Aberavon outside half James Garland landed the vital kick two minutes from time and though the Wizards had the bigger share of possession and territorial advantage, both sides were reasonably happy to take the draw.
Cross Keys coach Greg Woods said: “It was not a great game, but played by two sides of high quality who will both be up there this season.”
Aberavon head coach Jason Hyatt stated: “We scored four tries in the first 43 minutes, but I was quite happy with the decision to kick at goal at the end. It was disappointing but as a squad we are gaining in experience all the time.”
For the Wizards, David Pritchard was outstanding and the pack played superbly with locks Ben Davies and Ben Jones having their best games in an Aberavon jersey, while Cross Keys were well served by wing Nathan Trowbridge and flanker Tom Lampard.
Pritchard and Jonny Phillips once again produced the score of the day as Pritchard raced away and found Phillips on his shoulder to fly over the home line.
Keys scrum half James Leadbeater scored after five minutes with Ethan Davies converting, but despite the loss of Ben Davies to the sin-bin, the seven forwards drove flanker Rob Dudley-Jones over and Garland converted.
Next came the Phillips try and Garland conversion only for Trowbridge to intercept and Davies convert and right on the interval prop Rowan Jenkins gave Aberavon a 22-16 lead.
A try by centre Joe Thomas with a Garland conversion put therm clear it seemed but Keys lock Dan Hodge and skipper Leon Andrews scored with Davies converting both for a 32-30 lead.
However, Aberavon pressed and the cool boot of Garland kicked a penalty to level it.
