EUROPEAN CUP: London Wasps - 36 Ulster - 32: A magnificent fightback by Ulster yesterday failed to snatch the victory that would probably have helped the 1999 winners to a quarter-final place as one of the best runners-up in the pool round.
Wasps, already among the cup's also-rans, proved to be no pushovers on the day thanks chiefly to their metronomic goal-kicker, Alex King, who scored 21 points.
When Ulster trailed by a single point with nine minutes remaining after Wasps had squandered a 33-12 lead, the odds strongly favoured an Irish victory. Ultimately, though, the half-time loss of David Humphreys with an injured ankle and four missed penalties by Paddy Wallace left the Ulstermen with too much ground to make up. Their hopes in Europe now rest on them beating Treviso on Friday and hoping other results go their way.
"We gifted Wasps two soft tries and we missed far too many penalties - those points proved crucial in a game won by just a four-point margin" Alan Solomons, the Ulster coach, said.
His Wasps counterpart Nigel Melville said: "We were not in the mood just to let people have an easy win at Loftus Road. I was impressed with the attitude of my players. They could have so easily said `there's nothing in it for us,' but they didn't."
But Melville was critical of the decision to allow Giovanni van Morandin _ and Italian who cannot speak English to referee the match. He said: "When there's 30 guys on the field who speak English and one who doesn't, there's something wrong."
Ulster's prospects took a downturn when Ireland outhalf Humphreys withdrew. He took a heavy pounding which left him limping and unable to take penalties after landing two. Bryn Cunningham, replacing Humphreys, took up the full-back position to allow Wallace to move to outhalf, a position he has occupied for Ireland A.
Midway through the first half Wallace landed a long-range penalty which kept Ulster in touch 10-9 down but by the time he guided home his second, from 30 metres, Wasps had built a commanding 26-12 lead.
Ulster's shapeless performance could not be attributed solely to Humphreys' injury, the Ulster pack showing a lack of driving power when the spirited Wasps forwards rolled the men in white back 20 metres along the right touchline.
Both sides persisted in giving away penalties with abandon but Wasps not only took the points on offer with assurance but also underlined their overall dominance with three spectacular tries in a 25-minute spell.
Mark Denney, the Wasps captain, wriggled through for a 16th minute touchdown at the posts before the wing Shane Roiser made a splendid 50-metre break which yielded another converted try late in the half. No sooner had the second half begun than Wasps grabbed another long-range score, this time through Fraser Waters, who intercepted a careless Wallace pass and raced from halfway to score between the posts.
Between times King had proved himself a model marksman with four penalties, together with his conversions, leaving Wasps boasting a 21-point lead.
In recent years though, Ulster have shown they are never beaten until the final whistle and yet again they lived up to their battling reputation. After Wallace kicked his third penalty the Ulster skipper Andy Ward showed the way to the line with a storming chip and charge that cut the deficit to 33-22.
Prolonged forward pressure enabled Ulster's substitute centre, Ryan Constable, to close the gap to four points with another well-worked try grounded near the posts. Ulster seemed to have a comeback win well within their grasp, particularly when Ian Jones, the Wasps lock, was sin-binned for repeatedly killing the ball. The lead was cut to one point when Wallace dropped an opportunist goal from 20 metres.
But the Londoners raised the tempo and King made no mistake when the opposition fell offside in front of their own posts, leaving him to kick an easy short-range penalty.
Solomons confirmed that Humphreys had sustained an ankle injury. "The initial feeling was we could get him through to half-time," he said. "He was limping and had to go off."
WASPS: Leek; Roiser, Waters, Denney (capt), Roberts; King, Wood; Dowd, Leota, W Green, Shaw (S Green, 74), Jones, Beardshaw, Volley, Lock.
ULSTER: P Wallace; S Coulter, A Larkin (R Constable, 49), J Bell, T Howe; D Humphreys (B Cunningham, h-t), N Doak; J Fitzpatrick, P Shields (Crick, 61), S Best, P Johns, G Longwell (J Davidson, 49), T McWhirter (N McMillan, 61), A Ward (capt), R Nelson.
Referee: G Morandin (Italy).
