Ulster A, sponsored by CD Group were made to work all the way for a hard fought win over Cardiff Blues Premiership Select at Eaton Park on Friday evening.
British & Irish Cup Round 3
Ulster A 16-10 Cardiff Blues Premiership Select
On a mild evening at Eaton Park it was Ulster A who opened the scoring via a Johnny McPhillips penalty on 10 minutes following a scrum infringement.
On 15 minutes Cardiff scored a try with their first meaningful attack as winger Kyle Evans cut through the Ulster defence off a scrum move, with full back Gareth Thompson knocking over the conversion.
Four minutes later Cardiff were penalised for coming in from the side and McPhillips made no mistake from 42 metres to put just one point between the sides, 6-7 in favour of the visitors.
On 25 minutes McPhillips added another penalty following great work on the loose ball by flanker Conor Joyce which set up a sweeping counter-attack.
The Blues were dealt a huge blow three minutes from the interval when scrum-half Pele Cowley was sensationally shown a double yellow card for what seemed like an early tackle on his opposite number Dave Shanahan who had taken a quick tap, then dissent.
McPhillips pushed the resulting penalty wide, but Ulster went in 9-7 ahead at the break.
It took 12 minutes of play in the second half for a score to be registered when Cardiff were awarded a penalty for Stephen Mulholland not rolling away, and Thomspon obliged from 25 metres to edge his side in front again, 9-10.
On 58 minutes Ulster scored their only try of the game when a sweeping move from left to right culminated in a fantastic skip pass by Man of the Match Rob Lyttle to release Jack Owens who beat two defenders and reached out to touch down in the right corner.
McPhillips brilliantly added the extras to put Ulster 6 points to the good in front, 16-10.
Cardiff had a great opportunity to hit back just two minutes later but on this occasion Thompson pulled his penalty attempt wide.
In the final 10 minutes Ulster soaked some heavy pressure but managed to deny their opponents of any guilt edged opportunities and held on for the win.
The win leaves Ulster on 10 points after 3 games, with Cardiff at the foot of the table on 2 points. The other fixture from Pool 1 will take place on Saturday afternoon as London Scottish host Jersey Reds.
Next up for Ulster A is the reverse fixture with Cardiff Blues at Pontypridd next Saturday 17th December.
Ulster A:
(15-9): Johnny McPhillips, Rob Lyttle, Rory Butler, Mark Best, Jack Owens, Brett Herron, Dave Shanahan;
(1-8): Callum Black, John Andrew (C), Jonny Simpson, Connor Smyth, Stephen Mulholland, Nick Timoney, Conor Joyce, Lorcan Dow.
(16-22): Jonny Murphy, Tommy O’Hagan, John McCusker, Zack McCall, Jonny Stewart, David Busby, Callum Patterson.
Cardiff Blue Premiership Select:
(15-9): Gareth Thompson, Kyle Evans, Harri Millard, Garyn Smith, Teri Gee, Ben Jones, Pele Cowley;
(1-8): Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher, Dillon Lewis (C), Hemi Barnes, Ben Murphy, Nick White, Morgan Sieniawski, Cam Dolan.
(16-22): Joe Tomlinson, Rhys Carre, Kieron Assirratti, James Botham, Dane Blacker, Cameron Lewis, Declan Williams.
British & Irish Cup Round 3
Ulster A 16-10 Cardiff Blues Premiership Select
On a mild evening at Eaton Park it was Ulster A who opened the scoring via a Johnny McPhillips penalty on 10 minutes following a scrum infringement.
On 15 minutes Cardiff scored a try with their first meaningful attack as winger Kyle Evans cut through the Ulster defence off a scrum move, with full back Gareth Thompson knocking over the conversion.
Four minutes later Cardiff were penalised for coming in from the side and McPhillips made no mistake from 42 metres to put just one point between the sides, 6-7 in favour of the visitors.
On 25 minutes McPhillips added another penalty following great work on the loose ball by flanker Conor Joyce which set up a sweeping counter-attack.
The Blues were dealt a huge blow three minutes from the interval when scrum-half Pele Cowley was sensationally shown a double yellow card for what seemed like an early tackle on his opposite number Dave Shanahan who had taken a quick tap, then dissent.
McPhillips pushed the resulting penalty wide, but Ulster went in 9-7 ahead at the break.
It took 12 minutes of play in the second half for a score to be registered when Cardiff were awarded a penalty for Stephen Mulholland not rolling away, and Thomspon obliged from 25 metres to edge his side in front again, 9-10.
On 58 minutes Ulster scored their only try of the game when a sweeping move from left to right culminated in a fantastic skip pass by Man of the Match Rob Lyttle to release Jack Owens who beat two defenders and reached out to touch down in the right corner.
McPhillips brilliantly added the extras to put Ulster 6 points to the good in front, 16-10.
Cardiff had a great opportunity to hit back just two minutes later but on this occasion Thompson pulled his penalty attempt wide.
In the final 10 minutes Ulster soaked some heavy pressure but managed to deny their opponents of any guilt edged opportunities and held on for the win.
The win leaves Ulster on 10 points after 3 games, with Cardiff at the foot of the table on 2 points. The other fixture from Pool 1 will take place on Saturday afternoon as London Scottish host Jersey Reds.
Next up for Ulster A is the reverse fixture with Cardiff Blues at Pontypridd next Saturday 17th December.
Ulster A:
(15-9): Johnny McPhillips, Rob Lyttle, Rory Butler, Mark Best, Jack Owens, Brett Herron, Dave Shanahan;
(1-8): Callum Black, John Andrew (C), Jonny Simpson, Connor Smyth, Stephen Mulholland, Nick Timoney, Conor Joyce, Lorcan Dow.
(16-22): Jonny Murphy, Tommy O’Hagan, John McCusker, Zack McCall, Jonny Stewart, David Busby, Callum Patterson.
Cardiff Blue Premiership Select:
(15-9): Gareth Thompson, Kyle Evans, Harri Millard, Garyn Smith, Teri Gee, Ben Jones, Pele Cowley;
(1-8): Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher, Dillon Lewis (C), Hemi Barnes, Ben Murphy, Nick White, Morgan Sieniawski, Cam Dolan.
(16-22): Joe Tomlinson, Rhys Carre, Kieron Assirratti, James Botham, Dane Blacker, Cameron Lewis, Declan Williams.