Cardiff must wait to learn whether they have done enough to reach the last 16 of the Challenge Cup after completing their group campaign by going down to defeat in a topsy-turvy encounter at the Arms Park.

The injury-ravaged hosts were right in this fluctuating contest for the majority of the game, with outstanding flanker Thomas Young scoring two of their three tries.

But, in the end, top-of-the-table Connacht secured the spoils as they recorded a fourth successive bonus point victory in the group phase.

Despite contributing a great deal to a match played out in front of a crowd of 6,321, Cardiff came away empty handed and that now leaves their fate out of their hands in terms of qualification for the knock-out stage.

They currently lie third in Pool 1 on seven points with the top four to qualify for the last 16.

But they must wait on the outcome of the two remaining fixtures in the group, with second-placed Lyon hosting fifth-placed Cheetahs on Saturday and fourth-placed Perpignan away to bottom of the table Zebre on Sunday.

Realistically, their best hope probably hinges on South African side the Cheetahs failing to pick up more than a point against Lyon out in France.

If Cardiff do progress, they will face an away tie in the last 16 in early April.

We now all hold our breath.

The hosts went into the game without 15 players, with Taulupe Faletau, Josh Adams, James Botham, Aled Davies, Corey Dowachowski, Tinus de Beer and Regan Grace among the most recent additions to the injury list.

However there was a welcome return to fitness for Young, who started on the openside, while hooker Efan Daniel came off the bench for his first outing since mid-October having recovered from knee ligament damage.

Ben Thomas captained the side as he wore No 10 for just the second time in the past two seasons.

Connacht came into the game with an unassailable lead at the top of Pool 1 having claimed bonus point victories over Zebre (43-12), Lyon (52-24) and Perpignan (31-10) in their first three group fixtures.

But they still had plenty to play for, knowing another win would see them finish as one of the top two seeds among the qualifiers for the last 16, earning them home advantage right the way through to the semi-finals.  

With this in mind, they selected a strong side with three of their four available Ireland squad members starting in the shape of centre Bundee Aki, prop Finlay Bealham and flanker Cian Prendergast, who continued as captain.

When the game got underway, it was Cardiff who did the early attacking, first applying sustained pressure deep in enemy territory and then threatening to score on the counter.

That saw Young scoop up a loose ball on his own 22 and burst up to half-way before putting in a kick for Tom Bowen to chase, only for Argentine Test full-back Santiago Cordero to get back to save the day.

So it was Connacht who actually ended up opening the scoring with a converted try on 13 minutes. After a series of phases, centre Aki put in a deft short pass to send second row Josh Murphy galloping away to the line.

But Cardiff soon responded with a score started and finished by Wales squad hooker Evan Lloyd.

He first tidied up a deflection at an attacking lineout which enabled the hosts to move the ball right where prop Rhys Barratt burst through off a miss pass.

The loosehead was brought down just short of the line by wing Chay Mullins, with Ellis Bevan then also being denied on the follow up.

But there was to be no denying Lloyd who showed good strength to force his way over from close range with Thomas adding the conversion.

With the interval approaching, the hosts had the opportunity to take the lead off a wild Connacht pass, with Bowen having no one in front of him as he got to the ball first on halfway, but he just couldn’t hold on as it bounced up.

Then, a couple of minutes later, Connacht claimed the score that was to give them a 14-7 half-time lead.

Aki was again the catalyst, breaking through out on the right and feeding wing Mullins who raced up to the line, with former Bristol second row Joe Joyce stretching over to deliver the finish.

When play resumed after the interval, the visitors from the west of Ireland were swiftly reduced to 14 men as openside flanker Conor Oliver was yellow carded for a deliberate knock on.

From the resulting penalty, Cardiff capitalised immediately with a converted try that drew the scores level again.

Lock Josh McInally secured possession at the front of the attacking lineout that followed and the ball was moved left into midfield where Thomas fed Alun Lawrence.

Running on to the pass at pace, the No 8 crashed his way up into the 22, taking Aki with him, and when he was finally brought down, Young was there in a flash to pick up and race away to the line, with Thomas adding the extras.

Yet, as soon as Connacht were restored to their full complement, they went back in front with their third converted try.

It was score carved out by slick hands behind as Aki and fly-half Josh Ioane exchanged positions to feed Cordero who threw out a long scoring pass to wing Byron Ralston.

But back came Cardiff again just before the hour mark as the excellent Young struck once more.

Receiving a long pass from Thomas on the bounce out on the left wing, he evaded the attempted tackle of scrum-half Ben Murphy and kicked ahead.

With his grubber taking a deflection off a defender, the ball popped up for the supporting Bevan who passed it back to Young, with the openside racing in at the corner. 

Thomas’ touchline conversion attempt drifted wide which left Cardiff trailing 21-19 going into the final quarter.

But then, with 15 minutes to go, Connacht stretched away again as skipper Prendergast broke through and sent replacement scrum-half Matthew Devine in for the fourth bonus point try.

Cardiff pressed hard at the death to claim a try which would have earned them two priceless losing bonus points, but it wasn’t to be and an anxious weekend awaits.