WHILE THEY AREN’T mathematically eliminated from the Champions Cup just yet, Ulster’s 22-13 defeat away to Scarlets this evening makes their chance of qualifying for the quarter-final very, very minimal.
But one man who still believes is Ulster head coach Neil Doak, and despite the odds being stacked against his side, he is refusing to give up on their European campaign.
Ulster’s next pool game is away against the galactiocs of Toulon, and Doak is firmly focused on the daunting trip.
“We knew from last week after Leicester beat Toulon that three wins would be there or thereabouts for us,” Doak said to BT Sport.
“We’ll take stock and the next game against Toulon away is obviously going to be a very difficult challenge but we’ve got to keep fighting to the end until mathematically it’s not there for us.”
The first half against Scarlets was detrimental to Ulster’s chances of winning the game, as they found themselves 12-0 down after conceding a number of costly penalties in both defence and attack.
Doak acknowledged that his side paid a heavy price for their lack of discipline.
“The first half wasn’t great for us on the penalty count,” Doak said.
“It allowed them to get some easy outs and a bit of territory. Our ill-discipline allowed them to build that 12-point lead.”
One positive for the Ulster coach was the endevor shown by centres Luke Marshall and Darren Cave to manufacture a try for the latter just after the break.
The duo almost combined again late on for a score that likely would have won the game for the visitors but Cave’s pass was a poor one and the chance was lost.
Ultimately, Doak conceded that Ulster weren’t clinical enough to snatch victory.
“We knew we had to score early doors to get us back in the game. Both teams tried to play in the right areas but unfortunately we didn’t do that enough tonight,” Doak said.
We got ourselves back in the game in the second half. We had a couple of chances but we didn’t deliver. In European games you only get a few opportunities and unfortunately we didn’t take them tonight.
- Originally published 21.00
