Pro14: Ulster battle past Connacht in bruising inter-provincial derby

Ian Madigan kicked 22 points for Dan McFarland's side

Ulster ended a five-year wait for a victory away to Connacht after a 32-19 win in the Pro14 at the Sportsground.

Ian Madigan kept Ulster in touch at half-time as tries from Jack Carty and John Porch gave Connacht a lead 14-9 at the break.

Jordi Murphy and Nick Timoney powered over after the restart as Ulster responded in fine fashion.

Tom Daly grabbed a consolation try for the hosts before Madigan kicked Ulster further clear with late penalties.

• Marcell Coetzee 'virtually impossible' to replace says Humphreys

Ulster made 10 changes from the European Champions Cup defeat by Glouscester and struck first when Madigan's second-minute penalty split the posts in wet and windy conditions.

Dan McFarland's side absorbed a pile of Connacht pressure and got a reprieve when Madigan kicked a superb penalty to double Ulster's advantage.

Connacht almost got an immediate response when Matt Healy was held up just short of the line by John Andrew and Alan O'Connor, however the resulting scrum would mark a change in the fortunes of both sides.

Kyle McCall was sent to the bin by Sean Gallagher after repeated scrum infringements and the hosts took advantage when the impressive Carty squirmed over in the corner on 20 minutes despite the best efforts of Timoney.

The pin-point Madigan sent over his third penalty of the match to nudge Ulster back in front, however Connacht's second try of the night came when winger Porch dived over in the corner on 27 minutes after more sustained pressure by the hosts, with Carty again nailing the conversion.

Second-half response

The wind picked up in the second half in Ulster's favour, and, after turning down an easy three points, got their first try of the game when Murphy crossed 10 minutes into the second half.

Ulster won the line-out deep in the Connacht 22 and scrum-half Alby Mathewson broke clear which allowed flanker Murphy to power over. Madigan converted move Ulster two points ahead.

That advantage was extended further when O'Connor, Greg Jones and Timoney linked up for Ulster's second try, with the latter touching down 15 minutes into the second half after bursting through several Connacht tackles.

However Connacht proved why they were unbeaten in five years against Ulster at home and Tom Daly crossed under the posts after Andy Friend's side worked their way back into Ulster territory. Carty nudged the resulting conversion wide.

Nick Timoney scored Ulster's second try in Galway

Ireland underage international Ben Moxham came on for his senior Ulster debut and his first action was to watch Madigan knock over a superb penalty to put a converted try between the sides with 14 minutes remaining.

Madigan missed his first kick of the night to keep Connacht within touching distance however the excellent fly-half kicked his fifth and sixth penalties to put a 13-point margin between the sides late on.

After two successive European defeats and the announcement that star back row Marcell Coetzee will return to South Africa at the end of the season, the win was a timely boost for Ulster.

Ulster picked up their first away victory in an inter-pro derby under McFarland and they now top Conference A in the Pro14 ahead of Leinster after winning all nine of their domestic matches.

We had to play the conditions

Player of the match Murphy said Ulster regrouped well after Connacht scored two tries in the first half.

"We came here with a chip on our shoulder. There was a lot of talk during the week and I am glad we were able to back it up with a performance like that," said the Ireland flanker.

"It's always tough during Christmas week but the boys did a really good job and it is a special one today.

"We knew we would have to play the conditions. Ian Madigan's boot was quality today and we took our points when we could.

"We didn't panic in the first half when we conceded those two tries. We regrouped really well and used the wind to our advantage in the second half."

Connacht: T O'Halloran; J Porch, S Arnold, T Daly, M Healy; J Carty, C Blade; D Buckley, S Delahunt, F Bealham; U Dillane, Q Roux; E Masterson, C Oliver, J Butler.

Replacements: D Heffernan, J Duggan, D Robertson-McCoy, G Thornbury, S Masterson, K Marmion, S O'Brien, C de Buitléar.

Ulster: M Lowry; C Gilroy, J Hume, S Moore, E McIlroy; I Madigan, A Mathewson; K McCall, J Andrew, T O'Toole; A O'Connor (capt), K Treadwell; G Jones, J Murphy, N Timoney.

Replacements: B Roberts, A Warwick, M Moore, D O'Connor, Matty Rea, D Shanahan, B Moxham, M Faddes.