Chris Henry's solitary try helped Ulster to make it two wins out of two in the Heineken Cup with a 19-8 victory over Glasgow at Scotstoun Stadium.
The testing weather conditions saw both sides use a kick-chase strategy to insert pressure on their respective opposition in the opening quarter. The game lacked fluidity and was dictated by the difficult conditions as errors were often prevalent.
South African scrum-half Ruan Pienaar proved to be the difference between the sides as he orchestrated proceedings with a superb kicking display.
Playing in their first European game at the new Scotstoun stadium, Glasgow took the lead through a well-struck Peter Horne penalty. The visitors fashioned an immediate respond through the boot of Paddy Jackson as the fly-half landed two penalties in quick succession to take the score to 6-3.
As half-time approached, Horne squandered the chance to level the scores when he missed a simple penalty kick.
After the interval the dominant Glasgow scrum forced penalties but again Horne was unable to convert the pressure as he missed his third penalty attempt of the game.
As the game went on Ulster began to turn the screw, as the Glaswegians' once tenacious defence succumbed to the visiting side's powerful driving game.
A converted Henry try from a driving line-out and a further Jackson penalty extended the Irish region's lead to 16-3 with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Jackson's fourth successful penalty of the evening all but sealed the victory for the visitors. However, the home side gave their sell-out crowd something to cheer about as Fijian international winger Nikola Matawal went over in the corner after gathering a well-weighted kick from replacement Scott White to restore some respectability in a dour game.
The scorers:
For Glasgow:
Try: Matawalu
Pen: Horne
For Ulster:
Try: Henry
Con: Jackson
Pens: Jackson 4
The teams:
Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Byron McGuigan, 13 Peter Murchie, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Alex Dunbar, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Al Kellock (capt), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Finlay Gillies, 17 Ofa Fainga'anuku, 18 Gordon Reid, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Rob Harley, 21 John Barclay, 22 Scott Wight, 23 Niko Matawalu.
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johan Muller (c), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements:16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Craig Gilroy.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Comments
melkdave says...
@Dannyboy
I dont think Ulster struggled against a 2nd string Castres,in their 1st HEC game of the season..Even if they couldnt break them down.They where lucky concening the bonus point in so much as any/all teams 999.99 times out of a 1000 matches ,would have kicked the ball dead,not continued playing with no time ,and no hope of a losing bonus point or hope of any kind.In that regard Ulster where very very lucky,to get a turnover and for R.Pineer to have an unoppossed run in for the 4th try.
Posted 10:22 20th October 2012
BiggyFint says...
Saints are a cut above... ohh wait what was the result last night.
Posted 10:11 20th October 2012
dannyboy says...
@melkdave Not a great display by Ulster, but in fairness to the game they played against Castres, the current narrative that they struggled to get a bonus point doesnt do justice to the fact they scored four tries against a decent french side in the first game of the competition.
If Ulster get a win against the Saints in the next game, Ulster will top the group. If the Saints get a get a bonus win at home, I see them carrying that momentum to Ravenhill and topping the group
Posted 01:00 20th October 2012
melkdave says...
Well a game played in the rain again ,but i have to say so far im not impressed with Ulster in the HEC.Dont get me wrong they deserved the victory ,and where the better side overall,But against a depleted Glasgow they made very hard work of it,just as they did against a depleted Castres lucky to get the bonus point imo .Glasgow caused them a lot of problems ,as they did against Saints,but Ulster just didnt respond or couldnt respond to it like Saints did last week..Castres at home will reverse the 5 pointer i feel with something to spare ,going by what ive just seen against Saints,Group still wide open imo,as whos going to be top 2 at the end of the round robin.
Posted 22:42 19th October 2012