League One West Central

Ystalyfera 3 Ammanford 18

Ammanford travelled to Ystalyfera expecting to play in a swamp but were surprised to see a heavy but not unplayable pitch.

The hosts saw a penalty for offside fall short before Rhydian Morris put Ammanford’s first penalty through the posts for an early lead.

Ystalyfera levelled after another offside decision before Morris missed an opportunity to reclaim an Ammanford lead as attacking pressure was repeatedly relieved by the sound of the official’s whistle.

The hosts’ first serious attacked was turned on its head when an interception saw them back-pedalling and a kick-and-chase forced to thwart a try-scoring chance at the expense of a yellow card.

Ammanford sought to make the most of their numerical advantage, but pressure on the home defence was broken by another offside infringement and Vera were able to clear.

Some poor scrum defence by Ammanford saw the home side gallop forward through the mud but the chance went begging when a forward pass halted their advance.

With the first half drawing to an end a driving line was pulled down by the home side and a second yellow was shown.

Vera missed the first penalty of the second half and the close shave appeared to galvanise the visitors who put together a series of drives at the home line before a surprise pick from full-back Joe Morgan saw him power over for the opening try.

Vera came back strongly during a crucial ten minutes in which Ammanford, who lost a man to a yellow, displayed battling defensive qualities and were eventually able to clear their lines.

With the visitors able to get back on the front foot, they created a clear overlap only for an intentional knock-on from the hosts to extend the Ammanford lead to 11-3 and see Vera earn themselves their third yellow card of the day.

Ammanford came back on the attack and break by tighthead Rhodri Jones looked like ending in a second try but the final pass knocked on.

Vera tried to run from their own line, but struggled to get past their own 22 and when Ammanford gained a line out in the corner, indiscipline from the hosts at the catch and drive saw the referee award another penalty try.

Morris added the two and Ammanford were able to play out the final minutes in comfort.