Connacht 12 Ulster 14:An elusive clean-sweep of home victories over the other provinces slipped through Connacht's hands at the Sportsground last night as luck deserted the Michael Bradley's team.
Connacht had overcame both Leinster (19-18) and Munster (12-6) earlier in the campaign in Galway, but Ulster ended their hopes of completing the full set.
Having scored 11 points in the opening 18 minutes — Simon Danielli snuck through for a try and Ian Humphreys converted two long-range penalties — Ulster made seriously hard work of their sixth straight victory over the westerners.
Credit to Connacht, their captain John Muldoon won the toss and wisely opted to play into a strong wind in the opening half.
Tries either side of half-time from Fionn Carr and Andrew Browne saw the hosts barge into a 12-11 lead and their tails were up as Muldoon and company forced the issue up front.
However, Ulster were able to snap back into the lead thanks to a Clinton Schifcofske penalty and Connacht, despite a spirited effort right to the final whistle, were left cursing three missed penalties from Ian Keatley in the second half.
Ulster coach Matt Williams raised eyebrows before kick-off when he brought Isaac Boss, Ian Humphreys and Carlo Del Fava into his starting line-up, with Boss lining out at fullback.
The former Ireland scrumhalf was rarely tested during an Ulster-dominated first quarter.
Humphreys hoofed an early penalty through the posts, edging the visitors in front, before his halfback partner Paul Marshall pulled the strings for Danielli’s 13th-minute effort.
Marshall exploited space with a clever grubber kick and got up to retrieve possession before releasing the big Scottish winger for a mismatched run to the corner.
Humphreys missed the conversion but, from a couple of metres inside his own half, he landed a superb penalty to nudge Ulster into a 11-0 lead.
With Stephen Ferris and Robbie Diack sealing off the breakdown and a strong set-piece platform, Ulster were looking good.
But as the half wore on, they were often found guilty of over-complicating attacks and Connacht’s disciplined defence frustrated them time and again.
Andrew Farley, in his last home game for Connacht, helped rouse the league’s bottom side and they profited from turnover ball to send the fleet-footed Carr over for an unconverted try before the break.
Streetwise scrumhalf Frank Murphy gobbled up possession and a quick switch sent Carr speeding away down the left wing and over for his eighth league try.
With Ray Ofisa in rampaging form, Connacht started the second half on the front foot and Keatley used the elements to good effect.
Within 10 minutes, blindside flanker Browne burst over unchallenged for a deserved try. Murphy’s flicked pass unleashed fullback Troy Nathan for a powerful run and with the Ulster defence in tatters, Connacht recycled well to complete a clinical score.
Keatley added the conversion but for all of Connacht’s territorial advantage, they could not close out the game.
After Schifcofske kicked Ulster back in front, just four minutes later, Connacht had enough time and chances to regain control on the scoreboard but the otherwise impressive Keatley misfired when it mattered most.
Ulster:I Boss; C Schifscofske, D Cave, I Whitten, S Daneilli; I Humphreys, P Marshall; T Court, R Best, B Botha, E O'Donoghue, C Del Fava, S Ferris, C Henry, R Diack. Replacements:N O'Connor for Humphreys (45), B Young for Court (63), R Caldwell for Del Fava (65), R Dewey for Cave (66), T Nagusa for Schifcofske (76).
Connacht:T Nathan; F Carr, G Duffy, K Matthews, L Bibo; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, R Loughney, M Swift, A Farley, A Browne, R Ofisa, J Muldoon (capt). Replacements:B McGovern for Loughney (53), C Rigney for Browne (73).
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