The match started brightly with strong, energetic attacking from both sides. Scoring opened after six minutes with a well-placed long-distance penalty from Ian Humphreys, but parity was restored four minutes later with a similar strike from his opposite number Stephen Jones.

A good attacking move fuelled by accurate crossfield passing from Ulster on 15 minutes eventually broke down due to one misplaced ball, handing the momentum back to the Scarlets who made good progress down the left wing until stopped in their tracks by rugged Ulster tackling. Then a somewhat contentious scrum awarded by referee Andrew Small, followed by a quickly-taken penalty, kept the Scarlets in control although they were unable to capitalise on their possession.

The breakthrough came on 25 minutes when an intelligent kick from Humphreys from a scrum ball allowed winger Darren Cave to outpace the Scarlets defence to collect and ground a well-worked try. Humphreys's conversion set the score at 10-3.

The deficit was reduced three minutes later with the second Stephen Jones penalty of the evening but an undeterred Ulster - perhaps inspired by their pre-match visit from local sporting legend Dame Mary Peters CBE - were soon back on top after a good steal from Stephen Ferris in the middle of the park. The team was able to build upon this and forced their second try of the night after a fine solo raid down the left wing from Simon Danielli, impressive in only his second game since returning from a long lay-off due to injury. Humphreys's conversion attempt missed, leaving the score at 15-6.

Now firmly in control, Ulster looked to kill the visitors off straight away, with good running from Bryn Cunningham in particular getting them nail-bitingly close to the try-line. The Scarlets' staunch defending as the 40-minute mark loomed led Humphreys to elect to kick a further penalty awarded from a good position, but the fly-half's effort was screwed well wide. He got a second bite a minute later as the Scarlets fouled again and this time - from a more difficult angle - the stroke was masterful as the first half came to an end.

Half time score Ulster 18 Scarlets 6

The Ulstermen started the second half in similar fashion with pacy early attacking but the Scarlets were the next to score with another well-executed penalty from Jones on 46 minutes. A Scarlets revival began to look on the cards but this was quashed by consistent Ulster defending which eventually won the home team a scrum and allowed them to clear the danger.

Poor line-out tactics from the Welshmen on 52 minutes then gifted Ulster possession but their move broke down after an uncharacteristic Humphreys handling error. Another unpopular decision from Mr Small gave Jones a 57^th-minute penalty which this time he missed, and Ulster subsequently won a penalty of their own following a disastrous attempted clearance from the Scarlets. Humphreys's composure was admirable as he slotted over the tricky long-distance kick on 60 minutes to make the score 21-9 and take his own personal tally for the evening to 10 points.

Better yet was to come three minutes later when Ulster stole the ball on the Scarlets' left wing, and Isaac Boss's elusive running allowed the replacement scrum-half to feed David Pollock for try number three. Humphreys's conversion effort looked good all the way but swerved at the last moment to rebound off the post. Nevertheless, Ulster were now comfortable as leaders by 26-9.

A recently-introduced Mark McCrea was yellow-carded on 70 minutes for illegally taking out his opponent while in the air, but their numerical inferiority did nothing to dampen Ulster's drive as they kept on the attack. Their persistence went unrewarded though and possession was yielded on 75 minutes, with the Scarlets' Ceiron Thomas grounding a consolation try on 78 minutes after a pass which looked to have travelled decidedly forward. The quick conversion settled matters at 26-16, ending a highly satisfying night's entertainment for the 8,729-strong Ravenhill crowd.

Full-time score Ulster 26 Scarlets 16

Replacements: (16-22) N Brady, T Court, M McCullough, K Dawson, I Boss, N O'Connor, M McCrea