Connacht 20-16 Munster: Connacht take derby day spoils at The Sportsground

Connacht's victory moves them to fourth in Conference A

Tom Farrell's 67th-minute try ensured Connacht toppled 14-man Munster to end their six-match losing streak in Guinness PRO14 inter-provincial derbies.

Most of the pre-match talk at the Sportsground surrounded Connacht's Bundee Aki receiving an Ireland call-up and Simon Zebo being left out of Joe Schmidt's squad.

The Munster back announced himself onto the derby stage by scoring the game's opening try after just four minutes.

A well-crafted five-pointer from Tiernan O'Halloran closed the gap just after the quarter-hour mark, before Ian Keatley and Jack Carty swapped penalties that gave Munster a 13-10 lead at half-time.

Carty's second penalty of the night drew Connacht level before Munster had winger Andrew Conway sent off in the 61st minute for an incident involving the fly-half.

Replacement JJ Hanrahan managed to kick Munster back in front but it was his tackle attempt that allowed Connacht centre Farrell to cut through for the game's decisive score.

Apart from new Ireland call-up Aki stripping the ball from his future international team-mate CJ Stander's grasp, it was all Munster early on and they deservedly hit the front in the fourth minute.

Simon Zebo scored Munster's first try of the night

Connacht got the shove on at a defensive scrum in their 22, but Rory Scannell tidied up the loose ball with a brilliant run, offloading for Zebo to evade the clutches of O'Halloran and touch down.

Keatley converted and nudged over a penalty to put Munster in double figures, but Connacht were rewarded early in the second quarter.

Carty slid a penalty wide from the right wing, before a slashing break from Darragh Leader ignited the hosts. Aki showed terrific hands to send man-of-the-match Jarrad Butler through a gap and his final pass put O'Halloran in behind the posts.

Connacht's victory was their first in the Guinness PRO14 since Round 2

The fly-half's simple conversion was cancelled out by a Keatley penalty on the half-hour mark after his former Connacht team-mate John Muldoon for not releasing a tackled player.

Carty kicked penalties either side of half-time to give his side the lead before a leaping Conway saw red after his elbow caught the fly-half in the head in attempting to charge down his kick. Referee Nigel Owens consulted with TMO Brian MacNeice before making his decision.

Hanrahan looked a possible match-winner, landing a crisply-struck 65th-minute penalty, but he was involved when Farrell hared on to a pass and split open the Munster midfield for his try, converted by Craig Ronaldson.

Munster weren't able to deliver a final response; Kevin O'Byrne fumbled possession off a grounded maul and then a final error from Hanrahan confirmed Connacht as derby winners.