A pair of goals and assist from Mark Jones secured Ammanford’s passage into the Southern Section Semi Finals of the Welsh Blood Service League Cup.

Callum Thomas’ smart finish had given the Black and Whites the lead in the opening half before Jones’ brace in the second half ensured that Ammanford dispatched Carmarthen Town who had Jordan Vickers sent off in the second stanza for two bookable offences.

Gruff Harrison rung the changes from last week’s victory against Cwmbran Celtic but the new faces in the starting lineup did little to deter Town’s momentum from that win as they took the lead after just three minutes. Jones, playing against his former charges, played a lovely pass into Thomas who beat the offside trap to give Ammanford the early lead.

After the goal, the hosts played with confidence and carved out three great opportunities to increase their advantage. Jones connected brilliantly with Tristan Jenkins’ cross but it hit the crossbar on its way over before the provider of the delivery created two chances of his own. Firstly, pinching the ball in midfield and firing narrowly followed by a freekick that was well stopped by Lee Idzi.

Undoubtedly, it was the home side who enjoyed the better of the first period but after the break, the Old Gold started strongly and were the better side in the third quarter. They were enjoying large spells of possession and Jack Lansdown had to be alert to produce and excellent stop from Noah Daley which encapsulated Ammanford’s strong defensive display over the course of the 90 minutes.

With Carmarthen in the ascendancy, disaster struck for the visitors. Jordan Vickers, who had been cautioned in the opening period, was given his second card with twenty to play to reduce the Old Gold to ten.

Just three minutes later, Ammanford made the numerical advantage count. A freekick from the right hand side found Jones inside the area. Taking the chance first time, he buried the opportunistic opportunity into the bottom corner of the net.

Four minutes later, Jones ensured his side’s progression in the League Cup. Ellis Williams’ run set up Jones who had the simple ball of slotting the ball home for his second of the evening.

Final score: Ammanford Town 3 – 0 Carmarthen.