EBBW Vale head coach Alex Codling has been drumming home the importance of discipline ahead of tomorrow's game with Aberavon after his charges suffered yellow fever in their last two outings.

The Steelmen will be aiming to keep 15 men on the pitch at Eugene Cross Park (kick-off 2.30pm) after picking up a pair of sin-binnings in both the loss at Maesteg and the narrow 15-11 win against Cross Keys.

Their ill discipline threatened to throw away the points at Pandy Park last weekend as Keys fought back from 12-0 down at the break to be within inches of crossing for a match-winning try late on.

Codling said: "At the moment we have just got a tendency to give away silly penalties and field position. And picking up yellow cards certainly doesn't help - it's difficult enough with 15 men let along playing 20 minutes with 14.

"But we really bounced back in the closing stages and showed character and spirit to get the points."

And if ever a player personified that spirit it is club captain Craig Cleaver, who Codling said reacted superbly to being dropped to the bench for the Keys clash and has been recalled for Aberavon.

The number eight was itching to get onto the Paddock, even storming on for a spell as a blood replacement for Dan Lydiate that lasted just a minute before permanently coming on for the flanker for the last 15 minutes.

"I though he was fantastic, his response showed his character and he did well when he came on. He is Ebbw Vale through and through, he's a real club man and he handled himself superbly throughout training and on matchday."

Premiership leaders Aberavon head to Eugene Cross Park in fine fettle and will certainly bring and abrasive game with a powerful pack and the strong running of full back Liam Gadd and inside centre Darren Ryan.

It is their first game without the guidance of Kevin Hopkins, who has taken up the role of director of rugby with the Ospreys, but they will still present a stern test as Vale attempt to notch their first home win of the season.

"They are a quality side who are rightly top of the league and we know that they will bring a formidable pack. We need the forwards to work hard to get a platform and then we can use the pace and creativity we have in the backs.

"We wasted our possession when we lost to Newport and were unlucky not to get more than a draw against Neath, so we want to put that right and get our first home win. We need to back up the two away wins we have."

Vale are missing Andrew Bevan (shoulder) and D Lydiate (ankle) who will both be out for a couple of weeks after picking up injuries at Cross Keys.

Ebbw Vale: A McLaughlan, S Hunt, K Owen, G Roberts, M Jess, S Mills, B Shelbourne, I George, D Williams, K Gay, M Griffin, N Edwards, J Bowd, N Aiono, C Cleaver (captain). Replacements: R Wilkes, J Corsi, R Bowen, J Lydiate, P Horgan, D Phillips, J Quirk.

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NEWPORT head coach Ian Hembrow has pinpointed the Black and Ambers' miserly defence as the backbone to their fine start to the season.

Newport head into tomorrow's game with Swansea at St Helens (kick-off 2.30pm) in second place having won four of their five games.

And the team highlighted their stingy defence at Bedwas last weekend when they restricted their hosts to three penalties, all scored in the first half, as they turned around a 9-3 deficit at the break to triumph 27-9.

Hembrow said: "I think to score 24 unanswered points in the second half at Bedwas says it all really, not many sides will go there and do that.

"Our defence has been superb, we have conceded just three tries and only 64 points and if you look around the league there is nobody near that.

"Defence breeds confidence, sides are doing all of their moves and we are confident we can stop them at source.

"Then we have got two great goalkickers in Dan Griffiths and James Dixon to keep the scoreboard ticking over, so if we can keep defending well it forces sides into more phases and increases the chances of them giving away penalties."

Immediate thoughts now turn to Saturday's trip west and Hembrow is expecting a tough challenge from a Swansea side containing Newport old boys in the shape of Ricky Williams, Richard Payne and Marc Popham.

But Newport head into the game in confident mood and are keen to stay in the winning habit.

Hembrow said: "It's gone as well as can be expected - if you'd asked me at the start of the season I'd have settled for four wins out of five. But October will be a tough month and if we come out of it in similar shape I think we will be in the running.

"Saturday will be a cracking game, we are buoyed by recent results but are not over-confident. It's a totally different test to anything we have faced.

"Swansea like to run the ball and so do we, if maybe in a more managed way. It's easier to play with the ball than without so we need to keep putting the phases together.

"The longer we keep the ball the more frustrated they will get, then they will run it from their own half and try and force it."

Newport: J Tovey, M Poole, N Williams, S Williams, R Howells, D Griffiths, M Thomas, D Pattison (c), R James, G Robinson, J Connors, M Veater, R Dale, C Hill, A Coombs. Replacements: T Foister, A Brown, M Workman, L Evans, J Ireland, J Dixon, L Hathaway. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE frustration of a home derby loss has increased Cross Keys' desire to ensure they take the spoils when Pontypridd visit Pandy Park tomorrow afternoon (kick-off 2.30pm).

The majority of sides in the Premiership have seemed to have had a mixed start to the season with ten of the 14 sides, from fourth to 13th, separated by three points.

Given the tight nature of the table there is increased importance placed on home matches and head coach Robert Beale is keen for Keys to improve on their record of played two, won one, lost one.

"The difficult thing is that you have to win your games at home," he said. "Last Saturday we needed to win but now we are in a situation where we must win.

"I'm expecting a tough tussle. Pontypridd are well-organised and well-coached by Simon King and are dangerous both in the forwards and behind the scrum.

"We really had to hang on against them last season when they threw everything at us and are capable of playing at a high tempo. They are going to come here with the intention of playing an open style of rugby and maybe that will suit us."

The 15-11 loss to Ebbw Vale was particularly frustrating for Beale and his coaching team as a first half horror show that left Keys too much to claw back after the break.

He said: "We have had a look at it and it's a game that we could have and should have won. Our skills let us down at crucial points and our kicking game was not up to scratch.

"There was lots of effort but rugby is about taking your chances and we didn't do that. In the two previous games we had been good in that aspect but that's the lesson to be learned and I don't think there is any great analysis required."

A bright spark for Keys in the game was the presence in the side of livewire scrum half Ryan James, who grew into the game against experienced opposition in the shape of Pat Horgan.

Beale said: "Ryan is a very talented player and we look to him to put the pace into the game from taking quick free-kicks and making sure the ball is quickly away from the contact area.

"Unfortunately the conditions on Saturday didn't really lend themselves to the style of game we were hoping to play but we still tried to play rugby and Ryan was at the forefront of that."

Keys: A Thomas, D James, G Chapman, D Price, G Turner, S Mitchell, R James, R Cornock, G Horrigan, C Gould, M Curtis, W Thomas (c), B Watkins, D Tovey, R Williams. Replacements: D Dark, O Jones, R Miller, S Padrisa, D Evans, C Bridges, W Murphy.