Ulster: Head coach Dan McFarland frustrated by side's lacklustre return to action
- Published
McFarland's Ulster were far from their best as they were deservedly defeated by Connacht
Ulster head coach Dan McFarland says his side were "a shadow of our normal selves" in their Pro14 defeat by Connacht.
The northern province produced an underwhelming display in Dublin and allowed Connacht to open up a lead with two tries in the first 23 minutes.
They did improve after the break but could not claw back the deficit.
The result does not affect Ulster's league position as they are guaranteed to finish second in conference B.
Glasgow's defeat by Edinburgh on Saturday night made sure of Ulster's place in the semi-finals, while conference leaders Leinster hold an unassailable lead at the top.
"I personally reckon that game was won and lost on the sofa last night watching Glasgow losing," said McFarland.
"I'm searching for a reason why we didn't have the spark that I was expecting, I think that at the moment that's the only reason.
"It was a little bit disappointing to put out that kind of performance in any game.
"I don't want to take stuff away from Connacht but that was a shadow of our normal selves."
'Defeat certainly not catastrophic'
While Connacht's 2019-20 season will come to an end against Leinster next week, Ulster were hoping to use the two inter-provincial fixtures to build some momentum as they prepare for knockout rugby in the Pro14 and the European Champions Cup.
Leinster, undefeated in 14 games in this season's competition, returned to action on Saturday with a tight win over Munster.
"The bottom line is, you watch Leinster turn up in a game last night that had no meaning for them and I thought they were a lot closer to the money that we were today," McFarland reflected.
"It's certainly not catastrophic in any sense of the imagination but we don't feel that we played as well as we should have done.
"You're trying to remind yourself of the levels and the standards you set yourself around certain aspects of the game.
"There are always going to be areas of the technical stuff and the tactical stuff that were going to go wrong today."
Ulster never recaptured the lead after John Porch's 12th minute try put Connacht ahead
Next week against Munster is Ulster's final match before their season becomes exclusively knockout matches.
McFarland believes that although having winning momentum will benefit his side going into the semi-final, next week's game will not necessarily reflect how they will feel going into the last four.
"It's not crucial because a semi-final is a semi-final, it's a one-off game," said McFarland.
"Is it helpful? Definitely. Next week we'll be looking to compare what we put out in the first half today with what we know we look like."