Newport Gwent Dragons looked home and dry and all set to mark their first home Celtic League game of the season with a much-needed victory over Ulster on Saturday night.

For after absorbing heavy pressure they still managed to lead 9-0 at the interval and even stretched it to 16-0 seven minutes into the second half.

But instead of putting their foot on the pedal and controlling the game from then on in, they lost their way, allowed Ulster back in and ultimately gifted them their first victory at Rodney Parade.

A bonus point for keeping the margin to within seven points was scant consolation, for it was clearly a game the Dragons could and should have won.

But at the end of the day you can't argue with a scoreline of three tries to one against and an error count which was still unacceptably high.

Having said that, Ulster are an extremely tough side to beat and have been made even stronger by the arrival of Australian lock Justin Harrison, who was a major asset on Saturday.

The Dragons found it difficult up front against a hard-driving Ulster eight, and even the loss of lock Matt McCullough, who was yellow-carded, failed to dilute their power up front.

The Dragons struggled in the line-out, lost a few throws on their own ball and they couldn't get up much momentum, though towering lock Luke Charteris continued to underline his progress.

The Dragons were still unfailingly gritty and their defence was strong right through the first half when they were under the cosh.

It was, therefore, a bitter pill to swallow to suddenly cave in and lose that 16-0 advantage, probably relaxing in the first instance to allow Ulster back in straight after they got their try.

Craig Warlow had given the Dragons their rather flattering interval lead with a dropped goal and two penalties, and then Jon Bryant broke clean through and handed on to Ian Gough, who plunged over for the try, though there was some doubt about whether he grounded the ball.

Warlow converted and the Dragons should have gone on from there, but almost immediately Ulster departed from their set-piece game, maybe even benefiting from the absence of David Humphreys, who withdrew after injuring an ankle in training at Newport.

Promising young centre Andrew Trimble crashed over for a try after being put away by Adam Larkin, Humphreys' usual deputy.

Minutes later they moved the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, and flanker Neil Best was left unopposed on the left flank for the second try, impressive full back Paddy Wallace again converting, this time from near the touchline.

It looked ominous as Ulster took command, and though Warlow landed his fourth penalty, Campbell quickly replied with a 45-yard effort.

The die was cast and, sure enough, the third try arrived when Ulster drove a line-out near the Dragons' line and Best was on hand to force his way over down an unguarded blindside, giving Ulster the lead for the first time with 12 minutes left.

Ironically, the Dragons saved their best until the end, when in a remarkable closing spell they must have put the ball through 20 phases as they maintained possession and kept attacking, but they just ran out of time.

Even then, there was controversy after a game that simmered throughout when Best high-tackled Dragons full back Kevin Morgan. Not only did Scottish referee Malcolm Changleng fail to award a penalty, but he blew up and left Morgan lying there for minutes before he was able to get to his feet.

An unfortunate end to an unfortunate game for the Dragons, who will have to pick themselves up quickly for the challenge of mighty Leicester on Friday.

Newport Gwent Dragons: K Morgan, G Wyatt, H Luscombe, J Bryant, L Hinton (S Tuipulotu 69), C Warlow, G Baber, A Black, S Jones (A Brown 40), R Thomas, I Gough (P Sidoli 65), L Charteris, J Ringer (A Hall 54), R Bryan, J Forster (captain). Scorers -- Try: I Gough; conversion: C Warlow; penalties: Warlow (3); dropped goal: Warlow. Ulster: P Wallace, T Bowe, A Trimble, K Maggs, J Topping (T Howe 63), A Larkin, K Campbell, J Fitzpatrick (B Young 74), R Best, S Best (captain), J Harrison, M McCullough, N Best, R Wilson, N McMillan. Scorers -- tries: N Best (2), A Trimble; conversions: P Wallace (2); penalty: Wallace.