An Aisea Havili try and the accurate boot of Gareth Cull saw Bridgend to a hard-fought win at a wet Rodney Parade.

But the under-fire Newport squad blew a golden chance to please owner Tony Brown as poor finishing and hapless kicking saw them squander the possession provided by a dominant pack.

Shane Howarth missed three easy pots at goal and the distraught Kiwi was replaced by Jason Strange.

He slotted three penalties, but an injury-time shot at goal struck the post, spoiling Springbok international Percy Montgomery's hopes of a winning debut.

Man-of-the-match Gareth Cull

Match details:

Newport Pens: S Howarth, J Strange (3) Bridgend Tries: A Havili Cons: G Cull Pens: Cull (2)

The match was something of a repeat of the first game of the season in August when Bridgend came away from Rodney Parade with a 5-13 Celtic League win.

All the territory and possession was going the way of the home side, but Shane Howarth's faltering boot helped Bridgend seize the initiative.

Full-back Gareth Cull was controlling the game with his tactical kicking and he got the first points of the night with a 12th-minute penalty.

Strong work from the Newport pack - who were destroying the Ravens at the scrum - should have been rewarded when Hal Luscombe was sent flying for the corner, but he was denied by a superb Richard Mustoe covering tackle.

An excellent break from Wales Under-21 centre David Bishop, making his debut for Bridgend, proved the inspiration for the opening try.

Montgomery was a peripheral figure on his debut

The ball was recycled quickly and came to Cull in midfield, who put in a chip over the flat defence. Lethal Tongan wing Aisea Havili outstripped the scrambling Black and Ambers, gathered the ball and claimed his five points.

It looked like being a half-time shut-out for Newport, but in injury time a collapsed Bridgend scrum allowed Howarth to goal an easy penalty, leaving it 3-10 at the break.

Howarth was replaced by Strange early in the second half and he gave the Black and Ambers a more focused tactical game. His boot soon got them back into the game at 9-13.

Newport's pressure was unrelenting and the Ravens began to crack. Nathan Budgett had been lucky to avoid the sin bin in the 60th minute, but 10 minutes later Gareth Simmonds sent Cory Harris to the cooler after he slowed the home side's ruck ball.

Strange's third penalty from the infringement brought his team to within a point and they spent the next 10 minutes encamped near the visitors' line.

The key moment came from a penalty after a collapsed injury-time scrum on the five-yard line.

The crowd were baying for another scrum against the seven-man Bridgend pack, but Newport skipper Simon Raiwalui controversially chose to go for goal from a difficult angle.

Strange's kick rebounded off the post, allowing the Ravens to hack clear and hang on to their 100% Welsh Premiership record.

Bridgend coach Richard Webster

Newport: Percy Montgomery; Matt Mostyn, Jason Jones-Hughes, Andy Marinos, Hal Luscombe; Shane Howarth, Dale Burn; Rod Snow, James Richards, Chris Anthony, Simon Raiwalui (capt), Ian Gough, Gareth Gravell, Jason Forster, Steve Ojomoh.
Reps: Ceri Jones, Pattison, Mike Voyle, Andy Powell, Llyr Lane, Jon Pritchard, Jason Strange.

Bridgend: Gareth Cull; Aisea Havili, David Bishop, Gareth Thomas, Richard Mustoe; Simon Mannix, Huw Harries; Phil Booth, Gareth Williams, John Thiel, Andy Moore, Deiniol Jones, Shawn van Rensburg, Cory Harris, Richard Bryan.
Reps: Ben Phillips, Christian Loader, G Thomas, Maama Molitika, Craig Warlow, Sililo Martens, Nathan Budgett.

Ref: Gareth Simmonds (Cardiff)

Att: 5,100