Ulster 25-24 Harlequins

John Cooney kicked a winning penalty in the 79th minute as Ulster rallied to edge past Harlequins and record a hugely important European Champions Cup victory at Kingspan.

It looked like they would have to settle for a losing bonus point, as they were leading 15-10 before shipping 14 points in just 4 minutes as the English club turned the game on its head.

However, the scrum-half rescued a victory to maintin their 100% record on the continent, and put them back on top of Pool 3.

The home side had got the scoreboard moving in the 8th minute, taking the lead through Cooney's penalty just outside the 22, but Marcus Smith pulled the visitors level just 2 minutes later after Ulster were caught offside at the breakdown.

The visitors then replied with a try in the 28th minute to move ahead for the first time in the game. After a few phases in the Ulster 22, Alex Dombrandt broke the line to finish from close range, with Smith converting to make it 10-3.

In the 32d minute Ulster replied in spectacular fashion with a move started by the defensive work of captain Iain Henderson. Quins attempted to run the ball from their 22, but the Ulster lock stole possession in the tackle.

Several phases later, and playing with the advantage, Billy Burns launched another trademark cross-field kick that was gathered by Stuart McCloskey on the left wing.

The big center's offload was perfectly weighted to find the late run of Sean Reidy, and the blindside flanker raced clear to touch down left of the posts, with Cooney converting.

Ulster exploded out of the blocks in the second half, and scored their second try after less than 4 minutes of play.

Sustained phases strained the Quins defence, and eventually Luke Marshall released McCloskey down the left, and the center bulldozed his way to the line to score in the corner.

However, Harlequins moved ahead in the 57th minute through Elia, the hooker emerging with the ball after a lineout maul crashed over the Ulster line from close range, with Smith converting to make it 17-15 to the visitors.

Ulster immediately worked their way to within inches of the Quins line from kickoff, but Dombrandt made an intercept on his own 5 metre line and managed to clear 70 yards to turn the tables on the home side.

Within a few phases, Elia picked and went from the 22, selling a quick dummy to beat the Ulster defence and score his 2nd try within the space of 3 manic minutes.

It sparked a quick reply from Ulster, with replacement hooker Adam McBurney touching down in the 67th after a well worked rolling maul. Cooney's conversion made it 24-22, and gave the home side plenty of time to recover from their mini capitulation.

With 2 minutes left to play, Quins were punished for being offside, which gave Cooney the chance to slot the winning kick from 40 metres and keep Ulster in the running in Europe.