Scarlets 14 (3)
Tries: Eustace.
Pens: C Thomas 3.

Llanelli Scarlets claimed a scrappy but vital win away at the Ospreys thanks to a disputed try from Adam Eustace.

The lock breached the home line but was awarded the try only after television match official Derek Bevan had ruled there had been downward pressure.

Scarlets fly-half Ceiron Thomas missed the conversion, but matched rival 10 Shaun Connor with three penalty kicks.

Gavin Henson came off the bench for his first Ospreys game since January, but was unable to inspire a comeback.

The Ospreys were weakened before the start after skipper Brent Cockbain withdrew through illness, with Mike Collins taking his place at lock and man-of-the-match Filo Tiatia the captain's armband.

In a scrappy first half Thomas gave the Scarlets an early lead with a penalty, while rival fly-half Shaun Connor missed his first effort for the Ospreys soon after.

Try-scoring opportunities were at a premium at the Liberty Stadium, but Thomas almost conjured one for the visitors with an astute grubber kick.

Only some desperate scrambling home defence snuffed out the initial danger, although Ospreys prop Andrew Millward gave away a penalty as he piled into a ruck from the side.

Unfortunately for Thomas he hooked the simple kick left of the posts, spoiling the fly-half's previous good work.

The Ospreys rallied and Andrew Bishop launched himself through a gap in the Scarlets midfield to race into the 22.

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The centre's pass failed to find a friendly hand and Regan King gathered the loose ball, only to then find his attempted clearing kick charged down by Jon Vaughton.

The Ospreys wing gathered and began to celebrate a try as he crossed the line, only for referee Tim Hayes to rule that Bishop's earlier loose pass had gone forward.

The decision looked harsh, but Connor at least found his range with the boot as the fly-half slotted two penalties to take a 6-3 lead into half-time.

Early Ospreys pressure after the break came to nothing after a spilled pass in the backs allowed Scarlets scrum-half Gavin Cattle to hack the ball downfield.

Stefan Terblanche covered back well but then the Ospreys wing shanked his clearing kick horribly to give the men in red a five-metre line-out.

Some brave defence kept the Scarlets out for a while but eventually lock Eustace powered through to reach for the line.

Television match official Bevan needed several long hard looks to decide the ball had been grounded properly, but decided to award the score despite some disbelieving looks from the Ospreys.

The right-footed Thomas missed the conversion from fairly wide on the right, though, and the Scarlets led by just two points after 46 minutes.

The exchanges remained scrappy, the play ragged, but Vaughton added some much-needed quality with a carving break that carried him down the right wing.

Bishop was brought down just short before the Scarlets managed to kill the ball, conceding a penalty that Connor converted to put the home side back into the lead 9-8.

A high tackle by Lee Byrne on opposing full-back Morgan Stoddart handed the lead back to the Scarlets once more as Thomas stroked over the resulting penalty.

That saw Ospreys coach Lyn Jones send Henson on to the pitch, the utility back making his first competitive appearance for his region since last January due to injury and illness.

His first touch saw Henson attempt an outrageous long-range drop-goal, but the rust was evident as the ball went more up than away and gifted possession back to the Scarlets.

Yet the visitors had to weather the last 10 minutes of the match a man down, after replacement Darren Daniel was sin-binned for a very late tackle on Byrne.

The Scarlets did the sensible thing and kept things tight among their forwards, drawing a crucial penalty after the frustrated Ospreys pulled down a maul.

Thomas' successful kick meant the Ospreys needed to find a try in the last five minutes if they were to have a chance of overhauling the 14-9 deficit.

That never came close to materialising as the Ospreys subsided to concede a hurtful home loss to bitter rivals the Scarlets.

Ospreys: Lee Byrne; Stefan Terblanche, Mark Taylor, Andrew Bishop, Jonathan Vaughton; Shaun Connor, Justin Marshall; Paul James, Richard Hibbard, Andrew Millward, Mike Powell, Mike Collins, Tom Smith, Ben Lewis, Filo Tiatia (capt).
Replacements: Barry Williams for Hibbard (56), Cai Griffiths for Millward (69), Andy Lloyd for Powell (69), Richard Pugh for Lewis (34), Martin Roberts, Gareth Owen for Connor (80), Gavin Henson for Taylor (69).

Scarlets: Morgan Stoddart; Garan Evans, Regan King, Gavin Evans, Matthew Watkins; Ceiron Thomas, Gavin Cattle; Iestyn Thomas, James Hayter, Deacon Manu, Vernon Cooper, Adam Eustace, Dafydd Jones, James Bater (capt), Nathan Thomas.
Replacements: Bruce Douglas, Ken Owens for Hayter (49), Lou Reed, Jonathan Edwards, Liam Davies, Darren Daniel for Watkins (54), Jonathan Davies.

Referee: Tim Hayes (WRU).