Ulster's hopes of ending 17-year wait for trophy thwarted after defeat againat Connacht at Kingspan Stadium

It was only Connacht’s fourth victory in Belfast since 1960 and Andy Friend’s side thoroughly deserved their result as they were better than Ulster in every facet of the game.

It was Ulster’s third defeat at home in four outings against Irish provinces this season.

Ulster’s discipline contributed to the defeat as they conceded 18 penalties and missed 21 tackles

Connacht forced 11 turnovers and probably should have won by a bigger margin but they weren’t clinical enough in the Ulster 22.

Connacht wasted the first opportunity to put points on the board on 13 minutes. After a series of pick and goes close to the Ulster line they earned a penalty, Jack Carty put in a cross-field kick for winger John Porch but the Ulster defence were able to deal with it.

From the resultant penalty five metres from the Ulster line the visitors elected to tap and go but knocked it on and compounded the error by conceding a penalty after a melee.

Connacht squandered another chance five minutes later when centre Tom Farrell broke through midfield and carried close to the 22. He had a three-on-one overlap but took the ball into contact and Michael Lowry was able to stop him, but the Ulster full-back sustained an injury in the tackle and had to go off.

Ulster scrum-half John Cooney eventually broke the deadlock on 20 minutes with a penalty from in front of the posts as Connacht strayed offside.

Connacht’s reply was immediate as from phase play after a line in the Ulster 22 they won a penalty and Carty slotted it over to level the scores.

Connacht took the lead with a Carty penalty from inside the Ulster 22 on 33 minutes.

Connacht increased their advantage to 9-3 at the interval as Carty landed his third penalty with the final kick of the first half.

The second half began with Denis Buckley winning a scrum against Ulster replacement prop Gareth Milasinovich, allowing Carty to land another three points.

Ulster got back into the game on 64 minutes from the tried and tested maul.

After a series of penalties in the 22, Tom Stewart threw to the back of the lineout, the forwards got the nudge on with the backs lending their weight and captain Alan O’Connor dotted down from the back off the maul. Cooney added the conversion.

Connacht scrum-half Kieran Marmion’s sniping break from his own half into the Ulster 22 earned the visitors a penalty as Billy Burns offended on the ground, allowing Carty to kick his fifth penalty of the contest as he gave his side a five-point lead with five minutes remaining.

In a frantic finish Ulster were camped on the Connacht line as they probed to get a try to level the scores, but with the clock in the red the visitors forced a penalty and kicked the ball dead to seal a historic victory. For Ulster, the long wait for a much longed-for trophy continues.

Ulster: M Lowry, R Baloucoune, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, B Burns, J Cooney, R Sutherland, R Herring, J Toomaga-Allen, A O’Connor (capt), K Treadwell, D McCann, N Timoney, D Vermeulen,

Replacements: T Stewart for Herring 58 mins, E O’Sullivan for Sutherland 78 mins, G Milasinovich for Toomaga-Allen 41 mins, S Carter for Treadwell 58 mins, J Murphy for Timoney 58 mins, N Doak for Cooney 73 mins, S Moore for Lowry 18 mins, C Gilroy for Hume 64 mins

Connacht: T O’Halloran, J Porch, T Farrell, B Aki, M Hansen, J Carty (capt), C Blade, D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham, J Murphy, N Murray, S Hurley-Langton, C Oliver, C Prendergast,

Replacements: D Tierney-Martin for Heffernan 55 mins, J Duggan, J Aungier for Belham 55 mins, Ó Dowling for Murphy 55 mins, J Butler for Prendergast 62 mins, K Marmion for Blade 65 mins, T Daly, B Ralston for O’Halloran 68 mins

Referee: A Brace (Ireland).