RUGBY/Ulster -21 Gwent Dragons - 28: There was no Friday feeling for Ulster at Ravenhill last night as they crashed to their third successive home defeat.
Ulster have not lost three consecutive home matches since the season following their European Cup win in 1999, and a return of just one point from a potential 15 represents a terrible start for the new coaching team of Mark McCall and Allen Clarke.
With just one match before the start of the Heineken European Cup, McCall has little time to correct the flaws. Another major concern is the fitness of number eight Roger Wilson, who limped off with a knee injury.
For the third time in succession, Ulster completely lost their way in the second half, with Kevin Morgan, Adam Black and Nathan Brew touching down to wipe out a slender 6-3 advantage at the interval.
Ulster went over for tries by Neil Best and Ronan McCormack but the visitors even had the last laugh, Ceri Sweeney landing his third penalty of the evening with the last kick of the game.
There had been little to write home about in the first half, with Ulster meriting their 6-3 lead purely on the basis of the amount of possession they secured.
Unfortunately, for those in the 8,145-strong crowd looking for entertainment, the quality of the ball was so poor that Ulster often had to turn to the imperious boot of David Humphreys to kick for position rather than putting together any attacking patterns.
With the Dragons happy to defend, it made for a poor-quality affair.
The Dragons, featuring 13 full internationals, came into the game on the back of three victories, including the impressive scalp of a full-strength Leinster last Friday.
Ulster needed a ferocious start to lay down their marker, but in the early stages the visitors looked more dangerous, with Percy Montgomery's huge left boot pinning the home side back.
A Ceri Sweeney penalty in the 10th minute nudged the visitors in front; Humphreys levelled the scores in the 29th minute following a counter-attack by Bryn Cunningham; and the outhalf added a penalty seven minutes later to put Ulster in front.
But that lead was wiped out within four minutes of the restart. Humphreys conceded a turnover after attempting to run the ball out of his own half and Morgan sliced through the midfield to touch down under the posts. Sweeney converted.
Humphreys and Sweeney swapped penalties before Ulster reclaimed the lead with a try by Best from a Humphreys cross-kick. It proved a false dawn.
The Dragons twice carved open the home defence for tries by Black and Brew to establish an 11-point lead and though McCormack touched down, the visitors would not be denied.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 10 mins: C Sweeney pen, 0-3; 27: D Humphreys pen, 3-3; 33: Humphreys pen, 6-3; 44: K Morgan try, Sweeney con, 6-10; 50: Humphreys pen, 9-10; 58: Sweeney pen, 9-13; 60: N Best try, Humphreys, 14-13; 64: A Black try, 14-18; 73: N Brew try, Sweeney con, 14-25; 79: R McCormack try, Humphreys con, 21-25, 80: Sweeney pen, 21-28.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, K Maggs, P Steinmetz, T Howe; D Humphreys, K Campbell; S Best, P Shields, R Moore, G Longwell, M McCullough, C Feather, N Best, R Wilson. Replacements: M Mustchin for Wilson (33 mins); N Brady for Shields (50 mins); N Doak for Campbell (67 mins); J Bell for Steinmetz (70 mins); R McCormack for Moore (75 mins)
GWENT DRAGONS: K Morgan; G Wyatt, P Montgomery, S Tuipulotu, N Brew; C Sweeney, G Cooper; R Snow, S Jones, R Thomas, I Gough, M Owen, J Ringer, J Forster, R Bryan. Replacements: A Black for Snow (55 mins); J Richards for Jones (71 mins); C Anthony for Thomas (73 mins); S Winn for Tuipulotu, R Beattie for Brew (both 75 mins).
Referee: M Changleng (SRU)
