AFTER their 7-0 drubbing at the Riverside Stadium in the first leg of their second round Coca-Cola Cup tie last week, Hereford stemmed the flood of goals to a more reasonable extent in the second leg at Edgar Street.

Nevertheless, the aggregate score of 10-0 to Middlesbrough was by far the overall worst drubbing Hereford have experienced since joining the Football League in 1972.

To the disappointment of United fans, Italian international striker Fabrizio Ravanelli, Boro's four-goal hero of the first leg, was absent. Brazilian stars Juninho and Emerson, and Eire international Curtis Fleming, the latter two having scored at Riverside, also did not appear at Edgar Street. Brazil international Branco, the other first leg marksman, was on parade, however, and he was involved in two of the second leg goals.

Although without his flamboyant stars, Boro manager Bryan Robson did field six internationals. These included Danish striker Mikkel Beck, who was partnered by Jan-Aage Fjortoft, capped 70 times for Norway. It was Beck who raised the aggregate score to 8-0 in the 24th minute when he beat Andy DeBont with an angled drive and then Branco made his mark on the game within six minutes of the re-start.

In the 48th minute DeBont punched away his left-wing corner to Phil Stamp who rifled a 25-yard drive into the bottom of the net. Three minutes later Branco's inswinging corner appeared to have crossed the line before Fjortoft applied the finishing touch with his head.

Robson commented: ''We'll need to see the video to sort that one out.'' Hereford director of football Graham Turner declared Middlesbrough were awesome at Riverside, but he was disappointed with United's performance at Edgar Street. He said: ''I was sorry we could not give our fans something more to shout about and that's why I put on Gary Cook, a third striker, in the second half to try to liven things up.

''But Boro were physically too strong for us and we were often brushed off the ball.''

Hereford: DeBont, Warner, Smith, Brough, Sutton, Hibbard, Downing (Cook 45 min), Stoker, Mahon, Adrian Foster, Hargreaves (Preedy 82 min). Sub not used: Townsend.

Attendance: 4,522.