The Men of Gwent were edged out of contention for the win after they failed to cross the white line and steal the spoils from the home side during the second half.
The match began well for both sides as they battled for possession early on, but it was the hosts who made the most of this crossing for the first try of the evening. A pass out wide saw Matt Healey show his pace down the wing for Tiernan O'Halloran to go over. The conversion kick was added by Craig Ronaldson, seeing the home side take the lead after 5 minutes played.
The Dragons pushed back and battled in the opposition 22, only for the PRO12 Champions to break away seeing
Following this Dragons fly-half replacement, Angus O’Brien, slotted a penalty kick over to get the Dragons first three points on the board.
Half Time: Connacht 14 - Newport Gwent Dragons 3
Not long after the break O'Brien slotted another penalty kick over the posts raising the score to 14-6, and then narrowed the scoreline even more to 14-9 with another penalty on 53 minutes.
The Dragons replacements were superb as they continued to pressure the hosts inside their own 22 and with that, Tyler Morgan burst through the defence, only to be held up just centimetres before the line.
Following this, the visitors enjoyed another phase of continued pressure but, as before, they were unable to force their way over the whitewash. However, it looked like Connacht were going to seal another try after chipping through, collecting and dotting down. But it was deemed that John Cooney was ahead of the kicker so the try was chalked off.
The Dragons had a final chance to steal the win away from the Irish hosts, however, the final lineout of the match was disrupted meaning Connacht took the win.
Full Time: Connacht 14 - Newport Gwent Dragons 9
Referee: Nigel Owens
Attendance: 6,190
