Ulster’s first home tie of the 2013/14 season ended in calamity as a six-point lead evaporated in the dying seconds, allowing Glasgow to smash and grab the narrowest of victories.
Mark Anscombe’s men performed well for the majority of the match, with Paddy Jackson kicking adroitly, and three second-half raids falling just inches short of the Warriors try-line. However, the visitors’ tenacity and endurance shone through, and they reaped the benefits as Ulster switched off on 80 minutes, James Eddie driving over for the game’s solitary try.
Glasgow enjoyed five minutes of supremacy straight from the kick-off and, with Ulster penalised for a high tackle metres from their try-line, full-back Stuart Hogg kicked over the first points of the encounter from wide on the left. Jackson – who hadn’t enjoyed a fortuitous night from the boot at Rodney Parade seven days previously – equalised with a kick of his own minutes later, settling Ulster nerves at a stage where they had barely yet had a hand on the ball.
As Ulster forced their way into the game, rapid passing from Jackson, Jared Payne et al in midfield carved out a threatening position well within the Glasgow ‘22’, the move illegally brought to an end by the intentional knock-on of an Ulster pass by a Scottish hand. Jackson dispatched the central kick to nudge his side now deservedly into the lead, and extended it further on 22 minutes with another penalty from distance.
DTH van der Merwe could – and should – have brought Warriors right back on the scoreboard three minutes later, but somehow misjudged his dive on the ball after smartly dribbling on Henry Pyrgos’ chip forward. The Canadian wing dropped onto the ball a second before it crossed the line, and the tracking Payne was alert enough to clear his lines. An Ulster offside on 28 minutes, however, allowed Hogg to slot over his second kick of the night for Ulster 9 Glasgow 6.
A misfiring Glasgow lineout on the half-hour mark made a present of the ball for an unsuspecting Rob Herring as it looped well over all the jumpers and into his hands, but as Ulster struggled sluggishly to advance from his drive forward, another Glasgow infringement came at the right moment, and Jackson gratefully knocked over his fourth kick.
There was still enough time in the half for Hogg to take a punt at goal from just inside the Ulster half, but the British and Irish Lion dragged his penalty just wide of the left hand upright.
Half-Time Score Ulster 12 Glasgow 6
Ulster’s most fluent move of the match thus far came as the second period opened, Dan Tuohy acrobatically seizing Jackson’s prodded kick on and supplying Herring, who displayed a much better turn of pace than he had in the first half in a similar position. Glasgow defended stoutly and eventually forced David McIlwaine out of play with the ball, but another overthrow at their lineout put the visitors directly back under the cosh.
The Ulster attack ultimately came to nothing, but after soaking up five minutes of Glaswegian pressure, a breakaway spearheaded by Johann Muller and the ever-improving Herring would have heralded the first try of the evening, had it not been for an unlucky knock-on from Michael Allen as he hared for the line. Undeterred, Ulster prised back possession from a now flailing Glasgow side, and had another very close call on the hour mark as Luke Marshall dropped the ball as he crossed the try-line after an outstanding feint inside from Jackson.
McIlwaine also crossed the whitewash moments later after sterling work from replacement Paul Marshall, but was well held up by former Ulsterman Tommy Seymour, and one began to wonder if any of the Ulster pressure would translate into points. Jackson had the chance to add three on 72 minutes after a good 10 minutes’ camping in the Glasgow ‘22’, but crucially suffered his first mis-hit of the night to leave the visitors a mere six points adrift.
Then, although Glasgow were soon reduced to 14 men as Moray Low booked his place in the sinbin for deliberate obstruction of a pass, Ulster struggled in the final minutes and had to defend a dangerous five-metre scrum after failing to clear their lines as Warriors probed. Although they survived on the first occasion, Ulster clearly failed to heed the warning, and replacement Eddie resisted a handful of tackles to force his way over the line in the very last action of open play in the game.
Ruaridh Jackson secured the victory courtesy of the simplest conversion from in front of the posts, and to the general dismay of Ravenhill, referee Ian Davies adjudged there to be insufficient time for a restart. A disappointing end to the first home game at the revamped Ravenhill, then, with Ulster sitting in the lower echelons of the RaboDirect Pro12 table on a meagre two losing bonus points with two games played.
Full Time Ulster 12 Glasgow 13
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Pens: Jackson 4
For Glasgow:
Try: Eddie
Con: Hogg
Pens: Hogg 2
Yellow Card: Low
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 David McIlwaine, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Michael Allen, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ian Porter, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sean Doyle, 6 Roger Wilson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller (capt), 3 Declan Fitzpatrick, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Tom Court, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 James McKinney, 23 Ricky Andrew.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Mark Bennett, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos (c), 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Ed Kalman, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Gordon Reid, 18. Moray Low, 19 James Eddie, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Richie Vernon, 22 Chris Cusiter, 23 Gabriel Ascarate.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gary Conway, Kevin Beggs (both Ireland)
TMO: Peter Ferguson (Ireland)