Coaches pinpoint crucial spell in Swansea

Munster enjoyed almost relentless pressure for phase after phase just after the break but the Ospreys somehow held out before heading down the other end, at which point Dan Biggar slotted a third penalty to give them a 16-10 lead.

"It was a huge momentum swing. We usually score in those opportunities but we weren't clinical enough," said McGahan.

"I thought we showed a lack of patience at times, especially down in the green zone where we had opportunities to pick and drive and get over.

"It was great defence from them… and then they kick through to 16-10. Then you're chasing the game."

"There was a 10-minute period just after half-time when they had all the play on our line," added Johnson, whose men kept their qualification hopes alive by bouncing back from last weekend's defeat to the same opposition in Limerick.

"The boys showed great resilience. It was an area of the game that probably let us down a little bit last week when we were a little high in contact.

"What they displayed here was great character against a side that, when they're that close to the line, usually take some points away from you.

"It was a bigger turnaround than the scoreboard suggests because they've thrown everything at you and then you've taken some points from them. That part of the game, I was delighted with."

But while it was the Ospreys defence that held firm to keep Munster at bay early in the second period, it was Munster's turn to show real grit as the game reached the dying stages.

With replacement centre Lefimi Mafi in the sin bin for a dangerous tackle, the Ospreys peppered the Munster line incessantly for the final few minutes as they looked for the try that would deny the former champions a losing bonus point at the Liberty.

Just as the Ospreys had done at the other end half an hour earlier, Munster stuck together to keep their line intact and ensure they left for Limerick with something to show for their efforts.

"We could easily have left here with nothing - that's a pretty fair assessment of where of where the Ospreys were," explained McGahan.

"We had the last three minutes on our line with a man in the bin and with them relentlessly pushing towards the line with their tails up, but we showed tremendous defence against their desire to make sure we came away with nothing.

"If you're looking at the head-to-head, the points difference of six and four points was really important with regard to that.

"So we could have been leaving here with nothing. We could both have been on 10 points and chasing Toulon on 13. We've narrowed that a little bit but it still doesn't disguise the fact that we're leaving here without a result."