Keatley back in favour for Ulster clash

THE blaze of excitement in which a defiant Connacht side held out for a narrow and memorable win over Cardiff Blues last weekend should ensure a white hot atmosphere at the Sportsground when Michael Bradley’s men host Ulster in the first interprovincial of the Magners League season this evening (8pm).Only four games in, this has the makings of the most significant fixture of the campaign. The League’s annual whipping boys are hopeful that the injection of confidence from their Cardiff victory will give them a launch pad to overtake their rivals for Ireland’s third Heineken Cup place this season.Ben Blair’s late penalty miss for Cardiff resulted in roars of relief around the Sportsground last weekend and Connacht’s narrow escape (18-16) provided a welcome tonic after the 62-13 humiliation in Edinburgh. With Leinster and Munster seemingly way ahead of this evening’s rivals, this fixture has already taken on a huge significance while it gives the home side a chance to build a bit of momentum and an opportunity to have something truly tangible to aim for over the campaign.Following their heroics against a star-studded Cardiff side, Connacht have made just one change for this showdown with their northern rivals. Ian Keatley is set to start at out-half in place of Miah Nikora, who picked up an injury early in last weekend’s clash.Nikora had a nightmare after taking a big hit to the head early in the Cardiff game, making way for Keatley after just 27 minutes, and the young Clontarf native played a big part in his side’s victory.As they aim to build on last weekend’s win over a side featuring 13 internationals, Connacht’s players and management have called on the city’s sporting public to come out and support the side. There were only 1,415 in the Sportsground last weekend, but they generated a red hot atmosphere. “This could be the biggest match of the season, particularly as it is at home,” said second row Andrew Browne this week. “If you are going to qualify for the Heineken Cup, you have to beat Ulster and you have to win your home games. Cardiff were after coming off the back of two losses, so they were not coming over with a second string team. They wanted to win that one.“It’s a...