A first-half score from Oscar James and 11 points from the boot of Mike Taylor had given the hosts a four-point lead with ten minutes to play – but Newent crossed in the dying minutes to leave Clevedon with just a losing bonus-point to their name.
Newent opened the scoring with a try on ten minutes following some sharp work from scrum-half James Dean.
Clevedon responded with a Taylor penalty - and shortly after, the centre almost created his side’s first try of the afternoon, but was unable to apply the finishing touches to a scything break.
On the half-hour mark, he went one better, sending Oscar James flying into the left-hand corner and adding the conversion, after debutant, Cameron Maslen – who impressed in attack and defence - had burst through the Newent midfield on halfway.
Full-back Tom Thie then glided through a hole in the Newent defence, before linking up with Harvey Russell and Brian Largenton, but again, the final pass evaded the home side.
The Clevedon lineout was dominant throughout, with Russell and Tim Statton securing and stealing ball, while Joe Ford’s pitching was regularly on the money.
Taylor added a second penalty shortly before half time, to open up a 13-7 lead going into the interval.
The second-half began in cagey fashion with both sides fighting it out in the middle third.
Newent hit back on the hour mark with a try in the left-hand corner, to close the gap to 13-12, but Taylor’s third penalty gave Clevedon some breathing space heading into the final 15 minutes.
Taylor’s eventful afternoon continued when he was sent to the sin-bin for a questionable professional foul – and when Clevedon were restored to their full allocation, Newent scrambled over from close range to snatch victory.
Clevedon travel to Avonmouth on Saturday, in what is now a huge clash in their bid to avoid the drop.