Chiefs 23 Ospreys 13

Exeter Chiefs      23

Ospreys        13

Mark Stevens at Sandy Park

It may not have been the same flowing fair that had shown a week earlier in Oxford, but Exeter Chiefs were once again triumphant in their latest LV= Cup encounter against the visiting Ospreys.

The Chiefs moved to top of Pool One - they lead Harlequins on points difference - by overcoming the Welsh region for the second time in the space of a year at Sandy Park.

First half tries from Will Carrick-Smith and Myles Dorrian paved the way for their latest success story, whilst fly-half Henry Slade weighed in with the remainder of their points.

In reply, the Ospreys claimed the opening try of the game through back-row forward Morgan Allen and Sam Davies plundered a further eight points with the boot.

However, it was the Chiefs who reigned supreme on home soil and gave coaches Ricky Pellow and Rob Gibson a 100 per cent record as they prepared to hand back coaching duties to head honcho Rob Baxter and assistant Ali Hepher.

After their impressive 42-15 win over Premiership rivals London Welsh in their opening fixture, it was little surprise that the Chiefs were largely unchanged for this latest match-up against the reigning Rabodirect Pro12 champions.

The sole changes came up front in the front-row where props Luke Cowan-Dickie and Hoani Tui (pictured) were handed their first starts of the season, alongside hooker Jack Yeandle, who was making his first-ever start for the Devon club.

Behind, the back division remained untouched, although there was a reshuffle with Jack Nowell reverting to the wing; Myles Dorrian slotting in at full-back and Nic Sestaret switched to the centre alongside Sam Hill.

Meanwhile, the Ospreys - fresh from their own victory over Gloucester last time out - also made a number of changes with Arthur Ellis and Owen Williams making their debuts up front; whilst Davies and Sam Williams were also included for their first starts.

It was, however, the home side who were quickest out of the traps as it took just three minutes for fly-half Slade to fire his side in front. The England Under-20 starlet dispatched a superb penalty from 25 metres out after Ospreys lock Ian Gough was pulled up for an off-the-ball offence.

Exeter's advantage sadly proved shortlived as the Welsh region hit back shortly after when they capitalised on some sloppy handling by the Chiefs. With seemingly little danger deep inside the home 22, the visitors pounced on a fumble from home skipper Junior Poluleuligaga to create the opening for No.8 Allen to barge over from close range for the opening try, which Davies converted with ease.

Although behind, the Chiefs responded brightly and having seen a second Slade penalty float wide of the mark, the No.10 made no mistake when he added the extras to Carrick-Smith's try on 28 minutes. The imposing second row forward - in only his second-ever senior appearance - crossed for a second successive game after forwards and backs combined as one to deadly effect.

Home cheers erupted around Sandy Park following the Exeter score, but they were soon muted when Davies slotted his first penalty of the night after Chiefs winger Mark Foster was pulled up by referee Greg Garner for a no-arm tackle.

As the half drew towards a close, the Chiefs continued to look the more threatening in attack. With No.8 Dave Ewers very much to the fore, the home side made light of seeing a second Slade penalty fall just short when full-back Dorrian dived his way over from close range to claim their second converted score.

HALF TIME    EXETER CHIEFS 17    OSPREYS 10

Early endeavour from the Chiefs on the resumption saw Slade afforded another shot at the target, but although his lengthy penalty had the distance this time, the direction was again wide of the mark and the Ospreys were spared.

The visitors made the most of the let-off and in their first foray into enemy territory for the half, they cut the deficit when Davies landed a testing penalty from wide on the right touchline.

Exeter, though, continued to be the dominant force and although they spurned a number of scoring chances with some sloppy handling and the odd wrong option, two penalties from the left boot of Slade helped to pull the Devonians further clear as the game entered into the final quarter.

With a healthy 10-point buffer at their disposal, the Chiefs desperately went in search of further reward and the all-important bonus point. However, some stubborn resistance from the visitors continued to thwart their advances.

In the dying moments the Chiefs were dealt a blow when Ewers was forced out of the action with a hamstring injury; then in the very last moment they were reduced to 13 when replacement hooker Neil Clark was sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle.

Clark's indiscretion gave the Ospreys a chance of salvaging a losing bonus point, but replacement kicker Matthew Morgan saw his long-range punt sail wide of the mark.

It signalled the end of proceedings for the Chiefs who, over the past fortnight, have not only maintained their winning formula against top opposition, but having given head coach Baxter plenty to ponder ahead of next week's return to Premiership action at London Irish.

Chiefs: M Dorrian; J Nowell, N Sestaret, S Hill (I Whitten 58), M Foster (J Tatupu 64); H Slade,  J Poluleuligaga (capt, R Coote 64); L Cowan-Dickie (B Moon 64), J Yeandle (N Clark 60), H Tui (A Brown 64); D Welch, W Carrick-Smith (A Muldowney 58); J Blanchet (S Simmonds 73), J Conlon, D Ewers.

Tries - Carrick-Smith, Dorrian; Conversions - Slade (2); Penalties - Slade (3)

Yellow Card: Clark

Ospreys: R Jones; T Grabham, B John, J Spratt, W Price (T Isaacs 46); S Davies (M Morgan 65), T Habberfield (R Webb 58); M Thomas (R Bevington 46), M Dwyer, O Williams (N Thomas 65); I Gough (L Peers 46), S Williams (J King 65); J Bearman (capt), A Ellis, M Allen. Replacement (not used): S Otten.

Try - Allen; Conversion - Davies; Penalties - Davies (2)

Referee: G Garner

Touch Judges: R Campbell & A Pearce

4th Official: L Pearce

Attendance: 7,829

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v London Irish (A), Aviva Premiership, Sunday, November 25 (3pm).