Carty: 'Phenomenal' breakdown work the key for Connacht

Connacht captain Jack Carty hailed his team's ability to keep Ulster out of the danger zone as they secured a famous win in Belfast.

The Westerners overcame a fancied Ulster side to book a URC semi-final berth and in the process handed the hosts a first ever home playoff loss.

Connacht, beaten twice this season by Dan McFarland's side, were able to neutralise the lineout maul attack that Ulster had used as a potent weapon all season.

"I think the difference was our ability to keep them away from our 22," said Carty, who kicked five penalties in the 15-10 win.

"Obviously, they play for penalties in terms of looking to get access into your 22 and look for mauls.

"I think we took that away from them with our kick choice and how we manipulated our back-three; we kept them away from our half.

"Our breakdown in terms of targeting their wide breakdown was phenomenal. They were the things we said we were going to do, and we got the result for it."

The visitors held out some late Ulster pressure to claim the victory but Carty says he felt they could have made life easier for themselves.

"There were various points, especially at half-time, where we said the first to break was the team who were going to lose it," he added.

"I think that's what they did. We kept doing what we needed to do in terms of playing in the right areas. We were massively, massively wasteful and I think that’s what the excitement part is. That’s where the growth is.

"If we take those opportunities next week, we will be closer to a final. I don’t think many people gave us a chance but we were confident coming up."

Ulster head coach McFarland admitted that his side were beaten by the better team and paid tribute to the Connacht coaching staff: "We entered the playoffs in