A NIGHTMARE first half put paid to any hopes of a win for Cross Keys at the Arms Park.

Cardiff crossed four times before the break to knock the stuffing out of a side that had started the mid-table Principality Premiership clash just a point behind them.

Keys did show more fight in the second period but the damage had been done in an opening 40 minutes they will want to forget in a hurry.

There was no sign of things to come when Keys centre Barney Nightingale crossed within three minutes of the kick-off.

James Thomas added a superb touchline conversion to make it 7-0 but the Gwent side then shot themselves in the foot twice in as many minutes.

Keys winger Nathan Trowbridge had squandered a gilt-edged chance following scrum-half Liam Free’s break when Cardiff hooker Joe Tomlinson put speedster Ceri Young over in the corner.

Fly-half Gareth Thompson also converted from a wide angle, and he did the same soon after, adding the extras to his side’s second try, an interception by centre Will Rees-Hole.

Thompson was then off target with a penalty but slotted a third conversion after James Beal took Harri Millard’s pass to touch down out wide.

Home number-eight Cam Dolan didn’t quite have the pace to go all the way when he latched on to another interception, however, the bonus point was secured before the half hour mark.

Beal and Thompson used their speed to good effect when the Keys defence parted like the Red Sea, with the latter coasting through to touch down. He converted his own score to make it 28-7.

And, just to rub salt into the Keys wounds, the visitors also lost lock Simon Williams and number-eight Ieuan Jones to injury in a one-sided first half.

There was more bad news to follow for Keys following the restart when Thomas limped off, but that came after a great start to the second period with Nightingale crossing once more.

With Cardiff’s advantage reduced to 14 points there was a renewed sense of belief in the Keys camp, even if Thompson’s subsequent penalty put the Blue and Blacks 31-14 up.

Undaunted, Keys put the hosts under pressure in the Cardiff 22, but a combination of good defending and poor execution kept the scoreboard as it was entering the final quarter.

The visitors’ misery was complete when Rees-Hole crept over the whitewash with the last play of the game. Thompson converted.

Cardiff: C Rees; C Young, H Millard, W Rees-Hole, J Beal; G Thompson, L Free; C Domachowski (J Page71), J Tomlinson (capt), B Leung (A Rees 71), B Thomas, S Davies, J Edwards (J Viggers 62), M Sienaiwski (L Crocker 76), C Dolan. Reps not used: R Lewis, T Slater, D Bird, L Chalk

Scorers: tries – C Young, W Rees-Hole (2), J Beal, G Thompson; cons – G Thompson (5); pen – G Thompson

Cross Keys: L Andrews; M Powell, L Barnett, B Nightingale, N Trowbridge (J Goodchild 49); J Thomas (J Prosser 46), O Leonard; L Garrett (G Carpenter 68), D Hughes (capt) (E Shipp 72), L Brown, D Hodge, S Williams (R Fitzgerald 8), T Lampard, A Powell, I Jones (M George 33). Reps not used: C Hewlett, J Leadbeater

Scorers: tries – B Nightingale (2); cons – J Thomas (2)

Referee: Aled Evans

Argus star man: Gareth Thompson (Cardiff)