Allen Clarke has admitted the Ospreys are now relying on others to slip up in order to make the Guinness Pro 14 play-offs.
Clarke saw his team lose 8-0 at home to Ulster in Bridgend on Friday night – a result that bunches the teams behind them with games in hand.
The defeat has left the region still in third place in Conference A, but Connacht, Cardiff Blues and the Cheetahs are all within just two points, having played a game fewer.
“It’s tight – but we’ve lost control of our own destiny tonight,” reflected Ospreys head coach Clarke, who made his name and reputation with Ulster before moving to Wales.
“We’ve left an opportunity for teams to surpass us and that makes it difficult down the line. As ever there was plenty of effort from us, but we lacked a bit of quality, didn’t we?
“The few opportunities that we got we weren’t able to get across the whitewash.
“It felt a bit like a slow death, to be honest in terms of the scoreboard. You’re hoping for a moment of magic and it obviously didn’t come through.”
The Ospreys now face six remaining matches in the regular season, starting with a crunch fixture at home to Conference A leaders Munster next Friday.
If they lose that one, then they could find themselves adrift of third place for the season run-in and Clarke confessed: “We are going to have to be a hell of a lot better. That’s a given.
“It’s important we prepare well and give a special performance.”
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A second half try from Stuart McCloskey plus a late penalty from John Cooney was enough for Ulster to leave Bridgend with the victory.
The Ospreys were resolute in defence but posed little attacking threat and Ulster finally broke the deadlock six minutes into the second half.
McCloskey charged into the Ospreys 22 before offloading to Peter Nelson who was brought down just short of the line by Dan Evans. The ball was spread wide for McCloskey to finish what he started at the far right-hand corner despite Luke Morgan getting a hand on the ball.
Ulster dominated territory and possession in the second half with the Ospreys struggling to cope with their physicality.
But time and again Ulster’s execution let them down with basic errors undermining the vast majority of their attacking opportunities.
Ulster were held up over the line after their driving lineout was repelled by a gutsy Ospreys eight. The visitors came to rue their wastefulness as the Ospreys ensured they would have an uncomfortable closing 10 minutes.
After some poor discipline by the visitors, the Ospreys proceeded to lay siege to the Ulster line. The Ospreys kept edging forward with their driving lineout but when it looked ominous the visitors somehow managed to turn the ball over to clear their lines.
And with the clock ticking Cooney nailed a late penalty to take the losing bonus point away from the Ospreys.
