Ospreys clinch last gasp win

A last ditch score saved Ospreys' blushes against a second string Harlequins side in their first round EDF Energy cup clash at Liberty Stadium on Sunday.

The defending champions had to rely on the boot of a disappointing James Hook in the dying seconds to scrape in by a single point for a 24-23 victory.

Despite a promising first half in which Ospreys appeared to stamp their authority on the match, Quins staged a gutsy fightback after the break to leave the hosts staring defeat in the face.

Quins skipper Andy Gomersall bossed 37 minutes of a second-half that saw the Londoners put 20 points on the board to Ospreys three and leave the defending champions trailing by six points with minutes to go.

But a spectacular last gasp score from Tommy Bowe took them to within a point of the visitors and a last chance for Hook to redeem a lacklustre performance.

The fly-half, who had already missed three from seven, duly turned from zero to hero, clinching the winning points with a difficult kick from near the left touchline.

Early scare

Harlequins were given a scare early on in the match when sloppy defending saw Ospreys come within a whisker of scoring inside the first minute.

Shane Williams, in space on the outside, latched onto a crossfield kick and chipped the defender.

When Tom Williams' attempted clearance from behind his line bounced back off a team-mate, the Welsh dynamo almost completed the move but the watchful Charlie Aberford managed to get in between and bundle the ball out.

It took a further 10 minutes for Ospreys, who had dominated the play so far, to open the scoring, Hook slotting a 44 metre penalty to take a 3-0 lead.

On 18 minutes Hook missed the opportunity to stretch Ospreys' lead, sending a second penalty attempt wide, but three minutes later was back on target with an easy effort, barely 15 yards out and almost in front of the posts, to take his side to 6-0.

Harlequins made it 6-3 on the 27 minute mark, Waisea Luveniyali also hitting the target with a simple kick right under Ospreys' posts.

A fine penalty from Hook eight minutes before half time restored a crucial bit of daylight for Ospreys and two minutes later they finally broke the Quins defence.

Captain Alun Wyn-Jones showed brilliant speed and skill to break free and draw his man before finding Gavin Henson on the left with a wonderful 20 metre pass.

Henson offloaded to Williams who ran in to break the deadlock, although Hook's conversion attempt never looked like finding the posts.

Despite five relatively easy missed points in the opening period, Ospreys were still able to go into the break with an important 14-3 lead.

Exquisite

Harlequins took just three minutes to reply after the restart though, Tosh Masson opening up the Ospreys' defence with ease after a period of pressure close to the try-line.

Receiving the ball from the breakdown, Masson slipped an exquisite pass inside to De Wet Barry, who cruised in for a simple touchdown next to the posts. Luveniyalia added the extras to take the visitors to 14-10.

More pressure from a resurgent Quins paid off again ten minutes later.

Barry went perilously close to scoring his second but was held up inches short before Tani Fuga managed to burrow his way through despite some desperate defending by the hosts.

With Harlequins leading for the first time in the game Luveniyalia made it three from three to take the score to 14-17, and on 59 minutes the Fijian retained his 100 percent record when he slotted a long range effort to open up a six point gap.

Two minutes later however and Hook closed the gap back to three with a straightforward kick almost in front of the posts for the hosts' first points of the second half.

But an increasingly nervous looking Ospreys threw them away almost instantly, conceding a pointless penalty under their posts that also saw skipper Jones sin binned.

It was little more than a formality for Luveniyalia to restore Harlequins' six point lead and take the score to 17-23.

Hook again failed to cut the deficit at the 67 minute mark with his third miss and, going into the final 10 minutes, Ospreys looked to be heading for defeat.

But with just three minutes to go, Tommy Bowe crossed after a spectacular break by the home side which tore the Quins defence wide open.

Hook needed no encouragement to make amends and dealt a crushing blow to the Londoners, who had fought so hard to force their way back into the match.