After Nathan Doak's late long range penalty gave Ulster a two point lead with minutes left on the clock, Scarlets, on final play, were able to attack from a penalty and Welsh international wing, Ellis Mee, raced through the Ulster defence to score the match-winning try in the 83rd minute of a back and forth contest. The conversion was good leaving Ulster with a losing bonus point to take home for their efforts.
Nathan Doak led out the Ulster side, marking the 24 year-old's 100th appearance in an Ulster jersey.
On a windy, wet day in West Wales, Ulster got off to a bad start after returning full-back Michael Lowry was taken off following a tackle in the opening seconds. Despite Lowry being taken off for an HIA, no action was taken following review.
The Scarlets made in roads into Ulster territory and fly-half, Sam Costelow, kicked home an early penalty. In tricky weather conditions, it felt like points were worth more with the unpredictability of the ball.
Scarlets pulled into double figures, when after a set piece in the Ulster 22, the ball was worked wide to Welsh international full-back, Blair Murray, who ran through a gap to finish. Costelow's conversion left the score at 10-0 to the home side.
Ulster reacted well to the setback, and after threatening on multiple entries into the Scarlets 22, Tom Stewart was able to peel off the back of a strong driving maul to finish for an unconverted try.
The second try would come from a similar source after a powerful maul won Ulster precious metres from the Scarlets tryline.
Academy forward, Bryn Ward, carried on his brilliant form and managed an impressive one-handed finish under pressure. Doak's conversion brought the scoreline to 10-12 to the Ulster men.
In the back and forth nature of the match, Scarlets captain, Josh McLeod, was next on the scoresheet after some big forward carrying towards the Ulster tryline.
At half-time, the Scarlets held a five point lead.
HT: Scarlets 17-12 Ulster
Ulster came out of the blocks firing and went straight to the corner to try and force themselves back into the match. The dominant side and with the majority of possession, Ulster were edging closer to the third try but were thwarted by a stubborn Scarlets defence.
Ulster went close on three occasions, with Bryn Ward burrow over the line adjudged to have been held up by a Welsh defender.
Nick Timoney was denied a stunning assist to Jake Flannery on the right wing, after the Ireland international's offload was judged forward.
Then, Jack Murphy's cross field kick caused chaos in the back-field, and it looked like flanker, David McCann had pounced on the error to roll over. Again, much to Ulster frustration, a review showed a knock on as the forward tried to gather the loose, bouncing ball.
Instead of getting too frustrated, Ulster continued to push forwards and pile pressure on.
The third try did come after replacement prop, Scott Wilson, powered his way over a pile of Scarlets bodies from close range. Nathan Doak's conversion gave Ulster the lead once more at 17-19.
Sam Costelow's pressure kick from a Scarlets penalty gave the home side the lead, before minutes later Nathan Doak added a pressure kick of his own from long range, under a chorus of booing from the passionate home support to make it 20-22 with minutes left.
With Ulster trying to see out the win by defending and seeing it out, David McCann stopped an almost certain try with a last ditch tackle after a line break.
The play was then pulled back to a penalty after Werner Kok was adjudged to have tackled head on head with a Scarlets attacker.
The South African winger was given a yellow card following review, and from there Scarlets launched an attack into the Ulster half, via a lineout.
Costelow whipped a pass out wide in the broken field and Ellis Mee was able to find the pace to break a tackle and sprint clear for the match-winning score.
Disappointment for Ulster, who dominated for large parts but were unable to capitalise on some key moments in the Scarlets 22.
Ulster will now look towards next week at Affidea Stadium, with Richie Murphy's side hoping to bounce back against Cardiff Rugby in Round 11.
BKT Player of the Match - Nathan Doak
His pressure kick looked to have grabbed Ulster a narrow victory, before the Scarlets scored the winner at the death. An impressive performance from Doak on what was his 100th appearance for his province.
Scorers
Ulster:
TRY: Stewart, Ward, Wilson
CON: Doak x2
PEN: Doak
Scarlets:
TRY: Murray, McLeod, Mee
CON: Costelow x3
PEN: Costelow x2
Teams
Ulster:
1\. Angus Bell, 2. Tom Stewart, 3. Tom O’Toole, 4. Iain Henderson (Capt), 5. Charlie Irvine, 6. David McCann, 7. Nick Timoney, 8. Bryn Ward, 9. Nathan Doak, 10. Jack Murphy, 11. Werner Kok, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 13. James Hume, 14. Robert Baloucoune, 15. Michael Lowry
Replacements:
16\. Rob Herring, 17. Eric O’Sullivan, 18. Scott Wilson, 19. Harry Sheridan, 20. Matthew Dalton, 21. Conor McKee, 22. Jake Flannery, 23. Jude Postlethwaite
Scarlets:
15 Blair Murray; 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ellis Mee; 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Archie Hughes;
1 Kemsley Mathias, 2 Ryan Elias, 3 Archer Holz, 4 Sam Lousi, 5 Harvey Cuckson, 6 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (capt), 8 Fletcher Anderson.
Replacements: 16. Marnus van der Merwe, 17. Josh Morse, 18. Henry Thomas, 19. Jac Price, 20. Jarrod Taylor, 21. Dane Blacker, 22. Johnny Williams, 23. Macs Page.