When play resumed , the home attack were eager to make further headway, whilst for the overnight batsmen - Jaik Mickleburgh and Ravi Bopara - consolidation and rebuilding - were the watchwords but Hogan was again bowling a probing line on or around off stump with the ball, as last night, frequently missing the outside edge. Graham Wagg also beat the bat from the Cathedral Road End before the sequence of five successive maidens ended as Mickleburgh drove the left-arm seamer to the ropes at extra cover, before edging him to third man.
Bopara also drilled Wagg to long-off before Hogan made the first incision - with Essex on 25 - as he had an appeal upheld for leg before against Mickleburgh as the batsman offered no stroke. At this stage, the tall Australian had the exemplary figures of 3/3 from his seven overs, but his analysis took a slight dent as the hitherto steadfast Bopara cover drove him for four. Hogan responded by finding the edge of Bopara's bat but the ball dropped just short of Jim Allenby at first slip.
The former England batsman also edged Jim Allenby just wide of the outstretched hands of Dean Cosker in the gully when the Glamorgan all-rounder replaced Wagg at the Cathedral Road End. Mike Reed also entered the fray at the River End and the first delivery from the graduate of Cardiff University was leg-glanced by a fellow alumni of the city's seat of learning as the four by Pettini brought up the fifty.
Bopara also twice on-drove Reed for three before surviving a loud appeal for leg before against Allenby. Pettini then guided Allenby to backward point to bring up the fifty stand before nearly being caught at second slip as he edged the all-rounder.
86/4 saw Ben Foakes join Bopara and the England Under19 batsman was quickly off the mark as he clipped Hogan to the ropes at square-leg before edging the Australian through the slips for a second boundary. Bopara brought up the hundred with a crisp off-drive for four against Wagg before harpooning him over extra cover. Mike Reed then returned to the attack at the River End with Jim Allenby operating at the Cathedral Road End, with the Essex batsmen scrambling some singles which nearly led to a couple of run outs by Ben Wright and Hogan.
After these near misses, Foakes drove Allenby straight for four before edging Reed through the slip, but there was nothing fortuitous about an off-drive against Allenby which brought up the fifty stand. A flowing cover drive against Reed saw Bopara complete a patient half-century after three and a quarter hours at the crease.
Foakes continued to ride his luck as he inside-edged a drive against Reed before being beaten on the outside edge from the next two deliveries from the tall paceman. Dean Cosker then had a spell at the River End with Bopara greeting the left-arm twirler by on-driving him for four. He then added further boundaries as he guided Allenby through backward point and extra cover.
With Essex on 169 Foakes' luck then ended as he edged Cosker and Allenby completed a good catch diving forward at slip. The Glamorgan all-rounder then had a loud appeal for l.b.w. rejected with Bopara on 74, and next over the Essex batsman punched Cosker through the covers. Shortly before tea, Reed returned to the attack and beat the outside edge of Greg Smith's bat in another waspish spell, which was rewarded with the wicket of the Essex batsman who edged into Mark Wallace's gloves in the penultimate over before the interval.
The two batsmen then tucked into Hogan and Wagg with a series of forcing blows, including a straight drive by Foster which saw Hogan's three overs with the new cherry yield 27 runs - a stark contrast to his previous eighteen which had yielded a mere 25.
Reed duly replaced him at the River End as Glamorgan strove to break the seventh wicket stand before Bopara regally cover drove Wagg for four to bring up the fifty stand. Hogan switched to the River End but Bopara drilled his first ball to the ropes at long-on. But three balls later he struck again as Foster edged to his counterpart as Essex lost their seventh wicket on 273.
Graham Napier then joined Bopara who responded by pulling Hogan for six into the Grandstand as well as savagely cutting Reed for another boundary. Napier also drilled Hogan for three before greeting the return of Wagg by pulling him for four but with the total on 299 Bopara tried to emulate his partner and proceeded to drag the ball onto his stumps having struck 145 from 266 balls.
Tim Phillips then helped Essex secure another batting point before Napier swatted Wagg for four. But on 304 Allenby trapped Phillips l.b.w. Napier then pulled Wagg for a massive six into the River Stand followed by another maximum into the Grandstand against Allenby plus a bottom-edged four to take the lead past 100. The final over of the day saw further lusty swipes by Napier against Wagg as the visitors ended on 343/9.