A MUCH-NEEDED win against Carmarthen Quins at Pandy Park today (kick-off 2.30pm) would be just the tonic for Cross Keys going into Christmas.

Morgan Stoddart’s troops were thwarted by the wet weather last Saturday as their crunch clash with Bridgend at the Brewery Field was postponed.

Keys had been hoping to deliver the goods and produce a positive reaction following their 33-13 loss to RGC 1404 the week before.

In Quins, they host a side slap bang in the middle of the Principality Premiership, one which is currently acting as a buffer between the top nine and bottom seven.

Seven wins and eight defeats from 15 games has left Carmarthen five points below RGC and 11 ahead of Swansea.

They came close to winning number eight on Sunday but had to settle for a losing bonus point in a 22-15 reverse against Newport at Rodney Parade.

However, in recent meetings with Keys they have had the upper hand.

Quins prevailed 41-28 in an entertaining encounter earlier this season and won the three previous meetings before that.

They will be mindful of not getting sucked into a relegation fight in the latter part of the campaign and, despite being the away team, know Keys aren’t in the best of form.

Keys, meanwhile, will be eager to get another win on the board ahead of what is going to be a massive Gwent derby with Newport, also at Pandy Park, on December 29.

The start of 2019 should give Stoddart’s men a great chance to pick up points with games against several of the sides around them.

And they have to start winning, preferably more than one match at a time, if they want to preserve their Premiership status and avoid dropping into the Championship.