CROSS Keys went within a whisker of ending Welsh Premiership leaders Llanelli’s 100 percent record at Pandy Park on Saturday during their 21-17 defeat.

A side depleted by injury showed opponents littered with regional players no respect and displayed an aggression sorely missing in recent weeks.

But they lacked the pace to take advantage of a couple of opportunities while neither lady luck nor Pontardawe referee Matthew Aplin smiled on them.

Llanelli grabbed two tries to their one and but for a superb last-ditch ankle tap by flanker Tom Lampard on scrum-half Gavin Cattle, Llanelli would have had a third.

But in perfect conditions, this was a strangely disjointed Llanelli side which showed little fluency and I can’t see them ending as champions.

When back to strength, Keys should climb the table, but the lack of a cutting edge (just six tries this season) remains a major concern.

Llanelli head of rugby Anthony Buchanan admitted his side were fortunate.

“I don’t know how we won that one,” he said. “We stayed in there and the ball just went for us.”

Keys director of rugby Jonathan Westwood felt even more strongly that his side deserved more.

“It was clearly a game we should have won. We deserved to,” he said.

“But we cannot keep being patronised by other coaches saying we are a good side. We’ve got to put points on the board.

“They rolled in with several so-called professionals and if that’s the quality of what’s to come in Welsh rugby I’m a little bit concerned.

“I felt we played all the football, but we had bad luck, particularly with a ball which popped out of a scrum in the first half which they scored off.

“The fundamental thing for our week , however, was to improve vastly on the previous week’s display and everything we asked of the lads they did.”

Keys led 8-0 after 22 minutes, scrum-half James Leadbeater kicking them ahead with a 40m penalty before left wing Nathan Trowbridge scored their try.

Llanelli full back Dan Evans badly sliced a kick across field and Rhys Peebles gathered and combined with fellow back-row man Geraint Gladwyn and prop Nathan Buck.

The ball was then worked left and good passing enabled skipper Ben Watkins to put Trowbridge across.

Within eight minutes replacement wing Nick Jones had grabbed a try for Llanelli before outside-half Rhys Priestland’s penalty brought his side level by half-time.

Priestland kicked two more penalties to Leadbeater’s one to put his side 11-8 and 14-11 ahead before Leadbeater added two more to edge Keys in front at 17-14.

But Llanelli spurned an equalising penalty opportunity to go for broke in the71st minute and it paid off.

They won a lineout following Priestland’s kick to touch and sent the ball along the line for centre Nic Reynolds to burst through for a converted try, Keys’ bonus point scant consolation after a fourth successive defeat.

Cross Keys: P Smithson, M Pewtner, G Maule, S Regan (G Ferguson 59), N Trowbridge, R James, J Leadbeater, D Preece (J Price 72), L Burns, N Buck (C Gould 60), M Curtis, B Watkins, R Peebles (R Nash 60, C Davies 72), T Lampard, G Gladwyn.

Scorers: Try – Trowbridge; penalties – Leadbeater (4).

Llanelli: D Evans (A Banfield 72), M Jacobs, N Reynolds, J Davies, M Davies (N Jones 25), R Priestland, G Cattle, I Jones, R Guest (C Hawkins 36), A Hopkins (S Gardner 72), A Powell, D Day, J Turnbull, N Cudd (L Jones 14), J Bater.

Scorers: Tries – N Jones, Reynolds; conversion – Priestland; penalties – Priestland (3).