On a filthy night at Ravenhill, a misfiring Ulster ground out another win which saw them move up to second in the table.
In an arm-wrestle with little to recommend it, Ulster had two situations when they got over the line only to be turned down by the TMO – but were probably rather fortunate to hold out for the result from which Steve Tandy’s men made off with a useful losing point.
A second-half try from Darren Cave – and accompanying input from Luke Marshall, Iain Henderson and Nick Williams – proved crucial to Ulster’s cause as the conditions deteriorated towards the end and things were so bad even Ruan Pienaar had an off night.
A youthful Ospreys side opened up with venom and spent virtually the first quarter in Ulster territory and after a free kick was given against the home side at a scrum, the visitors finally made something stick as Ardron Taylor’s flick put fellow flanker Sam Lewis over after nine minutes.
Sam Davies' conversion made it a thoroughly deserved 7-0 and Ospreys then admirably resisted Ulster's strenuous response when Michael Allen's dive over the line in the left hand corner was ruled out by the TMO for a knock-on.
Off the mark
But Ulster did get off the mark with a 22nd-minute penalty from Pienaar after a rare turnover had seen Allen kick long and Matthew Morgan concede the three-pointer, though Allen's quick tap and go which put James McKinney under pressure was called back by referee Nigel Owens.Right on half-time Pienaar's was wide with a penalty kick tand his team-mates trailed 7-3.
Thanks to a Sam Davies getting himself in a muddle over a mark and then putting his clearance out on the full after stepping back into his 22, Ulster got early field position and Cave surged past Duncan Jones to score after 43 minutes.
Ulster now had the lead for the first time with Pienaar’s conversion making it 10-7. Ten minutes later and half-time sub Henderson powered over only for the TMO to rule he had lost the ball over the line and that was the last clear-cut chance.
ULSTER: R Andrew; C Gilroy, J Payne, D Cave, M Allen; J McKinney, R Pienaar; T Court, R Herring, J Afoa, J Muller (capt), L Stevenson, R Diack, S Doyle, R Wilson. Replacements: I Henderson for L Stevenson (half-time); N Willians for S Doyle (53 mins), L Marshall for Payne (55 mins), P Marshall for J McKinney 60 mins, C Black for T Court (65 mins).
OSPREYS: S Davies; J Hassler, J Spratt (capt), A Beck, A Natoga; M Morgan, T Habberfield; D Jones, S Baldwin, A Jarvis, L Peers, P Parker, T Ardron, S Lewis, J Bearman. Replacements: T Tebaldi for T Habberfield (45 mins), R Bevington for D Jones (49 mins), D Baker for Parker (54 mins), D Suter for A Jarvis (62 mins).
Referee: N Owens (Wales)
