Ospreys scrape past Clermont

Ospreys almost blew a commanding lead against Clermont Auvergne but eventually prevailed 25-24 in their Heineken Cup Pool Three contest.

The hosts, who gave-up a comfortable lead against Leicester last Sunday, seemed to be cruising to victory at the Liberty Stadium after three first-half tries gave them a 19-point advantage at the break.

But a sensational turn-around after the interval saw Clermont temporarily take the lead before a long-range penalty from Dan Biggar spared the Welsh side's blushes.

The home team got their first points on the board almost immediately when Wales centre James Hook slotted a drop-goal through the posts with a little over 90 seconds gone.

Stand-off Dan Biggar tried a drop-goal of his own from an almost identical position just moments later but his effort drifted to the right of the posts.

Dream start

The Ospreys' wonderful start continued when wing Nikki Walker poked a kick through the Clermont defence, leaving Tommy Bowe to collect and touch down over the try-line.

After Biggar missed the difficult conversion, the hosts continued to pile on the pressure but did not add to the eight-point lead during their early spell of dominance.

The French side began to see more possession as the half wore on and decreased the gap when Australian fly-half Brock James dinked over a left-footed drop-goal.

Biggar then missed the target again when he sent a long-range penalty from the left just wide of the uprights.

The visitors' mini-resurgence was halted when second-row Thibaut Privat was shown a yellow card for impeding Mike Phillips off the ball.

Ospreys made use of their one-man advantage when Ryan Jones dived across the try-line after a five-metre scrum and Biggar finally added the extras.

But it was then the hosts' turn to be reduced to 14 men as Jerry Collins was sent to the sidelines for crudely leaning into a tackle with his shoulder.

Comeback

On the stroke of half-time, Ospreys scored their third try when Biggar's chip was caught by Bowe and spun out to Barry Davies, who ran-in unopposed to make it 22-3.

Straight after the restart, Clermont gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Julien Bonnaire's delicate kick through was finished off by Benoit Baby and James added a difficult conversion.

The away side continued to push and were rewarded with another seven points when relentless pressure from a five-metre scrum was eventually converted into a try by Thomas Domingo.

Clermont then incredibly took the lead on 53 minutes when Alex Lapandry raced over the try-line after a Domingo pass was deflected into his path by Mario Ledesma and James slotted over the extra two points.

But Biggar managed to stop the rot with a booming penalty to edge Ospreys into a 25-24 lead shortly after the hour mark.

The visitors almost hit back straight away but a Napoleoni Nalanga score in the corner was denied after consultation with the video referee.

An infringement in the ruck by Ospreys allowed James a chance to turn the scoreline around again but his kick from the touchline cannoned back off the left upright and the hosts successfully ran out the clock to take the narrowest of victories.