CROSS Keys deservedly booked a lucrative Konica Minolta Cup fifth-round home tie with Gwent neighbours and Welsh Premier Division leaders Newport with this exciting, hard-fought win at Pandy Park on Saturday.

Entrance to the stand will be by ticket only, with Newport getting 200 of the 650 on offer, and with Keys expecting a minimum crowd of around 3,000.

"It's the tie we wanted and we're looking forward to giving Newport a warm welcome," said Keys chairman Colin Vernall.

"It will be a tremendous atmosphere," said Keys coach David Rees, "and with both sides pledged to play expansive rugby, should be an exciting day for Gwent rugby."

It will be particularly exciting for Rees himself, a former Newport player who has reached two cup semi-finals, with Newbridge as a player and Keys, in 1999, as a coach.

He would love to make it to a final one day, and with the new set-up in Welsh rugby, could easily achieve that with a Keys side who are improving all the time.

An unlucky injury-time defeat by a point at Pontypridd is their only loss in their last six games, and Rees always claimed his side would be better in the second half of the season.

The Carmarthen tie was always likely to be tight, Rees' prediction that there would be just one score in it proving exactly right.

But Keys always had the edge against their higher-placed Premier opponents, never surrendering the lead, a robust defence restricting their strong running rivals to just one try while they themselves grabbed three.

In fact, it was that defence and Keys' ability to take their opportunities that ultimately proved the difference between two evenly matched sides.

The forward battle was really close, with parity at the scrums and lineout and in the loose.

Flanker Ben Watkins was again a tower of strength for Keys with his tackling, ball-winning and support play, while Ian Evans was the pick of a hard-grafting front five.

Behind, Keys had no replacement scrum-half as Tom Walsh was cup-tied.

This meant James Ireland had to stay on the field despite carrying an injury, but he did superbly, tackling strongly, kicking well and having a hand in two of Keys' tries.

In fact, he had two hands in them, both scores coming at crucial times.

After impressive full back Darren Miles and opposition outside-half Giles Thomas had kicked two penalties apiece, Keys took a 35th-minute lead when wing Mark McKee escaped from a maul to find himself with a clear 22m run to the line.

But in injury time another Thomas penalty seemed to have reduced Keys' half-time lead to four points, only for Ireland to twice lead drives to the line before Keys No 10 Scott Mitchell put centre Gareth Chapman over for his 17th try of the season.

Carmarthen made four changes early in the second half, and for 15 minutes threw everything at Keys, left-wing Anthony Rees eventually scoring a try for Thomas to convert and reduce the gap to 20-16.

But Keys maintained their composure, and though Miles missed an easy 62nd-minute penalty, it did not prove costly.

Two minutes later, Ireland robbed opposite number Steve Wake at a scrum near the Carmarthen line, and when Keys' forward drives were thwarted, Ireland's long pass sent McKee over for his second and decisive try.

Thomas managed another penalty in reply, but Carmarthen's last chance went when Keys drove them off the ball for a turnover under the Keys posts, and Ireland kicked deep to safety.

Cross Keys: D Miles, D Price, G Chapman, R Williams (D Dark 34min), M McKee, S Mitchell, J Ireland, I Evans (A Fisher 79min), A Brown, D Evans, J Sulway (D Hallmen 48min), P Watkins (M Curtis 60min), B Watkins, T Morris, W Thomas. Scorers: tries: McKee (2), Chapman; conversions: Miles (2); penalties: Miles (2). Carmarthen Quins: G King, R Davies, D Simpson (J Freeman 46min), E Jones, A Rees, G Thomas, W Evans (S Wake 46min), B Grace, E Evans, A Pritchard (M O'Kelly 46min), C Bonnell (S Jenkins 46 min), P Arnold, A Thomas, P Morgan, A Mason. Scorers: try: Rees; conversion: G Thomas: penalties: G Thomas (4).