Blues battle past Connacht
Cardiff's play-off push gathered further momentum as they battled back from a half-time deficit to win 26-12 away at Connacht.
Last Updated: 15/04/11 10:31pm
Cardiff's play-off push gathered further momentum as they battled back from a half-time deficit to clinch a 26-12 victory away at Connacht.
The Blues trailed 12-10 at the break after Connacht Ian Keatley kicked the last of his four first-half penalties deep into injury time.
However Cardiff, who had crossed in the first half through Casey Laulala, fought back, albeit their cause being added by the sin-binning of home duo Ray Ofisa and Gavin Duffy.
Bradley Davies touched down with six minutes to play to secure what could be a crucial result for the visitors after Dan Parks had kicked three penalties.
Keatley's first points of the night came in the third minute and although Parks briefly levelled matters at 3-3, Connacht were very much the side on top.
Punished
The Blues gave away a succession of penalties at the breakdown and after Davies was penalised, Keatley sent over a kick from just inside the visitors' half.
A third penalty followed when Cardiff hooker Williams was punished for backchat, putting the hosts 9-3 ahead after 25 minutes of the first half.
Cardiff, though, hit back with a well-taken try from Laulala. The former All Black took a great angle onto a pass and after getting past Bernie Upton and Mike McCarthy, he stretched over to score by the posts.
Television match official Dermot Moloney confirmed the grounding and Parks added the extras.
Although Connacht hit back before the break, Keatley restoring his team's lead late on, the Blues started the second half in fine fashion.
A penalty from Parks put them in front and extended the gap after Ofisa was unfortunate to be sin-binned for upending Jamie Roberts in a tackle.
They went further ahead thanks to their fly-half, although the Scotland international did miss two penalties either side of Duffy's sin-binning.
And the killer blow came when Davies produced a fine hand-off to reach the try-line, his effort clinching a victory that means his team are now just two points behind the third-placed Ospreys with a game in hand.
