Ulster edge Clermont in thriller
The result saw Ulster go second in Pool Five on nine points, three behind leaders Clermont, who picked up two bonus points despite the defeat.
A see-saw of a first half between two ambitious teams willing to run everything saw the lead change hands seven times.
Clermont's Fijian No.8 Peceli Yato opened the scoring, Ulster's Luke Marshall splitting the defence for a straight run-in and then Ian Henderson crossing after a Ruan Pienaar cross-kick as Ulster roared back.
But slick hands saw South African-born France fullback Scott Spedding go over before Paddy Jackson gathered his own grubber to hand the advantage back to the Irish province at the end of an enthralling first 40 minutes, 22-18.
A high-tempo start to the second period saw Marshall crash over for his second, All Blacks fullback Charles Piutau outpacing the defence after bluffing his way into space down the right wing to cross in the corner.
But Clermont hit back through England wing Nick Abendanon to keep the French side in the hunt. Captain Damien Chouly then went over, Morgan Parra's conversion taking Clermont to within five points.
Ulster had New Zealand-born prop Rodney Ah You sin binned late-on for a high tackle and the Irish province tried to run down the clock, with Pienaar at the helm. But with 20 seconds to play, they gifted Clermont a final chance, a knock-on in midfield ending French hopes.
Scorers:
For Ulster:
Tries: Marshall 2, Henderson, Jackson, Piutau
Cons: Jackson 4
Pens: Jackson 2
For Clermont:
Tries: Yato, Spedding, Abendanon, Chouly
Cons: Parra 3
Pens: Parra 2
Yellow card: Rodney Ah You (Ulster, 74)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Sean Reidy, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Robbie Diack, 4 Peter Browne, 3 Wiehan Herbst, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Kyle McCall.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Darren Cave, 23 Jacob Stockdale.
Clermont: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 David Strettle, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Nick Abendanon, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Peceli Yato, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Damien Chouly (captain), 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphaël Chaume.
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Clément Ric, 19 Sitaleki Timani, 20 Camille Gerondeau, 21 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 22 Benson Stanley, 23 Alivereti Raka.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Peter Allan (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Sean Davey (England)
Agence France-Presse
