Ulster A 19 Ospreys Development 3

Ulster A made it five wins wins from six Celtic Cup games with a dogged 19-3 win over Ospreys Development at Malone RFC on Friday evening. With the same senior squads set to meet in the Guinness PRO14 opener at Kingspan Stadium a couple of hours later, the young Ulster A team were keen to notch the first of two home wins. It was Ulster who got off to a positive start, dominating possession in the opening quarter but unable to get the scoreboard ticking. With Ulster temporarily down to 14 men due to an Adam McBurney yellow card, Ospreys took the lead with a 21st minute penalty from fly-half Josh Thomas. On the half-hour mark Ulster finally breached the Ospreys defence with Peter Cooper charging over following a series of close range pick and drives. Bruce Houston added the conversion. Despite more pressure towards the end of the half, the Ulster men were unable to extend their lead before the interval. Ospreys full-back Phil Jones picked up a yellow card in the 49th minute, and Ulster made them pay within a minute when Adam McBurney crossed the whitewash and Houston added the extra two points. Ulster replacement Marcus Rea sealed the win in the dying stages, touching down in the corner after some nice build up play. Ulster A now head into the final round of games in a strong position to claim one of the top two places that will determine the Celtic Cup finalists. Ulster A’s Celtic Cup 2019/20 Fixtures: Scarlets 32 Ulster A 35 – Saturday 24th August, 2.30pm, Llandovery RFC Ulster A 32 Cardiff 5 – Saturday 31st August, 7.30pm, Malone RFC Ulster A 33 Connacht 13 – Friday 6th September, 4.00pm, Ballymena RFC Leinster 55 Ulster A 24 – Saturday 14th September, 3.00pm, Energia Park Dragons 31 Ulster A 43 – Saturday 21st September, 2.30pm, CCBC Centre for Sporting Excellence Ulster A 19 Ospreys 3 – Friday 27th September, 5.00pm, Malone RFC Ulster A v Munster – Friday 4th October, 5.00pm, Shaw’s Bridge Celtic Cup Final – Saturday 12th October