Connacht's hopes of progressing to the Investec Champions Cup knockout phase were effectively ended by their third successive defeat away to Lyon this afternoon.
Despite living off scraps in the opening half, Pete Wilkins' side trailed by just three points after 50 minutes, a testament to their efficiency in the opposition 22, with Sean Jansen, Cian Prendergast and Tadhg McElroy touching down.
However, that was as good as it got, with Mickael Guillard and Thaakir Abrahams powering over for the hosts as they ran out deserved 34-20 winners in front of a sparsely populated Stade de Gerland.
After losses to Bordeaux and Saracens - the latter after an absurdly free-scoring game - nothing less than a win would do and the visitors started brightly, debutant scrum-half Michael McDonald sending Jansen through a gap in the Lyon midfield, the number eight rounding the last defender to touch down in the corner.
But the French side weren't long settling into the groove. Winger Abrahams scored his first try after a deft pick-up when an attempted offload was deflected to ground by Tom Daly.
As it Happened: Lyon 34-20 Connacht
Former Irish out-half Paddy Jackson, who signed from the defunct London Irish last July, slotted the conversion. The Ulster man would finish with 12 points in total, nailing three conversions and two penalties.
On 21 minutes, full-back Alexandre Tchaptchet extended the lead after a quick-tap, the referee correctly spotting the grounding.
Connacht were now being overwhelmed in the scrum, yielding two straightforward penalties for Jackson, pushing the lead out to 15 points.
However, the westerners would enjoy a purple patch either side of the break to briefly roar back into the reckoning.
On the stroke of half-time, the former Australian under-20 international McDonald floated a pass wide to Prendergast who scampered over in the corner.
Not long after the restart, McElroy touched down after a textbook lineout maul, Hanrahan notching the first of three conversion attempts to make it 20-17.
They were unable to maintain that burst of momentum and the game gradually slipped out of reach, back rower Guillard falling over the line after a period of relentless pressure on the Connacht try-line.
A Hanrahan penalty on 67 minutes brought it back into losing bonus territory at the very least, but the match was settled five minutes from the end, inside centre Thibaut Regard feeding Abrahams for his second try of the afternoon.
Another loss for Connacht and while they technically aren't yet out of the competition, their supporters are likely resigned to a group stage exit.
