Connacht got off to a flying start in their 1^st ever Heineken cup match with huge pressure from the forwards but it was Harlequins who struck 1^st with a Nick Evans penalty after just 4 minutes of play. Miah Nikora levelled things 3 minutes later with a long range kick from inside the Quins half but it wasn’t long before referee Jerome Garces penalised Connacht for being off-side and Evans put the home side back in the lead. A monstrous Connacht scrum demolished the Quins forwards and with the forward momentum the backline of Eoin Griffin, Gavin Duffy and Dave McShary sprang to life and Tiernan O’Halloran raced in for the 1^st try of the night which Nikora converted. Evans brought Harlequins back to within a point after Connacht defended their try line from the Quins pick and go. Quins scored a try when scrum half Karl Dickson crashed over from close range on the half-hour mark and Evans conversion put the home side 6 points clear. He extended that lead to 9 with 2 minutes left in the half with another penalty kick and that was how it finishes after the 1^st 40 minutes, Harlequins 19 10 Connacht

Connacht started the second half the brighter of the 2 sides with linebreaks from Eoin Griffin, Tiernan O’Halloran and Michael Swift while the forwards were powerful across the park and it wasn’t long before the pressure turned to territory and after 12 minutes of the second half Niall O’Connor stepped up to take his 1^st shot at goal. The effort drifted just right of the posts but Connacht were still in the driving seat and with the travelling supporters in full voice Gavin Duffy chipped to the corner and Brian Tuohy’s pressure won a lineout 5m out from the Quins line. Connacht dominated the next 5 minutes yards from the Quins line and having gone right then left a skip pass let Connacht’s captain cross for a try. O’Connor converted to bring Connacht to within 2 points and Connacht continued to pile on the pressure with slick hands and fast feet from the backs forcing Quins back into their own half. After a penalty from a scum on the halfway line Quins kicked to the corner. From the resulting phases Nick Evans chipped through but Mike McCarthy touched down 1^st to deny the home side a second try. Despite Connacht dominance the boot of Nick Evans punished Connacht and when Jerome Garces pinged Connacht for offside in front of the posts he increased the difference to 5. Garces was keen to make his mark on the match and 3 minutes later punished Connacht for hands in a scrum. Evans converted to deny a deserved losing bonus point. The final score Harlequins 25 17 Connacht

Connacht:

Gavin Duffy ©, Brian Tuohy, Eoin Griffin, Dave McSharry, Tiernan O’Halloran, Miah Nikora, Paul O’Donohoe, Brett Wilkinson, Adrian Flavin, Rodney Ah You, Michael Swift, Mike McCarthy, John Muldoon, Ray Ofisa, George Naoupu

Replacements:

Ethienne Reynecke, Ronan Loughney, Dylan Rogers, Dave Gannon, TJ Anderson, Frank Murphy, Niall O’Connor, Henry Fa’afilli

Harlequins:

Mike Browne, Seb Stegmann, George Lowe, Jordan Turner-Hall, Sam Smith, Nick Evans, Karl Dickson, Joe Marler, Chris Brooker, James Johnston, Ollie Kohn, George Robson, Maurie Fa’asavalu, Chris Robshaw © Nick Easter

Replacements:

Joe Gray, Nic Mayhew, Kyle Sinckler, Tomas Vallejos, Luke Wallace, Danny Care, Benjamin Urdapilleta, Tom Williams

Pictures above (right) Brian Tuohy wins the arial battle, (left) George Naoupu on a trademark break and above Connacht fans celebrate Tiernan O'Hallorans 1st try of Connacht's Heineken Cup campaign (C) www.inpho.ie /Andrew Fosker