Bath coach Jon Callard gave Newport praise for their Heineken Cup Pool 4 win at Rodney Parade but criticised Irish referee David Tyndall for not taking earlier action against the sin-binned Gary Teichmann.

Bath never recovered from conceding three first half tries, and finally folded 28-17 despite producing a spirited finale after Newport's skipper Teichmann had been dispatched in the last 10 minutes for killing possession.

``I was disappointed that he didn't go off earlier," said Callard. "I thought the referee was quite generous."

Newport will say the damage had already been done, with the home side thrilling a capacity crowd of more than 11,000 with the tries by three-quarters Matthew Watkins, Matt Mostyn and Andy Marinos.

In-form fly-half Shane Howarth booted two second-half penalties to keep the home side at a safe distance, and despite Bath replacement Shaun Berne's 58th minute try, the visitors comfortably finished second best.

``We played quite a lot of rugby but sometimes you have got to show the discipline and composure to take a game by the scruff of the neck,'' said Callard, a former Newport player whose brother Nigel is on the Rodney Parade coaching staff.

``We tried right to the end, but Newport's try during first-half injury time was a killer blow.'

``You have to give credit to Newport's defence,'' he added. ``We were also up against a very good pack, although I don't think that we were obliterated in the forward contest.

``I thought the atmosphere and intensity of the occasion was wonderful. Newport are a big club, a world famous club, and they have got the ball rolling now.''

Teichmann admitted to a few anxious moments after referee Tyndall showed him the yellow card.

``I was pretty concerned,'' said the Newport captain. ``I had been warned, but the ball seemed to get lodged under my arm, although having said that I shouldn't have done it because it put pressure on the team.''

Newport rugby director Allan Lewis agreed with Callard and saluted his team's defensive effort.

``Our defence was superb, we tackled well, making several big hits, and our discipline was also tremendous.

``But this is a difficult group, and there are no easy games. It was important to get a win tonight, and now it's a case of keeping the momentum going.''