Buccaneers were denied in injury-time as UL Bohemians beat the Connacht side 19-17 to move up to second in the Division One table.
Ben Martin converted Colman Finn’s 83rd-minute try to provide the difference between the sides at Thomond Park.
Tries from winger Tom Luke (10 minutes) and full-back Mark Butler (15) sent the hosts into a 12-0 lead but before the break, Buccs narrowed the gap to just two points.
Lock David McGowan muscled over for a 31st-minute try, adding to a Tom Cregan penalty. Cregan then converted winger Niall O’Hara’s 64th-minute score.
Bohs kicked three late penalties to touch and their persistence paid off at the death.
Buccs were struck a hammer blow in the fourth-minute when they lost their inspirational back rower and captain Conor Hartigan to a leg injury.
The Pirates’ chances of bagging their third win in five league games were rocked further when the elusive Luke scampered over for a well-worked try.
Butler, timing his support run to perfection, followed suit and Australian centre Martin chipped in with a conversion.
Five minutes later, Tom Cregan, Buccs’ leading scorer with 79 points before kick-off, knocked over a penalty and the former Shannon full-back also added the extras to McGowan’s effort, as Geoff Moylan’s men bit back.
McGowan, the Sligo-born Ireland U-21 lock, showed good hands to gobble up a block down and hold off the cover to score.
Buccs had the better of the possession for the third quarter, but could make it tell until a lightning break from scrum half Mark Bruce resulted in O’Hara going over for his try.
Cregan missed the conversion attempt and agonisingly, that miss proved crucial as Bohs bossed the final ten minutes and an overlap put skipper Finn over. Martin held his nerve to convert and chalk up their sixth win of the campaign.
