No home joy for Ospreys as Connacht take the honours

THE Ospreys went down 10-20 to Connacht in their PRO14 encounter at a rain-soaked Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Tries from Niyi Adeolokun and Peter Robb, plus the boot of Conor Fitzgerald, kept the hosts, who were playing their 500th game, at arm’s length for most of the contest.

A try from Sam Parry gave Allen Clarke’s men brief second-half hope but it wasn’t enough.

It was the home side who got on the scoreboard first, with Luke Price kicking the region into a 3-0 lead in the fourth minute.

But the visitors rocked them back on their heels within two minutes, Adeolokun finishing a sweeping move. Conor Fitzgerald added the conversion.

Matthew Aubrey departed for a head assessment and returned to the fray with the scoreline even more in the visitors’ favour after another successful Fitzgerald penalty after a breakdown infringement.

Dan Lydiate then saw yellow in the 24th minute and Connacht took full advantage. A quick pickup from Paul Boyle at the base of the scrum saw him feed Robb, who powered over the whitewash from close range.

That made it 3-17, and despite Lydiate returning to the pitch five minutes before the break the hosts could not add to their tally.

Price and Dan Baker were replaced by James Hook and Morgan Morris respectively at the turnaround, and soon after Lesley Klim came on for Tom Williams.

The hosts exerted some pressure early in the second period but stubborn defence from Connacht kept Clarke’s side at bay.

However, a response wasn’t too far away, and in the 56th minute Parry crashed over in the corner following a powerful rolling maul. Hook added the extras to make it a seven-point game.

But Connacht responded in perfect fashion, with Fitzgerald slotting over another penalty.