points for Barry against the Old Gold would send them top, should Nomads stutter at The Rock, while any win for Bala over TNS would transform the current three-horse race into a four-team affair.

In addition, fifth-placed Aberystwyth Town could be well in the mix themselves come close of play on Friday, should Neville Powell's Seasiders pick up a fifth league victory from six, at home to Caernarfon Town.