AMMANFORD ran out comfortable winners thanks to a Matthew Fisher hat trick against Cymru South high flyers Afan Lido at a sodden Rec on Friday evening (Mar 31) to secure back to back wins in their bid to avoid the drop.
The pitch had passed a 4pm inspection and stirling work from ground staff meant that the pitch was in good condition at kick off.
Ammanford started brightly and moved forward towards the Lido goal with purpose. Jay Thomas was clearly determined to make an impression against his former team and shot narrowly over early on after a good run.
A strong, physical Lido team were restricted to half chances but came close to taking the lead just after the half hour mark when captain Liam Griffiths hit the post with a header.
Ammanford took the lead in the 41st minute when the in form Tom Pratt connected with a Matthew Fisher corner to plant a solid header past Lido keeper Aaron Jones.
Ammanford were then handed a golden opportunity to extend their lead in first half injury time when the referee pointed to the spot when the excellent Jay Thomas was brought down in the area by Jones. Matthew Fisher stepped up to blast the penalty into the net and send the home team into the break in jubilant mood.
Afan Lido came out at the start of the second half determined to get back into the game and halved the deficit just before the hour when Mark Jones picked up a through ball from Daniel Nagle and slotted the ball past home keeper Craig Morris.
This goal galvanised Ammanford and four minutes later Matthew Fisher restored their two goal lead, taking the ball past Jones and calmly slotting the ball into the net from outside the area.
A gritty Lido team would not lie down and got back into the match again in the 66th minute, Liam Griffiths finding himself unmarked from a cross ball and firing past Morris.
Matthew Fisher settled a pulsating contest just four minutes later, hooking the ball home after good work from Jordan Langley to secure his hat trick and set off jubilant scenes in the home stand.
The match was wide open as Lido tried to get back into the game for a third time, this left plenty of opportunity for the home team on the counter attack with Jay Thomas, Callum Thomas and Jordan Langley unlucky not to add to the score, the latter hitting the post.
An important win for Ammanford who will look to move further away from the relegation zone when they entertain Cambrian & Clydach in a rearranged fixture at the Rec on Tuesday evening.
