Head Coach Neil Doak has called on his team to show a more clinical edge as the start of the Guinness PRO12 looms. Ulster followed up a narrow pre-season defeat against Leinster with a 23-10 loss to Edinburgh at Goldenacre, but will look to hit back with a win over Ospreys in their league opener on Friday. Despite the visitors controlling possession and territory for large parts of the first half against the Scottish side, Tommy Bowe was Ulster's sole try scorer in the opening 40 minutes. Doak says his side just weren't clinical enough: "In the first half we did very well. We got in the right areas and made a couple of line busts but we just couldn't finish them off, except for the one Tommy scored in the corner. From an Edinburgh point of view, at 5-3 (to Ulster) they were probably very pleased considering we had most of the ball in the early stages of the game. "We're getting in the right areas, it's just about completing the scores. Last week we missed a couple of chances too and if we take those chances we're 20 points up at half time and it's a different game and a different mindset going into half time. We've got to learn from that very quickly because we've got a big game next week." Looking ahead to Friday's clash at Kingspan Stadium, the Ulster coach knows his side will face a difficult task against their Welsh opposition: "Look, Ospreys are a good side. We've got to sit down during the week and take a look at a couple of things from our meetings last year. We know each other pretty well. We know their strengths, it's going to be a physical game, we've just got to make sure we get in the right areas and take our opportunities. It's a key aspect of the game that has been a bugbear of mine for a few seasons - being clinical. We've got to make sure we turn it around for next week."
News
Doak frustrated by missed opportunities
30th August 2015
Head Coach Neil Doak has called on his team to show a more clinical edge as the start of the Guinness PRO12 looms. Ulster followed up a narrow pre-season defeat against Leinster with a 23-10 loss to Edinburgh at Goldenacre, but will look to hit back with a win over Ospreys in their league opener on Friday. Despite the visitors controlling possession and territory for large parts of the first half against the Scottish side, Tommy Bowe was Ulster's sole try scorer in the opening 40 minutes. Doak says his side just weren't clinical enough: "In the first half we did very well. We got in the right areas and made a couple of line busts but we just couldn't finish them off, except for the one Tommy scored in the corner. From an Edinburgh point of view, at 5-3 (to Ulster) they were probably very pleased considering we had most of the ball in the early stages of the game. "We're getting in the right areas, it's just about completing the scores. Last week we missed a couple of chances too and if we take those chances we're 20 points up at half time and it's a different game and a different mindset going into half time. We've got to learn from that very quickly because we've got a big game next week." Looking ahead to Friday's clash at Kingspan Stadium, the Ulster coach knows his side will face a difficult task against their Welsh opposition: "Look, Ospreys are a good side. We've got to sit down during the week and take a look at a couple of things from our meetings last year. We know each other pretty well. We know their strengths, it's going to be a physical game, we've just got to make sure we get in the right areas and take our opportunities. It's a key aspect of the game that has been a bugbear of mine for a few seasons - being clinical. We've got to make sure we turn it around for next week."