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Ulster captain Iain Henderson was sent off in the 75th minute, but his team was a deserved winner, as the Ospreys fell for the 11th loss in their last 12 competitive games in a 24-12 loss at Liberty Stadium.
Henderson received a red card for charging into a ruck and making contact with Dan Evans’ head, but by then Ulster was in firm control of the game.
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Jacob Stockdale, Marcell Coetzee and John Cooney had all scored tries for the visitors, and Cooney added three conversions and a penalty.
Four Stephen Myler penalties was the Ospreys’ response.
Ulster took a lead in the seventh minute on a Stockdale try. The visiting team rejected a 35-meter kick on target in favor of an offensive lineout and was rewarded when a succession of advances created the opportunity for Ian Madigan to send Stockdale.
Cooney converted before Myler put the Ospreys on the scoreboard with a penalty, but the game continued without form, with neither side continuing their game.
Poor kicks from Cooney and Stewart Moore went straight into touch to prevent Ulster from building a platform, with the Ospreys relying on predictable bursts from center Kieran Williams to try to boost their game.
So it came as no surprise that the next two scores came via penalties from Cooney and Myler to leave Ulster with a well-deserved 10-6 lead at the interval.
After the reboot, a piece of Stockdale magic animated the proceedings. Deep in his own half, the full-back took a punt before passing a defender and running off. The Ospreys looked in danger, but Stockdale was shot down and the move failed.
However, Ulster could not be denied. Another powerful blast and an excellent touch seeker from Stockdale secured a platform beside him in the 22nd house and from there, the Ulster pack amassed a head of steam to send Coetzee crashing down.
Cooney converted before Myler kicked his third penalty to keep the Ospreys in the fight as they trailed 17-9 in the fourth quarter.
A scrum offense gave Myler a chance to succeed with another kick, but the home team never seemed to score a try and Ulster emphasized their superiority when Rob Lyttle ran hard to create a try for Cooney.
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