Ulster interim head coach Richie Murphy admitted his side rode their luck, after they snatched a dramatic 19-17 win against Cardiff at Kingspan Stadium.
The win lifts the province up to fifth place in the BKT United Rugby Championship table overnight, with John Cooney's penalty in the final 90 seconds handing the interim boss a win in his first home game in charge.
The winning penalty was a controversial one, with the TMO judging Cardiff prop Rhys Carre to have deliberately knocked on a Cooney pass, which then went forward off Ulster's Ethan McIlroy, before the visitors raced clear to score what they thought was the game-clinching try.
And Murphy, who picked up his first URC win this evening, was honest in his assessment of the dramatic win.
"It was a strange one. I couldn't see a clear knock on," he said of the overturned try, and decisive penalty.
"I thought the game had gone at that stage. We were probably a little bit lucky to get the win in the end.
"Looking back at the game as a whole, there are so many things that we need to do better to get into those situations at the end of a game."
Ulster had trailed for the majority of the encounter, with a brace of tries from Cardiff wing Theo Cabango, and two conversions and a penalty from Tinus de Beer leaving Matt Sherratt's side within touching distance of a first win in Belfast since 2010.
But while Murphy said his side were fortunate to pick up the win, he added that it could well prove to be a turning point in their season.
"Four points, no pictures on the scorecard.
"At the end of the day, we've got to win and we're moving in the right direction in the league.
"Overall, I suppose we'll look at the game and see plenty of areas where we need drastic improvement over the next couple of days to get ready for Benetton.
"I fully believe we were very lucky to win the game. I also fully believe the boys stuck right at it. Right up to the end of the game they were really going after Cardiff. The accuracy areas are the ones we need to be better at - in and around that contact area.
"Our lineout functioned better than it has, but ultimately in and around the breakdown, both attack and defence, we weren't really good enough," he added.
Already without Iain Henderson, Steven Kitshoff, Rob Herring and Stewart Moore due to injury, it was concerning to see James Hume (above) helped from the pitch on 18 minutes, after a lengthy period of treatment on a knee injury.
"We'll have to wait for a scan. He seemed to think it wasn't as bad as it probably looked initially, but we'll have to wait to Monday," he added.
The Ireland U20 coach came in as temporary Ulster boss following the Six Nations, with his first four games seeing Ulster play twice in South Africa in the URC, followed by two Challenge Cup games in France, the second of which saw the province heavily beaten by Clermont Auvergne.
And after a long wait for a first game in Belfast, Murphy says he's thrilled to have capped it off with a win, as scrappy as it was.
"Incredible, exactly like what I was expecting.
"A big crowd, and when we gave them something to cheer about they cheered and got behind the team.
"At crucial parts of the game I'm sure the lads felt uplifted. Our job as a team and as Ulster rugby is to give them something to cheer about. They'll go home tonight a little bit happier we won, but there's a lot of improvement needed," he added.
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